If you told me there was a tour with Born of Osiris and As Blood Runs Black, I’d probably tell you to have a nice time and let me know how it was. And if you told me that there was a tour with Darkest Hour and The Human Abstract, I’d probably trample your grand ma to get there. I mean, I’m sure she’s a nice lady, but she ain’t no Darkest Hour and The Human Abstract live, y’know?

As it stands, though, all four of these bands will be doing one tour together:

But y’know what? I am not going to bitch about two bands I love touring with two bands I feel lukewarm on, because, hey, at least it’s not two bands I love touring with two bands I hate, y’know? I haven’t seen Born of Osiris live since, uh, I think it was 2007, right when The New Reign came out, and at the time, I was actually pretty impressed — I didn’t sour on them until later, and even then, it was for reasons really having nothing to do with their live show; and I’ve never seen ABRB live, so I can’t talk any smack there, even if I don’t quite understand all the hype that once surrounded that band. So I’ll still take this over a Mayhem Fest or whatever, where I’d have to slog through who knows how many crappy bands just to see Slayer, any day of the week.

Dates are as follows… some of ‘em even have additional bands, like This or The Apocalypse and Sleeping Giant, on the bill:

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The Internet is a treasure trove of data just waiting to be spliced and re-assembled in new and interesting ways.

A recent feature added to Got-Djent.com gave users the ability to indicate their favorite bands on their own personal profiles, so the keepers of that site have taken that information and produced a map “where the proximity of two bands on the map indicates how much their respective fanbases overlap.” Fascinating. Check it out: (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

The results are fascinating.

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After the Burial released their new album In Dreams on November 23rd just before heading out to California for their current tour with Winds of Plague. On the day of the album’s release I caught up with ATB guitarist Trent Hafdahl by phone; we chatted about the new album, new vocalist Anthony Notarmaso and his role in the writing process, what really went down when they dropped off the Bleeding Through tour this fall, their plans for 2011 and, of course, Sumeriancore. Our chat after the fold.

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Just so you know, when Vince and I cuddle, he’s usually the big spoon.

Here’s what happened in MetalSucks Land this week:

• Misery Index’s Jason Netherton joined us for the latest edition of Cooking Contaminated.
• Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable wondered if corporate-sponsored metal shows are killing the live concert market.
• We chatted with Soilwork’s Peter Wichers, Mantric’s Ole Halvard Sveen, and Black Army Jacket’s Carlos Ramirez.
• We checked out new releases by Norma Jean and Lightning Swords of Death.
• We celebrated the excellent year currently being enjoyed by Metal Blade Records.
• Korn played to the largest audience they deserve. (That would be an audience of zero.)
• New BOO means debates by you.
• Poison the Well poisoned our week.
• We were on the Metal Injection Livecast!
• Booty shake.

Next week is hair metal week! We’ll still be reporting on regular metal, too, so don’t freak out too hard. See ya Monday.

-AR

The mysterious Bird Lady of Redondo Beach relished the opportunity to show off her new BOO tattoo.

I always feel weird saying a really heavy band sounds a little less heavy to me than they used to, because, y’know, normal fucking people who don’t listen to this degenerate neanderthal music would never be able to tell the difference. People throw up their hands and are like, “Remember when In Flames were heavy?” or “Remember when Slipknot were heavy?” or whatever, and most of the population can’t tell the difference between Iowa and Vol. 3 or Whoracle and Come Clarity – it all sounds really fucking loud and angry to them. And the thing is, they’re not wrong; when metalheads complain that a still-heavy band isn’t heavy enough, they’re really just being macho assholes. I know, because I’m guilty of this myself sometimes — complaining about clean vocals or a lack of blast beats or whatever — and Vince makes fun of me for it on a regular basis.

So. Born of Osiris have posted a teaser for their new album on their MySpace page — it’s basically about sixty seconds each of three new songs — and while it’s almost impossible to make any intelligent judgments based on roughly three minutes of music, it does sound to me like the band is moving in a somewhat less heavy direction — but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna release a fucking Carly Simon album or whatever. Sure, save for the third song (which feels pretty The New Reign-ish to these ears) the music sounds less br00tal, with riffs that are aren’t as schizophrenic in nature and the keyboards taking a more central role. But it’s less br00tal the way All Shall Perish’s Awaken the Dreamers was less br00tal than The Price of Existence. Which is to say, the authority figures of my youth would still want to lock me in a room and hire an exorcist to check me out if they heard me listening to this.

