Brain Drill
Photo: Metal Blade

You've got to admire a band like California death-metal deviants Brain Drill: Not only has Cannibal Corpse's Alex Webster given them his stamp of approval (he called Brain Drill "one of the most musically over-the-top bands I have ever heard" and praised them for "truly raising the bar for technicality, velocity and overall extremity in death metal"), but they have a name that's nothing if not utterly fitting — it accurately describes their punishing sound, to a friggin' T.

What's more, the band's appropriately titled, critically lauded, blastbeat-heavy debut LP, Apocalyptic Feasting, is basically a technical death-metal lover's wet nightmare.

Drawing influence from Cannibal as well as Spawn of Possession, Origin, Disgorge, Decrepit Birth and Necrophagia, guitarist Dylan Ruskin told Metal File that Brain Drill's origins date back to 2005, and a group of twentysomethings bent on pushing the genre's limits to the absolute brink.

"We were definitely inspired by all of those bands, and I always wanted to play technical death metal — but I wanted to take those influences and make sort of a musical collage, with elements from them all," said Ruskin, about Apocalyptic Feasting, which is in stores now. "We did not want this record to fit with any of the current trends. There's deathcore, and there's a metalcore scene out there, and it's a complete trend. I don't want anything to do with that. We just wanted to write the most crushing and technical death metal we could come up with, and make little metalcore kids sh-- their pants."

A lofty goal, to be sure — one Ruskin hopes the band will have no problem achieving, both with their record and with their wildly unpredictable live sets.

"With this record, we wanted to show everybody that there's an underground genre of death metal that needs to be heard more," he continued. "It requires 20 million times more talent [than most subgenres of metal]. It's harder playing arpeggios and gnarly riffs than it is to just play two open notes on the E string. Our biggest intention with this record was to crush people with our music and expand their minds beyond the limits of metalcore."

While Brain Drill have only been around for a few years, chances are you've heard their music before — only, you may not have known it. Ruskin said that soon after Brain Drill were born, they recorded a six-song demo, which they'd hoped to release on their own. They even met a dude who promised them he'd press 1,000 copies of the effort.

"But he kept 900 for himself, and only gave us 100 copies," the guitarist explained. "He ended up selling all 900 copies on the Internet, and everybody leaked the songs online. This dude was calling it an EP, but it was never even an official release. So, that was circulating for a while before the actual full-length came out."

While Brain Drill are still a relatively new band on the scene, Apocalyptic Feasting has been generating some serious acclaim among metal critics. There are, of course, many naysayers out there too, but Ruskin said he tries not to let the criticism get to him.

"All you have to do is go to Google us, and you'll see we've been getting a lot of cool reviews," he said. "Then you go to some of these metal forums, and people are nonstop hating on the album. For the most part, we've gotten a lot of good feedback on the record, but on occasion, you'll see there's a bunch of nerds sitting around, bitching about bands they claim to despise but can't stop discussing, like us. I guess any feedback at all's good, because it means people are paying attention."

Ruskin is the first to admit that what his band does isn't for the weak-willed, but thinks fans of grindcore will quickly latch on to them.

"It's not officially grindcore, but it's like death metal at grindcore speeds," he said. "That requires a certain kind of audience ... but I do think it's possible for people to get into it."

In March, fans will be able to catch Brain Drill in the flesh, as the band hits the road with the Black Dahlia Murder and Animosity for an East Coast run that gets under way March 6 in Millvale, Pennsylvania, and runs through March 16 in Buffalo, New York. The guys' summer remains wide open, unless they're asked to hop on this year's Ozzfest — an invite they'd accept in a heartbeat ("I'd kill to be on that bill," Ruskin said, " ... not literally"). In early fall, the band will be back on the road, but with whom is the question. According to Brain Drill's label, those details are still being worked out.

