Recently, the people who all get together and decide who should win a Nobel Peace Prize came to the conclusion that they hadn’t done anything really, really wacky since 1994, when they awarded their prestigious honor to  infamous bowling alley investor Yasser Arafat. And so, after some great debate about what would really be the most fucknuts thing they could possibly do, they hired Evanescence to play their ceremony in Norway this Sunday.

Allow me to repeat that, because I didn’t believe it at first, either.

Evanescence are going to play the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Norway this Sunday.

Now, assuming you are of sound mind, you first thought was probably something along the lines of “Huh?!?!” Because, uh… WHY? Why the fuck are Evanescence playing the Nobel Peace Prize concert? Is suburban Goth culture somehow exemplary of goodwill towards one’s fellow man? Did the organization feel like they needed a younger, hipper image? Have the ratings been low the last few ceremonies? Was there something about the lyrics to “My Immortal” that struck them as being particularly appropriate to the Nobel Peace Prize? WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS BAND HAVE TO DO WITH FUCKING ANYTHING?!?!

I need to go lie down for awhile. I can’t even… I can’t even… I just can’t…

-AR

My heavy metal DVD shelf was once pretty bare, displaying only The Decline Of Western Civilization and a load of one-view concert films. But just since 2005, it’s been sagging under the weight of classy, addictively watchable feature-length documentaries like Heavy Metal In Baghdad, Get Thrashed, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Global Metal, and the Iron Maiden and Rush movies. The latter four come courtesy of industrious heavy metal anthropologists Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, both responsible for the launch of metal’s overdue efforts to canonize itself and shout down mainstream media’s 40-year campaign to paint metal as dumb, violent ape music. Pssht. Everybody knows it’s awesome, fun ape music.

Cough anyway Dunn and McFadyen are back with an 11-part mini-series airing Saturdays on VH1 Classic titled Metal Evolution. Think about it for a sec: That’s a total running time of about 440 minutes. If you’re not bonered about that, then … gosh, get your boner checked, okay? To date, three episodes have aired, each detailing the roots of metal in blues, jazz, and classical music; Saturday’s episode (above) traveled to England to gab with/about Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin (who, according to Dunn, declined to be interviewed due to an aversion to being associated with metal), and concluded with Judass Priest circa Sad Wings Of Destiny. Spoiler: Bruce Dickinson calls Eric Clapton “tame” compared to Ritchie Blackmore. SWISH! Episode schedule after the jump:

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Periphery have released a very brief video of themselves in the studio working on their new album, and included in that very brief video is a very brief snippet of some new Periphery music. And, hey, guess what? It sure does sound like Periphery!

Of course, I’m just being a wise ass — new Periphery music isn’t a bad thing at all, and I’m stoked to hear the full album. It should be out sometime next year via Sumerian.

-AR

Unexpect’s Fables of the Sleepless Empire is a good album that got lost in the shuffle that was 2011. It’s also an example of the risks of self-releasing a record, showing that record labels do still serve a purpose in an age where distribution is available to everyone.* It’s not that bands aren’t capable of doing on their own all the things record labels normally do, it’s just that many of them don’t have the time, inclination or expertise to do so. When there’s no marketing staff to set up cool exclusives and contests, no publicist to pester magazine writers and bloggers like us, no one to coordinate the filming of a music video, etc., those things tend not to happen at all. For every Cormorant — a band that’s totally on the ball and has done quite well independently — there’s an Unexpect, a good band that doesn’t get the attention they deserve. It doesn’t help that they didn’t tour on this record, either.

Thankfully blogs like The Number of the Blog don’t need no stinkin’ publicists to pester them about Unexpect. Check out this video of Unexpect bassist ChaotH being awesome on the bass to a backing track of their own song “Words” from Fables of the Sleepless Empire. This guy is incredible; IMNs and ponytail betas should be slobbering all over this band.

-VN

*(inb4 someone calls me a hypocrite for saying record labels are important when I’ve allegedly said the opposite in the past. I’ve always maintained that the industry as a whole serves a critical function; what I dispute is that record labels [as opposed to managers or other important players] need to be at the financial center of that equation anymore).

