If you live in the U.S. and you didn’t get to see one of Ghost’s first two North American shows this past May/June (like the one I reviewed), now would be a good time to start weeping. ‘Cause the band has been forced to pull the plug on their previously announced stint touring with Enslaved and Alcest later this month.

The culprit, according to a press release, is “last minute complications with the Ghouls’ visas.” Sigh. Ghost may be able to rise above the metal pack, but they can’t rise above red tape. Bummer bummer bummer.

The band is hoping to come back and do a full U.S. tour soon, and we will definitely let you know when/if those hopes become realities. In the meantime, take solace knowing that an Enslaved/Alcest tour is still totally worth your time, even if having Ghost on the bill would have made it that much more awesome. You can get tour dates here.

-AR

The London riots last month were no joke to begin with but really hit home for us when the Sony PIAS warehouse, a storage facility for Basick Records and a number of other independent record labels, was burned to the ground and looted. According to The Telegraph [via Metal Insider], new evidence is showing that the operation was actually carefully planned by professionals, using the riots as a cover. From The Telegraph:

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We make fun of Sebastian Bach a lot here on the site, and we’re not about to stop doing that. But it ultimately comes from a place of love (read this) and we certainly never wish anyone physical harm or damage of any kind. So it’s with heavy hearts that we say we sympathize for Baz, who lost his New Jersey home of 21 years and a whole ton of personal belongings to flooding caused by Hurricane Irene this past weekend. Comments Bach, part of a full statement you can read here:

Skid Row master tapes, video and audio, concerts, master tapes from ’Oh Say Can You Scream’, etc. Boxes and boxes of one-of-a-kind Skid Row memorabilia, from the first tour to our last, all stuff I collected on the road that no one else had. I had a library in the basement with every single magazine that had Skid Row on the cover. This library took up a big part of the basement. All of this is lost now.

We will salvage what we can, of course. But how I wish there was a reason to do a box set or something before Hurricane Irene hit. Nobody cared. Now it’s too late.

Oof. Not to mention the damage to the house and other personal property. Our thoughts are with you, duderino, even though Black Veil Brides and Asking Alexandria are your new bands of choice.

More photos of the damage after the jump:

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This sucks. Not just because I really like The Bled and I’m sad they won’t be making new music anymore, but because The Bled were one of THOSE bands. One of those bands that took risks outside of what their initial scene found acceptable, and as such one of those bands that ended up not fitting in anywhere. Too heavy/legit for the Christcore scene, too weird for the haircut band scene, not really metalcore, not really deathcore, not heavy enough for the brutal metal tours but too heavy for the pop/alt metal tours… not able to be put into any one specific box. And while it’s cool to say you’re doing something so unique it can’t be classified, for many bands at The Bled’s level that aren’t big enough to strike out on their own on a consistent basis (Tool, Muse, Dredg, Thrice, etc), that ultimately meant their undoing.

That’s my theory, anyway. According to AbsolutePunk.net (and MS reader “theskunkcatcher”) the band posted the following message on their Facebook page, without really giving any reasons for the breakup other than “we want to do other things with our lives”:

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Jani Lane is dead. He was 47 years old.

He was found in a hotel room in Los Angeles. While the cause of his death is currently unknown, his struggles with drugs and alcohol over the years have been no secret, and it’s hard to imagine that they had nothing to do with this. [UPDATE: TMZ is saying authorities found vodka and pills in Lane's hotel room. Try to contain your surprise.]

We made fun of Jani a lot on this site over the years, and we do not regret that. But once upon a time, we thought he was awesome, and, of course, we never wish anyone any actual physical harm. So, yeah, this is still a bummer.

Here’s Jani the way we’d like to remember him, singing a song which now, of course, seems all too appropriate.

[UPDATE, 11:15am EDT: An official statement by Basick sent exclusively to MetalSucks follows.]

As far as I know Basick has some of its international stock housed there but at the moment we’re trying to find out what the extent of the damage is from the distributors. What we do know is that a MASSIVE amount of UK independent music labels are affected by this.

