“BIG PANTS WASTE PRECIOUS FABRIC”

Step into my Nocturnus time machine and take a magical journey with me into a time long, long ago, an excursion into a world that scarcely resembles our own. In this world — we’ll call it Moshtopia — hardcore kids are known for wearing giant, baggy pants, not skinny jeans; there are people under 30 that know who Black Flag is; and metalcore bands worship Krishna, not Christ. This is not a fanciful episode of Jojo’s Bizarre Adeventure fan fiction, my friends, — it is the strange and wonderful world of mid-90s hardcore!

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Just so you know, when Vince and I cuddle, he’s usually the big spoon.

Here’s what happened in MetalSucks Land this week:

• Misery Index’s Jason Netherton joined us for the latest edition of Cooking Contaminated.
• Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable wondered if corporate-sponsored metal shows are killing the live concert market.
• We chatted with Soilwork’s Peter Wichers, Mantric’s Ole Halvard Sveen, and Black Army Jacket’s Carlos Ramirez.
• We checked out new releases by Norma Jean and Lightning Swords of Death.
• We celebrated the excellent year currently being enjoyed by Metal Blade Records.
• Korn played to the largest audience they deserve. (That would be an audience of zero.)
• New BOO means debates by you.
• Poison the Well poisoned our week.
• We were on the Metal Injection Livecast!
• Booty shake.

Next week is hair metal week! We’ll still be reporting on regular metal, too, so don’t freak out too hard. See ya Monday.

-AR

Oh, sure. A whole slew of awesome bands seem to be “taking a break” (see: Coalesce, Isis, and Buried Inside — and that’s just since May), but fucking Disturbed will live on forever and ever.

Here’s the statement from the band:

“So, after twelve years of being a band, countless tours around the world and records being released, we have made the decision to take some time to explore other interests in our lives. We’ve all reached a point where we feel like we need to take a step back from the band and pursue other things. PTW has been an all encompassing, full-time thing for such a long period that this isn’t an easy thing to do. We want to thank everyone who has supported us in anyway, whether it be buying a record or a shirt, to the occasional robbery from time to time. Once again, thanks for everything and we couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

So this is one of those non-breakup breakups, which still hurts as bad. Like when your ex told you “It’s not you, it’s me.” Yeah, well, whomever the fuck it is, I don’t get to see you naked anymore, and that hurts me. Hurts me deep inside.

Mourn in the comments section.

-AR

[via Gun Shy Assassin]

Dear Metalcore:

I know you and I don’t hang out as much as we used to. I could list a couple of cleverly-worded reasons why, but today is apparently not the day to dwell on that. Instead, I’ll just share that I’ve been doing alright. I’ve been hanging out with the brothers doom and stoner metal a lot lately, and put in some QT with black metal over the winter. I mean, we get along really well. But it’s not like I don’t miss you from time to time or anything. But sometimes folks grow apart, hypothetical greener pastures are gone off to, new horizons breached. I started watching a lot more Coen Brothers movies; you started hanging out down at the mall for some reason. Interests differed, roads diverged. It was nothing personal, I suppose.

But that doesn’t mean the time we spent together didn’t have an effect on me: those first few Poison the Well albums, the brilliant cheesiness of Killswitch Engage, early Dead to Fall… all good times, man. And I still wonder how you’re doing. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit concerned over what I’d heard you’d been up to lately; you just don’t seem like yourself, or at least the way you were when I knew you. Which is why I’m relieved — even if briefly — when hearing bands like New Hampshire’s Mercury Switch. You just seem like your old self then.

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I can’t keep all these fucking bands straight. Destroy the Runner and Haste the Day and Escape the Fate and Salt the Wound and blessthefall and Bleed the Sky and Scatter the Ashes and Clone the Fragile and Pierce the Veil and Remove the Veil and Kiss the Ass and every other “verb the noun” band – holy shit, guys, you gotta start coming up with names that will allow potheads like me to more easily distinguish you from one another. ‘Cause your music certainly ain’t doing the trick.

Although I do like Protest the Hero. And Poison the Well. And Swallow the Sun. So I guess there are exceptions to every rule. But still.

Wait… how did I get on this rant again?

Oh, yeah, Destroy the Runner.

So anyway, they broke up.

-AR

Some people are talented. Some people are awesome. An even rarer breed happens to be both talented and awesome. Photographer Justina Villanueva is one of those people. If you go to metal shows in New York or New Jersey, you may have noticed this diminutive young lady snapping pics of some of your favorite acts. You may have seen her work on websites like ours (ex. Alice In Chains at Irving Plaza) and BrooklynVegan (ex. Converge at Europa).

