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Lots of people seem really stoked on Christian Mistress. I’ve listened to their new album Possession and I think it’s pretty good. Retro NWOBHM is all the rage these days, and these guys (and gal) do a fine job at it — good riffs, good songs, all around pretty solid.
But it never ceases to amaze me how the hipster propaganda machine works, taking ordinary to decent bands and revving them up into a dizzying whirlwind of hype.
Cynic’s Carbon-Based Anatomy EP highlights this week’s release slate, while White Wizzard, Blut Aus Nord, Bloody Panda, Coliseum and more are also releasing new albums. Let’s take a look after the jump.
Ever since Jim Malone announced that Arsis would be touring without him — the Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, the Trent Reznor of NIN, etc — we’ve been scratching our heads. Would it be weird? Would it be good? Would it still even be Arsis? If you were to replace all the boards of a ship one at time, would it still be the same ship? If not, at what exact point does it cease to be the same ship?
I saw Arsis Without Arsis open for Firewind in NYC a couple weeks ago, and although the band was ridiculously tight and sounded fantastic it was definitely really fucking weird to watch. I’m sure a few kids there had no idea anything was amiss — perhaps those kids will go on to become huge Arsis fans — but to me it was a strange sight. On a night where Arsis played without Arsis, Firewind were great but played in a venue way too big for them, and the crowd seemed disinterested in Nightrage, White Wizzard — whoever the fuck is in the band this week — were actually the most normal / best thing about the entire night. How crazy is that?
Anyway, here’s Arsis Without Arsis performing a new song called “Sense the Shadows” in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month. Like I said before, really tight, sounds great… just weird to look at.
-VN
Thanks: Fuzzy Dunlop
Regular MetalSucks readers already know Empyreon; featuring Meek is Murder drummer Frank Godla (although it’s worth noting that they sound nothing like Meek is Murder), they’re one of NYC’s finest melodic death metal acts, and were on our free NYC Sucks comp earlier this year. And while we eagerly await their new full-length next year, the band has blessed us with a little taste in the form of a demo of “No Peace No Light,” which you can check out here.
Even in such rough demo song, it’s a prime example of why we love this band so much, and why we’re so stoked for their new full-length. It’s heavy, it’s fast, it’s catchy, and it’s fucking EPIC. Seriously, make sure you check that shit out.
While we continue to wait impatiently for the band’s new album, they’ll be opening next week’s New York stop of the currently-in-progress Firewind/Arsis/White Wizzard/Nightrage tour. We’re giving away two free pairs of tickets here; you can also buy a special ticket package from the band, which includes a copy of the new single and some sweet swag, right here.
-AR
Jake Dreyer, the 19-year old shredder we featured on MS in June who’s already done time in Jag Panzer (for one day) and Neil Turbin’s Death Riders. I’d tell you the name of the guy he’s replacing and how many guitarists have now been in White Wizzard, but I honestly have no idea and don’t have the energy to look it up. It’d be like asking me to recall the weather in Kuala Lumpur on June 26th, 2008.
Dreyer is a super-talented dude and I really hope this works out for him… but he has to know who he’s dealing with here, right? I guess it’s a good time to join White Wizzard with a new album and tour around the corner, especially for a young guitarist who’s never toured before and has the whole world as his oyster. As long as he understands that when you play with fire, there’s a good chance you’ll get burned. By Jon Leon’s stinky farts.
-VN
You know him and you love him; Gus G., mastermind and guitarist of Greek metallers Firewind, who also happens to be the newest addition to the band of some guy named Ozzy. We’ve got a Gus G. ESP Gus-200 Signature Series guitar to give away to one lucky MetalSucks reader who comments with our favorite answer to the following question:
What’s your favorite Ozzy guitar solo of all time, and why?
Firewind will be on tour in North America with Arsis, White Wizzard and Nightrage this October. Get a full list of tour dates here.
This is the new White Wizzard song “Starchild.” According to a press release from Earache, it features “studio vocalist” Wyatt Anderson — who recently quit the band for the second time, you may recall. So, aside from drummer Giovanni Durst — who plays on this recording too — who exactly is in the touring version of White Wizzard right now with bassist/founder/songwriter Jon Leon? It’s one of those questions we may never understand but will just have to accept the answers to at face-value, like how the price of gasoline is calculated and what exactly the CIA does anyway. Yeah, I just compared Jon Leon to the CIA.
Anyway, the song is aight; the press release boasts that it’s got “a powerful arena rock sound that stands out from the band’s usual fist-pumping heavy metal anthems,” so I suppose this ballad is an outlier on Flying Tigers, the new album out September 19th, and that said album will have plenty of songs closer to the, um, over the top nature of Over the Top. And hopefully a few more kick-ass videos to go along with them too.