It would seem that Killswitch Engage are getting ready to make a new album… which means that Times of Grace, the project from KsE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and former KsE vocalist Jesse Leach, are, at least for the time being, on hiatus… which means that Leach can now concentrate on his other project, The Empire Shall Fall. And, hey, look at that! Volume I: Solar Plexus, the first in a planned series of EPs from the band, is now streaming right here.

I have a whole lotta respect for Leach as a singer and a performer, but this EP isn’t doing anything for me — it’s just a little too 2003ish for my tastes. That being said, it’s great to hear Leach not being wildly over-produced, which was my big problem with the Times of Grace album. Leach’s voice is so good, there’s absolutely no need to make it sound like the dude needs to be autoLabonted, y’know?

Check out Solar Plexus here, then weigh in with your thoughts below. You can order physical copies and purchase digital downloads here.

-AR

[via The PRP]

Red Fang and director Whitey McConnaughy make pretty much the best music videos in the history of the medium. Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but no joke, the videos these dudes make together completely fucking rule. If you doubt me, you need to check out their previous clips here and here.

So it is all-around great news that the Fang and McConnaughy have teamed up to make another video, this time for the song “Hank is Dead,” from RF’s current Relapse release, Murder the Mountains. And while I can’t quite tell what the concept of the video is based on the behind the scenes pics the band posted to their Facebook page, based on the below photo alone, I would wager that it’s going to be another unforgettable slice of cinemetal:

So get stoked for this. You can check out more photos from the video shoot here.

Meanwhile, the band is also offering a free download of the tune “Number Thirteen,” from the same album, right here. If you don’t already have the song or somehow aren’t hip to how great this band is, you need to get on that shit ASAP.

-AR

Maybe it’s something in the water (The Indian Ocean), but Nothnegal aren’t the first band MetalSucks has featured from the tiny Maldives island chain, some 400 miles off the southern tip of India. I wouldn’t be too quick to call the Maldives a hot-bed for metal just yet, though; cousins Hilarl and Fufu, the band’s main creative forces, had to import musicians from as far away as America and Finland to round out their lineup. The cousins are supported by Six Feet Under, Dååth, ex-Chimaira drummer Kevin Talley and Finnish keyboard player Marco Sneck (Kalmah, Poisonblack) on their new album Decadence, which comes out on January 24th via Season of Mist. But the results paid off; Nothnegal are definitely worth a look by MetalSucks readers.

“Janus” is one of the record’s slower tracks, but that’s why we like it. The song’s deliberate pace allows plenty of room to breathe for the keyboards, which at times throughout Decadence can become overbearing. The result is a moody, doomy and dark yet aggressive slice of genre-melding metal that reminds me somewhat of Ihsahn or his backing band Leprous. Stream “Janus” below.”

Bonus: if you pre-order a copy of Decadence you’ll be automatically entered to win an all expenses paid trip to the Maldives! The 5-day journey will take place at the Fihalhohi Island Resort in Summer 2012. The winner will receive one return flight to the Maldives, an all-inclusive stay (including scuba-diving and other water sport activities) for two people and a meet and greet with the band.

Nothnegal – Janus by MetalSucks

Truth is, Matt DeVries doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions to Chimaira; I’m as a guilty of fixating on his bandmates over him as anyone, to be sure. But the dude wrote the riff from “The Dehumanizing Process,” and for that alone, all Chimaira fans owe him free drinks for as long as he lives. Fella deserves some props, y’know?

So. DeVries has now released a statement to The PRP regarding his decision to leave Chimaira after the band’s twelfth annual Chimaira Christmas show at the end of this month. He doesn’t really say anything that you wouldn’t expect him to say, but I know my fellow Chimaira fanatics will wanna read it. And so:

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The cause of death of Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot has been released, and it’s not what you might have thought. According to North Dakota coroner William Masselo, MD, who performed the autopsy, there was no foul play or drugs involved, which must be something of a sigh of relief to Smoot’s family. The cause  of death was a simple case of bad genetics. From a press release issued by the Gwar camp and Smoot’s family:

We have finalized the autopsy report and death certificate. I have determined that Cory died from a coronary artery thrombosis brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease.

Those interested in learning more about coronary artery disease can do so here.

