Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

For this week’s FED, I was all ready to write something (more) idiotic (than usual) about how we usually parcel out shirts, six-month subscriptions and Flexi series streams gratis, but this month—for the privilege of hearing the Black Dahlia Murder and special guest Jeff Fucking Walker covering Carcass’s Heartwork deep cut “This Mortal Coil”—you’d have to actually buy the magazine. Well, believe it or not, some enterprising young reader already ripped the fucking thing and posted it to YouTube. Which is cool and all, since we’re not officially streaming it. We’re particularly chuffed by said reader’s Senator Davis-channeling minor complaint “God damnit. I hate when the vocals first start it skips. My flexi must be flawed i cant get it to not skip there… shittttttttttttt.”

Anyway, go there and check it out. Strnad and Walker execute the most scintillating line trading since Marvin Lee Aday and Lorraine Crosby in “I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” As always, it’s totally exclusive to the Decibel Flexi series, on commandingly virile royal blue. Sharpen your scalpels (read: set aside some money) and start slicing (read: subscribe).

-AB

Decibel’s July 2011 issue also features Morbid Angel, Coroner, Baroness, Autopsy, Revocation, Wormrot, and an incredible article about album packaging. That issue is available here, but why not get a full subscription to ensure you never miss one of these awesome flexi discs?

There’s a fascinating psychology to a true failure of an album. And I’m not talking about how The Sound of White Noise pissed off Belladonna-Anthrax fans or whatever. No, I mean your St. Angers, Cold Lakes, your Unspoken Kings: albums whose defenders are more often than not defending just to be contrary. They’re usually made by bands with some renown and a fan base that — if not sizable — is devoted enough to know a blasphemously awful album when they hear it. There are so many points where the band’s handlers and/or hangers-on could have stopped them and said, “Wait, you’re not being SERIOUS about this, are you?” But either the band were so resolute in their belief that the album was a risk worth taking or were surrounded by a bunch of wincing Yes Men that it still comes into existence anyway, completely un-self-conscious and without a shred of self-awareness. There’s a beauty to those records, albeit a beauty that exists in terrible, regrettable art.

And although Morbid Angel haven’t been immune to Trey Azagthoth’s pretentiousness over the band’s multi-decade career, personally, I didn’t see an album like Illud Divinum Insanus coming down the pipe. Like Cold Lake and The Unspoken King – creative rock-bottom moments for Celtic Frost and Cryptopsy, respectively — it’s ill-calculated to an unfathomable degree. But unlike those albums, which on top of being terrible had a whiff of being sell-out moves (hair metal for Celtic Frost, mall-grade deathcore for Cryptopsy), Illud Divinum Insanus is a passion project for Azagthoth and Dave Vincent (back in the band for the first time on record since Domination). This is an incredibly personal record that they’ve decided to hang the Morbid Angel name on– a name that’s not just sacred in death metal but among the most respected in metal as a whole- – and have subsequently turned the band from a name synonymous with greatness to a name immediately followed with the statement “Just stick with their older stuff” if mentioning them to the uninitiated. Illud Divinum Insanus isn’t just terrible: it’s magnificently dreadful. If the last Six Feet Under album is a mentally ill guy holding a cardboard “REPENT” sign on the street, the new Morbid Angel record is that guy who cashed out his pension to buy ad space for the “THE WORLD IS ENDING ON MAY 21, 2011” hysteria.

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June is going to be a huge month for metal releases and it starts with a bang today, the month’s first Tuesday. New releases by Morbid Angel, Arch Enemy, Job For A Cowboy and Amorphis are the biggest hitters, while new ones from Origin, Engineer, Gigan, Khann and Tombs are sure to put some hair on your chest. And that’s just a small sampling of all that comes out today. Vic Vaughn on each and every one of ‘em after the jump.

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A few years ago there was this popular internet meme in which people took a scene from Downfall, a movie about Hitler’s final days, and re-did the subtitles so that, instead of reacting to the news that he was losing the war, The Führer seemed to be freaking out about some horribly insignificant bit of nerdery (e.g., that the end of The Watchmen movie wasn’t exactly the same as the end of The Watchmen graphic novel, etc.).

