Here’s all you should really need to convince you that 3 Inches of Blood’s new album Long Live Heavy Metal is worthy of your oh-so-precious time:

Exhibit A: It’s a new 3 Inches of Blood album.
Exhibit B: It’s called Long Live Heavy Metal.
Exhibit C: Album opener “Dark Messenger,” streaming below exclusively on MetalSucks.

One listen is all it’ll take to prove that these high-flyin’, high-powered, high-fallutin’ British Columbian heavy metal warriors haven’t lost a step. And we assure you, Long Live Heavy Metal is action-packed with fist-pumping anthems just as catchy, fun and embodying of heavy metal as this one. Stream another new track called “Leather Lords” right here — that name alone should be enough to make you click!

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Long Live Heavy Metal comes out on March 27th.

I’ll kinda stick to facts here: It was Tuesday that I first heard the full Look Right Penny debut album, Sugar Lane. On Wednesday, I wrote here on MetalSucks that I was totally loving the poppy, proggy LRP vibe (I want a tour with Atheist and Paramore now!) and that I super-love when great players pump up pop music with artful, forceful chops. But that praise started to seem way faint on Thursday when I really got into the album: the super hooks, the huge bombast, the ace riffage, the bass drops, the skillz of singer Mariel Diaz-Carrion. Instant classic. Awesome.

So I spent about 12% of the next three days cranking Sugar Lane #truefact. At some point, I emailed Sergeant D. about it. I resisted it all Sunday just to see if I could. And I remained Sugar Lane-free on Monday until word reached me that MS had nabbed this very exclusive stream of the complete album (below). Now I’m ballz-excited to unveil this gem to beloved MS readers. Good times! And to celebrate, I think I’ll treat myself to a few consecutive listens to, say, Sugar Lane by Look Right Penny (out today). We click play now!

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-ADF

Florida’s Look Right Penny releases Sugar Lane today via Bieler Bros. Order it here and here. Internet me @AnsoDF to gab about it!

Seas Will Rise have a strong connection to Landmine Marathon — the band features founding Marathoner Eric Saylor, and their debut album, Disease is Our Refrain, was recorded and mixed by current Landmine Marathon guitarist Ryan Butler. And if you’re sitting there wondering “Gee, does that mean that Seas Will Rise play brutal, filthy, hardcore-flavored death grind?”, then you will be happy to know that the answer is, “Yes. Yes they do. And they are AWESOME AT IT.”

And should you doubt us, well, we’ll prove it, fuckers — we’re debuting the track “A Sleeper’s Cell” below. It is some epic curb-stomping shit.

Here’s what Saylor had to tell us about “A Sleeper’s Cell” –

“Cormac McCarthy’s The Road has been a really big influence on this band. When I started thinking about what I wanted to do for this record, I really wanted to work on a cohesive theme of this post-apocalyptic world. Since we’re from Arizona, I wanted everything to be set in the desert. This is the first song on the record, so I wanted to set up everything that follows and capture that sort of desperate, exasperation that would come with literally being on a run for your life 24/7.”

Mission accomplished, Mr. Saylor. Mission accomplished big time.

Check out “A Sleeper’s Cell Below.” Disease is Our Refrain comes out March 6 via Man in Decline and Anxiety Machine Records. It’s gonna be limited to 500 LPs, 100 of which are bone colored, so if you want one, you should buy it up quick. You can do so here.

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Hordes of Zombies is Terrorizer’s first release since the tragic passing of guitarist Jesse Pintado — but despite the loss, the band hasn’t missed a beat. Hordes of Zombies is an unrelenting, no-bullshit, no gimmicks, ugly, ugly, UGLY tumor of a death-grind album, the kind of release that reminds you why you ever got into the genre in the first place. If the music contained on Hordes of Zombies actually DOES wake the dead and induce them into a mad feeding frenzy, no one should be surprised. Pintado would be proud.

MetalSucks is thrilled to debut the title track from Hordes of Zombies, which you can stream below. We’re confident you’ll agree that it’s easily one of the most merciless releases of 2012 so far. The full album comes out on February 28 via Season of Mist; you can, and should, pre-order it here.

Scale the Summit’s breathtaking album The Collective is a sonic masterpiece, the kind of aural adventure that would be perfectly befitting of the sweet grooves of a good old-fashioned vinyl. Lucky for us, Prosthetic Records has decided to produce exactly such a product, a 180-gram vinyl reissue of The Collective limited to just 250 copies. If you haven’t already pre-ordered one of these, what the hell are you waiting (and at only $15, too, a bargain)? They’re gonna sell out any second, and they’ll start shipping tomorrow.

