(Early Graves circa 2008; Mahk Daniels is on the right)

TheGauntlet.com is reporting that Early Graves vocalist Mahk Daniels was killed last night when the band's van rolled over en route to a show in Reno, NV. The van was traveling on Interstate 5 in Central Point when the driver fell asleep, killing Daniels and injuring two other passengers just after 5:30 AM Monday. The driver and one other passenger were transported by ambulance to Rogue Valley Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

This really sucks. Early Graves had released two excellent albums on Metal Blade's Ironclad Recordings sub-label, 2008's We: The Guillotine and the brand-new Goner. Both discs offered a combustible blend of punk rock, noise and thrashy metal, and We: The Guillotine included a guest appearance from Oxbow vocalist Eugene Robinson on the song "Here There Be Monsters." If you like Converge, Coalesce, Trap Them and Today Is The Day (whose main dude, Steve Austin, produced We: The Guillotine; Tim Green of The Fucking Champs produced Goner), you should listen to Early Graves.
 

Derf Scratch, bassist for the hilarious, offensive and highly influential L.A. punk band Fear, has died after a long illness. Scratch was an accomplished musician—as were all the members of Fear, something that separated them from their peers in bands like Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, et cetera. Their debut album, The Record, is a punk rock classic, filled with songs like "I Don't Care About You," "Let's Have a War," "Beef Boloney" and "New York's All Right If You Like Saxophones." But their between-song banter onstage was even more offensive, and funnier, than their lyrics. They were infamous for baiting crowds into near-riots.

Here's some footage of the band playing "Beef Boloney" and "I Don't Care About You" live in 1980, from the movie The Decline of Western Civilization (warning, language is NSFW):


 

You read that right: We've got an exclusive contest going for the next seven days—correctly answer the five trivia questions below, and you could win a signed copy of Dave Mustaine's autobiography, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, out August 3 from It! Books.

Here are the questions:

1. What brand of guitar does Dave Mustaine have an endorsement contract with?

2. Which professional wrestler used “Crush ’Em” as his entrance music?

3. Which avant-rock composer/guitarist is Vinnie Colaiuta (who drummed on 2004's The System Has Failed) best known for playing with in the late 1970s and early 1980s?

4. Not counting Dave Mustaine, how many guitarists has Megadeth had?

5. The Gigantour is named after Gigantor, a Japanese robot who starred in a 1960s cartoon show. Which punk band covered the “Gigantor” theme? (There are two possible answers; I’ll take either one.)

Email your answers to msnmetal@gmail.com between now and Friday, August 6, and I'll pick a winner. Good luck!
 

Armored Saint has made a video for "Left Hook From Right Field," a killer track from their amazing 2010 album La Raza (we talked to vocalist John Bush a while back; here's a link). Here 'tis.



And as a bonus, here's some awesome footage of the band performing the song "Underdogs" (from Raising Fear) live in 1987. Check it out—Bush had hair! (Thanks to MetalSucks.net for posting this clip first.)


 

Here's the latest email update from Chimaira guitarist Matt DeVries. The band is playing the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour all summer, and their new CD/2DVD set Coming Alive is out now.

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest 2010, Day 12. What a fucking incredible tour this has been! To start off, this has probably been the hottest tour we have ever done. The sun has been brutal to say the least. It was 113 degrees in Phoenix and has not gotten that much cooler since. Needless to say, the fans have still been amazing and full of energy and that has helped fuel all the bands to do the same! Every band has been doing great and tearing shit up on all three stages!

One of the coolest things that happens on this tour is that once a week, Mayhem throws a rager that is hosted by a different band on the tour. Norma Jean had one that involved kegs of beer and a shitload of pizza. It just so happened that it was the same day as [Chimaira keyboardist] Chris Spicuzza’s birthday...let’s just say he was doing a keg stand late into the night. Good times indeed! Then in Camden, NJ, Mayhem alumni God Forbid decided to stop by and host. The theme was BBQ, punch cocktails served in plastic tubs, and 40’s...considering I don’t remember the latter half of the night, I know it was a great rager! Thanks again, guys!

We have been having nothing but fun on this tour. A big thanks to all the fans for coming out! Spread the word, and once again, see you at the Jägermeister tent (5:10 PM) and our merchandise tent (5:45 PM) every day for our signings!
 

