MetalSucks

The theme for this morning seems to be “terrible quality fan-captured live footage.”

Next up we have John Bush’s (apparently triumphant, if reports are to be believed) return to Anthrax this past weekend at Sonisphere in England. I’d love to post some footage of Bush performing a Bush-era song, but can’t seem to find any, so here he is doing “Caught in a Mosh.”

I continue to hope, dream, and pray that Bush returns to Anthrax full-time.

-AR

Now the nausea’s
In my guts
And I’m wrestling with doubt
The kind you get when your heroes
Sell you out
And as I watch the drawbridge come down
There’s mass extinction
On my mind
Human cruelty stains my thoughts jet black
I’ve got this feeling
Like things have gone too far and now we can’t get back

Here’s more fun shit that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We debuted new videos from Cradle of Filth and Arsonists Get All the Girls.
• We got exclusive tour blogs from Bison B.C.’s Dan And and Woe of Tyrants’ Chris Catanzaro.
• We spoke to members of Winds of Plague, Decrepit Birth and Born of Osiris.
• I counted down 50 things I love about Pig Destroyer, and then added a 51st.
• Ulrich Vs. Mustaine Vs. Ian and Zakk Vs. Ozzy made us laugh with glee.
• Kerry King Vs. Killswitch Engage was pretty funny, too.
• Dallas Coyle answered more of your questions.

Vince gets back from vacation tonight right around the time Repulsion take the stage, and then tomorrow, hopefully, Craig’s List will lead us to some Tool tickets. See ya Monday!

-AR

CORRECTION: PRATO’S QUESTION COMES FROM HERE. MY APOLOGIES TO PRATO. NO APOLOGIES TO MUSTAINE.THANKS TO BORIVOJ AT BLABBERMOUTH FOR SHOWING ME THE ERROR OF MY WAYS.

It has been a fantastic summer for feuds. Just, really top notch. Isis is mad at Revolver and I’m fairly certain that Revolver is mad at MetalSucks. Fear Factory would be like the new Van Halen, if Van Halen wasn’t still the new Van Halen. And I think it’s safe to say at this point that, pretty much no matter how this whole Dan Nelson/John Bush drama plays out, no one will ever take Anthrax seriously again (assuming they were still taking Anthrax seriously at all).

And now this. Ladies and gentleman, key founding members of three of the Big Four are now all ready to throw down. This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I wish you could all see my face right now, ’cause rarely am I this happy.

It’s a long story, and, as is so often the case, I am really just playing The Daily Show to Blabbermouth’s CNN. Here we go:

Click to read more…

I’ve gotten a few e-mails today from people asking me where Vince is. Well, the truth is, Vince can’t write because he’s ill. And he’s quitting the site. No, really, he quit. We didn’t fire him. Swear it. We stand by that statement.

Here’s some other shit that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We’ve heard the new Alice in Chains album, and it is good.
• Gwar’s Oderus Urungus answered some of your questions, and will answer more in the future.
• John Bush is coming back to Anthrax because Dan Nelson quit. Oh, wait, no he didn’t. Yes he did. He probably didn’t, though.
• We spoke with Poison the Well’s Ryan Primack and Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson.
• We checked out the latest releases from He Is Legend, Magrudergrind, Novembers Doom, and Clutch.
• Unfortunately, the 10th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos really is a real thing.
• Baby-eater Dino Cazares must be stopped!!!

Alright. Time to go buy a vaporizer of my very own. See ya Monday.

-AR

Some of you may already be sick of all this Anthrax nonsense, but I am not. In fact, it is entirely possible that I am enjoying even more than I am enjoying the Fear Factory drama. Probably because I actually care about Anthrax.

So. Reader Aleksander Sobecki sent us a link to this inteview with Scott Ian from Metal Hammer. I’m going to do very little editing to the actual text because it’s all pretty fun to read. I will, however, include my analysis after each chunk of text.

And away we go…

Click to read more…

While I am really really really really really really really hoping that John Bush returns to Anthrax on a full-time basis, I know that could wreak havoc with the dreams of many an Armored Saint fan.

