via The Chive, in case the logo didn’t make that clear

Can someone please try the above but with metal? I don’t really care if it’s death metal or power metal or whatever, just make sure you film it and send it to me. Also, don’t get arrested. Thanks.

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

• We debuted new music by Scale the Summit and Junior Bruce.
• We learned about the NBA from God Forbid’s Doc Coyle.
• We spoke to Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse and Kris Norris from A Cancerous Affair.
• We checked out the latest album from Goatwhore, hardcore 7″s from Losin’ It, Appalachian Terror Unit, and Overlooked, and free releases from Autolatry, Yellow Eyes, Agartha, and Uvikra.
• We were surprised to learn that bands like this still exist.
• We were reminded that Juggalos are hilarious.
• We learned that Greg Puciato is dating the porn star Jenna Haze.
• We also learned that Bill Ward isn’t participating in the Black Sabbath reunion.

Okay, five o’clock! Time to punch out! Who’s got a joint?

-AR

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

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

I caught the Mastodon/Dillinger Escape Plan/Red Fang tour when it stopped here in New York this past Saturday night, and, yeah the show all-around killed. But one of the undeniable highlights of the evening came just as DEP segued into the slower, more epic second half of “Sunshine the Werewolf” — ’cause that’s when I heard vocalist Greg Puciato call out, “Dimitri!” Which, natch, meant it was time for former DEP front man/current Argonauts vocalist Dimitri Minakakis to join his old band on stage.

And not only did Minakakis scream along with Puciato for “Werewolf,” but, of course, he also stuck around for the band’s final song of the evening, “43% Burnt.” Check out fan-filmed footage of the event below, starting at the 5:41 mark.

Random thought of the moment: Argonauts should tour with Dillinger. Someone make that happen, okay?

-AR

[via The PRP]

When Ben Weinman revealed in September that he was collaborating on a new project with Mike Patton, I proclaimed my love for Irony is a Dead Scene, the EP that Dillinger recorded with Patton while they were in-between former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis and current vocalist Greg Puciato. So you can imagine how jealous I am of San Francisco DEP fans, who got to see Patton actually hop up on stage with the band this past Friday night to perform a song from that release, “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things.” Luckily, in 2011 every single electronic device in the world comes equipped with a camera, so we have some fan-filmed footage of the event. Check it out below.

Say, here’s the best idea ever: how about a FNM/DEP tour? If it ever happened, I might actually drop everything and follow that shit around the country, like some stupid Dead Head or whatever.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

By which I don’t mean they’re broke.

No, former Dillinger Escape Plan/current Return to Earth drummer has now parted ways with Coheed & Cambria after four years in the band. An official statement from Pennie chalks the split up to “creative differences” and says that Pennie will now concentrate on Return to Earth and another band I wasn’t even aware of, Fight Mannequins. (I wonder if that moniker refers to mannequins that fight, or is a directive to take down some dummies? The name works on so many levels!)

Here’s some more stuff Pennie said:

Click to read more…

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.

-AR

[via The PRP]

Greg Puciato, vocalist for longtime Disturbed fans The Dillinger Escape Plan, tweeted the following message earlier this week:

And I’m a massive fan of Puciato’s, but I actually disagree with him on this particular issue. ‘Cause when I think of Hell, I usually think of fire and brimstone and, y’know, pain. And Disturbed’s “Hell” isn’t really painful. It’s just really, really fucking BORING.

Click to read more…

Some will say that it’s hypocritical of me to make fun of Bret Michaels for launching Pets Rock, a line of “rock and roll pet gear” that will be sold exclusively at Pet Smart stores starting next summer, even though I love Ben Weinman’s Garmutt apparel for dogs. But I assert that there are three key differences between the two companies, besides the fact that, y’know, Weinman is brilliant and Michaels is not so much brilliant. And those differences are as follows:

1. Like I said, Michaels’ products will be sold exclusively at Pet Smart; Garmutt only sells to “independent brick-and-mortar retailers… [not] big-box pet chains.” Point: Garmutt.
2. The name “Garmutt” is witty. The name “Pets Rock” clearly took all of two seconds for some schmoe to think up. I haven’t seen the Pets Rock products yet, but I’d wager we’ll be able to say the same about those items, too; Garmutt is famous for their “Master of Puppies” dog hoodies, but I bet the best thing Michaels’ team will come up will be something about cats and pussies. Point: Garmutt.
3. Weinman is a known animal lover who has done work for PETA. Michaels, meanwhile, has been mercilessly slaughtering golden retriever puppies for years in order to continue manufacturing his wigs. Dude wasn’t even nice to the dogs he slept with on Rock of Love. Point: Garmutt.

