Yesterday word got out that Tom Morello was in New York to perform for the Occupy Wall Street protestors, and now, of course, there is video of that event, which you can check out below. There isn’t really all that much I can say about this, so I’ll just echo Vince’s words from yesterday: “God bless Tom Morello and the rest of the Ragers for never compromising their ideals.”
More after the jump.
Well, here’s two pieces of news I think you’ll find to be completely bizarre, albeit in very different ways –
The release year is winding down. Aside from new Megadeth and Animals as Leaders records, I think we’re pretty much done with bigtime new albums until 2012.
The #1 record on the Current Hard Music chart last week came from a band whose music it’d be a stretch to call “hard.” Click through to find out who it was. Blessthefall, Misfits and Wayne Static had solid debuts, while a number of last week’s releases jumped off the second week cliff. All that and more, right here:
I’m gonna tell you right now – I don’t usually get all “fan-girl” and nervous talking to people, even those I greatly admire on an artistic level. When I was told I was going to be interviewing Rex Brown, the fact that I was going to be talking to someone who helped mold my musical tastes as a kid didn’t hit me until probably an hour or so beforehand, and that’s when, admittedly, I started to get a bit weak in the knees. I started to remember so vividly hearing Pantera’s “Floods” for the first time on a family road trip to the Midwest, how it chilled me like nothing else ever had, and those days speeding down 95 in my first car blasting Cowboys from Hell. As one of the founding members of Pantera – up until their unfortunate end – he helped open the gates for a great deal of us to the world of metal. With his involvement in Down, as well as Crowbar, that love for many of us was kept alive.
Of course, with his recent departure from Down, some may have been wondering what else, if anything, Rex had next up his sleeves. Thankfully, there’s plenty.
As soon as I answered the phone, one of the first things Rex said to me (with a laugh) was that he’d been “giving interviews all day.” That in itself I thought was a true testament to someone who, even after over two decades working at it, is not looking to give up anytime soon – a fact that’s emphasized by his enthusiastic involvement with his new band Kill Devil Hill. The new project, featuring Vinny Appice (Heaven and Hell, Dio, Black Sabbath) on drums, Mark Zavon (Ratt, 40 Cycle Hum) on guitar and Jason “Dewey” Bragg (Pissing Razors) on vocals, is currently on tour and looking forward to releasing their yet-to-be-named debut album early next year on SPV/Steamhammer Records.
Talking with Rex was not only an experience in that he’s someone I have long admired; it was something getting to speak with someone so excited and hopeful about his current conquest. After over two decades playing music – through the triumphs as well as the hardships – to be as enthusiastic and passionate is not an incredibly common thing. I think that’s something that all of us can not only appreciate, but hopefully aspire to.
Last week‘s most-excellent prize was a vinyl copy of Anthrax’s most-excellent new album Worship Music along with a CD of the same. Holla! Commenter Sean Goff had a great caption that would’ve won had he followed instructions and left an email address… too bad for Sean. Here are our two winners, both of whom did, in fact, follow instructions:
This week we have two DVD copies of the very metal horror film The After Party Massacre to give away, plus a gift certificate to HorrorMerch.com for one grand prize winner. Watch the extremely gory, sexy and most certainly NSFW movie trailer below:
To win, as always, leave a comment with the funniest caption to the photo below. Remember to use a real email address (or post it along with your comment if you’re using FB Connect / Twitter etc).
Holy shit, this is at least the second funniest thing I’ve seen all day. I have no idea where these old interviews are from or exactly what year they were conducted (I mean clearly it’s the early 90s sometime but I don’t know the precise dates or anything), but they are absolutely priceless, and definitely a must-watch. Highlights include:
Seriously, drop what you’re doing and watch this, you will not regret it.
-AR
Major props to Shane Gillis for sending this in!!!
The Inaugural Metal Suckfest is almost here!!!! Twenty bands will DESTROY The Gramercy Theatre on November 4 and 5, PLUS there’s an awesome, five-band pre-party at the venue the night before, making this THE can’t-miss hang of the year.
Tickets are on sale now right here, and you can hit up the fest’s official website for more info on the shows, including the complete line-up. In the meantime, we’re counting down to this weekend of chaos and debauchery by speaking to one member from each band on the bill. We continue today with legendary guitarist Rick Jimenez of This is Hell, whose new album, Black Mass, was released this week on Rise Records.
