That’s right, kids: On Tuesday, September 13 — the evening before The Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium — MetalSucks is teaming up with our pals at Metal Injection, Metal Insider, and Metal Army to throw a massive Big 4 pre-party at our favorite bar, Idle Hands. As you can see from the poster above, there’s gonna be $4 drafts starting at 7 pm, and you should really and try and get so drunk so as to be still drunk at the show the next day, ’cause four bucks is approximately 1/1,000th the cost of a beer at Yankee Stadium.

And to make the whole affair that much more fun, John Jospeh from Cro-Mags is DJing! And a little birdie told me there may some other very special guests may be on hand. So whether you’re coming to NYC specifically for the event, or you’re just looking for an awesome hang to get the party started a little early, Idle Hands is the place to be the night before the show.

Get more details from Idle Hands’ website. See ya there!!!

-Axl & Vince

Jay Ruston photo by Josh Reeder; Brian Posehn/Brett Anderson photo by Susana Capra

Producer, engineer, and mixer Jay Ruston loves a challenge. He’s the guy whom Anthrax hired to save their troubled Worship Music album. He’s the guy who spit-shined their Sofia Big 4 performance for DVD release. He’s also the dude who helped silly Steel Panther craft the decade’s most seriously memorable album, and also the dude enlisted to surpass expectations for Feel The Steel‘s sequel and follow-up (due out October 18). He’s a whiz who has worked with intimidatingly successful producers (Desmond Child, Peter Asher, Jack Richardson) and intimidatingly hot rocker foxes (The Donnas, Pearl Aday, Brian Posehn). And Ruston is a friendly dude who at a moment’s notice devoted his Monday morning to spilling sexy insider details on the abovementioned Steel Panther and Anthrax projects (and tons more) to MetalSucks. Want the real story on an album’s making? Ask the producer!

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Here’s the thing about new Anthrax, in my opinion (and opinions among the various MS staffers differ greatly): it’s pretty good! Sure, I would rather be hearing John Bush’s (or even Dan Nelson’s) low, gruff snarl instead of Joey Bellardini’s high-pitched wail; a lot of Worship Music sounds like it was written for Bush/Nelson and subsequently re-tooled for Bellardini, and recent interviews with the band have confirmed that. But the songs themselves are pretty great, and Bellardini (with help from vocal producer Jay Ruston, I assume) actually did a good job penning vocal melodies to fit the already-written music. The performances are solid all around, and in the end isn’t an album’s awesomeness vs. suckiness-factor about the strength of the songs? Bellardini’s vocals sound weird / very produced at times, but his overall performance is good enough and doesn’t distract from the songs at all. Most importantly, the songs rock.

SO. With that in mind listen to “The Devil You Know” over at GuitarWorld.com; it’s the latest track to be released from Worship Music and it’s one of my favorites from the album. This is definitely one of those songs that falls into the “these riffs are begging for John Bush’s voice” category, but it’s still pretty fuckin’ headbangable if you ask me!

-VN

1) Be nicer to Sebastian Bach
2) Compare penis sizes with Tommy Lee
3) Hire Phil LaBonte as a vocal coach
4) Hire Billy Milano as a personal trainer
5) Hire Tripp Eisen as a baby sitter
6) Sleep with present-day Tawny Kitaen
7) Help Danzig clean up his motherfucking bricks, bitch
8) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about politics
9) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about romance
10) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about Ted Nugent

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L.A. Reid is the chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music Group, which, of course, includes Island Records, the label to which Anthrax were signed for all of their classic Belladonna-era releases. He’s also a judge on X Factor, the upcoming addition to the long line of idiotic American Idol-style reality talent programs, and as of July 11, he’s also the CEO of the Epic Label Group. And, at least if you believe the New York Post, after starting that nifty new gig at Epic, he told execs at that label that “I don’t want no ugly people working here; I only want good-looking people.” That seems too comical to be true — it’s basically what the Colin Farrell character in the movie Horrible Bosses does, after all — but given how fucknuts the people who run the music industry are, it wouldn’t exactly be shocking if it turned out to be a legit story.

