Things are looking up for Early Graves, who lost vocalist Makh Daniels in a devastating auto accident in August of 2010. In March of this year reports surfaced that the remaining members were working on new material, and this past August — almost exactly a year after Daniels’ passing — the band announced that The Funeral Pyre’s John Strachan would be their new vocalist moving forward.

Strachan made his live debut with the band at the Power of the Riff festival in Los Angeles and San Francisco in mid-August. Today, MetalSucks is thrilled to premiere an exclusive pro-shot video of Early Graves and Strachan performing “Goner” on that tour. Let’s all agree that Strachan was a great choice for Early Graves; he’s got big shoes to fill, but as this video proves he’s doing quite an admirable job of it. Here’s to wishing Early Graves all the best and hoping that this is the start of something great; those guys have been through a lot.

Does anyone notice a strikingly dark pattern here? Hmmm.

As the headline suggests, The Funeral Pyre’s John Stracham is the new vocalist for Early Graves (formerly Apiary), whose former vocalist Makh Daniels passed away last year in a tragic van accident. Strachan revealed his new gig in a guest blog at Gun Shy Assassin [via L.A. Weekly]. As far as we know this doesn’t mean Strachan is leaving The Funeral Pyre.

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The album that I’ve tried to jock your face off for two years now is finally coming out. Oakhelm’s second album, Echtra, will see a late summer release through Forest Moon Special Products… and MetalSucks is beyond stoked to have an exclusive track from the band in conjunction with Forest Moon’s pre-orders, which launched just the other day. Check out the exclusive stream of Oakhelm’s “The Way Of Bleeding Bark” after the jump, along with more info on what will surely land near the top of this guy’s year-end list.

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Oakhelm
Echtra
Label – Forest Moon Special Products
Release Date – Late Summer 2011

Oakhelm’s debut full-length, Betwixt aAnd Between, came busting out of the Northwest back in 2007 (already!). To black folk metal devotees, it was an awesome amalgamation of the experienced, genre-crossing members of Assück, Fall Of The Bastards, L’Acephale and Wormwood (among others); for the uninformed, it was just a great fucking album. And even though the follow-up was on my list of most anticipated records of 2010, Forest Moon Special Products‘ John Strachan assures me it’s coming out later this year.

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We survived the first week of 2011! WHOO-HOO! Only another forty-nine left ’til our next vacation.

Here’s how we rang in the new year:

• The Red Chord’s Greg Weeks tried to earn his contractually-due incentives.
• We spoke to The Funeral Pyre’s John Strachan.
• We showed mortiferous scorn towards the latest release from Mortiferous Scorn.
• We contemplated the not-so-gentle art of the elephants marching riff.
• We celebrated the soundtrack for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
• We kvelertranslated Kvelertak’s lyrics.
• We couldn’t believe that Kevin Stewart-Panko is defending Cryptopsy’s The Unspoken King now.
• We watched an Asian girl in her bra and panties rub her vagina against a guitar.
• We learned to stop worrying about SARS and start loving horse meat.
• We did not jizz all over Painted in Exile.

The site will be down for a few hours tonight while we make a few upgrades… yep, MetalSucks just keeps getting better and betterer!

Then next week brings an excellent full-album stream and not one, not two, but THREE song debuts, including a brand new track from one of the most legendary death metal bands of all time. Get excited.

-AR

With Southern California black metallers The Funeral Pyre making this blogger’s year-end list (again) in 2010, what better time to catch up with frontman John Strachan than on the cusp of another year, jam-packed for the band with new tour dates, new music, and new(-ish) releases? Plus, he’s got a few picks of his own from last year — and a few gripes — to boot.

On the eve of the January release of a Vultures At Dawn 180 gram LP, MetalSucks took some time to talk with Strachan about the band, the album, and Forest Moon Special Products, Strachan’s record label with more than a few admirable releases under its belt. The conversation after the fold.

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This morning I received an e-mail with the subject line “CERBERUS announces reunion show!” Which is great news, if, like me, you are a fan of California deathrashers Cerberus, and if, like me, you had no idea that the band had ever split. I mean, I guess I should have figured as much, since it’s been more than three years since their last release, 2007′s face-melter, Dispute the Truth. But if there was ever an announcement that the group was dunzo, I totally missed it. I guess I just figured that they were one of those bands like Bloodjinn, who hit some rocky roads and will hopefully make their return when they can.

