Boston’s Constants occupy that gray area between rock and metal that’s likely to alienate both fan-bases rather than bridge them together, but like so many unclassifiable bands their particular brand of spacey indie/alt/metal/rock/whatever inspires a devoted pack of die-hards that absolutely adore the band for being so unique. Count Vince Neilstein as one of those fans.

With their swirling atmospheric guitar work and slow headbang grooves, Constants would fit right in on a tour with bands like Dredg or Maserati, but they’d easily be the heaviest band on the bill. Take their cover of Type O Negative’s “Love You to Death” (currently the 3rd song down on their MySpace page) with its monstrous, downtuned, fuzzed-the-fuck-out guitar riff beneath singer Will Benoit’s soaring, soothing voice. While the giant-sized guitar might turn off indie fans and the clean singing might make tr00 metal fans wince, the combination is precisely what grabs me. It’s rare these days that you find a truly unique band; Constants are truly one-of-a-kind, and they’re really making a name for themselves.

Constants’ new album If Tomorrow the War is out now via Science of Silence Records, and it was produced by Godflesh/Jesu mastermind Justin K. Broadrick. The album is only available on vinyl and digitally (via iTunes and Amazon), but if you order a vinyl you get an instant digital download as well for free. There are only a few copies left, so order yours now.

-VN

Matt Pike in one of his most awesomest t-shirts, with some dude I don’t know.

So last week Vince and I hit up the Sleep reunion show (read our friend Justina Villanueva’s review at Noisecreep), and as we were watching the mighty Matt Pike, we turned to one another and were all, “Wow, that dude has a lot of awesome t-shirts!” I mean, Vince and I have some pretty extensive t-shirt collections full of all kinds of cool shit, but that Matt Pike… man. I’ve never seen that dude NOT wearing an awesome shirt.

And so, to that end, I now present to you, oh loyal readers, our list of Matt Pike’s top ten t-shirts.

Click to read more…

I went to a taping of The Daily Show on Tuesday afternoon. I had no intention of going — a friend invited me at the last minute, and the last time I was at a taping of that show, Craig Kilborn was the host, so I figured, “Yeah, why not?” And it was fun, but not “Wait on line for three hours” fun. I mean, if I wait on line for something that long, it had better be a blowjob from Kiera Knightley, y’know?

ANYWAY, I mention it ’cause before the taping started, Jon Stewart came out to answer some crowd questions, and his intro music was… “Mr. Tinkertrain” by Ozzy Osbourne.

Now, I’m sure whomever selected that particular song has never paid attention to the lyrics and just digs the energy of Zakk Wylde’s riff — either that, or said music supervisor has a sick sense of humor. This poor choice got even poorer when a woman asked Stewart how fatherhood has changed him, and he replied that whereas he never used to think he could kill someone before, he can now see such a scenario — and used a story about how he once cosidered murdering a little girl who stole his son’s favorite toy by way of example.

So, to review: Jon Stewart comes out to a song about a child molestor, and tells a story about envisioning himself offing a little girl. Oy!

And then I found twenty bucks.

-AR

I’m not a folk metal dude, usually. To my ears, the bands involved typically trample over that fine line between brilliance and novelty, using their folk roots as a gimmick to differentiate themselves from the general clusterfuck of new metal bands that come into being each year. Like power metal, the cheese factor seems so high that I can’t get past it most of the time. But contrary to popular belief, I’m not made of stone, so every now and again, a couple of guys weaving their humble folk roots into their metal manages to charm the shit out of me, and I can’t stay away. The biggest and most shameless of these is Drudkh, a Ukranian blackened folk metal band that have managed to, on the vast majority of their ten (!) releases in the last seven years, cut to the absolute core of me. There isn’t a lot of music, let alone metal, that so readily conveys melancholy and sorrow like these guys, so on the fairly regular basis they release new material, it’s cause for celebration. Well, up until recently, at least, when the band took a turn for the weird.

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Although to be fair I do quite enjoy peanut butter in other applications — like in M&Ms, or celery with peanut butter on it like my mom always used to make me. So, reluctantly, I think I’m gonna get behind this upcoming “Maserati” tour with cautious optimism.

