MetalSucks

Last updated
MetalSucks
Metal-Sucks-logo.png
Type of business Private
Type of site
 News website
Available inEnglish
Founded Brooklyn, New York
December 2006;12 years ago (2006-12)
Headquarters
Brooklyn, New York
,
US
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s) Axl Rosenberg (Matt Goldberg)
Vince Neilstein (Ben Umanov)
Website www.metalsucks.net
Alexa rank35,049 (July 2018) [1]
RegistrationOptional
Launched2006
Current statusActive

MetalSucks is a heavy metal music-themed news website. The site features reviews, interviews, information on latest metal releases and blog-like posts from the writers, most notably Vince Neilstein and Axl Rosenberg.

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. The genre's lyrics and performance styles are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.

Contents

History

The site was founded in December 2006 by authors Ben Umanov and Matthew Goldenberg who use the pen names Vince Neilstein and Axl Rosenberg. [2] [3]

In April 2009, MetalSucks was awarded Metal Hammer's Web of Death Award for "Best Reviews" for its "honest, insightful, unpretentious – and fun – reviews." [4]

<i>Metal Hammer</i> periodical literature

Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal and rock music magazine, published in the United Kingdom by Future and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music.

On April 12, 2011, F.Y.E. released the MetalSucks Fan Pack, a CD compilation that included 20 bands and a t-shirt. The item was exclusive only to F.Y.E. stores. [5]

FYE (retailer) Entertainment retail store

FYE is an American chain of entertainment retail stores. As one of several Trans World Entertainment brands, it began in 1993 and was expanded in 2001 after buying out and rebranding mall-based Camelot, Strawberries, Record Town and Coconuts stores. There are 206 locations as of May, 2019.

On August 15, 2011, MetalSucks announced The Metal Suckfest, a two-day music festival to take place in Manhattan on November 4 and November 5 of that same year. Municipal Waste and Cynic were announced as headliners. [6] If the inaugural festival is a success, there are plans to make it an annual event. [7]

Music festival festival oriented towards music

A music festival is a community event oriented towards live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality, or locality of musicians, or holiday.

Municipal Waste (band) American metal band

Municipal Waste is a crossover thrash band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 2001. To date, the band has released six studio albums, three EPs and four splits. They have gone through several line-up changes, leaving vocalist Tony Foresta and guitarist Ryan Waste as the only constant members. In addition to Foresta and Waste, their current lineup includes Nick "Nikropolis" Poulos on guitar, Philip "Landphil" Hall on bass and Dave Witte on drums.

Cynic (band) American band

Cynic is an American band founded in 1987 in Miami, Florida. Their work has incorporated elements of progressive rock, alternative rock, and extreme metal. Their first album, Focus, released on September 14, 1993, is widely regarded as a landmark release of the progressive metal genre. Cynic disbanded in 1994, but reunited in 2006, and released their second album on November 17, 2008. Traced in Air was released through French label Season of Mist, followed up by an EP titled Re-Traced on May 18, 2010 and an EP titled Carbon-Based Anatomy on November 11, 2011. Their third studio album, Kindly Bent to Free Us, was released on February 14, 2014. In December 2017, after two years of an uncertain future, Reinert confirmed his split from Cynic, leaving Masvidal as the only remaining original member left.

Controversies

Converge Album Leak

On October 4, 2009, MetalSucks found some controversy when one of the site's writers was accused of leaking the album Axe to Fall by Converge onto the internet prior to its official release. [8]

<i>Axe to Fall</i> 2009 studio album by Converge

Axe to Fall is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band Converge. It was released on October 20, 2009 via Epitaph Records. The album was produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and the artwork was created by the band's singer Jacob Bannon. Axe to Fall is Converge's most collaborative album, featuring a number of guest musicians, including members of Cave In and Genghis Tron and Steve Von Till of Neurosis, who performs lead vocals on the slow Tom Waits-esque track "Cruel Bloom".

Converge (band) American hardcore punk band

Converge is an American hardcore punk band formed by vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou in Salem, Massachusetts in 1990. During the recording of their seminal fourth album Jane Doe, the group became a four-piece with the departure of guitarist Aaron Dalbec and the addition of bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller. This lineup has remained intact since. They have released nine studio albums, three live albums, and numerous EPs. The band's sound is rooted in both hardcore punk and heavy metal, and they are considered pioneers of metalcore as well as its subgenre mathcore.

