Lulu was originally announced as a “secret recording project,” and I thought that the use of the phrase “recording project” meant that we would never, ever have to hear this shit live.” Unfortunately, I was incorrect, ’cause Loutallica performed the song “Iced Honey” on the BBC’s Later… With Jools Holland last night. So if you’ve been dying for someone to combine the unadulterated awfulness of Lulu with the embarrassing sloppiness of modern Metallica live, well, boy oh boy do we have a treat for you!

The band also covered The Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat.” I haven’t actually watched this clip because I’d like to preserve my untainted memory of the song, but you’re free to check it out after the jump.

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TL;DR – University of Melbourne announces a recent study saying it proves heavy metal is a negative influence.  Justin reads the study and says the University announcement is basically one big lie.  He covers some of the detail in longer sentences than usual (yikes), then says the University should get it shit together on this.  Also, it turns out Van Canto have a new record out, and they are still terrible.

Popular media was busy last week trumpeting the announced results of a recent University of Melbourne study.  A lot of the hype was around the claim made in the headline in the University’s press announcement that “Heavy metal music has negative impacts on youth.”  It states that Dr. Katrina McFerran, a senior lecturer in Music Therapy, has found that young people at risk of depression are more likely to listen to heavy metal in a negative way.

A quick Google news search for “heavy metal” “study” this morning yields twenty-two separate stories (about three weeks later), and all of them are about this.  Surveying of these stories shows some range of content, from the study’s correlation between liking metal and high risk for psychological distress all the way to linking metal with potential suicide.  In any case, they all draw from the language in the press release about the new study McFerran has done.

I asked Dr. McFerran for a copy of the study, and she was kind enough to provide one.  I have spent some time reading through the study and can tell you this:

The press release is complete bullshit.

Click to read more…

Horns up for readers Jon Noll and James Whitonis. They each correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band Sarcoma Fermentation, and for their troubles, they each win a copy of Set the Dial, the new album from the mighty Black Tusk. Crank that shit way fuckin’ LOUD, fellas!!!

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  Erick Sierra. And they have maybe the best band name of any musical act in the history of sound.

-AR

The Great Kat might’ve been batshit crazy or it might’ve been an Andrew W.K.-style put-on, but after watching the below clip filmed in 1994 (!) in which she describes her new interactive CD-ROM (!) I’m convinced that she was absolutely brilliant and way ahead of her time. Srsly: who else was doing this shit in 1994? For those of you who are too young to remember CD-ROMs (oh gawd I feel old), they were kinda like DVDs with graphical interfaces that included special bonus content you couldn’t get anywhere else ; it was basically like a website on a disc (this was before widespread Internet access and before broadband made streaming video possible).

The money quote: “Within a couple of years everyone will have CD ROMs, everyone will be online, everyone will have a website. As a matter of fact, I’m getting a website. Do you know what a website is?” She adds, “This is what the future is.” This was in 1994, people; no bands had websites yet, and there were certainly no MySpace or Facebook pages. My family was still running a Mac SE at the time connecting to AOL through a 28.8kbps modem… come to think of it, I don’t think we even had a modem yet.

It’s kind of amazing how simultaneously obsessed with the music of the past and locked into the technology of the future The Great Kat is in this clip. She’s so sincere about her love of classical music and so cock-sure of the direction technology will head in the 21st Century… was she onto something or what? Makes me reconsider brushing off her remark about Testament as “mind-numbing, drug-inducing garbage.”

-VN

Thanks: Shane Gillis

The art that adorns the cover of Lacuna Coil’s Dark Adrenaline isn’t very interesting. But in the band’s defense, they have never had a really cool looking album cover, and the music still always ends up being really catchy, so whatever I guess. I think I’m one of like fifteen people on the face of the planet who still gives a shit about album art anyway, and the other fourteen are all, like, Yog Sogogolth fans or whatever who probably don’t even know who Lacuna Coil are. I don’t even know why I still write about this stuff.

What was I saying? Oh, right, the album cover:

On a semi-related note, I’d like to predict right now that the special edition of this album will come with little vials like the ones above (although presumably filled with water and with black food coloring or something, and not, y’know, adrenaline). And if not, well, they well oughta. They’d make nifty key chains, maybe?

ANYWAY, Dark Adrenaline comes out January 24 on Century Media, in whatever format(s).