I defy you to argue against my logic. It simply cannot be done.

-AR

[via Noisecreep]

One of the highlights of yesterday evening’s aforementioned Foo Fighters show was a guest appearance by Dave Grohl’s former Nirvana bandmate, Krist Novoselic*, on the tune “These Days” from the Foos’ most recent offering, Wasting Light. Novoselic’s cameo was meant to help celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the release of Nevermind, which took place this past Saturday, and even though Novoselic actually played accordian (!), not bass, on the song, it was still a fun way to commemorate the event.

Also a fun way to commemorate the event: The Dillinger Escape Plan’s cover of “Territorial Pissings” from that seminal release. It’s part of a Kerrang!‘s Nevermind tribute, which, like that magazine’s Master of Puppets anniversary album in ’06 or Metal Hammer’s more recent ode to the Black Album, recreates the entire record, with a different band covering each song. Only in the case of the Nevermind thinger, DEP is the only group that I both a) am familiar with and b) am a fan of. So you can basically listen to this and ignore the rest.

The cover doesn’t take many liberties with the original, but such a ferocious, punk-y song is still extremely well-suited for Dillinger’s particular talents. Also, they took out that wobbly Buffalo Springfield bit at the beginning, which always irritated me on the original recording for some reason.

-AR

*It should go without saying that the name following the phrase “a guest appearance by Dave Grohl’s former Nirvana bandmate” would be Krist Novoselic. I mean, it’s not like they were gonna bring out the remains of Kurt Cobain and parade him around for our amusement, y’know?

[via The PRP]

I guess Ben Weinman likes to keep busy. He The Dillinger Escape Plan’s guitairst, primary songwriter, and manager, and he’s got this new supergroup with Mastodon’s Brent Hinds, The Mars Volta’s Thomas Pridgen, and former Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery brewing, and now, according to the above video interview, he’s also working on something with Mike Patton.

That particular nugget of info comes at the 2:14 mark, but in case you’re technologically challenged and can’t figure out how to get to said 2:14 mark, here’s a transcript of what Weinman says when asked if he’ll ever work with Patton again:

Click to read more…

Speaking of supergroups that might actually be super…

Back in June, Mastodon’s Brent Hinds revealed that he was working on a new project with Ben Weinman (The Dillinger Escape Plan), Eric Avery (ex-Jane’s Addiction), and Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta) — which certainly sounds like a line-up worth getting all hot n’ bothered over. Of course, that’s four very successful dudes who all have their own stuff going on, and so, as Hinds put it, “it’s been hard to get together.”

But now it looks like there may be some progress being made! Writing on DEP’s official website over the weekend, Weinman dished the following info:

Click to read more…

It seems like there’s a new supergroup announced every week now, but few such projects get us excited the way news of Argonauts did. The outfit — which features original Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, Burnt by the Sun guitarist John Adubato, East of the Wall bassist Brett Bamberger, and legendary drummer Dave Witte from Municipal Waste, Burnt by the Sun, and eighteen bajillion other awesome bands — made their live debut at GWAR’s GWAR-B-Q over the weekend, and now, of course, fan-filmed videos of the quartet have emerged. They’re not the highest quality, but they do kinda-sorta give you a sense of how the band might sound. And, if nothing else, they show why Bamberger is one of the most fun bass players to go see live — not only is he an amazing musician, but he goes totally apeshit on stage.

More clips after the jump!

Click to read more…

My own fragile sense of mortality means that I’m still adjusting to the fact that the original bands from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal — commonly mislabeled as “metalcore” — are now hovering somewhere around their tenth year of existence. As I Lay Dying are the latest band to hit the one decade mark, and while I can’t say I was one of the cool kids who has known about them since the release of Beneath the Encasing of Ashes, I do remember when I first heard Frail Words Collapse, and it really seems like it was just last week.

But enough about my own neurosis. The story here is As I Lay Dying’s tenth anniversary, which they’ll celebrate by releasing an album entitled Decas. Mercifully, it’s not just a lame greatest hits collection — instead, it will feature three new songs, covers of classics by Slayer, Judas Priest, and Descendents, and remixes of old AILD tunes by the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman, Big Chocolate, and Kelly “Carnage” Cairns. You can check out the first new tune, “Paralyzed,” below. It’s equal parts heavy and catchy, which is to say, it’s an As I Lay Dying song, and a good reminder of why the band grew to be so popular in the first place.

