Band Of The Week: Immoralist

I've been on a beatdown hardcore/deathcore kick lately, and bands like Immoralist and Black Tongue have been on repeat in my speakers. Immoralist are a pretty young group, forming back in 2012 with one EP under their belt. Widow though is a strong EP and definitely puts a strong first kick through the door.

Vader Post New Track 'Triumph Of Death'

Vader are getting set to release their 10th studio album soon, titled Tibi Et Igni, and today they've released a new track from the album titled 'Triumph Of Death'. The song is likely what you'll expect from Vader, an enjoyable track that fills out the things you like about death metal. It's real straight forward meat and potatoes death metal.

New Song From Son Of Aurelius!

Son Of Aurelius are finally getting around to putting out some new material. Their debut album is chock full of fantastic proggy goodness, and this new song is good hope that the next album will keep things up!

Hour Of Penance Post Video For 'Reforging The Crowns'

Got videos out the wazoo! We've almost covered the four main types of videos as well today. Hour Of Penance bring int he storied side of things, with a video chock full of religious themes. The song is awesome and the video is well shot albeit a tad predictable. Still worth a watch though!

Whitechapel Post Video For 'Our Endless War'

Along with Carnifex this week, Whitechapel have posted a music video for their title track Our Endless War. This video is a live compilation of footage from shows they've played recently, that is excellently shot by the people at Naughty Mantis, who've been killing it with the videos for Whitechapel. The content isn't original since it's just a live compilation, but some of the shot choices are fantastic, especially the POV shots from the mic.

Carnifex Post Music Video For 'Die Without Hope'

Carnifex's latest release Die Without Hope is one of the strongest Deathcore albums this year and in my opinion the strongest release they've put out to date. Everything on this album is tight and it packs all the right punches. The band has now released a music video for the title track.

Make Them Suffer Post New Song 'Let Me In'

Make Them Suffer made quite a splash in deathcore with their EP Lord Of Woe and their debut album Neverbloom. Their brutal symphonic sound wowed listeners and won plenty of people over, including me. now they've released a new track titled 'Let Me In' and while it's most definitely not the heaviest thing they've ever recorded, the song itself is pretty good still.

Super Massive Black Holes - Calculations Of The Ancients

Super Massive Black Holes is downright weird. In the absolute best possible way. There are a good number of bands out there that play with influences from other genres. Bands that mess with tempo and tonality to immerse the listener into soundscapes they might not have heard clashed together before. Bands that keep you guessing where the song you are currently listening to might take you and how the next song will flip that around and take your ears in a new direction. Super Massive Black Holes does all of this, and their debut full length album, Calculations Of The Ancients showcases all of their talents.

Band Of The Week: Nexilva

Landing somewhere between Born Of Osiris's progressive djent sound and Ovid's Withering's intense symphonic laden deathcore is Nexilva. Hailing from Sunderland, England this outfit is carving quite a name for themselves, and the quality of their music is far and beyond enough to compete with their more widely known peers.

New Song From Wovenwar 'All Rise'!

So Wovenwar was revealed as the project name for the other members of As I Lay Dying with the addition of the clean vocalist from Oh, Sleeper on board. An interesting choice to add a second clean vocalist instead of a new guy to handle screamed vocals, but these guys are making the music they want to make and Shane Blay is an excellent clean vocalist. This new band has posted their first single 'All Rise' and boy does this song jam. The instrumentation has always been a really strong part of As I Lay Dying and these guys have in no way lost their touch.

Band Of The Week: Brutality Will Prevail

I don't listen to a ton of hardcore, but when I do I prefer ambient/doom inspired hardcore. Bands like Harm's Way and Dead End Path really hit the nail on the head for what I want out of hardcore music. It should feel like it's played by a lumbering giant with a guitar somehow magically made out of thunder. Brutality Will Prevail add a third point to this hardcore triangle, with a major focus on creating dark atmosphere in their sound, they fit in perfectly with the other two bands and make for a fantastic listen.

