Oh hey lookit — Children of Bodom have released another new song from their forthcoming album, Relentless Reckless Forever. You can stream it here, or just on the YouTube thinger below.

I gotta be honest — this isn’t my favorite Children of Bodom song. I think it’s kinda missing a hook. But my confidence in COB isn’t wavering; the last song from the album that they made public, “Was it Worth It?”, was good enough that I’m still reasonably certain that RRF will be another quality entry in the Fins’ discography.

Check out the song, then weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section. Relentless Reckless Forever comes out March 8 on Spinefarm.

-AR

Admit it: this picture makes you SO FUCKING HAPPY.

Recently, my friend sent me a YouTube link to a Bee Gees cover group. Excuse me, tribute band. That is the proper way of addressing them, as Mark Wahlberg taught us in Rock Star. I don’t like the Bee Gees. I don’t like disco. Disco is kind of terrible. Disco blows dogs for quarters. Disco is never amazing, especially not when KISS attempt it. To say I was a little confused would be an understatement. But my friends aren’t totally clueless to what I listen to, so I gave it a shot. It turned out it was a heavy metal Bee Gees tribute band. Okay, it was a little bit awesome. Weirdly enough, it worked. I only like thin-voiced men screeching when accompanied by equally high-pitched guitars, and that’s basically what heavy metal “Stayin’ Alive,” was. I turned it off about halfway through because, well, I still have my limits, but it kind of makes you stop and go, “Huh!” Metal just makes everything sound better.

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So Children of Bodom were nice enough to release a new single, “Was it Worth It?,” on the radio, and this day and age being this day and age, the song is of course now on YouTubes. You can check it out below.

My first impression of this not-exactly-great-quality bootleg? I like it. I mean, Children of Bodom don’t drastically change their formula from album to album, and so this song doesn’t offer any real surprises, but it is catchy like the plague, so I ain’t about to complain.

“Was it Worth It?” comes off of COB’s latest, Relentless Reckless Forever, which comes out March 8 on Spinefarm.

-AR

[via The PRP]

I don’t really know what the phrase “relentless reckless forever” means — I understand what “relentlessly reckless forever” would mean — but I also don’t think it’s all that important. What is important is that we’re getting a new Children of Bodom album on March 8 via Universal Music.

And, uh, that’s it for now I guess. That album art sure does look Children of Bodomy, doesn’t it?

After the jump is a trailer for the video of the first single, “Was it Worth It?” I hate music video trailers, but I’m posting this in lieu of a new song, or something more substantial to check out. You only get to hear a little bit of new music, which doesn’t really tell you much, but there is some footage of a dude riding a skateboard while it’s on fire, which is pretty bad-assed. The video was apparently directed by Dale “Delight” Restighini, which immediately makes me want to hate it, ’cause that dude is such a massive tool that I once saw Bob Villa use him to fix a sink, but I guess I should reserve final judgment until I see the full clip. (On a semi-related note, I just googled Dale ’cause I can never remember how to spell his last name, and the SECOND RESULT to come up was this. Hilarious.)

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While the rest of the NY-based MS staff was partying it up at the MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000 Knives CMJ showcase featuring A Life Once Lost, Car Bomb, This or the Apocalypse and Last Chance to Reason [pictures taken by BBG here], photo master Jacqueline Cheng trekked across the East River to the airy Hammerstein Ballroom, where Black Label Society, Children of Bodom and Clutch were busy rocking Manhattan. Her photos after the jump!

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So MetalSucks Mega-Maniac Shinaain tried to send us this video earlier in the week, but it had been taken off of YouTube. She was good enough to tell us when it magically re-appeared; apparently, some people didn’t like the way it was edited originally (there’s now an alternate version here), and objected to its original title, “Eleven Things You Didn’t Know About” blah blah blah, because Bodom’s hardcore fans (Hate Crew Deathrollers, or whatever they’re called) knew a lot of this stuff already.

But if you’re like me, and you’re a Bodom fan but you haven’t been hanging on Laiho’s every word for the past thirteen years, this is pretty fun. Hey, my first guitar was a Strat, too! And I was eleven years old when I got it, also! Alexi and I have so much in common. Besides my total lack of musical talent, I mean. But still!!! Maybe we can be besties.

-AR

Apparently the Alexi Laiho giveaway we announced last month was a popular contest, and with all these sweet prizes it’s not shocking that so many of you entered and have since been pestering us to announce the winner:

• 1 ESP LTD Alexi Scythe 600 Guitar
• 1 Rock House Metal Pack of 24 Instructional DVDs
• 1 year’s supply of Alexi Signature DR Strings (24 sets)
• 1 “Coffin Case” for the ESP guitar
• 1 Autographed Alexi EMG set
• 1 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Guitar Bundle (Winner’s choice on the console)

The suspense is over, as MetalSucks reader RumuluXX is the lucky one who will be receiving all that great gear listed above. We asked you to tell us what your favorite Children of Bodom guitar solo was and why, and here’s the answer he gave:

My favorite Bodom solo is Needled 24/7, and it should be yours too. Why? Because the first time I heard it I got an erection so massive that it tore a hole in time and space that created an alternate universe. An alternate universe where Ted Nugent only plays music and never talks. An alternate universe where Cliff Burton is still alive and Metallica is still relevant. An alternate universe where Chris Farley is alive and the guys who made Vampires Suck/Date Movie/Epic Movie are raped on a daily basis by an incredibly large black man known only by the name of “Incredibly Large Black Man. Every time I hear this solo our world crosses into that one a little bit more, and isn’t that a world you want to live in?

