MetalSucks

U.S. IMMIGRATION COULDN’T STOP THEM! Hypocrisy are finally coming to North America to wreak havoc like it’s never been wreaked before! And they’ve got Scar Symmetry, Hate, Blackguard and Swashbuckle with them! EVERYBODY FUCKING RUN! AHHHHHHH!!!!!

In all seriousness: we’re very happy to be teaming up with our hetero life-mates at Metal Injection to be bringing you guys and gals this tour. It’s gonna be an incredible time. Get dates after the jump!!!

Click to read more…

Melodeath fans! Have you heard about Solution .45, the new kinda-sorta supergroup featuring Christian Alvestam (ex-Death Jovi Scar Symmetry) on vocals and Miseration’s Jani Stefanovic on guitars? Clearly this band is gonna get a lot of attention – as if their all-star line-up wasn’t enough, Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne wrote all the lyrics for the group’s debut album, For Aeons Past.

Our bestest buds over at Metal Injection have an exclusive download of a new song by the band, entitled “Gravitational_Lensing.” If you like bands like Scar Symmetry and DT, it’s really, really hard for me to believe you won’t dig this.

Download the song here, then let us know what you think in the comments section below!

-AR

Scar Symmetry’s decision to replace ex-vocalist Christian Alvestam with two dudes — one growler and one singer — was a goofy move on paper, and it looks kinda goofy on video too. At least in videos the band has the benefit of an editor who can cut between one vocalist or the other, or focus on one of the other band members. But live, this shit’s gotta be super goofy — what does one guy do while the other is singing; just stand there and head bang? Totally goofy.

Still, I got nothin’ but love for Scary Symmetry’s music. This year’s Dark Matter Dimensions wasn’t SS’s best but it’s solid, if predictable for the band at this point. They’ve just released a video for the song “Ascension Chamber,” and as is par for the course for Scar Symmetry the video is focused around cosmic/spacial themes. Peep it below.

-VN

While Scar Symmetry have been busy making music with two new singers that sound like their old one, that old one — Christian Alvestam — has been busy with a ton of new projects of his own. Among them is the very promising Solution.45, a band that also features Mikko Härkin (Cain’s Offering, ex- Sonata Arctica, Kotipelto), Jani Stefanovic (Miseration, Essence Of Sorrow), Tom Gardiner (Hateform, ex- Mors Principium Est), Anders Edlund (Angel Blake), and Rolf Pilve (Miseration).

Solution.45 are currently in the studio recording their debut album. According to an update sent by the band exclusively to MetalSucks, the music is “just about done” and Christian is currently finishing up his vocals. The record will be completely finished and mastered by the end of December, and should see a release this Spring via AFM Records and Marquee/Avalon. The cover artwork will be done by Pär Olofsson, the artist behind the latest Immortal and The Faceless album covers. The album will also feature a few guest appearances, including a few vocal spots by Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquillity. Neat-o!

Check out a 7 minute teaser of demo material at Solution.45’s MySpace page. It’s good stuff.

-VN

File this under “YouTube Vocal Covers” actually gone right [thanks: MS reader Zoker]. Sure, the guy doesn’t hit every high note, but he does a damn fine job overall with both the growls and the clean singing parts. The guy’s clearly got ability and I’m presuming he’s available for the half the price of the current two SS vocalists. Ya win some, ya lose some.

-VN

I’m not nearly as big a Death Jovi Scar Symmetry fan as the right honorable Mr. Neilstein, but I do really like them (especially 2006’s Pitch Black Progress), and I was curious to see how this new vocalists situation played itself out.

So I’m a little sad to say that while I haven’t heard the band’s new album, Dark Matter Dimensions, as of yet, this song, “Noumenon & Phenomenon,” doesn’t do much for me. And neither does the video. In fact, the most interesting thing about this whole experience, for me personally at least, has been learning what “noumenon” means. I feel much smarter now. Thank you, metal, for once again broadening my mind.

