Coroner played one of their first reunion shows at this year's edition of
Hellfest, which took place June 17–19, 2011 in Clisson,
France.[27]
Judas Priest embarked on
Epitaph World Tour.[28] Despite this, the band insist that they are not going to break up.[29] However, founding member
K. K. Downing later retires from the band. Judas Priest also stated "Having thought long and hard about how to proceed, Rob, Glenn, Ian and Scott unanimously agreed that they should go ahead with the tour and not let the fans down around the world".[30] Thirty-one-year-old British guitar player Richie Faulkner was announced as the replacement, but the press release did not state if it is on a permanent basis.
Morgoth embarkinged on a festival tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1991 album, Cursed.[31]
Slipknot toured again.[32] This was their first tour without bassist
Paul Gray, who died in May 2010.
Acid Reign released their remasters of Moshkinstein, The Fear and Obnoxious on January 17, 2011 on CD and digital download. All remastered by the Bill Metoyer.[33]
On January 8, 2011 22-year-old
Jared Lee Loughner was arrested for
shooting and killing six bystanders in Tucson, Arizona, and injuring 14 others. The Washington Post noted that Loughner's YouTube channel had only one clip; a fan-made music video for the controversial
Drowning Pool song titled "
Bodies."[38] Other members of the media also suggested that his music tastes affected his behavior, including political commentator
Rush Limbaugh who was quoted saying, "The guy listened to heavy metal, and some of that
anarchist stuff. We're dealing with an insane individual."[39] Drowning Pool responded to these allegations by claiming that the song was written about the camaraderie seen in
mosh pits, and is in no way a violent song.[40]
Doom metal band
Cathedral have announced they will disband after releasing another album in 2012.[42]
Slayer guitarist
Jeff Hanneman contracted
necrotizing fasciitis, and underwent emergency surgery on his right arm.[43] On Saturday April 23,
Jeff Hanneman made a surprise stage return in Indio, CA. He came out during the 2 song encore unannounced, and delighted a crowd of roughly 50,000. Jeff commented afterwards that, "I'm the happiest man in the world."[44]
The Red Chord once again parts ways with their drummer Michael Justian.[52]
Corey Taylor has announced that
Slipknot would not be recording for a while due to bassist
Paul Gray's death. He said to Undercover.com.au, "I don't see it happening. And if it does, it'll be way way down the line. There is a such a huge piece missing now. A piece so huge that the fans can't even understand."[53]Slipknot have also announced their bass guitar touring replacement is their original guitarist Donnie Steele.[54]
Paul Di'Anno (ex -
Iron Maiden) was charged with 8 counts of benefits fraud of £45,000 (€53,000, $72,000). He claimed to have nerve damage in his back and the
Department for Work and Pensions got a tip from an anonymous tipper who said he was jumping around on stage. The
Department for Work and Pensions gave him four and a half months in jail and took his property.[55] He was released from jail in March 2011.[56]
Manowar caused a blackout in Cleveland, Ohio while performing a sound-check on March 11. A whole city block lost electricity and was not back in service for another 24 hours.
Manowar had backup generators so the show was able to continue.[58]
Keyboardist
Per Wiberg parted ways with
Opeth as "part of a mutual decision with the band", after finishing recording. A new keyboardist has already been found, but is waiting to be announced.[59]
Shining announced the departure of guitarist Fredric Gråby, and his replacement as temporary bassist Christian Larsson who is also now announced as a full-time member.[63]
After some speculation,
Kamelot vocalist
Roy Khan announced his departure from the band.[65]
Sinister parted ways with drummer Edwin van den Eeden, guitarist Alex Paul, and bassist Joost van der Graaf.[66] Three days later
Sinister announces Toep Duin on drums, guitarist Bastiaan Brussaard, and bassist/guitarist Dennis Hartog.[67]
On June 5, New Zealand authorities confiscated
Cradle of Filth's T-shirts. The shirts depict a nude nun and the words "Jesus Is A Cunt".[73]
Lead vocalist Keith Caputo of alternative metal band
Life of Agony changed her name to Keith Mina Caputo, and her gender from male to female.[74]
Mayhem bassist Necrobutcher appeared on Norwegian television station
NRK, to exorcise the demon within himself.[75]
Tarja Turunen announced her participation in a new musical group, entitled "Harus".[76]
A reporter from England's Birmingham Mail erroneously announced that
Black Sabbath would reunite to write a new album based on an
off-the-record statement made months prior by
Tony Iommi. In his statement denouncing the reformation of the band, Iommi said he was just "shooting the breeze" with the reporter and the band is not reforming.[77]
After 23 years of playing,
Dismember decided to call it quits on October 15, 2011.[4]
Original vocalist of
ExhorderKyle Thomas and guitarist Jay Ceravolo quit the band. Kyle also stated "I wish all of my brothers involved well and good luck in whatever the future brings them, whether or not
Exhorder continues."[79]
Frontman, guitarist and founding member
Helmuth Lehner (
Belphegor) had "a serious and difficult operation", and therefore
Belphegor ceased all activity until May 2012.[80]
Decapitated survive an emergency plane landing in Warsaw. They were flying back to
Poland from the
United States, when they needed to make an emergency landing when the landing gear failed to operate. They have also cancelled all forthcoming festival dates.[82]
