MetalSucks

Awaken, the new album from Empire Shall Fall (featuring original Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach), is now streaming in its entirety over at Metal Injection. I’ve been putting off listening to this album for a long time, but now that I am listening as I type this, I can safely say it’s not what I expected – in other words, it’s not just Alive or Just Breathing, Part 2. So shame on me for initially ignoring these dudes.

Go give the album a listen, then come back here and let us know what you think. Awaken comes out November 17 via Angle Side Side Records.

-AR

Last Tuesday was a huuuuge week for new metal releases. Megadeth, Black Dahlia Murder, Shadows Fall, Living Colour, Dying Fetus, Porcupine Tree, Every Time I Die, Thrice and Ace Frehley all released new albums, and all charted in the Top 200! After the jump, let’s look at where they all ended up.

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I haven’t done a blog in a while because the last blog I did really got me thinking about the mentality of people in the metal scene. Most particularly, the mentality of shit talking. We’re all guilty of it. I admitted to shit talking Bring Me The Horizon in magazines over in Europe when I was in God Forbid. I never heard them at that point. But now, I dig them and I feel pretty stupid for slagging them.

In my last blog I mentioned my excitement for the band Eryn Non Dae and how I was going to “borrow” some of their ideas for my new project. First of all, my last blog was PACKED with information about band business, touring and juicy tidbits of amazing knowledge :) But, the funny thing about the last blog was this guy ‘Jamie.’ Out of a five hundred word blog, he took the phrase “borrow ideas” and accused me and God Forbid of riding the coat tails of other popular bands. Killswitch was his biggest gripe. Then it was Opeth.

He claimed Gone Forever (2004) was a Killswitch rip and Earthsblood (2009) was an Opeth rip. This type of thing usually doesn’t bother me. In this instance I was fucking bothered. Jamie and I entered into a written brawl about the history of God Forbid and the intentions of our song writing for the last ten fucking years. Why would I waste my time to defend myself from this sort of claim?

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Our friends over at Noisecreep have an interesting new interview with former Killswitch Engage front dude Jesse Leach. The gist of the interview is that he doesn’t regret quitting the band seven years ago, just before they were launched into the metal stratosphere, and much prefers making less money and being in bands no one seems to care about. (Okay, I made that last part up. But still.) Here’s the quote I found really interesting:

“I look at the band now, and I don’t even think twice. There’s no way in my brain I could fathom being on stage, doing what they’re doing. Maybe if it were on my own terms, but from what I’ve seen them do, they’ve kind of taken a goofier route with Adam D… I love it, I get it, I respect it … it’s very punk rock and tongue-in-cheek, but that’s not who I am.”

Of course I love Alive or Just Breathing, but really did not enjoy Leach’s Seemless project. Not even a little bit, not even when I was stoned. So, whatever.

He  is now apparently fronting a band called Empire Shall Fall, which is literally a one-word change from one of Leach’s lyrics for “Numbered Days.” Maybe Leach can recruit Kerry King to play guitar for that band, and they can be happily un-goofy together.

-AR

When he isn’t busy feuding with Dave Mustaine, Scott Ian or any given member of Metallica, Kerry King sometimes likes to take shots at the younger generation of metal musicians. Because, well,  Most recently, while touring with Killswitch Engage as part of the 2009 edition of Mayhem Fest, King claimed that he’s “offended by the silliness” of KSE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, whom King also alleged “puts his foot in his mouth all the time and says stupid shit.”

Well, it only took two months, but a member of KSE has finally responded.

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Behemoth vs. Winds of Plague; Poland vs. America; Corpsepaint vs. wigger hats; ugly men vs. hot chick; real metal vs. deathcore; substance vs. gimmick. Who won????

The answer, as well as more of this past week’s metal Soundscan chart positions and sales figures, after the jump.

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In case you’re blind or something, Howard Jones is a big dude. I mean, a big dude. He’s not, like, the tallest motherfucker you’ve ever met, but he’s definitely ripped, and he has a kung-fu grip handshake. And even though he’s an incredibly nice guy, I just would not ever dick around with him. There is no doubt in my mind that he could break me like Drago broke Apollo.

But the, I’m not the guy in this video, who is obviously way braver dumber than I am:

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Last week was somewhat of a slow one for metal record sales. There weren’t a whole lot of new releases, but a few records that have been out for a while hung onto their spots in the Top 200 and Hank III’s Assjack project had a solid debut. Click through for chart positions and sales numbers.

