At the Golden Gods thing back in April, I really perked up when Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell came down the press line. It was surprising and weird because I was not aware that his band remained significant to me. But there I was, rudely turning away from Zakk Wylde in mid-sentence to beam fanatically at Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez. The two seemed spot-lit and energetic; there was a sense of relief that the band had returned from the brink, and with a fucking awesome album to boot. I couldn’t take my eyes off them the whole night, not least of all during their innumerable trips to the stage to collect awards for Black Gives Way To Blue before a roomful of applause and well wishes. So deserved. Awesome.

This is a big turnaround for me after a decade of intense AIC fatigue, during which I suffered actual nausea from the harmonies of “Heaven Beside You,” and the opening chords of “Rooster” triggered an immediate lunge for the radio dial. (The latter is partially my fault, ‘cuz I remember a beer blast at which I stood guard over the stereo as that song stayed on repeat for like two hours.) I’ll never tire of Cantrell’s masterful solo in “Man In The Box” or the majesty of “Down In A Hole,” but otherwise it seemed that by 2000 we’d all gotten enough Alice In Chains for a lifetime. Not to mention the proliferate AIC clones complete with insta-Laynes — which really riled me cuz if anyone, it’s Cantrell whom a smart band would replicate. And, sadly, Staley himself was pretty much a super-bummer on two legs before long. Semi-consciously, I began to ignore their existence. Me and Alice In Chains were over. Such a great band, such a shame.

But, yes, some time apart and a tardiculous new album have healed the oft-rocky relationship between AIC and my ears. We’re back together, stronger than ever, and it’s no exagerration to state that I still can’t stop listening to BGW2B, a pop-doom metal masterpiece that finally brings some closure to the Staley situation (and it even impacted the new Soilwork record). Actually, I always think of Type O Negative’s Peter Steele when I hear the album’s big finale, “Private Hell.” Maybe you do, too.

-ADF

Alice In Chains embarks on the BlackDiamondSkye tour with Deftones and Mastodon starting September 16. Get dates here.

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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.

There weren’t any real hot button topics this week, so we decided to just play a fun game that used to keep Vince and Axl occupied for many a lunch period when they were kids:

The MS staff’s answers after the jump.

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Buried in a press release about Whitfield Crane doing a guest gig/Dio/Peter Steele/Paul Gray multi-dead-musican tribute show with Costa Rica’s Sight of Emptiness* was this awesome news from Mr. Crane:

“It’s ON — UGLY KID JOE is back. We are talking about doing shows next year, in addition to studio time. I’m stoked.”

I don’t know what’s up with burying reunion news in press releases about other shit, but all I can say about this particular reconciliation is: YES!!! (Note: Apparently this news has been on the band’s MySpace page since May. I’d like to thank every one of you fuckers who e-mails me every day to tell me about your friend’s awful unsigned band, to tell us to post about something we’ve already posted about, or to express anger over my hatred towards Parkway Drive for not making any mention of this news. Sheesh.)

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I just wanna throw my two cents in…

True story: when I was a kid, I thought the lyrics to “Black No. 1″ were “You can’t go out ’cause your boobs are showing.” I was confused about what the song’s title meant, but otherwise, the words made perfect sense to me. Oh, misheard lyrics. You never cease to amuse.

Even if you weren’t a Type O Negative fan or a Carnivore fan, you have to admit that Peter Steele had one of the most distinctive voices in the history of metal. You never heard the guy and thought, “Gee, who is that?” And because my mother used to work with Josh Silver’s (now sadly also departed) dad, Type O Negative always felt, somehow, more tangible to me; Steele was iconic and often seemed larger than life, but I knew he wasn’t superhuman.That he passed away so young was a very unfortunate reminder that he wasn’t The Man of Steele. But he made his mark and left something to appreciated behind, and in the end, that’s all any of us can really ask for.

Here are some happier things that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We unveiled the line-up for Summer Slaughter 2010.
• We debuted a new video by Jungle Rot.
• We spoke to Kerry King and Dave Lombardo from Slayer, Chino Moreno from Deftones, and Stephen Pearcy from Ratt.
• Cynic’s Paul Masvidal contemplated depression, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa contemplated L O S T, and The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley contemplated the perfect Taco Riff.
• We checked out new releases by Levi/Werstler, Wormrot, and Bison B.C. and Sweet Apple.
• Ever dreamed of singing with Nevermore? We’re running pretty much the coolest contest in the history of ever.

Next week brings at least one and possibly two big surprises, plus, knock on a wood, the debut of a new column by a writer you will hate. See ya then.

-AR

Much like our pal Anso — whose musings on Peter Steele’s death you absolutely must read — I got into Type O Negative a bit later than most. When I was a budding metal youth I heard “Christian Woman” and “Black No. 1″ on the radio often (then Q104.3 “Pure Rock”) and I really liked them… but for whatever reason I never dived fully into the deep, dark abyss of Type O.