The Smoot Family Fund is accepting donations to help with the living expenses of Cory’s wife Jamie and their unborn child, and those in the Richmond, VA can attend a memorial show on January 7th, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Family Fund.

-VN

Only two Christmas-themed releases this week as we continue to close the book on 2011’s new releases. Next week will be my last article of the year, as we close down for the year on the 16th.

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As a few of you seem to have noticed, yesterday MetalSucks was very, very proud — like pinch us is this really happening??? proud — to debut “Ghost Walking,” the new single from Lamb of God; now the band has released a lyric video for that song, which you can check out below. I find it real helpful, ’cause I can’t always understand what Randy Blythe is saying. For example, I was walking around all weekend thinking the first line in the song is “Do you remember when work was fun?”, which is not at all what Blythe is screaming. (Freud would say my misinterpretation means something, but Freud is dead and I love my job, so whatever.) So “Ghost Walking” is not a song about how bad it sucks to have a regular nine-to-five job. Fascinating.

“Ghost Walking” is available as a digital single now; it will appear on Lamb of God’s forthcoming release Resolution, which comes out on January 24. You can pre-order it now in one of several different combo packages through Lamb of God’s official webstore.

-AR

Someone sent us the above via Twitter, but I already forget the guy’s handle. Sorry, dude!

In October, Axl Rose added “Estranged” back into Guns N’ Roses’ regular setlist for the first time since 1993. Even though everyone makes fun of that song’s ridiculous music video, it was a smart move — at the GN’R show in New Jersey I attended last month, the song got a roar of approval from the crowd the moment the band played it. Axl’s Nu-GN’R has mostly ignored the Use Your Illusion era for the past decade, which is foolish, because while the critics may not love those albums, they sold seven million copies each. People wanna hear those songs.

And Rose must get it; that same night I saw him Jersey, he also performed “Don’t Cry,” which he hasn’t done in awhile, and now, this past weekend, he suddenly broke out “Civil War,” too. You can check out video below; the band actually sounds pretty good, even if, Jesus H. Christ, something really does need to be done about Dj Slashba (note the unlit cigarette dangling from his lips).

Interestingly enough, Slash has been doing “Civil War” with his solo band (Myles Kennedy + a bunch of random dudes) since last year. By way of comparison, you can check out his Gun Without Rose version after the jump.

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Hate is a train
That thunders aimless through my head
And hate is the fame
Chained to the wheel until I’m dead

And with these words, so begins “Hate Train,” a previously unreleased song from the Death Magnetic sessions that the band performed last night as part of their four-night thirtieth anniversary celebration at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and a rough mix of which has subsequently been e-mailed to Metallica fan club members (audio below). They’re the most achingly poetic, not-at-all trite lyrics the band has penned since “My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.” And I don’t care what anyone says, the main riff is absolutely not just a recycled version of the one from “Fuel,” the song from the Load albums that everyone tolerates because at least it’s not “Unforgiven II.” Furthermore, “Hate Train”‘s seven-minute-plus runtime is the very definition of “warranted,” and I’m really sick of people giving James Hetfield’s vocals a hard time, because, hey, can your dog sing this well? No? Then shut up.

I guess what I’m saying is, this song is so perfect in every way that I just can’t believe it didn’t end up on Death Magnetic. Surely, it was blessed by the hand of Cliff Burton himself.

-AR

[via Blabbermouth]

“Hey Nikki? You’re on with Vince Neilstein.”

The above line was actually uttered by someone on Motley Crue’s management/label/PR team when they connected me with Nikki Sixx for an interview this past Friday. PR girl chuckled at the absurdity of the moment while I became flush with embarrassment, and I’m pretty sure Nikki didn’t notice / didn’t care / was too confused to say anything back. And so began my 10-minute chat with Sixx about the Crue’s upcoming Las Vegas residency, the forthcoming Sixx A.M. acoustic album (now streaming here), Nikki’s in-the-works new books, and Rod Stewart.

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Ha I kinda love this story’s headline up there cuz its few words describe the newest Boris release (streaming here) while simultaneously providing its title, New Album. Another band might name their album (and band) using a bunch of words of vague meaning that look like gibberish displaying on your RS feed and Twitter, so let’s hail Boris’ move to the compact for max impact in the viral world. I said hail!

