By the time Hate Eternal took the stage on a hot Saturday night early this month, I was gonna barf and pass out. My day had been spent at sea, teetering and bobbing aboard an overloaded and hot-rodded pontoon boat. The captain: a winner brah of mine; the craft: a two-tiered party tub with bar, arena-sized bank of speakers, and water slide (!), like something out of Caddyshack if Al Czervik were a Volcom rep. Fun!

And though dude is my super-brah, I dispute his shipboard music policy, which can be described as inescapable dance music at levels meant to blast the clothes off sluts. Add a merciless sun, the actual sluts, and drugs? Bam, you’re woozy as fuck.

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Whether they’re shooting themselves in the feet (literally) or fending off sandwich rape from a giant mutant racoon, there is always something interesting going on in the world of Weedeater. And that fact alone might be enough to compel you to go see the band on their upcoming American headlining tour*. But Weedeater are sweetening the deal to further compel you to a show! Not just by playing awesome stoner metal — that’s a given — but by bringing along Saviours, Bison B.C.**, and Fight Amp, too! I’m not like a huge Saviours fan or anything, but Bison and Fight Amp both rule, especially live.

So hide your joint well — you know those bouncers will be extra-on-the-lookout when the band is called “Weedeater” and the poster has pot leaves on it — and get your butt to one of these shows. Dates after the jump!

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As I peel the skin off my back while I endure the summer of scenic Nebraska, metal as a whole has dropped a ton of new releases in my lap. Yes, this was a great excuse to stay in the air conditioning for a day to do my column this week, but with new releases from Hail!Hornet, Ringworm, City Of Ships and Toxic Holocaust, sitting at a laptop in the summer was a double win. Check out my anger-inducing opinions below.

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I remember reading an interview with Howard Jones around the time The End of Heartache came out in which he said something to the effect of, “You could play Slayer songs on acoustic guitars and they would still sound good.” His point being, of course, that a good song will always sound like a good song, period.

And the below video, of a couple of dudes doing an instrumental acoustic cover of Kvelertak’s “Blodtorst,” certainly bolsters Jones’ assertion. It would probably never even occur to me to want to hear an acoustic version of Kvelertak, because I think of them as a loud, obnoxious party band (I mean that as a compliment, by the way). But this works pretty well! And apparently, the band digs it, too.

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

We may have gotten a bunch of reader e-mails about the new Fleshgod Apocalypse video, but you know how many we got about the new Immolation video, for the title track from last year’s A Glorious Epoch? None. Zero. Zip. Zilch.

Again, I’m not taking issue with Fleshgod Apocalypse, who I think are great, but… c’mon, folks! IT’S IMMOLATION!!! Show some respect. Not only does this song absolutely CRUSH, but director Tommy Jones did a nice job with the clip, even if it isn’t really anything you haven’t seen before.

A Glorious Epoch is out now on Nuclear Blast. Hey, that’s the same label that’s putting out the new Fleshgod Apocalypse album!

-AR

I didn’t quite realize how popular Fleshgod Apocalypse have already become until we were flooded with e-mails regarding the band’s new video, “Violation,” last night. Not that I’m totally taken aback by out readership’s passion for these Italian stallions or anything — not only is the Salvatore Perrone-helmed clip really good, but the song slays, too. Definitely makes me excited to hear the rest of the group’s new album, Agony, which comes out August 9 on Nuclear Blast.

And do not forget!!!  Fleshgod Apocalypse will be on the MetalSucks-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour, along with The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Dying Fetus, Six Feet Under, Oceano, As Blood Runs Black, Powerglove, and Within the Ruins. Get dates here.

-AR

Props to Metal Injection for unearthing this forty-five minute interview with Ben Weinman (#13 on our list of The Top Modern Metal Guitarists), which was conducted prior to the release of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s most recent album, Option Paralysis. Not only is Weinman is a great guitar player, and not only is Weinman a great songwriter, but he’s been in the business for more than a decade — no small achievement in this day and age — and he manages DEP, as well as being their driving creative force. (He’s also the sole remaining original member of the band.)

What’s great about long-form interviews like this is that it gives the subject a chance to get really, really in-depth. Weinman is open and honest here, and anyone who wants to make their living from metal — whether a DEP fan or not — should check this out. I’m only partway through, but it’s pretty terrific.

