Well, I guess technically we don’t know that for 100%. But the fest’s organizers have just released “a TEASER from a mystery headliner,” and if that’s not Howard Jones’ voice, than my name is Phil Labonte.
Listen to the teaser here and decide for yourself.
But let’s be real, it’s Killswitch Engage.
-AR
Earlier this week, Metallica performed a previously unreleased song from the Death Magnetic sessions, “Hate Train,” as part of their four-night thirtieth anniversary celebration at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and then e-mailed their fan club a rough mix of that song; now they’ve done the same for another tune that didn’t make the Death cut, this one called “Just a Bullet Away.” And, holy shit, they are making this too easy. Why don’t they just call a song “Everyone Hate Us Now?”
ANYWAY, I actually think this song is… not terrible. Don’t get me wrong, it has serious problems — namely, James Hetfield’s ongoing obsession with being the worst vocalist in the world, the incredibly crappy chorus, the bloated running time, and the lyric “suck, suck ’til it’s dry” — but the main riff is actually pretty catchy, and doesn’t immediately call to mind any other Metallica riffs. I even kinda like the slow, Gothenburg-y section. So congratulations to Metallica, it looks like another slightly-above-mediocre song was written and recorded for Death Magnetic. I wonder why this one didn’t make the cut?
By the way, if you haven’t been paying attention, ‘Tallica have been having all sorts of special guests at these shows, ranging from Jason Newsted (I can’t believe he had time to fit it into his busy schedule!) to John Bush to Scott Ian to Marianne Faithful to… Lou Reed. Yes, they performed songs from Lulu. I’m too lazy/don’t care enough to write about all that shit, but Metal Insider has plenty of coverage if you’re interested.
-AR
We can’t believe it’s been seven years. This drink’s for you…
If those words make you laugh as hard as I did, you are really, really going to enjoy this 1994 news report on the evils of black metal, which was dug up by The Gauntlet. In fact, despite the fact that, yes, some black metal musicians were definitely, legitimately fucknuts, this whole video is so silly, it’s almost hard to believe it’s real. Enjoy:
-AR
[via The Deciblog]
(click to enlarge)
Last year I gave away a SHITLOAD of CDs (several hundred) from my personal CD collection, promos I’d collected over the past year, and other assorted metal swag. I traded all of that to a MetalSucks reader for a taxidermied duck, and I could not be more happy; Bocephus sits proudly on the wall of the Vince Division of the MS Mansion as if I shot and killed the guy myself. Great trade!
Since then I’ve accumulated a bunch more shit released in 2011 and I wanna do it again! Make me an offer I can’t refuse, something interesting, something odd, something I couldn’t get anywhere else, and everything pictured in the above photo could be yours! I am not interested in a) money, b) other CDs, c) offers of indentured servitude that’ll never come to fruition. Anything else is fair game! Everything pictured in the above photo will be included in the package. No, I won’t provide any close-ups of what’s included… there’s some really good shit, some really lame unsigned band promos, both CDs and vinyls and… who knows what else? That’s the fun of it. Think of it as a metal version of Storage Wars.
To enter, send your proposal to vince [at] metalsucks [dot] net with “2011 CD GIVEAWAY” as the subject of your email.
Italian prog metal maestros Ephel Duath are really just an Italian prog metal maestro, singular — the band has gone through something like 1,864,093 line-up changes since 1998, with guitarist Davide Tiso being the only constant. Do hardcore Ephel Duath fans consider that a total bummer, or do they not care? Regardless, this news should make them happy: their new line-up promotes Ephel Duath to a full-fledged supergroup.
For the band’s next release, Tiso has recruited Karyn Crisis (from, y’know, Crisis) to handle vocal duties, Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Testament, Obscura) to play bass, and Marco Minemann (Necrophagist, Kreator) to beat the drums. Holy shit, that’s an interesting collection of musicians, isn’t it?
Minemann is about to start recording drums for the band’s next EP, which will come out in 2012 via Agonia Records. And, clearly, it just became one of the more anticipated releases of next year. So there’s something to be excited for.
-AR
You read that right: more than two years after launching the first line of MetalSucks merch, we are retiring these designs forever before doin’ up some awesome new ones in 2012. That means if you’ve ever wanted a Sergeant D. t-shirt, or a Completely Unreadable hoodie, or one of those awesome skull shirts by Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 and Metal Band Art, well… this is your last chance to dance!
The happy news is that we’re now discounting ALL of this fine merch, so you can grab these items before they’re gone at a discount. T-shirts, which used to range from $13 – $15, are now just $10; hoodies, which used to cost $30, are now just $20. (Shipping + handling not included.) Not bad, right?
