Latest news with #Slayer
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
One of Cardiff's busiest roads will close four times over the summer
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info One of Cardiff's busiest roads will close four times for concerts to be held at Blackweir Fields this summer. Over four dates during June and July, singers Noah Kahan, Alanis Morissette, and Steve Wonder and band Slayer will perform. In recent months concerns have been raised about the potential for large-scale gigs on Blackweir Fields with park users citing the impact it could have on access to green space and grassroots sport. You can read more about this here. And concert-goers are being warned to be prepared. North Road, from its junction with Colum Road throughout to Boulevard De Nantes, will be closed to traffic to allow gig-goers to exit the venue at each gig. From 4pm until midnight on the concert dates - between June 27 and July 9 - the following roads will be closed: Castle Street throughout its length, from its junction with Westgate Street Duke Street and Kingsway North Road from its junction with Colum Road throughout to Boulevard De Nantes; Boulevard De Nantes at its junction with Park Place (Access for buses and taxis/residents will be managed to Greyfriars Road) Cowbridge Road East from Cathedral Road through to its junction with Westgate Street with access to Westgate Street being permitted. Cardiff council say the closures are to get people into and out of the venue safely. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here The dates are: June 27 (Noah Kahan), July 2 (Alanis Morrisette), July 3 (Slayer), July 9 (Stevie Wonder). There will also be changes to access at the city's Civic Centre from 7am with King Edward VII Avenue, Museum Avenue, City Hall Road, College Road and Gorsedd Gardens Road all impacted. The right-hand turn from Colum Road into Corbett Road will also be suspended for the road closure times to permit and manage access to residents/business off Corbett Road. The council say there will be no park and ride available for these events, but that event day parking is available at the Civic Centre and Sophia Gardens, charged at £20 for cars and £30 for coaches. Bus services will be diverted while the city centre road closures are in place. The cycleways and the pop-up cycleways within the road closure area will remain open for cyclists to use during the event, but North Road Cycleway will be diverted to facilitate the event set up and break down. On concert days a short diversion via a like for like bi-directional alternative route, will be in place. All diversions will be clearly signposted. A massive solid green wall has been built surrounding the Cardiff city centre park where the gigs are being held. Fencing has gone up around Blackweir Fields in the run-up to music festival Blackweir Live. You can see those images here.
Metro
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Black Sabbath star shares fears over Ozzy Osbourne's health for final show
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is worried about the band's big goodbye gig in Birmingham on July 5, as reports emerge that frontman Ozzy Osbourne's heart is being monitored daily. The Back To The Beginning show, taking place at the iconic Villa Park stadium, will see the full Black Sabbath line-up – composed of Tony, Ozzy, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – reunite on stage for the first time in 20 years. The show – also with supporting performances from the likes of Metallica and Slayer – is billed as Ozzy's final farewell to fans, following his health decline due to a 2020 Parkinson's diagnosis and extensive spinal surgery. Speaking to Music Week three weeks ahead of the show, Tony admitted: 'This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good. The worrying thing for me is the unknown. 'We don't know what's going to happen. Normally, when we'd tour, we'd rehearse and run through the thing for a while, and it's just us. But with this event there are so many other moving parts. 'You're used to Ozzy running around, but he certainly won't be doing that for this show. I don't know if he's going to be standing or sitting on a throne or what.' Last month, chatting on Ozzy Speaks, The Osbournes star revealed his blood pressure was being taken 15 times a day. Ozzy explained: 'I have got this trainer guy who helps people get back to normal. It's hard going, but he's convinced that he can pull it off for me. I'm giving it everything I've got. 'It's endurance. The first thing that goes when you're laid up is your stamina. 'I am having my blood pressure taken 15 times a day.. I've got this f***ing device on my finger. It's a monitor to say how my heart rate is.' The one-off charity concert will see Ozzy perform a solo segment before the legendary rockers come together one final time. Proceeds will raise money for Cure Parkinson's, the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. As per Tony's words, last month Ozzy confessed he might be 'sitting down' for the show. 