Reader Dan Arminio sent us an email yesterday with the subject “dillinger+envy on the coast=north korea” which I immediately took to mean that the aforementioned bands would be doing a show in the long-blockaded North Korea. That would be insanely cool, although highly improbable/impossible. Instead, it seems as if two members of funky progressive alt-metallers Envy on the Coast, who have apparently broken up, are teaming up with some member of Dillinger Escape Plan in a new band called North Korea.

Which member of DEP is involved is a mystery; since the members of Envy on the Coast involved are confirmed as their singer and guitarist, that’d leave me to believe the DEP member is either playing bass, drums or 2nd guitar. Check the above rehearsal footage clip of North Korea; that don’t look like Liam Wilson on the bass (though it’s hard to see. where’s the beard???), the drummer isn’t visible at all and there’s no 2nd guitarist… is that Liam Wilson in the right foreground on guitar?

Anyway, the music sounds pretty rad and it’s sure to piss off l33t metalheads who can’t listen to anything that doesn’t have screams, blastbeats and breakdowns.

-VN

According to Metal Undergound, Bret Michaels announced during a Canadian solo gig last night “that in celebration of Poison’s 25th anniversary, the band will be touring with fellow American rockers Motley Crue next year, who will themselves be celebrating their 30th anniversary.” That’s great news, unless you hate fun. Even with Vince Neil being bloated and winded, Tommy Lee devoting the remainder of his career to reenacting the C. Thomas Howell classic Soul Man, Mick Mars having less mobility than a corpse, and Poison being, y’know, Poison, it’s almost impossible for me to imagine this tour being anything less than awesome. Especially if they get another great glam band (by which I mean a band like Cinderella, not a latter-day cock rock wanna-be like Hinder or Saliva), to open. Seriously, just hook the alcohol dispenser up to my veins and let me go see this show. Hell, even if the just turned out to be a train wreck of drama and shit-talking, it would be awesome.

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“Bullying” seems to have become a hot button issue since 18-year old NJ college student Tyler Clementi killed himself earlier this year after his sexual encounter with another man was allegedly streamed online by his roommate and another student. Public outcries like this are always bittersweet; on the one hand it’s a shame it takes a death to bring an issue like this to light (an issue which had shamefully been ignored for way too long), but on the other hand any positive change that can result from such a tragedy can be looked upon as a silver lining.

Homophobia and gay-bashing in the metal community — where a bunch of social outcast have surprisingly low tolerance for others that are different than they are — are as bad as they are anywhere. Exhibit A: the outrageous comments right here on this site.

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Last month The Human Abstract released a forty-second teaser for their new album, Digital Veil; now they’ve released another preview, this one coming in at nearly two-and-a-half minutes. And, at least based on the five completed songs we’ve heard (and the uncompleted ones the band played us when we visited them in the studio this past summer), I think it will give fans a much better sense of the awesomeness that both Vince and myself are confident THA are about to deliver. I mean, I suppose it’s feasible that you could hear the music in the below video and not go “HOLY SHIT THAT SOUNDS SO FUCKING AWESOME!”, but if that were the case, I’d wanna check your pulse, or at least make you go to the doctor to see if you have, like, an inner ear infection or something.

The Human Abstract will release an entire new song, “Faust,” online tomorrow. Digital Veil will be out sometime early next year on Hopeless.

-AR

I can’t think of anything clever to say right now, so I’m just gonna leave to my homies, Ozzy and Forest:

Here’s what we did this week:

• Veil of Maya’s Marc Okubo gave us our first Legacy Tour diary, Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable gave us a lesson in why Californians should have voted to legalize weed, and The Red Chord’s Greg Weeks gave MetalSucks readers a chance to write about the NFL themselves for once.
• We debuted new music by The Secret.
• We spoke to Dredg’s Gavin Hayes, Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson, and Nails’ Todd Jones.
• We checked out new releases by Masters of Reality and Colombian Necktie.
• We kicked off the arguing regarding the best albums of 2010.
• We wondered, “Which is better, death metal or black metal?”
• We also wondered if we should like Mogwai.
• We regretted learning about Gump-core.
• We watched a chick shred some Faceless.
• We tried to find a stage big enough to hold Glenn Danzig’s ego.