Quick recap: superman groove machine drummer Jerry Fuchs died last year in a tragic elevator accident in Brooklyn. Most of another Maserati album had already been recorded (including all the drums), so his bandmates decided to finish it up and release it as Pyramid of the Sun, out November 9th via Temporary Residence. All well and good. But this latest bit of news is a bit surprising; according to Brooklyn Vegan, Maserati have announced a fall tour. AE Paterra of Zombi will be filling Jerry’s vacant drum throne; no disrespect meant to Paterra, but Fuchs WAS Maserati and it’ll be hard to stomach watching them with someone else in that chair. But I’ve always loved Maserati’s music beyond just Jerry’s playing and I’m certainly willing to give it a shot. Dude knows he’s got big shoes to fill and I’m sure his bandmates do too, so they must’ve chose wisely.

Maserati – “We Got the System to Fight the System”

Maserati – “We Got the System to Fight the System”

Tour dates after the jump. That 11/13 date in Jerry’s hometown of Brooklyn is going to be uber-emotional. I’ll be there.

Click to read more…

Here’s the album art for Withered’s new album, Dualitas. I’m not entirely sure what the meaning of the cover is supposed to be, especially in relationship to the title (I mean, “dualitas” is a type of taco, right?), but maybe you guys can hash it out in the comments section and come up with a theory.

The truth is — and I always take a lot of shit for saying this, but it’s how I honestly feel so fuck it — I LOVE watching Withered live. LOVE it. The first time I saw them in concert, I ran right over to their merch table and bought their album — that’s how into it I was.

But I’ve yet to hear a recording of theirs that stands up to their live performance. They’re just so fucking CRUSHING live, and then the albums… they just don’t hit that spot for me. The don’t have that kick-you-in-the-nards oomph! But I would love for Dualitas to be the studio recording that finally captures the same intensity Withered bring to their live show.

Dualitas comes out October 26 on Prosthetic. Tell me what a dickless piece of shit I am for not loving the band’s prior albums in the comments section below.

-AR

Mega dork-out time! Ready for a trip through Tool guitarist Adam Jones’ live guitar rig? Of course you are!

Jones’ rig is actually pretty simple. No computer-controlled switching boards or rackmounts… just old-school pedals hooked up to a couple of different amp configurations (controlled by an A/B switch, I’m guessing, though one isn’t shown). There are also some neat synth doodads he controls for all that spacey in-between shit Tool does. And though Jones certainly isn’t the most technical guitarist around, his tone has always been impeccable; moar isn’t always better.

Visit SMN News for a tour through bassist Justin Chancellor’s rig as well.

-VN

The infamous “Bed Intruder” television news interview, which was subsequently turned into a viral autotuned sensation by The Gregory Brothers, now has a death metal version, courtesy Andy Rehfeldt — a.k.a. the dude who previously brought us the jazzercised Lamb of God, the Disneyfied Cannibal Corpse, and metallicized Louis Armstrong and Conway Twitty. And why not? If there was a song called “Bed Intruder” on a Cannibal Corpse’s The Bleeding or Pig Destroyer’s Prowler in the Yard, no one would have blinked. So this makes perfect sense in a horribly fucked-up way.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

Let the Games Begin!!!

Hello there. MetalSucks is letting me bring you my heavily opinionated, and often correct, views on today’s NFL. Once a week, I’ll be letting you know about the upsets, great plays, and ridiculous behavior of our beloved athletes.

The Saints-Vikings re-match was a great way to kick off the season. In a repeat of last season’s NFC Championship game, The Saints, once again, were victorious over There’s Something About Mary actor and AARP-dodger Brett Favre and his Vikings. In Eagles news, I still love seeing Michael Vick lose. Nothing against Philly, but that guy’s a dick.

Click to read more…

Everybody knows that post-2K Iron Maiden records are freaking long. More of a good thing is, um, good, as on Brave New World and this year’s The Final Frontier. Elsewhere, a 10-song/72-minute set feels absolutely leaden under the weight of so-so songs and forced instrumentalism (Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death). It’s similar to good party etiquette: Feel free to overstay your welcome with entertaining guitar suites and sophisticated hooks; if you’re merely chanting the title of egghead paperbacks ’til 4 AM, your hosts will begin to shoot telltale glances at the front door. Nothing personal. Take your Chex mix and scram.

