Shame on me for having never heard of Australia’s Portal before. I just got their new album, Swarth (which apparently means “land covered with grassy turf”… metal teaches me a new word again!), last week, and it’s blowing my mind. I don’t even know how to describe it; it’s death metal, I guess, but it’s really pushing the limits of what “music” as a concept is. It almost reminds me of Hate Eternal, but that’s not really fair to Portal or Erik Rutan. They are just a really, really unique monster.

And I do mean “monster.” Like I said, this is really pushing the boundaries between music and noise. It’s just fucking evil, man. I’ll try to write a review one of these days, but in the meantime, I implore you to check out Portal on MySpace and buy Swarth for yourself – it just came out this week on Profound Lore.

And, oh yeah, apparently they wear costumes. Here they are doing the song “Glumurphonel” from their 2003 debut, Seepia.

For the time being it seems that Portal live shows are restricted to their native land, but they have been added to the already amazing Maryland Deathfest 2010 line-up, which will also include Converge, Eyehategod, Melechesh, Obituary, and grind gods Gridlink.

-AR

Did anyone see Today is the Day’s Axis of Eden DVD? I only got to see some of it, but it was some pretty trippy shit, and clearly there was a mind behind it that was as willing to think outside the box as TITD main man Steve Austin.

That mind belonged to filmmaker David Hall, who now returns with Disgorge, Mexico, a film based on the album of the same name (minus the comma) by Fuck the Facts (read our review of that record here). A press release tells us the following about the flick:

Described by Hall as “a substance abuse art house riff on the destructive and volatile nature of love,” Disgorge, Mexico: The Movie is a violent, hallucinatory depiction of one woman’s strange journey, set to the soundtrack of Fuck The Facts’ Disgorge Mexico.

Costumes for the film were created by Nekro, known for her costume design work for Arch Enemy’s Angela Gossow.

Plus, Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s Jay Randall (who is easily one of the best tweeters in the world) says that “It’s like your eye is a cock, balls deep in a peyote button butthole.” So there’s that.

Disgorge, Mexico doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it should be out soon on DVD and as a digital download. You can check out the trailer by clicking the image below. If said image doesn’t make you extrememly curious, something is wrong with you.

-AR

In 2009, it seems the best way to make innovative death metal is to not employ slams. After the dozens of avenues the genre has gone down – melodic, brutal, blackened, thrashy, numerous combinations of those, and so on – old is new again, and after a few years of interchangeable breakdown-prone ‘core enthusiasts, death metal’s scraggly faithful are more interested in hearing the genre done well as opposed to yet another “What if we combined THIS with death metal?!” band. Of course, revisiting can lead to rehashing incredibly easily (see: thrash revival), and the best of those invested in the past know that there’s a certain energy that needs to be pumped into it in order to give it purpose. Smite the Righteous, a melodic death/thrash collective from Massachusetts, waver on the revisit-rehash line, stumbling onto either side throughout the course of their debut full length The Thirst for Violence. But in its best moments it displays a looseness and a vested interest sorely missing from death metal’s crop of regurgitaters. Though still rough around the edges, the band seem to get it a lot more than some.

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Did anyone see South Park last night? I watched it in a drunken stupor but I think I enjoyed it. It was about rasslin’.

Speaking of which: while my childhood dog was named after Lex Luger, I haven’t watched wrestling since roughly 1992. But apparently Maylene and The Sons of Disaster have recorded a new song for the Jeri-Show Tag Team, whomever the fuck that is. Maybe these dudes know.

ANYWAY, the aforementioned Maylene have been interviewed by the WWE, which I think will excite some of you – if nothing else, they’re a pretty cool band. The video interview isn’t embeddable, but you can watch it by clicking on the photo below.

-AR

If you’ve never seen Suffocation live, well, you need to. Not only do they kill, but Frank Mullen is one of the funniest fucking front men ever.

I haven’t gotten to listen to the band’s new live album (actually recorded in ’05), The Close Of A Chapter: Live In Quebec City, yet, so I don’t know it captures Mr. Mullen in all his gallows humor glory. But the record is now streaming right here, and even if all it does it showcase what a powerful live act this legendary death metallers are, well, that’s reason enough to give it a listen.

The Close Of A Chapter: Live In Quebec City comes out October 27 on Relapse.