3rd Whitechapel Studio Video Posted For 'Our Endless War'!

God, I gotta give a hand to Naughty Mantis. Every one of these videos has been phenomenally put together. The shot choices and music have been spot on. This video is the third video from Whitechapel's studio sessions for the new album Our Endless War, and this video focuses on the vocal tracking for the bands front man Phil Bozeman and some of the meaning behind the lyrics he wrote on this album.

New Super Massive Black Holes Album Due Out This Month!

To say that Canada's Super Massive Black Holes are an exciting group, is to put things lightly. The band offers a really refreshing taste of metal music blended with awesome flairs of influences from plenty of other genres. Their new album Calculations Of The Ancients is due to release on April 29th, but for now we've got one song to preview from it!

Band Of The Week: Ease Of Disgust

I've been waiting for a new release from Ease Of Disgust the moment I heard their previous album Chaos. This Russian outfit has a great sound, with awesome technical and melodic flairs thrown into a very strong understanding of the great aspects about deathcore.

New Song From Hour Of Penance!

Hour Of Penance match Fleshgod Apocalypse in sheer insanity, but land somewhere closer to Behemoth as far as overall tone goes. The band has been hard at work on their latest album Regicide and are working towards a May 13th release date for it. In the meantime thought they've since put out two new songs, the latest of which is fresh off the press!

Check Out Whitechapel's Second Studio Update!

We're drawing closer and closer to the release of Whitechapel's new album, and the guys are doing a good job keeping anticipation levels high. They released the second part of a series of studio updates, this time mainly focuses on guitars, with a bit of the drums in there too. You get a great peek at some of the low tuned riffs and more technical leads they are throwing in, with a nice ambient acoustic part int here as well!

New Material In The Works From The Other Members Of As I Lay Dying

Since the whole situation with Tim Lambesis got started the status of the 4 other members of As I Lay Dying has remained unknown until this past few days. While we don't have any real concrete details on what exactly is going on, we know that these four guys are making new music as evidenced by Instagram videos of all the members working on stuff in the studio.

Band Of The Week: Science Of Sleep

Science Of Sleep is a German deathcore outfit who released their debut LP back in June, and boy is it a hell of a debut album. I didn't find these until a few weeks ago, but I've been listening to Exhaust a ton since finding them. The album is a great listen, addictive, and hits incredibly hard.

Whitechapel Post New Studio Video!

Whitechapel's new album is less than a month away now, which is most definitely exciting. The band has posted the first of a series of videos documenting the writing and recording process of the new album, and while this initial video doesn't show any new material it's still an interesting watch and Naughty Mantis productions did a fantastic job with the video. Very filmic feel to it.

Band Of The Week: Hiss From The Moat

Italy is doing everything it can to create a giant presence in technical death metal. Between Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Hour Of Penance they've got two of the fastest and most intense bands in the genre, and most recently the drummer from Hour Of Penance, James Payne, went to join a side band called Hiss From The Moat, who combine elements of Technical Death Metal and Black Metal together into a demonic stew of blast beats, walls of riffs, and throaty screams.

Carnifex - Die Without Hope

Carnifex are a band I've never particularly fallen in love with. their album Hell Chose Me had some great songs on it, as did their first two albums, but I was never particularly sparked by them. Their last release Until I Feel Nothing didn't do a whole lot to change that either. Then Carnifex went on a hiatus that left no definite promise of their return and I honestly expected them to fade into obscurity for me. However this year they smashed right back onto the scene with Die Without Hope and I'm not sure if it's hypocritical or not, but they entirely changed my opinion of them. Die Without Hope is easily the strongest writing they've had to date and makes it easier to appreciate their back catalog as well.

New Boris The Blade Song/Video!

Boris The Blade are getting set to release their debut album The Human Hive in May, but in the mean time the band has released a new song and video for the track 'Desolation'! The video is interesting enough to watch especially if you dig post-apocalyptic stuff, but the song is the real point and it's great.

