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The Internet’s been a-churnin’ with buzz about the forthcoming U.S. tour featuring the prog-tastic lineup of Protest the Hero, Periphery, Jeff Loomis and The Safety Fire, but MetalSucks has been mum until now. Why? Because we were waiting on the all-important tour poster featuring our very own logo! Ain’t it purdy? Take that bitch and embed it anywhere you please.

Words of wisdom regarding the tour from Luke Hoskin of Protest the Hero:

Reality check 1 – We get to travel beautiful countries that aren’t even ours
Reality check 2 – We get to travel these countries playing music we wrote and love
Reality check 3 – We get to do all this alongside bands like Periphery and musicians like Jeff Loomis who we are inspired by…
Reality check 4 – We need beers.

and from all of Periphery (teamwork!)”

We’re extremely elated to be going on tour with some great friends! We’re good buddies with three of the other bands on this tour, so it’s sure to be a fun time with some great music and awesome shows! We’re all going to be teaching via Bandhappy on this tour too, so we’re excited to connect with our fans, hang with some great friends, and perform in some of our favorite cities across the US. See ya soon!

So, like… duh, this tour lineup is beyond all ruleage. Take the already excellent combo of Protest the Hero and Periphery, add the first North American tours EVER for both Jeff Loomis and djenty up-and-comers The Safety Fire, and holy crap, what a bill. We don’t know much about Today I Caught the Plague, but if they’re among such esteemed company they’re certainly worth checking out.

Dates after the break:

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After posting our own year-end lists for 2011, we asked you, oh ye MetalSucks faithful, to tell us what you thought the best metal album of the year was. And the winner by a landslide was The Devin Townsend Project’s all-star spectacular, Deconstruction, which got more than twice as many votes as its nearest competitors, Revocation’s Chaos of Forms and Protest the Hero’s Scurrilous. (Kind of amazingly, Mastodon’s The Hunter got one vote. ONE. Sheesh.)

We’d like to congratulate MetalSucks readers for once again demonstrating excellent taste. Now we can all stop arguing about what sucked so bad about 2011, and start arguing about what’s going to suck so bad in 2012!

And don’t forget to read our latest interview with Mr. Townsend himself, which was just published an hour ago right here.

Someone please tell Protest the Hero to stop making such ridiculously entertaining music videos. Seriously, they’re sucking up all the fun juice and they’re just making all other metal bands look bad. They’re kinda like the OK Go of metal; before we know it they’ll be jumping around on treadmills and building elaborate Rube Golberg machines. It just isn’t really even fair anymore… any time Protest release a new video it’s all but guaranteed to mop the floor with all other metal videos.

Best of all, they’re always having FUN (metal is fun!): as with everything they do, it looks as if our favorite Canadians this side of Devin Townsend had as much fun making this video as I just did watching it. Somewhere there’s gotta be a collection of out-takes where they’re all just laughing hysterically at each others’ calamitous expense, but at least we’ve got guitarist Tim Millar biting the dust HARD on a pair of roller skates around the 1:50 mark (glad they left that in!). Baby carriages, tandem bicycles, the aforementioned roller skates, Go Karts… friggin’ GO KARTS! I can not imagine a more fun day. And these guys get to do it for a living. Fuck all.

-VN

Here at MS we like to use the Reviews section to highlight smaller bands that we don’t otherwise talk about much throughout the regular course of our blogging. Said “regular course of our blogging” includes tons of articles about bigger bands’ albums, usually before release: song premieres (here or elsewhere), music videos, in-studio vids, album artwork, and so on and so forth. But when those albums do finally come out, well, a lot of the time they kind of fall off our radar. So what of those albums that we spend lots of time hyping? Full-on reviews are a royal pain in the ass to write, so today I’ll take a quick look at a few releases from the first half of 2011 and give them the proper review treatment in abbreviated form.

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And you thought Devin Townsend selling his old spatula on eBay was weird.

Perhaps inspired by the popularity of our recent Amon Amarth Viking Beard contest, in which we actually gave away some of AA vocalist Johan Hegg’s beard, Tim Millar, guitarist for perennial MetalSucks faves Protest the Hero, is selling his nineteen-month old beard on eBay to help raise money for the Walk for MS (that’s Multiple Sclerosis, not MetalSucks, in case you’re a little slow). That’s a pretty funny/awesome idea to help a good cause, and just as funny are the details of the selling page — Millar’s eBay handle makes reference to another MetalSucks favorite, Sikth, and then there’s this…

…which is also obviously hilarious.

