Those mighty scum sucking space dogs in GWAR recently announced not only that they were doing a massive tribute concert for their fallen guitarist, Cory Smoot, but that they’d soon be embarking on a tour with Municipal Waste and Ghoul. Which is, like, the perfect line-up for a GWAR tour. ‘Cause if you split GWAR’s two personalities — fun fun fun and monstrous vicious violent — in half, you’d probably end up with two bands very much like Municipal Waste and Ghoul. So, A++++ job, whomever thought up this line-up.

ANYWAY, my point being, dates have now been released, so you can begin to make plans to attend. And I know I keep saying it over and over and over again, but seriously, do not forget that you can make donations to The Smoot Family Fund here.

And now the tour itinerary…

Click to read more…

The first Cory Smoot memorial show, benefitting The Smoot Family Fund, was, by all accounts, a huge success (see footage from the concert here). So it’s no surprise that the band has announced a second memorial show, which will probably be an even bigger success, given that not only are GWAR themselves headlining, but they’re bringing Municipal Waste, Ghoul, and Suppression along with ‘em.

Here’s the announcement from GWAR’s Facebook page, which also announces that the band will be hitting the road soon with Municipal Waste and Ghoul… in other words, there’s gonna be another awesome tour for you to look forward to in the coming months:

“On Thursday, March 15th, 2012, the National Theater in Richmond, Va., will host the biggest Cory Smoot Memorial Show yet…join GWAR, Municipal Waste, Ghoul, and Suppression in an evening of bone-crushing delight…there will be raffles and prizes and excessive drinking and plenty of group hugs as we send off our Scumdog brother in the most grandiose fashion yet!!! ALL proceeds go to the Smoot Family Fund.The next day GWAR, Municipal Waste, and Ghoul shall depart on the second half of their U.S. ‘Return of the World Maggot’ tour. There will be a big press release next week with all the dates and details, so hang in there faithful bohabs, our Masters are returning to us!”

More details as we get ‘em. In the meantime, don’t forget that you can make donations to The Smoot Family Fund here.

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

Last week, we posted video of Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe rehearsing with Cannabis Corpse, who he was going to front for the memorial show in honor of late GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot; that show took place this past Saturday, so now, of course, we have video of the actual performance. Here’s the entire set…

…and here’s some bonus footage — Blythe shaving GWAR front man/MetalSucks columnist Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie’s head on stage:

Click to read more…

If you were reading Vince’s news round-ups during the first half of our holiday break last month, than you already know that Cannabis Corpse have split with with vocalist Andy “Weedgrinder” Horn and guitarist Nick “Nikropolis” Poulos. What we didn’t get to report, however, is that the band has recruited Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe to be their vocalist for one night only, when they play a memorial show for late GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot on January 7 in Richmond, VA.

Now Blythe has released some video footage of his rehearsals for the band, and, uh, yeah, this sounds frickin’ awesome:

I can’t make it to Richmond this Saturday for the show, but if you can, you obviously should, ’cause it seems like it’s gonna be an amazing time, and it’s obviously for a good cause. Get all the relevant details here.

-AR

[via The PRP]

Evil Bells aka Slay Bells by guitarstevecc

I’m not one for Christmas music, but I enjoyed the above doom interpretation of an Xmas classic very much. Click “play” while you catch up on this morning’s news:

• Tool have announced the opening acts for their string of winter 2012 dates… and it’s wonky stoner-prog outfit Intronaut (as rumored) on the first half of the tour and doom metal titans Yob on the second half! It’d be easy enough for Tool to take out a commercial hard rock band because their agent or manager said so, an established act that could help put some butts in seats, or no one at all… but nope, they march to their own drum and chose Intronaut and Yob, two acts that will seem completely out of left field to most of Tool’s fanbase. That’s Tool for you; just one of 1,697 reasons I love this band so much.
• Paganfest will come back to America in spring 2012 for its third U.S. incarnation. Despite the pagan/folk metal trend being long over, Paganfest III actually features a really cool lineup: Turisas, Alestorm, and Ex Deo are the bigger bands, and they’ll take along with them Arkona and Huntress, neither of whom I know much about. Get dates here.
• Gwar’s Oderus Urungus and Balsac the Jaws of Death review the new Spielberg movie War Horse for NextMovie.com on video.
• Alternative Press readers have chosen Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce as “Guitarist of the Year” for 2011. MetalSucks editors have nominated Alternative Press readers as having the “Worst Taste in Metal” for eternity.
• Gory death metal vets Exhumed have posted their entire live set from Maryland Deathfest 2011 on NPR’s website. Stream it here. And oh hey look at who wrote that article! (hey hey)

FEATURING MEMBERS OF GWAR, DARKEST HOUR, REVOCATION, INTRONAUT, ABYSMAL DAWN, BRUTAL TRUTH, THE ATLAS MOTH, AND IKILLYA

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 have 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!