In any case, Scott Ian apparently believes it, and I guess he wanted to show his support for Reid’s completely sound and logical decision. So he tweeted a series encouraging messages regarding Reid’s alleged declaration, in which he called Reid a “TALENTLESS piece of shit” before adding:

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Hey, so remember when just last week Chuck Billy said there was gonna be a tour this fall with Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, and Death Angel?

Well, yeah, turns out Overkill ain’t doing that tour.

From Metal Insider:

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The usual problems a band must endure from its drummer include tardiness, unfamiliarity with new material, no memory of old material, bringing their gf/driver everywhere, selling gear for food, non-ownership of drumsticks, car trouble, body odor, shortness, loss of one or more shoes, delirium, etc. But some drummer-issues can’t be predicted; for example, completion of the new Testament record has been delayed by drummer Paul Bostaph’s undisclosed injury. Singer Chuck Billy kinda explained Sunday in a radio interview:

Paul Bostaph is injured right now, so he couldn’t [work on] the record. We kind of put the record off a little while waiting for Paul. [Then] we found out he was not gonna be ready, so we brought on Gene Hoglan. Hoglan came in and crushed, killed the drums in about a week.

Awesome! Billy goes on to reveal the new album’s title, its other guest drummer, and the face-fuckingly awesome tour to be announced:

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Anthrax have released the cover art for their seemingly-forever-in-the-making Worship Music, and while the brilliant Alex Ross certainly did a better job with the assignment than I did, it’s hard not to feel that the cover is somehow, I dunno, familiar… hmm….

Oh, right, THAT’S why it looks familiar:

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Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

We didn’t play “Guess Next Month’s Cover and Win a Free Decibel Shirt” last month because it got out really early that it was a two-dimensional rendering of Anthrax talking chin Scott Ian, spotlighting an in-depth examination of the darker side of underground metal comics. If we had our way (i.e., more money), Henry & Glenn Forever mastermind Tom Neely would sketch up a jaw-dropping gatefold cover every month. Alas, this month, it’s back to simple pretty pictures of your fave extreme music centerfolds. To curb the crushing disappointment, here’s a rare, possibly-helpful-but-probably-not hint: only one person (man, duh) is featured on the September cover. Guess away.

-AB

Decibel’s August 2011 issue features Anthrax, Arch Enemy, Tombs, Origin, Weekend Nachos, and an awesome Wormrot flexi disc . That issue is available here, but why not get a full subscription to ensure you never miss an issue?

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian went to northeast France for Wednesday’s Big Four show, but at other July dates the new father’s guitar duties are covered by Sepultura’s Andreas Kisser (as reported here). It’s weird to see Anthrax on stage without Ian — a first — but clips from Kisser’s second gig as temp on Saturday in Sweden are jamming (above)! Kisser is energy for the other Anthrax dudes who, having tirelessly performed for three decades, probably don’t retain measurable enthusiasm for favorites like “Indians,” “Madhouse,” and “Anti-SoCal.” Not to mention, those jamz date back to their writers’ mid-20s. Those guys are relaxed adults now, not lulzy youths. Shit, I bet they no longer even mind being caught in a mosh.

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I pride myself on being open minded, so it is very important to me that I consider both sides of an issue before I decide what I think about something! For example, I have always thought that “melodic metal” was a very confusing idea. To me, melody and metal are like oil and water: no common ground. In fact, I have always thought of them as polar opposites — it was always my basic rule that if a song is melodic, then it is by definition not metal.

That said, I know that not everybody feels the same about this as I do, so I thought that I should look into this issue a little more. I don’t like to make snap judgments, so in the interest of intellectual honestly I intend to take a FAIR AND BALANCED LOOK at MELODY IN METAL! In this post, I will share a few examples of both successful and unsuccessful uses of melody and let YOU be the judge — WE REPORT, YOU DECIDE!

