Suki Benjamin

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Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen denies Aimee Mann was dropped from support slot due to gender

Steely Dan‘s Donald Fagen has denied that Aimee Mann was dropped from the band’s forthcoming summer tour due to her gender. Earlier this week, Mann shared a comic strip on her Instagram account which depicted the singer-songwriter performing onstage. “I was supposed to open for Steely Dan this summer,” she wrote in the comic. “I just found out that they took me off the bill,” she continued. “No-one is entirely sure why, but it seems they thought their audience wouldn’t like a female singer-songwriter? As it happens, Steely Dan is the one band that I 100% love, with no reservations, so it really sucks.” Advertisement Now, in a statement to Rolling Stone, Fagen has denied that was the reason for Mann being pulled from the tour. “First of all, the idea that I would make any decision based on the gender of a performer is ridiculous. That’s something that would never even occur to me.” Fagen also pointed out that female singer-songwriters including Phoebe Snow and Rickie Lee Jones had previously opened for the band. “There was a communication problem on our end. I was misinformed as to how firm the commitment was to any particular opening act. And, although I… Read More →

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SEVENTEEN’s The8 drops wistful music video for new single ‘海城 (Hai Cheng)’

SEVENTEEN member The8 has unveiled the music video for his brand-new Chinese-language single, ‘海城 (Hai Cheng)’. READ MORE: SEVENTEEN look back on their “unforgettable” 2021: “It made us reflect upon how we’ve been taking things for granted” The clip starts with The8 returning home, before he walks around the living room reminiscing the memories that took place in that space. Elsewhere in the video, the K-pop idol also dances with a love interest on the beach. “The day winter comes / People’s smiles are concealed by their scarves / I long to become a ray of light and caress her face / When blossoms bloom expressions,” The8 croons longingly on the chorus. Advertisement Titled after Hai Cheng City, the singer’s hometown in China’s Liaoning province, ‘海城 (Hai Cheng)’ marks The8’s first solo track of 2022, following last April’s ‘Side By Side’, which was released in both Korean and Chinese. The accompanying music video for that song also featured cameos by fellow SEVENTEEN members DK, Dino and Jun. That project had been the follow-up to his 2020 single ‘Falling Down’, which itself came a year after he dropped his debut solo track ‘Dreams Come True’. In other SEVENTEEN news, Pledis Entertainment confirmed yesterday… Read More →

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Lil Nas X says new album is “close to finished” and shares new music clip

Lil Nas X has said his new album is “close to finished” when responding to a fan about new music on social media. READ MORE: Lil Nas X – ‘Montero’ review: ‘Old Town Road’ prankster makes his case as a Serious Artist Yesterday (March 16), Lil Nas X returned to Twitter for the first time since December and shared two new screenshots of new songs, as well as a lengthy clip of new music. The new songs on the screenshots were titled ‘Late To The Party’ featuring NBA YoungBoy, while the other is called ‘Down Souf Hoes’ and features Saucy Santana. Lil Nas X asked fans “which one y’all want first?” Advertisement Sharing a clip of a new song, he added: “Who y’all think i should get on this?” You can see the tweets here: which one y’all want first? pic.twitter.com/FACOFat6uz — MONTERO ? (@LilNasX) March 16, 2022 nah new album close to finished https://t.co/RQXZ2JqVq0 — MONTERO ? (@LilNasX) March 16, 2022 who y’all think i should get on this? pic.twitter.com/8rIxxEcwrN — MONTERO ? (@LilNasX) March 17, 2022 Earlier this year, Lil Nas X opened up about coming out in an interview with CBS. Advertisement The rapper and singer came out as… Read More →

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Alissic shares alt-pop summer anthem ‘Superstitious’

