I know Vince has enjoyed some of Taproot’s past work; honestly, I’ve never heard a full Taproot album, ’cause I’ve never heard a Taproot song I liked enough to seek out an entire record. And when Vince told us all that we didn’t really need to listen to the band’s new single, “Fractured (Everything I Said Was True),” well, I just decided to take him at his word.

But then a press release went out about the video for the song, and when I (for some inexplicable reason) clicked the link to go the video, the still image that came up (I’m sure there’s a word for that but I don’t know what it is – but the still image that’s just resting on your monitor before you hit the play button on the vid? Yeah, that thing.) was of a trashy-looking chick in her bra, and, well, I’m a simple man of simple pleasures, So I decided to watch it.

Unfortunately, the girl doesn’t have all that much to do in the video, and the song is, indeed, generic radio rawk. But I will share this little story with you: for the first chunk of the clip, I was like, “Why the fuck does the lead singer have a bandage on his chin? Did he cut himself shaving before they shot this? Is it supposed to make him look tough? What’s going on here?”

And then there was a close-up of the lead singer, and I realized he does not have a bandage on his chin – he has dyed-platinum facial hair. So he wasn’t hurt, he’s just a douche bag.

-AR

Photographer Jackie Cheng was on hand at Otep’s Opeth’s 20th Anniversary show in New York City last Thursday, April 7th, at which the band played all of Blackwater Park followed by a set consisting of one song from each of their other albums. Check out her captivating photos after the jump.

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So Relapse is doing this fun thing with The Deciblog where they’re basically slowly unveiling their latest sign. Last week they posted some album art (sample above, more here) from the still-to-be-announced band; now they’re actually giving away an mp3 of a song by the mystery act.

I can’t tell who it is, and, honestly, I don’t think the song is all that great, although it is by no means bad, either – it’s just kinda meh. But the band has to either be someone really prominent, or feature at least one member who’s really prominent – if it turns out that we’re just talking about some group from Bumfuck, then this whole thing is gonna feel like a massive letdown.

Go here to listen to the song in question, then come back and make your guesses about who the heck it is.

-AR

I’ve seen The Binary Code live a bunch of times, and they just keep getting better and better and better. They could always play, but they’ve really come into their own as performers; I feel like I’ve watched them go from a caterpillar to a butterfly! A total wicked butterfly that plays awesome progressive technical death metal.

If you live in the Northeast and you’ve never checked these dudes out, well, here’s your chance – they’re doing a show in Brooklyn next week with Lair of the Minotaur and Elks, and then a Northeast tour with The Gloominous Doom. (One date will even include Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and Total Fucking Destruction. I’ve never wished I lived in Hamburg, PA so badly in my life.) I’ve never seen The Gloominous Doom live, but after seeing their video for “Portal Potty,” which made its debut on Metal Injection earlier this week (and which Vince already wrote about, but I just now watched ’cause I’m slow that way), I really, really want to; not only is it a funny clip for a good song, but I’d love to see how a tech-death crowd reacts to reggae parts. Because, yes, they have reggae parts.

Bottom line: they are two really, really creative bands, and these shows are gonna be a lot of fun. Get tour dates after the jump!

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It’s gotta be kinda embarrassing if you’re Phil Labonte and you know clean vocals ain’t exactly your strong suit, then this teenage girl comes along and posts a YouTube vocal cover that smokes not only your live performance but your auto-tuned studio version also. Yes, “embarrassing” would be the word.

-VN

Thanks: C.J. Altman

See that logo in the lower left hand corner? Yep, this panty stain is signed to a major label. Proving once again that unless they’re handing Mastodon an advance and then getting the fuck out of the way, major labels have no business tipping their toe in the metal pond.

Richy Nix is like a perfect storm of “fuck you” – he raps (very, very badly), he uses vocoder, he unironically flashes the “west side” hand sign even though he’s white and I don’t even think black people have done that since the mid-90s, and he’s Canadian. And, oh yeah, he calls himself “Richy Nix.” I mean, that could be his real name, but only if his parents were retarded circus freaks or single-cell organisms, which, I suppose, could very well be the case.

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Reader George Zoulis sent in the below video, for a song called “Ganseblumchen” by a German band named J.B.O. The band clearly has a sense of humor, and designate themselves as “metal/comedy” on MySpace; I actually wish I liked the song more, because I’ve legitimately never seen a video quite like this, and it looks like it took quite a bit of work to put together – I mean, they had to make that drum kit and chop down some tress and shit. Are the lyrics witty? I don’t speak German, but I don’t hear the word “Juden” at any point during the song, so I guess these dudes are okay.

