Like Powerglove, Bit Brigade is a band that takes video game music and makes it rockin’. Of course, Bit Brigade don’t wear fun costumes, and they’re less metal than Powerglove — but their latest achievement (see what I did there?) is so impressive, you gotta give them props.

During last week’s video/arcade/PC /tabletop gaming event, Mag Fest, a dude named Noah McCarthy played an entire Mega Man II speed run… while sitting on-stage with Bit Brigade, who played the game’s entire score live, presumably in real-time. Holy shit, that is nuts. It’s also probably a colossal waste of time. But as nerd, I can’t help but be impressed.

Check out video of the blessed event below; it’s 44 minutes long, and I don’t blame you if you can’t make it through the whole thing, but it’s worth at least watching some of it…

-AR

[via Topless Robot]

I actually wrote about my adoration of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, Danny Elfman’s score for that film, and Powerglove’s cover of the main theme from that score, last year; now the band has released a video that cover of that theme, and… yeah, they killed it. Both the members of Powerglove and director David Brodsky are video game nuts (obviously, in the case of Powerglove), and you can just feel how much fun they had with this.

Powerglove’s version of “Batman” comes off of their eOne debut, Saturday Morning Apocalypse, which is out now. MetalSucks-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour, along with The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Dying Fetus, Six Feet Under, Oceano, As Blood Runs Black, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Within the Ruins. Dates here.

-AR

I finally had to make myself stop listening to The Black Dahlia Murder’s new album, Ritual, on such a regular basis (e.g., twice a day for however many days since I’ve had it), because as a blogger I have a responsibility (or something) to listen to a wide variety of metal releases in order to discuss them on the site (or so I’m told).

My point being simply that the album is good to the point of total fucking distraction, and you should be prepared to be totally fucking distracted upon its release. And one such way to prepare yourself is to watch the twelve-minute-plus “making of” video the band has released to Bloody Disgusting. There’s some cool shit in there — Shannon Lucas being the sick drummer we all know him to be, Ryan Knight putting half the other guitar players in modern metal to shame, a live, real, flesh and blood violinist recording the album intro, and, of course, no small amount of BDM tomfoolery.

The video isn’t embeddable, but you can watch it by clicking on the below screen cap of guitarist Brian Eschbach’s ass forever traumatizing Jason Suecof’s dog, Stinky.

Ritual comes out June 21 on Metal Blade, and then TBDM hit the road to headline the MetalSucks-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour along with Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, As Blood Runs Black, Oceano, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Powerglove, and Within the Ruins. Get dates after the jump!

Click to read more…

As regular readers are aware, I’m usually dead-set against cover albums, which tend to feature meaningless, generally inferior versions of great songs the listener already owns in their original, classic forms.

But I’m willing to give Dying Fetus the benefit of the doubt that if they’ve made a covers album, it’s worth listening to. They’ve earned that much. Why? BECAUSE THEY’RE DYING FUCKING FETUS, that’s why. Duh.

So. In celebration of both their twentieth anniversary and their stint on the year’s edition of the MetalSucks-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour, this July the  band will release History Repeats…, which will not only feature the band re-imaging tracks from some of death n’ grinds finest (Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower, etc.), but will also feature “Rohypnol,” a brand new song. You might know rohypnol as “roofies,” or “the date rape drug.” So this tune is probably a charming power ballad in the vein of Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses.”

History Repeats… comes out July 19 on Relapse, and is limited to 5,000 copies. You can get it a f.y.e. stores, or just pre-order it directly from Relapse.

The full track list for this bad mother is after the jump, along with those Summer Slaughter dates. Other bands on the bill are The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Oceano, Fleshgod Apocalypse, As Blood Runs Black, Powerglove, and Within the Ruins.

Click to read more…

Remember when this year’s Summer Slaughter (which we’re sponsoring!) was announced, there was this fan poll to determine who the last band added to the bill should be?

