IN WHICH WE TOOK THE OATH OF THE CIRCLE (OR SOMETHING)

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And speaking of suckage… this week —

• We began to count down The Top 25 Modern Metal Drummers.
• We premiered new music from Valient Thorr, Bereft, Graf Orlock, and Primitive Weapons, plus a new music video by Brutal Truth.
• Nothnegal’s guitarists took us through their live rigs, God Forbid’s Doc Coyle took us through the NBA, and Becoming the Archetype’s Seth Hecox took us through the MLB.
• Axel Rudi Pell was the subject of what may now be my favorite interview I’ve ever done.
• We checked out the latest releases from Morbid Angel and T.R.A.M.,  a new split from Crypticus and Scaremaker, and a free comp of Indian metal.
• Corey Mitchell gave you a run down of the best metal shows and panels at SXSW this year.
• We enjoyed a lofty debate about the nu-metal and screamo genres.
• We were bummed to learn that Peter Dolving has quit The Haunted… again.
• We challenged readers to make a great Dave Mustaine meme.
• We dissected the lyrics to Demon Hunter’s “Someone to Hate.”

Next week we have some more awesome premieres lined-up, some more great interviews, and, of course, the next five inductees onto our list of The Top 25 Modern Metal Drummers. Any guesses as to who’s up next? I’ll give you a hint: no two of them play the same genre of metal. Crappy hint, I know, but you don’t wanna spoil all the fun now, do ya?

-AR