-VN
Earlier this year, vocalist Wyatt Anderson re-joined White Wizzard, and Vince wondered aloud, “How long before he quits again, Matt Barlow style?” Well, the answer, apparently, was “Not very long at all.” From the band’s Facebook page:
So that’s not great news. But the silver lining is that, at least for the time being, Cellador vocalist Mike Germino is handling frontman duties for the band. I’m not a huge Cellador fan, but there’s no denying that Germino has a set of pipes on him. And if the below video, filmed during a recent stop on the band’s current, MetalSucks-sponsored tour with Forbidden, Revocation, and Havok, is any indication, Germino is killing it out on the road right now:
Photos by Brian Schroeter
Has anybody else been to a show that was extra awesome cuz the turnout sucked? Low sales suck for the bands, and that sucks suckbags. However, under-attendance creates gigs that feel more like parties: The room is easily navigated and the few faces are soon familiar to you; at first, there’s a chill — in the case of the Forbidden, Revocation, White Wizzard, and Havok mega-jam this weekend, I overheard two pre-show conversations about how the show wouldn’t be worth it for the bands — but that chill passes, and is replaced with the “hey there you are let’s headbang” vibe; by end of show, there’s a bit of fondness for the others in the room, except for the one guy who barfed on something important and the tipsy chick blabbing to/about her scenebro bf. Totally like a party. I love parties.
Note: Seeing Firewind live will not cause actual breaking of fire wind.
Hey, so remember last month when we told you that Firewind were doing a North American headlining tour with support coming from Arsis, White Wizzard, and Nightrage? Well, that tour has an itinerary now, and that itinerary is after the jump. No need to thank me, I get paid to do this.
In all seriousness: Besides a very small handful of dates last fall, this is the first time Firewind has visited this part of the world in quite some time, so I imagine there’s a reasonable amount of you who have never had the chance to see them live before. You should take advantage of this opportunity. Not only is Firewind fun (I don’t even really like power metal and I like Firewind), but this your chance to see Gus G. shred his brains out without an old man frog hopping around the stage and ruining it for everyone.
Also, Arsis! White Wizzard! Nightrage! Okay so I’ve never really been that into Nightrage, but still! Strong line-up.
And so, the tour dates…
Two weeks from today, Havok will hit the road as part of an awesome MetalSucks/Decibel sponsored Forbidden headlining tour, along with Revocation and White Wizzard. Vince called it “the ultimate fun time happy tour,” and his assessment is 110% correct; these shows are just gonna be deliciously obnoxious music, flying hair, and waves of beer as far as the eye can see.
But Havok are gettin’ the party started early with their new video, “Covering Fire,” which debuted earlier today on Metal Injection. All you really need to know about the clip is that it has lots of fire and explosions — two things every metal vid should have — and the song owns your ass. Check it out:
“Covering Fire” comes off of Havok’s most recent release, Time is Up, which is out now on Candlelight. You should buy it. You should also say hello to the band when you go to their aforementioned concert with Forbidden, Revocation, and White Wizzard. Here are dates:
I get kinda bummed when we hafta write about tours with no dates yet, because it seems like kind of a cocktease — what’s the point of getting excited when you don’t even know if the trek is coming to your town yet? — but these two tours both seem pretty noteworthy. And so:
And we’ll post dates for at least one of these tours as soon as we get ‘em.
-AR
This one’s gonna be a headbangin’ party: as previously announced, MetalSucks (along with Decibel) is proud to sponsor Forbidden, Revocation, White Wizzard and Havok on their upcoming U.S. and Canadian tour, and now we’ve got the poster to prove it.
This is like the ultimate fun time happy tour; if ever there were a show to get extremely drunk and rowdy at and to HEADBANG NON-FUCKING STOP, this is the one. Get ready; it starts in June. Dates after the jump.
We’re sponsoring another tour! And for the third time in a little over a year, that tour will feature Revocation, one of our most favoritest bands. The tour also features White Wizzard — which will surely shock many who read this site regularly and probably made Jon Leon’s heart skip a beat when he found out — but lost in the shuffle over the years is the fact that we actually think White Wizzard are a good band (we just also love making fun of the blooper reel that is their constantly rotating lineup). Forbidden and Havok round out the bill, making this a fine, fine tour for thrash and old-school metal. The tour is hitting mostly smaller markets and a bunch of Canadian cities, so if you’ve never had the chance to see these bands because they never come near you this is probably your chance (sorry Florida… you’re still fucked). We don’t have a tour poster yet, but we gander we’ll be getting one soon.
Elsewhere on the Revocation front, the new album the band has been hinting at for a while finally has a name, Chaos of Forms, and Relapse Records will reportedly release it in August. It’s easily one of our most anticipated records of 2011 in no small part because drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne told us last fall that it features a full horn section.
Tour dates after the jump. Revo dudes, try not to get cornered by any creepy 15 year-old meth-heads in Reno this time.