Click to read more…

That shirt you see above worn by MS devotee Rob Hinkle is something of a collector’s item; they were part of the FYE Fanpack we released earlier this year for just $9.99 with a 20-track CD sampler and there were only 2,000 made, all of which are now sold out. So hang on to that shirt forever and ever, Rob… in the year 2025 you can sell it on the modern equivalent of eBay for a gajillion dollars, or you can just be that cool dad wearing the vintage metal tee from back in the days before MetalSucks starting sucking. Who am I kidding… MetalSucks already blows. We’re total sellouts! Freakin’ FYE, are you kidding me?

But at least Rob gets something for his troubles, a free box o’ metal swag from the Mansion to be exact, by entering our ongoing Show Us Your MetalSucks contest. You, too, can get a box of free stuff by sending fun pics of yourself wearing MS merch to news[at]metalsucks[dot]net. Do it.

That’s Rob with Mecronos from Dethrace in the background of the above pic, taken at the recent Gwar-B-Q. After the jump, a picture of Rob with Mike Derks (Balsac) of Gwar. As a reminder, several awesome bands are hosting a memorial benefit concert for the family of deceased Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot in Richmond, VA on January 7th.

Click to read more…

As promised, a show to pay tribute to recently deceased GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot — a.k.a. Flattus Maximus — has been announced. When Smoot passed away, he had recently completed work on a solo album, and the show is meant to celebrate all of his work, no matter who it was with.

Details of the show are on the flyer above. Here’s a list of all the items which will be raffled off — more items are expected to be added soon:

Click to read more…

As you are no doubt aware, GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot (a.k.a. “Flattus Maximus”) passed away two weeks ago. Now the band has launched the Smoot Family Fund to help ensure that his family is well taken care of despite this tragic loss:

“This fund is designed to raise funds for Cory’s family, especially his wife Jamie and his unborn child. The response of our fans has been truly mind-blowing and we have done our best to honor Cory and help fans with their loss by continuing our tour. Now we all have an opportunity to contribute to the memory of one of the greatest metal guitar players out there and one of the best people we have ever had the honor of knowing. Rest in peace Cory, you are sorely missed.”

We strongly encourage you to go here to donate.

Meanwhile, the band announced last week that they’d be playing some Smoot memorial shows soon; details of those shows should be available shortly.

Talk about a band that refuses to let down their fans: GWAR have missed the bare minimum amount of shows since the untimely passing of guitarist Cory Smoot (a.k.a. “Flattus Maximus”) a couple of weeks ago — and those shows were cancelled only so that the band could attend Smoot’s memorial service in Virginia this past Friday. Those dudes are troopers, huh?

I’m sure Smoot continues to loom large in the band’s mind, though. Case in point: Metal Insider reports that this past Thursday, November 9, during a performance in Portland, OR, the members of GWAR spontaneously ripped off their masks and held up Smoot’s guitar to honor their fallen bandmate. Check out video of that performance below; it’s kinda weird to see GWAR break character like this, but, obviously, the occasion called for it…

The band’s ongoing tribute to Smoot continued on Saturday, when they announced plans for both the Smoot Family Foundation and some Smoot memorial shows via their Facebook page:

Click to read more…

GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot — more commonly known as “Flattus Maximum” — passed away a week ago today, and we’re still reeling from the loss. Now the band has announced a public memorial service, so that fans can congregate, mourn, and celebrate Smoot’s life as a community.