Not the case with The Final Frontier, an instant classic especially remarkable for coming so late in Maiden’s career. Its length and consistency (and awesomeness) are conducive to deep thought, too. Just yesterday I was pondering songs like “The Alchemist” and “The Man Who Would Be King,” Maiden’s best rocker since “The Mercenary” and most riveting epic since “The Nomad,” respectively. That got me really thinking: What are the awesomest new-era Maiden jamz leading up to 2010? Cuz, looking back, there were hints hidden in those meh-to-amazing records that Frontier would be a monster! So let’s rank new Maiden’s biggest pre-Frontier songs! It’ll be fun and educational! I’ll go first:

Click to read more…

UPDATE: Now in high-quality!

Greece’s mightiest power metal masters, Firewind, are back with new dose of awesomeness, Days of Defiance – and MetalSucks is proud to be debuting the video for the lead single, “World on Fire.” Because everything Firewind touches turns to metal, this clip features all manner of kick-associty, including the band inhabiting a world on fire (duh), a hot blonde chick, and lots of close-ups of Gus G. If you don’t love this, then you have no soul.

“World on Fire” is currently available for download from iTunes. Days of Defiance comes out October 25 on Century Media; you can pre-order CD or vinyl copies here.

[This exclusive has now ended.]

It has been my life’s work to find the heaviest band on the face of the planet, and I believe that I may have found my holy grail: a young metalcore band called DEMOLISHER. Purists will be outraged I’m sure, but if the intro riff to “Decimated” doesn’t make you mosh the instant that you press “play,” you have no soul. Not since I first heard Suffocation, Devourment, and Cephalotripsy have I been so floored by a band — it’s almost comical how fucking heavy this band is, like the groove of 16 meets the absurdly downtuned-breakdowns of Hemdale with a heavy dose of 90′s beatdown hardcore ala Bulldoze or Merauder. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard anything this crushingly sludgy and over the top.

Click to read more…

I’ve never seen Skeletonwitch do a full headlining set. But assuming that they up the intensity even further from their support and festival slots, I’d have to imagine that such a gig would leave many audience members maimed or killed, a la Dethklok.

And I’m all for a good metal maiming. Really. If music can’t fuck your shit up, then what’s it good for?

So. Skeletonwitch have, indeed, announced a full headlining run, with Withered and Landmine Marathon doing support. That is an awesome, awesome bill. The PRP also says that the band have been working on new material, “and tentatively plan to debut some of it during the tour.” So, y’know. You’ve already pretty much bought a ticket in your mind, right?

The only bad news is it’s kind of a short tour. Still, if you can go and you don’t, I’m not sure that we can be friends anymore. Just putting that out there.

Here are dates, again via The PRP:

Click to read more…

Girl metal fans kind of have to work harder to gain credibility. We get scoffed at for trying to be “cool,” and (allegedly) not really liking the music, are accused of being posers who couldn’t name a non-“Ace of Spades” Motorhead song if our lives depended on it, and just plain using metal to get guys. (And I have to interrupt myself with an “Are you freakin’ kidding me?!” I’ve loved metal since I was seven, and my first boyfriend came about thirteen years later.) And the first couple of bands that popped into my head for this piece were all set to be platforms for my incredibly high horse, from whence I would preach about the wonder that is genuine female metal fans. And no, I do not mean Juggalettes.

But then I changed my mind. There’s one other thing us girls have to put up with, and that’s defending our right to like “girly metal.” Hair, glam, power, those bands with guys in full tattoo bodysuits and stupid hair, and some other genres are accused of being not “metal” enough. which is  (again, allegedly) “why girls like them.” Which is true to some extent, I guess; I mean, ask me to name all the members of Ratt and I’ll counter with, “Which incarnation?” and then give you all of them anyway. But I honestly can’t distinguish between Bring Me the Horizon or Bullet for My Valentine. I’ve only heard of the latter because I went to a Maiden show where they opened and got booed (and it was amazing), and the former from stuff on this site. But I have come to accept my taste in “girly metal,” and to put it simply: Fuck you, I can listen to whatever I want. My pick for album of a day is from a band I’ve had a love-hate relationship from the age of seven on.