If a big old vinyl disc isn’t enough for you, how about the allure of a previously unreleased bonus track called “Redwoods”? The band’s already been playing it live on their current tour, as of today “Redwoods” is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon as a single, and we’ve got the exclusive stream for you below:

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I’ll defer to metalcore historian Sgt D. for an inevitable full blown “where-are-they-now” series on Victory Records acts, though I hope he might file this blog post away now for research later. One such band, Bloodlet dropped four albums for the label from the mid-90s through 2002, before going on “informal hiatus” the following year. So what has vocalist Scott Angelacos been up to lately? Attendees of this year’s A389 Anniversary Bash got the chance to find out during a set from his current project, the Death Race 2000-referencing Junior Bruce.

And now, so can you! Imminently due on A389 Recordings, The Headless King is the band’s debut 12″, packed with sludgy stonerrific vibes and streaming in full exclusively below. The record is offered on green or red/black vinyl for you wax fetishists out there.

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-GS

If the name “Exotic Animal Petting Zoo” doesn’t exactly strike you as being traditionally metal (which is to say, it’s, like, Fucking the Eye Sockets of Decapitated Heads Impaled on Spikes or whatever), well, that’s okay — Exotic Animal Petting Zoo aren’t exactly a traditional metal band. In the Mr. Bungle-esque tradition of bands that don’t conform to conventional genre rules and pretty much do whatever the fuck they want. Take, for example, “Apis Bull,” from the band’s forthcoming Tree of Tongues: the track shifts between movements that owe equal debts to Dillinger Escape Plan-inspired mathcore, the most melodious parts of expansive Between the Buried and Me-style prog, and Vangelis. No shit.

MetalSucks is proud to debut the insanity that is “Apis Bull.” Stream the song below — we think you’ll dig it.

Tree of Tongues comes out April 12 via Mediaskare.

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Psycroptic are far and away one of the best technical death metal bands in the world, so much so that MetalSucks specifically requested the privilege of being allowed to premiere to the world one of the tracks from their new album The Inherited Repression. “The Throne of Kings” is one of the rippingest tracks on an album full to the brim of ripperific rippers, sure to rip up all parts of your body and corners of your mind. And because Psycroptic would be just another tech-death band if not for their due diligence in songwriting, “Kings” is guaranteed to get stuck in your head, too.

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The Inherited Repression comes out on February 7th in the U.S. and February 10th in Europe via Nuclear Blast; pre-order it here. Stream another track from Inherited, “Carriers of the Plague,” over at Psycroptic’s Facebook page.

Here’s an awesome way for you jumpstart your weekend: with the debut of “I Am Spartacus,” a brand new track from Liberteer. A new one-man project from Matthew Widener of Cretin and Citizen fame, Liberteer is a new, unique spin on the grind game: sure, it’s fast n’ furious, but Widener also injects the music with classic-sounding grooves, allowing the tunes to enjoy more breathing room than grind fans might be used to. We think it’s pretty sweet, and we hope that you do, too.

Check out “I Am Spartacus” below. It will appear on Liberteer’s new album, Better to Die on Your Feet Than Live on Your Knees, which comes out January 31 via Relapse. You can pre-order it here, and get more info on Liberteer here.

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Vancouver’s Nylithia have become one of my favorite unsigned metal acts since I first discovered them a little over two years ago. Beyond their raw talent and their ability to take a thrash base and make it sound completely fresh and new (qualities they share with Revocation), over the two years and two albums I’ve been following them Nylithia have displayed that they know exactly what it is they want to be. In other words, Nylithia sounds like Nylithia and no one else; their sound is instantly recognizable and assignable to them, and they’re incredibly consistent.

So it’s with great pleasure that MetalSucks is premiering “Vein of Creation,” the third song to be released from Nylithia’s new album Hyperthrash. Nylithia are releasing one song at a time from the album for free download, and they’ll be releasing the full album in physical formats once they’ve cycled through all the tracks. They’re promising a music video with each song too — check out the first two vids here and here, both incredibly entertaining — so presumably we’ve got a video for “Vein of Creation” to look forward to in the near future.

More info at Nylithia’s official website.

