SEND EMAIL TO
NEWS [AT]
METALSUCKS
[DOT] NET
For the third year in a row, MetalSucks asked you, our beloved readers, to tell us why you hate the holidays in exchange for some cool prizes — and boy oh boy, did you guys ever let your anti-holiday vitriol flow. There were some great responses, but, alas, there can be only one winner — and that winner is Tyler The Scrooge, who posted the below outpouring of holiday hatred:
Just ’cause we’re Jews doesn’t mean we can’t get a lil’ Xmas spirit in the MetalSucks Mansion! That’s why, for the third year in a row, we’re launching celebrating Jesus’ birthday in style, with our Antichrist Christmas contest. And this year, our pals at Relapse Records are hooking up the winner up in style with an awesome prize pack that includes the following CDs:
Friggin’ sweet, right? Santa is jealous.
All you have to do to win is tell us why you hate the holidays. You can leave your answer in the comments section below, and make sure you register with a real e-mail address, since the winner will be contacted by e-mail.
Unfortunately, only readers who live in the U.S. are eligible. Because while Santa might have nine magic reindeer, all we have is the USPS.
All entries are due by New Year’s Day. We’ll announce the winners the first week of January 2012.
Good luck, and HO HO HO! MERRY ANTICHRIST CHRISTMAS!!!
-Axl & Vince
FEATURING MEMBERS OF GWAR, DARKEST HOUR, REVOCATION, INTRONAUT, ABYSMAL DAWN, BRUTAL TRUTH, THE ATLAS MOTH, AND IKILLYA
Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike have graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.
After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!
I’m officially making the switch from the Top Hard Music chart to the Current Hard Music chart for the purposes of this column. While it’s interesting to see what classic Metallica and Aerosmith albums are charting and I still may occasionally reference the former, the latter chart paints a much clearer picture of the modern metal landscape by opening up more room for new records that sell less than classics, allowing a larger number of relevant new releases to place in the Top 100.
This chart has a slightly different way of tallying new releases, where sometimes they appear as having already been on for one week before official release — I’m still sorting through precisely what that difference is — so occasionally the chart positions are a little mixed up. But this only comes into play much farther down the list and this chart still provides a good gauge of relativity.
Now, onto the releases: as you all no doubt know, Mastodon and Machine Head were the biggies last week, and both did quite well — but the album that ended up at #1 is also a debut, and none of us saw it coming. Sebastian Bach, Warbringer and Maylene & The Sons of Disaster fared well in Week 1, while new records from Rose Funeral, Textures, Suffokate, Rwake, Brutal Truth and many, many more also appeared in the Top 100.
HUGE drop of new releases this week including much-anticipated new records from Mastodon and Machine Head, as well as a ton of excellent other stuff from Craft, Dead In The Dirt, Landmine Marathon and more. My release reviews are a bit shorter than usual just due to the sheer volume of material coming out this week, but I think I covered most points of interest. Check it out after the jump. On a side note, Metalsucks wants to send a birthday shout-out to Rodney Githens, member of Vertebrae 33 and the artist behind the awesome Metal Suckfest poster. Have a good one, dude.
A couple of weeks ago, MetalSucks’ own Nicholas Pell wrote a glowing review of the new Brutal Truth album, End Time, which I hope you all read. But if you didn’t, here’s the short version:
“On End Time, Brutal Truth don’t just regurgitate the same shit I’ve heard a zillion times since I first gave Anticapital a spin… they bring something refreshing to grindcore — namely, a sharp rock n’ roll edge that makes the genre about as catchy as it’s ever going to get… End Time doesn’t bring grindcore to the next level. On the contrary, it goes back to basics, setting a new standard for grimy, light-speed rock and roll.”
That is a really elegant and beautiful way of discussing what’s so terrific about End Time, and I literally could never have written it any better. And if, for some reason, you were not inclined to give End Time a spin based simply on the fact IT’S A NEW BRUTAL FUCKING TRUTH ALBUM, hopefully Nick’s review made you wanna give it a whirl.
And now’s your chance, ’cause the entire album is streaming at Hails and Horns right this very second. You should listen to it, and you should listen to it now, ’cause if you do, you will not need a drop of caffeine to kick-start your heart this morning. End Time is like eighteen cups of coffee all at once.
Headbang here, then act all jittery n’ shit in our comments section. End Time comes out September 27 on Relapse.
-AR
I meant to remind you guys yesterday but I’m a dick so I forgot — Arch Enemy’s North American Khaos Tour, which we here at MetalSucks are very proudly co-presenting, is now underway! I’ve been trying to find fan-filmed footage from last night’s kickoff show in Baltimore to no avail, but I hear the concert was great… which is really no shock. Especially given that the three support bands — DevilDriver, Skeletonwitch, and Chthonic — are all as much fun as Arch Enemy! You can get dates here. If anyone is gonna be at the NYC show tonight, come find us. I’ll be the really, really not-sober guy in the back screaming for them to play “Savage Messiah” over and over again.
