Metalsucks.net premiered the track and download, but you can get it HERE.

So as I said before, I moved to find cheaper rent and be closer to work. Last time I moved I used Uhaul and had huge problems with my reservation. This time around I used Budget ’cause I’ve never had problems with Budget truck rentals. Everything was going fine until I got to my new house and the electricity wasn’t on. Daylight was burning and the electric company said it wouldn’t be on until the next day. I figured we would get the shit unloaded, I’d take the truck back and we’d find a nice cool hotel room for the night. That didn’t happen.

After my wife and I cussed each other out for a few hours, trying to get everything out of the truck in the dark, the truck was finally empty. I hopped in the truck to take it back, drop it off and pick up my car so we could get something to eat and relax for a little while. I put the key in the ignition…and it won’t turn. I jiggle the wheel, the shifting lever and try everything and anything that I thought might make the key turn. Nothing worked. So I walk about a mile and a half (in the dark at 10:30pm) to find a payphone. Oh, did I mention that my cell phone  service had expired and I meant to get it back before the move but didn’t? It’s almost impossible to find a payphone that actually works these days. It took me three before I found one that worked. I call my cell provider, get my shit turned back on and start walking back while calling Budget Roadside Assistance. They tell me that no one will be able to get to me until the morning. Fucking hooray!

The next day Budget Roadside calls and says that someone is on the way. An older guys shows up from a local shop and tries the same shit I tried to get the key to turn. Nothing. Says he needs to go back to the shop. Two hours later he comes back with another guy. They try again and then say that they are going to get a new key cut. Two more hours later and I find out that they are waiting on Budget to fax them some paper work for permission  to cut the new key. This was after I walked down to the service station because I didn’t have their phone number. It’s almost 3pm, we still don’t have electricity and I don’t have my car to go get us something to eat. My wife, my kids and I haven’t eaten since the afternoon the day before and we’ve been sweating all day trying to unpack while we wait for the Budget fucktards to get their shit together. FUCK!

Finally, after waiting until after 5 pm for someone, anyone to do something, I call my brother to come get me to go get my car which is 30 miles away where I rented the truck from. The guy finally comes to flick the fucking switch to turn the electric on and my brother shows up and I go to get my car. We get food, we’re happy and cooling off. Long story short, it’s three days later and this 24 foot fucking truck is still sitting in my driveway and Budget isn’t doing a damn thing about it but jerking me around and saying that someone will contact me. At this point I just want to truck towed out of my driveway and I feel that Budget owes ME money for storing it in my driveway for half the week.

Worst move I have ever had. Good thing I didn’t break down in the side of the road. Fuck you Budget rent a truck. FUCK….YOU!

Finally (even though I’m two days late on this) the dates for the Decibel Defiance Tour 2010 have been released. One of the best tours to hit up this fall, the Decibel Defiance Tour features the legendary Suffocation, Sumerian Records best band, The Faceless along with the must see Decrepit Birth and Fleshgod Apocalypse. Oh and Through The Eyes Of The Dead will be there too. If you’re a death metal fan then you already know that this tour is not to be missed. If you’re a scener turd, show up for Through The Eyes Of The Dead and leave right afterwards and make some room for the people that truly appreciate the music. You won’t be missed. Tour dates after the fold.

Decibel Magazine and Extreme Management Group are proud to finally announce tour dates for “The Decibel Defiance Tour 2010”! New York based extreme metal legends SUFFOCATION will tour North America this Fall with prog-deathster THE FACELESS, deathcore merchants THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD, tech-death meisters DECREPIT BIRTH, and Italy’s brutal/symphonic/avante garde horde FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE. Confirmed dates are as follows:

“The Decibel Defiance Tour 2010”

