Death/doom crew Novembers Doom released their new record Aphotic via The End Records earlier this year, and the album finds the Chicago-based metal vets doing more of what they do best, the sound they helped pioneer over 20 years ago: artful yet punishing death grooves laden with doomy, morose undertones. “Harvest Scythe” is one of the album’s stand-out tracks so we’re pleased to be able to exclusively premiere the song’s official music video.

Vocalist and sole remaining founding member Paul Kuhr had this to say about the song and video: “The song is about internal conflict in one’s mind, somewhat multiple personalities. The video shows her going through different personalties, and not being able to escape from them. The different clothes she wears, the chalk outlines on the floor… The house represents her mind where she’s “trapped” and it’s supposed to play like a loop, where if you watch the video a second time, it almost seems like it’s supposed to start over.”

Man oh man, do we have an awesomely weird one for you today. To our delight, Jucifer asked us to premiere their new video, for the song “Hiroshima,” and we can pretty guarantee you that you haven’t seen a metal video like this before. It might be fun (or horrifying, we’re not really sure) to drop some acid before watching this clip. But if you don’t have acid, well, no worries — the images in this video will more than convey the feeling that you are tripping balls. Seriously, this is a strange, strange video, and we mean that as a very high (!) compliment.

Check out the David Hall-directed clip below! “Hiroshima” appears on Jucifer’s latest, Throned in Blood, which is out now on Nomadic Fortress/Relapse. The duo has a new album and a European tour planned, both slated for April.  In the meantime, they’ll celebrate their nineteenth year as a band and twelfth year of nonstop touring with dates across the midwest and east coast. You can get all their upcoming tour dates here. The band’s early four track EP Nadir has recently been mastered for reissue by Scott Hull, and will see its first digital release via Grindcore Karaoke soon.

But wait! There’s more! Director David Hall — who also made the Maryland Deathfest movies, as well as videos for Today is the Day, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Sigh, Fuck the Facts, Hail of Bullets,and Woods of Ypres — is getting out of the of the music video business, and into… the VHS business??? Read more after the jump.

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Things are looking up for Early Graves, who lost vocalist Makh Daniels in a devastating auto accident in August of 2010. In March of this year reports surfaced that the remaining members were working on new material, and this past August — almost exactly a year after Daniels’ passing — the band announced that The Funeral Pyre’s John Strachan would be their new vocalist moving forward.

Strachan made his live debut with the band at the Power of the Riff festival in Los Angeles and San Francisco in mid-August. Today, MetalSucks is thrilled to premiere an exclusive pro-shot video of Early Graves and Strachan performing “Goner” on that tour. Let’s all agree that Strachan was a great choice for Early Graves; he’s got big shoes to fill, but as this video proves he’s doing quite an admirable job of it. Here’s to wishing Early Graves all the best and hoping that this is the start of something great; those guys have been through a lot.

One of the quirkiest and most unapologetically uncompromising films to be released this year was writer/director Spencer Susser’s Sundance hit Hesher. The anarchic dark comedy stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Hey, we were just talking about that dude!) as the title character, a sort of heavy metal Mary Poppins who helps a grieving father (The Office‘s Rainn Wilson) and son (Devon Brochu) overcome a recent family tragedy. And while that might sounda kinda saccharine,  Hesher — the movie and the character — is metal as fuck. Not only did Gordon-Levitt base his character on Cliff Burton, but his entrance music for every scene is Metallica’s “The Shortest Straw.” The band was even cool enough to lend the film their music and logo design.

If you missed Hesher in theaters this past spring, fret not — Lionsgate will release movie on DVD, Blu-ray, Digital Download and On Demand this coming Tuesday, September 13. To celebrate, MetalSucks is proudly debuting the below clip, a special feature from the DVD/Blu-ray release. It’s an outtake of one of the funniest scenes in the movie, in which Hesher, with no regard for manners or his present company, tells a graphic story about… well, you’ll see. As it turns out, the actors couldn’t get through the scene without cracking up, and it’s hard to blame ‘em!

