Photo by Jeff Chan

Those poor metalcore Massholes in Unearth have been without a drummer since parting ways with Derek Kerswill back in 2010 — although, to their credit, they did make the best of a bad situation, recruiting Killswitch Engage/Blood Has Been Shed skinsman Justin Foley to sit in on last year’s Darkness in the Light. But now a press release tells us they’ve finally found their man to take the gig full-time:

“Nick Pierce is a self taught drummer who’s been playing since age 10. He grew up playing for local bands in the Seattle/Tacoma area (Culling the Weak, Eterna Nocturna, Embalmed) as well as LA based band The Faceless. Nick first sat in behind the kit for Unearth in May of 2011 during their two show trip to Alaska. Unearth discovered Pierce on YouTube where he had been covering Unearth songs, among many other bands, on a series of videos on his YouTube channel.”

Man, I do love that musicians can legitimately find one another through the internet. Seriously, I think it’s great that internet can make us one big community, able to communicate across vast spaces in miniscule amounts of time with people who share common interests and life philosophies. It’s a really beautiful thing. In fact, besides the endless sea of free porn, it’s my second favorite thing about the internet.

But I digress.

After the jump, check out two videos of Pierce in action: one of him performing “Watch it Burn” with his new band, and an eight-minute solo for all you drum nerds out there. Enjoy…

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A week and a half ago, I totally fucked up and said that Unearth would be one of the support bands on the second leg of Chimaira’s upcoming “The Age of Hell” tour. I repeated this mistake last week, too, ’cause I’m a big dummy. In fact, while Chimaira will, obviously, still be touring in support of The Age of Hell, Unearth are NOT support — they’re co-headliners. Which makes total sense.

My apologies to Unearth, a band I love and respect, for my most grievous error.

Get the full set of dates for this awesome, awesome tour after the jump. Actual support will come from Skeletonwitch and Molotov Solution.

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My fellow Chimairicans: I’ve got good news and really good news. So let’s start with the good news.

EMG Pickups is apparently holding a contest wherein contestants upload videos of themselves covering a Metallica tune (on EMG-equipped instruments, natch) to YouTube for the chance to win a shitload of stuff. And I don’t really care about that, but I do care that one of the contestants is Rob Arnold, who does a version of “To Live is to Die” that absolutely rips. Seriously, Kirk Hammett hasn’t sounded this good since before he went through menopause. Check out Arnold’s cover below:

Pretty cool, no?

But here’s the better news — more dates for the second leg of Chimaira’s headlining tour in support of their awesome new album, The Age of Hell, have gotten out, and they include a stop at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey for WSOU’s 25th Anniversary concert. WSOU is pretty much the best metal radio station on the East Coast and possibly the entire United States, so I’m thrilled that such a killer band is gonna help them celebrate their birthday. And since support on that tour is coming from Unearth, Skeletonwitch, and Molotov Solution, they’ll all be playing, too, which is in no way bad news. You can get more details on that show, including ticket info, from Metal Insider.

Here are all the dates for the first leg of the tour, which features Revocation, Impending Doom, and Rise to Remain; dates for the second leg of the tour are after the jump!

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In case Chimaira’s upcoming headlining tour with Revocation, Impending Doom, and Rise to Remain isn’t enough for you, The PRP is now reporting that the band will also headline a second leg of that trek almost immediately after the first leg concludes — and this time support will come from Unearth, Skeletonwitch and Molotov Solution. As much as I love Chimaira and Revocation, that’s actually a way, way stronger line-up; I’m not really a Molotov Solution fan, but Unearth and Skeletonwitch are both great, and greater than great in a live setting. So I feel pretty confident that these shows will just be absolutely annihilative.

You can get dates for the first leg of the tour (with Revocation, etc.) here; only two dates for the second leg are available right now, more will be announced soon. In the meantime, those dates are…

11/17 Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
11/25 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live

-AR

Man, I really, really hope that some day, some Korean animators see fit to make a short about MetalSucks. And that it is one-eighth as awesome as the above video.

ANYWAY, here’s how we kept ourselves entertained this week:

• We debuted new music by Revocation, White Arms of Athena, Goreaphobia, and Sixx A.M.
• We did not debut, but got really excited about, new music from Mastodon and Opeth.
• Unearth’s Ken Susi and Dethklok’s Brendon Small told us all about their live rigs. BONUS: Brendon Small also gave us the skinny on his new solo album!
• We spoke to All Shall Perish’s Fracesco Artusato and Kaoru and Die from Dir En Grey.
• We checked out the latest releases from All Pigs Must Die and Axel Rudi Pell.
• We were easily able to come up with twenty-five things we’d rather do than listen to the new Five Finger Death Punch song.
• We tried to figure out which label will snag Gojira.
• Gary Suarez urged metalheads to cut the shit and stop supporting Burzum.
• Sergeant D. wondered if breakdowns are the new guitar solos.
• Corey Mitchell discussed his ten favorite albums of the year thus far.

