After posting our own year-end lists for 2011, we asked you, oh ye MetalSucks faithful, to tell us what you thought the best metal album of the year was. And the winner by a landslide was The Devin Townsend Project’s all-star spectacular, Deconstruction, which got more than twice as many votes as its nearest competitors, Revocation’s Chaos of Forms and Protest the Hero’s Scurrilous. (Kind of amazingly, Mastodon’s The Hunter got one vote. ONE. Sheesh.)

We’d like to congratulate MetalSucks readers for once again demonstrating excellent taste. Now we can all stop arguing about what sucked so bad about 2011, and start arguing about what’s going to suck so bad in 2012!

And don’t forget to read our latest interview with Mr. Townsend himself, which was just published an hour ago right here.

We published our lists. Now it’s your turn.

We’re going to do this the same way we did last year: rather than post a regular poll with hundreds of options, we’re going to conduct this poll via the comments. Here are the instructions:

Step 1) Decide what your favorite metal album of 2011 is. You only get to pick one.

Step 2) Search the comments of this post for your choice (Apple-F on a Mac, Control-F on a PC).

Step 3) If it’s already listed, hit the “reply” button underneath and simply post “+1″ as your comment. If it’s not listed yet, add it, making sure you include the band name and album title and double-checking that you’ve spelled both correctly.

That’s it! We’ll tally up the “+1″s and declare a winner on December 16, our last day of regular posting for the year. Nothing is preventing you from adding multiple +1s, but don’t be that douche. Have fun… go!

Opeth’s new album Heritage is as controversial a metal album as has been released in all of 2011 (save for Morbid Angel’s new one… but that wasn’t exactly controversial seeing as no one liked it). That is if you can even call it “metal” — some certainly wouldn’t. Of people I’ve spoken with on the matter, opinions seem to be split fairly evenly; some say it’s Opeth at their finest and the music is still top-notch, while others can’t fathom listening to anything that doesn’t have any growled vocals. So, what do YOU think, oh MetalSucks reader? Vote below, and tell us more in the comments. If you were never a fan of Opeth at all, kindly refrain from voting… that’s not what this poll is about.

We here at MetalSucks (and our advertising agency, the Blast Beat Network) would like to get to know a little bit more about you. Not in a creepy way, of course; all info submitted will be completely anonymous, and you will not be tracked in any way, shape or form whatsoever. We’re just hoping to learn more about our readers so we can attract advertisers that are more relevant to your interests, i.e. more video game ads and less annoying “Surveys4Income” ads. So we figured we’d put together a quick survey asking some basic questions: do you play an instrument? how do you download music? how often do you buy metal t-shirts? Etc. That kind of thing… no rocket surgery here.

Everyone who participates will be entered to win a prize pack including a one-year premium subscription to Spotify, a grab bag of metal CDs, a MetalSucks t-shirt and a MetalInjection t-shirt. The survey will only take 2-3 minutes to fill out. Again, your info will be recorded anonymously. And there are no wrong answers… so please be as honest as possible.

Take the survey here!

We’ve spoken many times here on MetalSucks about the disappointment of being really into a band’s album, going to see them live, and realizing that there was some in-studio chicanery involved in terms of making it sound like the band has certain capabilities which, really, they do not; conversely, we’ve also discussed how some bands are incredible live, but, for whatever reason, just can’t seem to release an album to match the awesomeness of their concerts. And I was thinking about this recently while engaging in a friendly debate with our old pal, Tommy Wee. Tommy thinks that making a great record is an artform unto itself — which is certainly true — and that, ultimately, it doesn’t really matter if the band or artist can’t do it live; the fact that they made a great album means they deserve kudos for that album, regardless of any other factors. (Tommy also argued that many of the modern production techniques I so loathe, like excessive use of autotune, are aesthetic choices, and not attempts to fool the listener into thinking the musicians have skills that they do not actually posses. This might be true, although I have a hard time believing you’ll ever read an interview where Katy Perry admits that she’s not a very good singer.)

So, I want to know what you think, beloved readers. Is it more important to be able to put out a terrific record, or to be able to put on a great show? Or is failure to be able to do both completely unacceptable? (‘Cause, of course, there are bands who can do both.) Answer in the poll below. I’ll be curious to see the results.