You can pre-order Hesher, which also stars Natalie Portman and Piper Laurie, on DVD here, and Blu-ray here.

On December 31, 2008, Fantômas– the on-again-off-again supergroup featuring Mike Patton (Faith No More, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom), Buzz Osborne (Melvins), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, MadLove) and Dale Crover (Melvins, Shrinebuilder) — performed their 2001 album The Director’s Cut live at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. Nearly three years later the band is releasing The Director’s Cut Live: A New Year’s Revolution on DVD and as a standalone audio download via Ipecac Recordings.

As you’d expect from this rowdy cast of characters, the performance was electric. Check out the song “Cape Fear” from the show below. The Director’s Cut Live: A New Year’s Revolution came out yesterday and is available for order here; you can also download just the audio here.

Back in March, I showed Venia some love in my Bleeder’s Digest 7″ review. The Minneapolis metallic “Spirit-filled” hardcore act crammed some tough-as-nails tunes onto that little black circle, and it pleases me to be able to present this music video for opening cut “Crux” (one of that release’s most moshable tracks) exclusively via MetalSucks.

The clip shows the band members at work and at play, from an intimate performance to a micro-pit in their van. There’s even a cameo from Chipotle, the fast food venue of choice by 9-out-of-10 hardcore acts! The director’s no slouch either, Michael Dalton, having worked on videos for acts including Living Sacrifice, The Showdown and Onward To Olympas. Check it out and, if you dig what you see and hear, make sure to pick up I’ve Lost All Faith In Myself via Blood & Ink Records. And here are upcoming tour dates for the band…

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If MetalSucks were left in charge of the Oxford English Dictionary we might just post a picture of Valient Thorr as the definition for “fun.” Everything we know about Valient Himself and his troop of merry metal warriors continues to perpetuate the image that Valient Thorr really do pretty much nothing in life other than drink beer and play rock music, with the occasional good deed thrown in for cosmic kharma. The brand new music video for “Sleeper Awakes” is no different; no kidneys were removed or implanted in the making of this video, but plenty of beer was swilled and lotsa rock music was played. VT just makes us feel good in that special spot, like a special drug that takes you to a far away land where nothing matter but beer, rock and having a good time (maybe that’s what life is actually all about and we’re just missing out). As always, the band has produced another entertaining clip that should leave all ho-hum videomakers jealous; watch the world premiere of “Sleeper Awakes” above. Better enjoy life today ’cause ya never know, you could be dead tomorrow.

Since experiencing Valient Thorr live is the very epitomy of experiencing Valient Thorr at all, make sure you catch them on tour in the U.S. this August!! We personally guarantee you will have fun. Dates after the jump.

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That’s right, kids: experimental grind maniacs Meek is Murder are hitting the road today for back-to-back with tours, first with the awesome Fuck the Facts, and then with the equally awesome Tiger Flowers. And to celebrate, the band has handed us a new music video, for the track “Recursions,” off their most recent album, Algorithms. The clip — which marks the directorial debut of drummer Frank Godla — is by dirty, lo-fi, evil, and tongue-in-cheek… in other words, a perfect representation of Meek is Murder’s music.

Check out the clip below; you can also watch a behind-the-scenes video, which discusses both the song and the narrative of the video, here. After the jump, get all upcoming Meek is Murder tour dates, with both Fuck the Facts and Tiger Flowers. And don’t forget that Algorithms is now available for download via both iTunes and Amazon!

Here are those tour dates…

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Things that are awesome about the brand new music video for Last Chance to Reason‘s “Upload Complete:”

• the song (duh)
• footage of the custom videogame that comes with the band’s latest MetalSucks-approved album, Level 2. I’ve yet to play the game but it looks rad and reminds me a lot of Contra.
• the “shred factor” — tons of close-up shots of the dudes playing their instruments
• the guitarist is wearing a Binary Code t-shirt
• the drummer is playing with bare feet (does he do that at gigs too?)
• the general quality of the video; proof you can make an engaging music video for a small amount of dough.

