TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE?

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Jun 162011
 

Blabbermouth reported this news this morning:

Metallica’s official web site has been updated with the following message:

“A few months ago our own Kirk Hammett hinted at a new Metallica project that’s ‘not really 100 percent a Metallica record.’ While Kirk may have jumped the gun a little (and has since been properly punished with a series of push-ups!), we are more than proud to announce that we have just completed recording a full-length album that is a collaboration with none other than the legendary Lou Reed.

“Ever since we had the pleasure of performing with Lou at the 25th anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009, we have been kicking around the idea of making a record together. Some of you astute Bay Area residents may have picked up news of recent Lou Reed sightings in the greater San Francisco area and we have indeed been working at our home studio at [Metallica headquarters in San Rafael, California] on and off over the last few months. In what would be lightning speed for a Metallica-related project, we recorded ten songs during this time and while at this moment we’re not exactly sure when you’ll hear it, we’re beyond excited to share with you that the recording sessions wrapped up last week.”

I’d say this does qualify as news worth reporting. Even though my interest in Metallica has waned significantly in recent years, it’s still Metallica, which means I’ll listen to whatever they release, even though I’ll be holding my breath in anticipation of possible pain. And even though Lou Reed is now about 100 years old, it’s still fucking Lou Reed. First with Velvet Underground and then in his solo releases (and especially Transformer), he broke so much new ground that the word “legendary” isn’t an overstatement.

I’m having real trouble imagining what will result from this collaboration. I doubt it will be metal. I doubt it will be wild. It may be interesting, it may be good, it probably will be awful, but I have to admit I’m intrigued. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SETH PUTNAM: GRIND IN PEACE

 Metal News  17 Responses »
Jun 122011
 

I would guess that most fans of extreme metal who’ve ever come across the name Anal Cunt have stopped at some point to listen to the band’s music. I mean, with a name like Anal Cunt, how could you not? Certainly, fans of grindcore know that band’s music, because they were grind ground-breakers.

Last night I saw internet rumors that the band’s founder and hard-living frontman Seth Putnam had died, but I couldn’t find any reliable confirmation. Now we have it, in the form of a statement by the band’s publicist Kim Kelly:

“Yes, it’s true. Seth Putnam, one of the most infamous musicians that extreme metal has ever seen, the grindcore GG Allin, has passed away due to a heart attack.

“I handled all the promotion for Anal Cunt’s last album, ‘Fuckin’ A,’ and Seth was always happy to oblige any request I sent his way. The band had been working on a new album before his passing, so chances are his musical career’s epitaph has yet to be inscribed.

“I want to remind everyone that no matter how outrageous and controversial his musical career has been, Seth was still a human being with friends and family that loved him. I’m hoping that the Internet will remember that. This is a very sad and trying time for those that knew him, and the last thing they need to see is an outpouring of message board hate. The man lived and died by his own rules; if anything, respect him for that.”

(a bit more after the jump . . .)

Continue reading »

DYING FETUS COVERS BOLT THROWER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jun 072011
 

Yes, this is our fifth post for the day, which is way higher than our normal output at NCS. But unexpected things continue to happen to us, and it’s not even 1 p.m., Pacific Time.

This post is explained by the fact that Dying Fetus has just posted their cover of Bolt Thrower‘s “Unleashed Upon Mankind” from their forthcoming limited edition, mini-LP History Repeats… . You can listen to it at this location., or go past the jump and listen here. To us, that’s newsworthy, because it’s motherfucking Dying Fetus covering a classic motherfucking Bolt Thrower song.

The song is a sweet piece of nasty, technical, death metal. Military metaphors leap to mind — lumbering tanks slowly pulverising rocks and remains beneath the treads. High-caliber machine guns spitting death, mowing down ranks of mere humanity. Flamethrowers jetting superheated fuel. There’s definitely a “kill ’em all, let god sort ’em out” attitude about this music. Go past the jump and see for yourself. Continue reading »

THE TOP 25 MODERN METAL GUITARISTS

 Metal News  24 Responses »
Jun 072011
 

Apart from one glancing reference, we haven’t posted about the list that MetalSucks has been rolling out of “The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists“. That’s not because we weren’t interested. To the contrary, if you’re a metalhead like us, at least two things are likely to be true: (A) you’re a sucker for lists, and (B) you’re a sucker for guitar wizardry.

