Last week, we posted video of Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe rehearsing with Cannabis Corpse, who he was going to front for the memorial show in honor of late GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot; that show took place this past Saturday, so now, of course, we have video of the actual performance. Here’s the entire set…

…and here’s some bonus footage — Blythe shaving GWAR front man/MetalSucks columnist Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie’s head on stage:

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Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot (aka Flattus Maximus) is dead. His band members found him deceased this morning as they prepared to cross the Canadian border. MetalSucks just received the following statement by Gwar mastermind Dave Brockie directly from the band’s camp:

It is with a sense of profound loss and tragedy that the members of GWAR must announce the passing of their long time guitarist and beloved friend Cory Smoot,  also known to thousands of metal fans worldwide as Flattus Maximus.  Cory was found deceased this morning as the band prepared for a border crossing.  There is no word as to the cause of death and the members of GWAR are completely shocked and devastated that this has occurred.  At this point there is no word on arrangements and the disposition of the remainder of GWAR’s current North American tour, nor are there any details regarding long term plans.  At this point we are just dealing with the loss of our dear friend and brother, one of the most talented guitar players in metal today.  We ask that our fans and the media be respectful of our request for privacy for those that have suffered this terrible loss.  A full statement will be coming in the next day or so, in the meantime please give your thoughts and your prayers to Cory, his family, and all the people that love him.

-Dave Brockie-

This sucks more than words can possibly express. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Cory’s friends, his family, and of course his bandmates.

- Everyone at MetalSucks

When I was fifteen years old, I had to sneak out of my parents’ house on a Friday night to go see GWAR and the Misfits play a Halloween show. Then I had to conceal my clothing from my parents, seeing as it was, y’know, soaked in blood, urine, and semen.

Here we are all these years later, pretty much right at the anniversary of that show, and GWAR are on a popular, mainstream late-night talk show. And yet, somehow, they seem no less rebellious than they ever were.

Which is all my way of saying, “GWAR rules.” And they do. They rule. Hard.

ANYWAY, here are some things we did this week:

• Speaking of GWAR, Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie himself provided us with more insights into the NFL. Meanwhile, several members of the Relapse Records family gave us the skinny on the new NHL season, and The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley pondered the pros and cons of new technology in music.
• We debuted Jucifer’s new video, for the song “Hiroshima.”
• We got exclusive specs on Contain Us, the new box set from The Devin Townsend Project.
• We spoke to Steel Panther and Niilo Sevänen from Insomnium.
• We checked out the latest release from Carnifex.
• We continued the Countdown to the Metal Suckfest and defended Danzig.
• We counted down the eleven cardinal rules of attending a concert.
• We wondered if nu-dethcore is the next big thing.
• We cried because even ex-members of Metallica make bad music now.
• We argued about the best debut albums of the past twenty-five years.

And that’s it! Have a delightful weekend, gang. We’ll see ya Monday.

-AR

It was a weekend of big changes at the quarterback position all around the league, and Sunday’s games gave the first good indication of what the rest of the season might be like for the unfortunate teams that are still struggling for consistency at what is undoubtedly the most important position on the field. Picking the players, especially the QB, is one of the most important jobs coaches have, and the strength of their decisions decides all kinds of things… like who wins the Super Bowl, and who gets to keep their job. Injuries and crummy play have forced several coaches to change their plans, and the fate of the season hangs in the balance for a few teams. This weekend’s action gave us the clearest evidence yet as to how it’s all going to turn out, and while it’s too early to start talking about certain coaches (or their relatives) getting canned, you can bet the whispering has begun.

Just look at the horrific blow-out the New Orleans Saints laid on the Indianapolis Colts, 62-7. The Colts season ended before it even got started with top QB Peyton Manning’s neck injury, and the Saints, behind the notoriously bad-hair of QB Drew Brees, are playing at their highest level since winning the Super Bowl a couple of years back. Like those people in New Orleans need another excuse to party!

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It was an ugly weekend in football and sports in general, and I found myself at times wondering things like “why do I care about this?”  The bad stories just kept piling up, and it was at times difficult and painful to watch. It didn’t help that the sports world was still digesting the tragic news of a horrible wreck during an Indy Car race in Las Vegas that took the life of driver Dan Wheldon. The promoters had packed way-too-many cars on a way-too-small track, and it only took 12 laps for an gigantic accident that involved almost half the 32-car field. So the sports weekend was already off to a start that could be termed… UGLY.