SUFFOCATION, THE FACELESS, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD, DECREPIT BIRTH,FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE
10/15-Worcester, MA @ The Palladium (ROCK AND SHOCK)
10/16-New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
10/17-Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Theater
10/18-Montreal, QC @ Foufounes
10/19-Jonquiere, QC @ Place Nikitoutagan
10/20-Toronto, ON @ Opera House
10/21-Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
10/22-Detroit, MI @ Harpos
10/23-Chicago, IL @ Clearwater Theatre
10/24-St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
10/25-Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10/27-Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
10/28-Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA
10/29-Las Vegas, NV @ The Farm
10/30-Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse
10/31-Los Angeles, CA @ The Whisky
11/01-Phoenix, AZ @ The Clubhouse
11/02-Albuquerque, NM @ Fusion Factory
11/03-Amarillo, TX @ Club Khaos
11/04-Tulsa, OK @ Marquee Theatre
11/05-Austin, TX @ Emo’s
11/06-Ft. Worth, TX @ Ridglea Theatre
11/08-Tampa, FL @ Brass Mug
11/09-Jacksonville, FL @ The Pit
11/10-Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
11/11-Philadelphia, PA @ Polaris
11/12-Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
11/13-Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock

Firewind have revealed their album cover for Days Of Defiance to be your typical Power Metal album cover. Mountains, Lightning, birds of prey and a lone dude on a cliff.  A cool looking album cover nonetheless and it’s sure to sound great. Yes, my Firewind fanboy is hard to hide and I’m not afraid to show it. Days Of Defiance comes out October 26th on Century Media. Tracklist  and the first single, World On Fire after the fold.

1. The Ark Of Lies
2. World On Fire
3. Chariot
4. Embrace The Sun
5. The Departure
6. Heading For The Dawn
7. Broken
8. Cold As Ice
9. Kill In The Name Of Love
10. SKG
11. Losing Faith
12. The Yearning
13. When All Is Said And Done
14. Riding On The Wind (Exclusive to iTunes)

Megadeth.com reports:

Universal Music will release “The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria” DVD and Blu-ray containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring the “Big Four” of 1980s thrash metal — Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. The DVD hits the streets on October 15 in Northern Europe, October 18 in most of the rest of the world, October 19 in North America and the full shows from all four bands will be included in the two-disc set along with behind-the-scenes and interview footage. In addition to the two-DVD set and the corresponding Blu-ray, there will be a limited-edition “super deluxe” box set including the DVD set, five CDs with ALL the music, a 24-page booklet, a poster, photos of each band, and a “Big Four” guitar pick.

Track List:
METALLICA track listing:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Harvester Of Sorrow
05. Fade To Black
06. That Was Just Your Life
07. Cyanide
08. Sad But True
09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman

Encore:

16. Am I Evil? (with the Big Four)
17. Hit The Lights
18. Seek and Destroy

SLAYER track listing:

01. World Painted Blood
02. Jihad
03. War Ensemble
04. Hate Worldwide
05. Seasons In The Abyss
06. Angel of Death
07. Beauty Through Order
08. Disciple
09. Mandatory Suicide
10. Chemical Warfare
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood

MEGADETH track listing:

01. Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
02. Hangar 18
03. Wake Up Dead
04. Head Crusher
05. In My Darkest Hour
06. Skin O’ My Teeth
07. A Tout Le Monde
08. Hook In Mouth
09. Trust
10. Sweating Bullets
11. Symphony Of Destruction
12. Peace Sells/Holy Wars Reprise

ANTHRAX track listing:

01. Caught In A Mosh
02. Got the Time
03. Madhouse
04. Be All, End All
05. Antisocial
06. Indians/Heaven And Hell
07. Medusa
08. Only
09. Metal Thrashing Mad
10. I Am The Law

Rust In Peace Live Setlist

1. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
2. Hangar 18
3. Take No Prisoners
4. Five Magics
5. Poison Was The Cure
6. Lucretia
7. Tornado Of Souls
8. Dawn Patrol
9. Rust In Peace…Polaris

Bonus Content

10. Skin O’ My Teeth
11. In My Darkest Hour
12. She-Wolf
13. Trust
14. Symphony Of Destruction
15. Peace Sells
16. Holy Wars – Reprise

Octillian are an instrumental progressive band of many influences. They release an Ep this year called In The Key Of Bees that only has three songs on it. The title track, a 10 minute and 16 second cornucopia of genres is an amazing track and I highly suggest and encourage you to take advantage of the free download at Last.FM. The song dips in and out of many different rock and cultural genres in it’s ten minutes plus time frame. This isn’t metal in particular, but if you love music that is different, progressive and out of the ordinary, this might be something of interest. Of course you can always listen before you download it. Download link is below.

