Yes, we know we didn’t get to make our big announcement this week. Don’t worry — we’re just ironing out a few final details. It’s still happening. And we’re confident we’ll get to tell you next week.

In the meantime, here’s how we occupied ourselves these past five days:

• We debuted new music by Ghost Brigade.
• We spoke to Chris Reifert from Autopsy and producer Jay Ruston.
• We checked out the latest releases from Harm’s Way and Skin Like Iron.
• Vince went several rounds with Century Media over their decision to drop out of Spotify.
• We made fun of Dream Theater’s use of clip art on their new album cover.
• Sammy O’Hagar, Satan Rosenbloom, and Grim Kim counted down their favorite releases of the year thus far.
• Sergeant D. searched for the best neo-nu-metal band.
• We asked what you think of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.
• We continued to celebrate 31 Days of Faith No More.
• ‘Merica.

Adrenaline Mob, the new band featuring ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portony, Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen, and Stuck Mojo/Fozzy guitarist Rich Ward, are now streaming their debut EP in full (below). And, as we have suspected since the project was announced in June, it’s lame.

I mean, I’m sure it will have its defenders, but I’d also wager that those defenders all have beer guts, and reside either in New Jersey or on Long Island. Because that’s how this music sounds; like it was made by a dude who was prom king back in ’86 and basically hasn’t been able to see his own penis since. It’s like one of these demos people send us where the band clearly had no higher aspiration than to be the next Black Label Society, and yet, they have failed miserably.

Feel free to check it out for yourself, though. I hope you have a super-awesome good time!

-AR

I’m not one to place much significance on album artwork in 2011. It’s pretty to look at and can compliment the music nicely, but when all you ever listen to are digital files you really only end up looking at the artwork once — when it’s announced and subsequently plastered across the metalwebs. But this cannot be ignored: Dream Theater used clip art for the cover of their forthcoming album, A Dramatic Turn of Events Since Mike Portnoy Left The Band.

Dream Theater might’ve gotten away with it if wasn’t for those pesky kids in Circus Maximus, whose 2005 album featured the very same $15.00 clip art image on the cover. Though the texture of the pants, hat, and positioning of one of the arms has been modified, the areas circled in the above image by some Internet smartass leave no doubt: clip art is clip art.

Luckily this is only the cover, which like I said isn’t all that important; the first song to be released from the album is pretty sweet. Still… lame. Mike Portnoy is frowning from his beach house somewhere in Long Island.

-VN

Thanks: The Number of the Blog

1) Be nicer to Sebastian Bach
2) Compare penis sizes with Tommy Lee
3) Hire Phil LaBonte as a vocal coach
4) Hire Billy Milano as a personal trainer
5) Hire Tripp Eisen as a baby sitter
6) Sleep with present-day Tawny Kitaen
7) Help Danzig clean up his motherfucking bricks, bitch
8) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about politics
9) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about romance
10) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about Ted Nugent

Click to read more…

Portnoy (left) with Tom Morello, John goddamn Sykes, That Metal Show host Eddie Trunk, and Doug Pinnick of King’s X

There are days when it seems like ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy is underachieving (cough Adrenaline Mob), but the wider view reveals a hard-working guy who cares greatly about quality music. His mistakes are mistakes (singing on DT records, 12-stepper lyrics, AX7), and his post-DT career so far is basically frantic, low-confidence base-covering, but hey that’s the reality of a messy break-up. You get a little crazy and scared. But with time and patience, Portnoy will land another Images And Words-sized creative success. This is my belief.

So imagine how smugly right I feel about that belief when it was announced Monday that Portnoy is pairing with hungry, mega-talented ace John fucking Sykes (Blue Murder, Whitesnake). Bonerz!
Click to read more…

Yay, Vince is back! And guess what? Now it’s my turn to take a vacation! I haven’t had once since the summer of 2006, about six months before we started the site. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to getting away. Try not to miss me too much, m’kay?

And, oh yeah, it’s July 4 weekend, so we’re leaving early today and won’t be here Monday. That might be worth mentioning for non-American readers.

ANYWAY, here’s what we did this week:

• We debuted new music by Exhumed.
• Landphil from Municipal Waste and Cannabis Corpse pondered the CM Punk WWE Raw “shoot.”
• Our pals at Decibel spoke to the members of Cradle of Filth about about their album The Principle of Evil Made Flesh.
• We wondered why teenagers are still butthurt about Hot Topic in 2011.
• We celebrated the Stephen Colbert/Ted Nugent showdown.
• We checked out the first Portnoy-free Dream Theater song.
• We enjoyed some lulz at the expense of Staind and their record label.
• We bemoaned the fact that Behemoth’s Nergal is back on trial for tearin’ up a Bible.
• We celebrated the gloriousness that is the new Mastodon video.
• Best. “Show Us Your MetalSucks.” EVER.

