(click to view video. no embeds allowed.)

And the search for a Mike Portnoy seat-warmer until he inevitably returns to Dream Theater continues with DT TV Episode 2! I’ll admit it… I’m definitely enjoying this documentary, cheesy as it may be. It’s really cool to be able to see how different drummers react to the tests Dream Theater throws at them and to see every auditioning drummer’s strengths and weaknesses. And to hear John Myung’s voice.

DT TV Episode 2 starts off with Derek Roddy, and it’s clear from the get-go that things aren’t going to pan out well for him. The film-makers somewhat unfairly decided not to mix his drum kit properly in the final film mix, intentionally making him sound shitty compared to the tight, clear tones of every other auditioning drummer. They may as well have inserted sad trombone sound effects. But the musical chemistry didn’t appear to be there anyway; Roddy couldn’t immediately grasp the brand new riff the band threw at him with a wonky, multiple meter switcheroo, no easy task, but if you’re gonna be DT’s drummer you gotta be able to hang.

Click to read more…

Despite what Sergeant D thinks, I like Jungle Rot. Standard, groove-laden old-school DM, plenty of bounce, plenty of riffs… wallowing on the verge of obscurity and in the shadow of Cannibal Corpse since their inception in 1994.

So how does a death metal band that’s been around nearly two decades, released 7 studio albums, 5 EPs and 1 DVD go from a bunch of relatively small labels — the biggest of which was Napalm Records — to signing with leading independent record label VICTORY RECORDS in 2011? I have no fucking idea.

The only explanation I can think of is that Victory is doing really well with new-death bands like Wretched and Within the Ruins and thinks they can stuff more of the same down pizza-vomit-shirt-wearing DM kids’ throats. Will they buy it? Hard to say considering Jungle Rot are a bunch of olds that have nothing to do with “scene,” but it certainly could fly. If you’re Jungle Rot, I’d hope that at the very least you’re collecting a sweet advance and that Victory paid 100% of it up front, ’cause good luck collecting on that shit if this record doesn’t recoup.

Jungle Rot’s new album Kill On Command will come out in June… on Victory. After the jump, the music video for “Worst Case Scenario” which premiered on MS in April of 2010.

Click to read more…

As you probably know by now, Jucifer live on the road — literally! A truly mobile unit, the savage sludge metal duo are North American nomads who rest their head nightly in the same RV that gets them from show to show. So I was surprised to learn that Jucifer were crossing the pond for a headlining tour of Europe and Russia, which, unless they plan on hopping a ferry, implies that they’d be leaving their trusty vehicle behind. That’s probably as close to a vacation as Jucifer ever get!

The full list of dates are below, and most are supported by Italian metallers The Orange Man Theory, whose latest record was produced by Today Is The Day figurehead Steve Austin. There are a few festivals in the mix as well, including Wroclaw, Poland’s Asymmetry Fest (with Electric Wizard and the reunited Godflesh) and the Belgian Durbuy Rock Festival (with Korpiklaani and Triptykon). If you’re lucky enough to live close to any of these cities, here’s a super-duper rare opportunity to catch one of the noisiest bands around. Buy some merch from them as well, so they can buy souvenirs and finance a forthcoming re-release of the 1994 cassette-only Nadir EP, re-mastered by Scott Hull.

Now how are they gonna get all those amps overseas? Hmmm…

Click to read more…

No, I don’t mean they’re gonna track down MetalSucks commenters and kill them.

What I do mean is that, according to reader Brandon Mickman, the band’s song “Mjød” appears over the closing credits of the new Norwegian horror film, The Troll Hunter, which recently screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. The flick — the latest in the recent trend of horror mockumentaries which profess to use real footage — takes place in a world where trolls are real and there are these people who, y’know, like, hunt them and stuff.

Sooo… what does this mean? Uh, nothing really. I have no idea if this movie is gonna be any good or not — the fact that there’s an awesome song over the closing credits is no guarantee of its quality. (For every Nightmare on Elm Street 3, which was an awesome slasher flick and had an awesome Dokken song on the soundtrack, there are dozens of Saws, Resident Evils, etc., which have some good bands on their soundtracks but otherwise totally blow goats.) I guess hopefully it might expose some new fans to the sexcellence that is Kvelertak? Who the fuck knows. It’s a slow news day so far so it seemed worth mentioning.

