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Oklahoma City gets all the good stuff. Well, maybe not all the good stuff, but five years ago they stole Kevin Durant from a metropolis whose literacy rate is in double digits, and now they pretty much get the one-off metal show of the year. If you’re a proud OKC resident (or reside in the multiple surrounding bumfuck satellites), get pumped.

On Saturday, April 28, the Decibel Magazine Tour with collide with the U.S. Torture Tour at the Big Friendly’s Diamond Ballroom. And when I say “collide,” I mean someone should make an ad with both logos on football helmets crashing together and just fucking exploding, except with freshly decapitated heads inside. This Devastator of a lineup consists of Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Watain, Exhumed, the Devil’s Blood, In Solitude, Abysmal Dawn and Arkaik. The cost of such a mega-event must be offensively prohibitive, right? Um, try $23 adv./$26 DOS. Roughly the cost of either package’s standalone shows. Plenty of time to get your flights/carpools organized. Bring me the head of Rumble the Bison.

-AB

The March 2012 issue of Decibel, which features Municipal Waste, Napalm Death, Cattle Decapitation, and an awesome Torche flexi disc, is available for order here. But why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss an issue?

Axl wore his most vile death metal shirt in an attempt to avoid being selected as a juror in this great City of New York, but lo and behold, his plan backfired and he was chosen anyway. So it’s been the Vince party over here since Wednesday with plenty of help from all of our most excellent contributors — special big ups to Anso DF for pitching in extra! Here’s what went down:

• We lost Riot guitarist Mark Reale. R.I.P.
• We premiered a new track by Pyscroptic, one by Exotic Animal Petting Zoo and all of Primal Fear’s new album Unbreakable.
• The Rockstar Mayhem Festival announced the first slate of bands on its 2012 lineup. Slipknot later spilled the beans that High on Fire are confirmed too.
• Ihsahn is guesting on the new Jeff Loomis solo joint and Jeff Loomis is guesting on the new Ihsahn solo joint. Will those two get a room already?
• The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman went all anti-drug on our asses.
• Tours and rumours of tours: The Mastodon / Opeth / Ghost tour is really gonna happen, Meshuggah, Decapitated and Baroness will hit the U.S. together (no dates yet), dates were announced for the Decibel Magazine Tour featuring Behemoth, Watain, The Devil’s Blood and In Solitude, while All Shall Perish, Fleshgod Apocalypse and other cool bands announced a tour too.
• Sammy O’Hagar reviewed Lamb of God‘s new album while Gary took a look at new hardcore 7-inches by Daylight, Unholy Majesty and Wrong Answer.
• We realized that Maynard James Keenan poops and pees and eats just like the rest of us.

We’ll be back next week for Axl’s triumphant return to the blogosphere. See you then.

-VN

This is just me, but I attend Darkest Hour shows mostly to make goo-goo eyes at guitarist Mike Schleibaum, fellow devotée of my boner band The Crown (and The Cars). That’s my M.O. no judgements please. Still I was bummed when sweet drummer Ryan Parrish announced his departure from DH late last year. But dude is already in A Cancerous Affair, the project started by his former DH bandmate and guitar freak Kris Norris. And which now welcomes its newest member, keyboardist Knockerz Randall.

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High fives all around, dudes and lady-dudes: the itinerary for The Decibel Magazine Tour, the ridiculously awesome trek that features Behemoth in their first U.S. appearances since Nergal laid leukemia to waste + the unfuckwithable support line-up of Watain, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude, has been announced, and tickets are available now.

These include special premium packages, of which there are only fifteen available on each tour stop; they  come with your ticket to the show, a tour T-shirt, a tour poster and a super-exclusive “Skip the Line” pass to move you to the front when doors open. Pretty frickin’ sweet, right? AND it costs less than you would spend on a ticket and a tour shirt at the show, AND  every ticket purchased through Top Spin, whether for a premium package or not, will come with a commemorative laminate, AND you’ll be entered to win an ESP Guitar. So, yeah, go snatch those tickets right the hell up.

