From the “News So Good I Still Can’t Believe it’s True” department: Behemoth played their first show since Nergal was diagnosed with, and subsequently defeated, leukemia last year. And while no one from the MetalSucks staff was there, because none of us live in Poland and what are we, made outta money?, but a Polish reader did e-mail us to say “Nie wierzę, że to nie jest masło!” which I think translates to “IT WAS GREAT!” And the pics and cell phone vids that have emerged suggest that the band returned with full mother-effin’ force.

You can check out said pics over at Metal Injection; I’ve posted some videos for ya below and after the jump.

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[UPDATE, 1:29pm EDT: Metal Insider has posted an MP3! Click here to listen and scroll to the bottom.]

[UPDATE, 1:06pm EDT: Welp, looks like the video's been pulled. Sorry folks.]

If you’re like most sane metalheads you did not like the Metallica / Loud Reed track “The View,” the first song to be released from their forthcoming LuLu collaboration. While I wouldn’t say that Lou Reed’s vocals were the only thing folks didn’t like about “The View” I’d say that they certainly didn’t help the cause. Don’t get me wrong, I love some Velvet Underground stuff but this just… doesn’t work. So what would “The View” sound like without Lou Reed? Internet to the rescue, via Metal Insider:

I can’t see anyone jumping into the ring to say this song totally fucking rules man one way or the other, but taking Reed’s vocals out of the equation certainly takes the edge off. At worst it sounds like a b-side from Death Magnetic and at best it’s a nice little 2-minute dittty about James Hetfield’s desire to be a table.

-VN

The people who make movie trailers are some of the smartest filmmakers in Hollywood, so they figured out a long time ago that using Nine Inch Nails’s oh-so-very cinematic music to sell your action movie is a way smart move, even if Trent Reznor isn’t actually scoring your film (see: 300). And when (ahem) assembling the new teaser for Marvel’s highly anticipated The Avengers, one of those smarties was like “Oh hey, Nine Inch Nails totally have a song about being, like, unified and stuff, and we should use that!” And that smarty was right, because it works, and it makes the movie look that much more awesome… even if there’s another superhero movie coming out next summer which about which I am way more excited.

The Avengers is in theaters May 4, 2012. Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile has been out for, like, over ten years, dummy.

-AR

UPDATE, 12:08 P.M.: The band’s new single, “Carbon-Based Anatomy,” is now avail for free download here!!! Thanks to The PRP for gettin’ the scoop!!!

Ever since we announced Cynic would headline Night 2 of The Metal Suckfest we’ve been seing a bunch of emails and comments wondering just who exactly would be playing bass and second guitar in the band’s live lineup since bassist Robin Zielhorst and guitarist Tymon Kruidenier (both of Dutch fusion metal outfit Exivious) parted ways with Cynic in December 2010. Truth is we didn’t even know ourselves, but we figured Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert would find suitable replacements in time; and, of course, they have.

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Over the long weekend, I seized on the opportunity to snag a copy of Trapped Under Ice’s sophomore effort Big Kiss Goodnight at their New York City release party. The record, stuffed with beefy riffs and instantly memorable hooks, quickly found its way into heavy rotation in my home. But what kind of guy would I be if I didn’t share the love with you all?

Here, then, in all its streaming glory is “Outcast”. One of the darker tracks off the record, the cut has a real classic Madball vibe throughout, both musically and lyrically. I’ll have a lot more to say about this record later this week when my review goes up on the site. But don’t wait until then–check out “Outcast” immediately and be sure to cop Big Kiss Goodnight today on CD or vinyl.

-GS

I was listening to Insomnium’s new album, One for Sorrow, last night when I realized that it would be very easy for the metal community to take this band for granted. I mean, for nearly a decade now, they have released a new album every two, three years tops, like clockwork, and, let’s be real, all of those albums follow the same basic formula. That formula is the formula for EPIC AWESOME EPICNESS, which kinda makes Insomnium like the anti-Linkin Park, but, still, I can see how someone might go, “Oh, another terrific new Insomnium album? Well, terrific, terrific,” and move on.

