Has this guy never listened to the dozens of bands Black Veil Brides rip off? Never seen the hundreds from which they copped their look? Have a serious case of Peter Pan syndrome? Is he actually a 15 year old girl who looks like a 35 year old man and has swindled the powers that be into giving her/him a suit-and-tie job? Is he just mentally deficient?
The mind boggles. Absolutely boggles.
That’s all I’ve got.
-VN
Thanks: Jake Ryan
A song’s got to be pretty damned well-known to be played by a marching band. And though no Dream Theater songs have or ever will approach the ubiquity of a modern day marching band staple like “Iron Man,” that one of their songs is being covered by the Teal Sound Drum & Bugle Corps speaks to the band’s longevity and staying power. The complex arrangements of DT’s music make it suitable for marching band cover and I have to say these guys do a pretty good job of it, especially given some of those righteous time signatures. Although that metronome is annoying as fuck.
Apparently Teal Sound are a traveling independent troupe so it’s not like you’re gonna hear Dream Theater at your next Big Ten football halftime show (Go Blue!), but still, if I were a member of Dream Theater I’d be pretty damn psyched/flattered by this.
-VN
Thanks: Matt Hendler
Last week we let you know about a Norwegian contest in which tech-industrio-Blackjazzists Shining had the opportunity to win 1 million Norwegian Kroner (approx $150,000 or €125,000) from a grant offered by the legendary A-Ha. And today we can tell you that, thanks to all of your votes, they won!
The above-linked article announcing Shining’s victory is in Norwegian, so unless you’re a native of Norway you’ll have to rely on a Google translation which is a bit spotty. But all you really need to know is that Shining have in fact won that big chunk of cash, and hopefully they’ll make good on their promise of using it to tour North America. Gary and I will be up front rocking out, though we make no promises of hand-puppet theatrics.
-VN
Thanks: Koppis
Having a bad day? Bored at work? Just in need of something to make you chuckle?
Then head on over to Noisecreep to listen to the new Hed(p.e.) track “No Rest 4 da Wicked.” I continue to find it hilarious/sad that the “progressive thinking rap metallers” (lolz! c’mon, Amy) started wearing wicked clown makeup once they realized that ICP fans were the one remaining audience group who’d accept them. But what’s up with the two dudes on the right? They ain’t down with the clown? Woot woot!
-VN
This year’s Black N Blue Bowl, which I had the great pleasure of attending, was nothing short of incredible. So many killer bands performed at the latest installment of this annual New York hardcore event, from scene legends Madball to scrappy rising stars Trapped Under Ice. And while Maine’s Cruel Hand falls into that latter category, vocalist Chris Linkovich is hardly a newcomer to the scene, having formerly played guitar in Outbreak. Still, his current project is another sort of animal, deeply influenced by the roots of NYHC. This makes for an energetic, menacing, metallic sound that — as I witnessed at this Spring’s New England Metal & Hardcore Fest as well as at the BNB Bowl — makes a considerable impact on an audience. Not long after their set, I managed to pull Linkovich aside for a few minutes to find out his thoughts about playing this event and to get some more details about their upcoming album Lock & Key.
The MetalSucks co-sponsored Eyehategod trek made its stop in Brooklyn last weekend, and the band absolutely KILLED. You’ve never seen a room full of hipsters and rock journalists go off like that. You’d almost think that the club was full of real fans.
One of the highlights of the evening was EHG’s performance of “Sister Fucker” – not just ’cause the song rocks, but because the stage banter was HI-LAR-IOUS. And luckily for those of you who weren’t there, our pal Rob Pasbani from Metal Injection caught it on video:
You can watch more of Metal Injection’s footage from the show here and here.
And there’s still five dates left on this tour! It’s a raucous good time, so don’t miss it. Get dates here.
-AR
It’s June 21st here at the Mansion, which means four things:
1) I’m officially in iced coffee-only mode. Who wants a hot drink when it’s 90 degrees out?
2) I’m officially in cold shower-only mode. Who wants a hot shower when it’s 90 degrees out?
3) I’m officially in “working in nothing but my skivvies” mode. Who wants to wear pants and a shirt when the Vince Division doesn’t have A/C?
4) It’s the first official day of Summer and thereby also the longest day of the year, which makes me simultaneously happy and sad. Happy because there’s tons of sunlight. Sad because it’s all downhill from here.
Remember these days and these feelings on December 21st when the sun comes up at 9am and is gone by 4:30pm (man, I feel bad for you Scandinavians who have it even worse) and the world is a depressing monster of a place. Remember this day when Daylight Dies.
