We can’t say we saw this one coming, but with former Satan-worshipping metal musicians left and right claiming to have found God I guess we shouldn’t be that surprised; Tom G. Warrior has reunited Celtic Frost to play a one-off gig at the Bar Mitzvah of one lucky Shlomo Needlebaum. The website Tyranny of Tradition has the exclusive news break:

At first, Thomas Gabriel Warrior (or Fischer, as most adults like to call him) was dead set against the idea.  However, the chance to help a fan like Shlomo start the exciting journey into adult life along with a check for 50,000 dollars helped Warrior change his tune.  Warrior’s love of the traditions of Judaism were also a major influence on his decision.  “I have always had a special place in my heart for the Jewish people and particularly their traditions,” said Warrior decked out in corpse paint and a yarmulke before he strode on stage, “I often think of the great quote by the German poet Berthold Auerbach who said ‘Judaism lives not in an abstract creed, but in its institutions’.  UGH!”

In other news, Daves Mustaine and Ellefson are said to be catering the event with their propriety recipes for latkes, kugel, brisket, and smoked salmon they cure themselves in Megadeth’s rehearsal space. The Bar Mitzvah is BYOM (Bring Your Own Manischewitz).

-VN

“Put down your drumsticks. We’re taking a picture.”
“But what will I do with my hands?”
“Just figure something out!”

A reader named Josh directed us towards “Yiddish Metal Pioneers,” Gevolt. And while the idea of metal performed in a very funny-sounding language that I grew up around is of great appeal to me (At last, the Jews shall have an answer to Rammstein!!!), this Israeli outfit is not very good.

The problem is that Gevolt can’t decide if they wanna be a late twentieth-century nu-metal band or an early twenty-first century metalcore band, but they don’t really do either very well so it basically doesn’t matter. To be fair, they’re not, like, Shitstain on the Ass of the Universe bad, but, uh… well watch this video and see for yourself:

Click to read more…

And the winner is… Angela Martin-Gross! Angela correctly identified Mookie Singerman from Genghis Tron as the MetalSucks “Jew on Jew” interview subject who is actually only half-Jewish. She wins a Cannibal Corpse Evisceration Plague signed comic book and CD package, plus, of course, a dreidel. Mazel tov, Angela!

We’d like to thank all of the entrants, as well as Metal Blade and Kalypso Media, who very generously provided this year’s awesome prizes.

And so, until next year, do like the Maccabees would have done, and hammer your enemies. Or something.

L’chaim!

-AR

Ben Alden wins Night 7 of Heavy Metal Hanukkah for correctly naming Daath’s Eyal Levi as the subject our MetalSucks’ first-ever “Jew on Jew” interview. Ben wins Noctem’s album Oblivion courtesy of Metal Blade, a copy of the Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone expansion for PC from Kalypso Media, and a dreidel from us. Mazel tov!

For the final night we’re giving away a Cannibal Corpse Evisceration Plague signed comic book and CD package, plus a dreidel with which to spin your night away. Simply answer this question correctly:

• Which MetalSucks “Jew on Jew” interviewee is actually only half Jewish?

E-mail your answer along with your full name and address to news [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANUKKAH – NIGHT 8″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow evening (Wednesday, December 28). Contest is open to U.S. residents only please, ’cause despite the rumors, no, the basements of our synagogues are not full of piles of gold.

-AR

Mazel tov to Jenn Schwartz, who correctly who correctly identified the first night of Hanukkah’s trivia question – it was Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian who tweeted that MetalSucks is the “Best Metal site since Infernal Combustion.” Thanks for the kind words, Scott! Jenn wins a copy of As I Lay Dying’s latest release, Decas, plus a copy of Dungeons for her PC, courtesy of Metal Blade Records and Kalypso Media… plus a dreidel, courtesy of MetalSucks! Enjoy ‘em, Jenn!

No point crying into your latkes if you didn’t win, though, ’cause you’ve still got seven more nights to try and get some sweet goodies! So here’s the trivia question for night two; the winner gets a copy of Ghost’s Opus Eponymous, plus a Dungeons “The Dark Lord” stand alone expansion for their PC!

