Hard to believe, but Paul Baloff, who many still consider the definitive Exodus front man, passed away ten years ago. So the band played a tribute show over the weekend, and Kirk Hammett showed up, hopping on stage to play “Whipping Queen,” a song he originally co-wrote and recorded for the band’s 1982 demo. And while I don’t forgive Hammett for “The Unforgive XIII” or whatever, I do think it was cool of him to come out and pay homage to Baloff, so… I won’t make fun of him until at least the next non-Exodus related Metallica post.

You can check out video of the event below. Former Exodus bassist Jeff Andrews joined the band for the tune, also, but no one cares about that guy. I mean, really, if the headline to this article had been “JEFF ANDREWS RE-JOINED EXODUS,” your reaction would probably have been, “Who?”

And here’s the original ’82 demo version of “Whipping Queen,” in case you’ve either never heard it before, or just want to stroll down memory lane for a few minutes:

-AR

[via The PRP]

See below videos for definitive proof.

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The highlight of last week’s Big Four show at Yankee Stadium was Slayer, and with all due respect to Kerry King, Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, and, in this instance, guest guitarist Gary Holt, the highlight of any Slayer show is Dave Lombardo. Never mind that, at the age of 46, he hasn’t slowed down a bit, and is still ten time better than most drummers half his age — he’s so good he has the ability to make Slayer songs on which he did not originally play, like “Disciple,” sound better. And I say that being a fan of Paul Bostaph, who recorded “Disciple” originally.

So, while I’m as sick as discussing of the Big Four as anybody, I just HAD to post these drum cam videos of Lombardo at the concert, ’cause you can’t celebrate that dude’s excellence too much. Also, because they offer the best perspective of just how many people (41,451!) were at this damn show.

Here’s “Disciple”…

…and you can check out “Post Mortem,” “Hate Worldwide,” and “War Ensemble” after the jump.

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During our Big 4 Live Snark on Wednesday, we reported that during Megadeth’s set, Dave Mustaine told the crowd he needed neck surgery, and had been in a hospital as recently as Tuesday; in fact, not only was there a rumor on Monday that Megadeth were gonna miss the show, but word around the campfire was that Exodus had even been approached about possibly taking ‘Deth’s spot should the Davester have to drop out. (Fans offended that Exodus and not Testament were approached should keep in mind in that Gary Holt was already playing with Slayer anyway, so, y’know.)

Now Rolling Drone has scored a non-scoop by getting Mustaine to say in print that which he already said at the concert: he needs neck surgery. So, in case you didn’t believe him the first time he said it, now you should believe him because he told the magazine that gave St. Anger a positive review.

The interesting part of the interview, though, is Mustaine’s claim that G-O-D fixed it so he didn’t have to miss the Yankee Stadium show despite his neck issues:

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We have successfully arrived at Yankee Stadium and are sitting in the press box. We feel so professional!

We’re gonna put the live blog after the jump so it doesn’t eat up the entire page. You’ll hafta refresh to get updates. Sorry.

And now, enjoy the snark…

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Hey, so remember when just last week Chuck Billy said there was gonna be a tour this fall with Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, and Death Angel?

Well, yeah, turns out Overkill ain’t doing that tour.

From Metal Insider:

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Say, are you one of the three people in the world who not only thought that metal needed another supergroup, but also thought that metal needed another supergroup featuring Anthrax/The Damned Things guitarist Rob Caggiano? If so, have we got a band for you!

They’re called Temple of the Black Moon, and in addition to Caggiano, the group features Cradle of Filth vocalist Dani Filth, former Gorgoroth bassist King ov Hell, and drummer John Tempesta, who has played a gajillion different bands, including both White Zombie and Rob Zombie’s solo group, Exodus, Testament, The Cult, and Helmet. It seems safe to assume that Caggiano played a significant role in putting this project together — not only did he produce two Cradle of Filth releases (2004′s Nymphetamine and 2006′s Thornography), but Tempesta has also worked as a drum tech for ‘Thrax — but between the two bands he’s already in and the producing he does, I can’t believe he felt like he had too much free time. Maybe Worship Music is seriously never coming out.

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I love music, but I am first and foremost a fan of comedy. If you were to spy on my iPod, you’d see that I spend 90% of my time listening to Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla’s podcasts. Music is cool and all, but you can only hear so much before the novelty wears off and you just want to hear an insecure nerd droning on and on about airport security, his nagging wife, or whatever comedians talk about these days.

With that in mind, I am a huge fan of bands who combine both worlds: COMEDY METAL, although the subgenre is (to say the least) a mixed bag. Bands like Gwar, Ugly Kid Joe, and Shat are geniuses, while others deliver, uh, less than satisfactory results.

In this post, we will attempt to answer this question: Lots of bands try to be funny, but which ones succeed, and which ones suck eggs???

