FEATURING MEMBERS OF AT THE GATES, TEXTURES, GRIDLINK, FIGHT AMP, MONSTRO, GLORIOR BELLI, VALLENFYRE, HOODED MENACE, AND PORTRAIT

Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.

After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

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So, hey, I dunno if you guys heard, but earlier this month we put on this totally rad festival, The Metal Suckfest? No big deal, it was just twenty awesome bands in two days, whatever.

So ANYWAY, our brahs over at Metal Injection were there to film another edition of their awesome “Ask the Artist” series, in which they — duhskis! – ask a variety of artists one particular question… in this case, “What sucks about metal?” Check out the answers from the bands that played The Metal Suckfest — plus a couple of incredibly handsome non-musicians (cough, Vince and I, cough, cough) below:

And don’t forget that you can check out more awesome installments of “Ask the Artist” right here. DO IT!!!

-AR

Even though I had heard their recordings, I had never seen Ramming Speed live before they performed at The Metal Suckfest a couple of weeks ago; I am now twice as enamored of them as I already was. I wish there was some way I could actually share the feeling their set gave me via the internet, but for now, just settle for looking at this photo from the show. See how much fun vocalist Peter Gallagher is having? How he’s just stomping around with a big ol’ smile on his face? If you go see Ramming Speed live, that could be YOU stomping around with a big ol’ smile on YOUR face!

And now you have your chance: the band has just announced a winter tour which will kick off at the end of the month. And ten of the dates feature Saviours as co-headliners, so the show is guaranteed to be that much more awesome. (There’s part of me that wants to hop in my car and go to the Philly gig so I can see Ramming Speed and Saviours and Fight Amp, ’cause holy shit that is a sweet, sweet line-up, and it’s only coming together for that one date.) These are gonna be the kinds of shows missed only by those who hate joy. Seriously, go see this band live.

Dates are after the jump…

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We had a blast at The Metal Suckfest in NYC last weekend, but don’t worry if you couldn’t make it; earlier this week we shared Justina Villanueva’s photos from Night 1 (featuring Municipal Waste, God Forbid, Today is the Day and more) and today we’ve got Mariel “Tormentia” Pietrykoski’s photos from Night 2. After the jump, relive all the glorious metal brought down upon us by Cynic, Obscura, The Red Chord, 3, A Life Once Lost, Scale the Summit, Last Chance to Reason, Fight Amp, Rosetta and Ultrageist on Night 2.

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The Metal Suckfest is this weekend!!! And in case you’re not familiar with, or are somehow not sold on, the twenty incredible bands we’ve booked to play THE party of the year, we have scoured YouTube for recent live footage of ALL the artists playing the fest… so you can have a little taste of the madness we have in store for ya! You can see clips from all the bands playing on Friday, November 4 here; and check out clips of all the bands playing on Saturday, November 5 below.

And don’t forget: TODAY and TODAY ONLY, ALL TICKETS TO THE METAL SUCKFEST ARE JUST $25 EACH with no added fees, regardless of whether you buy tickets online, or just walk up to the box office at the Gramercy Theatre. So if you don’t already have your tickets, make sure you take advantage!!!

And now, without further ado, enjoy concert footage of all the bands playing Day Two of The Metal Suckfest!

CYNIC

More after the jump!

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photo by Francois Carl Duguay

The Inaugural Metal Suckfest is almost here!!!! Twenty bands will DESTROY The Gramercy Theatre on November 4 and 5, PLUS there’s an awesome, five-band pre-party at the venue the night before, making this THE can’t-miss hang of the year.

Tickets are on sale now right here, and you can hit up the fest’s official website for more info on the shows, including the complete line-up. In the meantime, we’re counting down to this weekend of chaos and debauchery by speaking to one member from each band on the bill. We continue today with legendary guitarist/vocalist Mike McGinnis of Fight Amp, who released a split, Lose Lose Lose, with Kowloon Walled City and Ladder Devils on Brutal Panda Records last year.

Read our chat after the jump. And don’t forget to check back in the coming days and weeks for interviews with more of the musicians participating in this awesome event!!!