• How many Jew on Jew interviews did MetalSucks conduct in 2011, and who were those interviews with?

Brake out the menorah, break out the dreidel, break out the weed latkes — for the Festival of Lights is upon us yet again! And you know what that means: ANOTHER YEAR OF HEAVY METAL HANUKKAH!!! That’s eight crazy nights with eight crazy chances for you to win some really, really cool swag. In fact, in 2011, we are definitely topping Heavy Metal Hanukkahs of years past, ’cause we’re teaming up with our friends at Metal Blade Records and Kalypso Media to give away some incredible stuff. Don’t believe us? Just check out this picture of everything we’re unloading this year:

Nucking futs, right?

In case this is your first year broing down with MS for the Festival of Lights, here’s how it’s gonna work: Every night for the next eight nights, we’re gonna ask a trivia question that relates to both metal and Judaism. Of everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select one winner to receive that night’s prize from Metal Blade and Kalypso, plus — you guessed it — a dreidel, courtesy your Uncles Axl and Vince. Make sense? Good. Here’s the question for the first night… the winner gets a copy of As I Lay Dying’s new tenth anniversary celebration, Decas, plus a copy of Dungeons for their PC! So –

• Which Jewish metal musician tweeted the following message earlier this year? “If you like to read check out MetalSucks.net. Best Metal site since Infernal Combustion.”

Who knew orthodox Jews got down with Satan? MS Uber-Maniac Josh Kidd put together this video of the orthodox community celebrating the holiday of Lag BaOmer, of which lighting giant fires is apparently a central part. That’s a pretty serious old-school moshpit around the 2:05 mark, too.

Just don’t invite Varg to your Lag BaOmer party.

-VN

Let’s keep this short n’ sweet: the winner for the final evening in the festival of lights is reader Kris Weathers, who correctly answered last night’s trivia question. System Divide is the band with an Israeli female vocalist released an album in September. A lot of you guessed GodWrath, who are Israeli and do have a female singer, but did not, to the best of my knowledge, release an album in September.

ANYWAY, Kris, like the seven other winners of this year’s contest, gets a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Mazel tov, Kris!

We’d like to thank everyone who played, we’d like to thank Century for continuing to indulge, and unless the world ends or something, we look forward to doing this again next year!

-AR

It was interesting looking at the answers people submitted for last night’s trivia question. A lot of people guessed Daath, who only have one Jewish member (the question specified that the band has ALL Jewish members); a lot of other people guessed Orphaned Land, and we didn’t debut any Orphaned Land music this year. The correct answer was actually Dukatalon, and reader Leslie Fan is the winner for the night. Leslie gets a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Mazel tov, Leslie!

Hard to believe, but Hanukkah is already drawing to a close for another year. Here’s your last chance to win some swag from us for this particular holiday:

• What band with an Israeli female vocalist released an album in September?

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 8″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Thursday, December 9) evening. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S., ’cause Vince and I spent the remainder of this shipping’s budget on drugs and alcohol. Sorry.

-AR

Mazel tov to reader Edward Banchs, who correctly answered last night’s trivia question –Disturbed front man David Draiman comes from an Orthodox Jewish background and has some 200 relatives living in Israel, including his brother and grandmother. Not that that fact makes Draiman more talented or whatever — it obviously doesn’t. In any case, Mr. Banchs wins a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Hey, Edward — those are both prizes you can spin! Boo-yah!

But now onto tonight’s trivia question:

• Which band meets both of the following criteria: they a) had a track debut on MetalSucks this year, and b) all of the band’s members are Jewish?

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 7″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, December 8) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post the final night’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. Vince and I aren’t made out of money, y’know!

-AR

Mazel tov to reader Emily Coate, who correctly answered last night’s trivia question — yes, Periphery have at least one Jewish member. I know that drummer Matt Halpern is Jewish; a few of you said in your e-mails that Misha Mansoor is, too, which I did not know, but could very well be true. In any case, Emily wins wins a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Yyyyyyaaaayyyy Emily!

