MetalSucks

I’d never heard of Suicide War before this morning, when MS tipster supreme Saul Hudson alerted me to a posting on their MySpace page announcing that Kirk Windstein has joined the band:

“Yes!! It is true…. Kirk will be doing vocal duties along side Ben in SUICIDE WAR. He will also be filling the bass duties, if and when SUICIDE WAR plans to do some shows. I know some people are expecting his signature Crowbar style vocals, but he has approached this project from a completely different angle.”

Kirk Windstein’s involvement with any project is a big deal – but in case you’re wondering, the “Ben” they’re referring to in the above statement is Ben Falgoust. As in, “The dude from Goatwhore and Soilent Green.” As in, “AWESOME!” Black Label Society drummer Craig Nunenmacher (who also used to play with Windstein’s Crowbar) is also in the band, which I find a little less exciting, but whatever. The group also sports two members of Valume Nob (that’s a not a typo, by the way), an outfit I’m not really familiar with.

But who cares? Any band that has Falgoust and Windstein is, at the very least, going to be worth paying attention to. More news as we get it. In the meantime, you can check out some instrumental demos here.

-AR

Remember last month, when we posted that awesome video of seven students from Aaron O’Keefe music-instruction school in Ohio playing Down’s “Ghosts Along the Mississippi?”

Well, Mr. O’Keefe has done it again, this time with seven different kids, ages twelve through sixteen, playing Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell.”

There’s something kind of hilarious about a pre-pubescent voice doing Anselmo’s vocals, but there’s no getting around the fact that these kids are rule. And if you don’t think so, I’d like to ask you: could you play that well when you were that age? Is your child currently in his room practicing to play like Dimebag? No? Shut up, then.

Here are the names of the kids:

Click to read more…

I haven’t been able to shake this cold, and so I’ve actually been playing a lot of on-line Scrabble with a friend this week (because I’m just that cool). It would be really hard to play Scrabble at a metal show, though, not least of all because so many metal d00dz can’t spell.

When we weren’t beating this whole Uno debacle to death like it had just heckled us, here’s what was happening in the world of metal:

• We streamed Mutiny Within’s self-titled debut album, and premiered a track by Dallas Coyle’s new project, Genetic.
• God Forbid’s Doc Coyle defended mainstream metal, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa discussed the cliffside cave list on L O S T, and, yeah, Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable and Daath’s Eyal Levi each weighed-in on a certain incident involving a certain card game.
• Each of the MetalSucks writers endorsed a finalist for the Scion No Label Needed Contest.
• We checked out new albums by The Breathing Process, Hayaino Daisuki, and Bane and Rhinoceros.
• We debated the morality of a label head posting a link to an album leak.
• We are woman, hear us roar.
• We looked at Mike Patton’s penis, and are now increasingly happy our shrink is coming back from vacation next week.
• Our homeboy Corey Mitchell is co-authoring Phil Anselmo’s autobiography!

Okay. Back to Scrabble! See ya Monday. Stay warm.

-AR

Back when I was a young ‘un and took guitar lessons, my teacher used to gather me and two other students once a week for some jam sessions (that’s not code for “molestion,” you wise guys), which were basically extended rehearsals for “concerts” (e.g., recitals). Each student would pick one song for the band to learn; the student who selected said song had to sing lead vocals and got to take the guitar solo for that song, while someone else played second guitar, someone else played bass, and the instructor played drums.

And it should go without saying that we never, ever sounded as good as this:

Click to read more…

Just wanted to give you guys the first official heads-up that I just signed a contract with former Pantera lead singer Phil Anselmo to help him pen his autobiography. Be on the lookout for an official press release next week.

This one has the MetalSucks handprints all over it, as MS co-head cheese Vince Neilstein hooked me up with Anselmo through the most unlikely of sources — Vince’s dad’s girlfriend and Phil’s aunt and uncle.

Rest assured, MS Maniacs will be privy to many exclusives as I help Phil tackle his incredible story. I will do my best to take you behind the scenes of the making of the book, post advance chapters before the book hits the stores, and post deleted material that won’t make the final cut but will be worth reading nonetheless.

Stay tuned to MetalSucks for more details.

-CM

Corey Mitchell is a best-selling author of true crime books and founder of In Cold Blog. Join him on Facebook and Twitter. His next book, SAVAGE SON, can be pre-ordered now.

Our Bro-test the Heroes over at Crustcake posted the video for a personal favorite of mine, Down’s “Stone the Crow.” Sure, it was Down’s most popular song but it earned that distinction for a reason, namely that it’s fucking great.