-VN
Fuck taking a photo together. What we all really wanna see is The Big Four jam, dude. For one thing, it would just be cool to see all those dudes rocking out together, maybe on a jam of some old metal classic that everyone could find mutually agreeable (if ever there was a time to pay tribute to Dio…). For another thing, since the number of people in the world who ever actually got to see Mustaine play with Metallica or Kerry King play with Megadeth is roughly equivalent to the number of people who actually paid to see Jonah Hex this weekend (e.g., almost no one), it would be terrific wish fulfillment.
Of course, it will probably never happen, because God forbid everyone put their egos and bullshit aside to do anything too cool. So for now, we’ll have to settle for Scott Ian helping to sing one chorus of “Peace Sells” with ‘Deth. ‘Cause, y’know. When I think great singing, I think Scott Ian.
Skip to the 2:40 mark for fifteen whole seconds of crossover dreams come true.
-AR
[via Blabbermouth]
Apparently MS Maniac Jeremy Sanchez clogged his toilet and immediately thought of us. Which is, uh, flattering I suppose. Since he was wearing his Sergeant D-designed MetalSucks t-shirt when he did the dirty deed, he snapped a couple of pics and sent them in. We can only hope that the plunger he’s holding came straight out of the shit-infested toilet and wasn’t part of some planned photo shoot.
Either way, props are in order for Jeremy for being the latest entry to our ongoing Show Us Your MetalSucks contest, in which you send in pics of yourself in some fun/funny setting donning your MS t-shirt or hoodie in exchange for a buncha free shit. Clog your toilet whilst wearing your MS gear and you too could be featured on MetalSucks, plus be all the richer in CDs, t-shirts, posters and other free shit for it!
Jeremy sent in several pics including one of his guitar with an ultra-rare hard-to-find colored vinyl 7″ double gatefold MetalSucks sticker affixed right above the bridge. Apparently his cat is an avid MS reader too. Bad-ass. All his pics after the jump.
Gwar/Mutiny Within @ White Rabbit
San Antonio, Texas – June 7, 2010
Due to an unfortunate pre-show fluidity accident involving my good friend, Brian, and my alleged miniature Dachshund, Tamale, I missed out on all but two songs of Mutiny Within’s set. I was actually looking forward to seeing the band and enjoyed what I did see. I will make sure to catch them on the rebound in the near future.
Of course, no one really cares about opening bands when it comes to Gwar. In the midst of celebrating their 25-year reign of destruction over you puny Earthlings, Gwar is tighter, heavier, and funnier than ever. Instead of being relegated to the bargain bin of heavy metal wash-ups, Gwar has miraculously leaped to the forefront of true heavy metal entertainment spectacle.
Seems like forever ago that A Life Once Lost released Iron Gag in 2007; the PA groovesters haven’t done a whole lot of touring following the initial album cycle and as such they aren’t at the forefronts of metalheads’ minds at the moment. Their deal with Ferret Music has expired, and not having a record label at the moment probably isn’t helping. Will their absence from the scene over the past couple of years help build anticipation for a new release or will it kill any momentum they had? Hard to say, but I for one am definitely excited to hear what they come up with next.
In the meantime, guitarist Snake Sustaine (his momma calls him Doug) has been keeping busy with a band of his own namesake, also featuring his brother and ALOL drummer Justin Graves. As I’ve said before in this space, side projects provide a great look into the influences — often non-metal — it’s really interesting to see what drives musicians and where their creativity will take them when they aren’t bound by having to write in a certain style for a certain band. For Sustaine it’s bluesy garage rock with just a trace of screaming / post-hardcore shouting vocals to bridge it to metal, like something The White Stripes might make if they had a bit more balls.
Snake’s solo project has been making noise for a couple of years already, but they’ve got a new track called “Divinity” up on their MySpace page right now. Check it out.
-VN
In case ya didn’t hear, Jonah Hex shit the bed at the box office this weekend, getting trounced by the third film in a kiddie franchise, the fifth film in a different kiddie franchise, a movie based on a thirty year old television series, and a movie with Lars Ulrich in it. I’m sure the Mastodon dudes are humbled to know that the Metallicats can still school them.
ANYWAY, a friend of mine actually did see the movie and gave me a little report. He asked that I not use his name, since he wants to be spared the embarrassment of admitting that he actually paid to see this drek. So I’m not going to tell you his name. It does not rhyme with Rank Friley.