'I'll be there, and I'll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up,' he told The Guardian. As well as his daily heart monitoring, Ozzy revealed a vocal coach was working with him four days a week to 'keep [his] voice going'. 'I have problems walking. I also get blood pressure issues, from blood clots on my legs,' he said. Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne announced the news of the farewell gig in February. 'It's very emotional but very happy. It's time for Ozzy to say goodnight to everybody, and what better way to do it than to do it surrounded by your friends, your family, and back to the beginning – the place where he was born – in Aston,' she said. More Trending 'He's very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this,' Sharon told The Sun following the announcement. 'Parkinson's is a progressive disease. It's not something you can stabilise. It affects different parts of the body and it's affected his legs. 'But his voice is as good as it's ever been.' Taking place all day, the heavy metal festival will also feature a supergroup of musicians including Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins, Duff McKagan and Slash from Guns 'n Roses, Frank Durst from Limp Bizkit, Mike Bordin from Faith No More, and Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
The Sun
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Sharon Osbourne AXES rock band from husband Ozzy's huge farewell gig and takes furious swipe
SHARON Osbourne has claimed she's axed a rock band from husband Ozzy's epic final farewell concerts. Rocker Ozzy will be taking to the stage alongside his legendary band Black Sabbath one last time for the Back to the Beginning concerts at Birmingham 's Villa Park. 4 But there already appears to be some backstage drama with Sharon claiming to have axed one band from the line-up after a furious bust-up with their manager. In an interview with Metal Hammer, Sharon claims she had the unnamed group removed from the jam-packed supporting line-up for the gig which includes bands such as Metallica and Slayer. Sharon took aim at the unidentified music manager and told the publication: 'I had a huge, huge to-do with a manager over this celebration for Ozzy and Sabbath. "And it was probably the worst way I've felt in years. "I don't care what this person says about me, thinks about it, because he doesn't know me. "He's now going around making up bulls*** lies because I threw his band off the bill. "I don't care what people say. Because do you know what? I don't love them." Sharon then added: "I care about people who love me, what they say about me. "You can't care what an industry says, because you don't love them, so how can it hurt you? It doesn't.' Although Sharon did not names, some fans speculated that she could have been referring to rock band, Tool. Black Sabbath play 'Paranoid' before bowing out of music for good The band were originally lined up to play but soon disappeared from the official announcement. Despite this, it has been confirmed the band will still be playing at the event and as such casting doubt on such speculation. Elsewhere, Sharon spoke to the publication about the perception that people are often scared of her. The former The X Factor star said: 'Yeah, I think that a lot of people are [scared of me]. Because the thing is, I'll tell on you. "Things that you've done, things that I know about you, if you rattle my cage, I will tell. I don't give a s***. "You look at the billionaires in the world today, how dangerous they all are because they're all power hungry. "And I've never wanted that. "But if you f*** with me, I'll tell on you.' 4
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Neckbreakker released one of 2024's most exciting metal debut albums. Now they're about to live their biggest dream
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. When Joakim Høholt Kaspersen co-founded Neckbreakker in 2020, aged 15, one of the Danes' dreams was to play Copenhell, his home country's premier metal festival. 'As a Danish band, that is the thing that you strive towards,' the guitarist says of the 35,000-capacity weekender. He was just 19 when that dream came true. 'We'd all been going to that festival for years before we played it,' he continues with a smile. 'It's a place where the entire metal scene unites every year, so, when we played, it was like playing a festival where half of the crowd are your friends.' Performing at one of Scandinavia's biggest festivals is just the first item on the list of colossal things these death metal upstarts have accomplished. Now aged between 18 and 22, they've already signed to Nuclear Blast and released propulsive debut album Within The Viscera in December 2024. In a 'full-circle' moment, they've also been announced as the opening act on Slayer's mega-gigs when they return to the UK in July, a fitting position considering the thrash legends were Joakim's gateway into extreme metal. 