I love the interplay between Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein’s guitars in the intro/main riff… each guitar is playing a completely different line that perfectly compliments the other. Metal bands just don’t write riffs like that anymore… any time there are two guitars they’re playing the same damn thing (or close). Also, Phil Anselmo is second only to Layne Staley in the constantly-changing-hair-styles-and-overall-looks department, and I love observing his constant metamorphosis throughout the years. In this video he’s sporting a ’50s Greaser kind of look from the neck up and an early-mid ’90s neo-grunge rocker (flannel and camo shorts) from the waist down… an odd combination, but with Philip it works.

-VN

Down, Melvins, and Weedeater are playing a show in New York City tonight. Holy crap in my pants, I cannot recall the last time I was this excited about a metal show. Three of my favorite stoner metal artists on one bill! The tour continues throughout September, wrapping up in Louisville, KY on the 28th. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this incredible tour is that none of these bands have new albums out. So basically, this one is for the fans. And the money. WIN-WIN!

In related news, those darned Melvins will be releasing a remix album called Chicken Switch via Mike Patton’s Ipecac imprint the day after the Down tour ends. Of course, ever the contrarians, the band has opted to provide entire albums as source material, as opposed to single songs. Participants include a whole mess of freaks, including Merzbow, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, and David Scott Stone, the latter of these boasting an impressive resume recording and playing with Big Business, Fantomas, and The Locust (as well as the Melvins). Drummer Dale Crover is also a member of the doom colossus known as Shrinebuilder, which finally revealed its FUCKING AMAZING first song to the public and is playing a handful of live gigs.

-GS

[Gary Suarez is erecting a pillamyd. He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]

This is Phil Anselmo performing Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell” in Tel Aviv.

And… that’s all I have to say about this.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

Thanks to Kit Hart for sending us this of Mastodon’s Brent Hinds jamming on “Bury Me in Smoke” with Down at Greece’s Rockwave Festival a couple of weeks back. The quality’s only so-so, but still, it’s one of the awesome team-ups I dig so much, and this may be the only documentation of its existence. Enjoy.

-AR

Andrew W.K., I Get Wet (Island, 2002)
Andrew W.K. – vocals
Jimmy Coup – Guitar
Erik Payne – Guitar
Frank Werner – Guitar
Gregg Roberts – Bass
Donald Tardy – Drums
Produced by Andrew W.K., John Fields, Scott Humphrey, TSD, Frank Vierti

It has been suggested by some of our commenters that I don’t belong here. Be it my distaste for deathgrind, my inability to appreciate the tr00 kvlt nature of Norwegian black metal, or the fact that I don’t give a flying fuck about Protest The Hero, I’ve always felt like an outsider around you people. Yet at no point did I feel so out of place than during the countdown of the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century… So Far. Sure, I participated. I submitted a list. I presumed many of my picks would never make the cut (Unsane’s Visqueen; Zozobra’s Harmonic Tremors), but also acknowledged less esoteric favorites of mine from the past nine-and-a-half-years (Boris Pink; Down’s III: Over The Under) that I thought had a shot. Still, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer disappointment these past few weeks when none of my favorite albums made the goddamn list.

Rather than be mature about this sad state of affairs, I am now going to explain why everyone who voted in this poll is a fucking butthole for not selecting Andrew W.K.’s 2002 masterpiece, I Get Wet.
Click to read more…

A couple of months back I complained about the expensive All Tomorrow’s Parties weekender in the Catskills region of New York. Though noise rock royals The Jesus Lizard and The Melvins are both scheduled to appear at the September festival, I just haven’t been able to justify the hundreds of dollars I’d have to shell out for tickets and to stay at some bullshit resort swarming with trustafarians. Thankfully, it turns out that we can all save our hard-earned dough (and avoid contracting swine flu), as both of these bands are planning other U.S. performances that wont break the bank.

Click to read more…

Several of you (ok… three) have emailed MetalSucks urging us to check out Seventh Void — the new band featuring Johnny Kelly and Kenny Hickey of Type-O Negative — whose debut record Heaven is Gone just dropped last month on Vinnie Paul’s Big Vin Records. Seventh Void sound nothing like the goth-laden, morose metal played by half of the band in their day jobs; instead we get southern-tinged, bluesy hard rock with little pretense that sounds more like Down, Corrosion of Conformity or early Soundgarden than anything Type-O have done to date. Check out their new video for the Heaven is Gone’s title track below, then have a listen to more on Seventh Void’s MySpace page. Look out for MS interviews later this month with both Johnny Kelly and Vinnie Paul!

-VN

…than with a clip of Down playing “Hail the Leaf” in 1995?

Look at that crowd, dude! That doesn’t seem very chill at all.

And, hey, why not? After the jump check out the band doing “Bury Me in Smoke” at the Download Festival in 2006. Vince and I were there, about as close to the front as you can get. Ah, the memories.

