Hey, so remember before all this petty Bill Ward drama erupted how his Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi was diagnosed with fucking CANCER? During an interview which will air in full tonight on his new SiriusXM channel Ozzy’s Boneyard (Channel 38), Ozzy shared his personal thoughts on the matter. Listen to a few excerpts above, then listen to the interview in full at the times listed above. As usual, you can only understand about every third word out of Ozzy’s mouth, but it’s actually kind of refreshing to hear the old coot’s babbling voice after so long, and he’s obviously pulling for his buddy.
The other members of Black Sabbath (Ward excepted) have relocated the recording sessions of their new album with Rick Rubin to London to accommodate Iommi’s recovery. Wish him well.
It’s been over three years since Deftones’ bassist Chi Cheng was in a serious car accident that left him in a coma. It’s been a long, difficult struggle for Chi and his family, but every little bit of news about an improvement in his condition, no matter how small, provides a much-needed boost of hope.
As shown in the following video posted on February 1st [via RoarRock], Chi is now able to move his leg when commanded:
A small step, sure, but still very encouraging. Chi is still otherwise unable to move or speak. More information, including how to donate to Chi’s medical care, is available at OneLoveForChi.com.
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 at 3:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
I know that some right-leaning readers hate it when we get all liberally here on MetalSucks. And you’re entitled to your opinion, obviously, and I hope we can all still be friends even if we don’t share ideologies. Also, I hope we can all at the very least agree that Newt Gingrich is a putz.
And I hope we can all agree that this is hilarious: last Thursday, a rally for the Republican Party nominee was disrupted by the local grindcore band Traumatic Anal Devastation, who according to Universe Number Five, “showed up outside the rally, plugged their instruments in, and generated what Gingrich staffer Terry ‘The Stick’ Foley called ‘the sound of a tank driving through a minefield.’” Vocalist Chip “Gravelthroat” Corbin later explained that the group’s moniker “is obviously metaphorical for the way the government and capitalism has continually raped the public at-large.” Sounds reasonable.
Needless to say, the cops showed up and pulled the plug on TAD’s political protest, but, y’know… gotta give ‘em props for trying to make a point, however indecipherable the lyrics describing that point must have been.
Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Longtime reader Kyle [Name Witheld for his Own Protection] writes a blog about religion (read it before you freak out) called Cheap Thinker, and while searching for material in the wee hours of the night, he came across the below video, which he was kind enough to share with us. It’s called “If Religions Were Real,” and in addition to being very funny, it also features a hilariously gruesome death-by-bears sequence set to the music of a death metal band called Severed Fifth. So, yeah, good times all around.
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 2:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Back in February of 2010, Machine Head invited a fan who was holding a banner that read “Let Me Play ‘Aesthetics Of Hate’ — Seriously, I Can Play It” up onto the stage to take a crack at that song, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Now they’ve done it again, and while you might be thinking “Yawn! Been there, done that!”, you should know that this time the fan, Anthony Potenza, was just thirteen years old. He even got to use Robb Flynn’s guitar. And unless that guitar was turned way low in the mix or something, it sounds like he did a mighty fine job! And to think, when I was thirteen, the only thing I was doing was masturbating to the bra section of the Sears catalog.
Machine Head are currently on tour with Darkest Hour, Suicide Silence, and Rise to Remain. You can get remaining dates here.
Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 12:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Following triple bypass open heart surgery in 2010, King Diamond understandably had to take a break from doing what he was born to do — that is, being one of the best vocalists in the history of metal. But to the delight of fans everywhere (including this one!), last week The King announced his imminent return to stage, with two appearances at European festivals scheduled for this summer.
But, hey, guess what? Turns out we won’t hafta wait ’til June for His Majesty’s return — ’cause he gave a surprise performance at the fifth annual Nomad Recording Showcase Throwdown this past Friday night. And while the quality of the resulting cell phone footage isn’t that great, it is good enough to hear that King Diamond’s voice is as strong as ever, open heart surgery be damned. Check it out:
Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 2:30pm by MetalSucks
Hey friends! Do you love metal? Do you love getting hammered? Do you live in NYC? If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, you should be thrilled to learn that we’re teaming up with our friends at Metal Injection and Metal Insider to bring you a monthly Metal Night at Idle Hands, one of our most favoritest places to get drunk in the whole wide world. On the fourth Thursday of every month, a member of the MetalSucks, Metal Injection, or Metal Insider crew will be DJing while partygoers enjoy drinks specials, giveaways, and all manner of debauchery.
