Metallica and the American Red Cross achieved a significant milestone through their collaboration, collecting over 25,000 blood donations since launching in April 2023. The partnership, facilitated by the band’s All Within My Hands Foundation, aimed to address critical blood shortages nationwide. “What Metallica and their fans have accomplished this year is truly monumental ─ inspiring people to give blood for the first time while also energizing teens and young adults about the donation process,” said Darren Irby, Red Cross executive director for national partnerships. The campaign attracted notable first-time participation, with 16% being new donors and nearly half aged 16-24. Blood drives occurred at select M72 tour stops, with donors receiving limited-edition shirts and chances to win a signed ESP Snakebyte guitar featuring an exclusive Red Cross x Metallica design. Story URL
Willie Nelson will release his 79th album Dream Chaser on May 29th, just before his 93rd birthday. The title track, available now, explores aging and reflection with lyrics including “Today I looked in the mirror/And I caught me by surprise.” The album also features “I Can’t Read Your Mind,” co-written with Bob Dylan and Buddy Cannon. “[We] were talking a while back about writing a song together,” Nelson told GQ. “He had an idea of ‘I can’t read your mind.’ We started with, ‘I can’t read your mind. The letters are too small.’ I handed that over to Buddy, and he took it and turned it into a good song. That’s pretty rare with Bob.” This marks Nelson and Dylan’s first songwriting collaboration since 1993’s “Heartland.” Nelson begins touring April 22nd in Birmingham, Alabama, and is slowly rolling out more dates for this summer. Story URL
Dave Grohl revealed losing drummer Taylor Hawkins “threw our world upside down” and made him question everything about life in a new Mojo interview. The Foo Fighters frontman admitted the tragedy was “so unfair” and he still struggles making sense of it. Following Hawkins’ death, Grohl used music as a crutch, saying “I was afraid of silence, afraid of having to feel.” The band returned in May 2023 with Josh Freese but replaced him two years later with Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin. Freese told the New York Times their music “wasn’t music that I really resonated with.” Grohl acknowledged needing to “re-examine my ambition and intention,” admitting past projects were “surface validation.” Their new album Your Favorite Toy arrives April 24th, with American tour dates starting April 28th in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Story URL
Iron Maiden has released the trailer for their upcoming documentary Burning Ambition, which chronicles five decades of the legendary metal band’s career. The film covers their journey from late 1970s club performances to becoming heavy metal icons in the 1980s, through their experimental 1990s phase and their successful reunion with Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith in the 2000s. The documentary features interviews with notable fans including Lars Ulrich from Metallica, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Chuck D from Public Enemy, and actor Javier Bardem. Burning Ambition will screen in select theaters on May 7th, with advance tickets available now. The release coincides with Iron Maiden’s ongoing “Run For Your Lives Tour,” featuring support from Megadeth and Anthrax. (Story URL)
Wayne Perkins, the acclaimed Alabama-born guitarist who nearly joined the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd, died Monday at age 74 following a stroke. He played on landmark albums by Bob Marley and Joni Mitchell. Perkins also contributed to the Stones’ 1976 ‘Black and Blue’ sessions and performed the guitar solo on “Worried About You.” (Story URL)