Cam Argon, a.k.a. “Big Chocolate,” is nineteen years old, and meanwhile, he’s the vocalist for at least three different projects, he’s a DJ, he’s in college getting his degree, and, oh yeah, now he’s directed the new Annotations of an Autopsy video, for the song “Bone Crown.” I mean, Vince and I have both been keeping really busy lately, working ridiculously long hours on a lot of projects both related to MetalSucks and not really related to MetalSucks, and this kid makes us look lazy. Cut it out with the being so productive, Cam! Slack off, watch some internet porn, take a nap for no good reason. Sheesh!
Don’t forget that AOAA are part of the <shameless plug>MetalSucks-sponsored Facemelter Tour with Dying Fetus, Arsis, Misery Index, and Conducting from the Grave. Get dates here. </shamelessplug>
Earlier this week I posted a report/review from a listening party for Korn III: Remember Who You Are. And, no shock, a flame war broke out in the comments section, primarily amongst my fellow Korn haters, and Korn fans. At least two Korn fans were posting under multiple handles, attempting to appear to several different people, presumably to make it look like there was more support for Korn in our comments section – which is wholly ridiculous. Korn don’t need more support in our comments section; that’s giving our comments section (or, for that matter, my review) WAY too much credit, in terms of how it will have an effect on the success of this record.
I’m always completely baffled when people get SO UPSET over something I or any of the other writers here at MetalSucks say. Let me ask you this question – and I mean this sincerely: who gives a shit what we think? To paraphrase The Dude, these are just, like, our opinions, man. We pose no actual threat to anyone. We like to think that our support for a band can help them out, but we’re not unrealistic about the amount of sway we have over our readers. We can’t write something and make Korn disappear anymore that we can write something and make At All Cost the biggest band in the world; we just don’t have that power. I’ve always thought that if you could let the ramblings of one blogger make you feel so angry that you need to devote hours of your life to telling him what an idiot you think he is (or sending him death threats – which has happened to us), you must have serious ego problems – there must be some small part of you that thinks, “What if this band I love really DOES suck? What does that say about me?” And that’s really silly, ’cause – duh – it’s all subjective. My opinion of a band doesn’t say anything about you, even when I joke that it does; all it really says is something about, well, my opinion of the band.
So. Korn previewed a few tracks from this album on Sirius/XM’s “Octane” – namely “Pop a Pill,” “Let the Guilt Go,” and “The Past.” I’m posting a video of that preview below. Now you can all listen to the music and make up your own mind, at which point you should feel free to completely disregard my own opinion of the record. And I know that typing this is a complete waste of finger-muscle energy, but try to keep the discussion in the comments section civil for a change, okay? It’s only a metal blog, people. We’re not curing cancer here; that’s Glenn Danzig’s job.
I’m not even gonna bother describing this; you’ll understand what this is about five seconds after you hit “play.” Thanks to MS Suckalo Kevin Boyce for sending it in!
In the last few years, something seemed to happen and I barely noticed. Suddenly, I’m no longer the young kid at the show. I’m one of the guys hiding out by the bar. I’m not crowd surfing, not covered in sweat with my shirt off, and I’m certainly not moshing. I’m also not randomly yelling “Slayer!”, but that seems to span all demographics. I became… (gulp)… an adult. I don’t know what the range is in the ages of the followers of MetalSucks, but I’ll assume that it’s a mix of younger and older metal fans. I am 29 years old, but I still feel relatively young and energetic considering my opening salvo. I’m the youngest member of my band, and younger than a good majority of my friends in bands and the industry.
With that said, I think there comes a time for all metal heads, and probably all adults for that matter, when you look at what is popular amongst the true youth culture (16-24), and you feel as if not only do you not relate to it, but it feels alien, as if it’s creation was not meant for your consumption (which it wasn’t) – and it also seems inferior to music that you grew up with. I’m only 29, and I’m already having “back in my day” moments. It kind of scared me, and I began to wonder if I was being obtuse and a little too set in my ways, or if my analysis was accurate.
Chris: “At long last, bass players have figured out a way to get noticed.”
