If you’re a regular reader of Eyal Levi’s blogs for this very site, than you’re already aware that he and his fellow Daath guitarist, Emil Werstler, have been working on a new, non-Daath record with Cynic drummer Sean Reinert. Well, hey, guess what? The album has a name now, Avalanche of Worms, and an oh-so-appropriate release date of 4/20 on Magna Carta. And as if all of that weren’t exciting enough, they’re already streaming a new track, “Dura Mater,” on their merch page (scroll down – the player is on the lower right hand side).

The track, it should go without saying, rips. It certainly has a Daath-y vibe to it – the long instrumental intro of the song “Translucent Potency” from The Concealers comes to mind – but it’s definitely not Daath. The music has been taken to a whole other level here. It’s shreddier and proggier than anything we’ve heard these fellas do before, but not at the expense of good songwriting – there is structure here, and strong hook. I dunno… it’s just good music, dude. I’m loving it, and can’t wait to hear the rest of the album. (It also bodes really, really well for the next Daath record – if this is the kind of growth Eyal and Emil are showing, the future can only be full of good things.)

You can stream “Dura Mater,” and pre-order Avalanche of Worms in a variety of sexy packages here. The project also now has an official website, a MySpace page and a Facebook page, so you can stay up-to-date on all their latest news. And, of course, we’ll give you more info as we get it…

-AR

When it was announced Wednesday that the second annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards will explode all over the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on April 8, I was like whoa, ’cause last year’s ReGGAs just came up in conversation the other day. But then I was like ouch, ’cause I was absolutely not invited to the press conference at the Rainbow, and goddammit that sucks, ’cause you only get so many chances to gaze adoringly at Lemmy. So okay, it’s true: I wrote a bunch of negative shit about last year’s outing. But it was an honest description of what you, sir, would’ve witnessed if you had attended and not me. And if not, duh, no one listens to me anyway ’cause I’m an idiot! Most commenters wonder openly if I’m retarded! Jesus!

At any rate, I hope they let me and Adam [Who the fuck is Adam? - Ed.] attend again this year. When he asked about it a few days ago, I expressed my sincere hope that the show would go on. Now I’m excited that it will. Things were janky last time, but it was the first metal awards ceremony in the country; improvement will come with experience. Well that’s what I was told by a fortune cookie today. And ass it turns out, that wise-ass cookie was right! First off, this year y’got hosts Andrew W.K. (who may or may not be a robot from the future) and Chris Jericho (more like Chris Hilar-icho). Plus, Rob Halford is the guest of honor! And blaow! Just look at some of these categories!

Click to read more…

Mr. Awesome! Here’s his winning entry:

I deserve to win the tickets because the first time I had sex, Magrudergrind was playing in the background and I lasted for the full length of one of their songs.

For actually managing to make me laugh, Mr. Awesome wins a pair of tickets to tomorrow’s Misery Index/Magrudergrind/Mutant Supremacy show at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Congrats, Mr. Awesome… and have an awesome time (see what I did there?)!

-AR

First of all, I think we can all agree on one thing: without Jimi Hendrix, there would be no such thing as heavy metal. The man revolutionized guitar playing, and is one of the few musicians who inarguably influenced literally everyone who came after him. Period.

So. It’s almost the fortieth anniversary of the man’s death, and I think all the legal issues surrounding his estate have finally been cleared up, which must be why there’s an abundance of cash-ins new Hendrix products being released in the coming months: for one thing, there’s going to be a new album of previously unreleased studio recordings, entitled Valleys of Neptune; you can watch the video for the title track, which wants really, really badly to appeal to stoners aging or otherwise, above. And then there’s gonna be a Hendrix-themed iPod for yuppies who want the world to know that they like good music.

On top of all of that, Hendrix’s sister, Janie – who controls his estate – apparently let it slip in a recent interview that there’s an edition of the video game Rock Band in the works which will center around her late brother. I guess Rock Band: The Beatles must have sold well despite the fact that rhythm games’ fifteen minutes are just about up.

Of course we have no way of knowing what Hendrix himself would have made of such a game, but… fuck it, I’d play it. If you can’t get right and pretend that you’re the rock god you’ll never actually be, why go on living?

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

YESSSSSSS.

Amon Amarth have announced a North American tour for this spring. If you’ve never seen Amon Amarth,well, get off your ass and go.

It was at a Children of Bodom/Amon Amarth show in 2006 that Vince and I first decided to start MetalSucks. We were, it should go without saying, really, really baked. But it’s worth noting that at that particular moment, Bodom hadn’t taken the stage yet. So I’d like to think that the idea was born not just of weed and anticipation for COB, but, rather, from weed and the mighty creative juices of Amon Amarth. Thanks, dudes!

Eluveitie and Holy Grail are acting as support; I don’t know Holy Grail, but Amon Amarth and Eluveitie should really be enough to get you off your lazy ass.

Dates after the jump.

