I never pay attention to trending topics on Twitter, because it just never really occurs to me. I guess it is kinda interesting to see what people are talking about (in 140 characters or less at a time), though.

For example, some of the most popular topics currently include Macaulay Culkin (people are alternately very troubled to learn that Mila Kunis just dumped him and very troubled to learn that he’s still alive), Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (a new edition will apparently remove the “N” word from the text), and… German metalcore outfit Heaven Shall Burn.

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Heaven Shall Burn’s new video, for the song “Combat,” is like Slayer’s video for “World Painted Blood” in that it uses stylized animation (and lots of the color red) to convey the horrors of war, and not at all like Slayer’s video for “World Painted Blood” in that it doesn’t completely suck hairy gorilla nuts. And, once again, proves my point: that bands should stay the fuck out of their music videos.

“Combat” comes off Heaven Shall Burn’s latest, Invictus, which is out now on Century. If you haven’t done so already, check out my interview with guitarist Maik Weichert, in which we discuss, among other things, the violent nature of songs like “Combat.”

-AR

Nevermore, Kingdom of Sorrow, Nachtmystium, Watain, Heaven Shall Burn, Whitechapel…. and, uh, Attack Attack!. All these bands released records last week, and after the jump we take a look at how all of those records performed. Metal Insider‘s Zach Shaw has done a fine job of collecting the data, but you’ll have to visit Metal Insider to get his cheeky commentary. The numbers — with my own cheeky commentary, naturally — after the jump.

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But he, like, totally had it coming. He was the singer for some band called Beneath the Sky.

I’m kidding. I don’t endorse violence against untalented people. Just front row games of Uno.

ANYWAY, here’s some other shit we happened this week:

• We’re streaming Watain’s Lawless Darkness and the Monolith/Voyager split.
• Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable talked about his new band and Sick of it All’s Lou Koller concluded his “Quintessential Guide to Hardcore.”
• We spoke to Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd and Heaven Shall Burn’s Maik Weichert.
• We checked out Thou’s Summit.
• We met the world’s youngest Nile fan.
• We wondered if Opeth ripped-off Immortal.
• We came up with awards that could be named after metal stars.
• Vince isn’t that into Kylesa, and has some advice for Portal, too.
• Anso thinks that No Prayer for the Dying is the worst Maiden album ever.
• As it turns out, Fred Phelps is still an idiot.

Next week we get to debut that video we were supposed to debut this week, and we have another stream, and some other stuff I’m probably forgetting. ‘Til then, enjoy your weekend!

-AR

If I needed music to represent the act of breaking a glass bottle and using its jagged edges to repeatedly stab someone in the throat, I might very well point towards Heaven Shall Burn as that aural example. Oh, sure, guitarist/co-producer Maik Weichert says the band isn’t advocating violence in their music, but how can you listen to HSB and not wanna kill every other living entity in the room? It’s almost impossible!

And the music band’s latest, Invictus, will do little to quell your bloodlust.(And while we’re on the topic, we’re still giving away an mp3 of the song “Buried in Forgotten Grounds” off of that album.) It was released by Century last week in Europe, and comes out June 8 in North America – so this seemed like an ideal time to shoot Weichert a few questions via e-mail. After the jump, get his thoughts on the thematic connections between Invictus and the other entries in HSB’s Iconoclast series, why he prefers not to work with an outside producer, his thoughts on being a vegan, violent political uprising, Asterix & Obelix vs. The Simpsons, and more.

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There’s so much streamin’ going on right now you’d think a bunch of dudes were peeing on you. So without any further bullshit, here are three complete albums you can listen to right now if you wanna get your metal on:

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EVERYBODY SING WITH ME NOW: “I FEEL PRETTY, OH SO PRETTY, I FEEL PRETTY, AND WITTY, AND BRIIIIIIIGHT!”

No West Side Story fans in the house? No one? Okay, fuck it. Here’s what happened in the world of FUCKING METAL this week:

• We’re streaming Mantric’s The Descent in its entirety.
• We’re giving away new tracks by Nevermore and Heaven Shall Burn.
• We debuted a new video by Karma to Burn.
• Cynic’s Paul Masvidal meditated on unexplained healings, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa gave us a refresher on L O S T, The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley thinks it’s okay to enjoy music by scumbags, Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable wants your help naming his new band, and Eyal from Daath and Levi/Werstler wants you to start ordering CDs online.
• We spoke to Mike Patton and Brian Posehn.
• Slayer and Megadeth are both doing full album performances on their American Carnage tour; Testament, not so much.
• Rose Funoral just can’t live down their past.

Next week brings so many interviews and exclusives it’ll make your head explode. See ya then!

-AR

The cover art for Heaven Shall Burn‘s brutal new album, Invictus, looks like that for a reason: shit’ll rip your heart out faster than Mola Ram. Century Media won’t release the latest offering from Germany’s heaviest export for another three weeks (possibly longer, depending on where you live), but they’re letting us give you a special sneak-peak right now in the form of a free mp3 of the song “Buried in Forgotten Grounds.” If you’re a Heaven Shall Burn fan, you already know what to expect – a jagged, rusty knife jab right to the fucking jugular. And if you’ve never experienced this band before, well, here’s your chance…

DOWNLOAD: Heaven Shall Burn, “Buried in Forgotten Grounds” – from the album Invictus

The European limited edition of Invictus will be available as a luxurious box-set, including a digipak that comes with alternative album art, a special cover of Therapy?’s “Nowhere,”  and a bonus-DVD of a special show that was filmed at the small and intimate club Szene in Vienna. Check out the opening live-clip from the DVD, “Forlorn Skies,” here.