Tom: “With an emphasis on head, toplessness and big knobs, this image has disappointed many horny googlers…”
Double D: “No, genie! I wanted a huge head at the tip of my base!”
Tom (a different one): “Drastic measures were taken in the pursuit of achieving the brown note live.”
wormdrive66: “Spinal tap Premiers the New “Big Bottom Bass” at The Arkansas County Fair.”
This week we’re giving away three prize packs from Massachusetts punk/metal rawkers Never Got Caught; each pack will include a t-shirt and either a CD or download code (whichever you prefer) for their latest album Creepshow. Alls ya gotta do to win is leave a comment below with a witty caption [photo courtesy of Aaron Beaudreau], and remember to use (or include) a real email address.
We stand by our assessment that re-hiring Joey Belladonna is a desperate move by Anthrax, as well as major artistic step-backwards for Anthrax. Who would have been a better fit for the band? Almost anyone. Herewith, our list of possible candidates that should have superseded Belladonna…
Sick Of It All has been representing New York hardcore for well over two decades, refusing to become a nostalgia act by regularly releasing albums of new material. Whether you love them for their rough and riotous initial records, the more accessible punkier albums during their Fat Wreck Chords days, or the heavy metallic sounds of their 21st century records, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the voice of frontman Lou Koller. With the fierce and undeniably memorable Based on a True Story, Sick Of It All show no signs of mellowing as they mature, as the below interview indicates.
Reader [name removed by request] sent me a link to the band Bleed From Within, and like a dutiful blogger who cares what his readers think (up to a point at least), I decided to check them out, and, uh, all I can really say is… Really, [name removed by request]?
This band isn’t “Shitstain” bad, but they ain’t good. If I never hear about them again, something tells me my life will be just fine. Holy crap, it’s time for bands like this to just cut it out already. CUT IT OUT, YOU ASSHOLES. You’re ruining my high.
I know Axl isn’t too big on Danko Jones, but I still think he’s missing the boat; this band just writes awesome rock tunes that are closer to QOTSA or Kyuss than anything else currently getting spins at hard rock radio. Their blend of stoner, desert, boogie and hard riffs just resonated with me instantly the first time I heard it; aces all around.
Even if he still doesn’t like the song, I’d gander Axl will like the band’s new video for “Full of Regret”; it’s got an actual storyline, and I’m pretty sure Axl likes videos with storylines! And hey, Mr. Lemmy Kilmeister even makes a cameo.
“Full of Regret” comes from Danko Jones’ new album Below the Belt, out this week. Watch the new video and tell Axl why he should like this band in the comments; or feel free to agree with him and tell me why my love of this band is misguided.
MS Maniac Jeremy Rosen — who happens to work for Roadrunner Records — sent us the mostest badassest photo we’ve gotten for a Show Us Your MetalSucks entry since Metal Mykee sent in that picture of himself wearing pink crocs on a Puerto Rican beach. The photo was taken on his recent vacation to Malta (and other places) and pretty much speaks for itself.
Thanks, Jeremy! We’d offer to ship you a box of goodies like we usually do for Show Us Your MetalSucks entries, but usually you’re the one sending us boxes of goodies… so the first round of drinks is on us next time we hang out.
Think you can top Jeremy? Send in a photo of yourself donning your MetalSucks gear and we’ll reward you handsomely with a post on the site and a box o’ metal in the mail.
This summer, there are so many awesome hardcore festivals taking place throughout the U.S. of A that it’s hard to keep up. Thankfully, your trusty hXc correspondent has compiled a neat little guide to some of these must-see events below, starting with this weekend’s Black N Blue Bowl:
Date(s): May 15
City: New York City, NY
Venue: Webster Hall
Lineup: Cro-Mags / Madball / Supertouch / Yuppicide / H2O / Cruel Hand / Skarhead / Trapped Under Ice / Wisdom In Chains / Sand / H8 Inc. / Incendiary
Comments: This is a big annual daylong event for NYHC and those who love it. Pretty stellar lineup this year, thanks to the co-headliners (Cro Mags and Madball) as well as the Supertouch and Yuppicide reunions. The choice of venue is pretty damn special as well, given that Webster Hall used to be known as The Ritz, a hallowed rock venue that hosted countless punk and hardcore shows back in the day. Expect a fair bit of weepy-eyed nostalgia in between stage dives.
