Time for one of the highlights of my year, the rather excellent SOS festival. A festival envisioned 12 years ago by Lynne Hampson of Rocksector Records as an antidote to the plethora of family un-friendly festivals around at the time. Continue reading
Legendary Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has shared a brief video clip on social meida, expressing his love for the other founding members of the band: Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne. He claims he would be open to any chance to reunite and perform together again. Ward was excluded from the bands’ “The End” farewell tour after initially agreeing to participate in the dates. The band has retired from touring, mostly due to health concerns from Iommi and Osbourne, but have not ruled out one-off gigs and festivals in the future. The band has been featured at events recently for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the group, such as the Hall of Heavy Metal exhibition and the Black Sabbath Bridge and Bench unveiling in their hometown of Birmingham, UK. Even Ozzy has recently expressed a desire to play with Bill again, so hopefully, this moves it closer to reality. Continue reading
The official naming of the “Black Sabbath Bridge” in honor of Birmingham’s legendary heavy metal kings Black Sabbath is taking place in the heart of the city’s entertainment district later this month at the site where the bridge crosses the canal on Broad Street — at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26. Founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. Hundreds of fans are expected for the ceremony and tribute band Sabbra Cadabra will be on hand to perform. Continue reading
After making their US debut as a band this week at The Troubador in Hollywood, supergroup Deadland Ritual (Black Sabbath, Stevie Stevens, Guns N Roses, Apocalyptica members) have shared a new single. Jam out to ‘Broken and Bruised’ right now!Continue reading
Ozzy Osbourne is home recuperating from illness and injury that has derailed his solo farewell tour, the No More Tours 2” Tour. Now Ozzy has clearly been thinking about how Black Sabbath ended their farewell tour and wishes it ended differently. He now says drummer Bill Ward should have been a part of it stating “it should have been the four of us ending it”. In a new interview with Kerrang!, Osbourne noted, “I didn’t like the fact that Bill Ward wasn’t there, for a start. People put that down to me, but it wasn’t me, honestly. We didn’t have the f*cking time to hang around, we had to get going, but I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Bill. Hopefully, this starts the ball rolling for even one final show with Bill, which would be great. The band has officially said they will never tour again but are open to special festivals and one-off concerts. In addition to Ozzy’s solo career, Ward is working on a solo album, art projects and has a podcast, Tony Iommi is making a new solo album with Dr. Brian May of Queen, and Geezer Butler has a new band, rock supergroup Deadland Ritual. Continue reading
Tronos is a side-project born of many late-night conversations between the two of the more prolific creative forces in underground metal, Napalm Death legend Shane Embury and legendary producer Russ Russell. Joining them is the equally talented Dirk Verbeuren on drums, Billy Gould, Troy Sanders and Dan Lilker on bass and vocals by Snake from Voivod – there’s no shortage of talent on display here. Continue reading
Slipknot, by Evil Robb Photography
Following the news that Guns N Roses will be a headliner at Louder Than Life 2019, the fest has announced its full lineup and tickets are on sale now at the link below! Slipknot, Staind, Disturbed, A Day To Remember, Ice Cube, Marilyn Manson, Chevelle, I Prevail, Architects, Beartooth, Philip Anselmo & The Illegals, The Crystal Method, Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes, Godsmack, Halestorm, Dropkick Murphys, Stone Temple Pilots, Suicidal Tendencies, Melvins, Breaking Benjamin, Die Antwoord, Three Days Grace, Sum 41, Geezer Butler’s new band Deadland Ritual, Amigo The Devil and many more on officially on the bill. The fest takes place at Highland Festival Grounds At KY Expo Center on Friday, September 27, Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29. Continue reading
Rock Supergroup Deadland Ritual, which features bassist Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), vocalist Franky Perez (Apocalyptica, Scars on Broadway), drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) and guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) have added two additional UK dates to their European tour in June 2019. Deadland Ritual promises the live shows will be something special, mixing the original material with deeper cuts from their collective past. “Not the typical songs you would expect,” according to Matt Sorum. Continue reading
Black Sabbath in 1970, photo by Warner Brothers Records
Hall of Famers and founders of Heavy Metal and all of its subgenres, Black Sabbath was honored in their hometown of Birmingham UK today with a “Heavy Metal” bench. Tony Iommi was on hand for the ceremony organized by Westside Business Improvement District. The handmade, stainless steel bench was forged in the city by Gateway Steel Fabrications and features images of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward with the words “Geezer. Ozzy. Tony. Bill. Made in Birmingham 1968” etched on it. The bench’s artwork was created by Egyptian artist Tarek Abdelkawi. The presentation took place at St Luke’s Church on Gas Street. The event also saw Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward awarded with his own star on the city’s Walk Of Stars, which honors famous people from Birmingham. According to BBC News, the bench, the idea of “super-fan” and architect Mohammed Osam, was put on the renamed Black Sabbath Bridge over the canal on Broad Street.
Deadland Ritual a new heavy rock supergroup featuring absolute legends like bassist Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), vocalist Franky Perez (Apocalyptica, Scars on Broadway), drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) and guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) has dropped a new video and single. The track ‘Down In Flames’ is out now via Sonik Riot Recordings / AWAL powered by Kobalt to buy and stream. Continue reading