Woe Of Tyrants’ new album Threnody will be in the hands of fans by April 14th, but today you can get a taste of the shredtacular madness here.

Comments Woe of Tyrants vocalist Chris Catanzaro of the new song “Tempting the Wretch”:

This song was written to describe a point in Threnody in which our traveler is within a dream, a dream that is one of the few points in his journey where he experiences any semblance of peace and serenity. The walls begins to crumble around him, pieces of his true hellish reality breaking through in the form of fiendish and wiley beasts poised to torment and destroy him. As he is wrestling with morality, and whispers from those who mean to cause him harm, he ends up dancing amongst the dead and damned under a burning sky of sulfur rain. That part of the song is him momentarily “embracing the filth”, and joining in with the torment. The song describes the fear of completely abandoning God, as well as the temptation to do so. At the end of the song he awakens from the dream, with only a cold and cryptic sense of disarray remaining.

Yes, I know, there is a tiny bit of clean singing. I meant to avoid it on this record, but the part didn’t work any other way to fit the message and mood I was going for. Hate on it all you want, but I assure you that we made the rest of this song chaotic and disgusting enough to not have a chance of making us millions. Much love, and we appreciate MetalSucks as always for supporting our group.

Pre-order Threnody for only $12 and listen to another new song, “Creatures of the Mire.” We haven’t heard the full album yet but the two new songs posted so far have us excited.

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Poor Joey Jordison must get bored when he’s not busy with Slipknot; besides Corey Taylor and Clown, he’s easily the most visible member of the band, even when they’re on hiatus (as they are right now). This is extra-amazing when you consider the fact that, unlike Taylor or Clown, he doesn’t really have a side-project: the one he started, Murderdolls, released one album in 2002, did a whole bunch of touring behind it, and then promptly broke-up. (MD vocalist Wednesday 13 recently hinted at a possible Murderdolls reunion, but that doesn’t actually seem to be happening.) But Jordison constantly manages to stay in the spotlight, be it through producing gigs (3 Inches of Blood’s Fire Up the Blades) or, more often, guest spots with other well-known bands: he recorded some drums for Otep’s House of Secrets (as though Otep didn’t sound enough like Slipknot already), toured with Ministry, and did a few tour dates with Satyricon before a couple of their members got arrested on a kiddie-sex charge and that trek was canceled.

And now it’s been announced that Jordison will spend the spring and summer playing for Rob Zombie.

Click to read more…

SXSW is less than two weeks away! Lineups are being announced, surprise bands are being added, and mystery showcases are being unveiled. Oh yeah and my stomach is grumbling at the mere thought of our Salt Lick excursion… mmm, brisket. All Kip and I need is some herbal accompaniment.

I’ve done the dirty for you and compiled a handy-dandy neatly organized schedule of all the SXSW events we deem worthy, including day parties, places you can get free food and drink, and showcases official and non-official alike. Most of the events included have to do with metal, but I’ve also added a few non-metal affairs I found interesting.

This list is by no means exhaustive. If you’re participating in or know about an event you think we should add, by all means email us and let us know.

DOWNLOAD THE SXSW 2010 METAL GUIDE HERE.

*LINK IS FIXED* Thanks Bill.

-VN

Brutal. This is brutal. That is brutal. Brutal. But, what’s REEEEEALLY brutal? NAILS. NAILS ARE FUCKING BRUTAL.

“Scum Will Rise” is a minute-long IED blast of crusty powerviolence and oldschool Napalm Death-influenced grind. Fans of Brutal Truth, Fuck The Facts, Pig Destroyer, and United Nations should find this to their liking. But don’t just take my word for it; TAKE A LEAK!

DOWNLOAD NAILS – “SCUM WILL RISE”

Unsilent Death, Nails’ forthcoming LP/CD, will be out on Six Feet Under Records soon and is currently available for pre-order. You should also visit SFU’s site for streams of two other tracks from this record.

