While I am really really really really really really really hoping that John Bush returns to Anthrax on a full-time basis, I know that could wreak havoc with the dreams of many an Armored Saint fan.

But before anyone gets their panties in a twist: there’s a demo for a new Armored Saint song, “Loose Cannon,” that the band has made available as a free download. It was recorded with a drum machine, but hey, it’s new Armored Saint so who really gives a shit?!?

Download the track from Metal Blade’s website.

A press release tells me that “Armored Saint has finished up writing and will begin recording in early fall for a spring 2010 release on Metal Blade Records.” Hopefully right after John Bush re-records all the vocals for Anthrax’s Worship Music. ‘Cause the version with Dan Nelson just became a collector’s item.

-AR

Doesn’t Scott Ian seem like a really swell dude when you see him on TV? He’s not Lars Ulrich, who comes off as such a prick that when you hear he really is a prick you go, “Yeah, that makes sense.” If my only knowledge of Scott Ian was his VH1 appearances, though, I’d wanna invite the guy to my place to my Passover sedar.

But then you hear these stories that make you smack your forehead, like, say, suddenly inviting Joey Belladonna and Dan Spitz back to the band after the artistic (if not financial) triumph of We’ve Come for You All, and suddenly Ian – and his bandmates, for that matter – don’t seem like such nice fellas. To wit, this statement from Dan Nelson on his unceremonious departure from Anthrax: Click to read more…

A couple of weeks ago about 10,675 of you emailed us about the kinda-cool-but-not-really-all-that-exciting news that LoG and Gojira will be opening for Metallica on their fall U.S. tour; good for them and all, but tickets will cost a fortune and we’d much rather see each band in a smaller, more intimate setting. So of course now that there’s actually some legit, super-exciting news — that Gojira have scheduled a series of one-off headline gigs in between their shows with Metallica — the grand total of readers who have emailed us so far is…. zero. Seriously, fuck all of you. (update: ONE. Thank you once again to MetalSucks Maniac / our favorite metal Hasid, Josh Kidd!). Kids, Gojira’s NYC headline show earlier this year was easily the best show we’ve seen all year. Easily. “Holy” and “shit” don’t even begin to describe how we felt about the show.

Support on these dates, which start September 21st in Brooklyn, will come from Zoroaster (who are headlining the MetalSucks-sponsored North America is Doomed Tour this Summer) and motherfucking BURST! That’s right, motherfucking Burst, whom I’ve been imploring you all to check out for at least two years. All at the same tiny venue in Williamsburg where we saw Mastodon play Crack the Skye in its entirety; the place holds 300 people, 400 max.

Check out the full list of Gojira headline dates after the jump. If your city isn’t included, fret not — the press release we received says “more dates TBA.”

Click to read more…

Last week we made Gwar’s intergalactic frontman Oderus Urungus available to answer your questions, for which you wasted no time in posting them in the comments. Mr. Urungus picked his favorites and sent them back to us yesterday, and the results are predictably raunchy and entertaining!

Since this went so well, we’re going to turn it into a bi-monthly regular column Ask Oderus. Got any questions? Post them in the comments below, and Oderus himself will choose his favorites and post his answers here in two weeks.

Q: How does it feel to have Greg Gutfeld lodged so far up your ass?

A: Quite nice really, he isn’t that large!

More questions answered after the jump…
Click to read more…

Blabbermouth just got the following statement from Anthrax’s manager:

“As announced last week, thrash legends ANTHRAX regretfully cancelled the first three dates on the second leg of their European tour due to new vocalist Dan Nelson‘s unexpected illness. An additional seven European dates are also cancelled, those scheduled from July 22 to July 30.

“ANTHRAX is thrilled to announce that they will play the August 1 Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, England, with their good friend John Bush [ANTHRAX's singer from 1992 to 2005] joining them for a very special one-off performance.

“The members of ANTHRAX have confirmed the departure of vocalist Dan Nelson. In light of this development, ANTHRAX‘s slot on the U.S. SLIPKNOT dates set for August and September, has also been cancelled. ANTHRAX is already actively considering lead singer candidates, and looks forward to hitting the road before the end of the year.”

On behalf of Vince and all the other Bushtrax fans out there who never wanted John out of the band in the first place, I would just like to say:

PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS.

Here’s the video for “Safe Home.” Yes, that is Keanu. Go figure.

-AR

First of all, I want to thank everyone who responded to my request last week to send me unreadable band logos to be used for future contests. No joke, I really appreciate everyone’s help in allowing me to continue to be a lazy prick.