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How can you not love a band called Whores, whose music has been pitched as “sweet noiserock/pigfuck?” The answer is, you CAN’T not love a band called Whores whose music is sweet noiserock/pigfuck. Dirty, crunchy, bouncy, anthemic (we’re already dying to see these dudes live and scream “LLLLLLIIIIE TO ME UNTIL IT’S TRUE!!!”, and catchy as heckfire, Whores’ debut EP, Ruiner, is a must-have for fans of bands ranging from Eyehategod to Fight Amp. Just check out the below tune, “Tell Me Something Scientific,” and tell us we’re wrong.

You can’t, can you, you poor bastards? That’s okay, we still love you. So now we’ll give you another hot tip: go here to pre-order Ruineron 12″ vinyl in advance of its December 20 release via Brutal Panda, and go to Whores’ official Bandcamp page to check out another track from the EP, “Daddy’s Money.” And tell ‘em MetalSucks sent ya.

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On January 17, 2012, Relapse Records will reissue From Ashes, the debut album from perennial MetalSucks faves Abysmal Dawn. Fully remastered and now featuring three demos for songs from the album, this is THE way to hear the first release from one of the most intense death metal bands of the 21st century. Even if you think you’ve already heard From Ashes, trust us: you ain’t never heard it like this.

MetalSucks is proud to debut both the original demo AND the final, remixed and remastered version of “Blacken the Sky” from this stellar reissue. Since we so enjoy getting insights into the minds of the artists we admire here at MetalSucks, getting to check out the two versions of the song side-by-side is a real treat for us. How did the band originally envision the song? How did it change by the time the final product was complete? What can we learn about the band and their process from those changes? Crank the two versions of “Blacken the Sky” below, pre-order the From Ashes reissue here, and then ponder the answers to those questions in our comments section below!

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Maybe it’s something in the water (The Indian Ocean), but Nothnegal aren’t the first band MetalSucks has featured from the tiny Maldives island chain, some 400 miles off the southern tip of India. I wouldn’t be too quick to call the Maldives a hot-bed for metal just yet, though; cousins Hilarl and Fufu, the band’s main creative forces, had to import musicians from as far away as America and Finland to round out their lineup. The cousins are supported by Six Feet Under, Dååth, ex-Chimaira drummer Kevin Talley and Finnish keyboard player Marco Sneck (Kalmah, Poisonblack) on their new album Decadence, which comes out on January 24th via Season of Mist. But the results paid off; Nothnegal are definitely worth a look by MetalSucks readers.

“Janus” is one of the record’s slower tracks, but that’s why we like it. The song’s deliberate pace allows plenty of room to breathe for the keyboards, which at times throughout Decadence can become overbearing. The result is a moody, doomy and dark yet aggressive slice of genre-melding metal that reminds me somewhat of Ihsahn or his backing band Leprous. Stream “Janus” below.”

Bonus: if you pre-order a copy of Decadence you’ll be automatically entered to win an all expenses paid trip to the Maldives! The 5-day journey will take place at the Fihalhohi Island Resort in Summer 2012. The winner will receive one return flight to the Maldives, an all-inclusive stay (including scuba-diving and other water sport activities) for two people and a meet and greet with the band.

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By the time Resolution comes out on January 24th, 2012 it will have been almost three full years since the release of Lamb of God’s last album of new material, Wrath. Three years is a long time for fans to wait for new music from a band, but Lamb of God aren’t just any band. From their humble beginnings in Richmond, VA in the mid ’90s, Lamb of God grew to become one of the celebrated champions at the top of the budding New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene in the early 2000s. A decade later, thanks to relentless worldwide touring and a dogged devotion to improving their musical chops while staying true to their roots, Lamb of God are inarguably the biggest modern metal band in the world. If you don’t believe us, try this little thought experiment out for size: what other band this side of Metallica (who stopped qualifying for the “modern” tag long before Lamb of God released their first album) whips the metalsphere into such a dizzying fury whenever they release new music? Lamb of God may reach the dreaded/vaunted “legacy” status some day, but that day is not today: one listen to their brand new track “Ghost Walking” should prove that Lamb of God are is vibrant and relevant as ever.

Get your exclusive first listen of “Ghost Walking” below, then pre-order Resolution in one of several different combo packages through Lamb of God’s official webstore.

