MetalSucks

Thanks to everyone who downloaded the package of Graphic Novel [GN] songs last week. I’m happy most of you enjoyed the tracks. It’s cool to know people will take the time to check out the music with an open mind. I never said I was the best composer or song writer out there, but I feel I do have a style. I’m always doing my best to refine it. The older you get means the more experiences you have which means your music should evolve into something you can control, as opposed to letting it control you. These particular songs were all composed in a day. Through experimentation, trial and error, and plain passion, you got that download.

I’m working on getting a more professional studio going at some point. Let’s be clear: my recording skills are not my strong side. I’m no Misha Mansoor from Periphery, so I apologize for the (lack of) recording quality.

The songs for the [GN] project are just a color of the ‘voice’ I’ve been spending my whole career trying to perfect. Don’t worry metal heads, I still play metal, just now right now. Which brings me to the subject I’ve wanted to discuss here for a while.

The Evolution Of Deathcore And Why it’s Sweet As Hell

I know the response here for deathcore is a love it or hate it sort of thing. I don’t want to get into that. I’d like to talk about my feelings towards the genre. To say it simply: I fucking LOVE deathcore. I can’t get enough of it.

Seriously.

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Though we may question his fashion choices and dubious association with Danzig historicists Born of Osiris we do actually really like guitar wunderkind Tosin Abasi, especially his solo “band” Animals as Leaders. In case you’re averse to good music or just plain ig’nant, Animals as Leaders released their (his?) debut album this past Spring and like yo, that shit is mad good. Check out “On Impulse” from that record above.

SMNnews.com tells me that those of you in Dallas get to see the band perform a headline set in between dates of their limited Fall run with Between the Buried and Me and Veil of Maya. That’s pretty cool and all but can’t the band do a real tour? Come onnnnnnn!

BTBAM tour dates listed after the jump.

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The below video is a collection of the “Best Keyboard/Synthesizer Breakdowns of All Time.” I saw it today on Sergeant D’s Stuff You Will Hate, which is certainly living up to its name. Because, y’know, I always thought “Gee, totally generic breakdowns could really use some irritating keyboards.”

A couple of good groups, like Horse the Band and Veil of Maya, seem to have snuck their way onto the list, but by and large, this stuff is just as terrible as you’d think. And let’s all thank the guy who made this for not even being able to come up with ten different bands to include – Born of Osiris and HTB are both on here twice.

Also, does The Devil Wears Prada really have a song called “Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over?” ‘Cause that would be an adorable sentiment coming from a three year old. A Christian metalcore band, not so much.

-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

Winds of Plague = really good people. Not only did they know their shit, they also had a sense of humor that wasn’t consistent with that of an inbred southern hick. Vocalist Johnny Plague can bench-press 5,000 lbs a day and keyboardist Kristen Randall may or may not be into making out with chicks – maybe I read too far into some things she said, or maybe I just automatically assume everyone is gay until proven straight, or maybe I just was hoping to make-out with Kristin because, let me tell you, she is pretty smokin’ in person. As a matter of fact, there isn’t one unattractive person in the band. That has nothing to do with their music, and everything to do with being horny. All the time.

ANYWAYS, Johnny’s idea (which may or may not have been plagiarized) for The Great Stone War is pretty nifty. Yeah, it’s yet ANOTHER concept album. But from what I have heard thus far, it’s a solid fucking record. If you weren’t a fan of Decimate The Weak, do yourself a favor and check out The Great Stone War.  If for some reason you’re not into it, at least you have a bunch of sweet artwork from the album sleeve to peep at from time to time.

For the most part, these guys (and gal) are going to be pretty busy the rest of 2009. Rumor has it they will be touring with Unearth in November, so make sure to keep an eye out for an official press release. Below is my slightly awkward interview.

P.S. – Enough with the WOP basketball jerseys. Please. That shit needs to stop. Seriously, this is just silly already.

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Okay. I get it. The boys in Born of Osiris are young. Real young.  And judging by the brand-spanking-new tour bus they were ghost riding in, someone has really big plans for their future. And, honestly, so do I. Those kids can play. They can play real well, and I have honestly been a fan of theirs for some time now.

But I’d suggest that someone tutors them a bit about the history of the music they are making. Also about giving good interview: despite there being obvious differences between their Sumerian debut, A New Reign, and their recently released follow-up, A Higher Place, the boys think the biggest difference is that the latter is… longer. Seriously.

I could explain more, but… it’s probably best that you just read the interview. Full transcript after the jump.

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Born of Osiris are making it very hard for those of us who like their music to defend them against the tr00est of the tr00. Next week we’re going to run an interview in which many members of the band admit to some pretty serious lapses in basical Metal 101 knowledge; now New York Magazine, of all fucking publications, has a video of guitarist Tosin Abasi (also of Animals as Leaders), well… just read for yourself:

Tosin Abasi is on tour with the heavy metal band he plays in, Born of Osiris. On stage he wears all-black, but when he’s not working, he likes classic men’s formalwear. The day our Video Look Book cameras caught him he wore a fitted vest from a thrift store and carried a camel leather bag he bought for half-price at Marshall’s. He also wore women’s shorts from Banana Republic and a vintage Schiaparelli hat his girlfriend gave him. “Actually I had dreadlocks and I cut them and I was like, ‘What the fuck do I do with my hair now?’ And she was like, ‘You should have this hat.’ So I’ve been wearing it every day.” Watch the Video Look Book to find out where he got his pink paisley scarf.

