Month: January 2013

STREAMING: Denouncement Pyre “Almighty Arcanum”

January 9, 2013

Few metal bands of the world truly frighten. Whether it’s songs of Satan, ancient fjords, circumcised babies, or dismembered women (far more common than dismembered men, mind you), metal bands have covered it all ad nauseam. And we, as metal acolytes, have become accustomed to that which would normally repulse or scare. But, there are…

Dave Mustaine or Billy Corgan: Who’s Crazier?

January 8, 2013

The world of hard rock and heavy metal is filled with brilliant artists, and sometimes that thin line between genius and insanity gets erased. Usually in public. In very embarrassing ways. And there have been a lot of notable crazies in the music industry, but right now, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy…

Enter A Sweet, Sweet Deci-Hell, Courtesy Metalcakes

January 8, 2013

“The weak pale in the face of both baking and metal!” Metalcakes proprietor Kathy Bejma declares when asked how she first came to realize heavy metal and cupcakes belonged in the same mixing bowl. “Plus ovens are like little mini hells accepting your sacrifice of unborn chickens, butter, and sugar…Occasionally I’ll get the How dare…

Meathooks, zombie surgeons and chainsaws: inside Autopsy’s “Feast for a Funeral” comic book

January 7, 2013

Gorehounds, gut-sifters, and comic book ghouls will no doubt be aware that Bay Area death metal titans Autopsy have been immortalized in in Feast for a Funeral, a band-authorised comic by E-Comix. As you’d expect from Autopsy’s generously gruesome back catalogue, and gather from the promotional video trailer for the comic [below], Feast for a…

STREAMING: Azure Emote “Puppet Deities”

January 7, 2013

If you’re well-heeled in the arts of underground death metal—is there another kind, actually?—the name Mike Hrubovcak should ring a bell. Right. Hrubovcak, not to be confused with his brother J.J., is sort of a Renaissance Man. The frontman’s throated for Vile and Monstrosity, as well as his own weighty projects in Divine Rapture and…

Tales From the Metalnomicon: Dustin LaValley

January 4, 2013

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Gonzo dark fiction author, screenwriter, martial arts sensei, serious connoisseur of heavy metal and hardcore — there’s a lot thrown into the mix when it comes to the literary force of nature…

Subscribe to Decibel, get the new Cathedral flexi disc

January 4, 2013

Coventry’s mighty Cathedral are retiring in style this spring, following the release of swansong The Last Spire. And your friends at Decibel have the first new music from Lee Dorrian’s doom institution in nearly three years, debuting via our Flexi Series! It’s unclear if “Vengeance of the Blind Dead” is a nod to the cult…

Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Black Table

January 4, 2013

Because every day another band records another song.  Because 83% of those songs are unlistenable and you can’t be bothered to sift through the dreck.  Because metal is about not giving a shit and waking your own personal storm.  Because music is universal, expression is boundless, and even indie labels (whatever that means these days)…

Sepultura – “Beneath the Remains”

January 3, 2013

Before there was death-thrash or thrashy death, there was Sepultura, lovingly pronounced either Seh-poll-tour-a or Sep-ull-trah by many a hesher. Contrary to popular opinion at the time, Sepultura were not from the deepest parts of the Amazon or Brazil’s most violent of favelas.

Seven Inches into the New Year, with Feral King and Lonely Ghost Parade

January 3, 2013

The Lord Herself knows Zao has kept it super-low on the spotlight front since the release of 2006’s The Fear is What Keeps Us Here. The promotional push for Awake? was zilch and the only “concrete” mentions of this supposed new album they have waiting in the wings for 2013 comes via Wikipedia and hardcore…

Decibrity Playlist: Rotten Sound

January 3, 2013

Not only does Rotten Sound have a new EP coming out later this month, but the Finnish quartet is also celebrating its vicennial. So when bassist Kristian Toivainen suggested putting together a playlist with picks from a certain year, it took us back to a feature we used to have in the magazine. Back in…

Living In The Eighties: Metal Covers The Decade Of Pop

January 2, 2013

Since the New Year is the time of self-reimagination (or big promises that aren’t kept) it’s a good day to look back into the storied skeleton closet. While metal took over the planet in the 1980s via Metallica and Iron Maiden (after Black Sabbath set the stage for a decade) pop ruled the charts. You…

Say What? Not So Long Long Converge Quotes

January 2, 2013

Often, there is a lot of left over content that doesn’t quite fit the narrative or direction of a story. Case in point #1: Converge for dB #96. Case in point #2: Throughout the interview process, the members of Converge had rad stories to tell, but somehow the quotes never quite made the cut. So,…