-GS

Apparently all those goody-two-shoes Christian values don’t mean anything when it comes to ripping off your heroes. Demon Hunter’s new song “Collapsing” is a pretty damned good Figure Number Five-era Soilwork impersonation, right down to the hollow-sounding drum production, razor-sharp synth sounds and sing-songy chorus. All it needs to do is be better and you’d have a dead-ringer for Soilwork circa 2003.

-VN

Thanks: Samuel A Favata

Full credit to The Deciblog for finding this gem.

Some brilliant person has started a new Facebook page called Any Picture Can Be Improved By Adding Immortal To It. If you don’t understand the premise of the page, you must be a Hinder fan.

At the time of this writing there are already fifty pages (!!!) of photos – far too many for me to get through – but here are a few of my favorites:

Click to read more…

H.I.M. have been on musical cruise-control for a few albums now. Asking H.I.M. to take risks and expand their sound is kind of akin to expecting a rollercoaster to be different each time you ride it; it’s not ever gonna be quite as exciting as the first time but it’s still gonna be a really fun ride. H.I.M. haven’t really varied the formula much over the years but they really don’t need to. They’re so good at sculpting terribly melancholy love metal ditties that there isn’t really any need for change. If you like H.I.M. then you’ll like Screamworks, but don’t expect any curveballs… or changes in the tracks, as it were.

As such:

(three out of five horns)

-VN

What exactly would a Lizard Professor be? A lizard who happens to be a professor, or a professor specializing in the study of lizards?

One day I’d like to know, but for now I’m just content to be listening to the Texas-based band Lizard Professor‘s new single “Offthewallogy.” Though the bio on their MySpace page has the usual tripe about sticking out in a scene where conformity is the norm and blah blah don’t they know every fucking band says this? — it just so happens that this band is actually quite interesting and original. They’re proggy in a way that’s neither too heady nor too masturbatory. I’d liken them most to Between the Buried and Me, but where BTBAM always seem to defeault into Dream Theater-inspired jam outs, Lizard Professor veer towards dissonance-filled jazz segues. The older material posted on their MySpace page is less interesting than the new track, but I feel like they’re really onto something with “Offthewallogy” and look forward to hearing more in the [hopefully] near future.

-VN

Thanks: LP guitarist Gannon Mccoy

The winners of last week’s funny photo caption contest each have a set of hardcore seven-inches on their way in the mail: one each from Gluttons and Seraphim. I sincerely hope you all actually have turntables. The winning entries:

• Wayn: “Jack Black is back in School Of Rock 2: Short Bus.”
• Tortiss: “Guys…this is not what I meant by “double-bass”….”
• Stiggs: “Probably the worst cover of Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottoms” ever.”
• permafrost: “…At Guitar Center, our staff of experienced salespeople are always ready to serve you!”
• mallows: “You’ve heard of Trad Metal? Well get ready for ‘Tard Metal – coming to a dyslexia centre near you.”

This week two lucky winners will receive a copy of Retribution, Obscura’s recently reissued first album (which is streaming in full at www.obscuraretribution.info). Each winner will also receive a download card for Obscura’s face-melting latest release Cosmogenesis. Just come up with a funny caption to the below photo [sent in by loving MS fan Chris H.] and make sure you comment with a real email address instead of Facebook Connect (or include your email address in your comment).

Last year I asked Napalm Death’s Barney Greenway if there were any young bands he was really into, and here’s what he told me:

“I’ve got to be honest: I was getting really bored with metal music.  I was saying I was bored with the metronomic albums, all the ProTools stuff.  I was waiting for someone to come along to really excite me.  Trap Them, I heard them for the first time not so long ago, they put me on my ass when I saw them last year at the [Los Angeles] Murder Fest.  And to a point, I hate sounding pretentious or melodramatic, but they kind of restored my faith in the metal side of things.  They just blew me away.”

That’s pretty much the highest praise any band could ask for, isn’t it? Barney fucking Greenway from Napalm fucking Death says your band restored his faith in metal. Holy shit.

