It’s a Saturday night in Greenpoint, a still-Polish neighborhood smothered by hipsters and transplants orphaned by and priced-out of neighboring Williamsburg. My favorite part of Brooklyn is not actually living there, and this neighborhood is blessed with the city’s worst train line: the G. Somehow, I make my way to Europa, a nightclub that not-infrequently hosts rock concerts that end early, via three different subway transfers just in time to catch the last two songs of Bison B.C.‘s set. This frustrates me since they’re one of the few metal bands that consistently impresses me. Their last two melodious albums have both made my year-end lists, and in the live setting you can tell that they’re simply a bunch of unpretentious guys who just wanna rock.

But Bison aren’t really why I came. Oxbow is why I came.

Click to read more…

Whether they’re shooting themselves in the feet (literally) or fending off sandwich rape from a giant mutant racoon, there is always something interesting going on in the world of Weedeater. And that fact alone might be enough to compel you to go see the band on their upcoming American headlining tour*. But Weedeater are sweetening the deal to further compel you to a show! Not just by playing awesome stoner metal — that’s a given — but by bringing along Saviours, Bison B.C.**, and Fight Amp, too! I’m not like a huge Saviours fan or anything, but Bison and Fight Amp both rule, especially live.

So hide your joint well — you know those bouncers will be extra-on-the-lookout when the band is called “Weedeater” and the poster has pot leaves on it — and get your butt to one of these shows. Dates after the jump!

Click to read more…

FEATURING MEMBERS OF FIREWIND, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD, TESSERACT, BISON B.C., BONDED BY BLOOD, HAARP, THE UNGUIDED, AND ANNEX THEORY

For 2010, we decided to do something special as part of our regular end-of-year festivities here at MetalSucks — namely, ask musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year were. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of ten to eleven musicians at a time twice a day for the rest of the week.

After the jump, check out the second group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

(And please note that these are musicians and that they, um, have a lot on their minds. So some of ‘em named albums that actually came out last year. Please don’t freak out.)

Click to read more…

To the MetalSucks Maniac known as “Sacajewea,” we would like to say the following: YOU ARE A FUCKING RETARD. It’s incredible how retarded you are, you stupid fucking idiot mongoloid half-wit retard.

We send this message because in October of ’09, Sacajewea left a comment on the very first post we ever wrote, saying he was “Just here to dig up the past;” then he left another comment, just this past June, which read:

“I did it twice. Fuck I’m retarded. If anyone sees this please find me in a recent post and tell me how retarded I am.”

On December 26, 2006 — a date that will live in infamy — we did what professionals call a “soft launch” but we just call “the day we first posted on this blog.” Our slogan was “Smart About Metal,” a play on the slogan for Film Comment magazine.

We had these two stupid South Park caricatures that Axl made at his then-job when he was bored. (Axl forgot until just now that he had a really long goatee in ’06; Vince still had phantom Jew ‘fro, where some days he can feel it, man!) We only posted once or twice a day, throughout the week, pretty much when we had time/interest. We didn’t use tags. We often didn’t post graphics or videos. Our headlines weren’t capitalized. We interviewed members of Stuck Mojo and Twisted Sister, because that’s who we could get interviews with. Believe it or not, we tried to get an interview with God Forbid… and we failed.

Basically, we had no fucking idea what we were doing.

We can’t believe that this is our 10,000th post. We can’t believe we’re still doing this almost four years after we started. We can’t believe that so many of you are reading it. Seriously: WE WERE ONLY FUCKING KIDDING.

So…

Thanks to Kip (who has been here longer than anyone besides Vince and Axl!), Sammy, Gary, Anso, Satan (the MetalSucks contributor and the deity), Sergeant D., Bob, Leyla, Corey, Urbandale, Dave, Matt, Ferris, Dallas, Eyal, Sacha, Paul, Bulb, Arthur, Anton OyVey, Rich Hallford, David Bee Roth, Van Arseface, Mike Pattongill, Angela Gossowski, Joey V., and everyone else who has ever written for us… MetalSucks would not be where it is if not for all of you.

Thanks to everyone in the music industry who has helped us over the years, even as they must have been secretly hoping we would van flip.

And of course, thanks to all the MetalSucks Maniacs, Suckalos, annoying people who can’t use the “search” function, and dudes that have sent us death threats. We can’t tell you how grateful we are that you read our site. Thank you thank you thank you.

Now, with a complete lack of humility, Axl and Vince present their ten favorite MetalSucks posts of all time. Enjoy.

