Friday, November 4th, 2011 at 1:20pm by MetalSucks
On October 6th, the Frak the Gods tour — featuring Periphery, Textures and The Contortionist, with Stray From the Path taking the place of The Human Abstract — rolled through New York City for a very appreciative sold-out crowd at the Gramercy Theater. MetalSucks faves The Binary Code opened the show, and MS photographer Mariel “Tormentia” Pietrykoski was there to capture all the action. Take a look at her photos after the jump.
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 2:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
On Saturday afternoon, ABC No Rio hosted the first-ever NYC show ever by Argonauts, the new band featuring vocalist Dimitri Minakakis (ex-The Dillinger Escape Plan), guitarist John Adubato (Burnt by the Sun), bassist Brett Bamberger (East of the Wall, The Binary Code’s old touring line-up), and drummer Dave Witte (seriously if you don’t know who Dave Witte is stop reading this right now and go do some homework). And for those of us who were lucky/smart enough to be there, the consensus was unanimous: ARGONAUTS. ARE. AWESOME.
If you weren’t lucky/smart enough to be there, though, you don’t have to take my word for it: the always-helpful (((unartig)))was there, and he filmed one of the six songs the group played. This is far superior to the footage of the band’s live debut which we saw last month, and it gives you a much better sense of their sound — although I still don’t think it comes anywhere close to conveying the energy in the room that afternoon, which was postively electric.
Apparently Argonauts’ current live set consists of every completed song they have right now; hopefully they’ll either write s’more and put out a full-length, or otherwise just record an EP, sometime in the very, very near future. I am seriously bummed that I can’t walk around listening to this band on my iPod right now. They fucking RULED. If you’re smart, you’ll keep a very, very close watch on their future activities, ’cause they are the real fucking deal.
Thursday, August 4th, 2011 at 11:00am by Axl Rosenberg
In June I saw The Binary Code for the first time since December I think. And me not seeing The Binary Code, one of my absolute favorite bands from this region, for that amount of time is, well, highly unsual.
So when they started playing all this shit I’d never heard before, I was like, “Whoa!” They’ve been demoing new material quite a bit, apparently, and are planning to release their sophomore full-length at the start of next year.
That’s still a little ways off, though, so the band has posted one of their new demos, “Dark Meditations,” on their Facebook page. It doesn’t have any vocals yet, and I have no idea if they’re planning to add vocals to this particular track or not, but one way or the other, it sounds really great — it’s very much in the vein of “Ocean of Light,” the epic instrumental track which opened the band’s Priest EP last year (thus, my speculation that the track might remain vocal-free).
In any case, I can’t wait to hear more — this is a band that should always pique your interest. Check out the “Dark Meditations” demo here, and start getting excited about new Binary Code in 2012…
I have a friend who swears that the basement of her workplace is haunted by a g-g-g-g-ghost… She also mentioned an affinity for reality shows about paranormal activity. So naturally I asked her if the ghost at her workplace came before she started watching said reality shows or vice versa. What do you think her answer was?
My humble apologies to the apparition-believers among us — I don’t mean to sound so skeptical. As a matter of fact, I suspect there are plenty of cosmic/extrasensory phenomena I have faith in that many of you might scoff at.
Destiny?
Fate?
G-d?
Unicornzzz?
MS Mansion Monkeys????
(That last one is undeniably real)
In any case, it’s hard not to appreciate m-m-m-m-music about g-g-g-g-ghosts, right? Let’s get our spook on after ze jump…
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 10:30am by Axl Rosenberg
SUH-WEEEEEEETTTTT!
The Binary Code have posted two new demos, “Unexist” and “Trees 100 Feet Underwater,” to their Facebook page (the latter title, humorously enough, is a reference to recent ads encouraging tourism in Mexico); like I said, they’re just demos, so they’re rough, and they don’t have any vocals. But they’re also AWESOME. This band’s artistic growth has been occurring at a rapid, rapid pace these past few years, and these two songs suggest to me that they’re not gonna slow down anytime soon.