Now’s a great time to acquaint yourself with Ms. Villanueva’s work, as she has just released the premiere issue of her self-titled zine. Issue 1: Basements, Blood and Noise features spectacular shots of bands like Black Anvil, Burnt By The Sun, Marduk, Municipal Waste, and Poison The Well, as well as the aforementioned AIC. Whether you’re an old fucker like me or a youngster that has never so much as seen a zine, I strongly recommend that you buy yourself a copy.

-GS

[Gary Suarez is a lover of fine art. He usually manages Wholly Diver (a Dio tribute site) and the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]

As one of the chief riff providers for swaggercore titans Every Time I Die, Andy Williams takes pride in making the discordant into catchy. For a perfect example of this, look no further than the band’s latest (MetalSucks-approved) album, New Junk Aesthetic. Distilling the band’s decade-plus essence into a tight half hour, it’s a satisfying mix of thunderous heaviness and easily the most appealing material the band have put to tape. But while he’s often overshadowed by vocalist Keith Buckley’s relentless wiseassery, it’s his and Jordan Buckley’s Skynard-by-way-of-Dillinger-Escape-Plan guitar work that make the band stand out and ultimately worthwhile.

A self-described “chatty Cathy,” Andy Williams was remarkably frank and refreshingly earnest in a recent interview with MetalSucks on the eve of the release of New Junk Aesthetic. Among other things, he discussed why he can listen to the new album and none of the band’s other material, his thoughts on the new Converge record, the changing landscape of the scene he came up in, and life over at ETID’s new label, Epitaph.

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This always just breaks my heart. I’ve only got 4 guitars, most of which I barely play, but if any single one of them were stolen I’d be crushed. Imagine having all of your stuff EVER including guitars you’ve had forever, thousands of dollars worth of amplification and other gear AND your clothes and fucking everything you own stolen. THAT’s what just happened to Poison the Well. I can’t even imagine. Yet the guys have the goodwill and positive outlook to soldier on and say, “Pissed about our gear and passionate about this band as ever.” From their MySpace blog:

So this morning we woke up at our delightful Marriot Courtyard hotel (priceline, get into it) and walked outside to get in the van to head to Chicago for our second show of the tour. Only problem, it isn’t there.

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Short n’ sweet: here’s the video for “Exist Underground,” from the new Poison the Well album, The Tropic Rot.

And if you haven’t read our own Sammy O’Hagar’s interview with PTW guitarist Ryan Primack, well, you really ought to.

-AR

I’ve gotten a few e-mails today from people asking me where Vince is. Well, the truth is, Vince can’t write because he’s ill. And he’s quitting the site. No, really, he quit. We didn’t fire him. Swear it. We stand by that statement.

Here’s some other shit that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We’ve heard the new Alice in Chains album, and it is good.
• Gwar’s Oderus Urungus answered some of your questions, and will answer more in the future.
• John Bush is coming back to Anthrax because Dan Nelson quit. Oh, wait, no he didn’t. Yes he did. He probably didn’t, though.
• We spoke with Poison the Well’s Ryan Primack and Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson.
• We checked out the latest releases from He Is Legend, Magrudergrind, Novembers Doom, and Clutch.
• Unfortunately, the 10th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos really is a real thing.
• Baby-eater Dino Cazares must be stopped!!!

Alright. Time to go buy a vaporizer of my very own. See ya Monday.

-AR

After making two of the most influential records in the history of hardcore (1999′s The Opposite of December and 2002′s Tear From the Red), Poison the Well made a dramatic shift in style for 2003′s You Come Before You. The band have been expanding on this sound ever since, pushing their boundaries outward with 2007′s Version and this year’s lush and evocative The Tropic Rot. One of the navigators of this expansion is original member Ryan Primack, whose guitar methods inspired a generation of hardcore kids with feelings, only to challenge them as the decade went on. His blooming stylistic shifts have illustrated the band’s staying power, and perhaps served as an influence to those looking to move past metalcore. On the eve of Poison the Well’s tour in support of their new album (and on break from his last night of work before said tour), Ryan discussed his unique set of influences, advice for bands starting out, and the legacy of The Opposite of December in the wake of its tenth anniversary.

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Our friend Dan Rodriguez at Metal Insider tells us that, according to WBIR-TV, ten people were arrested yesterday at the Knoxville stop of 10 for $10 tour, which offers – duh – ten hardcore bands (including Poison the Well and Madball) for the low low price of ten bucks. The charges range from disorderly conduct to inciting a riot; apparently, a fight broke out, and when the venue’s security guards attempted to intervene, even the fucking band jumped in to give them what-fo’.

But here’s the best part: the fight broke out at 3:30 pm… just as the first band on the bill was taking the stage. So that’s ten dollars well spent.

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