MetalSucks

Like everybody, I have metalphobes in my family and the workplace, but still among those unfortunate dolts are some otherwise trustworthy fans of strong, melody-based non-metal. So there’s a persistent temptation to debase myself and metal by pressing on them with samples of pop-ish metal like Testament’s The Ritual and Bruce Dickinson’s fabulous Skunkworks. I mean, is heaviness an automatic deal-breaker for these dunces? Let’s say there be a perfectly crafted/really heavy song with all the touchstones of major pop satisfaction (and lyrical themes containing no allusions to face-raping a corpse), would it still resemble psychotic noise to lamewads? Or do good hooks transcend genre and pussyness? Are “Enter Sandman” and “Cum On Feel The Noize” both examples of flawless hit-making or of novelty successes like the “Where’s The Beef?” lady and ”The Bartman?”

As usual, it eventually occurred to me that the answer to all things is Devin Townsend.

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Okay. I started SYL in 1993 after hearing Soul Of A New Machine. I saw Fear Factory open for Sepultura with Clutch, and I remember running around the venue telling everyone: “THAT is what I want to do, except with extra chaos…”

My creative process is directly tied to my emotional development. There are some folks that make music by picking up a guitar until they have a riff that is defined by the musical roads they choose to hone. They then sculpt it into that framework and voila, Metallica, Slayer, Priest etc. I think that’s awesome, and in some ways I’m envious of that. In many cases, if you mix that with tenacity and a certain amount of talent and luck, you can sustain a decent career.

That’s not how I create, again… as it is tied to life and circumstance, my music has generally been cathartic observations of what life presents, and each new record in many ways is a reaction to the one before. So in the most blunt of terms, I make music to better understand myself as I change.

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For all of you who want nothing to do with my music, have tried and don’t get it, or think I’m a total hack, continue on to the next blurb, as I’m going to spend the next few paragraphs stroking myself and thinking that I’m super.

Anyways, heres a bunch of videos… it’s hard to give a solid overview after twenty-something albums, but anyways…

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So Borivoj Krgin eh? [Krgin runs Blabbermouth.- Ed.] Here’s my story about the man…

He signed SYL. Without Bori, there would be no current anything for me in terms of my metal career. He rocked me hard. And Nevermore, Stuck Mojo etc…

He let me sleep on his couch for three or four months while I was writing City. He was (is) a good friend.

Blabbermouth is a site I go to almost everyday. I would bet any metal musician who tells you they’ve never been is full of shit. It’s incredibly hard to resist reading things about yourself that are either flattering, or make you look like a total douchebag.

The thing is:

He doesn’t make the stuff up. Any jackassery that I have been quoted as saying, I really did say. Blabbermouth changed the way we do interviews by making us accountable.

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Yo cats, I’m Devin Townsend. I’m a middle class, white Canadian male. I am bald with bad teeth and I am 37 years old. I used to front a band called Strapping Young Lad. I have put out around twenty albums between SYL and my solo records over the last eighteen or so years. I have a record label called HevyDevy Records that distributes my records to the the best of our ability. I produce and mix bands. I have done some great work and some shitty work. I don’t really care about downloading because the industry changed and I have never sold enough records for me to make more than a normal living. Please have a great day and thanks for any and all support.

I am in the middle of a four record project called “The Devin Townsend Project.” Ironically enough, and EGADS!, today I am taking over one of my favorite websites, MetalSucks.

I have a ton of things on my mind today, please enjoy… even if you hate my fucking guts, hopefully I can provide you with some cool stuff to chew on.

HOTCHA!

-Devin Townsend

It’s been a while since we’ve reported on the current Fear Factory drama because, well, it got boring re-hashing the same old shit over and over again just to get you guys all hot and bothered in the comments (whoops, did I just say that?). To summarize, in case you didn’t read this site missed out over the summer: Dino re-friends Burton Bell and the two start working on new music under the “Fear Factory” name, while Christian and Raymond — currently working on their Arkaea project — rightly object because Fear Factory is supposedly a four-way partnership. Lawsuits and public shit-talking ensue.

Last I checked a resolution between the two warring Fear Factions hadn’t been reached. So either the four men have settled, or Dino and Burton — let’s just call them the baby-eating Fear Faction — just don’t give a fuck. The baby-eating Fear Faction, along with latter-day FF cohorts Byron Stroud [Strapping Young Lad] and Gene Hoglan [Strapping Young Lad, Dethklok, every fucking band ever] — just announced that they have a new album called Mechanized coming out on February 9th via Candlelight Records (!?!).

The new song “Powershifter” has been making the Internet rounds all weekend; stream it below. Unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like Fear Factory. I imagine some of you will love it and some of you will hate it; place me firmly in the “meh” camp. I loves me some Demanufcature and Obsolete, but 10 years later there are tons of metal bands out there that are way better, more interesting, and more worthy of my listening time.

