Yesterday Sergeant D. made a joke about MetalSucks being 25% owned by Epitaph Records. I don’t know why we always foolishly assume that people will understand jokes like that, but they often don’t. And so we saw some comments where people were confused, and we got some e-mails from readers, and even a few from industry types who thought we had sold part of MetalSucks. So it may or may not please you to know that MetalSucks is still 100% owned by Vince and myself. And in the future, if you see something on here that seems kinda weird and ridiculous — e.g., that we’re not partially owned by a record label, or Gary Suarez taking all the credit for a band’s success, or whatever — please just take a moment to ask yourself, “Hey, could these dudes be kidding around?” ‘Cause, y’know. We’re very rarely serious. Except about Valtrex. We’re deadly serious about that.

Speaking of herpes, we’re shutting down early today to go enjoy the long Labor Day weekend. We’ll be closed Monday, but we’ll resume our usual suckiness on Tuesday. We have a whole heap of more premieres, cool contests, and interviews, and all manners of sarcastic assholism, so don’t drink so much this weekend that you forget about us, okay? And in the meantime, here’s a run-down of some fun we had this week:

• We debuted a new song by Daath, and a new song by Black Anvil, and a new video by Insidious Disease.
• Cooking Contaminated is back, y’all! Now with 100% more Rosetta.
• We spoke to Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, Saviours’ Scott Batiste, and everyone in Eyes Set to Kill.
• We checked out new releases by Stargazer, and Turbid North and Otargos.
• They say there are no atheists in the foxholes, but there is Nergal.
• Speaking of religion, this nice lady reverend thinks churchgoers could learn from metal.
• We pondered the meaning of Iron Maiden breaking their sales record.
• Dave Mustaine announced a Big Four U.S. tour from the stage.
• Even though, in the words of Anso, metalheads are “supposed to intimidate and discomfit the squares,” we think the death metal cat burglar went a little too far.
• We saw Kvelertak’s kvelertaks.

Now…TO THE BAR!

-AR

I didn’t read the comments under our story “Nergal Has Leukemia” until yesterday. I naively assumed that they would all be along the lines of “That’s terrible, we hope Nergal gets better,” etc. I forgot that this is the internet, where people have the capacity to turn anything into an argument. I could write “I like chicken salad,” and somehow the comments beneath the post would turn into a flame war about the pros and cons of raising animals free range, or being vegan, how turkey is better than chicken, or whatever.

What we should all take away from Nergal’s affliction is the knowledge that there is a need for bone marrow donors, not just for Nergal but for ANYONE AND EVERYONE who is stricken with this terrible disease.

There is no need for a religious debate. And it makes me incredibly sad that there was/is one surrounding Nergal’s illness. Whatever you believe, that’s your business, and I don’t begrudge you your faith. But using a man’s sickness as any kind of platform for that discussion is, frankly, exploitative and low. This isn’t a political narrative; this is a man’s life.

So while one cliché goes “There are no atheists in the fox holes,” another instructs us that “Your ideals don’t mean anything unless you stick to them even during times when it may not be convenient to do so.” And so, thus spake Nergal:

Click to read more…

Three cheers for Crack Hitler, who I think did a very admirable job of running the site on Friday. Sure, he only did six posts, but as I understand, he has a very busy job working at a hospital, which is certainly far more noble and important than running a snarky metal blog. And he brought some excellent music to our attention. Crack Hitler, sir, I applaud you.

Now back to the regular shit. Here are two cool tours that were announced while we were letting a reader from Perth call the shots:

• The Black Dahlia Murder have announced a headlining tour with Goatwhore and Arkaik. I don’t know Arkaik, but you had me at “Black Dahlia Murder and Goatwhore.” Vince has never seen BDM do a full headlining set, and, by Satan, I am going to make sure he finally breaks that cherry, ’cause these dudes kill live. These shows will provide enough fun to justify enduring all the B.O. that comes with a modern death metal sausage fest. Get dates here.
• Speaking of Goatwhore: For obvious reasons, Behemoth had to cancel their headlining run with Watain, Black Anvil, and Withered, so the former two bands are now doing their own tour with the sluttiest of all capra aegagrus hircus. Which, even without Behemoth and Withered, is still a really, really kick-ass line-up.  Get dates from The PRP.