But before anyone gets their panties in a twist: there’s a demo for a new Armored Saint song, “Loose Cannon,” that the band has made available as a free download. It was recorded with a drum machine, but hey, it’s new Armored Saint so who really gives a shit?!?

Download the track from Metal Blade’s website.

A press release tells me that “Armored Saint has finished up writing and will begin recording in early fall for a spring 2010 release on Metal Blade Records.” Hopefully right after John Bush re-records all the vocals for Anthrax’s Worship Music. ‘Cause the version with Dan Nelson just became a collector’s item.

-AR

Doesn’t Scott Ian seem like a really swell dude when you see him on TV? He’s not Lars Ulrich, who comes off as such a prick that when you hear he really is a prick you go, “Yeah, that makes sense.” If my only knowledge of Scott Ian was his VH1 appearances, though, I’d wanna invite the guy to my place to my Passover sedar.

But then you hear these stories that make you smack your forehead, like, say, suddenly inviting Joey Belladonna and Dan Spitz back to the band after the artistic (if not financial) triumph of We’ve Come for You All, and suddenly Ian – and his bandmates, for that matter – don’t seem like such nice fellas. To wit, this statement from Dan Nelson on his unceremonious departure from Anthrax: Click to read more…

Blabbermouth just got the following statement from Anthrax’s manager:

“As announced last week, thrash legends ANTHRAX regretfully cancelled the first three dates on the second leg of their European tour due to new vocalist Dan Nelson’s unexpected illness. An additional seven European dates are also cancelled, those scheduled from July 22 to July 30.

“ANTHRAX is thrilled to announce that they will play the August 1 Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, England, with their good friend John Bush [ANTHRAX's singer from 1992 to 2005] joining them for a very special one-off performance.

“The members of ANTHRAX have confirmed the departure of vocalist Dan Nelson. In light of this development, ANTHRAX’s slot on the U.S. SLIPKNOT dates set for August and September, has also been cancelled. ANTHRAX is already actively considering lead singer candidates, and looks forward to hitting the road before the end of the year.”

On behalf of Vince and all the other Bushtrax fans out there who never wanted John out of the band in the first place, I would just like to say:

PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS.

Here’s the video for “Safe Home.” Yes, that is Keanu. Go figure.

-AR

While Anthrax, Testament, Heaven and Hell and motherfucking Motorhead are among the most anticipated bands that metal pilgrims are converging on western Germany to see, it would appear that my favored people, those crafty Norwegians, also have a few things planned for the mayhem. While Enslaved will be appearing (and hopefully represented on a good stage, because you know they fucking deserve it) some others are teaming up with foreigners in combinations that are hard to ignore.

Click to read more…

Our friend Allyson at Bring Back Glam has been reporting from Rocklahoma all week. She’s obviously a big fan of the event, given that a) she runs a site all about glam and b) she wrote the text for the Rocklahoma coffee table book that came out last year.

But she’s been making (perfectly valid) complaints about this year’s fest for the past ten months, taking issue in particular with this year’s line-up. And as it turns out, she was totally correct: attendance at this summer’s edition of the event was apparently abysmal.

Check out this photo Allyson took of the crowd. This was at dusk; if it was Ozzfest, everyone who skipped the second stage would be starting to pile in right about this time. No such luck for Great White, even though there was absolutely no chance of being burned alive at the outdoor venue:

Click to read more…

I am increasingly convinced that the new Anthrax album, Worship Music, is going to suck. It’s just a weird gut feeling I get… like I’m gearing up for disappointment. Everyone knows the record is coming out, but no one really seems to care. Like that G.I. Joe movie or some shit.

Here’s the band covering Refused’s “New Noise,” and, uhhh, it doesn’t do anything to squash that icky feeling I have. I want so badly to be wrong, but fear so very much that I am right.

By the way, I love that Rob Caggiano now has more hair than Robin Williams, and yet still refuses to headbang. Super.

-AR

[via The Deciblog]

Holy shitballs. Former Anthrax guitarist and current Christian midget watchmaker Dan Spitz has started a new project, DeuxMonkey, and it’s so objectively stupid that I’m amazed it’s not directed by Michael Bay.

Click to read more…

…will be called Endgame, and is “expected to be released in September through Roadrunner Records.”

