Speak of the devil! All Shall Perish were just announced as one of the acts on this year’s Mayhem Fest earlier today, and now they’ve posted the below video, which shows guitarist Ben Orum doing some pre-pro work in the studio. And while the track that plays in said video is unfinished (there’s no bass or vocals), it still gives you a pretty good sense of how at least one of the new ASP songs might sound.

Here’s what Orum told us about the new album when we interviewed him back in August:

“I think we’ve all come to an agreement that we want to have it more in the vein of The Price of Existence – but an updated version of it. With [then-guitarist] Chris Storey in the band, we went into this oddball shred direction that not all of us were really into. We loved the songs, don’t get me wrong, but we’d like to take it back to a heavier place.”

The tune in this video actually sounds to me like it’s a pretty fair compromise of Existence (which is a record I fucking love) and the band’s follow-up, Awaken the Dreamers (which I also really, really like, albeit not as much), but a) that’s not a bad thing and b) obviously, I’ll have to reserve final judgment for hearing the actual album.

In the meantime, check this shit out and see what you think…

-AR

[via The PRP]

All Shall Perish have seen, in the words of guitarist Ben Orum, some “dark” times as of late: multiple lineup changes, creative challenges, touring drama, and, about a week and a half after we interviewed Orum, a van accident that threatened to derail their current stint on the MetalSucks co-sponsored Summer Slaughter Tour (the band has since re-joined the trek).

And like any good metal band, they’ve persevered despite all the bullshit. When we spoke to Orum just hours before Summer Slaughter’s recent stop in NYC kicked off, he seemed to be in high spirits. He says that this latest incarnation of the band is the best yet, and will return to the studio next year to make a record more in line with2006′s heavy-as-fuck The Price of Existence than 2008′s more melodious and noodlily Awaken the Dreamers. And when we saw the band play later that night, well… they killed it, and the crowd ate them up. A lot of the time you hear bands say “Well, this is our strongest line-up ever,” and it’s just hype; but Orum speaks the truth. This is All Shall Perish, and they’re better than ever.

Read the full transcript of our chat with Orum after the jump.

Click to read more…

Congratulations to all 10,461 of you who have emailed us about Smashface, the new band featuring Chris Storey formerly of All Shall Perish; you’ve gotten your wish for a MetalSucks post. All Shall Perish are one of the few bands in the deathcore scene we hold in very high regard, and it bummed us out that Storey left. So it’s unsurprising then that Smashface is also top-notch shit. Where All Shall Perish were serious and earnest, Smashface takes a decidely lighter and humorous approach to their music, but it’s all good — the shred is on another fucking level as could be expected, and the composition is all there. Highly worthy of you checking them out right this moment.

BraveWords.com tells us that Storey is also playing shred for Adrian English, whose new record A.D.D. just dropped on the appropriately monikered Shredcore Records. Check it out on Adrian English’s MySpace page. This is more what you’d expect from a modern instrumental shred record… imagine what would happen if John Petrucci got in a room and jammed with the rhythm section of any band on Sumerian Records, and you’ve got the sound nailed. AKA it’s good shit!

-VN

As you’ve probably heard, All Shall Perish’s new album, Awaken the Dreamers, is slower and less brutal than its predecessors, Hate.Malice.Revenge and The Price of Existence – but it’s less brutal the way getting punched in the face is ultimately somewhat preferable to getting kicked in the nuts. This album is still heavy enough to make the listener feel like Billy Milano is sitting on his lap, and to bitch about its lack of br00tality is to be too close-minded for one’s own good.

Click to read more…