-AR

I can’t tell you how happy I am that All Shall Perish have opted to make a video for the song “Royalty Into Exile.” This is far and away my favorite track from their most recent release, This is Where it Ends, and if I had to choose one song to try and sell a consumer on the album, it’s the one I’d choose. It’s brutal and it’s got a great hook… it’s just an all-around awesome song.  And the clip makes me wanna go see the band live again ASAP, so that ain’t bad, either. Really, my only complaint is that for some reason, the word “rape” has been muted. It’s 2011 — we seriously can’t all acknowledge the existence of the word “rape?” What the fuck is that shit?

ANYWAY, check out the video below. It debuted on Noisecreep, and was produced in conjunction with Scion A/V, who, the former site tells me, “is unleashing a series of exclusive music videos… [which] will feature videos from artists like Revocation and Pulling Teeth and will begin debuting November 10th and be permanently available” on the Scion A/V’s website. It’s not currently embeddable, so click here to check it out.

All Shall Perish’s This is Where it Ends is out now on Nuclear Blast.

-AR

You thought last week’s fracas involving Phil Labonte calling Black veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack a “faggot” was something? Well, it just gets better and better; apparently the discourse inspired Emmure frontman / space cadet Frankie Palmeri to enter the fray by sharing his thoughts on the word “faggot” via Twitter.

The ignorance displayed here by Palmeri is completely mind-boggling, but then again so is the simplicity of Emmure’s music… but I digress. If Frankie’s point is that gay people shouldn’t use the word “faggot” amongst themselves (and that by extension black people shouldn’t call each other “nigger”), I don’t follow his logic; I can’t think of any better way to rebel against homophobes/racists/etc than to take a derogatory word they coined for you and to co-opt it for your own use. Kinda like how Dino Cazares took the whole baby-eating thing and turned it right back on us; he won! By that same token, if the gay community or any individuals in it decide they don’t want to use “faggot” at all even when joking with friends, that’s fine too. It’s their choice what to do with the word.

Public drama aside, I’m glad these issues are being discussed in the metal community. Needed to happen… badly.

-VN

What do Mormons and Finns have in common? Why, they both love Bring Me the Horizon, of course!

Last month, Bring Me the Horizon vocalist Oli Sykes called out a bunch of hecklers at a show in Salt Lake City, Utah, and those hecklers responded by rushing the stage and attacking the band; then, this past Sunday, the band was playing in Helsinki, Finland, where, once again, they found themselves the victims of heckling from the crowd — only this time, guitarist Jona Weinhofen decided to bring the fight to the fans, leaping into the audience and attacking some dude, Axl-Rose-in-Indiana-in-’91 style. But it was a way good idea to teach that dumb heckler a lesson, because he totally showed that dude who’s boss and deterred future hecklers, and did not break his hand, thereby endangering the nineteen remaining dates of the tour. Oh wait.

To Weinhofen’s credit, he’s apparently going to “attempt to gig tonight playing with only 2 fingers on a broken hand,” according to his Twitter account. (I don’t know how the hell you play guitar with two fingers, but maybe BMTH songs really are that easy to perform.) Not to Weinhofen’s credit is that this is absolutely the wrong way to deal with a heckler, and now the band’s actual fans may not get to see them at all. So, yeah, losing his temper was, like, totally worth it.

Here’s video of the fight, in case you’re interested:

-AR

Thanks: Jesse

Back in early 2007 when MetalSucks was first getting going I frequented the Aversionline blog daily and listened to everything they posted religiously. I still check out Aversionline, although I find that my tastes have veered off in a different direction from much of what Andrew posts these days. One of the bands I discovered back then from Aversionline was Memfis, a Swedish prog-metal band who, in hindsight, remind me a whole lot of Burst. They’ve got an Opethian flare for composition and arrangement blended seamlessly with big, burly American-sized Mastodonian riffs. Their 2006 debut The Wind-Up was a staple in my rotation for all of 2007.

I’ve often since wondered what became of Memfis, and now I know; they recorded a follow-up in 2008 but were forced to hold onto it due to a legal battle with their former label. Until now. That album, Vertigo, is being streamed in its entirety via the band’s website, where you can also download the record for any price of your choosing. This is great, great, great, great stuff and I highly recommend you give it a shot. Hearing Vertigo is reminding me why I loved The Wind-Up so much, and it’s inspiring me to go back and give that album another spin for old time’s sake.