Download Octillian – In The Key Of Bees at Last.FM

When Opeth did their 20th anniversary run they recorded their show at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London. They’ve taken that concert footage and put it in to a limited edition box set of quadruple vinyl and DVD’s. The limited run vinyl box set will run you $123.49.  The set is also available in a less costly 3 CD, 2 DVD  set ($25.99) or just the DVD set ($14.99). Here are all the details of the vinyl box from the Roadrunner Store. There is also a video of Mikael Akerfeldt talking about the box set.

As part of the ongoing celebration of their 20th anniversary, Sweden’s Opeth is releasing live footage and audio from the band’s recent performance at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall. In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, due out 9/21/10, is a fierce testament to Opeth’s continued success in the progressive metal community. Opeth performed two sets that evening- the first of Blackwater Park in its entirety and the second, a chronologically arranged selection of material from the rest of Opeth’s extensive catalog.

This limited edition, box set includes the following:
-Double-DVD set of Opeth’s performance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its entirety. Bonus features include an exclusive interview and the behind-the-scenes documentary, On Tour with Opeth. DVD’s are in 5.1 Dolby surround sound, produced and mixed by Jens Bogren
-A set of four 180-gram LP’s of the concert’s live audio in its entirety. The vinyl is housed in black poly lined inner sleeves which are packaged in 2 double gatefold sets with exclusive artwork. Vinyl only available in this box set.
-Exclusive, numbered lithograph with artwork designed by Mikael Åkerfeldt and longtime Opeth designer, Travis Smith.
-20-page, LP sized booklet printed on coated paper stock that chronicles the night’s events in photos.
-Expanded, exclusive artwork and more.
-MP3 download of live audio in its entirety will be sent via e-mail on release day
-Content of this set is housed in a custom foil stamped slipcase.

Set 1
• THE LEPER AFFINITY
• BLEAK
• HARVEST
• THE DRAPERY FALLS
• DIRGE FOR NOVEMBER
• THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT
• PATTERNS IN THE IVY
• BLACKWATER PARK

Set 2
• FOREST OF OCTOBER
• ADVENT
• APRIL ETHEREAL
• THE MOOR
• WREATH
• HOPE LEAVES
• HARLEQUIN FOREST
• THE LOTUS EATER

Iron Maiden is a band that has a long legacy of being the be-all, end-all band when it comes to heavy metal. Whenever you hear of a new Maiden album you get the a feeling you did when you were a teenager. No, not that feeling. The feeling of angst. You want it and you want it now! Does The Final Frontier deliver the goods?

Yet another highly anticipated album from a band that is always highly anticipated. Iron Maiden’s The Final Frontier is an album that I have been excited about for a few months now and it’s finally here. While the band will never be able to make epic albums like they once did long ago, they continue to make solid Iron Maiden albums.

Since the return of Bruce Dickinson, the band has released 4 albums. I didn’t even bother with the Blaze Bailey albums during that time because I knew it just wouldn’t work for me. I did check out those two albums later on and unfortunately I was right. When Brave New World came out, I was even hesitant then. It had been 8 years since the last record and it was a new era of music. I didn’t get around to A Brave New World for a little while but I was very pleased when I did. The following two albums didn’t do much for me, though they were solid albums. They just didn’t have the catch factor that most Maiden albums have. The booming choruses and such. The Final Frontier is a step back in to that realm.

Some albums, especially in this age, take a listen or two to really grow on you. It’s so easy to go in to an album listen with expectations of disappointment. Naturally you may subconsciously like the album, but you might have to take a second listen to reassure yourself that it is truly something you like. Strange how that works sometimes. The Final Frontier was that album for me for 2010.