Do not make that mistake. DO NOT TAKE INSOMNIUM FOR GRANTED.  The world does not have enough fantastic bands making consistently fantastic albums right now for you to do so. Life is short and Insomnium could easily go away tomorrow — we see it happen all the time. And then where will you be? Who will supply the soundtrack for your fantasies of marching off to save the world from a killer asteroid while jousting atop a giant black steed (all in slow motion, if possible)? Seriously: WHERE WILL YOUR LIFE BE WITHOUT INSOMNIUM?!?

So. One for Sorrow comes out on October 18 — that’s one week from today, dummies — on Century, but is now streaming in full right here. You have two choices: listen to it loud or listen to it really, really loud. As I have said before, the only people who don’t love Insomnium are people who have never heard Insomnium. So go listen to Insomnium. Your life will be much better for it.

-AR

Skeletonwitch’s ripping new album Forever Abomination might just be their best yet. I’m not really sure what “best” ever means as all music tastes are subjective — and lord knows MetalSucks readers are most certainly really fucking fickle — but this album is without a doubt my favorite one the band has released yet. To date they’ve published a smattering of single tracks from the album for streaming, so hopefully you’ve gotten a chance to hear a few of those. But whether you’re really digging what you’ve already heard and can’t wait for more or you haven’t gotten around to checking out new Skeletonwitch yet, here’s your chance: Revolver Guitar World is streaming the entire album right now!

Skeletonwitch will embark upon a quick run of Northeast and Midwest tour dates later this month with Kvelertak and Zoroaster, sponsored by MetalSucks. One of those dates is the MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000 Knives CMJ Showcase in New York Fucking City on Friday, October 21st; Zoroaster can’t make the show, but Barn Burner, Turbid North and Battlecross will be there in their stead so it promises to be a helluva time. Also: FREE BEER FROM 6-7pm sponsored by E One Music! Don’t miss out; tickets are on-sale here.

-VN

Thanks: Harley Tallent

Do prog metal bands have a propensity for Noun Preposition Noun band names the way scene bands do for Verb the Noun band names? Someone should really look into that. Are “as” and “of” even prepositions, or are they conjunctions? With a certain big player out of the way (no spoiler!), what will the next season of Breaking Bad be about? Big questions.

Any way you slice it, today is a good day for prog metal fans. Because those of you reading this for Animals as Leaders will click through the jump with your pants already down before even hearing their new track, let’s cover Hammers of Misfortune first in the hopes of gaining them a few new fans; the Bay Area-based prog metal greats have a new track called “The Day the City Died” over at Noisecreep. My personal favorite track from their new album 17th Street is “The Grain,” which you can stream here. “The Grain” is an absolutely captivating song, and truth be told I was a little disappointed upon listening to the full album that the rest of the tracks weren’t as good… but it’s still a really solid listen and “The Day the City Died” is the second best the album has to offer.

Now, new Animals as Leaders:

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Since we revealed the initial lineup of The inaugural Metal Suckfest roughly one month ago there’s been rampant speculation as to who the four final “TBA” bands to be added to the fest would be. Naturally, some of that speculation was correct and some of it wasn’t. But no matter; today is the day when we let the cat out of the bag.

All Pigs Must Die and This is Hell will appear on Friday, November 4th alongside Municipal Waste, while 3 and Last Chance to Reason will open for Cynic on Saturday, November 5th. Thus completes the 20-band lineup! And don’t forget about our official Suckfest “Pre-Game” event on Thursday, November 3rd. So:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (PRE-GAME)
Mayhem
Keep of Kalessin
Hate
Abigail Williams
Woe

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Municipal Waste
God Forbid
Today is the Day
This is Hell
Howl
Black Tusk
Magrudergrind
All Pigs Must Die
Ramming Speed
Prime Evil

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Cynic
Obscura
The Red Chord
3
A Life Once Lost
Scale the Summit
Last Chance to Reason
Fight Amp
Rosetta
Ultrageist

Are you as stoked as we are? Can’t wait. Tickets are on sale now right here. Don’t forget to visit the official Metal Suckfest website for all the information you’ll need.