'I started listening to thrash and learned a bunch of Slayer [on guitar],' Joakim recalls. 'When I found Death's Scream Bloody Gore and to me that sounded just like Slayer but more aggressive. Before I knew it, I was listening to death metal and going to pretty much every metal show I could. I got exposed to a lot of different subgenres.' You can hear those influences on Within The Viscera, a tooth-gnashing, headbanging mix of the nastiest bits in death metal and beyond. Deathcore breakdowns and scathing lead guitar lines frequently join its melee of chainsaw-like riffs, while pummelling beatdowns are never too far away. 'I've gotten very, very much into hardcore,' Joakim says. 'But a lot of the drumming on the record was inspired by our old drummer Anton's [Bregendorf] love of rock music. His favourite drummer of all time is Dave Grohl.' Joakim formed Neckbreakker under the name 'Nakkeknaekker' in February 2020, . He admits it was hard work finding other members. 'I'm from Aarhus, which is a pretty big city,' Joakim says. 'But the other guys in the band are from smaller cities in Jutland. There just isn't a metal scene outside of the bigger cities in Denmark.' Making the search even harder was how young he was. 'When I went to shows and stuff, there weren't a lot of people my age,' he says with a shrug. 'Even the people that were, they probably didn't play any instruments themselves.' Nonetheless, Joakim did eventually gather a lineup…three weeks before COVID-19 forced shows to be cancelled for more than a year. Rather than impatiently split up, the band practiced incessantly for 18 months, holed away in their rooms perfecting their instruments. All that time writing and playing made their gigs as sharp as machetes once restrictions were lifted. 'I think it helped us because we didn't think about having to book shit or anything like that,' Joakim reflects. 'We just wrote songs and played them all day. I remember, we would have rehearsals that were 12 hours long, but we would just be playing the same four songs again and again.' Nakkeknaekker burst out of lockdown like a rabid pitbull, playing all over Denmark in 2022 before going international the following year. They dominated the New Blood stage at Bloodstock Open Air, where the crowd relentlessly moshed to their well-honed savagery. 'That was our second or third show out of Denmark and it was just incredible,' Joakim says. But while they'd enjoyed some serious momentum, the band soon realised they'd need to change things if they wanted to continue reaching international audiences. Their expansion abroad showed the band that the name Nakkeknaekker was no longer fit for purpose, with the members noticing how many people overseas struggled to pronounce it. So, they translated the moniker into English and added an extra K. The rebrand was unveiled in late 2024, when it was announced that the five-piece were the newest additions to Nuclear Blast's roster. 'There's no other label that I'd rather be on as a metal band, to be honest,' he enthuses. 'They're just amazing people. The whole team seems to really, really understand metal and understand music. You can throw any reference to anything at them and they'll know exactly what you're talking about.' Since then, exciting news from the band seems to come as frequently as the tide. Their set on the Sunday of Download will be followed one day later by a gig supporting deathcore mavens Fit For An Autopsy. Then, of course, will come the Slayer shows, taking place at Cardiff's 35,000-capacity Blackweir Fields and London's 45,000-capacity Finsbury Park – presenting possibly the biggest crowds the band have played to yet. 'Words can't describe how excited me and the guys are to get the chance to support Slayer,' he enthuses. 'It still doesn't feel quite real, but we are just honoured and grateful to be a part of such an insane lineup.' The guitarist struggles to think when asked what his band have left to achieve – granted, who could come up with an answer better than 'playing my dream festival as a teenager' or 'supporting fucking Slayer'? For now, he wants to stick the course, playing more places and climbing further up posters. 'We still want to tour the US and Australia at some point,' he says. 'We just hope everything is going to get bigger and bigger.' Within The Viscera is out now via Nuclear Blast. Neckbreakker will play Download on June 15 and London with Fit For An Autopsy on June 16. They'll support Slayer in the UK in July
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Doom: The Dark Ages does what Doom does best, forging carnage in a forge of chaos
