While You Were Away: Will Butler Leaves Arcade Fire, New Videos From Tool And Twenty One Pilots, Slipknot’s Tortilla Man Revealed, And More
Still hungover from St. Paddy’s day? Catch up with music’s biggest stories with this week’s While You Were Away. This week we’re talking about new videos from Twenty One Pilots and Tool, Slipknot’s Tortilla Man’s identity, Will Butler’s departure from Arcade Fire, shows on sale this week and more.
Tool release first new music video in 15 years
Tool have released the Blu-Ray edition of their latest single “Opiate².” They have also shared a three-minute music video from the short film included on the release.
The short film commemorates the 30th anniversary of the band’s Opiate EP. The short film, created by guitarist Adam Jones and visual artist Dominic Hailstone, is being billed as Tool’s first in 15 years. And yes, it is surreal, eerie, and disturbing like most of their videos.
Watch the three-minute clip from the short film below.
Will Butler has left Arcade Fire
Just days after announcing their new album, WE, Will Butler has announced he has left Arcade Fire. Butler revealed the news ahead of the band’s show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom this past Saturday.
“I left at the end of last year, after the new record was complete,” Butler said on Twitter. “There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed—and the band has changed—over the last almost 20 years. Time for new things.”
Butler added that he’s working on a new solo album and composing music for a play by David Adjmi.
He concluded his statement saying “Thank you to anyone who’s come out to AF shows, or bought a record, or loves our music. It’s meaningful to be part of your lives. Thank you to the crew, staff, management, label people, bands, artists, and friends who have helped bring our vision to life for so many years.”
Read his statement below.
Hi friends—
I’ve left Arcade Fire— Will Butler (@butlerwills) March 19, 2022
Slipknot confirm identity of “Tortilla Man”
The mystery of who exactly was Slipknot’s newest member, lovingly dubbed “Tortilla Man” wasn’t that hard to figure out, but the band have finally confirmed his identity. The man behind the mask, as most fans have deduced, is Michael Pfaff.
Slipknot unveiled Pfaff’s identity via an Instagram post last week (Mar. 16) promoting the percussionist’s Reddit “Ask Me Anything.” In the photo, he’s holding a sign that says “I am Michael Pfaff.” Though the post has since been removed, you can see the photo below.
Pfaff joined Slipknot in 2019 to replace longtime member Chris Fehn, who was fired from the group after launching a lawsuit against his bandmates over financial matters.
Twenty One Pilots share cinematic new video for ‘The Outside’
Twenty One Pilots have released their cinematic video for “The Outside.” The band originally teased it back in December.
“This is a story about cycles, and trying to break them,” the duo said on Twitter. “About discerning between external and internal attacks. And about balance. A balance between being saved by a friend, and saving yourself. Here is the official video for The Outside.”
Watch the video below.
Tours on sale this week
Flogging Molly and The Interrupters will hit the road this summer with support from Tiger Army and The Skints. The tour starts June 7th in Indianapolis, Indiana and wraps up September 21st in Paso Robles, California. Get tickets here.
Corey Taylor recently announced dates for his solo UK tour with special guests Cherry Bombs. The trek kicks off October 17th in London’s Palladium and concludes October 24th at Swansea Arena. Tickets on sale now.
Life is Beautiful returns this year with another stacked lineup featuring Cage the Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Lorde, Beach House, Migos, and more. This year’s festival goes down in Las Vegas September 16th – 18th. Get the full lineup and tickets here.
Alexisonfire have expanded their North America tour with new shows booked for this spring, summer, and fall. The first leg of the tour kicks off May 29th with an appearance at the So What Music Festival in Dallas, Texas. See all their dates here.
