Month: January 2011

Oscar Dronjak (HammerFall) Sucker Punches Deciblog, Part 1

January 31, 2011

First off, let me introduce myself: my name is Oscar Dronjak, and I play guitar in the Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall. But that’s not what this blog is going to be about. I’ve been asked to write a weekly column on my number one favorite passions outside of music: MMA in general and the…

For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week

January 31, 2011

Every Friday (or, um, Monday), Waldo the African Grey Parrot, frontbird of thrash-grind immortals Hatebeak, will get you caught up on the week’s latest “extreme” releases. What’s up beak geeks? The new year brings a lot of things, and one of those things is Ulcerate’s The Destroyers of All. These kiwis really know how to…

Henry Rollins’ Snake Underworld

January 31, 2011

That’s “underworld,” not “underpants.” Moving on. We got wind of an upcoming National Geographic special called Snake Underworld hosted by Henry Rollins. According to reports, “Rollins spent about a week in Florida swamps exploring the fringe of America’s secret snake subculture: snake smugglers, snake breeders, and even those who ‘self-envenomate.’” We were kinda hoping for…

The Jesus Lizard – “Goat”

January 28, 2011

In the run leading up to 1991’s Goat, “Tight N Shiny”—a corrosive instrumental from the band’s transitional LP Head—offered a regular excuse for Yow to take a much-needed smoke break and introduce the unsuspecting audience to the art of genital origami.

STREAMING: new Evergrey tune “Wrong”

January 28, 2011

To date, Swedish progressive metallers Evergrey haven’t had much Decibel ‘presence’. Maybe a review here, a review there over the course of our six now-infamous years on this silly planet. Will that change? Only Pontificator-in-Chief Albert Mudrian knows for certain. But that hasn’t stopped Evergrey from infiltrating the Deciblog, where, like dreams, all things are…

Crabcore 2.0

January 27, 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG-RNq7oRUM I had a whole stream of bile directed towards everyone’s favorite load of pre-teen pandering, Attack Attack!, when I realized their latest record actually came out like six months ago. I assumed an album was on the horizon and I typed out all these dire predictions about its quality. And a quick Googling showed…

More From the Grindfather

January 26, 2011

As you may remember, Richard Johnson and his merry band of grindparents, collectively known as Drugs of Faith, are releasing their first macerating full-length, Corroded, and were kind enough to give us first dibs on their debut video (check it out, again, HERE). Pieces of our interview have appeared and will soon appear, but like…

Justify Your Shitty Taste: Pantera’s “Power Metal”

January 26, 2011

Almost every band has that album: you know, the critically and/or commercially reviled dud in an otherwise passable-to-radical back catalog. Well, every Wednesday morning, a Decibel staffer or special guest will take to the Deciblog to bitch and moan at length as to why everybody’s full of shit and said dud is, in fact, The…

Buy the Black Metal Hall of Fame Issue. Win Immortal Tickets!

January 26, 2011

Immortal, Decibel and Nuclear Blast are teaming up to make this February’s All Shall Fall Tour even more chilling, grim and noctambulant. If you’ve been eagerly concocting corpsepaint for the following exclusive domestic dates… 2/19 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre (16 & older) 2/20 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar (all ages) 2/21 –…

Ukrainian Pagan Sons Khors Visit a Shining City on Odin’s Hill

January 25, 2011

Ukraine has had a tough go of it of late. The glow of the 2004 Orange Revolution has dimmed significantly, one of the nation’s most celebrated playwrights, The Pagans author Anna Yablonskaya, was killed in yesterday’s Moscow airport suicide bombing, and amidst these woes the international press seems predominantly interested in a human chain of…

COVER ART: The Making of Abysmal Dawn’s “Leveling the Plane of Existence”

January 25, 2011

When Charles [Elliott; vocals/guitar] contacted me the only lyrics that was written was Leveling the Plane of Existence. It makes reference to us crawling out from the primordial ooze and is basically about wiping us from the planet so that everything starts from zero again.

Contest: Win 7 Inches of Skeletonwitch

January 24, 2011

We’ve got 7 sweet inches of Skeletonwitch that are just aching to penetrate your brain. “The Skullsplitter” is part deux of the new 7-inch trilogy from Ohio’s dirty denim-clad metalheads. Incidentally, if you’re familiar with the Viking brew known as Skull Splitter, you’ll notice that the dude on the label looks a lot like the…

Black Metal Album Art – Classics Redux

January 21, 2011

All, well most, metal writers are members of or ghost message boards. You know, places where like-minded folk with very niche-musical tastes congregate. In fact, Decibel has a forum. You should join and sling your David-sized opinions against dB forum goliaths! Anyway, it’s where we digitally travel to pontificate (very important), research (not very important),…

Exclusive: Meshuggah Discuss New Studio Album

January 21, 2011

It’s been three years since Jack Osbourne’s favorite “Norwegian death metal band” wowed us with the punishing poly-rhythms of ObZen. The good news, according to Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake and vocalist Jens Kidman, is that you won’t have to wait another three years to hear the follow-up. In this exclusive interview for the Deciblog, Haake…

The Lazarus Pit: Cirith Ungol’s King of the Dead

January 21, 2011

Welcome to The Lazarus Pit, a biweekly look at should-be classic metal records that don’t get nearly enough love, stuff that’s essential listening for students of extreme metal that you may not have ever heard of.  Stuff that we’re too lazy to track down the band members to do a Hall Of Fame for.  First…

Scion Rock Fest 2011 – Unannounced Bands, uh Announced!

