This video from Neo-Nu-Metallers Re-Birth comes to us from MS reader Fuzzy Dunlop. Before you go any further you should visit their lulzy made-in-2001 website and make you read the history section to get acquainted with the inner workings of this stellar band! It is also important that you understand that this band has a DJ, and that you’re aware the year is currently 2012.

Notes:

• good thing they have the drug use warning at the beginning of this clip in case any of the 821 people who’ve watched this video happen to be narcs.
• nice 1991-style “negative” b&w effect @ 0:50 in the graveyard!
• “Donate Blood” shirt @ 0:57 = BAD ASS, brah. dude probably picks up so many chicks with that thing at the karaoke bar at the mall.
• the “Restricted Area Keep Out” sign lets you know that these guys mean business
• these guys’ eye makeup makes them look TUFF
• nice drumstick toss @ 1:37! really showin’ off those skillz. next up, one-handed blast beats.
• holy fuck, those are some monstrous mounds of baking powder! these guys have obviously never done cocaine before.
• when I do heroin I totally waste a lot by injecting it into thin air before I shoot up, just like these guys

Etc.

-VN

Tomorrow the Metallica of filmmakers, George Lucas, will re-release his catastrophically bad Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D, I guess because there’s nothing like sitting through a terrible two-and-a-half hour movie in the worst format available.

The silver lining, though, is that someone has taken the trailer and re-done it with death metal music, even going so far as to put DM vocals over all the actors’ lines. And maybe it’s just because I’m all hopped up on Percocet right now, but I found this extremely funny — especially because the unintelligible vocals are a vast improvement over Lucas’ shitty, shitty dialogue.

-AR

[via Film Drunk]

Like I told y’all yesterday I’m way too obsessed with Storage Wars and Orangutan Island to bother with really anything else on TV, even metal-related stuff that my friends at Metal Injection say is excellent. They’re not the only ones to tell me that VH1 Classic’s Metal Evolution series is absolutely great, though, so just chalk it up to sheer laziness on my part for not checking it out yet. The series was created by Banger Films, the makers of Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, so you know it’s gonna be of a certain quality before you even press play.

But don’t let the same fate befall you: VH1 Online is currently streaming every episode in the series! We’ve embedded them all below for your easy enjoyment, so you’ve really got no excuses. Watch ‘em while you can, because we’re not sure how long VH1 will leave these up.

Click to read more…

The bad news is that the first music video by Australian deathcore youngins Endworld — dubbed by Sergeant D as “the shitty version of Defiler,” a statement so loaded I can’t even begin to process it — has been “Removed by the User” since we wrote about it in September. But fear not, because the good news is that Endworld believe in revisionist history, that by pulling their embarrassingly bad old video and replacing it with a new one they’ll be able to cement their legacy as deathcore’s next big thing. Lucky for us all, Endworld’s new video is just as lulzy as the first!

We knew things were gonna be good when we got the following carefully worded one line email from Endworld member “Mark XXX” (he’s so dirty! girls love him!):

CHUCK OUR NEW VIDEO UP ON YA PAGE U BIG METAL MOSH LORD XOXOOX \M/

All of Endworld’s genre-pioneering Amateurcore trademarks are still here. Note:

Click to read more…

Does anyone else find it hilarious that ex-Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz is going around releasing press copy that trumpets his new band Red Lamb (I’m still calling them DeuxMonkey) as being “Palm Beach, Florida-based”? I know Spitz lives there now, but when I think of Palm Beach I think of octagenarian synchronized exercise classes in the swimming pool followed by a nice, rousing game of Shuffleboard before retiring the clubhouse for a high-ball of Jack Daniels and arguing over a game of pinochle; aka “my grandparents.” Not exactly the look Spitz is probably aiming for.

Earlier this week the debut Red Lamb album suddenly appeared on iTunes with no fanfare whatsoever, and there was some confusion as to what Dave Mustaine’s involvement was since he doesn’t sing or play on the track and he hasn’t promoted the album one iota. But I think we’ve cleared it up now; Mustaine produced this record after hearing the song Spitz had written. Which in this case apparently entails coming into the studio and instructing vocalist Don Chaffin to sound as much like Dave Mustaine as possible.

So, uh, here’s their new video. It’s certainly a video.

