Just a few weeks ago a friend and I were wondering aloud about the status of Full Blown Chaos. I really enjoyed the band’s 2007 release, Heavy Lies the Crown, and the interview I did with front man Ray Mazzola is still one of my favorites (Ray is, no joke, a master orator, and he has some crazy fucking stories).

But in the past year or so, Full Blown Chaos seemed to have disappeared. Then Mazzola turned up on Twitter recently; and now we’ve gotten a press release announcing the band’s plans to come back big-time, with a new album to drop sometime in 2010.

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Extreme-kin Park.

(two out of five horns)

[Corey Mitchell (AKA "The Old Fart") is a best-selling true crime author, founder of the #1 true crime blog, In Cold Blog, and sad about the recent death of my friend and fellow true crime author, Dale Hudson. RIP.]

This past June I had the opportunity to sit down with bassist Tim Rykoski and guitarist / lead vocalist Dave Alley of New Haven, Connecticut progressive hard rock band Mile Marker Zero. If you haven’t heard of Mile Marker Zero yet it’s because they haven’t yet had the opportunity to travel far outside of the Northeast; but this is definitely a band with the musical talent, originality and ambition to make it. Their self-titled album is out now, and you can listen to a few tracks on their MySpace page. Check out our quick chat after the jump.

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Yesterday Metal Blade sent out a digital sampler containing four of the ten songs which will appear on The Black Dahlia Murder’s upcoming Deflorate (out September 15). While this obviously isn’t nearly enough to write any sort of credible review, I did want to give my thoughts on what we’ve now heard.

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Told ya so.

Now that Periphery have signed with Sumerian Records, expect them to take their prototypical brand of Sumeriancore on the road… a LOT. See, the Sumerian guys are smart — rather than banking on selling records, a futile business model in 2009 if ever there was one, Sumerian bases their financial model on touring the hell out of their bands (and we’d have to guess that the label participates in this income stream as well), an easy feat because the label is half-owned by booking agent Ash Avildsen. It makes perfect sense in terms of artist development too — no better way to break a band than to get them directly in front of potential fans.

So we’ll be seeing a lot of Periphery in support slots on tours in the coming months, methinks. Sure, Sumerian will put an album out, but that’ll serve more as a talking point / press event to drive interest in the band and get them out on the road. And this is a good thing — Periphery are a phenomenal live band. Along with After the Burial and The Faceless, they’re probably Sumerian’s best. Now there’s a tour I’d like to see… how about it, Ash?

-VN

Kittie Porn.

(3 out of 5 horns)

[Corey Mitchell (AKA "The Old Fart") is a best-selling true crime author, founder of the #1 true crime blog, In Cold Blog, and sad about the recent death of my friend and fellow true crime author, Dale Hudson. RIP.]

You guys have proven me right. At least I think you have. Could be that all the anti social, acne ridden, socially retarded, fucktard trolls decided not to comment on my previous post, but something tells me that this just isn’t the case. I think you guys came out en-masse and stated who you were. Haters and non-haters alike. Its cool to see you guys actually getting along for once, too.

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Punk is the domain of youth. Over the years its initial rebellious edge has been largely filed down to a nub with the palatable smoothness of an infant’s spoon, yet the fact remains that, even co-opted and corrupted by vapidity and consumerism, it remains young people’s music. Some choose to argue pointlessly and endlessly over the “authenticity” of the poppier strain that one might hear on the Vans Warped Tour, willfully blind to the cold reality: definition no longer matters when a sound becomes this diluted by culture. Outright intolerance of the current state of affairs feels appropriate, yet the alternatives for aging punk fans are tragic and few. Some shell out Ticketmaster-inflated fees to see the retroactively hailed nostalgia acts of their choosing lurch out onto massive stages to run through “the hits” much like the classic rock dinosaurs these very same revolutionaries once disdained. Others choose to support the obscure, forgotten 80s band playing miserable bars a few miles down the road from the middle of nowhere. Lastly, one can stay at home, venturing out only to collect even more irrelevant records for hoarding and occasional listening. To some half-smart kid from out there in America desperate for something to rebel against, it’s ideal. For a grown man like me, living the domestic life with all of its inherent pitfalls and pratfalls, punk is sentimental escapism. Nothing more.

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Here it is, sent in by Jonathon E. (original source unconfirmed). I think it’s pretty safe to say that musically-speaking, Scar “Death Jovi” Symmetry haven’t lost anything at all. But has the replacement of ex-vocalist Christian Alvestam with two separate vocalists, one for singing and one for screaming, affected the band’s sound for better or worse? Rather than mouth off I’d like to know what you all think.

-VN

I just saw this dude out on the street:

It is one thing to like Sammy Hagar. It is another thing to wear his shirt when you’re clearly going out of your way to look like Sammy Hagar.

Just sayin’.

-AR

Ian Christe posted the below photo on his Bazillion Points blog yesterday. It’s producer Russ Russell doing some mixing; Christe took it while visiting Napalm Death in the studio during the recording of their album The Code is Red… Long Live the Code in 2005.

There isn’t that much to say about it. But it made me giggle, and I thought it might make some of you giggle, too.

