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You didn’t really think we’d let the release of God Forbid’s new video for “War of Attrition” pass us by, did you? Of course you didn’t. At the MetalSucks Mansion few things are certain outside of death, taxes, and God Forbid news.
Check out our recent interview with Doc Coyle at New England Metal and Hardcore Fest, and while you’re at it read Dallas Coyle’s latest blogs too.
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My final interview at last month’s New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Worcester, MA was with As I Lay Dying guitarist Nick Hipa. I’d met Nick earlier in the day at an industry hang at which he told me he was a huge fan of the site. We instantly hit it off, so by the time our scheduled interview rolled around there were no awkward moments. When I approached him while he was warming up in the back lounge of the band’s spiffy tour bus we got right to it. Nick spoke about the band’s past appearances at Metalfest, touring with Lamb of God, partying with Children of Bodom, the advantages of having a nice tour bus, the band’s recently released DVD, and their plans for a new album in early 2010.
For more New England Metal and Hardcore Festival interview coverage, check out my festival wrap, as well as my interviews with J. Costa of Thy Will Be Done, Peter Dolving of The Haunted, Doc Coyle of God Forbid, Jonathan and Billy from Unholy, Josh and Troy from Cattle Decapitation, and Chris Arp of Psyopus.
My interview with As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa, after the jump.
Those that are fans of my infamous “Beard on Beard” interview series know that yours truly is a huge fan of a manly set of chin-whiskers. So when I found myself in the parking lot outside the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival casually chatting with the Metal Injection dudes and some dude with a ridiculously lush, full, styled piece of facial hair, I had to know more about him. Turns out this international man of mystery was vocalist J. Costa of Rhode Island metal warriors Thy Will Be Done. Mr. Costa graciously agreed to conduct an impromptu interview in which we spoke about beard grooming tactics, guys’ and girls’ differing opinions on the beard, the role of the beard as natural air conditioner, and eventually, oh, some band for which Mr. Costa happens to sing.
Our beardalicious chat, after the jump.
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Shortly after their new-asshole-rippingly good set at the 2nd stage of day two at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival last month, I caught up with Unholy, the latest in the continuing stream of unbelievable bands to release records that have “Prosthetic Records” stamped onto them. Seeing them perform live just an hour or two prior was actually my introduction to the band aside from a brief pre-show MySpace listen, but it proved to be all the introduction I needed. Guitarist/band-mastermind Jonathan Dennison (right) and vocalist Billy Price (center) spoke about how their deal with Prosthetic came about, what it’s like to be a new band that doesn’t necessarily fit into a specific trendy “scene,” their musical influences, life on the road, and the misery of unavoidable day jobs. Our quick chat, after I say “jump.”
Jump.
At this point in the annals of MetalSucks history, an official interview with God Forbid is weird. Interviewing Doc Coyle “on the record” is kind of like interviewing your mom about her performance as your mother; like, are you truly getting the full skinny? But God Forbid are like family to us, and Doc was his usual self; honest, level-headed and frank. At New England Metal and Hardcore Festival last month, Doc told us what led to Dallas’ split from the band, how things with his replacement Kris Norris (of Darkest Hour) are going, the band’s current and future touring plans, critical response to Earthsblood, and breaking into the European market. Our chat, after the jump.
Josh Elmore and Troy Oftedal of Cattle Decapitation were my first interview of the weekend at New England Metal and Hardcore Fest in Worcester, MA last month. The interview was serious but easy-going, as if I were just catching up with two old friends I hadn’t seen in a while — despite the fact that I’d never met either of them before. When the guys in Cattle Decap aren’t busy shit-talking bands who bail from their tour obligations, they’re super-chill guys; we spoke about the band’s new album The Harvest Floor, the critical response it received, being falsely pigeonholed as a bunch of crazy vegan militants, and the importance of having day jobs to balance life in a touring metal band. Our chat after the jump.
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I mean, look at these dudes. They be scary. Like, real “don’t wanna run into these guys in a back alley” scary, not faux “I wear corpsepaint to cover up for my small penis” scary. They nearly fuckin’ made me cry through sheer awesomeness at the 3rd stage of New England Metal & Hardcore Fest this past Friday; a band that bills themselves as “Old School Brutal Style” can’t go wrong. The Destro are at the top of my “psyched for a new album in ‘09″ list at the moment; their new record was recorded just prior to NEMHF with Ken “Not a Child Molester” Susi of Unearth fame, so expect that shit to drop on Ironclad / Metal Blade some time this year.
Here’s their video for “Beast Burden” from their debut record released in 2007. I’m pretty sure they’ve got a new bassist now (and possibly even a new drummer) but rest assured the new lineup kicks even more ass than the last. Listen to more of The Destro on Myspace.
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A great time was had by all at this year’s New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. The bands killed, the people were quality, the Metal Insider panels were insightful, the beer was alcoholic, the pot potent, and the hippies at The Dead festival down the block were downright hilarious and provided for some good laughs. I had smashing fun live-Twittering the event (search for #metalfest on Twitter for all event updates posted by anyone, or look at the MetalSucks twitter account for just our updates), and made many new friends. Your MS reporters did 7 interviews, including a philosophy session with Haunted vocalist / blogger Peter Dolving, and those will be published in due time. But for now, check out my quick synopses of the bands that we saw after the jump.
It’s the biggest weekend of the year for metal fans in the Northeast, as the annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival gets ready to begin. This year’s lineup features a wide array of top-tier metal bands spread across 2 days and 3 stages — All That Remains headline Friday and Lamb of God headline Saturday, with pretty much every band ever playing at some point throughout the fest. Bands I’m personally the most psyched to see: The Haunted, Psycroptic, Sylosis, Burning Human, After the Burial, BTBAM, Bison B.C., Veil of Maya, Cattle Decapitation, The Destro, Animals as Leaders, Iwrestledabearonce, All Shall Perish, God Forbid, Lamb of God and Conducting From the Grave. And that’s just a small sampling of all the action that’s going down. Check out this handy-dandy day-by-day and stage-by-stage schedule, put together by loyal MS die-hard Leo F.!
For those interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes, we highly recommend the industry panels taking place on Friday at the nearby (as in half a block from The Palladium) Hilton. Check out the awesome list of panelists after the jump, which includes heavy-hitters from every facet of the industry (record labels, agents, managers, promoters, artists, producers, etc). Make sure you RSVP at MetalInsider.net.
Yours truly and original MS-contributor Van Arseface will be carrying the MetalSucks torch this time around. I’ll be live-tweeting the event and panels so all ya’ll can follow along at home / in the office. If you’re going too, see you in Woosta!
It snowed 8 inches in NYC on Monday, but we got back from the Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta just in time to deliver you our usual drudge report. Can you imagine if we’d been stranded? No MetalSucks for two days. What would you have done? Contemplate these noteworthy events of the week as you get ready to enjoy your weekend (65 degrees Sunday in NYC!):
On April 17 and 18, America’s premiere metal fest, the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, will enjoy its eleventh year of existence, with acts like Lamb of God, All That Remains, Suffocation, Napalm Death, The Haunted, Kylesa, Shai Halud, IWRESTLEDABEARONCE, and about a gajillion others all playing sets within 48 hours. Which, needless to say, is the very definition of “awesome.”
We recently had the chance to e-mail some questions to festival founder Scott Lee. After the jump, get Scott’s thoughts on the creation of the festival, all the work it takes to make the fest happen every year, his other career as a band manager, his clothing line, and more.
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