MetalSucks

As you may be aware, Vince and I are both big fans of The Destro. So this news, which I read on Metal Underground, is pretty upsetting:

Brad Kirkland, bass player from Metal Blade recording artists THE DESTRO, reportedly disappeared before the band’s show on Tuesday, October 27 at Fubar in St. Louis, MO. The band called the venue and cancelled the show minutes before they were due on stage.

This is the second time in a month that a prominent metal band has completely misplaced a member; but unlike that other group, the dudes in The Destro are not total idiots, and actually make good music. It would be great if it turned out that Kirkland was just enjoying a lost weekend, because while that make him irresponsible, at least he’d be safe, and the only consequence would be that he make a sincere apology to any fans who got screwed out of a Destro gig.

More news as we get it.

-AR

It was a fuckin’ busy week, no? Either shit was crazy this week or I’ve really got to get outside of the MS Mansion more often. Here’s what went down:

• We announced a Winter U.S. tour featuring four bands TBA, and we revealed them day by day via anonymous interviews. So far we’ve revealed Mutiny Within, Arsis and Exodus (click the band name for the interview). Who will the headliner be? Read the interview here and try to guess.
• Eyal got burnt out on the music he loves and explained the financial realities of being a metal musician.
• We spoke with 3 Inches of Blood’s Shane Clark and White Wizzard’s Erik Kluiber.
• Horse the Band’s Lord Gold blogged about being bored on tour.
• We argued about drum triggering in metal.
• We streamed the asshole-ripping new record by The Destro and a webisode from Steel Panther.
• We said goodbye to Evile bassist Mike Alexander. R.I.P.

Ax and I are going to see 3 Inches of Blood in Brooklyn tonight, so hopefully that’ll provide just the head-clearing I need. See you guys Monday.

-VN

We’ve been talking about The Destro’s new record Harmony of Discord for weeks already, so by now you’ve probably made up your mind as to whether or not you like their no-bullshit approach to metal. If you dig the Destro’s brand of self-described “old-school brutal style” now’s your chance to hear the entire new record, for free, below. If for whatever reason you haven’t yet gotten around to giving the The Destro a shot, you a) are a loser, b) have bad taste in music, c) can do so simply by clicking the “play” button. So go on… do it. Despite MS commente / evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins‘ objection to the cover artwork.

Harmony of Discord comes out next Tuesday, October 13th, on Ironclad / Metal Blade Records.

[This promotion has ended. -Ed.]

The Destro fucking rule. If you read our site regularly, you should already know this. That’s why we’re very excited to be exclusively streaming “Persistence of Ignorance,” one of the heaviest tracks on their ripping, old-school-brutal-style new effort Harmony of Discord out October 13th through Ironclad / Metal Blade. Trust us, the rest of the album is more of the same: unrelenting, punishing, fuck-you-up groove after groove after groove. Check out The Destro’s MySpace page for another new track, “Justifiers of Malice.”

[this promotion has ended. - Ed.]

Our favorite “old school brutal style” Texas metallers The Destro — recipients of my unofficial “best performance of New England Metalfest ‘09” award — are fucking back, baby. MetalSucks is thrilled to be able to reveal the cover artwork for their new record Harmony of Discord, which will be released on October 13th through Ironclad Recordings. The band hired an all-star cast of characters to assist in the studio this time around; Harmony of Discord was produced & mixed by Unearth’s Ken Susi and was mastered by the infamous James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Testament). The brutal artwork you see above was created by Joe Hickman @ Dreams Like Fire Design.

We haven’t heard anything from the record yet, but it promises to be groovy and brutal. Brush up on old Destro material on their newly revamped MySpace page.

I mean, look at these dudes. They be scary. Like, real “don’t wanna run into these guys in a back alley” scary, not faux “I wear corpsepaint to cover up for my small penis” scary. They nearly fuckin’ made me cry through sheer awesomeness at the 3rd stage of New England Metal & Hardcore Fest this past Friday; a band that bills themselves as “Old School Brutal Style” can’t go wrong. The Destro are at the top of my “psyched for a new album in ‘09″ list at the moment; their new record was recorded just prior to NEMHF with Ken “Not a Child Molester” Susi of Unearth fame, so expect that shit to drop on Ironclad / Metal Blade some time this year.

Here’s their video for “Beast Burden” from their debut record released in 2007. I’m pretty sure they’ve got a new bassist now (and possibly even a new drummer) but rest assured the new lineup kicks even more ass than the last. Listen to more of The Destro on Myspace.

-VN

Have you heard the good news, brother? The New England Metal and Hardcore Fest has added a third stage for younger bands with whom concert goers might be less familiar.