-AR

We here at MetalSucks (and our advertising agency, the Blast Beat Network) would like to get to know a little bit more about you. Not in a creepy way, of course; all info submitted will be completely anonymous, and you will not be tracked in any way, shape or form whatsoever. We’re just hoping to learn more about our readers so we can attract advertisers that are more relevant to your interests, i.e. more video game ads and less annoying “Surveys4Income” ads. So we figured we’d put together a quick survey asking some basic questions: do you play an instrument? how do you download music? how often do you buy metal t-shirts? Etc. That kind of thing… no rocket surgery here.

Everyone who participates will be entered to win a prize pack including a one-year premium subscription to Spotify, a grab bag of metal CDs, a MetalSucks t-shirt and a MetalInjection t-shirt. The survey will only take 2-3 minutes to fill out. Again, your info will be recorded anonymously. And there are no wrong answers… so please be as honest as possible.

Take the survey here!

It’s been over two months since the new Gojira song “Of Blood and Salt” crushed our nuts into peanut brittle with promises that the long-awaited Sea Shepherd EP would finally soon see the light of day, and still we’ve got bupkes as far as a potential release date. Even so, that the EP eventually comes out seems a formality at this point; we know the recording is done, and since the band is self-releasing it and donating all the proceeds to Sea Shepherd (the anti-whaling organization seen on Whale Wars) there’s no record label red tape to navigate through. That doesn’t make the waiting any easier for us, but “soon” seems promising at this point.

Of much greater import is what will happen to Gojira in the long term now that their U.S. deal with Prosthetic Records has ended, and, if I’m not mistaken, their European deal with Listenable too. Gojira are free agents, and as one of the most talked-about and beloved metal bands of the past several years they’ll have their pick of the label litter.

It’s been three years since The Way of All Flesh was released; what in the F is taking so long to announce a new deal? Word through the grapevine is that Gojira are asking for hella money upfront and that a few labels have already balked at such a hefty advance. So, oh faithful MetalSucks reader… with which record label will Gojira end up??? I’ve tried to include realistic choices so some labels are omitted; for example, I love the bands on Seventh Rule but I don’t think there’s any possibility Gojira will sign there… and likewise, Tooth & Nail won’t suddenly decide to break secular.

Axl and I saw Devin Townsend perform in NYC this weekend. Needless to say, it ruled. But that’s what I want to talk about today.

As we stood watching Devin, I had a thought. It’s been two full years since Devin Townsend released the first of four albums, Ki, under the Devin Townsend Project moniker (Addicted, the second, would follow six months later). June 21st of this year marked  the conclusion of the four-part DTP suite with the simultaneous releases of Ghost and Deconstruction. So, now that all four albums are out and we’ve got enough distance from Ghost and Deconstruction to hopefully rule out newness/excitement as a voting influence… what’s your favorite DTP album of the four??? Vote below, then sound off in the comments section.

We’ve published our list. Now it’s your turn.

We’re going to do this the same way we’ve done this in the past: rather than post a regular poll with hundreds of options, we’re going to conduct this poll via the comments. Here are the instructions:

Step 1) Decide who your favorite modern metal guitarist is. Remember that only candidates who have recorded and released new material within the past five years are eligible.

Step 2) Search the comments of this post for your choice (Apple-F on a Mac, Control-F on a PC).

Step 3) If your favorite modern metal guitarist is already listed, hit the “reply” button underneath and simply post “+1″ as your comment. If your favorite modern metal guitarist is not listed yet, add him, making sure you that you’ve spelled his name correctly.

That’s it! Sometime soon, we’ll tally up the “+1″s and declare a winner. Nothing is preventing you from adding multiple +1s, but don’t be that douche. Have fun… go!

It’s two weeks before the official release of the new album by your favorite band. Word starts spreading via .rar blogs, torrents, or word of mouth that the album has leaked. You haven’t pre-ordered the album and you’re curious… you stare at that link in your inbox… do you click??? Can you wait???

No, we are not tracking your IP and this is not some covert operation on behalf of record labels to hunt you down (although I’ll bet they’ll be curious to see the results of the poll). We’re just curious.

Do you download leaked albums???

When it comes to In Flames fans, there are two kinds: those who love The Jester Race and nothing else, and those who love the band’s middle period albums (Whoracle, Colony and Clayman)…. maybe you’ll find a stray fan here and there who prefers Come Clarity. Or so I thought until I read Cosmo Lee’s thoughts on the matter.

