So, clearly, Mark Hunter wins V.I.P. of the week, and probably the month, and possibly the year for his exploits on Twitter this week. So for the third and final time, I encourage you to follow him and if you have a question, ask it. ‘Cause, holy shit, I dunno if you guys realize how amazing this opportunity is. Do you know how I would have felt if I could have asked Chris Barnes a question back in the day and gotten an honest response pretty much in real time? My fucking head would have exploded. These are truly amazing times in which we live, and I hope more industry folk follow Hunter’s lead and start using social networking platforms for a useful, intelligent dialogue like this one.

Also, while I’m on the topic, check out Chimaira’s new album, The Age of Hell. It’s possibly in Best Buy, definitely on iTunes and Amazon, and certainly on Spotify. And it’s fucking good.

And on that note, here’s some shit we did this week:

• We debuted a new live track by the mighty Terror.
• Dream Theater’s Mike Mangini, Arch Enemy’s Sharlee D’Angelo, and DevilDriver’s Mike Spreitzer all took us through their live rigs.
• GWAR’s Dave Brockie kept us up-to-date on all things NFL, and Eyal Levi from Dååth talked about the value of not wasting time.
• We spoke to Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher, Warbringer’s John Kevill, The Crown’s Marko Tervonen, and the legendary Michael Monroe.
• We checked out the latest releases from Machine Head, Bush, Komondor, and Rotting Out and Homicidal.
• We celebrated the life of the late, great Cliff Burton and bemoaned the horribleness of Loutallica.
• We watched an amazing short documentary about Juggalos.
• We also watched Tom Morello on Real Time with Bill Maher.
• We took Tori Amos out back and beat the shit out of her.
• We applauded Korn’s ongoing innovations in being terrible.

-AR

Isn’t waiting when you’re ready one of the most frustrating things ever? “Hurry up and wait” is a very familiar cliché in the music industry. Well, from years of touring and recording, I can say that it’s one of those clichés that’s based on some truth. When you are so focused and ready to do something that inactivity fills you with anxiety and fucks up your mood, then you can’t take advantage of everything you could be spending that extra energy on. There is enough to do in life that you could fill your time with productive, useful, and engaging things rather than sitting around rotting.

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Unsigned bands continue to kill it! Three of my recent favorites, Skull Fist, Exemption and Caligula’s Horse, are briefly reviewed after the jump.

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So I just tried to listen to this excerpt of the audiobook version of Corey Taylor’s debut as an author, Seven Deadly Sins, but I didn’t make it very far. Not ’cause Taylor’s voice is displeasing or the writing seems especially awful or anything. But ’cause Taylor talks about Cabbage Patch Kids, Fraggle Rock, and Beanie Babies all within the first minute. Holy shit, those are some timely references. I can’t believe that he didn’t also manage to give a shout out to his favorite movie star, Lillian Gish, or the recent discovery of a cure for polio.

Seven Deadly Sins is out now in a variety of formats via someone who publishes books.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

pic via

Speaking about glam metal, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott claimed that Hanoi Rocks were the only band that “pulled it off.” And while Def Leppard is now lumped with glam bands like Poison, and are currently touring with Motley Crue, that doesn’t make his assertion any less true. Hanoi Rocks were originals. That angry, shithead punk mixed with the New York Dolls/Bowie glam sound that Guns N’ Roses did so well would not exist without Hanoi Rocks. “Paradise City” is actually a mix of different Hanoi Rocks riffs, and Andy McCoy, guitarist and co-founder of Hanoi, has claimed it’s just a slowed down version of “Lost in the City.” Their influence ranges far and wide, from Manic Street Preachers to Alice in Chains, and Michael Monroe was one of the original two founding members of the band. He and McCoy were the guitarist/lead singer duo that would’ve outshone even Jagger/Richards… had they got the chance.

In 2007 Hanoi Rocks released Street Poetry, but only two years later, McCoy and Monroe announced that they’d taken the band as far as they could. After playing farewell shows in Finland and Japan, Hanoi Rocks disbanded for good in 2009. It’s a shame that they’re known more for the fact that their drummer, Razzle, infamously died in the car accident where Vince Neil drove headfirst into another vehicle while inebriated, than they are for their music.

