Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson was just 17 years old when his extreme metal band Enslaved toured the U.S. for the first time. He and bassist Grutle Kjellson formed the band as teenagers in 1991, and by 1994 they’d released two albums. Their unique approach to Norwegian metal caught the attention of hardcore icon Peter Steele, who allegedly had a copy of their second album, Frost.

At the time, Steele’s thrash metal band Carnivore had reunited. They played several reunion shows through the mid-90s and had a few lineup changes until Steele’s death in 2010. But in 1994, Enslaved’s tour manager was allegedly friends with Steele, and put Bjørnson in contact.

“[Steele] was really nice, super friendly,” Bjørnson recalled in an October 2026 interview with Metal Hammer. “Some weeks later came the offer: ‘If you want to hang out for another month after the tour, you can support Carnivore.’ I was like, ‘Umm, I think I need to go back to high school.’”

Ivar Bjørnson Regrets Not Taking Peter Steele Up On his Offer to Support Carnivore

Declining an offer to support Peter Steele’s band on tour sounds like sacrilege for a metal musician. While Ivar Bjørnson recognized the unfortunate lost opportunity, he also admitted that 17-year-old him had a point. Being a teenager on tour in a foreign country was a pretty good reason to decline.

When asked if he regretted the decision, Bjørnson immediately said yes. “Then again,” he added, “I was 17, so we were barely allowed to go on tour in the first place! And we’d already stayed two weeks longer than we were supposed to.”

Bjørnson continued, “We made up a story that we were staying with a friend in Dallas, but we actually spent two weeks touring Mexico. I didn’t tell my mum about it until I was 26.”

That 1994 U.S. tour had a few other interesting experiences for the teenage Bjørnson and Kjellson. Beyond the offer from Peter Steele and secretly touring Mexico, they also found themselves in a wickedly uncomfortable van. They often had to resort to underage drinking just to fall asleep. They would frequently drink vodka as a way to lull themselves to sleep in the horrible van. However, that ritual backfired when the van broke down one night.

“Our van broke down while we were driving through the Bronx, so we were told to stay in the van at the garage,” Bjørnson recalled. “When we broke down, we were already quite far into our nightly ritual of getting dozy. At some point, it was like, ‘Where’s Grutle?’ He was running around, with no t-shirt, screaming, ‘I’m Santa Claus!’ Some of the other guys had to go get him.”

Photo by Per Ole Hagen/Redferns

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Iron Maiden legend Nicko McBrain retired from touring back in 2024, after suffering some serious health battles. Now, in a resurfaced interview, we can hear in his own words how those issues threatened his heavy metal career.

The health battles in question started with a stroke in 2023. This left Nicko paralyzed on his right side, from the shoulder down, for a period of time. The following year, he announced his retirement from tour life.

In July 2025, two years after his stroke, Nicko appeared on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk to discuss his decision to quit touring. “I had my health issues,” he said at the time. “Which was one of the primary reasons that I decided to hang it up with the guys. And I wasn’t doing the songs justice because of the handicap that I had. And it wasn’t fair on everybody else either in the band.”

Nicko McBrain retired from touring in 2024 after surviving a stroke

He continued, “They supported me 100 percent through the ‘The Future Past Tour’, and that was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of brothers to support me through my darkest hour.”

Nicko later shared some insight into the physical and personal issues that led to him hanging up his tour kit. “Primarily, I was fed up with touring in terms of the travel and not having days to recoup my body,” he said.

“I wasn’t so much slowing down, although we did play the songs that,” Nicko added, then switching gears, “I got told off at rehearsals [in 2024] because I was playing the songs too fast.” He explained that this was because he had “been playing with Titanium Tart before I went off and did the rehearsals in Australia with Maiden.” Titanium Tart is Nicko’s Florida-based side project that performs Iron Maiden songs.

“I actually got told off for playing too quick,” Nicko continued. “So it wasn’t a question of not being able to drive the band. It was just not being able to drive the band with the drum fills that I’d been used to playing for 42 years. So the question mark was raised about the performance side. And that’s quite right…So that was part of the decision that I made.”

Fast forward to October 2026: Nicko McBrain is about to release his autobiography, “Hello Boys And Girls!” Harper Nonfiction will publish the book on October 22, 2026.

