The Killers drop politically charged song ‘Land of the Free’

UPDATE – Jan. 14, 2019 (5:15 p.m. ET):

Just a few hours after unleashing the audio for their new, politically-charged song “Land of the Free,” the Killers have unleashed the music video for the new track.

Watch the almost-five-minute, Spike Lee-directed clip below.

ORIGINAL – Jan. 14, 2019 (1:32 p.m. ET):

When you think of politically outspoken bands, your thoughts may go to some famous acts like Rage Against the Machine, Anti-Flag, and Green Day. Well, it looks like you can now officially add the Killers to that list because the four-piece just released a new, politically-inspired song. On Monday (Jan. 14), the Las Vegas-founded group released their first new song in over a year, “Land of the Free.”

The track comes a day after the quartet took to social media to announce plans to release “something new” on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show on Monday.

While speaking with listeners, frontman Brandon Flowers explains what inspired the band’s new surprise song.

“I think it’s a very important time right now and enough was enough is basically where it comes from,” Flowers begins.

“It started in my mind around when Sandy Hook happened and as a father how that affected me. And then it just started stacking up. It was things like Eric Garner. Trayvon Martin. Things like what’s happening at the wall. You know, this stuff just didn’t seem to be in harmony with the values I believe my country was founded on.

He continues: “I would start the song and then put it away and say ‘I’m not the guy to do this.’ You know, ‘I feel inadequate.’ You know, waiting for somebody to write this song. And then, it just piled up and I finally just…Las Vegas…Orlando…Parkland it just kept coming, it was like ‘I have to get this out.'”

Listen to “Land of the Free” here.

“Land of the Free” was recorded at the band’s Battle Born Studios and was produced by Jacknife Lee with additional gospel vocals by (vocal co-arranger) Lynn Mabry, Dorian Holley, Will Wheaton, Sherree Patrice Brown, Akasha Mabry and the Killers’ touring vocalists Amanda Brown, Danielle René Withers, and Erica Canales.

“Land of the Free” is a standalone single, but it does not mean that the band is not working on new music. In the same interview, Flowers revealed that the group may release some new music as early as late-2019/early-2020.

“In a perfect world, I could see the end of the year having something, but it’s probably more likely that it would be early 2020.”

The Killers’ last studio album was 2017’s Wonderful, Wonderful.

Robert Smith continues to tease new music from The Cure

If word that the Cure were part of the latest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wasn’t enough to make your gothic little heart flutter then we’ve got even better news. On Friday (Dec. 14), the British band announced plans to release a new album in the new year. In a recent interview on Sirius XM, frontman Robert Smith confirmed that the group is mere weeks from finishing their impending new album.

“We’re going in about six weeks’ time to finish up what will be our first album in more than a decade,” Smith explains.

“It’s very exciting times for us all around.”

In the same interview, Smith reveals that he was inspired to return to the recording studio after playing the role of curator for the 25th anniversary of London’s Meltdown Festival.

“Seeing all these new bands inspired me to do something new,” he admits.

This isn’t the first time Smith has confessed that playing curator and performing at the Meltdown Festival influenced the band’s decision to head into the studio. In April, the musician told BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Shaun Keaveny that curating the festival ignited his passion to write new music.

“I’ve suddenly fallen in love with the idea of writing songs,” Smith told Keaveny at the time.

“Funnily enough, doing this Meltdown thing has actually galvanized me and I’ve booked studio time for the band.”

The still-untitled record will be the band’s first new album in over a decade. The Cure’s last studio album was 2008’s 4:13 Dream.

With talks of a new record, it’s only logical that the band is beginning to announce tour dates. In September, Smith announced via Twitter that the group will embark on a 20-stop music festival tour during the summertime. The band has already been confirmed for Belgium’s Rock Werchter, Portugal’s NOS Alive, Finland’s Flow Festival, and Spain’s Mad Cool Festival though we expect more to be announced throughout the rest of 2018 and well into 2019.

Robert Smith teases new music from The Cure

Should fans of the Cure expect new music from the band to coincide with their 40th anniversary as a group? If fans are to believe a recent interview with frontman Robert Smith, then the answer to that question is maybe. On Tuesday (April 10), Smith appeared on BBC Radio 6 Music to talk about his role as curator for the 25th anniversary of London’s Meltdown Festival.

During the chat, Smith revealed that helping curate the upcoming event may have reignited his passion for writing music.

