If you still have any doubts that being in a band is for losers, watch Why You Do This, the documentary by Car Bomb’s Michael Dafferner. It is a cold, hard bitch slap of reality. Including interviews with Richard Christy, Randy Blythe, Joe Duplantier, Ben Falgoust, and a bunch of other cool dudes, Why You Do This premiered last year at the Queens World Film Festival, and is now streaming online in full. Check it out:

If you enjoyed that, you can order a DVD right here.

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

It’s been a long while since Roadrunner signed a reputable metal band on the up and up. Megadeth, Dream Theater, Rush and Opeth, some of their most recent signees, are all great bands to be sure, but all four were many albums into their career before moving over to Roadrunner. You’ve got to go all the way back to Trivium or possibly Killswitch Engage to find a metal band that Roadrunner scooped up from the underground and turned into a household name. Gojira are already established to some degree, sure, but while they’re loved and adored by the metal underground (relatively speaking), they’re not as well-known to mainstream metal crowds. Signing with Roadrunner signifies that both parties are ready to change that.

Can Gojira be the next household name in metal? They’re certainly good enough and have all the good-will of the metal underground backing them. Signing with a major label worked for Lamb of God and it sorta worked for Mastodon, but it was disastrous for Shadows Fall.

Anyway, Axl totally knocked it out of the park with an incredibly informative in-studio interview with Joe and Mario Duplantier last month; if you haven’t read it yet and you’re a Gojira fan, you owe it to yourself to do so right now. Decibel Magazine recently checked in with the latter, too, and got a juicy tidbit out of him about Gojira’s writing process. Unlike most bands these days who live in different cities and send files back and forth to write, Gojira actually still assemble in a room and jam everything out the old fashioned way! Quote:

Click to read more…

So, hey, remember a couple of weeks ago how I interviewed Joe and Mario Duplantier from Gojira about their new album? And I told you that when I arrived at the studio for my interview, Mario was drumming on the door?

Well, some footage of that has found its way into the band’s second studio webisode, which you can check out below. The video fails to convey how incredibly LOUD Mario’s drumming was, but it’s still pretty cool to see.

Cooler still: we actually get to hear some very, very small snippets of new Gojira music. It’s not nearly enough to tell us anything concrete about the new album, but at this point, I’m such a Gojira fiend I’ll take a hit however tiny, y’know?

Gojira’s Roadrunner debut will be out sometime next year.

-AR

Yep, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. So we’re leaving the MetalSucks Mansion now. We’ll be back Monday, at which point we’ll make it up to you with some very special posts… honest Injun!

‘Til then, here’s some shit we did this week:

• We spoke to The Brothers Duplantier from Gojira about their new album, signing with Roadrunner Records, and more.
• Abysmal Dawn’s Charles Elliott gave us a guided tour of his live rig.
• We debuted new-old music by Coalesce.

Y’know. It was a short week.

Okay see ya Monday by-eeeeeee!!!

-AR

photos by Gabrielle Duplantier

November 12, 2011. I’m in Long Island City, heading towards Spin Recording Studios, where the mighty Gojira have recently begun recording their new album with producer Josh Wilbur. It’s a big deal because a) it’s Gojira’s first album in more than three years, b) the band has just announced that they’ve signed with Roadrunner Records, and c) Gojira fucking rules, and I’m a massive, massive fan.

I’m still a good block-and-a-half away when I hear it. It’s so incredibly LOUD and metallic, it almost sounds like machine gun fire — but it’s too rhythmic to be a weapon. I decide it must be a street performer, banging on some sheet metal or something… except that I can see the street all around me, and it’s completely deserted. If it is a street performer, he’s very well concealed, and is apparently playing to an audience of no one.

By the time I arrive at the front door of Spin Studios — a large, steel entrance — the sound has become deafening. And as I peek through the small, submarine-like door window, I finally see the source of the sound: it’s Gojira skinsman Mario Duplantier, drumming on the door like the thunder god that he is.

Click to read more…

Ten days now from now will mark the third anniversary of the release of Gojira’s The Way of All Flesh, and in December of that same year, Joe Duplantier said that the band would be recording an exclusive track to benefit Sea Shepherd. But by April of 2010, that song still had yet to materialize, and the band announced that they were, instead, doing an entire EP on behalf of that environmental organization, complete with special guests. Which was great news, of course! Especially so when the band declared that they were finally entering a studio to record that EP last October. And then, when an awesome new Gojira song featuring Devin Townsend and Fredrik Thordendal emerged this past May, well, it seemed as though, SURELY, the EP was finally ready for release.

And yeah so here we are and it’s October again and we don’t gots no Gojira EP.

