In what seems like really not that much time, Magrudergrind have become one the most popular bands in all of grind — and it’s easy to see why. Not only do their albums kick ass all up and down the boulevard, but their live show is truly something to behold. Last year, a friend of mine who didn’t “get” the appeal of Magurdergind’s recordings saw them live and was promptly won over by them, which, really, is the highest compliment that can be paid to a band’s live act.

Whether you’re already aware of how great they are live or you still need to have your Magrudercherry popped, you’re in luck — the band’s nine day tour with the legendary Despise You begins tomorrow night (get dates here). We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to e-mail Magrudergrind front man Avi Kulawy some typically irritating MetalSucks-style questions. Lucky for us, he was a good sport about it!

After the jump, get Kulawy’s thoughts on what makes this particular tour special, which member of Magrudergrind has the stinkiest van farts, vocal warm-ups fit for grindcore, and more.

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Magrudergrind and Despise You are teaming for a too-brief tour this September, and while I know that a very small amount of you live in locations that will allow you to attend, I wanna make sure that those of you who can go to one of these shows do go. Because these bands are awesome, and doubly so live. Hopefully you already know that, or are open to learning it, ’cause it’s undeniable truth.

So, to review: Magrudespiseyou tour, MetalSucks readers who live in the area attend. Simple simple simple.

Here’s a great promo video for the tour made by Sean “Spleen Latifah” Gresens from Metal Injection…

…and tour dates are after the jump! As a bonus, some of these shows include other amazing bands, too, like Cannabis Corpse and Defeatist. So, really, just go. Did I mention that you should go? ‘Cause you should.

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The release week of April 26th doesn’t bring any big-time heavy hitters, but what it lacks in muscle it makes up for in quality and volume: new releases by Krallice, Deafheaven, Explosions in the Sky, Graviton, Primordial, Vomitory and an Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You split, among many others, hit the stores and e-waves today. Vic Vaughn on each and every one of ‘em after the break.

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Agoraphobic Nosebleed contributed seven songs to And On and On…, their new split with Despise You. The shortest of these songs is “Miscommunication,” which has a running time of just twenty-four seconds. So, of course, that’s the one  for which the band chose to produce a video.

Said video, which just debuted on Metal Injection, is over a minute long, although I won’t spoil the content of the additional thirty-eight seconds, because… well, you just need to watch. Everything about this video is totally fuck nuts. And I mean that as a compliment.

And On and On… is out now on Relapse.

-AR

The release of the new Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You split, And On And On…, is getting closer and closer, and now our friends at The Deciblog have two new AnB songs from said split for your listening pleasure — “Miscommunication” and “As Bad As It Is…” The first one isn’t even thirty seconds long, which is kind of a bummer, but the second is one a proper scorcher.

“Possession,” one of the first songs from the split that the band released, is still my favorite of the tracks we’ve heard — but that’s not a knock against these songs at all.

Listen here, then pre-order that shit here. Relapse will release And On And On… on April 26.

-AR

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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means we’re taking off early today and won’t be back ’til Monday. We’re sorry to leave non-American readers high n’ dry, but PLUS ONE FOR FREEDOM, MOTHERFUCKERS.

ANYWAY, in honor of the holiday, we decided to do a special Turkey Day-themed QOTW designed to make you feel all warm and cuddly inside:

WHAT (IN METAL) ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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When I am not trolling simple-minded, entry-level elitists, I enjoy the soothing, dulcet tones of some classic thrash or death metal. I am definitely not any kind of metal encyclopedia or authority on the subject, but I have realized that (sadly) I’m old enough to have heard a few bands that many younger metal fans have not, just because I have been exposed to a lot of bands over the years — sort of like an ancient desert tortoise who is not a historian, but has seen history unfold before his eyes simply because he is old as fuck. Because I enjoy giving back to my community, I will share some of my favorite older bands in case any of you might like them. If you want to hate on me, that’s OK, too, so feel free to tell me I’m a poser, that everybody already knows about these bands, that I got some trivial detail wrong, or whatever else you think makes you “sound like u rly know what ur talking about.”

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Anyone who was unfortunate enough to have well-meaning-yet-clueless relatives knows the feeling of disappointment. After weeks of anticipation, staring at the shiny boxes under the Christmas tree and wondering what’s inside, you eagerly tear open your presents. What lies inside? GI Joes? Transformers?? A BB gun? A new Nintendo?!? Mind racing and adrenaline pumping, you open the first box and are brutally assaulted by reality: your hippie uncle got you some handmade, wooden train from his recent trip to Chile. And it only gets worse — grandma gave you a subscription to Highlights, and mom got you enough socks and underwear to last you through high school. Dejected, you retreat to your bedroom and pout while thinking about all the awesome presents the other kids must have gotten.