I really, really don’t like to judge people solely for what they wear, but… what the fucking fuck dude. Women’s shorts? I’m at a loss for words. Truly.

Click on the screencap below to watch the video. It’s supposed to be embeddable, but New York Magazine is essentially a douchie tabloid for rich people who like to pretend they’re above reading tabloids, and whomever runs their website obviously has no fucking clue what he or she is doing.

-AR

Ahh, Michigan. We have lakes. Big fucking lakes. We used to have a booming car industry, but unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you need not an explanation of why I won’t be speaking of that in this article. Besides, we harbor a little music festival every summer called Dirt Fest, a metal get together a few hours outside of Detroit, founded by two dudes looking to showcase their own band. Dirt Fest quickly became the summer festival for local bands looking for recognition and inspiration. It wound up becoming comparable to the one hot chick at the party which turned out to be a sausage fest – she ends up having such a good time that she lets everyone have a turn.

Anyhoo, thirteen lucky summers later and Dirt Fest is rocking a roster that has, in the past, included bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Black Dahlia Murder. Obviously something is working if these bands are rolling through, so I decided to finally go check it out this year. Armed with nothing but a delicious bottle of Jagermeister and a set of tits everyone at the MetalSucks Mansion is dying to get a look at, I embarked on what turned out to be a very interesting day. My mouth already tasted like booze before noon…

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I will never get tired of streaming new music. I remember when I used to have to go to a listening station (they didn’t even have full booths) at Tower or Sam Goody (SAM FUCKING GOODY!!!) if I wanted to hear new music that wasn’t on the radio, and even then, the pickings were fairly slim, metal-wise. So to be able to listen to shit for free while high in my favorite chair is really just magnificent. Just superb.

And away we go:

• Dysrhythmia’s entire new album, Psychic Maps, is streaming here. This is instrumental prog metal at its finest, boys and girls. You need to show it some love. The album comes out on Relapse this Tuesday, July 7 here in the States, and then July 13 in Europe. And I guess Asia can just suck it. Suck it, Asia.
• Job for a Cowboy’s entire new album, Ruination, is streaming here. It comes out on Metal Blade, also this Tuesday. And I think it’s safe to say that, yes, JFAC are officially no longer deathcore. In case y’all had any doubts.
• Sumeriancore favorites Born of Osiris have yet another song from their forthcoming We Smoke Weed A Higher Place, entitled “Live Like I’m Real,” streaming here. I have a feeling BOO have gone the down same “we got just melodic enough to really piss off a portion of our fan base” path as All Shall Perish. I guess we’ll see come Tuesday.

-AR

Darkest Hour are currently out on the road doing the MetalSucks co-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour, and they’re doing a video tour diary for our gay lovers at Metal Injection. Check it out below.

It’s good to see that Lonestar is growing his mega-beard back. It’s also good to see his package.

ANYWAY, I’ve seen enough of the touring lifestyle to know that I don’t ever want to go on tour. But then again, it looks like these dudes are having so much fun…

Look for more Darkest Hour tour diaries at Metal Injection throughout the rest of the summer. And you can Summer Slaughter tour dates here. In addition to Darkest Hour you get Suffocation, Necrophagist, Ensiferum, Dying Fetus, Origin, Born of Osiris, Winds of Plague, and a bunch of other cool bands, so definitely check it out!!!

-AR

Everyone from Vince’s former home state of Michigan: MetalSucks is proud to now be co-sponsoring Dirt Fest 13, which will take place Saturday, July 11 at the Birch Run Expo Center in Birch Run, MI. The show will feature Necrophagist, Darkest Hour, Winds of Plague, Born of Osiris, Origin, and a whole bunch of awesome bands – PLUS 30 – 40 local bands, at least some of whom are bound to be finds. In other words: it promises to be a pretty kick-ass day.

And to sweeten the deal, the fest is teaming with Sick Drummer magazine for a “Sickest Dirt Fest Drummer” contest. Press release after the jump!

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What the fuck is happening in the world of deathcore? Job for a Cowboy’s Genesis didn’t really sound like Doom, All Shall Perish’s Awaken the Dreamers didn’t really sound like The Price of Existence, Suicide Silence’s No Time to Bleed doesn’t really sound like The Cleansing, and all evidence suggests that Born of Osiris’ A Higher Place will not really sound like The New Reign. Whether you love or hate these bands, there’s no denying that they’re evolving at a rapid pace.

And it looks like we can add Arsonists Get All the Girls to the list. The band has a new song, “Saturnine,” currently streaming on their MySpace page, and while it retains a lot of the Sumeriancore elements we love about the group, it’s a pretty far cry from anything off of The Game of Life. And although all the line-up changes since that album’s release probably have something to do with that, I don’t think there can be any doubt that the band has a creative desire to stretch their wings, too.