No, the reason we haven’t posted about this list before today is because it just seemed more efficient to wait ’til the list was complete and then provide the whole thing at one time. The list was finished yesterday, crowned by David Davidson of Revocation — and congratulations to him.

I think one of the reasons most metalheads like lists is because they like to argue, and lists provide great fodder for argument. Usually pointless and unproductive argument, of course, but who says an argument has to be meaningful to be entertaining? Recognizing that aspect of our culture, I’m reproducing the MetalSucks list after the jump and inviting a big argument. If you like, you can also go over to MetalSucks and cast your own vote for the Top 25, because now they’re running a reader’s poll. Continue reading »

IT’S ALL BLACK

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Jun 072011
 

At the risk of swamping you in too much music for a single post, I’m collecting four items here that I discovered this past weekend. The unifying theme for this collection is blackness.

Black, as in Black Dahlia Murder covering “This Mortal Coil” by Carcass, with Jeff Walker on guest vocals. Black, as in a good-quality video of Anaal Nathrakh performing “Do Not Speak” at a club in Paris on May 31. Black, as in news about a tribute album to Enslaved, featuring 20 bands (plus the schedule for a fall North American tour by Enslaved along with Ghost and Alcest). Black, as in another quality performance video — of Belphegor vomiting forth satanic spew in Denver on May 16. Without further ado …

BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

For some reason, I continue to receive my copy of DECIBEL magazine way early. I’m not complaining. Well, maybe I’m complaining a little. I’ve had the July issue for a week now — the one with Trey Azagthoth and David Vincent of Morbid Angel on the cover and a big feature inside about their new album Illud Duvinum Insanus — which has already generated an insanus amount of controversy in the web-world (much of it among people who haven’t even heard the album yet).

Because I received the issue early, that means I’ve had a week to stare at the “flexi disc” inside — the recording on a piece of plastic of Black Dahlia Murder covering “This Mortal Coil” by Carcass. I’ve been staring at it because listening isn’t an option — since I don’t own a fucking turntable. I’ve been waiting semi-patiently for someone to transfer the music to digital and put it up on YouTube, which has now finally happened. The digital transfer didn’t happen seamlessly — you can hear some of the imperfections on the flexi-disc — but the BDM cover is a slayer.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

PIG DESTROYER TO PLAY TWO SHOWS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jun 052011
 

I’m absolutely fawning in my admiration of Pig Destroyer. Fawning, I tell you. Their music is the aural equivalent of a fetal alien ripping its way out of your chest, except in this case it feels damn good to have that toothsome little bastard explode your body cavity in a spray of crimson gore. Plus, the members of the band are just so damned interesting. They lead more-or-less normal suburban lives and work at more-or-less normal day jobs (check this fascinating feature to see what I mean by “more or less normal”) and they play insane music pretty much to please themselves.

They’re all very talented musicians, perhaps most especially Scott Hull, who MetalSucks justifiably named to the No. 6 spot on its nearly finished list of The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists. In their eloquent words (with which I fully agree): “The guy is just a riff factory, churning out a seemingly endless parade of ear-fuckery. . . . Various forms of punk, speed, and death metal all converge in the tips of Hull’s fingers, spilling out as pretty much the best grindcore and powerviolence currently being created anywhere on the planet.”

So, with that backdrop, you can imagine how excited I was to see that Pig Destroyer is scheduled to play a show at El Corazon in Seattle on September 10. Seeing that (as I was updating our NW Metal Calendar section today), I thought, “Holy fuck, these guys never tour. I wonder if maybe this is part of an actual, national Pig Destroyer tour?” So, I did some web surfing. Unfortunately for those of you who don’t live in the Pacific Northwest of these United States, it doesn’t look like this is part of a tour.

BUT . . . I did find that Pig Destroyer is in the vicinity because they’re appearing at MUSICFEST NW — a five-day festival (similar to SXSW) that will run September 7-11 in Portland, Oregon. Musically, this festival is all over the map, with metal being only a tiny part of the genres represented. But it turns out there are some other well-known metal acts scheduled to appear at the festival. (more after the jump, including a Pig Destroyer song, just for the fuck of it.) Continue reading »

ARCH ENEMY’S “KHAOS LEGIONS”: FULL ALBUM STREAM

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Jun 042011
 

This is a very quick note because I’m about to be non-computerized for the rest of this gloriously beautiful Seattle day, but I thought this news was worth sharing.

