Earlier this week I had a dream that I was working with Atreyu. I don’t know in what capacity I could possibly find myself “working with” Atreyu, since I’m not a manager, nor a publicist, nor a label rep, and they’re about as likely to end up doing a guest column here as I am to give the new In This Moment album a perfect 5-horn review, but, hey, the subconscious works in mysterious ways. Why did I have Atreyu on the brain? Was my mind trying to tell me “The glass is half-full?” Do I have  a hankering to re-watch The Neverending Story? Did I just ingest too many different substances that night? I’ll have to bring it up in therapy next week.

Here’s other shit that happened this week, some of which, believe it or not, is even more terrifying than the thought of working with Atreyu:

• Freddy Madball is counting down his favorite hard and heavy non-hardcore bands of all time, TesseracT’s Acle walked us through the history of djent, The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley spoke to Converge’s Kurt Ballou about Taco Riffs, The Red Chord’s Greg Weeks made some suggestions for losing NFL teams, Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable contemplated the ways in which technology has changed touring, Daath’s Eyal Levi wondered, “Is this it?”, and a wide array of metal stars previewed the just-begun NHL season.
• We spoke to Kirk Windstein from Crowbar/Down/Kingdom of Sorrow, Sean Z. from Daath, Daddy X and Dirtball from Kottonmouth Kings, and Yoshiki Hayashi from X Japan.
• We checked out the latest releases from Abysse and Deafheaven.
• We contemplated trancecore.
• As the headline says, we heard the worst thing ever.
• We reviewed the history of terrible Limp Bizkit cover songs.
• We had fun with misheard song lyrics.
• We bemoaned the signing of another re-thrash band.
• We applauded Slayer fans’ desire to help the physically disabled.
• We had yet another laugh at Winds of Plague’s expense.

We have a special surprise for you next week. I can’t promise you’re going to like it, but I can promise you’re going to have a strong reaction to it. See ya then.

-AR

So right now you’re probably thinking 1) “Hey, assholes, the NHL season actually started last night so this can’t really be a ‘preview’ in the traditional sense of the word,” and 2) “Hey, assholes, at least one of these artists isn’t actually signed to Relapse Records.” And, yes, we know we’re a little late, but this is metal, so who the fuck is ever on time? And, yes, we know that at least one of these artists isn’t actually signed to Relapse Records, but most of them are, and the fine people at Relapse really did all the work in putting this together, so ppppfffffttttt.

So. After the jump, you can find previews of how the freshly-begun NHL season is looking for the favorite teams of members of 3 Inches of Blood, -(16)-, Buried Inside, Cephalic Carnage, Cretin, Dekapitator, Exhumed, Fuck the Facts, Gravehill, Hero Destroyed, Indian, Misery Index, Mortuous, Repulsion, and Toxic Holocaust. Enjoy!!!

Click to read more…

Oh, sure. A whole slew of awesome bands seem to be “taking a break” (see: Coalesce, Isis, and Buried Inside — and that’s just since May), but fucking Disturbed will live on forever and ever.

Here’s the statement from the band:

“So, after twelve years of being a band, countless tours around the world and records being released, we have made the decision to take some time to explore other interests in our lives. We’ve all reached a point where we feel like we need to take a step back from the band and pursue other things. PTW has been an all encompassing, full-time thing for such a long period that this isn’t an easy thing to do. We want to thank everyone who has supported us in anyway, whether it be buying a record or a shirt, to the occasional robbery from time to time. Once again, thanks for everything and we couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

So this is one of those non-breakup breakups, which still hurts as bad. Like when your ex told you “It’s not you, it’s me.” Yeah, well, whomever the fuck it is, I don’t get to see you naked anymore, and that hurts me. Hurts me deep inside.

Mourn in the comments section.

-AR

[via Gun Shy Assassin]

So says MetalSucks Maniac Lewis Walmsley, who categorizes the band as “Sludge/doom/post-pussy/grim/hardcore/belgian” and asserts that “You’s need to listen to Amenra.” Okay, Lewis, you’re on. Let’s give ‘em a listen.

