Well, the line-up for this year’s New England Metal & Hardcore Festival — one of the oldest and most revered extreme music fests in the U.S. — has been announced, and it’s… interesting. The fest returns to a three-day format after being only two days last year, but if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that the initial day will be a Thursday, not a Friday. And as reader Brian Kessler pointed out to us via e-mail, there are two noteworthy aspects to the lineup:

• It seems like metal and hardcore have been further segregated on the bill — Thursday appears to be almost entirely dedicated to deathcore and crabcore bands, Friday seems to be entirely devoted to hardcore bands, and Saturday is dominated by metal bands. There are pros and cons to this approach — the pro being that if you’re only a fan of one particular style of extreme music, you can cherry pick which day you’re going to attend, and the con being that new fans are less likely to be exposed to bands with whom they were not already familiar.
• There seem to be fewer “big name” acts. Sure, Hatebreed and Biohazard are on there, but that’s still a far cry from years’ past. In fact, plenty of big name who have new albums scheduled to come out this year — like Amon Amarth, DevilDriver, Arch Enemy, In Flames, and Children of Bodom — aren’t playing the fest.

Please note that I’m not knocking the fest — in fact, I think Saturday, April 16 is full of killer bands — and I don’t think every fest needs to be headlined by a band of Megadeth’s stature. I just think this particular line-up is… interesting.

Anyway, here’s the full bill:

Click to read more…

Well, the line-up for this year’s New England Metal & Hardcore Festival — one of the oldest and most revered extreme music fests in the U.S. — has been announced, and it’s… interesting. The fest returns to a three-day format after being only two days last year, but if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that the initial day will be a Thursday, not a Friday. And as reader Brian Kessler pointed out to us via e-mail, there are two noteworthy aspects to the lineup:

• It seems like metal and hardcore have been further segregated on the bill — Thursday appears to be almost entirely dedicated to deathcore and crabcore bands, Friday seems to be entirely devoted to hardcore bands, and Saturday is dominated by metal bands. There are pros and cons to this approach — the pro being that if you’re only a fan of one particular style of extreme music, you can cherry pick which day you’re going to attend, and the con being that new fans are less likely to be exposed to bands with whom they were not already familiar.
• There seem to be fewer “big name” acts. Sure, Hatebreed and Biohazard are on there, but that’s still a far cry from years’ past. In fact, plenty of big name who have new albums scheduled to come out this year — like Amon Amarth, DevilDriver, Arch Enemy, In Flames, and Children of Bodom — aren’t playing the fest.

Please note that I’m not knocking the fest — in fact, I think Saturday, April 16 is full of killer bands — and I don’t think every fest needs to be headlined by a band of Megadeth’s stature. I just think this particular line-up is… interesting.

Anyway, here’s the full bill:

Click to read more…

To the MetalSucks Maniac known as “Sacajewea,” we would like to say the following: YOU ARE A FUCKING RETARD. It’s incredible how retarded you are, you stupid fucking idiot mongoloid half-wit retard.

We send this message because in October of ’09, Sacajewea left a comment on the very first post we ever wrote, saying he was “Just here to dig up the past;” then he left another comment, just this past June, which read:

“I did it twice. Fuck I’m retarded. If anyone sees this please find me in a recent post and tell me how retarded I am.”

On December 26, 2006 — a date that will live in infamy — we did what professionals call a “soft launch” but we just call “the day we first posted on this blog.” Our slogan was “Smart About Metal,” a play on the slogan for Film Comment magazine.

We had these two stupid South Park caricatures that Axl made at his then-job when he was bored. (Axl forgot until just now that he had a really long goatee in ’06; Vince still had phantom Jew ‘fro, where some days he can feel it, man!) We only posted once or twice a day, throughout the week, pretty much when we had time/interest. We didn’t use tags. We often didn’t post graphics or videos. Our headlines weren’t capitalized. We interviewed members of Stuck Mojo and Twisted Sister, because that’s who we could get interviews with. Believe it or not, we tried to get an interview with God Forbid… and we failed.

