Month: May 2012

Got Time To Kill? Like Being a Fly on the Wall?

May 31, 2012

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I don’t “do” podcasts. The reasons are many, but chiefly it’s because if I wanted to listen to the directionless ramblings of stoners talking about popular culture, I would hide out in the basement when my wife and her pot smoking pals get together. If I wanted to…

Decibrity Playlist: Dawnbringer

May 31, 2012

Given that Dawnbringer’s Nucleus landed high up on our Top 40 list of 2010, we’ve been stoked ever since we heard that the band would be releasing its fifth full-length this year. We were even more pumped when we found out that it would be a concept album, one that “follows the story of a…

STREAMING: Strong Intention’s “3rd Space Guerrilla Generator” with Mike IX

May 30, 2012

Mike IX Williams, Eyehategod’s multitalented vocalist, is no stranger to extracurricular activities (and we’re talking the purely legal ones here, folks). He’s a published author and poet (check out his book Cancer As A Social Activity if you get a chance); sings with a side outfit Arson Anthem and also released a spoken word seven-inch…

STREAMING: Conan “Battle in the Swamp”

May 30, 2012

Not much is known about Liverpool’s Conan. No, this isn’t the same Conan you see on late night TV or the same fictional king(s) Conan/Kalidor who bedded Sandahl Bergman and Brigitte Nielsen in the early ’80s, but rather this Conan is a UK-based doom metal trio who’ve kept their mouths shut by employing Internet stealth…

Extreme Drinking and Driving: Home Edition

May 29, 2012

So, for the record we don’t in any way endorse actual drinking and driving. That’s just stupid. However, the geniuses at Dream Arcades have invented a machine that we heartily endorse getting wrecked while using. It has been our experience that the addition of beer to most things makes them better. Except driving. Did we…

Accept the Resurrection

May 29, 2012

After a fourteen year hiatus from writing and recording new music — not to mention the permanent break with longtime vocalist Udo Dirkschneider — fans had some cause to be skeptical of Accept‘s 2010 return. Blood of the Nations, however, proved to be a shockingly impressive comeback record — not just a resurrection but a…

The Lazarus Pit: Fear of God’s Within the Veil

May 25, 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 contract a severe case of…

INTERVIEW: Ihsahn on new album “Eremita”

May 25, 2012

Once Second Wave titans Emperor were done scorching the earth with black metal, Ihsahn wasn’t slow in scaling the genre’s perimeter fence, and high-tailing it in search of a fresh sound that rested far from the genre’s weirdly orthodox iconoclasm. Progressive metal was a neat fit, a suitably abstract direction to define his sound as…

Decibrity Playlist: Ufomammut

May 24, 2012

I’ve never been on tour, but I’d imagine that being couped up in a car/van/bus with the same people for hours on end necessitates certain accoutrements. One of the most basic and relevant for our purposes, of course, is the car stereo. The AUX jack may put your entire library at your fingertips, but just…

STREAMING: Track from Panopticon’s ‘Kentucky’

May 23, 2012

Any time we receive a note promising music that “marries traditional coal mining songs with harsh, expansive black metal” we’re intrigued. And Panopticon’s “Kentucky” is sort of the metal equivalent of a William Faulkner novel: dense, multifacted but also soulful. The album, due in June from Handmade Birds/Pagan Flames, touches on the difficulty and despair…

STREAMING: Mörglbl “Brutal Romance”

May 23, 2012

Most of the Deci-faithful haven’t heard of prog wizards Mörglbl, but I’m sure there are a few who know guitar maniac Christophe Godin, who’s somewhere between legends Allan Holdsworth, Mattias Eklundh (of the underrated Freak Kitchen) or Steve Vai. Or, somewhere between the groove-thrash of Pantera, the zaniness of Primus, and Holdsworth’s fusion genius. Sans…

Theories spread deathgrind from Northwest to Chaos in Tejas

May 23, 2012

Seattle’s brutalest, techiest, deathgrindiest band in Seattle is going on tour. Theories (feat. members of Samothrace, Skarp and Scourge Schematic) is ravaging the west as they head to and from Chaos in Tejas, creating fans from whatever audience members don’t thrash themselves to death. They start in Seattle with a set opening for demi-gods Nasum…

STREAMING: “Toxic Waste” Split 12″

May 22, 2012

We already had occasion to cream our jeans a couple weeks back in anticipation of this awesome Toxic Holocaust/Municipal Waste split 12″ on Tankcrimes Records, but now we have the pleasure of tantalizing you with two(!) tracks from said four-song EP. This nut-busting coupling of two of our favorite thrashers comes in a number of…

Death to False Flexis

May 22, 2012

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife is one thing, but a sexy little slip of tightly-grooved, undulating vinyl polymer? Altogether another. Or so we’ve surmised from the announcement that Divine Metal Distro — “the premier online source for Christian Hard Rock & Heavy Metal” — and Ultimatum — proud instigators of several crown of…

INTERVIEW: Storm Corrosion’s Steven Wilson

May 21, 2012

A meeting of minds between Opeth’s big chief Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion is a down-beat, atmospheric heavyweight that is the sort of Weird Science fantasy wet dream prog-heads have been jonesing for ever since Wilson took over production duties on Opeth’s groundbreaking Blackwater Park. Their eponymous debut eschews any of…

