
METALLICA Plays Career-Spanning Set At First 40th-Anniversary Show At San Francisco's Chase Center (Video)
METALLICA played the first of two shows celebrating its 40th anniversary last night (Friday, December 17) at San Francisco, California’s Chase Center.
While in-person tickets were available exclusively to members of the group’s Fifth Member fan club, METALLICA fans across the globe were able to view the performance live from home or on mobile via Amazon Music, Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, and Prime Video (with or without Prime on-demand viewing membership). The show — along with tomorrow night’s (Sunday, December 19) gig at the same venue — will then be made available exclusively at The Coda Collection/Prime Video channel for subsequent viewing.
As of a week ago, limited tickets for Friday night’s show were going for between $757 and $1,457 via Ticketmaster, while tickets for Sunday’s concert were going for at least $582, with several higher-priced tiers.
The setlist for the December 17 concert was as follows:
01. The Ecstasy Of Gold (intro)
02. Hit The Lights
03. Creeping Death
04. Trapped Under Ice
05. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
06. Orion
07. The Shortest Straw
08. One
09. Sad But True
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. King Nothing
12. Fixxxer (live debut)
13. Breadfan
14. No Leaf Clover
15. Frantic
16. The Day That Never Comes
17. Spit Out The Bone
The 40th-anniversary shows see METALLICA return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 “S&M²” concerts that also served as the venue’s grand opening. It was impossible not to notice that fans from more than 60 countries traveled to the City by the Bay and completely took over San Francisco for “S&M²” weekend. That outpouring of positive vibes from around the world inspired METALLICA to invite those Fifth Members back — and this time, in addition to the two shows at Chase Center, METALLICA is curating other live music and comedy events, Blackened Whiskey tastings, and so much more all around the city during the long four-day weekend of celebrations starting on Thursday, December 16.
Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band’s several multi-platinum albums include “Kill ‘Em All”, “Ride The Lightning”, “Master Of Puppets”, “… And Justice For All”, “Metallica” (commonly referred to as The Black Album), “Load”, “Reload”, “St. Anger”, “Death Magnetic” and “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.
METALLICA’s awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.
Read more »
Watch MACHINE HEAD's ROBB FLYNN And JARED MACEACHERN Perform METALLICA Covers In Honor Of 40th Anniversary
MACHINE HEAD’s Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern held the latest “Electric Happy Hour” earlier today (Friday, December 17) during which they performed a “handful” of METALLICA covers — including “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, “Damage, Inc.” and “No Remorse” — in honor of the legendary band’s 40th anniversary. You can now watch the session below.
Back in 2011, Flynn spoke to Revolver magazine about how MACHINE HEAD got to open for METALLICA on the “Death Magnetic” tour. “To me, one of the raddest things in the world was touring with METALLICA and watching ‘Master of Puppets’ — not ‘Enter Sandman’,” he said. “I get why ‘Enter Sandman’ is so frickin’ huge, but to watch ‘Master Of Puppets’, this eight-minute song with a million parts in the middle of it with complicated choruses and off-time rhythms, to watch arenas every night sing every fuckin’ word, that was amazing. There’s this whole other part of music that can be well-written and well-constructed that can be somewhere over here [points away from him] and still translate to millions of fuckin’ people.
He added, “It’s amazing to see how passionate those dudes still are about music. They don’t have to give a shit about music at this point. They don’t have to care about other bands. They’re fucking METALLICA. But there were times when I’d sit there and talk to Lars [Ulrich] or [James] Hetfield and listen to them geek out on a band. Lars and I went and saw THE SWORD, and he’s singing every word and doing air guitar to all the right parts. I’m like, ‘You know every fucking word to THE SWORD’s songs?'”
Flynn also spoke about having one of his musical idols, James Hetfield, join MACHINE HEAD on stage on May 16, 2009 and May 17, 2009 in Oberhausen and Cologne, Germany, respectively, to perform the song “Aethetics Of Hate”, taken from MH’s 2007 album, “The Blackening”. According to Robb, the jam came about when Hetfield walked into MACHINE HEAD’s dressing room and the two started talking. When Hetfield noticed there was an electronic drum kit set up in the corner of the dressing room, Hetfield took a seat behind the kit.
