FEATURING MEMBERS OF AT THE GATES, TEXTURES, GRIDLINK, FIGHT AMP, MONSTRO, GLORIOR BELLI, VALLENFYRE, HOODED MENACE, AND PORTRAIT

Every year year, MetalSucks asks musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year have been. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of nine to ten musicians at a time two to three times a day for the whole week.

After the jump, check out the next group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

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Lock Up — the supergroup (for lack of a better term) featuring Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates/Disfear fame, Napalm Death’s Shane Embury, super-famous-drummer-dude Nicolas Barker, and Pentagram’s Anton Reisenegger — have never tour the U.S. before… but that’s gonna change in February, when the band will cross the ocean to do a headlining run here in the States. The dudes involved in the group are probably enough on their own to make you wanna go see ‘em, but just in case, the band is bringing Goatwhore and Strong Intention along for support. I can’t speak intelligently about Strong Intention, but Goatwhore fucking rules so hard, so I’m pretty much already onboard with this tour.

Here are dates, courtesy of Lambgoat:

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In 2001, screamer Johan Lindstrand departed Swedish death-thrashers The Crown, and the band went on with then-former At The Gates screamer Tomas Lindberg. But after one awesome album, The Crown reverted to its line-up with Lindstrand for Possessed 13, one of metal’s twenty best albums. Then, after a re-make of that Lindberg album, The Crown folded and so I spent about a year crying while lifting weights. Just as I fully rebounded, The Crown reformed in 2009 but without Lindstrand (whose One Man Army & The Undead Quartet has a line-up odyssey of its own). With God Macabre screamer Jonas Stålhammar, they released Doomsday King, an album titularly similar to their first classic but really the only Crown album to be less rad than its predecessor.

But here comes the best case of déjà vu ever! After one album completed with a different dude, The Crown welcomes back Johan Lindstrand. Fucking yeahhhh! Lindstrand said in a Friday announcement (via The PRP): Click to read more…

Remember like just a couple of posts ago, when I said that you needed to “like” Nightrage on Facebook if you wanted to hear their new song?

Well, yeah, reader Tim Bartolini tells me that’s not true. Not that I should be shocked or anything. But you can stream it below.

It’s called “Insidious,” by the way, and features guest vocals from the great Tomas Lindberg. And it’s pretty good! As Mr. Bartolini points out, it gets better as it goes along (I also enjoyed it more after a couple of repeat listens), so don’t give up if the beginning doesn’t immediately knock your socks off.

“Insidious” is the title track from Nightrage’s new album, which comes out September 27 via Lifeforce.

-AR

FEATURING MEMBERS OF GOD FORBID, AT THE GATES, DISFEAR, MACHINE HEAD, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, THE OCEAN, JUCIFER, THE BINARY CODE, HULL, DYSRHYTHMIA, INDIAN, AND DARKEST ERA

For 2010, we decided to do something special as part of our regular end-of-year festivities here at MetalSucks — namely, ask musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year were. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of ten to eleven musicians at a time twice a day for the rest of the week.

After the jump, check out the sixth group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

(And please note that these are musicians and that they, um, have a lot on their minds. So some of ‘em named albums that actually came out last year. Please don’t freak out.)

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In all the excitement of The Crown’s reactivation, I’ve only recently stopped to wonder about their forthcoming seventh album’s title, Doomsday King. That is, I’m pretty sure about its meaning (this, right?), but can’t quite see the wisdom of a title so similar to 2000′s Deathrace King. Why court buyer confusion? Of course, there may be a thematic link or insider connection between the two albums. But if so, such a salient marketing point would certainly pop up in the press release. Hmm, I’m not seeing anything, although guitarist Marko Tervonen told me in December that Doomsday King “sounds like the bastard son of Deathrace King and Possessed 13.” Huh. Does that explain it?

