So right now you’re probably thinking 1) “Hey, assholes, the NHL season actually started last night so this can’t really be a ‘preview’ in the traditional sense of the word,” and 2) “Hey, assholes, at least one of these artists isn’t actually signed to Relapse Records.” And, yes, we know we’re a little late, but this is metal, so who the fuck is ever on time? And, yes, we know that at least one of these artists isn’t actually signed to Relapse Records, but most of them are, and the fine people at Relapse really did all the work in putting this together, so ppppfffffttttt.

So. After the jump, you can find previews of how the freshly-begun NHL season is looking for the favorite teams of members of 3 Inches of Blood, -(16)-, Buried Inside, Cephalic Carnage, Cretin, Dekapitator, Exhumed, Fuck the Facts, Gravehill, Hero Destroyed, Indian, Misery Index, Mortuous, Repulsion, and Toxic Holocaust. Enjoy!!!

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To celebrate the release of Madball’s latest aggro masterpiece, Empire (two new songs streaming here!), we asked vocalist Freddy “Madball” Cricien to compile a list of his favorite non-hardcore (but still heavy!) bands. Luckily for us and all of you, he agreed! So we’ll be running two entries a day from Freddy’s list every day for the next five days, leading up to Empire‘s October 12 release. You can read Freddy’s initial installment here and his second entry here; to follow, enjoy day three of the countdown…

6) SLAYER

I got into slayer later than most probably. Like I said, my background wasn’t in metal. For me, when it comes to heavy music, it was H.C. and then I got into other heavy stuff via friends, etc. You have to give Slayer props. They are as hard as they come, have crazy longevity, are super influential, and keep it real with their style/sound. They are classic. What more needs to be said?! FYI — they are one of Hoya Roc’s favorite bands!

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To celebrate the release of Madball’s latest aggro masterpiece, Empire, we asked vocalist Freddy “Madball” Cricien to compile a list of his favorite non-hardcore (but still heavy!) bands. Luckily for us and all of you, he agreed! So we’ll be running two entries a day from Freddy’s list every day for the next five days, leading up to Empire‘s October 12 release. You can read Freddy’s initial installment here; to follow, enjoy day two of the countdown…

8) SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

This is a band that could be categorized as H.C., or, rather, H.C. punk. But over the years, they developed into their own thing. It’s hard to really categorize these guys, so I’m going to go ahead and put them on the list. They are legendary representatives of “heavy music.” I think they deserve to be here. Not to mention, they are one of my favorites. And believe it or not, Lights… Camera… Revolution! is the stand out record for me. People would probably assume I’d pick something older, because of my background, etc. But that record was the onefor me! All their stuff is solid. We’ve toured with them twice now. They are stand up guys and a great band… respect.

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To celebrate the release of Madball’s latest aggro masterpiece, Empire, we asked vocalist Freddy “Madball” Cricien to compile a list of his favorite non-hardcore (but still heavy!) bands. Luckily for us and all of you, he agreed! So we’ll be running two entries a day from Freddy’s list every day for the next five days, leading up to Empire‘s October 12 release. To follow, pelase find the first installment. We hope you enjoy…

10) LED ZEPPELIN

I wasn’t sure at first if I should put them on this list. They could be considered more rock than anything, and that would open up a whole other door of bands I love. But you know what? They’re heavy, so I’m going to throw them on my list. I grew up listening to my older brother Rudy’s Led Zeppelin records… along with a bunch of other eclectic stuff. I always loved Zeppelin. Great songs, unique sounding band, and the heavy-ness and groove of John Bonham’s drums was just amazing.

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Heyo, Taco Riff central! If you’re on the hunt for taco riffs, The Fucking Wrath have got ‘em in spades. On their new album Terra Fire, out October 19th on Tee Pee Records, The Fucking Wrath — who we first profiled back in 2007 — bring their taco riff A-game but also a whole lot more. “Lowbrow,” the album’s opening track, goes from furious thrashy riffs to super-slow doomy tacos in a matter of seconds, and the juxtaposition — as well as a developed sense of songwriting — makes for a fun listen. Stream it below, and tell us what you think. Check out more of The Fucking Wrath on MySpace.