Dates and tickets are here.

-AR

Thanks to Hetal Bhatt for the heads up!

via Topless Robot

I would give anything for that to be the actual James Bond theme music from now on, wouldn’t you?

ANYWAY, here’s some shit we did this week:

• We spoke to Neige from Alcest and SL from The Devil’s Blood.
• Lazarus A.D.’s Jeff Paulick got pissed the Packers losing.
• We checked out the latest releases from Nails, Skin Like Iron, Fatal Birth, and No Tolerance.
• We previewed some more more Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off in 2012: 7 Horns 7 Eyes, Crazy Lixx, Wormed, and Imperial State Electric.
• We got excited about the rumored line-ups for both Summer Slaughter and Mayhem Fest.
• We helped Godsmack, Staind, and Halestorm name their new tour.
• We enjoyed Juliet’s video for “My First Hardcore Song.”
• We suffered through a bad trip with The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato.
• We felt bad for Trivium — poor bastards have to go tour with Asking Alexandria.
• We pondered whether the shutdown of Megaupload was good or bad.

And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the most up-to-date suckitude.

See ya Monday, folks!

-AR

Thanks to various teases both in print and right here on this very website, we’ve known for sometime that our friends at Decibel were working on their very own tour; and given how awesome Decibel is, we expected that tour to be something pretty special. But now the line-up has been announced, and… WOW. We didn’t realize it would be this special.

The twenty-six date trek is going to be headlined by Behemoth, making their triumphant return to U.S. stages for the first time since Nergal was diagnosed with, and ultimately defeated, leukemia. And while that fact alone should definitely be enough to get you asking “Where do I buy my ticket?”, just to make extra-extra sure that this tour is unfuckwithable, support is going to come from Watain, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude.

And now I believe the words you’re looking for are, “HOLY SHIT!”

Speaking about the tour, Nergal himself said, “I’m thrilled… seriously, I am thrilled about the fact we are arriving to US shores again after such a long break. It’s a big deal for us.” Watain’s Erik Danielsson added the following:

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In the scramble for stability in today’s panicky music business, one casualty is honesty. That’s totally understandable and a lot like life: Who among us has never prioritized coolness over self? In other words, always waiting patiently is the temptation to impress, not express. And that tips the first domino in a chain of intellectualization, as artists predict and reinterpret novelty, and the individual voice joins the chorus.

This is not an issue for Holland’s The Devil’s Blood, authors of recent memory’s purist, most vital album, The Thousandfold Epicentre (out today on Metal Blade). At its center lies a heedlessly honest relationship between frontman Selim Lemouchi and his sister, singer Farida. But the heart that pumps The Devil’s Blood is Selim (known simply as SL), the guitarist, composer, and visionary behind Epicentre, a masterful, vivid, and warmly fluid occult rock album that’s as commanding as the most ear-unfriendly, bombastic black metal epic.

That makes sense coming from a fervent Satanist whose Eindhoven home is decorated by inverted crosses and blood-encrusted altars (view here). And when I phoned SL at that home, our conversation began guardedly with business talk about the launch of The Devil’s Blood in America and the imminent clamor of a stateside tour. But soon we were chuckling about our sisters, about having fun, about making movies, and about a potential EP to come.

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I was surprised at the amount of quality releases that come out today before I set out to write this column since it’s still only the third week in January. New music from The Devil’s Blood, a ton of power metal releases AND Al Jourgensen’s long-anticipated excursion into country… this is a good fucking week. Click to read more…

The Devil’s Blood frontman Selim Lemouchi is making the most captivating music in the world right now, and accordingly, it was easy for he and I to talk about a million things in a phone interview earlier this month (coming soon to MetalSucks oh baby). But one topic that must wait til our next gab is how a Devil’s Blood record like The Thousandfold Epicentre is best experienced via totally focused listening — y’know, lock your doors and turn the lights down low, smoke one, fold hands over belt, and be carried away by ace music-makers. That kind of thing.