Go here to browse and place your order. They make wonderful holiday presents, bar mitzvah gifts, and proposal offerings in lieu of a diamond ring. But be forewarned: if there’s something you want, you’d better act fast, ’cause once this batch of merch is gone, these designs are done for all time!!! This special deal ends at midnight on December 25th.
I Am War is a new band that features both Atreyu vocalist Alex Varkatzas and Bleeding Through vocalist Brandan Schieppati, and while I’m sure the idea of that dynamic duo really, really excites some people, I am not one of them. That being said, the first song the band has unveiled — a demo entitled “The Poisoning” — is not nearly as intolerable as I would have suspected. For the most part, it’s just generic metallic hardcore; the only parts I out and out hate are the two deathcore breakdowns, the second of which seems to go on for-EVER. But the bottom line is, “The Poisoning” is more sleepy than it is offensive.
ANYWAY, you can check out “The Poisoning” for yourself below and make up your own mind. I Am War just signed with Razor & Tie and are expected to release their debut album in the spring.
-AR
Most metalheads probably aren’t familiar with Prince Paul but he’s a big deal hip hop name, having produced albums by De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick and many others. To me he will always be most famous as a member of horror-core rap outfit Gravediggaz, a personal favorite of mine (remember this song?).
Now Prince Paul is looking to expand his musical horizon beyond hip hop, so Scion A/V followed him around with cameras to create a six part mini-series titled Music Impossible: Prince Paul’s Adventurous Musical Journey. Since Scion has a strong foothold in the metal community these days it was a given that metal would be involved in some way, and in the fourth episode that’s exactly what happens. Prince Paul and two of his friends venture out of this year’s Scion Rock Fest in Pomona, CA to watch sets by Death Angel, Crom, Municipal Waste, Floor and others, and… well, just watch.
-VN
[via Metal Insider]
Ihsahn has only performed once in North America thus far — at this year’s ProgPower Festival — which means that most of us who live in these parts have never had the opportunity to see the man perform his awesome, awesome solo work live in the flesh.
So hoo-ray for the below video, which is a relatively high quality of an Ihsahn performance in Tokyo from earlier this week. His backing band, of course, is the mighty Leprous, who are also quite cool, so this video is twice as must-watchable as it woulda been already. Enjoy!
-AR
[via Heavy Blog is Heavy]
(This is simply my way of justifying a somewhat late album review —but the truth is shot straight and spoken above.)
Here’s another reason to love honorary Mayor of Washington DC (and Fugazi/Minor Threat guy), the Pope of Punk himself: Mr. Ian MacKaye, He’s dug through three decades-plus of the archives to unearth these grimy masters and given ‘em a Dischord Records “Legacy” treatment. Now if you haven’t heard of ‘em, we can put Void up there with the likes of Siege, Repulsion and a reference or two worthy of a crusty black and white patch or at the very least a Napalm Death cover.
Void weren’t merely one of those great dawns of the Reagan era (that’s the early ’80s for most of you who were still swishing ‘round yer daddies ball-bags). They were a mighty “WHAT THE FUCK!!!” whose up-til-now officially released musical output was under 20 minutes on the flipside of their mighty split LP with long-defunct Washington DC hardcore titans Faith. Oh, Void, how do I describe thee? They were hardcore without cliché. The sound of music being played with such fury that it falls apart only to put itself back together on the next song some 30 seconds later. They even take basic teenage screeds like “Authority” and surround ‘em with brilliant swells of feedback to make ‘em sound like the very, very retarded offspring of Black Sabbath (hence, the name from ‘Into The Void’) and Black Flag.
On January 17, 2012, Relapse Records will reissue From Ashes, the debut album from perennial MetalSucks faves Abysmal Dawn. Fully remastered and now featuring three demos for songs from the album, this is THE way to hear the first release from one of the most intense death metal bands of the 21st century. Even if you think you’ve already heard From Ashes, trust us: you ain’t never heard it like this.
MetalSucks is proud to debut both the original demo AND the final, remixed and remastered version of “Blacken the Sky” from this stellar reissue. Since we so enjoy getting insights into the minds of the artists we admire here at MetalSucks, getting to check out the two versions of the song side-by-side is a real treat for us. How did the band originally envision the song? How did it change by the time the final product was complete? What can we learn about the band and their process from those changes? Crank the two versions of “Blacken the Sky” below, pre-order the From Ashes reissue here, and then ponder the answers to those questions in our comments section below!
