If Velvet Revolver’s second album, Libertad, had a bed, it shat all over it. The sales would have been considered top-notch for your average metal band, but for mega super duper rockstars likes Guns Without Rose, it was bad enough for their major label to promptly drop them.

There’s a few reasons this might have occurred. Personally, I think that VR’s debut, Contraband, was good but not great, and I think once the curiosity factor (with regards to a supergroup) had passed, the band was kind of doomed. Being a major success means doing crossover business (e.g., attracting people beyond the hardcore fanbase that would’ve bought the album even if it was by Slash’s Snakepit 3), and I know a lot of people who bought Contraband, went “meh,” and then never bothered to check out Libertad.

But even if we assume that Contraband really was Appetite‘s second coming, the band released a shit first single that impressed absolutely no one. And I seem to be the only person in the world who actually thought that Libertad was superior to Contraband. So it’s possible that being creatively lackluster is why the album undersold.

Keeping all of this in mind, here’s Matt Sorum basically saying that Libertad sucked, and that it’s all Scott Weiland’s fault:

Click to read more…

I am SO PISSED that I missed Chimaira’s most recent tour (with Hatebreed), because a) Chimaira slay live and b) I’m fucking dying to hear some more material from The Infection in a live setting – when I saw the band on this spring’s Music as a Weapon tour, the album had literally just come out that day and the band were, consequently, only playing two new songs.

So. Rhythm guitarist Matt DeVries had to pull a Mark Morton and leave the tour early so he could get home for the birth of his new child, Austin (Mazel tov, Matt!); filling in for him is Daath co-guitarist/all around cool dude Emil Werstler. I am using this little fact as an excuse to post this video I saw on Blabbermouth of the Wersterful Chimaira performing “The Venom Inside.” Also, to point out that bassist Jim LaMarca seems to have shed his signature locks. That leaves DeVries as the only dude in Chimaira capable of windmilling. Just sayin’.

Chimaira continue to decimate Europe alongside Unearth, Throwdown, and our friends in Daath through October 12; then, at the end of the month, they hit the States again with Trivium, Whitechapel and Dirge Within. Get dates here.

-AR

[We fixed the player issue we were having earlier. Sorry! All better now. -Ed.]

Like we said yesterday, Desperate Living — the new album from Horse the Band which comes out on October 6th — shows a new, more nuanced side to the band. The album is really good; listening to it this morning in its entirety for the first time I was really quite impressed, and it’s definitely my favorite offering of theirs to date. It’s more complex, proggy and headier than anything they’ve done prior, no small accomplishment for a band as completely fucknuts as these guys are. Now you can stream the whole new album below, exclusively on MetalSucks.

Afterwards, check out the video for “Shapeshift” and pre-order the record with an autographed CD insert for only $11.99 at Newbury Comics. HtB have a ridiculous amount of tour dates booked both Stateside and across the globe through the end of 2009; check out the band’s MySpace page for a full list.

[This promotion has ended. -Ed.]

We’re pretty late on reporting this, but in case you haven’t heard, Megadeth main man Dave Mustaine has written an autobiography. It’s called Hello Me… Meet the Real Me, is supposed to come out in late 2010, and will actually be written by a dude named Joe Layden (Because rock stars never actually write their own shit. Except for the MetalSucks columnists like Dallas, Eyal, etc. But those dudes aren’t really “rock stars” I guess, so they still have some brains left.).

The clever title – which, in case you’re a total moron, is a lyric from “Sweating Bullets” – immediately made me giggle. Because while I think Mustaine is a brilliant musician, I don’t think he’s a very sincere dude, and I have a hard time believing that the book will actually tell us much about the “real” Dave Mustaine. Or, at least, the actual text won’t – there will probably be all sorts of fun Freudian deductions to made from reading between the lines. Still, there might be some good gossip in there somewhere. I definitely plan to buy a copy.

ANYWAY, here’s the video for “Sweating Bullets.” Side note: it was directed by Wayne Isham, who also directed 99% of all Metallica videos ever made. Hm.