But while the band may be no more, Michael Monroe is certainly not done yet. Backed by a stellar group of musicians including Sami Yaffa (ex-Hanoi Rocks), Steve Conte (ex-New York Dolls), Dregen (Backyard Babies), and Karl Rockfist (ex-Steel Prophet and touring drummer for Danzig) ,he’s released Sensory Overdrive under his own name just this year. Michael was nice enough to take a few minutes to talk about what he’s been up to these days. In fact, he was so nice he called me before I was supposed to call him.

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HELL YES. As previously announced, MetalSucks is proud to present the 2011 Carnival is Forever North American tour, Decapitated’s first headlining tour since releasing their mind-blowingly good comeback album, Carnival is Forever, this summer. And while the chance to see the always-incredible Decapitated alone should be enough to get your ass to a show, just to make extra, extra sure that this tour absolutely crushes, the band is brining along fellow death metal luminaries Decrepit Birth, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Rings of Saturn, and The Haarp Machine for the ride.

And the tour starts TONIGHT in Rochester. This bill is unfuckwithable, and there is absolutely no way these shows aren’t gonna be SICK. Check out the complete itinerary after the jump and make sure you don’t miss your chance to go, ’cause you will seriously never forgive yourself if you do miss it.

Now here are those tour dates again:

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Even though this isn’t an official entry into our “Rigged” series, I thought it fit quite nicely so here ya go!

-KW

MetalSucks photographer extraordinaire Miikka Skaffari has done it again! This time he braved the pits of the Regency Center in San Francisco to bring you some totally awesome shots from The North American Khaos Tour, which we are very proudly co-presenting with Full Metal Jackie. Miikka was able to capture some totally killer photos of headliners Arch Enemy along with support acts DevilDriver and Chthonic. (For reasons beyond his control, he wasn’t able to get any pics of Skeletonwitch. We’re as bummed as you are. But we’re sure we’ll be able to get you some awesome SW shots during the band’s upcoming co-headlining tour with Kvelertak, which we are also proudly presenting.)

And don’t forget, there are still four dates left on the tour! They are…

Sept. 30 – Albuquerque, NM – The Sunshine
Oct. 01 – Denver, CO – The Gothic
Oct. 03 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Oct. 04 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues

Definitely check the tour out if you can, ’cause it rips.

And now, enjoy the awesome photos!

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Some day I will visit Japan and I will experience the unlimited fresh sushi, crazy candy, bullet trains and bizarro baseball games that fine country has to offer. Maybe I’ll be able to experience some live music there, too. WTF, Japan, seriously!?

-VN

Thanks: Daniel Davis Snyder

Rotting Out, Street Prowl (6131)
The deafening buzz surrounding this Los Angeles quintet’s latest full-length felt not at all forced. After all, it’s hard not to get excited for an album as solid as it is true to hardcore’s past and present as this. A sort of playfulness and upfront appreciation for bass and, yes, groove differentiate Rotting Out from many of its joyless, ever-posturing peers. The opening title track sets this speedy fever dream of a record in motion, and no force can stop the forward momentum of slashing punk guitars, relentless rhythms, and rapid-fire vocals. Boasting one of the catchier gang vocal choruses of 2011, “Laugh Now, Die Later” challenges listeners to accept them for what they are, black eyes and scars, warts and all. Deserving of a wider audience than it will likely receive, Street Prowl boasts honest lyrics delivered over some of the finest hardcore I’ve heard all year. Cop this glorious shit.

(4.5 out of 5 horns)

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Fuckin’ A right! MetalSucks is proudly teaming up with Guitar World and Hails & Horns to bring you Obscura’s first ever North American headlining tour!!! Earlier this year, the German tech death masters released Omnivium, possibly their strongest album yet, and now they’re coming to your town to kick your ass so hard the scars will be permanent.