Confronting Alleged White Supremacists

In July 2016, the site attacked black metal band Deströyer 666. In a Facebook post the site stated, "Destroyer 666 frontman K.K. Warslut is a racist, and apparently doesn't mind being labeled one, as he calls his fans 'faggots' and 'pussies' at an NYC show earlier this week." [9] The post linked to a page on their site where they expanded on the moment and the history of K.K. Warslut in the metal community, stating "Earlier this week, we reported that K.K. Warslut, frontman of Australian black metallers Deströyer 666, has alarmingly racist, misogynistic and violent tendencies." [10] Later, MetalSucks deleted all negative articles about the band and apologized for the posts, citing their regret that the band had received death threats because of the posts. [11] [12]

In August 2017, the site published an open letter by The Anti-NSBM Working Group to Hells Headbangers Records, a metal record label, that they alleged sold music by white supremacists. [13]

On February 28, 2018, MetalSucks wrote about controversy surrounding Norwegian black metal band Taake. [14] On March 27, 2018, MetalSucks posted a photo they received of Watain touring guitarist Set Teitan allegedly giving the Nazi salute. [15] The band refuted the photo stating, "The gesture on that picture was done in jest that’s as much as we have to say about that." On March 30, 2018, MetalSucks followed-up by posting both the bands denial and video of the same guitarist doing the same salute in 2011. [16] On April 4, 2018, MetalSucks (expanding on a 2016 story by Swedish outlet The Etc. [17] ) reported members of Swedish black metal band Marduk allegedly bought items from a National Socialist group with the intent to distribute. [18] Marduk would go on to deny the claims. [19] In February of that same year, MetalSucks reported that the band had a concert cancelled in Oakland due to security concerns. [20] Vince Nielstein wrote, "The Swedish black metallers have been plagued by accusations of Nazism for some time. These accusations seem to stem from misinterpretations of their work, although it’s easy to see how those misinterpretations come about." [20]

On April 11, 2018, MetalSucks wrote a lengthy editorial about the owners thoughts and feelings on the topic of Nazi imagery in the metal scene along with what they considered to not to be acceptable usage and what was based on history and context. [21] The article included Anti-Semitic insults they had received due to their multiple articles and posts regarding the topic in the past. [21]

On May 3, 2018, MetalSucks posted a second editorial about Nazism and racism in the metal scene called, "Of Course Black Metal Is Racist—It’s Evil". In it they recapped events that had happened in 2018 on that topic to that point in time. [22]

Pestilence

On July 24, 2018, MetalSucks reported on a 2017 Facebook post belonging to the Pestilence vocalist and guitarist Patrick Mameli. In the post they alleged that Patrick Mameli, on his personal Facebook page, response to a photo of him with blonde dreadlocks, responding to a comment that compared his look to Milli Vanilli with the statement in his native Dutch, "Je zegt dat ik een neger ben?" The site alleged that the use of "neger" translated to English as the discriminating vulgarism nigger. Along with the comment, MetalSucks also alleged that the singer also "propagates Jewish stereotypes", pointing to his support of United States President Donald J. Trump moving the nations embassy in Israel. [23]

In response, the band posted a statement, reading in part, "PESTILENCE nor myself are in any way a political band. We do not condone or support nazism or racism in any way. Pestilence exists only to create awesome music for our listeners and fans." Patrick Mameli adding in the statement, "On being a racist, 'for god's sake, my 'soon-to-be' wife is ASIAN, how could I be rasist?" [24]

On July 26, 2018, Pestilence announced that their entire U.S. tour was cancelled, blaming it on MetalSucks, stating “Thanks to metalsucks and their followers, our US minitour has been cancelled by our U.S. promotor." [25] The website responded with the comment, "For the record, we were fans not that long ago." [26]

Axl Rosenberg's Statutory Rape Joke

On May 18th, 2011 founder Axl Rosenberg made the following comment when asked about the origin of his pen name. "A lot of people think it's so we can do undercover investigative journalism and express our honest opinions without fear or reprisal, but that's not true at all. It's just that if the father of a fourteen year old girl you met at Avenged Sevenfold show is looking for you, and he thinks your name is "Axl Rosenberg," it's going to be a lot harder for him to track you down." [27]

Years later this remark began to generate controversy contradicting the progressive message Metalsucks was attempting to get across in its' modern form prompting Rosenberg to issue an apology. [28]

Attempts to Tie Nergal of Behemoth to NSBM Controversey

On December 20th, 2018 Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish blackened death metallers Behemoth (band) took to his personal Facebook to respond to an email his management received from Metalsucks regarding a photo of Nergal with Rob Darken of Graveland who Metalsucks accused of NS ties as well as the Bölzer shirt Nergal was wearing in the picture, another group accused of NS ties.