If you’re in a band and you’re looking to get our music out to as many would-be fans as possible, new data suggests that you should spend less time vamping up your MySpace page and more time uploading your tracks to YouTube. From Metal Insider‘s Bram Teitelman:
Media measurement company BigChampagne has released some data showing just how much the two have changed in the past year. In 2008, a typical track streaming on MySpace Music for one day was equal to a week’s spins on YouTube. While it’s not metal, BigChampagne tracked the #4 song across both sites recently, Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” and found that two years makes quite a difference.
MySpace Music (week ending 5/2): Rank: 4 (732,014 streams)
YouTube (week ending 5/2): Rank: 4 (4,282,376 video views)
Bram points out that while this speaks to MySpace’s decline, it’s got a lot more to do with YouTube’s rapid ascent; he backs up that claim with some nifty stats showing just how much YouTube has grown.
Of course, tons of people still visit MySpace to listen to music, but it seems like more and more people are searching for specific artists or songs on YouTube. So if you’re in a band — even if your band is signed — there’s no reason you shouldn’t post your songs on both MySpace and YouTube; include a link to your MySpace page and a link to your online store (if you’ve got one) in the video description so fans can find out more about you if they want to. May as well, right? You’ve got nothing to lose.
I know I’m a bit late here, but I just couldn’t come up with the words to express the disappointment that fusion/prog metal supergroup Exivious have decided to call it quits. When a group featuring members of Cynic and Textures decides to break up after releasing just one masterful album… what is their really to say other than “bummer”?
Guitarist Tymon cited “we’re busy with our other projects” as the reason for the breakup in a publicly released statement, but what I don’t understand is why being busy with other projects necessitates calling it quits forever. Couldn’t these guys come together to make music whenever their schedules all align again — whether it be a month from now or 5 years from now — the way, say, Bloodbath do? I don’t think anyone would complain if he’d simply said “We’re way too busy to make new music right now, but maybe in a few years we’ll be able to get back to it.” I just don’t get the finality of it.
Oh well. Here’s the song “Waves of Thought” from their self-titled debut, released last year.
Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 12:00pm by Gary Suarez
2010 has already been an eventful year for reunited New York hardcore bands. Favorites like Cro-Mags and Killing Time, the latter of which dropped a great new album a couple months ago, have been playing live gigs. Agnostic Front performed a one-off show with their classic Victim In Pain and United Blood rhythm sections in lieu of their present recording/touring lineups. Recently, Bridge Nine announced the return of Underdog with a forthcoming complete discography and a handful upcoming live shows. Out of nowhere, Supertouch and Yuppicide have both returned to play this weekend’s Black N Blue Bowl. But now, despite my earlier elation, I’m starting to wonder if this trend is getting out of hand.
In the past 24 hours, I’ve learned about several more NYHC reunions. Late-eighties group Inside Out (not to be confused with Zack de la Rocha’s pre-RATM band of the same name) has also apparently reunited and are playing their “first show in 21 years” at Andrew W.K.’s Santos Party Haus. Additionally, BrooklynVegan scribe Black Bubblegum posted recently regarding reunited NYHC band Indecision, who have a show coming up at Knitting Factory in July. He also revealed that current New York resident Moby has regrouped with Vatican Commandos, his long-forgotten Connecticut hardcore act, for a July gig at Mercury Lounge.
Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 11:30am by Axl Rosenberg
So I read on The PRP that Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum is doing the score for something called FRED, the Movie, starring someone named Fred Figglehorn. Now, unless it’s Pixar, I really don’t much about what’s going on in children’s cinema these days; I assumed that this was the the height of modern kiddie movies. Fred Figglehorn is apparently a YouTube star, because we’ve gotten to a point where there’s such a thing as a YouTube star, but, again, that didn’t mean all that much to me.
But, hey, I love Roddy Bottum! I’m a huge Faith No More fan! And I’ve only heard one Imperial Teen song, but I thought that it was catchy enough. So I decided to do some homework on this Fred Figglehorn fellow.
Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 11:00am by Axl Rosenberg
SECOND UPDATE: It’s official. Just got the press release. Hoo-ray!
UPDATE: Longtime MS tipster Saul Hudson just sent the below screencap from Noah Martin’s Facebook page. So I guess it’s true! Original story follows after the jump.
Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 10:30am by Axl Rosenberg
Alright, so I’m not a doctor, and I fully acknowledge that the medical business is just as crooked as pretty much every other business in the world these days (I don’t even like metal, dude – I just couldn’t turn down the multi-million dollar contract the Sheinhardt Wig Company offered me to help run this site), but I do know that telling a cancer patient “Don’t bother with chemo” is probably not the wisest idea in the world. A few years ago my aunt had breast cancer, and I’m reasonably certain that if when the doctor told her “You need chemo” she had replied “You need to suck my muthafuckin’ dick, I’m going to see a nutritionist,” she’d be dead right now. Ditto a whole lotta other cancer patients I’ve known. Again, I’m no doctor. I suppose it’s possible that all they really needed was some zinc n’ shit. But this seems like one of these instances where, y’know, you should probably just shut the fuck up and do what the medical professional tells you.
Then again, I’m not Dr. Danzig, Medicine Goth. Check out this excerpt from a recent interview with Vice:
Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 10:00am by Axl Rosenberg
I don’t watch Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC program on a regular basis the way I once did; if I was still a frequent viewer, though, I might have seen this little bit about the RNC’s decision to hold their 2012 National Convention in Tampa, and Maddow’s subsequent discussion of death metal. Instead, I only came across the clip ’cause reader Nikhil Krishnaswamy sent it to us. Thanks, Nikhil!
Maddow seems to be implying that death metallers from around the area are gonna make life a living hell for the Republicans, but I think that’s overly optimistic. There’s obviously a political component to death metal (I mean burning a fucking inverted cross into your noggin is a political statement as much as it’s an act of shock theater), but I don’t exactly see the members of Deicide and Obituary holding a protest rally outside the convention anytime soon, do you?
Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note that this isn’t Maddow’s first dalliance with metal. For one thing, there’s this:
We got a whole bunch of e-mails from people yesterday sending us links to videos such as the one below, which features an instrumental version of the track. I don’t know if someone who worked on the game leaked it, or a player unlocked it; in any case, at least now you can hear it. And it sounds pretty cool! Almost a shame we can’t do a “Create Your Own ‘Hit the Wall’” contest (like the one we just did with Nevermore), ’cause it might be fun to see what vocal lines and lyrics you cats come up with.
Anyways, I’m sure the full version with Randy Blythe’s vocals will get out there sooner or later. Or, at least, I hope so; I love Lamb of God, but – no surprises here – the reviews for this game have been pretty abysmal.
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 5:12pm by Paul Masvidal
“Violence is unconscious rage fueled by deep sorrow.”
—L.C.
Someone broke into my home last week and left it looking like an FBI raid with nothing left unturned, including my cat’s ash box that was left open, along with every other small box, case, and container in the house. They even scoured the attic, most likely looking for cash and maybe some jewelry. As soon as I stepped through the front door, I had an intuition that there was some kind of phantom thought-form energy that had found its way into the house. Immediately, I grabbed the sage and began smudging all the rooms. (Smudging is a ritualized way of clearing energy, which can be electromagnetic, emotional, ionic and so on.) When I dialed 911, the operator told me there was another case that took precedence—a homicide on the west side of town, close to where I live—and that my burglary was “put into the queue.” After hearing those words, my problem became miniscule. What are material objects compared to the loss of a loved one? Someone else had just lost a friend or family member. It was in this instant that I was reminded of how much violence pervades us as a species.
This summer, there are so many awesome hardcore festivals taking place throughout the U.S. of A that it’s hard to keep up. Thankfully, your trusty hXc correspondent has compiled a neat little guide to some of these must-see events below, starting with this weekend’s 
2010 has already been an eventful year for reunited New York hardcore bands. Favorites like 