-AR

As regular readers of this site are aware, we rarely just cut and paste press releases. But Behemoth and Metal Blade released the following statement yesterday afternoon, and it’s important that everyone read it, and there’s really no editorializing to be done. So here’s the full release, unedited:

BEHEMOTH leader Nergal has just found out he needs a marrow transplant to fight the sickness he has recently been diagnosed with (leukemia). In light of this he wants to remind everyone about the need to be on the marrow registry. The more people get tested and donate, the more of a chance for life there is for him and people in the same situation.

BEHEMOTH and Metal Blade would like to thank everyone for their support and well wishes during this difficult time. The best thing we can all do right now is learn about the marrow donation process, not only help save one of metals leaders, but to also help save countless others out there struggling with the same disease.

To learn more about how you can register to donate marrow check out: http://www.marrow.org/

Fans wanting to help out, register for the marrow program, or have questions on running a marrow drive may contact the organization Music Saves Lives by email at iCare@musicsaveslives.com or visit Music Saves Lives at http://www.musicsaveslives.org/

Music Saves Lives is the bridge between music, entertainment and important life-saving causes. We bring a simple concept; connect the music and entertainment, we all love, to a life saving community action. MSL has focused efforts on blood donation and the marrow registry, reaching out by sharing facts, educating and empowering. We educate about the importance of simple life saving actions they can participate in. These simple actions, like donating blood, running a blood drive, and registering for the marrow program to save those with leukemia, all connect back to the community.

Earlier this month, Behemoth announced that Nergal is “seriously ill and waiting for [his] multi-stage treatment,” and that the band consequently had to cancel all their upcoming tour dates. Although the band didn’t specify what sickness was afflicting Nergal, the “multi-stage treatment” part of the statement caused many to speculate that it was cancer.

And, unfortunately, that speculation was correct: According to Metal Underground, a Polish celebrity news site, TVP, has revealed that the Behemoth mastermind has leukemia.

That news would be terrible enough, but, unfortunately, it gets worse. From Metal Underground:

Click to read more…

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Vince and I are taking over WSOU tomorrow from 4 -8! It’s the only radio station on the eastern seaboard that’s actually worth a damn, and it’s gonna have the awesomeness that is US, so listen in!!! We’ll be taking callers, too. If you live in the area, it’s 89.5 FM on your radio; everyone else can listen on the Internet right here.

And now here’s some things we did this week:

• We spoke to Decapitated’s Vogg, All Shall Perish’s Ben Orum, Within the Ruins’ Tim Goergen and Joe Cocchi, and Iron Thrones’ Steve Henningsgard.
• We debuted a new track by Moth Eater.
• We wondered, “What’s the big deal about Lady Gaga?” as she danced to Metallica.
• We rocked out to a newly-released Soundgarden song, and we couldn’t believe that the new Limp Bizkit song has a guitar solo!
• We commended Australia for its populations’ collective child-rearing skills.
• We marveled at this nine year’s old review of Reign in Blood.
• We sang Monster Magnet’s praises.
• We asked you to help us complete this Metal Map of America.
• We watched Kiss put the “ass” in “Massachusetts.”
• We wished Behemoth’s Nergal a speedy recovery.

Okay. I hope to hear some of your voices tomorrow! Seriously, guys. Listen. Call. Don’t make me sad. If you do, we’ll schedule Nu Metal Week to take place ASAP.

-AR

Just in time to make you that much more hopeful that Nergal’s health is 110% restored real soon comes this video for “Alas, the Lord is Upon Me.”

And one thing I gotta say about Behemoth — their videos never disappoint. Even if they’re not exactly ground-breaking, they never look cheap, and they always successfully convey the image/message they want to convey. So three cheers, in this instance at least, for the directors at Grupa 13, who previously helmed a bunch of videos for Polish artists I’ve never heard of.

By the way, this is apparently the censored version of the video… I guess an even bloodier version will emerge soon.

“Alas, the Lord is Upon Me,” comes from Behemoth’s Evangelion, which is out now on Metal Blade.

-AR

The metal world has taken some serious hits this year health-wise. Peter Steele, Ronnie James Dio, Debbie Abono, most recently Early Graves frontman Makh Daniels… and while Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski’s diagnosis certainly isn’t death, it certainly isn’t good.

