Yo! Have you guys signed up for our new e-mail list yet? If not, you can, and should, do so above. You’ll get occasional updates from the MS Mansion with breaking stories, special features, exclusive premieres, etc., delivered right to your inbox. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you — expect a newsletter-type of situation with updates once a week at most. And don’t forget to friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-the-minute on all the latest suckage.

With that shameless plug out of the way, let’s look at some of the things we did this week, shall we?

• Maybe we should rename the site “Sports Suck?” God Forbid’s Doc Coyle taught us about the NBA and Lazarus A.D.’s Jeff Paulick taught us about the NFL.
• We spoke to Matt Halpern from Periphery and Bandhappy and Nick Cohon from Cormorant.
• We were saddened to report that legendary Black Sabbath guitarist has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
• Jason Richardson was saddened to learn that he has been fired from Born of Osiris.
• We considered ten possible candidates to replace Howard Jones in Killswitch Engage.
• We wagered that the new Metallica album is not going to sound like The Black Album despite what the band says.
• We passed judgement on the new Van Halen single and video.
• We got excited that Refused and At the Drive In are reuniting.
• We learned that Virgin Steele are from Long Island.
• We started to look at some Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off in 2012: new releases from Adimiron, Hypno5e, Ides of Gemini, Pallbearer, Sai Nam, and Samothrace.

Next week we’ll have even more Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off, interviews, premieres, and, of course, plenty of snark. ‘Til then, brothers and sisters…

-AR

Photo by Johan Lindstrand, The Crown

A few months ago, The Crown announced the return of screamer Johan Lindstrand, making theirs the first of some awesomely exciting late 2011 reunions. Soon to follow were At The Drive-In (read here), He Is Legend (here), and Refused (here), all acts sharing few aesthetics but linked by total awesomeness, undefinability, daring, and unexhausted creative potential. So it’s cosmically just that these rad, singular bands have heeded the voices ordering them back from the light at the end of the tunnel. Bonerz for all!

Back in September, MetalSucks got up in the face of Crown guitarist/producer Marko Tervonen to talk about their new album plans and stuff, and he revealed that around six songs were written. And today a pair of those songs are mentioned by Lindstrand in his report on Thursday’s rehearsal, the band’s first since his return:

Click to read more…

We can understand if you, metal people, just switched off your computers and partied all day after hearing Monday’s news that R&B recording artists Monica and Brandy have teamed for their first song since 1998 #1 super-hit “The Boy Is Mine.” But here’s what you missed:

Two of the ’90s most super-loved/short-lived post-punk acts also have reunited! El Paso’s At The Drive-In and Sweden’s Refused. U love! U so happy!

Here’s how it unfolded: Click to read more…

I remember rushing home one day in 2000 with a copy of the self-titled debut of Text, a post-Refused project by three of its former members. Refused had imploded a couple years earlier (bummer), their singer Dennis Lyxzsén and his (International) Noise Conspiracy had released a snore album of middling hipster rock (more like [International] House of Pancakes), and holy shit I was desperate for more jamz a la Refused’s masterpiece The Shape Of Punk To Come (weren’t we all?). I was sweating as I loaded the CD.

Well, this story ends sadly cuz the Text album is egghead coffeehouse jive, not razor-sharp, secret-staircase art punk like Refused. Which is fine. Whatever. Since then, (I)NC mustered a few tasty jamz (like this), Text snuck out a mini-release, and Lyxzsén paired with ex-Refused drummer/Text nerd David Sandström in AC4. And now, following several unflattering covers of “New Noise,” rumors of a Refused reunion, and an anniversary reissue of Shape, it’s come to light that Lyxzsén’s voice will next be heard alongside the guy from Methods of Mayhem. Buzzkill! From Tommy Lee’s twitter:

Click to read more…

This is my hometown of Perth. On the odd chance that you’ve heard of it, it’s probably as the home of Bon Scott, Sam Worthington (actually, both went to my high school), or (eeeeeew) Pendulum. As you can see from the above diagram, it’s pretty far away from anything that isn’t the Indian Ocean. In fact, we’re a full 2,104kms (1, 307 miles) from the nearest major city, making us the second most isolated city on earth. Because we’re so far away from everything, a lot of smaller bands don’t tour out here, and guitars and drums cost a shitload extra because of the shipping costs. But we do have a lot of sand. And rocks. And coastline.