ANYWAY, here’s the trailer for the movie, if you’re interested. The movie gets a U.S. theatrical release on June 10, although you’ll be able to watch it as early as May 6 via Video OnDemand.

And on the off chance you somehow have yet to hear/give yourself over to Kvelertak’s “Mjød,” here’s the video for that song, too. The band’s self-titled debut is out now in Europe via Indie Recordings; here in North America, we have a version with some sweet bonus tracks, courtesy The End Records.

Click to read more…

In a perfect world, image and looks would not matter in the slightest. But until Sammy Hagar’s alien overlords take over and create utopia, we live in a time where those very things seem to be of the utmost importantance. When it comes to music, it really shouldn’t make a difference how a band looks. The key word here is “music” — they’re not working in a visual medium, so why should image be an issue? Unfortunately, the way a group is visually presented is among their defining factors, which is also reflected in their fans. I might be crudely generalizing, but let’s face it, there is some truth in most stereotypes. I like people watching, especially on music-related occasions. I will observe the people and the musicians and find patterns, because that’s interesting to me. While there will always, always be exceptions to the rule, there are certain trends that will also always be present.

The most obvious is hair.

Click to read more…

Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, Terror, Absolution, Antidote, Maximum Penalty, Backtrack, Down To Nothing, No Turning Back, Take Offense and Bottom Out. Every single one of these bands i scheduled to play what is arguably the best damn daylong hardcore event of 2011: the Black N Blue Bowl! The names at the very top of that bill should send hardcore devotees of all ages into violent ecstatic seizures. We’re not likely to see a Gorilla Biscuits reunion last very long and, after a breathtaking Victim In Pain tour and a newly released LP, Agnostic Front are rejuvenated. Sick Of It All’s recent sold-out anniversary gig at Webster Hall–the very venue the Bowl is held at–was epic, and Terror are destined to bring the pain.

May 28, 2011 at New York’s Webster Hall: This is a must-attend event, people!

Click to read more…

We’re back! And congrats to reader Mike Tyrrell, who correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band Xeöhl. Mike wins a whopping TEN CDs from the MetalSucks Mansion Archives! GO MIKE!

This week we have an extra-special-super-duper prize for you: two copies of the totally awesome MetalSucks Fan Pack, which is nowavailable exclusively at all f.y.e. stores! Not only does this limited edition box full o’ metal come with a CD featuring twenty brootal tunes by twenty brootal bands (including Kvelertak, Trap Them, Believer, Napalm Death, TesseracT, Thomas Giles, Deicide and a bunch more) but it also comes with that HOLY SHIT THAT IS SO KILLER t-shirt you see above, which was designed by our friend Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 (you might also recognize his work from this sexy t-shirt and this Louvre-worthy poster that he did for us). It’s only $9.99 in stores (get the location of your closest f.y.e. here — you can also enter a contest to win this custom guitar!), but if you’re somehow too broke to pay ten bucks, or you don’t live near an f.y.e., well, here’s your chance to win one for free!

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. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select two winners and announce their names next week.

This week’s logo was suggested by reader Brian Kessler… thanks, Brian!

-AR

So, yeah, 4/20 might have been last week, but better late than never — we have an awesome weed-themed contest for you!

Above you see a photo of an awesome, ONE OF A KIND, Silver Surfer-produced, Obscura vaporizer, with a retail value of $600. And we’re just gonna give it away to one lucky winner! Plus, oh yeah, some copies of Obscura’s orgasm-inducingly good new album, Omnivium (out now on Relapse — order one here!), and some sweet Obscura merch, too.

