Is Twitter the new Facebook (if Facebook was, in fact, the new MySpace)? MetalSucks isn’t gonna wait to find out, and has now officially joined 2008 by signing up for Twitter (follow us!). In case you’re over the age of 20 and not yet hip to Twitter, Twitter is a social networking site that’s basically just the “status update” section of Facebook with everything else stripped away. Users can update their profiles with short messages and links with quick updates about what they’re currently doing (140 characters or less), from a web interface or from their mobile phone. Musicians have begun dabbling in the world of Twitter, and, naturally, this provides loads of entertainment for us.

Aside from the obvious humor inherent in a bunch of br00tal metal dudes doing something that’s called a “Tweet,” some notable metal musicians are already ensconced in the world of Twitter. And what’s cool about it is that you know, at least until marketing department heads become hip to it, that you’re getting a direct link to the actual person. When Vernon Reid Tweets about the guy that designed his custom pedalboard, you know it’s him. When Fred Durst Tweets about a tattoo of Frankenstein he’s getting… uh, you know it’s him, for better or worse. Let’s look at what some notable quotables in the metal world are saying on Twitter:

Click to read more…

Not just because they plan to continue bringing you dissonant goodness by recording a new album in mid-2009 but because they’d like to hear your opinions on your favorite DEP songs and just about everything else:

Oh, yeah, just out of curiosity…what’s everyone’s favorite Dillinger song? Is there a song you wish we would play live that we don’t ever seem to? I’m curious…we’ve got a lot of different shit out now and it’s interesting to hear what you have to say about it all. You guys hear a lot of our opinions about everything under the sun but we don’t get to hear yours too much….

Click to read more…

In the spirit of our infamous Cripple on Cripple and Beard on Beard interviews (with Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman and Killswitch Engage’s Justin Foley, respectively), we here at the MetalSucks School of Rabbinical Studies would like to introduce a new feature we hope will be ongoing but fear won’t, due to the, err… somewhat limited pool of jews in metal. Our first target was Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, a Long Island jew if ever there was one; dude flat out denied the interview request. Feh. Thankfully Eyal Levi from Daath was there to save the day like Moses parting the Red Sea. Eyal, ever the mensch, was even so kind as to bless us with an mp3 of Daath’s brand new song “Sharpen the Blades” from their new album The Concealers, which should hit stores some time in ’09. After the jump, read my [Jewish] exchange with Eyal and download the new track for the price of a mouse click.

Click to read more…

A couple of months back I published an article declaring that Spylacopa, the new supergroup featuring John LaMacchia (Candiria), Jeff Caxide (Isis), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies / Battle of Mice), was sounding surprisingly tame for a band whose members usually spit such intense venom. Now I eat my words.

Click to read more…

Here’s a fucking fresh new band for ya’ll to check out. Despite their puzzling name, Don the Reader are the explosive result of what happens when you mix the dissonant, raw energy of The Dillinger Escape Plan with the aggression and riffage of the Deftones and the post-punk melodic sensibility of Helmet or Quicksand. The LA-based band have a new album called Humanesque available on October 7th via Deathcote Records — and we have the exclusive leak of their song “Teethgrinder.” Enjoy it below, and send out to the masses.

Don the Reader – “Teethgrinder” (mp3)

Listen to more Don the Reader on their MySpace page.

-VN

On August 25, 1988, Metallica released what many consider to be their last great album, …And Justice for All. To my ears, this would probably be my favorite Metallica album of all time if not for the lack of bass (Which, to this day, I think was an idiotic way to haze then-new-now-former bassist Jason Newstead – I mean, why would the band punish themselves by damaging their own album? How does that pay tribute to the memory of Cliff Burton? It doesn’t). Justice features Metallica at their heaviest, and, often, their proggiest. I’ve been trying all week-end to think of words that could do Justice, um, justice – but I just can’t. And I probably don’t need to to: I’m sure you all have your own feelings on this classic recording.

So here’s Metallica performing the title track on the Justice tour in ’89. After the jump, keep the celebration going with more live clips, the now classic video for “One,” and some other cool shit.

