All That Remains have made the title track from their new album, …For We Are Many, available for free download if you sign up for their mailing list; but if you’re like me and you don’t want to be bombarded with constant e-mails from the ATR promo crew, the song is also now on YouTube, natch. Check it out below.

I gotta say… it’s not a great song or anything — it’s basically just generic metalcore — but I do like it way, way, way more than any other All That Remains tracks I’ve heard in the past few years, for really just one reason: THERE ARE ALMOST NO CLEAN VOCALS. In fact, I think I’d enjoy this even more if that stupid vocoder shit wasn’t in there. (For fuck’s sake, everyone, CUT IT THE FUCK OUT WITH THE FUCKING VOCODERS.) But I guess at least we can be grateful that Phil LaBonte isn’t trying to fool anyone into thinking he can actually sing. ‘Cause in my experience, he can’t.

…For We Are Many comes out October 12 on Prosthetic/Razor & Tie.

-AR

I haven’t enjoyed an All That Remains album since This Darkened Heart, and that was in 2004, which is like a millenia in blogger years. The problem, I think, is that I saw them live, and realized that Phil LaBonte can’t sing and the rest of the band apparently looks to 21st century Mick Mars as their model of how much to move on-stage. Once I know I’m never gonna be able to enjoy a band in concert, who gives a flying fuck about their records? Especially when their records sound like Overcome.

But ATR’s popularity seems to be ever-increasing, and I’m nothing if not a people pleaser, so here I present the cover for their forthcoming …For We Are Many. The art, by the very talented Travis Smith, makes almost no sense to me as a concept, because while there are “many” people on the cover, only three of them seem to be emitting light from their heads. So unless ATR are suggesting that they and/or their fans are faceless dim bulbs, it kinda seems like the release should be called …For We Are Few. But, hey, what do I know? I’m just a guy who enjoys the act of thinking.

All That Remains’ latest Adam Dutkiewicz-produced affair comes out October 12 on Prosthetic/Razor & Tie.

-AR

[via Noisecreep]

Like myself, Dallas Coyle is a huge film dork — I love geeking out with him, ’cause the dude really knows his shit. And I’m stoked to see that he’s started to put all that knowledge to good use: He co-directed The Judas Syndrome‘s new video, “Death of the Soul,” with Frankie Nasso, who has previously helmed clips for Mudvayne, Hatebreed, All That Remains, Sworn Enemy, and Demiricous, among others.

The video just debuted on Noisecreep, and is really cool; you can check it out below. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more from Dallas Coyle, cinemetal auteur in the not-too-distant future!

“Death of the Soul” comes off The Judas Syndrome’s Underneath Blood Skies, which is out now.

-AR

It’s gotta be kinda embarrassing if you’re Phil Labonte and you know clean vocals ain’t exactly your strong suit, then this teenage girl comes along and posts a YouTube vocal cover that smokes not only your live performance but your auto-tuned studio version also. Yes, “embarrassing” would be the word.

-VN

Thanks: C.J. Altman

It was just yesterday that I couldn’t get Jesse Leach to comment on the Killswitch Engage singer situation. And now, after weeks and weeks of speculation, KSE have just released a statement, officially announcing Howard Jones’ departure from the band “due to personal reasons.” No further details are given.

That’s a bummer, but given all the recent rumors of Jones’ permanent departure, it’s not exactly shocking news. What is shocking is that the band has chosen not to bring original front man Jesse Leach back into the fold, or even Phil LaBonte, who covered for Jones on KSE’s most recent tour. So guess who got the gig instead?

FORMER DIVINE HERESY/SNOT VOCALIST TOMMY VEXT.

Yes… we’re as surprised as you are.

Read the complete statement from Tommy and KSE after the jump…

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UPDATE: Reader Ben Alden tells me that Jesse joined the band once again at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. If anyone catches him at any future shows, please let us know…

I saw this video on The PRP this morning, and it’s supposed to be from Leach’s first night performing with the band. If that’s true, then not only did everyone in the band, including Leach, wear the same exact clothes two nights in a row, but Adam D. used the same exact stage banter two nights in a row. Hmm…

First of all, thanks to everyone who let me know that Killswitch Engage were going on at 10 pm. I successfully managed to avoid The Devil Wears Prada. (Who, it’s worth mentioning, had a sign at their merch booth that read “Hoody.” They can’t even be bothered to correctly spell the name of that most basic of metal merch. Sheesh.) Yes, it meant also missing Dark Tranquillity, but that’s the fucked-up world in which we live.

ANYWAY, here are the two lessons to be gleaned from the evening’s KSE set:

1. If the speculation that Howard Jones may never return to the band is true, the group absolutely cannot hire Phil LaBonte as their new front man.
2. If the speculation that Howard Jones may never return to the band is true, the group absolutely must bring Jesse Leach back into the fold.