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Did you know that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving more than a month before we do? Gosh, that’s efficient, although since they hold it on a Monday, I wonder if they do Black Tuesday. But enough of my comical ugly Americanism for a minute; there was a point I was working towards…

Oh yes! Straight outta Montreal, Enforcers have got a crossover thrash update for you with their soon-to-be-released End Of Time 12″ on A389 Recordings. Think DYS, Best Wishes-period Cro-Mags, and ever-lovin’ Madball, and you”ll pick up what I’m putting down. In keeping with the thankfulness of the season, get ready to get grateful because we have an exclusive stream of the record for your listening pleasure. If you dig what you hear, pre-order it directly from A389. And if you’re live in or near Montreal, catch the band’s record release party, which will feature performances from the band and openers Plus Minus, Agitator, True North Strong, Easy Way Out, Wrong Hands, and Sabotage.

-GS

Coalesce are not your average band, and Give Them Rope, the new re-release of the band’s groundbreaking 1997 debut full-length, isn’t your average reissue. Because not only does it feature the original album repackaged and remastered, and not only does it feature extensive liner notes from guitarist Jes Steineger — but it also features a second disc with 2004′s completely re-mixed and re-jiggered version of the release. That’s right: there are TWO versions of Give Them Rope included with this reissue. Pretty frickin’ sweet if you ask us.

MetalSucks is proud to be debuting the complete Give Them Rope reissue — yep, BOTH versions of the record — in advance of its release via Relapse tomorrow, November 22. You can stream it below, then go here to order yourself a copy. ‘Cause let’s be real: you NEED to own this.

And now, enjoy not one but two versions of the Coalesce classic Give Them Rope…

The cover art to Czar’s debut album, Vertical Mass Grave, is some kind of fucked-up metal tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey… and that’s somehow very fitting for the music contained therein. Combining lots of disparate elements into one powerful, anthemic package, Czar are one of those bands who could build a bridge between those who considers themselves tr00 and those who just wanna rock; their style of metal knows no boundries.

MetalSucks is proud to debut the track “Family Crest” from Vertical Mass Grave in advance of the album’s release on December 6 via Crack Nation Records. If you like what you hear — and we’re assuming you will — go to Czar’s official website for more info on the band, and to get links to pre-order the album in various formats.

And now, enjoy “Family Crest” by Czar!

We’ve been telling you about Keith Merrow’s death metal side project Demisery for months now, and we’ve even given you a sample of what the album has in store. Today we give you the exclusive premiere of Hive of Mutation in full, evil riffs, searing solos, churning blast beats, bowel-rumbling death growls courtesy of Gord Olson, and all. You all should know by now that Merrow can work his way around a guitar, but that he’s able to execute a death metal record so well — with songs and riffs that actually stick in your brain, no less — shows just what a master of modern metal he is. Click “play” and let the grimness wash over you, then head over to Keith Merrow’s website to pre-order the record, which comes out on November 14th.

Southern Lord‘s entry a couple years back into the hardcore arena may have puzzled some–myself included–but by now nobody can dispute that the label has put out some pretty nasty shit. 2011 releases from All Pigs Must Die, Balaclava, Dead In The Dirt, Sarabante, and Xibalba all-but change the face of a label that rose to prominence with a black metal and post-metal/drone discography. Hell, I’m certainly not complaining about this transition. Why should A389 have all the misanthropic fun?!

I’m pretty excited to give you guys an exclusive preview from Heartless, a Pittsburgh act that will put out its full-length debut on Southern Lord next month. Streaming below, “Late” will bring a devious smile to the faces of those enamored with Nails, Hatewaves, and other such acts. Pre-order this bad boy here. Next month, Heartless will head out on tour with like-minded A389 types Full Of Hell. Those dates are after the jump.

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Few musicians will ever leave as lasting a legacy in the metal world as the late, great Chuck Schuldiner, whose singular vision manifested itself in the form of Death, a project which truly helped create and shape death metal for all time. On October 25, Relapse Records will celebrate this  this legendary institution with a reissue of Individual Thought Patterns, the band’s fifth studio album, now newly remixed by Death mastering engineer Alan Douches, remastered, repackaged, and featuring tons of newly unearthed and previously unreleased demo and live tracks. This version of Individual Thought Patterns is an absolute must-own not just for fans not just of of Schuldiner and Death, but of metal in general.

Amongst the plethora of awesome bonus materials included on the new reissue is an entire live set that Death — then consisting of Schuldiner, drummer Gene Hoglan, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and guitarist Craig Locicero — performed in Germany on April 13, 1993. MetalSucks can’t even find the words to express how proud we are to be debuting the first song from that set, the classic “Leprosy” which you can check out below. Play it loud, play it proud, and then pre-order the Individual Thought Patterns reissue right here.

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