Headbang here, then come back and let us know what you think. Hopefully this means we’ll be getting a new album or EP from the band soon.
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 at 1:00pm by MetalSucks
Best Show Us Your MetalSucks entry yet? That’s Binary Code guitarist Jesse Zuretti hanging at the brand new MS Mansion. That’s right, folks, we’re moving up in the world. Obama, Biden and co. had to high-tail it out of there when Axl, Vince and crew rolled into town with A/V whiz Jesse and a trailer full of gear in preparation for our metal takeover of the United States’ most famous residence. Read it and weep, bitches. Move over Gawker, move over Huffington Post, move over TMZ… MetalSucks is #1!
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 at 5:00pm by MetalSucks
IT’S HERE! IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! Volume 1 of NYC Sucks, the completely free comp we’ve compiled to spotlight some of the best metal bands currently dominating the New York metal scene. This volume features fourteen songs by as many bands, who run the gamut of genres, from death to tech to prog to grind to black to hardcore to doom and more. We truly feel that this is a great sampling of all that New York’s thriving metal scene has to offer, and we’re beyond proud to be sharing it with you — absolutely, 100% free of charge.
You can stream, or, better yet, just download the comp below. It contains high-quality 320kbps MP3s, and as well as a PDF of digital liner notes with information about all the bands. Please help get the word out… send the comp to your friends, put it up on torrent sites, submit it to .rar Mediafire blogs… just spread the friggin’ music by any means necessary!
And don’t forget that Volume 2, featuring thirteen more great bands and songs, will be out on February 22nd!!!
1. East of the Wall, “The Ladder”
2. Made out of Babies, “Invisible Ink”
3. Tiger Flowers, “Cuts”
4. Black Anvil, “The Evil of All Roots”
5. Naam, “Frosted Tread”
6. Batillus, “The Children of the Night Make Their Music”
7. Meek is Murder, “Sundowners” (demo)
8. The Binary Code, “Encircled”
9. Castevet, “Stones”
10. Hung, “Desert of Sad”
11. Wizardry, “The Falconer”
12. Pyrrhon, “King of All Tears”
13. Mutant Supremacy, “Epitaph”
14. Incendiary, “Victory in Defeat”
Thursday, December 16th, 2010 at 3:00pm by MetalSucks
FEATURING MEMBERS OF GOD FORBID, AT THE GATES, DISFEAR, MACHINE HEAD, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, THE OCEAN, JUCIFER, THE BINARY CODE, HULL, DYSRHYTHMIA, INDIAN, AND DARKEST ERA
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 eleven musicians at a time twice a day for the rest of the week.
After the jump, check out the sixth 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.)
Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at 1:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
I’ve never been nearly as big of a fan of Stone Temple Pilots as my main man Vince is, but I do, by and large, like their music, and their debut, Core, remains my favorite STP album. And while I never would have seen this coming in a million years, now The Binary Code have recorded a cover of a song off of that very album, “Wicked Garden” — with ex-Periphery front man Chris Barretto handling vocal duties, no less.
Noisecreep has the exclusive stream of the song, along with an interview with guitarist Jesse Zuretti. And lest you think STP is for pussies and The Binary Code should have covered Death or something instead, allow Zuretti to school yo’ ass:
“Stone Temple Pilots are just as important, if not more important, than most of my metal influences when writing music. The chord vocabulary Dean DeLeo built with each album they put out blows my mind. More than any flashy, 32nd-note, legato-filled, eight-string guitar solo I’ve ever listened to.”
BOO-YAH! He said “chord vocabulary.” Take that, son.
Like I said, you can stream the track at Noisecreep. In the meantime, here’s a still from the upcoming music video for the song, which is gonna blow up TRL like a motherfucker:
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 2:30pm by MetalSucks
The 2010 incarnation of the CMJ Music Marathon is almost upon us! A solid week of booze, partying and music in the streets and clubs of New York City makes us all just a little bit crazy every year, but there’s just so much fun shit happening all week that impossible not to heed its beck and call. Fortunately for you and for us, there’s plenty of metal at this year’s festival including some killer shows that aren’t even officially sanctioned by CMJ. Here’s a list of MetalSucks-approved events happening next week:
Mon, Oct. 18: The Syndicate Conflict of Interest Party feat. Nada Surf, Reggie Watts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and more. Drink specials. 7pm at Club Rebel. RSVP only.
