Metal Injection

Go See FUCK THE FACTS On Their US Misery Tour

If you've never seen Fuck The Facts live, you have done yourself a great disservice! They completely annihilate their instruments like gods every time they take to the stage, and give no less than 110% in everything they do. Fear not though, Fuck The Facts are heading back to the states for a killer tour of 33 shows in 32 days, and will bring along some really sweet limited edition records from their past catalog. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on January 22, 2013
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30 Types of Shred In A Single Guitar Solo

FUCK YES! It looks like this guy took a look at the 10 Genres of Metal video or the much sloppier 100 Famous Guitar Riffs video and decided to up it in a very big way, because this might be the greatest guitar web video I've ever seen next to the comedic rendition of John Petrucci's Psycho Exercises, which I love for a completely different reason.

Guitarist Ben Higgins not only mimics 30 of the greatest metal guitar players with ease, he hones in on exactly what makes each of them truly unique from one another while using their signature style as part of his own crazy solo. This is obviously not a simple YouTube video, but a true love for his craft and the metal guitar greats that inspire others to pick up the instrument. If you stick around after the solo, you'll find an hour long instructional video that details the style of each guitar player you'll find within the solo. Whether you play guitar or not, this is a must watch. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on January 4, 2013
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Frank's Favorite Records of 1987

Happy 2013 Metal Injection Junkies! 2012 proved to be a huge year for Metal Injection and even some of us personally, but in order to see any kind of growth, you sometimes have to look to the past to notice where you stand today.

Last year I created a retrospective series called On The Record that looked back on the changes in metal over the last 10 years. Now that we've celebrated the end of 2012 with our usual year-end round up lists, I thought it might be fun to step back even further in time and see just how far we've come in 25 years. In this post I'll be taking a look at the year 1987!  (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on January 2, 2013
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Frank Discusses 20 Releases of 2012

If you read my intro to last year's list, you already know how strongly I feel about music, an expressive art form, being forced into a competitive sport-like structure. I do however, love to share my passion of metal with the world every day, and as some of you know, spend more time seeking out and working with bands than almost anyone else in this business. So why not use this opportunity to spread some metal love? (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on December 24, 2012
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Go See WEST OF MEMPHIS

The story of the West Memphis Three is a compelling 18 year tale of non-fiction about 3 young boys who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. It's a story I truly wish every metal head would familiarize themselves with, because it's also a story about the biggest case of metal discrimination the world has ever known. I remember watching the events of the WM3 unfold as they happened, and continued to follow through as a life long metal head and MW3 supporter. So when I was asked if I'd like to see a private preview of Amy Berg's new film West of Memphis I was not only immediately on board, but wildly curious how this would size up against all the previous coverage I've seen on the subject over the years. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on December 20, 2012
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The Complete Metal Injection BARGE TO HELL Live Blog

Update: The Barge To Hell is officially over. Frank checked in all week long with a slew of updates, keeping you up to date on what's happening on the cruise.

You've pre-gamed with the most recent episode of The FiX, and now it's time to party. All week long, Frank is going to check in to let you know about all the madness, the debauchery, the insanity that is Barge To Hell, including over 40 bands including At The Gates, Behemoth, Municipal Waste, Napalm Death and more. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on December 7, 2012
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IRON THRONES; Where Are They Now? (Wolvhammer, Bill Pulmonary Embolism, and more)

I was completely bummed when Minnesota's Iron Thrones called it quits this past summer. As winners of the Scion No Label Needed contest, I spent several weeks with the band, and not only became friends with the four individuals, but the magic of their music quickly became one of my favorite releases of 2010.

As they say, all good things must come to an end, and unlike most bands out there, Iron Thrones understood when it was their time. Fortunately, this did not mark the end of creating music for these four talented members. Keeping up with a couple of the dudes, I've jotted down their new endeavors, which you really need to check out. How often do you see a great band break up, and make other great projects? Exactly. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on November 28, 2012
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New Jersey's WSOU Hosting Hurricane Relief Radio-thon

Hurricane Sandy hit the North Eastern United States pretty bad a couple weeks ago. While we here at Metal Injection were lucky to be unaffected, we do know many who have lost their recording studios, instruments, and even homes. While many different organizations have been getting involved to raise funds for relief, I couldn't be more stoked to hear the headbangers over at our nation's only all-metal college radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU, are lending a helping hand.