Click to read more…

Happy July 4th, everyone. Axl and I are closing down the MetalSucks Mansion a day early to get off of this swampy, hot, over-crowded island…. so this is it for us until next Monday. Enjoy your time-off; for our international readers, well… revel in the fact that you get *way* more days off than we lame Americans do throughout the whole year! Anyway, here’s what happened this week:

• Motley Crue and Shinedown had big sales debuts, while Disturbed and Kid Rock kept it going strong.
• The Human Abstract debuted more killer new music.
• We interviewed the brains behind one of our favorite albums of 2008 so far.
• David Draiman insists on having the last word in the ongoing Disturbed vs. Dillinger Escape Plan drama.
• The new Slipknot masks look kinda like the old Slipknot masks, but we like their new song.
• We asked what you thought of Straight Line Stitch; you answered loud and clear.

Cheers, everyone. Enjoy your time off.

-VN

Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman has penned a guest blog for Headbanger’s Blog about the war of words in the press between his band and the members of Disturbed:

“In response to this whole Disturbed drama, people have to realize that the press paraphrase things all the time in order to create this stuff. I know what I said and what I meant when I did that interview talking about Disturbed practicing the way they stand and stuff. It had nothing to do with knocking them.

“I was asked in an interview about whether or not we practice our stage show based on the fact that we are so active. I simply said no, and that I once saw Disturbed sound check in London when we were playing the smaller club attached to the venue that they were playing the same night. I think our room was 1000 people and their room was like 2,000 people. They were practicing where they would stand and pose and stuff. I was just differentiating what we do and what they do. We don’t do that. Big deal.

“Considering how the information was presented to them, I don’t blame them for being a little pissed. But to imply that we need to be taught a lesson from them about how it works in the big time is ridiculous. This band has been self contained and managed for 11 years. We have played in front of 100 people and in front of 50,000 people. We have been on national TV shows and covered in major publications. I don’t really care about their lighting cues or guitar solos. Good for them and good luck with that. I hope they sell a codrillian records and levitate over the crowd on a unicorn. Oh and just to clear another thing up… I never even responded to his comments until now. I don’t write our MySpace blogs. So again, misinformation.”

So that’s um, Ben does get one last shot at Disturbed there, but, in all honesty, Disturbed had it coming for writing, well, every song they’ve ever written. Or covered. Because holy poopsicle was that Genesis cover awful.

It was fun fanning the flames of this battle while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end (Except for Kiss, apparently. Oh wait, I said “good things.” Never mind).

-AR

Well, the war of words between MetalSucks faves The Dillinger Escape Plan and MetalSucks whipping boys Disturbed continues. Here’s what Disturbed vocalist/Howie Mandel lookalike David Draiman (pictured right, apparently in the throes of having to take a major shit with no toilets in sight), had to say about the conflict in a recent interview:

“I’m actually very confused by [Weinman's comments], ’cause, to be honest with you, we don’t normally let anybody around when we’re checking or we don’t pay attention to it, number one. Number two is I don’t ever remember playing with the guys, to be honest with you. I don’t know what they were doing there. I don’t ever remember having them open for us, so… I don’t even know what the hell they’re talking about. And then as far as ‘rehearsing moves,’ I mean, I don’t know who the hell they think we are — we’re not N’SYNC; we’re not going up there with choreography or something like that, trying to rehearse. ‘This is when I put my foot on the monitor here.’ [Laughs] No one cares about that. But when it’s time for Danny [Donegan, DISTURBED guitarist] to hit his guitar solo, yeah, he needs to be in a particular cued spot so that the lights go to that focus point, when there’s a little particular fill in the song. It’s called production — it’s what any big professional band that isn’t just punk rock… Not to say that there is anything wrong with punk rock, because I have my roots in it, but you can’t compare the two styles of a show. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN are more punk and I respect them for what they do — I’m not even calling them out on any level, in any way shape or form. I like the style of what they do. I don’t understand what the hell they think they saw with us, but gentlemen, let me give you a little bit of education: This is what the big boys do who play stadium shows — they wanna worry about how the lights look that they spend so much money on.”

You know what? It pains me to say this given how much I loathe this fucking band, but that’s actually a very mature, well reasoned answer, and with the MAJOR exception of claiming to have his roots in punk rock*, one I can’t really find fault with. I mean, yes, it’s kind of condescending, but less so than Donegan’s response, and, c’mon, DEP said Donegan has a small penis, so all things considered, it’s not so bad.

Wow. I hope that’s the last nice thing I ever have to write about Disturbed… at least until they break-up.

-AR

P.S. Disturbed still sucks.

*Unless he used to be in a Green Day cover band or something.