Read our chat after the jump. And don’t forget to check back in the coming days and weeks for interviews with more of the musicians participating in this awesome event!!!
… so we put a Bandcamp on your Facebook, so you can Bandcamp while you Facebook!
About fucking time. Perhaps inspired by the recent Spotify/Facebook integration and the half-a-dozen or so Facebook apps for bands, Bandcamp has finally released a Facebook Bandcamp app that allows bands to add a Bandcamp tab with embeds from their Bandcamp page directly into their Facebook profile.
Bandcamp is the best platform currently available to bands for streaming and selling digital music and Facebook is the best social networking tool, so a union of the two makes perfect sense. More and more bands that send us material for review are including Bandcamp links, and I hope even more start to hop on the Bandcamp bandwagon now that Facebook integration is possible. Bandcamp is where it’s at. My mind is blown every time a band sends us a MySpace link.
-VN
Thanks: Matt Cooper
Iceland’s Mínus made one of the century’s first mega-classics, the brain-rattling Jesus Christ Bobby album. But rather than further explore their singular metal-hardcore-noise thing, Mínus returned with a really entry-level hard rock album in 2004. That was a bummer — they seemed like loud music’s Michael Jordan clumsily starting from near-scratch in a new sport — but hey, they’re from Iceland, where shit doesn’t stay uninteresting for long.
So it was no shock that 2007′s The Great Northern Whalekill was weirder and cooler, like a ice-blasted Monster Magnet or less/more druggy Tomahawk. Around this time, fans like me might’ve gotten re-excited by the sense that Mínus was kinda making their way somewhere — if not back across the sphincter-tightening minefield of Bobby, than at least to somewhere off in the horizon that’s just as rad, like Cave In and Faith No More did.
Good news is that we might arrive at that awesome place this very year, as Mínus promises a 2011 release (“before Christmas”) for their fourth album, KOL. Above is a live clip of KOL‘s “Cradlesong.” So, are we there yet?
-ADF
Find Mínus music and stuff here. And definitely crank this jam.
To celebrate this week’s release of Cold Winds on Timeless Days, the awesome sophomore effort from Richard Christy’s Charred Walls of the Damned, we recently launched a contest in which we challenged readers to Photoshop Christy into unusual and hilarious situations for the chance to win a ton of cool swag. And now the winners have been selected by Richard Christy himself! Here’s a quote from the legendary drummer:
“Thank you so much to all of the fans who submitted entries for the MetalSucks Richard Christy photoshop contest! They all made me laugh and there were some that made me cringe! There was even me as a Teddy Bear and me as the old wrestler The Missing Link which I loved! The one I choose as the winner though is Ben Moreau’s photoshop of me at some sort of outdoor metal party! This one made me laugh the hardest and it has all the elements that I love, a drunk guy doing the metal horns, a pumpkin drawn on my chest and belly, and a cheap beer in my hand! Congrats Ben Moreau and enjoy your prize pack!”
Check out Ben Moreau’s grand-prize-winning entry below; Ben wins a signed Sabian cymbal, a signed Aquarian drumhead, a signed pair of Vater 3A Fatback drumsticks (the size Richard uses), a pair of Custom Vater full color Charred Walls of the Damned debut album art drumsticks, a signed adult diaper (worn — but not used — by Richard at the Big 4 at Yankee Stadium show last month), a copy of Cold Winds On Timeless Days, and a CWOTD “Shield” t-shirt!
After the jump, you can also check out the entries from the runners-up, each of whom will recieve a copy of Cold Winds On Timeless Days, and a CWOTD “Shield” t-shirt. is out NOW on Metal Blade, so make you sure check it out!!! And don’t forget that Richard Christy himself will be selling and signing copies of Cold Winds on Timeless Days at the MetalSucks/Vertebrae 33 booth at New York Comic Con tomorrow, Friday, October 14, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; you can get more details and tickets here. We’ll have tons of cool goodies from Indie Merch and Metal Blade, too, so buy tickets now to make sure you don’t miss out!!!
