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We’ve had so much fun with our past lists, like The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists and The 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century… So Far, that we’ve gone and made another one.
We’re going to give you some clues as to the subject of this particular list on Friday.
For now, we just wanted to warn you…
Get ready to be pissed.
-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks
Well, this is sucky — but at least it has a happy ending. According to Roadrunner’s website, Max Cavalera is recovering from “Bell’s Palsy, a temporary condition that is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side.” A statement from the former Sepultura front man goes into greater detail:
“I woke up one morning after coming home from Australia and the whole room was spinning. I looked at Gloria [Cavalera, Max's wife and manager] and said, ‘There’s something wrong here.’ She said, ‘Your face looks weird.’ I went to the mirror and couldn’t move half of my face. We thought I was having a stroke, so we rushed to the hospital. I learned my condition was called Bell’s Palsy but I’d never heard of that. It’s a fucking weird disease. My right eye won’t blink, and half of my face feels like I’ve been punched by Mike Tyson! It hurts like hell. Anyway, I am leaving for Brazil. The show must go on and this Bell’s Palsy ain’t gonna stop a metalhead from his duties. I hope I’ll be OK and thanks to all the fans concerned with me. Stay Metal.”
Obviously, the good news here is that it’s only temporary, and that Cavalera doesn’t seem to be letting this slow him down. Still, very scary stuff. We’re sending out good thoughts to Max and his family, and hope Max feels 100% soon!
People and bands change over time, and Shadows Fall have had the same logo for most of their nearly 15-year career. Rather than foist a new logo upon the masses, our favorite Massholes have decided to put a call out to the public: take a shot at designing a new logo for the band, and you could win a whole bunch of really cool stuff in addition to having your logo plastered all over Shadows Fall’s albums and merch for years to come!
MetalSucks is presenting this content along with TalentHouse.com, a really cool platform for designers that specializes in exactly this sort of thing. Two winners will be chosen, one by the members of Shadows Fall and one by a public vote — who knows, the same logo may even win both categories. Here are the prize packages and details for how to enter:
Here’s all you should really need to convince you that 3 Inches of Blood’s new album Long Live Heavy Metal is worthy of your oh-so-precious time:
Exhibit A: It’s a new 3 Inches of Blood album.
Exhibit B: It’s called Long Live Heavy Metal.
Exhibit C: Album opener “Dark Messenger,” streaming below exclusively on MetalSucks.
One listen is all it’ll take to prove that these high-flyin’, high-powered, high-fallutin’ British Columbian heavy metal warriors haven’t lost a step. And we assure you, Long Live Heavy Metal is action-packed with fist-pumping anthems just as catchy, fun and embodying of heavy metal as this one. Stream another new track called “Leather Lords” right here — that name alone should be enough to make you click!
Long Live Heavy Metal comes out on March 27th.
Holy shit, is that picture that MetalSucks photographic genius Miikka Skaffari took of Veil of Maya’s Marc Okubo during a recent San Francisco concert with In Flames, Trivium, and Kyng amazing or what? It looks like Okubo is floating in mid-air! FUCKING EPIC.
And it’s just one of fifty-five incredible shots Miikka captured for us at the Regency Ballroom last week. Seriously, guys, you NEED to see this gallery — it’s already legendary here at the MetalSucks Mansion.
Check out the whole thing after the jump!
That’s right, baby.
It’s the most romantic day of the year.
Break out the candles and incense.
Lay down the bear skin rug.
Take off all your clothes.
And bone to this beautiful, beautiful music.
(If you think you’re gonna cum too soon, don’t worry — just think about this.)
(Click to enlarge/download. Artwork by Mike Wohlberg of tFk! Illustration.)
Last year, MetalSucks was proud to bring our own patented brand of mayhem to South by Southwest in the form of the South by South Death showcase; this year, we’re teaming up with our friends at Metal Injection, Metal Insider, Peavey, and ddrum to do it again — and if we can take a second to be not-at-all humble, we have REALLY outdone ourselves this time. ‘Cause on Wednesday, March 14, we are going to absolutely DECIMATE the city of Austin with performances by High on Fire, Darkest Hour, Nachtmystium, Intronaut, Black Tusk, Holy Grail, and MonstrO.
Go ahead and pinch yourselves, fools — that line-up is 110% real. And it’s 200% awesome.
Like was said, the madness begins on Wednesday, March 14 at 7 pm on the patio stage at Barbarella. It is going to be THE can’t-miss extreme music show of this year’s South by South West, so absolutely do not miss it.
FUCKIN’ MOSH.
Forget Axl Rose — the great Cliff Burton would have turned fifty today. We have no idea what he would have accomplished had he lived past the age of twenty-four… if he would have been able to stop the debacle that Metallica became or if he would have been a willing participant in the shenanigans… but we know we would have liked to find out.
Here’s an old interview with Burton that we dug up from YouTube.
Happy birthday, Cliff. We’ll always miss ya, dude.
-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks
Thanks to Kyle for the reminder.
If you’re not hip to Mobile Deathcamp yet, you should be. Featuring former GWAR guitarist Todd Evans, the band plays face-rippingly good speed metal, and are definitely worthy of your attention.