And in case that’s not enough for you, they’re bringing out three totally killer bands for support — Abysmal Dawn, Last Chance to Reason (from November 4 through November 25), and Enfold Darkness (from November 28 through December 7). These gigs are gonna be un-fucking-missable, so make sure you get your ass to a show.

Here’s the full tour schedule:

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I had shall we say a moment of clarity about Van Halen this week. It’s nothing bad and nobody’s fault. I love. To me, they score highest in all categories of awesomeness since The Beatles srs. And thusly, I think fans flex on lots of bullcrap. Like, no Michael Anthony? Uh okay. Your teen son in his place? If you say he’s cool, then cool. Shirtless in those white capris brah? Fuckin’ have to trust you on that, I will! And the super secret recording sessions? Fuck it! Like the song says, I’ll wait. Ditto for Aerosmith.

My, like, epiphany isn’t about something they’ve done that freaked me out. There exists no action to be undertaken by Van Halen that could disinterest me in their DLR-inclusive shit. But here I’ll reprise the headline as I explain the wake-up call I received the other day: Holy fuck Van Halen is old as all shit.

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Before we went to see them this past Monday night, Vince and I had already heard that the Foo Fighters were gonna be backing the legendary Roger Waters on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as part of “Pink Floyd Week.” So when the band suddenly broke into a rendition of “In the Flesh?” from The Wall towards the end of their show, we lept to our feet with excitement, ’cause we thought that maybe, just maybe, they were about to bring Mr. Waters himself out on stage to perform.

Alas, no such luck. Luckily, though, the performance they did do with Waters for Fallon is now online, and you can check it out below. Vince asked, “How does Grohl get to perform with every single one of his heroes?” But I suspect he already knew the answer: “Because he is fucking awesome.”

And while we’re on the topic of Grohl and the Foos, I mentioned earlier this week that the band did, indeed, have a very special guest at the show — Grohl’s old Nirvana bandmate, Krist Novoselic, who played the accordian for FF’s “These Days.” You can enjoy some fan-filmed footage of that performance after the jump!

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I’ve always enjoyed hearing demos and unreleased song ideas. It’s fun to hear the riffs and melodies that full songs come from, and it’s especially interesting to learn about how songs you’re already familiar with evolved over time into the forms that you find familiar.

Got-Djent.com tells us that the following three Cloudkicker song ideas come from June 2008, March 2010 and June 2010 respectively. In this context and order it’s also fascinating to witness how Ben Sharp’s songwriting evolved over time from “djent” into “Cloudkicker.” The ending riff of the third clip below should ring a bell for Cloudkicker fans:

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No longer is the MetalSucks live show slate confined to just North America; in case you missed it when we announced it a few weeks back, MetalSucks has decided to show some love towards our friends across the pond by sponsoring the Euroblast festival in Germany! Mnemic, Textures, TesseracT, Vildhjarta, Sybreed, Monuments and Chimp Spanner are just some of the awesome European bands that will play this 2-day, 2-stage festival in Cologne on the 21st and 22nd of October. If you’re anywhere within reasonable airplane or train distance of Cologne you simply can’t afford to miss out.

Watch the brand new trailer below and get excite:

On September 15th we published Part 1 of an epic Rigged piece, in which new Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini embarked on a quest to take MetalSucks readers through every single piece of his massive drumkit. It wasn’t our intention to have to split this Rigged feature up, it’s just that the dude’s got so. much. gear. that we simply didn’t have a choice but to split it up into three! So, without further ado, here’s Part 2:

So that brings me to the cymbal arrangements. The cymbal arrangement is setup where for the most part darker sounding cymbals are on the left side and brighter sounding cymbals are on the right — higher pitch right, lower pitch left. That determines whether or not I play righty or lefty. Let me give you an example: on a song like “Caught in a Web,” the musicians in the band change key signatures from whatever key signature that they’re in to one that’s up a couple of steps. When I go from a lower key signature to a higher key signature, I will often switch from my left side hi-hats (which are lower pitched) to the right side ones (which are higher pitched).

