We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and  April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #5 album, coming in with a total of 181 points…

Converge, Jane Doe (Equal Vision Records, 2001)
Jacob Bannon – Vocals
Kurt Ballou – Guitars
Aaron Dalbec – Guitars
Nate Newton – Bass
Ben Koller – Drums
Produced by Matthew Ellard and Kurt Ballou

The still-unmatched excellence of Converge’s 2001 masterpiece Jane Doe (though 2006’s No Heroes came close) was a precursor to where the metal underground would go in the decade that followed it: the unending blurring of the borders between metal, hardcore, and grindcore. But whereas their disciples would rely heavily on irony and weak pop culture references over a carbon copy of Converge’s sound, Jane Doe is still as powerful as it was initially, an unrestrained marriage of savagery and pathos perfectly captured by Matthew Ellard’s and guitarist Kurt Ballou’s top notch production. The album hasn’t been cheapened by the years that followed it; in fact, it’s only grown more potent with time. While they weren’t the first band to weld squirrelly guitar violence, crushing slow parts, and jagged melody, they were one of the first to make it sound important.

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Sorry for the delay to all of you who were looking forward it… it shall be back soon!

-AR

Hello everyone! I’m on tour now. DAATH is traveling the United States and Canada this summer on the Conquer and Curse tour which features Goatwhore, Abigail Williams, Abysmal Dawn, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky, and us. My blog isn’t going to become a tour blog, but I do feel that its my duty to discuss amazing and fucked up things when they happen. And they do happen when you’re on the road.

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Haven’t done one of these posts in a while because, well, there hasn’t been a Tuesday this important in quite some time. The following albums are available for legal, legit purchasing today:

• Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage: The band everyone hates to love or loves to hate. Prediction: this record goes Top 10 first week, possibly even Top 5.
• Suicide Silence – No Time to Bleed: Deathcore upstarts attempt to [suicide] silence the naysayers with their second Century Media full-length. This writer thinks they’ve done it.
• Obituary – Darkest Days: O.G. death metallers return with their eighth full-length.
• Ex Deo – Romulus: Roman-themed metal helmed by Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono. We think the tunes are solid and the music video is beyond epic.

Oh hey look, rock’s resident asshole Ted Nugent also has a CD/DVD out today! Killer! Psych.

If you’ve already heard these albums tells us what you think of them in the comments. We’ll report the sales figures for all of these albums as soon as we get them in next Wednesday. In the meantime, go n’ buy some music so some broke-ass dudes can eat! Except Ted Nugent, unless you want your money to go straight to the NRA.

-VN

So there’s this new Alice in Chains song, and this morning I wrote and posted this whole long critique, and now shitty computer issue mean it’s gone forever, and I’m way too lazy to re-write it all. So here are the highlights of that now-departed piece:

• No one will ever be able to replace Layne Staley, but William DuVall does a good job and his harmonies Jerry Cantrell are great.
• The band brought the heavy, which makes me happy.
• At seven-plus minutes, I think it’s too long, especially since it’s kind of redundant.
• I’m excited to hear the whole record.
• Fuck Godsmack.
• Download the whole song for free here.
• Weigh in with your thoughts below.

-AR

Yesterday, at 10 a.m., our friends at Metal Insider reported that Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz has recorded guest vocals for the new Every Time I Die album.

This morning at 1 a.m., they reported that ETID drummer Mike Novak has split from the band due to “personal conflicts.”

Coincidence?

While you ponder that, enjoy the new ETID song below, entitled “The Marvelous Slut.” Metal Injection discovered it floating around on YouTube. It originally appeared on a recent Hurley-Epitaph Records compilation, which you can download here.

And, yes, that is Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato doing guest vox.

-AR

You may have noticed that this morning’s pieces on Alice in Chains and Every Time I Die are now gone.

Obviously, we’re trying to correct this issue.

Please bear with us.

Thanks.