-VN

… let an old woman design your band’s logo, fall in love with her, take a sexy bath with her, and then you’ll be big, rich mega-rock studs just like The Dillinger Escape Plan! At least that’s the best I can come up with after watching DEP’s new video for “Parasitic Twins,” the creepy, David Lynch-like clip which was directed by David Merenyi and produced by Greg Toth. Take a gander over at NME or in the embed above and then tell us whether we’re missing any kind of deep meaning here. Did Ben Weinman’s mom actually design DEP’s now-iconic logo? Is there something Ben’s not telling us about his feelings towards his mom? Fuckin’ Oedipus, he’s so complex and shit.

-VN

With all due respect to Mark Hunter — a talented vocalist, extraordinary Tweeter, and Chimaira’s lone original member — this footage of three new[ish] members of Chimaira rehearsing together is about as exciting as this story’s headline makes it sound. While some would say this is “rehearsal” footage, it’d probably be a lot more accurate to call it “learning” footage. It looks like Daath’s Emil Werstler — Chimaira’s senior-most member with a 10-month silver coin – is running the show here and teaching the two new guys how to play Chimaira songs. These guys are all talented musicians and I’m sure the finished product will sound great, but at what point in the mass exodus of members does a band stop being that band? Watching a bunch of men in different bands learn songs so they can go up on stage and pretend to be some other band is just weird! On the other hand, if some kid who knows nothing of all the member swaps goes to a show and loves it, does it even matter? Does life even matter?? Aren’t we all gonna die eventually anyway?!?!?

Maybe Hunter is trying to go the Chris Barnes route; shit, Barnes has been doing it for years and Six Feet Under are still going strong… so I guess fans really don’t care. Speaking of Six Feet Under, former members of Chimaira just wrapped up their Six Feet Under cover band recording sessions and are currently in the mixing process! Now the former members of Six Feet Under just need to join up with Eyal Levi in a reconsituted version of Daath and this three-band circle jerk will be complete.

-VN

Justin Hawkins from The Darkness turned up in a Super Bowl ad for one of those not-an-iPhones last night, which I guess means that The Darkness really are back, which I guess means fuck my life. Although if using an imitator of a superior artist to sell an imitator of a superior product was some producer’s idea of symbolism, well, mission accomplished, I guess.

Meanwhile, it turns out the ad was directed by Bobby Farrelly, one half of The Farrelly Brothers, the writer/director team that made Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, and There’s Something About Mary in the 90s, and Shallow Hal, the remake of The Heartbreak Kid, and Hall Pass in the aughties. I’m just telling you so you’ll understand why the commercial isn’t funny.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the Mötley Crüe/Kia Superbowl ad was also directed by a filmmaker of some note — Noam Murro, who is helming the sequel to 300, and was briefly attached to A Good Day to Die Hard, a.k.a. Die Hard 5.

See? If you didn’t have me around, who would tell you all this useless bullshit you don’t actually care about?

-AR

[via /Film]

The Haunted’s rEVOLVEr came out in October of 2004, and the band has released two more albums since then. So, of course, it makes perfect sense that they just released a video for the rEVOLVEr track, “99.”

And while some fans are suggesting that the band did this to remind all the haters of their mostly-loathed Unseen* about happier times, I have been assured by no less an authority than W. Axl Rose that this is not the case. “Waiting seven years to release a video makes perfect sense!” Rose assured me. When I asked him to elaborate, he mumbled something about Lars Ulrich and lack of support from the record label and ran away crying.

rEVOLVEr has been out on Century Media more than two years longer than there’s been a MetalSucks.

-AR

*For the record, I like that album.

As someone who does not give the slightest of craps about sports, I still used to watch the Superbowl every year, for the same reasons everyone watches the Superbowl every year: you go to a big party, get drunk, and see some cool commercials.

But now I don’t even bother with that anymore; I can get drunk anywhere regardless of whether or not there’s a football game on, and the commercials are all posted online either after or, in some odd cases, before the big game.

For example, Kia’s new commercial, which appeals to the basest instincts of 40-something year-old men by associating their product with sex, speed, power, food, phallic symbols, and Mötley Crüe, who, come to think of it, personify all of those things anyway. Yes, even food.

