Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 10:30am by Axl Rosenberg
Back in October it was announced that The Late Show with David Letterman writer Tom Ruprecht The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn were co-writing a film version of Chuck Klosterman’s book, Fargo Rock City, which is a personal favorite of both Vince and myself. It struck me as a pretty shitty idea at the time, especially in light of the writers’ assertion that the film would not really be about music the way the book is.
Now Klosterman has spoken to /Film about the adaptation, and – not exactly shocking, given that he has a stake in what happens next – he says it’s great:
Before their 2010 Boner Fest Tour with Devin Townsend, Cynic and Scale the Summit, Between the Buried and Me are warming up with a quick jaunt through the southern and eastern U.S. with Sumeriancore favorites Veil of Maya. Veil of Maya have always struck me as Sumeriancore pioneers… they’ve got their own thing going, and they were definitely leaders, not followers, when that whole scene exploded a year or two back.
MS reader JR Major sent in a clip of Veil of Maya performing a new song at Emo’s in Austin, TX on the aforementioned current run with BTBAM. Check out the as-of-yet-unnamed new song below. Listen closely at the 2:38 mark.
For last week’s funny photo caption contest we offered up a 10 pack of assorted CDs from Prosthetic Records… nifty! The winning entry was a variation on a theme attempted by many entrants… but only this one nailed it just right:
Michael “The Armenian Demon” Fenton: “I really, really hope the curtains do not match the drapes!”
Well done, sir. This week Relapse Records has bestowed upon us two copies of the recent Nirvana 2002 Recordings ’89-’91 collection to give away (stream the whole thing here!). Simply come up with a funny caption to the below photo [Thanks: |Tch0rT|], and one of those CDs shall be yours.
IMPORTANT: make sure you comment with a real email address and NOT a Facebook account, otherwise we won’t be able to contact you if you win. If you use Facebook Connect for MetalSucks, simply log out of Facebook.
Iron Age’s The Sleeping Eye was something of a sleeper hit for me in 2008 (pun not intended, I swear). The band’s tight riffage and rolling thrash are the closest thing I’ve heard to old Metallica since, well, old Metallica, and The Sleeping Eye delivers a healthy dose of raw, yet well-produced metal. Iron Age are one of the few bands in the current re-thrash movement I think are actually worth paying attention to, and The Sleeping Eye may very well make my year-end list.
Guitarist Wade Allison recently took some time off from Iron Age’s European run with Rise and Fall to answer a few of my brief questions. Our Q&A, after the jump.
There’s no denying that Austrian Death Machine are entertaining. There’s those who claim the shtick gets old after a while, and I’m sure it probably does… but this shit is still hilarious to me! This song — which comes from Austrian Death Machine’s latest, Double Brutal — is predictably funny, and the band did a great job on the video with the help of director David Brodsky. Comments Tim Lambesis:
“Arnold is proof that you can be brutal and still have fun. Metalheads can still laugh at a party right? The theme for this video can go a few different ways. I think that no matter what drastic measures Ahhnold takes, he somehow only creates more fun for all. Other people may think there is an underlying story as a Terminator love story between Ahhnold and T-One-Million. However you interpret the video is fine with me, but if you sing along loud enough Ahhnold just might show up at your house too!”
What I really wanna know about is this: what’s the deal with that guitar they took in the hot tub and into the pool? Was it just a prop they bought at a store? A shitty, old banged up instrument? How many takes did they need to get that underwater solo? Dude must’ve been completely winded afterwards.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Poetic Assassin’s “Inverti in Darkness.” I highly highly recommend you click the “read more” button below BEFORE you watch the video, so you can follow along with the lyrics as you watch. It’s way more fun that way!
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 3:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Varg Vikernes, the last time he really enjoyed pussy.
A couple of weeks ago, Varg Vikernes celebrated his own personal Shawshank Redemption by announcing a new Burzum album, entitled Den Hvite Guden, which translates to The White God. Now Metal Underground tells me that he’s changed the album’s title to Belus, which translates to… The White God. After the jump, read Varg’s statement, with my own comments in bold.
Whilst going through a massive pile of CDs on my desk earlier this week I came across a copy of Only Living Witness’ Prone Mortal Form. I wasn’t cool enough to have known about Prone Mortal Form when it came out in ’93, and in fact I only discovered it when Shadows Fall covered “December” on their Fallout From the War b-sides record a few years back (see? those things work). But I’m so glad I didp; since rediscovering this CD earlier this week I’ve been jamming it non-stop… so good.
Here’s Only Living Witness performing the record’s title track back in the day in what looks like a sweaty basement or VFW hall. Wish I could’ve seen this band live in their heyday… the audience looks pumped.
