I don’t think anybody ever really reads these little intros Vince or myself write every week, so I’m gonna dispense with one today, and if that makes you sad, uh, you’re weird.

Here’s how we got our pull this week:

• We debuted new music by Abysmal Dawn, Full Blown Chaos, and Årabrot.
• We spoke to Jeff Paulick from Lazarus A.D. and Ginger from The Wildhearts.
• We checked out new releases from Xasthur, haarp, and Hesper Payne.
• We watched a nerd’s video about seeing Sunn O))).
• We tried to understand why The Big Four are only doing one show in America.
• We debated the merits and demerits of this year’s Mayhem Fest line-up.
• We celebrated the way that metal makes everything better.
• We enjoyed some new All Shall Perish music (kinda).
• We prepared for Zakk Wylde to boldly go where no guitarist has gone before.
• We got even MORE excited for Meek is Murder’s Algorithms.

Next week we’re gonna, like, totally talk about metal n’ stuff. You should come back and read it, it will be fun.

-AR

The line-up for this year’s Mayhem Fest wasn’t s’posedta be announced ’til tomorrow, but Blabbermouth has posted it so I guess it’s go time. There are supposed to be more bands announced — I know of at least one group who are definitely doing this tour and aren’t on this list — but for now, here are the bands playing, and my thoughts on those bands (UPDATED with tour dates):

Click to read more…

I think I’ve used the phrase “elephants marching riff” on MetalSucks before, but during a hang sesh with Vince just before the holidays, I realized we don’t use it enough — especially considering how often we actually talk about elephants marching riffs. I don’t remember when Vince and I started using the phrase to describe these lumbering, brutally heavy riffs, but they are absolutely one of my favorite metallic tropes. I fucking LOVE a good elephants marching riff.

Like the taco riff, the elephants marching riff is a little hard to define verbally — but you know it the second you hear it. The easiest explanation is that it sounds MASSIVE and moves at the pace at which you suspect a giant beast of war — say, an elephant — might move. But it can’t just be slow — doom bands and, alas, deathcore bands write slow riffs all the time, but I’d rarely define them as “elephants marching riffs.”

For example, the section of Murder the Frail’s “Disturbia” which begins at roughly the 1:45 mark is leaden — but an elephants marching riff it is not:

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FEATURING MEMBERS OF GOD FORBID, AT THE GATES, DISFEAR, MACHINE HEAD, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, THE OCEAN, JUCIFER, THE BINARY CODE, HULL, DYSRHYTHMIA, INDIAN, AND DARKEST ERA

For 2010, we decided to do something special as part of our regular end-of-year festivities here at MetalSucks — namely, ask musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year were. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of ten to eleven musicians at a time twice a day for the rest of the week.

After the jump, check out the sixth group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

(And please note that these are musicians and that they, um, have a lot on their minds. So some of ‘em named albums that actually came out last year. Please don’t freak out.)

Click to read more…

This morning I received an e-mail with the subject line “CERBERUS announces reunion show!” Which is great news, if, like me, you are a fan of California deathrashers Cerberus, and if, like me, you had no idea that the band had ever split. I mean, I guess I should have figured as much, since it’s been more than three years since their last release, 2007′s face-melter, Dispute the Truth. But if there was ever an announcement that the group was dunzo, I totally missed it. I guess I just figured that they were one of those bands like Bloodjinn, who hit some rocky roads and will hopefully make their return when they can.

Moot point in Cerberus’ case, though, as “when they can” seems to be “right now.” They’re playing Skumfest on December 18 at the Cobalt Cafe in Canoga Park, CA, along with some other killer bands, like The Funeral Pyre, Black Sheep Wall, and Noriega. The press release didn’t say anything about a new album, but I’m hopeful that more music will be these dudes’ next step.

At the risk of sounding like the sticker on a Victory release, if you enjoy bands like Machine Head and Chimaira and have never checked out Cerberus, you’re depriving yourself. You can hear some music at their MySpace page, natch. I tried to find some good videos on YouTube, but all I found was the below short, not-great-quality footage of them playing (rehearsing, I think) one of the most awesomest songs, “The Filthy Few.” You can check out the studio version here.

And if anyone hits up Skumfest, drop me a line and let me know how Cerberus were.

-AR

How about some reader-submitted photos for some mid-day chuckles?

First up we have a photo submitted by Samuel Wilson, pictured inside this tank flipping the bird, taken during his tour of duty in Iraq. Nothing strikes fear in the heart of the enemy [or innocent Iraqi civilians] quite like Slayer!

After the jump, let’s see who Crowbar’s #1 fan is, spotted front and center at a recent live gig:

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Katatonia, Machine Head, and Periphery all get their pricey gear stolen within a month or so of each other and hey, wouldn’t you know it, some guy named Chris Goulet releases a product called The Rock Lock that’s supposed to protect your gear from being stolen. Coincidence??? Conspiracy!

