While You Were Away: Nick McBrian Retires From Iron Maiden, Shadows Fall Returns, The Cure’s New Live LP, And More
After a brief holiday break (did you miss us?), While You Were Away is back to deliver more music news! This week we’re talking about Nick McBrian’s retirement, the return of Shadows Fall, The Cure’s new live album, and more.
Shadows Fall returns with first new song in 12 years
Shadows Fall are back! The metal band have released “In the Grey,” their first new song in 12 years. The song also marks their first release under their new label, MNRK Heavy.
“‘In the Grey’ is a full-throttle thrasher that contains all of the elements that are the bedrock of the Shadows Fall sound, but also adds new elements and approaches that developed in the recent past while we all explorer other musical avenues,” the band said in a statement.
“Lyrically, I was trying to put into words and describe the physical manifestation of the weight and crushing power that can come with depression, that feeling that the weight of gravity is crashing down on you or being trapped in the dark waters of our own mind, trying to rise to the surface and take a breath. It can be an overwhelming and lonely place but there is always a light at the end of that tunnel and we always need to keep striving for a brighter day and escaping the grey.”
“We want to sincerely thank everyone for the decades of support that you have given Shadows Fall and we cannot be happier to be back and rocking once again. Crank up ‘In the Grey,’ raise those horns to the sky, and bang your head as hard as you can. Stay tuned for more music and news soon…”
Watch the video below.
Bloodywood and BABYMETAL team up on new song “Bekhauf”
Bloodywood and BABYMETAL have shared their new collab song “Bekhauf.” Surprisingly, the song is Bloodywood’s first-ever collaboration.
Speaking about the song, Bloodywood said:
“‘Bekhauf’ means ‘fearless’ in Hindi. It was born out of the realization that fear can be seen as a choice, and that choice is our own. It’s about using this knowledge to take control of our fears and eliminate the side of them that holds us back.
It also marks our first ever collaboration. We’ve been waiting to find the right artists to work with and when the possibility of the BABYMETAL collab emerged, we knew it was time. We were all fans of their music, but were still surprised by the level of synergy we managed to achieve on the track. It’s a trilingual song and features English, Hindi, and Japanese. BABYMETAL even sang some parts in Hindi, but we think you can feel the message regardless and that’s a testament to this synergy.
The fact that we tied it all together by creating an anime/video game hybrid video pushes everything to the next level. This is a piece of Asian metal history and we’re proud to share it with the world.”
Watch the video below.
The Cure announce ‘Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV’ album
Riding high on the success of their comeback Songs of a Lost World, The Cure have announced a companion live album, Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV.
The album, out starting December 13th, features live recordings of all eight songs from their new album from their intimate concert at Troxy London. The record will be available in various formats, including single CD and single vinyl set, double CD and double vinyl set, and a special “Blood Red Mood” vinyl variant.
All proceeds from the record will benefit War Child UK, which supports children in areas affected by war and conflict. Pre-order a copy here.
Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain retires from touring
Drummer Nicko McBrian has announced his retirement from touring with Iron Maiden after 42 years with the band. He played his final show with the band on Saturday (December 7) in São Paulo, Brazil. Shortly after the announcement, the band revealed that Simon Dawson will be replacing him for 2025.
The 72-year-old drummer, who suffered a stroke last year, broke the news on social media saying in part:
“After much consideration, it is with both sorrow and joy, I announce my decision to take a step back from the grind of the extensive touring lifestyle….I will, however, remain firmly part of the Iron Maiden family working on a variety of projects, my long time managers, Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor, have in mind for me. I’ll also be working on a variety of different personal projects and focusing on my existing businesses and ventures, including The British Drum Company, Nicko McBrain’s Drum One, Titanium Tart, and of course, Rock-N-Roll Ribs!
“What can I say? Touring with Maiden the last 42 years has been an incredible journey! To my devoted fan base, you made it all worthwhile and I love you! To my devoted wife, Rebecca, you made it infinitely easier and I love you! To my kids, Justin and Nicholas, thank you for understanding the absences and I love you! To my friends that are always there for me, I love you! To my bandmates, you made it a dream come true and I love you!”
Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood of Phantom Music Management commented:
“Nicko, and we all love you too!! Thank you for being an irrepressible force behind the drum kit for MAIDEN for 42 years and my friend for even longer. I speak on behalf of all the band when I say we will miss you immensely!
“Ever since Rock In Rio in 1985 we have had a special relationship with Brazil so to bow out of touring in front of 90,000 fans here in Sao Paulo over 2 nights is poetic and you are deserving of all the accolades I am sure these marvellous fans will give you on this last show…
Read both statements below.
Tours on sale this week
Kraftwerk will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their landmark album Autobahn with a series of “multimedia concerts.” The tour starts March 6th in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania, and runs through April 24th with a show in Dallas, Texas. A fan pre-sale starts Wednesday, December 11th while the public sale starts Friday, December 13th. Get all the details here.
Kendrick Lamar joins forces with SZA for the “Grand National Tour” next year. The 21-date stadium outing kicks off on April 19th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and wraps up on June 18th in Landover, Maryland. Tickets are on sale now.
Spiritbox have announced a spring 2025 North American tour with support from Loathe, Dying Wish, and GEL. The “Tsunami Sea North America Tour” starts April 3rd in Dallas, Texas, and wraps up May 10th in Los Angeles. See all the dates here.
Pearl Jam will embark on a 10-date spring tour in late April. The brief kicks off with a two-night stint at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Flordia on April 24th and 26th. The tour wraps up with two nights at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on May 16th and 18th. A ticket pre-sale for members of the band’s Ten Club is ongoing. An artist pre-sale starts Friday, December 13th at 10 AM local time. Get the dates here.