-AR

Even if I haven’t exactly been thrilled with Slash’s post-Guns N’ Roses output, I never thought his guitar playing got bad; listening to No More Tears over the weekend, I was struck (again) by the fact that Zakk Wylde’s playing has become a parody of itself, but Slash still seems to have an endless arsenal of killer guitar solos left in him. If the dude could just get Izzy Stradlin to write him some decent songs, I have little doubt that the man would be able to turn me back into a fanboy faster than you can say “Saul Hudson.”

Case in point: “Kick it Up a Notch,” a new song Slash has recorded with a couple of cartoon characters. And, no, I don’t mean Axl Rose and Scott Weiland.

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Axl and I saw Devin Townsend perform in NYC this weekend. Needless to say, it ruled. But that’s what I want to talk about today.

As we stood watching Devin, I had a thought. It’s been two full years since Devin Townsend released the first of four albums, Ki, under the Devin Townsend Project moniker (Addicted, the second, would follow six months later). June 21st of this year marked  the conclusion of the four-part DTP suite with the simultaneous releases of Ghost and Deconstruction. So, now that all four albums are out and we’ve got enough distance from Ghost and Deconstruction to hopefully rule out newness/excitement as a voting influence… what’s your favorite DTP album of the four??? Vote below, then sound off in the comments section.

Milla Jovovich has played with Pusicfer. Therefore, it is okay for me to post this image with this article.

I’m not even really clear how many Puscifer albums there have been at this point; I pretty much gave up after 2007′s V is for Vagina. It’s not that I think Puscifer is bad, exactly, so much as the project just doesn’t excite me. It’s hard me to see it as anything but one more obstruction to a new Tool album, or even a new A Perfect Circle release. Of course, that might not be true — Maynard could stay home all day and jerk off, and it might not make a Tool record appear any faster or slower than it already would — but the fact remains that Puscifer is still my least favorite of Maynard’s various projects. And, yes, I’m including his wine.

ANYWAY, in the event you think I’m crazy and are desperate to hear some new Puscification, the fresh-out-of-the-oven track “Man Overboard” is now streaming here. It’s kinda catchy, but it basically re-confirms my minimal interest in Puscifer; in fact, if Maynard wasn’t involved, it’s hard for me to imagine I even would have sat through the entire song.

Puscifer’s new album, Conditions of My Parole, comes out October 18. Meanwhile, it’s been more than five years since the last Tool album, so hopefully there will be a new one sooner rather than later.

-AR

We’re not quite sure what went south between The End Records and Montreal, QC progressive metal weirdos Unexpect, but it seems like these insanely talented Canadians are releasing their new record Fables of the Sleepless Empire themselves, not that self-releasing in this day and age is a bad thing at all. And a band as good as Unexpect is certainly capable.

When it comes to “outside the box” Unexpect are pretty much the textbook definition. The best description I’ve heard of their sound is “circus metal,” but that term seems to belittle the band’s talent and certainly doesn’t speak to their variety. But enough yapping. Check out the music:

Stream the entire album for free at Unexpect’s Bandcamp and purchase it there (digital) or via their official website (physical).

-VN

As part of our coverage of this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival – currently winding its way through North America — we’re bringing you a series of “Rigged” columns in which several of the tour’s musicians take you on piece-by-piece guides of their current live rig setups. Check out what Machine Head’s Phil Demmel had to say about his super-sweet rig last week. Here’s Unearth’s Buz McGrath:

Greetings! Let’s have a look at the rig I’m using on this year’s Mayhem Festival.

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I am old and married to a kindergarten teacher, therefore, I can only go to concerts during the sweltering months of summer.

This is my summer vacation (Part I).

WHO:MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON & NEW YORK DOLLS
WHERE: AT&T Center — San Antonio, Texas
WHEN: June 9, 2011

I can’t say I was too excited to check out this bill. I did give Mötley Crüe a solid review for their 2008 Crüefest that scooted into the now-defunct Verizon Wireless Amphitheater under the scornful eye of a vicious summer storm, despite the fact Buckcherry, Sixx A.M., and Trapt opened up for them. This time around, I can’t say their choice for major support would cause me to sport a woody. I mean, c’mon… Poison? 4srslz?

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That’s right, kids: experimental grind maniacs Meek is Murder are hitting the road today for back-to-back with tours, first with the awesome Fuck the Facts, and then with the equally awesome Tiger Flowers. And to celebrate, the band has handed us a new music video, for the track “Recursions,” off their most recent album, Algorithms. The clip — which marks the directorial debut of drummer Frank Godla — is by dirty, lo-fi, evil, and tongue-in-cheek… in other words, a perfect representation of Meek is Murder’s music.