-AR

Any time a press release comes in from Prosthetic Records announcing a new band signing, the link is always worth clicking. Take Norway’s Mantric, who despite their home country are perhaps the farthest thing from black metal imaginable. I’m really, really digging what Mantric have posted on their MySpace page; this is metal that’s cerebral, proggy (but not shreddy), jazzy, challenging and still accessible. Some of you might be excited to know that the band features ex-members of Extol. Color me psyched for their Prosthetic debut which is being mixed by Tue Madsen and is due out in February.

Oh hey and look at that slammin’ new MySpace design (part of which you’re looking at on top of this post)? It was hand-drawn by the illustrious Jesse Zuretti of MetalSucks faves The Binary Code. In case any of you guys out there who are in bands are looking for a spiffed-up new MySpace design.

-VN

Q: What’s even more tasteless than making fun of cancer?

A: Metal Inquisition’s Sergeant D making fun of making fun of cancer!

How meta. So yeah Peter Criss has breast cancer. Hardee har har! Yuck it up, fuckos.

-VN

Though we may question his fashion choices and dubious association with Danzig historicists Born of Osiris we do actually really like guitar wunderkind Tosin Abasi, especially his solo “band” Animals as Leaders. In case you’re averse to good music or just plain ig’nant, Animals as Leaders released their (his?) debut album this past Spring and like yo, that shit is mad good. Check out “On Impulse” from that record above.

SMNnews.com tells me that those of you in Dallas get to see the band perform a headline set in between dates of their limited Fall run with Between the Buried and Me and Veil of Maya. That’s pretty cool and all but can’t the band do a real tour? Come onnnnnnn!

BTBAM tour dates listed after the jump.

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Well, this makes me nervous.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Tom Ruprecht, a longtime writer on CBS’ ‘Late Show With David Letterman,’ and Craig Finn, frontman of the popular rock band the Hold Steady, are teaming to write and produce” an adaptation of Chuck Klosterman’s 2001 Fargo Rock City.

The book, a personal favorite of my Vince’s and myself, is basically, like everything Klosterman has ever written, a rambling dissection of pop culture (in this case, 80s hair metal)  interspersed with personal stories (in this case, about growing up in North Dakota).

So here’s the part that makes me nervous. The film version is described in the following manner:

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Now skip to the 3:54 mark to get Mr. Weiland’s thoughts:

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Yesterday, October 19th, 2009 – a date which will live in infamy – Nick Barham, Rosie O’Donnell look-alike and lead vocalist for Attack Attack!, suddenly and deliberately quit the band. And only mere days before the group was scheduled to begin a tour with another one of the 21st century’s most groundbreaking musical acts, I Set My Friends On Fire.

There is terrible news, to be sure; indeed, I am having a hard time typing this through my tears. It feels like the days Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Stanley Kubrick, Norman Mailer, and Jesus Christ died, all rolled into one. It is a true, true tragedy.

When reached for comment, Barham said, “Like, what do you mean?”

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Hey, lookit! We just debuted a new Arch Enemy video, “Beast of Man,” earlier this month, and the band already has another one. Sweeeeet.

So here’s “Dark Insanity.” The track comes off the band’s recent Century Media release The Root of All Evil, and the footage is taken from their killer DVD, Tyrants Of The Rising Sun – Live In Japan.

Also: a friendly reminder (as though you’d forgotten!) that Arch Enemy will headline the MetalSucks sponsored Tyrants of Evil North American Tour 2010 with Exodus, Arsis and Mutiny Within starting in January. Get dates here.

-AR

It’s safe to say that we’re addicted to Addicted here at the MetalSucks Mansion. The latest from The Devin Townsend Project is so infectious I keep expecting the CDC to quarantine us.

So Mr. Townsend is doing the rounds now, promoting the album, and he just gave a really terrific interview to our pals over at Noisecreep. A lot of the interview focuses on the dissolution of Strapping Young Lad, which I don’t find so interesting. It’s not that I don’t think SYL were an awesome band – both Vince and I fucking LOVED that band – but I’m glad they went out while they were still cool, as opposed to seemingly every other band on the planet, who apparently want little more than to get paid and disappoint their older fans by churning out lackluster product. And it’s not as though Townsend has dropped off the face of the planet or stopped making awesome music or whatever.

No, the part I find really interesting is where Townsend recounts 2006 stint on Ozzfest. Here’s an excerpt:

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Thus spake MS Maniac Michael Arose.

Ask, and ye shall receive.

