It’s been a month since we heard any news come out of the Pantera camp regarding additional tour dates, but today we’ve learned via a Facebook post that the reactivated band will be performing at the Monterey Metal Festival on December 6. This concert now makes it the band’s fifth announced festival show in Mexico and South America, with zero dates currently announced in any other region. They’ll share the stage with Judas Priest , Mercyful Fate , Behemoth , and Stryper , making that show one hell of a ticket. The other previously announced dates include Heaven & Hell Metal Fest (December 2), Knotfest Colombia (December 9), Knotfest Brazil (December 11), and Knotfest Chile (December 18). Tons of excitement, speculation, and even derision from fans and skeptics alike. Pantera in its current iteration is comprised of surviving members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown , and Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante sitting in for the late “Dimebag”Darrell Lance Abbott and Vinnie Paul Abbott ,

Prepare to close out your week with 90 seconds of chaos, courtesy of Thotcrime’s latest single “This Is My Breakdown, I Get To Pick The Music,” featuring The Callous Daoboys’ vocalist Carson Pace. The track tumbles down a rabbit hole of digital madness, as Thotcrime is wont to do, as vocalist Hayley Sparxx and Pace go fucking off on the mic. Thotcrime guitarist Malady Jane said “This Is My Breakdown, I Get To Pick The Music” stemmed from a collaborative effort with Sparxx that ultimately became what it is today. “The origin of this track was a voice memo Hayley (Sparxx – vocals) sent me where she sang the guitar riff into her phone mic – I copied down what I heard to guitar and slowly but surely the song evolved into this wild mix of chaotic mathgrind and manic, sugary happy hardcore.” As for the inclusion of Pace, it’s hard to deny the power in his delivery and the rising star that is The Callous Daoboys. It was only after hearing the Georgia-based band that Jane said she knew s

On its thirtieth birthday, it’s time to ask the all-important question: is there a better grunge record than Alice in Chains ’ Dirt ? Released on Columbia Records on this day in 1992 in the wake of the supermassive success of Nirvana’s Nevermind , Alice in Chains’ sophomore record is a bleak, hopeless affair driven by borderline sludgy guitars and the incredible vocal pairing of singer Layne Staley and guitarist/singer Jerry Cantrell . The guitarist tells Billboard that Alice in Chains—Cantrell, Staley, late bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney —workshopped many of those songs on the road while touring for debut album Facelift , so there was a lot of creative energy at the time. In the same interview with Billboard , Cantrell recalls the recording process and what it was like to work with Staley. Cantrell described the writing process of “Rain When I Die,” highlighting what made his creative partnership with the singer so special. “We work in a really interesting way, esp

Every once in a while you hear a new band and think “what is this?!” That was my initial thought when I first hit play on the new Melted Bodies song, “Therapy.” We’ve covered this group in the past and they still remain as unclassifiable as the first time we listened to their music. Featuring a frenetic style that moves from rock and metal with heavily distorted vocals to synthwave sections and back again, this track is definitely one of the more unique releases out today. It’s completely bonkers in a noise rock meets punk meets techno kinda way. Formed back in 2015, Melted Bodies has slowly grown into prominence in the Los Angeles underground scene for completely unpredictable live performances, having shared the stage with the likes of Red Fang, Horse The Band, and Machine Girl. Two years ago, their debut album Enjoy Yourself was released to critical success, but COVID hampered their ability to take their music out on the road. Their next album, The Inevitable Fork will actua

Whether you love ’em, hate ’em, or only care so much as to want to know what Corey Taylor thinks about a certain topic, it’s undeniable that Slipknot know how to put on a fucking show. From their getups to the theatrics on stage, to the pyro and insane energy, the nonet from Iowa are a must-see band. With their next album The End, So Far less than 24 hours away from release, Drew Nesbitt , of Njorodynphoto , headed over to the Germania Insurance Amphiteheater this past Tuesday to document the sensory carnage that’s not just Slipknot’s antics, but the performances of Ice Nine Kills and Crown the Empire . From what you can see in the galleries below, Slipknot’s current iteration is firing on all cylinders, even if some members of the band are a little hesitant about how people will receive the new album . Time is running out to catch Slipknot on this particular stretch of dates, since things will shut down after the tour’s last show in Irvine, California. For a full list of remai

The dead shall never truly die, which might explain the fact that metalcore has been the enduring genre of choice for swoopy-haired teenagers for nearly two decades now. Those who remember the early aughts may remember Long Island cult metalcore faves Dr. Acula , who received just as much love/hate for their keyboard-flipping member as they did for the music itself. Throughout their first run, which ended in 2012, MetalSucks were ruthless with the band. But because the staff at MetalSucks is a benevolent band of critics and metal snobs, we’ve decided to critically reevaluate Dr. Acula and their upcoming sixth album, also called Dr. Acula , via their new music video for “How to Kill a Monster.” First things first: Dr. Acula sound a lot more modern on “How to Kill a Monster.” The songs themselves are closer to something like Every Time I Die playing deathcore, with a notably more serious outlook. No more Ghostbusters samples, keyboards or Attila vibes. When the album was announce