Oh. Fuck. YES.

MetalSucks and Dead End Threads are proud to present what has to be not one, but really two of the sickest, most brutal tours of the new year. From February 26 to March 3, death metal legends Dying Fetus are hitting the road with death metal legends-in-the-making Job for a Cowboy and Volumes, plus Last Chance to Reason, one of the most exciting up and coming young prog acts on the scene today. That’s a line-up so solid you’d need a jackhammer to break it. And while you might be bummed to learn that Job for a Cowboy leave the tour after that, not one but two bands will be hopping on to make up for their absence: tech-death spacelords The Faceless and one of the most evil bands ever spawned, the mighty fucking Goatwhore.

So, like we were saying:

Oh. Fuck. YES.

These shows are gonna be beyond insane. Like, a make-sure-all-your-affairs-are-in-order level of nuts. You absolutely cannot miss these bands when they come to your town. So get dates after the jump!!!

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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]

Today is seemingly “news about albums that are coming out in early 2012″ day. To that end:

• Soilwork are writing a new album called The Living Infinite. Generic quote time: Speed Strid says that “people can expect a continuation of the intensity and presence of The Panic Broadcast, only taken to a higher level” and wishes us all a merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Gee, thanks, Speed!
• Gojira have issued their third studio update video, this one showing bassist Jean-Michel Labadie laying down his tracks. Labadie is the member of Gojira I feel like I know the least about; I’d love to get to know that guy! Gojira are presumably all done or close to done recording their album by now… very exciting.
• Lamb of God released a new trailer for their new album Resolution (January 24th, Epic Records), and it features a good chunk of a previously unheard song. Check it out above, and listen to the first single “Ghost Walking” here if you haven’t yet.

So, hey, I dunno if you guys heard, but earlier this month we put on this totally rad festival, The Metal Suckfest? No big deal, it was just twenty awesome bands in two days, whatever.

So ANYWAY, our brahs over at Metal Injection were there to film another edition of their awesome “Ask the Artist” series, in which they — duhskis! – ask a variety of artists one particular question… in this case, “What sucks about metal?” Check out the answers from the bands that played The Metal Suckfest — plus a couple of incredibly handsome non-musicians (cough, Vince and I, cough, cough) below:

And don’t forget that you can check out more awesome installments of “Ask the Artist” right here. DO IT!!!

-AR

I’m gonna put about as much effort into this intro as McNulty does into not drinking.

Today’s first video comes from Anubis Gate, whose self-titled album released earlier this year rocks my world like my world hasn’t been rocked Queensryche started sucking. This video doesn’t so much rock my world, though; the off-center shots of the band members playing their instruments are kinda cool (it’s a novel idea), but I could do entirely without the shots of the singer scribbling the lyrics down on a piece of paper. It’s kinda like a lyric video, but not… and the whole angsty writing-the-lyrics-down-on-a-pad thing has been done almost as much as the band-in-a-warehouse thing. And all of a sudden there’s a party in the basement towards the end? Zuh? Narrative much? “Golden Days” is kind of an obvious choice for a single too, which I’ve got a problem with, because it doesn’t represent the generally heavier album well at all. Oh well; their loss.

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We had a blast at The Metal Suckfest in NYC last weekend, but don’t worry if you couldn’t make it; earlier this week we shared Justina Villanueva’s photos from Night 1 (featuring Municipal Waste, God Forbid, Today is the Day and more) and today we’ve got Mariel “Tormentia” Pietrykoski’s photos from Night 2. After the jump, relive all the glorious metal brought down upon us by Cynic, Obscura, The Red Chord, 3, A Life Once Lost, Scale the Summit, Last Chance to Reason, Fight Amp, Rosetta and Ultrageist on Night 2.

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In case this year’s mind-bending new release from Obscura, Omnivium, wasn’t enough crazy German prog-death for you, the band has now announced the impending release of a demos and rarities collection, Illegimitation. That’s not a real word, and the album won’t come out on a real label, either — the band will self-release the compilation, which will include their earliest recordings from 2003, unreleased songs from 2006′s Cosmogenesis sessions, and covers recorded by their current line-up.

In fact, they’re already accepting pre-orders via Kickstarter. Packages range from five bucks — which will get you an immediate download of the song “Crucified” and a download of the full album two weeks prior to its official release — to fifteen-hundred dollars, which is a lot of money, but gets you a lot of cool shit, including concert tickets, a drum or guitar lesson, and dinner with the band. Other purchase options come with such prizes as stickers, patches, posters, meet n’ greets, and a private tickle fight with Steffen Kummerer. (I may have made one of those things up.) Go here to explore your options and make a pledge.

