You know how sometimes you will get completely obsessed with a band, and you’re all “ZOMG CANNOT STOP LISTENING TO THEM!!!”? That is how I am right now with THE ACACIA STRAIN — I probably listen to Wormwood at least three times a day, and when I’m not listening to it, I am singing it in my head.

It’s always awesome to get the chance to see a band when you are at the peak of being into them, so I was very stoked to check out the DEATHCORE ACROSS AMERICA tour when it rolled through my town the other day: I Declare War, Whitechapel, Veil of Maya and The Acacia Strain = YOU’RE FUCKING MOSHING! I also got a chance to chat with TAS bassist Jack Strong [mirin that name, sounds alpha as fuck].

In this post I will share the three reasons why TAS is my favorite band at the moment, as well as a few words from Jack to support my points: 1. Their diverse fanbase 2. They are punk 3. Last but not least, TAS are fucking heavy as fuck.

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So in November, Bret Michaels said that Poison and Motley Crue were gonna do a big summer tour together, despite the fact that Nikki Sixx once said that there was “No way in fucking hell” that Motley “would ever, ever tour with a fucking band like Poison,” ’cause “That would be the death of us… I will not be attached to that kind of fake bullshit.” And then a couple of days later, Tommy Lee shot down the rumor with an enthusiastic “NO!”

Well, now Michaels has gone on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight and announced that Poison and The Crue will, indeed, do a big summer tour together, to celebrate the former band’s 25th anniversary. And just to make extra-sure that Nikki and Tommy now have to eat their words, the tour is going to be called “Glam – A – Gedon 25.”

Now, I’m of two minds about going to this tour:

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We told you last week about our very own SXSW “South By South Death” day party on Friday, March 18th at Headhunters, featuring the very excellent lineup of Kvelertak, Havok, Red Fang, Wormot and Meek is Murder, and also sponsored by Roxwel.com and NARM. MS contributor and Texas native Corey Mitchell has been doing a fine job keeping you abreast of other metal happenings at SXSW 2011.

Now we’ve got one more event to add to the fray. MetalSucks is proud to be sponsoring the official Sumerian Records showcase on Wednesday, March 16th, featuring some of our most favoritest bands: The Faceless, Veil of Maya and Animals as Leaders. The awesome lineup, which will play the Habana Bar backyard, is rounded out by Upon a Burning Body, Struc/tures, and NY up-and-comers Ultrageist. Be there!

Vince Neil was sentenced to all of fifteen days after he was arrested on a DUI charge last year, despite the fact that he has literally killed people under similar circumstances. And while Neil thought his sentence of fifteen days was “harsh,” Las Vegas lawmakers refused to budge, insisting Neil be punished for his wrongdoings despite the fact that he’s a celebrity, and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Oh, wait, actually, scratch that last part: according to Metal Insider, Neil was actually released after only serving ten days. Now he’s under house arrest, learning the error of his ways while enjoying what I imagine are all the luxuries that Motley Crue money can buy.

I’m honestly out of things to say about what a farce this whole thing has become. Obviously, Vince Neil is just never going to learn his lesson, while I am going to have to feel guilty for loving Dr. Feelgood for the rest of my life.

How is it that Neil’s behavior makes me feel worse than it does him? More importantly, why is is that Rob Riggle and the fat lady from Magnolia are more astringent enforcers of Vegas law in make believe than the actual Vegas lawmakers whose job it is to keep dudes like Neil off the streets?

-AR

I’d never heard of the NYC-based band Jolly before, but frequent comparisons to Porcupine Tree piqued my interest. I actually enjoy their music more than I enjoy Porcupine Tree’s; based on “Patterns,” above, I’d say they’re heavier and more proggy. But it’s the concept behind their new album The Audio Guide to Happiness, out today in Europe and on March 8th in the U.S. via InsideOutMusic, that I find most interesting. From their MySpace page:

JOLLY‘s latest release, The Audio Guide to Happiness (Part 1), takes these concepts to a new level. It is a self-reflective sonic journey scientifically tailored to guide the listener through the strata of his/her own emotional make-up. The listener is subjected to musical mood dynamics and key lyrical triggers while the brain is fed corresponding binaural tones. These tones are carefully and deliberately interwoven within the music to support all appropriate peaks and valleys throughout the experience.

Through extensive research and surveys from over 5,000 subjects, JOLLY has combined the art of musical production with sociological and neurological data, packaging it all into one cohesive system comprised of four phases. The first two phases make up part 1 of The Audio Guide to Happiness.

Sounds pretty cool, right? Check out the above video for a look into some of the actual research the band conducted. I don’t wanna ruin it for you… just watch.

