At some point after they collaborated on Soulfly’s “Rise of the Fallen,” word got out that Max Cavalera and The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato were working on a new project together. We never reported on it here at MetalSucks ’cause, uh, I have no idea.

But in a new interview with Loud magazine, Cavalera gives some info which pretty much guarantees we won’t be able to ignore this new supergroup any longer:

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Forget what you know about Fascination Street, Audiohammer, Morrisound, Colin Richardson, Jason Suecof, Jens Borgen or any of the “it” recording studios / producers of the moment — none of that compares to the epic set-up and producer that After the Burial have tapped to record their next album.

In the first of what’ll surely be many studio updates, After the Burial not only reveal their stunning and controversial choice of producer but they play us plenty of clips of the new music said producer is inspiring them to churn out. The new tunes sound pretty siqq, so maybe this fresh blood is just what these Minne-soo-tans need; I was a little let down by the rambling In Dreams after the highly excellent Rareform singlehandedly defined “Sumeriancore” back in 2008.

-VN

UPDATE, 4:00pm EST:

Volcom’s webstore is now listing the bundle. Find it here.

Original post:

We know there’s a new Gojira album on the way via Roadrunner, and of course there’s the much maligned Sea Shepherd EP which seems like it’s never going to come out. But no-one saw THIS coming: Volcom Entertainment will release a limited edition Gojira 7″ featuring drummer Mario Duplantier’s own artwork and two previously unreleased songs.

The songs on the 7”, “End of Time” and “Bleeding,” have never been officially released. Both were originally on Gojira’s 1997 Possessed Demo when they were still performing under the name GODZILLA.

The 7″ is only available in a bundle with the limited edition t-shirt you see above. The bundle comes in a 12” Vinyl packaging and is available in all Volcom stores in Europe, EMP, Listenable Records and selected music stores or online at volcoment.com (although we can’t seem to find it there yet). Here’s some label copy about what led to this release:

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The year’s edition of the SXSW Film Festival is not quite as metal friendly as last year’s version. Of course, it’s hard to top a Pentagram documentary, a Fishbone documentary, Fubar II: Balls To The Wall, and Hesher. That doesn’t mean, however, that this year’s fest won’t have a few somethings that will appeal to the metalheads out there.

Take a look at what’s screening this year. Synopses provided by SXSW. Notes provided by me.

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Last fall everyone’s favorite burl curlers Mastodon and songstress Feist (of “1234″ iPod commercial fame) both expressed mutual admiration for each other in the public sphere and joked about putting a collaboration together. And now it’s actually happening. Ain’t it fun when stuff like this comes to fruition?

Here’s what Mastodude Troy Sanders had to say about the unlikely pairing in November, before any notes had actually been laid to tape:

In support of Record [Store] Day, which we always try to be a part of and falls every April, we try to do some sort of release to support independent record stores. So the idea is for Mastodon to cover a Feist song and throw some hair and dirt on it, and they’re going to take a Mastodon song and pretty it up a little bit… We only have a short window to make that happen, which is the month of December, but we’re going to do everything we can to work with Feist and have a split 7″ in support of record stores.

December came and went and we didn’t hear anything from either camp, but news is starting to bubble up now that Record Store Day is only a month and a half away. A recent press release from Warner Bros. (Mastodon’s record label) outlines details of the release, which will be a split 7″ vinyl single, as promised, featuring each artist covering the other:

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The SXSW Day Party, once frowned upon by event organizers, is now an expected addition to the annual music extravaganza. It provides bands more opportunities to be seen during the music conference and it also gives the regular music fan (the ones who don’t want to plunk down $750+ for a badge) the opportunity to catch showcasing bands whom they would not have been able to see otherwise.

Below you will find an exhaustively thorough (yet still incomplete) list of the majority of day parties and/or one-offs that involve hard rock, punk rock, avant garde, experimental, and/or heavy metal bands/musicians that are expected to appear in Austin, Texas between March 9 and March 18.

