On a very special episode of the METAL INJECTION LIVECAST, the hosts of the Moscow Metal Minute, Metal Misha and Sinister Sasha. They stopped by for the American debut their hot new single, which has been #1 on the Russian Blyatboard charts for over 2 weeks. Also, check out some masterpiece readings from a novel written by 50 Cent. All that and a side of AIDS (just kidding, no AIDS this week)

Podcast: Download

Inspired by the success of American Idol and this clip, Metal Injection wanted to go out and find America's finest unsigned metal talent. Thus, Metal Idol was born. Unfortunately, with our small budgets, the only celebrity judges we could afford were Thor Shredsteen, Moscow Metal Minute co-host Sinister Sasha and the second cousin of the bassist of Celtic Frost, Aurora Findkelbinder. See what happens when metalheads from all walks of life (and a gorilla) try to audition to become the first Metal Idol!

In the famous words of Ja Rule, we did it again! A few weeks ago we told you of the Scion Rock Fest. The mega-fest which will be held on February 28th at the Masquerade in Atlanta, GA and set to feature this killer roster of bands:

Mastodon, Neurosis, High on Fire, Boris, 1349, Cryptopsy, Torche, Nachtmystium, Wolves in the Throne Room, Baroness, Harvey Milk, Kylesa, Zoroaster, Withered, Krallice, Toxic Holocaust, Skeletonwitch, Rwake, A Storm of Light, Warbringer, Salome, Suidakra, Tyr, Alestorm, Converge, Pig Destroyer, Septic Flesh, Coalesce, Trash Talk, Evil Army, US Christmas, Gaylord, Apocalyptic Visions.

You can try and RSVP to get into the show OR you can get a pair from Metal Injection! We have 10 pairs of tickets to give away and we are doing a quick contest to determine the winners. Winners will be chosen later today or tomorrow so sign up quick.

To enter, leave a comment on this post with your full name and a one sentence reason why you should win. We will send out private messages later this week to the winners confirming their prize. ENTER ALREADY!

Alone this Valentine's Day? Spend some time with host Ronen Kauffman and the new episode of Issue Oriented!

Ronen talks to The Gaslight Anthem drummer Benny Horowitz about the band's meteoric rise, managing decisions at a super-fast pace, the perils of success and much more. Awesome!

Then Ronen talks to Blackened’s Jay Reason (The Distance), Chris Beattie (Hatebreed) and Chris Legg (Fastbreak) about their angry new debut release, playing for the fun of it, and growing up. Check out a song from the new record – totally brutal!

Ronen also talks to Joe Steinhardt of Don Giovanni Records about the outlook for indie labels, his unique bands, and much more! You'll hear the awesome band known as Screaming Females – a current fave over at Issue Oriented HQ.

Enjoy!

Podcast: Download

As if the just-announced Metal Up Your Ass fest weren't enough to make our week, CARCASS is keeping SUICIDE SILENCE, SAMAEL, ARSIS and PSYCROPTIC around for a spring tour of the US. Wait, there's more–some awesome special guests, including THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, SUFFOCATION, THE FACELESS and TOXIC HOLOCAUST will be joining the tour on a few specific dates, before the whole thing wraps up at this year's California Metal Fest. Please, please announce more dates…

Mar. 13 – The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
Mar. 14 – Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH (w/ ABIGAIL WILLIAMS)
Mar. 15 – The Pearl Room – Mokena, IL (w/ THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER)
Mar. 16 – Majestic Theater – Detroit, MI (w/ THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER)
Mar. 17 – Headliner's – Louisville, KY
Mar. 21 – Ridglea Theater – Ft. Worth, TX (w/ SUFFOCATION)
Mar. 22 – Meridian – Houston, TX
Mar. 24 – Gothic Theatre – Denver, CO
Mar. 25 – Sunshine Theatre – Albuquerque, NM
Mar. 26 – The Grand Ballroom – San Francisco, CA (THE FACELESS, TOXIC HOLOCAUST)
Mar. 27 – The Marquee Theatre – Phoenix, AZ (w/ SUFFOCATION)
Mar. 28 – The Grove – Anaheim, CA (California Metal Fest w/SUFFOCATION, THE FACELESS, WHITECHAPEL, DECREPIT BIRTH, VEIL OF MAYA)

In the kind of tour that some prog-metal kids would sacrifice their signed JOHN PETRUCCI guitar pics for, OPETH and ENSLAVED are spending May 2009 taking on the US with a series of epic, conceptual and ass-kicking shows. Dates are as follows, with samples from both bands' latest opuses after the jump.