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Black Market Activities will release Mercy, the third full-length from Chicago’s Sweet Cobra, on September 28; since we’re debuting a track here on MetalSucks, it should go without saying that we think it’s pretty frickin’ cool. “Brux,” the opening track, has to be one of the catchiest songs we’ve heard all year; it sounds like Mastodon, if Mastodon were more interested in making sure they got stuck in your head and less interested in, like, orcs n’ shit. If the slip-slide riff and boppin’ drums don’t make you wanna get up and grab a hula-hoop, than you must have no pulse. This song is so infectious you’re gonna need to drill into your brain just to get it out.

Check out “Brux” below, and then pre-order Mercy here. It was produced by Sanford Parker (Pelican, Nachtmystium) and mixed by Kurt Ballou (Do you seriously not know who Kurt Ballou is?!?!), as if you needed any further incentive to buy a copy.

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Last week we told you about Joe Satriani’s new album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, which comes out October 5th on Epic. Now’s your chance to hear about it from the maestro himself.

In Part 1 of Satriani’s webisode series, released exclusively to MetalSucks, Satch shares how he came up with the album’s bizarre title, talks a bit about the studio in which it was recorded, what it’s been like for him working with his new band, and last but not least some fun footage of said new band jamming on a few tunes.

Love him or hate him, there are few rock or metal guitarists in the world as accomplished and respected as Satriani, and this webisode is a cool glimpse into the mind of a true master.

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Relapse won’t release Sweetest Dreams, the new offering from Brooklyn’s epic rock jam band, Titan, ’til October 12, but this is MetalSucks and we aim to please — so we’re debut a new track, “Wooded Altar Beyond the Wander,” right now. Check it out below.

Sweetest Dreams was recorded with current Made Out of Babies/former Red Sparrowes guitarist Brendan Tobin, and in case that wasn’t enough to make ya excited, it’s the first Titan album to feature Zombi’s Steve Moore on bass and synths!

You can pre-order Sweetest Dreams on CD here or on vinyl here. And if you live in the area, you should be aware that the band will be playing at Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on October 22 with Royal Thunder, Serpent Throne, and Snake Sustaine; then they’ll be doing a record release show on October 24 at Union Pool with Royal Thunder and Dark Vibes. The latter is a 21 and over show that will start at 9 pm, and ticketing info will be posted here shortly.

And now, without further ado, we present “Wooded Altar Beyond the Wander” by Titan. Enjoy!

Titan – “Wooded Altar Beyond the Wander”

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UPDATE: Now in high-quality!

Greece’s mightiest power metal masters, Firewind, are back with new dose of awesomeness, Days of Defiance – and MetalSucks is proud to be debuting the video for the lead single, “World on Fire.” Because everything Firewind touches turns to metal, this clip features all manner of kick-associty, including the band inhabiting a world on fire (duh), a hot blonde chick, and lots of close-ups of Gus G. If you don’t love this, then you have no soul.

“World on Fire” is currently available for download from iTunes. Days of Defiance comes out October 25 on Century Media; you can pre-order CD or vinyl copies here.

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Despite all the drama we still maintain that White Wizzard (or, really, just Jon Leon since he’s the only constant) are a good band, and that Over the Top was a quality trad-metal album. Now we get to find out what three of Leon’s ex-bandmates have been up to all this time in the form of Holy Grail (ex-Sorcerer), whose first LP Crisis in Utopia drops October 26th via Prosthetic.

We got our first taste of Holy Grail — who I’d describe as similar to WW but a touch faster and a healthy dollop more guitar-driven — on the Improper Burial EP, and we liked it enough to debut a track from their new album sound unheard. Thankfully “My Last Attack” doesn’t disappoint at all; it’s a fiery storm of modern trad-metal with tons o’ scorching guitars, anchored by near-constant double-bass pounding and, most importantly, a knack for what makes a good classic metal melody. It’s pretty much all you could hope for from a band of this cloth. Stream and download it for free below, and pre-order Crisis in Utopia for only 10 Smackers at Prosthetic’s webstore (PLUS for a limited time only enter discount code SUCKS at checkout to receive 10% off!!) Catch Holy Grail on fall with Blind Guardian this fall.