I mention this because out pal Sean “Spleen_Latifa” Gresens from Metal Injection captured the below footage of Trap Them doing a new song, “Degenerate Binds.” I’m actually one of those idiots who didn’t quite understand the appeal of Trap Them – they seem like another pretender to Converge’s throne if you ask me – but I’m willing to give ‘em another shot given Mr. Greenway’s ringing endorsement…

-AR

Press releases from both the Iron Maiden and Dream Theater camps have just confirmed that the rumor we published earlier today is true; Iron Maiden and Dream Theater will tour together! No word yet from the Coheed & Cambria folks. The tour will play 22 North American dates.

For Maiden, it’s their most extensive North American tour in a few years, as their last run was the worldwide Capt. Bruce Dickinson affair that resulted in the Flight 666 documentary. The band promises the setlist will be of the “greatest hits” variety and will also offer a taste of their new album, which the press release announces will be called The Final Frontier.

For Dream Theater it’s a chance to play in front of ginormous crowds that are very likely to appreciate their music and to reconnect with old fans who may have lost track of the band over the years. It’ll also be a rare instance of Dream Theater playing a support role; I remember DT opened for Megadeth on Gigantour a few years back but I can’t recall any other support tours they’ve done since. A DT support slot is kind of like a BTBAM support slot… like 2 songs? Regardless, it’s a great opportunity.

Any Maiden tour is automatically awesome because IRON FUCKING MAIDEN, but having Dream Theater on too is just an added bonus.

Full list of dates after the jump. Madison Fucking Square Garden!

Click to read more…

I used to love Suicidal Tendencies, but I stopped buying their stuff circa Still Cyco After All These Years, ’cause, y’know. That’s not how you spell “psycho.”

But it warms the cockles of my heart to know that Mike Muir and some dudes are still out there rockin’ in the name of Suicidal Tendencies. They have a new DVD out, called Live at the Olympic Auditorium, and Metal Hammer has debuted footage of the band playing “War Inside My Head.” Check it out:

-AR

I love Blabbermouth cuz it rules and it’s easier than actually going through my inbox and the bajillion press releases therein. Not only is it informative, but my stars, the entertainment value as well! Taunting sub-retards in the comments section is a Wednesday well-spent. Or if you’re the studious type, try to count how many headlines contain the words “Mustaine” and “forgive” and “David Ellefson.” Oh speaking of headlines, I think we all have played “The Blabbermouth Headline Game,” where you cycle through that little teaser box and marvel at its hilarious delusional bullshit. Let’s see, there’s usually a “Fanless Band Schedules Reunion Show” and a “Win Passes To Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Book Signing.” Those are beauties.

Then you’ve got the deceptively funny stuff, like“Band Wants to ‘Return To Our Roots’ On Sophomore Album“ or “MACHINEHEAD Frontman: ‘Our New Record Is Literally Gonna Rip Your Head Off and Shit In Your Mouth’.”

Click to read more…

Before I start: this is all pure speculation and none of these bands have confirmed or even commented on anything.

Now, let’s dig in.

Seems there are some rumors a brewin’ about a possible Iron Maiden summer tour with Dream Theater and Coheed & Cambria in support. Here’s the approximate timeline of events unfolding that have led to this speculation, as provided by Suckalo Tzvi Cederbaum:

Click to read more…

Here’s something you probably don’t care to know about me: I went to NYU. (I actually did my freshman year at a school called Bard, but gave up on living in a shack in the woods and transferred back to the city after that.) And when I was there, I don’t ever remember even meeting a metalhead, let alone seeing a school-sponsored metal show. I think they offered us discounted tickets to see some shit on Broadway. That was about as cool as it got.

But last night a reader (and current NYU student) known only as “Chris” e-mailed me to say that the NYU Program Board is presenting a show, cleverly titled “Almost the Ides of March: Et Tu Brut(al)?”, which will feature Shrinebuilder, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Salome. It will take place next Thursday, March 11. And the best part? Even for non-NYU students, tickets are only five bucks. (Students pay two bucks, which is the very definition of “a great deal.”)

Even if this concert wasn’t happening at my old school, it would be an incredible line-up for an incredible price. If you live the area, you really oughta check it out.