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I know we give Metallica all sorts of shit around here, and I’ve made several jokes about them not loving their fans – but this is pretty serious, and it’s very cool of them to get involved.

They’ve posted the following message on their Facebook page:

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Oh Anso, you so silly with your band acronyms. You also so dead-on with your praise of One Man Army and the Undead Quartet. Like Stratovarius, 1MA+U4 are one of those bands whose name constantly graces Blabbermouth headlines but to whom I’ve never actually listened. How could that be given they’re fronted by ex-The Crown singer Johan Lindstrom? I do not know.

On a complete unrelated note in the same article, Anso (who’s also an MS contributor, you ninnies) chimes in with this truth about French tech-deathsters Gorod (whose 2009 album Process of a New Decline we’ve praised endlessly here on MS):

I learned that in Gorod, technical metal is being wrested away from clever East Coast hipsters and back into the domain of heshers thank you Europe. Like any good pursuit, it is improving itself and less and less frequently being comprised of five guys wanking in unison.

I <3 Anso.

Hugz,
VN

If there’s any justice in the world, The Red Chord’s excellent new album, Fed Through the Teeth Machine (read my four out of five horns review here), will cement Mike “Gunface” McKenzie’s status as one of his generation’s great guitar gods while introducing his truly unique playing to scores of new fans. Now The Red Chord’s sole axe slinger, Gunface really steps up his game on Teeth – the riffs and solos on this album are easily some of the year’s very best.

That being the case, I was very, very excited to have the opportunity to e-mail some questions to Gunface earlier this week. He follows bassist Greg Weeks and vocalist Guy Kozowyk as the latest member of The Red Chord to humor me by answering some truly idiotic (and hopefully a few intelligent) questions (I’m sure we’ll get to drummer Brad Fickeisen sooner or later). After the jump, get Gunface’s thoughts on the creation of Fed Through the Teeth Machine, writing solos, his various side projects, the value of the Death Star, and more.

Fed Through the Teeth Machine is out October 27 on Metal Blade.

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Los Angeles psychedelic-doom drivers Ancestors are already back with another new album after last year’s acclaimed two track debut Neptune With Fire, and this time around they’re  arguably even more ambitious. On the eight track Of Sound Mind, the band expands their scope and continues their doom-laden trip down nostalgia lane, with plenty of prog rock inspirations. And lots of guitars.

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I don’t know whether this is actually the case, but before I met Clint Lowery (we interviewed him right after he rejoined Sevendust in early 2008) he always struck me a super-serious dude. He always just looked so fucking serious up there on stage, counter to 7D bassist Vinnie Hornsby’s class-clown stage antics. But he was super chill and affable in person. And he always responds to my emails, no matter how annoying they may be (“Hey dude, wanna send me that unreleased Dark New Day album?” “Sorry man, I wish, but I can’t.”) Maybe it’s that whole newfound sobriety thing (congrats on two years, dude!).

Anyway I’ve really been enjoying these Sevendust video diaries from the studio. They’re updated several times daily and show a whole other side of the band, especially Mr. Lowery, who’s been handling the lion’s share of the camera work. Every time the camera clicks off he makes a silly face. It’s cute. Here we see him goofing off while Lajon tracks vocals. Wonder what song it is that they’re working on?

-VN

Even metal heads need dating advice. That’s what Rich Hallford is here for! Read on to have all your love life dilemmas solved by the great master…

Dear Rich Hallford,

1. Excellent article title.

2. There’s this girl I really like. Well, two girls. One of them I’ve been working on for about a year and a half now, and I know she likes me too, but her parents won’t let her date. The other girl is a friend of my sister’s – my sister has 3 years on me, the friend is my age but a grade above – and I’d date her, but I’m so socially awkward and I’ve been rejected by every girl I’ve asked out and have never had a girlfriend. I don’t know if it’s what I say, I don’t know if it’s just me, I just don’t know. So, here’s my questions:

1. Which girl should I go for?
2. If I go for the prior, what can I do to get her parents to let off?
3. If I go for the latter, what is the best thing to say? I think she likes me too, and I might be taking her to the Anvil concert with me, which I have passes meet and greet passes for.

Please help me dude,

-6infinite6hatred6, MetalSucks.net reader

Dear 6infinite6hatred,

It’s always a tough situation to like two girls. You ask which girl to go for let’s break it down to see what’s easiest for you!

Click to read more…