Friday, September 16th, 2011 at 1:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
During our Big 4 Live Snark on Wednesday, we reported that during Megadeth’s set, Dave Mustaine told the crowd he needed neck surgery, and had been in a hospital as recently as Tuesday; in fact, not only was there a rumor on Monday that Megadeth were gonna miss the show, but word around the campfire was that Exodus had even been approached about possibly taking ‘Deth’s spot should the Davester have to drop out. (Fans offended that Exodus and not Testament were approached should keep in mind in that Gary Holt was already playing with Slayer anyway, so, y’know.)
Now Rolling Drone has scored a non-scoop by getting Mustaine to say in print that which he already said at the concert: he needs neck surgery. So, in case you didn’t believe him the first time he said it, now you should believe him because he told the magazine that gave St. Anger a positive review.
The interesting part of the interview, though, is Mustaine’s claim that G-O-D fixed it so he didn’t have to miss the Yankee Stadium show despite his neck issues:
Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 11:30am by Leyla Ford
Technically, summer isn’t over until September 23. But to hell with that! Days are gonna get shorter, the weather’s gonna get cooler, and everyone will soon celebrate the birth of the one true me. So there’s really no point in hanging on to the last vestiges of summer. Good-bye and good riddance. What better way to hail the moodiest season of them all than with some Blut Aus Nord?
The French “avante-garde” black metal band are, admittedly, a little full of themselves. Refusing to be lumped with other, more popular black metal acts, who they refer to as — and this is the best line ever — “childish Satanic clowns.” Wait, does this make them the original black metal hipsters, then? Oh well. Despite that, I still like them. I didn’t get to listen to 777 – Sect(s) until quite recently, and if I’d heard it sooner, I would’ve considered putting it on my year’s best so far list. It has everything I’d expect in a Blut Aus Nord record; lots of reverb and that glorious industrial influence that I always appreciate in music, whatever the genre.
And yet, 777 – Sect(s) is a little lackluster, especially compared to some of their earlier stuff.
Music can have an incredible emotional impact on the listener, at times overwhelming. When you write about music for a living it’s impossible not to be become jaded, and those times when music completely takes you over grow ever farther between. But watching this live performance of “Flying” — Living Colour’s 9/11-inspired song and, IMO, the best 9/11-inspired song ever-written — is sending chills down my spine and had me on the brink of tears for a moment. It’s that powerful.
“Flying” is a moving song on its own, but this performance, filmed in New Jersey on the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, takes it to another level. Cory Glover is one of the most emotional singers in the world; at a private performance of their new album The Chair in the Doorway in 2009, Glover broke down into tears after introducing and then launching into a song about his late mother. You can feel it in this performance of “Flying” too… Living Colour are a true New York band, and the 9/11 attacks affected all of us in a profound way. These lyrics, and the accompanying music — including Vernon Reid’s extended guitar solo — capture the emotions we all feel so perfectly.
I jumped out the window to get to the parking lot
I’m writing this little song on my way down
Never in my life have I felt a heat so hot
I had to get out
Such a lovely day to go flying
The sky’s so clear, the sun is shining
Fate has given me wings
Such a terrible funny thing
I was gathering up my nerve to ask out Carmen
She glanced out the window
Oh my God
The room It went away, now we’re holding hands
Just not the way I planned
There comes a time in the life of any moderately successful band where a decision must be made: to continue writing artistically relevant music or to throw on a cowboy hat and write about beer and puss—
I wonder which is more profitable.
Last week we explored the first of six stylistic pitfalls good bands/musicians so often fall prey to (click here to see part 1!), changes in quality of life. In this edition we will be focusing our attention on a very different, but equally devastating gaffe, and it’s a distinctly American problem at that (provided that Canada is basically America).
Long-time MetalSucks readers know that Axl and I have an unnaturally high level of love for Sevendust. If you’ve got a problem with that kindly stop reading this post now and spare us your butthurt claims that Sevendust aren’t “metal enough” for a metal blog.
So, it seems as if Sevendust might be getting ready to hang up their cleats for good, or are at least considering it. This wouldn’t be surprising if I believed it were actually going to happen… which I do not.
This was not supposed to happen. Djent was not supposed to be the next annoying pop-metal trend.