Mon, Oct. 18: Cattle Decapitation, Son of Aurelius, Devourment, Knights of the Abyss and Burning the Masses at Santo’s Party House. 7pm, $13 advance, 18+. This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
Tues, Oct. 19: Nevermore, Warbringer, Blackguard and Hatesphere at The Gramercy Theater. 6pm Doors, $32.25, tickets available here. This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
Thur, Oct 21: Metal Insider’s Mosh Potatoes book release party! Release party for the forthcoming metal cookbook Mosh Potatoes and listening party for the new The Damned Things album Ironoclast, with drink specials and yummy treats of recipes from the book. Idle Hands Bar, 5-8pm. Private event (if you think you should be invited, you should know who to contact).
Thur, Oct 21: Skateboard Marketing / Nova Entertainment CMJ Showcase featuring SuperMetal Records / Megaforce artists Misery. 5:30-7:30pm, Bowery Poetry Club. Budweiser and Jaeger drink specials. First hour is RSVP only, second hour is open to the public and CMJ badges.
Thur, Oct 21: Doomsday Mourning, Hivesmasher, The Judas Syndrome, Fin’amor at the Charleston in Brooklyn. 7:30pm doors, show starts at 8:30pm, 21+. This is not a CMJ-sanctioned event.
Thur, Oct 21 – Sunday, Oct 24: The Grill ‘Em All burger truck guys will be here all the way from L.A. without their truck, making special guest chef appearances at area restaurants!! Get details here.
Fri, Oct 22: Smell the Glove Party / Holy Grail Crisis in Utopia CD Release Party at St. Jerome’s (155 Rivington). No cover, 21+, 9pm.
Fri, Oct 22: Tee Pee Records / Metal Insider Showcase: Naam, Priestess, Quest for Fire, The Atomic Bitchwax, Mirror Queen, Hopewell, and Weird Owl. 6pm, Union Pool, Brooklyn, $10/adv and $12/dos. Tickets available here.
Friday, October 8th, 2010 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Earlier this week Vince discussed the Inspector Gadget theme, his most beloved cover from the new Powerglove album, Saturday Morning Apocalypse; now I’d like to discuss my own personal favorite track from that record.
Tim Burton’s 1989 version of Batman was a seminal moment in my moviegoing life. We waited on a line down the block to see the movie; the audience started cheering as soon as the lights went down even though absolutely nothing had happened yet; and then Danny Elfman’s now-classic march kicked in, and as soon as the main title came up, the crowd applauded with such force that I thought there might be a riot. At that point in my life, I’d never had that movie-as-a-rock-concert experience before. So even though the flick hasn’t aged very well, I will always have a soft spot for it in my heart.
And Danny Elfman’s score is still the best part of the whole thing. That music gets me pumped every time I hear it.
So Powerglove’s metallicized version of the song is something of nerd heaven for me. I might need to make it my ringtone, even.
Saturday Morning Apocalypse is out now on E1. As Vince mentioned, Powerglove are headlining the second of two MetalSucks CMJ Music Marathon showcases; this one will take place during the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd at Fontana’s in NYC, and will also feature Wetnurse, The Binary Code, Pack of Wolves, Meek is Murder and Batillus. Sailor Jerry Rum will be providing rum mixed drinks for free from 4-5pm and for only $3 after that. That means that we’re all gonna be really, really, really drunk before nightfall, and then watch six totally kick-ass metal bands tear a small room to shreds. Holy shit I am so excited. Is it October 23 yet?
It is with a heavy heart that we report the loss of Jason “Plunger” Sica, vocalist for New Jersey death metal band Abacinate. Jason was only 25; he died at the home of one of his friends, in his hometown of Edison, New Jersey, from causes that are unknown as of this time.
