Another day at Harpo’s Theatre in Detroit: white metal bands, black neighborhood, beefed-up security, and glaring eyes – nothing says “Welcome to Michigan” like playing here. Although forward-thinking on the racial front is lackluster at best, we still have a very prominent and devoted metal crowd ready to use the few dollars they have left to buy a ticket and get shit-faced.

It is here, during the MetalSucks co-sponsored Thrash & Burn tour, that I recently had the opportunity to interview a band that seemingly everyone at MS has been jizzing their pants over: Periphery.These guys just got signed with Sumerian, and THANK GOD. They can absolutely shred, and even if you’re not too keen on clean vocals, I think you need to get the stick out of your ass and check these guys out ASAP.

Their soon-to-be “mass appeal” is more then I would normally advocate. Nonetheless, just because they will most likely be your younger sister or brother’s favorite new band (if your sister of brother is totally bad-ass), they may also be yours as well. There is no way you can deny their talent. Everything about this band is correct. Everything is in motion. They are insoluble. They are the lime in your tequila. They just… work.

The band’s founder, Misha Mansoor, is not only super-talented, but also gives his music away. For free, as Kip Wingerschmidt recently informed us. And not just one or two songs, either – over one-hundred tracks, in studio-quality audio. If that doesn’t convince you to check them out, then you need to check yourself off. Get it?

Either way, Misha and go-guitarist Alex Bois were so very gracious to sit down with me in their conversion van and tell me all about how they got to where they are now, and where they are going to go. I would assume they might dominate most of the Sound Scan posts here at MS in 2010. But hey, to be fair, so will Miley Cyrus. So don’t listen to me, I just have a vagina and I am really, really cool and super smart.

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Lately I have been in close contact with some of the most epic beards I have ever seen in my life. Until now, I never put much thought into the beard.  Its around the scene I associate myself with, but that has been the extent of my true exposure and understanding of the facial shrub. If I can’t grow one, why the fuck would I care? I’m a selfish bitch. Well, I believe I’ve finally found a reason. As a matter of fact, I found many fucking reasons to say this: I FUCKING LOVE BEARDS. YES.

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Winds of Plague = really good people. Not only did they know their shit, they also had a sense of humor that wasn’t consistent with that of an inbred southern hick. Vocalist Johnny Plague can bench-press 5,000 lbs a day and keyboardist Kristen Randall may or may not be into making out with chicks – maybe I read too far into some things she said, or maybe I just automatically assume everyone is gay until proven straight, or maybe I just was hoping to make-out with Kristin because, let me tell you, she is pretty smokin’ in person. As a matter of fact, there isn’t one unattractive person in the band. That has nothing to do with their music, and everything to do with being horny. All the time.

ANYWAYS, Johnny’s idea (which may or may not have been plagiarized) for The Great Stone War is pretty nifty. Yeah, it’s yet ANOTHER concept album. But from what I have heard thus far, it’s a solid fucking record. If you weren’t a fan of Decimate The Weak, do yourself a favor and check out The Great Stone War.  If for some reason you’re not into it, at least you have a bunch of sweet artwork from the album sleeve to peep at from time to time.

For the most part, these guys (and gal) are going to be pretty busy the rest of 2009. Rumor has it they will be touring with Unearth in November, so make sure to keep an eye out for an official press release. Below is my slightly awkward interview.

P.S. – Enough with the WOP basketball jerseys. Please. That shit needs to stop. Seriously, this is just silly already.

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I have only nice things to say about Decrepit Birth. Their music is br00tal, their influences are fucking legendary (Vader, Suffocation, Deicide), and there isn’t a single generic breakdown on either of their records. Singer Bill Robinson was the only member of the group ready and willing to sit down for an interview at this summer’s Dirt Fest (my review here), so I took him to the only comfortable place I knew of outside of the heat: the men’s bathroom. Although the smell of tour shits filled the air, the insight Bill gave me into the band and his life-style was nothing short of inspiring. He is homeless by choice and definitely looks it, but you would be surprised to know that he is cleaner then everyone on the tour combined. Living in the terraces of Santa Cruz, CA and growing herb for a living is not really the way I pictured the front man of a death metal band. But Bill does it, and does it well. He loves it so much that he feels the band is actually a sacrifice he makes for himself, and genuinely misses being away from the field he resides in (I slept in a field once  – it wasn’t by choice, and had everything to do with Jagermeister.).

Along with Bill’s love for weed comes hatred for the police. The pigs. All of the dick-knuckles in blue who cuffed and arrested more than two dozen people that very day (seriously, waaaaaay too many people got busted with pot and open containers in the parking lot). I’m with Bill on this one. All the fucking way. As far as Decrepit Birth is concerned, recording on a new album should begin sometime in the next eight months. As for the rest of 2009, with Summer Slaughter now officially dunzo, the guys will be embarking on a tour in the fall. Be there or be square, fuckers. Read on for full details…

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Okay. I get it. The boys in Born of Osiris are young. Real young.  And judging by the brand-spanking-new tour bus they were ghost riding in, someone has really big plans for their future. And, honestly, so do I. Those kids can play. They can play real well, and I have honestly been a fan of theirs for some time now.

But I’d suggest that someone tutors them a bit about the history of the music they are making. Also about giving good interview: despite there being obvious differences between their Sumerian debut, A New Reign, and their recently released follow-up, A Higher Place, the boys think the biggest difference is that the latter is… longer. Seriously.

I could explain more, but… it’s probably best that you just read the interview. Full transcript after the jump.

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Ahh, Michigan. We have lakes. Big fucking lakes. We used to have a booming car industry, but unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you need not an explanation of why I won’t be speaking of that in this article. Besides, we harbor a little music festival every summer called Dirt Fest, a metal get together a few hours outside of Detroit, founded by two dudes looking to showcase their own band. Dirt Fest quickly became the summer festival for local bands looking for recognition and inspiration. It wound up becoming comparable to the one hot chick at the party which turned out to be a sausage fest – she ends up having such a good time that she lets everyone have a turn.

Anyhoo, thirteen lucky summers later and Dirt Fest is rocking a roster that has, in the past, included bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Black Dahlia Murder. Obviously something is working if these bands are rolling through, so I decided to finally go check it out this year. Armed with nothing but a delicious bottle of Jagermeister and a set of tits everyone at the MetalSucks Mansion is dying to get a look at, I embarked on what turned out to be a very interesting day. My mouth already tasted like booze before noon…

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