"From Nergal:

My management team today received this email below from Ben Umanov and Matt Rosenberg @ Metal Sucks. What we have here is a media outlet trying to create a controversial story in order to get clicks by whatever means they can. In this case they are trying to interpret comments, posts, photos and even t-shirts to paint me as something I’m not. For profit. They wanted me to give them a quote for their story to tell my side of things. But, I don’t feel compelled to help them with their news business. Instead, I will address the issues that they imply with my own statement in my own words direct to those who care to read it. First I will say this – I am my own person and am against any form of racism, fascism, discrimination or hate. As many of you know, I say a lot of crazy stuff, but I am prejudice against no human-being. I’m a controversial character, I’ll admit it…it’s part of me and sometimes I like to stir things up on purpose. When will I learn? Likely never. But, the simple fact is, I am an open-minded, loving, loyal person. I think the people that I meet in my daily life and musical travels as well as those that follow me on social media know this. Rob Darken – I took some photos recently backstage in Poland after a Behemoth show with Rob from Graveland, a buddy and fellow Pole. I have known Rob for many years since 1992 and we hang out sometimes in Wroclaw. He did some recordings on our first and second demo tapes. He also has a photo published in my book “Confessions Of A Heretic”. Rob and I share a love of black metal and its rich history. But aside from that, I don’t condone Rob’s personal ideals and agenda because I don’t know them. I can’t take responsibility for every person I take a photo with. Bolzer – We’re friends and we’ve toured several times. I don’t have to say much more myself about Okoi and Bolzer other than what Okoi says himself here: https://www.facebook.com/erosatarms/posts/it-is-disgusting-totally-infuriating-and-frankly-embarassing-the-lengths-some-pe/1637456716287584/ Eugenics – I have little knowledge and no interest in the subject. I made a comment about my countrymen not being suited to play football. It’s true, the post was removed, but I reposted moments later (still there) with an image more appropriate to the text as the previous was misconstrued. Story of my life!" [29]

Nergal has since referred to Metalsucks as "the biggest troll" and "least reliable source of information". [30]

Related Research Articles

Pestilence (band) Dutch death metal band

Pestilence is a Dutch death metal band from Enschede, founded in 1986. After disbanding in order to pursue other musical directions in 1994, Pestilence reunited in 2008, and was put on a "permanent hold" in July 2014. However, the band reunited once again in October 2016. To date, the band has released eight studio albums.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed is a grindcore band formed in 1994 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Its line-up has changed often over the years, with guitarist and drum programmer Scott Hull being the only continuous member. The current line-up includes vocalist Jay Randall, and Richard Johnson of Enemy Soil and Drugs of Faith, along with John Jarvis of Pig Destroyer and Fulgora on bass guitar. Agoraphobic Nosebleed is one of the most well-known drum-machine grindcore bands, and has influenced many drum-machine grindcore bands.

Marduk (band) Swedish black metal band

Marduk is a Swedish black metal band. The group formed in 1990 in the city of Norrköping and released their first album in 1992. Their name is derived from the Babylonian god Marduk, patron deity of Babylon.

Deströyer 666 Australian extreme metal band

Deströyer 666 is an Australian extreme metal band formed in 1994 by vocalist and guitarist K. K. Warslut. The group originated in Melbourne, Australia and by 2001 had relocated to Europe.

Watain band

Watain is a Swedish black metal band from Uppsala, formed in 1998. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von. The band have become infamous for their Theistic Satanist views and for their live shows which involve pyrotechnics, candles, Satanic rituals, animal carcasses, and blood. At a now-notorious live performance in Brooklyn in 2014 they doused audience members in animal blood, allegedly causing some members of the audience to vomit. This was picked up and publicised by TMZ, generating controversy around the incident. To date they have released six full-length albums, as well as three live albums and a number of demos and EPs. Their most recent album Trident Wolf Eclipse was released on 5 January 2018 through Century Media Records. The band's core lineup has remained stable since their formation, consisting of Erik Danielsson, Pelle Forsberg, and Håkan Jonsson, though as of 2015 Jonsson no longer performs live, his live duties are now covered by Emil Svensson aka E. Forcas of fellow Uppsala Death metal band Degial.