January 20, 2011

Scion A/V announced the partial line-up for the 2011 Scion Rock Fest. It was ridiculous! But it just got even more ridiculous! So much so, Scion A/V proposed to fly Decibot from his digital hovel to Pomona, CA to witness the awesomeness, but Decibot declined because the new Rev Theory album is imminent. OK, so…

The Rhythm is Going to Get Napalm Death

January 20, 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsytdmYtcf8 Goddamn i wish I saw this when I was 8. Napalm Death with Lee Dorrian and Bill Steer tear apart a kid’s TV show on the BBC in 1989 and unlike the usual out place extreme band shots… okay, this is still pretty out of place, especially when the words “Def Metal?” pop up…

Lazarus A.D. “Casting Forward” streaming + Alex Lackner interviewed

January 20, 2011

How did you get past the personal and professional challenges that faced you while writing and recording Black Rivers Flow?Alex Lackner: With everything that was being thrown at us during the process of making this record many would seem to fail. We didn’t even allow that to be an option. To start with, the whole…

Not Exclusive: Shroud Eater’s “ThunderNoise”

January 19, 2011

Stoner Noise. Is that a genre? Well it is now thanks to Shroud Eater. The Miami three-piece are riding dirty with granitic riffs, heaving basslines and suckerpunch rhythms. Also, vocalist/guitarist Jeannie Saiz’s bellow is monstrous, like screams through a throat made of industrial bong glass. They’ve released a new record, a turbulent full-length called ThunderNoise,…

Justify Your Shitty Taste: Ministry’s “Filth Pig”

January 19, 2011

Almost every band has that album: you know, the critically and/or commercially reviled dud in an otherwise passable-to-radical back catalog. Well, every Wednesday morning, a Decibel staffer or special guest will take to the Deciblog to bitch and moan at length as to why everybody’s full of shit and said dud is, in fact, The…

Belphegor “Blood Magick Necromance” Premiere

January 18, 2011

Violent, dynamic, and, as always, controversial, Austrian death/black metal machine have aspired to greatness on new album Blood Magick Necromance. So much so, in fact, we’ve been allowed early access to Belphegor’s ninth album and the gap between the group’s early black metal work is sort of like comparing Abominations of Desolation to Covenant. Belphegor…

The Ghosts of Bloodbaths Past–Exclusive Macabre “Grim Scary Tales” Preview!

January 18, 2011

Twenty-five years into a career of contemporary “murder metal,” the band that penned “Albert was Worse than Any Fish in the Sea,” “What the Heck Richard Speck (Eight Nurses You Wrecked)”, The Unabomber EP, and a twenty-six track 2000 concept record exploring the life of Jeffery Dahmer (sample chapters: “Drill Bit Lobotomy,” “McDahmers,” “Into the Toilet with You”) has…

Yet Another Shitty Video, Yet Another Shitty Cover

January 17, 2011

We spoke recently about metal being appropriated by the masses and the sorrow that ensues. To help prevent such misdeeds, the Internut needs an enema. Badly. One of the first fecal bombs to be detonated would be this instructional video of two lunkheads in Mexican wrestler masks teaching viewrs how to headbang to a crab-core…

Varg Vikernes Quote + Burzum’s “Fallen” Out April 5

January 17, 2011

Fallen, the eighth album from Burzum, will be released in North America on April 5.  The album is the second to be released via Varg Vikernes’ imprint Byelobog Productions (via Candlelight for the territory).  The album features seven new compositions by the controversial Norwegian musician; each adding another storied journey to the celebrated Burzum legacy….

Full Blown Chaos ‘Doomageddon’ Streaming

January 14, 2011

I’m pretty sure the dudes in Full Blown Chaos are tough as skyscrapers on the surface but soft as teddy bears on the inside. Just look at these guys. They make UFC superstars piss their pants and ask for mumma, but shove a Blue Heeler puppy in their face and chances are they’d go into…

Scion Rock Fest 2011 – Line-up Announced

January 14, 2011

Scion A/V just announced the line-up for the 2011 Scion Rock Fest. Uh, it’s ridiculous! Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death Angel, Municipal Waste, Agalloch, Integrity, Bastard Noise… Well, you can just read the handbill for the rest. This looks to be an awesome ear-destroying fest. And it’s fucking free (if you RSVP)! Also, Decibel are co-sponsors….

For Those About to Squawk: R.I.P. Basil

January 14, 2011

Every Friday, Waldo the African Grey Parrot, frontbird of thrash-grind immortals Hatebeak, will get you caught up on the week’s latest “extreme” releases. Hello, fellow avian supremacists. I’d like to pour one out for my dead homie this week. A friend of the Beak’s has passed away. Basil, one of the singers of the mighty…

How to be the Next Cemetery Rapist

January 13, 2011

Ehow.com, the chubby small town second cousin of Wikipedia has an article on “How to Write Death Metal.” I’m sure there are many of you who hang around here waiting for another Cee Lo posting but would like to see how you can get involved in this exciting and ever-changing genre. Well let’s see what…

Live Review: Dimmu Borgir, Electric Factory, December 10, 2010

January 13, 2011

Perhaps the expiration date has passed since the Decibel-sponsored Darkness Reborn World Tour has been toe tagged for almost a month now, but semi-deep reflection over the events at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory warrant at least a few digital inkwells be spilled in reverence to one of the three bands supporting headliner/arctic Mad Max lookalikes Dimmu…

South Pole Dispatch + Special Victims Unit = Let’s Do This

January 13, 2011

The man responsible for bringing up the butt-end of every issue of Decibel, John Darnielle, is currently being courted (no pun intended) for a guest-spot on “Law & Order SVU.” Kinda. Technically, he’s being pimped out to the L&O powers that be by his fans—Darnielle’s that dude in that band the Mountain Goats, but that’s…