Here’s how you win:

• Anytime between now and June 17 — one week before Obscura kick off their most excellent summer tour with Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend, and Septicflesh — send an e-mail to MetalSucks with “OBSCURA VAPE CONTEST” in the subject line.
• In the e-mail, include a design for a weed smoking device that would be ideal for use in outer space (in keeping with the theme of Obscura’s album art for both Omnivium and Cosmogenesis). How you present that design is entirely up to you — you can just describe it (but be colorful… this is MetalSucks, not your high school science fair), or send in a drawing, a diagram, pictures of a sculpture, or, if you really wanna go for the gold, a photo of an actual working unit.
• OBSCURA THEMSELVES (!!!) WILL JUDGE THE WINNERS, which we’ll announce just before they kick off the aforementioned most excellent tour.
• One grand-prize winner will get the vape (including a soft carrier and all necessary accessories — e.g. a glass blower, tube, etc.), a copy of Omnivium, and an Obscura t-shirt.
• Two runners-up will get a copy of Omnivium and an Obscura t-shirt.
• Unlike so many of our contests, this one is actually open to fans from around the world! In part because the vape actually has European voltage/wiring, which means non-Europeans will have to purchase a converter

And that’s it! We’re really stoked on this contest — remember, this is a one of a kind vaporizer that you cannot get anywhere else – so get crackin’! The more creative your entry, the better your chances of winning. Good luck!

And after the jump, check out more pics of the vaporizer in question, plus get tour dates for that Children of Bodom/Devin Townsend/Obscura/Septicflesh tour!

Click to read more…

Bridge Nine started out 2011 with Mother Of Mercy’s IV: Symptoms Of Existence, a nasty thrashy LP (which we premiered) that set a high bar for both the label and the genre. Fortunately, the imprint shows no signs of shying away from the challenge set for itself. The latest B9 offering for the heavy music community comes from Foundation, an Atlanta-based straight edge combo with a taste for (non-narcotic) speed and weight. When The Smoke Clears is the band’s first full-length for B9, following the essential Hang Your Head on Six Feet Under, which I scored at one of their shows at a community center on Long Island last year. Having lost none of their bite, Foundation virtually foam at the mouth over the course of these ten rabid cuts. But seriously, don’t just take my word for it; listen to the record exclusively below!

Like what you hear? I’ll bet you do! Thankfully, you wont have to wait very long to own this one. When The Smoke Clears drops Tuesday May 3, and you can still pre-order the CD and vinyl (with bonus goodies like posters and stickers) directly from the label.

-GS

I thought it was pretty clear that our “review” of Anthrax’s yet-to-be-released Worship Music was an April Fools’ prank — I mean, I know I give Anthrax a lot of shit, but “Bring the 21st Century Noize?” Seriously? Even I don’t think they’d pull that shit.

But I guess we fooled Metal Injection’s Rob Pasbani, ’cause he asked Anthrax about it when he interviewed them on the Black Carpet at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards last week. And I guess they didn’t think it was funny. Actually, Frankie Bello seems to have a pretty good sense of humor about it, and Scott Ian seems mildly entertained (and I stress the word “mildly”), but Charlie Benante does not seem amused. Rob Caggiano ain’t smiling, either, but he never smiles and I’m not even sure if the band lets him talk, so that’s just par for the course. Joey Belladonna apparently wasn’t even invited to the show or something so who knows what he thought of it.

ANYWAY, here’s the interview, where the band also reveals that Worship Music will FINALLY come out in September. At which point I’ll do a real review, which may amuse the band even less.

You can, and should, check out all of Metal Injection’s interviews from the Black Carpet here — they spoke to anyone and everyone who was there (except Wayne Static ’cause fuck that guy) and got lots of excellent stuff!

-AR

The release week of April 26th doesn’t bring any big-time heavy hitters, but what it lacks in muscle it makes up for in quality and volume: new releases by Krallice, Deafheaven, Explosions in the Sky, Graviton, Primordial, Vomitory and an Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You split, among many others, hit the stores and e-waves today. Vic Vaughn on each and every one of ‘em after the break.

Click to read more…

(click to enlarge… so worth it)

OK, really, last Big Four post, I promise… at least until the inevitable announcement of more U.S. Big Snore dates reignites discussion about whether anyone really gives a shit. But I just couldn’t resist posting this gnarly photo of Jeff Hanneman’s spider-bitten, skin-grafted, surgically repaired right arm as he surprised an audience of 50,000 by joining Slayer for their two-song encore of “South of Heaven” and “Angel of Death.” That pretty much defines brutal.