Tourniquet (Marilyn Manson song) 1997 single by Marilyn Manson

"Tourniquet" is the second major-label single by the band Marilyn Manson, from the second studio album Antichrist Superstar. The image this song conveys is that of the main character in a world of sorrow and self-pity, prior to his transformation into the Little Horn. It was written by frontman Marilyn Manson, co-founder Daisy Berkowitz and longtime bassist and guitarist Twiggy Ramirez. Like many other songs from Antichrist Superstar, the songs lyrics are based on a dream Manson had.

The Heretic Anthem Slipknot song

"The Heretic Anthem" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The song was released as a promotional single from their second album Iowa.

Emil Werstler

Emil Werstler is an American guitarist and musician based in Atlanta, Georgia, who is perhaps best known for his work with metal and gypsy jazz. Werstler became lead guitarist for the metal band Dååth in 2004, and their second album The Hinderers peaked at No. 49 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 2007. In 2009 Dååth released The Concealers on Roadrunner, which reached No. 35 on Top Heatseekers and was placed as No. 3 on a list of the "top twenty metal albums of 2009" by Metal Sucks. In 2010 Werstler released the instrumental metal album Avalanche of Worms as a collaboration with Eyal Levi, with the album receiving a largely positive response for its musicianship and experimental nature.

<i>Requiem</i> (The Autumn Offering album) 2009 studio album by The Autumn Offering

Requiem is the fourth album by Florida metal band The Autumn Offering. It was released on June 9, 2009 through Victory Records. This is the last album to feature any of the original members as Matt Johnson quit the band in 2010. According to the group, the album contains "by far the band's most ambitious and dense material yet. Longer songs, complex rhythms, and dynamic vocals fill out this 11-track monster."

White Wizzard band

White Wizzard is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. The band has released one demo, one EP and four albums, Over the Top released in 2010, Flying Tigers released in 2011, The Devil's Cut released in 2013 and Infernal Overdrive released 2018. The end of the band was announced on Facebook by Jon Leon on April 24, 2018. Jon Leon announced he was reassembling the band on Facebook on March 26, 2019.

Daniel Rostén Swedish singer

Daniel Rostén is a Swedish black metal vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, known as the frontman for Funeral Mist and singer/guitarist of Triumphator under the stage name Arioch, and for having been the vocalist for renowned Swedish black metal band Marduk since 2004 under the stage name Mortuus. He also runs a graphic design company called Holy Poison Design.

Djent is a subgenre of progressive metal, named for an onomatopoeia for the distinctive high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, low-pitch guitar sound.

Black Anvil is an American black metal band from New York City. The band formed in 2007 with Paul Delaney, Gary Bennett and Raeph Glicken. When asked about how they got their name as a band, they said “Gary actually came up with name, which is a cross between a Black Sabbath reference and a Judas Priest song.” They are one of the very few but prominent bands in the New York City black metal scene.

<i>Great Is Our Sin</i> 2016 studio album by Revocation

Great Is Our Sin is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Revocation, released on July 22, 2016. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Ash Pearson, who replaced original drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne in 2015.

<i>Suicide Silence</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Suicide Silence

Suicide Silence is the fifth studio album by metal band Suicide Silence, released on February 24, 2017 by Nuclear Blast. The album is a notable departure from their signature deathcore musical style, pursuing a more 1990s influenced nu metal sound. Critical reviews were mixed, while fan response was generally negative.

Meta is the third album by the American band Car Bomb. The album was produced by Gojira's Joseph Duplantier and guitarist Greg Kubacki, and was released independently on digital and CD formats on 28 October 2016.

Bölzer

Bölzer are a Swiss extreme metal band that formed in Zürich in 2008. The band have said that the meaning behind the name is "a powerful force or blow or strike that has no regard for the consequences or the repercussions. And in that sense it’s not directed either, it’s just a chaotic strike of energy…. a force of chaos, and a force of life and death and anything." To date they have released three EPs, and their debut studio full-length album Hero was released on November 25, 2016 on Iron Bonehead Productions.

Wild Throne (band)

Wild Throne was an American heavy metal band from Bellingham, Washington, United States.

