Himsa
Photo: Century Media

There are three things Himsa frontman John Pettibone has always wanted to accomplish as a musician — he's been keeping a mental list ever since he started making music. So far he's checked off one of the goals, but he hopes Himsa's latest record, Summon in Thunder — which came out in mid-September — will help him with the other two.

"I always wanted to be on 'Headbangers Ball,' because I grew up watching Riki Rachtman," said Pettibone, who is also an avid fan of horror films and has been skateboarding the last 23 years. "We were on the show twice, so I was pretty excited about that. I would also love for Himsa to be on a horror-movie soundtrack. And I've always wanted to be in Thrasher magazine. So I've got one of the three done." For good measure, he added: "Oh, and if we ever toured or played a show with Slayer, I'd be set."

Those are modest goals for a band like Himsa, who have been around since 1998. But according to Pettibone, the Seattle-hailing metalcore madmen are prepared to take their career to the next level, as he says they did with their sound on Summon in Thunder.

"We've really progressed with this record, and we're all really proud of it," he said. "We've all been playing in bands for quite a lot longer than Himsa's been around, and it's one of those things where we're completely proud of what we've done, and we've gotten to a point where we have a definite sound. ... We've gone through all the struggles, and that's what keeps all of us sane. We've been on really bad tours, slept on floors for many years, and it's that drive and ethic that we've always kept in the band that makes it a little more special. We've seen the worst, and we've been through the worst, so any gain we're happy with."

For those of you who haven't heard the new album yet, Pettibone says the album is a perfect mixture between their 2003 album, Courting Tragedy and Disaster, and 2006's Hail Horror.

"I think the aggression of the record will surprise people," he said. "There is melody there, but not like before. ... We steered clear of the way the metal scene has been going, with thick breakdowns and clean vocals — we didn't want to do what's popular right now. We went for more of that thrash sound that we love. We grew up in the '80s on East Bay thrash, and we took those elements and went the opposite way the scene's going, and people are digging it. So I can't complain.

"It's a record that, even if I wasn't in the band, I'd be like, 'God, I love these guys,' " he continued. "It sounds like a band I would truly follow."

So what exactly is the new Himsa sound?

"Honestly, we didn't change anything besides working with a new producer," the singer said, adding that he partnered with Strapping Young Lad frontman/producer Devin Townsend (Lamb of God, Soilwork) to work on his vocals. "It was great. Our intention was to try and get him for the whole record, but because of his schedule, we had about a [weeklong] span where he could fit us in. His specialty is vocals anyways, but I was a little nervous to work with him, because I work at a local club in Seattle, and Strapping always played there, and I'd see how manic he'd get. I didn't know what it would be like to work with him. But the first minute I met him, we were instant friends."

The band also worked with Steve Carter (Cradle of Filth, Alien Crime Syndicate), who helmed Courting Tragedy and Disaster, and reunited with Tue Madsen (Aborted, Suicide Silence), who mixed and engineered Hail Horror.

"All of us combined got us to that next level," he said. "We also had some more time to work on this record than we'd had before. We used to do tours, then come home, write for a month, record for a month, and then go back on the road. This time, we had about a year off. We were home for a while, and the creative juices just started flowing. Seattle's a very gray, somber city — even the look of it — and we were surrounded by forest. That environment plays a big part in how we write, too."

Pettibone said he pulled 12-hour days for an entire week while working with Townsend at his studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. "I've never felt more comfortable in any project I've ever done," he explained. "I'd definitely love to work with him again. We're all big fans of Devin's work. ... We'd like to nail him down as [our next] album's producer, but we'll see if that happens.

"The thing about Devin is, he didn't push me," Pettibone continued. "We kept doing take after take, but he's so focused on pronunciation, and I'd never had a problem with that before — people told me they could understand what I was saying, not like a lot of other bands these days. But with Devin, he'd tell me to give him more 'R' in this word, or more 'P' in that one, and slowly, I understood what he was getting at, and by the end of the week, I knew what he wanted."

Fans who pick up Summon in Thunder will find inside the package a DVD featuring a three-part segment on the making of the album. One segment, Pettibone said, was shot during his week with Townsend, and as you might imagine, hijinx definitely ensued.

"It's pretty hilarious — just me and Devin, messing around in Vancouver, filming people on the streets," he said. "It's pretty damn funny."

More craziness will likely ensue later this month, when Himsa launch a U.S. with Amon Amarth, Sonic Syndicate and, at least tentatively, Decapitated. The trek kicks off November 19 in San Diego and wraps December 19 in Los Angeles. According to the band's publicist, it's still unknown whether Decapitated will make the tour, considering two of their members are still in the hospital after sustaining serious head injuries during a car accident in Russia. The band hasn't been officially removed from the bill as of yet.

Himsa also have a pair of music videos that are making the rounds online — one for "Unleash Carnage," which features a faux heated tennis match inspired by Wes Anderson's 2001 film, "The Royal Tenenbaums," and another for "Big Timber," which also has an interesting concept.

"We're all sasquatches, and we're playing these instruments in the forest," Pettibone explained. "A friend of ours made it using puppets. In the video, we have to cut down this tree to make the instruments, and the tree seeks revenge on us. It's kind of cool."

The rest of the week's metal news:

There's some sad news to report Friday (November 2), as Decapitated drummer Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka died in a Russian hospital from injuries he'd sustained in a recent road collision. He was 23 years old. According to reports, Vitek underwent trepanation, a form of surgery in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, and was due to be transported to a hospital in Krakow, Poland, for further treatment. ...

Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has revealed that the Swedish metallers have started recording their next studio album, the follow-up to 2005's Ghost Reveries. "The album is now written and the demos sound fantastic," he wrote in a statement. "I don't wanna say too much but ... gee, it is so f---ing good — if I may say so myself." Åkerfeldt said fans can expect the album in stores in the spring. ... While System of a Down singer Serj Tankian revels in the success of his debut solo album, Elect the Dead, drummer John Dolmayan and guitarist Daron Malakian are knee-deep in writing and recording the debut album from their new band, Scars on Broadway, which is tentatively scheduled for release in the summer. But Dolmayan's got a solo venture of his own — and it's got nothing to do with music. On Thursday, Dolmayan launched the Web site TorpedoComics.com, an Internet retail store that carries more than 15 million items, including comic books, toys, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, superhero action figures and other comic book-related memorabilia that range in price from 99 cents to over $100,000. ...

"Fight: War of Words - The Film" will debut in select movie theaters before its DVD release on November 20. The movie chronicles the history of the band frontman Rob Halford formed after initially leaving Judas Priest in 1991, and features professional footage shot in the studio and on the road. Along with the DVD, Halford will release Fight K5 - The War of Words Demos, which includes original album demos and five new Fight tracks. ... Talk about DIY: Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson will be the one flying the plane when the band flies from city to city on its upcoming tour. Dickinson, a licensed pilot, will fly the band from Tokyo to Los Angeles for its February 19 show at the Forum, after which he will take Maiden to their next gig, in Mexico. Similarly, Dickinson will shuttle the group from Puerto Rico the day before its March 14 show in New Jersey, and leave for Toronto the day after. Traveling will be conducted on a specially commissioned and customized Boeing 757, with eager groupies likely to be among the passengers. ...

New York doom-metal band Unearthly Trance have finished their fourth full-length album, Electrocution, which is scheduled for a spring release. The disc was recorded with producer Sanford Parker (Rwake, Minsk) at Chicago's Volume Studios. Tracks include "Diseased," "The Scum Is in Orbit" and "Burn You Insane." ... Dynamic Canadian outfit Protest the Hero have settled on a January 29 release date for their second disc, Fortress. The album — constructed over the summer with producer Julius "Juice" Butty (Alexisonfire) at Silo Studios in Hamilton, Ontario — was originally scheduled for release this month but was bumped for logistical reasons. "Bloodmeat," "Bone Marrow" and "Limb From Limb" are three of the 10 tracks on the disc, which will be the follow-up to the band's 2006 debut, Kezia. ... The debut album by pummeling Swedish thrash-groove band Scarpoint, The Silence We Deserve, will be released Tuesday. The disc was produced by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames) and includes "Imposture," "Behind the Shadows" and "Disorder." ...

Las Vegas melodic thrash band Hemlock are hard at work on their fourth, yet-untitled album, which will be released on their new label, Blind Prophecy Records, in 2008. The group has scheduled a batch of shows starting November 10 in El Paso, Texas, and running through December 1 in Gallup, New Mexico. Hemlock's last release was 2006's Pigeonholed. ... A set of vinyl picture discs by late Swedish black-metal forefathers Bathory will be released November 27. The box will feature all 12 of the band's studio albums, each encased in a hardcover Bathory logo sleeve. Pre-orders begin November 13. The collection will be the first release in a distribution deal between Black Mark Records and Relapse Records. "Black Mark is glad to announce that we have become a part of the Relapse family," Börje Forsberg, father of Bathory frontman Quorthon and co-owner of Black Mark, said in a statement. "There is no doubt that Relapse and Black Mark work well together: Metal for the World!" ... French death/black-metal band Belphegor will release the follow-up to 2006's Pestapokalypse VI on April 15. Frontman Helmuth started writing the album in May 2006, and on November 9, the band plans to begin recording the disc's nine songs with producer Andy Classen at Stage One Studios in Kassel, Germany. The yet-untitled disc will be tracked in three sessions before being mastered in mid-January. "I'm so motivated, and it feels extremely good to be creative again," Helmuth said in a statement. "This album is the next logical chapter for the band's development. I would go into the deepest fire and give my last drop of blood for this work. Lemme tell you, the nine sound collages sound huge. It's f---ing TNT."

• Himsa
• Opeth
• System of a Down
• Iron Maiden

Soilwork
Photo: Nuclear Blast Records

Back in 2002, Soilwork released the well-received Natural Born Chaos, a tight, ultra-intense LP that irrevocably altered the band's sound — and for the better. It's still regarded as a tremendous breakthrough for the Swedish melodic-death-metal merchants, thanks in large part to producer Devin Townsend's influence.

Unfortunately for Soilwork, the Strapping Young Lad frontman — who has also worked with the likes of Lamb of God and Gwar — was too busy with his own projects to assist the band on its subsequent releases (2003's Figure Number Five and 2005's Stabbing the Drama), much to Soilwork frontman Björn "Speed" Strid's chagrin.

"He's meant so much to Soilwork's music," the giant singer explained. "I don't think we'd sound the way we do without him. He's been such a huge inspiration through the years, and he creates music in such a unique way ... I could definitely see him doing the next record for us."

By "next record," Strid's referring to the one that will inevitably follow Sworn to a Great Divide, the band's latest studio outing, which hits stores October 23. While Townsend didn't produce Sworn in its entirety, he did free up some time to work with Strid on his vocals, which the producer was "really psyched to do," Strid explained.

Sworn was tracked in Soilwork's hometown of Helsingborg, at Not Quite Studios — which is owned by the band's friends in Darkane. The album, like Soilwork's other efforts, expands on the sound they've been developing since the release of 1998's Steelbath Suicide, and Strid believes it's the band's most diverse offering to date.

"We can't make the same album twice," he explained. "Our music, it comes out in a natural way. We want to top ourselves every time, and we learn from the previous recording and try to take it to the next level. I definitely think we have developed our own sound, which is kind of hard nowadays. We were one of the originators of this balance between melodies and intensity, and we've developed that through the years. In the beginning, it was mostly the guitars that took care of the melodies. Now, it's in a different shade — it's more like the vocals take care of some of that stuff."