“I especially like their records after when they supposedly “sold out”, from Reroute to Remain onwards,” sez the Invisible Oranges mastermind. “The crisp, dry sound of their last two records is a marked contrast to the over-production to which their Gothenburg peers succumbed.” Woah, what? Crisp and dry, perhaps… but not over-produced? Cosmo then calls Reroute to Remain “adventurous,” which I’m pretty sure must just be code-speak for “what every mainstream alt-metal band in 2002 was doing.” Are we listening to the same records? Wait, did a tr00 guy like Cosmo really just say he likes three of the most reviled records in In Flames’ entire nine album discography? Blasphemy! I kid, of course; I may disagree, but I certainly respect Cosmo’s opinion.

But it got me thinking… maybe my opinions on In Flames are skewed. They certainly have experienced quite a surge in popularity since around the time Reroute to Remain was released, especially so after Ferret Records catapulted them into the U.S. metal mainstream with Come Clarity. So: what’s YOUR favorite In Flames record?

While we were gone for the holidays, Mike Portnoy asked to re-join Dream Theater after being let go by Avenged Sevenfold, surprising no one. We’ve stated our case for siding with Portnoy in this whole ridiculous public drama, but it seems awfully hypocritical of Portnoy to ask back in so soon after everything that’s gone down. Dream Theater accordingly rebuffed Mike, as they should have. Meanwhile, rumors have been flying around about Marco Minnemann being the new Dream Theater drummer, a story which we were the first to report several weeks back.

Portnoy for his part is staying busy; Metal Insider reports that he’s announced a new project with guitarist Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs), multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse (Transatlantic, Spock’s Beard), bassist Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs) and vocalist Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev, Endochine) with recording commencing shortly. That should be pretty effin’ cool and nertastically progariffic.

But in the meantime the big question on Dream Theater fans’ minds is: what will the next Dream Theater record sound like?? Will it be any good? Was Portnoy the mojo that kept the band going or was he dead weight??? John Petrucci just tweeted that the band is now in the studio, so I’m assuming that they’re writing the record on-the-fly again as they have with the past several releases.

What do you think about a new DT record?? Weigh in below.

After posting our own year-end lists for 2010, we asked you, oh ye MetalSucks faithful, to tell us what you thought the best metal album of the year was. And while Ihsahn’s After didn’t win by a landslide the way Mastodon’s Crack the Skye did last year, it did, ultimately, get the greatest number of “yays,” beating Kvelertak’s self-titled album by a mere three votes.

We’d like to congratulate MetalSucks readers for once again demonstrating excellent taste. Now we can all stop arguing about what sucked so bad about 2010, and start arguing about what’s going to suck so bad in 2011!

We published our lists. Now it’s your turn.

We’re going to do this the same way we did last year: rather than post a regular poll with hundreds of options, we’re going to conduct this poll via the comments. Here are the instructions:

Step 1) Decide what your favorite metal album of 2010 is. You only get to pick one.

Step 2) Search the comments of this post for your choice (Apple-F on a Mac, Control-F on a PC).

Step 3) If it’s already listed, hit the “reply” button underneath and simply post “+1″ as your comment. If it’s not listed yet, add it, making sure you include the band name and album title and double-checking that you’ve spelled both correctly.

That’s it! When we re-open the MS Mansion Gates for 2011 we’ll tally up the “+1″s and declare a winner. Nothing is preventing you from adding multiple +1s, but don’t be that douche. Have fun… go!

First of all, congrats to MetalSucks Maniac Mykee Shaffer for winning our first (possibly annual?) Heavy Metal Halloween contest! Mykee got some help from his girlfriend, who does special effects make-up (you can check out her work here), and the amount of effort he put into both his costume and the photos of said costume really blew us away. Mykee wins a special prize pack, courtesy SPV. Gggggoooo Mykee!!!

Now, as proud as we are of Mykee, the truth is we got a LOT of great entries. So even though we had no plans to have a runner-up to this contest, we are, in fact, going to have one, who will win another prize pack, contents TBD. The catch is, we’re having a such a hard time deciding who the runner-up should be, that we’re leaving it up to you, our beloved readers. So after the jump, check out some of the best entries we received from readers who ain’t Mykee, and then vote on who YOU think should win!