The opening track and part of the title, Satellite 15…The Final Frontier, in my opinion could have and maybe should have been split in to two tracks, clocking in at 8 minutes and 40 seconds. Satellite 15 is like an intro to The Final Frontier. It’s kind of boring like some intros can be but it would have made for a good intro to the rest of the album. The Final Frontier is probably my favorite song on the album and the way it plays out and ends would have worked wonderful to close out the album.

El Dorado didn’t not do much to impress me when it was made available for free download. It has since grown on me and the CD version of the song sounds much better.

Mother Of Mercy starts off slow like many Maiden songs that pick up towards the chorus lines. In the chorus line you can hear that Bruce is struggling a bit more these days trying to hit the higher notes that he used to easily belt out. Somehow he still pulls it off with throaty higher pitched parts. As much large scale touring as Maiden has done since Bruce’s return ten years ago, his voice is still in good shape for his age. We all know that age and vocal strain over a period of time will take it’s toll and make it tough for any great singer to reach the range they once had in their prime, yet Dickinson is still one of the best classic heavy metal voices out there.

Coming Home also starts out slow and builds in to a slightly faster song that you would expect to be used as a video with footage of the band touring with a lot of slow-motion shots flying in and out of airports, slowly walking to stage and backstage footage. You know the kind of video I’m talking about; it’s been done a zillion times. A great tune none-the-less.

The Alchemist is a very classic sounding Iron Maiden track, almost as if it was written back in the late 80′s. A very Maiden sounding song and one of my favorites on the album.

Isle Of Avalon like it’s follower, Starblind, is yet another one of those slower songs that builds up to a slightly faster track with a much better vocal progression. Another favorite, yet it starts to get a bit long clocking in at 9 minutes and 6 seconds. Starblind only clocks in at 7 minutes and 48 seconds but picks up a bit faster than Isle Of Avalon.

The Talisman, you guessed it, starts off slow and then kick in heavy at 2:21. You can see the pattern with the songs here with the slow start, a build up and an eventual heavier song. The Man Who Would Be King also follows suit with the slow build up. The entire story behind this track isn’t completely clear but the basics of it is a man that has taking the life of another through revenge. What it was over is not clear, but it focuses on the man and perhaps on his conscious, as he has to live with taking the life of another and the decision he made. A very deep track if you read in to the song.

The closing track of the album, Where The Wild Winds Blow, tells the story of a couple that seem to be paranoid from all the media stating that the end of the world is near. They reflect on themselves as they think a nuclear was is upon them. In the end they are found in a fallout shelter, dead. They took their own lives with poison when they mistook a simple earthquake for nuclear fallout. A very folky sounding song. The only setback of this is that the song  is just 1 second shy of being 11 minutes long. Despite the track being rather long, it kind of grows on you. At this point I still believe The Final Frontier would have followed this song nicely and closed out the album perfectly.

To truly hear and enjoy this album, I highly suggest that you BUY it in physical form. The compressed mp3 even at 320 kbps format still doesn’t do it any justice. You lose a lot of atmosphere in the songs when listening to anything else but the CD. The artwork on the cover and in the liner are also very enjoyable as you read through the lyrics and not having the CD to go along with the songs makes it feel as if you’re losing something in between. It’s not a concept album, but as you listen through, stories start to unfold as they often do on every Iron Maiden album.

The production is exquisite. Nikko’s drumming is amazing as usually as is Steve Harris’ Bass playing. It’s still difficult to tell if there are really three guitars playing at once, but the rhythms and solos are all very Maiden-esque and sound great. Bruce’s vocals are still fantastic, albeit what I said before about the higher notes.

While The Final Frontier isn’t Iron Maidens best album or even their best album since Bruce Dickinson’s return, it’s still a very solid Iron Maiden album and sounds great despite some of the songs being a bit longer than I prefer. If this is Maiden’s last album as have been rumored, I think they did well enough to close out their careers, though I doubt there is any truth to the rumors and I hope to see one last epic album from the band.

