After Corey Mitchell’s perfect review of their album Executioner, how could we resist running a tour blog from Mantic Ritual guitarist Jeff Potts? Read his first installment below, and if you’re very well behaved, others will follow…

Right now I’m sitting back stage at the Masquerade in Atlanta with the peculiar kind of sore throat that only comes from prolonged screaming and generally abusing the hell out of the vocal chords.  This doesn’t sound that weird for a guy who’s in a  thrash band on a black metal tour, but it’s actually pretty odd – because I’m the guitarist.

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The MetalSucks-sponsored U.S. Plague Tour 2009 is currently weaving its way across the country, and MS photographer Diana Lee Zadlo was on hand November 23rd in Baltimore to catch Marduk, Nachtmystium and Merrimack in action. The tour rolls through New York in a couple of weeks, and though we’re exhausted from a long Autumn full of shows we couldn’t be more excited to finish things off for 2009 with this awesome lineup.

Diana’s photos, after the fold…

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The MetalSucks-sponsored U.S. Plague Tour 2009 — featuring Marduk, Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Merrimack, and on select dates Black Anvil — is currently under way. The tour kicked off Friday in Worcester, MA, runs through the South, up the West Coast, and then cuts back through the Midwest, ending December 16th in New York. In a cluttered Fall tour marketplace, this is one that definitely stands out from the pack. Must-attend!

And if you didn’t hear, Nachtmystium’s Black Meddle Part II is currently in the works. By now pre-production should be complete and recording will supposedly begin in January for a Spring release. Stoked!

Full list of tour dates — with ticket buy links — after the jump.

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I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve actually learned a lot from metal. For example, when I was a kid, I heard Axl Rose use the word “cunt” in the song “Bad Obsession” and subsequently asked my dad, “What’s a cunt?” To which he responded, “Your mother’s sister.” And I instantly knew exactly what a cunt was.

Metal continues to educate me every day, and this morning has been no different. Marduk have a new song, “Phosphorus Redeemer,” streaming on their MySpace page, and while I initially thought the title was just a nonsense combination of two words, it turns out that Marduk didn’t invent the phrase. Amazing!

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Following three very special U.S. appearances earlier this month in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York (effectively breaking their streak of visa issues), Swedish black metal battalion MARDUK will return for a full North American headlining tour this November dubbed the U.S. Plague Tour 2009. The band will be joined by Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Merrimack and Black Anvil (on select dates).

Having missed Marduk at the aforementioned New York show and having been subject to at least 2 Nachtmystium cancellations in the past year, we’re psyched to be a part of this tour. Our own Corey Mitchell gave Mantic Ritual’s latest a five-out-of-five horns review, and Black Anvil are quite the talk of the town at the moment — we’re new to Merrimack, but we’ll certainly give them a shot. What a solid lineup. Full list of tour dates after the jump.

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