Well, Within the Ruins have been announced as the winners! They’ll join The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, As Blood Runs Black, Oceano, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Powerglove for all dates on the trek. Our own Dave Mustein wrote of the band, “WTR don’t suck live; their performance is nearly as good as on record, which is pleasantly surprising due to the ferocious technicality of their music.” So the band’s presence should just enhance your Summer Slaughter excitement.

Here are dates again, in case you need ‘em:

Click to read more…

When I was growing up, summer Slaughter meant a hot July night listening to Mark Slaughter complain about Vinnie Vincent’s body odor between songs at your local Enormodome. But life in America is awesomer now (not srs) and Summer Slaughter now means extreme metal piled eyeball-high and ballz-deep, plus your chance to make kissy faces at Mike Schleibaum, not Dana Strum. And since MetalSucks is an official Summer Slaughter sponsor, you can give us your thanks for the fun. We’ll pass them on to the other sponsors, promise. Dates after we jump you:

Click to read more…

MetalSucks is proud to once again be sponsoring the best mega-package tour of the summer — Summer Slaughter, of course! As you can see from the above poster, the mini-fest’s organizers have once again put together line-up that show cases a who’s who of the current metal scene.

And they’re taking it one step further this year — they’re letting YOU, the fans, decide who the last band added to the bill should be! Go to the official Summer Slaughter Facebook page to cast your vote.

Cities and dates for the tour will be announced on 4/20. ‘Til then… get ready to get slaughtered…

Can I get a “heck yes!” from all the nerds in the house?

Heck yes!

Reader Daniel Borbet just sent us a link to an event posted at the website of NYC’s Best Buy Theater — formerly the not-at-all-more-appealingly-named Nokia Theater — for a Symphony X show with Nevermore, Soilwork, Powerglove and Blackguard in tow. Yowza, that’s some serious nerdage right there! The show is booked for April 22, 2011 which seems like an eternity from now, but such is the case when foreign bands like Soilwork are involved and visas need to be procured, flights needs to be booked, and so on and so forth.

Click to read more…

The 2010 incarnation of the CMJ Music Marathon is almost upon us! A solid week of booze, partying and music in the streets and clubs of New York City makes us all just a little bit crazy every year, but there’s just so much fun shit happening all week that impossible not to heed its beck and call. Fortunately for you and for us, there’s plenty of metal at this year’s festival including some killer shows that aren’t even officially sanctioned by CMJ. Here’s a list of MetalSucks-approved events happening next week:

• Mon, Oct. 18: The Syndicate Conflict of Interest Party feat. Nada Surf, Reggie Watts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and more. Drink specials. 7pm at Club Rebel. RSVP only.
• Mon, Oct. 18: Cattle Decapitation, Son of Aurelius, Devourment, Knights of the Abyss and Burning the Masses at Santo’s Party House. 7pm, $13 advance, 18+. This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
• Tues, Oct. 19: Nevermore, Warbringer, Blackguard and Hatesphere at The Gramercy Theater. 6pm Doors, $32.25, tickets available here. This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
• Wed, Oct 20: The MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000 Knives Official CMJ 2010 Showcase! Featuring A Life Once Lost, Car Bomb, This or the Apocalypse, Baptized in Blood and Last Chance to Reason at Club Europa, Brooklyn. 7pm, All Ages, and tickets are only $10 (buy them here).
• Thur, Oct 21: Metal Insider’s Mosh Potatoes book release party! Release party for the forthcoming metal cookbook Mosh Potatoes and listening party for the new The Damned Things album Ironoclast, with drink specials and yummy treats of recipes from the book. Idle Hands Bar, 5-8pm. Private event (if you think you should be invited, you should know who to contact).
• Thur, Oct 21: Skateboard Marketing / Nova Entertainment CMJ Showcase featuring SuperMetal Records / Megaforce artists Misery. 5:30-7:30pm, Bowery Poetry Club. Budweiser and Jaeger drink specials. First hour is RSVP only, second hour is open to the public and CMJ badges.
• Thur, Oct 21: Doomsday Mourning, Hivesmasher, The Judas Syndrome, Fin’amor at the Charleston in Brooklyn. 7:30pm doors, show starts at 8:30pm, 21+. This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
• Thur, Oct 21 – Sunday, Oct 24: The Grill ‘Em All burger truck guys will be here all the way from L.A. without their truck, making special guest chef appearances at area restaurants!! Get details here.
• Fri, Oct 22: Smell the Glove Party / Holy Grail Crisis in Utopia CD Release Party at St. Jerome’s (155 Rivington). No cover, 21+, 9pm.
• Fri, Oct 22: Tee Pee Records / Metal Insider Showcase: Naam, Priestess, Quest for Fire, The Atomic Bitchwax, Mirror Queen, Hopewell, and Weird Owl. 6pm, Union Pool, Brooklyn, $10/adv and $12/dos. Tickets available here.
• Sat, Oct 23: MetalSucks and 1000 Knives present: Powerglove, Wetnurse, The Binary Code, Pack of Wolves, Meek is Murder and Batillus. Free drinks courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum from 4-5pm, and $3 drinks after that ’til they run out! 4pm, $10, 21+.
• Sat, Oct 23: Helmet, Intronaut and Fight Amp at the Gramercy Theater. 7pm, 16+, $29 (tickets available here). This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
• Sat, Oct 23: Brooklyn Vegan / Black Bubblegum CMJ Showcase featuring The Body, Cough, Inter Arma, Royal Thunder + more TBA. Union Pool, Brooklyn, 7pm, $5, 21+.

Whew… it’s going to be a punishing week! See you out there.

Earlier this week Vince discussed the Inspector Gadget theme, his most beloved cover from the new Powerglove album, Saturday Morning Apocalypse; now I’d like to discuss my own personal favorite track from that record.

Tim Burton’s 1989 version of Batman was a seminal moment in my moviegoing life. We waited on a line down the block to see the movie; the audience started cheering as soon as the lights went down even though absolutely nothing had happened yet; and then Danny Elfman’s now-classic march kicked in, and as soon as the main title came up, the crowd applauded with such force that I thought there might be a riot. At that point in my life, I’d never had that movie-as-a-rock-concert experience before. So even though the flick hasn’t aged very well, I will always have a soft spot for it in my heart.

And Danny Elfman’s score is still the best part of the whole thing. That music gets me pumped every time I hear it.

So Powerglove’s metallicized version of the song is something of nerd heaven for me. I might need to make it my ringtone, even.

Saturday Morning Apocalypse is out now on E1. As Vince mentioned, Powerglove are headlining the second of two MetalSucks CMJ Music Marathon showcases; this one will take place during the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd at Fontana’s in NYC, and will also feature Wetnurse, The Binary Code, Pack of Wolves, Meek is Murder and Batillus. Sailor Jerry Rum will be providing rum mixed drinks for free from 4-5pm and for only $3 after that. That means that we’re all gonna be really, really, really drunk before nightfall, and then watch six totally kick-ass metal bands tear a small room to shreds. Holy shit I am so excited. Is it October 23 yet?

-AR

I just had my first gander at Powerglove‘s recently released album Saturday Morning Apocalypse, and I gotta say that I’m suitably impressed. SMA holds power metally covers of themes from X-Men, Batman, The Simpsons, The Flintstones and Transformers, among others, and they’re all well-executed; most notably, the higher budget afforded by being on a real record label (E1) has allowed the band to execute the spiffed-up production this kind of music needs to come across well. Of course, as I’ve stated before, I believe that a band that exclusively covers videogame and TV music can only be interesting for so long, but it sure is fun for a little while.

My favorite track on the record is easily a cover of the Inspector Gadget theme song. The TV show itself was always entertaining — did any kid growing up in the ’80s watching this show not wish he had bionic appendages? — and of all of those shows, this theme song was always one of the most memorable. Hey, guy in the above video singing “improvised” vocals over it; can we be friends?