Live, Brain Drill are at their bludgeoning best. Ruskin said sometimes the material they've recorded is difficult to recreate onstage — but not in the way you'd think. "We end up playing the songs twice as fast," he said. "Sometimes, we get so anxious to play heavier and faster live that we accidentally end up playing it all much faster than it is on the album."

And while Apocalyptic Feasting has been in stores just a few weeks now, Ruskin said Brain Drill are already thinking about their sophomore release. "We've been writing for it already," he said. "We have three songs done, and we want to get six or seven more together, so we can put out our next record by next year. We will keep putting records out, because we want to show as many people as we can that death metal still exists, and bands like us can still get signed — that there's a scene out there that has nothing to do with trends, that it's still going to be around for a while."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Walls of Jericho have been forced to pull out of the upcoming Bound by the Road Tour with DevilDriver, which was launched February 27 in Modesto, California, and also features Napalm Death, 36 Crazyfists and Invitro. DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara told Metal File that Walls of Jericho are unable to make the journey because they lost support from their label, Trustkill Records; DevilDriver are currently looking for a replacement. According to Trustkill, though, "Walls of Jericho have decided to push up their recording session dates for their new album and are taking the time now to finish the writing process." ... Horse the Band drummer Chris Prophet has quit to "pursue other interests," the group confirmed in a statement. The Number Twelve Looks Like You drummer Jon Karel will fill in on Horse's upcoming Earth Tour, which launches March 5 in Sydney, Australia. "Mr. Karel is probably, like, one of the top 10 drummers who has ever lived," the band said in a statement. "It is thus fitting that he should now choose to play with Horse the Band. We are very grateful to him for agreeing to go on the hellish nightmare experience of seeing the world for free with us. We wish Mr. Prophet future endeavors, in general." ...

In addition to their shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Toronto next month, Iron Maiden have announced that their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour 2008 will return to the U.S. in May for eight additional dates, starting May 21 in San Antonio and wrapping up June 2 in Seattle. "We are all greatly looking forward to getting back to see our fans in places like Texas, the Southwest and Seattle, where we haven't played for quite some time," singer Bruce Dickinson said in a statement. "And for this leg, we will be able to bring along all Eddie's toys, which we couldn't get on our plane during the first leg." ... Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier has broken a kneecap, forcing the Montreal extreme metal band to cancel their tour of South America next month. The dates will be rescheduled for later in the year. Mounier's injury will not delay the release of the band's sixth full-length album, The Unspoken King, since he had finished all his drum tracks before sustaining the injury. The album is tentatively scheduled for release this summer. ...

As I Lay Dying will launch a new tour April 22 in Santa Cruz, California. Dates run through May 23 in Sayreville, New Jersey. August Burns Red, Misery Signals and Evergreen Terrace will open. "It seems like we've played with every heavy band under the sun except Misery Signals, who are a pretty sick band," guitarist Nick Hipa said in a statement. "So, we figured it was about time. As for August Burns Red and Evergreen Terrace, we're all pretty much joined at the hip." ... Tampa, Florida, thrash/death-metal band the Absence have hired drummer Justin Reynolds to replace Jeramie Kling, who left the group late last year. "The kid is wicked good and keeps time very well without a click track," the band on said on its MySpace page. "That is a quality you don't find often in a drummer. So now that the drummer search is over, get ready for the Absence to start touring again and bringing head banging metal to your town." ...

Modern Life Is War have apparently decided modern life is too tough for their band. The Iowa hardcore group, which formed in 2002, has announced that its last-ever show will be on April 26. "There is no disaster or dramatic situation behind the breakup," the group said in a statement. "All past and current members of the band are still good friends and there is no bad blood. We just feel like it's the right time and would rather end things on our own terms than let our band become a ghost of what it was in the beginning, or to be ripped apart by outside forces." ... A thrash-metal documentary, "Aural Amphetamine: Metallica and the Dawn of Thrash," will come out on DVD April 15. The movie features interviews with members of Metallica, Megadeth, Machine Head, Diamond Head, Neurosis, Laaz Rockit, Sacrilege BC and many others. There is also plenty of performance footage, backstage clips and interviews with metal scribes Malcolm Dome, Lonn Friend and Joel McIver. ...

