Ian Hill Hangs Up His Bass, Heathen Sharpens the Thrash, and New York's Heavy Metal Underground Keeps the Torch Lit
Every few years the genre loses one of its architects to time, not tragedy, and this week it happened to Judas Priest. Ian Hill, the last original member standing in the band's lineup and the quiet backbone of "British Steel" and a half-century of records that basically invented the uniform, announced his retirement. In a new interview, Hill didn't sugarcoat it, citing arthritis that finally made the decision for him.
"I had no choice, really."
That's it. No farewell tour theatrics, no manufactured drama — just a working musician admitting his body gave out before his will did. It's a gut-punch for anyone who grew up with "Painkiller" or "Breaking the Law" on repeat, and it's worth sitting with for a second, because Hill's career is a reminder of what actually built this genre: not virality, not algorithm-friendly singles, but decades of unglamorous, riff-first consistency.
What Ian Hill's Exit Means for the NWOTHM Revival
New York has quietly become one of the more interesting pockets of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal movement, the loosely organized revival built on the idea that the genre's original template — twin guitars, soaring vocals, no apologies — never actually needed updating. Heavy metal band Lace is part of that lineage locally, writing the kind of unpretentious, riff-forward heavy metal that treats Priest's catalog less like a museum piece and more like a living rulebook. When a guy like Hill steps away, bands like this are the ones actually carrying the torch forward instead of just talking about it on a podcast.
It's a good moment to remind readers that "best heavy metal songs" lists and "80s metal bands" nostalgia pieces aren't just clickbait exercises — they're the DNA chart for everything happening in basements and DIY venues across the state right now. If you want to know why New York's heavy metal scene still has teeth, look at who's still listening to "Stained Class" front to back in 2026.
Heathen Returns, and So Does New York's Thrash Pulse
On the thrash side of the ledger, Bay Area veterans Heathen just announced "Lifetime in Hell," due February 19, 2027 via Napalm Records, led off by a single called "Escapegoat" that reportedly opens with a classic "let's go!" rally cry before the band storms forward at full throttle. It's exactly the kind of record that reminds younger thrash converts the genre's elder statesmen aren't done yet — and it should put some extra pep in the step of New York's own thrash underground, a scene that rarely gets the national shine it deserves.
Bands like AMC, Accelerator, Silent Killers, and Anarchists United have all been grinding away on stages from Buffalo to Brooklyn, proving thrash isn't a relic — it's a discipline. Crossover acts like Non-Residents blur the line between thrash and hardcore in a way that feels distinctly New York, pulling from both the pit-first ethos of hardcore and the technicality of thrash's golden era. If Heathen's comeback reminds the wider metal press that thrash still matters, it's worth pointing that spotlight toward these bands too. Check upcoming shows around the state — there's a decent chance one of them is already on a bill near you.
Gloryhammer's Absurdity and the Case for New York's Progressive Corner
Elsewhere, Gloryhammer continues doing what Gloryhammer does — leaning fully into the ridiculous with their latest, a record that doubles down on the band's reputation for giddy, over-the-top concept-album stupidity. Love it or roll your eyes at it, power metal's theatrical wing keeps proving there's an audience hungry for bombast, dragons, and keyboard solos that refuse to apologize for themselves.
It's a good excuse to talk about New York's own progressive and power-adjacent underground, which doesn't get nearly enough ink. Progressive metal and rock act 3 has been part of that conversation locally, operating in the same technically ambitious, genre-blending space that makes prog metal such a rewarding rabbit hole for listeners who want more than three chords and a mosh call. Pair that with the atmospheric death-prog of Cosmic Sea, the technical density of Citoletium, and the neoclassical flourishes of Heavy Reign, and you've got a legitimate regional scene that deserves the same kind of cult following Gloryhammer has built overseas. New York doesn't need Scottish wizards and laser swords to make progressive metal fun — it just needs more people paying attention.
Touring, Benefit Shows, and the 2026-2027 Landscape
Zoom out to the national touring picture and there's a lot shifting for 2026 and 2027. Slash confirmed on "Trunk Nation" that Guns N' Roses will take 2027 off the road entirely to focus on new music, telling Eddie Trunk the band has "so much material" sitting unused after over a decade of reunion-era touring. In the same conversation, he previewed "Flying Blind," the fifth album from Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, due February 26, 2027, noting much of it was written on the spot during pre-production — a reminder that even arena-level veterans still value spontaneity over polish.
"We have so much material."
Meanwhile, the 2027 edition of Sonic Temple already has Sleeping With Sirens, Saosin, and Escape the Fate on the bill, with a full lineup reveal promised for next week — a sign that the post-hardcore and emo-adjacent festival circuit is still a major draw heading into the back half of this decade. And on the charity front, Godsmack's Sully Erna is assembling an all-star benefit called The Scars Foundation Celebrity Jam on December 10, pulling members of Disturbed, Aerosmith, Extreme, Staind, and Three Days Grace together for a night supporting mental health, suicide prevention, and addiction awareness — a cause that resonates deeply with a metal community that has lost too many of its own to exactly those battles.
For New York bands watching this all unfold, the takeaway is consistent: the touring machine for 2026 and beyond rewards bands who keep writing, keep playing benefit shows, and keep showing up for their community. If your band is doing any of that, submit your band and let the regional scene know about it.
A Few Lighter Notes
Not everything this week was heavy lifting. Beartooth's Caleb Shomo spoke candidly in a new interview about publicly coming out as gay, acknowledging it's "something that a large group of people just don't understand" — a reminder that visibility in heavy music still matters and still takes real courage, even in 2026. A Perfect Circle dropped a live video for "Starless," currently sitting at No. 1 on Active Rock radio for a second straight week, proof that prog-leaning alt-metal still has commercial teeth. And Gene Simmons, never one to pass up a headline, told the Hollywood Raw podcast — co-hosted by New York City photojournalist Adam Glyn — that he's got both Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's phone numbers saved in his contacts, delivered with the kind of self-aware swagger that's kept KISS in the conversation for fifty years.
The Bigger Picture
None of these headlines happened in New York, but all of them land here anyway, because this state's scene has always been a microcosm of metal's broader arguments: tradition versus reinvention, spectacle versus substance, legacy acts versus the bands grinding it out in VFW halls and DIY spaces. Whether it's heavy metal, thrash, or progressive metal, the throughline is the same — the best metal bands, now and historically, are the ones still showing up for the work decades in. Ian Hill did that for fifty years. New York's underground is doing it right now, one Tuesday night show at a time.