Band Of The Week: I, Of Helix

I, Of Helix fall somewhere between progressive metalcore and progressive deathcore, much in the same way Within The Ruins does, and like Within The Ruins I, Of Helix places a huge emphasis on the instrumentation and writing and it's works to a great extent. Their sound is very high energy and their great musicianship shines through the album. They draw clear influences from bands like August Burns Red, Whitechapel, and as previously mentioned Within The Ruins.

New Whitechapel Song 'Mono'!

Whitechapel are inching closer to the release of their new album Our Endless War, and today they've released a new song entitled 'Mono'! This song is significantly faster than their first single 'The Saw Is The Law', and is by far more aggressive.

Band Of The Week: The Breathing Process

Things have been quiet in The Breathing Process' camp for a little while now, as their last LP Odyssey (Un)Dead came out back in 2010, but the band is still alive and has gained a few new members and are hard at work on a new release for 2014. I can't tell yet who'll be providing the screamed vocals on this new material, but it's just good to know they're working on something.

Meet The Devil You Know

So everyone knows the members of the supergroup Devil You Know from their previous bands, being a supergroup and all, but the band made a video introduction of themselves which starts out pretty awkward and feels like the guys haven't done an interview in a good while. You get a small bit of info about how the band got started and how it led to where there are now.

Band Of The Week: Wrath Of Vesuvius

Wrath  Of Vesuvius are a progressive deathcore outfit from California who should definitely grab the attention of fans of bands like The Contortionist, Born Of Osiris, and Veil Of Maya. Their last release Revelation came out last year, but it's a top notch album that should not be missed.

Demon Hunter Post New Song 'I Will Fail You'

Demon Hunter posted a song last week entitled 'Artificial light' which basically nailed down the type of song we were to expect from them. Today we got a new song entitled 'I Will Fail You', which was about the easier troll set up Metalsucks has ever been given, but anyhow, this is basically going to be this albums 'Driving Nails', 'Heartstrings Come Undone', 'Tomorrow Never Comes' etc... They typically have at least one song that's all clean vocals and supposed to be the more emotionally heavy song on the album. Demon Hunter aren't reinventing the wheel with this album it seems, but I'm still intrigued to hear it.

Band Of The Week: Feared

I don't know where I'd be without Spotify. I constantly find myself discovering new bands that I can't believe I hadn't heard of up to this point. Feared caught my eye with a pretty sweet album cover, and kept my attention with awesome music to boot. Feared is what you might get if you blended Meshuggah's older thrashier material, with Gojira's ambient death metal sound with a healthy splash of groovy rhythm guitars. It's hard hitting and enthralling.

New Whitechapel Song 'The Saw Is The Law'!

Deathcore titans Whitechapel have been hard at work on a new album since last August, but the real details are surfacing about it now, including the cover/title and a new single! The album is titled Our Endless War and is a bit more visually interesting than their last cover, although they've definitely made a shift from their older album covers that were more conventional metal covers. The new cover is pretty clean looking for sure, also there's quite a rift with people at the moment about the second band name logo they've been using. While I do love the old logo, the new one fits this cover more and is frankly really clean looking. I think it works really well for them.

Check Out The New Boris The Blade Track!

Boris The Blade are getting set to release their debut album The Human Hive, although the band made a good impression with the last EP The Tides Of Damnation. This tech deathcore outfit show plenty of promise and their debut album is definitely something to be excited for.

Incoming Whitechapel Song!

Whitechapel just made a post on Facebook all but confirming that a new single will drop tomorrow. Hype level is through the roof! If the hashtag is to be taken as the song title than it'll probably be called 'The Saw Is The Law'.

New I Declare War Song 'Quiet'!

I Declare War are heading towards the release of a new album entitled We Are Violent People By Nature, which is set to release on April 15th this year. This album follows up their self titled album from 2011, which was one of my favorite albums that year and the strongest outing the band has had yet. 'Quiet' feels exactly in line with the tone they set with the self-titled album and while the lyrics are a little more generic than the last albums fare, they fit the band well still.