Soilwork, who were one of the main attractions on Ozzfest's second stage back in 2005, plan to spend the next year or so on the road to promote Sworn, Strid said. They'll get started next month when they take part in one of the year's biggest metal tours: the Lamb of God/ Killswitch Engage co-headlining run, which is set to launch November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, and go through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

It will be the band's first arena trek — a welcome change, Strid said, from Ozzfest's outdoor amphitheaters. After that tour wraps, Soilwork plan to return to Europe for some gigs and then head back to the States sometime in early 2008. Strid said there are no solidified plans yet for any '08 tours but confessed that several things are "in the works."

The band shot a video back in July for the album's lead single, "Exile," which Strid said has an unusual plotline.

"This director [Daniel Larsson] contacted us, and he had a tricky concept for the video," the singer explained. "His idea was that the whole band would be locked inside these speakers and amps, and this girl's walking her dog and she finds the speakers and amps in the bushes. She gets addicted to the music that comes out, and she wants to present it to the world — but we're working against her, tumbling around in the speakers. It's actually quite cool."

Soilwork's music will be featured in the upcoming video game "Overclocked," a thriller about an Army psychiatrist who's called to evaluate five young patients who've lost their memories. The band wrote an exclusive song, also called "Overclocked," for the game. Strid said they also hope to issue a DVD next year, as it will mark the 10th anniversary of Steelbath Suicide's release.

"It will be a live DVD," he said. "We wanted to do something special for our fans, and we've got lots of material already. We want to film some more shows soon — maybe even tape one show from each continent we hit on our tour."

Unfortunately, the yet-untitled disc will not feature footage from one of Strid's most memorable shows, which happened several years ago when the band was on tour with Brazilian death-metallers Krisiun.

"It was our first tour in Europe, and we were driving around in a house van that kept on breaking down," he explained. "We were playing in France at this restaurant, but the staff there thought they had booked a Brazilian samba band. You can image the looks on their faces when we all walked through the door. But actually, it was an unbelievable show. We still played, and the people there were really nice — they fed us and gave us red wine. It turned out pretty cool at the end."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Swedish band Sonic Syndicate will make their North American debut on an upcoming tour featuring Amon Amarth, Himsa and Decapitated. The tour launches November 19 in San Diego and runs through December 19 in Los Angeles. "We are excited and really looking forward to finally getting over there to see the American fans," guitarist Richard Sjunnesson said in a statement. "I have personally followed [Amon Amarth] since the early '90s, and touring with them makes me happier than words can express. It will of course also be an honor to share the stage with the brilliant metal acts Himsa and Decapitated. See you all soon!" ... West Virginia's Byzantine will drop their third album, Oblivion Beckons, at the end of January. The album was produced by Aaron Fisher and is the follow-up to 2005's ... And They Shall Take Up Serpents. "This is the first Byzantine album in which all four members have contributed songs," singer/ rhythm guitarist Chris "OJ" Ojeda said in a statement. "To my ears, it makes for a much more varied and interesting album from start to finish." Tracks include "Absolute Horizon," "Nadir" and "Expansion and Collapse." ...

Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe's side project, Emigrate, will bring their self-titled debut to the U.S. on January 28. The band's first single, "My World," was featured in the film "Resident Evil: Extinction." A video for the second single, "New York City," was recently shot in New York and can be seen on the Emigrate Web page. Emigrate — featuring Kruspe (vocals, guitar), Olsen Involtini (guitar), Arnaud Giroux (bass), Henka Johansson (drums) and Sascha Moser (programming) — recorded their album with longtime Rammstein cohorts Jacob Hellner and Stefan Glaumann. "At one point, I was asking myself, 'Does the world really need my record?' " Kruspe said in a statement. "[But I decided] I had to do it, simple as that." Kruspe is currently in Berlin with Rammstein recording the band's next album. ... Burnt by the Sun, From Autumn to Ashes and Schoolyard Heroes have been added to the lineup for this year's Saints and Sinners Festival, set for November 3 and November 4 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Also slated to take the stage are Against Me!, Saves the Day, Horse the Band, the Number 12 Looks Like You, Glassjaw, Between the Buried and Me, From First to Last, Norma Jean and others. ...

Pig Destroyer frontman Blake Harrison and Misery Index bassist/singer Jason Netherton are now the hosts of a new two-hour show on XM Satellite Radio station Liquid Metal. Named "The Ultraviolence" after a 1987 Death Angel album, the program will debut Friday night (October 12) at 7 p.m. on Liquid Metal, XM channel 42. "We will play everything you may have missed, you have never heard of and/or you should know and [be] raising your illegitimate children to (preferably starting in the womb)," wrote Netherton in a release. "We will also be having guests and friends on regularly. The war starts now." ... Polish death-metal veterans Vader will release the live DVD "And Blood Was Shed in Warsaw" on November 20. The disc was shot at the Stodola Club in February on the last stop of the band's tour to promote its 2006 album, Impressions in Blood. The show features guest appearances by members of Behemoth and Vesania as well as the videos for "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" and "Sword of the Witcher." ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma, metalcore band the Agony Scene will release their third album, Get Damned, October 23. The disc will be the band's first to feature drummer Ryan Folden, who replaced Brent Masters late last year. The band will launch a tour with A Life Once Lost, Suicide Silence and Walls of Jericho on October 30 in Rochester, New York. Dates run through November 14 in Lewisville, Texas. ... Psychedelic cult-metal band Bigelf will release their debut album, Hex, in North America on October 30. The disc was recorded in 2003 and released shortly after in Europe, but never came out Stateside. ... Long Island, New York, hardcore bludgeoners This Is Hell are in Full Force Studios with producer Joe Cincotta (Obituary, Suffocation) tracking the follow-up to their 2006 full-length debut, Sundowning. Drums for the yet-untitled new disc were recorded at Killingsworth Recording Company in Long Island with Tomas Costanza (Diffuser, Bedlight for Blue Eyes). The album is tentatively scheduled for release on February 19.

