FEATURING MEMBERS OF GOD FORBID, SKELETONWITCH, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, MUNICIPAL WASTE, TODAY IS THE DAY, LANDMINE MARATHON, AND SHAI HULUD

Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike have graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.

After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

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pic via

As you may be aware, MetalSucks recently invited  musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere to tell us what their favorite albums of 2011 have been. But the always-unique Eugene S. Robinson of Oxbow fame turned in a list of a somewhat different nature. The silver lining is, his list is so great that we opted to run it anyway! And so please enjoy Mr. Robinson’s list of “Top Ten Records for Making Everybody in the Room Uncomfortable…”

10. Sylvia, Pillow Talk – Sure, she started Sugarhill Records, which was on the map for giving birth to what Morrissey (more on him later) would call “pop thuggery” in the form of hip hop, and sure, she just died, but nothing says “douche chills” like her making fuck noises on this record. For like twenty minutes. Complete with baby talk and the lyric, “What I’m teaching you tonight, boy, you never learned in school.” In fact, any song with fuck noises in it gets on this list. Think I’m a prude? Try playing this shit when your mom’s around. Also, why does heavy metal, outside of Black Flag’s Slip It In, have so little simulated sex going on in it?

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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…

Teaser time! It took us almost eight years to earn (and lose, and re-earn, kind of) enough cred to make this happen, but we’re proud to announce the first-ever Decibel Magazine Tour, coming next April to an unflushed toilet near you! And dickish enough to not announce that much more about it! But we do have the glorious official tour logo above, rendered by sketch-tastic auteur Justin Bartlett (Trap Them, Wolves Like Us, Locrian), with text lettering courtesy of in-house design scumbag Bruno Guerreiro.

While a real-deal announcement about the actual participants will be made sometime after the new year, you can actually somewhat determine what bands are onboard from Justin’s art. Study closely, then take a stab in the comments. Hint: Orgy haven’t officially reformed yet, so gotta wait ’til 2013 on that one.

-AB

While you wait for the big announcement: the January 2012 issue of Decibel, which features Lamb of God, Behemoth, Opeth, Mastodon, and a Cryptopsy Hall of Fame, can be ordered here. But why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss one an issue?

Actually, you probably won’t — ’cause, as our beloved Sergeant D. notes on Stuff You Will Hate, “the execution isn’t as good as the concept.” It’s just total scenecore shit like we already hear too-many-times a day, and the video is… well, it’s retarded. The Sarge laughs at the part “where he dumps his beer on some 6.5″ (at the 3:35 mark), but… ehhh, I dunno. It takes a LOT for me to feel bad for a groupie, but getting her to agree to get doused with beer for a stupid video for a band no one has ever heard of before (and who we will hopefully never hear from again) might just do the trick.

ANYWAY, check out the vid below and see what you think…

-AR

FEATURING MEMBERS OF CANNIBAL CORPSE, OBSCURA, FORBIDDEN, LAZARUS A.D., GIANT SQUID, PYRAMIDS, WOLVHAMMER, BENEATH OBLIVION, HALCYON WAY, AND GADGET

Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike have graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.

After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

Click to read more…

1. Sales of recorded music will not generate significant income. Music listeners are saying loud and clear that convenience and access are more important than physical objects and sound quality. One step has already been taken with the shift from CDs to digital file ownership, and the next step is coming when digital file ownership shifts to streaming everything from the cloud (whether it’s via Spotify, MOG, an Apple or Google-led service, or someone else altogether). Labels are pissed because you can’t mark up a file or a stream as much as you could a physical object, so profit margins are smaller; it sucks, but the fans have spoken that this is how they want music, and that’s the way it is. Revenue is going to have to come from other sources.

2. Metal is going to be a young man’s game, even more than ever before. Without significant income from sales of recorded music bands are going to have to stay out on the road more of the time to stay afloat, and with more bands on the road all the time bands will be cutting into each others’ income; fans only have so much money to spend on concert tickets and merch. More time on the road means less material comforts of life and less time with significant others and family; this is lots of fun when you’re 20, but gets tiresome by the time you’re 30. Expect more bands to break up sooner and swap members more often than ever before. This is already happening.

3. Your album will be a tool to market your tour. This is a complete 180° turn from how it used to be, when you went out on the road to drive sales of your album. These days new music is an excuse to generate enough fan interest and press to allow you to get back out on the road where the real money is; ticket sales, and, of course, merch.

