Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

Two weeks ago, we not only revealed that this month’s dB flexi disc is Krallice covering Rorschach’s “Traditional,” but that the corresponding Hall of Fame would be the Jersey bruisers’ Protestant (order here). Krallice have been busy churning out covers both kick-ass and poignant lately, but today’s our day to tongue-bathe Rorschach for their influential 1993 ripper.

Resident dB workaholic Kevin Stewart-Panko wrangled Charles Maggio, Keith Huckins, Nick Forte, Thom Rusnak and Andrew Gormley for Q&As, and the guys were unsurprisingly down-to-earth, modest and hilarious. (“I’ve had people for years tell me about how Rorschach [were] responsible for metalcore, and I’m like, ‘Wow, people think I’m partly responsible for a genre, and that genre is only good part of the time.’” —Huckins.) Another thing about Keith, also of natural-born co-worker killers Deadguy: he joins a select group of artists with two HOF entries: Lee Dorrian, Bill Steer, Jimmy Bower, Nocturno Culto, Scott Ian, Danny Lilker and Sal Abruscato. I’d have to guess that out of all those guys, Bower or Lilker has the fastest potential track to three. But you tell us: what triple threat deserves it the most?

-AB

Decibel’s September 2011 issue also features Opeth, Toxic Holocaust, Sepultura, Cradle of Filth, All Shall Perish, Skeletonwitch, and that awesome Krallice flexi disc. That issue is available here, but why not get a full subscription to ensure you never miss an issue?

This post will be very concise and to the point: The other day I realized that nearly all metalcore/screamo/post-hardcore videos take place in a grassy field, and I will use this space to list several examples. I don’t know if you have ever tried to make a Wikipedia entry, but it’s really hard because some pedantic nerd/ass hole/etc. will delete it in like two minutes (like when I tried to make a Wiki for wigger slam back in the day), so I feel like MetalSucks is the best venue to document this phenomenon.

[Thanks to tween expert/post-teenager Elise from Reign In Blonde for a couple of these examples]

Click to read more…

“BIG PANTS WASTE PRECIOUS FABRIC”

Step into my Nocturnus time machine and take a magical journey with me into a time long, long ago, an excursion into a world that scarcely resembles our own. In this world — we’ll call it Moshtopia — hardcore kids are known for wearing giant, baggy pants, not skinny jeans; there are people under 30 that know who Black Flag is; and metalcore bands worship Krishna, not Christ. This is not a fanciful episode of Jojo’s Bizarre Adeventure fan fiction, my friends, — it is the strange and wonderful world of mid-90s hardcore!

Click to read more…

First things first: screamo is literally worse than the Holocaust in my book. With a few notable exceptions, I absolutely cannot stand this shit. That said, with bands like The Devil Wears Prada and Underoath selling out huge venues, putting out platinum-selling albums, and selling truckloads of cookie-cutter merch to every angsty suburban teen within driving distance of a Hot Topic, it’s hard not to pay attention to the genre. I might not like it, but Kids These Days certainly do. My biggest question: Where the fuck did this shit come from??

As someone who saw the birth of metalcore and “true screamo”/skramz firsthand in the 90s, I am highly confused when I listen to these bands. On the one hand, they are not so different from anything that could have been on Victory or Indecision in the 90s (Earth Crisis, All Out War, Bloodlet). Obviously there are some things that have changed over time, but the fundamentals of metalcore are still there (see my post “The 5 Kinds Of Music Teens Are Into” for more details). On the other hand, the kids in Alesana, August Burns Red, and possibly even As I Lay Dying have no fucking idea who those pioneering metalcore bands are, much less that screamy vocals were born in the tiny basement shows and vegan bakesales of the 90s DIY hardcore scene.

Click to read more…

I’ve never met Matt Fox in person, but reading his answers to this all-too-brief interview I recently conducted with him via e-mail, I really, really want to. Fox comes across as intelligent, funny, and, as his band’s name would suggest, a knowledgeable and opinionated sci-fi geek; in other words, he comes across as exactly the kind of dude I’d wanna be friends with.

Shai Hulud’s latest cock punch of metallicized hardcore, the excellently titled Misanthropy Pure, hits stores today via Metal Blade, and if you haven’t heard it yet, well, you need to: it’s a vicious, wholly unique entry into a genre that seems to be growing more tired by the day, an album that genuinely doesn’t sound like anything else on the market right now. Above, watch Shai Hulud’s David Brodsky-directed video for the title track; after the jump, check out Matt’s thoughts on the writing process, the metalcore genre, and, of course, all things sci-fi.

Click to read more…