“He said, ‘Do you know any ‘TALLICA?'” Flynn said. “I’m like, ‘Do I know any METALLICA?! Fuckin’ call it.’ So we did ‘Master Of Puppets’. Then he goes, ‘Do you know any MAIDEN?’ And I’m like, ‘Fuckin’ ‘Wrathchild’. And then I realize, ‘Oh my God, I’m jamming with Hetfield and he’s on the fuckin drums, playing it killer.’ Then he says, ‘Let’s jam [MACHINE HEAD’s] ‘Aesthetics Of Hate’.’ I’m like, ‘You know ‘Aesthetics Of Hate’ on the drums?’ He knew every fuckin’ drum beat, every part, and that ain’t an easy song to play. While we’re playing, Dave [McClain, then-MACHINE HEAD drummer] comes in and goes, ‘He’s playing my drum parts. This is amazing!’ To see a band at that level and think, ‘Wow, man, those dudes are still fans. They still love music’ is kind of a revelation. But I mean, I don’t know why I didn’t know [they still loved metal]. I think I might have thought they’d be different now because they’re huge and they’re METALLICA.”
Read more »
Watch LARS ULRICH's Sons Play TAIPEI HOUSTON Concert At METALLICA's 'San Francisco Takeover'
TAIPEI HOUSTON, the new band featuring Myles and Layne Ulrich, sons of METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, performed last night (Thursday, December 16) at the August Hall in San Francisco, California.
Fan-filmed video of the concert, which was part of a series of METALLICA’s “San Francisco Takeover” events to help mark the group’s 40th anniversary, can be seen below.
TAIPEI HOUSTON played its first show in September at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach, California.
Since joining Instagram in August, TAIPEI HOUSTON has already amassed 12,600 followers.
Back in April 2020, Lars posted a video of Myles and Layne’s blistering take on THE BEATLES classic “Eleanor Rigby”. At the time, he described their rendition to Rolling Stone as “this insane, three-minute BLUE CHEER, crazy, garage-rock version of ‘Eleanor Rigby’.
“Obviously, there’s been some incredible versions of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ along the way, but I’m pretty sure there’s never been one that had this kind of sound, this kind of feel, this kind of energy and madness to it,” he said. “I was, like, ‘You know what, boys? You done me proud.'”
23-year-old Myles, who plays drums, has spent time at Berklee College Of Music, while 20-year-old Layne, who plays bass and sings, studied at NYU.
Lars had Myles and Layne with former wife Skylar Satenstein. He also has another son, 14-year-old Bryce, with “Gladiator” actress Connie Nielsen.
Lars and model Jessica Miller got engaged in July 2013 and married two years later. It is the third marriage for Lars, who was previously married to Debbie Jones and Satenstein.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Taipei Houston (@taipei_houston)
Read more »
For Those About Squawk: Waldo Pecks on Kreator, Phenocryst and Mad Butcher
The peckins are slim this time of year, but our boy Waldo takes on some cool reissues and some underground death metal.
The post For Those About Squawk: Waldo Pecks on Kreator, Phenocryst and Mad Butcher appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

TED NUGENT Says He Sent A Copy Of His New Single 'Come And Take It' To JOE BIDEN
Last month, Ted Nugent released the official lyric video for his new song “Come And Take It”. The track will appear on Nugent’s recently completed new studio album called “Detroit Muscle”, which is due on April 29, 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018’s “The Music Made Me Do It” was recorded with Ted’s current band, which includes bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.
In a new interview with Kevin McKay of Florida’s 99 Rock WKSM radio station, Nugent stated about his new single (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “‘Come And Take It’ is a love song to the punks in our government who think that they have the right to infringe on our constitutionally guaranteed, God-given individual freedoms. So I sent them a love song. In fact, I sent a copy of ‘Come And Take It’ to [U.S. president] Joe Biden and [Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. representative from El Paso] Beto O’Rourke. And I said, ‘If you’re gonna infringe on our Second Amendment, start with me.'”
Nugent, who is the national spokesman for pro-hunting lobbying group Hunter Nation, went on to say that “people love” “Come And Take It”. “I think it really represents the heartbeat, the pulse, the heartbreak, really, of thoughtful, critical-thinking Americans,” he explained. “Which, by the way, if you’re not a critical thinker, you should probably move to Cuba where you’re not allowed to be. Critical-thinking Americans that are rock solid in the asset column love this song — they love me, they love freedom, they love defiance, they love my middle finger on fire.”
In recent months, Nugent has been selling hats emblazoned with the words “Come And Take It”, a slogan which originated in the Texas Revolution in 1835 and is now used as a symbol of gun-rights advocates and the NRA.
“Come And Take It” lyrics:
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Go ahead and try go ahead and die
Come and take it
Welcome back to the Concord bridge
Don’t you even try it, don’t you tread on me
You can do or die it in the land of the free
Come and take it
Come and take it
No more kings, no tyrants, no more jackboot thugs
We will unleash violence for the freedom that we love
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Go ahead and try go ahead and die
Come and take it
Welcome back to the Concord bridge
Come and take it
Go ahead and try go ahead and die
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it
Come and take it [End of lyrics]
Nugent, who recently resigned from the board of the National Rifle Association (NRA) after 26 years, has called Donald Trump “the greatest president in our lifetime.” He also said the billionaire real estate mogul represents “the heart and soul of the best American families out there.”
Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, Nugent teamed up with Donald Trump Jr. on the campaign trail.
Nugent, known as the “Motor City Madman,” moved to Texas from Michigan more than 18 years ago.
Read more »
Watch Pro-Shot Video Of ANN WILSON Singing QUEEN, THE WHO, AEROSMITH And LED ZEPPELIN Classics
Professionally filmed video of HEART’s Ann Wilson and her solo band THE AMAZING DAWGS performing covers of classic songs by QUEEN, John Lennon, THE WHO, AEROSMITH and LED ZEPPELIN on August 18, 2021 at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire can be seen below.
Four months ago, Wilson and THE AMAZING DAWGS released a live EP called “Howlen Live”. Joining Ann in the group are Tom Bukovac on lead guitar, Tony Lucido on bass, Paul Moak on guitar and keyboards, and Sean Lane on drums.
In April, Ann released another new single, “Black Wing”. It is one of several songs the HEART frontwoman recorded in the fall of 2020 in Seattle with the help of local musicians, including current HEART bassist Andy Stoller and keyboardist Dan Walker. In addition to “Black Wing”, Wilson recorded “Tender Heart” as well as covers of Steve Earle’s “The Revolution Starts Now” and ALICE IN CHAINS’ “Rooster”, all three of which have been released as singles, plus another original, “The Hammer”, which came out in February.
Earlier in the year, Ann said in an interview that there are no plans for HEART to work on new music in the immediate future.
HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after a nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.
Ann’s 2018 solo album, “Immortal”, contained cover versions of classic songs by artists who have passed away.
Read more »
ICED EARTH's JON SCHAFFER Shares First Instagram Post In A Year
ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer has apparently returned to social media, just days after he was sued by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine in an effort to recover the millions of dollars the city spent to defend the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 attack.
Earlier today (Friday, December 17), the official ICED EARTH Instagram account shared its first post in a year — an advertisement for the band’s official merchandise store.
The social media activity comes three days after a lawsuit was filed n federal court in Washington, D.C. accusing 31 members of the extremist groups Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys — including Schaffer — of “conspiring to terrorize the District” on January 6, calling their actions “a coordinated act of domestic terrorism.” According to CNN, the lawsuit cites the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a federal law created after the Civil War to protect civil rights and, as Racine noted, “to protect against vigilantes and insurrectionists.”
“I think the damages are substantial,” Racine told The Washington Post. “If it so happens that it bankrupts or puts these individuals and entities in financial peril, so be it.”
The 84-page complaint, which can be found at this location, describes Schaffer as “a founding, lifetime member of the Oath Keepers.” It goes on to say: “Schaffer was criminally charged and indicted for his role in perpetrating the January 6th Attack. In connection with a promise to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in criminal cases related to the conspiracy to commit the January 6th Attack, Schaffer pleaded guilty to the entire Statement of Offense in the criminal action brought against him, which included two felony offenses: (1) trespass of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon and (2) obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress. The Criminal Complaint filed against Schaffer—as well as Schaffer’s Plea Agreement and the accompanying Statement of Offense describing his conduct—are publicly available documents that are hereby incorporated into the Complaint by reference.”
“No one bore the brunt of this gutless attack more than the courageous law enforcement officers including the men and women of the DC Metropolitan Police Department who went into the fire and violence with one objective in mind: remove the violent mob and restore our country’s fragile democracy,” Racine said at a news conference.
“The defendants, as you know, were not tourists, nor were they acting patriotically,” he added. “They were vigilantes, members of a mob, insurrectionists who sought to crush our country’s freedoms.”
As part of his April 2021 plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.
Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term.
In his plea agreement, Schaffer acknowledged that on January 6, 2021 he was in Washington to attend the “Stop The Steal” rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election, which he believed were fraudulent. Schaffer wore a tactical vest and carried bear spray, a dangerous weapon and chemical irritant used to ward off bears. When the rally finished, Schaffer joined a large crowd that marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice President Michael Pence, was in session to certify the electoral college vote results. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., members of the mob forced entry into the Capitol building, disrupting the joint session and causing members of Congress and the Vice President to be evacuated from the House and Senate chambers.
In his plea agreement, Schaffer admitted that after arriving on Capitol grounds, he walked past barriers intended to restrict access to the public and to a set of locked doors on the Capitol’s west side. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Schaffer positioned himself at the front of a crowd that broke open a set of doors being guarded by four U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers wearing riot gear. Schaffer admitted to being among the first individuals to push past the damaged doors and into the Capitol building, forcing officers to retreat. Schaffer and others advanced toward five or six backpedaling USCP officers while members of the mob swelled inside of the Capitol and overwhelmed the officers. The officers ultimately deployed a chemical irritant to disperse the mob. Schaffer was among the people who were sprayed in the face, after which he exited while holding his own bear spray in his hands.