Well, hey, news but no not really at all! The band has now posted an update on their Facebook page which provides almost no actual information!!! Check it out:

Click to read more…

Devin Townsend has so much explaining to do. As a tireless songwriter and producer, he’s set to release two albums on June 21, Ghost and Deconstruction, to complete the Devin Townsend Project cycle that he started with 2009′s Ki and Addicted. That’s four full-length records, 43 songs, and 260 minutes of music unleashed over about two years. But for Townsend, discussion goes beyond song ideas and his exhaustive studio work required to bring them to life; he could talk all day and yet only touch on the subjects of touring, sales, and modern music industry calamity; and, shit, his back catalogue is too huge and varied to even approach in a Q&A of any reasonable length.

You see, being a modern musician and being Devin Townsend are not the same thing. Sure, he grinds out records and then tours like everybody. However, our latest MetalSucks interview with Townsend reveals an artist unbound by the limits of imagination, but pretty aware of averse reactions to his art; his self-expression is total and unapologetic — until fans and media misinterpret him or disapprove of his humor. He’s confident as a person, but shakeable as a virtuosic guitar player, a theater and puppet enthusiast, and a production wiz. He lets no truth about his world go unexpressed, beit via the hair-raising cacophony of Deconstruction (think Strapping Young Lad’s Alien: The Ride) or Ghost‘s murmuring calm. He puts himself out there all the way; now, let him explain why.

Click to read more…

Everyone whose parents raised them correctly loves Gojira, and so everyone whose parents raised them correctly has been eagerly anticipating the band’s seemingly-forever-in-gestation Sea Shepherd EP since, well, seemingly forever.

But now it looks like we might actually be getting close to its unveiling! Last week we got to hear a new song, “Of Blood and Salt,” which features guest appearances from Meshuggah’s Fredrik Thordendal and Devin Townsend’s Devin Townsend; now Gojira’s guitarist/vocalist/mastermind, Joe Duplantier, has given an interview with Metal Hammer in which he reveals that Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe (who previously appeared on the group’s “Adoration for None”), In Flames’ Anders Friden, and some dude named Max Cavalera are all going to appear on the release, too.

Click to read more…

Max Cavalera is a name you’ve probably heard recently. His band, Cavalera Conspiracy, has been making waves in the metal world with their latest release, Blunt Force Trauma, and are currently on tour in the U.S. But here’s something you might not have known: he’s been at this for decades.

Max, along with his esteemed colleague and brother, Igor, made some of the most beastly and innovative thrash in the mid 80’s and 90’s in the highly influential, underground metal outlet, Sepultura (Portuguese for “grave”). Unfortunately personal differences in ’96 drew him away from the band. Upon relocating to the States, he focused his talents on a new project, the still-running Soulfly (English for “Mighty-Spirit-Mosquito”).

For years Max worked tirelessly with the group, releasing seven studio album’s and gradually building a cult following in the process. Now with a new band and his brother back at his side, the world is finally taking notice.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the bearded bellower to get the skinny on the new album and see what he makes of his recent success.

Click to read more…

Did you know that Car Bomb vocalist Michael Dafferner’s day job is working as a satellite engineer? No, no I did not. Well, did you know that he also directed a documentary, [why_you_do_this], about how difficult and shitty it is to be a touring metal musician? No, no I did not know that, either. Yeah, well, neither did I, but apparently both facts are true.

[why_you_do_this] (it’s a statement, not a question asked by an immigrant) is going to make its premiere next week at the Queens World Film Festival (as in a world film festival which takes place in Queens, not a film festival which takes place on a world full of royal women), and even though I didn’t know about it until like ten seconds ago, it look pretty interesting — Dafferner interviewed all kinds of cool people, like Richard Christy, Randy Blythe, Joe Duplantier, and Ben Falgoust, all about the very simple question posed by the title. Or, perhaps a little less succinctly, this move could be called Holy Shit There is No Money to be Made in Metal and Touring Fucking Sucks, Why the Fucking Fuck Do You Keep Subjecting Yourself to this Crap? Which is a question every aspiring metal musician should ask him or herself, since the chances of making a living at playing music are only slightly better than the chances that you’ll be struck by lightning while receiving a wristie from Marilyn Monroe.

ANYWAY, the movie premieres at the aforementioned film festival on Friday, March 4, at 7:00pm EST at The Renaissance Auditorium (81^st Street & 37^th Ave) in Jackson Heights, NY. You can get more details, as well as tickets, here; you can also watch the trailer here and a clip here (they’re not embeddable… I guess they’re trying to keep the film a secret). I don’t think I can make it ’cause I’ll be on an airplane just hours prior, but if anyone goes, please let me know how it is. Hopefully this thing will get a DVD release or something soon so the rest of us can check it out.