“I’ve suddenly fallen in love with the idea of writing songs,” Smith told DJ Shaun Keaveny.

“Funnily enough, doing this Meltdown thing has actually galvanized me and I’ve booked studio time for the band.”

As the interview continued, Keaveny asked Smith if Meltdown attendees should expect the Cure to hit the stage. Smith revealed that usually the final night of the show is reserved for that year’s curator and explained how the group has thrown out ideas on how they should celebrate their major anniversary which will actually take place on July 9.

“What shall we do? Go back to Crawley, where it all started? Play in the pub where we did our first show as the Cure? Or should we go mega, play a show in every capital city in the world?”

Currently, the Cure only have two shows lined up for 2018; Meltdown and a one-off gig at London’s Hyde Park in July. If the band does go into the studio to record new music, then maybe, just maybe that will mean they will hit the road to promote the new tunes and celebrate the milestone.

The Cure’s last official studio recording was their contribution to a Paul McCartney tribute album in 2014. The group covered the Beatles’ “Hello Goodbye” for that record. Their last studio album was 2008’s 4:13 Dream.

The 1975 to release ‘Music for Cars’ in 2018

MIAMI, FL – MAY 11 – (Photo by Erica Dominguez) The 1975 performing at the Klipsch Amphitheater at Bayfront ParkWhen the 1975 announced a massive North American tour earlier this year, fans of the band began to speculate whether it meant that a new album would be on the horizon. Frontman Matt Healy further fueled the rumor mill fire when he tweeted, and deleted, a message that read “NOW I will retreat from the world to make Music For Cars.” Months after the message was posted on the internet, an official confirmation was made.

On Thursday (April 27), the 1975 officially announced that their third studio album would be titled Music for Cars. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 Radio show, Healy confirmed the new album’s name though an official release date was not given.  “The next record’s called ‘Music for Cars.’ That’s the title and it references our 2nd EP or our 3rd EP,” the singer unveiled during the chat. For fans who are wondering why the album’s name sounds familiar, all they have to do is take a look at the group’s discography. In 2013, they released their Music for Cars EP which featured tracks “Anobrain,” “HNSCC,” “Head.Cars.Bending,” “Me” and breakout single, “Chocolate.”

While Healy didn’t touch on the subject of when the first single will make its debut, it was revealed that the new record will see a 2018 release date. Until then, fans can continue to enjoy the last couple of months of the I Like It When You Sleep era while the band hit stages across North America. Tonight, the four-piece is scheduled to perform at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The remaining tour dates can be seen below.

THE 1975 NORTH AMERICAN SPRING TOUR DATES:

April 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
April 30 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
May 01 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ PNE Forum
May 03 – Boise, ID @ CenturyLink Arena
May 05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Great Saltair
May 06 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
May 09 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
May 11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
May 12 – Bethlehem, PA @ Sands Bethlehem Event Center
May 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagles Ballroom
May 17 – St Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
May 19 – Lancaster, NE @ Pinewood Bowl Amphitheater
May 22 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
May 23 – Rochester, NY @ Main Street Armory
May 25 – Ottawa, Ontario @ Richcraft Live @ Canadian Tire Centre
May 26 – Montréal, Québec @ Plaine des Jeux (Parc Jean Drapeau)
May 26-28 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival
May 28 – Glens Falls, NY @ Glens Falls Civic Center
May 30 – Niagara Falls, NY @ Rapids Theater
May 31 – Niagara Falls, NY @ Rapids Theater
June 01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
June 03 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
June 02-04 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bunbury Music Festival

Phoenix to release ‘Ti Amo’ in June

Almost a month after announcing a massive world tour scheduled for this summer, Phoenix has officially confirmed new music. On Tuesday (April 25), the French band revealed that they will be releasing their sixth studio album just in time for their much-anticipated tour. The record will be titled Ti Amo and is set to hit stores on June 9 through Glassnote Records.

During their show this past weekend in Antwerp, Belgium, the group debuted the title track from the record, “Ti Amo.” Watch a fan shot video from the show above. The Belgium show not only gave fans a taste of the new record, it also marked the band’s first live show in three years. The last time they hit the road was back in 2014 in support of their fifth studio album, Bankrupt! The complete list of upcoming tour dates can be seen here.