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It feels a little odd reviewing stuff like the Pyramids/Horseback split and the new House of Low Culture release for a site with “metal” right there in the goddamn name. They aren’t “not metal” in the “they’re almost more of a shoegaze band” sense, but are aggressively unconventional in terms of even basic popular music construct. In fact, the only thing even slightly metal about either of these releases is less than two-and-a-half minutes at the beginning of Horseback’s only solo song on the aforementioned split. And theoretically, that’s fine: there’s no rule on the books that says being involved in heavy bands — as members of House of Low Culture have been and are — means you can’t take part in projects that are the antithesis of metal altogether. Or at least there shouldn’t be.

But these two releases pose a very interesting question: does a project’s mere existence in contrast to its creators’ most well-received work make it worthwhile? Or, in this case, does it make it even listenable?

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(Photo Credit: Jennifer Pottheiser for iHeartRadio)

I admit, I was skeptical about Scott Weiland’s decision to release an album of Christmas songs. I fucking hate Christmas songs. But you know what? He pulls it off.

Last night I had the opportunity to see Scott Weiland perform a private show in an intimate, 100-person setting with an 8-piece jazz band backing him up. Weiland came out wearing a white tux, his hair-slicked back all Bing Crosby-like, sobriety level dubious at best. The first three songs were all Christmas classics from his new album and he delivered them with startling sincerity and flair, his smooth baritone fitting the part perfectly. Then things got weird: an obscure STP song (“Wonderful” from 2001′s Shangri-La Dee Da) and a cringe-worthy cover of Velvet Revolver’s “Do It For the Kids,” followed by a convincing version of “Vaseline” that brought things back to reality and an impromptu jam to close the set. But you know what? He really seemed most at home, most comfortable, singing those Christmas songs.

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FEATURING MEMBERS OF MELVINS, RED FANG,  JUNIUS,  EXHUMED, RWAKE, ORPHANED LAND, HULL, EARTH, AND KILL THE CLIENT

Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike have graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.

After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

Click to read more…

Photos by Brian Schroeter

The guys of Anthrax soon go to south and southeast Asia for a week of shows with Hellyeah [Update: These dates have been postponed -- ADF], but their current US run with Testament finished last week. Since the return of glory-era singer Joey Belladonna, the Anthrax world is a fishbowl to which I have pressed my face. So two Saturdays ago, it was time for me to tap on the glass and take notes. The questions: How does Belladonna sing and look? What’s the band body language? Do drummer Charlie Benante’s fills sound off? Has Scott Ian grown a better or worse beard? Can fans exhale a bit here with the firm knowledge that things are groovy for good in the land of Anthrax?

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I haven’t played Skyrim, the latest installment in the Elder Scrolls franchise, because I’ve been too busy jingoistically killing brown people and Russians in Modern Warfare 3. But it’s on my list of things to do. And once I have begun that sure-to-be-epic journey, I suspect I will appreciate this video of a dweeb in a Symphony X shirt playing a metal version of the theme from Skyrim all the more.

-AR

[via Topless Robot]

Check out this video of Blotted Science drummer Charlie Zeleny (also of Behold… The Arctopus, Jordan Rudess, and more) playing an 8-minute drum solo while climbing up the floors of a Brooklyn building in one continuous take (!!!). At first I was all “Come on, really? Corny,” but he totally sells it… really cool concept:

Now check out this video of Charlie’s bandmate Ron Jarzombek explaining his “12-tone system” approach to writing music. These kinds of videos give fodder to trolls who argue that this style of theory-based writing and technicality are too scientific and take the “soul” out of metal. I beg to differ; much like a chef can enhance his kitchen concoctions with an extensive understanding of ingredients and their qualities, a  songwriter can use this sort of knowledge of the scientific underpinnings of music theory to help construct better, more cohesive songs. It’s certainly not necessary — I, for one, often just throw a bunch of food and spices together in the kitchen to see what happens, and it usually comes out quite delicious — but there are definitely times I wished I knew a bit more about what’s what. Check out the video, which I think even those of you who aren’t musicians will appreciate:

-VN

I’m gonna put about much effort into this intro as Twilight fans put into critical analysis of their favorite piece of literature/cinema/horse shit.

We begin today with Demon Hunter’s video for “LifeWar.” I don’t really like Demon Hunter and I don’t really like this song, but I do admire Ryan Clark’s beard, and I appreciate the fact that the rest of the band put their egos aside and opted not to be in the video in order to ensure that said beard got the proper amount of screen time. Also, gee, there sure are a lot of crosses in this video, eh?

