Author: u0zp4y

Foo Fighters emerged from the ashes of tragedy to become one of the most enduring rock bands of the modern era. Founded by Dave Grohl in Seattle, Washington, in 1994, the band began as a solo project after the disbandment of Nirvana following Kurt Cobain’s death. Grohl, known for his drumming in Nirvana, surprised the music world by stepping into the spotlight as a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. What started as a cathartic creative outlet evolved into a full-fledged band, with the original lineup including Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, drummer William Goldsmith, and guitarist Pat Smear.

The group’s eponymous debut album, Foo Fighters (1995), was recorded entirely by Grohl, who played all the instruments and wrote all the songs. This raw, energetic record featured tracks like “This Is a Call” and “Big Me,” signaling the arrival of a distinctive new voice in rock music. However, the lineup soon experienced changes as Goldsmith departed during the recording of their second album, The Colour and the Shape (1997), citing creative differences. Taylor Hawkins, formerly a drummer for Alanis Morissette, joined the band, along with guitarist Franz Stahl, though Stahl’s tenure was short-lived. Pat Smear also left the band temporarily but later returned, solidifying the group’s classic lineup with Chris Shiflett on lead guitar.

The release of The Colour and the Shape marked a significant turning point for Foo Fighters. The album, produced by Gil Norton, delivered enduring hits like “Everlong,” “Monkey Wrench,” and “My Hero,” blending introspective lyrics with anthemic rock melodies. It achieved multi-platinum status and cemented the band’s place in mainstream rock. Subsequent albums like There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999) and One by One (2002) showcased their ability to evolve while maintaining their identity. Tracks like “Learn to Fly” and “All My Life” further expanded their reach, earning critical and commercial acclaim.

Foo Fighters have released eleven studio albums to date, including In Your Honor (2005), Wasting Light (2011), and Medicine at Midnight (2021). Each record reflects their willingness to experiment while staying true to their roots. Wasting Light, produced by Butch Vig and recorded entirely on analog tape, marked a creative high point, with tracks like “Rope” and “Walk” winning Grammy Awards. Their double album, In Your Honor, demonstrated their versatility by pairing acoustic and electric tracks, while Concrete and Gold (2017) showcased a collaboration with pop producer Greg Kurstin, resulting in hits like “Run.”

The band’s accolades are as impressive as their discography. Foo Fighters have won 15 Grammy Awards, including multiple wins for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 during their first year of eligibility, solidifying their legacy as one of the most influential bands of their time. Their live performances, known for their energy and connection with fans, have made them a staple at major festivals and arenas worldwide.

Beyond their music, Foo Fighters have made significant contributions outside the studio. Dave Grohl has been involved in numerous projects, including directing the acclaimed documentary Sound City (2013) and the HBO series Sonic Highways (2014), which explored the musical history of different American cities. The band has also been active in philanthropy, supporting organizations like the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund and aiding disaster relief efforts.

Tragedy struck the band in 2022 with the untimely passing of Taylor Hawkins, a loss that reverberated throughout the music world. Despite this, Foo Fighters have continued to honor Hawkins’ legacy, showcasing their resilience and dedication to their craft. Their ability to navigate personal and professional challenges has earned them a devoted fanbase and enduring respect within the industry.

Foo Fighters’ blend of heartfelt songwriting, innovative production, and electrifying performances has made them a cornerstone of modern rock. Their journey, from Grohl’s solo endeavor to an internationally celebrated band, reflects their commitment to creativity, collaboration, and the unifying power of music.

Bring Me The Horizon have covered Wonderwall by Oasis.

The UK pop-metal juggernauts shared their version of the 1995 Britpop classic today (January 29) as part of Spotify’s ongoing Singles Series. Have a listen below.

The surprise-released rendition, the artwork of which sees Bring Me The Horizon recreate a shot from Wonderwall’s original music video, arrives as Oasis prepare to reunite for a world tour in 2025.

Led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, the multi-Platinum-selling rockers split in 2009 but announced their comeback last year. Their Live ’25 run kicks off in the UK in July, with North American, South American, Asian and Australian dates confirmed for up until November.

See the full list of shows and try to grab any remaining tickets via the Oasis website.

Though Oasis’ reunion was much-anticipated, it proved controversial when tickets went on sale. The demand led to fans hanging about in online waiting rooms on Ticketmaster for hours, with the prices then often being inflated as a result of “dynamic pricing”. According to The Guardian, Ticketmaster pushed the cost for some tickets from £135 up to £350.