Photo by Francesco Castaldo/Archivio Francesco Castaldo/Mondadori via Getty Images

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It’s no secret that it can be hard to make a living in the music industry nowadays. Streaming services make it practically impossible to make real money off of the music. Touring can be complicated if fans can’t pay for tickets. Merchandise can only take an artist so far. It’s not just new artists struggling with this phenomenon either. Even legends in their respective genre can fail to see returns on their art. Consequently, it’s making metal legend Al Jourgensen retreat from the industry altogether and retreat to a farm in the middle of nowhere.

In an interview with Full Metal Jackie for Loudwire, the Ministry frontman revealed that after their final album Hate to Go, he plans on getting out of the spotlight and becoming a farmer instead. “It’s not just Ministry, it’s like the career. We’re wrapping up the whole thing basically, so I can just go herd goats, which is what I’m gonna be doing now. Just a simple goat herder up in Calabasas,” Al Jourgensen said.

Naturally, the interviewer was in shock at the idea, but he explained how much he’s committed to the bit. He built a coyote-proof pen in order to keep his goats safe. Moreover, whenever he gets recognized at the grocery store, he said he’ll blow off anyone trying to claim he’s been a rock legend for decades.

Al Jourgensen Will Soon Leave Music Behind in order to become a Goat Farmer instead

I will be going to the Farm Feed place in Topanga with my goats and they will know me as the goat herder and not as some crazy rocker. This is my goal and this is what I’ve been working towards and now I’m here. It’s time to herd goats,” Jourgensen stressed.

Apparently, these aren’t just your everyday goats either. They’re a special breed that essentially play possum whenever they’re startled. Al Jourgensen found that having the specific breed will eventually make his days on the farm significantly easier.

“The goats I have are beautiful. They’re fainting goats, so all you gotta do is yell at ’em, which makes roundup so easy. You just yell at ’em, and they fall over, and so you just pick ’em up with their legs sticking up in the air, and throw ’em in the truck, and bring ’em home. Work smarter, not harder,” Al Jourgensen added.

Photo by David A. Smith/Getty Images

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When Ozzy Osbourne died, he apparently left behind a collection of unreleased songs. Now, producer Andrew Watt, who worked on Ozzy’s last two records, says that there is “kind of” plans to release those tracks.

Watt is known for having worked with Ozzy on Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022). In an October 2026 conversation with Rolling Stone, Watt revealed he’s sitting on tracks that have yet to see the light of day. “There are some songs that we made for a specific reason,” the producer said. “That’s all I can say. They’re hard for me to listen to.”

Watt apparently went over some of that unreleased material a day before Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s big farewell concert “Back to the Beginning” in July 2025, just a couple weeks before he ultimately passed. According to Watt, there are “kind of” plans for that material to be released.

Ozzy Osbourne had one last listening session of his unreleased songs before his passing

Notably, Watt also revealed that the night before Ozzy’s final concert—the Back to the Beginning fest—he and the late Prince of Darkness listened back to some of the unreleased songs.

“The night before the concert, I actually went in Birmingham with Sharon and a couple of people to go get a curry, and I was texting with Ozzy,” Watt recalled. “He was in his hotel room, and he was, like, ‘Come to the hotel, come to the hotel.'”

Watt continued, “I was sitting with Sharon and we were both like, ‘He has a big day tomorrow. Maybe I shouldn’t go, ‘cause he’ll get excited and everything.’ But he was, like, ‘No, you’re coming to the hotel. You are coming.’ So I went.”

“I brought a curry with me and sat with him,” the producer reflected. “And he was drawing like he usually does, and we sat and we listened to the stuff that we’d made, and made notes. That and the next day were the last times I got to see him. But we had a beautiful listening session and talked about a lot of stuff.”

Sadly, Ozzy passed away just weeks later. As for whether or not fans will ever get to hear those songs, Watt was not clear, but seemed to hope so.

Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

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Slipknot is heading out on a big 2027 tour, and it’s already sparked some controversy. Specifically, the inclusion of Marilyn Manson has led to calls for him to be removed from the lineup. Even politicians are getting in on the boycott.

Currently, Slipknot is scheduled to play a show at Wembley Stadium on July 3, 2027. Manson is listed as their direct featured support performer. Hatebreed and Lorna Shore are set to open the gig. However, Councillor Anton Georgiou hopes to change that.

Georgiou is the leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at Brent Council in London. In a new Instagram Post, he’s urging Wembley officials to refuse to allow Manson to perform. This is due to the numerous sexual assault allegations and legal cases the shock rocker has faced.

