Tour blogs are generally boring affairs, but this new video tour blog from Death Angel is a must-watch. In case you didn’t know: not only is Gene Hoglan filling in for Charlie Benante on the current Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel tour, but right before Benante was forced to leave the tour, Scott Ian was hospitalized due to a severe viral infection, and members of the other bands stepped in to temporarily replace him.

Which brings us to the excellence of this video: it’s a first hand account of the behind-the-scenes scramble to make sure that Anthrax didn’t hafta cancel any shows, courtesy of Death Angel guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar. And not only does the video feature those dudes recounting the tale for you, but there’s some fun footage of them rehearsing with Gene Hoglan and ‘Thrax, and performing with the latter (including clip sof Cavestany getting REALLY into playing the Worship Music tracks “In The End” and “The Devil You Know”). So it’s basically the closest you’ll ever get to actually being there for an event like this.

Enjoy:

You can get remaining dates for the in-progress Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel tour right here (bottom of the post).

-AR

Thanks to Ryan Badami for the tip!

Charlie Benante’s mother is terminally ill. Although I know I’ve busted Anthrax’s collective chops over the years, this is obviously terrible news. We are deeply sympathetic, and our hearts go out to the guy. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that there really isn’t anything anyone can say to make you feel better in a situation like this one. But, hopefully, the old cliché is true — time heals all wounds.

Understandably, Benante has opted to leave Anthrax’s currently-in-progress tour with Testament and Death Angel to go be with his mother — but the silver lining, if there is one, is that current Testament drummer/all-around legend Gene Hoglan will be filling in for Benante on the remainder of the tour.

Here’s a statement from Hoglan:

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Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel recently wrapped what was, by all accounts, an awesome, awesome tour. But if you missed it, don’t be too sad — all three bands are hitting the road together again in January! You can dates here.

Of course, you can also live vicariously via some typically killer photos our own Alyssa Lorenzon took of ‘Thrax and Testament at the Electric Factory in Philly last month (alas, due to circumstances beyond our control, we weren’t able to get any Death Angel pics). Get caught in a mosh with our full gallery after the jump!

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Italian prog metal maestros Ephel Duath are really just an Italian prog metal maestro, singular — the band has gone through something like 1,864,093 line-up changes since 1998, with guitarist Davide Tiso being the only constant. Do hardcore Ephel Duath fans consider that a total bummer, or do they not care? Regardless, this news should make them happy: their new line-up promotes Ephel Duath to a full-fledged supergroup.

For the band’s next release, Tiso has recruited Karyn Crisis (from, y’know, Crisis) to handle vocal duties, Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Testament, Obscura) to play bass, and Marco Minemann (Necrophagist, Kreator) to beat the drums. Holy shit, that’s an interesting collection of musicians, isn’t it?

Minemann is about to start recording drums for the band’s next EP, which will come out in 2012 via Agonia Records. And, clearly, it just became one of the more anticipated releases of next year. So there’s something to be excited for.

-AR

Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel is a great bill for a tour, and according to my man Anso DF, the resulting concert was not a disappointment. (Alyssa Lorenzon captured some killer photos from the tour, too; we’ll post those at some point very soon.) And I guess Anso’s not the only one who felt that way, ’cause now the trio has announced a second leg to the tour, which will kick off in late January.

Only twelve dates have been announced thus far, but more are guaranteed to follow. Here’s the itinerary as of now:

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Photos by Brian Schroeter

The guys of Anthrax soon go to south and southeast Asia for a week of shows with Hellyeah [Update: These dates have been postponed -- ADF], but their current US run with Testament finished last week. Since the return of glory-era singer Joey Belladonna, the Anthrax world is a fishbowl to which I have pressed my face. So two Saturdays ago, it was time for me to tap on the glass and take notes. The questions: How does Belladonna sing and look? What’s the band body language? Do drummer Charlie Benante’s fills sound off? Has Scott Ian grown a better or worse beard? Can fans exhale a bit here with the firm knowledge that things are groovy for good in the land of Anthrax?