Decas will come out November 8 on Metal Blade, and you can already pre-order it here. And if that isn’t enough to give you your As I Lay Dying fix, the band will continue the celebration of their birthday with the ”A Decade of Destruction,” which starts at the end of November and will feature support from Of Mice & Men, The Ghost Inside, Iwrestledabearonce, and, maybe best of all, Sylosis, who I personally am absolutely dying (no pun intended) to see. Here are dates, courtesy of AP:

Click to read more…

Fall has become the de-facto touring high season for metal bands in the U.S. Aside from a small handful of medium-sized tours, there’s rarely much to go see during the summer: bands spend May, June, and part of July touring the European festival circuit, and no one wants to compete with the big package tours like Mayhem and Warped during July and August. By the time September rolls around bands are chomping at the bit to hit the road, and this year is no different. Holy shit. So many shows. I’m overwhelmed. First World Problems.

To start: Arch Enemy, Anthrax, Opeth, Periphery, Enslaved, Kvelertak, Immolation, Dream Theater, Firewind, Devin Townsend, The Atlas Moth, Warbringer and Decapitated are all out now or about to head out. Those are only the headliners, and those are only the dates I actually bothered to put into my calendar or can remember off the top of my head. To say nothing of our very own Metal Suckfest, 3 days of madness. Add this blockbuster bill to the list: Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang. The fall touring season just got that much more awesomer. Full list of dates, via The PRP, after the jump:

Click to read more…

Alright, there’s been a bunch of new shit released today, but we got a little distracted making fun of unknown bands and sucking Devin Townsend’s kazoo. So now it’s time to play catch-up.

First up today: The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato has released  a cover “of a song called ‘Driving’. Originally written/recorded by Oupa,the solo project of Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg,” according to Mr. Puciato. As Tracy Jordan once said, “I’m not familiar with about half the words in that sentence,” but I do dig the track. You can check out Puciato’s version below, or the original here.

Driving(Oupa Cover, Written By Daniel Blumberg) by Greg Puciato

Click to read more…

“Supergroup” is a rough beat; that tag along seems to generate feelings that the sum will never equal the greatness of all its individual parts combined (see: Audioslave, Chickenfoot, Velvet Revolver, etc etc). But when said supergroup is a [comparatively] underground metal band and will be taking their face-fucking music across the country in a dirty, sweaty, fart-filled van, the danger of fan disappointment is automatically diminished. With that in mind, put this lineup in your pipe and smoke it:

Dimitri Minakakis (ex-The Dillinger Escape Plan) – Vocals
John Adubato (ex-Burnt by the Sun) – Guitar
Brett Bamberger (East of the Wall, The Binary Code [touring]) – Bass
Dave Witte (Municipal Waste, ex-Burnt by the Sun, Discordance Axis, Circle of Animals, a million other bands) – Drums

Amirite? We’ve actually known about this project’s super-secret desert bunker jam sessions for some time but had to keep a lid on it while these dudes got their shit tight. The band, called Argonauts, will hopefully be bringing their show on the road very soon.

-VN

Props to Metal Injection for unearthing this forty-five minute interview with Ben Weinman (#13 on our list of The Top Modern Metal Guitarists), which was conducted prior to the release of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s most recent album, Option Paralysis. Not only is Weinman is a great guitar player, and not only is Weinman a great songwriter, but he’s been in the business for more than a decade — no small achievement in this day and age — and he manages DEP, as well as being their driving creative force. (He’s also the sole remaining original member of the band.)

What’s great about long-form interviews like this is that it gives the subject a chance to get really, really in-depth. Weinman is open and honest here, and anyone who wants to make their living from metal — whether a DEP fan or not — should check this out. I’m only partway through, but it’s pretty terrific.

-AR

By all accounts, the Deftones’ two consecutive headline performances at New York City’s Best Buy Theater on May 13th and 14th were absolutely fucking awesome. For many, it was a chance to see a rare headline show by a band who doesn’t often makes it out to this coast. For my friend Eduardo, the May 14th show was a night of firsts: first metal show, first Deftones show, first moshpit, first (and second!) crowd-surf. For me it was a chance to get up front and get sweaty in the pit, something my old bones hadn’t done in quite some time. And for MS photographer Jacqueline Cheng, Friday’s May 13th show was an opportunity to snap some excellent pics of the Deftones and the two opening bands, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Funeral Party. Those pics after the mosh.

Click to read more…

So how’s this for a new supergroup? Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds, The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman, The Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen, and and  former Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery are apparently joining forces to create a new project. And while I’m always a little bit suspicious of mega-all-star-team-ups like this — for every Murder Construct, it seems like there are ten The Damned Things — it’s hard not to get excited by that line-up.

Click to read more…