Here are the details:

Friday, November 11
4 pm
Bennett Funeral Home Chesterfield Chapel
14301 Ashbrook Parkway
Chesterfield, VA

As a result of the services, GWAR has been forced to cancel their next two shows: tonight’s concert in Medford, OR and tomorrow’s gig in San Francisco, CA. The band will resume their current tour with Every Time I Die, Warbeast, and Ghoul this coming Saturday, November 12. Remaining tour dates can be found here.

Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot (aka Flattus Maximus) is dead. His band members found him deceased this morning as they prepared to cross the Canadian border. MetalSucks just received the following statement by Gwar mastermind Dave Brockie directly from the band’s camp:

It is with a sense of profound loss and tragedy that the members of GWAR must announce the passing of their long time guitarist and beloved friend Cory Smoot,  also known to thousands of metal fans worldwide as Flattus Maximus.  Cory was found deceased this morning as the band prepared for a border crossing.  There is no word as to the cause of death and the members of GWAR are completely shocked and devastated that this has occurred.  At this point there is no word on arrangements and the disposition of the remainder of GWAR’s current North American tour, nor are there any details regarding long term plans.  At this point we are just dealing with the loss of our dear friend and brother, one of the most talented guitar players in metal today.  We ask that our fans and the media be respectful of our request for privacy for those that have suffered this terrible loss.  A full statement will be coming in the next day or so, in the meantime please give your thoughts and your prayers to Cory, his family, and all the people that love him.

-Dave Brockie-

This sucks more than words can possibly express. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Cory’s friends, his family, and of course his bandmates.

- Everyone at MetalSucks

When I was fifteen years old, I had to sneak out of my parents’ house on a Friday night to go see GWAR and the Misfits play a Halloween show. Then I had to conceal my clothing from my parents, seeing as it was, y’know, soaked in blood, urine, and semen.

Here we are all these years later, pretty much right at the anniversary of that show, and GWAR are on a popular, mainstream late-night talk show. And yet, somehow, they seem no less rebellious than they ever were.

Which is all my way of saying, “GWAR rules.” And they do. They rule. Hard.

ANYWAY, here are some things we did this week:

• Speaking of GWAR, Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie himself provided us with more insights into the NFL. Meanwhile, several members of the Relapse Records family gave us the skinny on the new NHL season, and The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley pondered the pros and cons of new technology in music.
• We debuted Jucifer’s new video, for the song “Hiroshima.”
• We got exclusive specs on Contain Us, the new box set from The Devin Townsend Project.
• We spoke to Steel Panther and Niilo Sevänen from Insomnium.
• We checked out the latest release from Carnifex.
• We continued the Countdown to the Metal Suckfest and defended Danzig.
• We counted down the eleven cardinal rules of attending a concert.
• We wondered if nu-dethcore is the next big thing.
• We cried because even ex-members of Metallica make bad music now.
• We argued about the best debut albums of the past twenty-five years.

And that’s it! Have a delightful weekend, gang. We’ll see ya Monday.

-AR

It was a weekend of big changes at the quarterback position all around the league, and Sunday’s games gave the first good indication of what the rest of the season might be like for the unfortunate teams that are still struggling for consistency at what is undoubtedly the most important position on the field. Picking the players, especially the QB, is one of the most important jobs coaches have, and the strength of their decisions decides all kinds of things… like who wins the Super Bowl, and who gets to keep their job. Injuries and crummy play have forced several coaches to change their plans, and the fate of the season hangs in the balance for a few teams. This weekend’s action gave us the clearest evidence yet as to how it’s all going to turn out, and while it’s too early to start talking about certain coaches (or their relatives) getting canned, you can bet the whispering has begun.

Just look at the horrific blow-out the New Orleans Saints laid on the Indianapolis Colts, 62-7. The Colts season ended before it even got started with top QB Peyton Manning’s neck injury, and the Saints, behind the notoriously bad-hair of QB Drew Brees, are playing at their highest level since winning the Super Bowl a couple of years back. Like those people in New Orleans need another excuse to party!

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Not Seth Putnam

One mind-blowing aspect of Devin Townsend’s Deconstruction album is its coterie of guest personnel. A who’s-who of pivotal screamers, the list includes that awesome dude from Gojira, legendary super-stud Ihsahn, and extreme metal’s loveliest alto, Tommy Rogers from Between The Buried And Me. And though Townsend rightly rushes to downplay the distraction/sketchy motives of high-profile guest contributions, it’s exciting as shit for metal fans to have those guys — plus studz from Meshuggah, Cynic, and Gwar — all in one place.