Earlier this week, the New York Time sat down with the band to discuss the new record. During the sit down guitarist Christian Mazzalai revealed how the album was recorded during a dark period in the group’s hometown of Paris where they were recording the album.

“At some point when we were in the studio, there was a slight sense of guilt. But we were comforted by the idea that the four of us working wasn’t escapism or denial,” Mazzalai said to the publication. “When that became clear, the guilt disappeared.”

Mirroring Mazzalai’s sentiment was Daniel Glass, head of Phoenix’s record label, Glassnote. “I think the record came out of darkness, out of concern,” he begins. “But what’s resulted is this incredibly colorful record. And what we’re hearing from everybody, from KCRW to Apple to Pandora to Spotify, is that they’re loving this record. Because it makes them feel good.” Read the complete New York Times interview here.

Of Mice and Men frontman opens up about heart surgery

Last year was not a very good year for Of Mice & Men frontman Austin Carlile. A few days before their spring 2015 tour was to wrap up, the singer was hospitalized and later underwent heart surgery to deal with ongoing issues brought on by Marfans Syndrome. After undergoing the surgery, and even having a misfortune event when he was electrocuted in September, Carlile and company are back on the touring circuit.

During a recent sit down with Metal Hammer, the frontman opened up about everything that has happened since the surgery and how he was clinically dead for a couple of hours.

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. It’s hard to go through something like that that’s dangerous in general, and just to not know if you’re gonna be there, four, five or six hours later. When I had my heart surgery, my heart was stopped. They put my head in a whole thing of ice, to stop your brain activity, you’re dead. I was clinically dead for three hours while they did the procedure,” he explains.

“There’s so much stuff going through my head. Like, ‘Am I going to see my mum? What’s going to happen?’ Like, who knows, I was kind of excited. But the one thing I remember right before I went under, and before they put in the relax sedative into you, I was just sitting there and my sister and my dad were there and they said goodbye and started wheeling me back. I just remember being so at peace, and I remember saying, ‘Look God, this is in your hands.’ It was out of my hands completely at that point.”

He continues: “I said, ‘I have to have faith that you have a plan for me and you want me to do something with my life. And if you don’t, then it’s just going to end right here. And if it doesn’t, then I need to wake up and do that.'”

With such a serious surgery, it should come as no surprise that the pain post-surgery was just worse. Carlile goes on the explain how the post-surgery pain was probably worse than any of the pain he had felt in his life. He ended up spending two weeks in the hospital working on his recovery and then an additional week-and-a-half fighting pneumonia.

But all that is now a thing in the past as Carlile has returned to the stage, just like the group has promised at the end of 2015. In addition to their slew of current tour dates with Slipknot and Marilyn Manson and then their own headlining gigs in Europe, the California-based band also confirmed the release of their fourth studio album.

Cold World and is set to be released on Sept. 9 through Rise Records.

Marilyn Manson announces tenth studio album, ‘SAY10’

Marilyn Manson may be in the muddle of a massive summer tour, but don’t expect the ‘pale emperor’ to take a break anytime soon. On Monday (July 18), Manson announced plans to release a brand new record in early 2017. Fresh off the stage from receiving his “Icon Award” at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards, Manson revealed the news in a post-award interview.

About two minutes into the interview with Alternative Press’ Ryan J. Downey, Manson made gesture asking for a pen or marker. Someone quickly appears with a permanent marker which Manson took and began to write “SAY10” on his hand. Downey at first thought it was a pun on “Satan,” but Manson quickly corrected him confirming that his tenth studio album will in fact be titled SAY10.

“It’s worse than a pun. That is the new Marilyn Manson recording coming out Valentine’s Day,” the musician corrected. Watch Manson’s full seven-minute interview below.

SAY10 is the follow-up to 2015’s The Pale Emperor. Currently, the shock rocker is in the middle of his massive, summer co-headlining tour with Slipknot. Tonight, the two groups are set to hit the stage at the AirCanada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The complete list of upcoming tour stops, including the reschedule dates, can be seen below.