-VN

In news that will only bum out people who have never heard Addicted, Ki, Ziltoid (the album, not the guy who leaves comments here telling us how bad we suck), or any number of other Devin Townsend projects that aren’t Strapping Young Lad, The Formerly Skulleted One has announced that he will not be playing any SYL material on his forthcoming tour with Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, and Scale The Summit.

And there isn’t much more to say than that. I love SYL as much as the next drunken ree-ree, but Townsend has plenty of other great albums from which to pull material, and I’m dying to hear stuff from the last few records that has never been performed live before. And since he’s not the headliner and I imagine his set time will therefore be a little shorter than some of us might like, it’s only natural that he’d want to concentrate on stuff he wasn’t out on the road playing for years and years prior to SYL’s demise.

Or, put more succinctly: even though some idiots will surely bitch and moan, this isn’t a big deal, and this tour is still gonna be awesome.

Addicted, which really is fantastic, comes out November 17 on InsideOut Music.

-AR

We all know Mr. Townsend as a top-notch writer, producer, guitarist and all around weird/awesome dude. But did you know the guy can fucking sing his balls off?? His vocal performances on all of the SYL records were always great, no disrespect meant there, but his vocals on the 4-album Devin Townsend Project suite show a whole new side of his musical abilities. Check out this self-recorded video, below, of Devin tracking his own vocals for the 2nd record, Addicted (out November 17th), which Devin posted on his MySpace page.

First thing you notice is how strong, steady and accurate his voice is. Then you notice that he’s holding the mic, as opposed to it being on a mic stand, and he’s getting perfect-sounding takes despite any potential variance in distance from his mouth and the lack of a popper stopper. This is obviously a man who records vocals this way quite often. Then you think… wait a minute… he’s not wearing headphones… isn’t he worried about bleed? To which the answer, I guess, would be “no, he doesn’t give a shit” which is quite curious to me. Maybe all the extra noise from the speakers makes the final product sound bigger, or maybe it’s insignificant. Then you realize the fluidity with which he records each take, and the attention to detail that he puts into every single word of his performance. Then you realize, once again, what a talented vocalist he is.

It’s quite impressive, really. I can see why bands seem to have a love/hate relationship with his production methods and why someone like Speed Strid of Soilwork insists on producing vocals with him. On one hand it’s got to be quite a grueling process, but on the other hand he’s quite obviously super-skilled and is definitely going to get the best result possible.

-VN

Addicted is an excellent name for the new album (and the second release this year alone!) from The Devin Townsend Project, for it is truly addictive. As Townsend himself put it, it’s a “no bullshit” heavy rock confection that’s as catchy as swine flu (and the dynamic between Townsend’s vocals and those of The Gathering’s Anneke van Giersbergen don’t hurt, either). Pussies who thought that Ki was too soft will be happy to hear Devin doing something a little more in line with SYL; real men who recognize that pretty much everything Townsend touches turns to awesome already know what they can expect.

There’s a teaser medley currently streaming on Townsend’s MySpace page; so many of you e-mailed us about it this morning that I’m not even sure why I’m telling you. I guess for the five of you are apparently unaware.

Addicted comes out November 17 on InsideOut Music.

-AR

Strapping Young Lad, Alien (Century, 2005)
Devin Townsend– Vocals/Guitars/Keyboards
Jed Simon – Guitars
Byron Stroud – Drums
Gene Hoglan – Drums
Produced by Devin Townsend

By the time of 2005’s Alien, Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend had been keeping a frantic pace for a decade: He regularly produced three albums a year, he had solo albums leaking from his bum, and his once-abandoned SYL returned to active status.

That SYL returned with an unheard-of two albums in two years was great news, but it was unexpected that Alien would be SYL’s masterpiece, a cacophonous set of maelstrom metal with the occasional twinkle of Devy solo records. A few weeks before its release, Townsend told me that SYL (the album) came about cuz he was finally frustrated/freaked enough to make a SYL (the band) album. Like it or not, after six years had passed since their penultimate 1997 record City; lotsa shit had changed in the world at large since then, including some large-scale bloodshed.

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That my interview with Devin Townsend would be a good one was a no-brainer. The guy’s music just oozes with thought and complexity, so it wasn’t surprising at all that the brains behind the music were just the same. Townsend just released Ki, the first album in a 4-part series; we spoke about that record, what the other records in the 4-part series are like, his work in the producer’s chair over the past couple of years, the reactions of SYL fans to the new music, and of course what you’re all waiting to hear… why he shaved the skullet. Townsend also spoke at length about being true to oneself artistically as it relates to dispelling the myth of “Crazy Dev.” It was a great look into the mind of a twisted musical genius, or, as it turns out, a pretty normal, nerdy dude.

It also turns out he’s a big fan of MetalSucks and regularly enters our Funny Photo Caption Contest (though he hasn’t won yet)! So Devin, if you’re reading this… get crackin’ on this week’s contest.

Our full chat, after the fold.