Nergal is “seriously ill and waiting for [his] multi-stage treatment,” and as such all planned tour dates including the upcoming MS-sponsored U.S. trek with Watain, Withered and Black Anvil have been canceled, according to an official message from Nergal himself:

I do not want to bore you with details, but I can no longer hide the fact that I am seriously ill and waiting for my multi-stage treatment, which can take up to several months. Thus, we have not choice but to cancel the coming summer festivals, planned for September and October tour of Russia and the Baltic States and the November tour of the USA. I’ve got a rather difficult period, and a lot of work but I became hardened in the fire, is not it? You know me, so that you know that out of this I will become stronger than ever. We will then rebook all the concerts and return with greater momentum. At this time, I feel good, my head is ready to fight the disease, everything is under the control of professionals. I have with me the most wonderful and loving woman, family, team, managers and people from publishing companies who are doing everything to support me. I do ask of you just a little bit of patience. I would add that the fact that in the near future we will not be touring but will not be in hibernation. We have a lot to offer you in the coming months, Behemoth will be working on many other fronts. In coming days expect release of our latest clip “Alas, Lord Is Upon Me.” Ensures that this is the most perfect, the most provocative and stimulating I have ever made a picture. In addition, we will finish work on the DVD release “Evangelia Heretika” which will be released in November of this year. We will keep you informed about what is happening in our camp. Horns Up!”

Whatever it is sounds really terrible and there are only a small handful of things it could possibly be, all of them bad. We’ll update you with more details as we have them available.

There’s not much else to say other than that this really, really sucks. While we don’t personally know Nergal the man, we intimately know Nergal the musician and hope he can get back to blackening our metallic souls as soon as possible. Speedy recovery to Nergal and best wishes to him and his family on behalf of everyone at MS.

That’s right, kiddies… Behemoth are gonna heat up your winter with some blazing hot metal forged deep in the fires of Hell! (Actually, Poland. But still.) If you’ve seen Behemoth live before, you know what a, well, behemoth of a show they put on; if you haven’t, you must hate yourself or something, and here’s your chance to remedy the situation. Plus they’re bringing Watain, Withered, and Black Anvil out with them! This is the kind of tour you dream about: four of the dingiest, dirtiest, most evil-sounding bands on the planet, all on one bill. We are so proud to be associated with this tour, we can’t even begin to tell you.

And as if that wasn’t great news in and of itself, Behemoth have also just revealed to MetalSucks that they’ll be releasing a live DVD called Evangelia Heretika this fall (date to be announced soon) so even those who aren’t able to attend the tour can get their fix of live Behemoth. A special pre-order package is available now for only $66.60 that includes 1 ticket to the show, 1 copy of the DVD, a tour poster, and a meet and greet with the band at the show; order here!

Dates and links to buy tickets, along with the album cover for Evangelia Heretika, after the jump!

Click to read more…

You may remember MS reader Shane Gillis as the man who won our Behemoth Vocal Cover Contest a few months back. Check out what Shane had to say when he entered the contest with regards to the extreme measures he took to shoot the video:

Just became a first time father on December 28th. I was so obsessed with this contest that I filmed my wife two days before she had the baby so that I could get video of her pregnant, and then later handing my son to me (just like in the Behemoth video). That takes dedication folks! I worked very hard to make this different than all the others I’ve seen. I wanted to give you something extra, especially during the parts where there are no vocals. I spent many hours on this, so I hope you find it worthy of this amazing contest.

For his troubles, Shane took him an awesome guitar that some day he’ll hopefully give to the son that helped him win it. But why are we even bringing this up again all these months later? Well, here’s Shane with his son… 6 months later… and already getting the next generation of MS Maniacs on the right track. Says Shane, “I know. I know. But you guys are like family.” Cheers, Shane, you too (awwwwww!). We really gotta make MetalSucks t-shirts in baby sizes.

-VN

I know I’m a cynical bastard, but can you blame me? People do idiotic shit on a second-by-second basis. Society is like a living embodiment of Murphy’s Law.