Anyway, I thought this would be a cool opportunity to share with you guys some of the better heavy bands from the rapidly-evaporating cultural oasis that I call home.

Click to read more…

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. Smart, funny, insightful, and honest, Decibel is the reason we stay on the toilet even though we finished pooing a long time ago and now our legs are falling asleep; the reason we were late for your aunt’s funeral; the only reason we actually know anything about pornogrind.

We’re thrilled that the Decidudes have stooped to being our friends, and will now be writing a weekly column for us: “Fear, Emptiness, Decibel.” In this inaugural edition, managing editor Andrew Bonazelli serves as the voice of dissent against this month’s cover story/Hall of Fame entry, Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come. You can buy the September 2010 issue of Decibel now wherever fine publications are sold, or, if you’re lazy/live in the middle of fucking nowhere, order a copy here.

Greetings, MetalSuckers. I’m the managing editor/token pathetic Mets fan at Decibel. I don’t really do much here except shoehorn bukkake references into captions and refuse to review anything until Hammerhead puts out a fourth full-length, but today I’m here to flog our glorious, vaunted Hall of Fame series. This month’s installment is Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come, which is not only the HOF, but the cover, which shows how important it is to everyone at the office but me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the scene in Friday Night Lights where the fuckhead high school jocks take the field to “New Noise” is THE APEX OF PUNK ROCK and everything, but anyone who’s seen the sanctimonious beat-off otherwise known as the Refused Are Fucking Dead DVD has to kind of reassess the merits of this album, don’t they? Or, maybe not — I mean, Vincent Gallo’s one of the most pretentious dickheads on earth, and I Celebrate The Guy’s Entire Catalog, even the one where he drives for 90 minutes, then gets blown. Anyway, let’s just say the idiosyncrasies that many Refused fans find groundbreaking are precisely what annoy the shit out of the nonbelievers.

Click to read more…

I’d never heard of Turdus Musicus before reader Paulo Velasquez sent in a link to their new video for “Riot at the Velvet Jones,” but I’m quickly realizing my egregious oversight, as their Wiki page claims they “have played in China and USA many times.” Alrighty then. These Norwegians take their main musical cues from Refused, which is alright by me since I happen to love Refused, Refused aren’t making any new music right now, and not very many bands ape Refused. They’re pretty good! Their silly-sounding name, by the way, is actually the former scientific designation for the bird we call the Redwing.

Here’s their latest video. The “band playing in the snow” theme is something that hasn’t been done a whole lot (it’s certainly been done, but I can’t recall any specific instances), but the whole snowball fight thing hasn’t ever been done in a music video (that I can remember). So, bonus points for that on top of a killer tune.

-VN

A press release sent out earlier this week by Epitaph Records to (presumably) the heavy music blogosphere proclaimed that by not covering Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come reissue I’d be doing my readers a disservice. And that “If you’re unfamiliar with the band, ask anyone.”

Touche, good sir. You’re right on both counts!

The Shape of Punk to Come, originally released in 1998, really did shape the form of punk for the next 10 years, ushering in an era of metallic post-hardcore oft copied but never duplicated. Simply put, it was one of the most revolutionary albums of its time — just look at all the nice things the rock and metal luminaries have to say about it in the above trailer. The 3-disc deluxe reissue edition includes the classic album, their DVD documentary Refused is F*cking Dead and a never before released live album. Though this reissue wasn’t the new album we hoped would be coming when Refused posted a mysterious message on their website in March, it’s still pretty fucking cool and an essential purchase for any fan. You can hear the live version of their most famous jam “New Noise” on their MySpace page.

Order The Shape of Punk to Come reissue on Refused’s official website.

-VN

The weather is beautiful out, it’s the weekend, and I have a ton of new albums to listen to. I’m gonna put some shit on my iPod, get stoned, go eat some ice cream, and crank some shit. It’s a rough life, but someone’s gotta lead it.

