In 2006, Kerrang! celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Metallica’s Master of Puppets by releasing Remastered, a re-recording of the entire album with each song performed by a different band (Machine Head did “Battery,” Trivium did the title track, Mastodon did “Orion,” etc.). I don’t actually remember that release very well, but the only track that remains in my in iTunes library is Chimaira’s cover of “Disposable Heroes,” so, uh, yeah, I guess I didn’t like it very much.

ANYWAY, I mention it because now apparently Metal Hammer is doing more or less the same thing in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of The Black Album, which made many of us feel ready for the retirement home earlier this month. I have no idea if this will be more or less cool than the Remastered thinger; frankly, a lot of the bands on the comp are ones with whom I am not currently familiar (Motorjesus?) or don’t like (Neaera). But Metal Hammer has released samples of three of the tracks, so you want to start passing judgment early.

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The latest edition of Metal Injection’s “Ask the Artist” series — in which various artists are asked one uniform question (See what they did there?) —  poses the query “What are the best and worst stage moves in metal?” to various bands that were on this summer’s two biggest metal tours — Mayhem Fest and Summer Slaughter.

And it’s a great question to ask, because it’s certainly one that seems to come up in metallic circles quite a bit. Just recently, a publicist told me she understood that I didn’t like one of her bands because they played too much “breakdowncore,” and I told her the breakdowncore was silly, sure, but not as silly as they choreographed stage moves they used for each and every song. So it’s interesting to hear the thoughts of the musicians who actually have to be extra-conscientious of stage moves themselves.

Not shocking — a lot of the bands, including Trivium and Fleshgod Apocalypse, poke fun at crabcore and general scene-friendly stage moves. More shocking: so do Oceano.

Check out more of Metal Injection’s “Ask the Artist” videos here.

-AR

I was bored and clicking around on the Internet like you do, when I discovered two things on the Crashdiet site. First of all, I realized what their merch mascot reminds me of. I love you, Crashdiet and your extremely marketable new singer, but, um, you’re sort of ripping off The Casualties.

To be fair, every other punk band has done it too (The Exploited, Bad Religion, etc.,) but to be even fairer, you’re not punk.

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This week’s column does feature a few new releases, but that doesn’t mean this is a good week in metal. Hella’s new album is my personal highlight. Let’s take a look at what’s new this week after the jump.

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A reader named Adam D. — although I’m reasonably certain it’s not the Adam D. — sent us a link to this article from the Edmonton Journal, which focuses on Gabby Riches, a 25 year-old masters student at the University of Alberta who “ is writing her thesis on mosh pits for a degree in recreation and leisure studies.” I had no idea there was such a thing as a degree in recreation and leisure studies, but then, my college hosted a porn film festival every year and there was some dude in one of my lit classes who was getting a degree in Wicca Studies, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

ANYWAY, some of Riches’ work seems to be a little silly — she says that “Circle pits are most common in Europe,” which strikes me as a little huh?, given that I went to three different concerts and saw three different circle pits just last week — but some of it I think is worth your attention… like her thoughts on mosh etiquette:

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God bless Metal Injection’s Rob Pasbani for braving the VMAs on Sunday night; he’s a stronger man than I. Good things come to those who sit through three hours of crap, as Rob and all the other brave souls who watched the VMS got to see two quick Beavis and Butt-Head clips from the upcoming series reboot. One clip shows the guys giggling at an ad for Shake Weights (classic B&B!) and the other is a VMA segment with Nicki Minaj. Watch the former:

Beavis and Butt-Head officially return on October 27th. It really seems like MTV is making a play at an audience that was too young to enjoy B&B’s antics the first time around in addition to the show’s core fans, many of which have matured beyond poop and fart jokes by now… unlike us.

In case you missed it, check out this five-minute bit MTV released in July. Enough pure gold to let us know this reboot isn’t gonna suck.

-VN

You know what’s an awesome way to prepare for the North American Khaos Tour, the super-incredible Arch Enemy/DevilDriver/Skeletonwitch/Chthonic trek we’re co-presenting with Full Metal Jackie? By checking out this stream of Chthonic’s new album, Takasago Army.

Chthonic are the only band on that tour I’m only kinda-sorta familiar with — which is to say, I’ve heard some of their music before, but I’ve never seen them live. But this Takasago Army makes me wanna check them out that much more. It’s kinda like Dimmu Borgir, if Dimmu Borgir has more Asian elements to their music, and hadn’t completely lost the thread. This is some catchy, catchy stuff.