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Now the nausea’s
In my guts
And I’m wrestling with doubt
The kind you get when your heroes
Sell you out
And as I watch the drawbridge come down
There’s mass extinction
On my mind
Human cruelty stains my thoughts jet black
I’ve got this feeling
Like things have gone too far and now we can’t get back

Here’s more fun shit that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We debuted new videos from Cradle of Filth and Arsonists Get All the Girls.
• We got exclusive tour blogs from Bison B.C.’s Dan And and Woe of Tyrants’ Chris Catanzaro.
• We spoke to members of Winds of Plague, Decrepit Birth and Born of Osiris.
• I counted down 50 things I love about Pig Destroyer, and then added a 51st.
• Ulrich Vs. Mustaine Vs. Ian and Zakk Vs. Ozzy made us laugh with glee.
• Kerry King Vs. Killswitch Engage was pretty funny, too.
• Dallas Coyle answered more of your questions.

Vince gets back from vacation tonight right around the time Repulsion take the stage, and then tomorrow, hopefully, Craig’s List will lead us to some Tool tickets. See ya Monday!

-AR

Oh boy. Here we go again.

Kerry King loves to talk shit. He loves to talk shit so much you’d think he writes for MetalSucks (Kerry, if you’re reading this, please come write for MetalSucks.). The man just cannot be stopped. Dave Mustaine, Machine Head, Metallica – all have been victims of his razor-sharp tongue.

His latest casualty: Killswitch Engage, who are out on the road with Slayer right now as part of Mayhem.

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For those of you not from the U.S. and somehow completely unaware of this, the Fourth of July is a pretty big deal here in America. On that day, we celebrate winning our freedom by kicking the British’s ass. Of course, they later gave us Hugh Grant, so I guess they had their revenge in the end.

So there won’t be any posts tomorrow; on Monday, we’ll unveil the last albums on the list. In the meantime, here’s some things that happened this week in the world of MetalSucks:

• We continued to countdown the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century… So Far. You continued to engage in, um, intelligent debate. Yeah, let’s call it intelligent debate.
• We spoke with Goatwhore’s Ben Falgoust and Black Math Horseman’s Sera Timms.
• We checked out new releases from Killswitch Engage and Havok.
• Daath’s Eyal Levi took a break from worrying about dying in fiery plane or car crash to worry about getting shot.
• We debated the merits of the new Alice in Chains song.
• We laughed at high school year book photos of past and present members of Metallica.

I plan to not be sober for the next 72 hours. See ya Monday!

-AR

We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and  April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #4 album, coming in with a total of 204 points…

Killswitch Engage, Alive or Just Breathing (Roadrunner, 2002)
Jesse Leach – Vocals
Adam Dutkiewicz – Drums/Guitars/Piano
Mike D’Antonio – Bass
Joel Stroetzel – Guitars
Tom Gomes – Drums
Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz

“THE TIME APPROACHES!!!” Jesse Leach howls in the first seconds of Alive or Just Breathing. “Kingdoms will rise to power/but kingdoms fall to dust.”

It’s as though he were talking about nu-metal.

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Killswitch Engage’s newest self-titled album sounds familiar, but that’s not the band’s fault. Well, actually, yes it is, in that the bludgeoned-to-dog-food horse known as metalcore owes a debt to the gentlemen in Killswitch. But even as a dude with what some could argue a pretentious taste in metal (the new Sunn 0))) album is definitely a grower, but it’s worth the wait!), I’ve always had a soft spot for the band: despite the throngs of guys with product-hardened hair and shitty sleeves acting like they’re the only ones to discover the first few In Flames records, Killswitch always knew what they did and knew they were good at it. You know exactly what you’re getting with one of their records – nimble-fingered Swede-tastic guitars occasionally cribbing from the Big Book of Metalcore Breakdowns, vocalist Howard Jones’ good cop/bad cop histrionics, a power ballad practically tailor made for Guitar Hero – but it’s always nice to hear it. It instantly brings one back to the halcyon days of the early ‘00s, when metalcore wasn’t so immediately associated with what was wrong with metal and deathcore wasn’t quickly becoming its fraternal twin.

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Haven’t done one of these posts in a while because, well, there hasn’t been a Tuesday this important in quite some time. The following albums are available for legal, legit purchasing today:

• Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage: The band everyone hates to love or loves to hate. Prediction: this record goes Top 10 first week, possibly even Top 5.
• Suicide Silence – No Time to Bleed: Deathcore upstarts attempt to [suicide] silence the naysayers with their second Century Media full-length. This writer thinks they’ve done it.
• Obituary – Darkest Days: O.G. death metallers return with their eighth full-length.
• Ex Deo – Romulus: Roman-themed metal helmed by Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono. We think the tunes are solid and the music video is beyond epic.

Oh hey look, rock’s resident asshole Ted Nugent also has a CD/DVD out today! Killer! Psych.