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 2:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Even though they started their own metal column this past summer, I don’t traditionally think of The Onion as someplace to get metal news and criticism. But their A.V. Club has now weighed in with their very own “Best Metal Albums of the Deacade” list. And the list is honestly kind of shocking.
Metal Insider tells us that brand new music streaming service MOG went live yesterday morning. MOG promises a deep library at a $5 monthly fee, and boasts a service “better than Rhapsody, iTunes and Pandora…combined.” [Full disclosure: MOG's advertising arm sells some ad space on this site.] With all four major labels signed on (those being Warner, EMI, Sony and Universal), a $5/month unlimited streaming service is a tantalizing proposition indeed. But the million dollar question on our minds (and undoubtedly yours as well) is: do they have metal?
Without having tested the service yet I’m inclined to say that, surprisingly, the answer is actually “yes.” Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Earache, Willowtip and a few other metal labels are distributed digitally through EMI, so those ought to be covered. Warner holds a majority stake in Roadrunner so that oughtta be a no-brainer. Relapse, Metal Blade and Victory releases are distributed by Red, which is owned by Sony. Those are all the labels at the proverbial metal big kids table right there. Obviously there are plenty of other smaller metal labels, but I’m guessing most of them also have major distribution.
This new MOG service is interesting indeed. If anyone here has tested it out, please let us know in the comments how it fares metal-wise. How does it stack up against the much simpler, sleeker Spotify? Watch a brief description of some of the service’s key features in the video below.
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 1:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
So yesterday SMN tipped me off that Maxim had compiled a list of “The Hottest Daughters of Rock Stars.” So, of course, I had to check it out. I mean, it’s my duty as one of the proprietors of MetalSucks, right?
So I’m looking at the pictures and one of the selected ladies was none other than Mrs. Scott Ian herself, Pearl “Meat Loaf’s Daughter” Aday. Just one problem: Mr. Ian is identified as a “former Anthrax guitarist.”
MetalSucks reader Bucketochicken wondered, via twitter, if this means that Scott is actually the new vocalist for the ‘Thrax. Funny suggestion though that is, the best response came from Mr. Ian himself, who responded to our tweet alerting him to the error with this simple retort: “Retarded.”
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 1:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Following my post yesterday about Metal Hammer’s Dimebag tribute album, Earache Records has sent out a press release confirming that Evile’s cover of the Pantera classic “Cemetery Gates” was, indeed, late bassist Mike Alexander’s final recording with the band before he passed away. That means the track has obviously taken on new meaning for the band – both because of the lyrical content (a study in death and grief) and because what was intended to be a tribute to one fallen brother will now also serve as a tribute to another.
You can watch video of the band recording the track above; after the jump, read a quote from Evile’s lead guitarist, Ol Drake:
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 12:30pm by Anso DF
No offense, but does anyone else find it hard to trust metal websites whose titles don’t include the actual word “metal?” Take AOL’s Noisecreep. To me “noise” is what fills Merzbow’s fifteen yearly albums; “creep” is a moanthem by poutypants Radiohead. But only petty jerks care about names (cough). Plus, Noisecreep scribe Carlos Ramirez is both awesome and author to the year’s most wondrous metal journalism surprise: a candid Q&A with Ratt producer Beau Hill. It appeared in November, oddly apropos of nothing, and without any substantive mention of an upcoming project. (Sure, Ratt’s eighth record is slated for a 2010 release, but Hill’s not working on it. The Chevelle guy is. Great.)
Anyway, the too brief interview kinda outs Ramirez as a fellow producer fanboy, an unsexy pursuit for sure. Still, I can conclude that’d he’d have my back should I challenge Aerosmith to a fucking battery fight in West L.A this weekend. What’s my beef with them? Thanks for asking, champ! See, I love Aerosmith like ,seriously and so I can overlook watered-down pop records and obnoxious over-marketing. Fucktarded promo videos with sexy chicks don’t bother me either. And, honestly, Tyler’s much-discussed antagonism of his band mates and almost certain return to substance abuse only make me love him more. To party with him these days would actually be fun; those other grandpas would only prattle on about their memoirs or music made by their kids. Gag. Meanwhile, Tyler would be like Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights.
This is kind of how I imagine things going down in the Noisecreep Compound as of late:
Seth W. (Editor in Chief): Hmmm… traffic’s a little slow this week. What can we do to bring in some more visitors?
Amy Sciarretto: The Grammy nominations were just announced… I could do a piece about that.
Chris Harris: We could make fun of Marilyn Manson. That’s always funny!
Justina Villanueva: I could write up a couple pieces about awesome local bands like Gwynbleidd and The Binary Code.
Allyson B. Crawford: Rocklahoma!