Both the UK government and the European Commission launched investigations into Ticketmaster as a result. The Gallaghers acknowledged the controversy in a statement and distanced themselves from the choice to use dynamic pricing.

They said, “It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.”

As for Bring Me The Horizon, they released latest album Post-Human: Nex Gen last year. Singer Oli Sykes recently mentioned that the band were considering a hiatus, but they’re currently set to headline the UK’s Reading & Leeds festivals in August. Also topping the twin festivals’ lineups this year will be Chappell Roan, Hozier and Travis Scott.

“When do the vocals kick in?!”

“Why does this song never end?!”

“How the hell do you bang your head to this shit?!”

When I was a teenage progressive metal fan, these were the questions I heard ad nauseam. As much as heavy music was considered outsider art during my awkward school years, loving the bands who played 20-minute tracks in 9/8 time was fringe even beyond that. The kids who adored Ed Sheeran didn’t understand Metallica, then the kids who adored Metallica didn’t understand Between The Buried And Me.

It was a trickle-down economy of shitting on music tastes and mine was at the bottom of the U-bend.

Jump-cut to 2025 and, blimey, the world feels different now. The West is plummeting into neofascism to the sound of incels’ vindicated applause, while artificial intelligence threatens the very meaning of human creativity. But, more staggering and unprecedented than all of that, prog metal is in vogue now!

There’s a part of me that wants to be bitter about it. Maybe if I see yet a-fucking-nother TikTok trying to explain the mythology behind Sleep Token’s lyrics, I will be. Moreover, though, I’m grateful that prog metal has entered its golden age: an era where eclecticism and complexity aren’t things to be ashamed of, but which thrust its practitioners to mainstream goodwill and festival headline spots.

For many, the explosion of prog metal to arena-scale success became tangible post-pandemic. Footage of Jinjer frontwoman Tatiana Shmayluk howling through Pisces wowed millions of people and quickly made the Ukrainians a big deal. In 2023, the aforementioned Sleep Token became the metal band, winning viral success with their masks, sensual sounds, and leaps from pop melodies to Meshuggah-ey riffs that many had never heard the likes of before. Gojira enjoyed their first tour through 10,000-plus capacity venues across Europe around the same time.

Although that may have been when mainstream metalheads took notice of these forward-minded bands, the truth is that your social media algorithm had long been teaching you to love sonic technicality – and you probably didn’t even know it!

Think about it: from the mid-2010s onwards, how many virtuoso guitarists and drummers popped up in your Youtube, Facebook and Instagram feeds? How many more inspired stunned news stories from magazines such as this one? And how many more still were further circulated by other content creators, who sat mouths agape as Rob Scallon defied physics with his left hand and buttered toast with his right or whatever.

Social media has been instilling a penchant for proggy chops in many people for quite some time. Meanwhile, the seemingly inevitable apocalypse caused by climate change has probably made you sad, angry or hopeless at at least one point. Then the pandemic made everyone sadder, angrier and hopeless-er. An appetite for music that’s jointly intricate and intense has been brewing for a while now. Combine that with the obvious mainstream dalliances of Sleep Token (frequently dubbed metal’s Bon Iver) and the hip-hop-indebted Polyphia, and the climate is perfect!

This brings us to the present day. In 2025, the ascents of numerous prog metal superstars will be reaffirmed, while the release schedule looks full to bursting with new albums from the genre’s elite forces.

Let’s start with the most staggering achievement: in June, Sleep Token will headline the UK’s near-100,000-capacity Download festival alongside veteran rock icons Korn and Green Day. It’s also been heavily hinted that the masked pop-prog-metal sex cult will release their fourth album before they grace the stage in Donington, potentially giving not just their genre but all of heavy music its tentpole release for the next 12 months.

Djent-influenced metalcore frontrunners Spiritbox will enjoy a similar levelling up. Next month, the Canadians play their biggest-ever UK show at the 10,000-capacity Alexandra Palace. The gig will be followed by second album Tsunami Sea, set to surf in on a wave of hype strong enough to drown Godzilla.

Also happening next month is the release of the new Jinjer album, Duél. It will be their first studio project since Wallflowers in 2021, with the band having admitted that the Russian invasion of their home country slowed them down creatively. Something special this way comes nonetheless: bassist Eugene Abdukhanov recently told Metal Hammer that Tatiana’s vocals are so good they move him to tears.