Click to read more…

Is it just me or is Metal Blade Records on something of a win streak lately with their young band signings? While certain labels to remain nameless seem to be venturing into either mainstreamy/emoy metalcore or seem content to sign the same old same old or hedge their bets all on one sub-genre, Metal Blade’s young band roster is extremely diversified and remarkably clunker free. Let’s take a look at the band’s they’ve signed in the past couple of years:

• Aeternam: Classic American death metal mixed with a more melodic, epic, and Euro — but decidedly dark — sense of melody. Check out the song “The Coronation of Seth” on their MySpace page — pure win.
• Allegaeon: Technical melodic death metal that our own Sammy O’Hagar seemed to like and that our own Bob Cock seems to LOVE.
• Bison B.C.: My favorite of the Mastodon-inspired psych/stoner/crust metal masses with a good bit of originality. Incredibly fun to watch live.
• Istapp: Frosty Immortal-style black metal that indulges in every cliche in the book (in a good way) and isn’t mired in shit production.
• Barn Burner: Up-beat, throwback stoner metal ala The Sword that’s got some real soul and actual musicality.
• Fleshwrought: Johnny Davy’s and Navene Koperweis (ex-Animosity, Animals as Leaders) new tech-death project. Quality!

Click to read more…

Last week we offered up CD copies of Ozzy’s entire solo discography along with an autographed copy of his latest, Scream. After much deliberation, here is the winner I’ve chosen:

• Haws: “The Russian Sailor and Tim Lincecum official band photo.”

+1 for the baseball reference! [Side note: Let's Go Mets!] A shout-out is also in order for Christian Voltaggio who chimed in with another excellent entry: “Hair Iron Dissonance.” But alas, there can only be one winner. Christian, if you’re reading this, email your address to me at vince [at] metalsucks [dot] net and I’ll hook you up with a box of goodies just because.

This week’s curious photo comes from reader Neil Pretorius. In exchange for coming up with a funny photo for it, we’ll give you a copy of Bison B.C.’s latest face-ripper-offer Dark Ages courtesy our friends at Metal Blade Records. Remember to comment with a real email address so we can contact the winners, or to write your email address into the comment if you’re using FB Connect.

I just wanna throw my two cents in…

True story: when I was a kid, I thought the lyrics to “Black No. 1″ were “You can’t go out ’cause your boobs are showing.” I was confused about what the song’s title meant, but otherwise, the words made perfect sense to me. Oh, misheard lyrics. You never cease to amuse.

Even if you weren’t a Type O Negative fan or a Carnivore fan, you have to admit that Peter Steele had one of the most distinctive voices in the history of metal. You never heard the guy and thought, “Gee, who is that?” And because my mother used to work with Josh Silver’s (now sadly also departed) dad, Type O Negative always felt, somehow, more tangible to me; Steele was iconic and often seemed larger than life, but I knew he wasn’t superhuman.That he passed away so young was a very unfortunate reminder that he wasn’t The Man of Steele. But he made his mark and left something to appreciated behind, and in the end, that’s all any of us can really ask for.

Here are some happier things that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We unveiled the line-up for Summer Slaughter 2010.
• We debuted a new video by Jungle Rot.
• We spoke to Kerry King and Dave Lombardo from Slayer, Chino Moreno from Deftones, and Stephen Pearcy from Ratt.
• Cynic’s Paul Masvidal contemplated depression, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa contemplated L O S T, and The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley contemplated the perfect Taco Riff.
• We checked out new releases by Levi/Werstler, Wormrot, and Bison B.C. and Sweet Apple.
• Ever dreamed of singing with Nevermore? We’re running pretty much the coolest contest in the history of ever.

Next week brings at least one and possibly two big surprises, plus, knock on a wood, the debut of a new column by a writer you will hate. See ya then.

-AR

Bison B.C., “Dark Ages”
Much to my delight, Canada’s up-and-coming metal sensations have returned with this mature follow up to 2008′s outstanding Quiet Earth LP. Spending a fair share of the past two years touring behind that release, the young men of Bison experienced a tremendous amount of attention and praise from aficionados of the genre. That they’ve produced an album that surpasses their prior one while not departing tremendously from its style is commendable. Simply put, Bison have gotten even better at what they do, with vastly more memorable bits than before. The riffs are as thick and crunchy as ever, and the unit benefits from the tightness achieved during the intervening years. These seven sustained metal jams–the shortest over five minutes long–maintain interest by interweaving thrash, stoner metal, and punk elements. Opener “Sleeping Elephant” twists and grinds with soaring animism and epic grandiosity, while “Fear Cave” slogs valiantly through viscous low-end and sludge. “Two Day Booze” evinces a newfound accessibility (particularly in the vocals) that suggests Bison wont be playing twenty-minute opening sets for much longer.

(4 out of 5 horns)

Click to read more…

High on Fire took their U.S. tour with Priestess, Bison B.C. and Black Cobra in tow to Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church this past Tuesday. MS photographer Diana Lee Zadlo was on hand to capture the action with her usual flare. Her photos, after the jump.