It wasn’t until I returned to metal after a lengthy hiatus that I really started to appreciate this band via the metallic airwaves of WSOU, starting with “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” from 2003′s Anso-approved Life is Killing Me. It happened again when Dead Again dropped in 2007; “Halloween in Heaven” just hit that awesome Type O sweet spot. And hey, lookee at that… I even gave Dead Again 4 out of 5 horns when it came out; go me.

Enjoy these two under-appreciated latter day Type O gems.

-VN

Last night, it only took a second to figure out that Peter Steele was really important to me. That much was evident once KNAC confirmed rumors of Steele’s death of heart failure. The next ten minutes must’ve been alarming to my neighbors as I stomped around, loudly cursing the fact that I’ve never spoken to Steele about his music. I’ve never even fucking seen Type O Negative in concert. I love that goddamn band. And Steele was its soul and voice.

After the tantrum, resignation set in and I stared at a wall, trying to figure out where I went wrong. In no mood for self-deception, I explained to um myself that being a lazy cheapskate is an easy lifestyle, but not one that leads to rewarding experiences. I should’ve been at those shows. I realize this now. But it’s too late and now Type O Negative as we know it is over. Peter’s parting gift to me is the knowledge that I suck.

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Thanks to Rob Pasbani from Metal Injection for bringing this interview with Type O Negative’s Peter Steele to our attention. If you skip to roughly the fifteen minute mark, Mr. Steele starts to talk about… God. As in, he is now Saved, or a Believer, or whatever you’d call it.

Now, if Peter Steele wants to believe in God, that’s his right and who the fuck am I to judge him? As long as he doesn’t start preaching at concerts, I really don’t care one way or the other. But I do think it’s funny that (as Rob pointed out) this man is famous, at least in part, for this song:

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Alright, people. I feel like fucking death. I just wanna go lie down and hopefully never wake up. Let’s get this over with:

• We finally finished the goddamn motherfucking list with “Albums We Wish Had Made It” entries from my man Vince (Soilwork’s Natural Born Chaos) and my girl Amy Sciarretto (DEP’s not-really-eligible Calculating Infinity).
• We got another exclusive world tour video tour diary from Misery Index. We also spoke with Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative and Seventh Void and got our bro-bros at Thrash Hits to do a video interview with Trigger the Bloodshed for us. Thanks, dudes.
• We lost IQ points just watching this video interview with the singer of Attack! Attack!
• We have it on good authority that there’s gonna be an Acid Bath reunion.
• Dallas Coyle is now answering your questions.
• So is Gwar’s Oderus Urungus.

We’ll be at Summer Slaughter on Sunday. If any of you spot us and want to buy us a drink, please, for the love of all things holy, don’t.

-AR

As a part of goth metal OGs Type O Negative, drummer Johnny Kelley’s talents are often overshadowed by the low end sultriness and antics of bassist/frontman/nude model Peter Steele. But his graceful stickwork has been holding the band together since 1995′s October Rust, and the string of Type O albums that have come out since have stood shoulder to shoulder with the band’s prior material. Along with being Danzig’s drummer, Kelly plays in Seventh Void, a stoner/trad metal outfit with Type O Negative guitarist Kenny Hickey. The latter band released their debut on Vinnie Paul’s Big Vin Records in April. In an interview with MetalSucks, Kelly discusses Type O Negative’s future, working with Glenn Danzig, and his thoughts on modern drummers.

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Sorry there was no logo last week, kiddies. I was sick. Suck it.

ANYWAY, the logo from two weeks ago belonged to a band called Dead Raven Choir, and for correctly identifying said logo, Brent Hacker, Jake Haber and Rodney Wilder all win copies of special Roadrunner Records Top Shelf 2 Disc Edition of Type O Negative’s classic 1993 album, Bloody Kisses. Congrats, dudes.

Don’t go slitting your wrists if ya didn’t win one this time; the metallic maniacs at Roadrunner have bestowed upon us two (2) more copies to give away this week.

This version of Bloody Kisses comes with a second disc of bonus tracks, PLUS an awesome booklet that includes a really, really, really detailed interview about the album, conducted by Decibel’s always awesome J. Bennett. Here’s an excerpt:

Who’s the girl moaning on “Machine Screw?”

KEYBOARDIST JOSH SILVER: That was an ex-girlfriend. But I didn’t actually screw her; she screwed me. And I mean that in every sense of the word… Type O has obviously spent a lot of time, regardless of what album it is, mourning relationships. Obviously Peter has had some troubled ones. “Nothing but love songs” – that’s been our slogan forever. They’re all love songs.

In conclusion: if you already know and love this album, this version will give you way more insight into its creation; and if you don’t know and love it, here’s your chance to own something awesome.