Like most memes, it got old after awhile. But our friend Mark sent us the below one over the weekend, and, well… I don’t think I have ever typed these words before, nor am I likely to ever type them again:

I AGREE WITH ADOLF HITLER 110%

-AR

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

The only other time Decibel put Morbid Angel on the cover was our fifth issue, in March of 2005. David Vincent had just answered our dark prayers, returning to the fold to “focus on putting together a really brutal tour featuring classic Morbid Angel tracks.” That was radical enough, but what everybody was really rabid for was a new Vincent/Azagthoth collaboration, the first since ’95’s Domination. Predictably, Trey didn’t have much of a scoop for us: “We’re just taking this day by day. It takes so long to put an album together. I don’t think I’m at that point yet.”

Suffice it to say, it took him fucking long enough to get to that point. And in just under two weeks, if you’re not a metal journalist or friend of the band, you’ll finally get a thorough overview of what Tampa’s finest have been slaving away on: the deeply polarizing eighth album, Illud Divinum Insanus. And you’ll learn soon enough if your perspective mirrors the majority of those who have already heard it (mass facepalm) or if Azagthoth’s notorious experimental daring has paid off yet again. J. Bennett grills both principals and gets a pretty fascinating explanation for the startling new direction. It’s the big story in July’s dB, available in the webstore now, for subscribers within two weeks. This one doesn’t have a gushing Mars Volta review (sorry, J.), so it’s an improvement on multiple levels!

-AB

Decibel’s July 2011 issue also features Baroness, Coroner, Autopsy, Revocation, Wormrot, an incredible article about album packaging, and an awesome flexi disc of The Black Dahlia Murder covering Carcass’ “This Mortal Coil” with Jeff fucking Walker. That issue is available here, but why not get a full subscription to ensure you never miss one?

Nnnnnnooooo, I’m just kidding, of course. They did, however, write a song called “Nevermore,” which is now streaming at The Deciblog.

I’m dying to hear what you folks think, too. Season of Mist sent out a digital promo of the new Morbid Angel album, llud Divinum Insanus, last week, and while it was kinda hard to listen to given that the label inserted the sounds of an old telephone ringing every however many seconds (this is meant to prevent piracy, but I think it mostly prevents music writers from doing their jobs), I can tell you that, generally speaking, I was not bowled over. Maybe that’s because anticipation for this record has been so high that it could never live up to expectations; maybe it’s ’cause it’s already been such a strong year for death metal that, positioned amongst albums like Hate Eternal’s Phoenix Amongst the Ashes and The Black Dahlia Murder’s Ritual, Ilud was always going to pale in comparison; or maybe it’s just ’cause it’s been sixteen years since Domination, and shit happens. I’ll have to listen more when I have the ring-less version to really articulate why the album just wasn’t gelling for me.

In any case, headbang here, then sound off in the comments section below. Illud Divinum Insanus, comes out June 7 on Season of Mist.

-AR

From the brain of Egyptian-born, New York-based conceptual artist Nader Sadek comes In the Flesh, a new album that centers on the notion of humanity’s relationship with petroleum and how this exhumation of ancient life forms serves as a self-destructive fuel to society’s greed (a subject that’s near and dear to my heart).

You might already know Sadek from his “impressively twisted” sculptures, masks, and installations for the likes of Mayhem and Sunn O))). In The Flesh marks his recorded debut and sees him collaborating with some of extreme music’s most talented artists: Steve Tucker (vocals, ex-Morbid Angel), Flo Mounier (drums, Cryptopsy), and Rune Eriksen (guitars, Mayhem). The album also features guest appearances by Attila Csihar (Mayhem, Sunn O)))), Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Tony Norman (Monstrosity, Terrorizer), Mike Lerner (Behold… The Arctopus), Descructhor (Morbid Angel), and Nick McMaster (Krallice).

In The Flesh sounds a lot like what you’d expect given the cast of characters involved: its constant and deliberately plodding elephants-marching riffs and slow blasts recall Morbid Angel and old Cryptopsy in a big way, drizzled with frosty, cold black metal oil.