Alissic has shared her third single, a brand new track called ‘Superstitious’ – you can watch the song’s video below. READ MORE: Alissic tells us about emotional new single ‘Piano’ and working with Oli Sykes The Brazilian-born, Sheffield-based avant-pop singer returns with her first new material since last October’s ‘Piano’, which itself followed her debut single ‘Like’. ‘Superstitious’ is a hypnotic, alt-pop ode to the summer, and it’s the first track Alissic has released to feature some vocals in her native Brazilian tongue. Advertisement “It makes me feel warm and like home with its Latin American influence,” Alissic said of the single. “The super spacey and lush sound in the pre-chorus gives it a really ethereal vibe. It feels like you are crafting a spell, when you talk about female intuition it means you are intune with yourself and the universe, and I wanted to reflect that in the sound.” A video for the new track was filmed in the Isle Of Dogs and was worked on alongside her husband, Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes. It conjures a dreamlike atmosphere and haunting nod to the classic 1920s horror movie Nosferatu. In addition to Alissic and Sykes, the video was directed by… Read More →

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Machine Gun Kelly and Bring Me The Horizon team up on new track, ‘maybe’

Machine Gun Kelly has teamed up with Bring Me The Horizon for his latest release – listen to ‘maybe’ below. READ MORE: Bring Me The Horizon at the BandLab NME Awards 2022: thrilling metal maximalism MGK and Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes first debuted the new song in LA on March 4 during an appearance at long-running club night, Emo Nite, at the Avalon in Hollywood. Fan-shot footage showed Kelly and Sykes on stage at the event as an unreleased song played over the PA. The pair sang along to parts of the song, which includes lines such as: “I think I’m broken, nothing can fix me” and “Made up my mind this evening, I’m taking the last, I’m taking the last.” Advertisement You can listen to the new song below. The rapper-turned-pop-punk star will release his new album on March 25 and has already shared the collaborations ‘Ay’ with Lil Wayne and ‘Emo Girl’ with Willow Smith. Elsewhere on the album, SNL comedian Pete Davidson will appear on an interlude, while other guests include Blackbear, Gunna, iann dior and Young Thug. See the full list of features and tracklist for ‘Mainstream Sellout’ below. 1. ‘born with horns’ 2. ‘god save me’ 3…. Read More →

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Listen to Rosalía’s intimate new single ‘Hentai’

Rosalía has shared a new song called ‘Hentai’ – you can listen to it below. READ MORE: Rosalía at Somerset House review – the making of a new kind of megastar The track serves as the latest preview of the Spanish singer-songwriter’s third studio album, ‘Motomami’, which comes out this Friday (March 18). It follows on from previous singles ‘La Fama’, ‘Saoko’ and last month’s ‘Chicken Teriyaki’. Beginning as a delicate piano-led ballad, ‘Hentai’ later introduces rapid-fire electronic beats as Rosalía delivers the ecstatic refrain: “So, so, so, so, so, so good/ Good, good, so, so, so good/ So, so, so good, so, so, so good/ So good, hmm.” Advertisement The song arrives with an intimate, Mitch Ryan-directed official video that sees the singer riding on a bucking bronco in a sun-kissed field before lying on a bed in the middle of a bullring. You can watch the visuals here: Rosalía previously teased ‘Hentai’ on TikTok along with another new cut, ‘Candy’. They were both confirmed to be on ‘Motomami’ last month when the artist shared the record’s cover artwork and tracklist. Speaking to Rolling Stone last November, she described the upcoming LP as “the most personal and confessional album that… Read More →

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NCT’s Taeyong launches personal YouTube channel with new song, ‘Lonely’

NCT member Taeyong has launched his own YouTube channel, ‘TY Track’, with the release of the song ‘Lonely’. READ MORE: GOT The Beat on working together for the first time: “We had great chemistry from the start” Yesterday (March 15), the K-pop idol unveiled the performance video for this brand-new solo song ‘Lonely’, which features vocals from K-indie singer Suran. The song include lyrics solely written by Taeyong, who also co-composed the track with Royal Dive. Advertisement On March 14, the idol took to NCT’s official Twitter account to reveal that he would be starting his own YouTube channel. “We can’t see each other often these days, so I hope this can be a small gift for you,” he wrote to fans in Korean and English. On track for something new! TY TRACK COMING SOON? Hello, everyone. This is TAEYONG. We can't see each other often these days, so I hope this can be a small gift for you. I'm going to open my YouTube channel! See you soon, everyone! #TAEYONG #TY_TRACK#NCT #NCT127 — NCT (@NCTsmtown) March 14, 2022 Shortly after, Taeyong uploaded a quick introduction to his channel. “Hi guys, this is Taeyong. Today, I have something I want… Read More →