Have nice weekend everybody. See ya Monday.

-AR

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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.

This week, inspired by Axl’s current ailment, we asked our writers:

WHAT IS THE BEST METAL TO LISTEN TO WHEN YOU’RE SICK?

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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Image from J. Randall’s blog. I’m assuming he made this; the car model is actually called the “Hako.”

Hey, remember yesterday, when we told you about that free EP that Magrudergrind are giving away in conjunction with Scion? Well Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s J. Randall apparently isn’t too happy about Magrudergrind associating themselves with the corporate entity — or any metal band associating themselves with the corporate entity.

In a recent blog, Randall criticizes Integrity for failing to live up to their name “w/ their recent Scion showcase at the ROXY,” and then takes Magrudergrind to task for working with Scion, too: “Heres a band that was to ‘punk’ to give Relapse a record but is down to float a fuckin’ ‘SCION’ logo on the front of their album cover? WTF?” Randall doesn’t even think Scion is getting anything out the deal:

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As recently reported and subsequently grumbled about by Axl, Krist Novoselic recently reunited with his former Nirvana bandmate Dave Grohl and Nevermind producer Butch Vig to record a song for the upcoming, as-yet-unnamed Foo Fighters album. Some weeks back, I did my own bit of grumbling over Grohl’s claim that the new record would be the band’s “heaviest yet.”

If there’s any speculation that the musically dormant bassist’s contribution might fulfill his former drummer’s prophecy, Novoselic’s documented trip to Hollywood’s Amoeba Records wont help things. Check out his selections — which include records from such hard rock luminaries as Lil’ Wayne and M.I.A.–in the above video. Sheesh.

-GS

Most readers already know that Century Media recording artists TERROR are the best hardcore band since Black Flag (with Hatebreed a close runner-up). What you may not know is that they are also gifted b-boys, whose hip-hop side project NASTY POSSE has been quietly gathering steam. Consisting of TERROR’s Martin Stewart (guitar) and Nick Jett (drums), NASTY POSSE is more than just another novelty project, they’re actually making some serious waves in the hip-hop scene. Their debut EP on Nastymix records actually entered the Billboard R&B singles chart at #36 — not too bad for what started as something to keep them busy during downtime on tour!

In addition to the world premiere of their debut video “GET BUCK” [embedded above], we are proud to present an EXCLUSIVE MIXTAPE from NASTY POSSE, available only here on MetalSucks, FREE for your listening pleasure!

Download THE NASTY POSSE’s exclusive, Metal Sucks-only mixtape here!

Hit up Nasty Posse on Myspace and Twitter, and stay tuned for more WORLD EXCLUSIVES from these up-and-coming MCs — and make sure to pick up a copy of TERROR’s newest full-length KEEPERS OF THE FAITH on Hawthorne, California’s own CENTURY MEDIA.

-Sergeant D.

HOO-RAY! News that isn’t about a band I wish would die!!!

Eyehategod put on one of the most seriously fun shows I went to all year. So I’m glad to see that they’re heading back out on the road starting in late November. I’m not so glad to see that they won’t be coming back east, but dems da breaks, I guess.

If you’ve seen these dudes before, you know good they are live, and if you haven’t, well, for shame. Seriously, get off your ass and go to one of these shows if you can. (I recommend being extra, extra, extra, extra, EXTRA fucked-up for maximum enjoyment. This ain’t straight edge music, ya heard?) Support is gonna come from Phobia, so the gigs should be extra-slimey.

Dates after the jump, courtesy Pure Grain Audio.

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The fine chefs of the heavy metal-themed L.A. burger truck Grill ‘Em All rolled through New York City in October, taking over the kitchens of many fine local restaurants to bring their flavorful goodness to NYCs ravenous heavy metal carnivores. Axl and I had the privilege of indulging in not one, but three different Grill ‘Em All burger specialties (it’s all about sharing!) and their delicious truffle-drizzle fries, and we were suitably impressed; everything was absolutely delicious.