When what would later be termed “djent” started brewing in the message boards frequented by guitar / home-recording nerds in 2002-2003, the genre had so much promise. Players who were passionate about their craft creating songs en masse for everyone to hear; good musicianship; the Meshuggah-revival guitar chug sound that was, at the time, novel; ambient atmospherics; interesting song structures and orchestration. Sure, the elements that caused djent to catch on like wildfire later on — namely catchy guitar hooks — were there in the genre’s infancy… but not to the degree they’re being mined, exploited and endlessly imitated now.
This was not supposed to happen. For an interesting read, check out a guest blog TesseracT’s Acle Kahney wrote for MetalSucks about the birth of the djent movement. He was there way before you were and will be there long after.
This was not supposed to happen. It was nice knowing you while you were still fun, djent. I bid thee farewell.
How could they—how could they do this?! And to you of all people—
You, who so loyally downloaded each of their album leaks; you, who mobbed them outside their tour bus to plug your band they didn’t want to hear about at 1:45 in the morning; and, of course, you, who left an elitist comment on an MS thread about how KVLT they used to be and how nothing they’ve done recently is worth a damn—What nerve!
Bands change, and as human beings we’re hardwired to resist that. But deep down, in our own girly, paradoxical way, we sort of look for it, too. Ambivalence aside, if you were to investigate the primary reasons as to why the majority of the groups you like head south (not on tour), it would likely come down to the fact that they did actually change things. What you thought wasn’t broken they tried to fix anyway and now you’re left with an annoying buzz and a whole bunch of spare parts.
We go about saying “oh that band ‘sold out’” or “they used to be good, but now they’re just a bunch of pussycats.” But that’s not really all that descriptive. Music nerds love to complain, not explain, and maybe that’s the problem here. In this series we will explore the leading factors in a band’s artistic decline and examine just why it is that your rock gods of yester-year are now the radio slobs you can’t bear to hear.
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 12:30pm by Vic Vaughn
Only five releases today, which is fine, because it’s my birthday and my college started classes back up yesterday. We still have a bunch of stuff coming out this fall to get excited about, but this week is highlighted by releases from Leprous and Atriarch, as well as ICS Vortex’s first solo album. To the reviewing!
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 12:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
We keep getting e-mails regarding the below video of Charlie Sheen at The Gathering of the Juggalos this past weekend, because allegedly it shows how he was booed and pelted with bottles and generally not met with a warm greeting from all the little Ninjas. “How are you guys not all over this?!?!” one reader even asked.
Thing is, it doesn’t really show any of that fun stuff. I think I counted four bottles thrown at Sheen, and he doesn’t seem particularly offended — in fact, he catches two of the bottles, and is met with applause for doing so. There aren’t even any really audible boos until he announces an act and walks off the stage, and it’s not clear if the crowd was booing Sheen or the upcoming performer. So it’s not like this was a repeat of the Tila Tequila incident from last year’s Gathering.
In other words: this video is not that entertaining, but if you wanna see what all the fuss is about, here it is.
Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
I don’t normally think of Adam Jones(#18 on our list of the Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists) or Tool as being the kinds of artists who appeal to the Hellyeah/Five Finger Death Punch crowd, but I guess that’s just me being an uptight elitist. Because Jones played “The Star-Spangled Banner” at WWE’s SummerSlam over the weekend, which, let’s be real, is about as white trash as you can get without making an appearance at The Gathering of the Juggalos (and before you get your panties in a knot over that statement, you should know that I once proudly attended SummerSlam, and, yes, I had a blast).
ANYWAY, here’s video of Jones’ performance… needless to say, he did a fantastic job, and if nothing else, it’s always good to hear him playing music, not doing whatever he does while Maynard goes off and makes wine and Puscifer albums.
Let’s take a look at a band that, amazingly enough, doesn’t take itself as seriously as, say, every other band that has originated from the Scandinavian Peninsula. Formed in 2004 by Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho, Kylähullut was a silly side-project featuring Tonmi Lillman (Ex- To/Die/For) and Vesku Jokinen (Klamydia). I’ve liked the occasional Bodom song and Laiho was pretty easy on the eyes until he wasn’t, but I gotta say, I much prefer him and Jokinen rasping in a language I don’t understand than anything relating to hate crews. Kylähullut, which means “village idiots,” performs all their songs in Finnish, and they’re all simple thrash/punk metal ditties as easy to digest as your average pop song.