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EXO’s Kai tests positive for COVID-19

EXO member Kai has been diagnosed with COVID-19. READ MORE: Kai: “To me what’s important is my feelings, my emotions” On March 15, SM Entertainment released a statement sharing that the idol had contracted the coronavirus. According to the agency, Kai had previously received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. “He has currently halted all activities and is undergoing home treatment in accordance with the guidelines of the disease control authorities,” wrote the agency, per Soompi. “We will thoroughly comply with the guidelines of the disease control authorities and do our best so that [Kai] can focus on recovery.” Advertisement Kai’s diagnosis is the latest in a wave of infections affecting the South Korean entertainment industry as the nation grapples with a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Several other idols and entertainers, including members of Red Velvet, BLACKPINK, ASTRO and more have tested positive in recent weeks. Prior to this announcement, Kai was set to perform at KPOP.FLEX, an upcoming K-pop festival that will take place in Germany in May. He is scheduled to take the stage on May 14, alongside acts like AB6IX, ENHYPEN, (G)I-DLE, IVE, MAMAMOO and NCT Dream. Last November, Kai made his return as a soloist with his second mini-album ‘Peaches’ and its lead single… Read More →

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Soyeon on (G)I-DLE’s new album ‘I Never Die’: “I made this album as if we were debuting again”

(G)I-DLE leader and producer Soyeon has opened up about her approach to the group’s newly-released studio album ‘I Never Die’. READ MORE: Weeekly lose their unique identity as they messily somersault to a new sound on ‘Ven Para’ At a press showcase for the girl group’s new album and single ‘Tomboy’ yesterday (March 14), the (G)I-DLE leader shared the thought process on the new record, which came over a year since the quintet’s last release. “Because we are coming back after such a long absence, I made this album as if we were debuting again,” said Soyeon, who wrote and co-composed over half the tracks on ‘I Never Die’, including its lead single. Advertisement “When I saw the five members, who have matured, I wondered what concept would best suit them, and focused on that throughout the process,” added the leader, who said that she had worked on the release with the goal of producing a “detailed and cool” album. Elsewhere during the showcase, the vocalists of (G)I-DLE spoke about rapping on the B-side track ‘My Bag’, for which they had dropped a special video prior to the album’s release. “This is the first song where [the whole group] raps,”… Read More →

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The Kills announce shows in Los Angeles and New York City

The Kills have announced details of two shows in California and New York this summer. Tickets will be on sale here. READ MORE: The Kills debut ‘Weed Killer’ video and tell us about B-sides and new music The English-American rock duo is set to play Los Angeles’ The Mayan on June 6 with opener L.A Witch before stopping at New York City’s Brooklyn Steel on June 10 where they’ll play with BODEGA. Tickets are on sale this Thursday (March 17) at 10am ET. Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart took to social media earlier today (March 14) to share the news with fans, tweeting “Guess what? We can’t wait to see you! xx Alison & Jamie” Guess what??? WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!!!! x x x Alison & Jamie pic.twitter.com/5qQQTd74sT — The Kills (@TheKills) March 14, 2022 Advertisement Back in 2020, The Kills spoke to NME about their career-spanning B-sides and rarities album ‘Little Bastards’ and how the pandemic paused their plans to record their first studio album since 2016’s ‘Ash And Ice’. “We were in the middle of making a new record when lockdown happened,” Hince told us. “I was in the headspace of ‘New music! Forward!’.” At the… Read More →

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Grimes says she was fired from working on promoting ‘Dune’ as an “influencer”