-AR

Another day, another silly but undeniably fun Top 10 list by our friend Carlos Ramirez over at Noisecreep (see also: The Top 10 Bush-era Anthrax songs, Top 10 New School Thrash Bands and The Top Ten High-Pitch Metal Singers of All Time). This week’s topic du jour, The Top 10 Guitarists of the “Shred Era,” which Ramirez clarifies thusly:

The style first rose to fame in the mid-1980s when guitarists started rocking classical influenced scales played at frenzied speeds… Legendary guitarists Uli Jon Roth, Al DiMeola and Eddie Van Halen helped inform the movement while a guy in California named Mike Varney served as scene’s biggest cheerleader and supporter. Through his Shrapnel Records, Varney not only discovered and produced many of the scene’s headliners, his very own Shrapnel Records would go on to become to shred what Motown was to soul music.

As usual, Ramirez is mostly spot on. Michael Angelo Batio — check. Yngwie — check. George Lynch — check. The only obvious omission I can find (I’m sure you guys will have plenty of gripes, though) is that of Vinnie Vincent, one-time KISS guitarist and all-time uber/psycho/insane/batshit shredder extraordinaire. We actually have a shrine dedicated to Vinnie Vincent in the corner opposite the shitter in the MS Mansion bathroom. Nothing quite inspires efficient crapping like the photo of Vinnie Vincent’s face you see on the right. No joke.

Go on over to Noisecreep to read the list, then come back here and tell us “OMG i can’t believe ____ was left off the list, wtf?!?!”

-VN

As rabid Converge fans chomp at the bit for the imminent release of the highly anticipated Axe To Fall, bassist Nate Newton presents something far more accessible to digest in the brief interim with Darkness Come Alive. Perhaps the most viable and visable of that New England hardcore act’s side-projects, Doomriders treat the “doom metal” tag fairly loosely, using it more as a jumping off point than a modus operandi. Distinct from the fawning nostalgia of acts like Gates Of Slumber or The Sword, the project is a satisfying hodge-podge of classic metal influences tempered by a more modern framework.

Click to read more…

When it comes to black metal guitar pedals my first choice bar none is the Valnøtt, made famous by The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley. But MS Maniac Joseph Griesel sent us a link to the new Dragonfly BM-1 Black Metal Guitar Distortion Pedal, so trve and kvlt that production is limited to just 666 units worldwide.

The BM-1 advertises itself as “A tribute to the first wave of Black Metal of the 1980′s. Raw, primitive, old school Metal Tone!” And against all expectations, the thing actually sounds pretty damn good… check out the demo below.

While the BM-1 does admittedly deliver a pretty killer tone, we much prefer the Valnøtt for its versatility as a bass, vocal and drum pedal in addition to just guitars. Check out Justin Foley’s Valnøtt demo video after the jump.

Click to read more…

This morning MetalSucks uber-Maniac Josh Kidd sent me this link to the website for AC/DC’s upcoming Backtracks box set. The music is all the usual bullshit you see on these box sets – studio rarities, live rarities, your mom’s rarities, whatever. Only really hardcore fans ever buy this shit and as much as I love AC/DC, I’m not a hardcore fan. So go here if you actually wanna see what’s on this thing, music-wise.

No, what captured my attention was the packaging, pictured above. Yes, it just looked like the umpteenth box set made to look like an amp, but check out the description:

Click to read more…

Here’s Fred Durst back in July, shortly after he married Esther Nazarov (whomever the fuck she is):

“I love being married and I am the luckiest man alive to be so in love. It took me 38 years and was absolutely worth the wait. Every path has led me here. I’m hers, she’s mine, forever.”

And here’s Freddy yesterday:

“For those of you inquiring, I will confirm that Esther and I have decided to go our separate ways and we both thank you for your support.”

By the way, he made that little announcement over Twitter. Classy.

Click to read more…

We love our readers. MS Maniac Master Chah sent us the following note last night:

Dear Metalsucks,

So…you guys didn’t say anything about new sonic syndicate video for burn this city and its been around for three days now, and I’m pretty you all don’t like this band…BUT

HOW DARE YOU NOT GIVE THEM THE PUBLICITY THEY DON’T DESERVE.

thank you for not mentioning the new video

Sorry Chah, but your email was too good to not give Sonic Syndicate the publicity they don’t deserve. We just couldn’t resist. But don’t worry; this band still blows.

