Hello Metal Injection readers – this is Max (Party Smasher Inc, Gear Gods) coming at ya with a special guest post today. You've all probably had enough super-serious year-end album lists, so today I thought I'd provide a silly and fun list for ya!
Late night television had a lot of strange, funny moments related to heavy metal, punk, and prog rock culture this year. Although we may never get another Jim Carrey impersonating Napalm Death, there were a lot of shockers – particularly from people that you'd least expect. So on that note, I give you… Max's Definitive List Of The Heaviest Cable TV Moments 2K16 (Explosion Emoji)
Let's dive in!
Gwyneth Paltrow Sings AC/DC Guitar Solos
I’ve always been a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but was totally blown away by her appearance on James Corden’s show earlier this year, during which she literally shredded harder than almost any band ever has on late night.
It's actually insane how good Gwyneth is – she’s got the intonation and phrasing of that solo down pat! Goes to show ya, as I’m always harping on Gear Gods: you gotta practice singing what you want to play, if you want to really work on playing more lyrically and melodically.
Anna Kendrick Shouts "Punk Rock" While Doing Heavy Metal Horns
I've opined about Anna Kendrick on MetalSucks before: she's one of the most purely talented performers out there in ANY medium. The girl kills it at acting, singing, comedy – literally anything she tries!
Oh, and literally every time she is on a late night show, she throws the devil horns (watch the heads and tails of her interviews if you don't believe me). This culminated in a visit to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert a few weeks back, when she shouted "punk rock" while throwing the iconic rocker hand sign.
I also enjoyed this one, from when she was on Late Night With Seth Meyers promoting Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (which is a super funny movie btw).
Just look at that DGAF face!
So yeah, get down with Anna, dude. The Pitch Perfect movies are basically like Wayne's World or that Rock Star movie with Mark Wahlberg, just with funny girls who sing absurd songs!
Margot Robbie Listens to “The heaviest metal, like Silverstein, Bullet For My Valentine, Slipknot…”
When Metallica performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, one of the biggest revelations came when guest Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus, etc) talked about her huge high school metal phase. In this insane clip, she goes into detail about attending Slipknot shows, her favorite bands, and more!
…which made up, of course, for how much of a drag Suicide Squad was (and I imagine, that Tarzan movie, which I don't know if I could sit through TBH).
That same week, while co-hosting Saturday Night Live, Margot donned a cool vintage Sabbath shirt before she introduced the musical guest! Across the country, punk/rock/metal fans collectively lost their minds.
I seriously wonder where she got that. I love baseball tees, and there's a shortage of bands making cool ones that people would actually want to wear…
BABYMETAL Freaks Out the Entire U.S.
On Stephen Colbert's Late Show this past Spring:
Speaking of Stephen…
Stephen Colbert Rides a Motorcycle, Rocks a Rad Moustache, Blasts Dinosaurs With Lasers
All while listening to some sweet thrash riffs.
Also, FWIW, if you stopped watching after The Colbert Report you are SERIOUSLY missing out on what he's got going on at The Late Show. Though, it's nothing quite as heavy as when…
Jimmy Fallon, Metallica, & The Roots Sang "Enter Sandman" With Classroom Instruments
This really happened.
Just look at how excited James is to play that toy clarinet!
Brann Dailor Called Seth Meyers a Bitch
First off, Seth Meyers' music department and bookers are huge rock and metal fans. In addition to booking bands like Diarrhea Planet, Living Color, and Anthrax to perform on the show, the rotating cast of guest drummers that they've recruited over the last year is like a who's-who of progressive metal icons:
Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders), Tim Alexander (Primus), Danny Carey (Tool), and Brann Dailor (Mastodon obvi). The latter of which led to this moment, which I literally cannot believe actually happened:
Another heavy tidbit for ya: one of Seth's guitarists, Marnie Stern, used to play and tour with drummer Zach Hill. You know, the dude from Hella and that one other band that everyone pretends to like.
Ryan Adams Wore a Power Trip Shirt on Jimmy Kimmel
I actually don't have the original file from this, just the remnants of a meme I made of it. One of the most bizarre images I've ever seen on television.
I also, uh, don't really know who this guy is?
As an added LOL, It looks like after that pre-intro shot, Ryan switched out his Power Trip shirt for an Agnostic Front tee, right before he played an alt-rock/country version of Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69HxXfjtH8c
I probably should've added a "trigger warning" for readers of this site. Sorry!
Conan and Jack Black's Guitar Battle
Some people think when Conan did his Mad Max: Fury Road tribute last year, or when he had Dillinger Escape Plan and Mastodon on back in '06/'07, that late night TV couldn't possibly get any heavier. And yeah, that's probably right. But then this happened.
You're probably gonna watch this one all the way through, but in case you weren't planning to, um, you should. There is a surprise guest that I promise you will want to see!
And finally, last but not least…
Eric Andre Waterboards, Tortures, Investigates 311
It had to happen sometime. And why not have it happen the year that a reality TV star was elected president, the Cubs won the world series, and Dillinger Escape Plan broke up.
View more of our Best of 2016 articles here.