-VN

Photo Credit:  www.AndrewStuart.me

Within the Ruins’ new video, for the track “Versus” (which we actually premiered here at MetalSucks), was directed by David Brodsky. Which means a lot of thought and care went into its creation, and its a notch or ten above the usual garbage that passes for metal videos these days (Heavy Blog is Heavy, where I first saw the clip, notes that “Surprisingly for this day and age, it’s not a bland warehouse video.”).

It also means that this is the rare instance where I like the video better than I like the song.

I know our own Dave Mustein digs Within the Ruins and I respect his opinion, but… sorry, this band just ain’t for me. I can’t tell them apart from any number of their peers. In fact, I keep getting them confused with Wretched, which isn’t a terrific sign for either band.

ANYWAY, check out the clip and then side with either Mr. Mustein or myself in the comments section below. But really I’m right and you know it.

-AR

Hey, remember “Weather the Storm,” that awesome new single Insomnium recorded with Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne last year to promote the bands’ European tour? Well, it has a video now! And that video is… well, honestly, it’s not all that great. It’s just a live video, and not a very dynamic one at that.

But guess what? Insomnium get a free pass. In fact, Insomnium get a million free passes. As Vince put it, “Insomnium is never a bad idea.” They are always at the awesome top of the awesome awesomeness heap. I think I could learn that they’ve been going around Dutch ovening adorable kittens to death and I’d probably forgive them. They just make life so much better, I’d be like, “Whatever, did you see the way that pussy was looking at them? Fucker had it coming.”

(Side note: there’s apparently a digital single of the song available, too, but I’m not seeing it on iTunes or Amazon, so… maybe it’s just available to Europeans?)

So that was just the best part of your day.

-AR

If I might, I’d like to examine a very specific section from the song “Deadweight,” which appears on Furnace, the new release from Batillus.

The section in question begins at roughly the 4:14 mark, when vocalist Fade Kainer commands us to “FALL ON YOUR KNEES!” with enough force that no one would blame listeners if they did just that. The accompanying riff — one of my favorites on the album — just fucking ROCKS, and Batillus, being a doom band, repeat it several times, and then repeat a slight variation of it several times. But they don’t beat it dead into the ground; there never comes a moment when you’re like, “All right, ENOUGH already!” (This is a problem which, if you have ears you already know, plagues most doom bands.) They avoid this pratfall of their peers in two ways: 1) by just knowing when it’s time to play a different riff (duh), and 2) by making constant changes to the riff so that, even if technically the same notes are getting played over and over again, it really never sounds the same way twice. They change the emphasis of where certain guitar strokes land; at one point I think there’s some palm-muting going on; there’s a moment where it actually feels like, somehow, they make all of time slow down, even if just for a few bars. Batillus are so skilled at creating these variations, in fact, that when they do transition to the next section of the song, you have a moment of “NO! DUDES KEEP GOING!” In other words, they actually leave you wanting more, which, again, is a concept lost on so, so many doom bands.

But despite your protests, that transition will transpire. In the case of “Deadweight,” the next section of the song is a guitar solo that is, well… ”filthy” wouldn’t really do it justice… it’s diseased, is what it is. Putrid and rotting and diseased. In other words, just a great fucking guitar solo.

And these two sections of this one song on Furnace perfectly exemplify why I love this album so much that it made my penis explode. Batillus can write a crushing tune like nobody’s business, but, more than that, they can write a crushing tune that demands you pay attention and listen again and again and again (and with good headphones or quality speakers). Furnace may seem neanderthal in its rage, but it’s incredibly intelligent — and downright introspective — in its execution.

Click to read more…

Michigan’s Winterus play black metal, because, as we all know, the best black metal ever created comes from Michigan. And now they’ve debuted their video for the song “Harmonious” on Metal Injection, and the clip is almost as exciting and innovative as the music. (And, by the way, there is something very, very funny about a black metal band naming a song “Harmonious,” as opposed to whatever’s Latin for “Let’s Burn a Church and Crucify Jesus… Again.”) I mean, don’t watch it if you get motion sickness easily, because it shakes a lot. Because when you think of harmony, you think of extreme tremors.