And here are all the various release dates for Invictus:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Friday, May 21
Spain, Italy : Tuesday, May 25
Sweden, Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, May 26
Rest Of Europe: Monday, May 24
North America: Tuesday, June 8

I’m kidding, of course. Yes, Invictus was a movie last year that Clint Eastwood directed and that got nominated for a couple of Oscars, but it’s also the Latin word for “unconquered.” Given that, I’m surprised it took so long for a  metal band to use the word as an album title.

But here come Heaven Shall Burn to swoop it up! Their Invictus, which will not feature a guest rap by Morgan Freeman, will be released by Century in North America on June 8, and other various territories where I don’t live throughout late May.

I’m literally listening to Invictus as I type this, aaaannnndddd… it sure is a Heaven Shall Burn album! The intro is even a remix/rethinking of the one from their last studio album, Iconoclast, Part 1: The Final Resistance. (Although I guess it wasn’t “the final resistance,” since I’m sitting here writing about the band’s new album.) HSB are one of those bands, like Insomnium, who basically make the same record over and over again, so you should already have some sense of how excited, or not excited, you are to hear this release.

-AR

Congratulations to Miss Alicia Jarrell of Quincy, MA. Alicia correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band A Sunset Mourning, and for her troubles, she wins a copy of Heaven Shall Burn’s DVD, Bildersturm – Iconoclast II (The Visual Resistance). Enjoy it, Alicia!

This week the nice people at Century Media have provided us a copy of Lacuna Coil’s DVD, Visual Karma, to give away. This two-disc set features the band’s complete performances from both Wacken ’07 and Loudpark ’07, four music videos, band member profiles, behind-the-scenes tour footage, and much more. So even though Cristina Scabbia hates me and is in total denial about the fact that I am someday going to marry her granddaughter, I think this is a pretty cool DVD and you should definitely fight for this freebie.

All you have to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select a winner and announce his or her name next week.

This week’s logo was suggested by reader Alex Carter… thanks, Alex! You guys have been sending me a lot of great suggestions lately, but please keep ‘em comin’! I have to do this contest every week for the rest of my fucking life!!!

-AR

Congrats to grand-prize winner Denton Alford and runner-up Matt Arendse. They each correctly identified last week’s logo as that of the band Abbadons Breed. They each win a limited edition vinyl copy of All Shall Perish’s Awaken the Dreamers – Denton gets one that’s clear with blood splatter, and Matt gets one that’s red and black. And if you didn’t win one, you can always order yourself a copy here – although you best do so quickly, since there are very, very few of these being pressed.

This week  the nice people at Century Media have supplied us with a copy of Heaven Shall Burn’s DVD, Bildersturm – Iconoclast II (The Visual Resistance) to give away. This multi-disc set comes with two complete live performances, a documentary, music videos, a “Metal Cooking” segment, band rehearsal footage, European and U.S. video tour diaries, and more. Heaven Shall Burn as heavy as fuck and hooky as hell, so study this logo hard, friends.

All you have to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select a winner and announce his or her name next week.

This week’s logo comes to us by way of reader Sam Morton… keep sending those suggestions everyone, I really appreciate ‘em!

-AR

Reader Joseph Daniel Salas suggested we check out Locracy from Vienna. I was in Vienna for about four days once, and it’s a beautiful city, even with the rampant skinhead population. I went to some giant-ass club/party thing that ran all along the river and had a hell of a time.

Unfortunately, Locracy – whose name is, as far as I can tell, a complete nonsense word – sound almost exactly like Germany’s Heaven Shall Burn, except not nearly as good. I mean, this band isn’t incompetent or anything – in fact, the riff from their song “From Cave to Grave” is thoroughly headbangable – but I wish they at least put some effort into giving originality a shot, y’know?

Check out Locracy here and then let Joe D-S know whatcha think in the comments section below.

-AR

If the stereotype about Germans being all uptight n’ shit is true, then it would explain why the teutonic metalcore masters seem to be so obsessed with proceduralism. I don’t wanna spoil the “twist” of their new video, “Black Tears,” but like their last video, “Endzeit,” it hinges on the viewer’s interest in process and, more specifically, the answer to the question “What the fuck are these people up to?”

“Black Tears” comes off of 2008′s Iconoclast. The band has a DVD coming out, Bildersturm – Iconoclast II (The Visual Resistance) at the end of May on Century.

-AR

Germany’s Heaven Shall Burn* has been making super heavy metalcore for about as long as any American band, yet they’re not a household name here in the States. Their new video, for the track “Endzeit” off their new album Iconoclast, is, by turns, creepy, incendiary, surreal, and hilarious, but I have a hard time believing any station here in the US will ever play the damn thing; between the shouts of “WE ARE THE VIOLENT ONES! WE ARE THE FINAL RESISTANCE!” and the terrorism plot and the photo of George W. Bush, playing this video is just asking for controversy.

I don’t know who directed this thing but I’ll have to find out… I think it’s really quite good…

-AR

*Or is it HeavenShallBurn? I’ve seen it written both with and without spaces, although I prefer the former, as the latter reminds me far too much of limpbizkit.