After pleading guilty, Schaffer was released on the following conditions:
* Schaffer must submit to court supervision in the Northem Dlstrict of Indiana.
* Schaffer will surrender his passport and any other international travel documents.
* Must stay outside of D.C. except for court hearings and meetings with attorneys.
* Will be permitted to travel within the continental United States with notice to pretrial services.
* Schaffer cannot possess any firearms or explosive devices, including legally owned firearms. Any firearms must be removed from his home.
As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer’s assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.
Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.
The 53-year-old musician was the first Capitol riot defendant to reach a plea deal.
The Indiana chapter of the Oath Keepers distanced itself from Schaffer after his arrest, claiming he was not a member of the local group. But the national organization, which sells lifetime memberships for $1,200, has not commented on his alleged affiliation with the group.
At a November 2020 Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., Schaffer was videotaped walking behind a Florida couple, Kelly Meggs and Connie Meggs, who were accused of being among 10 members of the Oath Keepers to have played a leading role in the Capitol assault. According to federal authorities, Kelly and Connie Meggs plotted for weeks ahead of the attack, attended training sessions and recruited others. Kelly Meggs is the head of the Oath Keepers’ chapter in Florida.
Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer’s relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Icedearthofficial (@icedearth_official)
Read more »
Five For Friday: Black Metal 2021
Here are five great black metal albums that came out this year, featuring Hulder, Ninkharsag, Spectral Wound and more!
The post Five For Friday: Black Metal 2021 appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

MAX CAVALERA Says He Harbors No Bitterness Toward Current SEPULTURA Lineup: 'I Really Don't Care'
Max Cavalera says that his collaboration with his brother Igor Cavalera is “the only thing” that “sounds close” to the classic lineup of their former band SEPULTURA.
The Brazilian four-piece fell apart in 1996 with the exit of Max after the rest of the band split with the vocalist/guitarist’s wife Gloria as their manager. Igor, who plays drums, stuck around with the group for another ten years before leaving SEPULTURA and re-teaming with Max in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY.
Although SEPULTURA has maintained a diehard fanbase in all parts of the world throughout the band’s nearly four-decade history, Max-era albums “Roots” and “Chaos A.D.” were by far SEPULTURA’s most commercially successful, having both been certified gold in the U.S. for sales in excess of five hundred thousand copies.
Asked in a new interview with “General Population With Marco Lesher” what he thinks of his replacement in SEPULTURA, vocalist Derrick Green, Max said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It doesn’t bother me. It is what it is. At the end of the day, the fans know what the band was and what it is now, the difference [between the two]. And I really don’t care. I’m not bitter. They do what they do; I do what I do. It’s been like that for a long time now. But you can’t touch the classics; those records that we did [in the 1980s and 1990s]. It still goes, but it is what it is.
“If you wanna really hear something that sounds close to what it was, you have to come see me and Igor play,” he added. “That’s the only thing that is gonna be close to what it was, to that time.”
Igor and Max have spent much of the last six years celebrating the 20th anniversary of SEPULTURA’s “Roots” and 30th anniversary of “Beneath The Remains” and “Arise” albums on tour all over the world.
Last year, SEPULTURA bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. said that he has had “zero” contact with Max, adding that a reunion with the band’s original frontman would have to happen “naturally.”
Back in 2017, Igor Cavalera told The Salt Lake Tribune that he and Max “believe SEPULTURA doesn’t really make sense nowadays, to do what they’re doing.” The drummer also downplayed the possibility of a reunion of SEPULTURA’s classic lineup, saying: “Unless it’s something really solid — and we haven’t seen that from their part — of doing something totally professional and coming together, trying to do something like that. At the end of the day, it would be special for the fans, so it’s not like a closed door, but at the same time, we have no time to spend energy with this kind of thing. So we just move forward.”
Max echoed his brother’s sentiments, telling The Salt Lake Tribune that he doesn’t even think about his former bandmates much. “For a time — for a long time — there was a war in the press, like, ‘He’ll talk this, I’ll talk that,'” he explained. “I got really tired of it, honestly. I’m not gonna do that anymore. So let them go their way and do their thing, and we’re gonna do our thing, and I think that’s the best for everybody.”
While stopping short of completely ruling out a reunion of SEPULTURA’s classic lineup, Max said: “Right now, we don’t even need it. It’s been so much of that kind of bad vibes through the years that I don’t even know how that would even really work out. I think what [Igor and I] are doing is the closest thing to that, and it works great, it works like a charm. It’s amazing.”
SEPULTURA’s current lineup — Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande — released its latest album, “Quadra”, in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Read more »