The Swedish band Enforcer released their second album Diamonds back in March, and it's awesome. As a guy who should know wrote on All Music Guide, "Fans of old-school metal will find this a pleasing throwback thrill; modern-day metal kids too young to remember the bands and albums Enforcer are paying tribute to will find these songs weirdly catchy and utterly lacking in breakdowns, downtuned riffing, or moaned lyrics about adolescent existential despair. There's no emo or thick-necked hardcore/death metal bro-hood to be heard here; this is pure escapist pleasure."

Now, to celebrate the band's appearance at the legendary Sonisphere festival in England this Saturday, their label, Heavy Artillery, is offering a free download of the entire album for only 24 hours. You've got until 5 PM EST tomorrow to grab it; here's the link:

http://www.heavyarti​llery.us/enforcerpro​mo

Don't miss this opportunity; Enforcer is a really good band, and both Diamonds and its predecessor, Into the Night, are very much worth your time (and money). Enjoy, and hope they mount a US tour soon.
 

Monday night, I heard the new Avenged Sevenfold album Nightmare, and decided to post my thoughts on Twitter. (My Twitter account is MSNMetal; feel free to follow me.) So here you go, a (pretty much; I started with track three) track-by-track review of Nightmare, 140 characters at a time.



Three tracks into the new @theofficiala7x CD. So far, a huge improvement over the s/t atrocity, but "City of Evil" remains their best.

@theofficiala7x "Buried Alive" like a cross between Metallica's "One" & an outtake from GnR's "Use Your Illusion" sessions.

@theofficiala7x "Natural Born Killer": Great '80s thrash riff, but vocals & crooning chorus kills the momentum. Coitus interruptus.

Some really nice guitar solos on this @theofficiala7x album, btw. A lotta Slash, a lotta Kirk Hammett, a little Al DiMeola.

@theofficiala7x "So Far Away": Acoustic ballad w/too much drumming (that's what renting Mike Portnoy gets you) & faux-country vox. Bleah.

Attn. @theofficiala7x - I don't care if it is a subpar Slayer song, you're not allowed to use the phrase "God hates us all" in one of yours.

@theofficiala7x "Victim": GnR power ballad w/bonus fem-vox a la "Dark Side" Pink Floyd. Oh, and it runs 7:30. Restrained, these guys ain't.

@theofficiala7x "Tonight The World Dies": Another ballad, and M. Shadows' Axl-isms are just getting out of hand at this point.

@theofficiala7x "Fiction": Kinda "Layla"-ish piano, offbeat drumming, vox more Reznor than Rose. The parts don't quite fit, in a good way.

@theofficiala7x "Save Me": Aw, crap. 10:56? Overlong, overwritten; Opeth they ain't. Still, their second-best album overall. Fans will shit.
 

(Above: Corrosion of Conformity, not just three random hicks.)

The original three-piece lineup of legendary crossover act Corrosion of Conformity—Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean and Reed Mullin—will embark on their first live shows in over twenty years, in celebration of the anniversary of their Animosity album. The tour kicks off this week in Asheville, NC.

The trio have also recorded a new single, “Your Tomorrow (Parts 1 and 2),” which will be available on overpriced vinyl at all upcoming tour dates and via Southern Lord’s website.

Righteous Fool, featuring Mike Dean and Reed Mullin, will open all dates. Other openers will include Zoroaster, Eagle Twin, Black Breath, Black Tusk, U.S. Christmas, Iron Age and "very special" guests for the October dates. (Dare we hope for a C.O.C./D.R.I. bill?)

Tour dates are:

July
30 Asheville, NC Stella Blue (w/Zoroaster, U.S. Christmas)
31 Raleigh, NC The Pour House (w/Black Tusk, U.S. Christmas)

August
8 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex: The Power of The Riff Fest (w/Eagle Twin, Black Breath)
10 San Francisco, CA DNA Lounge (w/Eagle Twin, Black Breath)
12 Seattle, WA Neumo’s
13 Austin, TX Emo’s (w/Iron Age)
14 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater

October
7 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
8 Chicago, IL Double Door: Riot Fest
10 New York, NY Highline Ballroom