The NFL lost one of its all-time greats last week as long-time Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis slipped this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible… in other words, he died. Every sports journalist from here to Hoboken immediately began lamenting his passing and glorifying his life in a way completely appropriate for such a luminary figure. His countless accomplishments included hiring the league’s first African-American head coach and being inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame. The only problem with this picture is that most of these journalists kissing Al’s dead ass were the same ones who have mercilessly cracked on him for being a senile old coot who needed to give up the reins a long time ago. Even I had been guilty of the occasional irresponsible tweet, and it occurred to me that so much attention has been paid to blaming Al Davis for the Raider’s post-2002 blues that nobody remembers all of the amazing things Al Davis did for not only the Raiders but for the entire NFL. So in a sense Mr. Davis’ death has been the perfect chance to flip the script and remind everybody who the Raiders (and Al Davis) really are (were).

And after the Raiders wild 25-20 win over the Houston Texans, I am happy to say that the Raiders are who we thought they were, and who they haven’t been for the past nine years or so — the bad guys of the NFL with a team to back it. I mean, think of a league without the Raiders. Isn’t it a dull and dreary place? Only the Cowboys inspire the level of fandom that the Raiders do, so without them you have only the Cowboys and doesn’t that make you want to puke? On a personal note, as a Redskins fan, it’s great to see Jason Campbell smiling. He didn’t do a lot of that around Washington, but he always gave it his all. I really wish we hadn’t traded him! The only thing that would have made the Raiders’ day better would have been a win at home, but now the stage is set for an emotional homecoming as the Raiders take on a struggling Cleveland team next week at O.co. Coliseum.

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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 vocalist Bob Meadows of A Life Once Lost.

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!!!

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Recently I was at a recording studio to help a friend on this dude’s song. We wrote a new part and dude was struggling to sing it, so we adjourned to the smoking area. There, away from studio pressure, the two of us worked on it quietly. It was rough, but just as hope was about to be lost, this hipster lady popped around the corner, said she’d been eavesdropping, and basically took over teaching this dude to sing a simple but rangey part.

It totally worked and later she listed her awesome singing credentials, by which we were impressed. So I was like, “Do you record in this building too?” She giggled druggily at that, explaining that the porn production company she co-owns had offices down the hall. Cordially, she passed us stickers for their website, whose weird content combines banging, food, and food banging. She hung in the doorway just long enough to see our reaction to the stickers, all smiling as our eyebrows went up. Cool chick.

The moral of the story: You just never know what to expect, right? This story perfectly illustrates my approach to Spineshank, a reunited nu-metal band that shrieks a lot and uses lulzy electronics (= a food pornographer…), but whose hooks and riffs are awesome enough to overcome that stuff (…who’s also a pro voice coach). They don’t look like pros, but at least one of them must be! It was true in 2000 and it is true now! Srs if you don’t jam on their new song (above), you might suck at listening to music :)

–ADF

Spineshank currently seeks a label home for Anger Denial Acceptance, their fourth album, for a 2012 release. 

Cold Winds on Timeless Days, the sophomore effort from Richard Christy’s Charred Walls of the Damned, comes out TOMORROW on Metal Blade, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll pick it up. Trust us: you will thank us later.

Tomorrow at 11:59pm EDT is also the deadline for our current Photoshop Richard Christy Contest, in which you can win some cool swag, including signed cymbals and drumheads, and an adult diaper that was worn by Richard himself during the recent Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium. (Seriously. We’re not kidding about that part. Enter before it’s too late!!! You can get all the details on this awesome contest here.)

But wait!!! There’s more! MetalSucks is teaming up with our friend Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 to bring you an AWSOME booth at this weekend’s New York Comic Con! We’ll have tons of cool goodies from Indie Merch and Metal Blade, and — best of all — Mr. Richard Christy himself will be at our booth this Friday, October 14 from 5-7 p.m., selling and signing copies of Cold Winds on Timeless Days!!! The Con starts this Thursday night and runs through Sunday, so buy tickets now to make sure you don’t miss out!!!

-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks

I like Paul Wardingham for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he’s a really good player. But I also like to hold him up as an example of the following: 1) not all solo multi-instrumentalists play “djent,” 2) not all solo multi-instrumentalists just masturbate on their instruments without any regard to actual “songs.” Listen to “Assimilate Regenerate” in the playthrough video below; there’s a discernible verse riff, a discernible chorus riff which repeats, a distinct bridge, etc. Which isn’t to say that a huge chunk of this song isn’t one giant progressive tangent — it is — but even that’s got structure and, in the end, returns to the A/B section that kicked things off.

