Let's say you started spring break a little early and you've been pretty much braindead for the past week? Do we have the cure for you. No, not a blood mary with a raw egg, we've got links to all the killer HeadbangersBlog.com posts you might have missed. Did you hear our revealing and hysterical podcast interview with Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen? Click "more" to check out what else might have slipped you by and keep up with all our posts on Twitter.com. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Mushaggah's last U.S. tour -- which was documented for an upcoming DVD -- was bludgeoning and mindblowing, but considering how amazing the opening band Cynic were, it would be hard to say Meshuggah stole the show.

And that's just fine. Most concert packages deliver a killer headliner (if you're lucky) and a bunch of decent  opening acts (if you're also lucky). The Meshuggah tour with Cynic and The Faceless was a total face-shredder from soup to nuts (And Meshuggah have got some big nuts). But Cynic's performance was just as earth shattering as that of the closing act.

The tour is the group's first in 15 years, and during the show, frontman Paul Masvidal mentioned that the final Cynic show in 1994 before the members went their separate ways was at the Limelight in New York City, so it felt like they had come full circle. And when the lights dimmed and Cynic started to play it seemed as if they decade-and-a-half gap between the deathprog masterpiece Focus and the new Traced in Air never happened. (Click "more" watch our video interview with Masvidal). Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Encino, California progressive, technical death metal band The Faceless rely on angular phrasing, lightning fast riffs and throat-lacerating vocals to overpower listeners, however music isn't all the group have to offer. Their conceptual lyrics and galactic imagery are also captivating in a way that transcends mere "Star Wars" worship. In the second part of HeadbangersBlog.com's interview with The Faceless guitarist and lyricist Michael Keene discussed about the story behind the band's latest album Planetary Duality, his own alien sighting and the significance of his band's name. Click "more" to watch the video segments. And click here to see part one. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Shortly after finishing their tour with Meshuggah and Cynic, The Faceless hit the road with Arsis, Misery Index and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. As soon as they're done with that, they'll embark on a bill with Cannibal Corpse, Neuraxis and Obscura. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Even if you didn't see our first video interview with Meshuggah guitarist Marten Hagstrom, in which he described how incredible the band's live shows with Cynic and The Faceless were, you can probably still get a sense of the intensity of last week's New York City concert from the above photo of singer Jens Kidman screaming his lungs out. The performance was one of several gigs filmed for Meshuggah's upcoming DVD, which will come out before the release of the band's next album.

While Meshuggah were incredible, Cynic were also great, performing a celestial, progressive and intoxicating set from their new album Traced in Air and their 1993 disc Focus. And The Faceless kicked ass as well, presenting a ferocious, technically complex batch of songs that belied their young age.

Click "more" to see our photo essay, and check back later for a full review of the show. Read more...

In the second part of our video interview with Mårten Hagström, Meshuggah's guitarist talks about playing on Ministry's farewell tour, the rise of girlie-pop metal, pagan metal and deathcore and his eternal fondness for weird electronic music. Click "more" to watch the interview.
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Tech-death metal wunderkinds, The Faceless, are the latest act to be banned by the Anaheim House of Blues, a Disney-owned venue that in the past has also rejected Machine Head and Belphegor. Why The Faceless didn't meet the approval of Mickey and Minnie for the February 1 show is unknown -- especially since the other bands on the bill, Meshuggah and Cynic, both made the cut. Maybe it had something to do with discovery that if you descramble the letters in the song titles of their second album, Planetary Duality, it spells "Pluto pimps Daisy Duck for cheap wine and Goofy has anal wards and scabies."

In any case, The Faceless will take the night off, then rejoin the tour on February 2 at the San Diego House of Blues. Dates are scheduled through February 20 in Towson, Maryland. The Faceless' second album, Planetary Duality, features an impressive range of progressive arrangements, caustic vocals and speed-of-light guitar work, and was one of the highlights of last year. The disc was produced by axeman Michael Keene, who recently made an appearance at the National Association of Music Mercants (NAMM( convention in Anaheim). Click "more" to watch Keene shred like Satriani on crack. Read more...

By now you've seen all those top ten rock and metal lists featuring Metallica, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Gojira, Nachtmystium, Enslaved, Opeth, Amon Amarth, All That Remains, Trivium, Meshuggah et al. So here's a list of ten slightly more indie acts that might not be on your radar yet, but which you owe it to yourself to check out:

10. Arsis - We Are the Nightmare (Nuclear Blast)
Technical death metal is rarely this inspiring. A breathtaking blend of speedy unconventional guitar work, abrupt rhythm shifts, double-bass drum thunder and real honest to goodness hooks.

9. These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower and Dove (Suicide Squeeze)
Post-hardcore insanity merges with strong songwriting on this Seattle band's third full album. Direct and uncompromising, TS&D blasts through challenging math rock progressions, battering ram rhythms and bizarre grooves that'll remind you equally of Fugazi and Blood Brothers. But what else would you expect from former members of Botch and Kill Sadie?

8. Abigail Williams - In The Shadow of a Thousand Suns (Candlelight)
Honestly, we're not sure why this modern black metal album didn't crack more critics' year-end lists. The band even has a super-cute chick on piano/orchestration -- and the girl knows how to compose better than a lot of classical musicians. In The Shadow of a Thousand Suns is epic, brutal and shudders with horrific beauty -- like a haunting blend of Cradle of Filth and Immortal. (Click "more" to see our seven other choices.) Read more...

The only band to return to The Summer Slaughter Tour from last year's lineup, The Faceless are a technical death metal band from Los Angeles that balances virtuosity with demolition to create songs that are so fast you'll crap yourself -- but at least you'll be humming while you're releasing your bowels.

In addition to being precise, melodic and blistering, the band's music is also kind of trippy -- possibly because they've got access to some kickin' medical marijuana. Click "more" to watch MetalInjection.net unlock the story behind the band's recent lineup shifts and find out how easy it is to get medicinal weed in California. Read more...