I was listening to an interview with Sarah Vowell last weekend, in which she proclaimed that, as a writing exercise, she did not allow herself to use any F-bombs in her new book, Unfamiliar Fishes. I decided to do her one better this week — I did not swear at all. Unless you count “crap,” “drek,” or “sucks” as swear words, which I do not.

So that was fun.

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

• We debuted new music from All Shall Perish and Thou.
• We debuted new videos from Valient Thorr and Meek is Murder.
• Unearth’s Buz McGrath, Hatebreed’s Wayne Lozinak, and In Flames’ Peter Iwers told us about their live rigs.
• We spoke to Aaron Turner from Isis and Helms Alee.
• We checked out new releases from The Bronx Casket Co. and Bedlam of Cacophony.
• Even though Dime would never approve, we made fun of some poor kid.
• We continued to sing Spotify’s praises.
• We voted on our favorite album from The Devin Townsend Project.
• We were sexually aroused by the prospect of Disturbed breaking-up.
• We wondered whether or not the return of Megadeth’s Gigantour is a good thing or not.

Alright, we’re out. Have a nice weekend, gang!

-AR

A new Thou release is as expected and shows up as reliably often as a new season, so it can be a little hard to keep track of them. Being wonderful, generous, and generally superior people, we here at MetalSucks wants to help by streaming their new EP, The Archer and The Owle, right here, right now.

Picking up — quite literally — where their last full length left off, it’s full of the band’s distinctive dredged melody and the torturous crawl of their sludge/doom riffs. And while I want to rip on it for being packed with filler — it consists of one new song, two older ones, and three covers — it makes sense. Summit’s closer “Voices in the Wilderness” gets a new context in which to breathe, and benefits greatly: as a finale to an hour-plus album’s worth of doom, the listener may reach it tapped out. But as the opener of an EP, it unfolds lusciously, alternating between scorched earth sludge, metalgaze beauty, and folky intros and outros. “Summit Reprise” works the same as it does on Summit, as a breather and mood builder, as well as re-imagining “Wilderness”‘s melodic themes. The band also prop up Kurt Cobain’s ode to homeless people befriending animals and enjoying a grass-and-fish-centric diet for a fairly straightfoward (yet fairy revelatory) cover of “Something in the Way,” as well as introducing the world to Pygmy Lush with two covers of their songs at the end of the EP. “Bonnet Carré,” Archer and the Owle‘s sole new track, is vintage Thou, full of mile-high lumbering doom riffs and shattered arpeggios dragged across ten-plus minutes. Even in semi-abbreviated form (thirty-eight minutes, a full length for most bands, a brief excursion for these guys), there’s plenty for Thou fans to latch on to (or re-affiliate themselves with) here.

The Archer and the Owle is available for preorder on colored 12″ vinyl and cassette (!) via Robotic Empire. It comes out August 2. And make sure to check out the band’s site for Thou updates and an obscene amount of free music. And speaking of free music, check out new Thou below.

[this streaming promotion has ended]

-SO

I’m working on something that’s going to bum out a LOT of people on here, and need to give it my full attention, so in the meantime, here’s some news from the void.

Music Ruins Lives will be reissuing the debut release from Ohioan blackened doom masters Vit. The album, -, will come in a six-panel digipack with completely new artwork, and you really need to buy it because this band is amazing beyond words. Seriously.

Petrychor have recorded a new album! Their 2010 Dryad EP was one of my favorite records of the year and was apparently crafted as one singular piece, broken up into movements and interludes. Gorgeous melodies, ethereal vocals, and studiously conceived concepts add an air of gravitas to the piece; the project’s bloody roots are plainly visible, and the interplay between gentle acoustic parts and raw, atmospheric black metal is nothing short of flawless. The album is available for free download on Bandcamp – but it’s definitely worth going for the pay-what-you-want option and throwing them a few bones.

Click to read more…

But he, like, totally had it coming. He was the singer for some band called Beneath the Sky.

I’m kidding. I don’t endorse violence against untalented people. Just front row games of Uno.

ANYWAY, here’s some other shit we happened this week:

• We’re streaming Watain’s Lawless Darkness and the Monolith/Voyager split.
• Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable talked about his new band and Sick of it All’s Lou Koller concluded his “Quintessential Guide to Hardcore.”
• We spoke to Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd and Heaven Shall Burn’s Maik Weichert.
• We checked out Thou’s Summit.
• We met the world’s youngest Nile fan.
• We wondered if Opeth ripped-off Immortal.
• We came up with awards that could be named after metal stars.
• Vince isn’t that into Kylesa, and has some advice for Portal, too.
• Anso thinks that No Prayer for the Dying is the worst Maiden album ever.
• As it turns out, Fred Phelps is still an idiot.

