Sorry for the delay everyone! I had to awaken from my food coma over this past week. I really enjoy how America has turned every holiday into an excuse to overeat and drink. But who the hell am I to say that’s wrong? I indulged. I indulged in watching football as well. This week wasn’t as much as a shocker as last, but the AFC race is fuckin’ jacked right now to say the least. Tennessee is still in the hunt somehow, crazy.

I like the Patriots to win the No. 1 seed. Buffalo dismantled Tebow this week, but they won’t have that luck on Brady. But I still don’t see them making the Superbowl, their defense gives up way too much, just like the Packers. Here we have a case where both the would be No. 1 seeds are probably going to be knocked out. Both offenses are lethal, but if either have an off day, neither can rely on their defense to win. (However, the Pack do lead the league in interceptions, which helps their case.)

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And the winner is… Angela Martin-Gross! Angela correctly identified Mookie Singerman from Genghis Tron as the MetalSucks “Jew on Jew” interview subject who is actually only half-Jewish. She wins a Cannibal Corpse Evisceration Plague signed comic book and CD package, plus, of course, a dreidel. Mazel tov, Angela!

We’d like to thank all of the entrants, as well as Metal Blade and Kalypso Media, who very generously provided this year’s awesome prizes.

And so, until next year, do like the Maccabees would have done, and hammer your enemies. Or something.

L’chaim!

-AR

Ben Alden wins Night 7 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah for correctly naming Daath’s Eyal Levi as the subject our MetalSucks’ first-ever “Jew on Jew” interview. Ben wins Noctem’s album Oblivion courtesy of Metal Blade, a copy of the Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone expansion for PC from Kalypso Media, and a dreidel from us. Mazel tov!

For the final night we’re giving away a Cannibal Corpse Evisceration Plague signed comic book and CD package, plus a dreidel with which to spin your night away. Simply answer this question correctly:

• Which MetalSucks “Jew on Jew” interviewee is actually only half Jewish?

E-mail your answer along with your full name and address to news [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANUKKAH – NIGHT 8″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow evening (Wednesday, December 28). Contest is open to U.S. residents only please, ’cause despite the rumors, no, the basements of our synagogues are not full of piles of gold.

-AR

And so does Eddie Murphy:

Thanks to Billy from Demilitia for this one!

-KW

Jon Galuchie Langhorne, PA wins Night 6 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah for correctly naming Orphaned Land as the band whose music is featured in the video we posted of the very zexy woman showing off her belly-dancing moves. Jon wins the new Arch/Matheos album Sympathetic Resonance courtesy of Metal Blade, a copy of Tropico 4 for Xbox 360 from Kalypso Media and a dreidel from us. Mazel tov!

For Night 7 we’re giving away a copy of Noctem’s album Oblivionand a copy of Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone expansion for PC… and, but of course, a dreidel with which to spin your night away. Simply answer this question correctly:

• With whom did MetalSucks conduct the first ever “Jew on Jew” interview?

E-mail your answer along with your full name and address to news [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANUKKAH – NIGHT 7″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow evening (Tuesday, December 27). Contest is open to U.S. residents only please, cuz despite the fact that Jews run the world’s banks those Jews sure ain’t us.

Meditation location #31 – CBA tour – Amstelveen - I found a park across from the venue where I sat next to a small pond. Reflecting in the water directly in front of me was an upside down tree. I immediately saw in it the classic ‘Sephiroth’ from Kabbalistic (Jewish mysticism) teachings. Also known as the ‘Tree of Life’, the image of the Sephiroth has ten energy centers and is basically a diagram that represents how the universe came into being. It’s often seen as linked to the human body. Do a Google image search to get an idea.

Some views consider the Sephiroth to be like a spiritual map, or a neophyte’s key to understanding hyper-dimensional physics. It’s also viewed as the path of a soul’s incarnation in the physical (as we know it) third dimension. Sounds complex, but all this esoteric language has been reduced to bare bones practicality since the post-Madonna endorsement. Her late 90′s album Ray Of Light was a Kabbalah-inspired coming-out record. She essentially introduced pop culture to these teachings and made the ‘red’ string bracelet a valuable piece of yarn. I don’t discount it’s potency for a minute since the placebo effect alone can work wonders on any believing human, and all power to ‘em.

Go to any big city Kabbalah center or website and you’ll find these bright pop colored coffee table books written in huge fonts elucidating the essence of the teachings. It can almost appear like candy-coated spiritual materialism on the surface, but inside those eye-catching flashy book covers is some good old universal truth, as found in any great spiritual tradition. They make it all seem blaringly obvious and common sense-like. Jews tend to be good at that!