Basically, we had no fucking idea what we were doing.

We can’t believe that this is our 10,000th post. We can’t believe we’re still doing this almost four years after we started. We can’t believe that so many of you are reading it. Seriously: WE WERE ONLY FUCKING KIDDING.

So…

Thanks to Kip (who has been here longer than anyone besides Vince and Axl!), Sammy, Gary, Anso, Satan (the MetalSucks contributor and the deity), Sergeant D., Bob, Leyla, Corey, Urbandale, Dave, Matt, Ferris, Dallas, Eyal, Sacha, Paul, Bulb, Arthur, Anton OyVey, Rich Hallford, David Bee Roth, Van Arseface, Mike Pattongill, Angela Gossowski, Joey V., and everyone else who has ever written for us… MetalSucks would not be where it is if not for all of you.

Thanks to everyone in the music industry who has helped us over the years, even as they must have been secretly hoping we would van flip.

And of course, thanks to all the MetalSucks Maniacs, Suckalos, annoying people who can’t use the “search” function, and dudes that have sent us death threats. We can’t tell you how grateful we are that you read our site. Thank you thank you thank you.

Now, with a complete lack of humility, Axl and Vince present their ten favorite MetalSucks posts of all time. Enjoy.

Click to read more…

Look! It’s another awesome MetalSucks guest column! When he’s not busy working as the vocalist for Thy Will Be Done or being metal’s foremost Christopher Walken impersonator, J. Costa will be writing about whatever the heck he wants for us. Please join us in welcoming him to the Mansion.

Hope everyone is well. We’re back out on the road again and, as usual, I’m always painfully reminded that I’m “not trusted” to pump my own fuel in two of our nation’s states: New Jersey and Oregon. But, since the event that sparked this particular blog has its roots in Oregon, I’m choosing to single that state out for making me suffer the backhanded compliment and discourtesy of being treated like an absolute ignoramus every time I need to fuel up the van there.

For those of you who don’t know, it is illegal to pump your own fuel in Oregon. Their “no self-serve” law was passed in 1951, and should have been repealed long ago. While there are “reasons” as to why this law is still in force, anyone with some common sense understands that it is a “make-work” law forcing gas station owners to hire the barely-employable and/or those who are just starting out in the work force. These “qualified attendants,” as far as Oregon’s lawmakers are concerned, keep us imbecile-citizens from harming ourselves, others, and our planet.

Some quick background: in 1951, when the Oregon legislature made it illegal to pump gasoline into one’s own automobile, it was believed that foolish individuals would mishandle gasoline and cause severe accidents – at least that’s the story Oregon legislators fed to the public back then. I’m sure in 2010, it has become clear that this fear was misplaced, as people the world over have managed to fuel up their own vehicles without incinerating themselves or their autos. In spite of overwhelming evidence to a one-in-a-billion accident occurring, Oregon’s state officials continue to back the self-serve ban for baseless reasons (below) that reveal their intellectual prowess:

Click to read more…

When DevilDriver front man Dez Fafara called me this past Friday following a tumultuous, multi-day bus ride between stops on the band’s current tour with Suffocation, Goatwhore and Thy Will Be Done, I was expecting him to be an exhausted mess. But a decade and half of the touring life has made him a hardened veteran, and he clearly hasn’t lost any of his passion for playing live – clearly still riding high on the success of 2009′s Pray for Villains, Dez sounded like he was ready to jump on stage at any second. DevilDriver shows are a full-contact sport with Fafara presiding as the main instigator, and it’s clear that the man loves his job.

After the jump, get Dez’s thoughts on this tour, being away from his family while he’s on the road, a preview of the band’s current set list, and some news on the next DevilDriver album,which he hopes to have out by this time next year at latest. Phew!

Click to read more…

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.