And since we’re all about starting shit here at MetalSucks, let me get the ball rolling on this little discussion: with the Big Four all releasing new albums within the time span of about a year, where will this new Megadeth record stand? It’s hard to imagine it won’t be better than Death Magnetic, but, personally, I’m more excited for the latest release from Slayer and more curious about Anthrax’s Worship Music.

While you’re pondering you own feelings about a new Megarelease, here’s the band doing one of my favorite songs from the last record they put out that really got my dick hard…

-AR

The big frickin’ deal week before last was Metallica’s induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland. Last week, the focus of the Metal community’s honor is Metallica’s Lucifer, Dave Mustaine, at The Epiphone Honda Fury Revolver Magazine Golden Gods Awards. Anti-Metallica sentiment was aired freely and to shouts of encore! The name of Mustaine’s band was chanted pretty much all night (poor Atreyu guy). The event went down at Club Nokia in downtown L.A. on Tuesday night hosted by Rodrigo from Mr. Show (Brian Posehn). Honestly? It was pretty awkward and not very Metal. A ton of Metal people were there, mostly ticket buyers. The vibe started a bit chilly outside the venue, then spiked at Killswitch Engage and Maynard James Keenan (not together) before a nosedive from which even Megadeth could not recover. I had a GREAT TIME! Photos by Adam Haussman.

Click to read more…

Blabbermouth tells me that Dave Mustaine has released yet another of those bizarrely cryptic messages (No, I’m not going to make the obvious joke) he digs so much:

“Today is the 9th of April and I have agreed to doing something last night that I am sure a lot of people are going to be very excited about, and something that I had hoped would one day lead to another one of the potential feuds going away for good, if not for a long while.

“I can’t confirm the band or the dates yet, and I have to go get my youngster up for school. Rest assured, as soon as we are ready to announce it, you will be one of the first to know.”

Man, Mustaine loves his teases, don’t he?

Click to read more…

What do Twisted Sister, Great White, Kix, Nelson, Danger Danger and Anthrax all have in common?

They’re all playing this year’s Rocklahoma Festival.

Click to read more…

Vince and I were this close to going to see the latest incarnation of Anthrax play last night at some Red Bull snowboarding event. It didn’t quite work out, and knowing now that I would have been freezing my nuts off watching the band play in the coldest fucking weather imaginable, I can’t say I’m exactly filled with regret.

Luckily, Blabbermouth has some video footage of the event – including a performance of “Bring the Noise” with Public Enemy’s Chuck D – so I can at least get a sense of what we missed. The band seems lively enough and this Dan Nelson fellow seems fit for the job, so really, I just have one question: what the fuck is going on with Rob Caggiano?

-AR

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: We’ve Come for You All is the best Anthrax album. Belladonnanthrax had a lot (I mean, a LOT) of classic tunes, but Belladonna was kind of a tool. Was that group anyone’s favorite thrash band?* They grew as musicians and songwriters when they started to introduce more classic hard rock elements into their music, and they certainly got heavier. And WCFYA was the ultimate representation of theses facts.

So. I’d almost forgotten that Anthrax have a new album coming out, because it seems like it’s been so long since there’s been much movement on them. But now the album has a name, Worship Music, and a tentative June release date. Here are some random preliminary thoughts:

• Click to read more…

So apprently Slayer are gonna announce their co-headlining tour mates this coming Monday, January 26. Of course, this raises the question: who will said co-headliners be?

Click to read more…

Be sure to check out the brilliant documentary Get Thrashed: The History of Thrash Metal, now out on DVD. The biggest revelation is that, according to Dave Mustaine, Dave Mustaine invented thrash. The below video is his direct transcribed quote starting at 3:33 (half of Satan???):

“The sad thing, and this is really strange, when Kerry [King] was playing with Megadeth I showed him a lot of my style. Kerry’s a good guitar player, for rhythm he’s great. In Metallica, I was the only guitar player and a lot of that rubbed off on James [Hetfield]. And in Megadeth it was all my guitar playing and hired hands who learned what I was doing.

So, out of all of this, and this is totally gonna sound arrogant and I’m sorry but I am just telling you the facts, I’ve affected three bands out of the Big Five.

Click to read more…