On a third level, the “new” of New Album may refer its authors’ further immersion in a poppy, sunny, quirky J-indies sound (hinted at on this spring’s Attention Please) and departure from their various modes of blown-out guitar rock. They should’ve done it ages ago: New Album is a blinding ace that you could picture being loved less by Boris fans than by those bored with the band’s first 28 records and shocked by their fluency in spacey art-pop. On its awesome strength, Boris could forge a US conquest mega-tour with fellow JP unclassifiables Boat, Boom Boom Satellites, and Tokyo Pinsalocks. That would rip! For now, crank it up!

-ADF

Boris’ New Album is out Tuesday via Sargent House. Pre-order here.

There’s obviously something in the water in Florida that makes people averse to sucking it up and getting jobs delivering pizza or whatever. How else to explain not just that the legendary Chris Barnes subjected himself to this, but that, make in 1984, Floridian thrash metallers Nasty Savage appeared in the below for some hair salon? I mean, I know that no one came out of the 80s looking good, but come on, dudes.

-AR

[via Zena Metal by way of Metal Insider]

What’s up, everybody! First and foremost I wanna say thanks to the MS staff for giving me this opportunity. I know a decent amount about football and my TV rarely sees any show other than SportsCenter, so this is gonna be really fun every week. A little sports background information on me: I grew up a Packers fan my whole life (and Wisconsin sports in general), so the past couple years have been really fuckin awesome for us. I never played football, but I played basketball and have been super competitive throughout my life. I love a good rivalry and a good shit-talking session, as long as you’ve got the facts to back it up. So here we go!

TGIT (“Thank God It’s Thursday”) just started, and if you’re fortunate enough to have the NFL Network you can watch one extra-shitty game every week. Marshawn Lynch ran well for the Seahawks, busting tackles left and right, but Vince Young played even better. The Eagles are a sorry squad this year; I’m so happy they didn’t pan out. “Let’s spend all the money we can on free agency and say we’re the Dream Team with our talent level.” The only dream they’ve got now is breaking .500. See ya later Andy Reid, leave now and go to a city who won’t boo you every time you play at home.

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We at MetalSucks have dealt with the paradoxes involved with conducting a poll to determine great guitar players (read our 25 Best Modern Metal Guitarists poll here)! So we get that in a unweighted vote, the top-ranked axemen may just represent those liked by the largest number of voters; i.e. a dude who we agree is pretty good may score higher than each of our individual favorite dudes.

So when Rolling Stone magazine enlisted a who’s-who of classic rock personalities for their 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time cover story, we prepared for some wacky aberrations. Let’s check out a few of the RS list’s inconsistencies:

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I don’t even know how many people remember Sucked by a Sucking Suck at this point; they’ve either been dormant, or just without a decent publicist, for what seems like forever now. And, clearly, they were never that big a sensation; they used to be on Century, and I remember ordering something from CM Distro once, and finding that a copy of their album, Pedal to the Metal, was included with my purchase for free. (My dog had a delightful time chewing it to pieces. Thanks, Century!)

But I guess the band is back now, and they have a new track, “(We Will) Suck Forever,” now streaming over at Noisecreep. The song has a cool guitar solo, which makes sense, since their guitarist, Shred Sean, can really, well, y’know. But otherwise… holy shit, is it ever awful. It’s like Dragonforce covering Avenged Sevenfold covering Winger covering Journey; the level of sheen on the production is so high it’s actually blinding to listen to. (And toothless. I’ve met poodles who felt more dangerous than this band.) It’s the musical equivalent of a candy cigarette; a stupid concept that isn’t even vaguely delicious anyway.

So if you want an aural cavity, listen here. The band has a new album, Feel the Power, coming out January 24 via Solid State.

-AR

Until their new song, “Time and Time Again,” premiered online today (stream it here), I had not heard any music from Kill Devil Hill, the new band featuring Rex Brown and Vinny Appice. (I was about to type those dudes’ previous credits when I realized that if you don’t know who Brown and Appice are, I don’t especially care about you anyway.) I know there have been some live bootlegs floating around — the band has been gigging for awhile now — but I somehow managed to avoid them and wait for the real thing.

And now that I’ve heard it… it’s good. Not great. But not bad at all.

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