HOLY GRAIL, “MY LAST ATTACK”

Holy Grail – “My Last Attack”

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Eyal Levi’s studio resides in the basement of his family’s home in suburban Atlanta. It’s a small room that couldn’t comfortably hold more than five, maybe six people; if your only mental image of a band making a record comes from A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, it might be a little off-putting. You’re perpetually aware that you’re actually in the middle of someone’s house; various non-local metal denizens (including this blogger) populate the guest beds and couches, while members of Daath who live within driving distance but aren’t necessarily needed at the moment come and go as they please to share meals, jokes, vape rips, and the work-in-progress. It’s only when you really look around and soak in the details of your surroundings — the box full of copies of Daath’s self-released debut, Futility; the Misery Index vinyls; the post-it note by the door that makes reference to an incident involving Arsis’ James Malone, the house security system, and the local police department — that you realize: Oh, yeah. I’ve got albums on my iPod that were recorded in this room!

Daath have returned here to make their new, self-titled album after recording 2008′s The Concealers at producer Jason Suecof’s Audio Hammer Studios in Florida. The relaxed and homey environment was chosen deliberately for this outing. The name of the game this time is “creative freedom,” and the atmosphere at Eyaland (the studio doesn’t have an official name) definitely seems to breed open thinking — which is key, given that the group has only written and demoed skeletal versions of the songs, with the flourishes that, frankly, make Daath Daath still-to-be-added.

The decision to work this way came about because the band has felt, in the past, as though sometimes their preproduction demos “would sound better than the records we released,” Eyal explains. ”Lots of times we’d feel we were making better-sounding-but-more-stale-versions of what we did [on the demos], because lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place… This time we didn’t allow that. We got the songs to the point where we’re comfortable hitting ‘record,’ and we’re taking them to the next level in the studio.”

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Don’t know These Are They? Well, unless you wanna end up in the back of a trunk like the dude above, you should learn who they are right quick. The  side project of Novembers Doom’s Paul Kuhr, These Are They channel crushing old-school death metal acts like Morbid Angel and Devastation — in fact, they cover Devastation’s “Cranial Hemorrhage” with Devastation guitarist Erv Brautigam and vocalist Duane Rasmussen on their new, mafia-themed album, Disposing of Betrayers, which is out today on The End. And in case that didn’t provide enough metal cred for you, the album was produced by Chris Wisco (Michael Angelo Batio, Dirge Within) and mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö (if you need Swanö’s credits, you shouldn’t be reading this website).

To help celebrate the release of Disposing of Betrayers, MetalSucks is proud to be giving away a free download of the track “La Mano Nera,” which means “The Black Hand,” which means the mob — like we said, these are some tough Chicago motherfuckers, and they’re not to be fucked with. So download the track below, and crank that shit. Then, once you’ve felt the song’s awesome power, order yourself a copy of Betrayers here. If you don’t do it, we might send Paul Kuhr to pay a little visit to your family… capiche?

THESE ARE THEY, “LA MANO NERA”

THESE ARE THEY, “LA MANO NERA”

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We’ve already told you how we feel about NC-based metallers Vanisher, who feature in their ranks members of Bloodjinn and Glass Casket, North Carolina royalty. Their debut album The History of Saints drops on Tribunal Records on September 14th, and now, in addition to the couple of tracks they’ve got on their MySpace page you can also stream “Conviction Cell,” the album’s very last track, below. It’s a good taste of what Vanisher are all about — razor-tight riffs and an uncanny sense of melody with songs that get stuck inside your brain almost instantly. Pre-order The History of Saints here.

Vanisher will be on tour from September 17-26 with MS faves The Binary Code and fellow NC-rockers Hephystus. Tour dates after the jump!

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If  ”Vertigo,” the EVH-meets-Dimebag instrumental album intro of The Absence‘s new album Enemy Unbound, isn’t enough to get you to listen to the whole thing… how about the promise of the hundred or so absolutely top-notch riffs contained therein? And plenty of killer riffs I do promise; riff after riff after riff after riff. Of both the singular and harmonized-lead variety, both in spades, every single one of ‘em headbang and fist-pump worthy. If that’s still not enough to get you to listen, how about the promise of expertly crafted scorching solos? Or of that lost art — actual songwriting? If that’s still not enough for you… it’s fucking free! Just press the damn “play” button below and let ‘er rip.

Enemy Unbound drops September 14th via Metal Blade. Pre-order that shizz here.

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Well, we’ve been talking about it for some time, but now you get to hear some of Daath‘s new, self-titled album and make up your mind for yourself — we’re giving away “Destruction/Restoration,” the second cut off the record, as a FREE download.