At this point making fun of White Wizzard lineup changes seems kinda like making fun of kids on the short bus; downright mean since they’re completely defenseless. But man, just once more for old times’ sake… how can I not? This after original second vocalist Wyatt Anderson returned to the fold a couple of months ago. How long before he quits again, Matt Barlow style? Jon Leon’s farts must be growing ever-stinkier by the day.
-VN
From Craigslist, via reader Keith Brown
Just when it seemed like things had finally cooled down and no ex-members of White Wizzard had engaged in comment wars on MetalSucks in several months, up pops an interesting interview with ex-White Wizzard — and, apparently, ex-Holy Grail — guitarist James J. LaRue.
The interview took place over the weekend on the Mars Attacks Radio podcast. LaRue shares some pretty interesting revelations, among them:
Earlier today, I downloaded Earache’s new, completely free Extreme Stage Diving app, a video game in which “you take control of a burly bouncer and throw the pesky stage invader as far into the crowd as possible.” And I’m happy to report that it’s going to make an excellent time waster (that’s a compliment), and may soon usurp Slayer Pinball (or whatever the fuck it’s called) as my favorite metal-themed smartphone procrastination tool. It’s simple yet challenging, it appeals to my 8-bit sensibilities, there’s plenty of blood, and, oh yeah, the soundtrack is killer.
Yes, of course, this is meant to help Earache promote their shit. But the game features a bare minimum of songs by Earache bands I don’t like (cough, Oceano, cough cough), and those songs are more than offset by the inclusion of groups like At the Gates, Deicide, Brutal Truth, Decapitated, and Wormrot. And whomever designed the game was smart/cool enough to make it so that you can skip to whichever of the ten featured songs you like — in other words, if Bonded by Blood comes up and you don’t like Bonded by Blood, you can easily move along to The Haunted or whatever your particular cup of tea might be. (And apparently there’s a bonus track that you can unlock, but I haven’t gotten that far yet. I’m hoping it’s a Godflesh song, even though that would make no mothertruckin’ sense whatsoever.)
Check out a sample video below…
If you go here and give Earache your e-mail address, you can also potentially win the helmet the charcter in the game wears, although I think the game itself is a much cooler prize, and you don’t need to enter no contest to get it.
You can download the game here. Like I said, it’s totally free, so you really have nothing to lose by trying it out (other than the time you’re going to spend playing this instead of doing something productive). And you can get the full track list after the jump.
‘Cause if I have, I haven’t done so enough and it bears repeating. The new Holy Grail album fucking rips. The new Holy Grail album fucking rips. The new Holy Grail album fucking rips. Seriously folks… this album takes all assholes and leaves them gaping wide open.
Despite all the drama we still maintain that White Wizzard (or, really, just Jon Leon since he’s the only constant) are a good band, and that Over the Top was a quality trad-metal album. Now we get to find out what three of Leon’s ex-bandmates have been up to all this time in the form of Holy Grail (ex-Sorcerer), whose first LP Crisis in Utopia drops October 26th via Prosthetic.
We got our first taste of Holy Grail — who I’d describe as similar to WW but a touch faster and a healthy dollop more guitar-driven — on the Improper Burial EP, and we liked it enough to debut a track from their new album sound unheard. Thankfully “My Last Attack” doesn’t disappoint at all; it’s a fiery storm of modern trad-metal with tons o’ scorching guitars, anchored by near-constant double-bass pounding and, most importantly, a knack for what makes a good classic metal melody. It’s pretty much all you could hope for from a band of this cloth. Stream and download it for free below, and pre-order Crisis in Utopia for only 10 Smackers at Prosthetic’s webstore (PLUS for a limited time only enter discount code SUCKS at checkout to receive 10% off!!) Catch Holy Grail on fall with Blind Guardian this fall.
HOLY GRAIL, “MY LAST ATTACK”
Apparently White Wizzard have responded to my humorous post (I made fart jokes fer chrissakes!) about Jon Leon’s public “vocalist wanted” Craigslist ad by putting MS on their shitlist. Which is a perfectly fantastic business decision, seeing as there isn’t a single U.S. metal media outlet (maybe world?) bigger than MetalSucks that’s giving the band as much favorable coverage as we are. Really, I thought Over the Top was quite the solid disc and I said as much many times (including a nod in my mid-year “favorite albums of 2010 so far” list). Sure, I goofed on the details regarding the lineup that recorded that album, but that doesn’t negate everything else I said about the revolving door of musicians to pass through WW’s ranks and what that might imply… I may be “unprofessional” in my journalism, as accused by band mastermind/bassist Jon Leon, but at least I know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”
In any case, shitlist or not, the band members of White Wizzard — both former and current — are doing a great job themselves of keeping us up to date on the band happenings… in our own comments section!
