The always-excellent Clutch recently launched their own line of beer with New Belgium Brewery, and to celebrate they had a party, and of course they played at that party, and one of the songs they played at that party was a new tune called “Newt,” and so now of course there is video of that new song on the internet. (Author takes a sec ’cause he’s winded.) And it’s a neo-Clutch song, which is to say, it’s bluesy and it’s catchy and it makes me wanna dance dance dance despite the fact that I am as caucasian as caucasian comes. Check it out below:

No word on when a new Clutch album, which will presumably include “Newt,” is coming out, but in case you had any doubt, at least now you can rest assured that it will most likely be good.

-AR

[DC Heavy Metal by way of Metal Insider]

If you’re American, you already know it’s Memorial Day weekend, and, in fact, you’re probably either already on your way to the beach/a BBQ/a terrible summer movie/whatever, and are reading this after it was published. If you’re not American, all you really need to know is that we’re breaking out right now, and won’t be here on Monday. Usual tomfoolery will resume on Tuesday, May 31.

In the meantime, here’s how we kept busy this week:

• We debuted new music from Job for a Cowboy, Tombs, Unearth, and Vaulting.
• We spoke to Neil Fallon from Clutch.
• We continued to unveil our list of The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists.
• We checked out the latest releases from Dark Castle and Embers.
• Sergeant D. examined comedy metal.
• Leyla Ford examined Lady GaGa’s metal-ness.
• Anso wondered if Slayer pinball is better than recent Slayer albums.
• We got really excited about the new Gojira song.
• We got less excited about the new Bury Your Dead song.
• We watched you folks debated about the new Trivium song.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to put these tips for using the toilet to good use before I head out for the weekend. See ya Tuesday!

-AR

I recently had the opportunity to chat with vocalist Neil Fallon of the legendary Clutch. Fresh off some oddly-matched but nevertheless successful tours, first with Children of Bodom and Black Label Society then with Motorhead, Clutch were gearing up for a U.S. headlining run and the re-release of their classic album Blast Tyrant. We talked touring, said reissue, and the band’s success with and thoughts on running their own record label, Weathermaker Music. Our chat, across Beale Street.

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Foo Fighters fans fretting that Wasting Light would relinquish its hold on the meaningless Soundscan charts after dropping to #2 last week after three debut weeks at #1… fret not, as Dave Grohl and co. are back up top! This week’s #2 comes in the form of a big surprise, as Zack Wylde’s Black Label Society sold a ton of copies of the acoustic equivalent of a remixes album.

Lots of interesting action elsewhere, too, with new records by Anvil and Hate Eternal making the charts, and a bunch of other strong sellers. Also: a case study in Sixx A.M. / Motley Crue chart history, another one on the myriad Aerosmith greatest hits collections selling gangbusters, and on Metallica’s Master of Puppets‘ chart legacy finally coming to an end.

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I heard about, and then completely ignored, this photo album of Mastodon recording their new album. Why did I completely ignore it? Because I’ve seen bands record albums. It looks like dudes standing in a studio playing instruments. And unless you’re dealing with a band who haven’t recorded together in a very, very, very long time, well… that’s not too exciting. So these kinds of shots in and of themselves are usually not very cool.

Well, I’m an idiot. If I had looked, I might have seen this pic of Dave Grohl in the studio with the band:

Instead, I had to read about it on Heavy Blog is Heavy. D’oh!

ANYWAY, let us now analyze this photograph into, ahem, oblivion.

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In case it isn’t readily apparent from the giant logo in the lower right hand corner, we “borrowed” this photo of the gig from Prefix.

I’ve never met anyone that outright hated Motorhead. There are people who are indifferent or don’t really like them, but full-on vitriol-spewing hate? Nuh-uh. Motorhead are amazing and wonderful and remind me why I love metal. I’m sure nay-sayers exist, and I pity them, for they have no joy in their cold, hard hearts. I, however, delight in gruff dirty rock n’ roll played really, really fast, and so I was psyched to see them live.

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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:

• God Forbid’s Doc Coyle weighed-in on Sergeant D.’s “band life is for losers” theory.
• We broke the news that hardcore supergroup S.O.S. has signed with Good Fightand got an exclusive report on the status of He is Legend from the band’s manager.
• We debuted new music by Napalm Death (thanks, Decibel!), The Haunted and Clutch.
• We said cel-lo to Grayceon’s Jackie Perez Gratz and got the skinny on the new Today is the Day album from drummer Curran Reynolds.
• We checked out the latest release from Total Fucking Destruction.
• We wondered if women make better metal singers than men.
• We examined the Kid Rock-Confederate flag controversy.
• We watched the worst video of 2011 so far.
• Dummy Nosenothing listened to the new Meshuggah song and then chased an ice cream truck.
• WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK…

Alright, I’m gonna go have some ice cream! ICE CREAM! YYYYAAAAAYYYYY!!!

-AR

On April 26, Clutch will reissue their awesome 2004 album, Blast Tyrant, through their own Weathermaker Music label. And to sweeten the deal, they’re including a ten-song bonus CD, Basket of Eggs, which will include acoustic versions of a number of their classic songs — like “Tight Like That,” from their self-titled 1995 classic. We absolutely love this song, and the acoustic rendition is KILLER. Whether you’re a long time Clutch fan or new to the band, you NEED to check this shit out.

Stream the track below, exclusively here at MetalSucks, and be sure to pick up the Blast Tyrant reissue with the bonus Basket of Eggs CD on April 26!!!

[this streaming promotion has ended]

Allo allo alohoyus out there. Here’s a vid update from the beginning of the tour with Motorhead and Clutch. We are quite behind on these because EVERY SINGLE night is a totally sold out insane fury of sweat, smoke, booze, friends, fans, women, and loud rocknroll jams! So – getcher self a taste here and stay tuned for more updates and shit asap.

Beard love from Detroit,
Valient Himself

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, yeah, it turns out there’s a burgeoning metal scene in Maldives, and we even know some peeps who have either worked there or may work there in the future. Does that mean we’ll take a vacation there soon? Fuck do we look like, Wes Borland?

Here’s some other shit that happened this week:

• We were re-joined by some old friends: Porn star Bobbi Starr talked about the world’s most metal porn, and Dallas Coyle pondered the road to happiness.
• We debuted an exclusive excerpt from Dave Mustaine’s memoirs, and are giving you a chance to meet the man himself.
• We spoke to Woody Weatherman from C.O.C. and Roxana Shirazi, author of The Last Living Slut.
• We checked out new releases by Clutch and The Acacia Strain and I Declare War.
• Sergeant D. taught us about the history of slam.
• We defended Eddie Van Halen from Dave Davies.
• We climbed a Wall of Douche.
• We met The Crud Wizard…
• …who is infinitely cooler than the dude from ICP’s ree-ree son.
• Also, BON JOVI + BOOBIES!!!

Okay. Gonna go to an awesome Cynic show now. Lates.

-AR

The bands I love most tend to be a love or hate prospect, ones that garner only a strong reaction from a person. Neurosis are either a band you get or a band that bores you. Darkthrone either shook something deep in you or they’re way too kvlt for your tastes. And Clutch, well… Clutch don’t seem to fit into that category. I find it hard to believe that if you like music, you can truly dislike Clutch. There’s so much there to dig and nothing really that offensive about them (unless you have a problem with beards, in which case… what the fuck is wrong with you?). So, in theory, they’re almost too accessible, and perhaps not necessarily a band to love. But even a cursory glance below the surface reveals complexities to lose yourself in: clever and occasionally out-there lyrics, stellar musicianship, and a decade and a half’s worth of remarkably-solid-to-staggeringly-excellent material. In a way, Clutch’s tendency to make you want to grab a beer and start bellowing your best Neil Fallon impression with nine of your closest friends works to their disadvantage. They’re too good to be true, but are, in fact, true.

Clutch’s new double DVD set, Live at the 9:30, ably (and occasionally exhaustively) documents this. With one disc of a spectacular show and another of an hour and a half’s worth of rare footage, fan interviews, and history from the band themselves, it’s enough for a Clutch fan to sport — at the very least — a semi under their gargantuan belt buckle. Though occasionally veering a little too much into just-for-obsessives territory, Live at the 9:30 is illustrative of how people really, really love Clutch, and, more importantly, why people really, really love Clutch.

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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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Okay. I started SYL in 1993 after hearing Soul Of A New Machine. I saw Fear Factory open for Sepultura with Clutch, and I remember running around the venue telling everyone: “THAT is what I want to do, except with extra chaos…”

My creative process is directly tied to my emotional development. There are some folks that make music by picking up a guitar until they have a riff that is defined by the musical roads they choose to hone. They then sculpt it into that framework and voila, Metallica, Slayer, Priest etc. I think that’s awesome, and in some ways I’m envious of that. In many cases, if you mix that with tenacity and a certain amount of talent and luck, you can sustain a decent career.

That’s not how I create, again… as it is tied to life and circumstance, my music has generally been cathartic observations of what life presents, and each new record in many ways is a reaction to the one before. So in the most blunt of terms, I make music to better understand myself as I change.

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I haven’t sung the praises of Salome in awhile, so here goes: this band crushes. Everyone I know who has seen them live has just been floored with them. Guitarist Rob Moore and drummer Aaron Deal (read my interview with Mr. Deal here) play as though they’re actively attempting to use soundwaves as a weapon, and vocalist Kat… well, she goes to some other place. Like, she temporarily becomes psychotic or something. (Actually, maybe she’s always psychotic. I’ve never actually met her, but her art is pretty dark. I once considered buying a piece because I think it’s so cool, but I was afraid if women saw it on my wall, I’d never get laid again. Of course, right now I’m having trouble finding the link to the page where you can buy her art, but just take my word for it. It’s bleak.)

Now Salome have signed a deal to release their next full-length – actually, I think it’s their first full-length – through Profound Lore. That makes them label mates with Agalloch, The Gates of Slumber, Cobalt, Alceste, and some other awesome bands. In other words: it seems like a good fit.

The band is still writing said full-length, but they have a split with Thou coming out sometime soon (more details as I get them!), and I strongly encourage you to check out their EP in the meantime – or, even better, go see them live. As we reported before, they’ll hit the road in September on a tour with the equally fantastic Hull and Batillus, and will even be playing the MetalSucks co-sponsored Planet Caravan fest in North Carolina alongside Clutch, Kylesa, Burst, Wino, and a whole bunch of other great groups. Really. Go see them. It is truly a fucking experience.

Complete tour dates after the jump. If you don’t know Salome, visit them on MySpace ASAP.

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A couple of weeks back we reported on the sudden glut of U.S. metal festivals this year, the latest of which is the MetalSucks-sponsored Planet Caravan 2-day metal festival being held in Asheville, NC this September. Quick refresher: Clutch, Pentagram, Kylesa, Burst (first and last U.S. tour ever!), Wino and many others. Today we’re thrilled to announce that the already strong bill has gotten that much stronger with a slew of heavyweight bands added: Tombs, The Gates of Slumber, Zoroaster, Bison B.C., Sourvein, doom kings/queen Salome, and friends of MetalSucks Hull and Battilus, the latter 3 of which will be touring the U.S. together around that time. All of the newly added acts will perform on the also-newly added second stage, right next door to the Orange Peel mainstage at Mo Daddy’s.

If you live anywhere close to North Carolina, how can you even consider not going to this event? It’s going to be a fucking rager. Tickets are on sale here or at the Orange Peel box office.

-VN

I’ve gotten a few e-mails today from people asking me where Vince is. Well, the truth is, Vince can’t write because he’s ill. And he’s quitting the site. No, really, he quit. We didn’t fire him. Swear it. We stand by that statement.

Here’s some other shit that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We’ve heard the new Alice in Chains album, and it is good.
• Gwar’s Oderus Urungus answered some of your questions, and will answer more in the future.
• John Bush is coming back to Anthrax because Dan Nelson quit. Oh, wait, no he didn’t. Yes he did. He probably didn’t, though.
• We spoke with Poison the Well’s Ryan Primack and Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson.
• We checked out the latest releases from He Is Legend, Magrudergrind, Novembers Doom, and Clutch.
• Unfortunately, the 10th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos really is a real thing.
• Baby-eater Dino Cazares must be stopped!!!

Alright. Time to go buy a vaporizer of my very own. See ya Monday.

-AR

Clutch fans have become somewhat accustomed to expecting the unexpected from the band. So, with Strange Cousins from the West, they must certainly be wondering what the surprise is gonna be this time. Well, oddly enough, what’s most shocking about Strange Cousins is the fact that Neil Fallon & Co. have decided to stay the course, continuing to deliver the same sort of clean and direct blues-rock bludgeoning they began to dabble in with 2005′s excellent Robot Hive/Exodus and 2007′s From Beale Street to Oblivion. As much as Robot Hive was a neck-snapping departure from Blast Tyrant, it’s been weird to watch the band stay on this stylistic path for three entire records; one almost could be forgiven for expecting that this new disc would find Clutch heading into some new direction.

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