Stream “Petrophilia,” (music: Rune Eriksen and Nader Sadek, lyrics: Steve Tucker) below. Watch the video for “Nigredo in Necromance” here. In The Flesh comes out May 17th via Season of Mist.

-VN

We’re back, bitches! Vince and I were in L.A. all week, although you probably didn’t even miss us ’cause Corey and Anso did such a killer fucking job running shit while we were away. Let’s have another round of applause for them. Seriously. They rule!

So. One thing that Anso covered while we were away was a clip of a new Morbid Angel song, one apparently written specifically to mourn the loss of one of metal’s most excellent bands; now there’s a FULL new Morbid Angel song, “Existo Vulgoré,” so we can really heat up the debate about whether or not the band’s first new offering in forever was worth the wait.

Actually, scratch that: I am in no way, shape, or form ready to make a(n irresponsible, premature) call on this issue yet. I’ve listened to this song a few times now and I really can’t decide what I think. It’s good. I don’t know if it’s the home run for which Morbid Angel fans have been clamoring, but it’s gotta be at least a solid double. I’m also super jet lagged, though, and would like to listen to it again when my brain doesn’t think it’s 5:30 a.m.

So I’m gonna go take some speed drink some coffee while you guys listen to the song below and then argue about it in the comments section. Morbid Angel’s eagerly anticipated new album, Illud Divinum Insanus, comes out June 7 on Season of Mist.

-AR

Photo by Alison Webster

This month, brutal death metal trio Hate Eternal, led by producer/guitarist Erik Rutan, has been at the center of a pitched battle between MS co-lord Axl Rosenberg and MS writer-at-large Anso DF. The conflict? Is Hate Eternal’s forthcoming Phoenix Amongst The Ashes record awesomely killer (per Axl) or is it insanely ripping (per Anso)? Does it fuck the face and slam the nutz (Anso) or does it render each listener “so fucking happy to be alive” (Axl)? Can its production and performances better be described as a high watermark of contemporary metal (Axl) or as a gift from another realm to every living music listener (Anso)? Is Phoenix a shoo-in for metal album of the year (Axl) or does it crush every other record on earth (Anso)?

Welcome to our love war.

When the time came to phone up Rutan for a discussion of Phoenix and other Hate Eternal affairs, we at MetalSucks opted to settle this battle of agreement with an interview conducted by both Axl Rosenberg and Anso DF. Unsurprisingly, Rutan took on the task with good humor and ease, only succumbing to confusion at times when Axl and Anso simultaneously rushed to hail Phoenix and its predecessor Fury & Flames. In its unexpurgated glory, we present our very special double-team interview of the great Erik Rutan.

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It’s bizarre and unreal to contemplate a new Morbid Angel record without famed drummer Pete Sandoval, the eenventer of deh blazt beit. Even onetime Morbid Angel guitarist Erik Rutan of Hate Eternal gave it a passing mention last week to Axl and I in our interview. But alas, the drums on the forthcoming Illud Divinum Insanus are the domain of Tim Yeung and his excellent hair, though we can be reasonably certain of Sandoval’s involvement in some measure. Whatever, cuz Morbid’s radness is evident in Amazon’s clip of new jam “Nevermore” regardless of the absence of their ace skinsman. The shit JAMS — all 30 seconds of it. Now, the clip listed as the Combichrist remix of “Destructos Vs. The Earth” on the other hand …

–ADF

Morbid Angel’s Illud Divinum Insanus comes out June 7 on Season of Mist. Fuck yes.

Thanks to tipster Ashley Lee!

I love that “Tour Of Italy” sampler at Olive Garden where you get one of all their different appetizers!! I usually end up eating all the Parmesan Calamari Fritters first and being so full I can barely even get to the Tuscan Eggplant Fingers, but the point is that variety is the spice of life. I mean all of their appetizers are so good, how can you pick just one??? Each one is delicious in its own way, and the best way to enjoy them is by having a little bit of everything. And what is the only thing as varied, delicious and universally loved as Olive Garden? That’s right: fucking BREAKDOWNS!