Last Chance to Reason are currently on tour with Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, Dead Letter Circus and Evan Brewer in the ultimate “do NOT miss” prog tour of the summer! Dates here. Level 2 is available at Prosthetic’s webstore for just 10 bucks.

-VN

Sleeping Giant, metallic hardcore, uh, giants, will release their latest and greatest album, Kingdom Days In An Evil Age, on July 12, and by that time, the band will already have begun the latest installment of the Scream the Prayer tour, alongside Norma Jean, The Chariot, War of Ages, Close Your Eyes, Texas In July, I The Breather, The Great Commission, Sovereign Strength and As Hell Retreats. In anticipation of Sleeping Giant’s summer of excitement, MetalSucks is pleased to be debuting the band’s new video, “Dead Men Walking,” right here, right now. Check it out below!

Like we said, Sleeping Giant’s new album, Kingdom Days In An Evil Age, comes out July 12 on Ain’t No Grave Records; you can pre-order it here. And get dates for the Scream the Prayer tour right here.

Children of Bodom’s video for “Roundtrip to Hell and Back” has to be one of the most gorgeously photographed performance clips in recent memory. Not only does the absence of I’m-having-a-seizure-style editing allow the viewer to enjoy the gracefulness (yes, we said “gracefulness”) of COB’s live performance, but the images are so textured that not only can you see the sweat dripping from each musician’s brow, you can actually feel the heat from the stage lights. Awesome.

Also awesome: The actual song. No wonder Children of Bodom are the premiere death n’ roll band in the world today.

Below, check out the video, which we are only too happy to be debuting for North American fans. Concert footage of such quality is just the thing to put you in the mood to see Bodom live, which is great, ’cause they’re about to begin a tour with some other orgasm-inducers — namely, Devin Townsend, Obscura, and Septicflesh. Get dates here.

And don’t forget that “Roundtrip to Hell and Back” appears on Children of Bodom’s Relentless, Reckless Forever, which is out now on Spinefarm.

I was bummed last month when I heard that FUBAR‘s Dean “Deaner” Murdoch (Paul J. Spence) was detained at the Canadian border and would not grace the SXSW Film Festival with his presence. So, I took matter into my own hands and tracked the one-balled mustachioed metalhead down and asked him for some sticky pearls of wisdom. Instead, he gave me a Top 10 list. – CM

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MetalSucks is proud to debut “Flesh-Devouring Pandemia,” the new video from Madrid’s goregrind gods, Haemorrhage. The clip is incredibly low-tech, tongue-in-cheek, violent, gross, silly, and offensive — in other words, all the things we love about old school death metal videos.

But the best part is,  it’s not really old school! IT’S NEW! The song will appear on Haemorrhage’s Hospital Carnage, which comes out May 24 on Relapse Records. You can pre-order it here to ensure you get your gore on as soon as it comes out. And don’t forget to hit up Haemorrhage’s official Facebook page for all the latest info on the band and their various killing sprees medical malpractice lawsuits uh, like, touring plans n’ stuff.

Raise your hand if you’re over the age of 25 and don’t remember doing EXACTLY what this kid does in the beginning of the new Becoming The Archetype video below.

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Exactly. If anything, this video is flawed in that there’s no WAY any NES set would simply work on the first try. A good friend once told me that Nintendos are like penises — everyone knows how to use their own the best. On my set (WHICH I STILL HAVE, BITCHES!) you’ve got to put the cartridge in, slide it firmly to the left or right, and hold down the restart button while you push “power.” If that doesn’t work, slide the cartridge to the other side and repeat. And repeat. And repeat. We must conclude, then, that this video takes place in 1986 like the game title screen suggests and that the set is brand new. Rad.