Click to read more…

Most of you probably don’t know that I used to work at Atlantic Records. Not back in the heyday of Atlantic metal but during the lifetime of this here metal blog, in fact. Any time I brought up some of the classic metal acts to grace the ranks of Atlantic’s roster — Testament, Skid Row, Saigon Kick, King’s X… P.O.D. [I KID!!] — I was met with blank stares by the label’s higher-ups. They’d rather bob their heads in forced unison to the brand new sappy crappy Staind single that sounds exactly like all the other sappy crappy Staind singles. Oh, the stories I have about those board meetings… for another day.

Don’t worry; I got out of dodge as soon as I could. All is good now that I work safely in the confines of the MS Mansion in pantsless bliss.

I didn’t work in the A&R department at Atlantic, but I sat in on enough meetings and watched enough happen to know that the reality of major label A&R men suggested in this spoof video is frighteningly accurate. Enjoy; and if you’re a budding musician with major label dreams, be frightened. Very frightened.

-VN

Hm.

So vocalist James Lee has parted ways with Origin after nearly a decade in the band. No reason has been given as of yet. He’s been replaced by Mica ‘Maniac’ Meneke (photo above), who has played with The Faceless and a bunch of other bands – so I’m assuming he knows what’s what.

And that’s why, as much as I’ve enjoyed Lee’s past vocal performances, I’m not too worried about this. Is Paul Ryan still in the band? He is? Yeah, I think we’re good to go, here. Origin is gonna be just fine.

-AR

I’m on something of a modern power metal kick lately. Those sucky new Raintime songs really got me fired up and looking for something good, and thankfully the power metal faithful amongst the masses of the Suckalo Nation have come through big time. So far you’ve suggested Communic, a quality band indeed. And even though Mercenary’s lineup is in transition and Firewind’s Gus G. is currently tied up with Ozzy, word on the street is that both bands will release new albums in 2010… so that’s good news.

Today’s suggestion comes courtesy of Suckalo Harry Brook who was kind enough to send me not one but two songs from different albums by the Norwegian band Pagan’s Mind. This one, “Enigmatic Mission,” was my favorite of the two and leaves me really wanting to get my hands on the album from whence it came, 2005′s Enigmatic: Calling.

For all my love of the sub-genre, I guess it turns out I’m something of a modern power metal n00b. Enlighten me, Suckalos, and keep those suggestions coming!

I guess we’ve got to think of a new name for this sub-genre too, since “power metal” really isn’t fitting. Europowercheese? Epic Metal? Post-Power?

-VN

[Thanks: Harry Brook]

Alright, let’s cut right to the quick: our pals at Metal Insider are streaming a new Finntroll song, ”Under Bergets Rot.”It comes from the band’s forthcoming fifth album, Nifelvind, which will be out March 9. And to sweeten the deal, MI has an interview the band’s vocalist, Vreth, too.

If you like drinking mead, banging wenches, and listening to FUCKING METAL, you need to check this out. Go here to give the song a listen and to read the interview.

-AR

If you don’t know East of the Wall, you should learn about them right quick. For one thing, the share a member with The Binary Code – that would be bassist Brett Bamberger -and for another thing, well, they rock. If The Binary Code are too tech-y for you, East of the Wall may be more your speed – it still has a proggy, experimental vibe, but it’s somewhat more straight-forward art metal than TBC.

The band has a new album, Ressentiment, coming out in July on Translation Loss, and have debuted two new songs from that record on their MySpace page: “Salieri” and “Fleshmaker.” They’re both sweet. Go give ‘em a listen!

-AR

Thanks to Mr. Sandwich for the tip.

If for some reason you don’t already own Between the Buried and Me’s most recent foray into proggy goodness, The Great Misdirect, well, here’s a good opportunity to give it a shot: for today and today only, Amazon is offering a download of the album for just $2.99. This album is incredible, and made so many year-end lists you’d think it gives BJs, too. And at that price, you should feel guilty if you illegally download the album. Assholes.

Go here to download the record for next to nothing. Like I said, the deal is only good for today, so get on that shit.

-AR

Andols Herrick is easliy one of my favorite drummers in modern metal. And when he’s not working with the mighty Chimaira, he’s giving drum lessons! So while you might usually think “Gee, that’s awesome, I wish I lived near him in Cleveland so I could study with him,” Herrick is now going to be offering lessons via Skype, which means you can study with him no matter where you live. Sez Ballsinrmouth:

The lessons will be similar to the in-person ones done in Cleveland — usually split between focusing on hands and focusing on the whole kit (or just kick drum pads, if noise is a problem). As long as you have either a webcam or a built-in one on your laptop, all you have to do is download Skype and the video to video interaction doesn’t cost anything.

If I played drums or even had the hand-eye coordination necessary to try and play drums, I would totally take advantage of this opportunity. And while I’ve only met Andols for like a fraction of a minute, everything about him screamed “Incredibly nice dude!”  Interested parties can contact Andols at drummerandolsherrick AT yahoo DOT com.

-AR

After enduring the shittiness that is Suffokate, I made the following declaration:

Suffocation is far too legendary a band for anyone to use any variation on the word “suffocate” ever again. I don’t care how you spell it. Not helping: that Suffocation are still active, still awesome, and probably more talented than 99% of their death metal peers from any generation, ever.