Looking over the list, I already know  one terrible band that will be on this stage (Oceano) and two excellent bands that will be on this stage (Brother Von Doom and The Destro), but there are a lot of names here I’m not familiar with. Thus, I am now going to listen to some of those bands via various channels (really just one channel – MySpace) and make some snap judgements. So, in no particular order:

Click to read more…

We are incredibly bummed to announce that the inaugural run of the MetalSucks-sponsored Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour — which was due to start this week and featured The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean and Rose Funeral — has been canceled. The official explanation we’ve been given is “due to a handful of personal and other issues.”

So, um, this sucks. No ill will towards Metal Blade or any of the fine bands on the tour, as I’m sure whatever reasons got in the way of this tour happening were good ones. But this still blows.

Ah well. Next time. Sorry.

The MetalSucks sponsored Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour, featuring the cream of the crop of Metal Blade Records’ young and upcoming bands, hits the road next week for its inaugural 14-date run. The tour features The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean and Rose Funeral. Are you guys fuckin’ excited for this yet? We’re bummed the tour isn’t coming to NYC, but we’ll have to live vicariously through you guys. Full tour dates are posted after the fold.

Click to read more…

Lucky for you, more dates have been added to this Spring’s Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour, sponsored by MetalSucks, featuring The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean and Rose Funeral. In case you’re a fool and still don’t know about these bands, read Axl’s recent pieces about them, linked above.

MetalSucks.net presents Metal Blade’s Fresh Meat Tour w/ THE ABSENCE, The Destro, Epicurean, and Rose Funeral:
06/19 Richland, NJ Memories Lounge
06/20 Baltimore, MD Sonar
06/21 Albany, NY Valentines
06/22 Niagra Falls, ON The 4555
06/23 Toronto, ON Sneaky Dee’s 19+
06/24 Brampton, ON Spot One
06/25 Sarnia, ON The Polish Alliance Hall
06/26 LaPorte, IN The Next Level
06/27 Troy, OH Staunton Garage
06/28 Detroit, MI Fischer Hall
06/29 Chicago, IL Mojoes Rock House
07/01 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews no Rose Funeral
07/02 St. Louis, MO Rockstar Nightclub no Rose Funeral
07/03 Tulsa, OK The Pinkeye no Rose Funeral
07/06 McAllen, TX Smokin Aces no Rose Funeral

I don’t think there’s anything I could say about Epicurean that would be more elegant than what Kevin Stewart-Panko wrote in the June ‘08 issue of Decibel when reviewing the band’s latest album, A Consequence of Design. So I’m just gonna reprint a portion of that review here:

“While every step Epicurean take is drenched in copious melody, it would appear they’re having a hard time deciding whether they want to be Emperor, Dream Theater, Shadows Fall, Children of Bodom or Kalmah. Not that this is a bad thing—or necessarily confusing—as Epicurean’s synthesis is feted by [John] Laramy’s chameleonic vocals, excellent all-around guitar work and keys that artfully balance skill and widdle, with the result being a heck of a lot more interesting than if they just picked one of those individual outfits to emulate. Their synthesis is made all the more potent by their intelligent use of melodies usually heard in Swedish or Norwegian bands, which drape this album in hooks that are as dark and melancholic as they are life-affirming and triumphant; check out ‘The Author and the Architect’ and ‘Illusion.’ But given that they hail from Minnesota—which, according to census figures, might as well be called Little Scandinavia—we shouldn’t be all that surprised.”

Below, check out a fan made video for “The Author and the Architect;” then check out our interview with Epicurean vocalist John Laramy.

MetalSucks.net presents The Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour w/ The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean, and Rose Funeral (more dates TBA):

06/19 Richland, NJ – Memories Lounge
06/20 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
06/21 Albany, NY – Valentines
06/22 Niagara Falls, ON – The 4555
06/25 Sarnia, ON – Polish Alliance Hall
06/26 Laporte, IN – The Next Level
06/27 Troy, OH – Staunton Garage
06/28 Detroit, MI – Fischer Hall
06/30 Minneapolis, MN – TBA
07/01 Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
07/02 St. Louis, MO – Rockstar Nightclub
07/03 Tulsa, OK – The Pinkeye
07/05 San Antonio, TX – TBA
07/06 McAllen, TX – Smokin’ Ace

-AR

The MetalSucks-sponsored Metal Blade Fresh Meat tour featuring The Absence, the Destro, Epicurean and Rose Funeral now has an official tour flyer. So take this shit and plaster it up on your bathroom stalls, MySpace pages, or wherever. Because this is not a tour to miss!