Click to read more…

“The last day of SXSW is always the most metal.” – Kip Wingerschimidt, the morning of the last day of SXSW 2009, before staying up all night partying with Dredg and then tearing the insides of his knee to shreds in the most non-metal of ways whilst getting ready to go to the airport. Fortunately there would be no injuries this year, but the last day of SXSW was indeed quite metal, we did stay up all night, and we worked out some really sweet deals.

Only one problem: it was fucking cold outside. Not just Texas cold… actual cold, like low 40s / high 30s. We New Yorkers are used to that kind of weather (on a good day in the winter) but having to endure it in Austin in the Spring was a major buzzkill.

The calm before the storm… E. 6th St. at about noon, while trucks are making their beer deliveries and everyone else is still sleeping off their hangovers from the night before.

But we had our own method of keeping warm. With at least half of the bag o’ herbals left and only one day to smoke it, it was do or die time for the sweet leaf we purchased in Dallas. First mission of the day was to roll it all up. Fifteen minutes later we were ready to begin our final mission, five joints in tow.

Click to read more…

Okay, so, like, I heard this rumor that when some evil A&R dude conjured forth Lady Gaga, Bison B.C.’s Dark Ages was what the music he used in his satanic ritual. Don’t ask me how he got a copy of Dark Ages several years prior to its being written and recorded – practitioners of the dark arts have their ways, y’know – but just in keep in mind: Dark Ages is that fucking evil that it can unleash a creature that makes the Kraken look about as scary as that midget that used to be Kid Rock’s hype man before he died. Lil’ Kid Rock, or whatever his name was.

In case “Stressed Elephant,” the new song Bison released last month, didn’t convince you of Dark Ages‘ magical powers, “Two-Day Booze,” the new new song they’re now streaming at Stereogum, oughta do the trick. The first time I heard the section that starts at the 1:36 mark, I started moshing around my room so hard I acidentally stomped an unassuming MetalSucks Mansion Monkey from the MS Hair Metal Division to death. Sorry, Mikki Monki. Your death was not in vein, for we rock on.

Check out “Two-Day Booze” here. Dark Ages comes out next Tuesday, April 13 on Metal Blade.

-AR

Sometimes you have no idea what the hell a song title means, but it just sounds right, y’know?

Case in point: “Stressed Elephant,” the absolutely EPIC new Bison B.C. song, which is currently streaming here. It’s over eight minutes long, and every last second of it rocks. What the fuck does it have to do with elephants under pressure? I dunno, but it sure does sound the way I imagine a stressed elephant might.

“Stressed Elephant” will be on Bison B.C.’s new album, Dark Ages, which comes out April 13 on Metal Blade. Now that I’ve gotten this little taste, I am definitely hungry for more.

-AR

Well, it certainly looks like a Bison B.C. cover.

The album comes out April 13 on Metal Blade. I have a hard time believing it will do anything but rock.

-AR

P.S. Yes I am aware that Soulfly also have an album called Dark Ages, wise ass.

MetalSucks is double-dipping this year at the annual showdown/brodown/hoedown in Austin, TX by bringing you TWO awesome metal shows. You already know about the amazing Full Metal Texas lineup during the day on Thursday, March 18th — featuring Darkest Hour, Howl, Fair to Midland, Iron Age, Karnivool, Iwrestledabearonce and more — and today we’re pleased to announce that we’re sponsoring the showcase for one of our favorite metal labels, Prosthetic Records. The lineup, starting at 7pm on the festival’s inaugural Wednesday night, features the future of Prosthetic’s roster: Scale the Summit, Landmine Marathon, Withered, Book of Black Earth and The Funeral Pyre. We haven’t heard of Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire or Lions of Tsavo before, but if Prosthetic gives them their stamp of approval they seriously must be excellent… and aren’t festivals like this supposed to be about discovering new music anyway?

But wait — there’s more! The Prosthetic showcase is taking place at the same venue as the Action PR showcase at the very same time, meaning once you’re in you’ll be able to freely roam between both stages, one inside and one outside. And check out THIS fucking lineup: High on Fire, Priestess, Bison B.C., The Gates of Slumber, Zoroaster and Namm. Holy fucktickles, are you kidding me? That’s 13 fucking awesome metal all for just $10 (free if you have a wristband) in one metal-filled evening. FUCK YES.

Coming soon: a MetalSucks-approved calendar of all the metal goings-on at SXSW 2010.

I know what you’re thinking: Two juggalo posts in one day? What did we do to deserve such treats?!?!