Grimes has claimed that she was fired from promoting Dune for Warner Bros as an “influencer”. Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi books came out last year and starred Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. READ MORE: ‘Dune’ review: desert-based blockbuster will scorch your senses Speaking to Vanity Fair for a new cover story, Grimes shared her love for Herbert’s books, and revealed that she had dreams of directing her own Dune adaptation. Advertisement She then went on to say that she was initially hired by Warner to promote the film via her social media following. “I was basically an influencer,” she explained. The Canadian singer and producer – real name Claire Boucher – then said that she was unexpectedly removed from the project, and says it was due to an infamous Instagram post of her posing while reading The Communist Manifesto. “There are things that are deeply not woke in the ‘Dune’ universe,” she added. paparazzi followed me 2 a shoot so I tried 2 think what I could do that would yield the most onion-ish possible headline and it worked haha pic.twitter.com/9w8pPwIFAq — ?????? (⌛️,⏳) ᚷᚱᛁᛗᛖᛋ (@Grimezsz) October 3, 2021 Speaking of her reaction to Villeneuve’s Dune, Grimes… Read More →

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Watch Jack Harlow and Drake give fan £15,300

Jack Harlow and Drake handed an unsuspecting fan $20,000 (£15,300) in cash while in Turks and Caicos – watch the video below. READ MORE: Kanye West and Drake live in Los Angeles: titans unite for a near-religious experience The pair have been spending time on the islands over the past week and posted the video on Drake’s Instagram yesterday (March 12). The accompanying caption on the post reads: “Me and Jack Harlow blessing the island on behalf of Stake. My fav thing in the world is to try and change someone’s day, week, month or year.” Advertisement “Alright what’s up? This is Drake, we’re here at Infinity Restaurant,” Drake said in the clip. “I’m with GQ Switzerland’s ‘Most Attractive Man of the Decade,’ Jack Harlow. And we’re gonna try to bless somebody’s life tonight.” They then bring Janardo Laporte, an entertainer at the Grace Bay Club, into the video, whose rendition of ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ “actually made me a little self-conscious,” Drake admits. “It’s better than the OG, I’m not gonna lie.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) The trio play roulette on the crypto gambling platform, Stake, after which Drake asks Laporte what… Read More →

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Watch Rosalía perform ‘Chicken Teriyaki’ and ‘La Fama’ in ‘SNL’ debut

Rosalía made her debut as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live yesterday (March 12) and performed new single ‘Chicken Teriyaki’ alongside her The Weeknd collaboration ‘La Fama’ – watch footage below. READ MORE: Rosalía at Somerset House review – the making of a new kind of megastar Released last month, ‘Chicken Teriyaki’ is the third song shared from Rosalía’s upcoming third album ‘Motomami’ which is out March 18. It follows previously released singles ‘La Fama‘ and ‘Saoko‘. After being introduced by Zoë Kravitz, Rosalía delivered a playful, confident performance of ‘Chicken Teriyaki’ backed by two dancers before a powerful, solo rendition of ‘La Fama’. Check out footage below: Advertisement While this was Rosalía’s first time as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, she has appeared on the show before. Last year, she performed ‘La Noche de Anoche’ with Bad Bunny. Earlier this year, Rosalía teased two new tracks, ‘Candy’ and ‘Hentai’, on TikTok. They were confirmed to be on ‘Motomami’ at the start of February, when Rosalía unveiled its cover art and tracklisting. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Rosalía revealed that her forthcoming LP is “the most personal and confessional album that I’ve made so far,” and… Read More →

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Pink Floyd and David Gilmour remove music from streaming services in Russia, Belarus

Pink Floyd and David Gilmour are removing their music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus to show their support for Ukraine. READ MORE: Ukrainian artists on the Russian crisis: “Now is the time to push for change” Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24. At the time of writing, the Russian invasion has killed at least 549 citizens, including 41 children. 957 civilians have also been injured. Pink Floyd have removed all their music from 1987 onwards to stand in solidarity with Ukraine, as is former lead singer Gilmour. Advertisement Writing on Twitter, Pink Floyd said: “To stand with the world in strongly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the works of Pink Floyd, from 1987 onwards, and all of David Gilmour’s solo recordings are being removed from all digital music providers in Russia an Belarus from today.” To stand with the world in strongly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the works of Pink Floyd, from 1987 onwards, and all of David Gilmour's solo recordings are being removed from all digital music providers in Russia and Belarus from today. pic.twitter.com/lTV7T3y29u — Pink… Read More →