ANYWAY you can bid on the beard hair here — as of this writing, there haven’t been any bids yet, but I imagine that will soon change. You can also visit the homepage of the Walk for MS team Millar founded, Beard Team Canada, to make donations, check out photos, and, according to a press release, get “the play-by-play of the delicate procedure to remove his beard and, of course, a final glimpse of his newly-shaven visage.”

-AR

Thanks: Carlos B.

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…

And now, it’s the time of the week you’ve all been waiting for: the three-hour window your folks are out of the house, allowing you to jack off comfortably Decibel’s monthly Guess Next Month’s Cover and Win a Decibot Shirt Contest! I’m going to predict this will be the first “FIRST” to get the answer right —provided, of course, that the band/musician/farm animal we’re spotlighting is in fact typed out below the “FIRST.” Unless the first person who sees this types in “System of a Down,” just to be a dick/radical. That said, it’s been a few years since System of a Down proper existed — although who hasn’t enjoyed the “Five Serj Tankian Solo Albums Nobody Cares About/Bassist ‘n’ Friend Randomly Beating the Shit Out of Brent Hinds Era” — so they could ostensibly be rocking spiked wristbands now.

But no, it’s not System of a Down. There’s your hint.

-AB

Decibel’s June 2011 issue, which features Ghost, Killing Joke, Mastodon, Hate Eternal, Gorguts, Protest the Hero, Born of Osiris, and Scale The Summit is available here, or make your mama proud and just get a full subscription.

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…

There’s been a lot of buzz about remaking The Crow with Bradley Cooper. Because, you know, nothing conveys goth-punk flair, existential angst and an unyielding appetite for vengeance like the frat guy who probably stuffed fans of the original into lockers. The producers should’ve just gone to Killing Joke mastermind Jaz Coleman. Not only would it at least be novel to see a 50-year-old Crow, but he’s been dressing the part for years.

In 1980, Coleman and his band were bloodthirsty rebels in spirit, not image. Their eponymous E.G. Records debut careened unpredictably between post-punk, metal, prog, disco and what we now know as industrial. Killing Joke influenced, well, pretty much everybody in the interior and exterior of Decibel and MetalSucks’ Venn diagram. (If you’ve never heard them, somehow, drop a jaw at the third paragraph of their Wiki page.) Add incendiary, prophetic, political screeds to taste, and you’ve got a recipe for a wicked Hall of Fame, appearing in our Ghost issue.

As usual, author Chris Dick went above and beyond to make this HOF one of the most thorough Killing Joke interviews ever; hence, we have reams of bonus content. Here’s a little bonus bloodsport to whet your appetite.

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Last year (and the year before) I got way too busy with this thing called life and missed out on a lot of quality music. I am here to rectify the error of my ways, month by month.

Here are the March 2011 releases that got under my skin, burrowed their way into my brain, made my ears bleed, or simply tickled my unmentionables:

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I know it’s arrogant for us to pat ourselves on the back, but holy shit, did we kill it this week or what?

Here’s what we did:

• We brought you the first interview with Behemoth frontman Nergal since he was diagnosed with leukemia in August.
• We got the exclusive scoop on Melissa Auf der Maur’s collaboration with Shining’s Jorgen Munkeby.
• We debuted new music by Between the Buried and Me, Last Chance to Reason, and Havok.
• We debuted new videos by Protest the Hero and Becoming the Archetype.
• We also spoke to the legendary David Coverdale from Whitesnake.
• We checked out the latest release from Anthrax and Until Your Heart Stops.
• We told you what your favorite metal band says about you… and then we told you again!
• We got excited about the line-up for Summer Slaughter 2011.
• We wondered if Winds of Plague are the new Limp Bizkit.
• We protested shitty metal vocalists.

We aspire to make next week even biggerer and betterer! Check back then to see if we succeeded or not… ’til then, have a great weekend!

-AR

It’s always refreshing when bands are as good live as they are on record — it’s a silly thing to have to say, but it’s a necessary thing to point out in these ProTools happy times — and this especially holds true for vocalists. Growlers are a dime a dozen, and even in the live setting their voices are often beefed up with instant ball-enlargeing effects to make them seem like the manly men they aren’t. So it’s the real vocalists, the dudes that, ya know, sing, and have a real genuine talent (not that growling doesn’t take effort to learn too, but c’mon) that really impress me live when they nail the shit they do on record.