Band Of The Week: Lorelei

According to Last.fm there are at least 9 artists/bands that share the name Lorelei. This might be a record for most shared name, which is surprising as it's not some stereotypical metal name or anything, but none-the-less it's apparently a common name. Despite that though a quick Google search of the term 'Lorelei band' will almost certainly point you towards this weeks band of the week. Lorelei recently dropped their debut album Lore Of Liesand it's already vying for one of this years best albums.

The Kennedy Veil - Trinity Of Falsehood

Metal as seen by outsiders who don’t listen to the genre is a garbled mess of instruments being played a beyond comprehensible speed mashed together into what sounds and feels like a literal wall of noise. Not the wall of sound idea made popular by Phil Spector in the 60’s, but more of a wall of sound that’s crumbling down and burying you alive. Now as a metal head we generally scoff this stuff off and move on because we’re more trained to hear the subtleties and the talent packed into these walls of noise. There’s almost a challenge to it and it makes repeat listens that much more important and enjoyable.

The Restitution - Waves

In the ever broadening subgenre of metalcore there is a huge divide between radio friendly cookie cutter bands, and progressive/experimental bands. Bands like Norma Jean and Oh, Sleeper cut their teeth pushing the genre to darker tones and all over the map playing, collections of noise and rhythms that when put together make wonderfully energetic music that’s unafraid to give the listener a wild ride. LA based band The Restitution are doing their best to further that progressive push. Waves is a swinging thundering giant, fighting for your attention and once it has that it does everything it can to keep you guessing what comes next. The album flows very well and the strong writing keeps things from falling into a lull.

Band Of The Week: Near Death Condition

I might have just found these guys recently, but Near Death Condition have been killing it for about 13 years now. This Sweden based technical death metal group have two albums under their belt and a third album on the way here in a short number of weeks. I've been playing their last album relentlessly though in preparation for it.

New Demon Hunter Song/Video!

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Demon Hunter, their last album didn't exactly wow me, but This World Is A Thorn, The Triptych, and Summer Of Darkness are some pretty fantastic albums. I've also enjoyed much of Ryan Clark's artwork for many bands. Today the band released a lyric video for a new song from their upcoming album Extremist. The song is titled 'Artificial Light' and while the video itself isn't particularly that interesting, the song is pretty good and the guitar solo is great.

Details Surface For Devil You Know's Debut Album!

Devil You Know, the supergroup formed by Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage, Blood Has Been Shed) Francesco Artusato (ex-All Shall Perish), and John Sankey (ex-Devolved, Fear Factory), announced their formation a while ago, but now details have surfaced for their debut album via the bands Facebook page. Above you've got the album artwork, and the title which is The Beauty Of Destruction.

Band Of The Week: Nightshade

Nightshade's members hail from both France and the US, originally founded by their french guitarist Bastien Deleule, the band has since released two full length albums and signed with Bullet Tooth Records. They are a deathcore band with a heavy influence from melodic death metal. They aren't too incessant with the breakdowns, and the lead guitar work makes for some great songs.

Preview New Austrian Death Machine!

It's been almost exactly a year since the successful crowd funding campaign of Austrian Death Machine's new album Triple Brutal and while the delay is most definitely related to the whole mess of a situation Tim Lambesis got into, it's good to see that the album is finally going to see the light of day. After getting a real mastering session done in August last year the album is slated to be released April 1st. I can't imagine this ending up to be a giant April Fools Joke, I would venture Tim doesn't want any more negativity around him, and that this release date just coincides with the comical nature of the project itself.

Fleshgod Apocalypse Post Video For 'Pathfinder'!

Fleshgod Apocalypse's Labyrinth is a pretty phenomenal album, and it made my best of list for last years albums. It's a great continuation of the sound they established with Agony, with a heart around the story of the Minotaur. The band has posted a video for the song 'Pathfinder' and int he video they deal with the themes of the story they are telling on the album. It's a well shot video and makes for an entertaining few minutes. Well worth your time.