Sweden’s Arch Enemy is streaming their forthcoming Khaos Legions album in its entirety this weekend on the band’s official MySpace page (here). The stream is live now through June 6th, so you can give the album a test drive before it hits the stores via Century Media Records on June 7.

Because I just saw this news and I’m about to be non-computerized, I haven’t listened to this stream. If you do, let us know what you think. I’m out.

AMON AMARTH EURO TOUR (AND “GUARDIANS OF ASGARD” WITH LG PETROV)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jun 032011
 

I’m a day or two late reporting the schedule for Amon Amarth‘s European tour, but I forgive myself. What other U.S. metal blog is going to say anything about a European tour at all?

Exactly.   So there.

Yes, Amon Amarth will be embarking on a 15-country tour of the UK and the Continent beginning on October 12 in Stuttgart, Germany. Can you guess who will be supporting them on that tour? Go ahead — close your eyes so you don’t see the answer and take a guess.

If you guessed As I Lay Dying, then you’re a fucking genius. I sure wouldn’t have guessed that match-up, even though I like both bands and they’re both in the Metal Blade stable. If you do a word-association exercise, and you say the first band that comes to mind when someone says “AMON AMARTH!”, the odds are you’re not going to say “AS I LAY DYING!”

A band like Entombed would have been closer to what I would have guessed. But as it happens, you can sort of have that cake and eat it, too, because LG Petrov of Entombed provided guest vocals on “Guardians of Asgard” with Amon Amarth when the band played the Metalfest festival in Switzerland on May 29 — and of course it was captured on video. This is fan-filmed footage, so the audio quality isn’t ideal (though it isn’t terrible), but the video quality is pretty good.

Plus, I mean, it’s LG Petrov singing with Amon Amarth on “Guardians of Asgard”. If you’re as big a metal geek as I am (no need for you to confess out loud), you know you have to watch this, just so you’ll be able to die happy if you get flattened by a beer truck while crossing the street today. So, after the jump — Euro tour dates and that video. Continue reading »

WOULD YOU BELIEVE YET ANOTHER OPETH OPDATE?

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Jun 022011
 

Do you think we’re overdoing it with these Opeth opdates? Nah. Not possible, is it?

Especially when this opdate concerns the initial dates for a North American Opeth tour with Katatonia. Yes, you read that correctly. Tour news! Here are the dates that have been disclosed so far:

Sep. 19 – Worcester, MA – Palladium
Sep. 20 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre
Sep. 21 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 22 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 26 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
Sep. 28 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
Sep. 29 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
Oct. 06 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
Oct. 08 – Winnipeg, MB – Garrick Centre
Oct. 16 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Oct. 21 – Pomona, CA – The Fox Theater
Oct. 25 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater

More dates will be coming in the near future. Seattle better be one of them or there will be hell to pay. I can sense Opeth trembling in their boots already, just imagining the awful wrath of NCS if Seattle is snubbed.

But that’s not the only opdate we have. You may be asking yourself, “Self, how will Opeth play live shows without a keyboardist?” Answer: There’s reason to believe Opeth has found a replacement for Per Wiberg, who was relieved of his duties in April. For the latest word on that, continue on after the jump. Continue reading »

MORE GOJIRA NEWS (GUESTS ON THE EP AND A NEW FULL-LENGTH)

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Jun 012011
 

Thanks to Metal Injection and The Number of the Blog, both of whom just wrote about the following delectible pieces of news in posts I read almost simultaneously. Both of them were getting their info from an interview that Joe Duplantier of Gojira gave to Metal Hammer (which can be found here).

First, Devin Townsend and Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah) are not the only artists who will be making guest appearances on the new Gojira Sea Shepherd EP. Those two joined Gojira on the first single from the EP, “Of Blood and Salt”, which we featured here. In addition to them, Duplantier revealed to Metal Hammer that the EP will also include guest vocals by:

Randy Blythe (Lamb of God)
Anders Fridén (In Flames)
Max Cavalera (The Cavalera Conspiracy, ex-Sepultura)

Second, feast your eyes on this morsel from the Metal Hammer interview:  “The Sea Shepherd EP will be followed later in 2011 by the band’s brand new studio album (“We are still composing,” admits Duplantier, “but it will come out this year, I promise!”).”  After the jump, a few more excerpts from the Metal Hammer interview, including what Duplantier says about the music on the next album. Continue reading »

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