Now, here’s some stuff we did this week:
And, oh hey, did we mention that tickets for The Metal Suckfest are on sale now? We did? Okay, swell!
Have a good weekend, y’all. See ya Monday.
-AR
Confession: I far prefer Brutal Truth’s more recent work to the stuff I cut my teeth on back in the 90s. While some bands shoot their wad completely in the first three records (I’m looking at you, Metallica), other bands mature with age. Brutal Truth belongs squarely in the latter camp, with End Time standing as a perfect example of how the band has grown as songwriters.
Sick Drummer is streaming a new Brutal Truth song, called “Echo Friendly Discharge,” and it’s some crazy, crazy fucking shit, but that’s not really news, ’cause Rich Hoak sneezes and produces crazy fucking shit.
What IS news is that the band is also doing a limited edition (only 500 copies) box set of the album, which, in addition to the usual bonus goodies (a CD with extra tracks on it, six mini art poster flats, etc.), also contains a weed scented CD card. I’m not even sure I know what that means, but you pretty much had me at “Brutal Truth” and “weed.” Really, these dudes should just release an album called “Brutal Truth’s Weed Grind,” because I alone would buy ten copies.
Check out “Echo Friendly Discharge” here, then order one of those sweet box sets for just twenty bucks here. End Time comes out September 27 on Relapse.
-AR
Brutal Truth have unveiled another new song from their upcoming album End Time, and it may be my favorite one yet. It’s called “Fuck Cancer,” but I don’t just like it because it displays BT’s more philanthropic side — it’s also a really, really crazy-freaky good grind song. BONUS! It has been medically proven* to prevent tumors, and it’s less than a minute long. So, really, you should give it a listen… it could save your life**
End Time comes out September 27 on Relapse.
-AR
*Or so we were told by a man claiming to be a doctor who was seeing patients in his van outside the A&P. MetalSucks is not legally responsible for any tumors you may acquire despite listening to the song.
**See above.
Vince was all on his own last week, so I forgive him for letting the news that there’s a new Brutal Truth song called “Addicted” streaming over at Noisecreep. But now I’m home and I want you to know, so I’m telling you now.
Now, the last time I wrote about a new Brutal Truth song, we got a whopping six comments on the story, one of which was to complain that enough people weren’t commenting, two of which were to complain that there’s still no new Pig Destroyer album coming out, and two of which were olds bitching about this damn Facebook thingamajig. I don’t know if that means you guys aren’t checking out the new Brutal Truth tunes or you just have nothing to say about them. Assuming the former is the answer, well PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR AND LISTEN TO THIS SONG, because BRUTAL TRUTH ARE FUCKING AWESOME AND DESERVE YOUR ATTENTION. If it’s the latter, just do me another favor and write “Yay this song is kewl!” or something in the comments section so I know you’re at least giving BT a shot. I’m bummed that there won’t be a new PxDx album until 2067, too, but fresh Brutal Truth is much too exciting to be considered a mere consolation prize.
Headbang here, then write the aforementioned kudos in our comments section. Brutal Truth’s latest album, End Time, comes out September 27 via Relapse. And if you haven’t already done so, watch the latest episode of MS’ “Cooking Contaminated,” in which fatures BT drummer Rich Hoak teaches you how to make a fucking pig’s head. Holy shit.
-AR
Holy shit, are we really on our tenth episode already?? Host Eli Shaika thought he’d make Cooking Contaminated #10 extra special, so in what will undoubtedly go down as the most truly BRUTAL episode in Cooking Contaminated history, he invited Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth, Total Fucking Destruction) to share his recipe for gunpowder-flavored PIG’S HEAD! Shenanigans ensue. WATCH.
Best line ever: “Don’t put too much hot water on the eyeballs, man, or they’ll explode.”
Enjoy, and as always, find the recipe after the jump:
Because two young upstart blogs have put together a few for your listening pleasure. I haven’t had a chance to check any of these out myself yet, but, like the headline says, they’re free, so it seems worth mentioning, because what have you got to lose, right?
Here are the deets:
The first thing the album art for Brutal Truth’s End Time reminded me of was the poster for the Steven Spielberg version of War of the Worlds. But then I remembered that Danny Lilker is ten-thousands times more handsome than Tom Cruise, and Rich Hoak makes Dakota Fanning look about as cute as a camel’s anus, and all was right with the world.
End Time comes out September 27 on Relapse. The title track is already streaming, and strongly suggests that BT have no intention of letting us down with this outing. That means you need to at least make it through the summer without drinking yourself to death!