Though their most recent release is 2007’s Peräaukko Sivistyksessä, I prefer the first album, Turpa Täynnä, from 2005. As well as an abundance of umlauts, each song has a delightful name, especially “Scenehuora,” which means, if you couldn’t guess, “scene whore.” I also quite like “…Ja Jeesus ei pysy ristillään!” (“…And Jesus won’t stay on his cross!”) and “Vitun urpo!” (“Fucking idiot!”). The exclamation points are a nice touch.
My favorite song of theirs, though, “Ei pelkoa,” which was also the first Kylähullut song I ever heard. It’s has a touch of the customary Laiho guitars, but without his proclivity to meander endlessly. I think the fact that each song barely hits three minutes really plays up to the trio’s strengths. No frills, just hard, straightforward music. The only song that sort of bugs me is “Kylähullut, ” which features Kimberley Goss, whose voice makes me want to throttle cute, innocent things. It sounds like Andrew WK mated with a Finnish Avril Lavigne. But even that tune has its charm.
Also, if someone could explain to me what the hell is happening in this video, I’d appreciate it. I found it while searching for the song “Kääpiöt.” Far as I can tell, it’s the three dudes on a very special adventure together.
They actually remind me of another silly Finnish act (not in terms of the actual music, but just their general air and attitude), Eläkeläiset. A geriatric band that does heavy metal polka (humppa) covers with the occasional pop or rock song thrown in for good measure. Like. “Smells Like Teen Humppa.” I really don’t know what these bands are drinking, but I would like to try it.
Just this past Tuesday I was casually enjoying an unofficial holiday you may have heard of that one of my obsessive friends lovingly calls “Fair to Midland Day.” In celebration of the group’s fourth release, Arrows and Anchors, the guys (and, like, one girl) all set out to purchase the album and listen to it tirelessly.
I made sure I eventually got one too (so I didn’t look like a bad person or anything…), and I was dern glad I did, because despite having already heard about 2/3rds of it in live and demo form, the album still rules. It may not be outright metal, but it is awesomely oddball alt rock.
But why take my word for it? Especially when we have such an accurate and thoughtful portrayal of the record right here, courtesy of Alternative Press:
Last week Keith Caputo — now going by the name Keith Mina Caputo — announced his… her? I guess her… status as a transexual who has already begun the process of gender reassignment. Now fan filmed footage of Life of Agony performing with Keith Mina in all her glory has surfaced. Check it out below.
It’s hard not to notice just how not-weird the performance seems, even with Caputo’s new look; I mean, it’s not as though half the singers in metal don’t kinda look like women anyway, and Caputo’s voice and stage presence do not seem to have changed one bit. If I didn’t know what was going on and was just watching this, I’d probably just think “Oh, Keith Caputo has long hair now.”
In any case, I would like to second Vince’s endowment of props to Caputo — the way she’s been handling this situation is incredibly brave.
Have you ever noticed that the bands who metal nerds fawn over today were universally-despised rage magnets just a few short years ago? For example, trashing Pantera in 2011 is asking to get chased with torches and pitchforks — the polar opposite of 1993, when you would be hard-pressed to find a band that metal nerds hated more. Or how everybody jizzes over Suffocation now, but in the mid-90s you couldn’t read two pages of Metal Maniacs without someone pissing and moaning about “Suffoclones.” Are metal nerds crazy, or is there some rhyme and reason to their seemingly-contradictory behavior?? I believe that there is indeed a way to understand metal nerds, but it’s not what you might think!
Psychologists have long compared metal nerds to women. The similarities are certainly undeniable: like the fairer sex, they are fickle, emotional, and irrational. They even have long hair! However, my research suggests that, unlike women, they actually operate by a primitive form of logic and are highly predictable. After the break: my SCIENTIFIC MODEL OF METAL NERD PSYCHOLOGY, the FOUR KINDS OF METAL BANDS, and an exclusive METAL NERD CHEAT SHEET that reveals a foolproof formula for whether you should like a band or not!
If you’ve completed high school history, chances are you’ve heard some talk about “progressive politics” (Bull-Moose, if you know what I mean). Most of us have probably heard of so-called “progressive politicians,” but when it comes to the pivotal issues, the things that really matter, like which bands they listened to in high school, many of them seem just as uninspired as their more conservative competition.