If you’ve already heard these albums tells us what you think of them in the comments. We’ll report the sales figures for all of these albums as soon as we get them in next Wednesday. In the meantime, go n’ buy some music so some broke-ass dudes can eat! Except Ted Nugent, unless you want your money to go straight to the NRA.

-VN

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER NICK GREEN OF DECIBEL MAGAZINE

We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and  April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #6 album, coming in with a total of 179 points…

Killswitch Engage, The End of Heartache (Roadrunner, 2004)
Howard Jones – Vocals
Adam Dutkiewicz – Guitars
Joel Stroetzel – Guitars
Mike D’Antonio – Bass
Justin Foley – Drums
Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz

It’s worth noting that Howard Jones devoted almost all of his allotted space in the “thank you” section of the liner notes to apologizing to fans for changing the chemistry of Killswitch Engage on The End of Heartache. His note is sensitive, contrite and nearly as long as the lyrics of “Hope Is…,” which ironically conveys the exact same sentiment with a hint more poetry and obfuscation. Not that he really needed to say “sorry” for anything, since the group’s previous full-length, Alive or Just Breathing, benefited enormously from Jones vocals in a live setting. Still, sometimes it’s nice to have it all spelled out and entered into the ledger, so you can simultaneously focus on the present and shut the door on an uneasy chapter in your own band’s history. So, thanks for that.
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Quickly:

-AR

As many of you alerted us over the weekend in comments of completely unrelated posts, Killswitch Engage have a new video for the previously unreleased song “Starting Over.” The video was directed by Lex Halaby, who for better or worse seems to be obsessed with slow motion / stop motion / time-lapse photography; compared with the 2006 video for “My Curse” which he also directed, the new video looks kinda the same. I guess it’s his stylistic trademark, the visual equivalent of a mixer or producer’s trademark “sound” (think: the Adam D. sound, for a poignant example).

There’s no arguing that Halaby is a damn talented guy though, and the visuals are striking. The song? It sounds like Killswitch Engage. So there you have it, the MetalSucks synopsis in a nutshell: the new KsE video looks like the old KsE video and the new KsE song sounds like the old KsE song. Some of you will think this is a great thing and some of you will think this is a terrible thing. What else is new? Go argue about it in the comments.

Here’s the new video for “Starting Over,” and, for reference, the video for “My Curse” (and “Rose of Sharyn,” which Halaby also directed) after the jump.

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When Axl posted our Blood Has Been Shed exclusive news bit yesterday, he hinted at a full interview with Killswitch Engage’s Howard Jones and Mike D’Antonio; and here she is. Chatting with Howard and Mike was more like shooting the shit with some old friends than it was a formal interview, even though we’d never met the dudes before. Howard and Mike told as all about the new album, working with producer Brendan O’Brien, the decision to self-title the new record, their work in Blood Has Been Shed and Overcast respectively, the band’s writing process, what it’s like to play arenas, and more.

Howard was sporting a sick beard so naturally we had to comment on it, and that’s where things started:
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A few weeks back Vince and I got to interview Howard Jones and Mike D’Antonio about the new Killswitch Engage album. We’ll be running that interview soon enough, but for now there’s some news we just have to share.

You may recall that, back in January, BHBS guitarist Corey Unger confirmed that he was, at long last, writing a new album, but hinted that Jones and drummer Justin Foley (who is – duh – also in KsE now) might be involved in only limited capacity, if at all. Unger stated that “There is a vast mix of people who will be involved in this project including the original members. The line-up of musicians is very artistically driven based on the album’s style.”

Well, I wasn’t gonna get in a room with Howard Jones and not ask him about his involvement (or lack thereof) in a new BHBS record. Here’s what Jones had to say:

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It was a short week, but despite Axl being under the weather and Vince gettin lucky in Kentucky, we still managed to get shit done around the ol’ Mansion, even without the help of our favoritest MS Mansion Monkey, Higgins:

• We’re making a list: we give you a hint, another hint and yet another hint. No, it’s got nothing to do with Jacob.
• Ozzy Sharon filed another ridiculous lawsuit, while Dillinger Escape Plan left Relapse Records sans-lawsuit.
• IWABO and Bloodbath released new videos.
• Killswitch Engage gave you a new song for free, we gave you a new Hull song for free, and Job For A Cowboy and Darkest Hour let you hear new songs for free. Crikey!
• We spoke with Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying and J. Costa of Thy Will Be Done, the former about music and the latter about beards.
• Dallas, The Blogronaut and Eyal all wrote blogs.
• Best Band Ever announces festival appearance atop worst lineup ever.

I had a wisdom tooth pulled this morning so I feel like a giant sack of assholes at the moment, but hey, Percocet! See you tomorrow.

-VN