Click to read more…

The state of the concert film industry is sad. Over the last decade or so concert DVDs have become a last ditch effort by record labels to milk one last bit of money out of each album cycle. It used to be that a concert video was a special thing that came around only once or twice in a band’s lifespan while these days it’s a predictable part of the cycle that follows every proper album: Album Release –> “Deluxe Edition” Re-Release –> Live DVD. Inevitably all the superfans go out and buy it right away. Perhaps a few stragglers pick up copies in record stores, if record stores even stock metal concert DVDs anymore. But really the concert DVD is a surefire way to capitalize on the fact that superfans will buy anything and everything having to do with a band; for a label, it’s a relatively predictable way to make a certain amount of money, no more, no less. I’d wager that bands themselves rarely if ever actually recoup and earn royalties on concert films these days.

Fittingly, there seems to be less interest than ever in concert DVDs from the fan side. The “long awaited” concert DVD finally comes out; the superfan gets home, smokes a bowl or whips out a 6-pack, and watches; and then onto the shelf it goes, never to be seen again. Of the two dozen or so concert DVDs I own I can honestly say I’ve only ever watched two of them more than once, and one of them more than twice. That one is Alice in Chains’ haunting unplugged concert, because it was a special show. Today’s concert DVDs may have better production value but do they really posses the same magic? With every band ever to exist touring constantly these days you may as well just wait to see the real thing in person anyway.

So: Do you watch concert DVDs more than once? BE HONEST! Note that we’re only taking about the concert portion of DVDs here and not the documentaries, music video collections or other extras.

As one of the few MetalSucks writers willing to wax poetic on the merits of deathcore, I am often subjected to a litany of nasty, grammatically incorrect comments below my posts on such notable artists as Emmure and Suicide Silence. Several basement-dwelling, WiFi-leeching mouthbreathers regularly feel the need to slag the subgenre for perceived crimes against metal. Yet today, I empathize somewhat with these pimple-faced sex-starved haters, feeling especially vexed by a troubling turn of events in the community. Chelsea Grin vocalist Alex Koehler, having suffered a jaw fracture, has had to bow out of a planned Canadian tour with Blind Witness and Attila. Rather than cancel, the group has instead recruited Oceano vocalist Adam Warren to take on pig squealing duties for these dates (which you’ll find below).

And while this does sound like a unique and special opportunity for my neighbors to the north, it does raise an ugly nagging question that I pose to you, faithful reader: are deathcore vocalists interchangeable?

n

Feel free to elaborate in the comments section!

Click to read more…

As you all know, metalheads are a tattooed bunch. Especially since the year 2000, it seems like becoming heavily tattooed has become the norm rather than the exception. So when I saw this Sailor Jerry contest looking for aspiring female models who are tattooed, I got to thinking — has it really gotten to the point where so many folks are tattooed that it’s totally feasible to run a big contest like this? And then I got to thinking… are tattoos even considered cool anymore? If so many people have them, are they really the badge of originality they purport to be? Lord knows, all those C-tier metalcore and deathcore bands with tattoos from head to toe are gonna hella regret that shit years down the road when they’re all faded and their skin is all saggy and nasty.

So, what do you think? Are tattoos cool or are they lame?

n

Maiden and Slayer have been putting their names on custom-designed shoes for years. Mastodon Vans and 3 Inches of Blood Nikes were the most recent entries into the metal sneaker trend until Valient Thorr crashed their party earlier this year. Now King Diamond is along for the ride too.

So what do we all think of this recent band-endorsed sneaker fad in metal? Would you spend your hard-earned bones on a sneaker adorned in your favorite band’s logo? For the sake of this poll, let’s assume that any band sneakers we’re talking about are well-designed and look really cool.

A company recently approached us with the idea of creating a mobile list that would allow us to send SMS (text message) updates to any of our readers who sign up. We wouldn’t send out updates every time we post a new article (’cause that would be ridiculous), but only when there’s something new or exclusive like an interview or track premiere.

Discussing it internally, we really have no idea whether this is a service you guys would be interested in or not. It could be a great way to keep readers apprised if important updates, but it could also feel like spam (keeping in mind, of course, that’d you’d have to sign up).

So, rather than speculate, we figured we’d just ask you guys. Whaddayathink? As always, vote in the poll widget below, then elaborate in the comments.

n