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Streams of Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’ surge after release of ‘The Batman’

Streams of Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’ have surged following its inclusion in The Batman. The deep cut from Nirvana’s classic 1991 album ‘Nevermind’ has surged on steaming platforms according to initial reports from MRC Data (via Billboard). The song appears twice in the film and also appeared in trailers leading up to the film’s release. Advertisement According to the figures from MRC, ‘Something In The Way’ earned 3.1million on-demand official US streams in the first four days following the film’s release on March 4, an increase of 372,000 from the previous four days – or a 734 per cent increase. Between March 6-7, the song racked up 880,000 streams and then rose to 1.5million the following day. By March 8, the song had tallied 1.6million streams. The Batman director and writer Matt Reeves has explained how Robert Pattinson’s character was inspired by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain last year. Speaking about the inclusion of the song to Empire back in December, Reeves said: “That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. “So I started making this connection to… Read More →

The Coral – The Coral

Time has a way of smoothing the rough edges of songs, sanding down what was once shocking until it feels safe. Some moments are curiously resistant, though: The Beatles’ “Revolution”, say, its stinging fuzz still as unhealthily exciting as it must have been almost 54 years ago. ORDER NOW: Paul McCartney is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut The Coral’s “Skeleton Key”, too, has proved rather hardy: the first proper taste of their self-titled 2002 debut, it combined unhinged Beefheart clatter with shanty chants and a space-rock middle-eight seemingly beamed in from a post-Syd Floyd album. Oh, and a jokey disco-funk coda in which the band seem to shout-out kids TV series Byker Grove. The mixing of these elements isn’t noteworthy in itself, but the way the sextet managed to make the result feel so natural and cohesive certainly is. The Coral were in their late teens or early twenties by this point, and had been playing since the late ’90s, feverishly handing around music – Safe As Milk and Forever Changes were two big favourites – and joints. Alan Wills formed the Deltasonic label primarily to release their early stuff, and debut single “Shadows Fall” appeared… Read More →

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“Ground-breaking” new London venue Dockyards unveiled

Dockyards, a new open-air events space in London, is due to open its doors later this year. READ MORE: “We wanted togetherness and community”: how gigs came back with a bang in 2021 The venue comes from Broadwick Live, the group behind spaces like Printworks London, The Drumsheds and Depot at Mayfield, and is set to be a significant destination for year-round events. Located within Silvertown Quays on the bank of the River Thames, Dockyards spans over 400,000 sq ft. Organisers will be able to transform the venue’s backdrop as they see fit, whether that be for major international programmes or more local, home-grown talent. Advertisement In addition, as well as being used for music events, the space will be available for film production, cultural events, brand experiences and more. Bradley Thompson, Group Managing Director of Broadwick Live, said: “We’re really excited to open Dockyards, creating a new centre of cultural gravity for London in the heart of The Royal Docks. We are very pleased to reveal that Group Therapy Weekender London will be taking place at @DockyardsLondon, a new open-air destination. Accessible via The DLR, this is a brand new venue from our friends at @broadwicklive pic.twitter.com/eN4rkLBLTN — Above &… Read More →

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Alexisonfire announce first album in 13 years, ‘Otherness’

Alexisonfire have announced their first studio album in 13 years, ‘Otherness’ – listen to new track ‘Sweet Dreams Of Otherness’ below. The Canadian post-hardcore band’s most recent full-length effort, ‘Old Crows/Young Cardinals’, came out back in 2009 – two years before they announced that they were separating. They reunited for a number of live shows in 2015 and shared their first track in nine years, ‘Familiar Drugs’, in 2019. Advertisement Having been announced as part of the Slam Dunk Festival 2022 line-up, Alexisonfire have returned today (March 10) with news of their long-awaited fifth record. ‘Otherness’ is due to arrive on June 24 via Dine Alone – you can pre-order/pre-save it here. Speaking of the group’s explosive new single, lead singer George Pettit explained: “This song was largely Dallas’ [Green] brainchild, but over the course of writing this record it became more of a mission statement for the band. “It’s kind of about performance and embracing a newfound confidence in a state of peculiarity.” An animated accompanying video by actor/director Jay Baruchel (This Is The End, Random Acts Of Violence, How To Train Your Dragon) will premiere on Alexisonfire’s official YouTube channel at 11:15pm GMT tonight – check out the… Read More →