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Apparently there’s a new Strapping Young Lad video floating around the Interwebs for the song “Almost Again,” from 2006’s The New Black. The video is intensely dark and morose with twisted imagery that could come only from a demented mind like Downward Spiral-era Trent Reznor… Or, naturally, Devin Towsend. The timing of the video seems odd given the band broke up last year and their greatest hits collection 1994-2006: Chaos Years came out several months ago already… But hey, we’ll take it.

With the death of SYL came the demise of Devin’s skullet, but at least Ronnie James Dio and Karl Simon of The Gates of Slumber still carry the torch.

-VN

[via Buzzgrinder]

Zimmers Hole have backed out of their MetalSucks co-sponsored U.S. tour with Sigh and Unexpect. I know because I read about it on Blabbermouth. I feel about as well informed as the Bush administration right now.

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Misery Signals vocalist Karl Schubach just did an interview with Way Too Loud!, and while I’m not really a Misery Signals fan, the following part of the interview, about Devin Townsend, who’s producing the band’s new album, did catch my attention:

WTL: Did you per chance say anything about [Townsend's] haircut?

Karl: He doesn’t have the hair anymore! The skullet is now no more! It was a shock at first when he showed up. The guys were holding bets whether or not he’d have the hair, and it’s reign of terror is over. I’ve seen pictures of it. I think he has the hair at home in a box, or so he claims.

First he murders Strapping Young Lad, then the skullet? Say it ain’t so, Dev!!!

On behalf of MetalSucks, Vince’s beard, and funny hair cuts everywhere, I’d like to send my condolences to the skullet’s family. I hope Devin soon chooses to release it from its back, cremate it, and spread its ashes over Lake Ontario like it always wanted.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go tell my kids that Uncle Dev’s skullet went to go live on a farm where it could play freely in the fields with all the other old skullets.

-AR

Here’s the thing about Ray Mazzola, vocalist for New York’s own Full Blown Chaos: the guy has a natural born gift for storytelling. I learned this back in February, when I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner with the members of Soilent Green, music video auteur extraordinaire David Brodsky, and Allie Woest, Brodsky’s partner/producer/sometimes editor/general right hand. Full Blown Chaos were on a temporary hiatus from touring at the time (a hiatus which, their fans will be pleased to know, is now over), and so Ray joined us, and within seconds of sitting at the table, he was trading war stories from the road with Soilent Green/Crowbar drummer Tommy Buckley. And, as nice a guy as Buckley is and as many good stories as he had to tell, he just couldn’t keep up with Ray; I won’t repeat any of Ray’s stories second hand ’cause I could never do them justice, so I’ll just say that I can never again hear Napalm Death’s “The Code is Red” without bursting into hysterical laughter.

So after dinner I interviewed Soilent Green guitarist Brian Patton (and some of the dudes from Car Bomb, who also showed up at some point), and then Ray was cool enough to sit down and let me pick his brain for a little while – and to share one of his special stories with our readers. To say that the story is a doozy would be to put it mildly. Little wonder this dude is such a charismatic front man.

Above, watch the David Brodsky-directed video for Full Blown Chaos’ “Halos for Heroes,” from their album Heavy Lies the Crown; after the jump, read the full transcript of my conversation with Ray.

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Okay, so if you ever watch Headbanger’s Ball, you probably see those same boring commercials that I do every week: fifteen, thirty second clips of songs, maybe a piece of a music video, some album art, and then it’s over. I can’t imagine that these ads ever actually inspire anyone to check out so much as a band’s MySpace page.

Kudos, then, to Zimmers Hole, for making this totally sweet spot for their new album, When You Were Shouting at the Devil, We Were in League With Satan. I don’t know if this thing will ever actually run on television, but it’s already the best non-print ad I’ve ever seen for an album, ever. And, yes, I’m including those “informercials” for Dethklok’s Dethalbum from last year.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/WMn4h0dj4oI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

The band also has an e-card for the album out now, featuring, a press release tells us, “the band’s commandments as spoken by The Heathen,” the devilish vocalist you see in the ad above. Check it out here.

See? Who needs Devin Townsend to be funny?

-AR

MetalSucks recently sat down with guitarist Ola Frenning (above, right) of Swedish metal kings Soilwork mere hours before their sold out show at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom with Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God and Devildriver. Frenning talks about the tour, the band’s new album Sworn to a Great Divide (read our review), self-producing for the first time, the sudden exit of guitarist and songwriter Peter Wichers from the band, future touring plans and more. Read the full transcript after the jump.

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I hate Halloween. I mean, I guess I don’t mind it in theory, but here in NYC, there’s this huge parade every year that makes it virtually impossible to cross Sixth Avenue all night, which is a real bitch, ’cause I live on one side of Sixth but work on the other – so, sooner or later, I’m gonna hafta try and find a way across. Basically, my evening turns into the most irritating game of Frogger, like, ever.

ANYWAY, here’s ten metal videos that, for whatever reason, strike me as Halloween appropriate. Enjoy.

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