-Axl, Vince and Everyone at MetalSucks

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER NICK GREEN OF DECIBEL MAGAZINE

We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and  April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #6 album, coming in with a total of 179 points…

Killswitch Engage, The End of Heartache (Roadrunner, 2004)
Howard Jones – Vocals
Adam Dutkiewicz – Guitars
Joel Stroetzel – Guitars
Mike D’Antonio – Bass
Justin Foley – Drums
Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz

It’s worth noting that Howard Jones devoted almost all of his allotted space in the “thank you” section of the liner notes to apologizing to fans for changing the chemistry of Killswitch Engage on The End of Heartache. His note is sensitive, contrite and nearly as long as the lyrics of “Hope Is…,” which ironically conveys the exact same sentiment with a hint more poetry and obfuscation. Not that he really needed to say “sorry” for anything, since the group’s previous full-length, Alive or Just Breathing, benefited enormously from Jones vocals in a live setting. Still, sometimes it’s nice to have it all spelled out and entered into the ledger, so you can simultaneously focus on the present and shut the door on an uneasy chapter in your own band’s history. So, thanks for that.
Click to read more…

• Periphery, an MS fave appearing on this year’s Thrash & Burn tour with Veil of Maya and Devildriver, have posted their own version of Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” on their MySpace page. It’s a pretty fresh Sumeriancore take on the track, and I laud that they didn’t chose to cover a more predictable Jackson tune that’s been done by other metal bands ad infinitum (see: Billie Jean, Beat It, etc). New Periphery vocalist Chris Barretto fucking nails it without overdoing it; psyched to see this guy live. Check out the rest of the band’s super-awesome tracks while you’re at it. [Thanks: Metal Injection]
• August Burns Red have released the new track “Ocean Of Apathy” on their MySpace page, and it’s essentially a re-jiggered cover of everything else the band has done to date. ABR are definitely better than other Christian metalcore acts like Underoath, but in 2009 there ain’t a whole lot of room to do anything new with metalcore. I’m sure the ABR Christian Haterade Mafia will be lambasting death threats upon the Jews of this here site in mere moments, but whatever. Meh.

-VN

Holy shitballs. Former Anthrax guitarist and current Christian midget watchmaker Dan Spitz has started a new project, DeuxMonkey, and it’s so objectively stupid that I’m amazed it’s not directed by Michael Bay.

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John Kempainen’s awesome guitar solos were major part of the appeal of The Black Dahlia Murder, at least for me. That being said, his replacement, former Arsis axeman Ryan Knight, is no slouch, so I’m definitely down to hear whatever the band comes up with next.

Our pals at Metal Injection captured some lo-fi footage of BDM doing a new song, “Necropolis,” and although it’s hard to hear much besides Trevor Strnad’s vocals, the track sounds heavy as a hippo (And I’ll even forgive the fact that The Absence, as well about as a gajillion other bands, already have a song called “Necropolis.”). Check it out:

Meanwhile, Blabbermouth posted footage of Vader doing a new song, “Rise of the Undead,” which will appear on their new album, entitled… Necropolis. Jesus H. Christ death metal bands, get some new fucking ideas already.

Check out the Vader video after the jump. Their Necropolis drops September 22.

Click to read more…

Some miscellaneous news regarding metal’s most divisive sub-genre…

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BBC News published a funny feature today as a way of looking back at — and paying homage to — the release of the original Walkman 30 years ago this week. BBC invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week, and had him pen a report (with writing help, we presume) of his experiences. Of note:

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

The article is loaded with hilarious nuggets that make me feel… well, old. No “shuffle” on the Walkman? No problem for Scott: “I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down “rewind” and releasing it randomly – effective, if a little laboured.” Heavy? Yeah, maybe a bit: “From a practical point of view, the Walkman is rather cumbersome, and it is certainly not pocket-sized, unless you have large pockets. It comes with a handy belt clip screwed on to the back, yet the weight of the unit is enough to haul down a low-slung pair of combats.”

Check out the full article at BBC News.

-VN

[Thanks: Elijah Torn]

I couldn’t have put it better myself. I’ve been head-over-heels for Goatwhore ever since I first saw them on the stage. Dimmu Borgir might look a bit silly in their assorted armor and spikes, but these Louisiana boys strutted straight out in the lights decked out for battle and with such confidence it was frightening. I’ve rarely seen a band before or since so sure of themselves in their own delivery, and it’s no doubt a direct result of their relentless touring which is due to pick up again next week and end… oh, probably never. I’ve been so excited about their newest release, Carving Out the Eyes of God, that I was willing to brave a phone interview with imposing vocalist Ben Falgoust II (also of legendary forward-thinking Southgrinders Soilent Green) at the shockingly early time of 8:30 a.m. My groggy head was soothed, however, by the talkative monsieur’s charming Louisiana accent as we discussed strippers, New Orleans and SATAN!!! Click to read more…