Click to read more…

Happy Fat Tuesday, metal fans! May your evening be full of beads, booze, and bodily harm! In celebration, I tried to find some New-Orleans-Mardi-Gras-type music on my iPod today that would be appropriate for this day, and the closest I came was Down’s III: Over The Under. I love this fucking record.

While we’re still waiting for word on a full list of tour dates for that NOLA supergroup, news that southern sludgesmiths Outlaw Order (essentially Eyehategod minus one guy) are planning a few weeks of U.S. gigs to support 2008’s Dragging Down The Enforcer on the Season of Mist label. Support on all dates comes from Ivan Drago fanatics If He Dies He Dies. To say that these concerts will slay is a huge understatement.

-GS

[Gary Suarez is going to win Mega Millions tonight. He also writes for Brainwashed and sporadically manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No.]

Mostly this week I just watched the Puppy Cam. But when I could pry myself away for a few moments, this is what I focused on:

• Proto-jazz-metallers Intronaut released an artsy new video, as did Protest the Hero and Dir En Grey.
• We interviewed Brother Von Doom.
• Ozzy may be pretty good at shilling for Samsung phones these days, but we still like him better the old way.
• Arsis did some member-swapping. Yes, again.
• We reviewed new releases from The Faceless, The Bronx, and a bunch of awesome bands on Prosthetic Records.
• We contemplated the prospect of new releases by Carcass, Napalm Death and Down.

Party it up, it’s the weekend. See you next Tuesday Monday.

Billboard reports that Down aren’t even close to being done with their current touring cycle on last year’s Down III: Over the Under. The band is currently on the road in Europe supporting Metallica and headlining off-dates, from where bassist Rex Brown reports that Down “is all our priorities now,” and that the band has plans for a full spate of touring in 2009 as well as a new record shortly thereafter.

Though more Down is never bad, I’m not entirely convinced this news is such a good thing.

Click to read more…

Just because I wasn’t that into Kingdom of Sorrow’s eponymous debut doesn’t really mean anything; I know plenty of respectable people who think it was just swell.

So I thought it was worth posting the band’s new, Kevin Custer-directed video for “Lead Into Demise.” I don’t think it’s a very good video, but it’s gonna be a slow news day… I can feel it in my bones.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" width="430" height="346" fvars="m=31929101;type=video" wmode="transparent" /]

-AR

Tired at the end your work day? Fire up the bluesy, sludge-doom of Weedeater, fire up a J, and you’ll be well on your way to a better place.

Vocalist/bassist Dave “Dixie” Collins has done time in heavyweights Buzzoven, Bongzilla, and Sourvein. Thus, Weedeater unsurprisingly brings more downtuned filth, this time in the NOLA sludge/doom style of Eyehategod, Down, and so on.

In my own words, I’d call them a slower, Crowbarified version of New Hampshire’s Scissorfight.

Invisible Oranges has three mp3s for your enjoyment today, so eat it up. Their latest album God Luck and Good Speed is out now on Southern Lord.

Oh man, I really need this today.

-VN

Well well well. Kingdom of Sorrow, the self-titled, forever-in-gestation project from Kirk Windstein and Jamey Jasta, has leaked a full month before it’s due to hit stores, and can currently be found at Kill the Music. I haven’t had a chance to give it a listen yet, but it should make a nice way to kick off the weekend…

Kingdom of Sorrow will be released February 19 through Relapse.

-AR

Between Windstein and Jasta’s commitments to Down, Crowbar, Hatebreed, Icepick, and writing a friggin’ coffee table book, I had kind of assumed that Kingdom of Sorrow would be one of those supergroups that never actually played live. But, lo and behold, the band has begun to announce some tour dates:

Feb. 27 – Palladium – Worcester, Massachusetts
Feb. 28 – Ottobar – Baltimore, Maryland
Mar. 01 – Valentines – Albany, New York
Mar. 02 – Knitting Factory – New York, New York
Mar. 04 – El Macombo – Toronto, Ontario
Mar. 06 – Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, Illinois
Mar. 07 – Magic Stick – Detroit, Michigan

No word on whether or not the band will be traveling on that scary looking horse from their cover art.

Kingdom of Sorrow’s self-titled debut comes out February 19, a.k.a. the same day as half the other exciting winter metal releases (Genghis Tron, Hate Eternal, etc.). Relapse’s small and probably overworked PR department is about as dependable as a rumored release date for Chinese Democracy, so I guess I’ll have to wait for the frickin’ thing to leak just like the rest of you before I can judge the final product. In the meantime, I know where I’ll be on March 2.

-AR

UPDATE: Hey, look at that! The band just posted a new track, “Lead into Demise,” on their MySpace page. Suh-weet.