Get full details here.

-AR

Last month we told you about Full Metal Texas 2010, a completely FREE all-day show we’re co-sponsoring at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, March 18. With a line-up including Darkest Hour, Fair to Midland, Born of Osiris, Iwrestledabearonce, Howl, Iron Age, and more, it already promised to be an incredibly killer show.

Now perennial MetalSucks faves Animals as Leaders have been added to the bill, meaning you get even more bang for non-buck!

Seriously, if you live in the Austin area and don’t go to this, you’re a damn fool. It’s FREE, for Chrissakes!

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 Eagle Rock Entertainment, who will be previewing two new Classic Album DVDs from Black Sabbath and Rush and 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.

-AR & VN

You can download “Skinny Little Bitch” by visiting the Hole website and giving Courtney Love your email address and birthdate. The song isn’t very good, but it’s on par with most of the lackluster material on Love’s 2004 solo album, America’s Sweetheart. That this tiresome, insincere rehash of polished riot-grrl rock was chosen as the first official single from the upcoming album confirms my suspicions that this will be a total disappointment.

On that same page you’ll also find listings for two U.S. concerts from the reconstituted band – April 22 in LA, April 27 in NYC. Nobody’s Daughter, the first Hole album in twelve years, will be available for purchase on April 26th.

-GS

Dilapidated warehouse, makeshift stage, loud-as-fuck sound system, cheap booze and weed smoke everywhere, hundreds of sweaty, crazy motherfuckers going insane as the band-members gyrate about on stage and come into the audience, because really there’s barely any separation between stage and floor. That’s what I want it to be like the first time I see post-punk / metal explosion outfit Daughters live (yes, I know they’ve been around for years). Based on this here new track “The Theatre Goer” I can tell that these dudes put on really fucking intense shows, and with the sudden absence of These Arms are Snakes in all of our lives I really need a band to fill that void.

Daughters comes out on March 9th via Hydra Head. Pre-order it here.

-VN

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One of the more fun parts of guesting on last night’s Metal Injection Livecast was towards the end of the show, when we somehow ended up listening to some acapella metal. What was really amazing was that, unlike Van Canto, none of it sucked – in fact, it was all pretty rockin’. And, no, none of it was from this dude.

The first group we checked out was Jud Jud, a straight-edge duo that actually started back in the 80s. They were really just two dudes singing out all the guitar parts for various generic metal riffs (their songs have titles like “Speed Picking Song,” “Harmonics Song,” etc.), but they’re pretty awesome. I can’t believe they weren’t high when they come up with the idea for this.

The second artist (can I call these people artists?) we checked out was Dokaka, who I actually wrote about back in 2007, but, y’know. I guess weed isn’t very good for the memory. Maybe I should be straight edge like Jud Jud. Naw, I’m just joshin’, I’d never do that.

ANYWAY, here’s Dokaka doing “Creeping Death.” It’s frickin’ sweet, even if it seems pretty clear that this dude is crazy.

-AR

Now that the long-awaited release of Periphery’s self-titled debut album is drawing closer we’re finally starting to get a taste of what they’re really all about. On Monday we got a new version of the song “Light” featuring new vocalist Spencer Sotelo, but that song had been around for months prior with Chris Baretto on vocals and before that for months prior as an instrumental. And not for nothin’, Sotelo doesn’t sound all that different from Baretto so it’s not like we had anything truly new to chew on.

But last night Tim Shanks sent us a link to a streaming player built to support the Distort Showcase at Canadian Music Week, which I guess is next weekend in Toronto. The showcase features Periphery, and as such their new song “Icarus Lives” is the 6th song down in the player. I feel like I’ve heard this song before, either as an instrumental on Periphery or Bulb’s MySpace / Soundclick pages in the past or perhaps when we saw Periphery live last Fall. Either way it’s catchy as hell. Really can’t wait to hear the rest of this album.

-VN

PS: Those of you who called shenanigans on the horrendous photoshop job in the above picture are right on the money. What the fuck?