Check out the commerical below:

-AR

Thanks: Saul Hudson

Here are two interesting bits of news outta Hollywood that you, as fans of heavy music, might find interesting:

• Dave Grohl is an executive producer on an in-development new half-hour comedy series for the FX network. The show, which is not currently titled, was created by, and will star, the comedia Dana Gould. According to Deadline, the series “centers on a rock band on the verge of mega-stardom who finds itself on the verge of breaking up and is forced to seek professional help in a last-ditch effort to stay together. Unfortunately, they end up with a misanthropic couple’s therapist from Agoura on the brink of divorce.” Which, uh, gee, kinda sounds like maybe the infamous Phil Towle was the inspiration for the show? In any case, Dana Gould is fucking hilarious, so I’m excited to see how this turns out.
• The Devil’s Knot, the non-documentary feature film about The West Memphis Three which is currently being put together by writer/director Atom Egoyan, has added Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, those shitty movies where Renée Zellweger worries that she may be too fat to find a man) to its cast. Also according to Deadline, “Firth will play Ron Lax, a private investigator who was the first pro bono supporter of the defendents as they headed to trial in 1993.” He joins the previously cast Reese Witherspoon, who also has an Academy Award on her mantle. I gotta say, this is shaping up to be a movie which, good or bad, is going to get a LOT of attention. Like, Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth? Holy shit, that’s a movie my mom would go see. And I know I’ve said this before, but that’s a good thing — the more people who know about The West Memphis Three’s ordeal, the more likely it is that no asshole will ever try to pull that shit again.

I’m going to put about as much effort into this introduction as Dragonforce put into their new album art.

We begin  today with “Short Commute, Live Forever,” from Caustic Casanova. They’re not really a metal band at all, but the video was directed and animated by Wesley Belak-Berger, the same dude who made Big Business’ awesome video for “Mind the Drift.” So I’m putting it above the jump, because I can tell you right now, it’s pretty much the best music video you’re gonna see this week.

Click to read more…

Tour blogs are generally boring affairs, but this new video tour blog from Death Angel is a must-watch. In case you didn’t know: not only is Gene Hoglan filling in for Charlie Benante on the current Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel tour, but right before Benante was forced to leave the tour, Scott Ian was hospitalized due to a severe viral infection, and members of the other bands stepped in to temporarily replace him.

Which brings us to the excellence of this video: it’s a first hand account of the behind-the-scenes scramble to make sure that Anthrax didn’t hafta cancel any shows, courtesy of Death Angel guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar. And not only does the video feature those dudes recounting the tale for you, but there’s some fun footage of them rehearsing with Gene Hoglan and ‘Thrax, and performing with the latter (including clip sof Cavestany getting REALLY into playing the Worship Music tracks “In The End” and “The Devil You Know”). So it’s basically the closest you’ll ever get to actually being there for an event like this.

Enjoy:

You can get remaining dates for the in-progress Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel tour right here (bottom of the post).

-AR

Thanks to Ryan Badami for the tip!

Obey the Brave, the new project featuring former Despised Icon vocalist Alex Erian and ex-Blind Witness guitarist Jon Campbell, have released their first music video, for a song called “Live and Learn,” and I find that kinda silly, since we haven’t even been able to stream one single entire song by the band anywhere yet. Maybe OtB figured more people would check out a video online than would stream a tune? I’m not sure I agree with that logic, but fuck do I know?

ANYWAY, the video/song. Look. The song isn’t bad — but it is pretty generic 21st century metallic hardcore, and I’d be lying if I said I like it nearly as much as I like Despised Icon, who were one of those bands that actually gave deathcore a good name. I’m not sure I even would have made it through this whole clip if not for my respect for Erian and the work he did with his former outfit.

But watch the video below and make up your own mind… ’cause, as always, opinions are like assholes, blah blah blah.

Obey the Brave have also announced a bunch of tour dates to take place in and around their native Quebec. If you live in the area and wanna check ‘em out, said dates are after the jump.

Click to read more…

Yesterday I received a press release about how The Darkness were about to release a new song, leading me to wonder via my Twitter account (and, consequently, my Facebook page — the two are linked! Isn’t technology glorious?) “The Darkness are still a thing?” This led to several interesting interactions with readers/followers, including what defines “a thing” (popularity, not quality), and whether or not The Darkness are inferior, superior, or equal to Steel Panther.

But why the hell would you ever compare The Darkness to Steel Panther? I guess ’cause they’re both cock rock parody bands… except that Steel Panther write better songs, are better live, and are actually, y’know, funny. Steel Panther seems like a loving satire — that is, a joke told by some dudes who simultaneously adore and recognize the ridiculousness of their chosen genre (y’know, kinda like a certain website you read from time to time), whereas The Darkness just seems like ironic douchebag nonsense. There’s no grace to what The Darkness do — they just give people who won’t admit to liking metal an excuse to listen to metal while maintaining their “cred.” The difference can be seen in the crowds that attend each band’s shows: I’m generalizing here, but Steel Panther concerts are largely populated by headbangers and metal sluts, folks wearing vintage Warrant shirts because they love Warrant — in other words, the very people the band is making fun of; The Darkness concerts are populated with people who “ironically” paid $150 for a vintage Warrant shirt, which they will wear to Darkness shows and nowhere else.