And we’re kicking it off this Thursday, January 26 in style, with both Bram from Metal Insider and the one and only Doc Coyle of God Forbid and MetalSucks fame providing the soundtrack to your blackout. So, basically, if you’re in the area and you don’t come hang, you’re a total loser and will probably never have sex again.
The festivities kick off at 8 pm at Idle Hands, 25 Avenue B at 3rd Street in the basement, ’cause that’s where wretched metal scumbags like you belong. You can get more details here. Be there or be .
Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 1:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Earlier this week, we were saddened to report that legendary Black Sabbath guitarist has been diagnosed with lymphoma. Now Iommi has released a statement on the matter via his Facebook page:
“My fans, friends & colleagues -
“I just want to say how overwhelmed I am with all your messages of support, thank you so much.
“Well it’s not what I wanted for Christmas, that’s for sure, but now I can’t wait for the test results to come in and get going with the treatment.
“It’s really good that the guys are coming over so that we can continue working on the album as things are going great in the studio.
“Well, not much else to say at this time, so thanks again.
“Bless you all,
“Tony”
Well, it sounds like Iommi is taking the news far better than I would. People say that a positive outlook can really make a difference when dealing with horrible circumstances such as this one… hopefully Iommi’s ongoing joie de vivre bodes well for his future.
Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 10:00am by MetalSucks
If you take your girlfriend out to the middle of the woods to fuck in her dad’s camper, don’t crank Alice Cooper so loud you can’t hear here screaming for her life, okay?
Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 4:20pm by Axl Rosenberg
Last week, we posted video of Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe rehearsing with Cannabis Corpse, who he was going to front for the memorial show in honor of late GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot; that show took place this past Saturday, so now, of course, we have video of the actual performance. Here’s the entire set…
…and here’s some bonus footage — Blythe shaving GWAR front man/MetalSucks columnist Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie’s head on stage:
Thursday, January 5th, 2012 at 2:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Our pals over at Metal Injection recently unearthed the below video of Fantomas playing a medley of old Slayer tunes, and, yeah, it’s pretty great. Despite the presence of Slayer drummer Dave Lomabardo, Fantomas put their own unique spin on the material, rather than just doing rote copies of the originals. Killer stuff… check it out below:
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 12:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
UPDATED:
Jeff Hanneman has been out of commission for most of 2011, even missing Slayer’s appearances at various Big Four shows, due to almost dying from a spider bite — which, as far as ways to almost die go, is incredibly fucking metal.
Now Hanneman has recounted the tale of his near-death experience in an interview with Classic Rock, and not only is it chock-full of surprisingly funny quotes (like the one in my headline) and details (his doctor at the hospital was a Slayer fan), but with the simple line “I could see the flesh corrupting,” it proves that Hanneman talks the same way he writes lyrics. Which is, y’know, awesome.
Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
So the young ‘uns might not remember this, but back in 1995, following the release of Ozzmosis, Zakk Wylde actually had to bow out of Ozzy Osbourne’s touring group. The reason? ‘Cause Mr. Wylde was busy waiting to see if he got the second guitarist spot in the then-biggest band in the world, Guns N’ Roses. GN’R's original rhythm guitarist, Izzy Stradlin, had quit in ’91, and his replacement, Gilby Clarke, was fired in ’94; the band was having a hard time filling the slot (an issue which apparently ended up being a major factor in Slash’s eventual decision to leave the group), and Axl Rose got it into his head that having a second lead guitarist would be a great idea, and would “push” the two axe slingers to challenge themselves in new and interesting ways (a theory Rose continues to test in his current version of Guns). In hindsight, this was probably a terrible idea, but at the time, when word got out that Wylde was jamming with GN’R, everyone was all excited by the possibility.