For now, one thing we can clear up now is another Crown catalogue question: Which is the superior version of The Crown’s fifth record? Is it Crowned In Terror (1999) featuring then ex-At The Gates screamer Tomas Lindberg or its 2004 remake, Crowned Unholy, with longtime Crown frontman Jonas Lindstrand on the mic? For the intense Crown fan, each is required listening; everybody else shouldn’t be caught without at least one of the collection of these fucking brilliant Crown songs. So which is for you? Read on:

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Yep, we talked a lot of smack on Joey Belladonna this week, much to the chagrin of, well, an awful lot of you. I think we’re done for a little while… but I can’t make any promises. Our job at MetalSucks is to amuse ourselves first and foremost, and, well, we thought it was pretty damned funny. So ppppfffftttt.

Here’s what else went down this week:

• We debuted the title track from Nachtmystium’s new album, Addicts.
• Genetic’s Dallas Coyle called us “influential,” Disfear’s Tomas Lindberg shared some Maryland Deathfest memories, The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley unveiled his top four Taco Riffs, Cynic’s Paul Masvidal got burglarized, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa made some new revelations about L O S T, God Forbid’s Doc Coyle worried about turning into an old geezer, Daath’s Eyal Levi gave us a lesson in stage etiquette, and Batillus’ Geoff Summers gave us a new studio update.
• We spoke to The Melvins’ Buzz Osborne, Periphery’s Misha “Bulb” Mansoor, Testament’s Chuck Billy, and Sick of it All’s Lou Koller.
• We checked out new releases by Korn and Ufomammut and Year of No Light.
• Is Mastodon’s Brent Hinds a Mastodick?
• Sergeant D sez Cunthunt777 are your new favorite band.
• Don’t worry, baby, Dr. Danzig gonna cure what ails you.
• Hot chick loves Nergal, hates the Bible.
• Boy oh boy, do we love the new Limp Bizkit cover art!
• If you’re looking for new band members, don’t do this.

Alright. We’re gonna go get drunk and crank We’ve Come For You All in John Bush’s honor. Have a great weekend, everyone.

-AR

We’re just a couple of weeks away from Maryland Deathfest 2010, which will take place from May 28-30 in (duh) Baltimore, Maryland. This year’s edition of the annual fest promises to be the best one yet, with a line-up that includes Gorguts, Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, Sodom, Repulsion, D.R.I., and a ton of other kick-ass bands. In anticipation of the event, we thought it would be fun to get some recollections of past MDFs from artists who were there. So we’re teaming up with Relapse Records to do just that! Read the raucous inaugural entry by Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, and the latest from Tomas Lindberg of Disfear (and At the Gates) below. We’ll continue to post more MDF Memories from other metal dudes as the event draws closer. Enjoy…

In 2008 it was time once again for us happy chaps in Disfear to get the chance to (as Kevin Sharp recently put it) “do our song and dance at the MDF.” We had a good time there a couple of years earlier (2006), even though we had to rush out to play a show in Philly the same night (with our friends in Tragedy/ Forward/ Warhead). Great times! This time the scene is somehow similar; we have a show booked in Philly later on in the evening, in the same club even. We play with Kylesa, Trap Them, Straightjacket Nation and Thrones (!!!), so once again we have a long day ahead of us (and no room for hotel thrashing/late night sessions in Baltimore).

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So what was your entre into the world where denim, leather n’ demonology reign supreme? Where you adore the goat and sway to the symphony of deee-struction? Every man (or woman) has a tale to tell. Here’s mine. You’re gonna hear a lot of names you might be unfamiliar with, especially if you’re a member of Attack Attack! (Or just plain anyone under 23!) You’re gonna be thinking, “Damn, this fucker is old!” Yeah, well just remember that I’ve seen seen stuff that would make you shit Perrier with jealousy. I’m definitely old enough to have seen Minor Threat, Cliff Burton-era Metallica… the list goes on… before most of you were a tadpole in yer pappy’s population paste.

Let’s start at Discharge. I could go back and trace the whole history of early 80’s hardcore for you, but neither of us have the time or attention span. Let’s just say, the minute I heard these Stroke-on-Trent monsters of the nuclear reactor riff on the monstrous Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing album, I nearly pissed my pants. It was the gateway to something far heavier than I had ever heard on a scratchy 7” from the new record store that had opened in Boston called Newbury Comics.

Click to read more…