Meanwhile, the band’s MetalSucks-presented North American headlining tour with Abysmal Dawn, Last Chance to Reason, and Enfold Darkness rolls on! Obscura and LCTR both absolutely slayed at The Metal Suckfest this past weekend, and Abysmal Dawn rule really hard, too; I’ve never seen Enfold Darkness live, but I hear nuthin’ but good things! Get remaining tour dates after the jump.

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The Metal Suckfest is this weekend!!! And in case you’re not familiar with, or are somehow not sold on, the twenty incredible bands we’ve booked to play THE party of the year, we have scoured YouTube for recent live footage of ALL the artists playing the fest… so you can have a little taste of the madness we have in store for ya! You can see clips from all the bands playing on Friday, November 4 here; and check out clips of all the bands playing on Saturday, November 5 below.

And don’t forget: TODAY and TODAY ONLY, ALL TICKETS TO THE METAL SUCKFEST ARE JUST $25 EACH with no added fees, regardless of whether you buy tickets online, or just walk up to the box office at the Gramercy Theatre. So if you don’t already have your tickets, make sure you take advantage!!!

And now, without further ado, enjoy concert footage of all the bands playing Day Two of The Metal Suckfest!

CYNIC

More after the jump!

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photo by Jessica Ann Harvey

The Inaugural Metal Suckfest is almost here!!!! Twenty bands will DESTROY The Gramercy Theatre on November 4 and 5, PLUS there’s an awesome, five-band pre-party at the venue the night before, making this THE can’t-miss hang of the year.

Tickets are on sale now right here, and you can hit up the fest’s official website for more info on the shows, including the complete line-up. In the meantime, we’re counting down to this weekend of chaos and debauchery by speaking to one member from each band on the bill. We continue today with legendary drummer Evan Sammons of Last Chance to Reason, whose debut album, Level 2, was released earlier this year on Prosthetic Records. (And, lest you forget, the band will also be playing support on a chunk of Obscura’s upcoming North American headlining tour with Abysmal Dawn and Enfold Darkness, which MetalSucks is also sponsoring.)

Read our chat after the jump. And don’t forget to check back in the coming days and weeks for interviews with more of the musicians participating in this awesome event!!!

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Since we revealed the initial lineup of The inaugural Metal Suckfest roughly one month ago there’s been rampant speculation as to who the four final “TBA” bands to be added to the fest would be. Naturally, some of that speculation was correct and some of it wasn’t. But no matter; today is the day when we let the cat out of the bag.

All Pigs Must Die and This is Hell will appear on Friday, November 4th alongside Municipal Waste, while 3 and Last Chance to Reason will open for Cynic on Saturday, November 5th. Thus completes the 20-band lineup! And don’t forget about our official Suckfest “Pre-Game” event on Thursday, November 3rd. So:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (PRE-GAME)
Mayhem
Keep of Kalessin
Hate
Abigail Williams
Woe

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Municipal Waste
God Forbid
Today is the Day
This is Hell
Howl
Black Tusk
Magrudergrind
All Pigs Must Die
Ramming Speed
Prime Evil

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Cynic
Obscura
The Red Chord
3
A Life Once Lost
Scale the Summit
Last Chance to Reason
Fight Amp
Rosetta
Ultrageist

Are you as stoked as we are? Can’t wait. Tickets are on sale now right here. Don’t forget to visit the official Metal Suckfest website for all the information you’ll need.

Fuckin’ A right! MetalSucks is proudly teaming up with Guitar World and Hails & Horns to bring you Obscura’s first ever North American headlining tour!!! Earlier this year, the German tech death masters released Omnivium, possibly their strongest album yet, and now they’re coming to your town to kick your ass so hard the scars will be permanent.

And in case that’s not enough for you, they’re bringing out three totally killer bands for support — Abysmal Dawn, Last Chance to Reason (from November 4 through November 25), and Enfold Darkness (from November 28 through December 7). These gigs are gonna be un-fucking-missable, so make sure you get your ass to a show.

Here’s the full tour schedule:

Click to read more…

Click to enlarge the ridiculously sweet poster art by Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 and Metal Band Art

When we first announced The Metal Suckfest, we promised you that it was NOT just a bunch of tours already-in-progress, routed so that they all converge for one event. That it was NOT just bands that all sound alike and one would normally expect to find on the same bill. That it would be a wholly unique concert in which some truly incredible artists are coming together JUST to play THIS ONE SINGLE EVENT.