It should go without saying that we love this song. It sounds like Daath have been let off the leash: Emil Werstler is playing insane shit which should make guitar geeks everywhere cream their pants, Kevin Talley is going absolutely nuts and playing anything but what’s expected, the production, by Mark Lewis and Eyal Levi, is filthy, and the music is darker than Vince Neil’s liver and more misanthropic than Glenn Danzig at a doctor’s office. “Destruction/Restoration” is only about two-and-a-half minutes long, but you’ll never be able to appreciate it after just one listen; it’s just too layered and crazy for that. So download this one on us, get a good pair of headphones, and blow your ear drums to smithereens.

Daath comes out October 25 on Century.

DAATH – “DESTRUCTION/RESTORATION”

Daath – “Destruction/Restoration”

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It’s unusual when a supergroup equals more than just the sum of its parts, but Insidious Disease — a band featuring members of Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir, Old Man’s Child, and Morgoth — is anything but usual. Full of groove-oriented blackened death grind that’s just as ugly and provocative as what you’d hope for a group consisting of members for those particular bands, the band’s debut album, Shadowcast, is an absolute monster. And in addition to being the video for a killer song, this clip for “Boundless” is sure to shock and offend… which is why we’re thrilled to be debuting it here on MetalSucks! Check it out below.

Shadowcast is out now on Century Media… order yourself a copy here.

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The release of Triumvirate, the new album from New York’s own Black Anvil, is still a month away. But because your uncles Vince and Axl love you so much, we’re giving you a taste of the album right now, in the form of the track “Scalping,” which you can stream below. Black Anvil are perhaps that rarest of commodities — an American band that makes actual, Honest-to-Satan black metal on par with any European band. And since they first started to really work their way into the spotlight last year, they’ve become one of those bands that EVERYONE talks about. Before we ever heard a single note, we had people coming up to us and e-mailing us and telling us how awesome this band is. If for some reason you still haven’t experienced them for yourself, now’s a good time to get started — ’cause “Scalping” will scalp you.

Triumvirate will be released via Relapse on September 28. Pre-order it here.

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Few bands today personify pure, unadulterated, no bullshit FUCKIN’ METAL the way Skeletonwitch do, and their most recent Prosthetic release, Breathing the Fire, was one of our most favoritest releases of 2009. Which is we why here at MetalSucks are totally stoked to be debuting their righteously evil new video, “Submit to the Suffering,” which was directed by Don Tyler (Mastodon, Ringworm). Check it out below!

And, hey, guess what? Breathing the Fire is on sale for just $8.99 RIGHT NOW. You can order a copy here. If you don’t own this awesome album, may you burn in the fires of false metal hell!!!

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Of the many black metal bands that have come to gain wider acceptance in the United States over the past few years, Woe are one of my favorites. I find their brand of crunchy, angst-filled blackness to be the most approachable of the lot and the least bogged down by pretentiousness and genre cliches like awful production and silly imagery. I’m hesitant to call Woe more straight-forward — because their music has a palpable level of complexity to it — but it’s just that at the end of the day Woe understand how important it is to just rock and don’t seem too concerned about over-thinking this oft-forgotten fact.

Woe’s 2008 release A Spell For the Death of Man is an album I’ve come back to many a time since its release, so I’m happy that soon enough — on October 12th, to be exact — we’ll get to hear its follow-up, Quietly, Undramatically. In a way, the album name perfectly encapsulates how I feel the band approaches their music; they just do it, without making a big deal of what it is or is not. Their live show is the same way; they’ve completely and intensely rocked my face off every time I’ve seen them.

Until Quietly, Undramatically drops on October 12 via Candlelight we’ll have to settle for this one track from the album, “A Treatise on Control.” But what a doozy it is… “settle” is hardly the word. Stream it below, and check out more Woe on their MySpace page.

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You really just can’t say no to the over-the-top theatrics of DragonForce, so when Roadrunner Records offered us the opportunity to premiere to the world “My Spirit Will Go On” from DragonForce’s forthcoming live album Twilight Dementia we just couldn’t resist.

The track originally comes from the band’s pre-Roadrunner 2004 release Sonic Firestorm, but of course the new live album, which comes out on September 14th, features tracks from the band’s entire career. It’ll also be the last DragonForce release to feature recently dismissed vocalist ZP Theart, not that we can really say we think DragonForce are any better or worse for it — ’cause it’s all about the other dudes in the band, right?

Check out the live version of “My Spirit Will Go On” from Twilight Dementia below, and pre-order the album here with some nifty extras while supplies last.

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