Here’s a statement MetalSucks received from the band via email regarding the label lawsuit and the eventual release of Vertigo:

Click to read more…

In case this year’s mind-bending new release from Obscura, Omnivium, wasn’t enough crazy German prog-death for you, the band has now announced the impending release of a demos and rarities collection, Illegimitation. That’s not a real word, and the album won’t come out on a real label, either — the band will self-release the compilation, which will include their earliest recordings from 2003, unreleased songs from 2006′s Cosmogenesis sessions, and covers recorded by their current line-up.

In fact, they’re already accepting pre-orders via Kickstarter. Packages range from five bucks — which will get you an immediate download of the song “Crucified” and a download of the full album two weeks prior to its official release — to fifteen-hundred dollars, which is a lot of money, but gets you a lot of cool shit, including concert tickets, a drum or guitar lesson, and dinner with the band. Other purchase options come with such prizes as stickers, patches, posters, meet n’ greets, and a private tickle fight with Steffen Kummerer. (I may have made one of those things up.) Go here to explore your options and make a pledge.

Meanwhile, the band’s MetalSucks-presented North American headlining tour with Abysmal Dawn, Last Chance to Reason, and Enfold Darkness rolls on! Obscura and LCTR both absolutely slayed at The Metal Suckfest this past weekend, and Abysmal Dawn rule really hard, too; I’ve never seen Enfold Darkness live, but I hear nuthin’ but good things! Get remaining tour dates after the jump.

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Children of Bodom have been making anthemic, hair-metal-influenced melodeath about getting drunk and hating and killing things for fifteen years already? My oh my, how time flies!

The band will celebrate their birthday next year with a North American headlining tour, on which support will come from Eluveitie, Revocation (or “Revocator,” as it says on CoB’s website), and Threat Signal. That’s a pretty sweet line-up, no?

And we’ve mentioned before, Vince and I have a very special place for this band in our hearts, since MetalSucks was conceived at a CoB/Amon Amarth show back in 2006. Also, because they rock. So definitely check ‘em out and them celebrate pissing off parents for a decade-and-a-half if you can.

Dates are after el jumperooski…

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The recent news surrounding the Gwar camp has left QB Dave Brockie on injured reserve, meaning Coach Neilstein is subbing himself in. A player/coach in football? Say it ain’t so… you’ll have to deal with my Jets-loving ass this week instead of Brockie’s Foreskin-worshipping ways.

One of the biggest games this weekend saw the Giants defeat The Patriots in a nail-biter that came down to the final 15 seconds. I think we can pretty much all agree that any time Tom Brady and the Patriots lose it’s a good day, but this loss has bigger implications on a number of levels. Eli Manning and The Giants are now running away with the NFC East, two full games ahead of a 4-4 Dallas team that doesn’t have the muster to compete with the big guys, while Philadelphia, the “Dream Team” that never was, sunk to 3-5 in a big Monday Night Football loss to the Chicago Bears that’ll leave those bratty sports fans in Philly fuming. I won’t say the Giants winning their division is a shoe-in, but with the Redskins, who lost again to a strong 7-1 San Francisco team, as the remaining team in the East, it’s looking pretty good for Big Blue.

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New releases from Animals as Leaders, As I Lay Dying, Beneath Oblivion, Leviathan, Whitechapel and My Dying Bride highlight this week’s packed slate of new releases. Let’s take a look at what’s in store for listeners after the jump.

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Fan-created official music video contests are a big gamble for any band; you could end up with a pro-quality music video for no cost to you, but you could also end up having to select the least stinky nugget from a steaming pile of turds. For Abysmal Dawn, thankfully the former is the case, as the winner for the Metal Injection-led Abysmal Dawn video contest did a bang up job producing a new video for “My Own Savior.” The user known as RobDigital produced the above clip, which does a great job of capturing the dark, somber tones of “My Own Savior” and the rest of Leveling the Plane, Abysmal Dawn’s excellent early-2011 release that’s definitely gonna make my year-end list.

Catch Abysmal Dawn on their MetalSucks-sponsored tour now with Obscura, Last Chance to Reason and Enfold Darkness. Get dates here.