So here’s a good chance to start gettin’ familiar with MB: they recently played a gig with Logistic Slaughter at Thee Parkside, and, as usual, our own Miikka Skaffari was on hand to capture all the action. So skip to after the jump to check out some sweet, sweet pics from the show!
This is Ariella Spector, a self-described MetalSucks reader “hailing from Hollywood and currently living in the Holyland.” Ariel works at a humous restaurant in Tel Aviv and rocks the nifty “Appetite for Deconstruction” MetalSucks t-shirt as she serves up humous and pita daily.
Says Ariel, “I’m actually really impressed with the metal scene here. While I miss seeing bands on a weekly basis there is not a single bar in Hollywood/LA where I can hear good metal (The Rainbow Room does not play good metal). While most people here are into old thrash and black metal, I can still go out on a Monday night and hear Gorod (as per my request), Necrophagist, Anata and a shit ton variety of metal bands. The closest I get back in Hollywood is Poison or Journey. Bottom line, I love being here and sporting my favorite metal site’s shirt.”
Swoon! Thanks for the love, Ariel.
Don’t forget to buy your very own MetalSucks merch right here. More pics of Ariel workin’ that humous after the jump.
Last month, A389 Recordings celebrated their eighth anniversary by inviting a ton of awesome bands — including Eyehategod, Integrity, and Pulling Teeth, playing THEIR LAST SHOW EVER — to come destroy the Sonar in Baltimore. And if that sounds like a blast and you’re suddenly very depressed that you couldn’t be there, well, we have the next best thing for ya — killer pics of the show, courtesy of MetalSucks’ own Alyssa Lorenzon.
After the jump, check out the latest round of Alyssa’s amazing photos — including shots from Pulling Teeth’s final performance ever!!!
Seeing a huge band in a small venue before their new album touring cycle kicks off is the absolute best. Just look at the above photograph of Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe crowd-surfing at the Troc in Philly on January 26th; that kind of intense band-to-audience bond would never happen if the band were playing the size venue they’re now capable of filling. MS photographer Mariel “Tormentia” Pietrykoski captured all the energy on film when Lamb of God rocked Philadelphia’s Trocadero along with The Acacia Strain on a quick run of small venues during the release week of LoG’s new album Resolution last month. Check out those pics after the break, and also be sure not to miss Vince’s live review of the NYC show and Sammy’s official writeup of the album.
Seas Will Rise have a strong connection to Landmine Marathon — the band features founding Marathoner Eric Saylor, and their debut album, Disease is Our Refrain, was recorded and mixed by current Landmine Marathon guitarist Ryan Butler. And if you’re sitting there wondering “Gee, does that mean that Seas Will Rise play brutal, filthy, hardcore-flavored death grind?”, then you will be happy to know that the answer is, “Yes. Yes they do. And they are AWESOME AT IT.”
And should you doubt us, well, we’ll prove it, fuckers — we’re debuting the track “A Sleeper’s Cell” below. It is some epic curb-stomping shit.
Here’s what Saylor had to tell us about “A Sleeper’s Cell” –
“Cormac McCarthy’s The Road has been a really big influence on this band. When I started thinking about what I wanted to do for this record, I really wanted to work on a cohesive theme of this post-apocalyptic world. Since we’re from Arizona, I wanted everything to be set in the desert. This is the first song on the record, so I wanted to set up everything that follows and capture that sort of desperate, exasperation that would come with literally being on a run for your life 24/7.”
Mission accomplished, Mr. Saylor. Mission accomplished big time.
Check out “A Sleeper’s Cell Below.” Disease is Our Refrain comes out March 6 via Man in Decline and Anxiety Machine Records. It’s gonna be limited to 500 LPs, 100 of which are bone colored, so if you want one, you should buy it up quick. You can do so here.
Have you checked out KillswitchEngage.com today? We’re not sure how long it’s been there, but as of the time this article is being published there’s a splash screen up with a photo of the band — including original lead singer Jesse Leach. While the band has yet to release a statement via their website, Facebook page, press release or any other medium, a photo is worth 1,000 words and we can’t think of any other possible way this could be construed.
After Howard Jones’ departure on January 4th, asking Leach back into the band seemed like only logical course of action; 3rd vocalists never work out, and duh, it just makes sense given all the history and Leach’s recent relationship with the other band members. Welcome back, Jesse!
Thanks: Corey B.
Hordes of Zombies is Terrorizer’s first release since the tragic passing of guitarist Jesse Pintado — but despite the loss, the band hasn’t missed a beat. Hordes of Zombies is an unrelenting, no-bullshit, no gimmicks, ugly, ugly, UGLY tumor of a death-grind album, the kind of release that reminds you why you ever got into the genre in the first place. If the music contained on Hordes of Zombies actually DOES wake the dead and induce them into a mad feeding frenzy, no one should be surprised. Pintado would be proud.
MetalSucks is thrilled to debut the title track from Hordes of Zombies, which you can stream below. We’re confident you’ll agree that it’s easily one of the most merciless releases of 2012 so far. The full album comes out on February 28 via Season of Mist; you can, and should, pre-order it here.