Of course I’m kidding, but I’d be much more likely to accuse Goulet and MS tipster Rory Fuhrer of conspiring to make a buck if I thought The Rock Lock actually would’ve helped any of the above bands. The Rock Lock works kind of like a bike lock, or those locks they bolt to computers in libraries and schools to prevent them from being stolen; it chains your guitar down to a fixed object. Which will do absolutely no good when some thief decides to jack your band’s entire trailer, or lift a guitar that’s inside a case from backstage.

What someone really needs to invent is a trackable GPS microchip that goes inside the back plate or under the strap button or something, like those ones they put into your pet’s neck to track if Fido ever runs away. Of course the likelihood of grungy metal musicians being able to afford something like that is pretty low, but think of it as an insurance policy… come to think of it, you’d probably be better off with an actual insurance policy.

-VN

Weird to say about a dude whose most famous tracks are about hate, clenched fists, shotgun blasts, and burning in hell, but Robb Flynn seems like a legitimately good guy, and he’s certainly proven time and time again that he’s a man of the people. And I’m not really a very strong believer in the whole notion of “karma” — remember, Dio is dead but Durst continues to thrive — but Flynn’s life is now making a pretty strong argument that I may be wrong.

So. As you probably know, Flynn’s home was burglarized last month. Among the items stolen were a mini Flying V he had bought his son, Zander, for Christmas, and Zander was so traumatized by the break-in that he was apparently scared the thieves might return again in the middle of the night and murder him. And his younger son, Wyatt, apparently isn’t doing much better. Did you get all that? Are you now openly weeping? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. That’s the kind of lily-white-innocence-ripped-apart story that makes you wanna go all Death Wish on some people’s ass.

But Flynn’s fans are more reasonable than I am, so they didn’t Bronson anyone — instead, a bunch of them from Machine Head’s official message board, “The Frontlines,” chipped in and bought Zander Flynn a new guitar (above, in the most awesomest picture ever)! Here’s an accompanying message from a user who posts under the handle “Desmadre”:

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I’ve been mugged and I’ve been conned, but, luckily, I’ve never had a break-in. I imagine it feels like you’ve been violated; I know that might sound funny, but I don’t mean it to. Maybe it’s not as bad as a mugging in that there’s no threat of violence, but it’s way worse in that someone invaded your most personal space.

And so I feel a lot of sympathy for Machine Head’s Robb Flynn, who recently lost a lot of valuable stuff — including a guitar gifted to him by Dimebag — during a break-in. Here’s a full statement on the matter from Flynn, including an offer of a reward for anyone who can help retrieve the stolen goods:

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You can’t talk about 90′s hardcore without devoting a substantial part of that conversation to the boys who put the sleepy town of Syracuse, NY on the map: Earth Crisis. For anybody who wasn’t in the hardcore scene back then, it’s hard to describe the impact they had or how controversial they were. You either loved them or hated them for bringing both metal and veganism into the hardcore scene, and I definitely loved them. I’ll save the discussion of their politics and all that for another time, and focus on what’s more important to me these days: their music.

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In September it will have been three years since A Life Once Lost released their last album, Iron Gag, and although it’s entirely possible that I’m just neurotic, when a band doesn’t put out an album for three years I begin to worry that they might never put out an album again, even if, as is the case with ALOL, they have a sizable following. Because let’s be real — there are very, very few rockstars in metal, and these dudes gotta eat. So unless you’re talking about a Machine Head/The Blackening-type situation — where the band did some headlining tours and Mayhem and the European festivals (twice I think) and opened for Metallica and basically not only toured relentlessly but toured in a very visible manner — three years can feel like an eternity. There are kids who weren’t even listening to metal three years ago and have no idea who the hell A Life Once Lost are, y’know?

But hopefully that will change — for A Life Once Lost have not broken up, and they are working on a new album, which their MySpace page says is coming out this year. Which would be swell! There’s even a demo for a new song, “Expression of Hate,” posted there, which is much more in the vein of A Great Artist than Iron Gag. Check it out.

This was all brought to my attention via a studio update from ALOL guitarists Doug “Snake Sustaine” Sabolick and Robert Carpenter, which was posted by our friends at Metal Injection. Watch it below. It was filmed and edited by Troy Coffee and features artwork by Mike Wohlberg.

-AR

In case there was any doubt, Living Colour are still one of the coolest bands on the planet.

Shortly before they were set to take the stage for a sold-out show in New Hampshire on Sunday night, they realized that vocalist Corey Glover had laryngitis, and couldn’t risk using his voice, lest he do serious damage and endanger the group’s upcoming European tour.

At this point, most bands probably would have cancelled, even if the venue was already full. But not Living Colour: according to Union Leader, they took the stage anyway, playing as a three-piece, and — apparently as a joke — invited fans to come up on stage and take Glover’s spot.

And guess what? Three fans — Nick David, Charles Davis and Dan Swanson — took them up on their offer:

“I’ve never heard of anything like it, not in my experience. It was like an open mic night, only with Living Colour as your backup musicians,” said [venue owner Scott] Hayward.

You may recall that Machine Head did something similar back in February; as in that instance, I’m sure Living Colour made these dudes’ lives. Hell, I can’t sing worth a shit, but I know all the words to every LC song and I probably would have jumped on stage given half a chance.