John Joseph, ex-frontman for metallic hardcore band Cro-Mags, has written the powerful autobiography "The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon," which is available exclusively on PunkHouse.org, a publishing company he formed with ex-Murphy's Law drummer Todd Irwin. The book covers Joseph's upbringing from the '60s through the '80s, during which time he survived an abusive foster home, juvenile detention centers, homelessness and a stint in the armed forces, from which he went AWOL. The story culminates on the Lower East Side of New York during the dawn of the American hardcore scene. Joseph is currently in the new band Bloodclot, which also features members of Biohazard and Pro-Pain. The group self-released its debut album, Burn Babylon Burn, last week.

• Brain Drill
• Iron Maiden
• Walls Of Jericho

Norma Jean
Photo: Solid State Records

AUBURN, Washington — Most of the bands that have worked with master metal producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn, At the Drive-In) characterize the experience as life-changing. And for GeorgiaGeorgia metalcore band Norma Jean, it was no different.

"I'd wanted to record with him for 10 years," explained drummer Daniel Davison, who tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend three weeks ago — a life-altering experience in itself. "His input and insight into the songs [that will appear on the band's fifth LP, Redeemer, due in stores August 15] was subtle — small things that gave the record a little more character. He was just the most positive and encouraging person I have ever met, and he had this way of bringing a lot out of us, emotionally, and he got the most intense sounds out of us."

Norma Jean — who, on Wednesday, were rehearsing for their summer appearance on Ozzfest's second stage — are still reeling from the Robinson experience, which began back in January. The band, which had spent most of 2005 on the road in support of its rabid O God, the Aftermath, considered the entire undertaking therapeutic, said Davison.

"We would talk about each song for, like, two hours," he recalled. "We'd talk about the lyrics and what certain lines meant and what they meant to each of us, where certain lyrics came from, what inspired the songs. And that's going to stick with us forever. This record just blows away anything we've ever done, and Ross captured all of the raw intensity of the entire recording process."

Before Redeemer's release in August, of course, there's Ozzfest, which kicked off here Thursday. Norma Jean are nervous about playing before some of the biggest crowds they've ever seen, but just because "we've only practiced once since we returned from the studio" earlier this month; Davison was on his honeymoon for two weeks.

"But we did play the Sounds of the Underground last year, which was a neat way to be introduced to summer festival tours — it was a good primer for Ozzfest," he noted. "I think we offer something a little different than the straight-up metal bands on the bill, so it should be awesome."

Norma Jean plan to spend the rest of the year promoting the album. This fall, they'll follow Ozzfest with a U.S. headlining trek, along with Between the Buried and Me, Fear Before the March of Flames and two other to-be-determined openers. The first single from the 11-track LP will be "A Grand Scene for a Color Film," but the band has no plans to shoot a video yet.

More news that rules:

The Haunted are currently mastering their new disc, the follow-up to 2004's rEVOLVEr. "I'm proud as f---," wrote singer Peter Dolving on the band's Web site. "It's bigger, better, madder and thicker. It rocks. Big time." While the album will likely be heavier than a suspension bridge, Dolving said it's not as fast as the group's other albums. "We were sick of the whole 900-[beats per minute]-chugga-chugga-AAARRRGGGGH-PUKE-end," he wrote. "This album is simply more diverse and dynamic. Bands like Trouble, Autopsy, G-Anx, Masters of the Universe, King Crimson and early Metallica have all had a great influence on us, and I think this album really draws a lot in color from those artists." ...