Tickets for the MetalSucks co-sponsored U.S. Thrash & Burn Tour — headlined by DevilDriver and featuring Despised Icon, Veil of Maya, Periphery, Thy Will Be Done and others — have now gone on sale, and if you pre-order by the end of today you’ll also receive a free tour poster, and, if you order 4 tickets, a t-shirt! By ordering today (I feel like I’m selling a fucking Ginsu knife) you’ll also be automatically entered to win the “Ultimate Thrash & Burn Tour Package.” Only one winner will be chosen, and will receive:

The Ultimate Thrash & Burn Tour Package includes:
- A Thrash & Burn guitar, provided by Washburn
- Dinner with one of the Thrash & Burn bands of your choosing before the show
- A T-shirt pack, including a shirt from each band on the tour and a Trash & Burn tour shirt
- An autographed poster signed by all of the bands

Check out the full list of tour dates after the jump, and pre-order tickets here; remember, this deal is only good through today.

Click to read more…

‘Cause he’s on a roof! Get it?!? I crack me up.

Anyways, here’s Thy Will Be Done’s new video, for “Earth’s Final Embrace.” The track comes from the band’s Still born release, Was and Is to Come, and the video was directed by David Brodsky. It’s an awesome song and fun video, so check it out, then read Vince’s interview with Thy Will Be Done front dude J. Costa. And don’t forget that Thy Will Be Done will be tearin’ new assholes all up and down these great United States this summer as part of the MetalSucks co-sponsored Thrash & Burn tour. Get dates and ticket info here.

-AR

[via Metal Injection]

It was a short week, but despite Axl being under the weather and Vince gettin lucky in Kentucky, we still managed to get shit done around the ol’ Mansion, even without the help of our favoritest MS Mansion Monkey, Higgins:

• We’re making a list: we give you a hint, another hint and yet another hint. No, it’s got nothing to do with Jacob.
• Ozzy Sharon filed another ridiculous lawsuit, while Dillinger Escape Plan left Relapse Records sans-lawsuit.
• IWABO and Bloodbath released new videos.
• Killswitch Engage gave you a new song for free, we gave you a new Hull song for free, and Job For A Cowboy and Darkest Hour let you hear new songs for free. Crikey!
• We spoke with Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying and J. Costa of Thy Will Be Done, the former about music and the latter about beards.
• Dallas, The Blogronaut and Eyal all wrote blogs.
• Best Band Ever announces festival appearance atop worst lineup ever.

I had a wisdom tooth pulled this morning so I feel like a giant sack of assholes at the moment, but hey, Percocet! See you tomorrow.

-VN

Those that are fans of my infamous “Beard on Beard” interview series know that yours truly is a huge fan of a manly set of chin-whiskers. So when I found myself in the parking lot outside the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival casually chatting with the Metal Injection dudes and some dude with a ridiculously lush, full, styled piece of facial hair, I had to know more about him. Turns out this international man of mystery was vocalist J. Costa of Rhode Island metal warriors Thy Will Be Done. Mr. Costa graciously agreed to conduct an impromptu interview in which we spoke about beard grooming tactics, guys’ and girls’ differing opinions on the beard, the role of the beard as natural air conditioner, and eventually, oh, some band for which Mr. Costa happens to sing.

Our beardalicious chat, after the jump.

Click to read more…

Obituary have called have their spring tour “for reasons beyond our control.” That’s a bummer, but really, I’m pissed ’cause Origin were supposed to be one of the support bands for the tour (along with Dying Fetus and Thy Will Be Done), and I was really looking forward to seeing those dudes live.

If you haven’t yet heard the new Origin album, Antithesis,  well, it’s killer (we’ll have a review – and an interview with the band – soon). I hope these dudes find another tour to get on ASAP (is there any room left on Summer Slaughter?). In the meantime, here’s Origin’s video for “Portal.”

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/VDAh2ti8u18" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Their new video will be much cooler. Bank on it.

-AR