• Soilwork
• Lamb of God
• Killswitch Engage
• Sonic Syndicate
• Amon Amarth

At All Cost
Photo: Century Media

When Century Media — home to the likes of Celtic Frost, Napalm Death and Satyricon — signed Austin, Texas, metallers At All Cost back in March, some fans questioned the move. After all, At All Cost aren't typical of what the label has been churning out the last 20 years.

"We're one of the lightest bands on the label, and we've always been one of those bands that were too light for the heavy tours and too heavy for the light tours," frontman Trey Ramirez explained. "I can't even think of a single other Century Media band we should hit the road with, but maybe that's the direction [the label wants] to go — maybe they're branching out."

You see, At All Cost are ... well ... eclectic. The band's recently released LP, Circle of Demons, is teeming with solid melodies, thrash-tastic riffage and the occasional breakdown. But there are poppy, electronic elements to AAC's sound too — and at times, Ramirez employs a vocoder to alter his voice. Standard metal fare, these boys ain't. So, where does the singer see his band fitting in with the rest of metal's current class?

"We're definitely part of the same class, but we don't get called upon that much," he cracked. "We kind of all revel in the fact that we're standing outside the box. It's kind of cool. You either get 100 percent positive attention from people or 100 percent negative. And negative people are easily persuaded. Most naysayers that have come to see our shows have actually come up to us and told us, 'I was totally wrong about you guys.' We like being different.

"We're just eye-openers, man," he continued. "We think that certain genres are stagnant, and we want to change things. Change isn't always necessarily good, unless you do it right, and we're still fine-tuning our sound. But we want other bands to come out and say, 'I know there's supposed to be a breakdown here ...' or, 'I know the song's supposed to fit this formula, but let's try something different. Let's dare to be different.' I think that when you stick to the metalcore formula, you're just so limited in what you can do. When you do something different, you get cheers and you get jeers. But we're in it for ourselves. Honestly. We're not in this to get rich."

At All Cost are comprised of a bunch of college dropouts who work small jobs to make ends meet. The band signed with Century Media after its former label, Combat Records — also home to Horse the Band and Look What I Did — imploded last year. AAC are known for their live sets, but much to their chagrin, they've never been asked to participate in summer festivals like Ozzfest and Sounds of the Underground.

"We've just never had the attitude of spending money to make money," Ramirez explained. "We'll road-dog it as long as we can, until we're invited — as opposed to paying the $75,000 to get on [a major metal tour]. There's no return from doing that, but it's not like we're seeing major returns doing it this way. It never has been about that — we don't mind touring with bands that have a fanbase that don't necessarily like our band. We're in the business of persuading people.

"If you leave our show saying, 'Oh my God, those guys were great — I'm going to go buy that record,' great," he added. "If you leave our show saying, 'What the hell did I just listen to?,' and we some how opened your mind a little bit, that's also equally great. We're in it to win it. It's pure energy when we take that stage, and that's our most fun of the day — that's our time. So, we have to have a blast during that time to make it worthwhile, and I think that transfers over."

Still, that doesn't mean being in At All Cost is easy. In fact, the band is known for its unusually bad luck.

"We've been the victim of multiple thefts," the singer said. "We've had our trailer stolen twice, our van broken into once. Luckily — and I use the term loosely — the trailer was only full of equipment one time. The other time, it was broken into on the side of the road, and then someone stole it. We've lost a couple of babies, let's put it that way."

During the band's recent tour with One Dead Three Wounded, Ramirez got even worse news.

"The first week of that run, I lost my glasses," he said. "Then, when I went to the doctor for replacements, I found out I was legally blind and had glaucoma. Then I got two staph infections — all in the first week. Then I come home from that tour and my dog ate my glasses. Them's the breaks. Sh-- happens to a lot of bands, but sometimes it happens to the same band a lot."

AAC are currently on tour with Vanna and Assacre and will hit the road again this fall with Vanna and Oh, Sleeper.

The rest of the week's metal news:

The Number Twelve Looks Like You will head out next month with At the Throne of Judgment, See You Next Tuesday and I Hate Sally. The trek kicks off September 28 in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and dates are booked through October 20 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. ... Who said Himsa don't have a sense of humor? The Seattle hardcore-metal band recently shot a video for the track "Unleash Carnage" with director Ryan Short (Zeke) that features the members dressed conservatively and playing tennis. "It's really ridiculous," bassist Derek Harn said. "We're having a tennis match and we end up getting in a fight. Rackets are breaking and tennis balls are flying everywhere." The clip will be featured on the band's new e-card and will also be a bonus feature on its upcoming album Summon in Thunder, which comes out September 18. ...

Classic-metal vets Queensrÿche will release an album of cover tunes on November 13. Take Cover will feature a diverse range of songs by U2 ("Bullet the Blue Sky"), the Police ("Synchronicity II"), Pink Floyd ("Welcome to the Machine"), Peter Gabriel ("Red Rain"), Black Sabbath ("Neon Knights") and more. "During soundchecks, [guitarists] [Mike] Stone and Michael [Wilton] like to play 'name that riff,' and sometimes the whole band joins in," singer Geoff Tate said in a statement. "That's really the way this album came together too. We got together and started playing songs to each other, and then we picked our favorites." Queensrÿche will head out on tour with Heaven and Hell and Alice Cooper, starting Wednesday in Binghamton, New York. The tour runs through October 6 and will mark Heaven and Hell's last North American run before the bandmembers separate to fulfill other obligations. ...