February will herald Dream Theater’s Parasomnia too. The sleep-themed album will be the New Yorkers’ first in 16 years with founding drummer Mike Portnoy. The blue-bearded beast returned to the fold in 2023, after playing for almost every other rock band in existence.

More is expected from everybody’s favourite baying Frenchmen, Gojira, later down the line. Last September (a couple months after the band’s fire-spewing show at the Olympics’ opening ceremony), frontman Joe Duplantier said they were in the middle of making some “ambitious” new music. When that will materialise is TBA, but what’s certain is that the wildmen will decimate Derbyshire’s Bloodstock Open Air in August, alongside modern metal greats Trivium and Machine Head.

Polyphia are set to make some bold musical moves as well. The genre-shredding instrumentalists have already buddied up with Deftones and Steve Vai, and, talking to Rock Sound last summer, guitarist Tim Henson revealed that they’ll team with Babymetal on their next album.

“We’ve been talking to Serj [Tankian] from System Of A Down,” he added. “We love all kinds of music, so it’s fun to reach into all these different things.”

Filling out the calendar will be new stuff from sludge/prog giants Mastodon, who are currently working on their first album since 2021: a “supernatural horror” concept piece. “I don’t see a world in which it does not come out in 2025,” drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor says in the new issue of Hammer.

And that’s just the big guns! Karnivool are set to make their debut atop the bill at Bristol’s Arctangent festival in August and deliver their first album in 12 years. Plus, Leprous are currently trekking across Europe on an Evening With run in some of the biggest venues they’ve ever played, whereas Animals As Leaders are about to celebrate 10 years of beloved album The Joy Of Motion on the road.

Naturally, there’s still way more to be announced over the coming months, but it’s already plain to see: 2025 will be a banner year for progressive metal. The genre will get catapulted to the apex of festivals, cram venues of all sizes, and offer landmark album after landmark album. Take that, other kids at school!

Read more about the metal albums to get excited for in 2025 inside the new issue of Metal Hammer. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.

Def Leppard have posted a video containing footage of their recent show in Mexico, where they played without guitarist Vivian Campbell, and updated fans about his health.

“We’re in Leon in Mexico in a bit of an amphitheatre,” says frontman Joe Elliott. “It’s a kind of a one-off gig and we’re doing it a man down as Vivian is not here. Vivian is recuperating from cancer surgery and he’s doing very well, but he’s in a bubble he’s not allowed to travel.

“So John Zocco – basically Phil [Collen’s] guitar tech – has manfully stepped up to the plate because he’s a phenomenal player himself and he can sing a bit as well. So, rather get some stranger in that we don’t know, he’s doing it, which is fantastic. We have every confidence that it will go swimmingly until our boy Vivian is back on the stage with us.”

Zocco also filled in for Campbell at the band’s previous show, a performance at the Daimler Truck Customer Appreciation Event in Nashville last October.

After the show in Leon, Campbell shared a message on Def Leppard’s social media channels, letting fans know how his treatment was progressing.

“Thank you for all the recent messages and support,” he wrote. “As you all may know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma several years ago. I recently had a bone marrow transplant as part of my treatment plan, and it’s safe to say that thus far it’s been a very successful transplant! I just have to keep my head down and my spirits up for the next 100 days of primary recovery.”

The show in Leon took place 45 years ago to the day since Def Leppard kicked off their On Through The Night tour headline tour at a show in Aberdeen, Scotland. The band marked the occasion by playing Wasted, originally released as a single in 1979 and later rerecorded for the On Through The Night album. Footage of the performance is included in the new video (below).

Def Leppard’s next scheduled show is at the San Juan Coliseo de Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico, on May 15. Full dates below.

Def Leppard 2025 tour dates

May 15: San Juan Coliseo de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
May 17: Ocean City Boardwalk Rock 2025, MD
Jun 19: Milwaukee Summerfest, WI
Jun 21: Thackerville Lucas Oil Live at WinStar World Casino and Resort, OK
Jun 28: Atlantic City Borgata Event Center, NJ
Jul 03: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
Jul 13: Craven Country Thunder Craven, Canada
Aug 14: Des Moines Iowa State Fair, IA
Aug 16: Springfield Illinois State Fair, IL
Aug 20: Highland Yaamava’ Theater, CA

Tickets are on sale now.