But, hey, every once in awhile, people prove me wrong, and we get some good news. Like the fact that Behemoth’s Nergal isn’t going to spend two years in a Polish prison for tearing up a Bible on-stage (video above). From a post on Behemoth’s MySpace page:

“The District Court for Gdynia has dismissed the investigation against Adam Darski (pseudonym/nickname Nergal) accused of an offence against religious feelings (sec. 196 of polish Criminal Code). During the preparatory proceedings the defender filled the application, which was entirely accepted by the Court. The defendant’s behaviour wasn’t recognised as a crime. Moreover the Court acknowledged no causal connection/cause-and-effect relationship between Adam Darski’s behaviour and the consequence in a form of outrage of religious emotions.”

Click to read more…

These are just record covers I thought were great. I like when a CD cover provokes thought and makes me want to interpret what message or messages the artist or band are trying to purvey.

#5 – Behemoth, Evangelion

Done by Polish artist Tomasz Danilowicz, who has worked on Behemoth’s previous albums. This is just bad ass.

Click to read more…

Yep, we talked a lot of smack on Joey Belladonna this week, much to the chagrin of, well, an awful lot of you. I think we’re done for a little while… but I can’t make any promises. Our job at MetalSucks is to amuse ourselves first and foremost, and, well, we thought it was pretty damned funny. So ppppfffftttt.

Here’s what else went down this week:

• We debuted the title track from Nachtmystium’s new album, Addicts.
• Genetic’s Dallas Coyle called us “influential,” Disfear’s Tomas Lindberg shared some Maryland Deathfest memories, The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley unveiled his top four Taco Riffs, Cynic’s Paul Masvidal got burglarized, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa made some new revelations about L O S T, God Forbid’s Doc Coyle worried about turning into an old geezer, Daath’s Eyal Levi gave us a lesson in stage etiquette, and Batillus’ Geoff Summers gave us a new studio update.
• We spoke to The Melvins’ Buzz Osborne, Periphery’s Misha “Bulb” Mansoor, Testament’s Chuck Billy, and Sick of it All’s Lou Koller.
• We checked out new releases by Korn and Ufomammut and Year of No Light.
• Is Mastodon’s Brent Hinds a Mastodick?
• Sergeant D sez Cunthunt777 are your new favorite band.
• Don’t worry, baby, Dr. Danzig gonna cure what ails you.
• Hot chick loves Nergal, hates the Bible.
• Boy oh boy, do we love the new Limp Bizkit cover art!
• If you’re looking for new band members, don’t do this.

Alright. We’re gonna go get drunk and crank We’ve Come For You All in John Bush’s honor. Have a great weekend, everyone.

-AR

Maybe Bible-bashing is sexually transmitted.

Offending someone’s religious beliefs is considered a criminal act in Poland. And so back in March, Behemoth’s Nergal (his birth certificate says “Adam Darski”) was formally charged with insulting Roman Catholics after he called the Catholic Church “the most murderous cult on the planet” and destroyed a copy of the Bible on-stage during a 2007 concert (see video here). And while that controversy is ongoing, now it seems that Nergal’s fiancée, super-hot Polish pop star Doda (her birth certificate says ”Dorota Rabczewska”), is getting in on the act, and finding herself under attack from the same group that’s currently leading the charge against her betrothed. From Paliban Daily:

In a television interview last year, Doda explained that she found it far easier to believe in dinosaurs than the Bible; “it is hard to believe in something written by people who drank too much wine and smoked herbal cigarettes.”

Click to read more…

Musicians are strange creatures. Their work hours and habits are almost always odd, hygiene is often suspect, and sanity questionable.

If I had to point out one thing that ties all musicians together, it would be inspiration, often drawn from a simple but strong love for music. Inspiration comes from all varieties of thoughts and experiences though, and most will agree that it is a mystical and almost spiritual matter that is difficult to qualify. For me, personally, my inspiration is the most important thing I have in life because it guides all of my goals and efforts to blast through them. Although it may be oriented around music for whatever reason, the specifics of what I am inspired to do are not crystal clear. It is not instrument, genre, or socially based. It is just to create.