Eclectic Ontario, Canada, band Protest the Hero will release their second album, Fortress, on November 13. The 10-song disc was produced by Julius "Juice" Butty (Alexisonfire, Sleeper Set Sail) and recorded at Silo Studios in Hamilton, Ontario. "This album is nothing to be intellectualized," singer Rody Walker said in a release. "I feel it's a very natural progression for us — a natural progression into further obscurity. I am of the belief [that] a lot of the people who work for us were hoping for a stab at a more commercially viable album. However we wrote what we wanted without linear boundaries and created something less commercial than ever. Some fans of the band will hate it. And some people who hate the band will love it. All others can rot." Protest the Hero will open for Shadows Fall and All That Remains for a handful of shows from September 11 in Portland, Maine, through September 16 in West Springfield, Virginia. After that, they'll be on the road with ATR, the Acacia Strain and Too Pure to Die through an October 10 show in Raleigh, North Carolina. The latter band just signed to Trustkill and will release its sophomore record in summer 2008. The album will mark the debut of new singer Paul Zurlo (ex-Beyond All Reason). Too Pure to Die's debut, Confidence and Consequence, came out in November. ...

The not-so-tastefully titled Pull the Trigger tour will feature Suicide Silence, Despised Icon, Winds of Plague and See You Next Tuesday and launch September 2 in San Antonio. Dates run through September 26 in Worcester, Massachusetts. ... Speaking of Despised Icon, the Montreal deathcore group recently shot a video for "Furtive Monologue" from its second album, Ills of Modern Man, which came out in May. Singer Alex Erian described it as "our darkest video yet. ... We're confident it'll f---ing slay." ... Georgian hardcore-metal band Norma Jean will launch a U.S. tour with Saosin and Alexisonfire on September 28 in Seattle. Dates run through November 7 in New York. ...

God Forbid will reissue their first two releases as a single disc on November 6. The CD will contain the band's 1998 EP, Out of Misery, and its 1999 album, Reject the Sickness. "I think Reject the Sickness is a classic in the metalcore genre that never really had its due," guitarist Doc Coyle said in a statement. "And Out of Misery really gives true God Forbid fans a raw look at the foundation where the band was birthed. For all those who've been bitching about the rarity of these albums, please enjoy." ... Progressive Woodstock, New York, metal band 3 will open for the Scorpions for a month of North American dates, starting September 9 in Edmonton, Alberta, and running through September 29 in Boston. ... Technical metal/hardcore/reggae legends Bad Brains have announced four West Coast shows in September to support their recently released album, Build a Nation: September 22 (San Diego); September 24 (San Francisco); September 25 (Anaheim, California); and September 26 (Los Angeles).

• At All Cost
• Himsa
• God Forbid

Despised Icon
Photo: Century Media

Despised Icon are often ascribed the "deathcore" tag by people who, well, are driven by some strange desire to erroneously label metal bands. But Alexandre Erian — who, along with Steve Marois, comprises the Montreal metallers' two-pronged vocal affront — doesn't really give a rat's ass what anyone thinks the band sounds like.

"We've been doing what we do for five years now, and all of a sudden, that word 'deathcore' pops up, and people are calling us deathcore, calling other bands deathcore, and, I mean, I guess it's all right — it's just music," explained Erian, the former drummer for Canadian death-metal outfit Neuraxis. "But we don't want to be associated with this trend. We've been doing this a long time, and we don't feel like we're hopping on any bandwagon at all. And we're probably going to keep playing what we play, even if the trend dies down.

"I don't understand why people take labels so seriously," he continued. "I guess you could call us 'deathcore,' or 'death metal,' or 'death metalcore,' or 'death metal with metalcore influences,' or 'metalcore with death-metal influences.' I like to let the music speak for itself."

Despised Icon's third LP, The Ills of Modern Man, which was released late last month and sold more than 2,000 copies its first week on store shelves (the label shipped a mere 8,000 copies), is unquestionably some of the band's heaviest material to date. Erian said that was no accident, but it definitely evolved naturally, over several months of touring.

"You don't want to put out the same album twice, and this album came out exactly two years after our previous effort, [2005's The Healing Process,] and so we've toured quite a lot since then," he said. "We've improved as musicians, and we've toured the death-metal circuit [with the likes of Behemoth, Morbid Angel, Suffocation and Cryptopsy,] so we've added a few new influences here and there, to spice things up and make things a bit different. But overall, it's the same band — same sound. I think this record does come across as being a bit more heavy than the previous one, but it wasn't intentional. It just came out that way. So, at least now kids can say we're not selling out or anything because this album is actually more brutal."

And while some of Despised Icon's contemporaries have tempered their sounds, Erian scoffed at the suggestion his band might follow suit.

"I can't sing clean, and neither can Steve — and we don't feel like it either," he said. "We're not going to have any clean vocal parts on any of our albums anytime soon. There are a lot of generic bands out there that pretty much play the same breakdown, and I can't say we're 100 percent original either. Only a handful of bands can say that — Dillinger [Escape Plan], Meshuggah, Suffocation back in the '90s. But I do think we have something more to offer than a lot of the bands out there. I don't know, maybe it's because we're Canadian."

Although The Ills of Modern Man has been out a little less than a month, and — even though they're on tour through July 1 with the Red Chord, Through the Eyes of the Dead, All Shall Perish and See You Next Tuesday — Despised Icon are already thinking about their fourth LP, as well as a future DVD release.

"We've got loads of video footage — stuff we shot while we were recording the new CD, along with lots of shows we've filmed here and there," he said. "We'd like to possibly have one of our shows professionally filmed, but that's really far ahead.

"With this record, we wrote maybe half of it in between tours we were doing, and the other half after that Hatebreed tour we were on this past fall," he continued. "We'll probably stick to the same formula going forward. I know we all have ideas already, and we've been working on a few things here and there. We'll probably get to it after our next tour," which will also feature Job for a Cowboy and A Life Once Lost.