5/1 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
5/2 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
5/3 Montreal, QC @ Medley
5/4 Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
5/5 Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small's
5/6 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
5/8 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
5/9 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
5/11 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
5/12 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
5/13 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre
5/14 San Francisco, CA @ The Grand Ballroom
5/15 Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse
5/16 Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
5/17 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
5/19 San Antonio, TX @ Scout Bar
5/20 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
5/21 Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
5/22 Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
5/23 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
5/24 Detroit, MI @ Emerald Theater
5/26 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom/Hammerstein
5/27 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

(more…)

Switzerland's leading folk-metal Pagans ELUVEITIE have unleashed all the details for their upcoming album for Nuclear Blast, Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion. Set for release April 11, Evocation 1 precedes this year's previously announced Paganfest tour and features guest appearances from members of PRIMORDIAL, NUCLEUS TORN, FAUN and BRANÂ KETERNÂ. A statement from Eluveitie reveals that the album will be primarily folky/acoustic, with many songs performed in the ancient Gaulish language. Excuse me while I go look that up…

Tracklist:

01. "Sacrapos – At First Glance" (feat. A.A. Nemtheanga on voice)
02. "Brictom"
03. "A Girls Oath"
04. "The Arcane Dominion" (feat. Oli S. Tyr on long-necked lute)
05. "Within The Grove" (feat. Fredy Schnyder on hammered dulcimer, Mina the Fiddler on five-stringed viola)
06. "The Cauldron Of Renascence"
07. "Nata" (feat. A.A. Nemtheanga on additional vocals)
08. "Omnos"
09. "Carnutian Forest"
10. "Dessumiis Luge"
11. "Gobanno" (feat. Sarah Wauquiez, Fredy Schnyder on hammered dulcimer, Mina the Fiddler on five-stringed viola)
12. "Voveso In Mori"
13. "Memento"
14. "Ne Regv Na"
15. "Sacrapos – The Disparaging Last Gaze"

Here's Eluveitie performing "Inis Mona" at last year's Paganfest:

New MASTODON! New MASTODON! New MASTODON! The band premiered a brand new song, "Divinations", from their new studio album Crack The Skye, on this week's BBC Radio 1 program "Rock Show". The bad news is it's only available by stream, and you need RealPlayer. Click here to stream the show (song starts at 21:30 mark ). UPDATE: The band has also posted the song on their MySpace page.

Also, here is the band's new album art. What do you all think?

Click Here to enter to win tickets for this tour!

Wow. Kevin Lynam and the organizers of Mayhem Fest have completely out-done last year's lineup with a huge roster of bands for the 2009 version of the Mayhem Fest. Take a look at this killer lineup:

Main Stage:
SLAYER / MARILYN MANSON / KILLSWITCH ENGAGE / BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

Hot Topic Stage:
CANNIBAL CORPSE / THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER / JOB FOR A COWBOY / BEHEMOTH / WHITECHAPEL

Jägermeister Stage:
TRIVIUM / ALL THAT REMAINS / GOD FORBID

They clearly are drawing the big guns this year. There is something for everybody on this lineup. From death metal to metalcore to MOTHER FUCKING SLAAAYYYYEEERRRRR, this is a great lineup and I am definitely looking forward to going to this event. Here are the tour dates for this year: (more…)

OK, even if THE FACELESS were BRET MICHAELS' solo project, it'd be worth seeing them three times this year due to the awesome tour packages they've latched onto. Fortunately, The Faceless have voided any dilemma by making good music and touring with MESHUGGAH and CYNIC (for which we're giving away tickets to each show,) following up with ARSIS, MISERY INDEX and TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA and climaxing with an opening spot for CANNIBAL CORPSE. Ace Ventura's favorite headbangers will be promoting their newest, Evisceration Plague, and also bringing NEURAXIS and OBSCURA along for the ride. Dates are as follows:

April 02 – Asheville, TN – Orange Peel
April 03 – Memphis, TN – New Daisy Theatre
April 04 – Tulsa, OK – The Marquee
April 06 – Salt Lake City, UT – Avalon
April 07 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
April 08 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
April 10 – Vancouver, BC – Croatian Cultural Center
April 11 – Kelowna, BC – Habitat
April 12 – Edmonton, AB – The Starlite
April 13 – Calgary, AB – McEwan Ballroom
April 14 – Regina, SK – Riddell
April 15 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick
April 17 – Minneapolis, MN – Station 4
April 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
April 19 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection
April 21 – Montreal, QC – The Medley
April 22 – Ottawa, ON – Babylon
April 23 – Quebec City, QC – Le Capitole
April 24 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
April 25 – Richmond, VA – Alley Katz
April 26 – Jacksonville, NC – Hooligan's Music Hall
April 27 – Jacksonville, FL – Freebird Live

October Falls – I
Testament – Dangers of the Faithless
Hail Of Bullets – The Lake Ladoga Massacre
Darkthrone – Death of All Oaths
Ayreon – Beneath the Waves
King’s X – Rocket Ship
Six Feet Under – Ten Deadly Plagues
Pharaoh – Red Honor
Enslaved – Reflection
Nachtmystium – One of These Nights/Assassins

Welcome to the first part of our 2008 Rewind. These are all of Papa's picks. Remember to contact us at msrcast@gmail.com , and you can now call and leave a voice mail at this new number, 206-333-1673 , and you can leave all kinds of requests, comments and prank calls. Pick a song, and leave an intro for your song by voicemail, or record an audio bit and email it to us, and we will include it in a future episode where you get to program MSRcast.

