Bad luck and terrible timing are the culprits responsible for the fact that I’ve yet to see Landmine Marathon live, but all that’s gonna change when they play Union Pool in Brooklyn with the equally-excellent Salome and Wetnurse next Tuesday. And as if I wasn’t stoked enough already, now here comes the band’s new, David Brodsky-directed video, for “Shadows Fed to Tyrants,” which portrays what appears to be pretty much the best house show ever.

Of course, Union Pool is way more chill (and possibly even smaller?) than this party; I’ve never really seen a pit there, for example. Still, I expect to have a lot of fun, or leave incredibly disappointed.

“Shadows Fed to Tyrants” comes off of Landmine Marathon’s latest, Sovereign Descent, which is out now on Prosthetic.

-AR

Photo by Jeremiah Cooper

Everyone says that Landmine Marathon kill live, but for no reason better than stupid ol’ shit luck, I’ve never actually seen them in the flesh. But guess what? They just announced a summer headlining tour! Which means I’ll get to check them out at last. I suddenly feel all tingly with excitement!

Bonus: for four of the dates – the two here in NY, the one in Philly, and the one in Baltimore – they’ll have Salome with them. And Salome are absolutely punishing live. Seriously. If you’ve never seen them live, feel bad for yourself.

But even the Salome-less dates oughta be a blast. Get dates after the jump…

Click to read more…

The fates have aligned in such a way that I’ve repeatedly missed opportunities to see Landmine Marathon live. That’s a bummer, because I really dug their last two albums, 2008′s Rusted Eyes Awake and the just recently released Sovereign Descent. I’m sure I’ll get to finally check ‘em out sooner or later, though.

While I wait for that glorious event, a YouTube user known as “dstanfie23″ has uploaded an entire concert that the band recently did in Scottsdale, AZ. The quality of the footage is just okay, but, hey, better than nuthin’!

More after the jump…

Click to read more…

The MetalSucks co-sponsoders Prosthetic Records SXSW showcase is tomorrow, March 17 at Club Mohawk in Austin. And as if performances by Scale the Summit, Landmine Marathon, Withered, Book of Black Earth, The Funeral Pyre, Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire and Lions of Tsavo weren’t a good enough reason to attend, one lucky attendee will win an Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul EX guitar signed by the all the bands.

But if you’re not in Austin and can’t get to the show, don’t fret: a second signed Epiphone guitar — a Prophecy Futura Custom EX, to be exact — has been posted for auction on eBay, with all proceeds benefitting the T.J. Martell Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports research for cancer, AIDS and leukemia. The T.J. Martell Foundation came to Prosthetic’s attention after a recommendation from management for the legendary, unfuckwithable Ronnie James Dio, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer this past November. Says Dio himself:

Click to read more…

So Vince is now out of town. Again. Luckily, we really do take after our namesakes; he loves to be out there among the people, partying like he might die tomorrow, and I am a grumpy, mean-spirited recluse. So expect lots of Axl crankiness next week.

In the meantime, here are some things that happened this week:

• Genetic’s Dallas Coyle discussed the importance of positive thinking, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa pondered the various timelines on L O S T, Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable listed the five raddest sets of teeth in metal, Eyal Levi from Daath and Levi/Werstler wondered if anyone cares about guitar solos, and adult film actress Bobbi Starr told us the ten metal bands she wishes would gangbang her.
• We debuted new music by The Dillinger Escape Plan, Landmine Marathon, and Jucifer.
• MetalSucks readers interviewed Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne and Vince interviewed Sevendust’s Clint Lowery.
• Sammy O’Hagar reviewed Ov Hell’s The Underworld Regime.
• Is Nergal from Behemoth going to jail for destroying a Bible?
• The singer from DragonForce is available for a White Lion reunion.
• We raged against “Rage.”

And that’s it! Next week will see the debut of our irritating new list, as well as some other fun shit. Have a nice weekend…

-AR

Landmine Marathon are back! Following up on 2008′s vicious face-ripper, Rusted Eyes Awake, the band will release their Prosthetic Records debut, Sovereign Descent, on March 16. But you can stream the entire album right now, only here at MetalSucks. It’s more epic, brutal goodness from one of metal’s strongest up and coming bands, so make sure you check it out!

And to help celebrate this event, Prosthetic Records is offering you, oh beloved MetalSucks readers, 10% off any purchase from their webshop! This is an incredible deal that you need to take advantage of; Prosthetic is home to many excellent bands besides Landmine Maratho, including Skeletonwitch, Through the Eyes of the Dead, The Acacia Strain, Animals as Leaders, and more. They also have have a distro section, so you can buy non-Prosthetic artists, too. What are you waiting for? Take advantage now. Make sure to enter the code “Landmine” to get the discount.