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Just three days ago, I posted the first master list of all the metal-friendly acts that will be heading to SXSW in Austin, Texas in just over a week. I also mentioned that the line-ups will change numerous times between then and the end of the conference. On cue, we have a whole new batch of metal/hardcore/metallish bands added to the massive line-up.

If you plan on attending the conference, please refer to my constantly updated SXSW 2012 Metal list here.

You can also find all of the SXSW 2012 Metal Panels info here.

Here are some of the recent highlights, time and/or venue changes, special appearances, second shows added, etc:

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One of the coolest aspects of attending a music (and film and interactive) conference like SXSW is that if you score a badge, you can listen to some incredible professionals discussing their craft. Hopefully, they will inspire you to get off your ass and create that song you always wanted to write, pen that book you’ve meant to finish, or paint that album cover you always knew you had inside you.

In 2011, I create and moderated a panel for the SXSW Film Festival called REEL MURDER which featured former Pantera lead singer and Manson Family composer Philip Anselmo. It was a blast, but a ton of hard work to put it all together. This year, I was looking forward to only having to cover horror films at SXSW for Bloody Disgusting and metal for this here fine publication.

That is, until I got a phone call last week from loyal MetalSucks reader Bobby Nall who just so happened to have landed a gig with SXSW coordinating panels. He asked if I would be interested in moderating a panel about artwork in heavy metal. I, of course, jumped at the chance.

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Regardless of whether you like Misery Signals or not, anyone who’s ever been in a band, wants to be in a band or is even just a fan of metal music in general owes it to themselves to watch this trailer for Controller: The Misery Signals Story. The documentary seems like it’s less about the particulars of Misery Signals’ history and more about using that history as a microcosm for what it’s like to be in a band, live on the road, forego regular personal relationships, and never have any money — sacrificing all semblances of a normal life — to live the “dream” of being in a successful band.

This documentary looks fascinating; I’ve never been a huge Misery Signals fan (I did enjoy 2008′s Controller), but I’ll definitely be watching this when it comes out. The feature was filmed by director Marcus De Leon in 13 countries from 2009 until 2011 and will be distributed to theaters, broadcast, and DVD in early 2013. Check out the trailer below:

-VN

[via Lambgoat]

We’ve gotten some e-mails recently asking us for updates on everyone’s favorite experimental punk/grind band, Meek is Murder, which isn’t surprising — for one thing, the band is great, and for another, after an incredibly busy 2011, they’ve “been in hibernation,” as guitarist/vocalist Mike Keller put it during a performance last night at Manhattan’s weekly Precious Metal show.

Well, great news: the band is gearing up now for a busy 2012, too, with a whole bunch of activity on the horizon. Here’s the latest:

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God Forbid have released their second behind-the-scenes video thingy for their new album, Equlibrium, this one concentrating on bassist John Outcalt. And in case my headline didn’t give it away, yes, once again, the most fun thing about these videos is getting to hear some new GF music, if it’s only a little bit, and in tiny snippets. What can I say? I am impatient and greedy, and yesterday’s video footage of the new song “Don’t Tell Me What to Dream” just did not satisfy my thirst for new God Forbid.

Equilibrium comes out March 26. The band will then head out on a tour with Overkill, Diamond Plate, and Suidakra; you can get dates here. And don’t forget to read the latest installment of Hoop Logic, the NBA column that God Forbid guitarist Doc Coyle pens for MetalSucks. It’s educational and stuff.

-AR

The Faceless are one of those bands who are perpetually saying a new album is coming soon, only to then fade from the public’s memory until they pop up again several months later and repeat the process (heyo Necrophagist!). It’s now been almost 3.5 years since they released Planetary Duality, and by the time it comes out it’ll have been nearly four (or more) even under an optimistic timeline. But it’ll be worth it! Right? Planetary Duality was such a masterpiece that we can only surmise band mastermind / porn-star banger Michael Keene is tinkering and tinkering Chinese Democracy-style because he feels the pressure to deliver a stellar follow-up!

