MetalSucks

…MS Maniac Daisy May Tinklepants just pointed out to us that the cover art for their new album, Revisions, is awfully similar to the cover art for Throwdown’s new album, Deathless. The two are being released too closely together for me to think that one is ripping off the other (also, their respective music is so dissimilar that I wouldn’t be surprised if either band didn’t care for the other’s work), so let’s just call it serendipity.

And, while we’re on the topic, here’s Slayer’s video of “Eyes of the Insane,” which the reader known only as “Jimmy” pointed out was the precursor for both of these covers.

-AR

So unless you spent your summer someplace where there’s no internet or any way to get metal news, you should be aware that Zakk Wylde a) has been replaced by Firewind’s Gus G. as Ozzy’s new guitarist and b) got the news when Ozzy did an interview announcing he was parting ways from his longtime axe-slinger, because apparently Ozzy and Sharon are too chickenshit to actually pick up the phone and make a difficult call. And so it would be completely within reason for Zakk to have nothing but terrible things to say about all parties involved – in fact, I kinda expected him to do just that. This is the man, after all, who threatened to kill Dave Grohl just for writing some riffs for Ozzy, and who basically attacked a journalist who repeated a rumor that Wylde’s pal Mike “Metal Mets” Piazza might be a homosexual.

But Wylde is actually taking the news really well, or, at least, he’s putting on a good face. From a recent interview with MusicRadar.com (via Blabbermouth):

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Apparently 3 have an album out. The band “3.” You know, the band whose logo looks like a giant dong on its side. The album is called Revisions; it came out on October 27th, yet I’ve heard nary a peep about it in the U.S. press. No interviews, no features, no “album art revealed!” or “new track streaming!”, no music video; barely anything at all.

Considering that their last album End is Begun was widely praised and the band did a well-received run on Dream Theater’s Prog Nation tour (also w/ Opeth), I’m thinking something has to be up in the 3 camp. What up? My three (!) theories as to what’s going down:

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Thanks to Rob Pasbani from Metal Injection for bringing this interview with Type O Negative’s Peter Steele to our attention. If you skip to roughly the fifteen minute mark, Mr. Steele starts to talk about… God. As in, he is now Saved, or a Believer, or whatever you’d call it.

Now, if Peter Steele wants to believe in God, that’s his right and who the fuck am I to judge him? As long as he doesn’t start preaching at concerts, I really don’t care one way or the other. But I do think it’s funny that (as Rob pointed out) this man is famous, at least in part, for this song:

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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

Our inboxes are aflutter with fans celebrating today’s release of The Great Misdirect. Mostly they range in tone anywhere from “jizz” to “splooge” but never anything less.  Here’s a sample, sent in by MS reader Patrick Dorsey:

Hello, Axl and Vince. Longtime reader. First-time e-mailer. After hearing The Great Misdirect, I wanted to shout it from on top of a mountain. But I don’t have a mountain. I have you guys at MetalSucks. So here goes: Between the Buried and Me is the LeBron James of music right now. This is not hyperbole. That is all.

Can’t say I disagree with Partick’s assertion, but for me the verdict on this record is still up in the air. I’m currently just getting started on spin number 3. I mean it’s brilliant, there’s no doubt about that… but a record this dense takes MANY, many listens to fully internalize and it’s going to be a while before I decide how this one stacks up against the band’s prior work and if/how it marks a progression in their evolution.

Until then, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em… this one’s a doozy for sure.

-VN

MS Maniac Tim-o-tato has brought to our attention that the almighty Gojira are the latest band to produce a pair of kicks. Check it out:

I like ‘em. They’re simple. Tasteful, even – people might not really realize that you’re wearing sneakers emblazoned with the logo of one of the best metal bands in the world today (I can practically hear my mom asking “There’s a shoe company called Gojira?”).

Unfortunately, they’re stupid expensive – 95 euros, which is about $141 U.S. (and that’s not including shipping). Sheesh.

Hey, Vince – so about that Hanukkah present…

-AR

It’s safe to say that we’re addicted to Addicted here at the MetalSucks Mansion. The latest from The Devin Townsend Project is so infectious I keep expecting the CDC to quarantine us.

So Mr. Townsend is doing the rounds now, promoting the album, and he just gave a really terrific interview to our pals over at Noisecreep. A lot of the interview focuses on the dissolution of Strapping Young Lad, which I don’t find so interesting. It’s not that I don’t think SYL were an awesome band – both Vince and I fucking LOVED that band – but I’m glad they went out while they were still cool, as opposed to seemingly every other band on the planet, who apparently want little more than to get paid and disappoint their older fans by churning out lackluster product. And it’s not as though Townsend has dropped off the face of the planet or stopped making awesome music or whatever.