And it got uglier quickly, especially if you are a Washington Redskins fan. Once again your team was made a laughing-stock of the league, as QB Rex Grossman experienced an epic meltdown against the desperate-for-a-win Philadelphia Eagles. Grossman not only threw four interceptions, he almost got intercepted several other times, and repeatedly forced the ball into double and triple coverage until he was finally benched in the third quarter. But Grossman’s miserable QB rating was only the fourth worst in his career! Back-up John Beck fared a bit better, bringing the Skins to within a TD, but it was too little, too late, and the Eagles beat the Skins 20-13. UGLY.

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Friendly reminder: as of RIGHT THIS SECOND, the legendary Richard Christy from Death, Iced Earth, Control Denied, and, oh yeah, The Howard Stern Show, is at the MetalSucks/Vertebrae 33  booth at New York Comic Con signing copies of Charred Walls of the Damned‘s ridiculously rocking new album, Cold Winds on Timeless Days, which is out NOW on Metal Blade Records. He’ll be there ’til 7 pm, so there’s still time for you to hop on a bus, subway, or in a cab and get your ass down there — we’re booth #2625. Myself and/or Vince are also there now, and will be there tomorrow and Sunday, too, and we may have some other special guests in store for you yet. So come on by, pick up some free swag courtesy of Indie Merch and Metal Blade, hang out, whatever. It’ll be a blast! Get all the details here.

And now, some other fun shit we did this week:

• We premiered a new live recording of Death’s “Leprosy” and new music from Trapped Under Ice.
• We spoke to Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved, Rex Brown from Kill Devil Hill/Pantera/Down, producer Shane Frisby, and Skateboard Marketing’s Munsey Ricci.
• Valient Thorr’s Valient Himself occupied Wall Street, GWAR’s Dave Brockie gave us the blow-by-blow on the NFL, and Eyal Levi from Dååth and Levi/Werstler and Audiohammer Studios got all Pacino-in-Heat on us.
• We checked out the latest releases from Warbringer and Årabrot.
• We continued The Countdown to The Metal Suckfest and launched a contest in which you can win some sweet swag and a meet and greet session at the show.
• We watched some inter-Emmure drama unfold.
• We begged Sasha Frere-Jones from The New Yorker to stop writing about metal forever.
• We enjoyed the use of Nine Inch Nails in the new trailer for The Avengers.
• We got excited about Cynic’s new line-up + song.
• We celebrated the best Dragonforce cover ever.

Have a terrific, relaxing weekend everyone. See ya Monday, if we don’t see ya at NYCC!

-AR

The NFL lost one of its all-time greats last week as long-time Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis slipped this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible… in other words, he died. Every sports journalist from here to Hoboken immediately began lamenting his passing and glorifying his life in a way completely appropriate for such a luminary figure. His countless accomplishments included hiring the league’s first African-American head coach and being inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame. The only problem with this picture is that most of these journalists kissing Al’s dead ass were the same ones who have mercilessly cracked on him for being a senile old coot who needed to give up the reins a long time ago. Even I had been guilty of the occasional irresponsible tweet, and it occurred to me that so much attention has been paid to blaming Al Davis for the Raider’s post-2002 blues that nobody remembers all of the amazing things Al Davis did for not only the Raiders but for the entire NFL. So in a sense Mr. Davis’ death has been the perfect chance to flip the script and remind everybody who the Raiders (and Al Davis) really are (were).

And after the Raiders wild 25-20 win over the Houston Texans, I am happy to say that the Raiders are who we thought they were, and who they haven’t been for the past nine years or so — the bad guys of the NFL with a team to back it. I mean, think of a league without the Raiders. Isn’t it a dull and dreary place? Only the Cowboys inspire the level of fandom that the Raiders do, so without them you have only the Cowboys and doesn’t that make you want to puke? On a personal note, as a Redskins fan, it’s great to see Jason Campbell smiling. He didn’t do a lot of that around Washington, but he always gave it his all. I really wish we hadn’t traded him! The only thing that would have made the Raiders’ day better would have been a win at home, but now the stage is set for an emotional homecoming as the Raiders take on a struggling Cleveland team next week at O.co. Coliseum.