I’m not quite sure why it didn’t work out between Wylde and GN’R (Rose says that Slash refused to share the spotlight with a second lead guitarist, Slash says that Wylde was too impatient to wait for Rose to get his shit together), but last week fans got a kinda-sorta glimpse of a what a Wylde GN’R might have sounded like when the guitarist, whose Black Label Society was opening for Rose and company, hopped up on stage with the band to perform a cover of AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie.” Metal Insider has found multiple fan-filmed videos of the event, one of which I’ve re-posted below; it’s actually pretty amazing, ’cause Wylde doesn’t use a single guitar squeal the entire time. I wonder if that was one of Rose’s conditions when allowing him to perform with GN’R?
And since we’re on the topic of Zakk Wylde almost joining Guns N’ Roses in the mid-90s, here’s a video of Wylde and Slash jamming on Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” from roughly that same time period. Hearing the way these two trade licks and interact with one another might actually give you a better sense of how GN’R could have sounded had Wylde actually ended up in the band. Enjoy:
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 at 2:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Ihsahn has only performed once in North America thus far — at this year’s ProgPower Festival — which means that most of us who live in these parts have never had the opportunity to see the man perform his awesome, awesome solo work live in the flesh.
So hoo-ray for the below video, which is a relatively high quality of an Ihsahn performance in Tokyo from earlier this week. His backing band, of course, is the mighty Leprous, who are also quite cool, so this video is twice as must-watchable as it woulda been already. Enjoy!
It’s always refreshing when a member of an older generation of musicians “gets it” and doesn’t come off as sounding like a dinosaur. It’s not surprising that Henry Rollins, who spent decades screaming his lungs out in dive bars and basements, would appreciate the DIY ethos that the Internet and ever-cheapening recording technology offer, but it’s still great to hear someone over the age of 30 acknowledging the pros of the modern musical age instead of waxing ecstatic about how things used to be.
Love his analogy of the major labels as the The Olive Garden and Subway of music with no love put into the product, and I double-love that he even acknowledges the dudes in those bands (even the horrible ones) might be motivated whereas it’s the labels don’t give a shit. Also, priceless Scott Stapp impression at 1:25.
The above clip comes from Bloodied but Unbowed, aka The Punk Movie, released in 2010.
Metal covers of non-metal songs are a dicey proposition; they can reinvigorate an old classic and take it to new places, but they run the high risk of abysmal failure in the process. There are ironic covers of modern pop-songs, which I think we can all agree are a bad idea, and serious covers of ’80s pop songs, a fun idea at first that’s been beat into the ground in recent years. Not all are doomed from the get-go, though; the best metal covers of non-metal songs are those that strike a balance between the original arrangement and the covering band’s haecceity, or “thisness,” making the new version their own. Misery Signals’ cover of Pink Floyd’s “Us and Them” really blew me away for that very reason, and I’m happy to report that The Atlas Moth’s cover of The Mamas and the Papas’ classic track “California Dreamin’” does the same.
This cover appeared on The Atlas Moth’s 2010 EP The One Amongst the Weed Fields, but like the aforementioned Misery Signals track I somehow missed it when it came out. I’m glad MS reader Kevin Ridge tipped me off to its existence.
The Atlas Moth’s new album An Ache for the Distance is out now and streaming in full on their Bandcamp page. It’s one of 2011′s best, and I promise you’ll dig it.
As a member of Type O Negative and Carnivore, Peter Steele regularly antagonized society’s sensitivity police with blunt observations on sex, race, and violence. And he played doomy, dour metal about love and death, sharpened a few of his teeth to a point, and did drugs. But still, in death he is metal’s Princess Di, a symbol of our values: individuality, skill, and heart. That’s why fans do things to celebrate his memory, things that require time, resources, and effort, that net no profit, and that pay proper respect to our memories of him.
A wondrous example is “Peter’s Tree,” a Facebook group devoted to planting a tree in NYC’s Prospect Park as a dedication to Steele, free-thinker, nature poet, and onetime parks worker. And Monday was the big day: At a 10 a.m. ceremony, Peter’s special oak tree (above) got its official planting at a scenic — and permanent — spot in the north side of the park (map here). It’s genius cuz a tree’s lifespan is such that even fans yet to be born will someday enjoy it, and double-genius since a tree provides shelter and sustenance for other creatures. Peter would love that. Plus it’s tall and you can hug it. See you there!
-ADF
More photos and info here. Comment from Type O Negative’s Johnny Kelly here. The MetalSucks Peter Steele tribute interview special here and here.
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