And now it’s come to my attention that there’s a Portugese band called Suffochate.

Seriously.

That doesn’t even make any fucking sense. And it might be the lamest band name ever. I bet these guys get a lot of people going “What’s Suffo-chate,” pronouncing a hard “H.” It’s like in that Tom Hanks movie, That Thing You Do!, where the band calls themselves “The Oneders,” to be pronounced “one-ders,” and everyone thinks they’re “the oh-need-ers.” It’s just an awful, awful moniker to have chosen.

They’re actually better than Suffokate, if only because they play generic death metal, as opposed to generic deathcore. But still… give me a break, dudes. There are thousands, if not millions, of evil-sound words that don’t already sound like the name of a legendary band that’s actually good. GET A FUCKING DICTIONARY AND CHOOSE A DIFFERENT NAME, YOU NIT WITS. Trying to make a pun like that only makes you seem even sillier.

-AR

According to Lambgoat, Paul Conroy and Carl Severson, “former partners at Ferret Music, Warner Music and ChannelZERO,” have now left Ferret to start their own music and sports management company as well as a new label, all under the banner Good Fight Entertainment. And if you’re thinking right now “I’m a music fan, what the fuck do I care about who runs which label and management company?”, well, here’s why I’m telling you: because one of Good Fight’s first two releases is going to be a new album from Son of Aurelius, who I first wrote about in January, and who are absolutely awesome.

Better news still: the album is not just a re-release of the band’s prior outing, Myocardial Infraction (super-duper awesome cover art above). Which means we’re getting more new SOA already. Which is fantastic news.

The new offering from Son of Aurelius, The Farthest Reaches, will be out on Good Fight on April 13, alongside the label’s other inaugural release, Cancer Bats’ Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones. Get excited.

-AR

Yeah, I dunno why I chose that headline, either.

ANYWAY, here’s Nightrage’s video for “Wearing a Martyr’s Crown.” It seems to have a nearly identical concept to that Novembers Doom video I posted yesterday: performance footage of the band made to look all static-y ’cause the director had no other ideas about how to make the visuals interesting. The difference is that this clip has a slightly more professional glean about it than the ND vid, but that ain’t saying much.

This is the title track from Nightrage’s latest, which is out now on Lifeforce.

-AR

Cosmo Lee has really outdone himself this time. Invisible Oranges has Metallica’s two-song Megaforce demo – their first recording with Cliff Burton and their only one with Burton and Dave Mustaine – for free download.

If you’re a metal dork – and I assume you are if you’re reading this site – this is a must-have. Not only is it a glimpse at a legendary band in one of their earliest incarnations, but it’s also a chance to compare and contrast early versions of two ‘Tallica faves, “No Remorse” and “Whiplash,” with their final incarnations. Here’s a sample of Cosmo’s analysis of “No Remorse”:

Click to read more…

Jesse Leach and Howard Jones doing KSE’s “My Last Serenade” as part of the Roadrunner United event in December 2005

So last night Killswitch Engage sent out a press release announcing they’re going to finish their current tour with All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte handling vocal duties for Howard Jones, who had to break out early, apparently due to illness.

But that’s not really interesting news. What I actually found most intriguing about the press release was that it made no mention of the rumors that original KSE front dude Jesse Leach would be returning to the fold for the two NYC stops on the tour. It’s worth noting that Leach himself helped fan the flames of those rumors with an interaction on Facebook with MS Suckalo Chris Steeves. And just as intriguing as the absence of any mention of Leach in the press release is that he has removed the exchange with Steeves from his Facebook page (although you can still see it here).

So what does this mean? There are a few possibilities:

Click to read more…

We’ve had the new Immolation album, Majesty and Decay, for a few weeks now, and, geepers, it’s swell, just swell. And as the headline says, track seven, a.k.a. “A Glorious Epoch,” is my favorite on the album.

And Immolation, or someone at their label, obviously thinks it’s a neat song, too, ’cause the band is now streaming it on their MySpace page! Along with the previously released (and MetalSucks-approved) track “The Purge,” this is Immolation fans’ second chance to hear some new music from Majesty, and, well, if they’re not already convinced the album is good, they’re never gonna be.

So stream the track here and then let us… ah, fuck it, you know the deal.

-AR

If the headline doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, please consult a physician, as you may be retarded and eligible for aid from the state. Otherwise, go here to listen to High on Fire’s latest offering in full.

I’ve only had time to listen to about half the album, but that half is pretty awesome. In fact, my only complaint thus far is that I’m not sure the song “Bastard Samurai” needed to be over six minutes, given that unlike, say, the eight minutes-plus title track, it doesn’t have a huge amount of variation. But that’s a really minor complaint, because it’s still a very cool song.

Give the album a listen and then let us know what you think in the comments section below. It comes out February 23 on E1.

-AR

This is yet another story I probably don’t have to write, given that the sheer number of reader e-mails I’ve received about it suggest that you all know already. But in case you somehow haven’t heard, the headline says it all: Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy will play drums on the new Avenged Sevenfold album, filling in for recently deceased drummer James Owen “The Rev” Sullivan.

Click to read more…