IT’S HANUKKAH IN ALMOST-JULY!!!

After two weeks of salivating over the mere thought, dates for Periphery’s first-ever headlining tour — which will feature support from The Human Abstract, The Contortionist, and, playing for the first time ever in North America, Textures — have been announced. This is certainly one of the can’t-miss tours of the fall; pretty much any one of these bands alone would be sufficient reason to buy a ticket, but together, they’re like one mighty, proggy, Voltron of modern metal.

I cannot wait.

Here’s the itinerary:

Click to read more…

Well THAT’S not a shitty line-up.

Periphery are gonna do their first-ever headlining trek starting in September. And we would all pretty much go no matter what, ’cause it’s Periphery, and Periphery rules.

But just to make extra, extra sure that you’re onboard, the band is bringing The Human Abstract, Textures, and The Contortionist along with them.

I can’t emphasize enough what a great bill that is. I know a lot of you who wanted to see THA on their most recent headlining tour didn’t get to, ’cause the tour was cut short due to the loss of a family member of one of the dudes in the band, so here will be your chance to finally get to see them do all that great Digital Veil material live. And it’s Textures’ first time in playing North America, which means, by gosh, you MUST MUST MUST go see them.

Tour dates haven’t been announced yet, but the second we have ‘em, you shall as well.

-AR

How did we ever miss this? We’ve been following the progress of the new Textures album (their first since 2008′s Silhouettes, which single-handedly bolstered stock in the Kleenex Corporation by 180%) with such rabid excitement that I have no idea how we never saw this footage of the band performing a new song in Delhi. The clip has been online since November, fer Chrissakes!

Oh well, no matter — reader Ashley Lee sent us a link to the vid, and now we can all indulge. As is the case with almost all live bootlegs, the A/V quality is questionable, but it’s good enough for me to know that I want to hear this new offering immediately. Alas, I shall have to wait until the fall, when Nuclear Blast is scheduled to release the group’s new, yet-to-be-titled album.

Also, if someone could please bring Textures to America to perform for me (and, oh, okay, the band’s other fans, too), that would be swell.

-AR

Sheesh you are getting old…  The best years and achievements are clearly behind you, and it’s time to give in to the slow ride downhill to mediocrity.

Right?

Hmmm…..let’s hope not.

Regardless of what’s ahead, it’s important to keep remembering where you came from, how your experiences have shaped you, and what to learn from them for the future. Duh.

Case in point: three of our very favorite bands are currently recording new albums, and while the jury may be out on how awesome said follow-ups will be, we have ample opportunity to look back at the past and think about what solid foundations have been built to make way for a healthy and expansive evolution…

Or the new albums may just all suck.  Who fucking knows?

-KW

Me too. But for now we’ll all have to settle for little clips of a few new songs scattered throughout their latest video update from Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam. This episode focuses on the guitar recording process, which seems to be going swimmingly. I think we’re all a bit curious to see and hear how things go with new vocalist Daniel de Jongh, but I suppose we’ll have to continue being patient.

Bonus: this episode also features a little Taylor Swift guitareoke session. Don’t ask me how I know that the song in question is Taylor Swift.

Watch the first studio update here if you missed it. The follow-up to Silhouettes will be released this fall worldwide via Nuclear Blast.

-VN

A week or two ago word got out that Animals as Leaders, Intronaut, Last Chance to Reason, Dead Letter Circus (who I don’t really know but who just signed with Sumerian… and apparently Textures’ Stef Broks is a fan, which ain’t a bad sign), and Evan Brewer were gonna do a tour together; we didn’t write anything at the time because, well, we just told you everything there was to write. There were no other details to give!

There are still no other details to give, except now Animals as Leaders have put the tour poster up on their Facebook page, which I guess is something. I mean, if you thought this tour was just a rumor, now you know it’s a really real thing. You don’t know when/where they’re playing or whether or not you can go, but, hey, you do know that they’ll all be on the road together.

Hopefully information that is actually of some use, like tour dates, will be released soon, too.