Councillor Anton Georgiou is calling out Wembley Stadium for allowing Marilyn Manson to perform

“I was shocked to learn that Marilyn Manson has been booked to play here at Wembley,” Georgiou said in the video. “Given the historic sexual abuse allegations made against him. This really does fly in the face of the council’s ongoing work to tackle violence against women and girls. I’m so disappointed that Brent Council haven’t put out a public statement in relation to this really controversial booking.”

“The Brent Liberal Democrats are seeking a review of this decision by Wembley Stadium,” he added. “We’re also asking the stadium: what considerations were given to survivors of sexual abuse when this decision was made?”

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A post shared by Anton Georgiou (@anton_georgiou)

Georgiou has been getting some pushback from Manson fans on his post. However, his sentiments do echo those of Slipknot fans who were not thrilled about the initial announcement in September 2026.

In response to being asked about it directly, Slipknot guitarist Jim Root indicated that he, personally, had no involvement with the decision. “I stay out of the logistics of touring and all that. I concentrate on writing and being a guitarist,” he said at the time.

“So forgive my ignorance about who we do shows with,” he added. “There are other people with much bigger brains than I that coordinate all that, and I honestly don’t keep up with new bands or new music, etc.”

It’s unclear if Manson will be dropped from the London show, or any other scheduled gigs with Slipknot.

Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images

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Before Corey Taylor, there was Anders Colsefni, the original singer of Slipknot. Colsefni recorded one album with the band—Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat.—but was ultimately replaced.

In an October 2026 interview with the Minnesota Music Note podcast, Colsefni opened up about his time with the band. During the conversation, he shared his side of the story on what happened when Taylor took over the lead vocalist slot.

The frontman switch came as the band was working on some new music to present to their label, Roadrunner Records. They’d compiled a project dubbed Crowz. Setting the record straight about how the vocal duties were divided up, Colsefni told MMN host Will McLeod: “Well, ‘Crowz’ wasn’t me and Corey recording anything together at all.”

Anders Colsefni was the original Singer for Slipknot

“It was just after we’d submitted Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. to Roadrunner,” he continued, “they wanted to hear where we’re going next. They’re like, ‘Okay, this is a really disassembled group of songs that don’t make any tangible sense together. Let’s hear what direction you’re going in.’

“So the ‘Crowz’ songs were us writing our next stuff,” Colsefni added, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “‘Me Inside’, ‘Prosthetics’, ‘Heartache And A Pair Of Scissors’, which turned into ‘Scissors’, and a number of other songs, ‘Crowz’, ‘Carve’, those were our next offerings to Roadrunner.”

Colsefni went on to say that “the only reason why Corey’s vocals are on any of them is because they brought him in while I was gone.” The ex-Slipknot member said he went to visit “family in Minnesota,” and while he was gone the band brought Taylor in to “record vocals over mine or with mine.”

During his time as vocalist, Colsefni recorded one album with Slipknot: ‘Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat.’

“When I got back,” he continued, “they sold it to me as, ‘Hey, this is what’s gonna work best. You’re gonna do background vocals, and he’s gonna do lead vocals, ’cause we need a lead man.'”

“I agreed with that,” Colsefni admitted. “They needed somebody out front with a mic that’s not beating on something else. And so, really, the Crowz songs were really me first, and then they brought Corey in to redo them, and then sold it to Roadrunner so that they could get their record deal.” He finally added, “I have no regrets about it.”

Colsefni has since re-recorded the Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. album and toured performing the songs.

Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images

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On September 24, 2026, former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman performed piano for over 150 rescued moon bears at the Animals Asia sanctuary in Vietnam. In contrast, a North Carolina man used metal guitar riffs and pinch harmonics to scare off Black Bears earlier this year. In a video posted to Instagram on April 22, 2026, Andy M. Phail used his guitar and a half-stack guitar amp on his porch in North Carolina. For those unfamiliar with the term, a half-stack includes a speaker cabinet and a separate amplifier head mounted on top. Together, they produce a heavy guitar sound, loud enough for genres like heavy metal.

In the video caption, Phail explained, “Dude, since these dudes broke into my Jeep and ate 5 chocolate cakes, they will not leave my complex alone. Halfstack vs da bears, (I think they call her stumps cause she has 3 legs).” Playing metal riffs on his porch worked, driving the bears back into the woods behind the dumpster.