This video rules in all sorts of ways, not the least of which is the awesome song “Magnetic Sky” to which it’s set. We’ve been writing about Becoming the Archetype a bunch lately, and with good reason… they rule. So does this video; it’s like real-life Final Fantasy (the first one, you assholes, not Final Fantasy 7,567 or whatever they’re up to now). The best is the look on the kid’s face as he leads his party into the swamp; swamps were always the worst in that game!

Raise your hand if you didn’t ever imagine yourself in a real-life version of this game as you played it.

<crickets>

Carry on. Celestial Completion is out now, and available for order here.

Protest the Hero. What else is there to say about them that hasn’t already been said about one of the most exciting and unique young metal bands in the world? You all know how much we loves Protest ’round these parts, so let’s cut to the chase: the band just filmed a new video for Scurrilous album-opener “C’Est La Vie” and asked us to exclusively premiere it right here on MetalSucks. We were all too happy to oblige.

Order Scurrilous on CDor digitally via the always-affordable Amazon. MS reader Enrique Hernandez informed us over the weekend that he chose to allocate his limited funds to Scurrilous instead of Kvelertak’s new jam and “doesn’t regret it at all.” (nothing against the latter… that’s just how good he thinks this record is!). Take a cue from Enrique; you won’t regret it either.

We enjoy Lazarus A.D.’s new album Black Rivers Flow here at the MS Mansion. This you should already know from our posts about the album here, here, and here, and this here interview with bassist/vocalist Jeff Paulick [although Corey Mitchell respectfully begs to differ]. But didja know that Lazarus A.D. enjoy us too? That’s a MetalSucks “Appetite for Deconstruction” t-shirt guitarist Alex Lackner is wearing! We applaud his wardrobe choice, but lest other bands think they too can woo Vince and Axl into a video premiere by sporting our garb, be warned… it only kinda works.

We keed; this song rocks. Stream the new video for “The Ultimate Sacrifice” below and purchase Black Rivers Flow here.

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You know Intronaut, and you love ‘em; their 2010 opus Valley of Smoke placed in several MS writers’ year-end lists and we waxed about it endlessly ever since it came out, nay, before it even came out. Guitarist Sacha Dunable even writes a semi-regular column for MS, didjahear? But I’m guessing many of you haven’t yet had the opportunity to witness Intronaut’s punishing grooves and ethereal soundscapes live.

Now’s your chance, sorta: Intronaut’s new video for the Valley of Smoke track “Sunderance” takes you inside an Intronaut show but better, ’cause you get to see close-ups of Dunable’s and Dave Timnick’s agile fingers, and of bassist Joe Lester’s and drummer Danny Walker’s superhuman prowess on their respective instruments. And of one super-stoked dude in the audience who clearly knows what’s up windmilling at the 0:35 mark.

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In addition to the stellar heavy metal line-up featured at this years South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas, the SXSW Film Festival will showcase more than a handful of heavy metal friendly flicks when you feel you need to take a load off your feet after standing around listening to raging metal bands all day long.

Here is the list of heavy metal films at SXSW ’11 with descriptions from SXSW.com:

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DevilDriver’s grinfuckingly good new album, Beast, comes out February 22 on Roadrunner — and now we here at MetalSucks are proud to be debuting the band’s first video in support of that effort, for the song “Dead to Rights.” This song somehow gets both heavier and catchier every time we listen to it, as the video is totally appropriate for the music — dark, terrifying, and epic as a motherfucker. Check it out below!

Like was said, the Mark Lewis-produced Beast comes out February 22. You can pre-order it here, or the special edition, which includes two bonus tracks and a live recording of the band’s classic anthem “Grinfucked,” here.

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If any of you read my interview with Within the Ruins this past summer you probably watched the music video for their song “Invade.” I’m happy to say that Within the Ruins have just released another awesome music video, this one a live clip for their song “Red Flagged.” And I’m also glad to find that WTR don’t suck live; their performance is nearly as good as on record, which is pleasantly surprising due to the ferocious technicality of their music.

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WTR also have a proper music video for the studio version of the song “Versus” being shot on January 29th. After the jump, read what the band has to say about the video and song:

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