Isn’t it about time America had a truly progressive presidential candidate? Recent Utah governor Jon Huntsman seems to think so. After resigning in February from his Obama-appointed post of foreign ambassador to China, rumors of his presidential candidacy began to surge like a black mage’s whirlwind spell. Even more than that, bits about Huntsman’s “epic” past began to surface, and that soft-spoken politician began to appear all the more mystical.
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 at 2:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Judas Priest are probably one of the best metal bands in the history of the genre, and certainly one of the most important. And, sure, their post-reunion-with-Halford studio albums haven’t been so great, but they haven’t been unbearably terrible, either, and the band still puts on a really, really fun show live.
So why am I feeling so over it with them? Well, let’s begin by going over all the drama that has surrounded the group just in the past seven months.
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 at 3:30pm by Gary Suarez
Axl’s somewhat recent post on kiddie-pop starlet Miley Cyrus’ screwface-inducing version of Nirvana’s 1991 breakthrough single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” brought well deserved grumbles from the so-reliable-you-can-set-your-watch-to-them commenters. Yet much of that ire was directed not at the spawn of the man who brought us “Achy Breaky Heart”, but rather at the Seattle grunge band she chose to cover. It seems anytime that the name Kurt Cobain is even alluded to on this site and others, metalheads rush to bash the man and the music he left behind, usually with the same sneering refrain: grunge killed mainstream metal. Well I’m here to say one thing to those people: GET OVER IT.
I’m a big nerd for Scandinavian melodeath, so I was shocked to find out during a recent car ride with Metal Injection melodeath expert Frank Godla that there’s a top-notch band I’d yet to discover in the form of Finland’s SEO-unfriendly Diablo. Sez Frank of Diablo: “the sweetest band of this genre since Mors Principium Est.”
Their most recent album, 2008′s Icaros, contains all the best parts of melodic death metal without any of the genre trapping that have become so cliche over the past five or so years via a thousand 6-gen knockoffs. Best yet, they step things up a notch in the heaviness department and manage to distance themselves from the masses in part thanks to Rainer Nygård’s distinct, atypical vocals. If ever there were another example of Post-Swede, Diablo are it.
The Revolver Golden Gods Awards will air on VH1 later this month (or something… I know we got a press release but I was too lazy to read it), and it will be interesting to see that, because I was there, but I didn’t actually see very much of the show. I saw the schmuck from Asking Alexandria drop his mic two seconds into “Youth Gone Wild,” and I saw some of Avenged Sevenfold’s performances with Duff McKagan and Vinnie Paul, and I saw enough of Chris Jericho performing “For Whom the Bell Tolls” to consider throwing myself over the balcony and ending the awards in spectacular fashion (sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the greater good). But by and large I was too busy snorting coke in the bathroom with a girl who fucking swore to me that it wasn’t a herpes sore that lying bitch! to be bothered.
So one thing I had absolutely no idea even transpired was the below montage paying tribute to the five guys who died in the past year that are relevant to the readers of Revolver, which is to say, not Phil Vane or Frankie Sparcello.
But I shouldn’t be a jerk about it, it’s really a very touching video.
I was more than a little intrigued yesterday when we received a press release announcing the line-up for the 2011 edition (Have there been previous editions?) of Dame-Nation, “Chicago’s premier female-fronted metal festival” (Does Chicago have other female-fronted metal festivals?). The idea of doing a whole show based around bands that are fronted by women isn’t new; as I write this, the Revolver Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock tour is about half complete. And the organizers of Dame-Nation seem to only kinda-sorta know what they’re doing. But it’s their complete lack of polish that I find, well… admirable, really.
One key difference between the Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock tour and Dame-Nation is that none of the bands on Dame-Nation are famous. In other words, if the Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock tour features bands that no one would care about if not for the fact that they have attractive girls in the group, then Dame-Nation features bands that no one cares about despite having attractive girls in the group.
Maybe the bands on HCIHR have ascended somewhat higher on the metallic food chain (fiscally if not creatively) than the bands on Dame-Nation because they know how to sell themselves; HCIHR makes no bones about its own marketing ploy. Just check out the poster… what product is it actually advertising?
Maria Brink has a nice pair of sunglasses.
Now contrast this with the poster for Dame-Nation:
Axl’s somewhat recent post on kiddie-pop starlet 