Unfortunately the Grill ‘Em All dudes had to go back to L.A. eventually, and there aren’t any plans that we know of to open an NYC franchise. But yesterday they launched the Grill ‘Em All Truck Ghoul’s School fan club, which gives all metal burger lovers, even those who don’t live in L.A., the chance to be a part of the Grill ‘Em All family. The membership package includes a t-shirt, hat, Grandma’s Mosh Pit BBQ (name chosen by a MetalSucks reader!), a Grill ‘Em All coupon book, a VIP laminate good for a free drink at any visit to the truck, and free music downloads from time to time. That’s a pretty sweet package, and only 100 of them are available… so order yours now.

Check out my interview with Grill ‘Em All Chef Ryan Harkins; it’s a cool look into the mind of a legitimate burger maestro.

-VN

As Oceano’s resident defender here at Tha ‘Sucks, I often have to sit idly and bite my tongue as my fellow writers take frequent potshots at these princes of men. However, I felt compelled to respond after reading Axl’s post this morning about Shane Mehling at The Deciblog, who thinks Earache Records’ Pre-order-the-new-album-you-could-win-a-fucking-iPad contest is “incredibly antithetical to… metal.” Apparently, Mehling has some beef with the beef bringers!

See, to promote their new album, Contagion, they had a contest. What could the winner look forward to? A free cd and shirt? Maybe a signed guitar? Nope, a motherfucking iPad. Now I’m not typing this on a Smith-Corona, nor am I calling my parents on rotary phone, but come on, what in the fuck does a $500 Scarlet Letter of yuppie scum have to do with extreme metal? Why not just let the lucky winner flip through the latest copy of Sky Mall and pick out their favorite bluetooth foot massager?

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I’ve been so caught up in the Unsigned and Unholy thing lately that I’ve left a few signed bands on the table that are well-deserving of the ears of MetalSucks readers. So, without further ado:

• Chickenhawk: I wasn’t expecting much from a band named Chickenhawk, but these guys completely rip. They’ve got the post-hardcore-meets-metal vibe of bands like Converge, Cancer Bats or Kvelertak, so if those names mean anything to do you ought to check them out right quick.
• Primitive Weapons: These Brooklynites just signed to Shinebox Recordings, and they’d actually make a good touring match with Chickenhawk; they’re a little bit noisier and a little less rock/metal-y, but no less talented.
• A Pale Horse Named Death: New band featuring ex-Type O Negative / Life of Agony drummer Sal Abruscato, another Brooklyn boy, collaborating with producer, engineer and musician Matt Brown. The result is a band that has sonic elements of the aforementioned (more so Type O than Life of Agony) but has its own brand of dark melancholy too.

One of the fun parts of seeing what other metal writers have chosen as their favorite releases of 2010 is the “oh yeah!” factor when said writer lists an album you forgot about. Now you might argue that any album that’s not immediately memorable isn’t worthy of inclusion on a year-end list, and you’d be correct to some degree. But there are two factors at play here: 1) 12 months is a long time, and so much shit’s come out since January that parts of 2010 feel like ages ago already, 2) we get bombarded with so much new music on a daily basis that sometimes we just do forget. Sorries!

The latest writer to join the Best of 2010 party is guest blogger The Artist Formerly Known As Dan of No Clean Singing. Dan’s got a really interesting (and good, IMO) list, so without ruining it completely for you I’d like to briefly discuss a few of his picks without divulging their ranking (I’ve alphabetized them here):

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Yeah, that Anders Bjorler, of At The Gates and The Haunted. Could it be that In Flames now has two men named Anders amongst their ranks?

That what the above picture, posted today on In Flames’ Facebook page, would seem to imply, as first reported by the stealthy Heavy Blog is Heavy. A cryptic but not really all that cryptic caption accompanied the photo:

Who’s this guy?

Now, we’re not ones to recklessly speculate… oh who am I kidding, of course we are! You may recall that longtime guitarist and founding member Jesper Stromblad departed In Flames last year to focus on treating his alcohol addiction, and that In Flames are currently in the studio recording a follow-up to 2008′s underwhelming A Sense of Purpose. So while it’s possible that Bjorler was just stopping into the studio to say hi, or just lent a guest solo to one track, it’s a lot more fun to think about the possibility of one legendary Swedish guitar player replacing another.

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So anyone else catch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia last night? I’ll assume a lot of you did. But in case you didn’t — it became the latest program to address America’s Juggalo problem.