-AR

“This new Kingdom of Sorrow stuff is literally heavier than pre-op Johnny Popper bashing the living you-know-what out of Carnie Wilson in a tub of lard.” – Kirk Windstein

With a quote like that, how can you possibly ignore Kingdom of Sorrow, the collaboration between Windstein and Jamey Jasta?

Like Axl, I wasn’t especially blown away by Kingdom of Sorrow’s 2008 self-titled debut record. It sounded like the sum of its parts, but every time I tried listening to it I just zoned out… and by the time the record ended I hadn’t retained anything. There was nothing wrong with it other than that it wasn’t especially memorable in the songs department.

But Kingdom of Sorrow have posted the new song “God’s Law in the Devil’s Land” on their MySpace page today — the first taste of their new album Behind the Blackest Tears (June 8th, Relapse) — and I’m happy to report that it’s most certainly memorable. It’s got big, bluesy riffs of Southern sludge and it’s got Windstein and Jasta’s croons in equal measures… which you’d expect… but most importantly it’s got hooks the size of uh, pre-op Johnny Popper bashing the living you-know-what out of Carnie Wilson in a tub of lard. I hope the rest of the record is full of songs just like this one.

-VN

So Avenged Sevenfold are going to be playing one single stop of this Summer’s Mayhem Fest, on July 27 in Mansfield, MA. That strikes me as a pretty random location for A7X to show-up; they’re from the O.C. (Can I say “the O.C.” without sounding like a tool? As it turns out, no.), so it’s not like they just have to hop in the car and drive to the show.

But that’s neither here nor there; what I find really interesting about this announcement is that it means that sometime between now and July 27, A7X are going to have to hire a new drummer to replace The Rev, who, in case you haven’t heard, is no longer in the music business. Unless one or more of the drummers from the other bands on the tour are going to fill-in (not an unthinkable occurrence), or Mike Portnoy, who plays drums on the band’s new album, is doing the date (highly unlikely), or they’re planning to go all Genghis Tron on us (even less likely).

Hopefully the band will make some kind of announcement soon. Because while I know that three months seems like plenty of time to find a new drummer, you have to keep in mind that not only does said new drummer need to learn the set list, but he needs to go to the mall, get some ridiculous clothes, be re-christened with a silly nick name, etc., etc. You think they came up with “Zacky Vengeance” and “Synyster Gates” overnight? These things take time, man!

-AR

Actually the song in this video is called “Lord of the Wasteland,” but I wanted to do my usual put-the-song-title-in-the-headline bullshit. So I cheated. Sue me.

ANYWAY, Toxic Holocaust and Municipal Waste, two bands that certainly both have a sense of humor, are playing here in New York on Earth Day next week; unfortunately I can’t make it (although I think MS will represented at the show by Antonin Skullia, Esq.). The show is most certainly going to be better than Avatard, which comes out DVD the same day (My local Best Buy is advertising a special midnight release party for the Smurf movie’s arrival; if I walk by there in the hours prior and see anyone lined up and as though OHMYFUCKINGGODWHATIFTHEYDON’THAVEENOUGHCOPIESOFTHEAVATARDDVD?!?!?, I’m going to give them a titty twister.) But at least I can watch Toxic Holocaust play live via the footage in this video! And I don’t even need stupid glasses to enjoy it! (I mean besides the stupid glasses I always have to wear in order to see. But not another pair of glasses on top of that.)

Find out if you’re luckier than me and can go see these dudes live – check out their current tour dates. “Lord of the Wasteland” appears on the album An Overdose of Death…, which is out now on Relapse.

-AR

Seriously, I owe Cosmo Lee a beer.

Last year one of his columns at Invisible Oranges introduced me to the French black metal band, Celeste; their album, Misanthrope(s), was released on Denovali records, but was also made available as a free download, meaning you really had no excuse not to check these guys out. I fell really, really hard for the album; so much so that it ended up making my 2009 year-end list.

Now another Cosmo column has alerted me to the fact that the band as a new album, Morte(s) Nees(s) (which I think translates to Born Dead), and that, once again, the group and Denovali are giving it away for free. You can download it here; Misanthropes(s) is still available free of charge, too, so if you never checked that album out, well, here’s your chance.