In what’s become one of the most amusing metal soap operas since Axl vs. Weiland ’07, Dillinger Escape Plan (presumably guitarist Ben Weinman) fired back at Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan after the two engaged in a war of words through the press a couple of weeks back (read Axl’s recap here for some hearty amusement). From the DEP MySpace blog:

The guitar player Dom Deluise or whatever his name is with the little peen complex from that band Disturbia or whatever they’re called thinks that we care about them. Old news, but still funny. Check it. “My Ferrari is better than your Honda!!! Our stages come apart and travel with us and yours don’t!!! We have thirty guitar techs and you have one!”. Coooool self esteem barometer douchebag. Wait…what’s that I hear? The sound of your band still sucking? Oh, right. Gotcha there, bud.

While the “we don’t care about them” bit always rings a bit hollow (after all, you’re writing about them… so you care. duh.), I can’t help but think this is mostly designed as a way to bait Dan Donegan (Dom Deluise!) into making more ridiculous statements. Take the bait, Dan! Take it!

-VN

There’s something inherently odd and funny about a bunch of tattooed metal dudes being all lovey-dovey with animals. Which makes the dudes in Dillinger Escape Plan all that much cooler for professing their love of animals and doing exactly that. The band members have been vocal in the past about their support of PETA and the fact that most (or all?) of them are vegetarians or vegans, and they recently shot an ad spot for PETA2′s “Angels for Animals” campaign, which you can watch below.

Animals are M E T A L.

-VN

See more from the Dillinger Escape Plan
at peta2.com

Long before the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and All Shall Perish were doing it, Cinderella made spinning your guitar around your back cool. Ah, who am I kidding, it always was, still is, and will always be cool. As is having Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora do a cameo in your video.

If only someone had told my 10 year-old self that you need a wireless unit to perform the guitar spinning trick correctly, I would’ve been spared much befuddlement and wire tangles as a youth.

-VN

[Thanks to MetalSucks die-hard TTquick for the tip.]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/w_xUDFMv94s" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

This review has been incredibly hard for me to sit down and write. Finally forcing myself to do so, I sat my ass down, pressed play on Protest the Hero’s latest album Fortress, and just sat listening without typing a word until halfway through the second song. Oh, I’ve listened to the whole album at least 10 times, probably more, all the way through. But Fortress is just so genre-defying, so outside the box, so off the wall, so virtuosic, progressive, heavy and melodic… us journalist types get all in a tizzy because we don’t know how to describe what Protest the Hero do. So let me start by describing it this way; fucking awesome. Protest the Hero incorporate every element of heavy music that I look for in a band while forging ahead in a direction completely their own, and Fortress is the strongest work to date of their young career making it an easy early contender for best metal album of 2008.

Click to read more…

With the amount of e-ink we’ve been giving Protest the Hero and Dillinger Escape Plan lately, not to mention “MetalSucks proverbial wet dream” Sikth, the young
Mukilteo, Washington 3-piece Fall of Troy really ought to be mentioned in the same breath. Fall of Troy are as good an example of the burgeoning post-prog-metal — or is it prog-post-metal? — genre, combining a post-punk attitude with metal grit, lofty arrangements and dazzling musical ability. Guitarist Thomas Erak artfully fretboard-taps up a storm, sharing vocals with bassist Frank Black (no, not that Frank Black), who alternate between melodious sung passages reminiscent of At the Drive In’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala and screamed vocals that actually sound, you know, yelled, not like a trained diaphragm technique version of a growl. The band changes it up constantly with drummer Andrew Forsman leading the way, weaving in and out of melody and dissonance, from one time-signature to the next. While eschewing the tired cliches of guitar chugga-chugga and my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours growling, Fall of Troy have managed to create something incredibly artful, progressive, and heavy all at the same time.

Fall of Troy’s most recent release Manipulator dropped in 2007 on Equal Vision Records. Here’s their video for “Ex-Creations”:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" width="430" height="346" fvars="m=26169267;type=video" wmode="transparent" /]

[Fall of Troy on MySpace]

-VN

Dillinger Escape Plan have released the new video for the Faith No More-esque song “Milk Lizard” from their recent album Ire Works. The video was shot a day after guitarist Ben Weinman broke his foot while shooting the video for “Black Bubblegum,” but from the way he rocks out in this video, you’d never know he rolled up to the shoot in a wheelchair (check out Kip’s hilarious interview with Ben Weinman about his broken foot and why God hates the Jews.). As expected, this is a very creative video from a very creative bunch of dudes.