Before I do that, here’s a wrap-up of crap that happened this week:

• We spoke to Phil Anselmo, former Killswitch Engage/current The Empire Shall Fall vocalist Jesse Leach, and the dude who proposed to his girlfriend on-stage at a Fear Factory concert.
• We debuted a new column by Cynic’s Paul Masvidal.
• We’re streaming Unleashed’s new album, As Yggdrasil Trembles.
• Vince’s heavy metal road trip re-cap continues!
• We love Meek is Murder, and we’re not being sarcastic.
• Refused are reuniting! Well, they’re not, actually, but Far is!
• The end is nigh.

Okey dokey… sprinkles here I come! Have a good weekend everybody.

-AR

It turns out that Refused are not reuniting after all, and while Rival Schools will release a new album soon there’s been no indication that Quicksand will also. Oh well; it was fun to think about.

Thankfully there’s at least one important late ’90s metal-ish band that will be releasing new music in 2010… and it’s Jonah Matringa’s Far. Far were another one of those bands who seemed to enjoy much more success in critical circles then in, ya know, reality. Their two records, 1996’s Tin Cans With Strings To You and 1998’s Water and Solutions, were way ahead of their time but never got quite the recognition they deserved. As Metal Insider‘s Bram Teitelman put it, Far were “Heavy, but not metal, emotional, but not emo” and for that reason while I’m sure many of you won’t care about Far I’m guessing that any fans of mid/late ’90s metal/post-hardcore bands like Helmet, Refused and Quicksand will care a great deal.

Click to read more…

Seeing as at MetalSucks we’re totally game to report on completely unsubstantiated rumors and speculate about them (eat that, journalism!) we feel that this certain little tidbit of Internet chatter to percolate over the weekend is absolutely worth reporting on: it seems that some folks think a Refused reunion is on the horizon.

I first heard about this titillating nugget of tantalizing news via actual-journalist / Revolver Magazine head honcho Brandon Geist’s Tweet:

Could it be?… http://www.officialrefused.com/
7:20 AM Mar 27th via web

The link yielded the screenshot you see above. While many including yours truly were quick to retweet with jubilant cries of joy, @lessbrighteyes was quick to poop at our party by pointing out that the above message could very well just be about a reissue of The Shape of Punk to Come that Epitaph Records is releasing. While this certainly sounds plausible I’m not giving up on a reunion just yet; Metal Injection is reporting that “anonymous sources close to the band have been talking of a European Festival return” (though no source is linked), and, ya know, isn’t reuniting all the rage these days? Seeing as playing classic albums start to finish live is also all the rage these days it’d be pretty damn cool if Refused support the re-release of one of the most important hardcore albums ever with a reunion tour in which they played it in full. Just sayin’.

-VN

MS Maniac Adrien Arnoux sent us an “outraged” email about the French remix outfit Hello, Atomic (actually just one dude) whose latest jawn “We Will Brokeback Mountain Yo’ Ass” is a mash-up of the main riff from Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell” with vocal samples from Queen’s “We Will Rock” over the choruses and The Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic” over the verses. It’d be awfully easy to be dismissive and hateful towards a remixer for butchering/stealing/raping/pillaging a sacred Pantera riff… but no, this shit is awesome. I support. And it turns out that Mr. Arnoux is the man behind the plan himself; nice work, dude!

For one, it’s well done; this isn’t some hack sloppily cutting and pasting together beats in GarageBand. On account of that, if this remix inspires just one kid to say, “That riff is pretty cool. What is it? Pantera? I’ll have to check them out,” and then that kid subsequently falls in love with Pantera… it’s all worth any supposed desecration this remix could’ve caused. I also happen to like the other two songs he mashed up with the Pantera riff; I’ve got mad love for Queen and mad love for NYC’s original Jew Yorker rappers The Beastie Boys.

Hello, Atomic also have a Refused vs. Gwen Stefani track on their MySpace page. +1. FTW. A+. etc.

-VN

“New Noise” seems to be a popular song to cover; Anthrax (with Dan Nelson) covered it a few months back, and apparently The Used rock it from time to time. Far worse, Crazy Town used to butcher it with regularity. When Refused wrote The Shape of Punk to Come, they most certainly did not mean horrible guitar tone, rubber-band bass, and jocks with their shirts off rapping about winged ex-caterpillars. If Refused had known that bands like Crazy Town would go on to cite them as influences, perhaps they would’ve never formed a band and spared us all.