Likewise, I super-hail Chino Moreno and his 2005 Team Sleep record, which finds the Deftones frontman enlisting the non-metal voices and pens of Helium’s Mary Timony and Rob Crow of Pinback (above). Each sings awesomely on at least two of the self-titled album’s jamz (e.g. “Our Ride To The Rectory” with Crow here). Just like Townsend’s gang on Deconstruction, Crow’s and Timony’s presence legitimizes the album (ie. busy, inspired aces wouldn’t appear on some hack shit) and helps it to achieve a specialness, like the NBA All-Star game or the time I ate a pizza that a bag of Cheetos had spilled onto (aka Cheetzza©). Best of all, it makes me feel in sync with another human being (Moreno) who happens to ass-worship Timony and Crow and um Moreno. It’s like finally somebody put my needs first when making an album!

Okay here we are at paragraph three, so I bet my editors would like me to deliver on the headline’s promise :) Speaking of Team Sleep MVP Rob Crow, you love the dude cuz he’s awesome (see also: Optiganally Yours’ Exclusively Talentmaker!), and cuz he’s metal (see: his non-serious doom metal project, Goblin Cock), and cuz on his new solo album He Thinks He’s People, he offers an affectionate tribute to Seth Putnam, the recently deceased Anal Cunt mainman and author of history’s best song titles. Check it out and chuckle after the jump!

Click to read more…

It was an ugly weekend in football and sports in general, and I found myself at times wondering things like “why do I care about this?”  The bad stories just kept piling up, and it was at times difficult and painful to watch. It didn’t help that the sports world was still digesting the tragic news of a horrible wreck during an Indy Car race in Las Vegas that took the life of driver Dan Wheldon. The promoters had packed way-too-many cars on a way-too-small track, and it only took 12 laps for an gigantic accident that involved almost half the 32-car field. So the sports weekend was already off to a start that could be termed… UGLY.

And it got uglier quickly, especially if you are a Washington Redskins fan. Once again your team was made a laughing-stock of the league, as QB Rex Grossman experienced an epic meltdown against the desperate-for-a-win Philadelphia Eagles. Grossman not only threw four interceptions, he almost got intercepted several other times, and repeatedly forced the ball into double and triple coverage until he was finally benched in the third quarter. But Grossman’s miserable QB rating was only the fourth worst in his career! Back-up John Beck fared a bit better, bringing the Skins to within a TD, but it was too little, too late, and the Eagles beat the Skins 20-13. UGLY.

Click to read more…

Friendly reminder: as of RIGHT THIS SECOND, the legendary Richard Christy from Death, Iced Earth, Control Denied, and, oh yeah, The Howard Stern Show, is at the MetalSucks/Vertebrae 33  booth at New York Comic Con signing copies of Charred Walls of the Damned‘s ridiculously rocking new album, Cold Winds on Timeless Days, which is out NOW on Metal Blade Records. He’ll be there ’til 7 pm, so there’s still time for you to hop on a bus, subway, or in a cab and get your ass down there — we’re booth #2625. Myself and/or Vince are also there now, and will be there tomorrow and Sunday, too, and we may have some other special guests in store for you yet. So come on by, pick up some free swag courtesy of Indie Merch and Metal Blade, hang out, whatever. It’ll be a blast! Get all the details here.

And now, some other fun shit we did this week:

• We premiered a new live recording of Death’s “Leprosy” and new music from Trapped Under Ice.
• We spoke to Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved, Rex Brown from Kill Devil Hill/Pantera/Down, producer Shane Frisby, and Skateboard Marketing’s Munsey Ricci.
• Valient Thorr’s Valient Himself occupied Wall Street, GWAR’s Dave Brockie gave us the blow-by-blow on the NFL, and Eyal Levi from Dååth and Levi/Werstler and Audiohammer Studios got all Pacino-in-Heat on us.
• We checked out the latest releases from Warbringer and Årabrot.
• We continued The Countdown to The Metal Suckfest and launched a contest in which you can win some sweet swag and a meet and greet session at the show.
• We watched some inter-Emmure drama unfold.
• We begged Sasha Frere-Jones from The New Yorker to stop writing about metal forever.
• We enjoyed the use of Nine Inch Nails in the new trailer for The Avengers.
• We got excited about Cynic’s new line-up + song.
• We celebrated the best Dragonforce cover ever.

