MetalSucks

Reader James Keglor sent us the following e-mail about the band The Sign of the Southern Cross:

“in case yall aint heard ov this band then check em out.  Especially check out the tune Purge, its really fuckin badass but the rest are kinda like Tera filler songs.  The dude sounds EXACTLY like Anselmo its insane like i wouldnt be surprised if Phil was actually the singer in secret.”

Although it’s clear that the singer wishes he were Phil Anselmo, I don’t think this band is anywhere near as good as Pantera. I also don’t think James should continue to spell “of” with a “v” more than once in any given e-mail, but that’s a personal decision that James has to make on his own.

Also… a confederate flag, fellas? Really?

If you feel so inclined, check out The Sign of the Southern Cross here, then share your opinions with James in the comments section below.

-AR

Nah, just kiddin’. It’s just a new Throwdown song! “This Continuum,” from the band’s forthcoming album Deathless, is streaming at Noiscecreep right now.

It’s really mean of me to keep poking this band for sounding so much like Pantera. For one thing, I’ve really enjoyed some Throwdown in the past; for another thing, I interviewed TxDx (do people really refer to them that way?) guitarist Mark Choiniere once, and he was a really, really nice dude. But, y’know. They do sound a lot like Pantera.

That being said, the chorus to this song strikes me as being kinda, well… Godsmack-y. Am I alone there?

Deathless comes out November 10 on E1.

-AR

When did you guys start listening to heavy music? How many of you started listening this decade? I’m seriously curious about this. Those of you who started this decade… Are you sick of it yet? Are you starting to get sick of it? Does it excite you the way it did in 2004? For those of you who started earlier… do you remember what things were like 1990-1995? Remember when Megadeth was going multiplatinum, Pantera was flying in private jets, and Morbid Angel and Carcass were on major labels? Remember how that pretty much died off?

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Like our friend Eyal Levi, I am still amazed that the words “Happy Birthday Dimebag” set off a debate of Ziltoidian proportions. I just don’t see how the impact of Pantera on modern metal is open to discussion; even if you hate them, to say that they weren’t hugely popular and influential even before Dime’s death just strikes me as… wrong. Just wrong.

And, come to think of it, I don’t really understand hating Pantera, either. Even if you think they’re just dumb rednecks. ‘Cause if we’re not gonna listen to the music of every musician we perceive as an idiot anymore, we’re gonna need to throw out, at minimum, 80% of our respective music libraries. And not just the metal shit, either.

Of course, this video probably won’t convince anyone that Pantera were awesome, and will, I imagine, lead to cries of “See they sold out,” “they were just chasing trends,” etc. And even if that’s true, it doesn’t really make Cowboys from Hell or Vulgar Display of Power or whatever your favorite Pantera album is any less awesome. Kinda like Machine Head.

MS Maniac Fabio Sanchez gets a gold star for sending us this video. Thanks dude!

-AR

Our bro-bros at Metal Insider have compiled some Soundscan and radio rankings from the world of metal last week for your perusal. The highlights:

Insane Clown Posse, Bang! Pow! Boom! (Psychopathic) #4, 50,000 sold
If the title of your new album closely resembles a song by the Black Eyed Peas, you might be a wigger.

Chevelle, Sci-Fi Crimes (Epic) #6,  45,500 sold
What Hollywood Undead is to ICP, Chevelle was to Tool. At least initially.

In slightly more encouraging news:

Pantera, Vulgar Display of Power (Atlantic Group) 780 sold
This is all digital sales – Amazon had a one-day sale of the album for $3.99. Not too shabby.

Get the full skinny on the rest of the charts over at Metal Insider.

-VN

I know you’ve all experienced this. You get into a band. Your friend introduces their music to you, or you find them online, or however it is you discover bands. Their album or songs start to get stuck in your head. You start listening to them on your iPod, in your car, at the gym, wherever. You start reading up on them. You look for tour dates. You get excited because one’s coming up. You go see them. Lights go down. Its go time! AAANNNNNDDDD your dick goes limp, or pussy dries up, whatever the case may be, because these dudes just can’t pull off what you heard on their CDs.

But wait, everything sounds like shit in this club. Maybe it’s the soundguy. Maybe it’s just an off night. Maybe somebody’s mom just died. Who knows? So you give them the benefit of the doubt and you remain a fan. Then a few months later you get a chance to see them again, and same story. Limp dick bullshit. I’ve experienced that soooo much. In fact, I’d say that the majority of bands I’ve heard in this genre give me that feeling.

There are only a small percentage of bands that I think can really stand up to what they put down on CD. It’s not hard to understand why this happens.

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If you’re famous, one of the biggest problems with being dead is that you lose all control over how your “estate” (read: family that needs money) uses abuses your legacy. Case in point: Kurt Cobain is apparently going to be in Guitar Hero 5.

Now, I’m not one of these people who has a problem with Guitar Hero or rhythm games in general – I find them entertaining, and I’m not an alarmist who thinks they mean kids are gonna stop learning to play real instruments.

But I feel like Cobain is definitely the kind of stick-up-his-ass dude who would have a problem with Guitar Hero. Still, Francis Bean gotta eat Courtney Love gotta shoot up, so there’s Kurt in all his pixelated glory.