MetalSucks has been given a pair of Van Halen tickets to give away to one lucky reader! The winner of this contest will get to choose which show they’d like to attend (dates here), and we’ll hook it up.
Entering is easy. Simply leave a comment below answering the following question: Which Eddie Van Halen guitar solo is the best of all-time, and why? Remember to fill in your email address in the appropriate form so we can contact the winner, and remember to make your answer as fun and interesting as possible since this ain’t your 6th grade essay exam.
The ultimate irony here is that while one of you and a friend will get to go and see Van Halen live, Axl and Vince probably will not; they’ll just be home crying. So don’t waste this opportunity! This contest is open to U.S. residents only. Contest ends Monday night, February 6th, at 11:59PM EST.
(click to view hi-res version)
The Internet’s been a-churnin’ with buzz about the forthcoming U.S. tour featuring the prog-tastic lineup of Protest the Hero, Periphery, Jeff Loomis and The Safety Fire, but MetalSucks has been mum until now. Why? Because we were waiting on the all-important tour poster featuring our very own logo! Ain’t it purdy? Take that bitch and embed it anywhere you please.
Words of wisdom regarding the tour from Luke Hoskin of Protest the Hero:
Reality check 1 – We get to travel beautiful countries that aren’t even ours
Reality check 2 – We get to travel these countries playing music we wrote and love
Reality check 3 – We get to do all this alongside bands like Periphery and musicians like Jeff Loomis who we are inspired by…
Reality check 4 – We need beers.
and from all of Periphery (teamwork!)”
We’re extremely elated to be going on tour with some great friends! We’re good buddies with three of the other bands on this tour, so it’s sure to be a fun time with some great music and awesome shows! We’re all going to be teaching via Bandhappy on this tour too, so we’re excited to connect with our fans, hang with some great friends, and perform in some of our favorite cities across the US. See ya soon!
So, like… duh, this tour lineup is beyond all ruleage. Take the already excellent combo of Protest the Hero and Periphery, add the first North American tours EVER for both Jeff Loomis and djenty up-and-comers The Safety Fire, and holy crap, what a bill. We don’t know much about Today I Caught the Plague, but if they’re among such esteemed company they’re certainly worth checking out.
Dates after the break:
Scale the Summit’s breathtaking album The Collective is a sonic masterpiece, the kind of aural adventure that would be perfectly befitting of the sweet grooves of a good old-fashioned vinyl. Lucky for us, Prosthetic Records has decided to produce exactly such a product, a 180-gram vinyl reissue of The Collective limited to just 250 copies. If you haven’t already pre-ordered one of these, what the hell are you waiting (and at only $15, too, a bargain)? They’re gonna sell out any second, and they’ll start shipping tomorrow.
If a big old vinyl disc isn’t enough for you, how about the allure of a previously unreleased bonus track called “Redwoods”? The band’s already been playing it live on their current tour, as of today “Redwoods” is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon as a single, and we’ve got the exclusive stream for you below:
Ulcerate’s The Destroyers of All was one of the most deliciously heavy and crushingly beautiful releases of all of 2011, landing a spot in four different MS staffers’ Best of 2011 lists plus a whole slew of mentions in the lists published by Ulcerate’s contemporaries in other metal bands. Now we’ll finally have a chance to experience all of Ulcerate’s death metal carnage in person when these New Zealanders descend upon North America for the very first time ever this May for a quick tour sponsored by MetalSucks.
As many foreign metal band are wont to do, Ulcerate have used their Memorial Day Weekend appearance at Maryland Deathfest as an excuse to play a few more shows while they’re here, and we couldn’t be happier. The all-too-brief seven-date tour leading up to MDF features shows in the Eastern U.S. and Canada, with NYC’s own Tombs as support on the first three dates and an as-of-yet unannounced opener on the remaining tour stops.
Dates after the break!
Our Unsigned Band Promopalooza is about to end, so get it while it’s hot!! This special offers ends at Midnight PST tomorrow, January 31st.
We know money’s hard to come by when you’re in an unsigned band, so The Blast Beat Network – the agency that sells banner ads on behalf of MetalSucks, Metal Injection, Lambgoat.com, Decibel Magazine, MetalUnderground.com, MetalInsider.net and a slew of other awesome metal sites – would like to extend an offer to unsigned bands for a great way to get your band noticed. For a limited time, we are offering unsigned bands the opportunity to have ads on all the sites in The Blast Beat Network at a special unsigned band discount that’s less than what the record labels pay!
For $100, your 728×90 leaderboard ad (up top of the site) will be shown 50,000 times across the network over the course of 30 days.
To take advantage of this special deal, follow these instructions: Step 1) Send a payment of $100 to paypal [at] blastbeatnetwork [dot] com. Step 2) Email your banner – 728×90 pixels, jpg or gif only, maximum of 70k file size – to info [at] blastbeatnetwork [dot] com, along with the URL you’d like the banner to point to (your band’s Facebook page, Bandcamp, store, etc). That’s it! You’ll receive a confirmation email once the campaign is live.