The tri-state home of metal airwaves has announced a radio-thon set to take place this Friday, November 30th that will run from 6AM to Midnight in hopes of raising their goal of $8950 for Hurricane Sandy relief. The day will include special guest DJ's, and a plethora of awesome giveaways for every pledge you make over $25. Yours truly will be popping in to DJ for a bit, and handing over some sweet Metal Injection swag to include in the giveaways, so come join the party this Friday!

If you live outside the NY/NJ area you can listen to the live stream here or even watch a video stream of the event here.

• Posted by Frank Injection on November 27, 2012
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INTRONAUT To Release New Album In 2013

It's no secret we're big fans of Intronaut here at Metal Injection, so spreading news of a new record couldn't make us happier. Today we received word that the band's fourth full-length is titled Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tomes). It will be released via Century Media Records on March 19th, 2013. I think it's safe to say 2013 is already looking good! (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on November 15, 2012
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Did RON JARZOMBEK Release The Future Of Music?

A year ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Blotted Science mastermind, Ron Jarzombek, concerning his music, the state of accelerated music comprehension, and its many forms of outlets provided today. In the interview Jarzombek briefly mentioned the use of apps as a visual aid to his music, and it appears to be something he had up his sleeve all along. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on November 6, 2012
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Listen To Crusty Bands Cover Metal Songs

If you're in the mood to hear some crusty hardcore punk bands cover metal songs from the likes of Sepultura, Slayer and Hatebreed, you're in luck! I caught wind of the Casa De Diversion Compilation Series last week by a "blackened crust" band I'm really into called Young And In The Way (check them out!). The band took a shot at covering the song "Sober" off Undertow, easily my favorite Tool LP of all time.

Digging deeper into the compilation I was stoked to see some other really sweet bands like Weekend Nachos and Code Orange Kids involved, and I even plan to check out some new ones based on their cover performances alone. Now I'm generally not fond of cover songs, but I always say a successful cover is one that you can make your own, and I think several of the bands found on the compilation do a pretty good job at that. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on October 29, 2012
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Watch SEPULTURA, SLAYER, PANTERA, MEGADETH, MORBID ANGEL and More Jam Out In Their Practice Space

You often hear musicians talk about the importance of practicing an instrument, but it's not something you get to see them do regularly. I know for a fact band rehearsals are the least exciting part of being a musician, but it never really stopped me from collecting bootleg VHS practice tapes from bands I loved as a kid.

Maybe it was because you get to see the band in their own element, or even yell at each other for messing up a part. Maybe I'm just curious to see what tiny shitty practice space the band started out in, or even watch an unfinished song being worked out before it was recorded and became a song we all love. Needless to say, these types of videos are worth watching for all of these reasons.

Recently I stumbled across a practice session and it reminded me of my earlier fascination with these tapes. Naturally I decided to compile several awesome practice jams for you guys to enjoy. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on October 26, 2012
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Did Billy Joel Start The Blast Beat?

I'm always fascinated by origin stories, especially ones pertaining to parts of music that are so ubiquitous we rarely take the time to stop and think where it came from. Recently Chris D. at Decibel Magazine decided to tackle the age old question in metal, who started the blast beat?

Although I'm not the least bit surprised the blast beat can be found before metal began, I was shocked to see Decibel's brutal discovery in the most unlikely of places. If you're a Billy Joel fan then you've probably heard his side project Atilla, featuring drummer Jon Small, at some point in your life. What you probably haven't picked up on was what drummers today refer to as the "Bomb Blast" at the 2:00 mark of the song Brain Invasion. (more…)

• Posted by Frank Injection on October 26, 2012
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