But if this is so it creates a clash with “marketing,” in which songs might debut around the “internet” in advance of the album’s release. For a discovery artist like The Devil’s Blood, it’s great business; but could this practice sap The Thousandfold Epicentre‘s songs of their massive cumulative and contextual impact? Or is it just whatever, we’re smart people who can process all this information out of sequence no biggie. Hmm.

While I wrangle with this riveting issue, you can rock Decibel Magazine’s stream of “Die The Death” from Epicentre really super loud and then pre-order the jam here.

-ADF

The Devil’s Blood’s sophomore album The Thousandfold Epicentre is out January 17 on Metal Blade.

My struggle lately is to not be super-foamy about The Devil’s Blood, the Dutch occult hard rock devil clan. Their new record The Thousandfold Epicentre is coming to America January 17 via Metal Blade, with all the accompanying tours and merch and press that implies. Yep, Metal Blade has saved us hassle (imports) and agony (lack of nearby shows). Pre-order bundle, here I come.

But for now, I’ll be driving up the play count on this complete album stream. You can think of The Devil’s Blood as a Black Sabbath, a pioneer whose path was cleared by great acts like Mountain (i.e., Ghost) and Blue Cheer (Blood Ceremony). My first listen was on headphones late Saturday night, aided by lit candles and perception-enhancing drugz; I recommend the same for yours. Though that night I was interrupted mid-jam by a hilarious two-car drunk driving accident just outside my window; you can skip that part.

-ADF

The Devil’s Blood releases The Thousandfold Epicentre on January 17. Pre-order here. Disclaimer: Neither MetalSucks nor its parent company endorses the use of drugz or candles.

Since Dutch occult-rockers The Devil’s Blood took over my music life this summer, I’ve been fighting a nagging tug at my heart caused by the fear that, without a US label deal, TD’sB would not land in America for awesome live shows (and interviews and um make-out sessions). But as of this moment, I’m allowed to report that this shadow over my soul has been sunblasted away: Metal Blade Records is bringing The Devil’s Blood to America. Oh, sweet relief!

Behold fancy MetalSucks Exclusive details: Upcoming second album The Thousandfold Epicentre is slated for US release on January 17 and, boner of all bonerz, there’s already an awesome stateside tour in the works. Hoping for a vinyl release — perfect for classic metal acts with killer artwork like TD’sB (below) and labelmates Ghost — I was told that a 12″ edition will follow the CD release but that no date has been set. I was also told that Metal Blade chief Brian Slagel was behind the deal, so he should get ready for a huge fucking cookie bouquet from me. Slagel comments:

Reminiscent of the classic metal and psychedelic rock bands of the 60′s and 70′s, The Devil’s Blood has created a dark and haunting world made up of intriguing music, strong vocals and musicianship, reflective artwork, and a theatrical stage show that is not to be missed.

Pre-order The Thousandfold Epicentre and crank exclusive new track “She” here!

-ADF

I suppose “occult rock” is a handy enough term for it, anyway; it’s easier than stringing together “70’s-influenced psychedelic doom rock” to describe the aural spells these wicked women weave. The Devil is bigger than ever (bigger than the Beatles!) and the chorus of converts singing his praises has grown louder with every Ghost album downloaded or pig’s blood-smeared Impiety shirt sold. Rock’n’roll has always been the Devil’s music. Bluesmen gave it its desolate soul, but in the late 60’s, Coven draped it in black velvet, lit the candles, and sacrificed it, fanning the flames straight back down to Lucifer. In the ensuing decades since Jinx Dawson and her merry men first married black magic with heavy psych, plenty more women have ventured down the left-hand path.  The following bands aren’t truly metal, but they flirt with enough occult references and genre staples to warrant a free pass. Any band/musician who can tour with Electric Wizard, call half of Watain their BFFS, rock the stage at Roadburn (or, you know, essentially introduce the concept of Satanism to American rock music way before even Black Sabbath or Pentagram were beckoning us forward) the way they have already boasts enough cred to put half the crowd at MDF to shame.