Next week we get to debut that video we were supposed to debut this week, and we have another stream, and some other stuff I’m probably forgetting. ‘Til then, enjoy your weekend!

-AR

Thou’s third full length, Summit, starts out in the last possible way one would think it would: when the drums kick in after about thirty seconds of a lonely arpeggio, they’re blastbeats. The strangest part isn’t so much their presence, but the way they absolutely fit in, shaping thunderous droning chords into something immensely palatable. This theme follows for the rest of the song (“By Endurance We Conquer”) and the album itself. Even when Thou get almost impenetrably slow, there’s some meat there, be it in the form of an evocative riff, vocalist Bryan Funck’s dragged-slowly-across-the-coals vocals, or simply what would be for most bands a beautiful moment stretched to its logical breaking point, making for an incredibly unpleasant result. Bad doom metal makes you wonder if there’s a greater purpose or if it’s just a bunch of unwashed dudes standing in front of their amps, stonedly laughing at the rumbling gently shaking the room; Thou avert this masterfully. They test you over the course of Summit, but there’s always something there.

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Thou
Summit
Label – TBD
Release date – TBD

Louisiana’s contribution to metal has unquestionably been doom. And not the stately, mournful, European variety, but the sludgy, sludgy, Black-Sabbath-queasy-and-dopesick-in-a-corner brand of doom that perfectly compliments that of a state known for swamps, humidity, and decades of political corruption. One could almost call it bluesy, were it not so righteously dragged through the mud and set on fire. The state’s past has graced us with such titans as the blackened sludge grind doom et cetera of Soilent Green; old school supergroup Down; and the ugly, violent yet still incredibly tangible sludge forefathers Eyehategod. But Louisiana’s best doom torch wielders are upstarts Thou, an insanely prolific band that in their relatively short period of time have managed to cover a broad spectrum of doom. Their upcoming third full length – Summit – will no doubt continue their journey to the dark corners of the soul, those most melancholy, filthy, and angry.

Click to read more…

Salome, who just might be our favorite modern doom metal band on the planet, are about to hit the road with Hull and Batillus as part of the Beard Destroyer Tour 2009 (Best tour moniker ever? We think so!). The band also recently completed a split with Thou (cover art above), which is being mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD, Sunn O))), Isis, etc.) and should be out on Vendetta Records in the next couple of months.

But why wait a couple of months when you can hear some new shit right this very second? The band has been cool enough to graciously allow us to debut a brand new track, “With Hell for a Mouth,” as a free download. Like all Salome, the song is slow like honey and crushing like an anvil, with Kat’s inimitable vocals from the bowels of hell bolstering the performance of guitarist Rob Moore and drummer Aaron Deal. It also marks the next evolutionary step for Salome, as it features slightly brighter production than their EP and even has – gasp! – some sections that are kinda bouncy. It is, in a word, awesome.

Download the song, absolutely free, below. Then, after the jump, get dates for the Beard Destroyer Tour 2009. You need to see Salome live; they are truly otherworldly.

Salome, “With Hell for a Mouth”

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I haven’t sung the praises of Salome in awhile, so here goes: this band crushes. Everyone I know who has seen them live has just been floored with them. Guitarist Rob Moore and drummer Aaron Deal (read my interview with Mr. Deal here) play as though they’re actively attempting to use soundwaves as a weapon, and vocalist Kat… well, she goes to some other place. Like, she temporarily becomes psychotic or something. (Actually, maybe she’s always psychotic. I’ve never actually met her, but her art is pretty dark. I once considered buying a piece because I think it’s so cool, but I was afraid if women saw it on my wall, I’d never get laid again. Of course, right now I’m having trouble finding the link to the page where you can buy her art, but just take my word for it. It’s bleak.)

Now Salome have signed a deal to release their next full-length – actually, I think it’s their first full-length – through Profound Lore. That makes them label mates with Agalloch, The Gates of Slumber, Cobalt, Alceste, and some other awesome bands. In other words: it seems like a good fit.

The band is still writing said full-length, but they have a split with Thou coming out sometime soon (more details as I get them!), and I strongly encourage you to check out their EP in the meantime – or, even better, go see them live. As we reported before, they’ll hit the road in September on a tour with the equally fantastic Hull and Batillus, and will even be playing the MetalSucks co-sponsored Planet Caravan fest in North Carolina alongside Clutch, Kylesa, Burst, Wino, and a whole bunch of other great groups. Really. Go see them. It is truly a fucking experience.

Complete tour dates after the jump. If you don’t know Salome, visit them on MySpace ASAP.

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