The moment that best defines Årabrot’s latest comes about 30 seconds into the album’s title track and opener, “Solaranus” (the album is technically called Solar Anus, but close enough). The song starts out with a sole Kylesa-esque riff with occasional drum accents, all fuzzed out and reliably solid. But then the band kicks in, and they follow along, with one noticeable exception: the focal point of the riff has gone from a nice, reliable stoner foundation to an offputting brown note, dipping slightly lower than what the song had set you up to expect. And at that moment, you’re torn: is the riff showing too much of its hand in trying to be revolting, or is it a brilliant subversion of expectations? It depends on your head space when you approach it at first, but then it coalesces. Like all good noise rock, it’s full of a sense of danger that things are going to go full-on off the rails and be impossible to listen to. It’s a struggle between what’s palatable and what’s offensive, and what percentage of one can coexist with the other. In the case of “Solaranus,” it leans harder toward the latter as the song goes on. But the track is the longest on the album, more than twice as long as most of the others. It sets a killer tone for the rest of the record, which seems catchy from there. Solar Anus will be an endurance test for some, but for lovers of abrasion, it’s a personalized Valentine. Granted, that Valentine probably has a picture of a woman shitting on some amputee’s chest, but affection’s affection.
I’m running out of ways to describe how good I think Junius are. I’m also running out of ways to describe their sound. The very first time I read this description I knew that the writer had hit the mark: Junius are The Smiths gone metal.
There’s a new Junius track called “The Universe Without Stars” streaming below, courtesy Guitar World, from their new album Reports From the Threshold of Death (due October 25 through Prosthetic Records, available for pre-order here). It’s the kind of album a lovelorn teenage girl might listen to on repeat whilst lying on her back facing the ceiling for hours on end. It’s also the kind of album a furry metal blogger from Brooklyn might listen to whilst enjoying his morning coffee.
You know what else I’m running out of? Ways to comunicate how aces this band is live. Seriously, you don’t have any idea what you’re in for until you see it, so if you live in a city where they’re playing any time soon I implore you to go do it.
I’m also running out of toilet paper. BRB.
-VN
My heart lept with excitement when I recently visited Sergeant D.’s Stuff You Will Hate and saw the headline “THERE IS A BAND CALLED VERB THE NOUN!” The term “verb the noun band” is one with which any regular MetalSucks reader should already be familiar; my immediate assumption was the the Sarge had discovered a satirical group whose music made fun of such bands. Apparently that was Sergeant D.’s hope, too, as he writes: “Initially I assumed that they were a lulzy parody band whose premise was adopting all the genre’s obvious cliches and exaggerating them to the point of awesomeness.” And their song titles, like “Gary Busey Hairline” and “Throwing Bricks at Your Mouth,” would certainly suggest this to be the band’s goal.
Alas, this is not actually the case. The band Verb the Noun‘s music is, as Mr. D. puts it, “horrible, horrible indie/college rock, like some dreadful band who would play a high school battle of the bands and play a Dinosaur Jr cover.” So that’s majorly disappointing.
pic via
I love Michael Monroe. I think I’ve made that pretty clear. If you want to see Psychotic Frenzy: The Band, you really need to catch his show. I did… twice.
First up was the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. I’d never been there before, and my first thoughts upon entering were, “Oh God, he’s gonna die.” It’s not a huge venue, but Mr. Monroe is a fucking monkey. I’d seen him with Hanoi Rocks, and he jumps, climbs, leaps, kicks, flies, swings, hangs upside down, and basically bounces off everything, and in this space, I really was kind of nervous.
Bu nothing too terrible happened. I mean, he fell off the stage and head-butted a guy… It was kind of priceless seeing his face go from total panic to acceptance to thud. It was even more priceless seeing his wife look like she was about to have a heart attack from off-stage. But Michael Monroe is nothing if not the consummate showman, and he kept on going, head bleeding and all.
Axl Rose arrived at the airport in Rosario, Argentina earlier this week, and a fan caught him on video screaming “Get the fuck away from me, you fucking idiot!” at some guy as he exited the car. The guy’s crime appears to be standing too close to Axl’s door as the vocalist attempts to exit the vehicle, which is, in fact, an offense punishable by death in some countries.
I have no idea who the guy is; Blabbermouth says it’s a “fellow passenger” in Rose’s car, which seems right, ’cause there’s a barricade of cops protecting Rose from the fans, so he can’t just be some random dude. Assuming he is an employee of The Gingered One’s, Rose’s rage seems wholly warranted, because, well, that guy needs to learn his place. Good help is so hard to find these days.