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I guess the fellas in Born of Osiris are feeling saucy this week, because they done gone ahead and posted another new song – this one titled “Exist” – on on their MySpace page.

It’s a little techier than “Now Arise,” the song they posted on Wednesday, and, better yet, it features absolutely no rapping.

Born of Osiris’ new album, A Higher Place, comes out July 7 on Sumerian.

-AR

Thanks to Cooper Stapleton for the heads up.

I’m loving this new subgenre title Vince has coined - “Sumeriancore.” I love it because a) it instantly lets you know the band in question plays proggy tech deathcore, and b) if we’re gonna get silly with these subgenres names, let’s get really silly with them, right?

So, besides The Faceless, I guess my favorite Sumeriancore band (or, at least, my favorite Sumeriancore band that is actually on Sumerian) is Born of Osiris (whose debut, The New Reign, was actually produced The Faceless’ Michael Keene). Born of Osiris have the adorable nickname “BOO.” Just makes me wanna play with puppies every time I say it. “BOO!” Like the little girl in Monsters, Inc. Don’t ask how I know that. It’s definitely not because I use Pixar movies to lure small children back to the MetalSucks Mansion.

But I’m getting way off-topic here. Born of Osiris have posted a new song, “Now Arise,” on their MySpace page.

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I really liked Born of Osiris the first time I saw them live, playing some dive with At All Cost (R.I.P.); I really liked Born of Osiris when I heard their Sumerian debut, The New Reign; and nearly two years after that album’s release, I only like it more than I did when I first heard it.

So. BOO has announced their new album, A Higher Place, which Sumerian will release sometime in June to coincide with the kick-off of the MetalSucks co-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour (Did we mention we’re co-sponsoring that tour now? Well, we are. We’re pretty stoked about it, too. More on that Monday!).

There’s not much other news to report, other than, y’know, hoo-ray for a new BOO album! Here’s the band’s video for “Open Arms to Damnation,” from The New Reign. More updates as we get ‘em.

-AR

So the line-up for Summer Slaughter – a.k.a. the big summer package tour that isn’t Ozzfest, Mayhem, Warped, or Sounds of the Underground (R.I.P.) – has been announced, and, pretty much as expected, it’s totally solid. Yes, there are a few bands on the bill I don’t care for (I’m looking at you, Winds of Plague), but the presence of co-headliners Suffocation and Necrophagist, plus Darkest Hour, Origin, Born of Osiris, Dying Fetus and Blackguard pretty much guarantees this will be a day (well, late afternoon at least) worth your time and money. Especially since, unlike the aforementioned summer fests, this one plays smaller venues and comes at a cheaper price.

Also kind of advantageous: you’re basically just dealing with death metal on this tour. So… you pretty much know if you’re the audience or not for this tour.

No dates yet… stay tuned for more details.

-AR

If you like Oceano or have no particular problem with the fact that Emmure shamelessly ripped-off The Acacia Strain, then boy do I have an album for you.

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Our bro-bros over at Metal Injection recently captured some awesome live footage of one of our favorite up and coming young bands, Born of Osiris, on the Summer Slaughter tour. As usual, MI’s live shit is top notch, and if it convinces any of you to check out BOO’s debut LP, The New Reign, well, then, I’ll be satisfied.

Here’s Born of Osiris performing “Bow Down;” head over to Metal Injection to check out a whopping four additional clips, plus lots more footage from Summer Slaughter.

-AR

If our current poll is any indication, most of our readers feel that the subgenre not-so-kindly referred to as “deathcore” is “the next annoying trend in metal.” And that’s too bad, ’cause deathcore – like any genre – has its good bands and its shitty bands, and frankly, at this point, nothing should deter you from listening to, say, Despised Icon, who know how to the bring the heavy-as-fuck as well as anyone.

I mention it ’cause Sumerian Records seem to be getting really good at signing young, up and coming, awesome “deathcore” acts: The Faceless, Born of Osiris, and now Broadcast the Nightmare, who are about to enter the studio with Black Dahlia Murder producer Andrea Magnusson to pump out their Sumerian debut. The samples currently posterd on BTN’s MySpace page are a little more “traditional” than the stuff from The Faceless and BOO, but it also kicks serious ass: this band seems to specialize in crunchy, neck breaking riffs piled atop one another like a knife straight through the fuckin’ skull. Suh-weet.

Consider us stoked to hear the completed album; don’t write these dudes off just ’cause of some media label.

-AR

Deathcore fans: Born of Osiris are worth keeping an eye on. Vince and I got to check ‘em out during their tour with our pals in At All Cost a few months back, and the band’s debut album, The New Reign, shows an awful lot of promise – I don’t know if their sound, which combines elements of classic death metal and hardcore with synths and Meshuggah-like off-kilter time signatures, is fully developed yet, but I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if their next album turns out to be the shit.

Here’s the band’s video for “Open Arms to Damnation” from The New Reign. You can also check ‘em out on MySpace.

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-AR