MetalSucks

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 1; check back tomorrow for part 2!

Sep 11 ‘09 (Vancouver BC @ Commodore)

I always love kicking off a tour with a show in Vancouver. It’s great to have one last chance to get completely loser pissed with our friends before we hit the road for however long. This time we were fortunate enough to finally share the stage with local good ‘ol boys The Golers and old pals 3 Inches of Blood. The Golers have been around forever and everyone should fucking hear them. They’re basically Vancouver’s Venomous Concept: relentless, break-neck speed pummeling. Is grind-punk a genre?

Show was fucking fun as all hell. It was 3 Inches record release show for Here Waits Thy Doom (which may or may not feature all of us doing backups on the song “Preacher’s Daughter”) and the place was packed! The cap of the Commodore is somewhere between 950 and 1000 and apparently it was like 15 tickets away from being sold out. Jesse from local grinders Zuckuss pointed out how fucking crazy it is that three local bands brought that many metal heads out of the woodwork. The night was bitter sweet though because not only was our good friend Ian unable to be there because of surgery but that night would also be my last chance to ever set foot in local punk/metal institution the Cobalt. I can’t even describe how awesome that bar and the staff are. The thought that it’s getting shut down by the fucking slum lords that own the building so they can cash in on Olympic fever makes me wanna tear someone’s head off. I’m consoled by the fact that I know bar legend/honcho Wendy 13 will soon enough have a new venue I can crawl out of at 5am reeking of Jager bombs. COBALT FOREVER!
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As previously noted, Lazarus A.D. are one of the few new bands heavily sporting retro thrash as an influence who I actually like; every band claims to mix the old with the new — or at least their press bios claim it — but few go too far beyond simply recycling the riffs of their ’80s heroes. The lads of LAD (haha) certainly wear their ’80s influences proudly, most notably in the vocal delivery of bassist/vocalist Jeff Paulick, but the band’s musical attack is actually quite diversified and the results are pretty interesting if you ask me (which, by visiting this site, you did).

Lazarus A.D. have a new video for “Revolution;” it’s all live clips, but it’s still entertaining. Having not seen the band live yet, I’m definitely keen to check them out next time they come around.

-VN

Due to an unfortunate accident in which guitarist/vocalist Dan Gapen broke his hand, Lazarus A.D. will be forced to miss the final few dates of the MetalSucks co-sponsored Baptized in Beer tour.

We wish Dan a speedy recovery, and hopefully we’ll see him out on the road in the not-too-distant future.

And while this sucks, it shouldn’t discourage anyone from going to the shows, ’cause you just know that Bison B.C. and Woe of Tyrants are gonna continue to murder it.

Here are the remaining dates of the tour:

July 31 2009 – San Jose CA @ Voodoo Lounge
Aug 1 2009 – Portland OR @ Ash St Saloon
Aug 2 2009 – Seattle WA @ El Corazon

If you haven’t done so already, check out our special Baptized in Beer tour blogs from Bison B.C.’s Dan And and Woe of Tyrants’ Chris Catanzaro.

Bison B.C. are currently out on the road as part of the MetalSucks co-sponsored Baptized in Beer tour with  Lazarus A.D. and Woe of Tyrants. Bison B.C.’s Dan And was cool enough to offer to do a special tour blog for us. Check it out below, and get complete Baptized in Beer tour dates here! And if you haven’t done so already, check out Woe of Tyrants’ Chris Catanzaro Baptized in Beer tour blog here.

Wednesday, July 8th – Vancouver, The Biltmore

The last time we played here at the Biltmore, it ended up getting shut down by no fault of ours. The fire marshal showed up, and not was the show over-sold, but something wasn’t properly sorted out about some renovations that had been done. I’m really not sure on the details and despite how it might have looked or been reported on, it wasn’t our fault. I jokingly said in a mini interview that we were going to top ourselves this time and burn it to the ground. Apparently some fuckin’ pecker head taken me seriously and emailed the owners to protest that they would even let us play there after I said that. I’m pretty sure the one owner, Zach, wasn’t upset because when we meet him in Calgary a few days from now he gets us some free grub at one of his other bars and then gets us firkin hammered on a disgustingly delicious drink he invented… more on that later.

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Our friend Carlos Ramirez has posted a list at NoiseCreep of the “Top 10 New School Thrash Bands.” There are some really sweet bands on this list – Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch, Warbringer, and Merciless Death all made the list – but I imagine many of you will be pissed by some of the exclusions (Lazarus A.D., Evile, etc.).

Check out the complete list, then come back and argue about it right here at “Fuck You” headquarters.

-AR

Woe of Tyrants are currently out on the road as part of the MetalSucks co-sponsored Baptized in Beer tour with Bison B.C. and Lazarus A.D. Woe of Tyrants vocalist Chris Catanzaro was cool enough to offer to do a special tour blog for us. Check it out below, and get complete Baptized in Beer tour dates here!

