MetalSucks

Venezuelan metallers Noctis Imperium just independently released their Imperium EP, and we’re happy to be able to offer one the EP’s strongest tracks “Descensus Ad Inferos” as a free download. Noctis Imperium’s brand of blackened death metal isn’t necessarily anything you haven’t heard before, but they’re as solid a band of this type as I’ve heard in some time; think Marduk, Belphegor, or hell, even the heavier elements of Enslaved, with some death and thrash influence thrown in as well. The Imperium EP offers five tracks of well put-together, punishing yet approachable and intricate black metal flavored by elements of brutal death with an intangible artsy element. Check out “Descensus Ad Inferos” below, then listen to more on the band’s MySpace page.

Noctis Imperium – “Descensus Ad Inferos”

-VN

I’m not entirely sure what a “frost hammer” is – it sounds like the name of a band I wouldn’t like, actually – but it’s apparently the title of a new High on Fire song. You can watch bootleg footage of it being played live below, courtesy Blabbermouth.

Meanwhile, Snakes for the Divine has been announced as the tentative title of HOF’s new album, which will be out on E1 next year. Greg Fidelman, who produced the new Slayer album and worked on Metallica’s Death Mehgnetic, is producing. HOF are doing that whole Dethklok/Mastodon tour right now – if you’ve yet to see Matt Pike shake his flabby shirtless body, definitely go check it out.

-AR

Vince and I finally got to see Revocation live a few weeks back, and not only are they just as good in-person as they are on record, but they just look like a bunch of normal dudes – which we love, being relatively normal-looking dudes ourselves. Seriously, just to look at this band, you’d never really know what they recently released one of the best metal albums of 2009. (That would be Existence is Futile, in case ya didn’t know.)

This weekend the band filmed a video for the track “Dismantle the Dictator” with director David Brodsky (Who had a very busy weekend – he also did the video for The Red Chord’s “Demoralizer” in the same forty-eight hour period!), and now our fellow metal connoisseurs at Metal Injection are giving away a FREE download for the mp3 of that song. It’s totally killer, so go get it, suckas!!!

Existence is Futile is out now on Relapse.

-AR

Katatonia’s Night Is the New Day comes out in the U.S. next Tuesday, November 10th and the rest of the world today… which basically means it’s out today! To celebrate, we’re offering the band’s first single “Forsaker” as a free download. If you like it (which you ought to if you know what’s good for you), believe you me when I say that the rest of the record has a lot more in store for you. Order Night Is the New Day here.

Download “Forsaker.”

Full confession: I haven’t had that much of an interest in Mudvayne since The End of All Things To Come. Even then I wasn’t too into the band, but I’ve always enjoyed a few of their songs. When Mudvayne’s label came to us about premiering their new track “Heard It All Before” I was a bit skeptical, but this is probably one of the best Mudvayne tracks I’ve heard in a while and it’s certainly the heaviest. There’s a killer guitar solo, and Ryan Martinie’s tasty bass licks are right out front throughout as always. This song is definitely one of the more original tracks the band has penned in quite some time; it still sounds like Mudvayne, but not in the same heard-it-all-before way (pun intended) the band’s been recycling for years now.

Stream “Heard it All Before” below. It comes from their self-titled album which will be released on December 22.

Last week we gave Fed Through the Teeth Machine, the incredible new album from death/grind/prog pioneers The Red Chord, four out of five horns, and, honestly, we’re not even sure that that’s a high enough rating. Certain to make many year-end lists, Fed Through the Teeth Machine displays The Red Chord doing what they do best: defying expectations, breaking genre conventions, and tearing the listener a new asshole.

Metal Blade will release Fed Through the Teeth Machine this coming Tuesday, October 27, but as always, MetalSucks has ya covered: we’re streaming the entire album now through Monday, so you can hear how awesome it is before you buy it. We hope you love it as much as we do.

And while we’re on the topic, why you don’t read our interview with The Red Chord’s Gunface about the making of the album?

[This promotion has ended. -Ed.]

MetalSucks is incredibly proud to present the debut of “Universe in a Ball,” a new track from The Devin Townsend Project’s forthcoming album, Addicted. There’s nothing we can really tell you about the song that would be more eloquent or insightful than an explanation from the man himself, so here’s Devin’s thoughts on the track:

“Hey, so what does ‘Universe In A Ball’ mean? Short answer… I have no idea, it’s phonetics that just kept appearing so I went with it.