And now, without further adieu, Landmine Marathon’s Sovereign Descent…

[this promotion has ended]

MetalSucks is double-dipping this year at the annual showdown/brodown/hoedown in Austin, TX by bringing you TWO awesome metal shows. You already know about the amazing Full Metal Texas lineup during the day on Thursday, March 18th — featuring Darkest Hour, Howl, Fair to Midland, Iron Age, Karnivool, Iwrestledabearonce and more — and today we’re pleased to announce that we’re sponsoring the showcase for one of our favorite metal labels, Prosthetic Records. The lineup, starting at 7pm on the festival’s inaugural Wednesday night, features the future of Prosthetic’s roster: Scale the Summit, Landmine Marathon, Withered, Book of Black Earth and The Funeral Pyre. We haven’t heard of Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire or Lions of Tsavo before, but if Prosthetic gives them their stamp of approval they seriously must be excellent… and aren’t festivals like this supposed to be about discovering new music anyway?

But wait — there’s more! The Prosthetic showcase is taking place at the same venue as the Action PR showcase at the very same time, meaning once you’re in you’ll be able to freely roam between both stages, one inside and one outside. And check out THIS fucking lineup: High on Fire, Priestess, Bison B.C., The Gates of Slumber, Zoroaster and Namm. Holy fucktickles, are you kidding me? That’s 13 fucking awesome metal all for just $10 (free if you have a wristband) in one metal-filled evening. FUCK YES.

Coming soon: a MetalSucks-approved calendar of all the metal goings-on at SXSW 2010.

Landmine Marathon’s new album, Sovereign Descent, comes out March 16 on Prosthetic, and y’know what? Time flies, and it’ll be March 16 before you know it. Which is great, ’cause that means it’ll be April before you know it, and then May, and then it will actually be nice outside again. And then I’ll be dead before you know it, and you won’t have to read this stupid blog anymore!

But I digress. Landmine Marathon. Our friends at Brooklyn Vegan are currently hosting a free download of a new song from the album, entitled “Exist” (thus my insanely clever and not at all hackneyed and poorly timed headline). I think it should quell fears that moving to Prosthetic would make the band sound more slick; this is still very much the Landmine Marathon of Rusted Eyes Awake, which is to say, it’s more metal than two Terminators fucking.

Download it here.

-AR

The cover of Landmine Marathon’s last album, Rusted Eyes Awake, looked kind of like an old EC Comic. It was definitely all-caps FUCKING METAL, and the non-polished quality of it matched the music perfectly.

The band has gone in a new direction for the cover of the new record, Sovereign Descent, hiring the legendary Dan Seagrave, and while it’s definitely still all-caps FUCKING METAL, the style and atmosphere are completely different. And not “bad” different – just different.

Does the tonal difference from the last cover foretell of a tonal difference in the music, too? I guess we’ll find out when Prosthetic releases the album on March 16.

-AR

Landmine Marathon’s last album, 2008′s Rusted Eyes Awake, was the tits. It’s not like it was groundbreaking or anything – it’s just good, solid metal, y’know?

Now the band is signed to Prosthetic and vocalist Grace Perry has started to garner some attention, even appearing on the cover of Revolver’s latest “Hottest Chicks in Metal” issue.

So hopefully I’m not the only one excited to hear that the band has announced a March 16 release date for their new album, Sovereign Descent. I really have no idea what it’s gonna sound like, but I’m assuming it will feature more quality deathrash from this no-bullshit outfit.

Here’s “Skin from Skull” from Rusted Eyes Awake.

-AR

We loved the last tour blog that Bison B.C.’s Dan And did for us so much, we’re only all-too-happy to present another! Below, please enjoy part 2; you can read part 1 here.

Sep 28 ’09 (Albuquerque NM @ Launch Pad)

The first thing that struck me about this venue was the framed posters that line the walls… Melvins, High on Fire, Fu Manchu… some killer bands have been through here over the years. I was also struck by how nice and clean Albuquerque seemed. I would later find out that the town is ranked in the top five for violent crimes in the US. Okay then, never mind.

Played with a rad band called Roñoso. Weirdest guitar tone ever but it totally worked in their crust-saw sound. Kylesa sounds fucking huge tonight. Their (hilarious) sound guy Dave is working the system like it owes him money… and it probably does.

Click to read more…

I really dug Landmine Marathon’s last album, Rusted Eyes Awake, and although I’ve never gotten to seen ‘em live, I hear they kill. This is just a fuckin’ metal band, y’know? No core, no trends, no bullshit. They just came to rip your jugular out with their music.

The band has now announced the name of their next album, Sovereign Descent, which will be out in early 2010 on Prosthetic. There’s no cover art or single or anything yet, but there are some nifty behind-the-scenes videos. Here’s one of the group tracking guitar solos:

You can watch more videos about the making of the album here.

Get stoked for this one. I bet it’s gonna rip.

-AR

Alright. These three albums have little in common besides the fact that a) they’re all death-y and b) I’ve been meaning to tell you all to check them out. So here we go…

Click to read more…