In 1987, MTV released the iconic Headbangers Ball during the height of the heavy metal movement. It quickly became the premier destination for all things heavy, even helping lead grunge into the mainstream in the early ‘90s.When Nirvana appeared on the show in 1991, Kurt Cobain famously wore a yellow ballgown. “It’s Headbangers Ball, so I thought I’d wear a gown,” Cobain said, before pointing to Krist Novoselic and adding, “He wouldn’t wear his tux. He…
Late Metallica legend Cliff Burton left a gigantic impact on heavy metal and remains one of the most influential musicians in the genre’s history. Watch these musicians talk about the bassist, plus a special addition from Cliff’s father Ray.Fans often refer to Cliff Burton as the spiritual battery of Metallica, providing pummeling energy and a rhythmic backbone to the legendary band’s early works. But Dave Mustaine shared a lesser known story about Cliff, explaining how…
With genre-fusion powering a ton of modern music, lots of rappers are doing what seemed impossible 20 years ago — picking up the guitar. Some rappers took to the guitar like a fish to water, while others completely embarrassed themselves without even knowing.When it comes to guitar-playing rappers, Post Malone is easily one of the best. Coming from the world of rock and metal, Posty has spent his career in hip-hop repping the instrument and…
Oli Aleron of Canadian tech-death legion Archspire possesses an absurd “shotgun” vocal technique that has legitimately redefined the boundaries of extreme metal. It all starts somewhere and this is how he learned to scream.What you hear from Aleron now is a world away from his earliest influences, when he was first taking in and processing extreme vocals in heavy music for the first time. With inspiration coming from a wide range of artists — Chino…
How does Bad Wolves’ Doc Coyle get some of those bad man sounds from his guitar? It’s a lifetime worth of playing that’s taken him through several bands and we dig deeper into his guitar inspirations in this episode of Loudwire’s Gear Factor.Like many other musicians, MTV was a major tool in the formation of his music tastes at a young age and he recalls his introduction to an iconic metal being his “superhero origin…