Protest the Hero’s Rody Walker is about as unique and talented of a vocalist as you’ll find in all of metal today. This live PtH footage filmed last week in Ottawa proves that the dude isn’t just propped up by studio chicanery; first note, BAM, perfect, and with that patented vibrato neatly centered on-pitch. Much respect, Mr. Walker. Side note: Walker is quickly working his way up the list of sour metal lead singers that hilariously antagonize the audience. Watch out, Guy Kozywyk and Frank Mullen!

More footage from the Ottawa show filmed by reader Matt M., along with remaining PtH / TesseracT / Maylene tour dates, after the jump. Stoked for this tour to hit NYC in May.

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That headline doesn’t even make sense. So what? Seven of the Top 10 Hard Music albums on this week’s Soundscam charts are actually new(ish) releases! And only one is a greatest hits! Hallelujah!

Rise Against continued to dominate, while new releases by Soundgarden (sorta), Protest the Hero, Born of Osiris and Tesseract sold well. A bunch of other records came out, too (uhhh… Saliva, uhh…. CKY, uhhh… Straight Line Stitch) and some solid sellers from weeks past remained on the charts. Numbers after the break.

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Protest the Hero. What else is there to say about them that hasn’t already been said about one of the most exciting and unique young metal bands in the world? You all know how much we loves Protest ’round these parts, so let’s cut to the chase: the band just filmed a new video for Scurrilous album-opener “C’Est La Vie” and asked us to exclusively premiere it right here on MetalSucks. We were all too happy to oblige.

Order Scurrilous on CDor digitally via the always-affordable Amazon. MS reader Enrique Hernandez informed us over the weekend that he chose to allocate his limited funds to Scurrilous instead of Kvelertak’s new jam and “doesn’t regret it at all.” (nothing against the latter… that’s just how good he thinks this record is!). Take a cue from Enrique; you won’t regret it either.

New records by Born of Osiris, Tesseract, Protest the Hero, The Haunted and Agnostic Front oughtta peak buyers’ eyes at their favorite e-tailer today, while a handful of other releases are hitting the cloud as well. Check out Vic Vaughn’s preview of each after the jump.

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Why just yesterday I said how much I’d been digging Protest the Hero’s new jam Scurrilous and the Rody Walker-penned lyrics therein (not to mention the always superb music). And not one day later you can hear the deal for yourself, ’cause AOL is streaming the whole album. Why “mega-cool in 1996″ AOL is hosting the stream over #1 PtH dick-lickers MetalSucks is lost on me, but there you have it, AOL is streaming the full record. While you’re there be sure to tell Steve Case that Vince Neilstein sent you.

In any case I still heart Protest the Hero mega fucktons and the more I listen to Scurrilous the better it gets. Does it top 2008′s masterpiece Fortress? The jury is still deliberating on that one. You decide by listening here, then come back and tell us what you think. Buy that shit on March 22nd when it comes out.

-VN

I’ve only just begun to dig into Protest the Hero’s new album Scurrilous — and by “just begun” I mean four listens, which for an album/band this dense is nothing — but so far so very, very good. Rest assured, these Canadians have neither made a go at the mainstream by dumbing down or gone so over-the-top wonky that they’re unlistenable; they’ve kept their Protest The Hero-ness intact while pushing things forward just that extra little bit.

Regular MS readers know that I don’t really ever listen to lyrics, and that’s certainly held true with Protest the Hero’s penchant for abstractness. But as I listen to Scurrilous I can’t help but be drawn in by the words… and then I come to find out that for the first time in the band’s history vocalist Rody Walker was left to pen the vocals instead of bassist Arif Mirabdulbaghi (on 7 of the album’s 10 tracks). Maybe Walker’s lyrics are more relatable, or perhaps they just strike a chord with me.

I bring up lyrics ’cause PtH just released new song “The Reign of Unending Terror” with one of those nifty-fifty lyric videos, great for people like me who have trouble deciphering lyrics at all. All that said above, I’ve watched this thing twice now and I still have no idea what the song is about. If I had to guess, I’d wager this is one of the three songs whose lyrics were written by Mirabdulbaghi, but that’s pure conjecture. Either way, the song is killer.