Erian wasn't sure when that trek would kick off or where, but hopefully the band keeps an eye on the road when it does. During Despised Icon's successful fall run with Hatebreed, the band had an unfortunate mishap with a deer. "The entire side of our trailer was covered with blood and guts, and we had to clean it off with cans of Pepsi," Erian recalled.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Ex-Nine Inch Nails drummer Danny Lohner has remixed Daath's "Dead on the Dance Floor" for release July 10 as part of a yet-untitled digital EP. The track integrates the band's feral riffs with Lohner's electronic beats and samples. "At some point in our lives, each member of Daath has spent their time with Nine Inch Nails music," guitarist Eyal Levi said in a press release. "They are a huge part of our musical upbringing and collaborating with one of their main minds is an honor that we are very excited about." ... Apocalyptica have gotta be pissed. Two classically trained female harp players, who go by the name Harptallica, have released their self-produced debut of Metallica covers, Harptallica - A Tribute, on iTunes. The musicians, Ashley Toman and Patricia Kline, both have Masters of Music degrees from Rochester, New York's Eastman School of Music. A tour is forthcoming. ...

Through the Eyes of the Dead will release their new album, Malice, August 21. The follow-up to 2005's Bloodlust will mark the debut of singer Nate Johnson (ex-Premonitions of War, Deadwater Drowning), who replaced Anthony Gunnels in March after Gunnels lost interest in the band. The disc was produced by Erik Rutan (Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse) and includes "Failure in the Flesh," which is currently streaming on the band's MySpace page. ... Seattle band Himsa have finished recording their yet-untitled fourth album, which they've been hammering away at in the studio with producer Steve Carter (Cradle of Filth, Aiden) since mid-April. Vocals were later produced by Devin Townsend (Lamb of God, Darkest Hour), and Tue Madsen (Kataklysm, Mnemic) is currently mixing the album. ...

Australia surf-thrash band Alchemist have finished recording their new full-length, Tripsis, which is scheduled for U.S. release in September. In a statement, singer/guitarist Adam Agius called the disc, "The most consistently heavy album since Spiritech, with all the Alchemist trademarks — psychedelic, atmospheric, packed with crushing riffs, intertwined guitar, melodies and groove. Tripsis is also the fastest album delivered by Alchemist, with a few songs taking the surf-thrash sound to new heights." Tracks include "Wrapped in Guilt," "Degenerative Breeding" and "Grasp the Air." ... Grindcore band Leng Tch'e have replaced guitarist Geert Devenster with ex-Aborted axeman Peter Goemaere. Devenster quit the group last month because his "priorities in life" changed and he "wasn't having fun anymore." ...

Bay Area thrash band Dekapitator will release their debut, The Storm Before the Calm, July 24. Two tracks, "Toxic Sanctuary" and "Run With the Pack," can be previewed on the band's MySpace page. ... We'd love to hear the story behind this band's name: Arsonists Get the Girls. They'll release their second disc, The Game of Life, August 14. Produced by Zach Ohren of Castle Ultimate, the disc features 12 dizzying tracks, including "Shoeshine for Neptune." ... The new album by Swedish metal legends Entombed, Serpent Saints - The Ten Amendments, is scheduled to drop July 31. It will be the band's first studio album since 2004's Inferno. Expect a U.S. tour in late fall or early winter 2008.

• Despised Icon
• Himsa
• Dekapitator
• Nine Inch Nails
• Daath

Horse the Band
Photo: Koch Records

As far as heavy music is concerned, there are several active bands — like, say, Trivium — that take themselves way too seriously. Other bands just aren't serious enough. And then there's experimental-metalcore outfit Horse the Band.

Last month, in a press release regarding the June 26 release of their forthcoming album A Natural Death, the members of Horse the Band described the LP as an examination of "the futility and arrogance of creation and destruction, the overwhelming scale of space and time, and the brutal majesty of nature, the horror of birth and the beauty of death." The band hopes the set might serve as "a warning to the human race, to stop taking itself so seriously, as we have seen the dire consequences of its actions in the future."

Supposedly, Horse the Band "consists of five demigods, running from a haunted past they can't possibly remember." Of course, this is just shtick. After all, these are the same guys that, while tracking A Natural Death, launched a YouTube channel through which they intended to post a series of in-the-studio videos, updating fans on the recording process. But in no time, the channel was transformed into a forum for the band to post episodes of its own drama, "Lawrence and Friends" — the show revolves around a love triangle involving a sugar cube, a suicidal pencil and, inexplicably, singer/songwriter Carla Hassett.

This is a band led by a man named Nathan Winneke — who, as it just so happens, has a destructive alter ego named General Beam.

"He's like Jim Beam in my clothing, essentially," the singer said. "I flipped out for the first half of our tour with Heavy Heavy Low Low [back in March], and I destroyed their trailer, which is sad, because I really like those guys. But I lost a little control, and I caved in their entire roof while telling everybody it was science, and then I took a fish-scaling knife and cut a triangle in my arm. I was just being a total idiot, but when the General comes, I have no explanations."

Horse the Band, who've made a name for themselves touring with like-minded metallers the Dillinger Escape Plan and Hella, are heavy metal's version of "Airplane." The band's sound is a spastic, brutal mix of metal, fused with synth-produced blips and bleeps, and inspired by the video games of the 1980s and early '90s. The band's music is crafted to not only scramble your brains but tickle your funny bone.

For example, there's a track on A Natural Death called "Murder" that Horse the Band added to their set while on a recent headlining run with the Number Twelve Looks Like You and Light This City.

"The kids have been loving it," Winneke enthused. "I tell them it's a song about killing white people, and they go crazy." The lyrics were written from the perspective of an American Indian in 1847, "So it's OK."

Horse the Band began writing for A Natural Death — which also includes "His Purple Majesty," "Sex Raptor" and "I Think We Are Both Suffering From the Same Crushing Metaphysical Crisis" — back in the fall and finished recording it in February. The band took its time with the follow-up to 2005's The Mechanical Hand and the 2006 EP Pizza — which, yes, was a concept piece all about pizza.