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Today is Christmas! Happy Chinese Food and Movie day for Jews everywhere! I know most folks are gonna cry “Photoshopped!” at the above picture as I initially did, but it’s totes legit — my friend’s mom snapped that photo at a Chinese restaurant near Atlanta. (I think the horizontal bars that look like Photoshop scars are actually just clear tape holding the sign up.)

Ryan Brassard of El Paso, TX wins Night 5 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah by identifying Magrudergrind’s Avi Kulawy as the Jewish metal musician who told MetalSucks in an interview that he wished his mom a happy birthday from the stage at a show in L.A. Avi also told us that his mom kvells over everything he’s accomplished with his band; a proud metal mama! For his astute use of the “search” feature on MetalSucks, Ryan wins Autumn’s Cold Comfort courtesy of Metal Blade, a copy of Air Conflicts: Secret Wars for PC from Kalypso Media and a dreidel from us.

Tonight we’re giving away a copy of the new Arch/Matheos album Sympathetic Resonance, a copy of Tropico 4 for Xbox 360, and, naturally, a driedel from MetalSucks. To win, answer this trivia question:

• Earlier this month we posted a video of a woman belly-dancing to a song by a metal band from Israel; which band was it?

Thanks to Metal Mykee for this one….

-Santa

Congrats to Dana Lengel of Woodmere, NY for winning Night 4 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah by correctly identifying Mike Portnoy as the Jewish metal musician who copped to being able to relate to Larry David in a Golden Gods interview with Metal Injection. Not that I blame the guy — I relate to Larry David too, and it’s kind of upsetting. I’m actually contemplating a switch to peeing sitting down, just like Larry; I mean, why not? Dana wins a copy of 3′s newest album The Ghost You Gave To Me, a copy of Air Conflicts: Secret Wars for Xbox 360, and a dreidel from MetalSucks.

I ate some latkes last night. Did you? They were delicious. Unfortunately I can’t send you latkes in the mail, but if you win Night 5 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah I can send you a copy of Autumn’s Cold Comfort courtesy of Metal Blade, a copy of Air Conflicts: Secret Wars for PC from Kalypso Media and a dreidel from us. Here’s tonight’s trivia question:

• Which Jewish metal musician told MetalSucks in an interview that he wished his mom a happy birthday from the stage at a show in Los Angeles?

Five years ago tomorrow one of my greatest heroes died…  Never forget!

After the jump, a family selection of tunes by the one-and-only Godfather of SOUL…..

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Congrats to David M. Ortiz of Sante Fe, NM for correctling identifying Pentagram’s Bobby Libeling as the Jewish metal musician whose wife, Hal Liebling, launched the Käärme Concepts clothing line. Check out our own Leyla Ford’s editorial on that company and others who venture into the metalsphere. David wins a copy of Behemoth’s Evangelion DVD a Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone PC expansion pack.

The magic of Hanukkah keeps on burnin’ like the weed in a miraculous bong: for tonight’s Night 4 prize we’re giving away a copy of 3′s newest album The Ghost You Gave To Me courtesy of Metal Blade and a copy of Air Conflicts: Secret Wars for Xbox 360 from Kalypso Media. Here’s tonight’s trivia question:

• Which famous Jewish metal musician copped to being able to relate to Larry David in a Golden Gods black carpet interview with Metal Injection this year?

Cynic’s Paul Masvidal has been chronicling the band’s U.S. and European Carbon-Based Anatomy tour as part of his Metta Mind Journal column here on MetalSucks over the past few days. Check out previous entries here. Today’s meditations come from the band’s tour stops in Copenhagen and Hamburg.

Meditation location #29 – CBA tour – Lyngsby / Copenhagen, Denmark - Sold out show! The most interesting part of my day was photographing these white berries I saw on a small barren tree just outside the venue. From afar they looked like glowing little alien pods in this dark patch of foliage. In one of my photographs, a sprite appeared as one of the pods; it was a centipede-like nymph with the face of a baby dove seal.

I meditated on the emergency ladder, at rooftop height and listened to the freeway on my left, as I quieted the mind and took refuge in stillness. What a gift it truly is to have meditation in life.