It finally seems as if things might be lurching forward once more; Keene just posted a studio update video featuring a tour of his studio, some guitar tracking, brief clips of at least one new song, and a fantastically Jason Newstedian new haircut.

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Between the news of Mike Smith’s departure from Suffocation, JuggaloBook, and not just one but two horrendous ideas come to life, it is turning out to be a real asshole of a day. Luckily, now we have some good news, too: High on Fire will release a new album, De Vermis Mysteriis – that apparently means “mysteries of the worm” — on April 3 via eOne. It should go without saying that the above super-sweet album art is for the release in question.

There’s no new music for us to hear yet, but with the group getting ready to hit the road on tour, we should be getting some sweet new HoF real soon. The band is headlining MetalSucks’ own South by South Death showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, March 14; Darkest Hour, Nachtmystium, Intronaut, Black Tusk, Holy Grail, and MonstrO are all also on the bill, making it the can’t-miss metal event of the festival. After that, High on Fire will be part of this summer’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour alongside Slipknot, Slayer, Anthrax, As I Lay Dying, and a bunch of other bands. Get dates for that tour here.

-AR

It’s been a minute since we’ve gotten anything new from Thy Will Be Done, but now the band is releasing a new EP in the not-too-distant future, so that’s exciting for us fans of very very heavy metalcore and giant beards. You can watch a video teaser for the EP below; it only has some snippets of new music, but on the plus side, there’s also a shot of Coal Chamber’s Dez Fafara in a Thy Will Be Done t-shirt. Y’know, in case you need something to masturbate to.

-AR

UPDATE, 2/27/12, 2:30pm EST: Scion is not filming a DVD. Read details about what they are doing here.

Original post:

Whether you think the car manufacturer’s involvement in metal over the past few years is good or bad for the scene (and we’ve certainly heard compelling arguments from both sides and everything in between), one thing is certain about Scion: they’re pumping a fuckton of money into it. Whereas their involvement until now has pretty much been relegated to the death/black/crust/grind/doom types of bands — the more “indie” metal scene — they’re taking a big jump into the metal mainstream with their latest venture, a sponsorship of the recently announced Meshuggah U.S. tour with Baroness and Decapitated.

A tour sponsorship is one thing — big whoop, logo on a flyer — but the real news here is that Scion will be filming and recording the whole thing. In a post to the Scion A/V Facebook page late last night, the car company’s metal division spilled the beans:

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If you were worried about what would become of Tommy Vext now that is he is definitely not the new singer for Killswitch Engage, or the dudes from Mutiny Within now that their band has, well, basically imploded, fret not: MW’s respective bassist and drummer, Andrew Jacobs and Bill Fore have now joined Tommy Vext in a new project, called, appropriately enough, Vext. The band also includes guitarist Angel Vivaldi, whose solo work Vince praised last year.

This group has actually been around for a minute now — I don’t know if it was under the “Vext” banner or not, but I do know they were working on demos with a different, equally interesting line-up last year. I guess that version of the group didn’t pan out for whatever reason, but this version has already compelted an EP, which is entitled Impermanence. There’s no release date yet, but for now you can check out the below two-and-half-minute teaser. The music contained therein suggests that the band is going to be leaning towards the more melodic side of things, which should neither surprise nor displease Mutiny Within fans.

-AR

Thanks to Brian for the tip!

Now that it’s so cheap and easy to make ‘em, releasing in-studio videos is pretty much a de rigeur part of the promotional process for any new album. And so it should surprise no one that both God Forbid, whose new album Equilibrium comes out March 26, and Converge, whose new, untitled album should be out sometime this year, have both released such videos. You can check ‘em out below.

God Forbid’s video is the first in a series, and concentrates on drummer Corey Pierce and his work with producer Mark Lewis. There’s some new music sprinkled throughout, and it sounds HEAVY AS A MOTHERFUCKER. I’m so excited for this album I can’t even tell you.

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Crystal Viper is one the most FUCKING METAL metal bands on the planet, and their album art usually reflects this status. Like, remember the cover of their last album, Legends? IT WAS A FREAKIN’ WEREWOLF WITH A SCYTHE RIDING A HORSE IN FRONT OF A CASTLE. It was pretty much the awesomest thing ever. It’s like the band went, “Oh, so you think you’re so metal? FUCK YOU, PUSSY! WE’RE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKIN’ METAL!!!”

So, yeah, I’m kinda bummed to see that the band hasn’t outdone themselves with the art for their forthcoming release, Crimen Excepta, a concept album about menstrual cycles. Sure, it has the werewolf from Legends and the zombie army from 2009′s Metal Nation, but is isn’t really, truly, hilariously METAL like those covers. Part of it has to do with the fact that noting truly silly is happening in this image — I mean, I’m sure that poor bishe is gonna get it, but she doesn’t even look that frightened or anything — and part of it has to do with how flat the illustration is. Legends‘ art was drawn from such a perspective that we’re looking up at the werewolf, making him seem massive and intimidating, and Nations‘ art is at a slight angle, giving it depth; here, we’re just looking at the landscape dead-on, from eye level. Booooorrrrrinnnngggg. Really, this needed to be, like, the werewolf sitting in spaceship, doing battle with a dragon atop a rainbow or something. That might have topped Legends‘ art.

Crimen Excepta comes out April 24 on AFM.

-AR

Because the original Guns N’ Roses is never going to reunite and because Velvet Revolver can’t seem to get their shit together to find a new singer, Slash has gone ahead and recorded another solo album. But I’m actually kinda encouraged, because instead of having a bunch of different (and potentially shitty) guest vocalists like on his last outing, he’s just gone ahead and gotten Myles Kennedy to sing on the whole record. And despite the fact that I don’t like Alter Bridge, I think Kennedy is pretty awesome. And my expectations for this album are on the lower side of the thing, so, basically, as long as Slash wrote some reasonably catchy hard rock tunes and there’s no rap version of an old GN’R tune on this release, we should be in pretty good shape.

Of course, it sounds like Slash went ahead and let his seven year-old son name the album — because who besides a seven year-old thinks Apocalyptic Love is a cool title? — and the cover art looks like a fake tattoo I would have thought was edgy when I was about nine or ten, but I’m not gonna write the entire endeavor off based on that alone.

Apocalyptic Love comes out May 22 on Slash’s own label, Dik Hayd International. I’m sure there’s a sophomoric joke there I’m not quite getting. Is it supposed to be a funny way of saying “dick hard” or something? [Thanks to everyone for pointing out it's "decayed." How did I not see that?]

-AR

(click to enlarge)

That Dethklok mastermind Brendon Small has been working on a solo side project for some time now isn’t exactly a secret — he’s mentioned it publicly a few times, teasing it in an interview with us last summer and an interview with Metal Injection back in April of 2010 — but until now details have been extremely sparse. The reliable MS informant going under the moniker Fuzzy Dunlop has just informed us that a Facebook page for “Brendon Small’s Galaktikon” appeared out of the ether last night, and while there isn’t a whole lot of information on it the fact that this project is in the “create a Facebook page” stage means the record is probably coming soon, which is pretty exciting. The Facebook page includes the above (bad-ass!) album cover, an older photo of Brendon in corpsepaint, and this brief description:

This is the official fan page for Brendon Small’s GALAKTIKON: A high stakes intergalactic extreme rock album coming soon!

“High stakes”! “Intergalactic”! Sounds awesome. “Extreme rock” is a strange word pairing, but I’m intrigued. We’re ready.

-VN