And now it’s time to start partying. Lates.

-AR

Yep, it’s finally here — Dream Theater’s first song with new drummer Mike Mangini.

Vince is really the resident Dream Theater expert, and even Anso is a bigger fan than I am, so I feel weird talking about it. The short version is, I feel the same way about it I feel about most Dream Theater, which is that it’s just swell until James LaBrie and his stupid vagina voice comes into the song.

Insofar as the Portnoy versus Mangini question goes… I don’t have an opinion. I’m sorry, I just don’t. I know Portnoy is a great drummer, but Magnini is obviously no slouch, so, again… I’ll leave it those of you who are really enamored of this band to decide whether or not this lives up to the band’s other material, or if they need to get Portnoy back STAT.

Stream “On the Backs of Angels” here. The band’s new album, A Dramatic Turn of Events, comes out September 13 via Roadrunner.

-AR

Last week the once-mighty, now-getting-to-be-pretty-sad Mike Portnoy announced the formation of a new band, Adrenaline Mob, with Symphony X singer Russell Allen, Stuck Mojo guitarist (and first ever MetalSucks interview subject) Rich Ward, and some dudes I’ve never heard of before. Our own Anso DF called the project “iffy,” cringing at Allen’s description of the band as “almost like Rob Zombie meets Black Label Society meets Disturbed, with Dio singing.” And Anso so eloquently put it, “When old guys aim for ‘edgy’ and ‘modern,’ it sets off alarm bells, right?”

Well, as it turns out, Anso had good reason to be concerned. The band released some samples of the music they’re working on, and, yeah, I officially don’t care, and eagerly await Vince returning so I never have to pretend to care about this group again.

I also think someone should sit down and play some Rob Zombie, Black Label Society, and Disturbed for Russell Allen. Not because those artists are great or anything, but because he has to running around and telling people that that’s what Adrenaline Mob sounds like. It’s basically the equivalent of me luring in potential readers by telling them that MetalSucks is a folk music blog. It just has no basis in reality whatsoever.

Here are the samples, so you can make up your mind:

P.S. That play on The Godfather logo was silly back when Lacuna Coil did it, but at least they’re Italian, so it kinda made sense. It seems like it’s just being used here because the band has the word “mob” in their moniker.

-AR

If you’ve completed high school history, chances are you’ve heard some talk about “progressive politics” (Bull-Moose, if you know what I mean). Most of us have probably heard of so-called “progressive politicians,” but when it comes to the pivotal issues, the things that really matter, like which bands they listened to in high school, many of them seem just as uninspired as their more conservative competition.

Isn’t it about time America had a truly progressive presidential candidate? Recent Utah governor Jon Huntsman seems to think so. After resigning in February from his Obama-appointed post of foreign ambassador to China, rumors of his presidential candidacy began to surge like a black mage’s whirlwind spell. Even more than that, bits about Huntsman’s “epic” past began to surface, and that soft-spoken politician began to appear all the more mystical.

Click to read more…

When I heard about the Dream Theater-shaped hole in the life of drummer Mike Portnoy back in September, I wanted to pitch him on my long-gestating idea to form a killer Jellyfish cover band. I bet he’d be into it cuz of his Jellyfish super-fandom (he has cited 1993′s Spilt Milk as a top ten favorite album); and he’s a pro at pulling together all-star jams, like his awesomely fun tributes to The Who, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin with guys like Paul Gilbert, Jason McMaster, and Dave LaRue; and lastly, The Ghosts At Number One (that’s my vote for our band name) could serve as a totally non-cynical tribute to another hardcore Jellyfish fan, the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott. And what better way to hip headbangers to irresistible non-metal jams? How could Mike say no to that? Can I call him Mike?

But, shit, while I was dicking around, gobbling drugs, and failing to corner, pressure, and/or threaten Portnoy about the Jellyfish idea, he teamed with qualified musicians he knows who actually, like, realize their ideas. Even if those ideas aren’t so great. Symphony X singer Russell Allen talks about Adrenaline Mob, one of Portnoy’s new bands:

Click to read more…

Yesterday I interviewed Mike Mangini for a new Rigged feature in which he’ll run through the gigantamongous new drum kit Pearl built him for his brand new gig. It’s a good thing we decided to do a phoner instead of him just sitting down and writing the thing, because the dude probably would have spent hours painstakingly penning it out instead of the 40+ minutes he took to explain it all on the phone. Let me tell you all something: Mangini is STOKED. Stoked on his new gig with Dream Theater, stoked on playing drums in general, stoked on music, stoked on LIFE. Dude is one of the most stoked people I’ve ever encountered in this jaded business.