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Rarely do we just cut and paste press releases here at MetalSucks, but this is obviously a special circumstance, and you should know all the details without any of our usual editorializing. And so:

James Murphy, former guitarist of both Death and Testament, As well as founding member of the death metal band Disincarnate, has had a relapse of the  brain tumor that sidelined him back in 2001. Murphy stated that the tumor had returned but that it was a non malignant and that it was being treated pharmacologically. Unfortunately, those medications have serious side effects that have left him unable to work. The option for different medications is available, but at a cost of over $1000 a month, and he needs a minimum of 6 months of medication for treatment to be effective. With his medical expenses extremely high and James not being able to work due to the side effects of the current medications, the metal community is being asked to come together and help one of their brothers and donate to help him beat this once and for all.

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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…

We’ve done three special one-off Decibels now, and have pimped them in this very spot like Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver (you can do anything you want with them… but no rough stuff, all right?). The one you see above is my favorite, not necessarily because I prefer thrash to black metal or a general ’90s metal countdown, but because a shark eating a skeleton eating a pizza is only half the fucking cover art by acclaimed metal artist Andrei Bouzikov (Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch, Cannabis Corpse).

Anyway, the content is just as choice: a galloping rundown of the top 50 thrash albums of all time, buffered by seven radical Hall of Fames:

Slayer, Reign in Blood
Anthrax, Among the Living
Testament, The Legacy
Metallica,  …And Justice for All
Megadeth, Rust in Peace
Anacrusis, Reason
Prong, Beg to Differ

The latter three are exclusive to this issue, duh. If you’re wondering why the Big Four haven’t been fully represented in the Hall until now, well, it took years of busting ass from writer Chris Dick to make it happen. (Which you probably could’ve guessed—I mean, it’s Megadeth.) But it’s really funny and harsh and long—I’m sure I’ll post some deleted scene action here someday, since we basically had to cut it in half. Anyway, the Thrash HOF issue is available only in Decibel’s webstore and select indie record shops (go here to find a store near you). If you missed out on our previous special issues, we’ve put together this triple-threat bundle for extreme convenience. You’re welcome.

Any other thrash-centric HOFs you wanna see in the future? Comment away.

-AB

You can order this very special one-off issue right here. And, of course, the December 2011 issue of Decibel – which features Megadeth, Municipal Waste, Animals as Leaders, Landmine Marathon, Hammers of Misfortune, and an awesome Goatwhore flexi disc – can be ordered here. But why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss one an issue?

During our Big 4 Live Snark on Wednesday, we reported that during Megadeth’s set, Dave Mustaine told the crowd he needed neck surgery, and had been in a hospital as recently as Tuesday; in fact, not only was there a rumor on Monday that Megadeth were gonna miss the show, but word around the campfire was that Exodus had even been approached about possibly taking ‘Deth’s spot should the Davester have to drop out. (Fans offended that Exodus and not Testament were approached should keep in mind in that Gary Holt was already playing with Slayer anyway, so, y’know.)

Now Rolling Drone has scored a non-scoop by getting Mustaine to say in print that which he already said at the concert: he needs neck surgery. So, in case you didn’t believe him the first time he said it, now you should believe him because he told the magazine that gave St. Anger a positive review.

The interesting part of the interview, though, is Mustaine’s claim that G-O-D fixed it so he didn’t have to miss the Yankee Stadium show despite his neck issues:

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Thrash fans that are a) unwilling to shell out $200 for tickets to the Big 4 at Yankee Stadium, b) have a hankering to see Anthrax live anyway, and c) feel Testament were rudely snubbed from the Big 5, you’re in luck: Anthrax and Testament are co-headlining a U.S. tour starting in October!

To many this will surely qualify as way more interesting than the Big 4 show itself… and you know what? I really can’t disagree. Despite wishing John Bush or Dan Nelson had been the vocalist for Worship Music instead of Joey Bellardini, the album is darn good and has some really excellent songs that I’d love to hear live. Testament are great live and haven’t toured in a while, so I’d be excited to see them as well. And with Death Angel confirmed as the opening act, this tour is kind of like the who’s who of the tail-end of the original thrash movement.

Tickets are already on-sale here for Anthrax fan club members and will be available to the general public this Friday. Dates after the jump!

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Hey, so remember when just last week Chuck Billy said there was gonna be a tour this fall with Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, and Death Angel?

Well, yeah, turns out Overkill ain’t doing that tour.

