It’s December. It’s Christmas. So for this week’s Midweek Bootleg we’re getting all festive with curious cover c/o Far and a couple of their pals from Deftones and Will Haven.

Yeah, we’re those annoying pricks who get really, really, REALLY into Christmas. We’re the pricks who insist on organising the office Secret Santa. We’re the ones drinking nothing but eggnog and mulled wine for the next five weeks. We’re the ones posting weird Christmas cover songs in our (mostly) weekly Midweek Bootleg feature. Yep, we are those guys.

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It’s a short and (not so) sweet podcast from Raz and Hugh this week, looking at some last minute controversies surrounding Hevy Festival, the consequences of British metal bands moving to major labels, and what the impact will be of Terror deciding to boycott the Czech Republic on their forthcoming European tour in support of Randy Blythe. We might’ve been too busy being drunk and watching the Olympics this last week to prattle on for as long as usual, but that doesn’t stop it degenerating into a discussion regarding the quality of a naked arse pinned to the wall of Raz’s office. What on Earth does that mean? We guess you’re going to have to download the podcast to find out.

The Thrash Hits Podcast 008: Small But Perfectly Formed

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We still want your feedback on this one, so please take a moment to send us your thoughts via email, by posting a comment down below, or by bellowing at us over Facebook or Twitter. And for Satan’s sake, go and subscribe to our podcast over on iTunes.

We were half tempted to make a sports-themed Slaylist this week – what with the Olympics kicking off in our home city of London and all that – but then we realised that other than ‘Running Free’ and a handful of other tracks, we’d really be scraping the barrel when it came to coming up with valid tracks for it. So instead we fell back on an old favourite: the festival Slaylist. Given that Hevy Festival 2012 is a mere five days away, it was the obvious candidate.

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It’s probably a good thing that the new Will Haven album came out on a Friday night. While technically it’s isn’t NSFW, if you watch it over the weekend, you’ll be able to dodge having to explain to your co-workers (and more importantly, your boss) why you’re watching a video of blood-smeared men stalking and being stalked by animal-masked strangers in a forest.

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Hevy Festival has announced its first fifteen bands for 2012 – they are Converge, Will Haven, Protest The Hero, Deaf Havana, Verse, The Chariot, A Wilhelm Scream, Deez Nuts, Set Your Goals, Trapped Under Ice, Pianos Become The Teeth, Balance and Composure, Sharks, Last Witness, and Crocus. Sweeeeeeet.

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I’ve spent 2011 harping on about one band: Trap Them. It’s unlikely you could have had a conversation with me about music without me saying “Darker” and “Handcraft” at some point. I may have just spoilt the incredible fun of reading my list. Anyway… the other nine albums on this list are wicked as well. Buy them all.

Raz

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The votes are in, the arguments have been settled, and the fights concluded without too much bloodshed – The Thrash Hits Top 20 Albums of 2011 list is here. We polled all of our writers, photographers, and contributors as to what their favourite records of the year have been, and through a series of complex mathematical formulae, we’ve calculated the 20 albums that have come out on top.

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Black Sabbath have barely finished the drawn-out announcement of their return with a new album and Download Festival 2012 appearance before we skipped merrily into The Worst Venue In London™ to see one of the best bands of all time. Will Haven have returned. OH, THEY HAVE RETURNED. All together now, “HOORAY!!”

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Will Haven
Voir Dire
Bieler Bros
10 October 2011

by Danny Montana

You’d be forgiven for wondering if Will Haven weren’t a spent force already. Once upon a time, their sludgy Sacramento metalcore chops were being heralded for the big time – even above their friends, Deftones – but it didn’t quite happen. Bad luck meant the wrong label, the wrong tours and a lack of momentum that eventually led to vocalist, Grady Avenell leaving. The Hierophant, with Jeff Jaworski on vocals, was a painfully average album but Avenell is back. Will Haven are back. Voir Dire is a belter.

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As we told you, Sacramento’s “other band”, Will Haven are to return this autumn with a NEW ALBUM. Their fifth record will be called Voir Dire and will be released on Bieler Bros. Records worldwide on 11 October 2011. We wrote “NEW ALBUM” in capital letters because we’re FUCKING EXCITED.

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