It’s a testament to just how strong the NYC-area metal scene is right now that we’ve barely given prior coverage to Abacinate — self-described “working-class beer drinking metal” – a talented group whose recent release Genesis was a huge step forward for the band and easily their best album yet. I caught the band live this summer at the ongoing Monday night Precious Metal series of shows at Lit Lounge and was quite impressed with what I saw; Sica was a great frontman who really knew how to entertain an audience. I also hung out with Jason just two weeks ago when he trekked into the city to catch The Binary Code and Vanisher (Abacinate’s Todd Stern has played second guitar for The Binary Code in the past); I can’t say I knew him well, but it’s eery to think about.
Jason was just too young to die, and it’s such a shame that this band’s career was just taking off. I sincerely hope they decide to continue on.
From their recent album Genesis, here’s the track “Necroplunger”:
Thursday, September 30th, 2010 at 4:00pm by MetalSucks
Yesterday Axl reminded you why you should attend the MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000Knives CMJ showcase featuring A Life Once Lost, Car Bomb, This or the Apocalypse, Baptized in Blood and Last Chance to Reason. And guess what? We’re doing two CMJ showcases this year! ‘Cause we love you like that, and we also love seeing our name on top of a flyer. Since the aforementioned showcase features a smattering of bands from across the metal record label spectrum, we decided to devote this one to honoring the best and brightest of NYC’s metal bands, with a few special friends as well. The lineup:
Saturday, October 23rd
Fontana’s – 105 Eldridge St., New York
4pm / 21+ / $10 (a limited number of CMJ badge-holders will be admitted, but event is open to the public)
As if that killer lineup isn’t enough to convince you to spend your Saturday afternoon headbanging,Sailor Jerry Rum will be providing complimentary cocktails from 4-5pm, and mixed drinks will be $3 thereafter so even the brokest of the broke can get their buzz on. See you at the show.
North Carolina’s Vanisher, who were once known as Zero System and feature in their ranks members of Bloodjinn and Glass Casket, have a dual-pronged piece of good news for metalheads this week. First is the announcement that they’ve signed with Tribunal Records and will release their new full-length album The History of Saints on September 14th. And to support the album they’ve announced a 10-day tour of the East Coast in September on which they’ll have MS faves The Binary Code and NC rockers Hephystus in tow.
Despite the pedigree of its members, Vanisher actually doesn’t sound a whole lot like Bloodjinn or Glass Casket; dare I say, they’re a bit more straight-forward than either? I’ve really been digging what I’ve heard of The History of Saints from their MySpace page; it’s melodic and catchy without being trite or obvious, and it’s got plenty of brutality and razor tightness which was what I always loved about Bloodjinn. Of course you all know how we feel about The Binary Code, whose new EP Priest is out now and the title track of which we’re streaming here. Hephystus are new to us, but we look forward to seeing them when they hit the NYC stop (with local faves Empyreon).
I’ve been living with The Binary Code’s new EP Priest ever since they sent it to me many weeks ago, but from the get-go my favorite track has been “Encircled,” a progressive masterpiece that’s currently streaming over at Revolver Magazine. To me it encompasses all that I love about The Binary Code — complex, techy passages that don’t sacrifice the overall song in the name of showing off, off-kilter time signatures, sections of straight-forward head-banging groove, a little dose of shred, and an epic instrumental closing passage that calls to mind the “Part II” section of “Suspension of Disbelief” from their debut LP of the same name. In short, it’s fucking awesome.
This past Spring, The Binary Code — still pretty much our favorite unsigned metal band on the East Coast — announced that they were gonna be selling/trading a new three song EP on the road. Now that EP, Priest, is going to be made available to non-concert goers on August 10 — with a new batch of mixes and a bonus track — and guess what? We have your first taste right here: the awesome, brootaler-than-thou, microchip-in-your-brain techy title track. Turn that shit ALL THE WAY UP for maximum metaltude before you hit “play.” And make sure there are no small animals or children nearby, because you might accidentally melt their brains.