-VN

Last year (and the year before) I got way too busy with this thing called life and missed out on a lot of quality music. I am here to rectify the error of my ways, month by month.

Here are the February 2011 releases that got under my skin, burrowed their way into my brain, made my ears bleed, or simply tickled my unmentionables:

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If I ever saw Grim Kim wearing a tank top that reads “I FUCK FOR SATAN,” I’d probably think it was hilarious. But, then, Grim Kim isn’t seventeen years old.

Seriously, I wonder what it’s like to be Taylor Momsen’s parents, and know that you inarguably did a terrible job raising your child, and that now the best case scenario is that she dies of an overdose by the age of twenty? At least if she’d become a stripper or gone into porn or something she probably would have adopted a stage name and you could deny that you are one of the worst parents ever. But no, Taylor Momsen is all over the mainstream media, alerting everyone to the fact that her folks loved money more than her at every turn.

You can see more pictures (but why would you want to?) at Dlisted, who have used the brilliant headline “And Satan Just Became Celibate.” Thanks to The Deciblog for bringing this to our attention.

-AR

Alright, seriously, I am over it with Andy Rehfeldt. His schtick of turning metal songs into non-metal songs and non-metal songs into metal songs was funny for awhile, but the joke is getting pretty old now. I appreciate how much work must go into making these things, but it’s time for him to find a new gimmick.

For better or worse, though, you guys seem to continue to dig Rehfeldt’s work, as evidenced by the e-mail we received from the reader known as Pahkmycah, which included a link to Rehfeldt’s latest: a Radio Disney version of Bloodbath’s “Eaten.” So I’m gonna post this, and you cats can all enjoy it, while I continue to serve my role as The Last Angry Man.

-AR

Poor Slayer. First they had to recruit Exodus’ Gary Holt to sit in for Jeff Hannenman while the guitarist recovers from surgery on his arm; then they got all the way to Australia, played one gig with Holt… and promptly had to cancel their next show, as part of the Soundwave Festival, because Tom Araya was sent to the hospital for an undisclosed malady. (Although it’s fair to speculate that the front man is once again suffering from the same back issues that took him out of commission last year.)

Holy shit, what is happening to these poor dudes? It’s starting to get to the point where if an Acme safe mysteriously falls from the sky and lands on Kerry King, no one should be surprised. Just watch: Slayer will finally break up due to old age, but Metallica will go on and on and on well into their 80s. Only the good die young I guess.

While we wait to hear if Araya is okay and if Slayer will be able to continue this Australian tour at all, enjoy this first — and possibly last — video of the band performing with Holt. He moves around more on stage in three minutes than Hanneman has in thirty years, so, uh, yeah.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

Speaking of AP debuts that seemingly caused MetalSucks readers to just completely lose their shit and e-mail us messages to the effect of “YO POST THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!!!” en masse: Alt Press is streaming an excerpt of the song “Specular Reflection” from Between the Buried and Me’s new EP, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues.

And before you get sad that they’re not streaming the entire song, be aware that said track’s total running time is nearly eleven-and-a-half minutes, and AP has six-and-a-half of those glorious minutes. Also, Parallax only has three songs, although it’s total running time is roughly thirty minutes. So, really, you’re getting to hear more than 25% of the album with this clip.

Headbang here. The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues comes out April 12 on Metal Blade. And don’t forget that BTBAM will headline the MetalSucks-sponsored Hypersleep Dialogue Trek starting in April, along with Job for a Cowboy, The Ocean, and, on select dates, Cephalic Carnage. It’s gonna be killer. Get dates after the jump.

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As I’m sure you know based on the seemingly endless number of e-mails we’ve received about it in the last 72 hours, AP has debuted The Human Abstract’s new video, for the title track from their upcoming Digital Veil. And while it’s not the most groundbreaking video ever, it almost doesn’t matter, because it will be fans’ first chance to hear another new THA song. And like all the other songs from Veil that have already been released, it’s so good that I have to question the sanity of anyone who claims not to enjoy it. Check it out:

Digital Veil comes out March 8 on eOne. We have FINALLY heard the entire album, and, yes, you should be really, really excited for this release.

-AR

I’ve been meaning to rave to you all about Wino’s new acoustic album Adrift for some time, and this is the perfect excuse. It’s not metal, but it was written and played by metal royalty… not like that should really matter much because it’s excellent in its own right, but whatever gets you to check it out. Adrift is full of heart-felt, bluesy acoustic tunes that ought to grab anyone with any kind of soul at all… and that’s you, right? Check out a few live videos of him performing the songs from Adrift at his website.