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My Chemical Romance add more North American dates to 2022 reunion tour

My Chemical Romance have added more North American dates to their upcoming 2022 reunion tour. The band had previously confirmed more than 25 dates to take place in the States and Canada this summer and autumn, including festival headline sets at Riot Fest, When We Were Young and more. READ MORE: My Chemical Romance live in Los Angeles: A triumphant, cathartic return Now, the reuniting emo band have added a further 14 arena shows to their itinerary, including 10 new cities. Tickets for the new shows will go on sale on Friday (March 11) at 12pm local time and will be available to purchase here. Advertisement My Chemical Romance have also shared a new tour trailer, which opens with a statue smashing among a pile of rubble and is soundtracked by grinding guitars. The new dates then roll up onto the screen. Watch it below now. MCR’s new tour dates are as follows: August 2022 20 – Oklahoma City, OK, Paycom Center 21 – San Antonio, TX, AT&T Center 23 – Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena 24 – Cincinatti, OH, Heritage Bank Center 26 – Raleigh, NC, PNC Arena 27 – Belmont Park, NY, UBS Arena September 2022 Advertisement 1 – Uncasville,… Read More →

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Rammstein are set to return with new music tomorrow

Rammstein are set to return to action tomorrow (March 10) by releasing a brand new song and music video. The German band are expected to release the follow-up to their 2019 album ‘Untitled’ later this year. READ MORE: Like the original’s, The Matrix Resurrections soundtrack should reflect our fragmented reality Rammstein shared a cryptic 30-second teaser clip on their social media channels yesterday (March 8) which appears to serve as a preview of their new music video. Advertisement The video, for a new song which is believed to be titled ‘Zeit’ (given the hashtag #ZEITkommt), will be released tomorrow at 4pm UK time (5pm CET) on the Rammstein website and the band’s YouTube channel. #ZEITkommt – 10.03. – 17:00 CET – https://t.co/GPAhPqGuPO pic.twitter.com/0MkuSYEQBu — Rammstein (@RSprachrohr) March 8, 2022 A release date for Rammstein’s next album has yet to be announced, but the record has already been delayed due to a reported paper shortage. As Metal Sucks reported last month, German composer and musical director Sven Helbig – who has contributed orchestral parts to the new album – revealed in a recent interview with Sachsische that a “lack of paper” has affected Rammstein’s release plans. “The band itself doesn’t know at the moment,” Helbig told the… Read More →

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John Frusciante was “deep into the occult” when he left Red Hot Chili Peppers

John Frusciante has spoken about the circumstances around his 2009 departure from Red Hot Chili Peppers, revealing that he was “deep into the occult” at the time. The guitarist has been in and out of the band since the late ’80s and last appeared on 2006’s ‘Stadium Arcadium’. Former tour understudy Josh Klinghoffer replaced Frusciante in 2009, appearing on 2011’s ‘I’m With You’ and 2016’s ‘The Getaway’. READ MORE: Red Hot Chili Peppers on the cover: “We feel fresh, like a new band” Frusciante has been writing and recording with the band for their new album ‘Unlimited Love’, and he’s now spoken to Classic Rock about why he left the band over a decade ago. Advertisement “I became quite off-balance mentally those last couple of years we toured,” he said. “As the tour went on, I got deep into the occult, which became a way of escaping the mindset of tour life.” He added: “The occult tends to magnify whatever you are, and I was an imbalanced mess.” Red Hot Chili Peppers, shot by Gus Van Sant for NME, 2022. Speaking to NME in an exclusive interview photographed by Oscar-winning director Gus Van Sant earlier this year, the band spoke about their new album… Read More →