Also, the press release says that Car Bomb are working on new music. That’s what they told me in 2008, too, but maybe we’ll actually get a new album before I turn eighty.

-AR

“Hey guys, why haven’t you posted this yet?!! It only sounds like the single greatest piece of music ever, brah.”
-Drew Webb

“This should give you another Devin boner.”
-Brian Kessler

“MY DICK IS AFLAME WITH SEMEN.”
-Sam Payne

Well don’t hold back, fellas! Let us know how excited you really are about about this latest behind-the-scenes video from Devin Townsend.

Pretty cool, right? But wait! That’s not all. It seems that Devin recently made a love connection with The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato… via Twitter!

Click to read more…

I tried to download Devin Townsend’s free new live EP yesterday but Inside Out’s website was so overloaded with traffic that I couldn’t get through. Kinda a good problem to have if you’re Devin, I suppose; too much popularity can’t be a bad thing. I just tried again and things went much more swimmingly, so if you had problems yesterday I’d recommend you give it another go.

With all the fracas surrounding the new EP, we completely overlooked this latest bit of Devin-related news: Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt, BTBAM’s Tommy Rogers and Gojira’s Joe Duplantier are all rumored to be contributing vocals to Devin’s forthcoming Deconstruction record. We say “rumored” because the speculation is only based on a series of Tweets by Devin, such as “Thank you Joe D,” but given Devin’s reputation and relationships I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume these guest spots are indeed happening. This on top of the confirmation earlier this month that Ihsahn will be contributing vocals too: yowza! I, for one, think Devin’s got an amazing voice of his own — often underrated in all the Devin hype — but I’m of course happy he’s enlisted such an A-list cast of characters to help out this time around.

Can’t wait for Destruction. Can’t wait for Ghost. Stoked.

-VN

Maybe President Obama should just send Gojira to Iran on a diplomatic mission; the French metallers wouldn’t likely be able to stop the country’s nuclear buildup, but they’re certainly heavier than the enriched uranium the country’s government so covets. Maybe they’d even be able to unite the oft-troubled Middle East region in synchronized headbanging… or a collective “elephants marching” session to “Vacuity.”

Getting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to headbang might be wishful thinking, but there’s at least one Gojira fan in Iran who thought it’d be cool to interview frontman/guitarist Joe Duplantier for a new series called “Scream For Me Tehran” on the website Manoto1 TV. Unfortunately Google Translate can’t handle what’s being said inside YouTube videos (yet!) but Joe’s answers are in English, and as always they provide an insightful (if brief) look into the motivations behind his music, in this case the quite topical issue of why he chooses to sing in English. Thanks to loyal MS reader and fellow Gojira supernerd Shinaain for sending this in:

Of course we all know that Gojira are currently recording (or perhaps have already finished recording?) a new EP, the benefits of which will be going to the Sea Shepherd organization. But did you know that Sea Shepherd’s got a boat named Gojira? Footage of that uber-sweet sea-faring vessel, which has apparently circumnavigated the entire world, after the jump:

Click to read more…

As was the case last Wednesday, a whole buncha bands have all released new videos at once, and for convenience’s sake, I’m just gonna lump them all together in one post. If you don’t like it, go get a bowling ball, hold it over your head, and release the ball. Thanks.

First up we have “Unbreakable,” the new Raul Gonzo-directed video from Sumeriancore masters Veil of Maya. I’m not as big of a fan of this band as Vince is, although I certainly respect the heck outta ‘em, especially after seeing their live set at Summer Slaughter earlier this month. But I have no fucking idea what’s going on in this video. These people are connected to the band via wires and stuff, and, uh, I guess the music is, like, making them type real fast, and mash stuff with their hands, and, um, fingerpaint?, and, uh… then they put all this stuff in the oven, and it grows into a brain. I mean, I’m a college educated New York Jew, so I know from over-thinking stuff, but I don’t even know where to begin with this one. If anyone has any theories, by all means, put ‘em in the comments section. Otherwise I’m just gonna go with, “Hey, cool song!”

Click to read more…

Super Joe is at it again, this time not only by making punishing and head-spinning metal but by doing so for a good cause. According to a French video report, below, Gojira will return to the studio this Summer to record a 5-song EP from which the proceeds will benefit anti-whaling organization Sea Shepherd, about whom Joe Duplantier has spoken in the past. The EP will feature “guests from the international metal community” and will only be available on the Internet through Gojira’s website.

Readers of this blog know all about my undying love for Gojira and my angry eco rants. So while I’m obviously super-excited that we’ll be getting new Gojira music this summer, I’m even more excited that it’s for a good cause. My summer already got that much better.