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That’s right! Tickets for The Metal Suckfest — the two day festival with a line-up so ridiculously awesome we can’t believe we actually put this thing together — are ON SALE RIGHT NOW.

You can buy tickets to Day 1 (November 4) or Day 2 (November 5) individually for thirty bucks a pop — that’s just three dollars per band!!! — or, for your best value, buy a THREE DAY PASS! for seventy-five bucks.

“Wait, there’s a THIRD day?” you ask. That’s right! On November 3, the night before the fest officially kicks off, we’re hosting The Metal Suckfest Pre-Game, which will be headlined by legendary black metallers Mayhem and will also feature Keep of Kalessin, Hate, Abigail Williams, and Woe. Individual tickets to that show cost twenty-five dollars, but with your Metal Suckfest 3 Day Pass, you get a ten dollar discount. Pretty sweet, eh?

So GO BUY TICKETS NOW. The full line-up is after the jump, in case you forgot… do not forget that four more bands are still yet to be announced!!!

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Click to enlarge the ridiculously sweet poster art by Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 and Metal Band Art

When we first announced The Metal Suckfest, we promised you that it was NOT just a bunch of tours already-in-progress, routed so that they all converge for one event. That it was NOT just bands that all sound alike and one would normally expect to find on the same bill. That it would be a wholly unique concert in which some truly incredible artists are coming together JUST to play THIS ONE SINGLE EVENT.

And now you know — we weren’t lying.

We are SO PROUD to announce the line-up for the inaugural Metal Suckfest, which will take place November 4 and November 5 at The Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan. As you can see, the bands range from thrash to death to grind to prog to noise rock to NWOAHM to stoner to we don’t even know what you call it, but they all have one thing in common — they are all fucking awesome, and they are all 110% MetalSucks approved. This fest is gonna be so great, we keep having to pinch ourselves to make sure it’s real.

Tickets go on sale Friday at LiveNation.com at 10 am. 12 noon. We’ll be announcing the final four bands on the bill shortly, but trust us — you don’t wanna wait to get your ticket.

Here’s the rest of the line-up:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Municipal Waste
God Forbid
Today is the Day
This is Hell
Howl
Black Tusk
Magrudergrind
All Pigs Must Die
Ramming Speed
Prime Evil

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Cynic
Obscura
The Red Chord
3
A Life Once Lost
Scale the Summit
Last Chance to Reason
Fight Amp
Rosetta
Ultrageist

-Vince, Axl, and Everyone at MetalSucks

Whether they’re shooting themselves in the feet (literally) or fending off sandwich rape from a giant mutant racoon, there is always something interesting going on in the world of Weedeater. And that fact alone might be enough to compel you to go see the band on their upcoming American headlining tour*. But Weedeater are sweetening the deal to further compel you to a show! Not just by playing awesome stoner metal — that’s a given — but by bringing along Saviours, Bison B.C.**, and Fight Amp, too! I’m not like a huge Saviours fan or anything, but Bison and Fight Amp both rule, especially live.

So hide your joint well — you know those bouncers will be extra-on-the-lookout when the band is called “Weedeater” and the poster has pot leaves on it — and get your butt to one of these shows. Dates after the jump!

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Fight Amp are one of my most favoritest bands to see live; truth to be told I haven’t ever gotten super-into any of their album, but HOLY FUCKTICLES, this band brings it live in every sense. Their rhythm section is just SO POWERFUL your balls can’t help but be rattled by the immense size of their colossal riffs. The whole band is basically one big fat rhythm section, matter of fact; these dudes are a goliath sized rhythm machine, no small feat for a three-piece.

Here they are earlier this year ripping Pittsburgh a new arsehole:

And here’s “Thankless” from their Lose/Lose/Lose 3-way split 12″ with Kowloon Walled City and Ladder Devils:

Fight Amp – “Thankless”

Tour dates after the crushed testicle:

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Whether you love Kylesa or hate Kylesa, there’s no denying this indisputable fact: they are a band, and they make music.