Check out the teaser for yourself here. Presumably this album is coming out later this year via Sumerian.

-AR

Thanks to Ian Wilmot for the tip.

Tosin Abasi is undoubtedly one of the few guitarists in modern metal that I’d classify as a musical genius. I mean, there’s lotsa dudes that can play… but not very many dudes who can really play and who have a true, fundamental, natural understanding of the instrument the way Abasi does. Abasi is like that young hitter your team calls up from the minors, the guy who possesses the raw strength to smack a home run over the wall but who also understands and appreciates the nuance of the game, can hit curveballs, and can make adjustments to wily pitcher tactics within an at-bat (hey Ike Davis!). He’s that good.

I’m not sure how I missed the fact that his band Animals as Leaders has released a new single yesterday exclusively on iTunes called “Wave of Babies,” but there ya have it, as reported by SMN News. Since I luurrrrved Animals as Leaders’ self-titled debut album so much that I called it the 12th best album of 2009, this was an instant purchase for me (buy here).

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The Summer metal tour market for 2010 is crowded, yo.We’ve got the older and mainstream metal-skewed Rockstar Mayhem Fest (Korn, Zombie, 5FDP, Atreyu, Winds of Plague, Hatebreed) the Rockstar-branded radio metal “Uproar” Tour sure to be a hit in Red States (Disturbed, A7X, Hellyeah), the Christian, metalcore and Christian metalcore fest known as The Cool Tour (As I Lay Dying, Underoath, War of Ages, Blessthefall, and uh… BTBAM) and the sexiest of all sex kittens, Summer Slaughter (Decapitated, The Faceless, All Shall Perish, The Red Chord, other cool bands). And, if you count 6 dates as a “tour” you’ve got Ozzfest, which does a surprisingly good job of combining the old (Ozzy, Motley Crue, Rob Halford, BLS) with the new/cool (Kingdom of Sorrow, Skeletonwitch, Goatwhore, Saviours).

So with all that on our plates, we’ve got yet another tour coming down the pipe this summer? As you’ve no doubt gathered from this article’s headline and image, yes, indeed we do.

My thoughts on the 2010 Thrash & Burn lineup — and dates — after the jump.

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The MetalSucks co-sponsored Full Metal Texas 2010 just keeps getting better and better! Last week Animals as Leaders were added to the bill that already includes such illustrious acts as Darkest Hour, Fair to Midland, Iwrestledabearonce and Born of Osiris; now it has been announced that Israel’s Orphaned Land will be playing the show, too! And Axl just saw them kick-ass the other night. Good deal!

This completely FREE all-day show will take place at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, March 18. Set times for all the bands have been announced, and you can view those after the jump, so as to ensure that you don’t miss anybody you really wanna see. (And there’s a slot open for a “special guest.” Hmm… wonder who that could be?) PLUS, the first 666 Heinekens are FREE, so you’ll wanna get there early.

You can RSVP for the show here – doing so will make you eligible for VIP drink specials at the show, and will enter you into a contest from Eagle Rock Entertainment, who will be previewing two new Classic Album DVDs from Black Sabbath and Rush and are giving away a Blu-Ray player, a bunch of DVDs, and some other cool swag. You can also follow Full Metal Texas on Twitter for all the latest updates.

And here are the set times…

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Last month we told you about Full Metal Texas 2010, a completely FREE all-day show we’re co-sponsoring at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, March 18. With a line-up including Darkest Hour, Fair to Midland, Born of Osiris, Iwrestledabearonce, Howl, Iron Age, and more, it already promised to be an incredibly killer show.

Now perennial MetalSucks faves Animals as Leaders have been added to the bill, meaning you get even more bang for non-buck!

Seriously, if you live in the Austin area and don’t go to this, you’re a damn fool. It’s FREE, for Chrissakes!

You can RSVP here – doing so will make you eligible for VIP drink specials at the show, and will enter you into a contest from Eagle Rock Entertainment, who will be previewing two new Classic Album DVDs from Black Sabbath and Rush and are giving away a Blu-Ray player, a bunch of DVDs, and some other cool swag. You can also follow Full Metal Texas on Twitter for all the latest updates.

-AR & VN

No, this isn’t an article about boobies. Sorry.