"With Mechanical Hand, Koch [the band's label] was relaunching [the now-defunct] Combat Records, and we did it as fast as we possibly could, because they wanted to have an album to put out on Combat at the time of the relaunch," Winneke said. Combat folded again, and Horse the Band have since been absorbed by Koch.

"We're the heaviest band on the roster," Winneke said. "They did the soundtrack to the Barbie movies, and I loved those. They have a wide array of stuff, and we're the heaviest band I know of."

On A Natural Death, fans can expect more layers of sound, the frontman said. The band has incorporated more synth elements into its sound, and keyboardist Erik Engstrom found "this programming game ... where you can write tracks on the Game Boy, using sounds from the Game Boy, so this record has an extra, extra retro-awesomeness to it." Winneke added that, "If you thought we were chaotic before, we're, like, probably doubly chaotic now — in stranger and more unique ways, hopefully."

So, what does Winneke think of his own band? "We're very reckless and immature and have no idea what we're doing, and we should probably break up as a band, because all we're going to end up doing is killing ourselves," he said. "But hopefully, it will be funny."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Pyromaniacs and German-language students take note: Rammstein will unleash three different versions of their DVD and CD package "Völkerball" on July 17. All versions will feature a full 2005 concert recorded in Nimes, France, plus select footage from shows in London, Tokyo and Moscow. The standard two-disc set features a 140-minute DVD and a 75-minute CD of the concert. The special edition also features a second DVD with 90 minutes of content, including the documentary films "Reise, Reise: The Making of the Album" and "Anakonda Im Netz" (Anaconda in the Net). Finally, the limited edition includes a 190-page tour photo book, which contains everything in the three-disc set plus an additional CD capturing the remainder of the 140-minute France show. ... Dutch pagan black-metal band Grimm will release their new album, Heksenkringen, Tuesday. Tracks include "Witte Ruiter," "Als Wederganger Dwalend" and "Van Drakenbloed Fel." ...

Three songs from Paradise Lost's upcoming album In Requiem — "Never For the Damned," "Ash & Debris" and "The Enemy" — are available on an e-card that can be found right here. The e-card also features the video for "The Enemy," which was shot by Ukrainian director Edward 209 in March on the Crimean peninsula in Yalta. In Requiem is scheduled for release June 5. ... Messy Peruvian black-metal band Goat Semen will release the live album En Vivo en Lima Hell May 8. The disc includes "Sodom Graves," "Madre Muerte," "Rotten Messiah" and "At Luzbel's Behest," as well as bonus rehearsal material. ...

For the first time in years, there's a reason to look forward to September 11. On that date, death-metal veterans Obituary will release their yet-untitled new album. The follow-up to 2005's Frozen in Time will also be the band's first for Candlelight Records. Obituary are currently hard at work on the disc and scheduled to complete tracking by June 1. "We are really looking forward to having a record company that wants to work with us," singer John Tardy said in a statement. "We feel rejuvenated, and this new album is gonna be sick." "This will mark a new chapter in death-metal history," bassist Frank Watkins added. Obituary will launch a U.S. headline tour the week the album is released. ... Voivod have finished the video for "Polaroids." The clip was created with Banger Productions and Ottoblix and includes some of drummer Michel "Away" Langevin's artwork. The same team is also working on a video for "The X-Stream." According to a recent update by Langevin, the band will start recording the follow-up to 2006's Katorz in the fall. ...

Technical Florida death-metal band Atheist, which reunited last year for a batch of reunion shows, are calling it quits for good. On Friday (April 27) and Saturday, the band will play two dates in its home state. The coup de grace will come at an unscheduled final show in New York. "It's very hard to just walk away from this music that is having its day in the sun," guitarist/singer Kelly Shaefer said in a statement. "The shows keep getting better. But the best and most important thing to us has been the outpouring of brand new people who have embraced our music. We will wrap this all up with one final show in New York that will be filmed for a DVD." ... Seattle noisemongers Himsa have entered the studio to start recording their fourth album. The band will track the drums, bass and guitars with Steve Carter. Strapping Young Lad's Devin Townsend will track vocals and Tue Madsen will handle mixing duties. The disc is tentatively scheduled for a late August release. ... Three noteworthy underground-metal albums are coming on Candlelight on May 22: New York metal vets Pro-Pain will release Age of Tyranny - The Tenth Crusade, Octavia Sperati will unleash Grace Submerged, and Carnal Forge will test their fans' mettle with Testify for My Victims.

• Horse The Band
• Rammstein
• Obituary
• Voivod
• Himsa

Bleeding Through
Photo: Trustkill

Last week Brandon Schieppati — who fronts Orange County, California's speedy death-metal sextet Bleeding Through — was back in a recording studio with his bandmates tracking four new tunes. But only two were theirs.

The other pair were covers of Black Flag's "My War," which will appear on the Black on Black tribute due March 14; and Unbroken's "Proverb," which, according to Schieppati, will more than likely turn up in a video game or on a soundtrack. (Unbroken guitarist Steve Miller performed on the latter track.)

Schieppati said it was strange to be back in the studio, considering he'd just completed work on his band's forthcoming album, The Truth. The disc will land on record-store shelves January 10 and feature "Love in Slow Motion," "For Love and Failing" and "Dearly Demented."

"That's sort of been the theme of Bleeding Through," he said of last week's studio time. "We never could take even a week off. We just keep going and keep going."

For The Truth, the follow-up to 2003's This Is Love, This Is Murderous, Bleeding Through recruited producer Rob Caggiano (Cradle of Filth, Anthrax), because they'd heard "he has a really good vision with music, as far as arrangement and all that stuff." The bandmembers put the word out that they needed a producer for the new studio LP, "and there were producers who wanted to work with us. But Rob thought that, while we were a good band, we could be better, and he had ideas right away. We wanted someone who was going to act like this band was their own, and not do it to just have their name on the record."

One of the two originals recorded last week, "13 Scars," will be available as an exclusive bonus track to anyone who buys The Truth on iTunes. The band doesn't have any definitive plans yet for the other song, "One Last Second."