Yeah, Lewis, you’re right! These dudes are pretty cool. Kinda reminds me of Buried Inside, which is a good thing — especially since Buried Inside are breaking up. There’s some cool stuff on the band’s MySpace page, too. So, three cheers for Lewis for suggesting an excellent band. I hope to use it as the fuck soundtrack to the best orgasm of my life real soon.

-AR

Well, this blows.

Earlier this week, Buried Inside put up a post on their MySpace page which reads “Hand Out The Loot Bags… This party’s over.” And in case the meaning of that little message isn’t clear to you, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Tweedy has the following to say in a new interview with Exclaim:

“We’ve sort of refrained from calling it a break-up… We’re playing a few more shows, which will be our last, and then taking a break with no intention of resuming as of right now. It’s less dramatic, I suppose…. Life is catching up with us, I guess… It’s hard to just take one step back at this point. You’re kind of in or you’re out… we’ve been less and less available for shows and tours the last little while, and ultimately the timing seemed right. The idea of continuing on half-hearted is the opposite of what this band has always been about.”

So this is one of those “indefinite hiatus”-type things, but we all know what that means. I think it’s safe to wave “bye-bye” to this band.

Click to read more…

1. You can stream Buried Inside’s super awesomelicious new album, The Spoils of Failure, here. I’ve been trying to get you guys excited about this record for awhile now and I don’t know how good a job I’ve done, so, for the love of all things holy: GO LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM ALL THE WAY THROUGH AT LEAST ONCE. If you don’t like it you don’t like it, but it deserves your attention, damn it.
2. If you’ve got the blues and need a good belly laugh, you can stream Dope’s new album, Antichrist Nobodies No Regrets, here. But don’t go there looking for good music; there’s none to be found.

-AR

I’m gonna get some of you to buy the new Buried Inside album if it kills me.

Last month the band posted a new song, “V,” on their MySpace page; the song comes off of Spoils of Failure, the band’s first new album in what feels like for-ev-er. Now a second new song, “II” (I’m noticing a theme here), has also been posted.

And it’s awesome. This band is just awesome. I’m pretty confident that this album is gonna be awesome. Check out the song and revel in the awesome awesomeness with me.

Spoils of Failure will be out on Relapse on March 3 here in the States and March 9 everywhere else. Awesome!

-AR

Duuuuuuude. I feel like I’ve been waiting for-ev-er for a new Buried Inside album. Their last, 2005′s Chronoclast, was nothing short of a masterpiece, but its release was nearly four years ago, and since then, there’s been zip, zilch, zero, nuthin’, nada, bupkas.

Well, the band FINALLY has a new album coming out, Spoils of Failure, and have posted a new song, “V,” on their MySpace page. And it strikes me as totally worth the wait: few bands combine dirty, blindingly mad rabid dog viciousness with epic, introspective beauty as well as these dudes do. Check it out NOW – it is easily one of my most anticipated albums of the new year.

Relapse will release the Kurt Ballou-produced Spoils of Failure on March 3 here in the U.S. and March 9 everywhere else.

-AR

Buried Inside’s 2005 Chronoclast was one of my favorite slices of post-hardcore this decade, if not ever; it was a truly corrosive, haunting work (Converge fans who don’t know the album are truly robbing themselves of experiencing something special). Having not heard a peep from the band since its release, I kind of assumed they were dead and, well, buried.

Not so, says Lambgoat, who just posted the following release from the band:

“Despite what may seem like complete inactivity, Buried Inside are not broken up. Not even close. The writing for the follow-up to Chronoclast is nearing completion and pre-production has been underway for the last couple of months. Arrangements are being ironed out for the upcoming recording, and barring any obstacles, a release date is expected for January 2009.”

Wow. I suddenly have a record to get excited about for next ear.

In case you don’t know these dudes, here’s a track from Chronoclast… check it out, it is most definitely worth your time:

Buried Inside, “Time as Ideology” – Chronoclast (Relapse)

-AR