Well, I definitely didn’t wake up this morning and say “Let’s do two ICP articles in one day,” but then Dan And from Bison B.C. e-mailed me these AWESOME photos of the band playing a Halloween gig while dressed as Juggalos, and I just had to share…

More after the jump…

Click to read more…

Tomorrow is Halloween. This is great news, because it means that come Sunday (or Monday) people will finally fucking stop talking about Halloween. So sick of it already. When did I become so curmudgeonly? I’m gonna make a hell of an old man. Here’s what went down this week:

• Danzig drummer Chuck Biscuits died. Oh wait, no he didn’t.
• We debuted a new Mudvayne track and we posted live photos from Satyricon and Goatwhore/Eyehategod shows.
• We analyzed the business models of Earache and Roadrunner Records.
• The Boner Tour 2010 has been announced.
• Bison B.C.’s Dan And wrote two tour blogs for us while Horse the Band’s Lord Gold told us about women in diners.
• We spoke with Jucifer’s Amber Valentine and James Plodkin from Jodis.
• We’re giving away a buncha BTBAM shit and celebrating the release of their new album.
• We got all creative writing on your ass.

Our very own Corey Mitchell is gonna be on TV this weekend; he’ll be appearing on E!’s “20 Most Horrifying Hollywood Murders” on Saturday night at 6:00pm EST/5:00PM CST. In addition to his duties as the resident Mansion old fart, Corey writes books about true crime and is a respected authority on the matter so it should be an interesting (and br00tal) watch. Have a good weekend everyone.

We loved the last tour blog that Bison B.C.’s Dan And did for us so much, we’re only all-too-happy to present another! Below, please enjoy part 2; you can read part 1 here.

Sep 28 ’09 (Albuquerque NM @ Launch Pad)

The first thing that struck me about this venue was the framed posters that line the walls… Melvins, High on Fire, Fu Manchu… some killer bands have been through here over the years. I was also struck by how nice and clean Albuquerque seemed. I would later find out that the town is ranked in the top five for violent crimes in the US. Okay then, never mind.

Played with a rad band called Roñoso. Weirdest guitar tone ever but it totally worked in their crust-saw sound. Kylesa sounds fucking huge tonight. Their (hilarious) sound guy Dave is working the system like it owes him money… and it probably does.

Click to read more…

We loved the last tour blog that Bison B.C.’s Dan And did for us so much, we’re only all-too-happy to present another! Below, please enjoy part 1; check back tomorrow for part 2!

Sep 11 ’09 (Vancouver BC @ Commodore)

I always love kicking off a tour with a show in Vancouver. It’s great to have one last chance to get completely loser pissed with our friends before we hit the road for however long. This time we were fortunate enough to finally share the stage with local good ‘ol boys The Golers and old pals 3 Inches of Blood. The Golers have been around forever and everyone should fucking hear them. They’re basically Vancouver’s Venomous Concept: relentless, break-neck speed pummeling. Is grind-punk a genre?

Show was fucking fun as all hell. It was 3 Inches record release show for Here Waits Thy Doom (which may or may not feature all of us doing backups on the song “Preacher’s Daughter”) and the place was packed! The cap of the Commodore is somewhere between 950 and 1000 and apparently it was like 15 tickets away from being sold out. Jesse from local grinders Zuckuss pointed out how fucking crazy it is that three local bands brought that many metal heads out of the woodwork. The night was bitter sweet though because not only was our good friend Ian unable to be there because of surgery but that night would also be my last chance to ever set foot in local punk/metal institution the Cobalt. I can’t even describe how awesome that bar and the staff are. The thought that it’s getting shut down by the fucking slum lords that own the building so they can cash in on Olympic fever makes me wanna tear someone’s head off. I’m consoled by the fact that I know bar legend/honcho Wendy 13 will soon enough have a new venue I can crawl out of at 5am reeking of Jager bombs. COBALT FOREVER!
Click to read more…

A couple of weeks back we reported on the sudden glut of U.S. metal festivals this year, the latest of which is the MetalSucks-sponsored Planet Caravan 2-day metal festival being held in Asheville, NC this September. Quick refresher: Clutch, Pentagram, Kylesa, Burst (first and last U.S. tour ever!), Wino and many others. Today we’re thrilled to announce that the already strong bill has gotten that much stronger with a slew of heavyweight bands added: Tombs, The Gates of Slumber, Zoroaster, Bison B.C., Sourvein, doom kings/queen Salome, and friends of MetalSucks Hull and Battilus, the latter 3 of which will be touring the U.S. together around that time. All of the newly added acts will perform on the also-newly added second stage, right next door to the Orange Peel mainstage at Mo Daddy’s.

If you live anywhere close to North Carolina, how can you even consider not going to this event? It’s going to be a fucking rager. Tickets are on sale here or at the Orange Peel box office.

-VN

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