-AR

I haven’t sung the praises of Salome in awhile, so here goes: this band crushes. Everyone I know who has seen them live has just been floored with them. Guitarist Rob Moore and drummer Aaron Deal (read my interview with Mr. Deal here) play as though they’re actively attempting to use soundwaves as a weapon, and vocalist Kat… well, she goes to some other place. Like, she temporarily becomes psychotic or something. (Actually, maybe she’s always psychotic. I’ve never actually met her, but her art is pretty dark. I once considered buying a piece because I think it’s so cool, but I was afraid if women saw it on my wall, I’d never get laid again. Of course, right now I’m having trouble finding the link to the page where you can buy her art, but just take my word for it. It’s bleak.)

Now Salome have signed a deal to release their next full-length – actually, I think it’s their first full-length – through Profound Lore. That makes them label mates with Agalloch, The Gates of Slumber, Cobalt, Alceste, and some other awesome bands. In other words: it seems like a good fit.

The band is still writing said full-length, but they have a split with Thou coming out sometime soon (more details as I get them!), and I strongly encourage you to check out their EP in the meantime – or, even better, go see them live. As we reported before, they’ll hit the road in September on a tour with the equally fantastic Hull and Batillus, and will even be playing the MetalSucks co-sponsored Planet Caravan fest in North Carolina alongside Clutch, Kylesa, Burst, Wino, and a whole bunch of other great groups. Really. Go see them. It is truly a fucking experience.

Complete tour dates after the jump. If you don’t know Salome, visit them on MySpace ASAP.

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If you haven’t been following our series of exclusive tour diaries by Misery Index, you’re missing out (check out Part 1 and Part 2). Put together by the band themselves, they’re insightful and hilarious looks into the band’s behind-the-scenes lives (and not just in the usual get-wasted-and-barf-all-over-each-other way). The third and final installment, below, covers their journey through the European festival circuit. Hopefully we’ll be able to get more of these from Misery Index in the future — thanks guys! Catch ‘em on tour for the rest of August throughout Europe.

[This exclusive has now ended.]

I do really enjoy Hatebreed when I’m in the right mood, and they’re a lot of fun live. But the thought of a new Hatebreed album doesn’t really get my blood pumping the way it used to. Perseverance was a turning point, the moment the band officially went from being hardcore to metalcore; since then, they’ve really just made Perseverance Part 2, Perseverance Part 3, etc.

Now they’ve announced a Septmeber 29 release date for their new, self-titled album, and front dude Jamey Jasta is promising that this album will mark another evolution for the band:

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Gwynbleidd are another one of New York City’s best kept metal secrets (see also: Wizardry, The Binary Code, Hung). Though the bandmembers all originally hail from Poland and Brooklyn is the base of their current operations, their sound most recalls that of a 3rd country, Sweden, particularly the epic peaks, valleys and landscapes conjured by Opeth.

Any time a local band gets a national shot I can’t help but feel a sense of pride, especially a band as good and deserving as these guys. Gwynbleidd will get their shot October 27th when BlackCurrant Music releases their full-length album Nostalgia. The band has posted a full track from Nostalgia on their MySpace page for your enjoyment, so go and give it a shot. You’ll surely be hearing more about this band in the near future.

-VN

Right after John Bush played what might or might not be a one-off reunion show with Anthrax, I wrote, “I’d love to post some footage of Bush performing a Bush-era song, but can’t seem to find any.” Well, the metal gods heard my prayers, and SMN News posted the below footage of the band doing “Safe Home.” And the quality of the footage is actually perfect – it’s not just some shit a fan captured on his or her cell phone! Band sounds good, too.

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He’d of been 43 years old today.

Here he is shredding back when he was my age.

-AR

One week ago today Axl ran a post about Boston up-and-comers Revocation, quoting Cosmo Lee’s high regard for the band and asking the opinions of the MS faithful. “The Next Great Metal Band”? I’d heard the two new songs they’d posted on their MySpace page and I really dug them, but that’s certainly a lofty claim for a band whose Relapse Records debut hasn’t even dropped yet.

That was until Relapse sent me a stream of the entire new album. HOLY FUCKING SHIT, YOU GUYS!!! HOLY SHIT!@&*#$%^&*@$^

asvydbuihykej.ht5!!!!!!

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This Monday, August 24, Brooklyn noise rockers Goes Cube are playing a one-off show at Precious Metal, the NYC party (curated by Curran Reynolds of Wetnurse!) which showcases awesome heavy music every week at Manhattan’s Lit Lounge. Opening acts are DBCR and Easter, but perhaps the most exciting news is that I’M DJING THIS FUCKING THING. Now you have an opportunity to see me in the flesh, bask in my glory, baste in my gravy, and listen to me play songs you hate between sets from some great local bands.

It’s not like you’re doing anything else Monday night anyway, you sad lonely virgins.

-GS

[Gary Suarez likes puppies. He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]

For last week’s contest we offered up two prize packages, each consisting of the new CDs from Man Must Die and Howl. The two winning captions to the photo at right:

deathray76: “xNAMBLAcorex”

bearbomb: ““Note to self: Taking picture of From First To Last t-shirt in the mirror will NOT make it read From Last To First. I am still a loser.”

This week we’re offering up two copies of the asshole-ripping new effort from Burnt by the Sun, Heart of Darkness — recipient of a 4-out-of-5 horns review by our own Sammy O’Hagar — courtesy of Relapse Records. Since the Asian emo kid pics seem to have run their course, just come up with a lulz-worthy caption to the below photo, and it’s yours. Thanks to Juggalo Bob for the photo suggestion — simply typing in “gathering of the juggalos 2009″ on Google Images will provide us with an endless stream of funny photo caption contest candidates!