In the meantime, uh… enjoy this poster I guess?

-AR

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed us about this! Feel free to e-mail us again when dates are released.

The lucky ducks in Textures have the luxury of taking their sweet ass time to craft the perfect follow-up to their stunning 2008 release Silhouettes. That’s because they’re recording at guitarist Jochem Jacobs’ own Split Second Sound studio in Amsterdam, and only good things can come when you aren’t constrained by time and money… unless you’re Axl Rose.

While we already know Textures’ new record is going to be pretty much the best thing ever, for now we’ll have to settle for a little taste of all the savory goodness to come in the form of a video update from the studio. We get to hear what sounds like pre-production in the background while drummer Stef Brooks lays down his tracks, and we also get a glimpse into the creative process and how things are going with the two new band members.

Watch, get excited, then try your best to wait patiently for the next update.

-VN

[UPDATE: The chat is NEXT Wednesday, March 16th! Oops. -Ed.]

Let us all rejoice that Textures are making a new record this year, a follow-up to 2008′s stunning, expansive masterpice Silhouettes. But what will the record sound like? How’s recording going so far? How are things working out with new vocalist Daniel de Jongh? Will the band finally come to the States; will they return to India?? Vanilla ice cream or chocolate?? Top or bottom???

You can find out the answers to these burning questions and more this Wednesday (that’s tomorrow!) when Textures take to the Interhole for a live chat session on Got-Djent.com. Drummer Stef Broks, guitarist Bart Hennephof and bassist Remko Tielemans will be fielding your questions starting at 2pm EST (19:00 GMT, 20:00 CET, 11AM PST).

You can join the web chat directly from the Web chat link in the navigation bar at got-djent.com, or you can use an IRC client like mIRC, ChatZilla or XChat to connect to irc.umbranet.org and join the channel #djent. Holy shit, IRC still exists? I think the last time I used IRC was literally in 1996 or so and I completely forgot that the # symbol ever referred to its channels… but alas… I guess hosting a chat via IRC is kinda like releasing your album on vinyl or something. Just watch, before we know it all the tr00 kids are gonna be doing it.

-VN

We all remember that lost era of yesteryear.  Stolen glances.  Hushed whispers.  Fleeting touches that left us longing for more.  Makes you just wanna reach out and lolz where the sun don’t shine.  Alas, let’s have a moment of silence for that one super-special ex in our lives…

I’m speaking, of course, about the prog metal supergroup Exivious (featuring members of Textures and Cynic), who supposedly threw in the towel last May.

I say supposedly because when our very own Axl Shmosenshmerg reported this past December that Cynic’s guitarist and bassist were leaving the band, he mentioned a tasty morsel of info about said players now talking about working on another Exivious release.

This is good news for those proggateers among us who have been patiently awaiting some new jamz from the almighty Textures; bad news for your ex’s new beau.

Bring it on…

Let Exivious warm your earholes on TheirSpace and go see them LIVE on April 30th in Switzerland!!!!!

-KW

New Devin (now times three!), new BTBAM, new Protest the Hero, new Meshuggah, new Obscura, new Scale the Summit… most likely new Opeth, Mastodon and Dream Theater… and now new TEXTURES. What did we do to deserve this? As in, can someone please let me know so I can make sure every year is this full of awesome metal record releases??

Click to read more…

FEATURING MEMBERS OF KYLESA, DARKTHRONE, BRUTAL TRUTH, KATAKLYSM, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, TEXTURES, SWASHBUCKLE, THIS OR THE APOCALYPSE, DISFIGURING THE GODDESS, BURNING THE MASSES, CHRISTIAN MISTRESS, MISERY, AND GRIFTEGARD

For 2010, we decided to do something special as part of our regular end-of-year festivities here at MetalSucks — namely, ask musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year were. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of ten to twelve musicians at a time twice a day for the rest of the week.

After the jump, check out the seventh group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

(And please note that these are musicians and that they, um, have a lot on their minds. So some of ‘em named albums that actually came out last year. Please don’t freak out.)