Moot point in Cerberus’ case, though, as “when they can” seems to be “right now.” They’re playing Skumfest on December 18 at the Cobalt Cafe in Canoga Park, CA, along with some other killer bands, like The Funeral Pyre, Black Sheep Wall, and Noriega. The press release didn’t say anything about a new album, but I’m hopeful that more music will be these dudes’ next step.

At the risk of sounding like the sticker on a Victory release, if you enjoy bands like Machine Head and Chimaira and have never checked out Cerberus, you’re depriving yourself. You can hear some music at their MySpace page, natch. I tried to find some good videos on YouTube, but all I found was the below short, not-great-quality footage of them playing (rehearsing, I think) one of the most awesomest songs, “The Filthy Few.” You can check out the studio version here.

And if anyone hits up Skumfest, drop me a line and let me know how Cerberus were.

-AR

A benefit and memorial show has been planned for Makh Daniels, vocalist of Early Graves, who tragically passed away on Monday in a van accident while on tour in Oregon. Everyone is encouraged to come and show support for someone who dedicated his life to touring and the metal scene, and to help his family with the costs involved with this tragedy. All proceeds from the door and a percentage of profits from the bar will be donated to Makh’s family.

MAKH DANIELS BENEFIT & MEMORIAL SHOW
Friday, August 6th @ The Bamboo Lounge
14308 Telegraph Road
Whittier, CA 90604
21+ over – $5 donation – 8pm-2am

Live performances from:
ANTAGONIST
EXHAUSTED PRAYER
DESTROY JUDAS
+ 2 more special guests

For those of you who can’t make it or are from another part of the country and would still like to contribute to the family, can make a donation here.

- MS dudes

A few hours ago authorities evacuated Times Square for the second time in a week after someone found a “suspicious cooler” on the street. Of course, everyone was just being overly cautious, but as long as it doesn’t infringe on my civil rights, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. I think Vince was in Michigan when 9/11 went down, but I was here, and if I never see another tank rolling down my street again or run all over the city because there’s no cell service and I need to make sure that all of my friends and family are still alive, well, I’ll be good.

While I nurse my PTSD, here are some happier, metalier things that happened this week:

• We’re streaming Keep of Kalessin’s new album, Reptilian. We also debuted new music by Lamb of God and The Funeral Pyre.
• We also also also debuted new videos by Soulfly and Cancer Bats.
• We also also also also debuted our new cooking show, Cooking Contaminated.
• Cynic’s Paul Masvidal discussed the shape of silence, Periphery’s Bulb taught you how to get that “big” studio tone, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa had some questions about L O S T, Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder fondly recalled Maryland Deathfest, and Batillus bassist Willi Stabenau gave us a studio update.
• We talked to Darkest Hour’s Mike Schleibaum, Reign Supreme’s Jay Pepito,  Jackyl’s Jesse James Dupree, and unveiled part one of our massive two-part interview with Buzz Osborne.
• We checked out the latest release by The Howling Wind.
• Does the fact that Mike Portnoy is touring with Avenged Sevenfold make you wanna see ‘em?
• We don’t want Joey Belladonna to return to Anthrax. Seriously.
• Sergeant D. wants to know if u mosh 4 Christ???
• Damnocracy’s Evan Seinfeld and his porno Howdy Doody also do bar mitzvahs.
• We wish there was really such a thing as a Slayer burrito.

Next week brings even more betterer br00tal goodness – interviews, debuts, guest blogs, all that shit. It’s gonna get real up in this bitch. See ya then.

-AR

The Funeral Pyre damn near blew my 3 Inches of Blood Nike Hi-Tops off at the MetalSucks-sponsored Prosthetic Records SXSW showcase in March. Just the right combo of black, crust and metal mixed with just the right combo of Lone Star and weed made for a performance that felt unforgettable in the moment but inevitably grew kinda hazy as the night wore on due to said combo of Lone Star and weed. My level of blackout-edness during The Funeral Pyre’s set wasn’t close to what it would be when I took the stage to MC a guitar giveaway; at least I remember seeing The Funeral Pyre. And I’ll tell you this: these guys put on an incredibly powerful performance, and it was definitely one of the best of the evening.