So here you have it, a handful of my favorite feminine purveyors of occult rock – most of them are vocalists, but a couple of them play other instruments as well. I definitely want to hear from you guys on this one, as this particular sound occupies a place very near to my metal heart. The thought of including Chelsea Wolfe and Zola Jesus (recent discoveries that I am unabashedly loving) crossed my mind but they seem a too close to the gothy end of the spectrum to warrant inclusion (good call/bad call? Wolfe’s Burzum cover was pretty neat).

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The last thing a rock writer wants to do is to over-praise a killer new band, thereby upsetting the gentle balance of listener interest vs. listener expectation. So it’s by summoning every shred of restraint in my being that I don’t froth and foam about awesome Dutch occult-rockers The Devil’s Blood here on MetalSucks every goddamn day, or at least often enough to nauseate even their biggest supporters.

Granted, that self-control of mine is weak enough to allow for persistant drug, sex, and candy addictions, so in the spirit of meeting me halfway, I ask The Devil’s Blood to maybe tone down their blaring awesomeness — just so it’d be easier for me to shut the hell up about them. So far no such luck: In the run-up to their second album’s EU release — details of its US edition coming soon to MetalSucks so sit tight! – The Devil’s Blood has weekly premiered a beautiful and scary “art teaser” clip (above, more after the jump), each with about a minute of new music from the forthcoming album, The Thousandfold Epicentre. Sigh. Thanks for your “cooperation,” The Devil’s Blood.

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A cool thing about this three-day weekend is that if, say, a ballz-awesome Dutch occult rock band premieres a song from their forthcoming follow-up to possibly the best shit ever (this album), then dudes like us will have a bonus day to just take drugs, listen to it on repeat, do nothing else. And hey not to blow your mind, but that’s precisely what is happening: The Devil’s Blood just released a spooky teaser for their not-out-for-two-months album The Thousandfold Epicentre (up there) and and and debuted its tits-awesome title track (down there). Man, this wknd is awesome already. I’m gonna just go leave my car by the emergency room.

The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre by Ván Records

-ADF

The Devil’s Blood releases The Thousandfold Epicentre on November 11 via Ván Records. You want it.

Early this month, MetalSucks writers teamed for a series listing 2011′s excellentest records so far. And I tried to protest the usefulness of any best-albums list that’s been compiled ahead of releases by Steel Panther (Oct. 18) and The Devil’s Blood (Nov. 11). I’m a confident super-journalist so my stand was firm, but MS co-chief Axl Rosenberg (here) made a show of not listening to me as he flashed a knife all casually, like “Hey check out the ease with which this slices through a package of hot dogs.” Gulp. Message received, half-year’s best list submitted.

For now, The Devil’s Blood is on that list in pencil, but today brings us a step closer to uncapping a marker for their forthcoming record The Thousandfold Epicentre cuz pre-sale is now open at Ván Records. The art is rad (above) and fat-wallet types will love fancy-schmancy LP and CD editions (here). The Ván site also announces that a “Fire Burning” 7″ (b/w an exclusive acoustic version) will be available October 11. And you’re jamming!

-ADF

Get The Devil’s Blood’s irresistible 2009 album The Time Of No Time Evermore here cuz you love awesome shit. The Thousandfold Epicentre is out November 11 on Ván Records. 

Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash tells a funny story about his first listens to Aerosmith’s Rocks album. That day, he’d planned some afternoon doobage/canoodling with a comely young lady only to have his attention devoured by that then-new and always awesome Aerosmith record. I imagine him on her bed, shushing her and batting away her caresses — all because Rocks was totally rocking his world for the first of a billion times. I get that. Horny hotties come and go; an instant connection to timeless music is bigger.

And the very same thing happened to me Saturday night! Just replace Slash with hunky me (mental image note: I play lefty), his sexy chick with this chatty mess from my neighborhood, and Aerosmith’s Rocks with The Time Of No Time Evermore by Dutch occult rockers The Devil’s Blood.

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