Meanwhile, Gojira are currently without a U.S. label for their next proper release. Someone oughtta get on that.

-VN

Thanks: Lewis Hart, Shinaain, Ben Turbitt

My last blog was fucking hilarious. I mean, really. It was good. No, it was better than good. It was great. Besides some of my blogs that have nothing to do with metal (Susan Boyle) I was able to write something that wasn’t serious at all. And again, it was completely hilarious. The best part of the blog was -

Half of you mother-fuckos didn’t even get it!

And Jesus, it was sad. I mean, come the fuck on. What are you guys paying attention to? One of my choices for my year end list was Joe Duplantier  – For being ‘better than everyone else.’ Oh… and one of my favorites: Ivan Moody’s ‘VOICE’ from FFDP. His voice! His god damn voice?

Wake up, you assholes!
Click to read more…

Like a lot of people I imagine, I’d never heard of Switzerland’s Kruger before it was announced that GOD HIMSELF Gojira’s Joe Duplantier would be contributing vocals to one song, “Muscle,” on their forthcoming album, For Death, Glory and the End of the World.  But I did spend a delightful evening in Switzerland once and found the people to be incredibly friendly, so I wandered over to Kruger’s MySpace page and, hey, no shocks here, Monsieur Duplantier has good taste in guest appearances. I don’t know if this band is gonna change my life the way Gojira seem to have done, but they know how to write a killer metal song. Plus, Converge’s Kurt Ballou is mixing the album, so there’s that.

For Death… is scheduled to come out sometime in mid-February on Listenable. Until there’s most music to listen to, you can check out the cover art below. A press release tells me it was inspired by Jérôme Bosch’ “Jardin des délices,” and it’s a good thing they mentioned it, because I never would have picked up on the (kinda vague) connection on my own.

-AR

Pretty big week here at the MetalSucks Mansion. We laughed, we cried, we fired someone, we rocked out with our cocks out. Here’s a rundown of the highlights:

• We debuted a new song by The Devin Townsend Project, a new video by Skeletonwitch, a new song by Javelina, and the cover art for Sigh’s new album.
• Horse the Band’s Lord Gold blogged about Nawlins and cocaine, God Forbid’s Doc Coyle gave us an exclusive statement about that whole cup throwing incident, Dallas Coyle is giving away music for free, and Daath’s Eyal Levi talked about a run-in with the Polacks and drum triggers.
• We spoke to Dethklok’s Brendon Small, Converge’s Jacob Bannon, Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, and Liturgy’s Hunter Hunt-Hendrix.
• We checked out new releases from Baroness, The Red Chord, Skeletonwitch, Immortal, Vains of Jenna, Vampire Mooose, and Javelina. Also, some asshole really likes Oceano.
• We’re sponsoring the incredibly awesome Tyrants of Evil North American Tour 2010 with Arch Enemy, Exodus, Arsis, and Mutiny Within!

Alright. I’m going to see Where the Wild Things Are now. I’m fairly certain that it is going to make me weep like Gary Suarez. See ya Monday.

-AR

When I last spoke with Gojira’s Joe Duplantier about a year ago, the tone of the conversation was overwhelmingly positive; The Way of All Flesh had just been released to critical acclaim, the band had just come over to the U.S. for their biggest tour here to date (supporting In Flames) and everything was hunky-dory in Gojiraland. Fast forward a year, and the conversation is markedly different. Things are still fantastic for the band; The Way of All Flesh continues to sell and to be loved and they’ve toured non-stop all over the world with the likes of Metallica, Slayer and Lamb of God — but all this work has left the band exhausted.

In my recent chat with Joe before their headline show in Brooklyn last month, he explained the double-edged sword of the band’s newfound success — seeing the world, playing to sold-out audiences and opening for childhood heroes Metallica, while at the same time facing the realities of the constant grind of the road, living without a home and the hardships that come with being in a bus with the same 3 other dudes year-round.

Read my full chat with Joe after the jump, and also be sure to check out Axl’s show writeup (summary: they were FUCKING AWESOME!)

Click to read more…

I actually think that Metallica’s Live Metallica website is a cool idea. Even if James’ voice sounds like shit and I’m pretty sure Lars is literally confused about what those sticks some roadie just shoved into his hand are for, a high-quality recording of a show you recently attended is both a cooler and cheaper souvenir than, say, and $400,000 t-shirt (or whatever arena rawk bands charge for merch these days). And I fully support their recent decision to allow single-song downloads. Yes, it’s kind of ironic given the Napster mishegoss, but, y’know, whatever. Metallica aren’t the titans of metal that they once were, but every now and then they do something right.

Now Metal Insider tells us that they’ve launched an iPhone app version of the site, called – duh – Live Metallica:

Click to read more…