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Happy birthday, Reign in Blood! We love you. You don’t sound a day over one.

Here’s some other things that happened this week which are worth celebrating:

• We started the countdown to The Metal Suckfest.
• We debuted new music by Immolation and a new video by Early Graves.
• Devin Townsend and Textures’ Jochem Jacobs and Bart Hennephof took us through their live rigs.
• GWAR’s David Brockie discussed the NFL, Daath’s Eyal Levi discussed getting the fuck out, and God Forbid’s Doc Coyle discussed how the times, they are a changin’.
• We spoke to Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies, Mother of Mercy’s Bob Wilson, and directors Sean Dunne and Kenneth Thomas.
• We checked out new releases by Ghoul and Taake and Craft.
• Sergeant D. became the most popular feminist in metal.
• Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes had a bad week.
• We mourned the death of the album intro track.
• We wondered if Mastodon’s live vocals are getting better.

Now go crank some Slayer.

See ya Monday.

-AR

Week four in the NFL saw some of the most amazing play from a QB ever recorded, and some of the most inept officiating I have ever seen. There were amazing comebacks and burly beat-downs. All in all, as we closed out Week 4 the NFL was the same chaotic, colorful, and crazed place it always has been, as some teams began to separate themselves from the pack and others continued to wallow in mediocrity… and I was once again left with the task of somehow writing about it. Not the easiest thing to when you really don’t care about most of the teams and are bound to offend many by your caustic observations concerning why their teams suck. But I beg forgiveness in advance! I’m no sportswriter; I’m the guy behind Oderus and I sing for GWAR. My personal agenda is strongly linked to my professional persona, so if you are looking for a fair and objective viewpoint, where I reward good performances with positive ink, read no further! That will happen, but I am WAY more into making crass remarks, laying-down weed-addled observations, and making my way through this entire season without missing a deadline. In fact, that’s probably the hardest thing about writing this thing. On Sunday I am drinking beer and watching football ALL DAY (and I am already using this column as an excuse to subtract myself from reality any time ANYTHING to do with the NFL is happening), so I am not about to get any writing done. Dragging my hungover ass out of bed early enough to make my Monday at noon deadline is by far the toughest challenge I face, and for that I am happy! I used to shovel shit for a living. Hmmmm… I guess things haven’t changed that much.

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I am still trying to figure out what kind of column this should be. I have found that a general blurb is too limiting. I can’t cover anything in the depth I want to, and I always leave out somebody who feels their team is deserving of notice. I am reminded of watching Monday Night Football as a child, desperately hoping that my team would make the halftime highlights reel, and being horribly offended when they didn’t. Plus there is the stone-cold fact that I just don’t care about a lot of teams in the league. Reporting on them is boring. So after considering my options carefully, I decided to write about WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANTED.

Week Three in the N.F.L. saw a couple of perennial loser teams continue their winning ways, a couple of big-time QB’s continuing their slides towards oblivion, and left a couple million guys like me trying to figure it out. But why? Because football, and sports in general, offers one of the last true escapes from this crazy modern world, and the fact that all of your friends are doing it makes it even more acceptable. It’s kinda like having a one-day vacation once a week, and if your team is playing on Monday night, it even comes back again for a little while. But damn… never has a vacation been so vulnerable to fate’s whimsy. Interceptions, penalties, and especially potentially career-ending injuries to franchise players that your team then lies to you (the fan) about can really screw up your fun. But that’s OK, it’s not like you flew the family to Disneyworld. No matter how bad it gets, the fridge is full of beer.

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It dawned on me as I was watching the games yesterday that I was doing it as a professional journalist. I mean, I was last week as well, but I don’t think it had dawned on me that I was finally doing something that I been following avidly my whole life. Reading about football isn’t as fun as watching or playing it, but it’s not bad! It fact the biggest reason I got a Kindle was so I could get a hometown newspaper everyday and follow my team from mini-camp to immolation! And to be given a chance to write about it is a responsibility I happily embrace, and am honored to be given a chance to excel at. Now let’s get to the action!