When the lads of Maryland death-thrashers Misery Index (whose excellent 2008 album Traitors our own Axl Rosenberg gave a four-out-of-five-horns rating and our own David Bee Roth ranked his #8 album of 2008) approached us about doing a video blog series for their current world tour, we were a bit skeptical; lots of bands pitch us all like, “hey doodz we’ll do a tour blog it’ll be awesome booze bitches drugs metal rawwwr yeaahhhh!” and then never deliver. But Misery Index have delivered in spades with Part 1 of the 3 Part series, a hilarious look into the band’s life on the European leg of their tour including band introductions, backstage shenanigans, live footage, and, um… bird-watching. The best is when bassist/vocalist Jason Netherton convinces a bunch of dudes in European metal bands — unaware of the awesomeness that is our site — to say “Metal Sucks!!!” to the camera. Stay tuned for Part 2: Japan, coming soon to a douchie metal site near you.

-VN

[This exclusive has now ended.]

There’s something reassuring about knowing that people one sometimes considers cooler than him or herself were not, in fact, always so cool.

Click to read more…

Here’s another teaser for the new Alice in Chains single/video “A Looking in View.” We get to hear significantly more music than we did in the initial teaser, and all I can say is, holy SHIT does this sound heavy. I kind of assumed that for their comeback album, AIC would play it safe and make a very middle of the road hard rock record; if they actually made a full-on metal album, well, good for them.

The full video will apparently be released tomorrow. The album, Black Gives Way to Blue, will come out on Virgin on September 29.

-AR

It’s hard to believe there are two new Pirate Metal bands breaking in 2009, but here we are in June and both Alestorm and Swashbuckle have already toured the U.S. extensively. We’ve gotten 3 irate reader emails demanding we post the new Alestorm video “Keelhauled,” so here it is; and it’s pretty fucking bad-ass.

For reference, the new Swashbuckle video is posted after the jump. While both videos are pretty cool, I’m feelin’ the Alestorm track way more than I am the Swashbuckle track. The Alestorm track sounds like true, beer-swiggin’, raping and pillaging Scottish Pirate Metal, while the Swashbuckle track sounds like tongue-in-cheek thrash played by guys dressed up as pirates from… New Jersey. You be the judge, and tell us what you think in the comments.

-VN

Alestorm – “Keelhauled”

Click to read more…

Hardcore often gets a bad rap from the aggressive music community. It’s usually screechier, more grating and abrasive than metal, which can require quite a bit of commitment to get into. However, thanks to countless regional bands and farther-reaching outfits such as Converge and Botch, the genre has become both a lasting movement and an art form.

It took me quite a while to get down with the frenetic off-kilter riffs and bloodcurling high-pitched screams that I consider to be “hardcore-styles” (who fucking knows anymore), but the more I came to understand that this type of music is all about taking those ugly risks and not concerning oneself with the oft-ultimate priority for metallers, almighty technique, the more I could appreciate. And clearly hardcore players almost always have more chops than the punk rockers ever did (at least most of them).

The innovative band Ink and Dagger is straight from the heyday of the gay 90s, starting in 1996 in Philadelphia as a face-painted Vampire-themed punk band (!) and quickly transitioning into what many would call one of the shining kernels of post-hardcore. They only lasted for a few years, announcing their impending break-up in ’99, and shortly after the group recorded their last album (which became self-titled), 27 year-old singer Patrick McCabe was found dead in a motel room in Indiana.

Who knows where McCabe would’ve taken aggressive music in his next band…

INK AND DAGGER — The Fine Art of Original Sin (1998)
1 — “The Fine Art Of Original Sin”
2 — “Philapsychosis”
3 — “We Live Despite Their Schemes”
4 — “Cut Throat Tactics”
5 — The Six Feet Under Swindle”
6 — “The History In E”
7 — “Vampire Fastcode Ver. 1.5″

[entire album downloadable here]

….but rest assured I did not put this link up, so if the litigious remaining members of the band wish to pursue legal actions, get yr e-tectiving on (i.e., don’t look at me!!)

-KW

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER IAN CHRISTE OF BAZILLION POINTS BOOKS & SIRIUS XM RADIO

We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #7 album, coming in with a total of 172 points…

Lamb of God, Ashes of the Wake (Epic, 2004)
Randy Blythe – Vocals
Mark Morton – Guitars
Willie Adler – Guitars
John Campbell – Bass
Chris Adler – Drums
Produced by Machine and Lamb of God

Hooray, it’s number seven — listen to all those nearly-unanimous cheers for Lamb of God!

Click to read more…