Hey everyone, just checking in from Gallup, NM where we played Monday night on the Baptized in Beer tour with Bison B.C. and Lazarus A.D. It was our first time playing on a Native American reservation, and I hope it’s not the last because those kids knew how to party and support the tour. Kickass times!

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By all accounts Bison B.C. and Lazarus A.D. are kicking total ass on the MetalSucks-sponsored Baptized in Beer Tour. The bands wrap up the Canadian leg of the tour on July 16th, and from there kick off the U.S. leg in St. Paul, MN, after which they’ll hook up with Woe Of Tyrants a few days later in Raleigh, NC for the duration.

Bison vocalist/guitarists James Gnarwell had this to say: “We have truly been baptized in beer so far… All of our clothes, the van, and every stage thus far has been soaked in our most favorite beverage… Glorious beer. All kinds of beer: from the finest ales and lagers to the dingiest piss you can stomach and we love it all. Can’t wait to slay south of the border and continue our liver olympics. See you in the future.”

Check out the rippin’ footage of Bison B.C. performing “Medication” live at the sold out Vancouver date below, then take a look at the remaining tour dates after the jump so you can get your beer on. This live footage… I mean, like, woah; if this doesn’t make you wish you were at that show rockin’ out up front, might we suggest this?

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Oftentimes, writers tend to fall in love with their own words and florid descriptions. I try to avoid this in my true crime books as I believe the stories themselves propel the tale along.

In music criticism, it’s even worse.

Who can come up with the most br00tal analogies or the wittiest put-downs or the sickest comparisons usually takes precedence over simply writing a straight-forward review of what the writer has just listened to or witnessed? Sometimes it’s not necessary to go into an overly detailed historical analysis of metal or an attempt to make a sociological connection between the music and its fans. I’m sure I’ve fallen prey to pedantic verboseness at times. But, hey, sometimes, it’s just better to tell the readers that “shit sucks” or “shit’s great.”

That being said, Testament and Lazarus A.D. fall into the “shit’s great” category, while Unearth falls into the “shit sucks” category.

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Canadian metalers Bison B.C. and Wisconsin thrashers Lazarus A.D. have teamed up for the MetalSucks and MetalInjection-sponsored 2009 “Baptized in Beer Tour,” which kicks off July 8th in Vancouver, British Columbia. Support on select dates will come from Barnburner and Woe of Tyrants. The coming together of B.C. and A.D. means one of two things will happen when this tour hits the pavement: 1) the birth of Jesus Christ, 2) a giant fucking party. We’re hoping for the latter!

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Vince, Kip, and Anton OyVey are all down at SXSW, but don’t worry about lil’ old me; Higgins and I got shit covered. Here’s what happened in the world of metal this week:

• We all finally got to hear the new Mastodon album! Needless to say, intense debate ensued.
• We spoke to Wolves in the Throne Room drummer Aaron Weaver and Lazarus A.D. bassist/vocalist Jeff Paulick.
• No penis? No Dir En Grey!
• Is this new Teagan and Sara shirt metal as fuck, or total hipster bull pucky?
• The Megatallica rivalry continued as we watched Dave Mustaine kill on Jeopardy and Lars Ulrich eat it on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
• Fieldy = Jesus
  
• Read Vince’s initial SXSW reports here and here!

Alright-y, then. Higgins and I are off to make like chimneys and blow smoke. See ya Monday!

-AR

When Billboard Magazine recently asked some metal industry insiders (including our own Vince Neilstein!) to name some bands that they thought were poised to be the next big thing in metal, only one band got multiple mentions: Lazarus A.D.

Little wonder. As evidenced by the recent release of their Metal Blade debut, The Onslaught, the band’s unique of modern thrash is a breath of fresh air in a scene increasingly dominated by kids interested in little else besides just recycling their favorite Exodus riff from twenty years ago.

As the band prepares to hit the road this May and June with Testament and Exodus, I got the chance to e-mail vocalist/bassist Jeff Paulick some questions. After the jump, get Jeff’s thoughts on the band’s new album, working with the legendary James Murphy, the pleasures of pissing off fans who claim to be “tr00,” and more.

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A full 4 days before the March 3rd release of their Metal Blade Records debut The Onslaught, MetalSucks is pleased to offer the entire record of Wisconsin thrash upstarts Lazarus A.D. for free, streaming right here. The Onslaught was mixed by the infamous James Murphy (Death, Testament, Obituary) and contains 10 tracks of vicious thrash that pay due respect to their ’80s forefathers without simply ripping them off; there’s a slew of modern influences here too. The Onslaught will be streaming here until release day, so listen while you can and then be sure to buy the record when it comes out. Enjoy! Click the “read more…” link to listen.

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