Click to read more…

We’ve talked a fair amount as of late about the side projects/comings & goings of the riconkulonk Dutch band Textures and its offshoots.

First we got sexually excited about the proggalicious side project Exivious featuring members of Textures and Cynic…..then we lamented the demise of said side project.

Said side project.

Said side project.

Said side project.

Then we got saddy-poos about Textures’ stellar vocalist Eric Kalsbeek leaving the band…..then we rejoiced in the news of a new vocal stylist entering the fold.

Then we empathized over the trials & tribulations of CiliCe, whose vocalist Daniël De Jongh left the band to join Textures.  Some time passed, and then they found a new frontman.

But where does all of our love for this extended musical family come from, you ask?

Right here:

-KW

The “djent” / bedroom producer-musician scene has gone from a tiny niche community on the Internet to a worldwide phenomenon in just a few years; in 2010, it’s a serious presence in the scene that any metal fan can feel. But how did it all get started? No one would know better than TesseracT guitarist Acle who’s been there since the very beginning. To that end, here’s Acle with a quick little history lesson:

It was probably back in 2002 / 2003 when the online community of producer-musicians who spawned the bands of this new wave of progressive metal, or “djent”, began to come together. A key unique factor that set this community / scene / then-to-be-genre apart from others is that it had no geographical base; people from all over the world were (and still are) sharing ideas, recording parts for each other and even jamming via the internet. Like punk came from the bars, clubs and rehearsal rooms of New York, this scene started in chat rooms, forums and home studios. This made it easy for many like minded people to find each other, something which would have been impossible without the internet.

Before I really had any recording experience I’d occasionally check the Meshuggah, Toontrack and Harmony Central forums. I’m sure there must still be some ancient posts on there! They were good places to pick up guitar technique tips, achieving certain tones and basic recording things. I learnt Meshuggah’s famous “djent” chord on their forum which is basically a normal power chord with an added 5th which gives that iconic “djenty” Meshuggah sound. The term “djent” just meant the sound of this “meshuggah chord,” not a scene.

Click to read more…

Some day Textures, Benea Reach and Celice will all come to the U.S. together on a tour that will go down in metal history as beyond legendary. That day is not today, but hey, it could happen soon; Textures are currently in the studio recording a new record with new vocalist Daniel de Jongh, Benea Reach are about due for a followup to 2008′s stunning Alleviat, and Celice… well, they’ve got some work to do as they’re in need of a new vocalist following de Jongh’s departure. But hey, a man can hope, and I’d like to extend a helping hand on behalf of MetalSucks to all of those bands if they ever do make it stateside.

Until then, I’ll have to live vicariously through live footage like the video of Benea Reach at Frizon Festival in Örebro, Sweden last month posted by Got-Djent. It’s always fascinating to me how a band like this can bring a full on stage production to play in front of thousands in their home country, but over here they’d probably play stripped down 500-cap venues.

Also, apparently even metal musicians in Sweden aren’t above singing along to A Ha.

-VN

If there’s any band that’s even come close to filling the void left by the late wonky, freaky prog metallers SikTh, that band is CiliCe; they even inexplicably capitalize random letters of their one-word band name. You may remember that CiliCe vocalist Daniël De Jongh left the band in March to fill the void in Textures left by departed singer Eric Kalsbeek, so if you weren’t familiar with CiliCe until then, that should tell you something about the band; they’re really, really good. Kalsbeek was no slouch, and any band that’s compared favorably to SiKth and Textures certainly isn’t full of any slouches either. “Slouch” sounds kind of funny when you repeat it a bunch of times. Say it aloud. Slouch slouch slouch. What the fuck?

Got Djent is reporting that the still vocalist-less CiliCe have released a new video for “Mental Breakdown” from 2009′s excellent Deranged Headtrip album. This strikes me as somewhat of an odd time to release a video — the album having come out almost a year and a half ago — but perhaps the band is just trying to stay in the minds of fans, and at the same time trying to get into the news to aid their vocalist search. It’s a live clips video, but it’s a really well-done one, and since the band has never come to the U.S. (to my knowledge) it’s a cool look into what these dudes look like and play like. Check it out.