Schieppati, formerly of Eighteen Visions, said he and the gang will shoot a video January 12 with director Zach Merck (Lacuna Coil, Converge) for "Kill to Believe." Schieppati said the video's going to be story-based — a sort of " 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' meets 'The Devil's Rejects' " — interlaced with performance footage of the band. Beyond that, he didn't want to reveal too much about the concept.

"All I can tell you is it will be filmed in the desert with really dirty, f---ed-up houses, and f---ed-up old cars," he said. "All that sh--."

The band will embark on a 37-date headlining tour of the U.S. with Every Time I Die, Between the Buried and Me, and Haste the Day on February 15 in Los Angeles. Dates run through April 1 in Anaheim, California.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Death-metal veterans Cannibal Corpse have chosen Kill as the title of their new record and set a March 21 release date. The disc will feature the band's latest full-time member, guitarist Rob Barrett, who played with Cannibal Corpse from 1993-'97 and returned to tour with them after Jack Owen quit in 2004. ... Having survived an onstage electrocution in September, former Mr. America Thor will return to the concert circuit for a brief stint starting Friday (December 9) in Eugene, Oregon. Dates are scheduled through December 14 in Seattle. ... Anthrax will be back on the road in 2006 with the They're Still the Law Tour, which will also feature God Forbid, Sworn Enemy and Manntis. The tour kicks off in Baltimore on January 6 and runs until January 21 in Hollywood. Sworn Enemy will be touring to support The Beginning of the End, which comes out January 24 and was produced by As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis. God Forbid recently finished a video for "To the Fallen Hero," shot with director Shane Drake. The band's new disc, IV: Constitution of Treason, came out September 20. Manntis will shoot a video for "Weathered Soul" this weekend with director Rob Hall. ...

Hardcore-turned-metalcore outfit Himsa will release their fourth album, Hail Horror, February 7. The band shot a video for "Sleezevil" over Halloween weekend in L.A. with director Derek Dale. Hail Horror will be the follow-up to Courting Tragedy and Disaster, which came out in 2003. Himsa will launch a U.S. tour with Acacia Strain, Darkest Hour, A Life Once Lost and Dead to Fall from February 17 through March 20. ... Oregon's moody black-metallists Agalloch have entered the studio to begin pre-production on their third album, Ashes Against the Grain; recording will start December 10. The disc will be the follow-up to Agalloch's 2002 record, The Mantle. ... Daylight Dies' Dismantling Devotion will hit stores March 7 and include "A Dream Resigned," "Solitary Refinement" and the title track. ... Through the Eyes of the Dead will tour with Ed Gein from January 27 in Wilmington, North Carolina, through March 5 in Detroit. The band's full-length debut, Bloodlust, came out October 25. Ed Gein dropped their second disc, Judas Goats and Dieseleaters, November 1. ... Dutch gore-metal band Severe Torture will release their fourth album, Fall of the Despised, February 7. Tracks include "Unconditional Annihilation," "Endless Strain of Cadavers" and "Impulsive Mutilation." The album follows 2003's Misanthropic Carnage and the 2005 live disc Bloodletting. ...

Swedish melodic metal band Nocturnal Rites will release their seventh album, Grand Illusion, January 24. The disc was recorded and mixed at Toontrack Studio in Umea, Sweden, and includes "Fools Never Die," "Something Undefined" and "Still Alive." ... British doom-metal veterans Paradise Lost just released their 10th studio album in the U.S. The self-titled disc is the follow-up to 2002's Symbol of Life and includes "Don't Belong," "Close Your Eyes," "Forever After" and "Accept the Pain." The band has three Mexican dates scheduled in December, but no American shows have been lined up yet. ... Ion Dissonance will launch a tour with Dead to Fall on January 4 in Chicago. Dates run through February 3 in Iowa City, Iowa. Ion Dissonance are on the road to support their second album, Solace, which came out September 6. ... Ex-Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's former label Megaforce will release the compilation album Greatest Hits Live on January 24. Frehley's first release since 1989's Trouble Walkin' will feature former members of Frehley's Comet, including drummers Anton Fig and Jamie Oldaker, bassist John Regan, and guitarist/singers Richie Scarlet and guitarist/singer Todd Howarth. Frehley was dismissed from the never-ending Kiss reunion in late 2002. ... Most Precious Blood, With Honor and the Distance launched a tour on December 1 in Seattle. The bands will remain on the road through December 16 in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania. Most Precious Blood's third album, Merciless, came out September 20. ...

Tennessee melodic death-metal band Epoch of Unlight are working on their fourth album, the follow-up to this year's The Continuum Hypothesis. The band's touring guitarist, Steve Blagburn, has joined full-time and is contributing to the writing process. So far the group has written three songs and hopes to have the album finished in time for a 2006 release. ... Chicago dark metal band Novembers Doom are hard at work on songs for the follow-up to The Pale Haunt Departure, which came out in March. So far the new material is heavily influenced by early Chicago death metal. The band hopes to start recording in April 2006. ... Belgian black-metal band Ancient Rites have been hard at work in the studio, which they entered on November 21 with producers Oliver Phillips and Christian Moos. The disc, which should be out by summer, will mark the return of guitarist Raf Jansen and keyboardist Domingo Smets, who left in 1997 and 2001, respectively. ... Italian black-metal band Aborym will release their fourth album, Generator, February 20. The disc features Emperor drummer Faust on all tracks and Mayhem vocalist Atilla on "Man Bites God." ... Massachusetts ambient jazz-metal band Kayo Dot will release their sweeping second album, Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue, January 10. Tracks include "Gemini Becoming the Tripod," "Aura on an Asylum Wall" and "Immortelle and Paper Caravelle." The band features ex-members of progressive metal-band Maudlin of the Well.

• Bleeding Through
• Himsa
• Anthrax