Like the Tour Of Italy, there are a million different kinds of breakdowns, and they are all awesome in their own way. No single genre has a monopoly on it: there are breakdowns in pretty much every kind of music, and they all go hard. I think it’s a beautiful testament to how music brings us all together that whether you are into punk, hardcore, metal or whatever, we can all agree that breakdowns are the best part of every song!

In this post, I will share some of the greatest breakdowns throughout history, like the Tour Of Italy, only for moshing. It is far from a comprehensive list, just a sampler to get the conversation started. Check these out, post your favorite breakdowns in the comments, and help us answer the one of life’s big questions: what is THE BEST BREAKDOWN OF ALL TIME???

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Hard to believe that there hasn’t been a new Morbid Angel album during the history of MetalSucks, but we’re finally getting one this summer. It’s called Illud Divinum Insanus, which, according to this dorky Latin message board (you really can find anything on the internet), a) means “that divine, insane thing,” and b) is poorly conjugated (apparently it should be insanum, not insanus). And I know that there are people who are bummed that Pete Sandoval doesn’t play on the album (the always-excellent Tim Yeung, finally freed from the constraints of Divine Heresy, has stepped in for Sandoval, who is still recovering from back surgery), but this the first album to feature David Vincent since Domination, so, y’know, ya take the good ya take the bad ya take ‘em both and there have the new Morbid Angel album.

ANYWAY, here’s the album artwork. I have almost no idea what the crap is going on, but I’m digging it anyway.

And here’s the art for the first single, “Nevermore,” which I actually think is even cooler than the album art. I guess “hands” are going to be a big theme here…

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When I look back at the last twenty years, there is perhaps no more important musical entity in my life than England’s EARACHE RECORDS (srs). Back when I was a little kid on a quest to find the fastest, most cock-smashingly brutal music I could get my hands on, I stumbled across a copy of the legendary Grindcrusher compilation, and I’ve been hooked on death metal ever since. As my gateway to metal, Earache will always have a special place in my heart– and when you care for someone as I do for Earache, it hurts to see them lose their way, stumble, and fall as Earache did in the 90s and 00s. I had written them off as yet another band/label/artist who has a brief moment of brilliance, burns brightly, then fizzles out before dying in undignified circumstances [via Vincent Van Gogh]. But I am happy to report that I couldn’t be more wrong! Earach is back on the horse, stronger than ever, and signing more relevant, exciting bands than ever (srs).

In this post, I will briefly recap the label’s history in three sections to bring newer readers up to speed on Nottingham’s finest export. I will then share my thoughts on their current signings and solicit suggestions on which bands the label should sign next– hopefully Dig is reading!

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Last month, I got the following e-mail from reader Ceth Carter, regarding the fact that Tim Yeung is currently operating as the drummer for Morbid Angel while Pete Sandoval recovers from surgery:

“Do you think its possible to have a real Morbid Angel album without Sandoval? I know David Vincent and Steve Tucker have been back and forth and it has worked in both cases and even Erik Rutan has been in and out but I can’t imagine a Morbid Angel record without Trey Azagtoth or Pete. Tim Yeung is as amazing as they come on drums but it doesn’t sound right. Any insight on this?????”

Well, Ceth, I know how Sergeant D. feels about Sandoval, but, no, I do not have any insight on this. However, I do have the below video of Yeung playing a new Morbid Angel song at a drum clinic recently. So maybe you could watch it and see what you think? It sounds pretty promising to these old ears, but I think you have a lot more invested in this emotionally than I do.

Soooo… what do we think?

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

In any band, there’s usually one member who’s the driving force behind the group, and carries the other guys: Greg Ginn, Les Claypool, Justin Timberlake… you get the idea. Such is the case with death metal legends Morbid Angel — the whole band essentially stands on the shoulders of one member, but it’s not the one most of you dorks are thinking of. Lettuce be reality, brahs: Pete Sandoval’s drumming is the definition of mediocre (and before you start arguing, remember that trusted, mainstream news outlets such as NPR have recognized me as an authority on metal drumming).

