MetalSucks

I’m a fan, but it’s not tough to overdose on melodrama when listening to Dir En Grey. Then again, hey so what if their singer lives in a constant state of shrieking despair and favors the bare chest/tight jeans look? The total product is awesome mostly thanks to two inventive guitarists. But, again, can so much moaning be endured by anyone older than nineteen or so, guitars or not? At what point does the schtick break down, causing reasonable listeners to wonder when, in this Jonathan Davis world of soul-searing pain and emotional crises, do the DEG guys find the energy to record and tour every year? (Same for uber-pimps and giga-gangsters who split time between running hoes/drugs from atop their criminal empire and TRL.) The DEG guys probably think Mike Muir seems reasonable and are unable to detect the irony in Devin Townsend’s moments of panic. I bet they play Korn at the beach. They’re that freaked out.

All the same, it’s easy to respect Dir En Grey for their work ethic and easy to like them for their balls. Okay, that sounds bad, but goddammit you get me if you heard 2008’s Uroboros – abrasive, post-tonal intra-metal mindfuck that it is. Some of its songs still refuse to make sense to me – and that’s after thirty listens – but not in the same way that a prog-clusterfuck can bewilder. Uroboros is more like an opera of suffering performed out of order. So far, DEG’s records are each better and wilder than the previous, so it’s easy to get excited about their untitled 2010 outing. However, it’s not easy to remember the snappy title of the new song: “Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami.” I’ll just call it “Awesome Spaz Attack Song #76.”

- ADF

Adema are the latest nu-metal to reunite in hopes of cashing in on barely decade-old nostalgia. They’ll play their first show in over five years at the Whiskey in LA on January 14, which, hey, uninteresting fact, happens to be the anniversary of my bar mitzvah.

Anyways, if you don’t remember this band, well, consider yourself lucky. The most notable thing about them is that their singer, Marky Chavez, is the half-brother of Korn’s Jonathan Davis (or something like that). They were definitely a last-generation nu-metal band – they got big in 2001ish, right around the time the American New Wave was starting its ascent to popularity – but I guess someone needs to be the first support act for the inevitable Korn/Limp Bizkit summer shed tour, right?

Anyways, here’s one of their videos. Don’t even bother watching it – I just thought this post looked too bare with no graphic or non-written content of any kind.

-AR

More than a year ago, I wondered aloud: “Say, what the fuck did ever ever happen to Chuck Mosley?” It had been so long since anyone heard from the former Faith No More singer that I even misspelled the dude’s name, and not a single one of you left a snarky comment correcting me.

Well, now it seems that Mosley has a solo album, Will Rap Over Hard Rock for Food, coming out August 11, presumably being released to capitalize on all the ink the reunited, Mosley-less FNM are getting. And while I appreciate Mosley having a sense of humor about his lack of success in da biz in the years since he split from FNM, I’m not sure that advertising yourself as rap-rock in 2009 is the smartest way to go if the acquisition of sustenance is your goal. Unless you’re hoping people will throw eggs at you, and that you can then proceed to lick the yolk from your clothes.

Click to read more…

This morning longtime MetalSucks Maniac Sammy sent us a link to the below YouTube clip of Korn’s Jonathan Davis covering Lil’ Wayne’s “Got Money,” noting that “Unfortunately, [Slipknot guitarist] Jim Root is part of this atrocity.” I’m not that surprised that Root was willing to work with Davis, given the ‘Knots ties to the world of nu-metal, although you’d think the dude would be better utilized; pretty much anyone could have played this guitar part.

Anyways, I agree with Sammy that the song blows. Then again, I don’t have a lot of love for Lil’ Wayne or Jonathan Davis, so a Davis cover was pretty much bound to be the aural equivalent of someone vomiting on you while someone else is already raping you.

I’m sure Korn fans think this is the shit and will applaud Davis for stepping outside of his comfort zone (but not really), but the thing about Korn fans is, they like Korn. So their opinions on this matter are gonna be kinda iffy at best.

I’m sure that Davis has a solo album or something where this cover will eventually appear, but I don’t know any of the details and I don’t care enough to do the research. If you actually like this shit, I’m sure there’s a MySpace page or something where you can get additional info.

-AR

Another week gone in the waning days of summer, another week in the rampant gossip-mill of MetalSucks:

• Wes Borland signed on to be Marilyn Manson’s new guitarist, sans-body paint we hope.
• Lamb of God is recording a new album, tentatively due February 2009, with some producer no one has ever heard of.
• Another Guns N’ Roses song from Chinese Democracy leaks, presumably from the Rock Band camp.
• Jonathan Davis claims he is waving the flag for musicianship; we laugh a lot.
• We gave you lessons in pig squealing.
• We pondered the lack of white t-shirts in metal.
• Metallica played a new song live, and ya’ll argued a lot about it.

Apparently Korn frontman Jonathan Davis thinks today is opposite day. In a recent interview with RollingStone.com (conducted by friend of MetalSucks Chris Steffen), Davis muttered this nugget:

“I feel like I’m waving the flag for musicianship, trying to bring back bands that can play.”

In other news, Davis also claims to have invented music.

-VN

So while it was rumored for awhile that this year’s edition of Ozzfest would be a two day event – but it has now been announced that it’ll be just one single day, on Saturday, August 9, at at Pizza Hut Park* in Dallas, Texas. The line-up will be as follows:

Main Stage
OZZY OSBOURNE
METALLICA
SERJ TANKIAN
HELLYEAH
JONATHAN DAVIS
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
SHADOWS FALL
APOCALYPTICA
IN THIS MOMENT
All-Star Tribute To “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott

Second Stage
SEVENDUST
DEVILDRIVER
KINGDOM OF SORROW
SOILENT GREEN
WITCHCRAFT
GOATWHORE

Texas (Third) Stage
THE SWORD
DROWNING POOL
RIGOR MORTIS

Actually, that is, by no means, a terrible line-up; if the stages are staggered at all (and I imagine they will be), it would be plenty easy to keep oneself occupied during sets from In This Moment, Jonathan Davis, and HellNo. And I guess it’s honorable of Metallica to let Ozzy play last, even though, at this point, a) they’re much bigger than Ozzy and b) Ozzy has to be in bed by 8 pm. I mean, if I was Ozzy, and I’d spent recent Ozzfests getting blown off the stage by the likes of Maiden and Priest, I certainly wouldn’t wanna follow Metallica. But, y’know, nice of Ulrich and Hetfield to step aside for one night and let the Ozzman cometh.

Click to read more…

-AR

HOLY SHIT. Munky has just left Korn mid-tour due to “personal and family reasons.” That’s right: Korn’s current European jaunt will now feature a whopping two original members.

I mean, I suppose that Munky might return to the band, the same way that it seems the door is perpetually open for David Silvera to return someday – but really, who the fuck are we kidding? Silvera’s been away for well over a year and missed an entire album (two if you count the incredibly misguided Unplugged), and I wouldn’t be surprised if Munky is done for good, too – especially in light of the fact that he’s rumored to be recording a solo album.

I guess the real question now is, will the band be able to maintain any of its fan base with just its singer and bassist present? I mean, none of these dudes are exactly top-notch musicians, and their replacements are all generally better players than they are. At the same time, Davis doesn’t have the mystique of an Axl Rose or the reputation for being a creative mastermind like Dave Mustaine or Erik Rutan or Tim Roth, so I can’t see people caring now that the band is a borderline solo-act (sorry if I’m downplaying Fieldy’s contributions – assuming he makes a contribution).

The good news for Korn fans is that the faster this act falls apart, the sooner the inevitable overblown Motley Crue-style reunion tour will take place.

-AR