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When it comes to music (and other things really), I tend to play devil’s advocate. If everyone is shitting on a certain band, for some reason, I become more attracted to that band and seek them out. I don’t know what it is about my personality, but I think it stems from the same perspective that inspired me to write the antagonistic blog about rethrash. It may be a character flaw, but I’m sure it has something to do with a need to be an individual. From what I gather, this website is inhabited mainly by “true” metal heads. What I define as “true” are people whom are purists in the realm of metal and usually scoff at any band or trend that reeks of premeditated commercialism or an overt play for popularity, and who usually demand a certain level of musicianship and underground credibility. These fans usually hate every Metallica record after …And Justice For All, and for that matter always prefer any particular band’s older releases, which usually have a more raw and unrefined recording quality, as well as more abstract, less traditional song writing. For example, they will prefer Carcass’s Necrotiscim to Heartwork, or Morbid Angel’s Blessed Are The Sick to Domination. Oh yeah, and these guys gave up on In Flames and Soilwork years ago.

I have a good deal of that purism in my bones, but it always seemed short sighted and close minded. You have no idea how many arguments the Adler brothers from Lamb of God and I have gotten into over the merits of a particluar Metallica or Megadeth record. If you even bring up Disturbed or Limp Bizkit on MetalSucks, it is mocked and disregarded 100% of the time. I think metal heads often have a sheep mentality because of the fear of being viewed by their peers as less credible for liking bands that aren’t considered “true” or “real” enough. We all have guilty pleasures, but the real question is “Why should we feel guilty about something we enjoy?”

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Jesse Leach and Howard Jones doing KSE’s “My Last Serenade” as part of the Roadrunner United event in December 2005

So last night Killswitch Engage sent out a press release announcing they’re going to finish their current tour with All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte handling vocal duties for Howard Jones, who had to break out early, apparently due to illness.

But that’s not really interesting news. What I actually found most intriguing about the press release was that it made no mention of the rumors that original KSE front dude Jesse Leach would be returning to the fold for the two NYC stops on the tour. It’s worth noting that Leach himself helped fan the flames of those rumors with an interaction on Facebook with MS Suckalo Chris Steeves. And just as intriguing as the absence of any mention of Leach in the press release is that he has removed the exchange with Steeves from his Facebook page (although you can still see it here).

So what does this mean? There are a few possibilities:

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Earlier this week Howard Jones had to drop off of Killswitch Engage’s current headlining tour, apparently due to illness. All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte has been filling in for Jones – The PRP has been referring to this incarnation of the band as “Philswitch Engage” (cute) – but now MS Suckalo has done some investigative reporting and it seems that original KSE front man Jesse Leach may be returning to the band for their NYC shows next month. Have a look at this recent Facebook exchange (Yes, Facebook. I know, we’re not exactly Woodward and Bernstein.):

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UPDATE! From Phil LaBonte’s Twitter account:

So it sounds like Howard is just sick. Thanks to Matthew Fieger for letting us know!

Original story after the jump:

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So apparently Ozzfest is coming back this summer, and is coming back as a traveling tour again (as opposed to the one-off fest it was in 2008). And that’s all well and good, only… who’s gonna be on the bill?

Mayhem, which is basically Ozzfest 2.0, has already scooped up a lot of big-name bands for the summer, including many who have played multiple past Ozzfests – namely Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, Atreyu, Shadows Fall and Hatebreed, the latter of whom I think have been on something like 90% of all Ozzfests ever.

Add to that other Ozzfest alum like Chimaira, In This Moment and Norma Jean, and some bands the kids today all seem to like, such as Winds of Plague and They Who Shall Not Be Named, and, well, that’s a whole bunch of potential mainstage and second stage draws right there.

Then there’s the mini-fests like Summer Slaughter. I can’t tell you which bands we already know are booked for some of these tours without betraying a lot of people’s confidence, but I can tell you that some great bands are now no longer available for Ozzfest.

And, oh yeah, Megadeth, Slayer, and Testament are now doing their American Carnage tour in the summer, so they’re out.

So who’s left? After the jump, I’m going to play my favorite game: it’s called “over-think about something incredibly unimportant.”

Before we proceed, it’s worth noting that I’m going to try and be semi-realistic when moving forward with some barely-educated guesses about who’ll be playing Ozzfest. If a band already has summer tour dates booked, I’m going to assume they’re not avail, although I acknowledge that they could cancel those dates in favor of playing for a bigger crowd. And I’m not even going to bother with bands like Pig Destroyer, Sigh, and Salome – bands that will play Ozzfest right around the time Joey Belladonna’s solo band plays four sold-out headlining shows at Giants Stadium. Also, obviously not all of these bands are gonna end up on the bill – these are just bands I think could end up there.

And so, without further bullshit…

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Prosthetic Records, home to such artists as Gojira, Skeletonwitch, The Acacia Strain, and Through the Eyes of the Dead, has filed suit against Razor & Tie, Billboard reports. I don’t wanna re-type or misinterpret any of the legalese, so I’m just gonna cut and paste the nitty gritty from Billboard:

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Last week, during one of my daily perusals of this very blog, I came across a rather scathing recounting of Killswitch Engage’s self-titled album, which came out earlier this year. This caught me a bit off guard, as I considered it to be one of my favorite albums of the year and a step in the right direction from Daylights Dies, which was at first very disappointing but grew on me after some time. I was even more surprised when I saw that most user comments tended to agree with the blog entry.