That is the one thing that is going to stick out as being distinctly different from me and everybody, and that includes Mike Portnoy. When it comes to playing Dream Theater songs, I’m not going to play on just one hi-hat. I’m going to be switching hi-hats when the guys change key signatures.

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Last week we offered up a grab bag of metal merch from the MetalSucks Mansion, and I can guarantee that the goodies we’ll provide will not disappoint. Here’s our winner:

• Numbchucks: “On the plus side, they never had trouble parking the van…”

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

It took us a while to get industrial pioneers Ministry in the Decibel Hall of Fame — classic case of the classic lineup hating each other’s classic guts. But enterprising staffer Chris Dick finally convinced the infamous “Book Club” (Paul Barker, Bill Rieflin, Chris Connelly) to sit down together and reminisce upon the bad old days alongside polarizing ringleader Al Jourgensen, and now we’ve got a satisfyingly blunt, insightful and acrimonious history of The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste.

I seem to recall lobbying for The Land of Rape and Honey and/or Psalm 69 when Team dB was debating the apex of Ministry’s long run. Near the end of this HOF, Rieflin wisely notes that Mind is a transitional record between the two. Literally, yes, duh, but he’s underscoring how all over the place it is; and yet, it really does boast some of the most powerful hybrids of Ministry’s “phase B” and “C.” (“A” being the “Everyday Is Halloween” era, which we’ve all tried so hard to forget.) Honestly, though, I feel like this is an outfit that never quite captured a start-to-finish stone-cold classic. They admit as much in the piece, as the Book Club straight up obliterates the record’s penultimate industrial/hip-hop hybrid “Test” (Al’s idea). It’s much harder to fuck with “Thieves,” “So What” and “Burning Inside”—although Al certainly tries with the latter.

The good-times HOF is in the Skeletonwitch issue, obvs, but you tell us: Which Ministry album is at the top of your personal Hall of Fame? (Filth Pig will not get your knuckles smacked in this classroom.)

-AB

Yeah, you could just order Decibel’s November 2011 issue, which also features Alice Cooper, Machine Head, Chimaira, Brutal Truth, and an awesome Anaal Nathrakh flexi disc — but why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss an issue?

Since Mastodon’s new album The Hunter came out earlier this week it seems like a good time to share two very interesting tidbits regarding the album.

First up we’ve got a “remix” of “Curl of the Burl.” Umm… yeah, let’s call it a remix! I can’t say where I obtained this very special track for fear of castration, but man, it’s great. Click to stream:

Mastodon – “Curling Your Burling”

Next up we have a tip from reader “inhumanrampager,” who claims to have discovered striking similarities between the intros of Hunter track “Creature Lives” and the old Steve Miller Band classic “Threshold / Jet Airliner.” Listening to these two intros side by side, I can’t disagree with Mr. Rampager; knowing the Mastodudes love classic rock as they do makes the idea of this being an intentional “tribute” even more likely. Take a listen and see what you think:

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Warbringer is a band that uses elbow grease: Screamer John Kevill and crew work hard, make forceful records, and tour enough to symbolically qualify as vagrants. But with less reliance on modern music marketing — and its shrieking tone, nagging omnipresence, and sweaty odor — how does a no-nonsense act like Warbringer find purchase on the sheer cliff face of success? It helps that their three albums create a Warbringer world, with listener-orienting devices like common track order schemes (think Metallica’s second, third, and fourth albums), common art design (twice with tattoo-able art by Dan Seagrave), and common title phonetics (War, Waking, Worlds). It helps also that Warbringer’s band personality is totally eyeroll-proof, just the shared vibe of five cool metal fans in cool metal t-shirts being cool and metal just like you.

And Kevill exemplified that friendly, frank chillness in a chat with MetalSucks this week — after which we just gabbed about general metal for an equal amount of time — as he discussed new album Worlds Torn Asunder, Warbringer’s first non-traditional producer choice, their new drummer’s attention to the three P’s, and keeping his band totally metal. Trends die, but there’s always an audience for the real. That’s Warbringer.

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