-VN

Our friend Chris Krovatin sent us this video for Enuff Z’Nuff’s “Fly High Michelle,” announcing that “it blew my mind in its awfulness.”  I assume that means he’s never had the (dis?)pleasure of watching it before. Personally, I haven’t seen it in years, and somehow forgot how bad it really is. Even when Enuff Z’Nuff were “cool” (or at least popular), this video seemed like an abomination against eyeballs. But I bet whomever directed this thought he was being really, really deep.

You really have to suffer through this. It’s gotta be one of the funniest videos ever made. That’s not hyperbole.

-AR

Wow. Just… wow.

Idiots of the world: please keep posting videos of yourselves singing on YouTube. It makes my life.

-AR

Thanks to Es-meister for the tip!

Since the Kentucky Grilled Chicken fiasco, we’ve all developed a deep-seated mistrust of things purported to be free. Yet San Franciscan noise rockers Kowloon Walled City want to re-instill that sense of HOPE everyone felt this time last year when Barack Obama ran for President against a grumpy old man and Tina Fey’s retarded cousin. How do they propose to do so? By giving away their brand new full-length album gratis on the Intarwebs!

Right now, right this very fucking second, you can visit Kowloon Walled City’s website and download their entire Gambling on the Richter Scale LP. If you are now, or have ever been, a fan of Unsane or artists on the Amphetamine Reptile roster, you’re going to fucking LOVE this album. And if you happen to be a generous soul eager to reward bands that selflessly provide awesome music at no cost, then consider purchasing a copy of the just-released vinyl version of Gambling on the Richter Scale, which also comes packaged with a free CD version. I’ve been raving about Kowloon Walled City for so long I’ve forgotten how much they bribed me to mention them in the first place. NOW THAT’S SOME TASTY CHICKEN, AMERICA!

-GS

[Gary Suarez is almost over his jet lag. He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]

Like Tim Lambesis’ Ahnold-inspired side project Austrian Death Machine, MS Paint drawings provide for maximum lulz. So we’re combining the two for a fun little contest; do your best drawing of anything Arnold-related using only MS Paint or the paintbrush tool in Photoshop and you’ll win an Austrian Death Machine prize package featuring the band’s new album Double Brutal (out tomorrow!) as well as both prior albums (Total Brutal and A Very Brutal Christmas).

To enter, simply post a link to your work of art in a comment below, and be sure to include an actual email address in the “Email” field. You’ve got until October 12 at 11:59 PM EDT to enter, after which we’ll sort through the entries, pick our favorite and notify the winner by email. Remember, this is MetalSucks, so make that shit funny… the less your entry looks like a Rembrandt the better chance it has to win. Let’s see those MS Paint skills.

As previously noted, Lazarus A.D. are one of the few new bands heavily sporting retro thrash as an influence who I actually like; every band claims to mix the old with the new — or at least their press bios claim it — but few go too far beyond simply recycling the riffs of their ’80s heroes. The lads of LAD (haha) certainly wear their ’80s influences proudly, most notably in the vocal delivery of bassist/vocalist Jeff Paulick, but the band’s musical attack is actually quite diversified and the results are pretty interesting if you ask me (which, by visiting this site, you did).

Lazarus A.D. have a new video for “Revolution;” it’s all live clips, but it’s still entertaining. Having not seen the band live yet, I’m definitely keen to check them out next time they come around.

-VN

While Despised Icon didn’t show up early to the deathcore party, they did manage to show up right on time with 2005’s laudably solid The Healing Process. Squarely at the intersection of technical death metal and tough guy hardcore, the band provided a then-fresh perspective on both genres with remarkable precision. Fast forward to 2009: deathcore is (relatively) big business now, and has, in its short existence, become a polarizing and ultimately tired genre. Any kid that grew up listening to breakdown-fueled hardcore can throw on a Suffocation shirt, meet a few other dudes that spend 8-12 hours a day practicing guitar, find a drummer one can trigger out of existence, and – BOOM! – you’ve got an honest shot at being signed to Sumerian or Victory. And yet, The Healing Process retains its fresh sound. This is, perhaps, the greatest disappointment in terms of Despised Icon’s latest outing, Day of Mourning: while there are certainly salvageable bits, it veers close to sounding like tired, triggered deathcore overall. Trying to keep up with the times has ultimately made the band a victim of them, and in a genre as massively overpopulated and interchangeable as deathcore, it’s an unwise decision to sound like anyone else.