Oh God, oh God.

-VN

[Thanks: Scott Danger]

I am increasingly convinced that the new Anthrax album, Worship Music, is going to suck. It’s just a weird gut feeling I get… like I’m gearing up for disappointment. Everyone knows the record is coming out, but no one really seems to care. Like that G.I. Joe movie or some shit.

Here’s the band covering Refused’s “New Noise,” and, uhhh, it doesn’t do anything to squash that icky feeling I have. I want so badly to be wrong, but fear so very much that I am right.

By the way, I love that Rob Caggiano now has more hair than Robin Williams, and yet still refuses to headbang. Super.

-AR

[via The Deciblog]

And it’s a question I can’t answer just yet, because I haven’t heard all of Lazarus Bird, which drops September 16th on Relapse. But from the three songs I’ve heard on their MySpace page (“I Exterminate the I,” “Cripple God” and “We Watched the Silver Rain”), I can tell you this: it is without a doubt going to be fucking phenomenal. Like, you-need-to-drop-what-you’re-doing-and-go-listen-right-NOW kind of awesome.

Click to read more…

There must be something in the water in Sweden. Metal is just ingrained in their culture. I was hanging out drinking with a major label pop band last night, five of whose six members are Swedish and at least three of whom were longhairs that I figured might be into metal given their appearance and heritage. Metal is a always a great way to bridge slightly awkward conversation with complete strangers, so I figured why not try? I swung and missed with the keyboardist, more of the jazz type, who nodded politely but seemed otherwise not to give a shit when I tried to slip “In Flames” and “At the Gates” into the conversation. Strike one. I would’n't even need a strike two, ’cause the minute I mentioned Soilwork to the guitar player his hand went up in the air for a high five. We were in full agreement that Stabbing the Drama is one of the best records of the past five years. And it went on from there down familiar paths like “Meshuggah” (he loves obZen), Refused and more.

This story seems way less compelling now that I’ve actually written it down. But, um, it was, like, really cool or something. Kind of like the time I ended up hanging out with Phil Anselmo’s Aunt and Uncle (a story for another time). That red wine / beer combo didn’t hurt either.

-VN

Burst are a rare Swedish metal band that evaded the sensors of my supreme Swede-radar until recently when Andrew @ Aversionline wrote a quick bit about them. Burst are not your typical Swedish metal band — that is to say they aren’t melodic death metal — though they incorporate elements of that sound into their multi-pronged attack. Burst fall closer to the Refused side of the Swedish spectrum than anything, mixing punk-ish guitars with a metal sound and unique vocals that remind me a bit of Blindside’s Christian Lindskog. Doomier melodeath influences (like Insomnium or Daylight Dies) creep in here and there but for the most part the band stays aware from that sometimes over-saturated genre.

Watch the video for “The Immateria” below, from their 2005 album Origo. Burst is currently in the studio recording for a 2008 release on Relapse Records.

-VN

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/o_2EynWMDFg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Missing Toof [via Buzzgrinder] has some electro and hip-hop remixes of Sweden’s greatest hardcore export, Refused. Check out the Shark Attack electro remix of “New Noise” and then Hensforth’s hip-hopped up version of the same tune. This will surely draw cries of “blasphemy” from some and will elicit cheers from others.Hear the remixes at Missing Toof.

-VN

For better or for worse, oftentimes bands abruptly change directions after releasing one or several albums, prompting fans that have been with the band from the very beginning to ask “What the fuck?” Thrice is such a band. After their 2002 breakthrough The Illusion of Safety Thrice released The Artist in the Ambulance in 2003, a more polished and cohesive piece that was the next logical step in the band’s development. But what followed was a complete about-face that left many of the band’s original fans feeling betrayed — 2005′s Vheissu was a sprawling, experimental album that explored many different styles and textures, of which the band’s original post-hardcore / proto-emo sound was only a small part (The Alchemy Index, of which Vol I & II were released this October, follow in that direction). Enter Tucson, Arizona’s The Bled, who appear to have taken the melodic post-hardcore torch from Thrice, creating an album in Silent Treatment that could well stand in as a heavier modern day Thrice release — had that band not gone off the creative deep end.

Click to read more…