Now here’s the trivia question for night 6:

• Which metal musician comes from an Orthodox Jewish background and has some 200 relatives living in Israel, including his brother and grandmother?

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 6″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, December 7) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 7’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. Shrug.

-AR

Three cheers for reader SeanN, who correctly answered last night’s trivia question — yep, Dan Lilker is Jewish. Several of you pointed out that he’s not a practicing Jew, but, alas, that’s not what I asked! So SeanN wins a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Hoo-ray for SeanN!

And now, onto tonight’s question:

• True or false: Periphery have at least one member who is Jewish.

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 5″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Monday, December 6) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 6’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S., ’cause unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a shipping mitsieh.

-AR

First of all, my apologies to Michael Beem and Doug Gross, who also correctly answered night 2′s trivia question. Your e-mails got stuck in my junk mail folder, fellas. I’ll obviously be checking that before choosing a winner from here on out. But three people actually got night 2′s trivia question, so you all did ever-so-slightly better than I initially thought.

But onward and upward: yarmulkes off to reader Jeff Bilello, who correctly identified The Metal Shop as Tel Aviv’s premiere retailer of metal music. I’ve only gotten to visit that place once, but it was like I died and went to heaven. So awesome. ANYWAY, Jeff wins a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Mazel tov, Jeff!

Here’s the question for night four:

• Dan Lilker: Jewish or not?

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 4″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Sunday, December 5) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 5’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. Dreidels are surprisingly costly to ship.

-AR

So last night’s question was tricky — so tricky, in fact, that only one person got it right! Necro’s real name is Ron Braunstein, and, yep, he’s Jewish. And despite his name, Darkest Hour’s Mike “Lonestar” Carrigan is, indeed, half-Jewish. I was caught off-guard when I saw Igor Cavalera included in this article at The Gauntlet (where a picture of From Exile’s Eric Guenther, who is not Jewish, is used for the entry on Daath’s Eyal Levi, who is… but I digress), but some research unearthed that fact that the former Sepultura drummer apparently converted when he got married. His brother Max also married a Jew, although I don’t think he converted. In any case, that just leaves Poison’s C.C. DeVille.

I understand why people would think that C.C. DeVille (né Bruce Johannesson) is Jewish, given that he’s loud, from Brooklyn, and has a big schnozz — hell, I used to assume that he was Jewish — but, alas, he’s not. So mazel tov to reader Joe Caperon, the only entrant who correctly answered the question. Joe wins a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. Go Joe!

Here’s the question for night three:

• What is the name of infamous metal-themed music retailer in Tel Aviv?

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 2″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Saturday, December 4) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 4’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. We need to conserve moolah to get all the MetalSucks Mansion Monkeys their Hanukkah gifts!!!

-AR

Mazel tov to reader Noah Mezsick, who correctly identified the first night of Hanukkah’s trivia question — yes, Orphaned Land’s Kobi Farhi is the poor musician that I accidentally introduced to frum porn earlier this year. I hear he’s had nightmares ever since. I apologize, Kobi! In any case, Noah wins a mystery prize courtesy of Century Media, and a dreidel, courtesy of us. L’chaim!

Now… ONTO NIGHT SHTAYIM!  (I think that’s Hebrew for “two.” If I fucked up, well, oops.) Here’s the trivia question:

• Which of the following metal-affiliated musicians is NOT Jewish: C.C. DeVille, Mike “Lonestar” Carrigan, Igor Cavalera, Necro

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 2″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Friday, December 3) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 3’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. What, you want we should go broke on shipping charges?

-AR

Holy crap, have we really been doing this for four years now? Wow. Time flies when you’re spinnin’ dreidels and trying to figure out the best possible recipe for weed latkes.

ANYWAY, yes, it is, indeed, Hanukkah, and we are, indeed, once again teaming up with our friends at Century Media to give away some cool shit!