I’m downloading Morte(s) Nees(s) even as I type this, so I can’t really comment yet with regards to how it stacks up against Misanthropes(s); but even if it’s only half as good, it will still be better than 99% of the shit that comes out in 2010. Go get it.

-AR

A long, long while ago, “Blogronaut” Sacha Dunable shared his favorite unsigned bands with us and mentioned a Los Angeles band called National Sunday Law. Sacha, being the aspiring Metallica ghost-writer that he is, wouldn’t lead us astray — National Sunday Law are a fierce sludgy, doomy, proggy duo who make noise like there are twice the amount of dudes in the band than there actually are. Their mix of technicality and sludge/doom reminds me of Intronaut in certain ways — I see why Sacha took a liking to them — but by no means are they aping Sacha’s style.

National Sunday Law are giving away their 4-track EP for free on their Bandcamp page — no reason you shouldn’t at least give it a shot. Intronaut bass wizard Joe Lester lent his skilled hand to the bass tracks on the EP. If you like what you hear but have a jones for that physical disc, hard copies will soon be available here. You can also buy their full length CD and T-shirts.

If you’re digging National Sunday Law you might also dig Knut, a Switzerland-based doomy post-hardcore band cut from the same cloth.

-VN

It’s been a month since MetalSucks-faves Iron Thrones were announced as the winners of the Scion No Label Needed contest. So what have the dudes been up to since?

Our Stuck Bro-jos over at MetalInjection have been documenting the band’s life since winning the contest, including a mentoring sessions with Shadows Fall, a recording session at world-famous Machine Shop studio, a style consultation with Maria Brink (blue dress not included) and the rest of the paid-for perks that come with their contest prize package.

MetalInjection published two videos over the past couple of days. The first is an introduction to the band that provides a glimpse into their motivations and aspirations as artists, and the second is their sit-down with Shadows Fall, in which Iron Thrones ask questions about life in a band and the industry in general that many of you in unsigned bands are probably wondering as well.

-VN

Vince likes Japanese girls in knee-high socks who can shred; my current YouTube crush is SmooneGrri, an eighteen year old Dutch girl who does vocal covers of brutal death and slam songs. While eighteen years old is too young for me (morally and intellectually, if not legally), she’s actually really, really good, and European accents really do it for me.

I saw this video originally at Invisible Oranges, where Cosmo Lee pondered the gender issues at play: “So she’s discovered this extremely male-dominated, often misogynistic music on her own, and wants to make her mark in it.” I’m not as bright as Cosmo, though, so I’ll just this: I will take this girl over Maria Brink any day.

Watch more of SmooneGrri’s videos here.

-AR

-AR

[via C.H.U.D.]

Summer Slaughter is without a doubt the best metal tour hitting the U.S. pavement this Summer. The 100% confirmed, official lineup, which MetalSucks exclusively can reveal to you now, is…

DECAPITATED
THE FACELESS
ALL SHALL PERISH
THE RED CHORD
VEIL OF MAYA
CEPHALIC CARNAGE
DECREPIT BIRTH
CARNIFEX
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
VITAL REMAINS

I mean… wow. That lineup is unbelievably sexy and unfuckwithable. There isn’t a single band I could skip seeing other than Carnifex, and we gather many of you will feel the exact same way. There’s no doubt about it: Summer Slaughter is by far the best metal tour of Summer 2010. Rockstar Mayhem is lame, Ozzsharonfest is surely gonna be lame, and “The Cool Tour” is uh, not cool at all save a couple of bands. Comments tour founder and booking agent Ash Avildsen on how Summer Slaughter fits in (or doesn’t) with this Summer’s other metal tours: “I don’t think those tours really compete for many of the same fans as Summer Slaughter. This is focused on underground extreme metal rather than mainstream metal. All of our shows also have air conditioning.” Hooray for air conditioning!

The lineup is a shade younger than in years past, but young bands like The Faceless, Veil of Maya and Animals as Leaders are ones that are more likely to appeal to an older crowd than, say, Born of Osiris would. Avildsen knows exactly what he’s doing: “It’s a much younger line up this year, rather than a lot of older bands in the headlining positions. Tickets will be much cheaper for this same reason, coming in at under $20 in advance almost everywhere with the exception of LA and NYC. Most will be $18.” And it’s cheap, too… extra bonus.

