MetalSucks

Djent flag-wavers and recent Sumerian Records signees Periphery are taking my advice and hitting the East Coast next month for a string of headline dates, welcome news to those of us who saw them absolutely decimate the crowd on this Summer’s hit-or-miss Thrash & Burn Tour despite an asscrack-of-dawn stage time (relatively speaking). To say that Periphery were the standout act of Thrash & Burn would be an understatement; they completely tour up a room that had to be for the most part unfamiliar with them. It was also immensely satisfying for me to finally see a band live that’s been e-famous for years.

The 9-date headline tour also features This or the Apocalypse and Roadrunner young guns Mutiny Within, starting November 8th in Richmond, VA and wrapping up November 16th in Providence, RI. If you don’t live in any of these limited markets, fear not — the band will definitely be touring a helluva lot in the coming months/years.

Full list of dates after the jump, and of course you can listen to the band on MySpace. Also check out our interview with Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and Alex Bois as well as this video of drummer Matt Halpern laying down some ridiculous grooves in the studio.

Click to read more…

The second-to-last night of Summer Slaughter — the first of two nights at NYC’s Irving Plaza — was a fucking party. Axl and Vince arrived before doors opened to interview Darkest Hour mastermind Mike Schleibaum and were summarily handed beers. “New York City . . . oh god. Suffocation, and also sharing your dressing room [with Suffocation]. . . there’s going to be a lot of drinking. Beer is going to be hard to get. We should really start right after this interview!” mused Schleibaum before handing us a couple of Bud Lights to get things started off right. “It’s just a Bud Light, my friends,” he responded after we thanked him for the hospitality; true, but somehow “just a Bud Light” turned into “just a bottle of Jack Daniels” being completely polished off in the DH / Suffocation dressing room shortly thereafter. “The thing is – it’s going to get all drank by the time Blackguard’s finished,” prophecized Schleibaum. And so it went. The men of DH like their Jack (and their weed) and the endless stream of Suffocation ladies — 40-something Lawngisland bleach blondes with giant, fake tits — that paraded through the room all night provided much amusement for our chemically altered brains.

But before all of the shenanigans went down we sat with Mr. Schleibaum and chatted about the Summer Slaughter tour, the band’s new album The Eternal Return, the end of Darkest Hour’s deal with Victory Records and what that means for the band, the departure of guitarist Kris Norris and subsequent replacement with ex-At All Cost axeman Mike “Lonestar” Carrigan, working with producer Devin Townsend in the past, and a slew of other topics. Our chat, after the jump.

Click to read more…

I went to the MetalSucks co-sponsored Thrash & Burn Tour last night. Show highlight: Periphery, easily, no contest.

Periphery have been “Internet popular” for years. I first wrote about them over a year ago as a band for fans of Meshuggah, Sikth, Textures, etc. At the time they were looking for a singer but apparently they’ve found one, the tremendously talented NYC-native Chris Barretto, who pretty much dropped my jaw to the floor last night with both his vocal skills and stage performance. Periphery were absolutely just virgin fucking tight and had the crowd in a frenzy, no small feat for the 2nd band on a 10-or-so band bill. I’m very happy for Periphery that they landed this Thrash & Burn slot and can begin the long journey from “Internet popular” to “actually popular.” They totally deserve it.

So, why aren’t Periphery signed to Sumerian Records yet? Beats me; after all they are the very epitomy of Sumeriancore, our favorite new micro-genre. Count down on that shit… 3… 2… 1…

Check out Periphery on MySpace. Don’t let that auto-tune in the opening of the first song fool you.

-VN

The MetalSucks co-sponsored Thrash & Burn Tour is currently about half-way through with its month-long U.S. trek. Those in California and the South have already gotten their Thrash on with MetalSucks faves Devildriver, Despised Icon, Veil of Maya, Periphery and Thy Will Be Done (among others), while those in the East and Midwest will get their chance in the coming weeks. After playing Baltimore last night, the tour picks up again tomorrow in New York City and then works its way through the Midwest, wrapping up August 24th in Minnesota. Is the end of August / summer really that close? FUCK!

Check out the full list of tour dates on the Thrash & Burn MySpace, and be sure to pick up your tickets in advance.

• Periphery, an MS fave appearing on this year’s Thrash & Burn tour with Veil of Maya and Devildriver, have posted their own version of Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” on their MySpace page. It’s a pretty fresh Sumeriancore take on the track, and I laud that they didn’t chose to cover a more predictable Jackson tune that’s been done by other metal bands ad infinitum (see: Billie Jean, Beat It, etc). New Periphery vocalist Chris Barretto fucking nails it without overdoing it; psyched to see this guy live. Check out the rest of the band’s super-awesome tracks while you’re at it. [Thanks: Metal Injection]
• August Burns Red have released the new track “Ocean Of Apathy” on their MySpace page, and it’s essentially a re-jiggered cover of everything else the band has done to date. ABR are definitely better than other Christian metalcore acts like Underoath, but in 2009 there ain’t a whole lot of room to do anything new with metalcore. I’m sure the ABR Christian Haterade Mafia will be lambasting death threats upon the Jews of this here site in mere moments, but whatever. Meh.

-VN

Quickly:

-AR