-VN

BING! Still funny. Amazing.

I was kinda flattered last week when some people said they actually DO read the intros to “Worst Week.” So, uh, thanks for the ego boost!

In addition to Groundhog Day, here are some things we celebrated this week:

• The debut of new music from Scale the Summit and American Heritage.
• The formation of The Fred Durst Society of the Humanities and Arts.
• The announcement of this year’s line-up for The New Engalnd Metal & Hardcore Festival.
• The legacy of 18 Visions.
• The incredible comedic skills of Rush’s Neil Peart.
• The impending return of Beavis and Butt-Head.
• A new Protest the Hero song.
• Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola’s declaration that musicians shouldn’t be rich.
• Metal Injection’s Black Metal History Month.
• Dime.

Speaking of celebrating — don’t forget that Vince is DJing at Idle Hands Bar from 7 to 10pm tonight. All the cool kids will be there. You wanna be cool, don’t you?

-AR

The long waiting game that began all the way back in September with Protest the Hero’s first studio update finally comes to an end… or the beginning of the end, anyway, the real end being when Scurrilous and its funky artwork finally comes out on March 22nd. But at least there’s some immediate gratification RIGHT NOW in the form of the brand new song “C’est La Vie,” posted on the band’s Facebook page and official website, and lookit that, in the nifty embeddable Soundcloud player posted after the jump:

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Why anyone would get fired up over the title of an album that isn’t even out yet is beyond me — let alone a harmless title like Scurrilous… if it was called “All Niggers, Faggots, Kikes and Arabs Must Die” that’d be another issue — but MS reader Christian Kelley seems to be pretty bothered by the title of Protest the Hero’s forthcoming album nonetheless. Says Christian, “I absolutely LOVE Protest and all, but I really hate this album title.  So I had to make something to joke with it.” His version is above. While I appreciate his effort, I still think the amazing and intricate actual album art is 10,000x cooler.

Regarding the real album art, by the way, it turns out that my efforts to dissect the meaning of the crazy painting and its relation to the album itself were all for naught. A link at Aux.tv posted by reader Ton sheds some light on the situation: “If you’re still looking for an explanation behind both the title and the cover, we’ve learned that the cover is actually 60-year-old painting by bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi’s grandfather Jafar Petgar.The painting’s title? Scurrilous.” D’oh! Still looking forward to this album in all sorts of ways.

-VN

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For the most part you will never see me posting about album covers. It’s not that I don’t appreciate artwork, it’s just that in the digital age talking about an album cover makes very little sense; even if you see one that you really, really like, then you talk about how you really, really like it… what next? More than likely you’ll never look at it again because listening to that album no longer necessitates picking up a physical object with that piece of artwork on it. Maybe you’ll see a tiny thumbnail on your iPod or in the corner of your iTunes window but that’s it. It’s not “covering” up anything — it’s just a random piece of art attached nebulously to the music. For this reason I believe that talking about album artwork is pretty much irrelevant in 2011, even if you enjoy the artwork.

But fuck me naked with a spoon if the cover for Protest the Hero’s new album Scurrilous — which we found out yesterday will come out on March 22nd — isn’t the coolest looking thing I’ve seen in a while. We should expect no less from Protest the Hero; these are guys who pay the utmost attention to the details of their music. So what in the fucking fuck is going on in this beautiful watercolor painting?? Let’s take a look:

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In yesterday’s post about 2011 being The Year Of The Prog Dork I somehow neglected to include one of the albums I’m most excited about: the follow-up to Protest the Hero’s jaw-dropping 2008 list-topper Fortress. Can ya feel me?

That album now has a name — Scurrilous — and a release date — March 22nd, via Vagrant Records. The album was one again produced by Julius Butty, and judging by the short clips we’ve heard so far in the very entertaining series of studio videos (#3 above) it’s gonna be all sorts of bonertastic.

But Protest the Hero aren’t stopping there. They’ve also announced a giant North American tour to coincide with the album release! Protest the Hero will begin their world tour with dates in Europe and the UK from January 26th through February 12th supporting Darkest Hour. Following an appearance at Australia’s 2011 Soundwave Festival, the band will begin an extensive Canadian and U.S tour March 23 with support acts Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and TesseracT.   Dates for the tour are as follows:

Click to read more…