A new Megadeth song, “Sudden Death,” is going to make its debut in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the latest installment of the (apparently flagging) video game franchise. And over the weekend IGN debuted video of some people playing that song. It’s kinda hard to hear because these two schmucks keep providing “helpful commentary” over the track (e.g., “Wow, this really looks hard!” and “I love the sound of my own voice!”). Still, give it the best listen you can and see what you think.
Back in January Dave Mustaine said that he’d been “offered” a “new idea” by Activision, the company behind Guitar Hero; I assume this isn’t it, since debuting your track in a video game is hardly a new idea. I guess we’ll see.
-AR
There are sooooooooooooooo many choice Hendrix cuts that picking just one to post is no easy feat. But I have managed to choose a rare live version of a classic that first stirred my soul way back in 7th grade, and still does it for me to this day…
BONUS VIDEO: JIMI & STEVIE WONDER (on drumz!) JAMMING IN THE STUDIO!!!!!
-KW
Can you imagine if everyone to whom we give endless amounts of shit followed Dino’s example? We’d have Rose Funoral cards and Tommy Lee faking his own death and Fred Durst pulling a Billy Madison and pics of Joey Belladonna with his twig and berries tucked back. That’s the kinda world I wanna live in. I believe we can make it happen if we try.
ANYWAY, here’s some shit we did this week:
Speaking of Eyal and studio updates: on Sunday I’m flying down to Atlanta to visit Daath in the studio. If you never hear from me again, assume I’ve been lost amidst a cloud of ATL purp smoke and awesome metal. But what a way to go!!!
-AR
As you may have noticed from our first two installments of “Question of the Week,” we do not yet have a banner for this column. And while we normally do that shit ourselves or find some poor friend to do it or whatever, we thought it would be more fun to see what you, our beloved readers, can come up with.
So here’s the deal:
And that’s it. Have fun, gang. We’re excited to see what you come up with!
-Us
Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.
Inspired by Phil Freeman’s assertion that the trend of bands playing albums live in their entirety needs to stop, this week we decided to ask our writers that very question:
Should bands play their albums live in their entirety?
Their answers after the jump.
I have heard the entire new Iron Thrones album, The Wretched Sun. And it is good. Very good.
Now you can get a taste of it too in a “making of” clip video premiered by our proteges at The Number of the Blog. The track “I Once Had the Crown” serves as the background music for the 3-minute clip, which features various shots of the band in the studio and goofing around. It sounds fantastic, courtesy a stellar mixing job by Machine Shop producer Will Putney.
I’ve only had a chance to listen to The Wretched Sun once since I got my hands on it, but it’s definitely the kind of the album that’s going to take multiple listens to fully wrap my head around. It’s what we’ve been waiting for since we started this Scion “No Label Needed” business back in January, and I think the results are definitely worth the wait.
-VN
New Jersey’s East of the Wall are that rare band that appeal to artsy indie types and metal nerds in equal measures; their dazzling blend of technical post-hardcore aggression, melody and indie sensibility is really one of a kind. And the fact that the band kicks so much fucking arse live makes it all the better. These are dudes who, in various formations, used to be in the bands Biclops, Day Without Dawn and The Postman Syndrome, so all those years of live gigging have definitely paid off.
First time I heard their 2008 full-length Farmer’s Almanac, the minute it ended I actually started it right back up again from the very beginning. The music is just that fascinating and intricate, and several full listens later I still haven’t fully grasped the entirety of what’s happening in the music (and this is a good thing). Kip posted some live footage of “I Am Crying Nonstop Hysterically” from that album which you should definitely take a look at. Needless to say, I’m really excited for East of the Wall’s new album Ressentiment, which comes out July 20th on Translation Loss.
As Axl reported back in February, East of the Wall have two new songs currently streaming on their MySpace page. Gravedigger Mag has a third track called “Ocean of Water.” All three are from EOTW’s new album. Get stoked… it’s a doozy. Catch them on tour with Name all over the U.S. in July; dates here.
-VN
Thanks: Anthony Burchett
Metal Injection has premiered the new Michael Panduro-directed Fuck the Facts video, “Wake,” and maybe if I was high, I would have some theories as to what the fuck is going on in said video. But I’m actually not high right now, and as it stands, I’m totally fucking confused. I still it’s pretty cool — A creepy kid! A zombie dude! A cute girl! Flying black squigglies! — I just can’t really posit a theory or get all deep n’ shit right now. But you should watch it, and tell me if you think you understand what the what. Especially if you’re high.
“Wake” comes off of Fuck the Facts’ self-released Unnamed EP, which is out now.
-AR