The Funeral Pyre will release their new record Vultures At Dawn on June 8th via the always dependable Prosthetic Records. Stream the fifth track from that record, “Personal Exile,” below. Stay tuned to their MySpace page for pre-order info and tour dates as they become available.

-VN

[this promotion has ended]

I’ve indulged in enough posts about the crazy and random shit we did on the road, so now it’s time for what we were all traveling for in the first place: SXSW. The magnitude of SXSW is inconceivable to anyone who’s never been; every orifice of downtown Austin is literally oozing live music. As MS commenter Joel Bailey said yesterday, “Half the shows at SXSW are in the store room of some coffee house or the smoking patio at an Ihop.” While this is true it’s not for lack of real music venues — in fact, the venues in Austin are all top-notch and blow NYC’s rooms out of the water — but there’s just so much going on that even smaller places that normally have nothing to do with music want to get in on the action. For a glimpse of what the scene looks like, check out Metal Injection’s SXSW wrap-up video.

Kip and I decided months back that this year we’d splurge on a hotel room Downtown. Trying to crash with local friends in years past was economical but a pain in the ass; getting a cab at 2am at SXSW is nearly impossible, and hiking a mile or two just to get home (and not having the option of a mid-day stop-in, or even better a clean place to take a shit!) can be really tiring, or worse, result in injury (just ask Kip). Though the option of staying on the SlayRV for the duration of SXSW later presented itself, we opted for the space and comfort of the Omni Hotel and it ended up being well worth it.

After settling into our room we headed over to the Mohawk to get set up for the Prosthetic Records showcase we were sponsoring. With a killer lineup of Prosthetic bands playing inside and the Action PR showcase going on outside (feat. High on Fire, Priestess, NAAM and others) — all in the same venue for one price of admission — the night was off to a great start before it even began.

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The MetalSucks co-sponsoders Prosthetic Records SXSW showcase is tomorrow, March 17 at Club Mohawk in Austin. And as if performances by Scale the Summit, Landmine Marathon, Withered, Book of Black Earth, The Funeral Pyre, Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire and Lions of Tsavo weren’t a good enough reason to attend, one lucky attendee will win an Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul EX guitar signed by the all the bands.

But if you’re not in Austin and can’t get to the show, don’t fret: a second signed Epiphone guitar — a Prophecy Futura Custom EX, to be exact — has been posted for auction on eBay, with all proceeds benefitting the T.J. Martell Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports research for cancer, AIDS and leukemia. The T.J. Martell Foundation came to Prosthetic’s attention after a recommendation from management for the legendary, unfuckwithable Ronnie James Dio, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer this past November. Says Dio himself:

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MetalSucks is double-dipping this year at the annual showdown/brodown/hoedown in Austin, TX by bringing you TWO awesome metal shows. You already know about the amazing Full Metal Texas lineup during the day on Thursday, March 18th — featuring Darkest Hour, Howl, Fair to Midland, Iron Age, Karnivool, Iwrestledabearonce and more — and today we’re pleased to announce that we’re sponsoring the showcase for one of our favorite metal labels, Prosthetic Records. The lineup, starting at 7pm on the festival’s inaugural Wednesday night, features the future of Prosthetic’s roster: Scale the Summit, Landmine Marathon, Withered, Book of Black Earth and The Funeral Pyre. We haven’t heard of Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire or Lions of Tsavo before, but if Prosthetic gives them their stamp of approval they seriously must be excellent… and aren’t festivals like this supposed to be about discovering new music anyway?

But wait — there’s more! The Prosthetic showcase is taking place at the same venue as the Action PR showcase at the very same time, meaning once you’re in you’ll be able to freely roam between both stages, one inside and one outside. And check out THIS fucking lineup: High on Fire, Priestess, Bison B.C., The Gates of Slumber, Zoroaster and Namm. Holy fucktickles, are you kidding me? That’s 13 fucking awesome metal all for just $10 (free if you have a wristband) in one metal-filled evening. FUCK YES.

Coming soon: a MetalSucks-approved calendar of all the metal goings-on at SXSW 2010.

It’s should be no secret that this year has been jam packed with great extreme metal records, but what has really stood out for me in my recent listening is that for one reason or another the stars have aligned over the label Prosthetic Records. 2008 has seen their output of three new releases from recently signed, young bands. Besides having a label in common and touring together, all three of them have put out highly accomplished albums which we can only hope they’ll build a career on.

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