Have a terrific, relaxing weekend everyone. See ya Monday, if we don’t see ya at NYCC!

-AR

The NFL lost one of its all-time greats last week as long-time Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis slipped this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible… in other words, he died. Every sports journalist from here to Hoboken immediately began lamenting his passing and glorifying his life in a way completely appropriate for such a luminary figure. His countless accomplishments included hiring the league’s first African-American head coach and being inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame. The only problem with this picture is that most of these journalists kissing Al’s dead ass were the same ones who have mercilessly cracked on him for being a senile old coot who needed to give up the reins a long time ago. Even I had been guilty of the occasional irresponsible tweet, and it occurred to me that so much attention has been paid to blaming Al Davis for the Raider’s post-2002 blues that nobody remembers all of the amazing things Al Davis did for not only the Raiders but for the entire NFL. So in a sense Mr. Davis’ death has been the perfect chance to flip the script and remind everybody who the Raiders (and Al Davis) really are (were).

And after the Raiders wild 25-20 win over the Houston Texans, I am happy to say that the Raiders are who we thought they were, and who they haven’t been for the past nine years or so — the bad guys of the NFL with a team to back it. I mean, think of a league without the Raiders. Isn’t it a dull and dreary place? Only the Cowboys inspire the level of fandom that the Raiders do, so without them you have only the Cowboys and doesn’t that make you want to puke? On a personal note, as a Redskins fan, it’s great to see Jason Campbell smiling. He didn’t do a lot of that around Washington, but he always gave it his all. I really wish we hadn’t traded him! The only thing that would have made the Raiders’ day better would have been a win at home, but now the stage is set for an emotional homecoming as the Raiders take on a struggling Cleveland team next week at O.co. Coliseum.

Click to read more…

Happy birthday, Reign in Blood! We love you. You don’t sound a day over one.

Here’s some other things that happened this week which are worth celebrating:

• We started the countdown to The Metal Suckfest.
• We debuted new music by Immolation and a new video by Early Graves.
• Devin Townsend and Textures’ Jochem Jacobs and Bart Hennephof took us through their live rigs.
• GWAR’s David Brockie discussed the NFL, Daath’s Eyal Levi discussed getting the fuck out, and God Forbid’s Doc Coyle discussed how the times, they are a changin’.
• We spoke to Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies, Mother of Mercy’s Bob Wilson, and directors Sean Dunne and Kenneth Thomas.
• We checked out new releases by Ghoul and Taake and Craft.
• Sergeant D. became the most popular feminist in metal.
• Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes had a bad week.
• We mourned the death of the album intro track.
• We wondered if Mastodon’s live vocals are getting better.

Now go crank some Slayer.

See ya Monday.

-AR

Week four in the NFL saw some of the most amazing play from a QB ever recorded, and some of the most inept officiating I have ever seen. There were amazing comebacks and burly beat-downs. All in all, as we closed out Week 4 the NFL was the same chaotic, colorful, and crazed place it always has been, as some teams began to separate themselves from the pack and others continued to wallow in mediocrity… and I was once again left with the task of somehow writing about it. Not the easiest thing to when you really don’t care about most of the teams and are bound to offend many by your caustic observations concerning why their teams suck. But I beg forgiveness in advance! I’m no sportswriter; I’m the guy behind Oderus and I sing for GWAR. My personal agenda is strongly linked to my professional persona, so if you are looking for a fair and objective viewpoint, where I reward good performances with positive ink, read no further! That will happen, but I am WAY more into making crass remarks, laying-down weed-addled observations, and making my way through this entire season without missing a deadline. In fact, that’s probably the hardest thing about writing this thing. On Sunday I am drinking beer and watching football ALL DAY (and I am already using this column as an excuse to subtract myself from reality any time ANYTHING to do with the NFL is happening), so I am not about to get any writing done. Dragging my hungover ass out of bed early enough to make my Monday at noon deadline is by far the toughest challenge I face, and for that I am happy! I used to shovel shit for a living. Hmmmm… I guess things haven’t changed that much.

Click to read more…