Now, onto the topic at hand: Wino and Neurosis’ Scott Kelly embarked on an acoustic tour this month which landed at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on February 12th. MS photographer Mariel Pietrykoski captured the action via her handy-dandy lens; check out the pics after the jump.

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Earlier this month Six Feet Under shed 50% of their line-up, and I cracked wise that they should hire Chimaira’s Rob Arnold as their new guitar player. He’s a known SFU fan (check out the video of him singing “Remains of You” above), and he writes great riffs, so, yeah, I thought he’d be a killer addition to the band’s ranks.

And, hey, guess what? Even though I was just fucking around when I said Arnold should join the band, he has now done just that! Says Six Feet Under vocalist Christ Barnes (who also used to be in some band called Cannibal Corpse):

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The last time Gorguts released an album was in 2001, during my very extended break from metal (which lasted from roughly 1996 through 2003). Much like with those Dying Fetus reissues Relapse is putting out, the band’s recent activity has been an impetus for me to listen to what I’d missed during all those years I was rabidly collecting live Pink Floyd bootlegs (#srsly). And as all of you who are tr00er than me and who came out of the womb listening to metal and never once stopped surely know, shit is mad sick bro. For once, the hype is justified; I was floored when I witnessed them crush Brooklyn last year with Portal and Krallice… must… have… more… immediately. Death metal wins. This is the band whose album tech-death titans Obscura named their own band after, for chrissakes.

Perhaps no death metal record is more anticipated in 2011 than the one Gorguts are working on now, save maybe Morbid Angel’s return. Various Internet chatter over the weekend steered me towards Gorguts’ MySpace page, where the band has posted a pre-production demo of a new song (appropriately titled “New Song (pre-production)” at the bottom of the player). I’m not sure how long this track has been posted so I’m not sure how new it is, but it’s there now, and it rips. There’s also a new material sampler track (called “New Material (sample)”!) with clips from various other pre-pro demos including “Number Three,” which they debuted live last year. Start your Monday off on the right foot and go check these tunes out now. No word yet on when the album will be released or what it will be called.

-VN

Yes, that’s correct: last night, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the Oscar for Best Original Score for their work on The Social Network. That’s not really a surprise — they’ve been winning awards for their score pretty much since the movie came out back in October — but still, I doubt that anyone ever really thought that this dude would some day win an Academy Award:

In any case, mazel tov to Reznor and Ross — their score really is quite brilliant, and they deserve a pat on the back.

You can download The Social Network score or just six bucks here. In case you didn’t see it last night, enjoy video of Reznor and Ross’ acceptance speech after the jump.

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WARNING: non-metal below!!!

One San Francisco Summer day in Los Angeles some eleventy years ago, this guy wandered into Amoeba Music in search of new sounds.

Have you ever been to Amoeba?  This “chain” of record stores (there are two in the Bay area and one in L.A.) seems to defy the impossible — it’s basically an efficiently-run, ginormous warehouse filled with CDs, vinyl, movies and books, expertly organized into careful categories (the L.A. store has a frickin “Black Metal” section, fer chrissakes! Check out the store map)……one could get lost for days in there and come out significantly lighter in the wallet, carrying a CD-filled fanciful tote bag (y’know, the kind that some lovely people seem to love).

At least that’s what it would be like if we didn’t all steal music via the internet.

Obviously such a huge type of store lacks the personality and distinct character of a place like SF’s own magnificent Aquarius Records, but Amoeba manages to offer up a blend of service and product availability that is pretty impressive and frankly hard to beat. Like if Tower Records had ever been cool. Knowledgeable music nerds await your banal questions about Ryoksopp or Hawkwind, Sufjan or Satyricon — chances are someone in the store knows somethin bout whatever it is you wanna know**.

**not a guarantee……the world can be a cruel place

Anyway, on this particular day I was driving my rented convertible (that time around I think it was the limited-edition super-slick sporty ride whose model unfortunately escapes me presently — as opposed to the standard Malibu or Sebring) through the smog, fake tits and hatred that is the city of Lost Angels, and decided to go to the record shoppe for some tunnes.  And when I mentioned that I really dug that new Mars Volta album (De-Loused had come out that same Summer), asking for additional proggy rockin recommendations, some delightful music-mongering twerp led in me in several unexpected directions, one of which was to the lush, dulcet tones of The Fire Theft.

At the time I didn’t know that this was basically Sunny Day Real Estate minus one member, but regardless something about the songs cried of a delicate newness and evolved maturity.  Of course even when he’s screaming Jeremy Enigk’s voice could still put a newborn to sleep, but this time around the band seemed to play right alongside his precious timbre, rising and falling with every ebb and flow (as opposed to Sunny Day often playing against the bloody gorgeous-ness of Enigk’s singing, which yielded a different kind of power in their musical success).