MARILYN MANSON/SLIPKNOT TOUR DATES:

7/19 – Toronto, Ontario @ Air Canada Centre
7/20 – Montreal, Quebec @ Bell Centre
7/21 – Québec, Quebec @ Videotron Centre
7/23 – Syracuse, N.Y. @ Lakeview Amphitheater – Syracuse
7/24 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
7/26 – Bristow, Va. @ Jiffy Lube Live
7/27 – Camden, N.J. @ BB&T Pavilion
7/29 – Clarkston, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
7/30 – Burgettstown, Pa. @ First Niagara Pavilion
8/02 – Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Music Pavilion
8/04 – Maryland Heights, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/05 – Des Moines, Iowa @ Wells Fargo Arena
8/07 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center*
8/09 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheatre
8/11 – Auburn, Wash. @ White River Amphitheatre
8/13 – Concord, Calif. @ Concord Pavilion
8/14 – Inglewood, Calif. @ The Forum
8/17 – Chula Vista, Calif. @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
8/19 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater
8/20 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
8/21 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ T-Mobile Arena*
8/25 – Dallas, Texas @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
8/26 – Houston, Texas @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/27 – Austin, Texas @ Austin 360 Amphitheatre

* venue changed

Damon Albarn updates Gorillaz fans on new album

Last month, Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett had told a fan site in passing conversation that he and co-creator Damon Albarn were shooting for a 2017 release date for the animated group’s new album. A month after a Hewlett’s confirmation, Albarn has now confirmed that a new album is headed our way “really, fairly soon.” During an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music (via AllEyesOnGorillaz), Albarn was discussing everything that he was currently working on.

During a snippet of the interview, he touches on the subject of the Gorillaz’s new album. “Later in the year, we be starting to get the whole Gorillaz thing together. I’m loving it and it’s getting there. It should be really, fairly soon.” Listen to a snippet of the interview with Albarn below.

Back in June, another Gorillaz’s fan site got the inside scoop on the band’s impending new album. “We got Jamie news! This here is HIM and our friend, Linda. Jamie says new Gorillaz is special, really f****n special. Can’t be rushed. 2017, yo,” the caption on GorillazNorthAmerica’s Instagram post read. Before that, the rumors of a new album were already starting to spread. In January of 2015, Hewlett had also confirmed that he and Albarn had reunited to begin working on a new album for the Gorillaz. Then, in the fall of 2015, the duo confirmed that they were working on some new Gorillaz tunes.

The Gorillaz’s last release was 2011’s The Fall.

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor to guest on new Korn album

Fans of Slipknot and Korn are about to get some seriously cool news; there’s going to be a collaboration real soon. On Wednesday (July 13), Metal Hammer confirmed the news that Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor will be appearing on Korn’s upcoming new album. Korn guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer broke the news while speaking to the publication about their upcoming new record.

“We have Corey singing on one track and it’s going to be a fan favorite because he really lets loose,” Shaffer reveals. “On a heaviness scale of one to 10 with 10 being the 1994 self-titled, this album is a definite nine.”

The still-untitled record will be California band’s 12th studio record and currently has a projected release time frame of later this year. The impending record is the follow-up to 2013’s The Paradigm Shift which marked the return of guitarist Brian “Head” Welch. Shaffer also touched on what it was like to have Welch back in the group after quitting the band in 2005.

“When Head came back to us on the last record, it was our way of getting the wheels greased. Now everything is well-oiled and the machine works really well.”

In a few days, Korn is slated to kick off their summer “Return of t Dreads” tour with Rob Zombie. After a little break, they will hit the road again with Breaking Benjamin for their joint “Nocturnal Underground” tour. The dates for the upcoming tours can be found here and here.

Pierce the Veil debut new single ‘Circles’

Weeks after confirming a new album and a short summer tour, Pierce the Veil has debuted another new song from their upcoming new album. On Tuesday (April 26), the California-based band debuted their brand new song on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show. The track which is titled “Circles” is the band’s third single off of their impending new record, Misadventures.

The San Diego four-piece was on hand to debut the song alongside Mac. During the interview that followed the song’s world premiere, Pierce the Veil announced plans to hit the European road later this year. “Come November 25, we will be doing a headlining tour in the UK,” announced bassist Jaime Preciado which led to around of applause and cheers from the rest of the band and Mac. Tour dates and more information about the European leg of the upcoming tour is currently available on the band’s website.

“Circles” as well as the band’s interview with Mac can be streamed here. “Circles” will join previous singles “Texas is Forever” and “The Divine Zero” on Misadventures. The new record is set to be released on May 13 through Fearless Records. This album marks the band’s much-anticipated follow-up to 2012’s Collide with the Sky. The North American leg of the “Misadventures” tour can be found here.