Hear 15 Seconds Of New Whitechapel!

Whitechapel's one of the biggest names in deathcore and fans have been patiently waiting for new material from their upcoming yet to be titled release they've been working on. While we still don't have many details and this update is not huge, it's still something to be excited about. There is a 15 second clip from a song supposedly titled 'Anxiety'. The clip mostly shows off Phil Bozeman's excellent vocal talent with a fast paced vocal verse.

Band Of The Week: Dan Dankmeyer

Instrumental metal is not the biggest genre around, but it's fans are damn loyal. Bands like Animals As Leaders, Chimp Spanner, and Scale The Summit have garnered quite the following for themselves. There's also Drewsif Stalin, who has made quite a name for himself via his djent instrumental cover songs as well as his own material. It's been covered plenty of times before how the advent of technology as it is today allows for bands to produce great quality work with an instrument, a laptop, and the right software. One man bands are bigger than ever. I don't quite recall how I found Dan Dankmeyer, probably just browsing Bandcamp, but his instrumental work is top notch.

Top 15 Albums of 2013

I'm a bit later on this article than I wanted to be, but January has been a lot more hectic for me than I had anticipated. 2013 was a great year for new music, but a bit of a rough year for disbandments. 2013 saw the ending of numerous bands including Underoath, Bleeding Through, God Forbid, Nachtmystium, Inhale-Exhale, Static-X, Gaza, and a personal favorite of mine The Chariot. Rough list for sure. I am excited to see where former Chariot front man Josh Scogin goes with his new hard rock band '68. I'm sure they'll be some great music there.

But to bring this back to the point, lets celebrate the great music we got this year. If you missed my Top 5 EPs list, feel free to check it out now or after.

Band Of The Week: Ovid's Withering

It's a gutsy move to have your Debut LP be longer than most bands first two albums combined. It's tough for many bands to keep things interesting when tackling an album that's over 70 minutes long, without getting really repetitive, but Ovid's Withering use that time to the fullest and blend multiple genres into a delicious musical stew.

Humanity's Last Breath Post 'Human Swarm' Lyric Video!

Humanity's Last Breath are one of the best up and coming deathcore acts out there in my opinion. Their self titled album is incredibly strong and filled to the brim with memorable riffs and fantastic grooves. The band has released a lyric video for the song 'Human Swarm', and while some may bat an eye at 'lyric video' and move on, you'd be doing yourself a disservice in this case. If there were to be a standard for the level of quality lyric videos should strive for, this video (more over Igor Omodei of Uneven Structure) sets the bar.

Possible Haste The Day Reunion Tour?

This is purely speculative at this point, but Haste The Day, who broke up back in late 2011, much to the dismay of many of us fans, posted a picture on their Facebook page with a setlist, although the date on the board says 1/20/2014, a date which now has past obviously, but there was no text to accompany the picture, so no explanation has come as of yet. It would be amazing if the band were to tour again, and would be even better if they just got back together and made music again.

Incognosci - Trapped in Spontaneous Disintegration

Back in November I got to review an album by the band Gutted Souls, who are a raw sounding old school death metal band with a ton of promise in their sound. Frontman Iron Francisco isn't limiting himself to to just one band. He's got a side project under the name Incognosci that plays brutal death metal more in the style of Dying Fetus and Aborted, with a good heaping of technical death metal influence.

New Music From The Haunted!

The Haunted had a bit of a falling out back in 2012 with the loss of Pete Dolving, Anders Björler, and Per Jensen, it seemed like there was a huge chance the band was done for, however they persevered, held vocalist auditions, but then ultimately decided to bring back two former members, drummer Adrian Erlandsson and vocalist Marco Aro, as well as a brand new member Ola Englund who has also played for Six Feet Under. New, but familiar life was breahted back into the band and today we get a premiere of one track from a three track EP (pseudo single of sorts) called 'The Eye Of The Storm'!