-VN

Here’s some stuff that’s not-at-all-terrible. The PRP has broken news on rumors — and even initial dates — for two very big tours, both of which you’ll want to see, and both of which will kick off early next year. And so –

• Lamb of God will do a headlining run, with support coming from The Acacia Strain. Which is a CRUSHING bill; like, a “I don’t know how I’m gonna survive the evening” kinda bill. I dunno if more bads will be added to the line-up or not (Remember the old days, when there were often just two bands on the tour?), but right now the only date which has leaked is January 24 at Irving Plaza in New York.
• Machine Head, meanwhile, will hit the road with Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour, and Rise to Remain. Hey, three outta four ain’t bad! Machine Head and Darkest Hour alone would have been enough to get me through the door, and Suicide Silence are always fun, too. The dates which have leaked for that tour are after the jump.

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Axl and I couldn’t stop raving about the Rammstein show we saw this past May for weeks afterward. The lights! The FIRE! The PYRO! The dude who gets lit on fire and runs across the stage! Everything about the whole damned show! Many would argue that Rammstein employ these gimmicks to distract attention away from their music, but they still put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and I think they happen to have some super-catchy shout-along anthems as well. Like, Korn could put on a show like this and they’d still suck.

But that was May. And now it’s November. Meaning Rammstein have had six whole month to up the “holy shit” factor in their live show to even greater heights. Here they are opening Sunday night’s show in Bratislava, Slovakia; a bridge drops down from the arena ceiling connecting the venue’s two (!) stages and… holy shit, just watch. Here’s to hoping they’re bringing this show to the U.S. soon; A+++ would DEFINITELY do business with again.

-VN

Thanks: Luis Fernando Pizano Escalante

So, uh, hey, did we happen to mention that The Metal Suckfest took place this past weekend at the Gramercy Theatre here in New York? Well… it did! And we had an awesome time. Twenty incredible bands all kicked our asses and shredded our reproductive organs; we are truly exhausted, and can’t wait to do it again.

In case ya weren’t able to attend, our friend Justina Villanueva was there to capture all the action. After the jump, check out some killer photos of Municipal Waste, God Forbid, Today is the Day, This is Hell, Howl, Black Tusk, Magrudergrind, All Pigs Must Die, and Ramming Speed. We’ll have some more great pics from night two of the fest later this week!

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Over the weekend, we got an e-mail from Ron Blackwell — the vocalist for Danny Lilker’s black metal project, Nokturnal Hellstorm — informing us that he had recently proposed to his girlfriend onstage during an Exhumed show. I didn’t get to watch the video of the most romantic thing in the history of love until this morning because I was, y’know, kinda busy, but now that I’ve actually seen it, all I can is, holy shit, this is twice as beautiful as I imagined it would be.

I just cried a little. Anyone else just cry a little? I mean, that was fucking beautiful.

If you need a little romance in your life, don’t forget that Exhumed’s North American headlining tour with Goatwhore and Havok — which, hey!, we happen to be presenting — is ongoing through November 20. Get dates and links to purchase tickets right here.

-AR

If, like me, you were hopeful that Opeth and Katatonia would use their recent U.S. tour as an opportunity to get up on stage and play some Bloodbath shit (since members of both bands are in Bloodbath — duh), you were probably disappointed… unless you live in Baltimore, where the two bands did, indeed, play some Bloodbath shit on the final night of the tour. But I forgive them for not doing the same when they performed here in New York. The bummer for people in Baltimore is that they have to live in Baltimore, so they deserve a special treat every now and then.

Here’s the de rigeur cell phone footage of the blessed event:

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

When Ben Weinman revealed in September that he was collaborating on a new project with Mike Patton, I proclaimed my love for Irony is a Dead Scene, the EP that Dillinger recorded with Patton while they were in-between former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis and current vocalist Greg Puciato. So you can imagine how jealous I am of San Francisco DEP fans, who got to see Patton actually hop up on stage with the band this past Friday night to perform a song from that release, “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things.” Luckily, in 2011 every single electronic device in the world comes equipped with a camera, so we have some fan-filmed footage of the event. Check it out below.

Say, here’s the best idea ever: how about a FNM/DEP tour? If it ever happened, I might actually drop everything and follow that shit around the country, like some stupid Dead Head or whatever.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]