This is the same feeling I got all too often as a young metal fan in the late 80s/early 90s. Back then, without the internet, finding new bands was a real crapshoot — you really never knew what you were in for when you bought a new record unless you manged to catch them on Headbanger’s Ball. You did the best you could with what you had, but it wasn’t much to go on. Time and time again I was tricked by a cool logo, sweet cover art, or a name that sounded brutal — what I thought was going to be ass-ripping thrash or hardcore turned out to be dreadful hard rock, third-rate speed metal, or limp-wristed art rock. I tried so hard to be positive and enjoy the album that I had squandered my $8 on, but I just couldn’t do it.

In no particular order, here are a few of the dozens upon dozens of bands who I tried to like, but simply could not. What are yours??

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Nowadays, fucking everyone is on Twitter — the President, Snooki, Napalm Death, Lady Gaga, and pretty much every famous/infamous/inconsequential figure imaginable is out there constantly micro-blogging away. One entity I never expected to stumble across on there was Agoraphobic Nosebleed vocalist/lyricist/mindfucker J. Randall, but lo and behold — he is indeed a tweeter. An offhand remark about his desire to do a few interviews about recent happenings in Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s world caught my eye, and I couldn’t help it: I took the bait.

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In my 20+ years of listening to metal/hardcore/etc, there are few records that have made a bigger impact on me than the “Cry Now, Cry Later” compilations. For those who aren’t familiar, this series of four double-7″ compilations collected some of the mid ’90s most brutal and important grindcore/power violence bands, and I still listen to it on the regular (although nowadays that’s usually on my iPod while I’m at the gym).

Before I dig into the tracks themselves, a little background: You may know Pessimiser as the label who put out some great records from bands like 16, Despise You, Excruciating Terror, Grief and Phobia, but it was originally a zine. The brains behind the zine, label and Despise You is Chris Elder, who is not only hilarious, but among the world’s most cynical human beings (as you might be able to tell from the name of his band and label). Chris is born and raised in the sketchy town of Inglewood, which has its fair share of cholos (Mexican gangsters), and the name of the record is a parody of the famous cholo saying “Smile Now, Cry Later.”

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A couple of weeks ago we got word that Scott Hull was putting together a second edition of This Comp Kills Fascists; that news alone was enough to make us excited, because a) we loved Comp volume one, and b) we’ll spend money on pretty much anything that has the words “Scott Hull” on it. (Pretty much anything. There are obviously exceptions.)

Now a complete list of bands that Hull has selected to appear on the comp has been released – although not a track list. I just think that’s worth mentioning because with bands like these, the songs tend to be pretty short, and on the last comp, all the bands got multiple songs – so if you look at this list and think “Gee, that’s it?”, well, it’s safe to assume that there will still be plenty of music to be had here.

Maybe even more importantly – since I don’t think this line-up is as overtly impressive as the one for Comp. 1 (which had Brutal Truth and Insect Warfare and some other “flashier” bands, at least inasmuch as there’s such a thing as a flashy grind band) – there’s now a preview page for the album, which is currently streaming tracks by Despise You, Apartment 213, Owen Hart, and Idiot’s Parade. So if you look at this list and you’re all, “Fuck are these dudes?,” well, head over there to hear some awesome awesomeness.

List of the included bands after the jump. And because I’m a swell fella, I’ve included MySpace links for all of them, so you can check ‘em out now if you’re not already familiar with them.

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2008′s Scott Hull-compiled This Comp Kills Fascists was pretty much the best thing ever; it seemed to feature half the world’s best grind/powerviolence/hardcore/whateverthefuck bands (Brutal Truth, Magrudergrind, Insect Warfare, etc.), and even introduced me to at least one awesome band with whom I was not previously familiar (Weekend Nachos). Also, the album art had a picture of George W. Bush with a swastika made out of cocks coming out of his head, so it’s hard not to get behind that as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the modern age, or possibly just recorded history in general.

Now Hull is curating (can you curate a metal comp?) a second volume, which Relapse will release in North America on June 22, and in Europe on June 28. You can pre-order a copy here. The tracklist hasn’t been released just yet, but announced bands include Lack of Interest, Noisear, Drugs of Faith, Apartment 213, Despise You, Triac, Social Infestation, and Crom. Some of those bands I already know and some I don’t, but it doesn’t matter – Scott Hull has impeccable taste. This comp is going to kill a lot more than just fascists.

No word on which political figures will be getting the genitalia treatment this time out.

-AR