Artist

Chris Cornell, one of the most revered rock singers of his generation, died Wednesday night in Detroit after his band Soundgarden played a show at the city's Fox Theater. He was 52.

Thursday afternoon the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was suicide by hanging. According to the Detroit Police Department, as quoted by Rolling Stone, a friend went to check on Cornell at his hotel in MGM Grand casino, where he found the vocalist unresponsive on the bathroom floor. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene. A statement issued by Cornell's representative, Brian Bumbery, quoted in the New York Times, described Cornell's death as "sudden and unexpected."

With Soundgarden, Cornell helped pioneer the grunge sound. The group broke up in 1997 after releasing seminal records including Badmotorfinger and Superunknown, but reunited in 2010 and recorded the acclaimed comeback album King Animal. At the time of Cornell's death, Soundgarden were reportedly at work on a new record. In April, the singer reported to Billboard that the band was "halfway through writing the new album," but he noted, "We're not on a schedule." He also talked about what he enjoyed the most about working with the group. "What I look forward to the most — because I tour so much, especially the last couple of years, by myself — is the camaraderie," he said. "It's what we missed when we weren't a band. When I do solo tours, I'm really kind of alone all the time, so that's the best thing about it."
 
Soundgarden appeared on the cover of Revolver in 2012 and talked about their reunion and the making of King Animal. In the story, Cornell reflected on the band's breakup. "I think that what caused us to split apart, rather than just take a hiatus, was just that Soundgarden had become a business," he said, "and that business had somehow, in a sense, started to be able to dictate to us what, where, and how we were going to do things, whether we were into it or comfortable with it or not."

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of resources.

Hardcore outfit Integrity have announced their forthcoming twelfth studio album, 'Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume,' which is due on July 14 via Relapse Records. The apocalyptic concept album will depict themes of occultism, religious corruption and destruction. In conjunction with the album announcement, the band have shared the first single from the effort, "I Am the Spell," along with an accompanying music video. The clip, which is directed by Integrity frontman Dwid Hellion, can be seen below.

Mastered by Brad Boatright (Obituary, Toxic Holocaust), 'Howing, For the Nightmare Shall Consume' was mixed and recorded at Developing Nations Studio in Baltimore, Maryland and features cover art by Hellion. The effort will be available in various formats, including CD, digital and multiple LP formats, including a deluxe version that will contain 3 bonus tracks, a 12-page booklet with expanded artwork and a double-sided slipmat. The album can be pre-ordered digitally here while physical versions are available at this location.

'Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume' Tracklisting: 
1. Fallen To Destroy
2. Blood Sermon 
3. Hymn For The Children of the Black Flame
4. I Am The Spell 
5. Die With Your Boots On
6. Serpent of the Crossroads
7. Unholy Salvation of Sabbatai Zevi
8. 7 Reece Mews 
9. Burning Beneath the Devils Cross
10. String Up My Teeth
11. Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume 
12. Viselle De Drac (Digital / Deluxe Vinyl Bonus Track)
13. Entartete Kunst (Digital / Deluxe Vinyl Bonus Track)
14. Deathly Fighter (Digital / Deluxe Vinyl Bonus Track)
15. The Perfect Silence (Digital Bonus Track)

Ice-T's Body Count have shared the official music video for "The Ski Mask Way," which is taken from their latest release, 'Blooodlust.' The animated video was designed by graphic artist Tommy Ruffin. The clip can be seen below.

When the frontman spoke to Revolver for the track premiere, he said, "I was noticing people on the streets showing off their expensive jewelry and money on social media. They are just making themselves a target for the robbers out there just watching their Instagram to see what they are flaunting. In L.A., they call Instagram 'Jacker's Uber,' seeing what clubs people are at and livestream the robbers to their front door."

Let us know what you think of the video for "The Ski Mask Way!"