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Dude, I haven’t played Guitar Hero (or Rock Band, for that matter) in for-ever. But apparently their song “Graves of Opportunity” is available as part of a track pack for Guitar Hero world tour, alongside an awesome Chimaira song (“Walking On Broken Glass”) and something by a band I don’t care to mention who are named after a Meryl Streep movie, so maybe it’s time I picked up my plastic guitar and rocked out again.

The “Graves of Opportunity” certainly gives me the desire to do so – I mean, it looks like it was more fun to film than it is to watch. Phil Labonte looks like he’s having a good time, at least.

If there really were Unearth avatars for Guitar Hero, it would be awesome if when you hit “overdrive” or whatever the fuck it’s called, the digital Ken Susi would spit in the air, catch it in his hand, and then run it through his hair. Ah. I can dream, can’t I?

“Graves of Opportunity” comes off of Unearth’s excellent album The March, which is out on Metal Blade now.

-AR

The big beef on the Webernets this weekend concerned a Twitter fight between Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair and All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte over the latter’s girlfriend. Yup, a Twitter fight. In the end it can most likely be chalked up to a bunch of drunks quibbling, but it sure is funny! Have a look at the Twitter war play by play over at Metal Injection.

Turns out All That Remains have a new video too, for the track “Forever in Your Hands.” I’ve been over All That Remains since the first time I saw them live and realized Labonte couldn’t touch those high notes he hits on record with the assistance of ProTools. Not that I was ever really into the band in the first place. But, ya know, some of you may dig this band… so here’s the video, which features cameos by God Forbid’s Byron Davis, Killswitch’s Adam D. and others.

-VN

It’s Labor Day weekend here in the U.S., which means we’re shuttering the Mansion early this week, and won’t be back ’til Tuesday. We’re sure you’ll find some way to live without us.

Here’s some shit that happened this week:

• We debuted a new track from Salome.
• Sigh’s Mirai Kawashima sent in his final guest-blog from the studio, and revealed the track listing for the band’s upcoming album, Scenes from Hell.
• We chatted with Trivium’s Matt Heafy, The Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad, Job for a Cowboy’s Brent Riggs, and All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte.
• We celebrated the triumphant return of Beavis & Butt-Head, and decided that in their particular relationship, Vince is the Beavis to Axl’s Butt-Head.
• Tom Araya thinks Dave Mustaine is a dick, Kerry King thinks Dave Mustaine is a dick, Scott Ian thinks Kerry King is a dick, and everyone in Dimmu Borgir thinks that everyone else in Dimmu Borgir is a dick.

Alright. I’m going to enjoy a little sunshine while I still can. See ya Tuesday!

-AR

Sitting down with All That Remains frontman / Affliction-wearer Phil Labonte was a tad bit uncomfortable, for all the not-so-nice things (but not terribly offensive, either, comparatively speaking) we’ve said about his band. I’m actually not even sure that Phil knew with whom he was conducting an interview — the on-site press coordinator at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival simply introduced me by my birth-given first name, Phil said, “Hi, I’m Phil,” we sat down at a table and that was that. It’s probably a good thing too, since Phil is really into his iPhone, Twitter (which I asked him about) and claims to “read a lot of stuff on the Internet.”

So, whether he knew who I was or not, Phil and I chatted mostly about the band’s newfound mainstream success. What’s it been like? Has he seen a change in the audience at shows? Will it change the band’s approach on the next record? Has it alienated the core fans? Despite my best attempts to get some kind of averse reaction out of Labonte, he held his ground quite well and insisted that for the most part nothing about the band has really changed all that much. Phil was a nice chap and certainly seemed earnest about his answers.

Our chat, after the jump.

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As I mentioned earlier this week, a little while back I got an e-mail from The Autumn Offering vocalist Matt McChesney to discuss an extremely negative review I’d given the band’s last album, Fear Will Cast No Shadow. McChesney could have been a total dick about the whole thing, but as it turns out, he’s a very even headed, intelligent, and cool dude. So what else was there to do but interview him about the band’s new album, Requiem, which will come out June 9 on Victory. McChesney was even good enough to let us debut the first single off of that album, “The Curtain Hits The Cast,” for which the band will shoot a video in the coming weeks.

I still haven’t heard the new album, but I do already like this song way, way more than anything from Fear Will Cast No Shadow; it’s catchy and it doesn’t sound overly processed, which, I think, is what The Autumn Offering were striving for. Check out the song below, and then my conversation with Matt McChesney after the jump! (FYI – for fear that this was all a set-up for Matt to have me murdered, the interview was conducted by e-mail.)

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It was fun to speculate last about with whom Slayer might spend the summer touring, but now we have an official answer: as rumored, they’ll be co-headlining the Rockstar Energey Mayhem Festival with their ’07 tourmates, Marilyn Manson.

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All is not lost in the world of metal; in fact, this past week brought some nice surprises, along with the usual mish-mash of shitty radio rock bands. Last week’s sales numbers, with our usual sardonic commentary, after the jump. (Hint: look at the tags below, and click “read more” if any of those bands interest you!).

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