Don't you think video games are getting too complicated? Every title coming out these days feel compelled to drop me into a 200-hour increasingly cinematic sandbox filled with fetch quests that demand dozens of hours exploring vast open worlds for what, just to kill off the bad guy for world peace? Well, Doom: The Dark Ages is exactly that but it's honest about it, and bluntly effective. After years of watching the franchise from the sidelines, occasionally nodding along to Mick Gordon's brutal soundtracks without context, I finally dove headfirst into it. What I discovered wasn't just my entry point into the series, but a reminder of why sometimes the most sophisticated gaming experiences come wrapped in the simplest packages. The Dark Ages positions itself as a prequel to the modern Doom trilogy, casting the legendary Slayer in a medieval-meets-sci-fi setting where alien overlords, demonic hordes, and humanity's last defenders clash across sprawling battlefields. The premise couldn't be more straightforward: you are an unstoppable force of nature, demons exist, and your job is to make them not exist anymore. No moral complexity, no branching dialogue trees, no companion approval ratings to manage. Just pure, undiluted aggression channeled through increasingly creative methods of digital violence. What struck me immediately was how liberating this clarity felt. In a gaming landscape increasingly obsessed with cinematic storytelling and player choice consequences, The Dark Ages presents a different philosophy entirely. The Slayer speaks exactly one word throughout the entire campaign, yet his character development through body language and environmental storytelling proves more compelling than most fully-voiced protagonists. There's something profoundly satisfying about a character who solves every problem by hitting it really, really hard with medieval weaponry. Rip and tear, stand and fight by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money Expertinspector Click Here Undo The Dark Ages' isn't very good with it's storytelling but let's honest it doesn't really need to be. Instead, it is the Doom's ages old combat formula, which is subtly evolved but still maintain its frenetic DNA. The introduction of the Shield Saw fundamentally changes how encounters unfold, shifting from Doom Eternal's emphasis on constant movement to a "stand and fight" mentality that initially sounds counterintuitive to everything the franchise represents. Yet somehow, it works brilliantly. While shields have mostly been known to be defensive equipment to humans, for the Slayer, it's a weapon, traversal tool, and tactical game-changer rolled into one circular buzzsaw of destruction. Parrying incoming attacks feels satisfying in a way that transcends mere mechanical feedback; there's a rhythm to combat that emerges naturally as you learn to balance aggression with precise timing. Unlike the rigid resource management that sometimes made Doom Eternal feel like solving an equation under pressure, The Dark Ages allows for more improvisational approaches to demon disposal. The weapon roster adapts familiar tools to the medieval setting without losing their essential character. The Super Shotgun remains the close-quarters king, but new additions like the skull-spitting gatling gun and chain-attached railgun offer fresh approaches to crowd control and armour piercing. Each weapon feels purposeful rather than redundant, contributing to a combat system that rewards experimentation without punishing players who develop preferences. What impressed me most was how the game manages to feel both more accessible than its predecessor while maintaining tactical depth. The shield bash's traversal capabilities replace Eternal's air dash system seamlessly, while the parry mechanics add a layer of skill expression that never feels mandatory for success. It's a delicate balance that many action games struggle with, providing systems that enhance experienced play without alienating newcomers. Hell on earth (but make it medieval) Beyond the moment-to-moment combat, The Dark Ages succeeds in creating environments that justify their existence beyond being demon-killing arenas. The level design strikes an excellent balance between linear progression and exploratory freedom, with larger hub areas offering multiple objectives and secrets to discover at your own pace. These aren't the overwhelming open worlds that dominate modern gaming, but focused playgrounds that reward curiosity without overwhelming players with busy work. The medieval aesthetic could have easily felt like a gimmicky departure from the series' established visual language, but id Software wisely blends fantasy elements with the technological underpinnings that define Doom's universe. Watching massive mechs stomp across castle battlefields while dragons soar overhead creates moments of genuine spectacle that feel earned rather than manufactured. These setpiece moments, while