Famed US talk show host Conan O’Brien has fronted an extreme metal band.
The former Tonight Show and Conan presenter joined Austrian ‘slush metal’ band Cringe Blizzard on vocals during their sold-out concert in Feldkirch yesterday (December 5). The performance was done for the next season of his travel documentary series Conan O’Brien Must Go and will likely air next year.
O’Brien has posted a photo of himself singing with Cringe Blizzard on Instagram, writing, “Just got a hernia singing with a metal band in Feldkirch, Austria.” The band have also shared the news on their social media channels, thanking O’Brien, his team, the venue OKFK and support act Gallowhead. See both posts below.
O’Brien had Cringe Blizzard’s singer, Kaddl, on his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend in September. During the episode, the host suggested he become “a guest vocalist for Cringe Blizzard”, to which Kaddl responded very enthusiastically.
O’Brien has long been a champion of heavy metal music. During his stint on The Tonight Show, his musical guests included Slipknot, Linkin Park and Lamb Of God. He also welcomed Disturbed onto Conan: their performance of Simon & Garfunkel cover The Sound Of Silence on his stage became the most-viewed video on O’Brien’s Youtube channel.
On …Needs A Friend, O’Brien has interviewed Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Last year, the singer of Canadian metalcore band Among The Rest appeared on the podcast, and O’Brien improvised his own metalcore song during the episode. The host tried his hand at death metal screaming on other podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Fan last year, too.
Last July, Metal Hammer published an op-ed calling O’Brien “metal’s greatest unsung champion”.
“Late-night talk shows aren’t exactly a hotbed of metal culture but, in Conan, heavy metal found a true friend and a staunch proponent,” wrote journalist Joe Daly. “Though better known for his comedic genius than his music taste, Conan has continually leveraged the power of his platform to showcase a wide array of metal bands – both well-established and up-and-coming acts.”
