When you think of the music associated with football, you’d probably think it’d more hip-hop leaning. That might be the case, but not if Free Reign had anything to do with it. Forming when all of its members were Dallas Cowboys, Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis, and Cory Proctor (along with guitarist Justin Chapman), put out two albums that were a blend of active rock and metal along the lines of Staind or Metallica. The best metal band? Absolutely not. The best band featuring any professional athletes? Definitely. With Colombo retired and the other members geographically spread apart, it’s not apparent whether or not they’ll keep playing, but they definitely had a good run.
Album Review: The Hirsch Effekt – ‘Der Brauch’
I don't think I could possibly love a band more than when I'm watching them actively refuse to become a fixed idea. The Hirsch Effekt take up shop in the lab where music feels less like a product and more like a mid-thought transcription from a parallel universe....
Ian’s Favorite Heffy Records of January ’26
Hey, welcome to a new feature on Metal Insider, where it's all about the best of the best albums released throughout the month. Get ready to catch up with me - January was about riffs and heavy metal brakdowns! Bullet, Kosuke Hashida, and Megadeth all have that...
Catch up now: 53 new songs/videos recently released – 1/28/2026
New music continues to pile its way through. Since our chunk last at the end of 2025, January has brought an extensive batch of fifty-three new tracks as well as fresh videos from already-existing albums or live performances. Metal Insider has collected songs from...
New & Noteworthy: Eon Of Releases – 1/30/2026
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week’s new albums include music from the likes of Blackwater Holylight, Buzzcocks, Kula Shaker and MØL amongst the many outstanding...
New & Noteworthy: the final releases – 1/23/2026
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week finds albums from the likes of Megadeth, Poppy, The Format, Crystal Lake, The Damned, Goldfinger and Rotting Christ...
New & Noteworthy: Krushers of the Releases – 1/16/2026
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. Amongst the many outstanding works hitting shelves this week are new releases from the likes of Sleaford Mods, Greywind, Kreator, Soen...
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