While we’re on the topic of the No Label Needed contest and series, our friend Dan Rodriguez at Metal Insider reports that Behind the Suit and Tie, a long-in-the-works documentary at the metal industry, is finally being readied for release. This is obviously different from your average Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey because it’s not aiming to tell you about the music you already know and love, but, rather, to give you some insights into the business side of things.

Here’s the trailer:

Looks fascinating, doesn’t it? The ninety-minute DVD should be out sometie in June; we’ll give you a release date as soon as we get one. In the meantime, check out a list of some of the people interviewed for the film:

Click to read more…

The Scion No Label Needed Contest & Series is still underway! In case for some reason you haven’t been paying attention, this is an incredible opportunity for one luck unsigned band to win just about anything and everything an unsigned band could ever possibly want. You can go here to listen to and vote for the finalists; and even if you’ve voted once already, you can vote again, ’cause you’re allowed to vote once a day!

Meanwhile, our pals over at Metal Insider – who are helping to run this contest – are running interviews with the various finalists every day, plus some great editorials related the contest and the industry, such as this defense of the record label system. It takes realy cojones to defend the record label system in 2010, but cojones is what author Bram Teitelman has got.

Check out all of Metal Insider’s coverage on the contest and series here. And don’t forget to vote for your favorite band!!!

-AR & VN

Texan Suckalos! Do you love metal? Do you love free shit? Do you love free shit having to do with metal?!?! OF COURSE YOU DO! And that’s why MetalSucks is incredibly proud to be co-sponsoring Full Metal Texas 2010, a FREE all-day show that will take place at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, March 18.

And just ’cause it’s free don’t mean it’s cheap. Look at the line-up: Fair to Midland, Darkest Hour, Born of Osiris, Iwrestledabearonce, Iron Age, Karnivool, Naam, Howl, Amarna Reign, Your Demise, Upon a Burning Body, and Lions Lions. Holy shit, that’s a lotta good bands. And Eagle Rock Entertainment will be previewing two new Classic Album DVDs from Black Sabbath and Rush. And did we mention tickets are free?

You can RSVP here – doing so will make you eligible for VIP drink specials at the show, and will enter you into a contest from the aforementioned Eagle Rock Entertainment, who are giving away a Blu-Ray player, a bunch of DVDs, and some other cool swag. You can also follow Full Metal Texas on Twitter for all the latest updates.

Clearly, this show is gonna kick all kinds of ass. RSVP now.

-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks

I was just reading at /Film about “The Lost Art of Inglourious Basterds,” a benefit for Haiti that will feature thirteen different artists’ own posters for – duh – Inglorious Basterds (which was one of the best, if not the best, movies of 2009, if you ask me). So I was looking at some samples of the various pieces of art, when I came across this one:

And I thought, “Gee, that looks kinda familiar.” Which is when it hit me… the poster looks just like…

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Black metal is usually at its most interesting when it spreads itself about as thin as it can while still being black metal. And even then, are Darkthrone, Enslaved, and Ulver better as true black metal bands, or as trad metal/crust punk, blackened prog, or dark atmospheric weirdness bands (respectively)? For most, black metal is best as an additive and not the sole ingredient, and for Viking/folk/proggy “black metal”-ers Borknagar, a pinch of gruff vocals, tremolo picking, rigid blast beats, and synthesized orchestral flourishes goes a long way. It helps that the concoction also includes jazzy interludes and meticulously crafted vocal harmonies, all in just the right portions to avoid stylistic whiplash. The band has more in common with Opeth than Mayhem or Burzum, and their latest album, Universal, shows off their penchant for genre-biting asides that pay as much attention to beauty as to brutality. Though they grow tiresome after a while, they’re ably executed, and a great reminder of black metal’s potential as a jumping-off point for those with loftier goals.

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Novembers Doom are a good band, and a like a lot of good bands in this day and age, they deserve a better music video than the one they got for this song, “A Eulogy For The Living Lost.” I understand that times are tough – as your arms get shorter, your pockets get deeper, as a poet much quicker of tongue than I am once said – but hiring your son’s friend from the high school A/V club is never the answer. You’re almost better off not making a video at all, so that pricks like me won’t make fun of it.

“A Eulogy For The Living Lost” comes off of Into Night’s Requiem Infernal, which is out now on The End.

-AR

Phew! There’s been a lot of news about some great bands’ new releases these past few days. Here’s a quick round-up:

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Kevin Antreassian runs a booming recording business out of Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ. In addition to helping make countless local metal bands sound like Gods, Kevin has been the man behind sessions with Coheed & Cambria’s Chris Pennie, The Number 12 Looks Like You, Knife the Glitter, The Binary Code and more.

A couple of weeks ago I shot Kevin a list of questions via email about his studio, producing, the recording process, gear, getting all up in a band member’s face when they play a sloppy take and some of the bands that he’s worked with. It’s clear from his answers that not only is Kevin a talented engineer/mixer/producer but he gets metal, a characteristic that most studio guys on a local level just don’t have. production Kevin’s answers, after the jump.