The band only put out one album, which my heart and ears instantly fell in love with.

They’re defunct now, but their music lives on in AllOfOurSpace.

-KW

I mean, talk about a snub, right?!?

ANYWAY, tomorrow afternoon, Vince and I will attend the wedding of one of our oldest friends. A guy I have known since I was two years old. The very dude who was by my side the first time I heard Guns N’ Roses. I don’t think he had any idea at the time that I had just headed down a path from which I would never return. He works for a classy magazine now, and wears a suit and tie to work. I do this, and usually do it in boxers and a stinky shirt with some metal band on it.

I don’t have a point or anything. I’m just feeling reflective right now.

And now that I got that out of my system, here’s the rundown of things we did this week:

• We got a tour update from Valient Thorr’s Valient Himself.
• We spoke to Tommy Rogers from Between the Buried and Me, Oppu Laine and Mikko Kotomäki from Barren Earth, Kenn Nardi from Anacrusis, and Mike Riley and Dom Romeo from Pulling Teeth.
• We checked out new releases from As Blood Runs Black, Capsule, and Crucified Mortals and Nunslaughter.
• We checked out the newest lucky band to sign to leading independent music retailer VICTORY RECORDS.
• We made the mistake of following Vinnie Paul onto his tour bus.
• We helped our friends at the Deciblog defend Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy.
• We listened to the worst dubstep metal bastardization yet.
• We got excited about the new Scar Symmetry album.
• We sent out well wishes to Vince Neil while he’s in prison.
• We read some fan mail.

Okay now I’m gonna go pick up my new suit for tomorrow! WHOO-HOO TO BEIN’ A BIG KID! See you peeps 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’s query was suggested by a reader identifying himself simply as “Andy” –

WHICH MODEL OF GUITAR IS THE MOST METAL?

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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Wed: Las Vegas, The Beatles/The Final Judgement pt. 1
Thur: The Final Judgement pt. 2
Misery index: A billion trillion kazillion
Tyler-o-meter: Jennifer Lopez STMFU

This week, there’s no point to a detailed autopsy of season ten’s most recent 240 minutes of blood-curdling horror. Suffice it to say, it was gruesome to witness the marching band-style bludgeoning of The Beatles catalogue by these spastic wail-bots. It was disappointing that Idol’s fleet of Vegas-bound busses suffered no breakdowns nor attacks from flesh-hungry buzzards. It was mind-boggling that many an Idol hopeful freely admitted to total ignorance of The goddamn motherfucking Beatles. It was nice to have an extra voice of reason in visibly disgusted guest judge Jimmy Iovine and his gang of talent scouts/hat models. It was shocking, in these the final episodes before eliminations are determined by the voting public (shudder), to witness the Riefenstahl-esque theatrics and terminology employed by Idol: Contestants were “singing for their lives” immediately prior to “The Final Judgement.”

It was also disgusting to witness judge Steven Tyler’s overshadowing by Lady Crotchburn Jennifer Lopez and his further slide into Idol protocol of fake-outs and jerk-arounds; as the remaining 61 singers were reduced to 24, viewers were repeatedly treated to judges‘ use of the old “This is so hard to say … [frowns] … We had to make some hard decisions … [sighs] … I’m sorry, but … You’re in! Congratulations!” Good one, guys — especially the 24th time over three hours here in week six. It’s not just stupid, it’s bad TV, the equivalent of Fonzie perishing in flames and being miraculously resurrected on either side of every commercial break. Pretty lame, Milhouse.

So, we’ve entered the endgame where Idol contestants now number only 12 women and 12 men (20 of whom suck) and after six weeks of this brain-bending cack, we metal people have netted three imperatives of varying importance:

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Ever since the dawn of the nuclear age, mankind has been fascinated with The Bomb and its terrifying capabilities. Even before The Manhattan Project bore fruit, countless nuke-themed songs, movies, books, and of course, good ol’ propaganda flooded the American consciousness and captivated our over-reactive imaginations. Some truly masterful books (Level 7, Alas, Babylon, A Canticle for Liebowitz) and truly abominable pulp fiction novels were written, the government cheerfully advised its citizens to build bomb shelters out back and stockpile creamed corn “just in case!” (better an oblivious populace then a nation of protestors, right?), and Bert the talking turtle advised kiddies on the best way to protect themselves during an atomic blast (hide under your desk and cover your head, and everything will be swell!).

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