Also an indisputable fact: the band has announced a headlining tour to kick off next month. Fight Amp will play support on the entire tour, while Zoroaster will also join the tour for six dates, and Rosetta for nine. Honestly, at this point I’d be more excited to see Fight Amp and/or Rosetta than I would Kylesa and/or Zoroaster. But even if I don’t think that Kylesa are the second coming, I have seen them live three or four times, and they’re always pretty good.

And really if you don’t know Fight Amp and Rosetta, fuck yourself. Those bands are awesome, and will crush your reproductive organs into dust.

Here are dates, via Lambgoat:

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How did I miss this? Oh, right… I was too busy giving away hundreds of CDs in the best trade EVER! (more on that soon).

But while I was busy packing up boxes in exchange for water foul (!?), our pals at Crustcake premiered a new Fight Amp song. For those unawares, Fight Amp are one rip-roaring beast of a virgin-tight live band (and Cosmo Lee thinks so too) that absolutely must not be missed whenever the chance presents itself. But in the meantime we’ve got “Thankless,” a new track from the upcoming three-way 12″ split with Gary Suarez ball-tinglers Kowloon Walled City and Ladder Devils entitled Lose Lose Lose. The record will be available from Brutal Panda Records and is available for pre-order now, but the release is limited to only 300 copies so be sure to get your order in.

“Thankless” is a ripper of a track that brings the trademark powerful yet fuzzy bass and crushing, jagged rhythms that fans of this band have come to expect. The mix is a little bizarre and the drums are curiously low, but Fight Amp are a band that’s all about POWER, and the mix does a fine job of capturing that. Check out “Thankless” over at Crustcake.

-VN

Before me, Kowloon Walled City were a bunch of nothing nobodies turning tricks in Tenderloin tenements. I discovered them, presented them to the MetalSucks masses, interviewed them, ranked them highly (#10) on my Best Albums of 2009 list… and what do I get? Email after email from frontman Scott Evans bitching and moaning that I don’t cover them enough!

“Waaah, we have a new split vinyl release with Fight Amp and Ladder Devils. Why haven’t you written about it?”

“Waaah, we’re touring the East Coast with Batillus for two weeks. Why won’t you post the tour dates?”

“Waaaaaaaah…”

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I like this time of year. Yeah, the weather’s great; it’s warm enough that you don’t really have to worry about bringing a coat or hoodie out most of the time, but not so hot and sticky that you can’t sleep.

But I’m talking about the metal: a lot of the bigger bands are over in Europe doing the festival circuit, so the show schedule Stateside is a little more laid back than the craziness of Spring and Summer and the shows that we do get are more of the smaller bands / intimate venue variety. The kind of shows where you can hang out with your buddies (and likely the bandmembers themselves), drink casually at a decent price, walk around the corner to smoke a doobie, check out the bands without having to worry about getting karate chopped by some white-studded belt asshole kid, and just generally have a good time.

On Friday, Hull, Fight Amp, Millions, Mose Giganticus and Dark Vibe played the intimate but awesome Glasslands venue in Brooklyn, brought to us by Brutal Panda Records and Chronic Youth, and it was exactly that kind of show. A laid back night full of metal, booze, doobies, and friends. And it was one for the ages.

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Fight Amp’s new album Manners and Praise came out on Translation Loss and Brutal Panda this past Fall, a steaming brew of stoner grooves and punk rock energy. We’ve got an exclusive download of the crushing “Faith in Man” from that album which you’re welcome to listen to or download for the cost of air! The band are currently on a nation criss-crossing tour of the U.S., the dates for which you can check out on Fight Amp’s MySpace page. Enjoy the tuneage below.

[this promotion has ended]

-VN

I really liked Fight Amp’s last album, Hungry for Nothing. But I’m a shitty fan, ’cause I didn’t even realize that the band has a new album, Manners and Praise, coming out on Translation Loss on October 26.

But I’m aware now! The band is streaming a new song, “Bad Listener,” on their MySpace page. And, hey, guess what? It’s pretty rockin’. Definitely worth checkin’ out, especially if grungy, punky noise rawk is your thing.

And just because, here’s the band’s video for “Late Bloomer,” off of Hungry for Nothing. Awesome, awesome song.