not always mechanically perfect, serve their purpose as palate cleansers between the more intense combat encounters. The game's approach to progression also deserves mention for how it respects player time. Upgrades feel meaningful without being overwhelming, and the currency systems are straightforward enough that you're never confused about what you need or where to get it. Secrets are well-integrated into level design, offering genuine rewards for exploration without requiring exhaustive searching to find every hidden item. When glory kills actually feel glorious Perhaps what surprised me most about The Dark Ages was how it made me reconsider my relationship with action games in general. I've spent years gravitating toward narrative-heavy experiences, convinced that emotional investment required complex storytelling and character development. The Dark Ages demonstrates that engagement can come from perfectly tuned mechanics and clear, achievable goals just as effectively as any branching storyline. The game's violence is cartoonish in the best possible way—so over-the-top that it transcends any concerns about real-world implications and becomes pure digital catharsis. There's an almost meditative quality to chaining together perfect parries, weapon swaps, and glory kills that creates its own form of flow state. The feedback loop is immediate and satisfying: see demon, devise elimination method, execute plan, admire results, repeat. This isn't to say The Dark Ages completely abandons narrative ambition. The wordless characterisation of the Slayer, the environmental storytelling embedded in each level, and the broader mythology all contribute to a surprisingly coherent world. But these elements serve the gameplay rather than demanding attention in their own right, creating a more integrated experience than many games that pride themselves on their storytelling. The campaign's 22-chapter structure maintains excellent pacing throughout its roughly 20-hour runtime, never allowing any single element to overstay its welcome. Even the occasional mech and dragon sequences, while mechanically simpler than the core combat, provide necessary variety and spectacle without derailing the overall experience. The sound of silence (and chainsaws) If there's one area where The Dark Ages stumbles, it's in the audio department. While I haven't really spent hours slaying on Mick Gordon's composition, yet somehow his absence is immediately noticeable, and I guess it would be even more so for someone who have been a regular of series' previous entires. While Finishing Move's soundtrack is competent, it lacks the driving intensity that made Gordon's work such an integral part of the Doom experience. The music often fades into background noise rather than amplifying the on-screen chaos, a significant departure from how seamlessly audio and gameplay integrated in previous entries. This isn't a fatal flaw, but it does represent a missed opportunity to elevate already excellent gameplay with equally excellent audio design. The sound effects themselves remain top-tier, every shotgun blast, demon roar, and shield clang carries appropriate weight, but the musical backing never quite matches the energy of what's happening on screen. Until it is done (for now) Doom: The Dark Ages succeeds as both an entry point for newcomers and a worthy addition to an established franchise by remembering that complexity and sophistication aren't synonymous. It knows exactly what it wants to be and executes that vision with laser focus. Now I understand what I'd been missing all these years. The Dark Ages doesn't just serve as my belated introduction to the series, it's a masterclass in why Doom has endured for over three decades. What I initially dismissed as mindless violence revealed itself as carefully orchestrated chaos, where every system works in harmony to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The sophistication I'd been seeking in complex narratives and sprawling worlds was here all along, hidden beneath layers of demon viscera and shotgun shells. This realisation feels almost embarrassing in hindsight. I'd spent years chasing elaborate gaming experiences, convinced that depth required complexity, when Doom was quietly perfecting the art of elegant simplicity. The Dark Ages strips away every unnecessary element to focus entirely on what matters: the pure joy of interactive entertainment. No padding, no filler, no respect for your time wasted on anything that doesn't contribute to the core experience. In a year likely to be dominated by sprawling open worlds and narrative epics, Doom : The Dark Ages offers something increasingly rare: a game that respects your time, trusts your intelligence, and never forgets that fun should be the primary objective. Sometimes that's exactly what hell ordered. Our rating: 4/5 AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
