You know how sometimes you’re like, “Ugh, fuck it, I hate music, I’ve heard everything and it all sucks,” but then some little band comes out of nowhere and fucking completely blows you away? The latest band to knock my dick in the dirt is a deathcore band called DEFILER, whose debuted song is called “Cryomancer.” No, I’m not sure what that means, either. It’s kind of lulzy to hear such ungodly, brutal vocals come out of Defiler’s singer (who is 17 and looks like he’s maybe 125 lbs soaking wet), but goddamn! In case you think that’s all studio trickery, here’s a video of the vocal tracking — this kid is a fucking beast!!

In all seriousness though, these kids have some serious fucking talent. This song is tight as fuck, and they can more than hold their own with deathcore heavyweights like The Acacia Strain, ABACABB or Emmure. From reading their MySpace and YouTube responses, they seem real nice, and I expect big things from them if they stick with it.

Hit them up on Facebook (or MySpace if you’re a poor person and/or an immigrant) and tell them Sergeant D sent you! In the meantime, you can be like me and rewind the beginning a million times to hear “I WANNA HEAR YOU CRY, BITCH!” over and over again.

-Sergeant D.

Sergeant D. makes people with no sense of humor mad every day at Stuff You Will Hate.

I have been doing a piss poor job keeping up with Twitter recently. So bless The PRP for noting the below tweet from Mr. Devin Townsend:

Obviously that’s not a lot of info to go on, but it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that this time next week, we’ll have some quality live recordings of Heavy Devy, and those recordings will be free.

Y’know. Just in case you doubted that Devin is the coolest d00d ev-ar.

More info as we get it…

-AR

When metalgf and I first started dating she famously confused “prog metal” with “Prague metal” because she’d only ever heard me say it aloud. Despite this still-hilarious gaffe we’ve never made it to Prague, although these days she’s able to identify Dream Theater by ear.

Bass player Nodar of Brooklyn metallers Fin’amor surely knows the difference; he recently visited Prague… and windmilled. And windmilled. And windmilled. He windmilled all over the city, outside, inside, in front of national monuments, in restaurants, at bars, and he filmed it all and set the footage to the naturally windmill-worthy music of Amon Amarth. This kind of what I was going for when I posted those pics of myself rocking out to Gojira in Paris… only I don’t have long hair, didn’t use video, and don’t look as cool as this guy. Tough noodies for me, but a pat on the back for this dude; this video rules.

New Yorkers can catch Fin’amor on February 4th at Europa in Brooklyn along with Gwynbleidd, Satevis and Praetorian. Windmilling is highly likely.

-VN

Thanks: Raphael

Congrats to readers Brock Morgan, Sean Prosser, Pablo Gonzalez, and Hunter Shepard, each of whom correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band Medic Vomiting Pus. For their efforts, they each win a copy of Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, the new album from legendary punkers Social Distortion! Congrats, dudes!

This week, we have an extra special prize, courtesy the nice people at Sony Music: a Lamb of God/Splatterhouse prize pack. In case you hadn’t heard, Lamb of God’s “Walk with Me in Hell” appears on the soundtrack for the latest installment of the horror video game, along with music from a bunch of other awesome metal bands, including Mastodon, Goatwhore, The Haunted, Municipal Waste, High on Fire, and Cavalera Conspiracy. Plus, the game is about, like, murder n’ stuff. In other words, it’s the most metal video game ever!!! So here’s what’s in the prize pack, which is also pictured below:

• One (1) copy of the Splatterhouse game (on either PS3 or Xbox 360, your choice)
• One (1) Splatterhouse T-Shirt
• One (1) set of Splatterhouse iPod Speakers
• One (1) Splatterhouse Logo Statue

Pretty sweet, right?

All you gots to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. ALL ENTRIES WITHOUT AN ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Also, please be sure to specify if you want a copy of the game for your Xbox or PS3 should you win. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select a winner and announce his or her name next week.

