-->
UPDATE: Testament are definitely doing this tour. There’s no mention of High on Fire in the press release – interpret that as you will.
Well, here it is, kiddies… the tour you’ve been waiting for… there’s not much else you need to know other than this:
Get stoked.
I’m not entirely sure what a “frost hammer” is – it sounds like the name of a band I wouldn’t like, actually – but it’s apparently the title of a new High on Fire song. You can watch bootleg footage of it being played live below, courtesy Blabbermouth.
Meanwhile, Snakes for the Divine has been announced as the tentative title of HOF’s new album, which will be out on E1 next year. Greg Fidelman, who produced the new Slayer album and worked on Metallica’s Death Mehgnetic, is producing. HOF are doing that whole Dethklok/Mastodon tour right now – if you’ve yet to see Matt Pike shake his flabby shirtless body, definitely go check it out.
-AR
MetalSucks photographer Diana Lee Zadlo was on hand at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory on November 1st to shoot the ruckus of Mastodon, Dethklok, Converge and High on Fire (for our own quick wrap of the NYC stop, check this out). Her stellar photography of all four bands, after the jump.
Speaking of our friends at Metal Injection: they found these groovy clips which collect all the metal-celeb guest appearances on Metalocalypse. In case ya don’t know, everyone from Hetfield and Hammett to Corpsegrinder to King Diamond has done voice work for the show… one of many reasons why it’s worth your time.
Here’s the clips from season 1; check out season 2 after the jump. And don’t forget that Dethklok have a new album coming out, to be immediately followed by a ridiculously awesome tour with Mastodon, Converge, and High on Fire.
My favorite cartoon characters are Brent Hinds and the members of Dethklok. Seriously. I once watched Hinds do a belly-flop onto a bar table covered in beer mugs. He came out of a coma and is only sillier for the experience. You could drop an anvil on that dude’s head and all that would happen is he’d see little tweety-birds buzzing around his head. And then he’d write an awesome concept album about them.
So: in what strikes me as only semi-strange news, Mastodon and Dethklok will co-headline a tour this fall, with support coming from Converge and High on Fire. I am slightly miffed that the mighty High on Fire and absolutely God-like Converge are opening for a make believe band, but since it’s Dethklok, I’ll let it pass… this time.
Complete list of dates after the jump.
That I’m sitting here in the MetalSucks Mansion this snowy Monday morning has gotta be some kinda heavy metal miracle; as I type this, Anton OyVey, Rob Pasbani from Metal Injection, our friends from BITPOM.com, and a lot of other fine friends are still stranded in Atlanta due to the weather.
And honestly, there are worse towns in which to be stranded. To my shock, not only is the booze in Atlanta shockingly cheap, not only is the purp somehow completely fucking magical, but the city is about as chill as you could hope for. I kinda miss it already.
But enough wistful reminiscing. After the jump, get my thoughts on some of the best bands of Saturday’s totally excellent Scion Rock Fest!
It seems like every day we get a press release here at the MS Mansion announcing that some respectable metal band has signed to Koch Records. High On Fire, Satyricon and Throwdown are the latest crop, having all signed to Koch within the past few weeks. Add that to the already formidable metal roster of In Flames, Otep, Hatebreed and Straight Line Stitch… despite a couple of admittedly terrible bands in that bunch, from a business perspective that’s some serious fucking firepower there, all added within the last year, give or take.
So what the hell is going on over there?
A month or so ago Opeth came to New York’s Nokia Theater as part of an awesome (and diverse) package with High on Fire and Nachtmystium. It was one of those nights; a Monday or Tuesday, I was fucking exhausted from having traveled cross-country the night before, partied too many nights in a row, just worked a full day, interviewed the band before the show… and yeah, I was fucking beat. Being psyched to see Nachtmystium for the first time (they were AMAZING, by the way) and having seen Opeth before, I figured I’d stick around for a few songs of Opeth’s set and then high-tail it home. So when Opeth started, “One more song,” is what I kept telling myself. Until the next one… and the next… and the next. And before I knew it, two hours later, the show was over; Opeth were just so fucking phenomenal that I couldn’t bring myself to leave! I shouldn’t have expect any less.
But before the show, I got the chance to sit down with mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt and new guitarist Fredrik Åkesson to grill them about their Progressive Nation Tour with Dream Theater earlier in the year, their new album Watershed, how the band has managed to stay relevant and interesting over such a long career, and, naturally, Metallica. Our conversation, after the jump.
Even the best package tours usually have at least one weak spot, band-wise; but the Opeth/High on Fire/Nachtmystium tour, which Vince and I got to check out last week, is pretty much perfect from start to finish.
And one of the reasons is – or guess now I should say “was” – the presence of Nachtmystium. Not only did they release one of the best albums of 2008, but they slay live.
Alas, they’ve now dropped off the tour, depriving anyone who is going to an upcoming date on this tour of one of the highlights of the evening.
As if this summer’s touring season isn’t already shaping up to be an excellent one — whatwith the likes of Metal Masters (Priest / Heaven and Hell / Motorhead / Testament), the At the Gates reunion, Boris/Torche, and a whole shitload of other great shows — this fall is already shaping up really fuckin’ nicely. This is terrible news for the rest of my social life, but fuck, how can I miss out on these awesome shows?