Congrats, dude! Enjoy your bounty.

Since Children of Bodom are going on the road with Black Label Society, Clutch & more this fall as part of the Black Label Berzerkus, we’ve teamed up with them to offer you a chance to win some of Alexi Laiho’s favorite gear! One grand prize winner will receive:

• 1 ESP LTD Alexi Scythe 600 Guitar
• 1 Rock House Metal Pack of 24 Instructional DVDs
• 1 year’s supply of Alexi Signature DR Strings (24 sets)
• 1 “Coffin Case” for the ESP guitar
• 1 Autographed Alexi EMG set
• 1 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Guitar Bundle (Winner’s choice on the console)

To enter, and all you need to do is leave a comment (with a valid email address as the winner will be contacted by email) telling us which Children of Bodom guitar solo is your favorite and why. Remember, this is MetalSucks, so a funny story or anecdote has a much better chance of winning than an entry that tells us why Alexi is a genius for using a certain type of scale. You have until midnight EDT on Monday, October 4th to enter.

Legal mumbo jumbo / obligatory sponsor text after the jump. And don’t forget to check out Children of Bodom live at a Berzerkus date near you (TOUR DATES).

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Ozzy’s injustices against Zakk Wylde are getting to be so heinous that I hear Mel Gibson is planning a revenge movie with himself starring as Zakk. Last July, Ozzy fired Zakk after twenty-one years of loyal service (not counting that brief period of time when Joe Holmes was in the band). And that’s Ozzy prerogative, of course – hell, it might have even been a good idea – except that Ozzy told the press Zakk was done before he told Zakk, and even after Zakk got the news secondhand, Ozzy was too pussy to call him.

Now Ozzy is trying to re-write history. Here’s a recent Ozzy Osbourne quote from an interview with Goldmine (via Blabbermouth):

“I don’t want anyone to think for one minute that I fired [Zakk Wylde]. I never fired him. He never left. There was nothing to leave. Because all he was doing was his gig and mine. It kind of got to us crashing into each other. But I had to let go, because it’s me rather than him.”

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I am going to assume that a decent portion of the followers of this site are themselves musicians with bands of their own. That is generally how it goes with metal. There are seamless lines blurred between the “fans” and the “bands” because, like myself, many metal patrons represent both categories. Without this large sector of musician fans, technically proficient bands that cater directly to this base (like Dream Theater, Meshuggah, and Necrophagiast) would be much less successful. So to those musicians, I would like to use this blog to shine a light on one of the harsh truths in all music and entertainment that many musicians choose to ignore -

Image matters a lot in this industry. In fact, it’s probably just as important as the music.
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YESSSSSSS.

Amon Amarth have announced a North American tour for this spring. If you’ve never seen Amon Amarth,well, get off your ass and go.

It was at a Children of Bodom/Amon Amarth show in 2006 that Vince and I first decided to start MetalSucks. We were, it should go without saying, really, really baked. But it’s worth noting that at that particular moment, Bodom hadn’t taken the stage yet. So I’d like to think that the idea was born not just of weed and anticipation for COB, but, rather, from weed and the mighty creative juices of Amon Amarth. Thanks, dudes!

Eluveitie and Holy Grail are acting as support; I don’t know Holy Grail, but Amon Amarth and Eluveitie should really be enough to get you off your lazy ass.

Dates after the jump.

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Hypocrisy were s’posed to follow-up the November release of their excellent new album, A Taste of Extreme Divinity, with a North American tour – with Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho playin’ the gee-tar, no less. We were super stoked for that tour, but unfortunately, the swine in U.S. immigration wouldn’t let Peter Tagtgren and company into the country, presumably because The Man wants us all to keep fighting each other so we don’t notice that He’s screwing us, and He knew that a North American Hypocrisy tour could maybe, just maybe, bring peace and love to the huddled masses. Either that, or the band’s paperwork wasn’t quite in order. But either way, it blew goats.

Luckily, it seems that Hypocrisy’s problems are now behind them, and they’ve announced another North American tour. And while, unfortunately, it seems like Laiho won’t be in tow this time out, they will have Hate, Blackguard and Swashbuckle with them. So that’s not bad.

Get dates after the jump.

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At long last, we’ve chosen a winner for our Alexi Laiho impersonation contest. There were a lot of really funny entries, but sadly most of them were disqualified for being outside the U.S. (read the rules, people!). Andrew N. from New City, NY emerged victorious, and will soon be the proud owner of his very own ESP Scythe for filming and submitting the below video (and not for nothin’, being a skilled guitar player!). Thanks to all who participated… check out all of the awesome entries on the Alexi Laiho Imprsonation Contest Page.

So were pretty stoked about Hypocrisy’s upcoming U.S. tour with Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho playin the leed gee-tar, but then it looked like U.S. immigration might derail the whole thing. And now they have.

A very brief statement from the band reads:

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Metal fans, let’s take a collective moment to consider ourselves blessed with some big Peters. Peters who will take you firmly from both sides of the mixing board with confidence and expertise. Sweaty, bulging-veined Peters whose live shows leave willing multitudes spent, sated, slack – and more than a bit bruised. These Peters, thanks to generous endowments of talent, stand fully erect as superstars in real metal. Each of metal’s hugest Peters share a rock hard work ethic, hardly pausing for rest between releases captured on tape and performances in the flesh, after which they simply move on to violate again in another city.

In the premiere installment of MetalSucks’ Metal’s Biggest Peters, I spoke by phone with Peter Tagtgren of Hypocrisy, who recently added a third instant classic to his resume with A Taste of Extreme Divinity (buy it now, DBAA). Tagtgren is a death metal household name and represents the rare quintuple-threat (guitar, vocals, production, songwriting, hair). With his feet up on the mixing board (awesome!) and in good humor, Tagtgren spoke at length about crappy production, freaking out metal fans, and why his bands Hypocrisy and Pain are ‘guinea pigs’ for the benefit of others.

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We’re very excited about Hypocrisy upcoming U.S. tour with Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho on guitar. In fact, in the next forty-eight hours, we’re planning to run an interview that our own Anso DF recently conducted with Hypocrisy main dude Peter Tägtgren.

So it’s heartbreaking to report that the tour might go down the shitter, as Hypocrisy are just the latest in a long line of bands to run into trouble with U.S. immigration. A statement from the band follows:

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Time is winding down! You only have until midnight this Saturday, appropriately Halloween day, to submit your best impersonation of Alexi for a chance to win his sick-ass ESP guitar. In case you forgot what the deal was here’s a snippet from the contest page:

Between now and October 31, you’re going to film yourself doing your very best impersonation of Alexi Laiho. What does that mean? Exactly what it sounds like; you’re going to do whatever it takes* to create a video where we can’t tell you apart from Alexi. You can wear a wig, you can adopt Alexi’s stage moves, or anything you want within reason. But to win, you’d better make us laugh, or blow our minds with your ability to be a clone of Alexi. In any case, our panel of judges will watch each video, and the one we deem the coolest will be selected to win an ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Series LTD AL-600 Scythe guitar!

So what are you waiting for? We’ve already got a ton of funny entries. Get to recording and enter the contest!

If you read this site regularly you know I’m fascinated with temporary team-ups, like Dave Lombardo playing drums for Metallica or Doc Coyle playing guitar for Lamb of God. I just love these little glimpses into some alternate reality where great bands traded great musicians.

So here’s a good one: according to Metal Underground, Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho will be playing guitar with Hypocrisy on their upcoming North American tour.

Says Hypocrisy mastermind Peter Tagtgren:

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Speaking of Decibel: their, um, let’s call it an “electronic division,” The Deciblog, has gotten Children of Bodom main man Alexi Laiho to supply his top five metal riffs of all time. (Thus the headline. Ah-duh.) If somebody asked me to do that, I’d probably blow my brains out, so props to Alexi for giving it a shot.

As we know first hand here at MS, posting any list like this is an open invitation for a shitstorm to rain down upon your head, but I suspect that Alexi’s list especially will cause arguments. I believe this will be the case for two reasons:

1. He’s Alexi fuckin’ Laiho, not some blogger.
2. He put a Black Label Society riff on the list.

Read the entire list here, then come back and get embroiled in some good old fashioned name-calling.

And don’t forget that we’re currently running a contest where you can impersonate Alexi for a chance to win an ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Series LTD AL-600 Scythe guitar! Enter that shit now!

-AR

Don’t lie; we know you’ve grabbed your guitar (or a tennis racket, or a broomstick, or the like) and pretended to rock along with your favorite musicians. Hey, we all play guitar too. We know how it is. Normally, you probably don’t want anyone to see you imagining yourself onstage in front of 50,000 screaming fans. But we’re going to give you a good reason to let the whole world watch.

Between now and October 31, you’re going to film yourself doing your very best impersonation of Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho. What does that mean? Exactly what it sounds like; you’re going to do whatever it takes* to create a video where we can’t tell you apart from Alexi. You can wear a wig, you can adopt Alexi’s stage moves, or anything you want within reason. But to win, you’d better make us laugh, or blow our minds with your ability to be a clone of Alexi. Our panel of judges will watch each video, and the one we deem the coolest will be selected to win an ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Series LTD AL-600 Scythe guitar!

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