This week’s logo was suggested by the great logo suggester, David Foust. It’s, really, really hard, but for a prize this kick-ass, it’s worth the extra effort…

-AR

Earlier this month, we told you that we’d be doing the digital release for Meek is Murder’s new, Kurt Ballou-produced album, Algorithms, upon its release on March 22; last week, we finally got to hear an unmastered version of the entire album, and even in this unfinished form, it absolutely wrecked us. What an epic, punishing piece of work… we feel so lucky to be associated with this release.

And now we’re glad to finally be able to share some of it with you, in the form of the below teaser video. It features just a small taste of the semi-title track, “Algorythms,” but we feel confident that it will be enough to get your blood pumping…

Good shit, right? Want some more? Well then don’t forget that you can get a demo version of the MiM tune “Sundowners,” which will appear in its final form on Algorithms, just by downloading 100% free comp, NYC Sucks, Volume 1, which spotlights some of the best bands the New York area has to offer.

Algorithms will be out March 22… more info coming…

Speak of the devil! All Shall Perish were just announced as one of the acts on this year’s Mayhem Fest earlier today, and now they’ve posted the below video, which shows guitarist Ben Orum doing some pre-pro work in the studio. And while the track that plays in said video is unfinished (there’s no bass or vocals), it still gives you a pretty good sense of how at least one of the new ASP songs might sound.

Here’s what Orum told us about the new album when we interviewed him back in August:

“I think we’ve all come to an agreement that we want to have it more in the vein of The Price of Existence – but an updated version of it. With [then-guitarist] Chris Storey in the band, we went into this oddball shred direction that not all of us were really into. We loved the songs, don’t get me wrong, but we’d like to take it back to a heavier place.”

The tune in this video actually sounds to me like it’s a pretty fair compromise of Existence (which is a record I fucking love) and the band’s follow-up, Awaken the Dreamers (which I also really, really like, albeit not as much), but a) that’s not a bad thing and b) obviously, I’ll have to reserve final judgment for hearing the actual album.

In the meantime, check this shit out and see what you think…

-AR

[via The PRP]

A couple of weeks ago, we premiered a new Deicide tune, “Hang in Agony Until You’re Dead;” now Invisible Oranges has another Deicide debut, this time for the track “Into the Darkness You Go,” a.k.a. “What Axl Told His First Wife Before Shutting the Trunk.”

Click to read more…

Until this morning, I’d never heard of Jogger, the not-at-all-metal outfit that features Night Court star John Larroquette’s son, Jonathan Larroquette; and while I do enjoy some moodier electronica (e.g., Amon Tobin), I’m not sure that their music is for me.

But GODDAMN if the group’s video for “Nephicide” isn’t the best music video I’ve seen in what feels like FOR-EV-ER. Directed by Matthew Robinson, the clip probably had one-one-millionth of the budget that Ozzy’s latest did, and yet it shows a million times more ingenuity and wit. This is the kind of music video that makes almost all other music videos look bad, the kind that shows that just a little bit of thought goes a long way. Seriously, this video fucking rules.

Of course, Jogger aren’t the first non-metal band to have great fun at black metal’s expense: y’all saw that one Goldfrapp video last year, right?

-AR

Thanks to both |Tch0rT| and J.X.XIII for the tip!

The line-up for this year’s Mayhem Fest wasn’t s’posedta be announced ’til tomorrow, but Blabbermouth has posted it so I guess it’s go time. There are supposed to be more bands announced — I know of at least one group who are definitely doing this tour and aren’t on this list — but for now, here are the bands playing, and my thoughts on those bands (UPDATED with tour dates):

Click to read more…

Just when it seemed like things had finally cooled down and no ex-members of White Wizzard had engaged in comment wars on MetalSucks in several months, up pops an interesting interview with ex-White Wizzard — and, apparently, ex-Holy Grail — guitarist James J. LaRue.