Now, down to business: last week’s logo, for the band Killgasm, was super easy, so little wonder that everyone got it. And only one dipshit guessed Slipknot! Amazing.

But there can only be two winners, and those winners are John Pewo and Elizabeth Colbert. Congrats, kids.

Don’t cry if you didn’t win last week. I still have two more copies of CKY’s latest, Carver City, to give away (thanks, Roadrunner!), and then I’m spent. All you have to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail with your answer, your name and address at axl AT metalsucks DOT net. We’ll randomly select two winners from everyone who gets it right, and announce his or her names next week.

This week’s logo was sent to me by Samuel Hall. Thanks, Sam!

-AR

If this afternoon’s post about Shrinebuilder and A Storm of Light wasn’t enough to get you doom lovers off, here’s another bit of news that might help you bust a nut tonight: the MetalSucks-sponsored North America is Doomed tour kicks off next Saturday, August 1st! The tour features Zoroaster (who our own Kip W. affectionately pronounces “Zo-Roaster”), The Gates of Slumber and Serpentcult, and kicks off August 1st in Chicago, snaking its way through Eastern Canada, the Northeast U.S. and Midwest, and wraps up August 14th in Indianapolis.

http://www.myspace.com/thezoroaster
http://www.myspace.com/thegatesofslumber
http://www.myspace.com/serpentcult

Full list of tour dates after the jump.

Click to read more…

Three cheers for lame broadcasting jokes!

Seriously, though: this cover art suggests all kind of interesting things about the theme of the album. Is the chair metaphorical? Is mass media itself the chair? Fascinating that the dude and the chair themselves are without color (or colour, as the case may be). Living Colour tend to write lyrics that go beyond the whole “woe is me” bellyaching thing, so you know there was some purpose and thought put into this beyond “Oh, that looks cool.”

The Chair in the Doorway comes out September 15 on Megaforce. I cannot fucking wait.

If you haven’t done so already, check out an excellent new track from the album, “Behind the Sun,” on LC’s MySpace page.

-AR

Oh, how I do love a good flame war.

Our pal Dan Rodriguez over at Metal Insider has cooked up an interesting story. Seems that Isis’ Aaron Turner was none too pleased with the way this spring’s Revolver Golden Gods Awards went down:

Click to read more…

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, everyone reading this blog has something to say about Metallica. Naturally, Eric Smith, vocalist/guitarist for Virginia’s noise-rock-by-way-of-hardcore act The Catalyst, has an opinion as well, one that some of you may very well share. Essentially, he thinks the wrong guy died in that tragic 1986 tour bus crash, as made abundantly clear by one of the tracks off the band’s fantastic forthcoming album Swallow Your Teeth. That track, which we’re offering to you as an exclusive free download, is called “Lars Ulrich’s 1986 Funeral”.

Click to read more…

I have no idea what made me think of them – maybe I saw a tranny in the Village or something, or maybe it was just writing about Dope, since half the members of Murderdolls started in Dope and then there was a ridiculous flame war between the two bands. But, uh, somehow they popped in my mind.

We all know what Joey Jordison is up to, and Blabbermouth tells me that Wednesday 13 still has something resembling a career. I see Acey Slade walking around the neighborhood sometimes, so I guess he’s still DJing at Don Hill’s or some shit. Actually, that guy used to spin pretty good, if you were in the mood for hair metal and 70s rawk. I have no idea what happened to the other d00ds in this band, though. In fact, I don’t even know what their names are.

I’d still rather listen to this than post-Feelgood Motley Crue. Or most Stone Sour, for that matter. If for some reason those were my only choices. I can’t imagine any scenario in which that happened, but, hey.

-AR

“Highly anticipated” does not even begin to describe the hype surrounding Shrinebuilder’s debut album. The doom supergroup features Saint Vitus / Obsessed / Spirit Caravan / Hidden Hand guitar hero Scott “Wino” Weinrich, Neurosis / Tribes of Neurot leader Scott Kelly, former Sleep and current Om bassist Al Cisneros, and Melvins drummer Dale Crover… basically THE definitive who’s who of doomo all-stars. Roadburn.com is now reporting that the album is finally coming this autumn via Neurot Recordings, and they’ve posted the breathtaking artwork by A Storm of Light’s Josh Graham (a small portion of which I’ve posted above). They also report that the band will play several gigs in the U.S. later this year with European dates to possibly follow.

Speaking of A Storm of Light, they’ve got a crushing new track called “Midnight” streaming on their own website (take that, MySpace!). The track comes from the new double-disc record Forgive Us Our Trespasses, due in September via Neurot as well.

Thanks to MS Maniac Charlie F. for the tips.