On the eve of the release of Alien: Covenant, the eighth entry in the popular sci-fi horror film franchise, Fox has released BIOTIC, a 90-second short film written and directed by Zev Deans, primarily know for his groundbreaking music videos for artists such as Behemoth, Ghost and Portal. To create the short, Deans assembled an all-star team including cinematographer Christopher Raymond (Logan, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), producer Monica Teszla-Goursin, avant-garde CGI artist AUJIK and extreme composer Mario Diaz de Leon (Luminous Vault). The result is a hard-hitting mini epic that depicts Alien's xynomorph as the center of a religious cult. It premiered on CryptTV and Fox's Instagram account, and can be viewed below.

We talked to Deans about how the project came together and his love for H.R. Giger, the Swiss artist who designed the xymomorph and created the aesthetic of Alien.

REVOLVER How did your involvement with the Alien franchise come together?
ZEV DEANS Fox tapped me. I got an email after the video for Ghost's "Square Hammer" came out with the subject heading "This email is on the level." They wanted some kind of unconventional promotion for the movie and what we finally decided on was for me to make this weird short film.

Did you write the narrative?
I came up with a concept, made a bunch of storyboards and just worked from there.

You have some heavy hitters on the creative team. How did you put that together?
I was introduced to the producer Monica through a friend of my fiancée. She brought in the director of photography, Christopher Raymond. The real thing I love about this is Mario Diaz de Leon's original score. There is AUJIK, the Japanese CGI artist who I've know for a couple of years — we collaborated on some projects that never came to be, [but] we stayed in contact and BIOTIC was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Does this tie into the continuum of the Alien story line?
I read the script of Covenant and created something that was inspired by the themes within the movie. I'm imagining that the artificial intelligence character from the movie at some point will make his way to Earth and finds a way to convince humans to sacrifice themselves to the xymomorph using religion as a tool for manipulation. Though I haven't spoken with Ridley Scott personally, his team has been communicating with me and giving me notes from him.

Do you think someone at Fox was a fan of Ghost and that's how they might have connected the dots?
That's exactly what happened, I think. Someone is a fan of some of the bands I worked with and was aware of my work. Oddly, they seemed surprised when I told them that H.R. Giger was an inspiration to me.

At the end of the video for Behemoth's "Messe Noire," you actually paid tribute to Giger. Considering how much of an inspiration he has been to you, how excited are you to be part of a project like this?
It doesn't feel real. I don't even understand why it happened, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

During an in-studio appearance at Berlin, Germany's Star FM 87.9 Maximum Rock radio station, Stone Sour's Corey Taylor performed an acoustic version of the band's new single, "Song #3." The song will appear on Stone Sour's forthcoming album, 'Hydrograd,' which is set for a June 30 release via Roadrunner Records. The clip can be seen below.

While issuing a studio update for our February/March 2017 issue, Taylor explained: "People have had it wrong about Stone Sour for a long time. We're not a metal band that plays hard rock stuff—we are a rock band that plays everything. And to me, this is the first Stone Sour album that's really going to prove that point about this band."

"It's hard to explain," he continued. "It's hard rock, but not in the typical hard rock sense. It's heavy and melodic, but not in those typical senses. Anybody who likes the 'Burbank' stuff [on which the band covered classic rock and metal anthems by The Rolling Stones, Bad Brains, Alice in Chains, Iron Maiden, Slayer, and others] is going to love the originals. As eclectic as those covers were, that's kind of where we're at with the music here. But when you listen to the songs as a whole, it all just fits so well together!" The full excerpt can be seen here.

The original version of "Song #3" can be heard at this location, while the official music video for band's first single from the effort, "Fabuless," can be seen here.

'Hydrograd' was recorded by producer Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Steel Panther) at Sphere Studios in North Hollywood, California.

In addition, Stone Sour will embark on a North American tour this summer. The band will kickoff the trek with an exclusive Rock on the Range launch party on May 18 at Express Live in Columbus, Ohio, concluding the tour on August 2 in Cleveland, Ohio at Blossom Music Center. The full itinerary is available at this location.

Watch and let us know what you think of the acoustic version of "Song #3!"

Between the Buried and Me will embark on a North American "Colors Ten Year Anniversary Tour" to celebrate their landmark album, 'Colors,' which they will perform in full. The band will be supported by The Contortionist, Polyphia and Toothgrinder. The dates are available below.