Dark Matter Dimensions is out now on Nuclear Blast. Vince says it’s good so feel free to call me an asshole for not loving this song. Maybe hearing the whole album will change my mind.

-AR

I’ve been living with the new Scar Symmetry album Dark Matter Dimensions for about two weeks now, trying to determine what I think of it. Finally the rest of you can hear it in full on the band’s MySpace page and just for yourselves. In no particular order, here are my thoughts on the album and the new singer(s) situation:

• The songwriting core of the band is definitely intact. They still bring the Death Jovi goods, unaffected by Christian Alvestam’s departure.
• Production-wise, the band have done a lot to make new clean vocalist Lars Palmqvist sound just like Alvestam. At times, I even forget Alvestam is gone. The verdict on whether he’s going to work or not will ultimately come down to how he sounds live, but from the footage I’ve seen so far I’m not convinced. On record, the guy certainly sounds good.
• New growl vocalist Roberth Karlsson is pretty much interchangeable with Alvestam.
• The album is front-loaded, with the first three songs being the best. The rest just kind of seem to blend together for me, but perhaps I just need more time to learn them.

So go on and stream the new album and tell us what you think. The album comes out officially on October 2nd in Europe and October 20th in the States… though you know how silly we think staggered release dates are in the Internet age.

-VN

Scar Symmetry have created their own online version of the arcade classic Asteroids, and it’s pretty fuckin’ entertaining. Unlike a lot of stupid online games designed to promote new albums, this one is super-simple, works well, is addicting as fuck and is a great time-waster.

A brand new song from Scar Symmetry’s upcoming release Dark Matter Dimension serves as the soundtrack to the game, and I have no idea what the song is called but it’s not the one they posted on their MySpace page a few weeks back (which has since been removed). The new track is damn good and it’s vintage Death Jovi — would we expect anything less? I think I like it more than the previously released new track, though right now I’m not too hot on the new not-Christian Alvestam clean vocalist, though I guess the verdict is really still out until we hear the full new album / see the band live. Dark Matter Dimensions drops October 2nd on Nuclear Blast.

-VN

Here it is, sent in by Jonathon E. (original source unconfirmed). I think it’s pretty safe to say that musically-speaking, Scar “Death Jovi” Symmetry haven’t lost anything at all. But has the replacement of ex-vocalist Christian Alvestam with two separate vocalists, one for singing and one for screaming, affected the band’s sound for better or worse? Rather than mouth off I’d like to know what you all think.

-VN

Metal Injection’s Frank Godla once referred to Scar Symmetry’s brand of heavily poppified melodic Swedish death metal as “Death Jovi,” and it may be the single most brilliant thing he’s ever said. Not that Death Jovi is meant as an insult; it’s meant as the absolute highest compliment, a testament to both the band’s unbelievable chops and their penchant for writing giant, humongous, tremendous, monster-sized hooks.

Click to read more…

New music that might tickle your pickle…

Click to read more…

I love this band. If you don’t, you’re a ree-ree. Songs this good don’t just write themselves. End of story.

-VN

It’s not hypocritical that the sternest hater of metalcore can guiltlessly enjoy its European cousin, melodic death metal, where prime metal thump veers into catchy hooks and harmony. Sonically, there’s not a lot of real estate separating the two genres, though metalcore is riddled with vague machoisms and boring-ass riffs. Not that melodic death metal is especially adventurous; represented here by one of the several European bands called Deadlock – this one a metal quintet distinguished by their straight-edge vegan politics – MDM is actually conservative to the point of being as intrinsically pop as it is metal.

Click to read more…

2008 has been a fucking great year for metal, and in due time — Monday, Dec. 15, to be exact — Axl, myself and the rest of the writers of MetalSucks will all release our Top 10 year-end lists so you can incessantly argue over which great album was left off or tell us we’re assholes for ranking a certain album higher than it should’ve been.