Podcast: Download

This year's release schedule is coming together very nicely. According to their website, Sweden's post-metal leaders Cult of Luna are releasing a feature DVD entitled Fire Was Born as a part of a redux release of their much-heralded recent album Eternal Kingdom (which even appeared on my 2008 recap..) on March 23rd, 2009.

Fire Was Born will focus on a gig recorded at the Scala in London on the tour last July 2008 (featuring the extended lineup of the band – including two drummers) playing a 1 hour 30 min set. It will also include an interview with Johannes and Anders answering questions from fans all around the world and the videos for "The Watchtower", "Leave Me Here", and "Back to Chapel Town" and will be available for sale on March 23rd. For now, check out the following preview clip:

CANNABIS CORPSE started as a band that loved two things: smoking weed and listening to CANNIBAL CORPSE. It has become one of the most fun live acts I've seen in a while. The band discusses its origins, Cannibal Corpse's opinion of the band, lighting bongs with your feet and more. These dudes are great guys and its a fun interview. Check it out above and check out these two live clips we posted as well: Sentenced To Burn One Live | Every Bud Smoken (please excuse the low vocals, we couldn't get soundboard).

Can't say we didn't warn you in advance–Florida death metal legends OBITUARY are taking GOATWHORE, KRISIUN, THE BEZERKER and WARBINGER out on a trek of the U.S. and Canada…over seven months from now. So tell your boss that you can't work a night shift on one of the following dates:

September 03rd Tucson, AZ – The Rock
September 04th Mesa, AZ – U.B.'s Bar
September 05th Farmington, NM – Gator's
September 06th Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
September 08th San Marcos, CA – Jumping Turtle
September 09th Los Angeles, CA – Key Club
September 10th San Francisco, CA – Slim's
September 11th Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
September 12th Seattle, WA – El Corazon
September 14th Victoria, BC – Sugar
September 15th Vancouver, BC – Plaza Club
September 17th Calgary, AB – Warehouse
September 18th Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room
September 19th Regina, SK – The Riddell
September 20th Winnipeg, MB – Royal Albert Arms
September 22nd Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
September 23rd Mokena, IL – Pearl Room
September 25th Toronto, ON – Opera House
September 26th Quebec City, QC – Imperial
September 27th Montreal, QC – Foufounes Electriques
September 29th New York, NY – Blender Theatre at Gramercy
September 30th Worcester, MA – Palladium
October 01st Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
October 02nd Raleigh, NC – Volume 11
October 03rd Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
October 04th Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall

If he asks why, play him some classic Obituary after the jump… (more…)

METALLICA were barred from using it for their first album title, but now the mantra "Metal Up Your Ass" has a home. In celebration of all things death metal (and perhaps an apology for the last eight years of U.S. leadership,) the Lone Star State has lined up a one-day fest headlined by the reunited CARCASS, plus a bunch of other bands worth shelling out for. Lineup so far includes:

CARCASS
SUFFOCATION
SAMAEL
SUICIDE SILENCE
ARSIS
WHITECHAPEL
PSYCROPTIC
DECREPIT BIRTH
VEIL OF MAYA

Details are on the jpeg–pack some earplugs…

Providence, RI natives DAUGHTERS is a band that eats, sleeps and breathes Rock 'N' Roll. The band is labeled as punk, grindcore, mathcore and a ton of other labels but to me it is a genre I like to call avant-grind. They're in, they're out and you don't know what hit you. Check out one of my favorite songs by the band, Jones from Indiana off Canada Songs and hopefully it'll get you up and going on this Monday.

[ DAUGHTERS on MySpace ]

Podcast: Download

I have to be honest. I haven't picked up Guitar Hero or Rock Band in months. The only time I even think of dusting off the plastic instruments is when I have a group of people over and somebody in a drunken stupor thinks its a good idea and eggs everybody else on to play. With that said, I am very excited for the upcoming Guitar Hero: Metallica game, because it's basically a full game of songs that I want to play. With each current Guitar Hero or Rock Band there are maybe a handful of songs that I go back to. Not so much with this one. Check out this killer lineup: (more…)

Aww shit. Earlier today some footage leaked (above) of the Black Dahlia Murder playing in Russia with new guitarist Ryan Knight (formerly of Arsis). When long-time lead guitarist, John K. quit the band there was concern over if the band's live performance will suffer. I think it's safe to say Ryan keeps up his end of the bargain. What do you think?