Which brings us to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,” the new Darkness song in question. I actually think the video is terrific — so much so that I wish it were for a different band. ‘Cause the song is weaker than Zima. The mere mention of, say, Steel Panther’s “If You Really Really Love Me” will get that tune stuck in my head for days. On the other hand, I’ve already forgotten how “Stop Us” goes, and I just watched the video twice. So, yeah.

-AR

I would never have actually watched this video if John hadn’t posted it on my Facebook wall this morning. Thanks, dude.

One of the albums I most agonized over not being able to squeeze onto my year end list in 2011 was Landmine Marathon’s Gallows, a truly brutal piece of work that may very well be the death-grind quintet’s best yet. And the fact that the release didn’t end up on the list was really one of those semi-arbitrary decisions that just goes to show that these lists are more or less complete bullshit; Gallows could easily have been somewhere in my ranking, and I’d be just as happy and unhappy with that ranking as I am now.

All of which is my long-winded way of asking you to check out the band’s new video for the Gallows track “Beaten and Left Blind.” If you don’t already know and love Landmine Marathon, this is a great chance for you to get to know them at their most evil; and if you do already well know them, well, watch it anyway, ’cause it’s like a fucked-up Alice in Wonderland or something, where Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are these two goth chicks, and there’s blood and gore and stuff.

Enjoy!

Gallows is out now on Prosthetic.

-AR

[via Metal Hammer]

Following in Slash’s footsteps, Corey Taylor and Clown from Slipknot have now launched their own film production company, Living Breathing Films. And they apparently made the below short, Thy Shalt I, to show at the company’s launch party.

Now, one might reasonably assume that a short film produced specifically to be shown at a launch party would be some kind of statement of intent — in other words, a way of the filmmakers declaring, “This is the kind of work we intend to do.” But if we assume that that’s the case here, well, apparently Living Breathing Films intends to make boring, cheap horror movies that are completely lacking in tension, style, and narrative coherence. Thy Shalt I isn’t even fifteen minutes long, and I barely made it through a third of the thing before giving up. It’s not as bad as the worst student films I’ve ever seen, but it’s probably as bad as the second-worst tier of student films I’ve ever seen.

Hopefully, Thou Shalt I isn’t actually a declaration of intent, and has nothing to do with the movies these fellas plan to make. Either that, or the company’s active purpose is to cure insomnia. In which case, BRAVO!

-AR

[via The PRP]

When Filter mainman Richard Patrick went into rehab in 2002, it marked the end of the industrial-rock band’s rad second line-up. That means it’s been about a decade since the Filter that made Title Of Record (super classic!) and The Amalgamut (epic!), and since then jeez I haven’t caught sight of Patrick’s old team like at all. Which is surprising, cuz drummer Steve Gillis is a stud (here) and guitarist Geno Lenardo co-wrote this phase of Filter’s biggest (here) and biggest-selling jamz (here).

Click to read more…

I’m going to put about as much effort into this intro as the thief who was sent to prison by the jury I served on last week did into not leaving his cell phone at the scene of the crime.

We begin this week with “Follow the Signs,” the new video from Born of Osiris. On the whole this clip is pretty cool, and I applaud all parties involved for trying to make something way more epic than most modern metal vids. But sticking the band in front of a green screen for their performance footage was a mistake, ’cause it looks silly and cheap, and the editing is completely random, which long time readers know is a pet peeve of mine — and is especially bothersome when dealing with a band like BOO, whose music provides such obvious rhythmic cutting points I can’t believe anyone would just ignore them like this. Bummer.

Click to read more…

Following their A+++++ WDBWA work on the videos for “Prehistoric Dog” and “Wires,” you might be concerned that Red Fang and director Whitey McConnaughy had run out of ideas for clips that are awesome, hilarious, and awesomely hilarious. But the behind-the-scenes pics we saw last year for the band’s latest vid, “Hank is Dead,” promised something just as fun as “Dog” and “Wires,” and the finished product does not disappointment. I mean, I was pretty much crying with laughter right from the opening scene. And I’m writing this after a full day in a hot, dank, roach-infested jury room, listening to two lawyers duke it out for the “Least Articulate Attorney Who Can Get Yelled at By the Judge Most Often” award, so I was in a pretty shitty mood, and not really predisposed to laughter.

Bravo, Red Fang and Mr. McConnaughy. Bra… fuckin’… vo.

“Hank is Dead” appears on Red Fang’s most recent release, Murder the Mountains, which is out now on Relapse.

-AR