The hope is that the distro have shipped most of the stock out of the country already but again, at the moment we’re still trying to find out exactly what the situation is. Sorry we have no more details at this time.

Original post:

The riots that have been blazing on in London since Saturday night following the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by police have suddenly hit a lot closer to home for metalheads worldwide: the Sony DADC warehouse that served as an international distribution center for PIAS, including Basick Records and a number of other independent record labels, has been completely burned to the ground and all their physical stock been destroyed. Basick Records is the home of Aliases, The Arusha Accord, Chimp Spanner, Circles, Monuments and several other metal bands. The devastating blaze has been confirmed on Basick’s Facebook page.

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On Tuesday, we reported that Cipher drummer Danny Bobis had gone missing while on a surfing in Indonesia. Now our worst fears have been confirmed, and Bobis’ body has been located. From The New York Post:

“Fishermen found the body of Bobis, a 32-year-old teacher, Thursday morning in the waters off Sumatra island, according to the state-run Antara news agency.”

Bobis was only thirty-two years old, and he was a vital member of the New York / New Jersey metal community, and he will be severely missed. Our thoughts are with his friends and family.

-AR, VN, and the MetalSucks staff

Ludicra have posted the following message on both their official website and Facebook page:

“Ludicra has officially disbanded. It’s been a great and rewarding ride. We would like to thank all who’ve supported us and been involved.”

And that’s it. That’s the end of Ludicra. (I guess I should add, “at least for now.” In this day and age, I don’t think one should ever discount the possibility of an eventual reunion.)

Over at Invisible Oranges, Cosmo Lee writes that “I feel as if a friend has died,” and while I’m not as massive a diehard fan as Lee is (he says they’re his favorite band), I do understand the sentiment; this sucks, and it’s hard to find any words which will express its suckage in a meaningful way. The group just released an amazing album, The Tenant, last year, and that record made multiple year-end lists here at MetalSucks, including  Vince’s, Satan Rosenbloom’s, and Grim Kim’s – in fact, the latter two writers both named it the best album of the year. Ludicra weren’t just still artistically viable — they were still artistically vibrant.

I’m glad the band is going out on such a high note, but that’s just about the only aspect of this news I’m glad about. What a major, major bummer.

Let’s remember them in the best way possible:

-AR

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed us about this.

This story is the kind that hurts just to type; Danny Bobis, a member of the Long Island band Cipher and a beloved figure in the New York / New Jersey metal community, went missing this weekend while surfing in Indonesia. Danny lived in Long Beach, NY where he is a math teacher in the local high school and also coaches their surf team.

According to a story at CNN.com, Danny’s friend and surfing partner Brian Lonergan saw Danny’s surfboard wash up on shore: “Danny had just taken a wave before me. I couldn’t see him, and a few minutes later, his board washed up on the shore.”

Regardless, the search grinds on. The local government in the remote part of Indonesia in which Bobis went missing doesn’t have the resources for a full-on rescue search, so all money for the effort has come out of the family’s pocket. Danny’s family is asking for help from the metal community to help raise awareness of Danny’s case, and if it all possible, to donate money to the search effort. Funds will be allocated to any resources that will support the search including helicopter rental, local manpower, travel expenses, etc. All donations will be given directly to the family. Time is of the essence. To donate, log in to Paypal and send funds to dannybobisfund@gmail.com.

- VN, AR and the MetalSucks staff

According to MSN, Michael “Würzel” Burston, who was the guitarist for Motörhead from ’84 to ’95, has passed away from “ventricular fibrillation, caused by cardiomyopathy, better known as heart disease.” He was 61 years old.

We’ve written so many obituaries this year, and… there’s never really anything you can say other than “That’s terrible.” 61 is really not that old in this day and age, and Burston should have had many more good years ahead of him still. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Here’s video of Burston performing the song “You Better Run,” from the album March ör Die, with Motörhead in Sweden in 1993. Watch it in his honor, and then share your remembrances of the man in our comments section.