What was interesting about the approach, however, was that instead of lampooning Juggalos, it looked at the ways in which Juggalos are persecuted, as the character of Charlie begins to mentor a young high school-aged Juggalo, whose name I believe was “Ricky,” and who was suffering from being bullied from the non-retards at his school. It was really quite touching, and it’s nice to see It’s Always Sunny being so socially conscious.

I haven’t been able to find any video clips of the episode to post, but here are some stills, courtesy the Juggalo site t-j-e.net.

So far today I’ve written about poor Pathology being in a serious bus accident, Attack Attack!, Oceano, and ICP. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, someone send me some good news before I slit my wrists.

-AR

So Oceano recently held a contest to help promote their new album, Contagion, in which the winner got an iPad. And of all the things that Oceano have ever done to offend me — well, really just the one thing, which is make horrible, horrible music — it never even would have occurred to me that this contest prize might be questionable in and of itself.

Yet Shane Mehling at The Deciblog makes this very argument in a recent post:

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It was a little over a year ago that Rosie O’Donnell quit Attack Attack!, but the band has managed to persevere without her. Unfortunately, now guitarist Johnny Franck has quit the band, too. And this being the internet age, Franck wasn’t content to just release a statement, the way most musicians do when they leave a successful band. Instead, he made a Real World-style confessional video in which he explains that “being out on tour really damages my relationship with God” and that he wants to “work on strengthening my relationship with Him.” Whenever I hear a musician say something like that, my mind always goes right to, “Translation: I was partying too much on the road, and my guilt is now manifesting itself as religious fervor,” but since I don’t actually know Attack Attack! or Franck, I admit that that could be total BS. (He also refers to Attack Attack! as “AA,” which I don’t think he should do; surely, I can’t be the only one who will forever associate “AA” with “Alcoholic’s Anonymous.”)

In any case, that’s not even the funniest part of this video. After declaring himself down with G-O-D and making sure that everyone knows that he still loves the dudes in Attack Attack!, that he wasn’t fired from the band, and that he will still be making music on his own*, Franck, for reasons I couldn’t even begin to speculate upon, ends the video with a nearly three-and-a-half minute home movie montage of him and the band frolicking while on tour in Australia… set to the music of John Mayer.

John Mayer? Really, guy? Are you leaving a shitty crabcore band, or did your girlfriend die right before prom? What the fuck is this? What the fuck does this have to do with anything? How the fuck does anyone take this fucking band seriously???

-AR

*I’ve never quite understood the whole “leaving a successful band for God but going to start another band” mentality. Does Franck plan for his new band to never tour? If so, how does he plan for them to achieve any measure of success? And if they are going to tour, then how can be sure that those tours won’t damage his relationship with God? And if he is sure that those tours won’t damage his relationship with God, then presumably it’s because he’s figured out the key to touring without offending God — in which case, why not just stay in the already-successful band of which he is currently a member? Is it as simple as “The other dudes in Attack Attack! won’t stop partying so I need to join a band with a ‘no party’ policy?” The whole thing is baffling to me.

According to reports by SMN and other various metal sites across the web, Pathology, who are currently part of the MetalSucks-sponsored Nile headlining tour (along with Ex Deo, Psycroptic, and Keep of Kalessin), ”have been involved in a serious bus crash.” No further details are available at this time.

This is obviously horrible news… hopefully everyone is okay. We’re sending out good thoughts for the dudes in Pathology.

More info as we get it.

-AR

And the winner of an assload of Metal Blade Records CDs and t-shirts from last week’s contest iiiiiis:

• systemsdown: “True Hawaiian Black metal: Enwaved.”

It just so happens that “Systeemsdown” had the very first entry, but it also happened to be the best (I swear I read other entries farther down the page too).

This week we’re giving away three brand new black metal releases from Montreal’s Sepulchral Productions; varying shades of grimness and black metal might are offered in the industrial force of Borgne’s Entraves de l’Âme, the chilling atmospherics on Forteresse’s Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines, and the raw/ambient plague of Neige et Noirceur’s La Seigneurie des Loups. You know what to do: just come up with the funniest caption to the below photo, and remember to use a real email address (or post it with your comment if you’re using FB Connect)! Thanks to “Viking” for sending it in.