Last week’s photo was funny in and of itself, but leave it to MetalSucks readers to alternately ruin the fun and make me laugh even harder. There were some choice entries — the obvious “sweep picking” reference was a giant meatball lobbed up into the air — but in the end I had to go with the following as the winning entry for the entire Rammstein catalog (even though that large body of water in the background is clearly a lake, if not the ocean):

• Steve: “Party foul…. You never wear the t-shirt of the river you are about to swim in.”

A++++ would do business with again! Great job, Steven.

This week we’re giving away a prize package from German technical metallers War From A Harlots Mouth, who you might remember as the band I dubbed “the wonton soup of tech-deathcore.” The prize package includes a limited edition CD of their new album MMX, a vinyl of the same, and a t-shirt. The rules as per usual: just come up with the funniest caption to the below photo, and remember to use a real email address (or post it with your comment if you’re using FB Connect)!

Remember War From A Harlot’s Mouth, the wonton soup of technical deathcore? The band’s new album MMX won’t be officially released in North America until November 9th, but they’ve made the whole thing available for streaming today on their official website. Hungry for meat-filled dumplings in soup? Order some up.

All kidding aside, I dig this band. Their mix of technical death metal, djent and spazzcore doesn’t necessarily tread new ground but it’s really well-executed metal that fans of technical music of any kind will definitely dig. “Deathcore” also really isn’t a fair genre tag; although there are a few breakdowns to be heard on MMX, they’re well placed and well spaced, and they aren’t used us a cheap gimmick or songwriting crutch.

In conclusion, today’s wonton soup is pretty fuckin’ good. Have a taste here.

-VN

When it comes to ordering Chinese food lunch specials you’ve usually got three choices of soup to accompany your generic American-Chinese dish; wonton, egg drop, and hot and sour. When I was kid I was all about wonton soup and ordered it every time without fail. These days I’m usually an egg drop or hot and sour man; I like my egg drop with a little pepper in it, and presuming the hot and sour is actually both hot and sour it doesn’t need any doctoring at all. I am currently enjoying some wonton soup for the first time in a long time, though, and I gotta say, it’s pretty tasty! Don’t count those wontons out, my friends.

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Okay, so back in October, The Acacia Strain had some new tracks on a five-way split CD with War From a Harlots Mouth, This or The Apocalypse, Aggressive Dogs and Fact. It’s called Pentagon.3, and it was only released in Japan. Two of the three songs TAS contributed to that split, “The Hills Have Eyes” and “Terminated,” will appear on the band’s forthcoming album, Wormwood. And reader Tom Frenette captured some live footage of the band performing one of those songs, “The Hills Have Eyes,” live this past Saturday night in Danbury, CT.

Sooo… this song should be new to anyone who doesn’t live in Japan and either didn’t pay for the import or illegally download the split. And, hey, even if it’s really old news to you, perhaps you’ll enjoy the footage.

Wormwood comes out July 20 on Prosthetic.

-AR

OK, maybe they are just a little deathcore. But they certainly don’t suck; 10 seconds into their new record In Shoals (out now on Lifeforce), I was already reconsidering my preconceived notions about this horribly-monikered German band. Where most modern death metal bands bite the riffs of Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse and mix them with large helpings of generic breakdowns, War From A Harlots Mouth (PS: What happened to that apostrophe, guys?) take their cues from headier bands like Meshuggah, Atheist, Dillinger Escape Plan, the very occasional Psyopus-style jazz freakout, and whatever other bands influenced the current Obscura/Psycroptic/Arsis axis of tech-death. Yeah, they sprinkle in breakdowns every now and then, but it’s less “let’s slow it down for the karate-chop kids in the pit” and more “this part fits perfectly right here.” Whatever it is, it’s extremely well-executed and it’s music for people who like their music a little more… complicated. Chops, chops and more chops, but shit — songs too!

Check ‘em out on MySpace and watch their video for “Crooks At Your Door” below. 

-VN

War from a Harlots Mouth – crooks at your door from simon wfahm on Vimeo.

That’s the question my girlfriend asked me while reading a press release about Psyopus over my shoulder.

Sigh. The joys of dating a non-metalhead.

ANYWAY, what said press release told me is that Psyopus will be heading out on tour at the end of this summer with Fuck The Facts, War From A Harlots Mouth, and Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky. I mean, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky is possibly the dumbest name ever (and the initials spell SWWAATS, which is odd), but I don’t know their music, so for now I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

ANYWAY, below, check out Psyopus’ video for “Pig Keeper’s Daughter,” and then, after the jump, get the tour itinerary for “The Grinding Into Cataclysm Tour.”

Psyopus- “Pig Keeper’s Daughter”

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