I had one person ask me post-show what ‘karmic thread’ means. He was referring to the song “Carbon-Based Anatomy.” I told him that I understood it to be that we’re all accumulating karma on a daily basis by our actions, and there’s a ‘thread’ we’re connected to (according to certain spiritual traditions, this would include past lives), that ultimately ripens. It appears in a more obvious way during the ‘dramatic periods’ of our life. The connective tissue of the karmic thread is always there, so as we accumulate merit with our ability to surrender/love or do the opposite, like going backwards, this thread essentially holds the energetic imprint of our soul. It’s who we’ve always been, mapped out like a universal grid ready to manifest as needed based on personal and collective energy.

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Hey there, didja know MetalSucks is on Facebook and Twitter? Follow us on both to have updates beamed into your brain. And don’t forgot about our merch blow-out sale: $10 t-shirts and $20 hoodies for a limited time.

Meanwhile, the news never stops! Here are a few thing of note that’ve happened over the past 24 hours outside of David Gold’s tragic passing and the announcement of Ryan Parrish’s departure from Darkest Hour:

• Norma Jean’s Cory Brandan says you owe him money if you illegally downloaded Norma Jean’s music, and he’s PISSED. The frontman took to his Twitter account yesterday to post the following, after which he engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth on the topic with fans: ”Anyone that has ever downloaded a Norma Jean record. You owe me money. I hope you had enough money today to buy your family groceries…I mean ‘for free’ of course. Ya know… illegally. Stolen. Theft. Don’t get your feeling hurt. It’s ok if you steal from me. Anything else I can do for free for you? Spoiled brats! It’s about time someone got pissed about this! I hope you guys know what it feels like to have thousands of dollars stolen from you only to be told you have a an attitude about it. BTW! I appreciate and LOVE all of you that have supported us over the years. I hope you are all blessed!”
• He Is Legend are indeed recording a new album, as was previously rumored. Anso DF is gonna be super-duper-uper excited about this news! Check out an interview he did with the band’s manager back in March, then stream He Is Legend’s entire catalog on Spotify.
• Aborted have a brand new song called “The Origin of Disease” streaming over at Gun Shy Assassin. Their new album Global Flatline comes out on January 24th on some label whose name I forget.
• Not news, per se, but: Symphony X’s new album The Iconoclast is fucking fantastic and I’m ashamed I haven’t mentioned it on MS yet. It’s basically the album I wish Dream Theater would’ve written instead of… their last three albums. Stream it in its entirety on MOG.

Woods of Ypres founding member David Gold died in a car accident last night. Horrible, horrible, horrible news. We can only imagine the shock, sadness, rage and devastation David’s friends and family must be feeling right now.

After years of toiling in the underground, Woods of Ypres’ career was finally starting to take off, with their new album Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light set to be released on January 31, 2012 via Earache Records. If there’s any silver lining to be seen here (and I know it’s hard to look at it that way so soon) it’s that the album will surely receive more exposure now — everything I’ve heard from it so far has been aces. Listen to a couple of those tracks here.

R.I.P. David. Best to your friends and family on behalf of everyone at MetalSucks.

(photo credit: Phil A. Wickstrand of Metal Psalter)

Yesterday we reported on differing versions of press releases regarding ex-Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris’ new band, A Cancerous Affair; one version said that “ex-Darkest Hour drummer” Ryan Parrish was playing drums on the project while another version didn’t mention a drummer at all. Well, it turns out the former wasn’t just a slip-up: Ryan Parrish is indeed out of Darkest Hour (and will be joining his former bandmate Kris in the new project). Here’s an official statement from the band send directly to MetalSucks:

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(via someecards.com)

Who ever said Eye-talians and Jews don’t get along? Certainly not Joseph Cataliotti, who correctly noted that MetalSucks conducted a whopping ZERO “Jew on Jew” interviews in 2011. That series was fun… we really oughtta bring it back, eh? For winning Night 2 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah, Joseph receives a copy of Ghost’s Opus Eponymous from Metal Blade, a Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone expansion for his PC from Kalypso Media and his very own dreidel courtesy of rebs Axl and Vince.

Just as one bottle of oil lasted the Maccabees eight whole days in the 2nd century B.C., the magic of MetalSucks gift-giving lasts eight days too. The prize for the third night is a copy of Behemoth’s Evangelion DVD from Metal Blade and another Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone PC expansion pack from Kalypso Media, and here’s the trivia question you’ll have to answer correctly to win said swag:

• The wife of which Jewish metal musician launched a heavy metal clothing line in 2011, as written about on MetalSucks?

E-mail your answer along with your full name and address to news [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANUKKAH – NIGHT 2″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Friday, December 23) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 4’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. What, you want we should go broke on shipping charges?