The two guitarists
Matt DeVries and
Rob Arnold of heavy metal outfit
Chimaira announced their departure of the band. They are replaced by Jeremy Creamer (
Dååth) on bass guitar and Matt Szlachta (ex-
Dirge Within) on rhythm guitar.[83][84]
Power Quest announced new front-man/vocalist Colin Callanan.[85]
June 13 – Mario Comesanas, DJ for
Liquid Metal and writer for
Revolver, died from a sudden brain hemorrhage at the age of 30.[102]
July 9 –
Michael Burston (a.k.a. Würzel), guitarist of
Motörhead, died from ventricular fibrillation triggered by cardiomyopathy at the age of 61.[103]
July 17 –
Taiji Sawada, former bassist of
X Japan and
Loudness, died from complications arising from a suicide attempt at the age of 45.[104]
August 3 –
Andrew McDermott, former vocalist of
Threshold, died from kidney failure after being in a four-day coma at the age of 45.[105]
August 11 –
Jani Lane, former lead vocalist of
Warrant, died from alcohol poisoning at the age of 47.[106]
September 9 – Jonas Bergqvist (a.k.a. B), guitarist and vocalist of
Lifelover died of unknown causes at the age of 25.[107]
September 21 –
John Du Cann, former guitarist, bassist and vocalist of
Atomic Rooster, died from a heart attack at the age of 65.[108]
November 2 – Cory Smoot (a.k.a. Flattus Maximus), guitarist of
GWAR, died from a coronary artery thrombosis brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease at the age of 34.[109]
December 22 – David Gold, guitarist and vocalist of
Woods of Ypres, died in a car accident near
Barrie,
ON,
Canada at the age of 31.[110]
Films
Nightwish is releasing a movie entitled Imaginaerum the same as their up-coming album. In a press release they described it as "a music fantasy – film based on the forthcoming Nightwish album of the same title and its 13 songs. The protagonist of the film is a songwriter with an otherworldly imagination. He is an old man who still thinks he's a young boy. While asleep he travels into his distant past where his dreams of old come back to him mixed to the young boy's world of fantasy and music. In his dreams the old man fights to find the memories most important to him."[111]
^"Wolfsbane To Release New EP". Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved Feb 17, 2023.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)
Coroner played one of their first reunion shows at this year's edition of
Hellfest, which took place June 17–19, 2011 in Clisson,
France.[27]
Judas Priest embarked on
Epitaph World Tour.[28] Despite this, the band insist that they are not going to break up.[29] However, founding member
K. K. Downing later retires from the band. Judas Priest also stated "Having thought long and hard about how to proceed, Rob, Glenn, Ian and Scott unanimously agreed that they should go ahead with the tour and not let the fans down around the world".[30] Thirty-one-year-old British guitar player Richie Faulkner was announced as the replacement, but the press release did not state if it is on a permanent basis.
Morgoth embarkinged on a festival tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1991 album, Cursed.[31]
Slipknot toured again.[32] This was their first tour without bassist
Paul Gray, who died in May 2010.
Acid Reign released their remasters of Moshkinstein, The Fear and Obnoxious on January 17, 2011 on CD and digital download. All remastered by the Bill Metoyer.[33]
On January 8, 2011 22-year-old
Jared Lee Loughner was arrested for
shooting and killing six bystanders in Tucson, Arizona, and injuring 14 others. The Washington Post noted that Loughner's YouTube channel had only one clip; a fan-made music video for the controversial
Drowning Pool song titled "
Bodies."[38] Other members of the media also suggested that his music tastes affected his behavior, including political commentator
Rush Limbaugh who was quoted saying, "The guy listened to heavy metal, and some of that
anarchist stuff. We're dealing with an insane individual."[39] Drowning Pool responded to these allegations by claiming that the song was written about the camaraderie seen in
mosh pits, and is in no way a violent song.[40]
Doom metal band
Cathedral have announced they will disband after releasing another album in 2012.[42]
Slayer guitarist
Jeff Hanneman contracted
necrotizing fasciitis, and underwent emergency surgery on his right arm.[43] On Saturday April 23,
Jeff Hanneman made a surprise stage return in Indio, CA. He came out during the 2 song encore unannounced, and delighted a crowd of roughly 50,000. Jeff commented afterwards that, "I'm the happiest man in the world."[44]
The Red Chord once again parts ways with their drummer Michael Justian.[52]
Corey Taylor has announced that
Slipknot would not be recording for a while due to bassist
Paul Gray's death. He said to Undercover.com.au, "I don't see it happening. And if it does, it'll be way way down the line. There is a such a huge piece missing now. A piece so huge that the fans can't even understand."[53]Slipknot have also announced their bass guitar touring replacement is their original guitarist Donnie Steele.[54]
Paul Di'Anno (ex -
Iron Maiden) was charged with 8 counts of benefits fraud of £45,000 (€53,000, $72,000). He claimed to have nerve damage in his back and the
Department for Work and Pensions got a tip from an anonymous tipper who said he was jumping around on stage. The
Department for Work and Pensions gave him four and a half months in jail and took his property.[55] He was released from jail in March 2011.[56]
Manowar caused a blackout in Cleveland, Ohio while performing a sound-check on March 11. A whole city block lost electricity and was not back in service for another 24 hours.
