3+ week, 5+ day ago (325+ words) If you've ever picked up a guitar and seen solid black bars where the pickups should be, then chances are you were holding a guitar equipped with EMG pickups. They became pretty ubiquitous in the late 90s/early 2000s, these active pickups added body to the sound. That popularity only grew when artists began adopting them into their rigs, like Metallica's guitarist Kirk Hammett. In a recent interview with Kris Barocsi and Guillaume Chenin from Thomann, EMG founder Rob Turner said the company benefitted greatly from artist adoption. "The heavy metal thing was actually not my first intention. When we started making product, we were more into the studio sort of aspect of it " for cleanness of the signal. You could record it direct, you could play it through an amp" and that was the primary intent." It ultimately was that clean…...

3+ week, 10+ hour ago (254+ words) Stoner metal legends Corrosion of Conformity have teamed up with Volatile Skateboards to launch their own line called COC Skateboards. - Humming Powerman 5000 on the toilet since 2006 Corrosion of Conformity Launch COC Skateboards Hell yeah, brothers. Corrosion of Conformity (C.O.C.) have always been the cool dudes, and they're doing something quite cool with this. They've teamed up with Volatile Skateboards to create their own line of tight ass decks, clothes and accessories called COC Skateboards, live now at cocskateboards.com. They've got everything from skate decks to a snowboard deck to beer coozies and hats. You name it! The site is simple, letting the merch largely speak for itself. COC Skateboard's About Me page simply says "Born from the raw energy of North Carolina's legendary metal band, the C.O.C. skateboard line fuses rebellious spirit with premium craftsmanship. These aren't just boards " they're artifacts…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (251+ words) An already wild festival slated for next April has gotten even better, as organizers hit up social media to announce the fourth wave of extreme metal acts set to grace the stages of Inferno Metal Festival 2026. According to today's announcement, Tormentor, Firespawn, Mork, Carnivore A.D., M'l, Nihilvm, Abhorration, Ruun, Arachno, Gaddav'r, Feversea, Homselvareg, Hermit Dreams, and Senti now join the likes of Old Man's Child, Mayhem, and a whole lot more. Taking place from April 2 to April 5 across multiple venues in Oslo, Norway, the Inferno Metal Festival has always been a bastion of extreme metal music. The organizers elaborated on what makes Inferno so special in a previous announcement: "The iconic Inferno Metal Festival started in 2001 and is the longest running metal festival in Norway and one of the most important extreme metal festivals in the world. We are very proud…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (334+ words) As we get closer ot the end of 2025, you may have noticed that bands are frantically announcing their touring plans for 2026. Gotta get the word out ahead of time so you can get time off work, buy your ticket, and get properly hyped for the show, after all. That's all fine and dandy, but what about looking even further into the future for your tour plans? That's prety much what heavy metal act Manowar did, as they basically said fuck 2026 and shot all the way to 2027 with their latest tour announcement. "MANOWAR, the founders and defenders of true metal, answer the call of their loyal Army of Immortals with their upcoming KINGS OF METAL FIGHTING THE WORLD TOUR 2027. "After the band's triumphant celebrations of Hail To England and Sign Of The Hammer on their BLOOD OF OUR ENEMIES TOUR, the…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (282+ words) It's important to give back. Now that I've gotten that very obvious statement out of the way, let's get to who's doing the giving this time'Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. As reported by BBC News, Iommi is going to raffle off one of his own Gibson SG guitars in efforts to raise money for the hospital where he was treated for cancer. Aww. Iommi, 77, was treated at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom back in 2013 after being diagnosed with lymphoma. After four years, Iommi shared that his cancer had gone into remission, with him going into surgery in 2017 to get a noncancerous lump removed from his throat. He joined staff at the hospital earlier today (Wednesday, November 5) to announce the launch of the fundraising drive, hoping to raise "150,000 (about $195,625) to renovate Heartlands' cancer treatment center. "It was a terrible shock....

3+ week, 2+ day ago (175+ words) Brutal death metal outfit Stabbing are pushing themselves back into the fore with the announcement of their sophomore album Eon Of Obscenity. Not one to leave anyone wanting more information about how the record sounds these days, they released the album's second track "Inhuman Torture Chamber" as its lead single. Serving as the band's debut on Century Media Records, Eons Of Obscenity features 11 brutal tracks. As for the single "Inhuman Torture Chamber", the band explained how its origins come from an actual murder that happened. "Inhuman Torture Chamber' was written in regards to the horrific murder of Sylvia Likens. Since gore and torture are common themes in death metal, I try to write songs about real events I've read about. They are usually stories that left a negative affect on me." Eon Of Obscentiy will be released on January 30, 2026 via…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (158+ words) Things may be relatively dormant for Ghost lately, but that doesn't mean things aren't progressing for the ridiculously popular Swedish metal band. This week, two of the band's most popular songs reached the much lauded "Platinum' status here in the States. For the uninitiated, in order for a track to earn "Platinum' status, it has to reach 1,000,000 units of either "traditional physical/digital sales[with] 10 permanent track downloads counting as 1 unit and 1500 on-demand audio/video streams from a particular album also counting as as a unit. 150 streams of a song also equate to a track-equivalent unit." Given the songs' presence in social media, with fans using the music for their various videos all over the world, it's frankly shocking these accolades hadn't come to the tracks sooner. Either way, this is an impressive achievement. Food poisoning is no joke. Preorders…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (161+ words) If you've ever been to a massive arena show, you've seen those towers that stand out in the middle of the crowd. Usually those things have big ass speakers and pyro effects on them, but at a Metallica show down under, one of the towers featured a pair of dudes climbing them, which led to some legal issues and a trip in the back of a cop car. "It will be alleged the men climbed up the central tower inside the bowl at the Metallica concert held at Optus Stadium on Saturday." It's a good thing no one was injured. This story could have very easily gone a different way if things hadn't panned out the way they did. For future reference, please don't do something reckless like this at a show. Hey, did you know Dave Mustaine was in Metallica…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (208+ words) Purveyors of slam death metal Internal Bleeding are fresh off a run of dates in the northeastern part of the United States, but they ain't done. Not by a long shot after the recent release of their new LP Settle All Scores. With 2026 fast approaching, they announced a buncha tour dates to occupy the first half of the year. Starting off, Internal Bleeding will head out on a three-date run of the northeast again from March 13 in Albany, New York; March 14 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and March 15 in Baltimore, Maryland. For that run, they'll be supported by Brick By Brick. One month after that, they'll head out on a UK/EU tour starting on April 22 in Newcastle, U.K. and ending May 2 in London, U.K. for the Incineration Festival. Along the way, they'll make stops in Glasgow, Dublin, and Cardiff. Finally, the band also…...

2+ week, 2+ hour ago (166+ words) Today's livestream from Vans Warped Tour Orlando is set to feature heavy hitters Killswitch Engage, Drain, Comeback Kid and more. - Humming Powerman 5000 on the toilet since 2006 Watch Killswitch Engage, Drain, Chiodos & More on Vans Warped Tour Orlando Livestream For those who couldn't enjoy Vans Warped Tour's return to glory this year, tuning in to the livestreams they've been sharing has been the saving grace. I get they could only take the all day festival to so many places, but gosh why couldn't it just go everywhere? Anyway, it's Orlando, FL's time to shine, and the over 30 bands set to stream today (November 16) include some heavy hitters. Performers today include Killswitch Engage, Comeback Kid, Drain, Blessthefall, A Day To Remember, Attila, Of Mice & Men, Four Year Strong and more. Hell freakin yes! Move your furniture out of the way and pray…...