Motörhead's Kiss of Death will contain 13 new tracks, including a remake of the band's 1991 tribute to the Ramones, "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." The disc, which comes out August 29, will also feature "Sucker," "Trigger," "Devil I Know," "God Was Never on Your Side," "Sword of Glory," "Be My Baby," "Kingdom of the Worm" and similarly subtle titles. The album was produced by Cameron Webb, who also worked on the band's 2004 album, Inferno. And, yes, Motörhead still sound very much like Motörhead. ...

Chicago art-metal trio American Heritage will release their fourth album, Millenarian, September 19. The disc was recorded and mixed at Chicago's Volume Studios by Pelican and Yakuza engineer Sanford Parker. Tracks include "BrOOtal: Axxes of Evil," "Toilet Paper and Leotards" and "Spina Bifida." ...

Swedish death-metal vets Necrophobic will release their sixth album, Hrimthursum, August 22. The 60-minute-long record was produced by the band with engineers Anders Bentell and Fredrik Folkare, and will be Necrophobic's first new offering since 2002's Bloodhymns. The new track "I Strike With Wrath" can can be heard at MySpace.com/CandlelightRecordsUSA. ...

Walls of Jericho have confirmed August 22 as the release date for their third album, With Devils Amongst Us. The band recently shot a video for the first single, "A Trigger Full of Promises," with director Dale Resteghini (Hatebreed, Fall Out Boy). Walls of Jericho will be the only female-fronted group on the second stage of this year's Ozzfest. ...

After laying waste to North America, Slayer, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Mastodon and Thine Eyes Bleed will head to Europe for Unholy Alliance Chapter II: Preaching to the Perverted. The tour launches October 20 in Holland and runs through November 20 in London. The U.S. leg of Unholy Alliance wraps July 26 in Denver. ...

Swedish metal band Wolf are working on their fourth album, The Black Flame, with producer Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman in Sweden. The producer also worked with the band on its second full disc, 2002's Black Wings. The new record is tentatively scheduled for release this fall. ...

A DVD of Ronnie James Dio-era Rainbow titled "Live in Munich" will be released August 22. The recording is the only available live footage of the band's 1977-78 lineup, which featured Dio, drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Bob Daisley, keyboardist David Stone and, of course, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. A double-CD of the performance came out June 13. ...

Look for the fourth album by experimental instrumental metal band Estradasphere, Palace of Mirrors, September 19. Tim Smolens, bassist for the Santa Cruz, California, outfit said, "The album distills the elements in the group that are clearly the strongest, while trimming the fat of our previous efforts. Expect to hear Romanian gypsy death metal, heavy doses of '60s foreign-cinema rock, expansive orchestrations, progressive spaghetti westerns, no lead vocals and even an automated calliope band that can be struck up for just a quarter." ...

All That Remains have posted their new video for the song "This Calling" at MySpace. The clip was directed by Frankie Nasso (Mudvayne, Hatebreed) and shot at the end of May at the decommissioned Hancock Naval Base in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. All That Remains' third album, The Fall of Ideals will be released on July 11. ...

Phoenix grindcore band Landmine Marathon will release their debut Wounded July 25. The group is largely influenced by early Earache Records acts, including Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death, and is fronted by dynamic she-beast Grace Perry. Tracks include "25th Hour," "Crisscross Thoughts" and "Thunder Blasted Bodies." ...

Oakland, California's modern-death-metal mavens All Shall Perish will release their second album, The Price of Brutality, August 8. The band will preview material from the disc on its upcoming tour, which runs from July 14 in Ogden, Utah, to September 6 in Sacramento, California. ...

Following two weeks of rehearsals and pre-production, Mnemic have started tracking drums for their new album in a California studio with Warren Riker and Fear Factory's Christian Olde Wolbers. The upcoming disc will be the first to feature new singer Guillaume Bideau, who replaced Tony Jelencovich in late May. "Things are sounding great and we're just getting started," the band said in a statement.

• Norma Jean (Metal)
• Motörhead
• Necrophobic
• Walls Of Jericho
• Estradasphere

Walls of Jericho
Photo: Trustkill Records

Candace Kucsulain isn't a morning person — not in the slightest. So this summer's Ozzfest should be interesting for the tattoo-veneered singer who fronts Detroit metalcore collective Walls of Jericho.