I’m shocked that Dimebag hasn’t been included in a rhythm game yet. I’d wager that his estate is working on that right about now.

-AR

He’d of been 43 years old today.

Here he is shredding back when he was my age.

-AR

MEGADETH, RUST IN PEACE

Ok, I was like, what, eleven when this shit came out? More like thirteen when I discovered it. Back then, Dave Mustaine was almost like a political figure as far as metal goes. Who knows how I’d look at his role now, but back then, he was a hero.

And then there was the songwriting. Nobody was writing music as creative as them. Listen to the guitar breaks in songs like “Five Magics” or the entire masterpiece, “Rust in Peace.” Nobody was writing stuff like that, and for the time, I felt like the lyrics actually meant something. And the solos – try playing a Marty Friedman solo when you’re thirteen. Try playing one now. The dude is/was/ and will forever be untouchable.

This band meant the world to me back then. I’m not crazy about the new directions the band has gone in, but that doesn’t diminish that they changed my life back when I was younger. I always felt like their rival bands were playing it safe, and that Megadeth was taking all the musical risks. I definitely think that this would be the musician’s choice for those of us who are and were still into real metal with real songs. Not just shred wankery.

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Boasting a resume that features members of Pantera more prominently than any Nashville session players, multi-instrumentalist Hank Williams III has defiantly cultivated a career and an image in stark contrast to the country roots evoked by his iconic namesake. Though hardly abandoning his heritage, the grandson of the honky tonk pioneer continues to mystify and enthrall with this, the first “official” release from this band.

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This is Phil Anselmo performing Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell” in Tel Aviv.

And… that’s all I have to say about this.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

I just read this on the ol’ Bmouth:

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King, a close friend of the late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGELAN), had the legendary axeman’s guitar in the studio during the recording process for SLAYER’s new album, “World Painted Blood” (although he didn’t use it it during the sessions), still with the same strings that were on it the last time Dimebag played it. “The one thing that made me look at my lead playing a little differently was when Dimebag passed away,” revealed King. “Not that I’m going to fill Dime’s shoes because nobody can do that, but I paid more attention to my leads while recording this album. I wanted to make them more memorable in memory of Dime.”

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From the “Too Weird Not to Share” files: Over at Bazillion Points, Ian Christe has dug up a photocomic of Venom’s Cronos doing battle with Thor – yes, the Norse deity turned Marvel superhero – over Pantera. And by “Pantera,” I mean Thor’s wife. Not the metal band. ‘Cause I don’t think Norse gods care about Texas metal.

The comic comes from an ‘84 issue of Kerrang!. I can’t even imagine how people would react if, say, Randy Blythe tried to pull off some shit like this in 2009. Although now that I typed that, I’d love see him try. Especially if he wore the leather shorts.

Check out the rest of the comic here.

-AR

After the horrific murder of his brother, no one would have faulted Pantera/Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul for dropping off the face of the Earth. But instead, the man chose to soldier on, starting his own record company, Big Vin Records, and resuming his drumming duties for boozy groove metallers Hellyeah. The former has signed Type O Negative side project Seventh Void and released the successful Dimebag Darrell tribute DVD Dimevision; the latter’s toured the globe in support of their debut album, with plans to record and tour again in the near future. A relentlessly positive guy who sounds a little like the metal version of King of the Hill’s Boomhauer, Vinnie seems content with the past and satisfied with the present (upon hearing that I was conducting the interview from Massachusetts after I shut my tape recorder off, he gave his thoughts on the Boston Bruins’ then-upcoming playoff game with Montreal Canadiens and stated that his dream Superbowl would be between the Cowboys and the Patriots, if it were possible). In his inteview with MetalSucks, he gives his thoughts on the upcoming 20th anniversary of Cowboys from Hell, running a record label, and the future of Hellyeah.

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An interview with Disturbed’s Dan Donegan, from We Love Metal (by way of Blabbermouth)… the debate over what is or is not “nu metal” continues!

We Love Metal: A lot of people on the Internet call DISTURBED “nu” metal. Do you consider yourself nu metal?

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I can’t believe that there’s going to be a new Hellyeah album. I honestly thought we’d be rid of this insipid band after one phoned-in cash-in. I guess I don’t have any real reason to be too upset though, as not only will I never ever never listen to this record, but I honestly don’t know anyone else who ever will either.

In any case, here are some things I’d rather hear than new “music” from Hellyeah:

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Actually, it’s just a new album from Throwdown, but who can tell the difference?

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An oldie but a goodie, and highly worthy of a re-post for some much needed laughs today. Thanks @MePhilo!

-VN

Nerf Herder has nothing to do with metal, but their song “Pantera Fans In Love” is nothing if not entertaining. Thanks to MS Maniac / Roadrunner New Media Czar Jeremy Rosen for sending this one in.

-VN

So it’s a slow news day. I mean we’ve gotten some press releases but nothing really exciting.

So a-sniffin’ around YouTube I did go, and I found this pretty cool footage of Kerry King playing three songs with Pantera on two separate occasions.

First up is a rendition of “Raining Blood” from 1989.

Click to read more…