Manowar had backup generators so the show was able to continue.[58]
Keyboardist
Per Wiberg parted ways with
Opeth as "part of a mutual decision with the band", after finishing recording. A new keyboardist has already been found, but is waiting to be announced.[59]
Shining announced the departure of guitarist Fredric Gråby, and his replacement as temporary bassist Christian Larsson who is also now announced as a full-time member.[63]
After some speculation,
Kamelot vocalist
Roy Khan announced his departure from the band.[65]
Sinister parted ways with drummer Edwin van den Eeden, guitarist Alex Paul, and bassist Joost van der Graaf.[66] Three days later
Sinister announces Toep Duin on drums, guitarist Bastiaan Brussaard, and bassist/guitarist Dennis Hartog.[67]
On June 5, New Zealand authorities confiscated
Cradle of Filth's T-shirts. The shirts depict a nude nun and the words "Jesus Is A Cunt".[73]
Lead vocalist Keith Caputo of alternative metal band
Life of Agony changed her name to Keith Mina Caputo, and her gender from male to female.[74]
Mayhem bassist Necrobutcher appeared on Norwegian television station
NRK, to exorcise the demon within himself.[75]
Tarja Turunen announced her participation in a new musical group, entitled "Harus".[76]
A reporter from England's Birmingham Mail erroneously announced that
Black Sabbath would reunite to write a new album based on an
off-the-record statement made months prior by
Tony Iommi. In his statement denouncing the reformation of the band, Iommi said he was just "shooting the breeze" with the reporter and the band is not reforming.[77]
After 23 years of playing,
Dismember decided to call it quits on October 15, 2011.[4]
Original vocalist of
ExhorderKyle Thomas and guitarist Jay Ceravolo quit the band. Kyle also stated "I wish all of my brothers involved well and good luck in whatever the future brings them, whether or not
Exhorder continues."[79]
Frontman, guitarist and founding member
Helmuth Lehner (
Belphegor) had "a serious and difficult operation", and therefore
Belphegor ceased all activity until May 2012.[80]
Decapitated survive an emergency plane landing in Warsaw. They were flying back to
Poland from the
United States, when they needed to make an emergency landing when the landing gear failed to operate. They have also cancelled all forthcoming festival dates.[82]
The two guitarists
Matt DeVries and
Rob Arnold of heavy metal outfit
Chimaira announced their departure of the band. They are replaced by Jeremy Creamer (
Dååth) on bass guitar and Matt Szlachta (ex-
Dirge Within) on rhythm guitar.[83][84]
Power Quest announced new front-man/vocalist Colin Callanan.[85]
June 13 – Mario Comesanas, DJ for
Liquid Metal and writer for
Revolver, died from a sudden brain hemorrhage at the age of 30.[102]
July 9 –
Michael Burston (a.k.a. Würzel), guitarist of
Motörhead, died from ventricular fibrillation triggered by cardiomyopathy at the age of 61.[103]
July 17 –
Taiji Sawada, former bassist of
X Japan and
Loudness, died from complications arising from a suicide attempt at the age of 45.[104]
August 3 –
Andrew McDermott, former vocalist of
Threshold, died from kidney failure after being in a four-day coma at the age of 45.[105]
August 11 –
Jani Lane, former lead vocalist of
Warrant, died from alcohol poisoning at the age of 47.[106]
September 9 – Jonas Bergqvist (a.k.a. B), guitarist and vocalist of
Lifelover died of unknown causes at the age of 25.[107]
September 21 –
John Du Cann, former guitarist, bassist and vocalist of
Atomic Rooster, died from a heart attack at the age of 65.[108]
November 2 – Cory Smoot (a.k.a. Flattus Maximus), guitarist of
GWAR, died from a coronary artery thrombosis brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease at the age of 34.[109]
December 22 – David Gold, guitarist and vocalist of
Woods of Ypres, died in a car accident near
Barrie,
ON,
Canada at the age of 31.[110]
Films
Nightwish is releasing a movie entitled Imaginaerum the same as their up-coming album. In a press release they described it as "a music fantasy – film based on the forthcoming Nightwish album of the same title and its 13 songs. The protagonist of the film is a songwriter with an otherworldly imagination. He is an old man who still thinks he's a young boy. While asleep he travels into his distant past where his dreams of old come back to him mixed to the young boy's world of fantasy and music. In his dreams the old man fights to find the memories most important to him."[111]
^"Wolfsbane To Release New EP". Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved Feb 17, 2023.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)