I have always been in awe of musicians that are able to look past the world’s conceptions of genre. For some bands, it is absolutely correct for them to do their thing 100% their way and use their tested process over and over, record after record. I don’t mean being stale, either… Development and growth between records is an assumed necessity for me to take a band seriously. Examples of bands that know their sound or process well and tend to stick to it (with great results) would include bands like Meshuggah, Megadeth, Behemoth, Muse, Deftones, and even more progressive bands like The Mars Volta, Opeth, and Dream Theater. But the musicians that REALLY get me thinking these days are ones who understand how to take a complete 180 degree turn: drop the world’s, or maybe just critics’, perception on its head, and use new influences from a completely different angle. It is almost as if they side-step into a bizarro dimension and are running two or more separate careers. Musicians that can accomplish this demonstrate a certain type of understanding and mental clarity that is all too rare. Here are some of my favorite examples:

Click to read more…

The future Mrs. Skullia just sent this to me. The description of the video reads:

Algonquin park… the music is coming from a headset close to us but the camera hasnt picked it up. for natural preservation of the vid we didnt edit it to put the song on it, but for ppl interested it was “Decade of Therion” from Behemoth.

Just dumb enough to be hilarious.

-AS

Last month, Nergal found himself in a lot of trouble with Polish authorities because he destroyed a Bible on stage in 2007 (video above).  Poland has a law that prohibits the offending of someone’s religious feelings, and he managed to offend several people.  Could a law like this be passed in the United States?

The quick answer is “no,” though there are, as always, some exceptions.  At the most basic level, the First Amendment keeps the government out of religion as well as the regulating-speech business.  There is a plethora of diverse beliefs about the ultimate nature of the universe, and the US government is not going to get in your way if you choose to believe in any one of them.  Essentially, you can believe any crazy thing you wish, but you may not be able to practice your religion if it involves breaking a law that is not related to your religious beliefs.

Click to read more…

So Vince is now out of town. Again. Luckily, we really do take after our namesakes; he loves to be out there among the people, partying like he might die tomorrow, and I am a grumpy, mean-spirited recluse. So expect lots of Axl crankiness next week.

In the meantime, here are some things that happened this week:

• Genetic’s Dallas Coyle discussed the importance of positive thinking, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa pondered the various timelines on L O S T, Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable listed the five raddest sets of teeth in metal, Eyal Levi from Daath and Levi/Werstler wondered if anyone cares about guitar solos, and adult film actress Bobbi Starr told us the ten metal bands she wishes would gangbang her.
• We debuted new music by The Dillinger Escape Plan, Landmine Marathon, and Jucifer.
• MetalSucks readers interviewed Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne and Vince interviewed Sevendust’s Clint Lowery.
• Sammy O’Hagar reviewed Ov Hell’s The Underworld Regime.
• Is Nergal from Behemoth going to jail for destroying a Bible?
• The singer from DragonForce is available for a White Lion reunion.
• We raged against “Rage.”

And that’s it! Next week will see the debut of our irritating new list, as well as some other fun shit. Have a nice weekend…

-AR

Somebody call Antonin Skullia.

Nergal has been formally charged with insulting Roman Catholics after he called the Catholic Church “the most murderous cult on the planet” and destroyed a copy of the Bible on-stage during a 2007 concert (video above). This is possible because offending someone with regards to their religion is apparently a criminal act in Poland, and I guess freedom of speech laws are either non-existent or not as high of a priority there. Ryszard Nowak, head of the All-Polish Committee for Defense Against Sects (which sounds like one of those awful religious groups we have here in the U.S. that always have a nice name to cover uptheir bigoted agenda – e.g., “People Who Love Families” would be code for “Fuck the Fags”), tried to sue Mr. Nergal (né Adam Darski) for promoting Satanism immediately following the incident. Unfortunately for Nowak, Polish law apparently dictates that there must be multiple complaints for charges to be filed, so the case was dismissed after an initial hearing. Fortunately for Nowak, it was only a matter of time before he was able to find some cronies to join his suit, and so now here we are.

Click to read more…

Here’s the poster for this summer’s Sweden Rock Festival. You tell me what’s wrong with this picture:

Are people really like “Man, I can’t wait to see Slayer and Mastodon and Suicidal Tendencies… and Rick Springfield!”? Do we think there are a lot of Swedish Behemoth  and Watain fans who are also totally stoked to check out BTO? I guess I can see some of the over-forty set being just as excited to sing along with “Jesse’s Girl” as they are “Round and Round,” but if you’re the kind of person afflicted with that particular virus of 80s nostalgia, I don’t know what the hell you do while Danzig are on-stage. Grab a beer and wait for W.A.S.P., I guess?

Your thoughts?

-AR