The interview took place over the weekend on the Mars Attacks Radio podcast. LaRue shares some pretty interesting revelations, among them:

Click to read more…

We’re not entirely sure what the precise definition of impaling aardvark babies is — or that there even is a concrete definition, as is the case with the infamous Taco Riff and the soon-to-be infamous Elephants Marching riff — but we’re 100% certain that Abysmal Dawn are masters of it. Their new album Leveling the Plane of Existence, out February 1st on Relapse, is the latest example of their dense and expansive brand of crushing modern death metal. It most certainly crushes aardvark babies in the most brutal of fashions with giant-sized DM riffs, scorching solos, intricate drumming and searing vocals, with a sense of technicality that serves the greater good rather than being all “hey, look at me!” If you listen closely you might even decipher a few elephants marching riffs here… the sound of elephants stomping all over aardvark babies, perhaps.

Quite simply, this is modern death metal at its absolute best. Stream the entirety of Leveling the Plane of Existence below and pre-order it before it comes out on February 1st. Tell us what you think in the comments.

[this streaming promotion has now ended]

I was just bemoaning the world’s current lack of Rwake last week, and the Metal Gods have already answered my prayers — it seems that 2011 will bring a double dose of Rwawesomeness. To wit:

• The band’s long-out-of-print 2002 sophomore effort, the beyond-wonderfully titled Hell is a Door to the Sun, is getting a reissue from Relapse on March 1. It’s been remastered and has new artwork (old cover, new cover) and new liner notes and all that shit, but, most importantly, it’s been remixed by the great Sanford Parker. One of the remixed tracks, “The Stoner Tree” (How do I grow one of those?), is now streaming here, and if you don’t check it out, you must be a Winds of Plague fan or something, and you should go lay down on a highway. In all sincerity, I generally don’t think that Hell is a Door to the Sun is as good as the band’s two subsequent full-length releases, If You Walk Before You Crawl, You Crawl Before You Die and Voices of Omens, but that just means that it’s still better than 99% of everything else. And this remix sounds really, really great. Go listen now, then pre-order that shit right here.
• As if that wasn’t orgasm-inducing enough, the band has just entered Engine Studios in Chicago to FINALLY get that follow-up to 2007′s Omens done. Parker, who also produced Omens, is once again on-board here, and the album is expected to come out late this summer. I obviously haven’t heard any of it, but if it doesn’t fuck my face off and leave it in a crying heap by the side of the bed, I will be both shocked and disappointed.

And in case you still haven’t had a Rwake-gasm by now, the band is touring, too. Alas, none of the dates come anywhere near me, so I can’t go. But if you can you should, because their live show is great, and also because if you don’t, I won’t love you anymore. Here are said dates:

Click to read more…

The above band pic of Fuck the Facts may have all the verve of a portrait of teenagers who don’t wanna be visiting with grandma on a Sunday, but don’t let that fool you — the only word to describe these Canadian grindsters’ live show is “exhilarating.” The last time I saw the band, vocalist Melanie Mongeon was so preggers that if her water had broken on-stage, I don’t think anyone would have been surprised — and she still screamed her fucking guts out. I can literally think of nothing more metal. And that’s just one member of the band.

So. Hard to believe, but Fuck the Facts are apparently ten years old, and they’re celebrating the big anniversary with a tour, which will include a stop at this year’s Scion Rock Fest. It’s hard for me to imagine that these gigs will be anything short of FUCKING NUTS, especially now that Mongeon is unencumbered by a baby bump. So you miss them at your own peril.

Seriously, don’t miss them, you fucking chump.

Here are dates:

Click to read more…

So yesterday The Big 4 sent out this image…

…which obviously suggested that we’d be getting some Big 4 shows here in the U.S. at last. And, sure enough, soon a Facebook page went live, with the promise of an announcement to come this morning.

Well, the good news is, the announcement has been made, and the bad news is, unless you live in, or are willing and able to travel to, Indio, CA, you ain’t going.