Bon Jovi. I liked Bon Jovi just because my older cousin did, and she was awesome and I wanted to be just like her.  On the night of my seventh birthday, my parents took me to a Bon Jovi concert.  It was my first concert and I only knew “Living on a Prayer” (which I will argue is the best arena-metal song ever), so for most of the concert, I was pretty damn bored… until they played that very song. I was awed into a stupefied state of wonder. I mean, I had heard the song before, but it was completely different live, with an entire stadium of people screaming along to it. That song is an institution, and it sort of bugs me that it’s now a dumbass frat guy anthem at bars, but hey, at least people are enjoying it ,right? From that night on, I made it my business to own every Bon Jovi album I could find. My family totally supported me, as Bon Jovi has been one of two bands that we can all agree on (the other is Queen). We were pretty devoted for a while.

Click to read more…

Completely stripped down and bare bones, or as reader Ivan Petrov describes it, “how we do math-metal in Russia.” What’s remarkable and even sobering about this video is that it illustrates just how simple Tomas Haake ‘sdrum patterns actually are when you break them down (although those double-bass patters are by no means easy to execute). Lulz at the closing credits!

-VN

Major props to longtime-reader Hetal Bhatt, who has taken steps to ensure that metal fans that don’t live near any of the three Nergal-inspired bone marrow drives taking place in October and November can still help. Hetal actually used to work for Be the Match and explained the situation to us in a very helpful e-mail, so I’m just gonna cut and paste that below:

“By hitting up this direct link to the Be the Match registry, hopeful donors can sign up to have a home typing kit mailed to them. Then, they just take a quick little mouth swab and mail it back to be added to the registry!

“With the promo code BEHEMOTH, Be The Match will be able to track how many people register from the metalsphere, as well as waive any potential costs associated with registering those people. (Usually, it costs about $100 per person.)  That way, the only thing you’ll have to pay is the $5 postage to mail your typing kit back to Be the Match.

“And, of course, if someone goes through the online screening process at the registry link above and is found ineligible to donate (recent surgery, serious illness, etc.), they can always donate money to help Be the Match offset the costs of typing and adding people to this life-saving registry.”

So go here and enter the promo code BEHEMOTH to get started. And again, big ups to Hetal for setting this up.

-AR

Despite all the drama we still maintain that White Wizzard (or, really, just Jon Leon since he’s the only constant) are a good band, and that Over the Top was a quality trad-metal album. Now we get to find out what three of Leon’s ex-bandmates have been up to all this time in the form of Holy Grail (ex-Sorcerer), whose first LP Crisis in Utopia drops October 26th via Prosthetic.

We got our first taste of Holy Grail — who I’d describe as similar to WW but a touch faster and a healthy dollop more guitar-driven — on the Improper Burial EP, and we liked it enough to debut a track from their new album sound unheard. Thankfully “My Last Attack” doesn’t disappoint at all; it’s a fiery storm of modern trad-metal with tons o’ scorching guitars, anchored by near-constant double-bass pounding and, most importantly, a knack for what makes a good classic metal melody. It’s pretty much all you could hope for from a band of this cloth. Stream and download it for free below, and pre-order Crisis in Utopia for only 10 Smackers at Prosthetic’s webstore (PLUS for a limited time only enter discount code SUCKS at checkout to receive 10% off!!) Catch Holy Grail on fall with Blind Guardian this fall.

HOLY GRAIL, “MY LAST ATTACK”

Holy Grail – “My Last Attack”

DOWNLOAD

I’ve written several times before about By Any Means Necessary, who continue to be one my favorite unsigned bands in all of metaldom; luckily, being “unsigned” doesn’t mean what it used to in this day and age of home recording technology and the interwebs. And so almost two years after I heard this outfit’s self-titled, self-released three song EP, they’ve gone and recorded a new EP, label or no. It’s called Faith Destroyer, and it’s streaming in its entirety here.

And, hey, guess what? It doesn’t suck! The band hasn’t switched gears and started recording deathcore or whatever’s fashionable just ’cause it might hasten their journey in the spotlight; they’re still playing tasty, set-the-dog-on-fire deathrash in the vein of bands ranging from Dukes-era Exodus to Machine Head to Chimaira. If that sounds appealing — and it really ought to — head over to By Any Means Necessary’s MySpace page to stream the EP. You’ll only be disappointed if you’re a dick.

-AR

These new Death Angel
Songs sure do sound a lot like
Old Death Angel songs.

-AR

Death Angel’s Relentless Retribution is out now on Nuclear Blast.

Thanks to the penis-loving ladies at Reign in Blonde for digging this one up. Because penis jokes never get old, even if we disagree with the commenter.

-VN