Ever heard of Enos, the last chimpanzee to go in to space before John Glenn became the first American in orbit. Enos and Ham were unsung heroes of NASA. Chimpanzees were sent into orbit to test the effects of weightlessness and g-force before sending a human Astronaut in to space. These days are often forgotten about in the history books. Almost half a century later a UK band pays tribute to the Enos with a progressive rock sound.

ENOS is a Brighton based UK band formed in 2008 after the split of Dollar Sent. Sparky Rogers on drums along with Chris Razzinski on guitars and vocals came together to form Enos, rounding out the band with George ‘Bungle’ Cobbold on bass guitar. The story of Enos the chimp is told through their music and comic, which is very nicely put together. You can preview Enos’ sound by checking out Enos’ Myspace or Enos’ Last.fm. To download the album and comic all in one shot, visit Thee Big Black.

In mid 2009, Metal Blade re-released The Ocean‘s 2004 release Fluxion. I was offered a promo download and at the time I didn’t give it a good listen and immediately forgot about it. The band didn’t catch my interest again until I heard everyone gushing over how great their latest album, Heliocentric was. I remember thinking to myself “I don’t think I liked that band”, but something made me listen to the album anyways. I was surprisingly pleased at what I was missing and was quickly a fan and seeking out older releases. The Ocean is a band that doesn’t get nearly enough of the credit and recognition that they deserve. The ocean also have a tendency to make 2 part albums and Anthropocentric is the follow up second part to Heliocentric. The album is set for a November release on Metal Blade records. Below is the details from the press release on Anthropocentric.

The Ocean are currently in the process of mixing their upcoming album Anthropocentric at Studio Mecanique in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the same place where Heliocentric was recorded and mixed. The album will be mastered on August 25th by Svante Forsbäck in Helsinki.

Musically, the album feels somehow heavier than Heliocentric. “The sound is more dense and maybe a tad more raw, which suits the songs perfectly”, comments guitar player Jonathan Nido. The album covers a similar sonic and dynamic range as Heliocentric, also including a number of calm, acoustic moments – but these are for the most part orchestrated with guitars, and not so much with piano and string section. The focus is on the heavy songs: “The album is a pretty big production, and still has a very earthy, organic feel to it”, comments Staps. “We have spent a great deal of time on the basic sound this time around, drums, bass, guitars and vocals… and at this stage I am pretty confident that this will pay off in the end!”

As far as the concepts behind Anthropocentric are concerned, the focus is on man and his place in the universe: at the center, as many fundamental Christians still claim today, or more likely a dust particle in its periphery? All lyrics are circling around this question. “Anthropocentric will continue the critique of christianity, inspired by the questions that Dostoyevsky asked and some of the answers that Friedrich Nietzsche and Richard Dawkins gave”, comments Staps.

At the base of the album are three songs with the titles “The Grand Inquisitor I, II and III”. These songs have been inspired by the chapter of the same title in Fjodor Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamasov: a conversation between the brothers Ivan, an atheist, and Alyoscha, a monk. Ivan tells Alyoscha the story of a Second Coming of Christ in 16th century Sevilla. According to this parable, Jesus is arrested by the Catholic inquisition. The grand inquisitor who interrogates Jesus casts a new light on the legend of the temptation of Christ: he reproaches Jesus with having betrayed humanity and having deprived man of salvation by giving him freedom. The conversation between Ivan and Alyoscha mirrors, to some degree, the conversation between the grand inquisitor and Christ and raises more questions than it answers. “This long dialogue, which for the most part is rather a monologue of Ivan, is so complex and recondite that one could easily find inspiration for 10 concept albums about Christianity in it”, comments Staps.

Only 6 guest musicians are appearing on the album, all classical musicians, most of whom are guesting on the final track of the album. Anthropocentric is an album by The Ocean’s consolidated nucleus. “It is the first album where all members have actively partaken in the songwriting”, comments Staps.