Week Two in the NFL was a surprising flurry of stupid yet brutal circumstances. New England QB Tom Brady told the fans to get “lubed up” before the game, then had management decide he was talking about water. That’s just brutally stupid! Thankfully the games started before he could say anything else.

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via WWTDD

So much of this week ended up being devoted to the Big Four that I honestly don’t wanna think about any of those bands again for at least the remainder of the year. So to wrap this shit up, here’s everything Big Four-related we did this week:

• We live snarked the Big Four show at Yankee Stadium.
• We went to an Anthrax press conference.
• We went to the Metal Masters clinic and saw Phil Anselmo jam some Pantera with various Big Fourers.
• We debated the merits and demerits of Anthrax’s Worship Music.
• We listened to Lars Ulrich on Howard Stern.
• We had fun at the expense of Dave Mustaine’s faith.
• We had a Big Four edition of Show Us Your Metalsucks.
• We helped Metal Injection with their Big Four-themed Livecast.
• I also made an appearance in Metal Injection’s Big Four video recap, which you MUST watch because a) it’s awesome and b) I’m so handsome!

Greetings sports and metal fans everywhere, and welcome back to the glory of football! That’s right, the world’s greatest sport is back and men everywhere are heaving a collective sigh of relief. No more Sundays at the mall, or like, hanging out with your family or something. NO! Our butts are attached to our favorite butt-supporting device, and we will not be moved! Bring me chips, woman! Honey? Where did you go?

Before we start our coverage let me first of all say that football is so awesome that we stole the name of the world’s most popular sport and used it for ours, and then insisted they were wrong. That makes Europeans mad. Well, let them be mad! They can go fight it out at the gay SOCCER match. And actually they do, as some of those European soccer hooligans can be pretty nasty. Isn’t it funny that a sport that is so gay (soccer), and has such a gay name (soccer), attracts such violent followers? Over compensation, I do believe. But on to American FOOTBALL.

Anybody who knows me knows I am a big Redskins fan. But when they asked me to do this column they were very clear… I have to cover the whole league! Shit, that’s a lot of teams, and I hate most of them. Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more I hate the team, with the exception of the Raiders, who I always liked (because of the cool uniform). But I don’t have another “favorite team” or even a second favorite… I believe you get one team and you stick with them ’til the end! And considering that I am a Skins fan, those are not easy words to live by. OK, lets get to the action!

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Gwar/Mutiny Within @ White Rabbit

San Antonio, Texas – June 7, 2010

Due to an unfortunate pre-show fluidity accident involving my good friend, Brian, and my alleged miniature Dachshund, Tamale, I missed out on all but two songs of Mutiny Within’s set. I was actually looking forward to seeing the band and enjoyed what I did see. I will make sure to catch them on the rebound in the near future.

Of course, no one really cares about opening bands when it comes to Gwar. In the midst of celebrating their 25-year reign of destruction over you puny Earthlings, Gwar is tighter, heavier, and funnier than ever. Instead of being relegated to the bargain bin of heavy metal wash-ups, Gwar has miraculously leaped to the forefront of true heavy metal entertainment spectacle.

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Oh, snap. We’re used to Slayer’s Kerry King picking fights in the press. But now Gwar’s Oderus Urungus, perhaps eager to throw down with the legendary guitar player, has brought the mountain to Mohammad by talking some shit of his own.

In an exclusive video interview with Dave “I’m Not Really Just Oderus Without the Mask” Brockie for NoiseCreep, Oderus has this to say about Mr. King:

“He’s fat and ugly and stupid. Y’know, I’ve supported Slayer my whole life, they’re probably the greatest metal band ever. In fact, I personally gave Kerry King, fat little bald Napoleon with swagger that he is, The [Metal Hammer] Golden Gods Award for Most Awesome Metal Artist, and I didn’t even anally violate him, and he still couldn’t find it in himself to acknowledge.”

Ouch. Harsh words. If you know me but at all, you know I can’t wait to hear King’s retort. I’m sure it will have something to do with costumes. Which would be kinda ironic.

Here’s the video of Oderus smacking King with the proverbial glove:

Speaking of Oderus: you can still ask him a question right here. Hopefully he’ll answer a few more in the coming weeks.

-AR

[via SMN]