Click to read more…

Last week’s funny photo caption contest may’ve been a bit misleading. Turns out that our winner doesn’t actually win the Jesse James Dupree-signed chainsaw outright, but gets entered into a lotto (with winners from other sites) to win it. Still, not a bad deal for the cost of the 10 seconds it took you to think of and enter a comment. Here’s our selection:

• Loni: “Slayground.”

This week we’re giving away two prize packs, each featuring a signed CD and signed poster of Ratt’s deliciously tasty new record Infestation. Oh, what’s that, you haven’t listened to the best new hair metal album in a generation yet? Better do that right now while you still can for free before it comes out on 4/20. This prize is so cool I kinda wanna just select a bogus winner and keep one for myself… but I won’t. Just come up with a tummy-tickling caption to the below photo, and remember to use a real email address or include it in your comment if you’re logged in with Facebook.

In 1992 or so, someone who must have inherited a few oil wells figured that it’d be a good idea to give some of that scratch to the Beastie Boys so that they could publish their own magazine. I don’t think you have to like them as a band or even as a cultural force to appreciate what it must have been like for these guys to get that first check. “You wrote a date rape anthem called ‘Fight for Your Right to Party’ and then proceeded to ignite doctoral dissertations with your next record. Here’s a shitload of cash so that you can indulge the spohomoric writing whims of you and your friends.” Even after the beepers of every weed dealer south of 34th Street finally stopped buzzing, there was plenty of moolah left over to stage photo shoots, subsidize starving indie writers, and pay for a die cut to assemble your own bootie bass jeep from the back cover.

Of course it all went bust, but the most lasting cultural impression of that cash vacuum were the metal record reviews that happened in the third or fourth issue, where the guy correctly identified records by Eyehategod, Today is the Day, 16, and one other band I don’t remember as being the shit we all had to go buy. I knew enough about TDID to take the cue, and so went out and bought the other three. And the most important thing in this review was the guy talking about was “Taco Riffs.”  When you heard those records, you knew exactly – EXCATLY – what he was talking about.

My noble band-mate Thad Calabrese and I have never had any confusion or even any discussion about what a Taco Riff is. It’s just the two of us, and so some late nights driving back from an ill-conceived show we’ll be playing “Strap It On” just to stay awake. Side 2 kicks in, the band clears away “FBLA” and then they rip it with “Blacktop.” And that “chorus” riff, accented the second time through with the vocals – “Walk on top. And you run beneath…” – we’ll just look at each other and won’t even have to say. Fucking Taco Riff. YES.

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Much like our pal Anso — whose musings on Peter Steele’s death you absolutely must read — I got into Type O Negative a bit later than most. When I was a budding metal youth I heard “Christian Woman” and “Black No. 1″ on the radio often (then Q104.3 “Pure Rock”) and I really liked them… but for whatever reason I never dived fully into the deep, dark abyss of Type O.

It wasn’t until I returned to metal after a lengthy hiatus that I really started to appreciate this band via the metallic airwaves of WSOU, starting with “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” from 2003′s Anso-approved Life is Killing Me. It happened again when Dead Again dropped in 2007; “Halloween in Heaven” just hit that awesome Type O sweet spot. And hey, lookee at that… I even gave Dead Again 4 out of 5 horns when it came out; go me.

Enjoy these two under-appreciated latter day Type O gems.

-VN

Alright, so what the fuck? Last week my lady says “Hey did you get tickets to Otep’s 20th anniversary show or what?” And I didn’t get tickets. Fuck, I’ve only been listening to Otep for a few years, I didn’t know she’d been around for twenty years. So I tell my lady, “I didn’t get the tickets, baby, I’ll go on the internet and get them right now.” And she goes, “You can’t get them right now! The show is sold out, Dummy!”

Now, I don’t want my lady to be mad at me, so I go on Craig’s List and I hunt down some tickets. And they were totally fucking expensive, but like I said, I don’t want my lady to be mad at me. So now we’re off to see Otep.

Well, fuckin’ Otep comes out, and right off the bat, I’m confused. She dyed her hair brown and stopped waxing her lip? Why? Doesn’t she want boys to like her anymore? Blondes are so freakin’ HOT! And she’s playing a guitar, and talking funny. What the fuck is she doing? Is this like one of those performance art comedy things? Who does she think she is, Tom Green or something?

Click to read more…