I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve actually learned a lot from metal. For example, when I was a kid, I heard Axl Rose use the word “cunt” in the song “Bad Obsession” and subsequently asked my dad, “What’s a cunt?” To which he responded, “Your mother’s sister.” And I instantly knew exactly what a cunt was.

Metal continues to educate me every day, and this morning has been no different. Marduk have a new song, “Phosphorus Redeemer,” streaming on their MySpace page, and while I initially thought the title was just a nonsense combination of two words, it turns out that Marduk didn’t invent the phrase. Amazing!

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Following three very special U.S. appearances earlier this month in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York (effectively breaking their streak of visa issues), Swedish black metal battalion MARDUK will return for a full North American headlining tour this November dubbed the U.S. Plague Tour 2009. The band will be joined by Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Merrimack and Black Anvil (on select dates).

Having missed Marduk at the aforementioned New York show and having been subject to at least 2 Nachtmystium cancellations in the past year, we’re psyched to be a part of this tour. Our own Corey Mitchell gave Mantic Ritual’s latest a five-out-of-five horns review, and Black Anvil are quite the talk of the town at the moment — we’re new to Merrimack, but we’ll certainly give them a shot. What a solid lineup. Full list of tour dates after the jump.

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Black Anvil’s much anticipated record Time Insults the Mind doesn’t come out until September 1st, but we’ve got a brand new track available for free download today, right here. Black Anvil are from right here in NYC and recently signed with Philly-based Relapse Records. Their brand of blackened, crusty, punk-influenced metal is captured perfectly in the new recording; it’s raw, dingy and full of unbridled energy, but with enough clarity to allow a bit of breathing room between instruments.

The band has a string of dates this weekend with Marduk and Withered, starting today in Baltimore, hitting Philly tomorrow and NYC on Saturday. Details and more music on Black Anvil’s MySpace page.

Enjoy.

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The first time I heard Tombs‘ Relapse Records debut Winterhours was on the New York subway with iPod earbuds, which are clearly not the ideal conditions for developing an accurate initial impression of a band. I wasn’t impressed and turned it off after a few songs, likely in favor of something more familiar such as The Jonas Brothers. Recently though, I’ve given the record some undivided attention at home, where the sound is hardly state-of-the-art but at least it isn’t subject to train noises and obnoxious interruptions by my fellow passengers. Much to my surprise and delight, I fucking love Winterhours.

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The arrival of June means that all the big metal bands are over in Europe playing the festival circuit, but this isn’t all a bad thing. For one, it means some much-needed R and R (that’s rest and relaxation, fuckos) after a hectic Spring show season. It also means more time to go to smaller shows; ya know, ones that aren’t in huge concert halls where beer costs $7, and ones that are in real places where actual real / non scene-kid people hang out. The DIY (by comparison) shows of late Spring and early Summer offer a welcome respite from the big headline tours of early Spring and the packaged, brand-sponsored traveling festivals of Summer. This weekend I went to see the debut of NYC’s Motheater — a wicked brew of southern soul and northern fury — and a four-headed best of underground metal at Pitchfork’s “Show No Mercy” show serie, featuring Salome, Woe, Black Anvil, and Snake Sustaine.

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Multiple people have RAVED to me about New York’s own Black Anvil over the past couple of months, swearing up and down that this band was the absolute brownest, stinkiest shit in metal right now.

And now the band has signed to Relapse.

Because I’m a total dick who doesn’t always heed his friends’ advice, I still haven’t listened to Black Anvil’s most recent release, Time Insults the Mind. But they’re doing a show at Public Assembly in Brooklyn this Sunday with some cool bands, including perennial MetalSucks doom faves Salome. Schedule permitting I’ll get to check out Black Anvil then. In the meantime, here’s some footage of the band I stole from Metal Injection. Watch it and then hit up Black Anvil’s MySpace page and let us know what you think.

Also, get details of the Black Anvil/Salome gig after the jump. Even if you don’t dig Black Anvil, Salome are an absolutely amazing band that need to be experienced live.

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Our hetero life partners are Metal Injection have captured some typically testicle-tickling footage of Genghis Tron, Tombs, Wetnurse and Black Anvil at a recent “Show No Mercy” gig – the concert writer Brandon Stosuy puts on in Brooklyn one Sunday out of every month.

Here’s a sample – more specifically, Genghis Tron performing one of my most favoritist songs of theirs, “Ride the Steambolt.” Go here to check out more awesome clips of GT as well as Tombs, Wetnurse and Black Anvil!

-AR