Cynic’s Paul Masvidal has been chronicling the band’s U.S. and European Carbon-Based Anatomy tour as part of his Metta Mind Journal column here on MetalSucks over the past few days. Check out previous entries here. Today’s meditations come from the band’s tour stops in Berlin and Osnabrück, Germany. 

Meditation location #27 – CBA tour. Berlin – Mark, our stage manager, whose bones are built of hearty Aussie stock, warned me with ‘it’s cold out there!’, as I stepped outside. When Mark says it’s cold, I listen. Rain! sleet!! hail!!! snow!!! Repeat… then came the WIND! Holy shit. Our bus driver Max was kind enough to walk Erin (our tour manager) and I up to a nearby restaurant where he treated us to a delicious breakfast.

Berlin has a sprawling big city vibe, packed with humans doing things. My sight line was immediately filled with graffiti. I can appreciate street art in most cities… in this area of Berlin, it’s nearly everywhere you look, like a backdrop. What’s interesting is that, an outsider looking in, at first glance, might think it’s a rough neighborhood == with our ghetto pop culture association to graffiti — although I realized quickly this area was far from ghetto. I think they might actually appreciate the street art aesthetic around here. The neighborhood outside the bus was filled with little boutique hipster stores selling t-shirts, jeans, vinyl, etc, along with the miscellaneous Turkish (falafel), and trendy, posh restaurants.

The streets were busy, and all the humans braving the weather encouraged me to do the same. I found myself up on a bridge where I took some photos, one of which was of a bicyclist riding towards me, squinting his eyes to protect himself from the hail. My feet were drenched. I only packed one pair on this tour and they’re kinda like vans in that they’re made of a sponge-like canvas. I’m reminded of last night’s rain, which was making a beautiful sound. I heard it from inside my bunk as it hit the roof of our bus. The flurry of drops had this complex rhythm going like some new school drum and bass meets electronic white noise. I wanted to record some of it, but was too tired to grab my phone.

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Evil Bells aka Slay Bells by guitarstevecc

I’m not one for Christmas music, but I enjoyed the above doom interpretation of an Xmas classic very much. Click “play” while you catch up on this morning’s news:

• Tool have announced the opening acts for their string of winter 2012 dates… and it’s wonky stoner-prog outfit Intronaut (as rumored) on the first half of the tour and doom metal titans Yob on the second half! It’d be easy enough for Tool to take out a commercial hard rock band because their agent or manager said so, an established act that could help put some butts in seats, or no one at all… but nope, they march to their own drum and chose Intronaut and Yob, two acts that will seem completely out of left field to most of Tool’s fanbase. That’s Tool for you; just one of 1,697 reasons I love this band so much.
• Paganfest will come back to America in spring 2012 for its third U.S. incarnation. Despite the pagan/folk metal trend being long over, Paganfest III actually features a really cool lineup: Turisas, Alestorm, and Ex Deo are the bigger bands, and they’ll take along with them Arkona and Huntress, neither of whom I know much about. Get dates here.
• Gwar’s Oderus Urungus and Balsac the Jaws of Death review the new Spielberg movie War Horse for NextMovie.com on video.
• Alternative Press readers have chosen Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce as “Guitarist of the Year” for 2011. MetalSucks editors have nominated Alternative Press readers as having the “Worst Taste in Metal” for eternity.
• Gory death metal vets Exhumed have posted their entire live set from Maryland Deathfest 2011 on NPR’s website. Stream it here. And oh hey look at who wrote that article! (hey hey)

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere of Planet Earth today marks the winter solstice, which also means it’s the longest night of the year. Here’s some appropriately dark metal to get you through:

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Mazel tov to Jenn Schwartz, who correctly who correctly identified the first night of Hanukkah’s trivia question – it was Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian who tweeted that MetalSucks is the “Best Metal site since Infernal Combustion.” Thanks for the kind words, Scott! Jenn wins a copy of As I Lay Dying’s latest release, Decas, plus a copy of Dungeons for her PC, courtesy of Metal Blade Records and Kalypso Media… plus a dreidel, courtesy of MetalSucks! Enjoy ‘em, Jenn!

No point crying into your latkes if you didn’t win, though, ’cause you’ve still got seven more nights to try and get some sweet goodies! So here’s the trivia question for night two; the winner gets a copy of Ghost’s Opus Eponymous, plus a Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone expansion for their PC!

• How many Jew on Jew interviews did MetalSucks conduct in 2011, and who were those interviews with?