Sergeant D. recently conducted an interview with Born of Osiris for Substream, and, as is often the case, there was a chunk of the interview that the magazine didn’t run. The Sarge has now posted that chunk at Stuff You Will Hate, and while some of it is over my head (Did you know that Johnny Plague apparently wears a lot of puffy vests? Yeah, me neither.), I did appreciate the revelation that BOO drummer/primary songwriter Cameron Losch has dabbled in rap music:

Sergeant D. compares him to Andy Samberg’s “Blizzard Man” character from Saturday Night Live, which I think is going too far. Blizzard Man’s lyrics are more authentic. “How’d I get so good at killing bitches/Well, nobody knows?” Seriously? There a lotta gangstas on the rough streets of Palatine, Illinois, aren’t there?

Read more at SYWH.

-AR

Texan Suckalos! Do you love metal? Do you love free shit? Do you love free shit having to do with metal?!?! OF COURSE YOU DO! And that’s why MetalSucks is incredibly proud to be co-sponsoring Full Metal Texas 2010, a FREE all-day show that will take place at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, March 18.

And just ’cause it’s free don’t mean it’s cheap. Look at the line-up: Fair to Midland, Darkest Hour, Born of Osiris, Iwrestledabearonce, Iron Age, Karnivool, Naam, Howl, Amarna Reign, Your Demise, Upon a Burning Body, and Lions Lions. Holy shit, that’s a lotta good bands. And Eagle Rock Entertainment will be previewing two new Classic Album DVDs from Black Sabbath and Rush. And did we mention tickets are free?

You can RSVP here – doing so will make you eligible for VIP drink specials at the show, and will enter you into a contest from the aforementioned Eagle Rock Entertainment, who are giving away a Blu-Ray player, a bunch of DVDs, and some other cool swag. You can also follow Full Metal Texas on Twitter for all the latest updates.

Clearly, this show is gonna kick all kinds of ass. RSVP now.

-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks

Even if our relationship with Born of Osiris is a little, uh, strained, that doesn’t mean I can’t dig their music. So here’s their new, David Brodsky-directed video, for “Now Arise.”

My first thought when I saw this was “Oh, great performance footage” – whatever else you wanna say about BOO, you can’t accuse them of being unable to play their instruments – “but I don’t understand the concept behind the animation.” Luckily, I don’t have to, because Tim Kellen, who did the animation for the video, released a statement on the subject!

“The illustrations that materialize in the video show symbols we see everywhere; in advertising, corporate branding, and on legal tender.  Many of these are ancient, sacred symbols used to empower the individual.However, according to some scholars, these symbols have been subverted by those wishing to destroy and dominate the rest of the population.  Some would argue that the eagle is representative of Scorpio, a symbol of money and power;  that the 2 headed eagle is a popular symbol among the Bavarian Illuminati;  The many skulls are symbols revered by brotherhoods of death; and that the all seeing eye represents surveillance.”

Well, alrighty then! Keep all that mind when watching the video…

“Now Arise” comes off of BOO’s latest, A Higher Place, which is out now on Sumerian.

-AR

…..AS some of you may or may not have heard, Guitarist, Andrew has parted ways with Oceano. This decision was reached through personal as well as minor quarrels amongst the band. We wont go too much further into detail as it seemingly is not a band issue any longer.

If we’re to use MySpace blog comments as our guide, the fan reaction to last week’s news of Andrew Mikhail’s less-than-amicable departure from self-proclaimed deathcore beef-bringers Oceano was generally postive. In a post marked “Andrew Leaves Oceano” the band acknowledged their former guitarist’s public denouncement of the group before assuring fans that tour plans were not changing in spite of this. Scrolling down the page, however, it seems Mikhail wasn’t entirely happy with the comments being made. Using the presumably Outkast-referencing handle “andrew3000.” he replied directly to Oceano saying:

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Although I know of at least one groupie who probably would like to see the fellas in Born of Osiris forcefully lose their butt cherries, this article is actually about the below video, which Sergeant D. brilliantly included in his review of a recent Hatebreed/Cannibal Corpse/Hate Eternal/BOO gig.

The clip is noteworthy for two reasons:

1. It’s just funny to see some kids in a deathcore cover band playing to fifteen people in their school gym. As Sergeant D. notes, when the kids start moshing at the 47 second mark, it makes you “wish you could spray everybody under 21 in the face with AIDS.”
2. This band calls themselves “The Rapist.” What a charming band name. Clearly, The Rapist should be signed to Sumerian ASAP, so that they can rape rape rape all across this great land.

Fear for the future of our world, people.

-AR

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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