Long answer: okay, lets choose from a number of things. 1) The end of Men In Black where the alien picks up a marble that contains all our known reality HOTCHA! 2) The reproductive qualities in a testicle, a whole Universe is in your balls… BAM! 3) The nature of infinity is like the surface of an expanding balloon, where the surface is a circular dimensional reality that expands infinitely. ZAP 4) The hierarchy of man vs. nature from a more ‘native’ perspective, which essentially means everything is equal, not a pyramid, as is the classic ‘religious’ view with man on top, and the environment below. Everything is just what it is, right now. Eternally. Any questions are moot, women are beautiful, and I want a donut. BLAZANG!”

Devin and CM Distro are also offering some pretty incredible pre-order packages: one comes with an autographed CD, a poster, and a shirt, and one comes with an autographed CD, a poster, a zip-up hoodie, and – get this – a one of a kind O card HAND-DRAWN BY DEVIN HIMSELF. How incredible is that? You can, and should, order those here.

And now, without further adieu, we present “Universe in a Ball”… we hope you love it as much as we do!

Addicted comes out November 17 on InsideOut Music.

Not heard of Philthydelphia’s Javelina yet? (that’s pronounced “ha-vuh-LEE-nuh”) Now’s the time. Today we have an exclusive stream of their song “Towers of Silence” from their new album Beasts Among Sheep, which came out September 29th.

I saw this band live a couple of months ago in Brooklyn, and besides having easily the fiercest beards of the night they also had the fiercest riffs. Take a listen to the new track “Towers of Silence” below or download it for FREE. You can order the record on vinyl at Brutal Panda or on CD at Translation Loss.

We’ve been talking about The Destro’s new record Harmony of Discord for weeks already, so by now you’ve probably made up your mind as to whether or not you like their no-bullshit approach to metal. If you dig the Destro’s brand of self-described “old-school brutal style” now’s your chance to hear the entire new record, for free, below. If for whatever reason you haven’t yet gotten around to giving the The Destro a shot, you a) are a loser, b) have bad taste in music, c) can do so simply by clicking the “play” button. So go on… do it. Despite MS commente / evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins‘ objection to the cover artwork.

Harmony of Discord comes out next Tuesday, October 13th, on Ironclad / Metal Blade Records.

[This promotion has ended. -Ed.]

MetalSucks Maniac Corey Scott filmed Between the Buried and Me performing their new song, “Obfuscation,” at a recent gig in Knoxville, TN. The audio and video quality is actually pretty decent, and Corey managed to captured eight of the song’s nine glorious minutes before his camera crapped out. Nice work, Corey!

Of course, nothing matches actually seeing BTBAM live, but it’s pretty thrilling to know that the band can actually pull this shit off.

“Obfuscation” will be on the new BTBAM album, The Great Misdirect, which Victory will release on October 27. The very thought makes me as excited as a little school girl. Some idiot said I was too negative yesterday, so I’d like to say that last part again: The very thought of a new BTBAM album makes me as excited as a little school girl.

-AR

[We fixed the player issue we were having earlier. Sorry! All better now. -Ed.]

Like we said yesterday, Desperate Living — the new album from Horse the Band which comes out on October 6th — shows a new, more nuanced side to the band. The album is really good; listening to it this morning in its entirety for the first time I was really quite impressed, and it’s definitely my favorite offering of theirs to date. It’s more complex, proggy and headier than anything they’ve done prior, no small accomplishment for a band as completely fucknuts as these guys are. Now you can stream the whole new album below, exclusively on MetalSucks.

Afterwards, check out the video for “Shapeshift” and pre-order the record with an autographed CD insert for only $11.99 at Newbury Comics. HtB have a ridiculous amount of tour dates booked both Stateside and across the globe through the end of 2009; check out the band’s MySpace page for a full list.

[This promotion has ended. -Ed.]

Did you guys see Rammstein’s new porn flick music video “Pussy” last week? If not… make sure you do so… in the privacy of your own home. NOT SAFE FOR WORK. We warned you this time, OK?

“Pussy” is available on iTunes as of today, and when you purchase it you’ll also receive the “Rammlied” b-side track and a digital booklet. ‘Cause we’re all about “try it before you buy it” ’round here, we’re exclusively streaming “Rammlied” in full below. It sounds exactly like what you’d expect, and we mean that in the best of ways; big stomping guitar riffs, synths, German lyrics, and the constant repetition of the band’s name. RAMM. STEIN.