Wardingham is a beast. I definitely hear the “Scar Symmetry with shred instead of vocals” comparisons, and that’s fine with me.

-VN

[via TNOTB]

If anyone needs any proof that the “New Wave of Thrash Metal” party is over, they should listen to Worlds Torn Asunder. It’s not that the record is offensively bad. Not by a damn sight. It’s just that there’s nothing here we haven’t heard before, at least twenty times, since Reign in Blood dropped in 1986.

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Expire first came to my attention this year with the Suffer The Cycle 7″ for 6131 Records. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one to notice this solid effort, as Bridge Nine has just announced that the Midwest hardcore band will release their debut full-length for the label in 2012. While we wait, B9 isn’t wasting time in merchandising the moment, and already have an Expire t-shirt for sale. I presume it will be available when they hit Europe with labelmates Foundation later this month. (Dates below.)

Still, if I may be permitted to abuse a tired phrase, when one door closes, another opens. 6131 has just announced a new signing of its own: The Beautiful Ones. No word whether or not these guys are big Prince fans, but their 2011 demo–which you can listen to for free, fool–contains no trace of Paisley Park funk. Fans of Cruel Hand and Trapped Under Ice should take notice, because this is definitely in that wheelhouse. Expect their debut EP in “early 2012″ according to the 6131 blog.

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On August 20th, just two days after the release of their new record Chaos of Forms, Revocation came, they saw and they conquered NYC as part of a quick 3-show run of dates to celebrate the album’s release. Metal Injection was there at The Webster Hall Studio to film four songs from the band’s raging headline set, and the results, as usual, completely capture the moment.

Instead of posting “Dismantle the Dictator,” a great song to be sure but one you’ve heard a million times by now, how about “Across Forests and Fjords,” a galloping, romping deep cut from Existence is Futile that also happens to be instrumental. Not that I’ve got a problem with Dave Davidson’s vocals — I think he’s a great frontman (in addition to being a great guitarist, of course) — but sometimes it’s refreshing when a vocalist lays back and lets the instruments do ALL the talking. “Across Forests and Fjords” would be a great song with or without vocals regardless; check it out, and check out the other three live clips here.

-VN

(“My Ivy League education taught me how to over-analyze the Norwegian church burnings into Oblivion!”)

I’m not a metal isolationist, and I’m all for seeing our favorite genre given exposure in mainstream media outlets; just the other day I praised Pitchfork’s Brandon Stosuy for doing a great job in bringing metal back to the famed indie snob publication, and I’ve said that I think it’s pretty cool that NPR is getting into the metal game. But Sasha Frere-Jones’ recent black metal focus piece in the New Yorker made me want to punch a wall.

I’ve always had a problem with Frere-Jones’ writing; it’s my personal belief that music critics should spend more time writing about the actual MUSIC than the cultural events and historical significance surrounding it. Frere-Jones’ articles generally read like pretentious college history papers that prove made-up theses for the sake of proving made-up theses instead of any kind of analysis of what’s going on inside the notes, what’s being played. But let’s leave that aside for now and take this most recent article at face value; it stinks anyway.

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2007′s Down III: Over the Under was pretty sweet, right? I can’t speak for the masses, but I thought the album found Down sounding as good and as energized as ever after a five-year hiatus following the release of Down II. Five years will be the magic number once again, as according to guitarist Kirk Windstein via Twitter the band is recording a new album (Down IV?) this month:

Kirk followed that up with another tweet three days later saying that recording had already commenced, so it seems like things are moving pretty quickly. New Down record in Spring 2012?

Bassist Rex Brown, however, will not be participating. Following months of speculation and a statement by drummer Jimmy Bower, Rex finally broke his own silence on the situation. From an interview with Metal Maiden:

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Remember back in September, when Vince reported that Cynic –  who are scheduled to headline our inaugural 2-day festival The Metal Suckfest – will be releasing a new EP, Carbon-Based Anatomy, in November?

Well, now there’s a preview of said EP. And, yes, it sounds totally epic and totally awesome. Check it out:

Carbon-Based Anatomy comes out November 11 in Europe and November 15 in North America. Meanwhile, like I was sayin’, Cynic headline The Metal Suckfest on Saturday, November 5. Get tickets here.

-AR

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed us about this.