But for now, ya’ll can argue about something else: here’s my personal short/working list for said year-end list containing all of my favorite metal releases from this year as well as a few that aren’t likely to make my own list but will surely be appearing on others’. Feel free to pipe in with your thoughts or to notify us of any egregious omissions before we put together our final, ordered lists. Regardless, it is going to be really fucking hard to pick just 10 of these and put them in order of awesomeness.

And, my favorite metal records of 2008 in no particular order are…

Click to read more…

The economy’s in the shitter and the sun is setting earlier and earlier every day. Still, there was reason to rejoice this week in the world of metal:

• The members of Twisted Sister are apparently now willing to “take it.”
• We interviewed Dani Filth of Cradle of Filth, Ronny Munroe of Metal Church, and Brian Fair of Overcast / Shadows Fall.
• Dallas raged against the McCain machine (as did the Foo Fighters). You raged against Dallas.
• Crikey! Scar Symmetry hire two new vocalists to take the place of one.
• Scars on Broadway call off their tour; we call bullshit.
• FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK. And Fuck.
• Gojira got heavy in every sense of the word.
• Bam Bam Bigelow + Marty Jannetty = ’80s Vinnie Paul.

Sayonara suckers. See you next week.

-VN

A couple of weeks ago I cried myself to sleep after Scar Symmetry announced they’d parted ways with their versatile, talented vocalist Christian Älvestam (pictured, front). Would the Swedish “Death Jovi” masters go the way of luminaries Van Halen* and AC/DC, continuing to bring the hits for years to come with a new frontman on board, or would they crash and burn as an echo of their former selves ala Skid Row? The answer remains to be seen, but today’s announcement that two vocalists have been tapped to fill the shoes of just one is a testament to how skilled Älvestam is:

“We’ve used both growls and clean vocals in our music since day one, and with each album we’ve pushed the envelope of what you can do vocally in a metal band to the point where a lot of the songs on ‘Holographic Universe’ would be hard if not impossible to sing live. So the question is: Is it really possible to push the vocals even further and manage to perform everything live?

Click to read more…

The chill of fall is in the air but the gossip mill never cools off at the MetalSucks Mansion. This week’s notables and quotables included:

• Original guitarist Peter Wichers returned to Soilwork and ex-At All Cost guitarist Mike Carrigan replaced Kris Norris in Darkest Hour; we rejoiced that great Soilwork music will once again be made and that Mike’s got a job. But the good was tempered by the bad as Christian Alvestam left Scar Symmetry and Spineshank reunited. There is no justice.
• Winds of Plague’s Kristen Randall showed the world her bewbs!
• We reviewed solid new albums by Into Eternity, Enslaved and All Shall Perish, and waxed ecstatic about Burst, Vince’s new proverbial wet dream.
• New videos from The Human Abstract and Amon Amarth are unbelievably epic.
• A scandal erupted involving the audio quality of Death Magnetic, alternate Guitar Hero mixes, and the now infamous “Better, Shorter, Cut” abridged edition.
• Vince & Axl [almost] reveal their true identities.

See ya next week.

This week saw the release of two delectable new videos from Swedish metal notables Amon Amarth and Scar Symmetry. Those videos, with our cheeky analysis (natch), after the jump.

Click to read more…

While we were busy paying homage to the world’s biggest metal band yesterday, turns out some other kind of important stuff actually happened too. Who’d've thunk it?

Click to read more…

Congrats to MetalSucks reader and multi-time champion d.o.g.o.b.g.y.n. for winning last week’s Funny Photo Caption Contest; a copy of Unearth’s new DVD Alive From the Apocalypse is on its way to you in the mail for coming up with this caption for the picture at right:

“…well you’ll have plenty of time to call yourself Revrant and hold toy guns when you’re living IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!”

Revrant, we love you buddy. That caption would’ve been funny with anyone’s name — Chris Farley never fails! This week we’re giving away a special Gothenburg package featuring Scar Symmetry’s new album — the phenomenal Holographic Universe — and Children of Bodom’s latest, Blooddrunk. All you have to do is come up with a funny caption for the below photo and post it in the comments.