And now you know — we weren’t lying.

We are SO PROUD to announce the line-up for the inaugural Metal Suckfest, which will take place November 4 and November 5 at The Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan. As you can see, the bands range from thrash to death to grind to prog to noise rock to NWOAHM to stoner to we don’t even know what you call it, but they all have one thing in common — they are all fucking awesome, and they are all 110% MetalSucks approved. This fest is gonna be so great, we keep having to pinch ourselves to make sure it’s real.

Tickets go on sale Friday at LiveNation.com at 10 am. 12 noon. We’ll be announcing the final four bands on the bill shortly, but trust us — you don’t wanna wait to get your ticket.

Here’s the rest of the line-up:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Municipal Waste
God Forbid
Today is the Day
This is Hell
Howl
Black Tusk
Magrudergrind
All Pigs Must Die
Ramming Speed
Prime Evil

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Cynic
Obscura
The Red Chord
3
A Life Once Lost
Scale the Summit
Last Chance to Reason
Fight Amp
Rosetta
Ultrageist

-Vince, Axl, and Everyone at MetalSucks

Let it be said that metalheads cannot thrive on metal alone.

As avid fans of all things chunky and technical we need a break every now and then, you know, just to keep us sharp. A demand for intelligent, intense music that isn’t necessarily “heavy” has surfaced in the metal community, and even readers on this site have come to embrace a number of acts that are hardly BR00TAL. Porcupine Tree, Karnivool, Fair to Midland, and Dredg have all shared the stage with heavier acts and received acclaim from even the most opinionated and stubborn metal snobs. This year Sumerian Records have apparently taken notice, adding Brisbane’s Dead Letter Circus to their once very homogenous roster.

The signing of these left-of-center alt rockers and the recent American release of their debut album This is the Warning marks the label’s first true departure from their infamous Sumeriancore stigma. Stirring a lively dose of surround-sound ambience and percussive programming into their quality brand of Aussie alternative, Dead Letter Circus has continually won favor in progressive and extreme metal circles (the group is currently touring with Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, and Last Chance to Reason).

Playing no small role in the group’s universal appeal is Kim Benzie’s powerhouse tenor that drives the group’s music through numerous emotional twists and turns. I recently had the opportunity to speak with him on the road about how a rock band attracts a metal label, why the Australian music scene differs from our own, and, you guessed it, NICKELBACK!

Click to read more…

Word to the wise: don’t give up on the above video just ’cause it’s not metal. Stick with it. You will be pleased. Honest Injun.

And after you’ve watched, why not review some of our top stories from this week? For example –

• We debuted new music from Leprous and Ihsahn.
• Daath’s Eyal Levi declared that not all people are created equal.
• Francesco Artusato from All Shall Perish and Aaron Beam from Red Fang told us about their live rigs.
• We checked out the latest releases from Today is the Day and Eschaton.
• Vince, Anso, Gary, and Leyla unveiled their respective favorite albums of 2011 thus far.
• We started celebrating 31 days of Faith No More.
• We got an in-depth analysis of the genius of Crazy Town.
• We suggested that the Insane Clown Posse might wanna re-think their stance on concert security.
• We hired Manowar to play our next office party.
• We broke the news that Last Chance to Reason have parted ways with two members.

Next week we make the biggest announcement of our lives. Be there or be be square.

-AR

(photo by Jessica Ann Harvey)

Augusta, ME progressive metal outfit Last Chance to Reason just had their official last chance to reason with guitarist Thomas Waterhouse keyboardist Brian Palmer, ’cause apparently both dudes decided to leave the band during the course of their current tour with Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, Dead Letter Circus and Evan Brewer.

MetalSucks first suspected something was up when reader Asher L. reported to us that the band was down two members at their recent show in Orlando, FL (although he said they played “an amazing show” anyway). So we emailed the band’s management for confirmation, and got this official statement from the remaining four band members themselves:

Hello Everyone,

First off we want to thank everyone who has come out to the shows this summer and making this the best year worth of touring we have ever done. The Animals as Leaders tour has been a truly surreal experience, so again thank you to all who came out to share that with us, we are all beyond stoked to be a part of it. We love all of the bands and all of you.

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Soon enough you won’t need to watch crappy, fan-filmed sideways footage of the new Animals as Leaders song because you’ll be able to watch awesome, right-side-up, pro-shot footage of it: the band is filming a live DVD on their current tour with Intronaut, Dead Letter Circus, Last Chance to Reason and Evan Brewer. Here’s MS reader Mason K. with a personal account of how he found out about the DVD at this past Saturday’s tour stop:

But the reason for this e-mail (besides to remind all that they should go if they still have a chance), is to reveal (if you have not heard already) that AAL was filming for a Live DVD at the show, and was verified by “God-sent” Abasi.