Seth W.: Hmmm… I don’t know guys… those are all great ideas but I think we need something with a little more DRAW, especially since Nickelback and Creed aren’t doing anything at the moment.*
Carlos Ramirez: Oooo ooo oo, ME ME ME!! Pick me!! I’ll do another list!! That’ll really get ‘em!!
Seth W. <in Captain Jean-Luc Picard voice>: Make it so.
*I kid, I kid. I love you, Seth!
**Having said that,*** I will never really agree with the inclusion of Converge on any “metal” list… I still do not really get this band, although I did enjoy Axe to Fall. And they’re a hardcore band at heart.
***Do you respect wood?
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 11:30am by Axl Rosenberg
A press release just arrived at the Mansion telling us that Opeth are turning twenty – TWENTY!!! – and are celebrating their anniversary “with six exclusive shows that will take place across the globe in various international locales such as Stockholm, Sweden; Essen, Germany; Paris, France; London, UK; New York City, NY; and Los Angeles, CA.” Opeth mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt says the band is going to spend most of January through March just rehearsing in order to make sure these shows are really, really special. That’s a long time to rehearse.
And when are Opeth shows not special? I’ve never seen this band give a bad performance. But if they’re pulling out all the stops for these gigs on top of all the stops they usually pull out, well, I’m sure these shows will be legendary. If you can make it, I feel bad for you – but hopefully the band will film and/or record at least one of the shows for posterity’s sake.
Get the dates and locations of the show after the jump!
I could list the ways in which this site is awesome / mind-blowing, but that would just ruin the fun. Here’s a sample:
God bless your site. I found some songs by Children of Bodom on my 14 year old sons IPOD. I cried after reading the songs lerics online. Thank you for providing an alternative to secular metal. Please pray for my son Daniel. I love him so much.
Have a look, and be sure to click into some of those deeper pages… pure gold.
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 10:30am by Axl Rosenberg
Arsis have given us our first taste of their new album, Starve for the Devil, in the form of “Beyond Forlorn,” which is streaming here. And it. Is. AWESOME.
It’s an epic, melodic, death metal song that makes me wanna fuck and kill and then fuck what I’ve just killed, which I mean as a compliment. But it doesn’t sound quite like anything Arsis have ever done before. I actually kinda wonder if some fans are gonna bitch that it’s too straight-forward… but I guess some fans are gonna bitch pretty much no matter what.
Check it out and let us know what you think. Starve for the Devil comes out February 9 on Nuclear Blast. And don’t forget that Arsis are part of the MetalSucks sponsored Tyrants of Evil North American Tour 2010, alongside Exodus, Mutiny Within, and headliners Arch Enemy. Get dates after the jump.
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 10:00am by Axl Rosenberg
So the nominations for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards have been announced. The nominees for “Best Metal Performance” are slightly less embarrassing than usual – I’m assuming because the popularity of metal is on the rise, so some bands with actual talent are enjoying the spotlight. Here they are:
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 5:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
WE’RE BACK, BABY!!! Sorry to have been away so long. I wish I had a good excuse, but really, I’m just an asshole.
But I’m going to make it up to you, baby – Daddy’s gonna make it right – by giving one lucky winner a free MetalSucks shirt – the design of your choice (you can see all the designs here). These bad boys are the height of modern metal fashion, and will easily make you the most stylish dude or dudette on your block.
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 a winner from everyone who gets it right, and announce his or her name next week.
This week’s logo was suggested to me by Caleb Ungewitter… thanks, Caleb!!!
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 4:30pm by Justin Foley
From time to time in the past we’ve exchanged e-mails with The Austerity Program‘s Justin Foley, and the dude’s e-mails were so goddamn funny (not to mention smart) that we finally asked him to write for us. Hopefully Justin’s contributions to MetalSucks will become a regular, or at least semi-regular, occurrence. Enjoy!
MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THAT BAD VILLAGE VOICE THING. I KNOW, IT’S BEST TO IGNORE THESE THINGS BUT I JUST CAN’T THIS TIME.
“O Confusion! Cruel mistress – thou who would lead thine servants to slaughter like a lamb also gets led (Ed – to slaughter). Cruel! Innocent lambs, gently editing metal blogs, knowing not of your unkind plans nor the wicked scroll of fate.” Henry VI, Act 4
Like many of you jokers, I was struck with a growing sadness as I read the nonsense that that nice Wingerschmidt boy posted the other day. Sadness because it really missed the main point about the Voice’s article –a refreshingly pure distillation of concentrated bullshit. Fortunately, I didn’t miss it and neither did many of those who commented. But just in case there’s any doubt, let me tell you why that Voice writer has it so, so wrong.