-VN

I know I’m a bit late here, but I just couldn’t come up with the words to express the disappointment that fusion/prog metal supergroup Exivious have decided to call it quits. When a group featuring members of Cynic and Textures decides to break up after releasing just one masterful album… what is their really to say other than “bummer”?

Guitarist Tymon cited “we’re busy with our other projects” as the reason for the breakup in a publicly released statement, but what I don’t understand is why being busy with other projects necessitates calling it quits forever. Couldn’t these guys come together to make music whenever their schedules all align again — whether it be a month from now or 5 years from now — the way, say, Bloodbath do? I don’t think anyone would complain if he’d simply said “We’re way too busy to make new music right now, but maybe in a few years we’ll be able to get back to it.” I just don’t get the finality of it.

Oh well. Here’s the song “Waves of Thought” from their self-titled debut, released last year.

-VN

The Monkeys were going apeshit this morning around dawn making it impossible for anyone near their Wing to sleep (he always complains, but there ARE perks to that dungeonous basement room we assigned Anso). Seems a press release had come in around 7:15am announcing that Textures had replaced Eric Kalsbeek, who departed two months ago, with Daniel de Jongh of Dutch experimental metallers Cilice.

Click to read more…

Our inboxes have been flooded since it was announced yesterday vocalist Eric Kalsbeek has quit Dutch prog-metal masters Textures. Clearly, this band has a small but ferocious fanbase.

Here’s a statement from Kalsbeek:

“Dear fans & friends,

I decided to quit Textures. My life changed, priorities shifted. I can’t cope with the heavy touring and the time investment anymore. I need to focus on my job and family. I need to take a few steps back. I’ve had six beautiful years with the band, did loads of amazing shows, made tons of new friends and created some mind-blowing music. I’m going to miss the guys, and of course you, the fans. I know Textures will continue to conquer the world and give you all great, heavy and awesome music. I wish my successor all the best. I will keep on making music, but something totally different, much more low-profile. Maybe we will meet again. Eric out”

The band is searching for a new singer now. Here’s hoping they find someone as awesome as Kalsbeek!

While you mourn, check out the band’s 2008 video for “Awake”:

-AR

I’ve had this YouTube vid up in my browser for days because it’s simply awesome. This kid who goes by the name “Krimh” plays drums, bass and guitar himself on this track, filmed himself playing each part and cut it all together in this nifty video. The playing is top-notch and the composition is excellent — reminds me of an instrumental Textures. It’s kind of got a Sumeriancore feel to it but there’s also an element of black/grimness that pops up here and there. I also really dig the organic drum tones as opposed to the heavily sound-replaced tones that usually dominate this kind of music.

This guy is pretty much what I strived to be when I was in high school, a multi-instrumentalist composer — only I didn’t have a drumkit (or the space for one) and my crappy little Roland 8-track (which did service me quite well) wouldn’t have been capable of properly recording it even if I did. Today’s kids are lucky to have excellent recording software available at their fingertips so cheaply, I tells ya.

Check Krimh out on MySpace if you want more.

-VN

[Thanks: Chris Uber]

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into tracking and recording a metal record, take a look at this in-depth, behind-the-scenes studio footage of producer Jochem Jacobs walking the viewer through the Textures song “Awake,” track by track. Even the most bare-bones recordings these days tend to have multiple layers of guitar and vocal tracks, but if you’ve heard Textures’ sonically dense album Silhouettes then you already know the next level to which these Dutchmen take their recording technique. The production on Silhouettes is positively stellar, far and away one of the best recorded and produced records of 2008.

In the below video, Jacobs walks the viewer through the different sections of the song, then through the multiple layers of tracks in each, isolating a number of different parts individually and together in different combinations so you can hear precisely what was recorded. It’s a fascinating look into production and recording technique; watch the clip below, then watch the rest at FaceCulture.com. Thanks to Jesse Z. for sending this in.

-VN