It's bad enough Kucsulain's going to have to get up at the crack of dawn — she'll also be expected to scream at the top of her lungs for hundreds if not thousands of rabid metalheads trying to pound enough brewskis to get them through the morning. But it's not as though she's complaining — she's more than willing to adjust her snoozing schedule for the greater good. It is Ozzfest, after all. "You've gotta do what you've gotta do," she said, with a hesitant laugh.

"It's such a huge step for us," she added. "We have to get up there and give it our all. We have to prove ourselves [to the crowd] because there are so many great bands on Ozzfest this year. You know whoever's playing after you will show you up, so you have to make sure you hold your own out there" — even if you're taking the second stage at the profane hour of 9 a.m.

But a huge step it is. Walls of Jericho, she said, are used to rattling the walls of nasty dives in front of 300 kids (tops). They're used to hitting the road crammed in rundown vans (this summer they'll share a bus with All That Remains) and crashing on strangers' couches. They're all still working full-time jobs to pay the bills.

"It's nice to think you might be able to go out, play to more kids and do this on a regular basis without worrying about those bills," Kucsulain said. "We never even thought we'd get on Ozzfest. We've been together eight years, and all we want to do is make music and have people like it. Ozzfest is perfect for us, and it's a great time to be doing it, with our record coming out — a record that we know is one of our most important, and what we've been putting everything we have into."

That album, With Devils Amongst Us All, will be in stores June 27 — two days before Ozzfest kicks off in Auburn, Washington. Produced by Ben Schigel (Chimaira, Zao), it will feature about a dozen tracks, none of which have official titles yet. The band started recording the disc March 6 and wrapped things up April 4.

Before Ozzfest, the band will do a run of shows with Bullet for My Valentine and Roses Are Red as part of the Trustkill Takeover Tour. It kicks off May 12 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and winds down May 28 in Sayreville, New Jersey.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Alien splatter metal band Gwar will release their new album, Go to Hell, August 6. The band is currently in the studio with producer Devin Townsend (he of Strapping Young Lad fame) and claim the disc will be their "sickest effort yet." For those who crave more bloodletting, Gwar will release the DVD "Blood-Bath and Beyond" June 20. The DVD will chronicle the band's 20-year career and include previously unseen footage of frontman Oderus Urungus attempting to direct the adult film "Filthy Chunks." "Blood-Bath and Beyond" will be a spectacle that, according to a press statement, "will have even the most pimply Gwar fan saying, 'Huh?' " ... Speaking of SYL, the Canadian extreme-metallists have begun mixing their forthcoming release, The New Black, which will hit stores this July. Townsend promises it will be the group's definitive release. ...Shadows Fall will headline the 2006 Strhess Tour, which should kick off in July — the scheduling is still being finalized. Poison the Well, It Dies Today, Still Remains, Darkest Hour, Bury Your Dead, Himsa and Suffocation are also on the bill. ... The reunited Overcast — which features Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D'Antonio and dreaded Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair — have commenced recording their forthcoming Reborn to Kill Again, which is being produced by Killswitch guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. The band's lined up a gig in Chicopee, Massachusetts, April 23 — that should act as a fine primer to this year's New England Metal and Hardcore Festival April 29. ...

Chimaira and longtime label home Roadrunner Records have parted ways. The band has described the divorce as amicable. "We asked to be let out of the contract and [Roadrunner] graciously agreed to our request," the band said in a statement. "We (the band and the label) had not been seeing eye to eye on some key issues and came to a mutual agreement to end our relationship." ... Polish death-metal masters Vader need help coming up with a new logo, and they want fans to help. More information on the contest can be found at the band's Web site. Entrees must be submitted by April 25, and the winner's art will be featured on the group's next LP, Impressions in Red, which is due in stores in September. ... Norwegian black-metal kingpins Satyricon were in London last week to film the video for their new single, "K.I.N.G." "The cast was a gathering of some of the most bizarre people from London's underground club scene that were to inflict pain upon each other, themselves and the band," frontman Satyr said. "The video has all the ingredients of a good rock and roll video and sets a new metal video standard for good photography and clever editing." Satyricon's new album, Now Diabolical, has been scheduled for release June 13, and the band's upcoming North American tour will be announced soon. ...