In case this is your first year broing down with MS for the Festival of Lights, here’s how it’s gonna work: Every night for the next eight nights, we’re gonna ask a trivia question that relates to both metal and Judaism. Of everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select one winner to receive an awesome mystery prize from Century, as well as – what else? – a dreidel. Make sense? Good. Here’s the question for the first night:

• Which Jewish musician did I accidentally introduce to frum porn earlier this year? Here’s a hint — the answer can be found right here on MetalSucks.

E-mail your answer to axl [at] metalsucks.net with the phrase “HEAVY METAL HANNUKKAH – NIGHT 1″ in the subject line. All entries should include your name and mailing address in addition to your answer, and are due by 5 pm tomorrow (Thursday, December 2) evening. Shortly thereafter we’ll announce the winner and post night 2’s trivia question. And while you don’t have to be Jewish to enter the contest, you do have to live in the U.S. Money for shipping doesn’t grow on trees, ya know.

And don’t forget that both Vince and myself will be celebrating the first night of Hanukkah on the Metal Injection Livecast tonight at 8pm Eastern Standard Time. Listen in here… it’s gonna be great!

-AR

Say what you want about David Draiman — and buddah knows we’ve sure said a lot of things over the years — but you’ve got to hand it to the guy for being [surprisingly] one of the best spoken and most informed musicians in today’s heavy music scene.

Check out Part 2, below, of the recent video interview with Draiman conducted by Phil Freeman on his MSN metal blog in which Draiman speaks eloquently and cohesively about the role of religion in modern society, the holocaust, and the state of currently Israeli youth politics. Like woah, can you imagine Robb Flynn or Tom Araya (“dude… dude…”) or even someone like Jamey Jasta or Guy Kozywyk (two smart men in their own right) getting through an earnest conversation like this, or even wanting to? So, as much as it pains me to say it, bravo for Draiman for bringing important issues to the forefront of at least some of his fans’ minds.

Now, about those big cars and mansion you have while preaching for less oil consumption… Davey, we gotta talk about that.

-VN

Passover starts at sundown tonight! If you’re like me and you hate your extended family, that’s terrible news. On the other hand, I get to ask the Four Questions a-fucking-gain, since my cousins and I all refuse to grow the fuck up and have babies to replenish the family, which gets a little smaller every year as another member of The Greatest Generation goes the way of Crazy Town’s career.

On the flip side, Passover is the only Jewish holiday for which there is an appropriate metal song. (Unless you include some of that NSBM stuff. But until those dudes start writing outros with titles like “But we survived! Let’s eat!”, they’ll really only be getting half the equation.) Yes, it’s “Creeping Death” by Metallica, and yes, we talk about this every fucking year. Give us a break. It makes us happy. And it’s not like having Scott Ian and Tracii Guns on our team is such great shakes.

Just to stir shit up a little, here’s a live version of the song, filmed in 1989.

Does anyone know of a power metal cover of this song? I really wanted to do “Power Metal Passover” this year but couldn’t find one.

-AR

P.S. Yes, I know that “The Passover Story” is also known as “Exodus.” Why Exodus didn’t write a song about “Exodus,” I dunno.

Pure fucking gold. I need one immediately. So do you.

-VN

Thanks: Metal Injection

Oh, sure, we’ve done Jew on Jew with a half-Jew and a dude who has spent a lot of time in Israel and is a self-proclaimed “bad Jew,” but Orphaned Land vocalist Kobi Farhi? The dude is FROM Israel! He calls himself a “proud Jew!” With all due respect to Eyal and Mookie, on the Jew scale they can’t even touch Kobi. Hell, the guy has probably forgotten more about Judaism than Vince or myself ever even knew.

With Orphaned Land’s excellent new album, The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR, out today on Century Media, now seemed like the perfect time to pick Kobi’s brain about all things Jew-y. After the jump, get Kobi’s thoughts on everything from serving in the Israeli military to the conflict in the Middle East to frum porn. L’chaim!

Click to read more…