Eddie Van Halen invented heavy metal guitar playing as we know it. Bow down in respect, son!!!

Founding guitarist Chris Rubey has left the building.

This week’s Heavy New Releases tip: The album with pyramids on its cover is not by the band called Pyramids!

A depressing story we hear all-too-often in the metal world.

Given 60 heavy new releases, you could blindly select at least four gems. Will it be Kjeld, Enslaved, Santa Cruz, and The Haunting Presence? Or Sacral Rage, Urfaust, Psycroptic, and Harm’s Way?? Or Garden Of Worm, Mnemic, Cancer Bats, and Europe??

Everything you need to know about metal at SXSW 2015, all in once place.

We got 70 heavy new releases — wanna listen to any of ’em? All That Remains, Benighted, Ensiferum, Griever, Carach Angren, Rob Zombie, Torche, Pelican, Nasty, and more.

An album made by weed lovers for weed lovers.

The former Strapping Young Lad mastermind wasn’t always such a nice boy.

“Trapt was, like, my favorite band back when I was in, what, fifth grade?”

No applause, just throw money!

Inarguably the nostalgia fest of the season.

That sound you hear is Wes Borland weeping.

Take me down to the show in Helsinki, where the snow is white and the riffs are heavy.

Some albums lift your spirits! Some do not.

Will his new social media app Spur you on to leave your old social media apps behind?

Swedes will be playing these three shows, and these three shows only.

Appropriately enough, it’s called “Grinding Teeth.”

What could BTBAM possibly be up to these days?????

#Softshred pioneer Myrone has a new track, and we get to see a live, working preview of the video game on which his music appears, Drift Stage.