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First it was my turn to take a vacation and now it’s Axl’s; I haven’t spoken with him since he left for the lake house last Saturday and that’s a good thing, not because I don’t love the dude but because it means he’s having fun instead of stressing about work. Hopefully as I write this he’s stoned out of his gourd and enjoying something tasty from the grill. But guess what? I’m gonna be away again this coming Monday and Tuesday conducting super-top-secret business in L.A., meaning it’ll just be Axl and the rest of our fine contributors for the early part of next week. But don’t worry; come Wednesday things will be back to normal with our usual Axl + Vince full frontal attack.

Meanwhile, here’s what Axl missed this week:

• We premiered new music by ’90s hardcore legends Earth Crisis and new Metal Blade signees Battlecross, and we premiered a new video from Last Chance to Reason
• We spoke with In Flames’ Bjorn Gelotte and IKILLYA’s Jason Lekberg.
• Landphil pondered the best wrestling “shoots” of all time.
• We looked at new releases by After Oblivion, Doctor Midnight and the Mercy Cult and Michael Monroe while Corey Mitchell gave us the rundown of his bleeders and blowers for June.
• We checked out Mastodon’s “different” new album artwork.
• Sergeant D wondered whether or not melody has a place in metal.
• Periphery lost guitarist Alex Bois while Pig Destroyer gained drummer Adam Jarvis.
• The metal world chimed in on the Casey Anthony verdict; we chimed in on the metal world.

Adios.

-VN

Things that are awesome about the brand new music video for Last Chance to Reason‘s “Upload Complete:”

• the song (duh)
• footage of the custom videogame that comes with the band’s latest MetalSucks-approved album, Level 2. I’ve yet to play the game but it looks rad and reminds me a lot of Contra.
• the “shred factor” — tons of close-up shots of the dudes playing their instruments
• the guitarist is wearing a Binary Code t-shirt
• the drummer is playing with bare feet (does he do that at gigs too?)
• the general quality of the video; proof you can make an engaging music video for a small amount of dough.

Last Chance to Reason are currently on tour with Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, Dead Letter Circus and Evan Brewer in the ultimate “do NOT miss” prog tour of the summer! Dates here. Level 2 is available at Prosthetic’s webstore for just 10 bucks.

-VN

We all already knew that Evan Brewer is a great bass player. But I started to get really, really excited for his new solo album, Alone, after Brewer revealed last month that he’s the only musician to appear on his album, and that “every sound you hear on the album came from a bass guitar.” ‘Cause that sounds like some potentially really interesting, crazy shit.

Now a nearly-two-minute-long teaser for the album has been released, giving us our first real taste of music. The actual song sounds okay — maybe a little too smoove for my own personal tastes, but I’m a cranky old man who just wants to listen to Cannibal Corpse so whatever — but I could really live without that robot voice thinger. I hope that fucker isn’t on the album too much, ’cause that shit could get real irritating real fast.

Evan Brewer’s Alone comes out on Sumerian on June 28. Brewer then heads out on tour with Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, Dead Letter Circus, and Last Chance to Reason, which is a sweet, sweet-ass line-up. Here are tour dates:

Click to read more…

When Evan Brewer announced the impending release of a solo album last month, Vince rightfully pointed out that “The market for these kinds of acts is limited — extremely limited, especially for a bass player.” And I would wager that the market for a solo album from a bass player featuring no other instruments besides the bass is even more limited.

But by golly, I hope I’m wrong, ’cause apparently that’s what Brewer made: not only is the former Animosity/current The Faceless bassist the only musician to appear on his album, appropriately titled Alone, but “every sound you hear on the album came from a bass guitar,” according to the interview with Brewer in the below promotional video. And in the hands of the wrong musician, that kind of gambit could obviously be a total fucking disaster, but Brewer… well, not only is a top-notch bassist, but his motivations for recording such an album sound really fascinating and forward-thinking. We may not know if the record is actually gonna be good or not until Sumerian releases it on June 8, but we do know that Brewer is trying to do something different, and that’s always commendable.

Meanwhile, remember that awesome tour Brewer is doing this summer with Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, Dead Letter Circus, and Last Chance to Reason, and how only some of the tour dates had been released? Well, now we have more dates! So if a town near you wasn’t in the first batch, don’t freak out just yet.

Here’s the new itinerary, courtesy The PRP:

Click to read more…