From Metal Insider:

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The usual problems a band must endure from its drummer include tardiness, unfamiliarity with new material, no memory of old material, bringing their gf/driver everywhere, selling gear for food, non-ownership of drumsticks, car trouble, body odor, shortness, loss of one or more shoes, delirium, etc. But some drummer-issues can’t be predicted; for example, completion of the new Testament record has been delayed by drummer Paul Bostaph’s undisclosed injury. Singer Chuck Billy kinda explained Sunday in a radio interview:

Paul Bostaph is injured right now, so he couldn’t [work on] the record. We kind of put the record off a little while waiting for Paul. [Then] we found out he was not gonna be ready, so we brought on Gene Hoglan. Hoglan came in and crushed, killed the drums in about a week.

Awesome! Billy goes on to reveal the new album’s title, its other guest drummer, and the face-fuckingly awesome tour to be announced:

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A song can be like the Kennedy assassination: Your first knowledge of it is an event, so you can’t help but forever remember the moment when it came barging into your once-perfectly sane life. The song changes you a little and takes on an aura (or whatever) that stirs you physically for years. It’s a personal thing, but as a confident professional, I’ll limb out and share one: Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is.” That song was the end of innocence for me; music was no longer purely magical, a series of neat sounds emitting from a crappy clock radio. To my young ears, music had grown horns, all malevolent, capable of harm and cynicism, darkly powerful, and unwilling to compromise. As such, I can instantly recall the view as I stared down at the now-menacing clock radio as I would a dog that had mauled my face unantagonized. This song, I thought, makes life fucking horrible. I eagerly await the day that radio programmers extract the dagger from my nards by cutting it from rotation. Permanently.

Sigh. It was a lonely feeling facing off with the awful choir reprises and pug-faced pseudo-silk of middle-aged Foreigner. But I would rebound years later, when local college radio unleashed upon me Death’s “Suicide Machine,” from their Human album.

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So, technically, this is a picture of Gene Hoglan with Testament…

I have good news and I have bad news.

The bad news is, Paul Bostaph, who’s a great drummer, is injured, and therefore won’t be able to appear on the new Testament record. That’s a bummer. Hopefully Bostaph’s ailment won’t keep him away from the kid for long, ’cause like I said, dude can plan.

The good news is, Testament have recruited Gene Hoglan and Chris Adler to take his place, and those dudes can certainly play, too.

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Gosh, it was April 2009 when I started pestering members of Testament about completion of a follow-up to 2008′s The Formation Of Damnation. True, Formation had come out only twelve months earlier, but it’s my duty as a Testament superfan/powerful journalist/pushy jerk to keep the pressure on; I just will not withstand another interminable gap between killer Testament records, as with Formation and 1999′s masterful The Gathering. I can’t put myself through that again.

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Say, are you one of the three people in the world who not only thought that metal needed another supergroup, but also thought that metal needed another supergroup featuring Anthrax/The Damned Things guitarist Rob Caggiano? If so, have we got a band for you!

They’re called Temple of the Black Moon, and in addition to Caggiano, the group features Cradle of Filth vocalist Dani Filth, former Gorgoroth bassist King ov Hell, and drummer John Tempesta, who has played a gajillion different bands, including both White Zombie and Rob Zombie’s solo group, Exodus, Testament, The Cult, and Helmet. It seems safe to assume that Caggiano played a significant role in putting this project together — not only did he produce two Cradle of Filth releases (2004′s Nymphetamine and 2006′s Thornography), but Tempesta has also worked as a drum tech for ‘Thrax — but between the two bands he’s already in and the producing he does, I can’t believe he felt like he had too much free time. Maybe Worship Music is seriously never coming out.

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Of course when you set out to make a list like, say, the one we’re doing right now, of The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists, you are bound to piss a lot of people off — that just comes with the job.

But I always find it hilarious HOW those people get pissed off. For example, this week I saw a lot of complaints that the guitar players we’ve been selecting aren’t “modern.” And I can’t believe we have to fucking define the word “modern” for some of you idiots, but apparently we do. So:

So… which one of you jackasses would like to call up Alex Skolnick or Vernon Reid or Adam Jones and let them know they’re antiquated and obsolete? ‘Cause I saw Testament and Living Colour and Tool live just last year, and I would not want to make that call. Just because those dudes have been playing this game for awhile doesn’t mean their best days are behind them.

My point simply being: I don’t care if you hate our choices. That’s fine. But at least try to hate our choices based on an argument that makes sense, y’know?