One of the forefathers of the hardcore-metal movement, Starkweather, will release their new album, Croatoan, May 2. The disc will be the band's first offering in 10 years and their third studio album overall. ... Serjical Strike Records, the label owned by System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, has signed Dallas quintet Fair to Midland to a record deal. "They are one of the best live unsigned bands I have ever seen," Tankian said in a statement. "Their songs are moody and dynamic, not dependent on one catchy beat or emotion to present their art." ... The release date for the fourth Cult of Luna record, Somewhere Along the Highway, has been bumped two weeks to July 11. Tracks include "Marching to the Heartbeats," "Finland" and "Dim." ... More than two years since the release of the scathing That Within Blood Ill-Tempered, math-metal provocateurs Shai Hulud are rehearsing for select dates with the Red Chord, which will be announced shortly. Bandmember Double L said of the gigs: "Don't call it a comeback. We haven't gone anywhere, just been here in Poughkeepsie [New York] with our slide rules, protractor and complete works of Shakespeare working on new material, inaugurating singers, craving curries and what have you." ... Hipster Montreal metal band Priestess will release their first album, Hello Master, June 13. The group recently toured with the Sword and Early Man and is currently planning upcoming dates with Dinosaur Jr. and Dead Meadow. ...

The eighth album by Norway's the Carpathian Forest, lovingly titled F--- You All, comes out May 22. Tracks include "The Frostbitten Woodlands of Norway," "Submit to Satan" and "Start Up the Incinerator (Here Comes Another Useless Fool)." ... Prog-metallers Halcyon Way have signed a deal with Bombworks Records, which will release the band's debut album, Manifesto for Domination, later this summer. ... Kamelot and Epica will team up for a North American tour this fall. So far they've lined up 18 gigs in all — the first being in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, September 15. Dates run through October 11 in Los Angeles. ... Macabre's "Live in Holland - True Tales of Slaughter and Slaying" DVD will be in stores June 2. The outing includes footage captured during the band's Murder Metal gigs last summer. ... Norwegian industrial-tinged metallists Theatre of Tragedy will release their new album, Storm, in North America June 27. The disc came out in Europe on March 24 and is the band's first not to feature singer Liv Kristine. She was fired in 2004 due to musical differences and replaced by ex-Crest singer Nell Sigland. ...

French underground blasphemers Blut Aus Nord are in the studio working on their new album, M.o.R.T. (Metamorphosis of Realistic Theories), tentatively scheduled for release this fall. Working titles include "Ruins of the Genesis (Antiparticles)," "Dis-Harmonization of All Visual Echoes" and "Samsaric Ocean." In related news, Blut Aus Nord's Appease Me Records will release The Near Death Experience, the second album by industrial black-metal duo Spektr, June 13. ... The Minor Times are hard at work on the follow-up to 2004's Making Enemies and expect to enter the studio in July. The upcoming disc will be the Pennsylvania band's first to feature guitarist Lou Millinghausen, who replaced Chris Masciotti. ... U.K. stoner-metal vets Orange Goblin will return to North America for a brief tour that starts May 16 in Boston and runs through May 26 in Youngstown, Ohio, at the Emissions From the Monolith festival. The four-day festival will also feature Scissorfight, Stinking Lizaveta, Kylesa, Facedowninsh--, Atomic Bitchwax, Boris, SunnO))), Rwake and many others.

• Walls Of Jericho
• Shadows Fall
• Chimaira
• Starkweather
• GWAR