I haven’t seen Saviours live yet, but everyone I know who has tells me they’re fucking awesome. I’m actually pretty new to the band in general, but their new album Accelerated Living has definitely forced me to give them a hard look; it’s a delicious slab of raw, classic stoner thrash (if there even is such a thing) mixed with retro, Thin Lizzy-inspired rawk guitars, the kind of music that makes you want to throw a few beers back with some buddies and just bang your head.

Check out the song “We Roam” from their new album, below, and let us know what you think. Accelerated Living drops on October 27th on Kemado Records.

Well, at least one good thing came out of that day we let Ziltoid run the site: we ended up exchanging e-mails with Cormorant vocalist/bassist Arthur von Nagel (read Zilty’s excellent interview with Arthur here), who, we’re very pleased to announce, will begin writing a new column for MetalSucks, “Tiberian Vocalizations,” later this week.

To celebrate our blissful new union, we’re streaming Cormorant’s awesome new album, Metazoa, right here for the next two days. Produced by the legendary Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Brutal Truth, High on Fire, Mr. Bungle, etc.), Metazoa integrates elements of prog metal, death metal, black metal and folk metal into one truly unique, totally kick-ass package. Metazoa is Epic with a capital “E” – trust us when we say that you NEED to check out this record. And don’t forget to have a look at the lyrics – like Pig Destroyer and Primordial, they are a large part of the band’s sound and aesthetic and are very much worth your attention.

Metazoa comes out tomorrow via Saturnine Media. You can (and should!) order a copy through Cormorant’s official webstore. And don’t forget to check out Cormorant on MySpace for all the latest news and updates on the band!

Enjoy the album…

Thanks to longtime MS Freak Mark Moritz-Rabson for this one. We aren’t sure of the origin, but it appears to be a leak. Enjoy, and also be sure to check out “Obfuscation,” which Victory Records is streaming for free.

-VN

The Destro fucking rule. If you read our site regularly, you should already know this. That’s why we’re very excited to be exclusively streaming “Persistence of Ignorance,” one of the heaviest tracks on their ripping, old-school-brutal-style new effort Harmony of Discord out October 13th through Ironclad / Metal Blade. Trust us, the rest of the album is more of the same: unrelenting, punishing, fuck-you-up groove after groove after groove. Check out The Destro’s MySpace page for another new track, “Justifiers of Malice.”

[this promotion has ended. - Ed.]

But lucky for us, the track is really fucking good [thanks: SMNnews.com]. It’s called “Forsaker” and comes from Night Is The New Day, the new album from progressive metal masters Katatonia. The record drops on November 10th via Peaceville Records, and I personally can’t wait to hear what’s in store.

Keep up with the latest news from the band at NightIsTheNewDay.com.

-VN

We’ve ranted and raved about Boston progressive death metallers Revocation enough that you should know all about their upcoming Relapse debut Existence is Futile (September 29th) by now. In case you still aren’t hip, we’ve made it super-easy for you; just click that thar little “Play” button below and listen to their brand new, previously unreleased track “Pestilence Reigns.”

Once this track has kicked your ass, go and listen to three more from the new album on Revocation’s MySpace page, then pre-order the record with a killer t-shirt (I did). You will not be sorry.

The video quality sucks, but the audio quality is excellent. The following YouTube video, sent in by MS Maniac Tom Frenette, actually contains 3 clips filmed at the Between the Buried and Me show in Raleigh, NC this past Tuesday. The first clip is from “Obfuscation,” the second one is from another new song which they didn’t name, and the last clip is obviously the end of “Selkies.”

First opinions? These songs sound pretty fuckin’ epic. EPIC, I tells you. Let the debate about whether The Great Misdirect will top Colors rage on. We’ll find out on October 27th.

-VN

Here it is, sent in by Jonathon E. (original source unconfirmed). I think it’s pretty safe to say that musically-speaking, Scar “Death Jovi” Symmetry haven’t lost anything at all. But has the replacement of ex-vocalist Christian Alvestam with two separate vocalists, one for singing and one for screaming, affected the band’s sound for better or worse? Rather than mouth off I’d like to know what you all think.

-VN