FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Open Air Part 2 – Live at Catton Hall


 

SATURDAY:

After I visit the bust of Lemmy in the RAM Gallery, Brazilian death metallers Crypta are in full flow on the main stage, tearing through the likes of Lift the Blindfold” and “From the Ashes”, casually stripping away any vestiges of third-day fatigue. And if that wasn’t the perfect wake-up call, then there”s always Bay Area thrashers Forbidden who blast through the likes of “Forbidden Evil,” “Twisted Into Form,” and “Step By Step” aided by summer recruit Dan “Chewy” Mongrain of Voivod. A great show, although a time overrun means we are deprived of the classic “Chalice of Blood.”Continue reading


FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Open Air Part 1 – Live at Catton Hall


 

THURSDAY

It”s August and raining, but nobody cares because we’re home again. Yes, for the next few days (and for some early birds, the previous 24hrs), Catton Hall in Derbyshire has become the focal point of the true metal community as fans converge on Bloodstock Open Air for their annual dose of hard drinking and unholy hangovers.Continue reading


Funko to Release a New POP! Rocks Vinyl Figure of Ozzy Osbourne from The Late Eighties


Funko, the global sensation of popular vinyl collectible toys company will soon release a new POP! Rocks! Vinyl Collectable figure of recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Heavy Metal singer for Black Sabbath, and solo artist – Ozzy Osbourne! The latest Ozzy figure, styled from 1989, joins the list of other artists who have gotten the Pop! Rocks treatment includes Slipknot, N.W.A., Kiss, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Prince, Rob Zombie, FFDP, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Green Day, PanterA, Dee Snider, Frank Zappa, Judas Priest, a set of the guys in Twizted, Glow in The Dark Iron Maiden figures, and many more. The Funko brand, which sells other figures and licensed merchandise, went public with an IPO in 2018.  

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PREVIEW: Record Store Day 2024 Essential Rock, Metal and Punk Releases 


Another Record Store Day is upon us and we are still to bring you our pretty comprehensive list of what releases we think you should be picking up, and labels you ought to support. We get that commercialism and capitalism a kind of destroying the whole world, but at the same time if you love music, and if you especially love underground music, you want to support artists as hardcore as possible. The best way to do that is to put money in their pockets so they can keep doing what you love, and what they love. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: High On Fire – Cometh The Storm


Six years (where did that time go?) after their Grammy award-winning album Electric Messiah, comes High On Fire’s latest effort Cometh The Storm (MNRK heavy). Gone is the ferocious, Thrash-like assault of the last album, replacing it is their trademark sludgy, Stoner Metal, but with a broadened palette. Can this record live up to its revered predecessor? Continue reading


Plans For a Statue of Lemmy of Motörhead in His Hometown of Burslem, UK Are Approved and Moving Forward


Initially started with idea from a die-hard fan, a 3 meters (Editor’s note: 8+ feet for you non-metric system using readers) statute in the likeness of Metal legend Lemmy of  Motörhead, by renowned sculptor Andy Edwards will proceed with the blessing of the town of Burslem, UK. Although Lemmy, who passed away in late 2015 ,lived for the last 45 years of his life in Hollywood, the statue will be erected at Burslem’s Market Place, near Lemmy’s birthplace. Andy Edwards has created countless commissions, including The Beatles statue on Liverpool’s Pier Head, and will use real clay from Burslem town to make the statue. The concerns centered around “good-natured but potentially incident-generating attention.” To combat those challenges, and possible defacement other statues have suffered, the artist has agreed to raise the statue’s plinth from 2.5 meters to 3 meters, ensuring a more respectful and secure placement. This will be the third monument in the world to lemmy following the bronze statue at The Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles, Lemmy’s favorite hangout, and Clisson, France at Hellfest in 2022. Donate to the GoFundMe, launched with a goal of raising £50,000, and check out the artists’ conception video below. Continue reading


PODCAST: The Weekly Ritual Rock and Metal News Show Live 2-16-24


Catch up on what you missed this week in the world of Rock and Metal news with our show! Continue reading


Remembering Ian Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead Who Died Eight Years Ago


Eight years on since Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, world-renowned frontman and bassist of Motörhead and other projects died just days after his 70th birthday, it still hurts. A lot. The monumental shadow he cast over the music world, since he passed is evident by the constant tribute and rightful amount of worship. Lemmy had just celebrated his life with a huge birthday party in his adopted home of Los Angeles in 2015 when he received a fatal diagnosis of prostate cancer along with cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure. He passed just two days later. He toured just like he lived, hard and right up until the end.  In the time since he passed away, there have been countless tributes, awards, stages at festivals cover songs, a statue at his favorite bar The Rainbow on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, and his signature drink, The Jack And Coke was even renamed The Lemmy permanently by the beverage industry. There have been many tributes to Lem and Motorhead and new things with Lemmy are still coming out all the time, such as his long lost duet with Ozzy on “Hellrazer” in 2021, new boxed sets, live albums, and hopefully one day, the Lemmy solo album that was in the works when he passed. Check out some great Lemmy music, some interviews Ghost Cult has done, with tributes to Lemmy, and some other bands paying respect over the years.  Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Duff McKagan – Lighthouse


 

Duff McKagan is an interesting character. Having released his first solo album in 1993, a big gap followed till 2019’s Tenderness, with Lighthouse (BFD Records /Orchard/Sony) his third. This of course is but a fraction of McKagan’s musical story. Consistently coming across as the most likeable out of the classic Guns N’ Roses lineup (in which he played bass and for his part was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), such a rock pedigree is already more than most mere mortals would ever get a sniff at. 

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