No, the part I find really interesting is where Townsend recounts 2006 stint on Ozzfest. Here’s an excerpt:

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Halloween is making me absolutely fucking crazy this year. You know how people get fed up with the mass-consumerism of Christmas and what it says about American society? I kind of see Halloween in the same light. As soon as October hits (and often even before), the grocery store isles fill up with candy and all anyone can talk about is “what are you gonna be for Halloween this year???”. There’s SO much emphasis and pressure on it that it just becomes crazy and stressful. Like on New Year’s Eve how everyone stresses about where they’re going to be when the ball drops… who fucking cares? It’s a damn cluster of lights signifying the fact that the earth has once again passed by an arbitrarily determined point in space. Get over it. Can’t we just leave Halloween be as a fun time for dress-up for the kiddies?

Maybe I’m just being an old curmudgeon. The ladies of Reign in Blonde took a stab at suggesting how some of their favorite metal musicians should dress up for Halloween this year. Doc Coyle as Wolverine? I like it.

Last year Frank @ Metal Injection went as a pagan metaller, full-on clad in skins, makeup and the whole 9. It was a brilliant costume I wish I’d thought up myself. This year we’re having a little party at the MS Mansion Vince Division and I think I’m just gonna be Louie and run around offering to dip my balls in things. What all do you have planned? Anything metal?

-VN

An initial impression of Axe to Fall, Converge’s latest bruiser, is that it’s a little too simplistic: the vast majority of the album find the band rocking more balls out than they have since their early days. Even “Worms Will Feed” and “Damages,” two slower tracks, feel more like uneasy breathing room than the expansive, emotional dalliances of You Fail Me’s “In Her Shadow” or No Heroes’ “Grim Rose/Black Heart.” Even despite Axe to Fall’s two further-out-than-ever-before closing songs, the majority of the album feels slight, missing a key element of what had made the band as exceptional as they are up until now. With No Heroes finding the band at once at their grindiest and most experimental, something about Axe to Fall feels empty.

Of course, initial impressions don’t do a Converge album justice; if the band are known for anything, it’s marrying the deceptively simple and the brilliantly complex. Despite its tendency to be more gruff than any modern Converge release, Axe to Fall features some of the band’s tightest, most interesting songwriting, as well as providing one of the most satisfying repeat listens of any Converge album. Compact but alarmingly dense, the band have never been this comfortable putting their heads down and charging at you, with a relentlessness that’s almost militaristic in its approach. More than just a bunch of throw-aways before its wildly expansive ending, Axe to Fall stands eye level with their genre-defining full length debut (Petitioning the Empty Sky) or their genre-shattering masterpiece (Jane Doe). Though foolish and cynical to think otherwise, the band are still as good as they’ve ever been, with no signs of coasting despite having been around exponentially longer than most of the hardcore bands they came up with.

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Or at least we hope. As Axl pointed out to me one time, it’s not that Sevendust have managed to outlast their nu-metal peers and persevere through hard times; even terrible bands like Static X and Dope have done that. It’s that Sevendust have somehow managed to avoid the critical backlash that was bestowed upon nearly everyone else from their era of metal. Maybe it’s because they’re a cut above most of those bands, because they’re so fucking great live, or because they never reached the level of popularity and/or ridiculousness of many of those bands; I think it’s all of the above. Even after a string of 3 very mediocre and rushed albums written without musical mastermind Clint Lowery in the band, Sevendust have somehow managed to retain their integrity through it all.

But now Clint is back in the band, and they’re recording their first album since early 2007’s Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow, with producer Johnny K behind the boards. There’s a lot of anticipation, but there’s also a ton of pressure.

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According to Media Newswire, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid was one of six recipients of the 2009 Mayor’s Awards for Arts & Culture. The award is given to “individuals and organizations in celebration of their outstanding contributions to New York City’s cultural life,” and were presented by Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself (Also, Full House’s John Stamos, who is currently starring in Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway. Interesting.). Other honorees this year included the Thalia Spanish Theatre and my childhood favorite, The Big Apple Circus.

I think I can safely speak for both Vince and myself when I say that Vernon is one of our all-time favorite guitarists, and the award couldn’t go to a more deserving guy. And if you don’t believe us, you haven’t listened to The Chair in the Doorway yet, and shame on you.

Check out my interview with Vernon Reid here. He’s a really smart, really fascinating dude.

The Chair in the Doorway is out now on Megaforce.

Our friends over at Noisecreep have an interesting new interview with former Killswitch Engage front dude Jesse Leach. The gist of the interview is that he doesn’t regret quitting the band seven years ago, just before they were launched into the metal stratosphere, and much prefers making less money and being in bands no one seems to care about. (Okay, I made that last part up. But still.) Here’s the quote I found really interesting:

“I look at the band now, and I don’t even think twice. There’s no way in my brain I could fathom being on stage, doing what they’re doing. Maybe if it were on my own terms, but from what I’ve seen them do, they’ve kind of taken a goofier route with Adam D… I love it, I get it, I respect it … it’s very punk rock and tongue-in-cheek, but that’s not who I am.”

Of course I love Alive or Just Breathing, but really did not enjoy Leach’s Seemless project. Not even a little bit, not even when I was stoned. So, whatever.