-AR
Earlier this week, drummer Mike Kaabe revealed that he had been fired from Emmure, and made some pretty heinous (and thus far completely unproven) accusations against the band and their manager, including claims of thievery and drug addiction. And if Emmure had just ignored Kaabe, we all probably would have already forgotten about it by now.
So of course Emmure did not ignore Kaabe, and Palmeri responded via a series of tweets this past Tuesday:
Evil Empire might not’ve had the non-stop song-to-song momentum that its self-titled predecessor did but it still packed one hell of a motherfucking punch. “People of the Sun,” “Bulls on Parade,” “Down Rodeo” and “Without a Face” are all classics in the Rage canon, and the comparatively raw production of Evil Empire gets right up in your face and serves to up the impact. The rhythm section of Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford absolutely pulsates on this one; it’s like you’re standing in the room with them and Zach de la Rocha, who’s as fired up and angry as ever. These songs sound just as important now as they did in 1996.
Funny story: I bought Evil Empire when it came out in ’96 but decided to trade it to a friend a couple of years later for Beastie Boys’ License To Ill because I didn’t like it as much as Rage’s first record. That was silly! I should’ve just bought both. But thanks to the modern wonders of Spotify, I now have it back again: stream it here.
God bless Tom Morello and the rest of the Ragers for never compromising their ideals. Morello has flown to New York City on his own dime to seranade the Occupy Wall Street protestors TODAY at 12 noon. Be there, and RAGE IT UP.
-VN
Mornin’! Anyone else have trouble sleeping last night? I sure did for some reason. And then I had that horrible thing happen where I finally did fall asleep, and then my alarm went off, and it was like, “FUCK!” I just wanted to roll over and go back to bed, y’know?
Luckily, the below video of a couple of dudes doing the best Dragonforce cover I could ever possibly imagine for their high school talent show (or some shit) was in my inbox, and that shit put the perk back in me right quick. Do yourself a favor and watch this ASAP… it’ll put hair on your chest.
Yep yep! You’re awake and ready to face the day now, aintcha?
-AR
Thanks: Saul Hudson
Yes, it’s true: our interview with Enslaved’s brilliant bassist/vocalist, Grutle Kjellson, came at the end of a very long and stressful day involving behind-the-curtains technical issues here at MetalSucks, and another devastating loss by Vince’s beloved New York Mets. So, yeah, we may have had a few to loosen up before heading into Kjellson’s dressing room to chat. And, yeah, Vince’s can of Bud Light and Kjellson’s can of Corona were both the same color. So, yep yep, at one point, Vince did indeed pick up Kjellson’s beer and take a swig, and, yes, Kjellson did notice immediately. Lucky for us, he was cool about it.
Also lucky for us: the man is a great goddamn interview, and, it should go without saying, a great goddamn performer — later that night, Enslaved absolutely obliterated us, and their stellar performance more than made up for our otherwise crappy day, the embarrassing imbibing of the wrong drink included.
And so, after the jump, get Kjellson’s thoughts on the band’s latest North American headlining tour, their recent collaboration with Scion A/V, plans for their next album, the upcoming celebration party for their twentieth anniversary (!!!), and more.
As we approach the October 27 air date for the almost-guaranteed-to-be-glorious return of Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV will release more and more promos for the show; following last week’s uproarious trailer for the new season, the latest ad is the below clip, in which The Dynamic Duo “call” the residents of Jersey Shore.
I’ve seen some complaints online that B&B apparently won’t be watching many (if any) music videos anymore, but I find that criticism to be pretty, well, butt-headed. ‘Cause it’s missing the point: the music video “critiques” were really media commentaries, and that’s what made them so brilliant — not just the fact that they were funny as hell. And the truth is, MTV doesn’t air music videos anymore, and while you could have Beavis and Butt-Head sitting in front of their computers watching videos online, all creator Mike Judge would really be offering is a critique of niche media. In other words, for these two to be critiquing music videos in 2011 would really thinking way too small, and to claim otherwise is really to demonstrate how old and out of touch you are.
ANYWAY, enjoy this. October 27 can’t come soon enough.
Get More: Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV Shows, Full Episodes
-AR
[via Metal Insider]