As part of our coverage of this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival – currently winding its way through North America — we’re bringing you a series of “Rigged” columns in which several of the tour’s musicians take you on piece-by-piece guides of their current live rig setups. Check out the rigs of Machine Head’s Phil Demmel, Unearth’s Buz McGrath, Hatebreed’s Wayne Lozinak, In Flames’ Peter Iwers and Dethklok’s Brendon Small (they played one Mayhem show in CA). Here’s the other half Unearth’s twin guitar attack, Ken Susi: 

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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

As part of our coverage of this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival – currently winding its way through North America — we’re bringing you a series of “Rigged” columns in which several of the tour’s musicians take you on piece-by-piece guides of their current live rig setups. Check out what Machine Head’s Phil Demmel had to say about his super-sweet rig last week. Here’s Unearth’s Buz McGrath:

Greetings! Let’s have a look at the rig I’m using on this year’s Mayhem Festival.

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You will be happy to know that Limp Bizkit did not claim the #1 spot on the Top Hard Music charts again this week. That spot belongs to… Pop Evil. Who? Not Limp Bizkit, that’s who.

Aside from Unearth, there weren’t any notable debuts to chart last week. After the jump, a look at how the latest records from Black Dahlia Murder, In Flames, and many more fared on the marketplace of over-priced pieces of plastic and soon-to-be-obsolete digital files.

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Invisible Oranges way the fuck up for readers Kassandra Aguero and Jeanene Maddox. They were two of only three people to correctly guess the logo for the week of June 28, which belongs to the charmingly monikered band, Anal. For their troubles, Kassandra and Jeanene each win ultra-limited edition (only 150 copies pressed!) white-vinyl-with-a-black-swirl copies of Based on a True Story, the latest album from legendary hardcore band Sick of it All. Enjoy those,you crazy kids!

This week we have another super-duper-awesome prize for you, this time courtesy the very nice folks at Metal Blade: a copy of Unearth’s moshtacular new CD, Darkness in the Light, AND one of those special Unearth beer bongs I raved about awhile back. They are frickin’ SWEET, dude. You can still order both the album and the beer bong (NOPE! The beer bongs were super-limited-edition, made just for pre-orders of the album, so you’re shit outta luck there. Sorry!) for yourself here, or, of course, just enter this contest and keep your fingers crossed!

All you gots to do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. ALL ENTRIES WITHOUT AN ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select one winner and announce his or her name a week from today.

This week’s logo was suggested by a reader named Aaron. It always makes my life easier when you nice people send logos in, so keep ‘em comin’!

-AR

Facedown and Mediaskare are all over the new releases this week, and we have new records from Unearth, Intensus, Exhumed and Harm’s Way as well. Let’s check it out.

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There isn’t much I can tell you about the Intonation Network — a new social network designed exclusively for musicians and music industry peeps that was created by Unearth guitarist Ken Susi and his brother, Paul — that you can’t learn from watching the below orientation video. And, besides, there’s something incredibly fun about observing Susi — a dude who routinely spits in the air, catches that spit, and then rubs it through his hair, all mid-performance — play the role of a heavy metal Mr. Rogers.

I will say this: I think it’s a terrific idea, and it sounds like the Super Susi Bros. have made it as convenient and user-friendly as possible. Will it catch on? I guess we’ll find out…

-AR

Thanks: Andrew Griffiths

Tomorrow brings the release of a number of highly anticipated new releases, four of which are now streaming online if you wanna check ‘em out before you purchase ‘em:

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If “Ruination of the Lost,” the new Unearth track we debuted a couple of weeks back, got you all hot n’ bothered, then have I got some news for you: Lambgoat is now streaming another new Unearth tune, “Watch it Burn.” In a statement that accompanies the debut, vocalist Trevor Phipps notes that the song features “a melodic bridge late in the song much like some of our older material.” Unless my pot-addled brain is forgetting an obvious example from the last couple of Unearth albums, it really has been some time since the band experimented with clean vocals; I’m very curious to see if fans get into it now, or throw a total hissy-fit. I’m guessing it will be the latter, but maybe I’m not giving them enough credit.

Headbang here, and then do or do-not throw such a hissy fit in our comments section. Unearth’s latest offering, Darkness in the Light, on July 5 via Metal Blade. The band will been on  the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival this summer along with Megadeth, Machine Head, In Flames, Trivium, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Kingdom of Sorrow, Red Fang, and some other bands whose sets you can use as time for napping/drinking/beating the post-show parking lot traffic jam. Unearth pits are crazy places, so be careful out there, kids!

-AR

If you’re American, you already know it’s Memorial Day weekend, and, in fact, you’re probably either already on your way to the beach/a BBQ/a terrible summer movie/whatever, and are reading this after it was published. If you’re not American, all you really need to know is that we’re breaking out right now, and won’t be here on Monday. Usual tomfoolery will resume on Tuesday, May 31.

