Month: July 2013

STREAMING: New Gigan

July 31, 2013

We’re fans of musical nuttiness here at the Deciblog. And there’s nothing nuttier — or more impressive — than the colossal mindfuck that is Gigan. We received an advance copy of their new album Multi-Dimensional Fractal Sorcery And Super-Science (due from Willowtip on October 15 — preorder details to be announced soon). We’re happy to…

STREAMING: Diamond Plate “Walking Backwards”

July 31, 2013

Diamond Plate couldn’t be more literal. In a few ways, actually. One, the band name refers to, well, a diamond plate or tread plate, as seen on truck covers, trailers, mud flaps, and restaurant floors. They’re “metal,” get it?! Two, when asked for a quote about the track we’re premiering they said, “No click track,…

STREAMING: Hyrrokkin’s “Anacoluthon”

July 30, 2013

Kind of funny that the captcha when I downloaded Hyrrokkin’s Pristine Origin was “guitar player.” This power trio definitely has one of those, and he makes all sorts of crazy noises with his instrument. As does everyone else. A saxophone even shows up at one point. A little bit of Dysrhythmia, a little bit of…

Punk Is Dead…Is Alive

July 30, 2013

The above flyer for Punk Is Dead 2013 sufficiently testifies to the potential awesomeness of the inaugural edition of the upcoming Lancaster, California confab, but we decided to dig a little deeper anyway and asked organizer Zack Barrera about the vision behind his self-described “truly underground, DIY festival.” Talk to me a little bit about…

Solitude Aeternus – “Beyond the Crimson Horizon”

July 29, 2013

For five Texans, timing’s always been a cruel, heartless bitch. But that didn’t stop Solitude from transforming under threat of legal action into Solitude Aeturnus, landing a record deal with Roadrunner on the strength of a single demo and issuing two critical full-lengths for the ascendant international thereafter.

John Dyer Baizley of Baroness on five life-changing album covers

July 29, 2013

“I could go on all day about Pink Floyd record covers,” says Baroness frontman/guitarist John Dyer Baizley. “I could go on all day about Neurosis record covers or Converge—Jacob Bannon is another great album cover artist.” He really could. But we’re mean and we need five to compile an easily digestible list of cover art,…

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

July 29, 2013

The dog days of August are certainly here, and boy howdy, there’s at least ONE release that I’m super-stoked on. Let’s get into it, shall we? The masters of Gore Metal are back at it. EXHUMED release Necrocracy, and this thing rips. This gore-soaked platter has grooves, blasts, hooks and, well, plenty of gore. At…

STREAMING: Fyrnask “Vigil”

July 29, 2013

As summer reaches her cruel arms into August (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), the days elongate (not scientifically), the sun burns hotter, and time stands still. The Dog Star blazes the night sky. These are, my friends, Canicular Days. But what if long-dead winter—his biting cold and piercing winds—suddenly came into view. A brief…

STREAMING: Gorguts “Colored Sands”

July 29, 2013

Spoiler alert! The new Gorguts album, Colored Sands, rules. But you knew that already. The band that put Canadian death metal on the map—with Considered Dead and Erosion of Sanity—and then sent death metal into fits of spiral rage on 1998’s Obscura and 2001’s From Wisdom to Hate have returned, with class, chops, and curveballs…

Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Montreal’s The Unconscious Mind

July 26, 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)…

BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This Now!

July 26, 2013

Given the opportunity to write about craft beer every month in Decibel has been eye-opening. The idea that our “Brewtal Truth” column would have lasted more than four years (and counting) and even spawn a book—The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers, out in November—is pretty amazing. Now it’s time to bring a little “Brewtal…

Spirits of the Dead: The Deadly Spiritual Interview

July 25, 2013

Hailing from Oslo, Spirits of the Dead ignited an incense-scented dookie stick firestorm of praise and wonder with their 2011 second album, The Great God Pan (their debut was self-titled and from two years earlier). Best pegged as a effusive mixture of psychedelic, folk and stoner rock, said album had critics and fans from the…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Beneath Oblivion “The Atomic Mother”

July 25, 2013

Beneath Oblivion put out a monster of a record back in 2011 in the form of From Man To Dust. As our own Shane Mehling–never one to sugar coat things–once explained on this very site, “[r]arely do you hear a doom band so good at integrating other influences, from folk to death metal to experimental…

Episode DB002 – 2013 Decibel Tour Wrap-Up

July 24, 2013

Albert and Andrew interview Decibel publisher Alex Mulcahy and talk shop with members of the three bands leading the 2013 Decibel Magazine Tour–Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse, Shane Embury of Napalm Death and Ross Dolan of Immolation.   Featuring: Immolation “All that Awaits Us”Cannibal Corpse “Crucifier Avenged”Napalm Death “A Gag Reflex”

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #7: André Foisy Of Locrian

July 24, 2013

Locrian’s new album Return To Annihilation is one of the better records I’ve heard this year, and the praise keeps rolling in. We decided that it was a perfect time to invite frontman André Foisy to the shredder’s studio. He shared a list of eclectic infuences and might be the first shredder featured ever that…

STREAMING: Mercenary “Through Our Darkest Days”

July 24, 2013

The last time we spent time with melodic death metallers Mercenary was on 2011’s Metamorphosis effort. With a revamped lineup, the Danes managed to change their sound—much to the dismay of long-time fans—but the change opened up a whole new world of potential. They’re no longer stuck to the melodic death construct that made them…

STREAMING: Infanticide’s “Misconception of Hope”

July 23, 2013

Very rarely do I get to make dead baby jokes and have them be actually relevant to the subject at hand, so there’s no way I’m going to pass up the opportunity. Prepare to be offended! How do you know when a baby is a dead baby? The dog plays with it more. What do…

Nubile Baby Dragon: Sadgiqacea/Hivelords Tour Diary!

July 23, 2013

We’ll make this into concise as possible, so as to allow readers to break on through to the other side that much quicker: A) False Prism and Cavern Apothecary — presented by Sadgiqacea and Hivelords respectively — are two of the best, most intriguing mindfuck metal releases of the year thus far. B) The bands…

STREAMING: Twitching Tongues “World War V”

July 23, 2013

Neo-barbarians is how Twitching Tongues has been described. Now, most of the time when you hear the word barbarian you picture classic bronzed ‘n’ buffed Arnie in a majestic loincloth and wielding the Atlantean sword. Well, I guess barbarians of present day dress in black and instead of decapitating with a finely crafted weapon of…

Dark Descent Records announce showcase festival – Oct 4th and 5th, Portland, OR

July 22, 2013

Dark Descent Records have announced a two-day showcase festival at the Ash Street Saloon, Portland OR for October 4th and 5th. And the lineup (below), presented by Dark Descent in association with Parasitic Records and Ash St PDX is the exactly sort of super-necrotic death/doom/black bill of extremity that’s guaranteed to help you shake out…

Stephane Peudupin & Sebastien Pierre (Fractal Gates) interviewed

July 22, 2013

** Now that Slumber is ancient history, AtomA on ice, and Rapture in perpetual hibernation, few bands (let’s give props to Enshine) have been able to take melodic doom-death to heights of awesome. Enter Fractal Gates. Formed in Paris, France, the members of Fractal Gates made one hell of a debut in Altered State Of…

Tales From the Metalnomicon: Eric Weiss of Rumpshaker

July 19, 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… Full disclosure: The Metalnomicon has not surveyed every hardcore fanzine in the history of hardcore fanzines. That is a task ill-suited to a single human lifespan, even one that, say, skipped the…

Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Forlorn Path

July 19, 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)…

BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This Now!

July 19, 2013

Given the opportunity to write about craft beer every month in Decibel has been eye-opening. The idea that our “Brewtal Truth” column would have lasted more than four years (and counting) and even spawn a book—The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers, out in November—is pretty amazing. Now it’s time to bring a little “Brewtal…

Interview with Friendly Fire Distro’s Cam Schwarz

July 18, 2013

Considering how quickly fairweather fans come and go from the metal scene, I guess you could say I’ve known “Cannibal” Cam Schwarz since the beginning of time, proportionally speaking anyway. An old-school lifer, Schwarz has been “fighting the good fight” in the name of his love for metal and against gainful employment for as long…

Scaling The Fitness Summit With Chris Letchford

July 18, 2013

Last week, Scale the Summit guitarist Chris Letchford (that’s him second from the left) shared his workout playlist. Fortunately, he was also kind enough to pass along tips for working out and eating well while on tour, all of which are pretty useful even if you’re not in a band. Despite what Chris may say…

Cris Jerue of 16: Confessions Of A Middle-Age Freeloader

July 17, 2013

For decades, 16 vocalist Cris Jerue has written lyrics about the consequences of bad behavior, bum brain chemistry and addiction. The end result of said behavior is that it’s often tough to find a place to settle down. In his first ever post for the Deciblog, Jerue writes about the natural consequences of said behavior…

Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) interviewed

July 17, 2013

** It’s been an age since Ulver have had anything to do with metal. Yet, somehow, Ulver, like others who departed from the dome of metal, have managed to capture our minds and hearts. Musically speaking, Ulver have very little business on the Deciblog—all things being fair—yet here they are, connected via an ability to…

A Pale Horse Named Death: A Glimpse Behind The Horse #4

July 16, 2013

This is our fourth post from director Aaron Beaucher on the making of the new A Pale Horse Named Death video “DMSLT.” An updated gallery follows. — During the past few weeks, we’ve been working on integrating the effect shots into the video. The process can be cumbersome. The first step was to import our…

TRACK PREMIERE: Phantom Glue’s “Biocult”

July 16, 2013

I’m not 100% sure how Phantom Glue would even really work as an adhesive. I guess sometimes you just need to keep some damn ghosts in place. Apparently it requires some really heavy duty stuff, but even if they can’t hold the wraiths in place, this goop should be able to slow them down pretty…