He  is now apparently fronting a band called Empire Shall Fall, which is literally a one-word change from one of Leach’s lyrics for “Numbered Days.” Maybe Leach can recruit Kerry King to play guitar for that band, and they can be happily un-goofy together.

-AR

If you’re famous, one of the biggest problems with being dead is that you lose all control over how your “estate” (read: family that needs money) uses abuses your legacy. Case in point: Kurt Cobain is apparently going to be in Guitar Hero 5.

Now, I’m not one of these people who has a problem with Guitar Hero or rhythm games in general – I find them entertaining, and I’m not an alarmist who thinks they mean kids are gonna stop learning to play real instruments.

But I feel like Cobain is definitely the kind of stick-up-his-ass dude who would have a problem with Guitar Hero. Still, Francis Bean gotta eat Courtney Love gotta shoot up, so there’s Kurt in all his pixelated glory.

I’m shocked that Dimebag hasn’t been included in a rhythm game yet. I’d wager that his estate is working on that right about now.

-AR

Over the weekend we got a couple of emails about a benefit project for ailing Deftones bassist Chi Cheng, helmed by Korn bassist Fieldy Arvizu. Fieldy has recorded a song with a star-studded cast of characters to help raise money for Cheng, whose medical costs continue piling up as he enters year two (!!!) of his coma induced by a car accident. The song, simply called “A Song For Chi,” is available for free download — although donations of any amount at all are encouraged — features members of Machine Head, Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Slipknot, Sevendust and a whole bunch of others.

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An e-mail I received from long time reader Seveword earlier today:

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Cosmo Lee of Invisible Oranges has written up a thought-provoking editorial (inspired by Metal As Fuck) that takes a look at the differences between metal culture in the U.S. and in Europe. We’ve touched on this topic before here, but never really delved into it.

Take a look at Sammy O’Hagar’s recent review of Skyfire, Satan Rosenbloom’s interview with Kellhaul drummer Will Scharf (in which Scharf laments, “I don’t know if it’s a cultural difference or there’s less Clear Channel over there so people actually have to seek out shit for themselves, but it seems like Europe embraces weird bands like us more than the States.”) or my writeup of unsigned band Dynahead (from Brazil, but the point stands); there is a tangible difference between metal culture in U.S. and the rest of the world. When Axl and I went to Download Festival in 2006 is was readily apparent; any local metalhead we talked to was likely to be a big fan of both Korn and Opeth and think nothing of it.

Here’s a sample from Cosmo Lee’s breakdown of the differences:

Epicness/tolerance for cheese

Bands like Sonata Arctica and Hammerfall don’t come from the States. Being a secondhand culture, US metal is too self-conscious to engage in the unabashed frilly shirt-ery that pegs bands as “European, probably on Nuclear Blast.” American bands like Pharaoh and Symphony X that have a European sound are usually more serious. This doesn’t just apply to happy power metal. Even a “death metal” band like Arch Enemy has blatant “billowing hair/wind machine on 11″ moments that are patently European. Americans are too busy grinding on one note and cursing their lack of health care.

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Way back in December on the eve of the brand new Bronx record Bronx III, frontman Matt Caughthran told me in an interview about a mariachi record the band had recorded concurrently with Bronx III. At SXSW this past March, Kip and I witnessed a very special Mariachi El Bronx performance in which the band performed a full mariachi set in full mariachi garb, and it was nothing short of spectacular. And finally 5 months later we get to hear said mariachi record (listen on MySpace), which came out yesterday. Reports Noisecreep:

The idea to release an entire album’s worth of authentic mariachi music came to the Bronx following an on-air appearance they did for Fuel TV. “It was kind of an acoustic thing,” says Caughthran. “The treatment for rock bands doing acoustic music is so horrible, and so generic. And it was something that we really wanted to stray away from. So we got some friends involved and did a mariachi version of ‘Dirty Leaves.’ And when we did that — the transformation, creatively — it was super inspiring, and it was something that we wanted to explore further.”

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MS Maniac Allan Petteruto sent us the below. It’s actually very sad. So sad that I have no desire whatsoever to make fun of the people involved. Just watch it first, then get my thoughts after the jump.

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It’s no secret that Metallica is the exception to the rule, and that being a touring musician in a metal band does not make for a very glamorous lifestyle. Your stinky fart-box of a van often serves as your bed, unless you’re lucky enough to be able to find a floor or couch or something to sleep on. And that would require that you either a) know someone near the tour stop, b) make a friend at said tour stop, and/or c) actually have time to sleep (as opposed to driving all night to make the next gig). You might like to think that these problems only plague smaller bands, but guess again – plenty of well established bands have made a van seat their bed time and again. These facts serve me personally as a constant reminder that I could never be a touring musician – I’m a spoiled brat and I need a fucking bed.

Well, AdFreak.com reports that Motel 6, that classiest of motel chains, is now doing something to try and help out:

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