My favorite part is a shot of the drum riser that seems to have occurred because the cameraman couldn’t find any members of the band to focus on just then. To his credit, though, I guess that means he was actually looking through the viewfinder at the sacrifice of his peripheral vision, so, y’know, bravo for that.

“Harmonius” comes from Winterus’ new album, In Carbon Mysticism, which is out today on Lifeforce.

-AR

UPDATE: A rep for the band has said that this flyer was “an honest mistake on someone’s behalf,” but that “NOTHING about this Musicians Institute flyer was approved by Five Finger Death Punch or their management in any way.” Some people take that to mean the flyer is fake; I interpret it to mean “The flyer was released before its time.” I just think if it was fake, they would call it “fake,” not “an honest mistake.” In any case, read the full statement and decide for yourself at Metal Insider.

The above flyer is apparently a really real thing that Five Finger Death Punch posted at the Hollywood branch of the Musicians Institute earlier. As you can see, it announces that the band is looking for a new bass player, and lists requirements one must meet in order to be that bass player. I guess because joining FFDP is like joining the military? I dunno.

Anyway, some of these requirements are pretty funny. Let’s break them down one by one, shall we?

Click to read more…

Remember when Adam D.’s hair looked like this? Good times.

Times of Graces, the Alive or Just Breathing-era Killswitch Engage reunion that doesn’t play any songs from Alive or Just Breathing, will spend their summer doing support of Underoath. (I’m sure there’s a “Underoath is Not-” joke to be made, but I’m not quite sure what it is. Underoath are Not-Botch? Underoath are Not-Good? I’m open to suggestions.) Other bands on the bill will be Stray from the Path and Letlive. Or, put more simply: I’m not going to this tour.

But you can! No judgments. Okay I might judge you a little but not so much that we can’t still be friends. Jesse Leach can still sing his ass off and Adam D. is still entertaining as hell to watch. I’m just a grumpy old man who wants to hear “Life to Lifeless” more than he wants to hear “Live in Love,” and doesn’t want to hear Underoath, Stray from the Path, or Letlive at all.

But if you’re not like me — and, statistically, a lot of you are not like me — here are dates. Enjoy the show!

Click to read more…

So, yeah, I think I’m officially not excited for Kyuss Lives!, the new Kyuss reunion missing the man who is arguably the single most important member of Kyuss. Has anyone seen this band? Are they worth getting stoked for? I literally haven’t heard from a single European reader who thought they were awesome, which I take as a bad sign. But who knows? Maybe we just need more European readers.

In any case, Kyuss Lives! — they’ve added an exclamation mark I guess, as though that might induce enthusiasm — have announced two U.S. tour dates, presumably with more to follow. The Sword are opening. So it will be like a night of seeing Not Kyuss and Not Black Sabbath. Awesome.

Here are those two dates:

9/23 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
10/8 – Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theater

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

Thanks for waiting patiently for us to announce the winners of our Amon Amarth Viking Beard Contest (as if you had a choice); it’s not easy to find time to look at piddly beards when you’re busy raping and pillaging all day, but Johan has finally selected the winners. But wait! Our booty was so bountiful that we ended up with a few extra prizes to give away. Here’s how it’ll break down:

Grand prize winners: (2 total)
1 dude & 1 chick (get all the goods we listed for the contest here)

2nd Place Winners: (2 total)
1 dude and 1 chick (deluxe edition, Metal Blade lanyard/tee) *no Johan beard hair (sorry! he needs some for himself) and no signed drumhead.

5 runners up:
Amon Amarth European poster (photo) and Metal Blade lanyard

Everyone else that entered properly:
MB lanyard

Don’t say Metal Blade never did nothin’ for ya; we’ll have the winners announced very shortly. Meanwhile Amon Amarth kicked off their two-set “Evening With” U.S. headlining tour last week and all reports indicate that asses are being kicked with startling regularity. Check out a clip posted at No Clean Singing from the 4/17 Denver, CO show above and another, along with remaining tour dates, after the jump.

Click to read more…