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While a press release assures us that Jeff Hanneman “has amazed his doctors with his speedy recovery from an infection thought to have been caused by a spider bite” and “has already been practicing with his guitar,” the Slayer guitarist apparently isn’t quite ready to step back into the fold yet. And Gary Holt, who has been filling in for Hanneman, has to go back to his own band — some group called Exodus. So, y’know, in case the headline didn’t already spoil the suspense… yep, Cannibal Corpse’s Pat O’Brien is the new temporary guitarist for Slayer.

O’Brien is just as strong a pick as Holt, if ya ask me; if Exodus are one of Slayer’s most revered peers, Cannibal Corpse are one of Slayer’s most accomplished disciples (no reference to the song intended). There can be no doubt that there would be no Cannibal Corpse without Slayer, and O’Brien’s style is a perfect fit for the latter band.

So Holt will continue to play with Slayer ’til April 4, and then O’Brien takes over. Here are the remaining announced tour dates with both axe men…

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I guess that Slayer/Marilyn Manson team-up from a few years back (no, not the Mayhem Fest one, the one before that) was a big hit, ’cause the band are once again doing a summer co-headlining tour with an industrial shock rocker who probably holds more mainstream appeal than they do — namely, Rob Zombie. I don’t know what the overlap of Slayer/Zombie fans actually is (Do Slayer fans think Zombie is too soft and poppy? Do Zombie fans think Slayer is too fast and lacking in hooks?), but it seems to me that this is exactly the kind of show where getting the cheapest seats available and drinking an INSANE amount throughout the evening would pretty much guarantee you a fun time.

Not hurting this line-up one bit is the fact that Exodus are playing support. It’ll be interesting to see if Jeff Hanneman has recovered and re-joined Slayer by the time this trek kicks off, or if Gary Holt will be pulling double-duty. Either way, awesome sauce.

Dates are after the jump… they’re only playing twelve gigs for whatever reason, so the vast majority of you should prepare to be sad (or indifferent, I suppose, depending on your own personal views about this line-up):

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Slayer is already down one member, what with guitarist Jeff Hanneman currently recovering from surgery on his arm while Exodus’ Gary Holt fills in for him — or, rather, is supposed to fill in for him. ‘Cause the band got to play exactly one show with Holt before canceling their scheduled appearance at Australia’s Soundwave Festival after vocalist/bassist Tom Araya found himself in the hospital.

Lotsa folks, including us, suspected that the culprit must have been the same the same back issues that forced him to cancel touring plans last year, but this is apparently not the case. From Slayer fan site Slayerized:

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Poor Slayer. First they had to recruit Exodus’ Gary Holt to sit in for Jeff Hannenman while the guitarist recovers from surgery on his arm; then they got all the way to Australia, played one gig with Holt… and promptly had to cancel their next show, as part of the Soundwave Festival, because Tom Araya was sent to the hospital for an undisclosed malady. (Although it’s fair to speculate that the front man is once again suffering from the same back issues that took him out of commission last year.)

Holy shit, what is happening to these poor dudes? It’s starting to get to the point where if an Acme safe mysteriously falls from the sky and lands on Kerry King, no one should be surprised. Just watch: Slayer will finally break up due to old age, but Metallica will go on and on and on well into their 80s. Only the good die young I guess.

While we wait to hear if Araya is okay and if Slayer will be able to continue this Australian tour at all, enjoy this first — and possibly last — video of the band performing with Holt. He moves around more on stage in three minutes than Hanneman has in thirty years, so, uh, yeah.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

I’m posting outside of our regular hours because I was just got a press release that Exodus’ Gary Holt has been named Slayer’s temporary replacement for Jeff Hanneman (who just had emergency surgery on his arm), and that seems like kind of a big deal. As far as I’m aware at least, it’s the first time a guitarist who isn’t Hanneman or Kerry King will play and tour with the band (I mean, I’m sure other dudes have gotten up and jammed on a song or two with the band, but it’s not quite the same thing). In fact, I don’t even know of Holt having ever really played with another band.

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So 70,000 Tons of Metal, the most metal cruise EV-AR, has now ended — but that doesn’t mean the fun is over. We’re gonna have a couple more Tons of Fun for you during the week, starting with the below video, taken during the cruise, of Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Exodus’ Tom Hunting, and Death Angel’s Rob Cavestany doing a karaoke version of The Eagles’ “Lying Eyes” onboard the ship.

Yep. We’re being totally serious.

We first saw this amazing video over at Metal Insider; they also have clips of karaoke performances from members of Fear Factory, Sodom, Ensiferum, Tyr, and Swashbuckle. So head on over to Metal Insider if you wanna see some of your heroes embarrassing themselves in the name of fun.

Also, our bro-bros at Metal Injection were actually on the cruise, giving constant live updates. Go here if you wanna read all about their adventures, or if you just wanna look at pictures of MI’s resident female, Noa Avior, in a bikini.

-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.