I’ve been to plenty of shows in my time where I was convinced that one of the band member’s on-stage antics was going to end in injury or worse; hell, I’m scared for Greg Puciato’s life pretty much every time I go see The Dillinger Escape Plan live. But somehow these dudes always manage to avoid getting hurt; it’s like there’s some special, secret rock musician training camp, where dudes go to learn to hang from things that should be able to support their weight and jump from heights that should clearly require a latter to descend.

What I’m saying is this: I’m surprised that accidents like the one in the below video, of Black Veil Brides vocalist Andy “Andy Six” Biersack missing a jump during a recent California concert and consequently shattering three ribs, don’t happen more often.

It’s no secret that we’re not fans of Black Veil Brides here at MetalSucks, but we never wish any artist we dislike physical harm. (Well, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to seeing Ted Nugent get taken out by an angry deer, but he’d have to give the deer a fighting chance first, so that will probably never happen.) So let me say that I appreciate Biersack’s efforts to put on a good show for his audience, and even if I hate his music as much as Maria Brink hates tops that fit properly, I wish him a speedy recovery.

-AR

[via Metal Underground]

More terrible news this week. The following message was posted on the Facebook page of Mario Comesanas, a DJ on Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal, alum of legendary radio station WSOU and Revolver magazine, and vocalist for New Jersey hardcore outfits Low Road and December Aeternalis:

“It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our very close friend & fellow Liquid Metal host Mario Comesanas who passed away earlier this evening at 8:39pm ET in Jersey City, NJ… I got the chance to say goodbye, hold his hand, kiss his head & tell him thank you for being a Metal soldier with me all these years & to say hi to Dime for me…Our thoughts & prayers are w his fiance Liz, Mario’s family, friends & fans worldwide… for respect for the family any other info will have to wait. For now, please leave your comments here for all to see. We love you Mario & thanks for coming into our lives swinging & kicking! Rest in Peace…”

Mario was just thirty years old, and obviously had many good years left to a vital member of our community. There are really no words to express the scope of a tragedy such as this. Our thoughts are with Mario’s family and friends.

-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks

Thanks: Chainsword

Seth Putnam, best known as the driving creative force behind grind provocateurs Anal Cunt, passed away over the weekend from a heart attack. He was only 43 years old.

No matter what you thought of Anal Cunt, or any of Putnam’s other numerous projects, there’s no denying that the man was a singular personality; most people probably remember the exact first time they heard Anal Cunt, an honor not many artists can claim.

But as MetalSucks’ own Grim Kim reminds us, “no matter how outrageous and controversial his musical career has been, Seth was still a human being with friends and family that loved him.” Our thoughts are with those friends and family now.

-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks

Total bummer news of the day: Converge have been forced to cancel the remainder of their current tour due to a health scare involving bassist Nate Newton (also of Old Man Gloom and Doomriders fame, in case you somehow didn’t know that). A statement from the band tells fans…

“Unfortunately on our day drive from St. Louis to Austin, one of our members had a serious health scare. We rushed him to the nearest ER were he was looked at by some fine Oklahoma doctors. After a night’s stay in the hospital and a battery of tests we were able to have him discharged earlier today. We are now racing (quite literally) to make it to our show at Chaos In Tejas, albeit extremely late, to play an abbreviated set. Wish us luck.

“Because of this health issue, we are canceling the remaining few shows of this current U.S. tour so he can get home and get some medical attention asap. To those in Little Rock, Nashville, and Raleigh, we will add you to our list of places for make up shows later down the road.

“Thanks to all of you for your continued support, it is appreciated by all of us.”

So’s that’s obviously scary and upsetting, but hopefully everything will work out okay. Like the headline says, we’re sending out good thoughts to Mr. Newton… feel free to do the same in the comments section!

-AR

Roy Mayorga, former drummer for Soulfly and current drummer for Amebix and Stone Sour, apparently suffered a minor stroke following the latter band’s show in Des Moines, IA this past Sunday night. (See? Nothing good ever comes from Des Moines.) Here’s a statement the band released on their official website:

“It is with regret that we have decided to cancel the remaining dates on our current headline tour. Our friend and drummer, Roy Mayorga suffered a minor stroke a couple of nights ago after our show in Des Moines. He’s doing great and is expected to make a 100% recovery. We apologize to all the fans and look forward to getting back out on the road with Roy in the coming months.”