Axl and Vince recently had the opportunity to sit down with In Flames bassist Peter Iwers hours before the second of two Gigantour shows at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom (also featuring Megadeth, Children of Bodom, High on Fire, and Job For a Cowboy). Peter shared his thoughts about In Flames’ new album A Sense of Purpose, its success in America, the band’s writing and recording process, and the band’s mysterious guitar-tech/personal assistant Biffin (the truth is shocking!). Read the entire chat transcript after the fold.
After a nice long, hot shower and a little grub it was time to head back downtown. The nightcap for my full Day One of metal would be…
VVEREVVOLF GREHV/COLISEUM/GENGHIS TRON/MUNICIPAL WASTE/HIGH ON FIRE @ EMO’S ANNEX, Thursday, March 14, 9:00 P.M. – 2:00 A.M.
Yes, I’m sure you see the name Emo’s up there. Don’t fret. Emo’s in Austin is a longstanding hardcore/punk/metal institution that has existed long before the incredibly pussified musical genre that co-opted its name emerged. In fact, the venue is so revered that it did not limit itself to only two stages this year – it had its usual indoor stage, a smaller lounge stage, and a third stage across the street on the corner of the infamous Sixth Street in a giant tent called Emo’s Annex.
I showed up around 8:45 p.m., paid $13 to get in (…to hell with SXSW badges!), missed opening act Mala Suerte, and grabbed a makeshift seat close to the temporary stage. While listening to some guy hit on a chick by saying he “smoked out” with Enslaved, I was curious to see one man setting up gear on stage. That man was…
Metal has always been the unwanted red-headed stepchild at the annual SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas. Back when I was the metal/hardcore DJ at the University of Texas’s student radio station KVRX (’88-’90), metal at SXSW was usually relegated to one showcase at the Backroom, way far away from the hub of activity in downtown Austin.To counter that mentality, my best friend and co-DJ, Ray “Raydog” Seggern used to create our own showcases to spotlight heavier bands not cut from the dying days of glam.
Our biggest success was in 1990 when we threw our own anti-SXSW showcase in a run-down, but still active, Riverside Drive dollar movie theater, seats and all. The show featured Austin bands Zero Tolerance and Dread (featuring future Skrew/16Volt/Daniel Ash bassist Mike Peoples), Arlington thrashers Arcane, and Houstonians Dead Horse. The major coupe from the gig was getting a rep from Metal Blade to come to the show and eventually sign Dead Horse.
Fast forward 18 years to SXSW 2008 – Metal is everywhere!
New York’s own Car Bomb are one of those bands that completely defy simple labeling; their music combines elements of math, tech, grind, death, hardcore, punk, prog, sludge, jazz, and probably a million other subgenres. Clearly, these guys have no interest in conforming to current trends or aping what’s come before them; they’re here to knock down doors and bust open some heads.
Car Bomb are currently in the middle of writing their follow-up to last year’s Relapse debut, Centralia, which they hope to be able to release later this year. I recently had the chance to sit down with bassist Jon Modell and drummer Elliot Hoffman mere hours after they finished one such writing session to get a quick update on how it’s going. Read the full transcript after the jump. Click to read more…
Photos from yesterday’s Motorhead show at Stubb’s and Relapse Records showcase at Emo’s Annex featuring High on Fire, Municipal Waste, Genghis Tron, Coliseum and Vverevvolf Grehv. And Jamey Jasta hangin’ out at the show. Click on the thumbnail to see a full-size picture. Also, a short video clip of Genghis Tron after the jump!
Motorhead:
Vverevvolf Grehv:
Click through for photos of Genghis Tron, Coliseum, Matt Pike and Jamey Jasta + video of Genghis Tron!
More live pics from today’s SXSW madness. Matt Pike of High on Fire, the crowd at the show, and guest DJ Iggor Cavalera. Click the photos for bigger versions.
I’ve been away and kind of out of the loop, so I apologize that this is kind of old news, but the line-up for the 2008 edition of Gigantour (a.k.a. Megadethfest) has been announed, and besides the ‘Deth, it will feature In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy, and High on Fire. Yes, you read that right: Job for a Cowboy are going on after High on Fire.
So: you may notice that this is a smaller Gigantour line-up than usual, which Mustaine explains, in a statement, as being “based on timing, set lengths, stage sizes, unions, and most importantly allowing ‘us’ — the musicians — to deliver to ‘you’ — the fans — the best shows we can.” I think that actually means that he just wanted to share the pot with fewer people, which is perfectly reasonable, but really, calling it “Gigantour” is now officially just a form of false advertising. I mean, this tour was never as big as Ozzfest, but now it’s only as big as Summer Sanitarium*. At least Limp Bizkit aren’t playing.
ANYWAY, my only real concern about this line-up is that I’m not convinced modern day Megadeth can follow In Flames, who have been really on their shit live pretty much every time I’ve ever seen them. Then again, last year Mustaine put out an album I actually listened to more than once, so I guess anything is possible.
-AR
*And by “big,” I mean in the sense that both tours have the same number of bands – not that both tours will play the same sized venues. ‘Cause they won’t. ‘Cause Metallica are bigger than Megadeth. A LOT bigger than Megadeth. Dave Mustaine cries about it sometimes. Seriously! They have footage of him weeping in Some Kind of Monster. Check it out sometime, it’s pretty rad.
Advertisements:
