Month: March 2013

Tales From the Metalnomicon: James Newman

March 29, 2013

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Tales first encountered the infernally enchanting work of James Newman when the stalwart badasses over at Shock Totem re-released his uber-excellent “ode to 1980s horror” The Wicked last year, and subsequent forays into…

Throw Me A Frickin’ Label Hack: Poland’s Entropia

March 29, 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)…

Exclusive New EXHUMED Flexi Disc Now Available!

March 28, 2013

It took them eight years to follow up 2003’s pulverizing Anatomy Is Destiny, but San Jose death metal degenerates Exhumed proved that gore metal is eternal on the brilliantly-titled All Guts, No Glory, which we recognized as the 13th best extreme album of 2011. The depravity rages on, as the quartet delivers their latest slice…

The Great Sabatini is Doing Shit While You and I Sit at Home

March 28, 2013

A few months ago, we (and know that when I say “we,” I mean “I”) favourably reviewed Matterhorn, the latest by Montreal’s the Great Sabatini. For those of you who didn’t bother to heed my word and at least check ’em out, here’s a sample of how they rock: In that review, in addition to…

Decibrity Playlist: Soilwork (Part 1)

March 28, 2013

Given that Soilwork unleashed its first double album (and ninth overall), The Living Infinite, earlier this month, it’s only appropriate that the long-running Swedish outfit passed along a double playlist. Up first: a collection of tracks from drummer Dirk Verbeuren, each offering an insight into his diverse tastes (Prince is becoming quite a fixture in…

STREAMING: Unreleased Killing Joke — “Timewave”

March 27, 2013

It’s going to be a busy spring for Killing Joke. They’ll be touring North America and elsewhere and releasing an omnibus of singles from their storied career, which includes a disc of rarities. Super deluxe packages are still available here and the three-disc set is available here. Decibel scored an exclusive peek at “Timewave,” an…

Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork) interviewed

March 27, 2013

First of all, are you crazy? A double album in 2013?Dirk Verbeuren: [Laughs] We kind of thought that at first, too. Speed [Strid] had come up with that idea. That’s something he had wanted to do. In his head he’s like, “I wanna do a double album.” When he first told us he wanted to…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Negator Studio Report 2013

March 27, 2013

The Negator monikor sounds like a Decepticon from Transformers, but musically the Hamburg-based black metal quintet are as vicious as they are obscure. Go on, tell us you’re a fan. Anyway, across three well-received traditional full-lengths, Negator has earned a small yet ardent following. Led by frontman Nachtgarm—who also served time in Dark Funeral following…

Happy Passover! Here’s Some Free Crap

March 26, 2013

Fountains of blood, hordes of locusts, the Angel of Death cutting a swath through the male population: Passover is definitely the most metal of the Jewish holidays. In celebration of the religious observance that inspired “Creeping Death,” I’m pleased to offer some pretty rad Bandcamp downloads that are either completely free or “name your price”…

Pestilence – “Consuming Impulse”

March 26, 2013

All things being fair, death metal was a morbid accident. Tape traders, zines, dudes who formed record labels and hordes of disenfranchised, rock ‘n’ roll-fed youth were all willing to risk societal abandonment and future professional pursuits to make the music they adored a reality.

Exclusive Stream: Oniricous

March 26, 2013

Razorback Records is calling the upcoming Oniricous album Ritos Diabolicos a “masterpiece of total HORROR FUCKING DEATH!” and in order to back that claim up the label has graciously sent along the track “Astrofobos” for this exclusive Decibel stream. It’s pretty goddamned convincing testimony! Below is a bit more info from the Razorback press materials….

VIDEO PREMIERE: THE MOTH GATHERER “A Falling Deity”

March 25, 2013

Courtesy of the good people of Agonia Records, welcome to what is definitely the closest the Deciblog gets to a red carpet event: The Internet premiere of Swedish experimental post-metallers The Moth Gatherer’s video for “Falling Deity”. The track is culled from their forthcoming debut LP, Bright Celestial Light, a dynamic and genre-unspecific album that…

STREAMING: Soen “Savia”

March 25, 2013

When drummer Martin Lopez bowed out of Opeth at the group’s high water mark, people thought he was nuts. Turns out he just wanted to find himself, and aiding him on that journey is new (well, not so new if you’re European) “heavy” progressive act, Soen. Formed by Lopez and guitarist Kim Platbarzdis about six…

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

March 22, 2013

What’s up? Getting spring fever? I know I am. Your boy Waldo here pecking out all the new metal releases, so let’s fly right into it, shall we? WARBEAST‘s Destroy: wow, this thing is old-school brutal thrash. I mean, that’s all I can say about it. Featuring Bruce Corbitt from Rigor Mortis, one can easily…

Vampire Talk to Decibel About Selling Out

March 22, 2013

Selling out… of all their cassettes, that is.  Crazy, right?  I mean, when you make 100 white cassettes and 100 red cassettes, there’s no way you expect to sell all (er… drop the zero, carry the…) two hundred of them!  So Vampire wised up and ordered 100 more black cassettes of their demented lo-fi thrash…

STREAMING: Svart Crown “In Utero: A Place of Hatred and Threat”

March 22, 2013

Whoever came up with the name “Freedom Fries,” or “Bars with Stars,” or “American Love Sticks” should be marched over to France and hanged off one of those fancy Rococo buildings they like to put on postcards. French fries aren’t even French. They’re Belgian. That’s how the origin story goes, but history has a way…