Viewers took to the comments to point out a hilarious minor detail. It soon became the focal point of the video. The guitarist appears to have an ankle monitor attached to his right ankle. Viewers joked, with comments such as “The ankle monitor makes this go harder” and “The ankle monitor is there for the bear’s protection.” Another commenter hilariously referred to the ankle monitor as the “Irish Rolex”. Given this minor detail, it now makes sense why the guitarist is safely positioned on the porch, aside from the obvious threat of a bear. It adds to the overall success of the guitar playing, driving the bears away from a safe distance.

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Other Instances Where Instruments Have Been Used To Scare Away Bears

This isn’t the only time music has been used to drive away bears. In 2024, a trumpet player used this technique at Lake Tahoe in California when a bear got too close for comfort. Mateo Mavero Duran, trumpet player for The Outlaw Mariachi Band, whaled on the trumpet, defending their campsite. Much like the video from earlier this year, this successfully scared the bear away. With these three examples, we can easily determine that bears don’t like heavy metal or mariachi. However, they do respond and take interest in classic piano playing.

Photo by George Rose/Getty Images

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Power metal can be a challenging genre for vocalists. With all the high registers they have to hit and whatnot. For ex-Kamelot singer Roy Khan, after years of singing, he’s revealed that he can no longer perform some of his biggest songs the way he used to.

In an October 2026 interview with El Cuartel Del Metal, Khan—who is currently singing with Conception—discussed his “The Black Halo And Beyond” tour. The trek, which traverses Latin America, finds Khan performing tracks from Kamelot’s iconic The Black Halo album, along with other songs from his storied career.

Former Kamelot vocalist Roy Khan admits that it’s hard for him to still sing the way he did as a younger performer

During the conversation, Khan admitted that some of his songs are much more challenging to perform these days. “You can’t really hear it,” he said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “What we do with the songs is we take some of them down one or two half steps, depending on how tricky they are for me to sing these days. And then it’s like being back when my voice, my register, was a little bit higher.”

“So, that’s how we deal with it,” he continued. “You have drop-tune pedals now that you can use on bass and guitars, and that’s how it works. So a lot of the songs are not in the same key as back in the day. Which before was a problem because you couldn’t really tune guitars and bass, let’s say 20 years ago, in a way that wouldn’t mud up the sound and make things sound ugly. But nowadays, the technology is so good that you can do that. Which is a big help. Otherwise, I would have had to structure the lines a little bit differently from what I used to do it.”

Roy Khan is currently playing Latin America on a legacy tour of his older Kamelot material

Khan eventually weighed in on how his changing voice has impacted how he crafts new music. “I always like to push myself to the edge of what I can do on records,” he said. “On albums, I kind of like being on the edge of what I can do. And I haven’t really gone for the really, really high stuff since way back with Conception.”

“On Flow [1997], for example, the last album we did in the ’90s, there were no like really super-high vocals. So that ended with ‘In Your Multitude’ [1995] way back,” he recalled. “So, I don’t really feel that I think any differently from what I did back then. I just naturally came to the conclusion that my voice sounded better in a slightly lower range.

Khan finally added, “Of course, there’s a lot of people that will wanna hear me do the really high stuff still, which I can do, but I don’t have that… It’s more airy, it’s more falsetto-like than what it was on the very first Conception records.”

Photo by Steve Thorne/Redferns

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Former Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing is in hot water with fans. The legendary rocker released a controversial AI-assisted music video from his band, KK’s Priest. In it, Downing, ex-Judas Priest singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, and the band cover Judas Priest’s 1974 classic song “Never Satisfied”.

The clip features live performance footage of the band along with an AI-generated version of Downing as a young man on his journey to becoming a heavy metal godfather. “Yes, this is my life now, and I will not be content until I find out what is missing from all of our lives,” the AI-Downing avatar says in the clip. “There is something very special out there that so many need, and until I find it, I will never be satisfied.”

JPSR Studio, the company that made the video, acknowledges on its website that it uses AI tools in its video production.

KK’s Priest, featuring KK Downing, dropped a Judas Priest cover with an AI-assisted music video

“AI film today is where online video was twenty-six years ago – dismissed by the same rooms that will depend on it within a decade,” the company states. “We were part of pioneering the first wave. We intend to be part of pioneering this one. This isn’t just AI. It’s videography, special effects and sound engineering – a full production discipline – with an AI-native pipeline inside it.”