All you have to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail with your answer, your name and address at axl AT metalsucks DOT net. We’ll randomly select two winners from everyone who gets it right, and announce his or her names next week.

This week’s logo comes to us from the reader known simply as “Max.” And the answer is, um, prettygross. Good luck.

-AR

Horns up for Kaitlyn Kerrane and Tristan Williams, both of whom correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band Gastrorrexis. They each win a copy of Nightwish’s Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places). Enjoy it, friends!

Also, fuck Colin F. He guessed that the band was Slipknot. I’m like 98.5% sure he was just kidding, but, still, it wasn’t funny and fuck him in the ear.

ANYWAY, this week’s logo was suggested to us (once again) by Attila Korsós. It’s a fucking doozy, but the prize is totally worth it: a special Roadrunner Records Top Shelf 2 Disc Edition of Type O Negative’s classic 1993 album, Bloody Kisses. In addition to the album itself – which fucking kicks so much fucking ass and Vince and I blasted I think about a gajillion times back when it came out – this version comes with a second disc of bonus tracks, PLUS an awesome booklet that includes a really, really, really detailed interview about the album, conducted by Decibel’s always awesome J. Bennett. Here’s an excerpt:

Who’s the girl moaning on “Machine Screw?”

KEYBOARDIST JOSH SILVER: That was an ex-girlfriend. But I didn’t actually screw her; she screwed me. And I mean that in every sense of the word… Type O has obviously spent a lot of time, regardless of what album it is, mourning relationships. Obviously Peter has had some troubled ones. “Nothing but love songs” – that’s been our slogan forever. They’re all love songs.

In conclusion: if you already know and love this album, this version will give you way more insight into its creation; and if you don’t know and love it, here’s your chance to own something awesome. I have three (3) copies to give away this week and then I’ll have some more for ya next week.

All you have to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail with your answer, your name and address at axl AT metalsucks DOT net. We’ll randomly select three winners from everyone who gets it right, and announce his or her names next week.

Good luck, and remember: the answer still isn’t Slipknot.

-AR

Several of you (ok… three) have emailed MetalSucks urging us to check out Seventh Void — the new band featuring Johnny Kelly and Kenny Hickey of Type-O Negative — whose debut record Heaven is Gone just dropped last month on Vinnie Paul’s Big Vin Records. Seventh Void sound nothing like the goth-laden, morose metal played by half of the band in their day jobs; instead we get southern-tinged, bluesy hard rock with little pretense that sounds more like Down, Corrosion of Conformity or early Soundgarden than anything Type-O have done to date. Check out their new video for the Heaven is Gone’s title track below, then have a listen to more on Seventh Void’s MySpace page. Look out for MS interviews later this month with both Johnny Kelly and Vinnie Paul!

-VN

MetalSucks Maniac Matt Clark sent us the link to the below video of the unsigned band YEAH! Destroyer covering Katy Perry’s “Hot N’ Cold.” And while I’m fairly certain Matt meant for us to see this cover as a good thing, I have to say – it fucking sucks. And I’m sick of bands doing this kind of shit.

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Sometimes Peter Steele’s bowel-rumbling voice is just what you need to shake off a nasty hangover (thanks to these guys). Ahh… yes… that’s helping… body of Christ, yes…. oh wait, no, I just took a giant shit.

-VN

Oceans of Sadness are a band who grabbed my attention based solely on their name, which despite its emo-osity beckoned me to give them a listen. The Belgium-based sextet combine elements of Scandinavian-influenced death/doom (Insomnium, Daylight Dies, Agalloch) with a more airy, ethereal, progged-out but dark sense of melody reminiscent of To-Mera meets Type O Negative. Does that make any sense at all? Didn’t think so, but neither do 99% of music descriptions.

Oceans of Sadness’ MySpace page says they have a new album coming out some time this year called The Arrogance of Ignorance but doesn’t specify a date. One track from that record, “Some Things Seem So Easy,” is posted on their MySpace. Also check out their haunting, truly wicked sounding cover of Alice in Chains’ “Them Bones” (complete with a keyboard rendition of the guitar solo). Dig it.

-VN

From UrbanDictionary.com:

A sexual position in which one male pleasures four others by giving a blow job, taking it in the butt, and giving two hand jobs simultanesously, hence the flapping motion of said bird.

Hopefully Corrosion of Conformity did not have this in mind when they wrote their 1994 landmark single “Albatross.” Around that time there was a very short-lived radio station experiment here in NYC on Q104.3 (now classic rock) which billed itself as “Pure Rock,” and this song was a staple in the station’s brief time on the planet (along with Type O Negative, Pantera, and others. Can you even imagine?). Young Axl and I thought it was pretty much the coolest station ever. And it was.

-VN