You tell me: is there a place for melody in metal????

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Well, it’s been a long, long, long time coming, but Anthrax’s Worship Music is apparently FINALLY coming out on September 13. And now the studio version of the first single, “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” — a song the band has been playing live for three years, since Dan Nelson’s brief tenure as their vocalist — is available for download here. (And, oh yeah, you hafta give up your e-mail address to get it.)

Not counting that “Ball of Confusion” cover Joey Belladonna recorded with John Bush for 1999′s Return of the Killer A’s, this is the first new Anthrax song with Belladonna in more than two decades. And it’s no secret that I’m not a Belladonna fan, but I’ll be curious to see if anyone defends his vocal performance here; I think it’s especially awful, and further demonstrates that, even if you are a Belladonna fan, his voice has not aged well. (And whoever decided he should whisper “I will end you” in sync with the drums before the second verse made a poor choice. SO CHEESY.)

But I also think the band made some weird choices in the production of the song, and those choices undermine its power. I don’t know if those guitars or keyboards under the chorus, for example, which is a bad sign; whatever they are, they make the track feel way too poppy. In fact, I’d say the whole song seems to be lacking any real edge.

But maybe it will grow on me. We’ll see.

Headbang here, then debate the quality of the song in the comments section below.

-AR

Thanks to Aleksander Sobecki for the tip!

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

As the killer gatefold above indicates, August’s Decibel (order here) presents an in-depth exploration of the bond between extreme music and extreme comics. Nick Green busted his ass to deliver multiple hilarious and informative profiles on the industry’s most brutally creative psychos. Today, in the interest of giving you a little cutting room floor action, here’s a quick Q&A with cover artist Tom Neely, of Henry & Glenn Forever infamy.

You submitted a variety of ideas for the Scott Ian cover. How did you settle upon the imagery you created for the foldout?

The only guideline I was given was that it had to include Scott Ian. Which, as much as I love Anthrax, was more difficult than I thought, because I don’t often make art that involves actual living people. I sketched out five or six ideas that I presented to Jamie [Leary, head designer] and Albert [Mudrian, editor in chief]. They picked my second favorite, which was actually my first sketch, and I think it ended up being the best idea overall.

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vs

YOU BE THE JUDGE!

[via Mad Magazine legend Sergio Aragones]

-Sergeant D.

Sergeant D. invents funny faces all the time over at Stuff You Will Hate.

Say, are you one of the three people in the world who not only thought that metal needed another supergroup, but also thought that metal needed another supergroup featuring Anthrax/The Damned Things guitarist Rob Caggiano? If so, have we got a band for you!

They’re called Temple of the Black Moon, and in addition to Caggiano, the group features Cradle of Filth vocalist Dani Filth, former Gorgoroth bassist King ov Hell, and drummer John Tempesta, who has played a gajillion different bands, including both White Zombie and Rob Zombie’s solo group, Exodus, Testament, The Cult, and Helmet. It seems safe to assume that Caggiano played a significant role in putting this project together — not only did he produce two Cradle of Filth releases (2004′s Nymphetamine and 2006′s Thornography), but Tempesta has also worked as a drum tech for ‘Thrax — but between the two bands he’s already in and the producing he does, I can’t believe he felt like he had too much free time. Maybe Worship Music is seriously never coming out.

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I love music, but I am first and foremost a fan of comedy. If you were to spy on my iPod, you’d see that I spend 90% of my time listening to Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla’s podcasts. Music is cool and all, but you can only hear so much before the novelty wears off and you just want to hear an insecure nerd droning on and on about airport security, his nagging wife, or whatever comedians talk about these days.

With that in mind, I am a huge fan of bands who combine both worlds: COMEDY METAL, although the subgenre is (to say the least) a mixed bag. Bands like Gwar, Ugly Kid Joe, and Shat are geniuses, while others deliver, uh, less than satisfactory results.