-AR
Congratulations to Isaac Schwarz, the winner of our MDF MVP contest! We had a bunch of great entries, but Isaac’s was chosen above all others by an illustrious panel of Maryland Death Fest veterans, including Andres Erickson (General Surgery/Sayyadina), Matt Harvey (Exhumed/Depakitator), Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth/Total Fucking Destruction), Mike Hrubovcak (Monstosity), Mike Majewski (Devourment), Matt Moore (Absu/ Rumpelstiltskin Grinder), and Proscriptor (Absu). Isaac any 2 shirts, 1 LP, 2 CDs , and a mystery prize from the Relapse booth at this year’s MDF (Relapse titles only). Not bad, eh, Isaac?
And don’t forget that Maryland Death Fest starts tonight, and rages all weekend! Four day passes are now sold out, but three passes and tickets to individual days are still available here. This year’s line-up is incredible, and includes Neurosis, Coroner, Voivod, Nuclear Assault, (the soon to be departed) Cathedral, Corrosion of Conformity, Exhorder, Exhumed, Kylesa, Ghost, Skinless’ farewell gig, and tons more. If you have the chance to go and you don’t, you’re a damn fool.
And on that note, here’s Isaac’s contest-winning essay…
So The Rapture didn’t come on Saturday evening. I know we’re all incredibly disappointed. I personally did not pay any bills this month, and told off every one I’ve never really liked, in anticipation of there not being any real consequences, since the world was ending on Sunday.
Mother. Fucker.
Oh well. Maybe this will cheer you up: a new Brutal Truth song! HOO-RAY! It’s called, appropriately enough, “End Time” — as in, “Jesus, why oh why did you fail to end time this past Saturday and now I may have gotten someone pregnant because I said ‘Oh, to hell with the condom!’?” — and you can listen to it on the band’s Facebook page in exchange for clicking the good ol’ like button.
And the track itself is not disappointing — this is typically chaotic, classic-sounding Brutal Truth. Although the end is really… well, it wouldn’t sound out of place in a hard rock song. But it’s still super-awesome.
Headbang here, then come back and discuss in our comments section. “End Time” is the title track from Brutal Truth’s new album, which comes out September 27 on Relapse. Because, yep, it’s time to start thinking about September. Jesus save us.
-AR
Our friends at The Deciblog are killing it today. I could do two separate posts pointing you towards each of the terrific stories they ran just this morning, but I’m a jerk, so I’m just gonna lump ‘em both together:
-AR
Oh my fuck, you guys, IT IS 71 DEGREES OUTSIDE. I was gonna stay home and watch Vanilla Ice’s underrated cinemetallic classic, Cool as Ice, but instead I am getting stoned and going for a long, long walk in the sun. Quickly, before I ditch you losers to actually enjoy life, here’s what we did this week:
Alright, I’m gonna go have some ice cream! ICE CREAM! YYYYAAAAAYYYYY!!!
-AR
Total Fucking Destruction is whatever it wants to be, which is both its greatest asset and downfall. On the one hand, it’s a perfect outlet for Brutal Truth drummer Rich Hoak’s spastic, jazzy grind drumming: It’s got the flexibility to be a world-scorching grind band, a punky/hardcore bunch of dudes, or a group with an ADD attitude toward time signatures at any point in time. I’ve always posited that they resemble what a grind band started by Devin Townshend would sound like. But like that prospect, its inherent absurdity sometimes undoes the weight the band strives for. TFD sound like no other band out there, but depending on your mood, that can mean either, “Oh!” or “Ugh.” And Hater, their latest (and also their first full length not to feature their name in the title, unfortunately), elicits the same reaction: a patient, tolerant mood lets Hoak’s schizophrenic, speed-addled grind wash over you with the album’s 27 minutes zipping by like nothing, but a testy, irritated one can make the record’s every moment a long one, it’s many dalliances impossible to keep track of. Either way, though, it sounds like little else in metal, and especially grindcore. Total Fucking Destruction’s versatility is most welcome, even if it can grate on some.
Total Fucking Destruction — a.k.a. Rich Hoak from Brutal Truth’s other band — have a new album, Hater, coming out next month (that’s the cover art above, which I think is making reference to at least two different Kubrick films, in addition to world events), and Noisecreep is streaming a new track. It’s called “Dudehammer.” I’d never heard the phrase “dudehammer” before, but the Urban Dictionary tells me its a euphemism for “cock.”
Wow. That might be the best euphemism for a penis I’ve ever heard. And it makes the song’s chorus — “DUDE! HAMMER! IN YOUR FACE!” — 110% MORE awesome. This is a brutal grind song about waving your schlong in someone’s grill. How totally sexcellent. As Vince would say, A++++ WDBWA.
Listen to the track here. Translation Loss will release Hater on February 15.
-AR