In the meantime, here’s how we kept busy this week:

• We debuted new music from Job for a Cowboy, Tombs, Unearth, and Vaulting.
• We spoke to Neil Fallon from Clutch.
• We continued to unveil our list of The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists.
• We checked out the latest releases from Dark Castle and Embers.
• Sergeant D. examined comedy metal.
• Leyla Ford examined Lady GaGa’s metal-ness.
• Anso wondered if Slayer pinball is better than recent Slayer albums.
• We got really excited about the new Gojira song.
• We got less excited about the new Bury Your Dead song.
• We watched you folks debated about the new Trivium song.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to put these tips for using the toilet to good use before I head out for the weekend. See ya Tuesday!

-AR

Unearth have never let their fans down before, and their new album, Darkness in the Light, is no exception. All the elements of a great Unearth record are here — hardcore-tinged metal with lotsa harmonized guitar wizardry, breakneck breakdowns, cannon-sized drums (courtesy of Killswitch Engage/Blood Has Been Shed’s Justin Foley!), and hooks that manage to get stuck in your head without being reliant on weak-ass good cop/bad cop vocals. Like all of these Massholes’ best work, this album absolutely demands that you get caught in a fuckin’ mosh, and if you refuse, it will grab you by the throat and toss you into the pit to be devoured by those braver than yourself.

MetalSucks is proud to be debuting a new track from the album, “Ruination of the Lost,” which you can stream below. We hand picked this track from the album because we think it rocks so goddamn motherfucking hard, and we have no doubt that you’ll agree!

Darkness in the Light comes out July 5 on Metal Blade. You can pre-order it here in a variety of attractive packages… we’re particularly partial to the one that comes with a beer bong.

And don’t forget that Unearth will spend the summer kicking ass on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival along with Megadeth, Machine Head, In Flames, Trivium, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Kingdom of Sorrow, Red Fang, and more. If you’ve never seen Unearth live before, holy shit do you need to go do that, and if you have, well, you know you’re in for a treat. Get dates here.

Metal Blade is now accepting pre-orders for the new Unearth album, Darkness in the Light. And, as is de rigeur these days, those pre-orders are available in a variety of attractive packages — although, clearly, one is more attractive than the others: the one that comes with a beer bong. That has to be the best piece of merch I’ve seen in some time… and it’s certainly band appropriate, too. I wish it said something funnier on it than just the title of the record, but I’m willing to let that slide because, well, more bands need to seriously consider making beer bongs. Beer bongs should be the new patches.

And — oh yeah, lest we forget! — the band has also released the first single from this latest offering. It’s called “Eyes of Black,” and you can stream it below. (Hmmm… “Black”… “Darkness”… I’m sensing a theme here.) The band hasn’t changed their sound very much, but when you sound like Unearth that’s really not a bad thing. I’m especially fond of the groovy, Pantera-esque section that starts around the 2:03 mark

Darkness in the Light comes out July 5 on Metal Blade.

-AR

Do I seriously need to write an intro? The headline just told you what this article is gonna be about, right? If any of you are thinking this might this piece might contain information about who’s producing the new Megadeth album or whatever, off yourself.

So. Here is the album art for Unearth’s latest, Darkness in the Light, which now has a July 4 European release date via Metal Blade — which, presumably, means the album will be out sometime around then here in the States, too. I don’t love this album art but I don’t hate it, and now that I think about it, I don’t know that I’ve ever out and out loved an Unearth album cover. But that doesn’t matter, because the music contained on the album is usually very good.

And here’s the album art for Job for a Cowboy’s new EP, Gloom, which will also come out on Metal Blade, albeit on the less-patriotic date of June 7. I really like this art, although I’m a little sad to see that Demonic Antelope Skull dude seems to have been the victim of some sort of uprising. Although he’s usually portrayed as a slimey politician or a slimey king or whatever slimey thing this is, so maybe that’s a good thing. But the album is called Gloom, so maybe it’s bad! I dunno, I dunno, I gotta think about it some more.

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Shadows Fall’s Paul Romanko: Still without a side project of his own.

So two of the three current Shadows Fall-related side projects both released new music yesterday, and despite the fact that it is not particularly fair to either band, I am lumping these two projects into one post for the sake of my own comfort and convenience. My apologies to all parties involved.

And so…

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So remember last year, when I reviewed this really good album called Orogeny that this really good band from Alaska called Turbid North had released all by themselves? Well, that band won’t hafta self-release their shit no more: Unearth front man Trevor Phipps has signed the band to his Ironclad Recordings label, and Orogeny is getting a re-release “in mid to late June,” according to a press release.

Here’s Phipps on how this all came to pass:

“We got their self released disc a few months ago and it is in constant rotation here at Ironclad. With only a few copies released we wanted to broaden the exposure of the band and this phenomenal album.”

So if you had a hard time finding Orogeny before, hopefully, that’s about to change. This is a really, really aardvark-impaling record, so I’m glad these dudes will now be exposed to a wider audience.

Here’s the band’s video for the song “Between the Glacier and the Sea.” It’s not the greatest video ever made, but it will give you a sense of how hard these dudes impale aardvarks.

-AR