File this under “sacred cow barbecue” if you want, but I’ve finally come to terms with the truth about Morbid Angel: they have their moments, but are held back by Pete Sandoval’s dull, unimaginative playing (and consistently bad drum sounds). I’m not saying Pete is a bad drummer, because he certainly isn’t, but I am saying that his playing is several orders of magnitude behind Trey Azagthoth’s, and that the bad would be approximately 1 zillion times better if they had someone else on drums.

U MAD?? See if you don’t change your mind after the break…

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Yesterday I attempted to clarify the meaning of the phrase “elephants marching riff” by pointing out some reader suggestions that, even if they were cool riffs, did not meet the definition for this particular trope. Today, I am going to highlight some of the reader-suggested riffs that I actually think do meet that definition.

Now, these aren’t ALL the riffs that you guys suggested… I’ve cherry picked some in the interest of time. (For example, a lot of you suggested various riffs by Chimaira and Gojira. Since I already pointed out that both of those bands are really good at writing elephants marching riffs, I’m not going to include any additional examples from those bands here.) So don’t have a conniption if your riff didn’t make the list.

And so…

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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means we’re taking off early today and won’t be back ’til Monday. We’re sorry to leave non-American readers high n’ dry, but PLUS ONE FOR FREEDOM, MOTHERFUCKERS.

ANYWAY, in honor of the holiday, we decided to do a special Turkey Day-themed QOTW designed to make you feel all warm and cuddly inside:

WHAT (IN METAL) ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.

This week, we have our first ever reader-suggested QOTW, coming from MetalSucks Maniac Cougar Party:

WHAT BANDS DO YOU HATE THAT YOU HAVE SEEN LIVE MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE THEY ARE ALWAYS OPENING FOR SOMEONE YOU LIKE?

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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Cosmo Lee has posted a list over at Invisible Oranges of the “Top Ten Metal Albums Marred by One Song.” As soon as you see the title of that list, well, you just know it’s gonna be provocative, and, well, it is — I won’t give away which albums are included, but classics by the likes of Metallica, Exodus, Megadeth, Pantera and Morbid Angel show up. Actually, pretty much every album on the list is considered a classic, and their inclusions are bound to piss somebody off.

I’m not sure that agree with Mr. Lee’s criteria for every song, either; there’s one track that seems to have been discounted because the lyrics are misogynistic, and while I agree that that’s not cool, I don’t know that I’d ever throw a whole song out because of lousy lyrics. I mean, most metal singers ain’t exactly sensitive poets, y’know?

Go here to check out the whole list, then come on home to argue about it. What albums don’t deserve to be on the list? Did Cosmo miss any? Are lyrics alone a legitimate reason to dislike a song? I’m curious to hear what you cats have to say about all this.

-AR

To say that Max Cavalera put metal on the map isn’t exactly accurate; metal’s formative years dealt with pond-crossing pollination between Europe and the U.S. But Sepultura helped bring the idea that metal was a global entity into being, from their early death metal albums, proving them more than competen,t to their later thrash/groove metal records, which combined primal heaviness with South American instrumentation. Max has continued this in Soulfly, which, despite  hisliving in the U.S. for the last decade and a half, still includes bits of his heritage. Though Sabbath, Priest, Maiden, and so forth may have (unintentionally) presented metal as a mainly Anglo-Saxon phenomenon, Sepultura proved that if metal were going to be adored worldwide, it would be made worldwide as well. Their far-reaching success (both in the form of Max Cavalera’s Soulfly and the current incarnation of Sepultura) cements their very important place in metal.

Despite being in the game for more than twenty-five years, Max hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down. He founded Cavalera Conspiracy with his formerly estranged brother/ex-Sepultura drummer Igor; Soulfly’s recently-released Omen shows the same strength, vitality, and palatable riffs that the band has always been known for; and he’ll no doubt be hitting the road for the foreseeable future. In an interview with MetalSucks conducted shortly before the album’s release, Max talks about making Omen, discusses how he manages to rope in guest performers, and makes some lofty claims about the upcoming Cavalera Conspiracy album.

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