The track listing for Anthropocentric is as follows:
1. Anthropocentric
2. The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov baseness
3. She Was The Universe
4. For He That Wavereth…
5. The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots & Locusts
6. The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain of Faith
7. Sewers Of The Soul
8. Wille Zum Untergang
9. Heaven TV
10. The Almightiness Contradiction
11. The Grand Inquisitor IV: Exclusion From Redemption

The last track is a bonus track which will only appear on the vinyl and the limited European deluxe digipak version.

You have to be quick on this one! Here is your chance to win a copy of the new Iron Maiden, The Final Frontier Album (Review coming soon). As you may know, the album comes in various packages. The one we’re giving away is the Mission Edition. The mission edition is packed in a nice metal case and offers you access to exclusive online material such as the director’s cut of The Final Frontier video, a video interview with the band, an online photo gallery, wallpaper and “Mission II” of The Final Frontier online game.

All you have to do to win is be the first person to answer the following questions.

Iron Maiden Quiz:

1.) Who created the artwork for The Final Frontier?

2.) Which Iron Maiden single featured the b-side “Reach Out?”

3.) Who produced Maiden’s Piece of Mind album?

Send your answer to “hookinmouthdotnet@gmail.com” (Just as it’s spelled) with “Maiden contest” in the subject line.

UPDATE: The first person to get the answers in correctly was reader “giles”, who correctly answered the questions as : 1) Melvin Grant, 2) Wasted Years and 3) Martin Birch. Congrats to Giles. To anyone else that entered, thanks and better luck next time.

Holy mother of deathcore. Here is a tour that the scene kids are going to love. Whitechapel, Oceano , Impending Doom, Miss May I and I Declare War. It’s a metal elitists worst nightmare. At least it’s not one of those tours where the headlining band is some old, well respected death metal band and you have to sit through 4 deathcore bands to see them. Tour dates are after the fold.

WHITECHAPEL Tour w/ Impending Doom, Miss May I, Oceano, I Declare War
10/01 Macon, GA The 567
10/02 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
10/03 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
10/04 Jacksonville, FL Rain (Plush Complex)
10/05 Spartanburg, SC Ground Zero
10/06 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
10/07 Raleigh, NC Volume 11 Tavern
10/08 Norfolk, VA Norva
10/09 Jermyn, PA Eleanor Rigby’s
10/10 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
10/12 Boston, MA Harper’s Ferry
10/13 Poughkeepsie, NY The Loft
10/14 Syracuse, NY Lost Horizon
10/15 Toledo, OH Headliner’s
10/16 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection
10/17 Elgin, IL Mad Maggies
10/19 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
10/20 Sauget, IL Pop’s
10/21 Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall
10/22 Birmingham, AL Zydeco
10/23 Nashville, TN Rocketown
MONSTER MOSH II
w/ The Devil Wears Prada, Enter Shikari, Black Veil Brides
10/31 Frisco, TX Dr. Pepper Arena

“I’m really proud of the artwork for this disc,” vocalist Phil Labonte told Noisecreep about the album’s cover design and concept. “I wanted it to be heavy and let the art speak for itself. That was part of the reason for leaving the name of the band off the cover.”

The artwork was done by Travis Smith, who also did The Fall Of Ideals.

…For We Are Many track listing

1. Now Let Them Tremble
2. For We Are Many
3. The Last Time
4. Some Of The People, All Of The Time
5. Won’t Go Quietly
6. Aggressive Opposition
7. From The Outside
8. Dead Wrong
9. Faithless
10. Hold On
11. Keepers of Fellow Man
12. The Waiting One

Labonte comments on the album that fans of Overcome will not be disappointed. I thought Overcome was a good album but it faded for me fast, leaving me quickly bored with it. There is a little bit of hope though.

“There’s a song with a talk box on it and a couple of cool riffs that remind me of MESHUGGAH,” Labonte told Revolver. “Also, there’s more PANTERA-ish, southern stuff than we’ve ever done.”