Click to read more…

Remember how 2011 is The Year of the Prog Dork and how Meshuggah hinted at the possibility of a new album in a recent live webcast? Well, my fellow Internet nerd constituents, today’s excitement comes in the form of more information from Meshuggah about their forthcoming 2011 release.

Tomas Haake and Jens Kidman recently sat down with The Deciblog to share their thoughts on what to expect from the follow-up to 2008′s ObZen. Or, rather, Haake shared his thoughts and Kidman just stared at the camera and nodded. But really, let’s not kid ourselves; despite any minor adjustments the band might make in their writing and recording processes this record is still going to sound like Meshuggah. If you think Meshuggah are overrated hacks splooged upon by wannabe musicians then you’re not going to like it, while if you think Meshuggah are masters of a generation then you’re probably gonna love it. As for me… MESHUUUUGAAAAHHHH!!!

-VN

I am in a seriously cranky fucking mood this morning, but I’m sure a new Ozzy video should cheer me right the fuck up. ‘Cause that shit always hit the spot, right?

Oh, wait. I must have been thinking of someone else, ’cause this video chugs monkey cum and asks for more. Actually, I guess it’s totally fitting for the song its attempting to sell: generic, boring, and sure to appeal only to the medically brain dead.

Click to read more…

Another good release day for metal! This week sees the release of the latest from DM titans Ulcerate, as well as the debut solo album debut from the already-legendary Bruce Lamont. Our previews of those releases and others coming out this week after the jump.

Click to read more…

Hey dudes and ladies! After a couple years of sporadic appearances, drunken conversations with various MS staff members, and a lot of babbling about black metal, I’ve finally settled in to do a proper column for this joint. Vince and Axl have given me free reign to write about pretty much whatever I want, poor bastards.

My main drugs of choice are fucked-up black metal, filthy sludge, hopeless doom, occult death metal, and virulent grind/crust/d-beat, with the odd exception here and there, so expect to see a bit more ugly, primitive, hateful music lurking around on MetalSucks from here on out.

Here are a two bands I’ve been digging a LOT lately. If you’re unfamiliar with them, check ‘em out. If you already know and love them, we’ll probably get along great.

Click to read more…

Earlier today I was listening to Sunn O)) on Youtube because I was trying to drown out some people around me who were being loud, and I came across this embarrassing video where some dork talks about how he saw them the other day. Not sure who he is or why he made this video, but he’s probably one of those guys with an azn fetish who lives in Brooklyn or Portland and has an MLS degree (but works as a waiter at some vegan bakery/cafe). In this video, he gushes about Sunn O)) for over ten minutes without taking a break — he got so worked up that I expected him to cum at any second. Cliffs:

Click to read more…

J Mascis
Several Shades Of Why
Label – Sub Pop Records
Release date – March 15, 2011

The album I’m most excited about this year isn’t even a little bit metal, even though it comes from someone who’s made a career out of ear-splitting, squealing guitarwork through amps set to eleven. I’m talking, of course, about Dinosaur Jr. axeman and vocalist J Mascis, who finally delivers his first ever proper solo album in March through good ol’ Sub Pop Records. Whereas his previous non-Dino work has included the plugged-in rock of J Mascis & The Fog, the retro-stoner slog of Witch, and chants to Hindu spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi, Several Shades Of Why is essentially a man and his acoustic guitar.

Comparisons between Mascis and rock-and-roll legend Neil Young have been made ad nauseum due in no small part to the respective similarities in their otherwise unique voices. Still, many of those who point out the commonalities have used Young’s work with Crazy Horse as a reference point. At last, we’ll be able to hear Mascis without the wailing waves of distortion, stripped back and exposed as a singer-songwriter. Will the comparison hold? Pre-release single “Not Enough”–which you can check out right now–seems to suggest so. Below, check out tour dates for Several Shades Of Why.

Listen.

Click to read more…