STREAMING: Deathspell Omega “Abrasive Swirling Murk”

May 21, 2012

French/Finnish combo Deathspell Omega have taken black metal to its most mystical extreme. They decline interviews (only handful since forming in 1998), are extraordinarily camera shy, and wouldn’t be caught metaphysically dead performing live in front of an audience. Now, most of this is conjecture. They may do interviews—with each other—and they may have a…

Exclusive Video Premiere: Mike Scheidt’s “In Your Light”

May 21, 2012

So for his first solo album, YOB mainman Mike Scheidt has gone the way of Wino and like 57 percent of Neurosis and decided to showcase his sensitive singer-songwriter side.  This thing is unplugged all the way, and I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t the least extreme thing ever featured on…

STREAMING: Six Feet Under “Undead”

May 18, 2012

“We want to get out there and pretty much destroy,” says Six Feet Under vocalist Chris Barnes in a Metal Blade press release. “We want to play to as many people as possible, and show all of the fans out there the new songs, and leave nothing but a trail of blood in our wake….

Our Bro-mance with A389 Continues On…

May 17, 2012

We’re all about A389 Recordings ’round these parts. If it’s not the consistently awesome cover draping each and every release and their annual birthday bash show/extravaganza every January, it’s that they’re fellow proponents of the flexi-disc and that alongside every world-hatin’, religion-baitin’, humanity-despisin’ slice of holy terror hardcore they release, they go ahead and show…

Decibrity Playlist: Shadows Fall

May 17, 2012

Former Decibel cover stars Shadows Fall just released their seventh album, Fire From The Sky, on Tuesday. As Kirk Miller pointed out in giving the record his seal of approval in our June issue, the ten tracks have a little something for everyone, leading us to wonder what tunes these Massholes were blasting throughout the…

Thrash overlords Destruction still completely ruling after 30 years

May 16, 2012

Destruction, legendary kings of the Teutonic thrash metal scene, are continuing to thrash ’till death with their 30th Anniversary Tour. Almost halfway through, the band plays NYC tonight and then begins a furious march as they burn through Canada towards the west coast. If you’re wondering if these guys are still doing the anti-lord’s work,…

STREAMING: Evocation “Through The Darkened Peril”

May 16, 2012

Revered Swedish death metal producer Tomas Skogsberg once claimed Borås-based Evocation were better than Stockholm’s best sliced bread. This was back in the early ’90s too, when Stockholm greats were on their respective—much beloved—second albums. At the time, Evocation never got to recording a full-length—despite being courted by a few “notable” labels of the day—due…

Alligators and the Giant Maggot: Kylesa’s life on the road with GWAR

May 16, 2012

Last month, Savannah psychedelic metal crew Kylesa put in some serious road miles in support of GWAR. Prosthetics, artificial blood and semen are not everyday items on the underground metal touring circuit, so we got Kylesa guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants to take some pics and notes. This is what went down. 04-13 San Antonio, TX |…

Beer + Metal + Youtube = High Comedy

May 15, 2012

Yes, we know this about the laziest kind of post we can throw on yon Deciblog, but good christ we could not pass up the opportunity to share these. The simplest search on Youtube netted us some gems that 1) we could not stop watching and 2) were so bizarre as to make us wonder…

Attila Rides Through Salmonella Hell; Hires Attorney

May 15, 2012

Back in April an itsy bitsy salmonella swaddled spicy tuna roll tried it’s damnedest to throw a monkey wrench into self-described “party death metal rockers” Attila’s latest North American tour — prophetically dubbed “The Sick Tour” — but stricken frontman Chris Fronzak refused to sis out, instead performing through what he describes as “gut wrenching…

COMPETITION: Win Cannibal Corpse, the Black Dahlia Murder, and Amon Amarth goodies

May 14, 2012

It’s competition time, folks, and courtesy of the good folk at Metal Blade we have a selection of swag to give away, on the condition that you A) answer the question correctly and B) are lucky enough to be drawn out of our moth-balled and dandruff-flecked Six Feet Under beanie. Now, we were going to…

Rob Barrett (Cannibal Corpse) interviewed

May 14, 2012

You stepped up with more songs on Torture than on previous albums. Why is that?Rob Barrett: The original plan was that each of us to write four or five songs, but we decided to stop writing several weeks before going into the studio to concentrate on the 12 songs that were already written. I was…

The Lazarus Pit: Lemming Project’s Hate and Despise

May 11, 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 jump off a cliff into…

Covan Wake The Fuck Up: Decapitated head to London for brutal benefit gig

May 11, 2012

UK-based death-heads, consider this your rallying cry for what will not only be one of the summer’s most gnarly nights of death metal, but a crucial fundraiser for former Decapitated vocalist, Adrian “Covan” Kowanek. Decapitated, Hades Lab, Dead Beyond Buried and Ted Maul tear up the Camden Underworld’s dilapidated bowel on 29 June 2012. Doors…

STREAMING: Phobia “Submission Hold”

May 11, 2012

Grindcore legends Phobia may not be the most prolific full-length writers—six of ’em in 22 years—but what they lack in Genesis-like concept albums or MacGrubergrind throwback scene points, they make up for in sheer volcanic terror. If that sounds like journalistic exaggeration, well, it kind of is, but what band outside Napalm Death, Rotten Sound,…