So it wasn’t without interest that we didn’t report on yesterday’s news of a new Dream Theater album release date and tracklisting, it’s just that we were pre-occupied. A Dramatic Turn of Events will come out on September 13th via Roadrunner, and as we all know it will be the first DT album plus Mangini minus Portnoy, so we’ll see how that goes. This resident MS Mansion DT Fanboy will keep you informed as events develop.

-VN

MetalSucks recently polled its staff to determine who are The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists, and after an incredible amount of arguing, name calling, and physical violence, we have finalized that list! The only requirements to be eligible for the list were that the musician in question had to a) play metal (duh), b) play guitar (double-duh), and c) have recorded something in the past five years. Today we continue our countdown with John Petrucci from Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment…

Whether it’s the emotional David Gilmour-inspired bends, Hetfield-esque machine gun riffing or flat out blistering speed-sweeping, John Petrucci has always been not just a guitarist’s guitar player but a dynamic and engaging musician and composer with a wide array of styles. Whether it is within the confines of Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, or his solo material, Petrucci’s chops have consistently varied greatly across the prog-metal spectrum, while also standing out amongst his shredding peers on multiple G3 Tours alongside the likes of fellow guitar gods Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, and Eric Johnson.

Click to read more…

Confirming what many astute MS commenters and anyone with a brain suspected since this whole cheesy video series began, the new Dream Theater drummer is Mike Mangini, as revealed in the third and final part of their video series documenting their search for a Mike Portnoy seat-warmer. It was clear from the start that he was a great fit musically and personality wise with the band. Will he be able to fill Portnoy’s mongoloid shoes and will fans accept him in? I can already hear the message board chatter on both sides from DT dorks across the e-metalverse. Here’s part 3 (again, not embeddable ’cause WMG are ass-cats who don’t understand how the Internet works):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QHMQjH17aw

[UPDATE 12:01pm EST: I just watched the full video, and WOW, Mangini sure gets emotional at the end when the band offers him the gig. It's great to have a guy that's so INTO it as opposed to just taking a gig, but what's gonna happen when Portnoy claims his throne back in a few years?]

Sound off with your opinions on Mangini in the comments section below… I wanna see some sparks flyin’!

-VN

(click to view video. no embeds allowed.)

And the search for a Mike Portnoy seat-warmer until he inevitably returns to Dream Theater continues with DT TV Episode 2! I’ll admit it… I’m definitely enjoying this documentary, cheesy as it may be. It’s really cool to be able to see how different drummers react to the tests Dream Theater throws at them and to see every auditioning drummer’s strengths and weaknesses. And to hear John Myung’s voice.

DT TV Episode 2 starts off with Derek Roddy, and it’s clear from the get-go that things aren’t going to pan out well for him. The film-makers somewhat unfairly decided not to mix his drum kit properly in the final film mix, intentionally making him sound shitty compared to the tight, clear tones of every other auditioning drummer. They may as well have inserted sad trombone sound effects. But the musical chemistry didn’t appear to be there anyway; Roddy couldn’t immediately grasp the brand new riff the band threw at him with a wonky, multiple meter switcheroo, no easy task, but if you’re gonna be DT’s drummer you gotta be able to hang.

Click to read more…

If you thought the trailer Dream Theater released last week teasing their new drummer announcement was corny… boy, have we got something for you today. Dream Theater are going all out with their drummer search and milking it for all it’s worth with a full-fledged documentary about the process of selecting Mike Portnoy’s replacement, complete with reality TV-style cutaways, staged shots, and one-on-one alone time interviews with the camera. Love ‘em or hate ‘em (I love ‘em), Dream Theater’s never shied away from the cheese so we should’ve expected something like this… but still, I wonder what Mike Portnoy thinks of this? You can be damn certain he’s following along.

If one of Mike Portnoy’s many trademarks was a dogged devotion to [and connection with] the fans, then post-MP Dream Theater are kicking the new era off with a decidedly more at-arms’-length approach with regards to their fans: “We will create this documentary to string you along, and you will follow us.” It’s hard to imagine the band putting this kind of reality-type series together with Portnoy still in the creative cockpit.

That said, I definitely enjoyed watching this. Here’s part 1 of the documentary; it features an intro that sets the stage for the auditions and shows footage of candidate Mike Mangini jamming with the band. And holy fuckticles, John Myung actually talks; never saw that coming! Embedding is disabled because the folks at WMG (Roadrunner’s parent company) are still completely retarded with regards to how the Internet works, so watch at the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L609JsPFmmI

-VN

No, seriously — COREY AND ANSO FUCKING KILLED IT THIS WEEK while we were at the Golden Gods, didn’t they? I’m still catching up, but I’ve been getting a serious boner from reading all the shit I didn’t write this week. Some of my favorite pieces that neither Vince nor myself had anything to do with:

• Phil Anselmo’s thoughts on weed, and, oh yeah, Corey’s update on the progress of Mr. Anselmo’s book.
• This awesome interview with Hate Eternal’s Erik Rutan. (Okay this one I actually had a little to do with, but Anso did the heavy lifting.)
• Mike IX Williams from EyeHateGod/Arson Anthem/Drip/Crawlspace/Outlaw Order’s thoughts on being underground and unsigned.
• Anso’s mourning for the loss of Nevermore.
• Corey’s analysis of the Columbine massacre on its twelfth anniversary.
• Anso’s assertion that Nicko McBrain wants to fuck Lady Gaga.
• Corey’s wrangling of about a million cool metal folk to give their thoughts on weed, too.
• Anso’s decisions to let his hatred for Kiss flow.
• Corey’s coverage of K.K. Downing’s retirement from Judas Priest.
• Anso’s coverage of Dream Theater’s ongoing search for a new drummer.

Unfortunately for all of you, Vince and I are now back full-time, and you’ll be stuck with us all next week. See ya then.

-AR

The hullabaloo surrounding Dream Theater’s cheesy “search for a drummer” documentary just got 14.29% less annoying: Marco Minnemann has announced via his Facebook page that he is not Mike Portnoy’s replacement. The post has since been pulled — let’s assume he got wrist-slapped from someone in the DT or Roadrunner camps for leaking info that’s supposed to keep the public on the edge of their seats, dammit — but here’s the copy-and-paste via MS reader DemonicShredder:

Haha, thanks, but I’m not DTs drummer. I know everybody thinks I am and our chemistry is great, but I’m doing actually another thing with Jordan and there are also plans for another project with Jordan and John P together.

Now we’re down to Thomas Lang (himself, stOrk), Aquiles Priester (Hangar, ex-Angra), Virgil Donati (Planet X), Mike Mangini (Annihilator, Extreme, James LaBrie, Steve Vai), Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Nile, Malevolent Creation, Today is the Day), and Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Pestilence). We knew about the Rudess / Minnemann project, but the Rudess / Petrucci / Minnemann combo is a tasty bi-product morsel of this admission.

Watch the cornball (but entertaining) “drummer search” documentary here for the price of a Facebook like; I gotta hand it to Roadrunner for milking this thing for all it’s worth and for not even mentioning the word “Portnoy” in their press release.

-VN

You may be nowhere near the edge of your seat in anticipation of Dream Theater’s unveiling of their new drummer, but today we all grind one notch closer to the big moment with an official video that documents their search and their cheeseball humor and their extreme case of post-Portnoy butthurt. To view the clip — which lists potential DT sticksmen Thomas Lang, Aquiles Priester, Virgil Donati, Mike Mangini, Marco Minneman, Derek Roddy, and Peter Wildoer – you have to like them on Facebook and get spammed into a different dimension. Or just watch The Gauntlet’s version above before it gets pulled.

–ADF

I’m sure this is the exact scenario Axl and Vince dreaded when they left me in charge of the MetalSucks Mansion today. While they’re out plotting world domination, a press release came flying into my overly stuffed inbox from our good friend, Amy Sciarretto, PR goddess of Roadrunner Records.

The subject matter in question? The naming of the new drummer for “prog-rock” (their words) band, and perennial Vince Neilstein favorite, Dream Theater.

The Roadrunner press release states:

“Go to Dream Theater’s Facebook page on Thursday, April 21st at 11 AM to sign up for the mailing list and to receive more details about an exclusive and intimate look at the auditions, and to find out exactly when and how the momentous announcement about the band’s new lineup will be made.  Fans will be able to find out information about the band’s upcoming 2011 World Tour via Facebook, as well.”

Click to read more…

I’m at the point where I pretty much prefer animated movies to live-action ones. I passed up some big deal, hotshot movie that came out recently, whose name I don’t even remember, to see Rango. I’m usually a pretty good judge, too, because I knew Rango was going to be awesome ,and it was. It looks absolutely amazing, and if you’re a nerd for animation detail, the gross, crusty animals will thrill you. Not to mention the classic movie references from Chinatown to Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. It’s also damn violent for a “kids movie.” And well, I’m a movie nerd with a deep love for filmic violence. My dad didn’t have any sons, ok? He raised me to love his Fab Four; Arnold, Bruce, Sylvester, and Jean-Claude. And Dolph, on days he felt generous.

This might be odd, but I always liked to think about what various characters’ personalities would be like. Down to their music and movie taste. I especially try to pick out the metalheads, because I want to find my animated brothers and sisters in arms. It was while musing on the subject on Twitter that I found out the talented Ms. Elise over at Reign in Blonde kind of does the same thing. Apparently, all my acquaintances are online these days. She actually compiled a list of the most metal Disney characters, and with her help, I’ve expanded the list. Here are the Ten Most Likely Metalheads in Animated Movies (excluding anime and other international releases, as the author has not done enough research on the subject.)

Click to read more…