-VN

At the Drive In, Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me… Protest the Hero. If that doesn’t satisfy the art-metal snobs amongst you, then I highly recommend you get that stick out of your ass, pronto. Protest the Hero is a talented bunch, and if the first single “Bloodmeat” is any indication, their new album Fortress is going to be one hell of a beautifully crafty and brutal roller-coaster ride. Think also: new MetalSucks darlings Sikth.

Check out the video below for their first single “Bloodmeat,” (the best part: no cliche metal video bullshit), and listen to the band’s past work at their MySpace page.

Fortress drops January 29 on Vagrant Records.

-VN

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/rhMfz4HrcEA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Remember SiKth, the best band of 2007 that didn’t actually release a record in 2007? Equal parts Meshuggah, Between the Buried and Me, Porcupine Tree, Dillinger Escape Plan and Tool, SiKth are really the artist’s artist — every single detail of everything has meaning and is thought out completely. Their 2006 release Death of a Dead Day has literally been blowing the minds of everyone I’ve played it for, which is pretty much anyone who lays foot in the MetalSucks Mansion. Yet why has no one in America heard of this U.K.-based prog-metal powerhouse?

Thanks to our boy Frank @ MetalInjection we’ve unearthed some of the band’s music videos and live clips. First, a proper story-telling narrative music video for the album’s first track “Bland Street Bloom,” then a video of live footage from various shows of the song “Flogging Horses,” which shows just how amazing the musicianship is. Word on the street is that the band needs two new singers — can someone get on that ASAP so we can see them live, please? Mmmkay, thanks.

-VN

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/cAyqaLpJTQg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Am4YlNf0WJ0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. Those were the only three words I could manage to conjure immediately following the insanity that was last night’s Dillinger Escape Plan show at the Blender Theatre here in NYC. And rarely has the word “show” so readily applied to a concert. DEP live inhabit a plane somewhere between the brutal, take-no-prisoners all-out-war of Henry Rollins-era Black Flag and the pyro-laden theatricality of Kiss in their prime. Put more simply: YOU HAVE TO GO SEE THIS BAND LIVE.

Click to read more…

Vince and I got to interview Dillinger Escape Plan front man Greg Puciato yesterday (there’ll be a full transcript up later this week), and at some point, the conversation turned the most brutal pits in metal, and Greg mentioned Suicidal Tendencies as being one particularly nightmarish war zone. Now, if a big dude like Greg can get freaked out by a pit – well, you just know it must be wild.

Since it thus occurred to me that Suicidal Tendencies is yet another band we don’t spend nearly enough time talking about around here, I thought perhaps we’d kick our Monday off with their video for “You Can’t Bring Me Down,” ’cause, well, it’s a good anthem to remind you not to off yourself (or any of your co-workers) on yet another shitty start of a shitty work week.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/wiGlDRQdXTM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

-AR

Publicists send us shit all the time, and 9 out of 10 times it blows goats but we listen anyway because every now and then there’s that occasional gem that shocks you and makes hours of brain-drilling listening all worth it.. Sikth’s Death of a Dead Day — originally released in 2006 — is that fucking good.

UK-based Sikth’s own brand of progressive metal mixes the breakneck hardcore spazzes and jazz freakouts of Dillinger Escape Plan or Between the Buried and Me, time-warp rhythms of Meshuggah, metallic melody of Dream Theater and bone-crushing breakdowns of Hatebreed all into one neat little package. But the band possesses a sense of songwriting and melody, like their UK prog-metal brethren Porcupine Tree, in which those bands rarely indulge. The musicianship all around is stellar, and vocalist Mikee Goodman shows a surprisingly versatile vocal approach, ranging from singing to screaming, growling, shouting, and everything in between. (According to Sikth’s MySpace page Goodman has moved on and they are searching for a new frontman. Hear that, aspiring vocalists?)

What’s more, the band produced Death of a Dead Day entirely themselves, with a precision mix job coming from Bieler Bros. Records (helmed by Jason Bieler, ex-Saigon Kick!) go-to-guy Matt LaPlant (Nonpoint, Skindred, Burn Season).

Why has no one ever mentioned this band before to me or anyone at the MetalSucks Mansion? This. Record. Fucking. Rules. The #1 sleeper hit of 2007 in my book, even though it was released in June of ’06. See for yourself, below.

Sikth – “Bland Street Bloom”

Sikth – “Part of the Friction”

-VN

(four out of five horns)

[Visit Sikth on MySpace]