Month: February 2012

Self-important hack leaves the Haunted to ruin new as-yet-to-be-named band

February 29, 2012

Peter Dolving, famed blogger, questionable haircut enthusiast and camo shorts philosopher, has un-amicably split from the band he successfully, after many failed attempts, completely destroyed. Dolving’s confirmation was cryptic, angry and brief: I am officially quitting The Haunted. After years of working with the band, I am out. I have had it. I will NOT…

Re-enter the Anthrosphere!

February 29, 2012

Recently Anthropic Records — purveyors of excellence and, in their own apt formulation, “heart-breaking, chest-crushing noise and doomed psychic soundscapes” — unleashed Anthrosphere III, yet another fantastic (and free!) compilation of the latest gnashing and wailing coming out of the Philadelphia metal underground. To mark the occasion we invited Anthropic proprietress Shannon Marie to share…

Exclusive Video Premiere From “Last Days Here”

February 28, 2012

Much of Bobby Liebling’s life seems completely improbable. The Pentagram singer, despite a decades-long battle with drug addiction, is alive today and still performing. And Pentagram’s musical career/trajectory has been even more bizarre. Starting in the early ’70s, the band has experienced tumultuous lineup changes (and break-ups), botched recording deals and enough drama for a…

Paradise Lost haunts the chapel, Parts I & II

February 28, 2012

Without spilling too much digital ink, we’d like say we’re pretty chuffed — as Mick Harris would say circa ’91 — to be premiering not one but two studio reports for beloved doom metal outfit Paradise Lost. The Yorkies — not the dog, natch — are preparing for the release of new album, Tragic Idol,…

INTERVIEW || ex-Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris on Scum, Scorn and the hell of urban living

February 27, 2012

Before getting round to talking about the imminent reissue of Napalm Death’s now 25-year-old [iconic/seminal/etc.] debut Scum, the Deciblog is engaging Mick Harris in a discussion about his favorite fish—the barbel. You see, Napalm Death’s drummer from the years between ’85 and ’91 has long since put his sticks down, and—in his words—has dropped out…

Black metal warriors Nightbringer added to open Denver date of the Decibel Magazine Tour

February 27, 2012

Now that we’ve announced doom gods Evoken and black-sludge purveyors Wolvhammer as regional openers of the inaugural, totally tits Decibel Magazine Tour, it’s time we bring the music down a few shades of color. See, Evoken are a dark shade of grey, clouds of doom and desolation, so to speak. Wolvhammer slide along the grey…

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

February 24, 2012

What’s up, mothersquawkers? Let’s get it the peck on. Deep, minimalistic, black, doomy and cold. You like where this is going? This is a great way to describe Omens by the French band MONARCH! Fuzzy guitars, pounding drums and haunted vocals are the norm here for these doomsters. This thing is beaking DENSE, like a…

LIVE REVIEW | Kylesa w/Circle Takes The Square & Ken Mode – 23rd Feb 2012

February 24, 2012

Tearing half-empty venues apart with earnest vigor is all just part of the job when you’re KEN mode and opening a three-band bill on schoolnight. But y’know there are worse ways to working your ticket across Europe, spreading at-once fierce and reflective metal/hardcore/noise jams to crowds that might lack the numbers but not the appreciation….

MY, HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

February 23, 2012

The same bunches of you reading this who are still scratching your heads over why this post from a couple weeks ago created any amount of anything, anywhere in anybody are the same bunches of you who’ll likely be confused when we mention how compilation records used to be fucking awesome. “How the fuck?” we…

Decibrity Playlist: Shane Embury (Napalm Death)

February 23, 2012

In the preface to his interview with Napalm Death frontman Barney Greenway in Issue #89, J. Bennett wrote that “[t]here are few bands you can rely upon to deliver the fucking goods on their 14th album. Or to even make it that far in the first place. The number of grind outfits that have accomplished…

STREAMING: Asphyx “Deathhammer”

February 23, 2012

I covered Asphyx in Decibel #89 [Municipal Waste cover] and from that feature, I quickly realized that across Asphyx’s impressive, if somewhat under sung, discography, the Dutch outfit has the word ‘death’ in nearly half of its discography; 3 out of 8, to be more precise. Well, that fact wasn’t lost on drummer/songwriter Bob Bagchus,…

Helms Alee’s Ben Verellen discusses video for “8/16”

February 22, 2012

Click Here To Watch The Video Who came up with this? Was it a band effort or was there one lone genius amongst you? I don’t remember how it came up, all I know is that it’s been an idea for as long as we’ve been a band. How did you pick the videos? Were…

Blackened sludge purveyors Wolvhammer added to open Chicago date of the Decibel Magazine Tour

February 22, 2012

Chances are if you haven’t heard Wolvhammer, you may’ve read some of drummer Heath Rave’s Deciblog rants on the virtues of Pantera’s Power Metal opus, peeped his Varg “visionary” tattoo primers, or checked out members of Wolvhammer in mid-tour exploit. “I definitely think this is a well thought out lineup for a tour,” beams Rave…

Exclusive Unsane Premiere From Wreck

February 21, 2012

Two of our most memorable live concert experiences ever happened at Unsane shows in Seattle. This NYC trio originated from the same scene that spawned Helmet, Pussy Galore, Boss Hog and a bunch of other earhole-scraping noise mongers in the early 1990s. Between their Am Rep/Sub Pop label connections and the general loud/heavy/distorted aesthetic, they…