Headbang here, then come back and let us know what you think in the comments section. Takasago Army comes out September 6 on Spinefarm; the North American Khaos Tour starts September 8. Get dates here.

-AR

I’m going to put about as much effort into this introduction as I put into trying to be sensitive to Hinder’s feelings.

We begin today’s cinemetal round-up with “Irresistible Force,” the first new video from Jane’s Addiction since whenever the last time they released a video was. The clip has some stuff going for it — like a lot of mostly-naked beautiful women, and a particularly funny moment, at the :54 second mark, when there’s some not-at-all-subtle vaginal imagery — but for the most part it’s pretty standard stoner stuff. The fact that the song is fairly boring doesn’t help.

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¿¡Q-VO, CULEROS?! Te gustan EL MOSH?! Pienso que sí! Escuchame si te quiero EL MOSH tambien!!!

As you can tell from my terrible Spanish, I’m just a dumb güero who can barely tell a tamale from a taqueria. I might not be the master of foreign languages, but I do know that Latinos always been a big part of metal/punk/hardcore (even though nobody ever talks about it). Not only that, but Latinos might be a driving force in the future of the genre — in fact, I think the next big thing will be middle-class white kids jocking Mexicans!

In this post, I will discuss the past, present and future of Latinos in metal/hardcore/etc. Whether you’re a pinche white person like me or a Latino, tell me if you see things the same as I do. Feel free to tell me I’m an idiot/racist/troll if you want, but I would prefer legitimate discussion since I am genuinely interested in this topic.

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This is how I know I’ve officially become completely desensitized to metal: when I hear something like The Black Dahlia Murder and think to myself, “Gee, that’s actually pretty melodic… maybe these old folks will actually dig it!” Not so. I forget that the only non-metalheads hear is screaming, an instant turn-off. But at least one 80-year old woman thinks The Black Dahlia Murder are the bees knees… almost.

The money quote: “Oh my goodness, well it’s not like Murdoch [Marduk]! It’s similar to them, but not as great as Murdoch. So they have to practice a little bit more. Murdoch’s great, Murdoch’s the best, absolutely.”

Watch the intro then skip to 4:40 for the BDM segment.

-VN

Thanks: Jesse Z.

Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Pristina”

Written by Patton (L); Patton, Gould (M)

Released 1997

Appears on Album Of The Year album

Produced by Roli Mosimann (Swans, Wiseblood), Billy Gould

Guitars by Jon Hudson

Key lyric ”In every dark land/In every flower bed/In every marriage bed/I’ll be with you.”

Single? No.

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How could they—how could they do this?! And to you of all people—

You, who so loyally downloaded each of their album leaks; you, who mobbed them outside their tour bus to plug your band they didn’t want to hear about at 1:45 in the morning; and, of course, you, who left an elitist comment on an MS thread about how KVLT they used to be and how nothing they’ve done recently is worth a damn—What nerve!

Bands change, and as human beings we’re hardwired to resist that. But deep down, in our own girly, paradoxical way, we sort of look for it, too. Ambivalence aside, if you were to investigate the primary reasons as to why the majority of the groups you like head south (not on tour), it would likely come down to the fact that they did actually change things. What you thought wasn’t broken they tried to fix anyway and now you’re left with an annoying buzz and a whole bunch of spare parts.

We go about saying “oh that band ‘sold out’” or “they used to be good, but now they’re just a bunch of pussycats.” But that’s not really all that descriptive. Music nerds love to complain, not explain, and maybe that’s the problem here. In this series we will explore the leading factors in a band’s artistic decline and examine just why it is that your rock gods of yester-year are now the radio slobs you can’t bear to hear.

Without further a do, Part 1!

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Full disclosure: I yearn for the Golden Age of Thrash, when young men in denim battle vests covered in Sodom and Exodus patches roamed o’er the land. While the 1980s are dead and gone, thrash lives. No one is more keyed into the thriving thrash scene than Diamond Plate. Their new album, Generation Why?, complete with audio samples questioning patriotism and authority, shows that Earache still know a winner when they see one.