Check out the clip below; you can also watch a behind-the-scenes video, which discusses both the song and the narrative of the video, here. After the jump, get all upcoming Meek is Murder tour dates, with both Fuck the Facts and Tiger Flowers. And don’t forget that Algorithms is now available for download via both iTunes and Amazon!

Here are those tour dates…

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I feel bad consistently dishing on Queensryche these days because the band’s music has meant so much to me in the past… but it’s that whole thing about your heroes letting you down, ya know? Only plausible conclusion: Chris DeGarmo was my hero all along.

So it is with 100% pure, unadulterated, forlorn love that I say the following: good God, new Queensryche blows, and in case you need any proof just listen to / watch their new video above. At least this time their much-maligned management successfully grasped the concept of how to utilize a music video in 2011 – in other words you don’t have to buy the album just to see the fucking thing – but unfortunately the song is bland, uninspired garbage and the video is your usual ho-hum collage of live clips. Of course I wouldn’t know how this video compares to their last video since I didn’t buy the album, but I did get a press advance of the new album, which is called Dedicated to Chaos and is out now by the way, and honest to god these are actually the opening lyrics from a song called “Hot Spot Junkie:”

The wifi wave, I’m addicted to the wifi wave.
An indispensable satellite tool I abuse. I abuse.
The world wide web and all the pictures on YouTube, there’s no escaping it.
Keeps on crawling under my skin.

Your honor, I rest my case.

-VN

Last week bassists did like a million things wrong and one thing right, but I was optimistic that this week all would be well in Four String Land again.

Oh well.

Apparently pre-dating any of those other bass players’ moves to be poopy, bassist Filip “Heinrich” Hałucha apparently split with Decapitated earlier this month… although I haven’t seen it reported anywhere. (In all fairness, it seems to have happened while I was on vacation; but a Google search didn’t turn up any results, so I’m assuming that this is news which just fell through the cracks.)

Decapitated guitarist/general mastermind Vogg explained to some Polish website the cause of the split; here’s Google’s translation of that account, which doesn’t really read like English but I think is close enough that you should be able to understand the gist of it:

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The commenters at the official BTBAM message board at SMNnews.com make Lambgoat posters look like friendly little teddybears; the volume and ferocity of childlike name-calling, homophobia / racism / <inserthere-ism>, trolling and pointless arguments are unrivaled on the Metalnets, even if their members do have some really entertaining animated .gifs in their sigs.

In other words, take the following rumor with a heaping, giant, overflowing bowlful of salt: BTBAM are rumored to be planning a fall/winter U.S. tour with TesseracT and Animals as Leaders. The only reason I even give this rumor any attention at all instead of dismissing it as a dreamlike BTBAM fanboy wish is that I have it from a good source that BTBAM are indeed taking TesseracT on tour in the U.S. this fall. With that in mind it certainly makes sense that they’d need one more band to fill out the tour bill, preferably as direct support, as I don’t think TesseracT are quite big enough in the U.S. yet for that role.

So, is this tour gonna happen? Can’t say for certain but it’d sure be cool if it does.

-VN

Thanks: Fuzzy Dunlop

So Warbringer have a new album coming out, which means, of course, that it’s time for a tour! And while I feel like I’ve seen Warbringer live approximately eighteen gajillion times (is there any other band that tours as much as these dudes?), support is going to come from Lazarus A.D., who are great live, Landmine Marathon, who are GREAT GREAT GREAT live, and Diamond Plate, who I’ve never seen before but I know are beloved by our own Bob Cock.

So if you love Warbringer, you’re obviously going to this, but even if you don’t, I’d encourage you to check out Lazarus A.D., Landmine Marathon, Landmine Marathon, and Landmine Marathon. Stand near the front, and Grace Perry may even jump into the crowd and knock a few of your teeth out. That lady has force, dude.

Here are tour dates:

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Last week Keith Caputo — now going by the name Keith Mina Caputo — announced his… her? I guess her… status as a transexual who has already begun the process of gender reassignment. Now fan filmed footage of Life of Agony performing with Keith Mina in all her glory has surfaced. Check it out below.

It’s hard not to notice just how not-weird the performance seems, even with Caputo’s new look; I mean, it’s not as though half the singers in metal don’t kinda look like women anyway, and Caputo’s voice and stage presence do not seem to have changed one bit. If I didn’t know what was going on and was just watching this, I’d probably just think “Oh, Keith Caputo has long hair now.”

In any case, I would like to second Vince’s endowment of props to Caputo — the way she’s been handling this situation is incredibly brave.

 -AR

[via Sebastian Bach's favorite website]