Total Metal is a Swedish exhibition about metal from that country, focusing on the early days from the looks of the promotional video above, and it seems legit. I need to visit Sweden. The Kulturhuset Stadsteatern website has more info.
Music Fans’ Voice is a survey of over 8000 people, taken in U.K. cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool, West Midlands, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow. A few takeaways from the results are:
Dynamic pricing should be outlawed.
More than half of respondents cited financial constraints for not going to as many shows as they’d like.
Lower ticket prices would encourage more attendance.
See the full results at the survey website.
D.O.A., the classic Canadian hardcore band, has a new tribute compilation, No Escape From What You Are, and a bunch of the bands that appear on it have recorded videos, collected above, talking about their tracks and what D.O.A. means to them. It’s out now on CD and LP from Sudden Death Records.
Moby has a website where he’s uploaded 500 songs and multitracks for free use with “no strings attached,” he says in an online video.
D.I.Y. – The Rise and Fall of Punk Rock is a new documentary from SBÄM Records. The film has an odd angle, with its press release referring to punk rock’s “gritty beginnings in 1980s Southern California garages.” In any case, the trailer is above.
Semisonic isn’t down with the Trump administration using the band’s hit “Closing Time” in a deportation video. As Mirna Alsharif writes for NBC News, the band said in a statement, “We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way. And no, they didn’t ask.”
Nick Menza (r.i.p.) was the drummer of Megadeth through most of the ’90s and notably played on Rust In Peace. A new documentary, This Was My Life: Nick Menza’s Metal Memories with Megadeth and Beyond, is in limited theatrical release now, with streaming and Blu-Ray release to follow. Ellefson Films, from ex-Megadeth bassist and ex-Menza bandmate David Ellefson, is one of the producing companies. Watch the trailer above.
Rest In Peace
Mike Peters, the frontman for The Alarm, passed away in April at 66 after a long illness. The Alarm may be best known for some ’80s hits, as Andy Greene writes for Rolling Stone.
Roy Thomas Baker, the producer of such bands as Queen, The Cars, and Foreigner, died at 78 in April, as Jem Aswad writes for Variety. He also worked with some metal bands.
David Thomas was the frontman of the influential, avant garde band Pere Ubu. He died at 71 in April. Nina Corcoran and Jazz Monroe have the story at Pitchfork.
Les Binks was a drummer for Judas Priest. He passed away at 73 in April. He played on three Priest albums, as Austin Weatherhead writes for Drummerworld.
Max Romeo was a Jamaican reggae singer with some classic hits in the ’70s. He died at the age of 80, Peter Mason writes for The Guardian, after a long career of recording and touring.
Ioannis was an artist who was known in the music world for all the album covers he created for many huge bands, and he also worked on books and music videos, and created logos. He died in April at 66. At his funeral service link, there’s more details and an option to plant a tree in his name.
Dave Allen was the bassist for Gang Of Four. He passed away in April, aged 69, after a long illness, as Laura Snapes writes for The Guardian. After leaving the band, Allen played with other groups and worked in the music industry.
Clem Burke, drummer of Blondie, died at 70 in April, as Christie D’Zurilla writes for the Los Angeles Times. After Blondie first split up in 1982, Burke worked with a bunch of other bands while occasionally reuniting with Blondie.
Al Barile, the guitarist of SSD, died in April after an illness, as Andrew Sacher writes for Brooklyn Vegan. SSD (or SS Decontrol) was a classic Boston hardcore band.
Lukas Booker played bass in the Pittsburgh metalcore band 156/Silence. He died in March. Zee Caine has a few details at New Noise Magazine.
Barry Goldberg was a keyboardist who played with some of the greats in rock and blues (Dylan, Hendrix, Lewis, the list goes on) in his long career. He passed on at 83 in January after a long illness. Dan Epstein has the story at Forward.
Further reading:
Catch up on more music news roundups here at the blog.
Photos: screen caps of Max Romeo performing at Rototom Sunsplash, 2012