Between The Buried And Me explained in a statement: "'Colors' was our statement of rebellion. We were challenging how others identified us in the context of heavy metal, and ultimately we were challenging how we identified ourselves. It was some kind of musical manifesto, in which we found new purpose and direction simply by throwing caution to the wind and purging every ounce of creative energy we had, regardless of how unhinged it may have seemed at the time. Ten years have passed and we are lucky enough to be able to play this album from front to back on stage for our amazing fans. See you all soon!" 

Tickets will go on sale this Friday, May 19th at 10:00 A.M. local time.

Between The Buried And Me tour dates:
Sept. 7 - Center Stage @ Prog Power USA XVIII - Atlanta, GA (BTBAM only) 
Sept. 21 - Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 22 - Baltimore Sound Stage - Baltimore, MD
Sept. 23 - The Gramercy Theatre - New York, NY
Sept. 24 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
Sept. 26 - Mr. Small's Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA
Sept. 27 - The Agora Theatre - Cleveland, OH
Sept. 28 - Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI
Sept. 29 - Opera House - Toronto, ON
Sept. 30 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
Oct. 2 - Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS
Oct. 3 - Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
Oct. 4 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 6 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
Oct. 7 - El Rey - Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 8 - Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
Oct. 9 - SOMA - San Diego, CA
Oct. 10 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ
Oct. 12 - Trees - Dallas, TX
Oct. 14 - House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
Oct. 15 - Vinyl Music Hall - Pensacola, FL
Oct. 17 - Culture Room - Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct. 18 - State Theatre - St Petersburg, FL
Oct. 19 - The Plaza Live - Orlando, FL
Oct. 20 - The Masquerade (Heaven) - Atlanta, GA
Oct. 21 - Neighborhood Theater - Charlotte, NC 

It was a strange series of events when Ronnie James Dio died seven years ago today. The eve before he passed away, rumors started to circulate that the legendary singer was already dead. Conflicting reports made their way around the web, with some saying he had crossed over into Heavy Metal Valhalla, while others swore that he was still alive and that they had just seen him in his hospital bed. It wasn't until the following afternoon, on May 16, 2010, that Dio's wife and manager, Wendy Dio, released an official statement that he had succumbed to his battle with stomach cancer, bringing a cold dose of reality to the skeptics and the hopeful. In that moment, the mythical and seemingly other-worldly icon suddenly became mortal for an instant as no one believed someone so magical could ever die. However, once the overwhelming number of accolades from fans, friends and fellow musicians came pouring in, it became evident that Dio was now more immortal than ever, living on forever with the iron clad legacy that he left behind.

Known for bringing his special brand of magic and incredible, powerhouse vocals to iconic bands such as Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his eponymous project, Dio, the singer was one of the rare musicians who found unparalleled success in just about everything he touched. It wasn't just his angelic voice that moved those who worshipped him, but his angelic demeanor and loving heart as well.

Like all musicians, Dio got his start somewhere else. Before Rainbow, Dio formed a band called The Electric Elves, in which he originally sang and played bass until they recruited Craig Gruber. The band shortened its name to The Elves, eventually going simply by Elf. If it weren't for Dio's vocal contributions to the band, he might have never been noticed by Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who partnered up with him to form Rainbow. The rest is history.

Today, we're remembering Ronnie James Dio by taking a look way back to the start of his career. Watch the clip of Dio performing live in Syracuse, N.Y. with Elf in 1974, which is the only known live footage of the band. Be sure to raise your horns and tell us how you keep the legacy of Dio alive!

During the May 15 episode of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' Metallica appeared on the show for the first time. The band performed the song "Now that We're Dead," which is taken from their latest release, 'Hardwired… to Self-Destruct.' Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Metallica had previously made an appearance on Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report' in September 2013.

Tour dates for Metallica's 'Worldwired World Tour' can be found at this location.

Watch the clip below and tell us what you think!

Lacuna Coil have shared the official music video for "You Love Me 'Cause I Hate You," which is taken from their latest album, 'Delirium.' The video, which is directed by Cosmo Alemà, can be seen below.

Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia is featured as one of Revolver's 25 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock in our April/May 2017 issue. Read an excerpt from the cover story here!

Watch the video and let us know what you think!