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video taken by (((unartig)))

Initially, it wasn’t all that clear why Unsane chose to play a one-off show this past Friday in Brooklyn. They had no new album to promote, nor any major news to announce, yet the devoted crowd at a sold-out Union Pool seemed perfectly content when frontman Chris Spencer suggested that they were just there to “hang out.” Fortunately, that meant a lengthy set from the iconic New York noise rockers stuffed with classics as well as more recent work. Kicking off with “Against The Grain,” a vicious track off 2007′s underrated Visqueen, the essential trio of drummer Vinnie Signorelli, bassist Dave Curran, and guitarist Spencer set a bizarre mood for the remainder of the night. During songs like “Scrape” and “Body Bomb,” Unsane were unhinged and bestial. Yet between tracks the guys acted playful and lighthearted, with Signorelli showing off rhythmically while Curran and Spencer shared some borderline bromantic moments. This dichotomy of catharsis and camaraderie spread quickly to the audience, of which I was an active participant at the front of the stage. Though most of the between-song banter was friendly, Spencer experienced a significant mood shift as he introduced “Only Pain” which he described as some sort of love song. His lyrics steeped in agony, Unsane’s founder roared his heart out on the gut-wrenching chorus, adding new dimensions to an already solid track. The band closed with a long slogging noise jam version of “Get Off My Back” (off 1995′s essential Scattered, Smothered & Covered), which astounded with its primitive wall of sound approach to devastation.

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Ok so like I know that mash-ups are SO totally last year (or worse, the year before) and everyone is kinda sick of ‘em… but come on, you’re not really THAT sick of ‘em, are you? Especially ones that ironically juxtapose brutal metal bands with pop stars. Two minutes of your time for a good laugh. Cheerio!

-VN

[Thanks: Corey Mitchell]

I really wanted to like this book. I really did.

As an old school Hanoi Rocks fan, I assumed this would be an eye-opening tell-all by the man behind the band that spawned sleaze rock which was later ripped off by Guns N’ Roses and lesser lights such as L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat. Instead, it’s just a big ol’ mess of discombobulated anecdotes that do not enlighten the uninitiated, enthrall those already on board the Hanoi train, nor excite undiscerning lovers of rock ‘n roll.

Click to read more…

It was just about a month ago that I told you how excited I am for Misery Index’s tour with Magrudergrind; well, the trek is now underway, and they’re hitting the insanely intimate Union Pool in Brooklyn this Saturday night. I always have a good time at Union Pool – why just this past Friday night I watched Unsane and Made Out of Babies destroy there (Gary Suarez’s review coming later today!). So if you live in the area and have never seen a show there, well, here’s your chance – and for a gig that promises to sort the pussies from the dicks. (Brooklyn’s own Mutant Supremacy is also on the bill; I don’t really know them, but the stuff on their MySpace page is cool.)

And I have a pair of tickets away! All you have to do to win ‘em is tell me in the comments section below why you should win ‘em. And please remember to register for the comments section with a valid e-mail address, as the winner will be contacted by e-mail on Friday morning. We’ll also announce the winner publicly at that time, so that everyone else can cry.

And if you don’t live in the New York area, get other dates for the tour after the jump!

Click to read more…

Everyone in the goddman motherfucking world e-mailed me about this yesterday so I’m sure you know, but just in case: perennial MetalSucks faves Woe of Tyrants have released a crushing new song, “Creatures of the Mire,” which you can listen to here. It features all manner of awesomeness.

“Creatures of the Mire”comes off of Woe of Tyrants’ third album overall/second for Metal Blade, Threnody, which on April 13. And even though metal bands need to stop using the word “threnody,” I’m still fairly certain that this record is going to rule.

-AR

I don’t really know what the critical consensus was on the self-titled debut solo album from ex-Hole/ex-Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, but I thought it was catchy as hell. It came out just a few months after Courtney Love’s America’s Sweetheart and certainly blew that album right the fuck out of the water, that’s for sure. If you’ve never heard it, all you really need to know to understand what kind of record it is is that Josh Homme co-wrote and appears on the album alongside James Iha, Jeorde White (a.k.a. “Twiggy Ramirez”), and some other nifty guest musicians. Either those names appeal to you, or they don’t.

ANYWAY, that was almost six years ago already, and I kinda thought maybe Ms. Auf der Maur was done with music or something. But not so! She’s just released a video for “Out of Our Minds,” the title track from her new solo album, which a press release tells me “extends into a 28-minute, HD film starring and conceived by MAdM, as well as a limited edition comic book and matching Picture Disc Vinyl illustrated by Jack Forbes from Brooklyn, NY.” Personally I’m not sure that I care about anything other than the music, but, hey, good for her for being ambitious.