<i>Trident Wolf Eclipse</i> 2018 studio album by Watain

Trident Wolf Eclipse is the sixth full-length studio album by the Swedish black metal band Watain. The album was released on January 5, 2018 through Century Media Records. The album marks a significant shift away from the progressive style of Watain's previous album, The Wild Hunt, and a return to their earlier more traditional and aggressive black metal sound. According to frontman Erik Danielsson, the album title should be read as three separate words which were chosen to represent symbolic concepts which the band consider central to their music. Trident Wolf Eclipse received generally favourable reviews from music critics upon release.

XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX South African death metal band

Acidic Vaginal Liquid Explosion Generated by Mass Amounts of Filthy Fecal Fisting and Sadistic Septic Syphilic Sodomy Inside the Infected Maggot Infested Womb of a Molested Nun Dying Under the Roof of a Burning Church While a Priest Watches and Ejaculates in Immense Perverse Pleasure Over His First Fresh Fetus (abbreviated as XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX) are a death metal band formed in Durban, South Africa. Their first EP, titled Gore, was released on 31 July 2016. Their first studio album, Gore 2.0, was released on 6 July 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "Metalsucks.net Site Info". Alexa Internet . Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  2. ↑ "About MetalSucks.net". MetalSucks. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  3. ↑ "How the Co-Founder of MetalSucks Made His Dream Into His Day Job". CreativeLive Blog. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
  4. ↑ "Web Of Death Awards: The Winners". Metal Hammer. 2009-04-01. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  5. ↑ "PRESENTING THE METALSUCKS FAN PACK, EXCLUSIVELY AT F.Y.E. | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  6. ↑ "MUNICIPAL WASTE, CYNIC Confirmed For 'The Metal Suckfest'". Roadrunnerrecords.com. 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  7. ↑ "Vince Neilstein of MetalSucks on Their Upcoming Two-Day Concert Festival". Noisecreep. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  8. ↑ "Don't Download the Leaked Converge: An Open Letter to Fans". Noisecreep. 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  9. ↑ "MetalSucks.net". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  10. ↑ "Deströyer 666 Frontman K.K. Warslut Digs in on Racist Comments at NYC Show | MetalSucks". 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  11. ↑ "On Threats, Censorship, and Destroyer 666 – The Toilet Ov Hell". www.toiletovhell.com. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  12. ↑ "Death Metal Underground: #Metalgate: Destroyer 666 Doxx MetalSucks". www.deathmetal.org.
  13. ↑ "An Open Letter to Hells Headbangers Records to Stop Releasing and Distributing Metal by White Supremacists | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  14. ↑ "The Problem with Taake Isn't Just the Swastika Chest Paint Incident | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  15. ↑ "Watain: Photo of Guitarist Giving the Nazi Salute Surfaces Online | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  16. ↑ "Video: Watain Guitarist Set Teitan Gave the Nazi Salute at Another Show | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  17. ↑ Söderin, Eigil (2018-04-04). "Black metal-band avslöjade med NMR-kopplingar". ETC (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  18. ↑ "Members of Marduk Bought Nazi Propaganda Tied to National Socialist Party | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  19. ↑ "Marduk Members Deny Purchasing Nazi Propaganda Tied to National Socialist Party | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  20. 1 2 "Oakland Metro Operahouse Cancels Marduk Show "in the Interest of Public Safety" | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  21. 1 2 "Nazi Imagery: Why Watain and Marduk Don't Get a Pass While Slayer and Metallica Do | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  22. ↑ "Editorial: Of Course Black Metal Is Racist—It's Evil | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  23. ↑ "Pestilence's Patrick Mameli Scolds Facebook Follower with a Racist Slur, Propagates Jewish Stereotypes, Defends Donald Trump and Fox News | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  24. ↑ "Pestilence (official)". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  25. ↑ "death metal vets Pestilence's tour cancelled after racism accusation". BrooklynVegan.
  26. ↑ "Pestilence Shows Cancelled "Thanks to MetalSucks and Their Followers" | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  27. ↑ https://noisecreep.com/metal-sucks-interview/
  28. ↑ http://www.metalsucks.net/2018/04/13/yes-i-made-those-jokes-and-yes-i-am-sorry/
  29. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/behemoth/photos/a.82940612871/10156234796517872/?type=3&theater
  30. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/officialnergal/posts/2050953388307215
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