So, look… we’re obviously not huge fans of Stone Sour around here, but we don’t wish Mayorga any ill will. We wish Mayorga a speedy recovery so he can get back out on the road and make music for the fans who appreciate it more than we do ASAP.

-AR

As you are no doubt aware, metal is constantly being scapegoated for violent acts, be it attempted suicides, high school shootings, college shootings, or political assassinations. And soon we will no doubt be able to add another heinous crime to that list — namely terrorism.

See, with Osama bin Laden out of the way, one of the big questions on everyone’s mind is: “Who’s gonna step up and be the new leader of Al-Qaeda?” And one of the leading candidates is Adam Gadahn, né Adam Pearlstein (yep, another guy giving Jews a good name!), an American currently living in Pakistan who not only used to write for the death metal zine Xenocide, but also had his one one-man metal band, Aphasia. After converting to Islam at age seventeen and eventually fleeing the country after he assaulted the head of his mosque, Haitham Bundakji, he went to Pakistan, and was apparently intimately involved with the creation of bin Laden’s terror videos.

Click to read more…

Well, this news is a real boner-killer.

Last week we got all excited because the above photo of Dave Grohl in the studio with Mastodon appeared online, and, of course, all of our minds went right to “DAVE GROHL IS GONNA MAKE AN APPEARANCE ON THE NEW MASTODON ALBUM!”

Alas, it’s not to be, says Rocksound.tv, who got official word from Camp Mastodon that “the Foo Fighters frontman popped into the studio to say hello – and not to record on the new album.”

So that blows.

Bitch and moan that everything doesn’t go exactly the way we want it to with us in the comments section.

-AR

[via The PRP]

Yep, 4/20 gets a real downer with the rather unexpected news that Judas Priest founding member, guitarist K.K. Downing, has quit the band.

“It is with regret that Judas Priest announce that K.K. Downing has formally retired from the band and will therefore not be joining them on their forthcoming Epitath Tour.” – Official Judas Priest press release 4/20/11.

Click to read more…

I regularly lord it over everybody that I attended the final Pantera show ever! It 2001 at the inaugural Beast Feast two-day jam in Yokohama, Japan, also headlined by Slayer, Sepultura, and Machine Head. But by Pantera’s fest-closing set on day two, I was hardly in command of my senses because A.) drugs; and B.) late-night Skinless. See, for the truly metal and/or too high to find the train station, Beast Feast had an overnight gig nearby that bridged days one and two. And Skinless, taking the stage after the great Taiho, absolutely owned that show! They ripped! They raged! They rippaged! Memories.

So it sucks baboon balls to hear this bunch of boner-breaking jive from Skinless honcho Noah Carpenter:

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Whether you’re a tri-corner hat wearing Teabagger who thinks taxes are the work of the devil, a bleeding heart tree-hugging Lefty who believes The Man will take care of everything, or a corporate cocksucking conservative who believes GE deserves a $3.2 billion tax refund despite raking in more than $14 million in profit, today is inevitable.

Death (metal) and taxes.

Yes, normally in America, we must file our taxes by April 15. That was last Friday. Fortunately, for many of you slackers out there, Friday was also a Washington holiday to celebrate Emancipation Day; the day President Abraham Lincoln freed nearly 3,100 slaves in Washington D.C. in 1862, nine months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Normally, this momentous occasion is observed on April 16 in D.C.; however, since that date fell on a Saturday this year, taxes get pushed back until today.

So, if you are reeling from your continuing procrastination, maybe you can find a few songs here to get you through the tedium (AKA the final hours before tonight’s filing deadline). Or, maybe you are already done with your paperwork and want to stroll down the aisle of taxing tunes and moneyed music.

Some of it is from metalheads, but most comes from the world of rock.

Figures, that’s where the real money is (was) made.

The Beatles – “Taxman” (Cartoon)

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