So this isn’t really metal and I’m not as wild about it as I was, say, “Followed the Waves” or “Taste You”* from her last album, but it’s not bad at all:

Out of Our Minds comes out March 30. And it features a duet with Glenn Danzig!

-AR

*If you can find the French language version of “Taste You,” check it out instead of the English version. The song sounds a million times sexier en Francais.

I got a bunch of e-mails from people yesterday who were pissed that Bullet for My Valentine were giving away their new song, “Begging for Mercy,” as a free download… but only if you tweeted about it (or something like that… I didn’t really investigate but Metal Insider has the full story). But it’s not worth getting your panties in a twist over! It’s 2010 – the second audio appears on the internet, it’s available somewhere else.

And thus longtime MS Maniac Kye sent us a link to “Begging for Mercy” on YouTube. I don’t really care because I don’t like this band, but if you’re one of the angry people who e-mailed me about this, well, enjoy, friend:

“Begging for Mercy” will be on BFMV’s new album, Fever, which will be out April 27 on Jive/Zomba.

-AR

Last week’s logo was a toughie, but props to Brittany Smith for correctly identifying it as belonging to the band Misshapen Hatred. Brittany wins a free copy of The Acacia Strain’s awesome new DVD, The Most Known Unknown. Enjoy it, Brit!

This week the very nice men and women at The End Records have donated an awesome prize to give away: two, count ‘em two vinyl copies of Sigh’s Scenes from Hell. This is already one of my favorite releases of 2010, so get off your arse and try to win yourself a copy!

All you have to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select two winners and announce his or her names next week.

Of course, I ain’t gonna make it easy to win such a delicious prize. This week’s logo, sent to us by reader Isaac Schwarz, is really damn near impossible…

-AR

Greetings metal maniacs and L O S T enthusiasts,

I hope everyone had a rad past week and, for those of you who are into it, were able to watch “What Kate Does.” It wasn’t nearly as action packed or blatantly informative as “LA X”, but still there are some interesting occurrences worth discussing.

Fate vs. Freewill has been one of the central themes of this show since the get go. The introduction of the flash-sideways timeline is, at surface level, supposed to show us what life would have been like if the plane never crashed. The notion of fate, though, is becoming increasingly more “the point” as we are seeing the main characters fulfilling the destinies intended for them by (or at least on) the Island. From Ethan’s involvement with Claire’s pregnancy, to Kate being present when she initially goes into labor, to Locke’s potential “healing” via his encounter (and possible operation) with paralysis-reversing-surgeon Jack, we are seeing similar parallels to the timeline on the island. We haven’t actually been given any EXACT consistencies, however, just a bunch of “very-similars” to keep us guessing. On a side note, the woman who was assumed to adopt Claire’s baby was named Lindsey Baskum, which super nerds have decoded as an anagram meaning “Used by Malkins.” Richard Malkin was the psychic who played an extremely crucial role in getting Claire on the original Oceanic Flight 815. His involvement in this timeline is unknown for now, but the connection is worth mentioning just in case it gets the wheels turning for any of you.

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Melodeath fans! Have you heard about Solution .45, the new kinda-sorta supergroup featuring Christian Alvestam (ex-Death Jovi Scar Symmetry) on vocals and Miseration’s Jani Stefanovic on guitars? Clearly this band is gonna get a lot of attention – as if their all-star line-up wasn’t enough, Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne wrote all the lyrics for the group’s debut album, For Aeons Past.

Our bestest buds over at Metal Injection have an exclusive download of a new song by the band, entitled “Gravitational_Lensing.” If you like bands like Scar Symmetry and DT, it’s really, really hard for me to believe you won’t dig this.

Download the song here, then let us know what you think in the comments section below!

-AR

Suckalo Kasper Maigaard TOTALLY nailed the description of Dawn of Demise in the email he sent asking us to check them out:

They’re a Danish five-piece, no-fucking-around death metal band. They’re so fucking heavy, as in: slow, technical, ice cold, evil, and fucking brutal. They’re not trying to (re)invent anything, they just master everything, and their only goal is to mow you down and crush your face with their sound.

And they do mow me down and crush my face with their sound. This ain’t tech-death (though the dudes have plenty of chops), there’s no weedily weedily and there’s nary a breakdown to be seen; just bludgeoning death metal riff after bludgeoning death metal riff after bludgeoning death metal riff. Ice cold, evil and fucking brutal. And there I go just re-hashing everything our friend Kasper already said, only less eloquently.

Dawn of Demise just released their second full length A Force Unstoppable on January 19th in most of the world, though their fellow Danes will have to wait until February 8th to get their hands on a physical copy. No matter, because they’ve got two songs from the new record streaming on their MySpace page right now; the brutality contained therein should be enough to tide anyone over for the time being.

-VN

P.S.: While you’re at it, check out this band too. Totally worth your time.

In the last few weeks, several of you have emailed the same basic question:

“How is Guns N’ Roses still around if Axl is the only one left?”

While I can’t tell you definitively, here’s how it might have happened.

Click to read more…