NIGHTBITCH: IF DANZIG HAD A SENSE OF HUMOR

March 21, 2013

  Any song that kicks off with a full-blast Danzig riff followed by the line, “Down in the workshop, baby, all dressed in black…” is total tits in our book. Somehow, Connecticut wolf-runners NightBitch suspected this all along and wrote “Chainmaker” just for us. And, okay, the other handful of Danzig fans who have a…

Not Enough Horror Business, with Seven Sisters of Sleep. And You. And Prizes. And an Advance Stream of their New Album

March 21, 2013

There’s a lot of business and entertaining reading for y’all to get down to this week. You don’t need me gumming up the gears with my special brand of bullshit. Los Angeles-based servants of evil/slaves of Satan, Seven Sisters of Sleep have a new album at the ready. It’s called Opium Morals and it sounds…

Decibrity Playlist: Intronaut

March 21, 2013

Not only did Intronaut just release its fourth full-length, Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones), on Tuesday, but the band also recently wrapped up a tour in support of Meshuggah. Needless to say, the quartet probably spent quite a bit of time driving from show to show. Sacha Dunable was kind enough to pass along…

STREAMING: Immolation “Kingdom of Conspiracy”

March 21, 2013

Immolation’s been kicking the death metal coffin for longer than most of you—they formed in 1988—have been alive. Go back a few more years when the Yonkers troupe were Rigor Mortis (not to be confused with the Texas-based Hall of Famers Rigor Mortis) and before that Defcon, well, it’s fair to say the surviving members…

For Those about to Squeak 2

March 19, 2013

I have a pet hamster. His name is Ozzy. He is adorable but terrified of everything. However, over the course of his cohabitation with me, he’s become acclimated to the sounds of heavy metal, probably due to the fact that I play it for 16 hours a day. I’ve discovered that he actually has quite…

INTERVIEW: Moss’ Olly Pearson on having fun on a Horrible Night

March 18, 2013

It’s funny, the press releases that accompany doom records are unlike any of your typical puff-sheets, the purpose of which, of course, is to sell you on the record. No, the doom press release always comes with the caveats abound, stressing the oppressive track lengths, moribund subject matter, and advising helpfully that “it’s not for…

Top 5 Tech Death Metal Bands You May’ve Overlooked

March 18, 2013

5. Loudblast – Sublime Dementia 1993 (Semetary) Appearing with three tracks on Century Media’s cool In The Eyes of Death compilation in 1991, Loudblast were virtually unknown outside the four corners of France even though they’d released two full-lengths and a string of demos prior to Sublime Dementia. Loudblast twisted Schuldiner’s brutal/melodic idiosyncrasies (from Human)…

Tales From the Metalnomicon: Joshua Belanger

March 15, 2013

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Though perhaps currently better known as one of the most innovative and imaginative artists currently plying his trade in the world of heavy metal design, Joshua Andrew Belanger also happens to be an…

PENTAGRAM (Chile) and more confirmed for LIVE EVIL FESTIVAL 2013

March 15, 2013

Attn: London’s Live Evil Festival 2013 has just announced a bunch of bands, and as you’d probably expect from the underground’s most, uhh, kvltly curated festival, with 100% of the line-up endorsed by Fenriz’s Band of the Week blog, they are all 100% poseur-free and awesome. Legendary Chilean death-thrashers Pentagram will be joined by: Arkham…

Watch a New Semantik Punk Video!

March 15, 2013

To paraphrase my favorite comic, Mitch Hedberg (R.I.P.), Semantik Punk is a Polish experimental punk outfit that people will either love or hate, or think they’re okay.  They’re hardcore enough to sound like a badly scratched Converge or Dillinger Escape Plan CD that won’t stop skipping to random spots on the disc; they’re rock enough…

An Oozing Contest, Plus We Catch Up with Brian Chippendale

March 14, 2013

If you’re a fan of Lightning Bolt’s immensely quirky, insanely loud, outsider extreme music, then the name Brian Chippendale is probably very familiar to you. He’s the dervish behind the drums, often seen wearing a sock on his head with a microphone sewn into it as he seemingly grows three extra arms so as to…

Decibrity Playlist: BATILLUS

March 14, 2013

BATILLUS kicked off a month of shows in support of its latest record, the awesome Concrete Sustain, at the end of February. The trek has seen them scoot across the Midwest, over to the left coast and, most recently, Pitchfork’s Show No Mercy SXSW showcase in Austin, TX (check out the band’s remaining dates below)….

Insider The Shredder’s Studio #5: Kurt Ballou of Converge

March 13, 2013

The latest inclusion in the Shredder’s Studio was inevitable. Kurt Ballou is no stranger to the Dec-faithful; he played on Hall of Fame and top album of the 00s certified masterpiece Jane Doe; laid down riffs on last year’s best record and helped close out our 100th issue party. Mr. Ballou is writing the kinds…

STREAMING: Spiritual Beggars “Wise As A Serpent”

March 13, 2013

There are times when you just want to forget the world around you and just cut a Persian rug. Great rock records were made without worrying what Tom, Dick, and Harriet Tubman were up to and how they perceived a sound, a scene, a recording technique, or a pair of pants. Sweden’s Spiritual Beggars have…