-VN

It takes a lot of balls to put the music you play right in your name: sometimes it works (see: Death) and sometimes it doesn’t (see: the Rockstar Mayhem Festival, which confusingly decides not to include the black metal band with whom they share a name in its roster year after year, or even Methods of Mayhem). Novembers Doom claim ownership of the necessary balls, though: they’re slow, menacing, classy doom metal with a well-integrated melodeth twist, managing to pique interest even in their most dull moments. Their latest, Into Night’s Requiem Infernal, is the sort of well-crafted metal that can only come from a band that’s been at it for two decades (albeit with a few lineup shifts), admirable even to those that aren’t affected by the material. Dark without becoming meandering and epic without overstaying its welcome, the album is a fine slab of doom, perhaps perfect for those sick of ambient post-funeral doom sludge and just want their gloomy brethren to cut to the point.

Click to read more…

‘Cause yer Uncles Axl and Vince can’t ALWAYS keep it super br00tal…

Vains of Jenna, the hair metal band from Los Angeles by way of Falkenberg, Sweden, have a new single called “Get It On” posted on their MySpace page. I wasn’t much expecting to like it, since my two experiences with the band are as follows: 1) a weak-sauce show at SXSW in 2007, 2) having their ads forced down my throat every time I visited Metal Sludge. But you know what? This track ain’t bad. It’s kinda just, like… straight up rock n’ roll, which is refreshing in a musical climate where everyone seems to be trying to out-_____ everyone else.

I can’t find any mention of a full album release on either their MySpace page or in the press release we received, but presumably one is on the way. Look out for it this fall if you like the new track.

-VN

Fuck this band. And fuck their stupid band photo.

I’m going to start a new type of metal called Sucidebombercore. I’ll tell you upfront that the music is going to be terrible, but since our only true purpose will be to kill all these other bands, you need not worry ’bout the quality.

-AR

Thanks to Claudio Ausili for the tip!

Metal Injection’s Frank Godla once referred to Scar Symmetry’s brand of heavily poppified melodic Swedish death metal as “Death Jovi,” and it may be the single most brilliant thing he’s ever said. Not that Death Jovi is meant as an insult; it’s meant as the absolute highest compliment, a testament to both the band’s unbelievable chops and their penchant for writing giant, humongous, tremendous, monster-sized hooks.

Click to read more…

Magrudergrind derive their name from a D.C. housing project where they used to practice, and large swaths of their required-to-get-your-grind-card audio samples suggest that they are a true product of their enviornment. They’re not culled from fashionable (or fashionably hip) movies, and they in no way, shape, or form celebrate escapism – hell, I’d barely even call them “funny.” Topics up for discussion here include deliberate destruction of property values for profit, lying Washington bigwigs, and the retrieval of confiscated turn tables (okay, that last one is kinda funny). And the clips are either authentic, or astoundingly authentic sounding. Whatever the case, in contrast to what most grind bands are doing these days, it suggests a wide swath of experience. These dudes are relatively young, but they haven’t lived their whole life under an umbrella.

And, hey, guess what? The music on their new, self-titled Willowtip release reflects this breadth of interest, too.

Click to read more…

Oddly enough, the baby sandwich is not the poorly Photoshopped part of this picture.

This is Ray Herrera from a recent interview*:

Click to read more…

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! How ya doin’? Good, good.

You know what’s better than coffee? Another bootleg of a new song by The Red Chord! This one was filmed in Budapest. I have no idea what the song is called, but it will be on the band’s new album, Fed Through the Teeth Machine, which Metal Blade will release later this year.

And even if you don’t dig The Red Chord for some reason, you should watch the beginning of this clip just for Guy Kozowyk’s on-stage musings. The dude might be second only to Frank Mullen and Mikael Åkerfeldt for stage banter.

You can watch a clip of another new song by The Red Chord, “Floating Through the Vein,” here.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

Word on the street is that the new Shadows Fall album, Retribution, is one heavy motherfucker, and the first song released off the record, “King of Nothing,” would seem to confirm this. It’s already a shitton heavier than anything off of Threads of Life; this sounds like classic Shads, with enough of a musical progression to keep it interesting. If anyone still doubts that Bachand and Donais can bring the shred, this should shut ‘em up, and my neck already hurts from just one quick listen/headbanging session.

And, of course, having a guest spot by Randy Blythe doesn’t hurt.

Check out the song here. Retribution comes out September 15.

And just for shits n’ giggles, if you’re really bored at work, watch the mediocre Metallica video for the mediocre Metallica song of similar name after the jump.

Click to read more…