And on that note, here are other ways we entertained ourselves this week:

• We debuted new music from A Pale Horse Named Death and Oakhelm.
• We checked out the latest releases from From Exile, Godstopper, and Cruachan.
• We wondered which is better, old music or new music?
• We philosophized about Google’s new cloud service.
• We fretted that metal may soon be blamed for terrorism.
• We got excited about The Faceless’ new demo.
• We bemoaned the current state of In Flames.
• We wept because Dave Grohl is not going to be on the new Mastodon album after all.
• We enjoyed a vegetarian cooking lesson from a dude in corpse paint.
• We questioned the logic of the new Avenged Sevenfold video.

Next week we unveil numbers fifteen through eleven on our guitar player list; the average age of those five musicians is thirty-one, whereas the average age of this week’s selections was forty-two. So maybe you can go back to being upset because you think they suck, not because you think they’re too old to be “modern.”

-AR

MetalSucks recently polled its staff to determine who are The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists, and after an incredible amount of arguing, name calling, and physical violence, we have finalized that list! The only requirements to be eligible for the list were that the musician in question had to a) play metal (duh), b) play guitar (double-duh), and c) have recorded something in the past five years. Today we continue our countdown with Testament’s Alex Skolnick…

If there’s one dude that has fused jazz and metal together by way of guitar better than Alex Sknolnick, I don’t think I’ve heard him yet. It probably doesn’t hurt that Skolnick studied under Joe Satriani. But when the then fifteen year old Alex Skolnick joined Legacy, the band that would go on to become Testament, he couldn’t have possibly imagined the kind of guitar icon he would become as one of thrash’s signature soloists, a touring part of Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s annual arena sell-out showcase, and his own acoustic jazz-metal hybrid band, The Alex Skolnick Trio.

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I’m at the point where I pretty much prefer animated movies to live-action ones. I passed up some big deal, hotshot movie that came out recently, whose name I don’t even remember, to see Rango. I’m usually a pretty good judge, too, because I knew Rango was going to be awesome ,and it was. It looks absolutely amazing, and if you’re a nerd for animation detail, the gross, crusty animals will thrill you. Not to mention the classic movie references from Chinatown to Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. It’s also damn violent for a “kids movie.” And well, I’m a movie nerd with a deep love for filmic violence. My dad didn’t have any sons, ok? He raised me to love his Fab Four; Arnold, Bruce, Sylvester, and Jean-Claude. And Dolph, on days he felt generous.

This might be odd, but I always liked to think about what various characters’ personalities would be like. Down to their music and movie taste. I especially try to pick out the metalheads, because I want to find my animated brothers and sisters in arms. It was while musing on the subject on Twitter that I found out the talented Ms. Elise over at Reign in Blonde kind of does the same thing. Apparently, all my acquaintances are online these days. She actually compiled a list of the most metal Disney characters, and with her help, I’ve expanded the list. Here are the Ten Most Likely Metalheads in Animated Movies (excluding anime and other international releases, as the author has not done enough research on the subject.)

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So I’m not a Kittie fan, and I’m especially not a fan of Kittie’s song “My Plague,” because it seems like a pretty blatant rip-off of Lamb of God’s “Laid to Rest,” which itself owes something pretty substantial to Testament’s “Into the Pit.” But whether or not you’re a Kittie fan, if you have functioning eyeballs, you can only ask one question after watching the band’s new video — “Is this real?”

So first of all, the video looks like it was shot on a cell phone. Not a good cell phone, either. Like, my iPhone takes way prettier movies than this. Maybe it was like a Flip cam or something? Those don’t always react so good to low-light situations. In any case, it might have been worth it for whomever was making this video to get his or her hands on a decent camera.

For another thing, there’s a piece of live footage at roughly the sixteen second mark that gets reused around the 1:12 mark. It’s not even subtle — the guitarist (no I do no know what her name is and no I will not look it up) stops playing, looks out at the crowd, and throws her arm up.

That’s when I stopped watching the clip. Because it means that not only does this video look like poo, but that there was so little actual usable footage that barely more than a minute into the video, they had to start recycling what they had. I don’t even understand. It’s not like they were using film and it was costing them money. Just take, like, ten seconds more crappy cell phone footage and you’re all set. Heck, I bet you can find some on YouTube. But no, that would require maybe an entire minute’s worth of extra work, so fuck that, right? TO THE BAR!

-AR