Presumably inspired by this week’s announcement of a Big 4 show in the U.S., this week’s question was posed by MetalSucks contributor/author of the Reign in Blood entry into the 33 1/3 book series, D.X. Ferris. Mr. Ferris was even good enough to join us for this edition of QOTW! And his query was:

IF THE BIG FOUR WERE THE BIG EIGHT, WHICH BANDS WOULD BE THE NEXT FOUR IN THE GROUP?

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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Onslaught are by no means the greatest thrash band in the world, but their 2007 album, Killing Peace, was a shit ton of fun. And up until about five minutes ago, the only song we’d heard from their new album, Sounds of Violence, was a cover of Motorhead’s “Bomber,” which, although good, really told us nothing about the record.

Luckily, the band has now released an actual original song from Violence — and it’s good. The track is called “Godhead,” and you can listen to it here.

Like I said, this band ain’t gonna change your life — but as much as anything on Killing Peace, this tune is just fun, fun, fun. It’s catchy, it’s aggressive, it has a solo which will rip your face off… it’s basically everything Metallica have failed to create for the past twenty years. Listening to it, my first thought was, “Man, these dudes really need to tour the States, and they need to do so with Exodus.” What a perfect fit that would be!

So check it out and let us know what you think. Sounds of Violence comes out in the U.S. on February 8, but Europe gets it January 28, and those fuckers in Japan already have it.

-AR

Life’s kinda getting’ out of control. I think. I don’t know if you agree, will you hand me that ashtray? So, man, the other day I decided I might as well pull out that Vince Neil autobiography. I was a big Mötley Crüe fan when I was a teenager and got tired of Elton John, Boston, and Ted Nugent. They were cutting edge back then. The Crüe, that is… at least, that’s what I thought. What did I care, they fuckin’ rocked, they looked cool, and the chicks used to come out in droves for them. What more could a horny male teenager ask for? What’s that? I don’t know… shit! I dropped my coffee in my lap. Fuckin’ cat!

It’s like, what it is, it’s like… I know you’ve heard the phrase a thousand times, but it’s a rat race. So, where were we? Oh yeah. Mötley Crüe, Vince Neil. His autobiography, Tattoos & Tequila: To Hell and Back with One of Rock’s Most Notorious Frontmen, which came out a few months back. Unlike my fellow MetalSucks brethren, I actually used to like Vince Neil. [Uh... actually, we did, too, which is part of the reason we now give him so much shit! - Ed.] Hell, I even dressed up like him for a lip-synching contest way back in ’83. Even posted it here as one of my most embarrassing life moments. Lost to some teenyboppers singing Cyndi Lauper. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun…” What a crock! Should’ve gone with “Looks That Kill” instead of “Piece of Your Action.” My bad. Used to love going to Fast Times in Pasadena, Texas, where they had those contests. Teens trying to act like adults. Lots of hot chicks, bad hairstyles, and people who hated heavy metal. Losers.

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In 1997 there was this girl that I was really into. I don’t even remember what her name was now, but I remember being very excited when I finally found myself at her place with just the two of us for company.

“Hey, wanna hear something awesome?” she asked me. The correct answer in that situation is obviously “Yes,” and so she walked over to her stereo and hit “play.” And this is what came out of the speakers:

The song ended and I figured out some excuse to leave and I left. Later I wondered if the girl really liked the song (she certainly seemed to) or if she played it knowing it was awful because she couldn’t think of a polite way to reject me, but it’s a moot point: I will never know how my relationship with that girl might have played out, all because she had to go and be the first person ever to introduce me to Limp Bizkit, and, more specifically, Limp Bizkit’s terrible covers.

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I think Exodus are just swell. And Jon Schnepp, who directed this video, also directs Metalocalypse, and had a lot to do with the design of that terrific show.

So I’m giving everyone a free pass. I’m not gonna make fun of the video. The song is great and if some of you watch this and check out Exodus’ Exhibit B: The Human Condition as a result, well, that would be great. And then maybe next time, Exodus, you release anything that isn’t this as a video, okay? Deal?

Exhibit B: The Human Condition is out now on Nuclear Blast.

-AR

Exodus are hitting the road for a North American headlining tour this August, and that’s all well and good ’cause Exodus are swell and are one of those veteran bands currently enjoying a renaissance of sorts. That being said, I do think the support acts could be stronger -

• Malevolent Creation – Of course this is a veteran band that has a large fan base of their own, and the fact that Erik Rutan produced their new album means I’ll be obligated to check it out. But they’re never gonna live down that whole “The guitar player claims he shot a robber in the face and was rewared with a lifetime supply of chocolate milk but then it turns out he was completely lying” thing. Just sayin’.
• Holy Grail – Strike me as a pretty typical re-thrash band. Sure, they’ve got awesome Ed Repka cover art, but so what?
• Bonded by Blood – This is what it’s come to: Exodus touring with a young band named after an Exodus album. The mind boggles.

Still, this tour might very well be worth hitting up just to see Exodus. And at least there won’t be any karate kicking in the pit.

Get dates after the jump.

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