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Tired of waiting for the new Necrophagist album? Well, so is MetalSucks reader Keith Carlson. Mr. Carlson does weekly comics for Orlandooom.com, and his latest pokes fun at the Chinese Democracy of tech death. Check it out below; it’s some really, really funny shit. You can click on the comic to enlarge it.

Check out more of Keith’s comics here.

-AR

By now, all MetalSucks readers should know who Ben Robson is. But in case you don’t, he’s this very talented kid who won our Nevermore “Create Your Own Conspiracy” contest last year, and has since proven, time and time again, that he deserved the victory.

Now Ben’s one-man band, Robot Zombie Army, has unveiled its debut(ish) album, called the 42 EP, and it’s available for free download – at least, according to Ben, “until my 200 free download credits run out.” So you should hurry up and check that shit out. I know the above album art suggests it’s gonna be some schizo-ree-ree shit like Iwrestledabearonce — which I’d be fine with, although I know many of you would not — but rest assured, it’s really not like that at all. It’s more like Nevermore, except with a greater amount of humor and a lesser amount of drinking problems. I’m especially digging the title track myself.

-AR

Art by Mike Capprotti

HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS. DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?!?!?

I always thought that Jesus was made-up, like Luke Skywalker, or evolution, but after reading this, I am getting my ass to a church to start some serious effing repenting.

The Gazette says that this weekend at a Godsmack show in Dubuque, Iowa, FUCKING DIMEBAG showed up and gave some poor Godsmack fan a lesson in manners by ripping out the motherfucker’s tracheotomy tube. HOLY CRAP THAT IS AWESOME.

Brad Kluesner says he was minding his own business in the front row at the concert. That’s when he says a stranger to him, Darrell Abbott, started bothering him.

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Earlier this month, as part of our sponsorship of this year’s Summer Slaughter tour, we announced that we had two ESP guitars to give away, both signed by all the members of co-headliners The Black Dahlia Murder and Whitechapel. We asked MetalSucks readers the following question: “Which Black Dahlia Murder or Whitechapel song is the anthem for your summer?” Congrats to MS readers Diego Aguilar and Anthony Arellano for providing our favorite answers and netting themselves a sweet guitar in the process. Their answers, after the jump.

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We make fun of Sebastian Bach a lot here on the site, and we’re not about to stop doing that. But it ultimately comes from a place of love (read this) and we certainly never wish anyone physical harm or damage of any kind. So it’s with heavy hearts that we say we sympathize for Baz, who lost his New Jersey home of 21 years and a whole ton of personal belongings to flooding caused by Hurricane Irene this past weekend. Comments Bach, part of a full statement you can read here:

Skid Row master tapes, video and audio, concerts, master tapes from ’Oh Say Can You Scream’, etc. Boxes and boxes of one-of-a-kind Skid Row memorabilia, from the first tour to our last, all stuff I collected on the road that no one else had. I had a library in the basement with every single magazine that had Skid Row on the cover. This library took up a big part of the basement. All of this is lost now.

We will salvage what we can, of course. But how I wish there was a reason to do a box set or something before Hurricane Irene hit. Nobody cared. Now it’s too late.

Oof. Not to mention the damage to the house and other personal property. Our thoughts are with you, duderino, even though Black Veil Brides and Asking Alexandria are your new bands of choice.

More photos of the damage after the jump:

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Insomnium are special, ’cause they’re not a “love ‘em or hate ‘em” type thing — they’re a “love ‘em or never heard ‘em” type thing. No joke: You either already know that Insomnium are FUCKING AWESOME, or you’ve never heard Insomnium before. No one hates this band. I mean, maybe SOMEone SOMEwhere probably hates this band, but that person is probably a Nazi who has no friends and also hates babies, puppies, and sex.

So whether you love Insomnium or you’ve never heard them before, you’re gonna wanna go here and download their new song, “Unsung.” It’s 100% free and 100% killer, so do it do it do it.

Insomnium’s new album, One for Sorrow, comes out October 18 on Century Media. We’ve already heard it, and, yes, it adheres to the Insomnium formula, and yes, that is still the best formula ever written in the history of music, science, or pretty much anything.

-AR

Last week I wrote a little bit about how a lot of modern production techniques I loathe may actually be aesthetic choices; and I tried to keep that in mind as I attempted to listen to Dead Throne, the latest offering from The Devil Wears Prada. If, for example, the band didn’t favor such excessive use of autotune and vocoder, would the songs at least be solid?

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