Here’s video of LC doing “Love Rears Its Ugly Head” with Nick David on vocals. He’s no Corey Glover, but then, who is?

Living Colour’s latest, The Chair in the Doorway, is out now on Megaforce.

-AR

Has it really been over three years since Machine Head released their landmark return-to-form The Blackening? It has, and thanks to Machine Head’s non-stop 3-year tour in support of it, it feels like people are still buzzing about how good it was. I spoke with Rob Flynn back in December of ’09 and he told me the touring was going to continue rolling on; finally, in the summer of 2010, the band’s touring cycle for The Blackening is over and all the guys have returned home for some much needed rest.

In Flynn’s case, returning home actually meant packing up his stuff in boxes and hauling it all out to his new abode in Martinez, CA. What inevitably happens with any big move is that you end up unearthing boxes full of old shit you’d long since forgotten about. But unlike those love letters from your high school girlfriend you’ve still got tucked away for some stupid reason, the contents of Robb Flynn’s memento boxes are actually of interest to the public, and lucky for you he’s scanned and uploaded a whole bunch of memorabilia from Machine Head’s early days and posted them to the Machine Head blog. Hand-written lyric sheets, really old photos, flyers (one of a gig opening for Rancid, one of a European headline tour with Meshuggah opening!), ticket stubs, rejected album covers of Burn My Eyes… tons of really cool shit. Check it out — it’s highly worth 2 minutes of your time.

-VN

Thanks: Lewis Clark

What’s up everyone! In celebration of the new KINGDOM OF SORROW album coming out today, MetalSucks have been nice enough to let me takeover their site! I figured I’d better make the reading interesting and at least cause some discussion, so here goes, this is probably the longest run on sentence you’ll ever read, haha, enjoy!

Since we’re well into 2010. I figured I’d start my blog with my top ten “most listened to” metal and hardcore albums of the last decade, and the top ten albums I hope to enjoy this decade!!! It’s not a top ten “best of” the decade or anything like that, it’s just what I’ve listened to the most while on the road, at home, in the gym, in the office or in my car. Keep in mind that the criteria for these albums to make this list was that they were released between 2000 and 2010, that is all.

The top 10 records I’m “most hopeful & excited for” are more like a wish list. It will be cool to see some of that stuff happen!

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My top five show flyers… okay, it’s really six, but only because I had a tough time deciding! Keep in mind this is based on the memories, not the flyers themselves!

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Remember that video last year of Machine Head’s Robb Flynn hanging out in the crowd during a Metallica show, screaming along to “Master of Puppets” with some just regular, average, every day Joe Metallica Fans? And how that made it seem like Flynn was just way too cool for someone so successful?

Well, this tops that by a mile.

According to Machine Head fan site Take My Scars (via Blabbermouth), the band let a fan get on stage and play “Aesthetics of Hate” with them at a show earlier this week (video above)… just because he asked to do so:

Click to read more…

The reader known as “culturevulture” e-mailed us to tell us he just this band Diamond Plate open for Behemoth – and apparently they killed.

I believe it. Bassist/singer Jon Macak’s choked vocals take some getting used to, but the music won me over right away. This is thrash that never sacrifices complexity for simple speed; it’s bludgeoning without being dumb. I’d wager that Justice-era Metallica has been a big influence on this band, and that they love Machine Head’s The Blackening; I think they’d seem perfectly at home on a tour with Revocation, even if they’re not quite yet at that band’s level of kick-assery.

Check out Diamond Plate on MySpace; I was especially impressed with the song “Relativity.”

-AR

Last week, during one of my daily perusals of this very blog, I came across a rather scathing recounting of Killswitch Engage’s self-titled album, which came out earlier this year. This caught me a bit off guard, as I considered it to be one of my favorite albums of the year and a step in the right direction from Daylights Dies, which was at first very disappointing but grew on me after some time. I was even more surprised when I saw that most user comments tended to agree with the blog entry.

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As we mentioned earlier today, next Thursday we’ll run the MS staffs’ various year end lists. Of course, that means that the MS staff has to start turning them in now. And as we’ve begun the editing process, we’ve been reassured of what we already knew: opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one. But what’s more fun than smoking weed, listening to good music, and engaging in intellectual (or semi-intellectual) debate with good friends? For our money, nothing. That’s why we started MetalSucks in the first place!

Here were some sources of intellectual debate this week:

• We looked at a series of dreadful demos, the last of which was epic (and not dreadful at all).
• We spoke with Eric Peterson of Testament and Robb Flynn of Machine Head.
• Devin Townsend got deep.
• Marduk’s Mortuus body-slammed a would-be hugging fan.
• Mastodon are officially on the radar of mainstream publications like Time.
• We mourned the loss of Dimebag Darrell 5 years ago this week.
• We proclaimed Hate Eternal and System of a Down underappreciated.

Now we challenge you to start guessing which albums which MS writers will name as their favorites. Anyone who guesses correctly wins the knowledge that they probably read this site way too much when they should be working, or fucking, or doing almost anything else.

And then on Thursday we’ll unveil all the lists.

-Vince & Axl