Click to read more…

As I mentioned earlier, Kip and I went to see Porcupine Tree (and King’s X!) this past Thursday. Porcupine Tree was good, if not spectacular… they’re all great players, they write good songs, have an excellent sense of composition and are certainly quite accomplished; but at no point during the performance was I at all wowed.

Except when I realized that “Time Flies,” Movement IX from the first disc of the band’s new record The Incident, is a dead rip-off of Pink Floyd’s “Dogs” (from the Animals record, a personal favorite of mine). Now, Steven Wilson has certainly never been shy about his love of Floyd, and even if not for that it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s heard Porcupine Tree’s music before that the band bows down in the alter of Floyd. But YO, this is like, too similar for comfort. Check it out:

Porcupine Tree – “Time Flies”:

Pink Floyd – “Dogs”:

I’m not crazy, right? The staccato-strummed acoustic guitar, the keyboard swells leading into each chord change, similar vocal melodies, the verse that starts “and after a while…”. The only real difference is that the P-Tree riff is in 3/4 instead of Floyd’s 4/4. Sorry Steven, you rule at producing Opeth and you’re a talented musician, but for this you get a big, fat, epic FAIL.

-VN

Kip and I went to see Porcupine Tree in New York last Thursday. Personal preferences not withstanding, I think the winner of the night was definitely opening act King’s X — after the show, many people mentioned being way more impressed by King’s X than Porcupine Tree and were left having wished they’d caught the band’s whole set. Not me; I insisted on being there for the whole thing, despite Mr. Wingerschmidt’s preference of blazing pre-show.

How this band has remained so fresh and vital for so long is beyond me. Doug Pinnick is 59 fucking years old and still has the pipes of a choir boy (like 6 or 7 octaves worth!) and the optimism and good will of someone in his 20s. While the band jammed behind him Pinnick gave one of the most inspirational speeches I’ve ever heard about how so many people are unhappy with their lives because they aren’t doing what they’re meant to do, how if music is your calling don’t let anyone discourage you, be true to yourself, work hard even if your music never leaves your bedroom, just be yourself and be happy. Imagine 2 minutes of this spoken by a guy who basically sounds like a reverend. It was beautiful.

Also beautiful was the band’s performance of “Lost In Germany,” which I’d never heard them play live before, from their self-titled 1992 record. Here they are playing it back in 1998 when Doug was a fresh 47 years old. That Ty Tabor riff! A classic.

-VN

MS Maniac Brutal Jay tipped us off to the existence of the hilarious Halloween “Metal Mayhem Child Costume” now available at Walmart. My immediate instinct was to be a hater and harp on the co-option of metal culture by a huge conglomerate who obviously cares solely about how much money this product bring in, but then I realized that, for a young kid who’s into metal, this costume is ten times cooler than your average superhero/devil/zombie/vampire whatever costume.

Although, I think if it were me, I’d definitely opt for the Mick Mars edition.

-VN

Slayer have the title track of their new album World Painted Blood up for streaming on their MySpace page.

Conclusion: it sounds like Slayer.

EXCEPT: the guitar solo. Lots of folks slag Kerry King for his one-solo-fits-all style of shred… and really, I can’t say that they’re wrong. Until now. This solo is not only different from King’s usual fare, but it’s slooooowwwwww. This solo probably has as many notes in the entire thing as most of King’s solos do in one phrase. And for that it’s seriously fucking awesome! Hanneman’s riffing and Lombardo’s drumming underneath lock in for a groove that compliments it perfectly, emphasizing the nuance of King’s solo all the more.

World Painted Blood drops November 3rd.

-VN