Abysmal Dawn – “Blacken The Sky” (2004 demo) by MetalSucks
Abysmal Dawn – “Blacken The Sky” (remastered) by MetalSucks
For all the shit Century Media spewed at me earlier this year you’d think they actually disagreed with what I had to say. And while they haven’t gotten their artists back on Spotify yet, they’ve taken a firm step into the 21st Century by doing one of the other crucial things I recommended: they’ve launched their very own booking agency! Hilarious.
New York’s Cro-Mags are best known for two arguably unimpeachable hardcore classics, 1986′s seminal The Age of Quarrel and its far more metallic 1989 follow-up Best Wishes. Constantly in conflict, the Krishna-conscious lineup remained in flux so much that the group has never managed to have the same line-up on any album, so much so that when original frontman John Joseph returned for 1992′s Alpha Omega, it was only after guitarist Parris Mayhew left following a falling out with bassist Harley Flanagan.
Eyehategod’s new album, Whiskey Drink, was at one point scheduled to be released this year; that obviously didn’t happen, which is a real bummer. The good news is, the band performed a new song, “Medicine Noose,” at Club Europa in Brooklyn this past Sunday night, and our bro-bros over at Metal Injection were on hand to capture it all on film. So at least you can hear some new Eyehategod, which is obviously way better than no new Eyehategod.
Eyehategod also performed a DIFFERENT new song, the title of which is unknown, way back in February. You can check out footage of that performance right here.
-AR
It’s always refreshing when a member of an older generation of musicians “gets it” and doesn’t come off as sounding like a dinosaur. It’s not surprising that Henry Rollins, who spent decades screaming his lungs out in dive bars and basements, would appreciate the DIY ethos that the Internet and ever-cheapening recording technology offer, but it’s still great to hear someone over the age of 30 acknowledging the pros of the modern musical age instead of waxing ecstatic about how things used to be.
Love his analogy of the major labels as the The Olive Garden and Subway of music with no love put into the product, and I double-love that he even acknowledges the dudes in those bands (even the horrible ones) might be motivated whereas it’s the labels don’t give a shit. Also, priceless Scott Stapp impression at 1:25.
The above clip comes from Bloodied but Unbowed, aka The Punk Movie, released in 2010.
-VN
Thanks: Jesse Z.
I woke up this morning to a seemingly endless number of headlines announcing that Guns N’ Roses have, indeed, been voted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, and I’m as baffled by all the excitement now as I was when the band first became eligible for induction.
In a response to the last Neilstein Soundscam column, MS commenter “Ogre” pointed out the alleged hypocrisy of the fact that I focus on music sales each and every week while simultaneously celebrating the death of the CD and the rise of streaming services. Periphery’s Misha Mansoor counter-commented with a good response to that accusation, namely that the industry is still very old-fashioned and looks to first week numbers as one, although not the only, major relative gauge of a band’s success and worth for tours, etc. While I agree with Misha’s response and appreciate his getting my back, Ogre does have a point: analyzing album sales seems increasingly irrelevant and definitely doesn’t capture the whole picture whether you think they’re important or not.
There needs to be some kind of a new ranking system that takes into account, for lack of a better phrase, the real world — EVERYTHING a band does — as opposed to just the cottage industry of album sales. Since the new release season for 2011 is all but over and Nickelback’s new album was the best-selling “heavy” record for the second week in a row (and since re-hashing and re-re-hashing how much we all hate Nickelback has stopped being fun), let’s dive deeper into what such a new system could look like.
Horns up for reader Ben Wadler. He correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band Tetrahydrocannibinol! He wins five CDs from MS Mansion Archives. Congrats, dude!
This week we have another awesome prize for you: three copies of Crows Into Swine, the debut solo album from Pheroze, former lead singer of Scar Culture. Unlike his work with that band, Crows Into Swine isn’t metal per se, but it’s definitely rockin’, and catchy as hell, so you wanna check this shit out. You can get more info, including how to buy a copy of Crows Into Swine, on Pheroze’s official website — he’s already working on his next release, and planning a tour for next year. Of course, you can also just enter this contest and try to win a copy!
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 suggested by reader Erick Sierra, and holy shit is it ever a doozy…
-AR
(Photo borrowed from MusicPlayers.com)
They say “never meet your heroes.” I don’t think they say anything about interviewing them.
For decades now, Steven Wilson and his many projects have been consistent sources of inspiration and joy to music lovers, audiophiles, and regular people alike. Like many musical masterminds, Mr. Wilson prefers to let his work speak for itself, but that isn’t to say he’s ever been short for words. In the intimate 20 minutes I had to speak with him it became clear that there was far more to the scruffy, bespectacled man in the blurry photos than I’d been led to believe. Steven is a relentlessly thoughtful and honest individual whose words deserve every bit as much attention as the impressive music he creates.