In this post, we will attempt to answer this question: Lots of bands try to be funny, but which ones succeed, and which ones suck eggs???

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Last December Dave Mustaine shocked anyone who was under the impression that he had relevant taste in modern metal by not only endorsing, but announcing his own collaboration with, DeuxMonkey, former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz’s horrendous new project.

And now we have good news, bad news, really bad news, and really, really bad news concerning these events:

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So we’re now five axe slingers deep into out list of The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists. We predicted that the list would get a lot of you angry, and, no shock, it has. Funny thing is, reading the comments, as of yet not one of you has correctly predicted which guitar player is gonna be #1. So, just lettin’ you know… you may be even angrier in the coming weeks, or maybe you’ll be less angry, but so far, it seems like you guys just do not see it comin’.

While you chew on that, here’s some other fun things we did this week:

• We premiered new music from Hate Eternal, Arch Enemy, and Nader Sadek.
• We enjoyed a new episode of “Cooking Contaminated,” this one featuring King Fowley of Deceased.
• We checked out the latest releases from Benighted and Zubrowska.
• We wondered if Metallica and friends have gone too far in their quest for the Big Fortune.
• We checked out some *real* hardcore.
• We weighed Donald Trump’s claim that President Obama was the first drummer for Overkill.
• We wondered why talent can’t be passed down via genetics.
• We weighed, compared and contrasted multiple metal concerts showcasing female-fronted bands.
• We prayed for Kurt Cobain to rise from his grave and off Miley Cyrus.
• We wondered whether or not Dave Grohl is gonna be on the new Mastodon album.

And so, in conclusion… I am going to get a slice of pizza now.

See ya next week.

-AR

Our friends at The Deciblog are killing it today. I could do two separate posts pointing you towards each of the terrific stories they ran just this morning, but I’m a jerk, so I’m just gonna lump ‘em both together:

• Did you know that legendary pretty boy Danny Lilker has a black metal band now? Because he felt that being a current or former member of Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault, Anthrax, and S.O.D. wasn’t enough to cement his place in the annals of metal history, I guess. Either that, or he just wanted to try something new. In any case, the band is called Nokturnal Hellstorm, and The Deciblog is streaming a new track from the band, “Naan Kadavul,” here. It doesn’t do that much for me but maybe you’ll like it better. They also have an interview with Lilker in which he explains the history of Nokturnal Hellstorm, possibilities for the band’s debut full-length, and, oh yeah, the new Brutal Truth album. Check that shit out.
• The Deciblog also posted footage of a record store in Berkley, Rasputin Music, enjoying a lively in-store performance from Trash Talk (below). And, uh… wow. That ain’t like no in-store performance I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t look like an inventory was actually damaged in the mayhem, but I do have to wonder how many potential customers were scared away as a result of walking in and seeing dudes moshing/figuring out ways to stage dive despite the lack of a stage. I just can’t imagine, for example, Mama Rosenberg putting up with that shit when all she wanted was a copy of the new George Winston album or whatever, y’know?

-AR

In an alternate universe the world would be genuinely excited for new Anthrax featuring one Dan Nelson from Lawn Guyland, NY. In reality we have Joey Suckadonna ‘Thrax to look forward to on an album that will come out sometime never, and Nelson, a talented vocalist if you ask me, is left on the sidelines working on other things.

“Other things” is his new band Blackgates, also featuring superman-drummer Paul Bostaph (Testament, Exodus, Slayer, etc), guitarist Jeremy Epp and bassist Uriah Duffy (Whitesnake); the “supergroup” of sorts has a propensity to seem ridiculous before even playing a note. But ya know what? The two Blackgates songs I’ve heard so far are damn fine; solid riffing, sharp drumming and powerful vocals a good band makes. Stream via the ReverbNation widget below.

-VN