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Earlier this month, Vince wrote about Mastodon’s love of Feist, and the apparent desire of both artists to collaborate together in some way; at the time, Feist even claimed that Brent Hinds had expressed interest in covering the song “The Bad in Each Other,” from her recent album Metals, while she might cover “Oblivion,” from Mastodon’s Crack the Skye.

Well, hey, guess what? It looks like something along those lines might actually happen. During a recent interview (video above), Troy Sanders said that both artists are attempting to get together a split 7″ for the 2012 edition of Record Store Day, which takes place in April. Metal Insider has helpfully transcribed the relevant portion of the interview in case you are somehow too much of a fat ass to watch a thirty second clip:

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UPDATE, 11:35 P.M.: Arif has confirmed that it’s just a shirt. Oh well. I’ll definitely buy one when it comes out, though!

Proving that Pig Destroyer can be quiet after all, tidbits about the band’s desperately-anticipated new album keep almost falling through the cracks. First, they performed some new songs live at a Seattle concert in February, footage of which somehow only just came to our attention; now, this little nugget of info almost got away from us, too. Seems that last Wednesday, while most of United Statesians were already checked out for Thanksgiving, Wormrot front man Arif was making this little announcement to the world via his Facebook page:

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FEATURING MEMBERS OF ARCH ENEMY, THAT METAL SHOW, BLACK ANVIL, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, AND LEPROUS

Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.

After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

Click to read more…

Horns up for reader James Hajec. He correctly identified last week’s logoas belonging to the band Repulsive Excremental Crypt! He wins a copy of Cradle of Filth’s new CD/DVD collection, Evermore Darkly. Congrats, dude!

This week I’m unloading another five CDs from MS Mansion Archives. So, yeah, enter this shit.

All you gots to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. ALL ENTRIES WITHOUT AN ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select one winner and announce his or her name a week from today.

This week’s logo was, once again, suggested by reader Cody Long. And not only is it hard to read, but it’s hard to see, period. So, y’know… you’re gonna hafta brighten your screen and really earn it this week…

-AR

The Atlas Moth‘s new record An Ache for the Distance was a pleasant surprise, and it quickly become one of my favorites of the year after I first heard it this Summer. I was bummed I missed their show in NYC earlier this fall, and double-bummed their tour with Batillus and Kowloon Walled City this month didn’t touch the East Coast at all, so I jumped at the opportunity to interview guitarist/vocalist Stavros Giannopoulos. We talked about the new album, Stavros’ love of witch-house music, ignoring the haters and Internet trolls and Stavros’ love of anti-Emmure articles on MetalSucks. Our chat, after the jump.

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If there’s one lesson that we try to impart to our beloved readers here at MetalSucks, it’s that you should always use a fake name when sleeping with underage girls so their fathers/the authorities can’t find you later. But if there’s two things we try to impart to our beloved readers here at MetalSucks, it’s that being a metal musician blows a lot of the time. See, while it probably seems fun in theory to be in a band, it’s really, really hard to make any money playing music, which is why you see so many dudes hit their thirties and go “Fuck this, I am getting a job at the barber shop” or whatever. And in case you think “Oh, you’re bloggers, fuck do you know about being a professional musician?”, it’s worth noting that guys like Doc Coyle, Mark Hunter, and Eyal Levi have all said the same thing, and they’re all in bands that have been signed to large and reputable labels, and have done massive tours like Ozzfest, and all that other shit kids dream about when they dream about being in a band for a living.

So when I read some seventeen kid online saying “We are gonna try to get big before we have to go to college, but if we are good enough we wont go,” my first thought is, “See ya when you’re serving my kids Happy Meals in ten years!” And not just because I don’t know what decent college would ever accept a student who can’t even spell the word “won’t” correctly.

-AR

[via Stuff You Will Hate]

My life has been woefully devoid of terribly acted music videos for terrible metal songs as of late. So three cheers for Alternate Reality, whose clip of “The Dignity King That Never Was” perfectly meets that description. The special effects are certainly horrendous, and to call the tune “music” is an insult to sound, but what really makes it so awesomely awful is the fact that everyone seems to have chugged NyQuil right before the cameras started rolling. I’ve seen more enthusiasm from the body at a wake.

I guess, in all fairness, the vocalist and Tits McGee both seem pretty into it. But they also seem to have graduated from The Tobias Funke Institute of Acting, so that’s really no help at all.

“Is it myth, or is reality?” Tits asks the viewer. But, really, it’s neither — because it’s clearly not reality (duh), and a myth, I think, has to be at least semi-famous (i.e., known by people besides the cast and crew of this really bad video) to qualify as such. So the answer is, “It’s fantasy, you nitwit.”

-AR