Lauryn Schaffner

New Jersey

Entertainment Writer at Loudwire

Writer at Noisecreep

Rock & roll writer @loudwire | Not here to please

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Articles

EXCLUSIVE: Avatar's Johannes Eckerström Says New Album Will Be Out Later This Year

2 days ago | 1063thebuzz.com | Lauryn Schaffner

2025 is already shaping up to be a massive year for Avatar, from their run of shows opening for Iron Maiden to a huge Halloween celebration in Mexico City. On top of that, it looks like Avatar will be releasing their next studio album later this year. "I always tend to find energy simply through pushing my range, pushing my volume," frontman Johannes Eckerström told Loudwire Nights' Chuck Armstrong on Thursday (May 8).
Alice in Chains Issue Statement Confirming Tour Cancelation

5 days ago | 1063thebuzz.com | Lauryn Schaffner

After bowing out of last night's tour kickoff performance citing a "non-life-threatening medical emergency" concerning drummer Sean Kinney, Alice in Chains has now called off the remainder of their scheduled tour. The band had scheduled about a week of performances that surrounded their scheduled appearance at the Sonic Temple festival this Sunday in Columbus, Ohio and included a Welcome to Rockville slot and playing Boardwalk Rock next weekend.
Does Sleep Token's 'Even in Arcadia' Match the Hype? Fans Weigh In

5 days ago | 1063thebuzz.com | Lauryn Schaffner

Sleep Token's Even in Arcadia album has finally been released and fans have been weighing in on whether the latest album from one of the buzziest bands in hard rock and metal has lived up to the hype. The mysterious rockers started laying out clues about their new music earlier this year before dropping the first song from the new record, "Emergence," in mid-March.
Funko POP HQ in Everett, WA, Talks Tariffs & Rising Prices

1 week ago | kpq.com | Lauryn Schaffner

Over the years, there have been several collectibles that have come and gone, and one that seems to not be slowing down anytime soon is the Funko Pop!I've often wondered when the collectible little plastic toys with the gigantic heads that sometimes bobble's 'bubble' would burst, kind of like what happened with Beanie Babies. I was just waiting, all the while seeing people collecting and reselling them nonstop at vendor functions and conventions.
Every Hard Rock + Metal Album That Went No. 1 in the 2000s

1 week ago | noisecreep.com | Lauryn Schaffner |Chad Childers

There were over 35 hard rock and metal albums that went No. 1 in the 2000s. We don't see hard rock and metal top the Billboard 200 very often anymore. As of May 2025, Ghost's Skeleta is only the second album of the 2020s to top the chart, following AC/DC's Power Up in November of 2020. But the first decade of the century was stacked with extremely successful hard rock and metal albums.
The 'Big 4' Bands of Post-Grunge

1 week ago | loudwire.com | Lauryn Schaffner

Mick Hutson / Redferns, Getty Images / Trauma / Claudio Caridi, Getty ImagesSHARETWEETWho would be the "Big 4" bands of the post-grunge subgenre? First, we should define what post-grunge is. Some sources take the label literally and consider any rock bands that came "after" grunge to be post-grunge, but we think it's a little more complex than that. Plenty of nu-metal and alternative rock bands were popular in the mid-to-late-'90s, and they don't really fit the post-grunge bill sonically.
10 '90s Grunge Bands That Should Have Been Bigger

1 week ago | banana1015.com | Chad Childers |Lauryn Schaffner

Grunge may have dominated the early '90s, but there are certain grunge bands that definitely should have had bigger careers. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden are all Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and with any justice, Alice in Chains will eventually join them. But there's so much more to grunge than just the "Flannel 4."Some of the acts that have made this list actually achieved some commercial success, but it proved to be fleeting.
Every Hard Rock + Metal Album That Went No. 1 in the 2000s

1 week ago | loudwire.com | Lauryn Schaffner

Elektra / RCA / Wind-upSHARETWEETThere were over 35 hard rock and metal albums that went No. 1 in the 2000s. We don't see hard rock and metal top the Billboard 200 very often anymore. As of May 2025, Ghost's Skeleta is only the second album of the 2020s to top the chart, following AC/DC's Power Up in November of 2020. But the first decade of the century was stacked with extremely successful hard rock and metal albums.
Every Hard Rock + Metal Album That Went No. 1 in the 2000s

1 week ago | wgrd.com | Lauryn Schaffner

Every Hard Rock + Metal Album That Went No. 1 in the 2000s (2000 – 2009)Every Hard Rock + Metal Album That Went No. 1 in the 2000s (2000 – 2009)Elektra / RCA / Wind-upSHARETWEETThere were over 35 hard rock and metal albums that went No. 1 in the 2000s. We don't see hard rock and metal top the Billboard 200 very often anymore. As of May 2025, Ghost's Skeleta is only the second album of the 2020s to top the chart, following AC/DC's Power Up in November of 2020.
A Hard Rock Album Is No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the First Time in Over 4 Years

1 week ago | loudwire.com | Lauryn Schaffner

Ivan_Neru, Getty Images / aliokhin, Getty Images / BillboardSHARETWEETA hard rock album is No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the first time in over four years — Ghost's Skeleta. Skeleta came out on April 25 and is the Swedish rockers' sixth full-length studio album. It debuted at the very top of the Billboard 200 after pushing 86,000 units in its first week [via Billboard]. Of this amount, 89 percent were pure album sales, a large portion of which were vinyl sales.