The new music video has certainly sparked some conversation, and not all of it pleasant. “Ugh! Do we need more AI today?” one person asked sarcastically. Someone else commented, “KK, you are Judas Priest; this version kills! The AI video sucks, but you are my hero.”

Speaking about the video, Downing defended the use of AI. “That video could not have been made without today’s modern technology – bringing myself to life in such an accurate way is quite beyond belief,” he said, per Louder. “It’s basically bringing to life something that’s absolutely impossible to create or film today without it.”

Additionally, Downing commented on the difference between Owens and longtime Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford. It was Halford who originally sang on “Never Satisfied”.

“Two great singers and performers,” says Downing. “I mean, you know, it’s going to be tough. I guess the main thing is that Rob would be associated with the archive legacy, the original going back when. But obviously, Ripper is sort of capable of doing the same thing, but with a slightly different delivery and tonality of the voice.”

Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns

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Happy New Music Friday, friends! I am glad you made it through another week. You deserve some fresh tunes for all your trouble.

First off, I want to encourage you to check out our exclusive with Eva Elfie, featuring the premiere of her debut single along with a short interview conversation. If you dig dark, otherworldly electronic jams, this one is for you.

Next, I hope you’ll scroll through our weekly list and hear the new music from some really memorable and profound artists. Starting with some heavy metal legends.

“Splatter-Fu” by Gwar

The Scumdogs of the Universe are back, baby!

Gwar has announced a brand new project: GWAR and the Last Drive-In-Stein. It’s a split/collaborative album with horror master Joe Bob Briggs and his Shudder series The Last Drive-In. Side A of the album will be some new Gwar tunes, and Side B will feature John Brennan and the Bigfeet, the official Last Drive-In house band.

As part of the project, Brenne penned “Splatter-Fu” for the unholy leaders of the Bohabs, and the hard rockin’ tune is our first taste of the record. If you expected anything less than Gwar doing what they do best, well, I’m happy to disappoint you.

“KISS ME LIKE YOU MISS HER” by ADULT LEISURE

If you’re looking for some fresh new alt-rock in your life, look no further than Bristol, England’s Adult Leisure.

The band has announced that they signed with American label Big Loud Rock, a partnership they sealed with the new single “Kiss Me Like You Miss Her”. It’s a ditty that’s catchy as hell. There’s some early 90s shoegaze guitar tone and a dirty disco rhythm that just forces you to groove with it.

You’ll get addicted to this one.

“VAGABOND” by KING BUFFALO

I love the riff on this song so. f**king. much. It’s got this clear stoner metal energy, but there’s also a little post-grunge element to it that feels really good.

King Buffalo ARE those dudes. They jam so hard and leave nothing on the table. The new tune is called “Vagabond”. It’ll be featured on their new independent record, Doomsayer, which is out on Dec. 4.

“Trick Of The Night” by Reiyo The Giant

Reiyo The Giant is a beautiful anomaly who doesn’t fit into any box you try to build for her.

The genre-defying singer has announced her debut album, Trick Of The Night, heralded by a haunting, atmospheric title track. Her smooth, smoky voice glazes through a trip-hop-esque soundtrack. As it intensifies, her jazzy vocals take center stage with vulnerability and soul, leaving you haunted.

The ‘Temilotzin’ EP by TZOMPANTLI

Hailing from Southern California, Tzompantli is one of the most important bands in heavy music these days. The indigenous metal band writes and performs as a channeling of their ancestors, and their songs exude that spiritual maturity.

This week, the band steps outside their typical sound and brings forth an organic, acoustic offering. Dubbed the Temilotzin EP, these three naturalistic and tribal melodies find Tzompantli paying homage to their deep roots and rich heritage. Find the complete project wherever you stream music, but please consider supporting it through Bandcamp.

Feature image courtesy of Pit Records

The post New Music Friday: 5 Songs You Need to Hear This Week (10/16) appeared first on VICE.

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Chat Pile definitely isn't easy listening. The Oklahoma City sludge and noise rock band tackles lyrical topics as heavy as they get: families falling apart, homelessness, and, on their latest album, the climate crisis. This year Chat Pile released their third full-length album, Who Loves the Sun, to wide acclaim from fans (myself included) and critics like Anthony Fantano, who gave it a rare 9/10. — Read the rest

The post Chat Pile's songs are bleak, but their live show is a blast appeared first on Boing Boing.