Ryan Adams Pimps Black Metal (And A New Alt-Country Album)

February 21, 2012

Ever wondered what a You Can’t Do That On Television skit full of jokes about black metal would look like? Well, so has alt-country crooner/Mandy Moore arm candy Ryan Adams, apparently: His new internet show “Night Sweats” marries over the top disheveled chic and a dash of self-deprecation with Fenriz jokes, corpsepaint, a synthpop loving…

COMMERCIAL BREAKDOWN: When metal dudes go sell your shit

February 20, 2012

Yeah, the real world sure does suck. The bottom line is forever letting the wolves off the leash and if they don’t end up clawing at your door they’ll sure as hell shit on your lawn. The only way out is money. And in this business, the uncomfortable truth is that, ultimately, in a roundabout…

Dolgar (Gehenna) Interviewed

February 20, 2012

Each Gehenna album had different sonic attributes. From the eerie black metal of The First Spell through the death metal disposition of Murder and then back to brutal black hybrid on WW. Do you recall wanting each album to be singular, regardless of genre?Dolgar: We always try not to make the same album twice of…

The Lazarus Pit: Greenmachine’s D.A.M.N.

February 17, 2012

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 that you’ve probably never heard of; stuff that we’re too lazy to track down the band members to do a Hall Of Fame for.  This week, we go back to Japan, by…

LIVE REVIEW: Krisiun, Malevolent Creation, Vital Remains | London Underworld, Feb 15th 2012

February 17, 2012

Promoters worldwide would be doing us all a favor if they were to roll out five-band death metal mini-fests every Wednesday. Given that the middle of the working week is the calendar equivalent of dead air, a tour toploaded with a bill that has Krisiun, Malevolent Creation and Vital Remains as a headlining trifecta is…

15 Strings Attached

February 16, 2012

Decibel‘s NYC bureau had a tough decision to make last Thursday. Should we head on up to the west side for a classy evening amongst Lincoln Center elite to catch a special performance by This Will Destroy You? Or leave Manhattan (perish the thought!) for a night of PBRs amongst our metal brethren to get…

Exclusive- Black God: “Everyone’s a Friend”

February 15, 2012

If you didn’t know it by now, Coliseum’s Ryan Patterson is an inhuman machine that runs solely on guitar riffs and beard hair. His newish project is a throwback to the 90s hardcore scene of Louisville where sweat flowed like beer and beer pretty much stayed in the fridges at the convenience store. Joined by…

STREAMING: Formloff “Spyhorelandet”

February 15, 2012

It ain’t often the Deciblog gets its dirty paws on black metal. It’s even rarer that when we do get black metal to unfurl to the masses like some plague-wielding flag of hate and disgust, it’s of the weird, wait-is-this-real variety.

Have a Drink (of Wine) On Me

February 14, 2012

We don’t think we’re going out on a limb here when we say that AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson wasn’t thinking about buying a nice fruity glass of Sauvignon Blanc for his mates when he wrote “Have a Drink On Me.”

Join SIGH “Far Beneath the In-Between”

February 14, 2012

This morning Decibel has the distinct honor of premiering the latest aural/visual mindfuck from long-running Japanese experimental black metal practitioners SIGH. The track, “Far Beneath the In-Between,” is taken from the band’s upcoming Candlelight Records release In Somniphobia, an otherworldly, beguiling, frequently bizarre medley of various metals (black, traditional, prog) shot through with folk, jazz,…

Extras needed: Appear in HBO’S Treme with EYEHATEGOD

February 13, 2012

EyeHateGod fans harboring aspirations of appearing on an Emmy-nominated TV show should put on their best fucked-up face, get a photo taken and send it to Caballero Casting quicksmart. The Louisiana casting agency are looking for extras for this week’s Treme shoot, on in which the show’s creators will be dispensing with the trumpets and…

Legendary doom metal crew Evoken added to open Baltimore, Philly and NYC dates of the Decibel Magazine Tour

February 13, 2012

Funeral doom purveyors Evoken have been added to select dates on the inaugural Decibel Magazine Tour. With Behemoth, Watain, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude capping the tour, Evoken’s rare appearances will certainly ramp up interest in the tour’s extreme yet diverse sound and vision. Evoken will exclusively play the songs of death and despair…

Q&A: Scott “Wino” Weinrich | Decommissioning the fuzz pedal and playing acoustic

February 10, 2012

For a dude who has built a revered legacy on the back of playing big biker doom riffs and wailing with Saint Vitus, Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s recent output has been super-mellow. There was 2010 acoustic solo record, Adrift, then a Latitudes session recorded in London with German singer/songwriter Conny Ochs, before the pair got together…

A Small, Dumb Part of Me, Reborn

February 9, 2012

If trends and interests and habits and all that sort of bullshit moves in cycles, I guess I’m presently going through the second phase of voraciously listening to a bunch of stuff that’s borderline unlistenable. And loving it. Let me explain… If you were a tape trader back in the 80s, you’ll remember scoring N…

STREAMING: Borknagar “Roots”

February 9, 2012

By now, Norway progressive/black-ish/folk-ish metallers Borknagar should be a familiar entity to most ‘bangers. They’ve managed nine quality albums — including new long-player Urd — across a 17-year timeline and had the balls to recall and then host former frontman ICS Vortex alongside screamer/crooner Vintersorg, which is something most bands don’t do unless they’re on…