Reminder: Powerglove are headlining one of two MetalSucks CMJ Music Marathon showcases on the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd at Fontana’s in NYC, along with Wetnurse, The Binary Code, Pack of Wolves, Meek is Murder and Batillus. Sailor Jerry Rum will be providing rum mixed drinks for only $3. Come and get drunk and headbang with us!

-VN

Yesterday Axl reminded you why you should attend the MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000Knives CMJ showcase featuring A Life Once Lost, Car Bomb, This or the Apocalypse, Baptized in Blood and Last Chance to Reason. And guess what? We’re doing two CMJ showcases this year! ‘Cause we love you like that, and we also love seeing our name on top of a flyer. Since the aforementioned showcase features a smattering of bands from across the metal record label spectrum, we decided to devote this one to honoring the best and brightest of NYC’s metal bands, with a few special friends as well. The lineup:

POWERGLOVE
Wetnurse
The Binary Code
Pack of Wolves (Austin, TX – ex-At All Cost)
Meek is Murder
Batillus

Saturday, October 23rd
Fontana’s – 105 Eldridge St., New York
4pm / 21+ / $10 (a limited number of CMJ badge-holders will be admitted, but event is open to the public)

As if that killer lineup isn’t enough to convince you to spend your Saturday afternoon headbanging, Sailor Jerry Rum will be providing complimentary cocktails from 4-5pm, and mixed drinks will be $3 thereafter so even the brokest of the broke can get their buzz on. See you at the show.

…when I interviewed Gus G. a couple of weeks ago, he told me that the band was working on putting together a North American headlining tour for the fall. Well, the good news is, that tour is now booked; the bad news is, it’s only four dates. I’m completely speculating, but I imagine this has to do more with Gus’ ongoing commitments to Ozzy than it does anything else. Hopefully he’ll get another reality show or something soon and Firewind can tour more.

But if you’re in a position to go one of these gigs, you should. The band hasn’t played here since they toured with Arch Enemy (I think it was Arch Enemy… feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) in 2008, and these sets will obviously be way longer than those ones were, seeing as the band is headlining.

And – BONUS! The Absence and Powerglove will be doing support. I don’t think it’s any secret that we love The Absence — in fact, we’re streaming their new album right here! — and I like that there’s some real diversity on this bill. I think these shows are gonna be a lot of gun.

Here are the four dates, via Firewind’s MySpace page:

Click to read more…

Well, that didn’t take long; just one day after Kingdom of Sorrow took over MetalSucks, Crowbar debuted two new songs at a show in New Orleans and Axl posited that Crowbar must be working on a new record. After all, it’s been five years already. And as we learned yesterday via press release, he was correct.

“Sludge Metal legends CROWBAR have signed a worldwide deal with E1 Music,” says the press release. “The band will be releasing a new full-length album later this fall. ‘CROWBAR is very excited to have landed this deal with E1 Music! We have always been very proud of what we do and the new record will not disappoint and of our die hard fans.’ says front man and guitar player Kirk Windstein.”

Click to read more…

Well, not quite… but the announcement that the label has signed “videogame metallers” Powerglove does come as something of a surprise.

E1 has built up a business model over the past 3 years predicated on signing established metal acts that already have a fanbase of a certain size or greater — see: In Flames, Overkill, Hatebreed, Darkest Hour, High on Fire, Satyricon, Kittie — and while the label has taken a couple of stabs at developing new metal acts, they’ve largely missed (see: Arkaea and Dirge Within). The notable exceptions are Straight Line Stitch — who, though we may hate to admit it, have built something of a following for themselves in states that voted for Bush in ’00 and ’04 — and Zoroaster, who have yet to release an album on the label.

But I like when labels take chances, and signing a band like Powerglove should definitely be considered a chance for a label that specializes on signing sure things.

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