In case you missed the announcement, all of the bands on this bill fuckin’ destroy. Check out Axl’s pieces on The Absence and The Destro from last week.

-VN

Here’s what I wrote about The Destro back in August, in a piece cleverly entitled “The Destro are Fuckin’ Metal”:

“How fuckin’ metal? So fuckin’ metal that in bar fights they can only bitch slap their opponents, because hitting them with a closed fist is the legal equivalent of beating someone with an aluminum baseball bat. So fuckin’ metal that they piss hot molten lead and shit lug nuts. So fuckin’ metal that the first thing they do every morning is lather themselves in WD-40. So fuckin’ metal that if they go out in the rain, they rust. So fuckin’ metal that if they go to the beach, they can’t go into the ocean because they’ll sink right to the bottom. So fuckin’ metal that Unearth frontman Trevor Phipps signed them to his Ironclad label after he discovered them during a mining expedition. So fuckin’ metal that they readily loses electrons to form positive ions, and if you put them in a room with a non-metal band, they’d form an ionic bond.”

Still apples, dude. Still applies.

Here’s their video for “Beast Burden.”

MetalSucks.net presents The Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour w/ The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean, and Rose Funeral (more dates TBA):

06/19 Richland, NJ – Memories Lounge
06/20 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
06/21 Albany, NY – Valentines
06/22 Niagara Falls, ON – The 4555
06/25 Sarnia, ON – Polish Alliance Hall
06/26 Laporte, IN – The Next Level
06/27 Troy, OH – Staunton Garage
06/28 Detroit, MI – Fischer Hall
06/30 Minneapolis, MN – TBA
07/01 Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
07/02 St. Louis, MO – Rockstar Nightclub
07/03 Tulsa, OK – The Pinkeye
07/05 San Antonio, TX – TBA
07/06 McAllen, TX – Smokin’ Ace

-AR

Are you guys seriously not excited about the MetalSucks sponsored Metal Blade Fresh Meat tour? If that’s the case, then I’m fairly sure it’s just because you’re not down with The Absence, and by “down with,” I mean “have heard at least one of their songs.” ‘Cause if you’ve ever heard a song by The Absence, then you’d know that, in the words of MetalSucks reader attackmole, the band is “tiiiiiiiiiiight.”

So below is the video for the title track from their Erik Rutan-produced 2005 Metal Blade debut, From Your Grave. Produced by the legendary Erik Rutan, it is one of the best European melodic death metal albums I’ve ever heard by a band not actually from Europe. ‘Cause this band is actually from Florida, where they recorded this album with producer Erik Rutan. Also, did I mention it was produced by ERIK FUCKING RUTAN?

MetalSucks.net presents The Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour w/ The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean, and Rose Funeral (more dates TBA):

06/19 Richland, NJ – Memories Lounge
06/20 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
06/21 Albany, NY – Valentines
06/22 Niagara Falls, ON – The 4555
06/25 Sarnia, ON – Polish Alliance Hall
06/26 Laporte, IN – The Next Level
06/27 Troy, OH – Staunton Garage
06/28 Detroit, MI – Fischer Hall
06/30 Minneapolis, MN – TBA
07/01 Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
07/02 St. Louis, MO – Rockstar Nightclub
07/03 Tulsa, OK – The Pinkeye
07/05 San Antonio, TX – TBA
07/06 McAllen, TX – Smokin’ Ace

-AR

We didn’t lead you astray with the MetalSucks co-sponsored Paganfest, and we certainly wouldn’t dare do so with any other tour we put our name on. We are extremely proud to announce that MetalSucks will be sponsoring this Spring’s ‘Metal Blade Fresh Meat’ tour, featuring Metal Blade young guns The Absence, Ironclad Recordings’ The Destro, as well as Epicurean and Rose Funeral! Get pumped. And get ready to get sick of hearing us talk about this tour.

MetalSucks.net presents The Metal Blade Fresh Meat Tour w/ The Absence, The Destro, Epicurean, and Rose Funeral (more dates TBA):

06/19 Richland, NJ – Memories Lounge
06/20 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
06/21 Albany, NY – Valentines
06/22 Niagara Falls, ON – The 4555
06/25 Sarnia, ON – Polish Alliance Hall
06/26 Laporte, IN – The Next Level
06/27 Troy, OH – Staunton Garage
06/28 Detroit, MI – Fischer Hall
06/30 Minneapolis, MN – TBA
07/01 Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
07/02 St. Louis, MO – Rockstar Nightclub
07/03 Tulsa, OK – The Pinkeye
07/05 San Antonio, TX – TBA
07/06 McAllen, TX – Smokin’ Ace