Unfortunately for all of you, the limited edition, hand-made, autographed CD copies of the EP are all sold-out already — but you can pre-order Priesthere as a digital download, or as a download and t-shirt package (which is what we’re going for — the merch, designed by guitarist Jesse Zuretti, is frickin’ sweet). It’s been really amazing watching this band just get better and better over the past several months — the material on Priest already smokes last year’s Suspension of Disbelief. Go order a copy.
Catch The Binary Code at their EP release show August 2nd at the Charleston in Brooklyn with East of the Wall, Iron Thrones, Name and Meek Is Murder, and on a fall East Coast tour to be announced soon.
Prolific New Jersey progressive death metallers The Binary Code — whose debut full-length album Suspension of Disbelief we released in December — are back with a new body of work a mere 7 months later, having just announced they’ll be releasing the 4-song Priest EP on August 10th. MetalSucks isn’t involved in the release effort this time around as that was only ever meant to be a one-time thing (as will be the case for any bands we decide to work with in the future), but we’ve had the privilege of hearing the Priest EP, and man is it smokin’! It’s the next step in the evolution of this incredibly creative band to be sure.
In addition to selling their own digital downloads and download + t-shirt packages for Priest, the band has made a very special limited edition of CDs available; the jewel cases have been hand-painted, autographed by all members of the band, and hand-numbered, and man do they look sweet. Only 50 copies will be available (25 Super-Special Edition and 25 Regular Special Edition!) and word from the band is that they’re already almost sold out despite having only been made available last night, so you better get on that horse and pre-order yours today.
Watch the above video clip of the guys making, assembling and signing the limited edition CDs set to clips from the new EP. That’s fucking dedication to your craft. Axl gave ya’ll a preview of new music from Priest back in April when it was first announced, so check that out too if you want to hear more of what the EP has to offer.
Priest EP drops August 10th. The Binary Code will have an EP release party at The Charleston in Brooklyn with East of the Wall (whose bassist Brett Bamberger will be pulling double duty!), Meek is Murder, and Name.
1. Endure a political lecture from Blackie Lawless.
2. Take an I.Q. exam designed by Korn fans.
3. Pose for a Paul Stanley-painted portrait of my taint for his next exhibit.
4. Try to teach my dog to play The Binary Code’s “Suspension of Disbelief” on the ukulele.
5. Watch Lita Ford and Jim Gillette fuck, then Tweet about it.
6. Help produce British Steel Drums: The World’s Most Irritating Tribute to Judas Priest.
7. Let Marilyn Manson spit in my mouth.
8. Let the dude from Weedeater clean his gun while it’s aimed directly at my face.
9. Tie Billy Milano to my penis and toss him over the side of a roof.
10. Pretend to be a solicitor, call the Dio residence, and ask if Ronnie is available.
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 2:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
The Binary Code just released Suspension of Disbelief back in December (through this very website, no less!), but I guess they’re some prolific motherfuckers, ’cause they’ve already announced plans for a new, three-song EP, Priest. (And if you think the title makes them a Christian band, well, go punch yourself in the dick.) If you go check out the band on their upcoming tour with The Gloominous Doom, they’ll be giving the EP away for FREE with the purchase of any t-shirt – and The Binary Code make some awesome t-shirts (they’re all designed by guitarist Jesse Zuretti, who also designed this awesome t-shirt and hoodie for MetalSucks). You can also get one “for creative barter” – use your imagination there, but I imagine weed/alcohol/your girlfriend would probably be a step in the right direction. Then, sometime after the tour, the band will make the EP available for digital download.
I haven’t heard the Priest EP yet, but it’s The Binary Code, one of our favorite young up n’ coming bands out there, so I’d wager it’s awesome; the samples in the below video teaser certainly suggest this to be the case. Check out the clip, and then get tour dates for The Binary Code’s trek with The Gloominous Doom after el jumperoo.
