Month: September 2013
EXCLUSIVE STREAM: Craven Idol “Towards Eschaton”
September 30, 2013 Jonathan Horsley
Ladies and germs, pray silence please for Craven Idol’s Towards Eschaton. Pull up the easy chair, pull on the headphones; you’ll no doubt find the north Londoners’ debut long-player an extreme metal album of rare power. This here’s a bona fide contender for album of the year, a soundtrack for those evenings when your ouija…
STREAMING: Valkyrja “The Cremating Fire”
September 30, 2013 Chris Dick
Last Monday, Decibel and Valkyrja teamed up to premiere “Madness Redeemer” (click HERE) to great applause and buxom ladies defiled. Well, what you didn’t know was that the evil that courses through our collective veins—ours is more like Snake Mountain-type evil, if we’re being honest; Valkyrja’s is something that would make 1990-era Glen Benton run…
Bad Religion – “Suffer”
September 27, 2013 Zach Smith
If Bad Religion had never made another record after 1983’s sophomore prog experiment Into the Unknown, it’s doubtful those familiar with the band at the time would have been surprised.
Episode DB004 – The Best Covers of the Decibel Flexi Series
September 27, 2013 Jesse Chase
Your intrepid hosts sit down with perpetual good sport/extreme music tastemaker Gordon Conrad (Season of Mist) and divulge the stories behind the best covers in the Decibel Flexi Series. Featuring:Revocation “Pull the Plug” (Death) Anaal Nathrakh “Man at C & A” (The Specials)Evoken “Rotting Misery” (Paradise Lost)Watain “Fuck Off, We Murder” (GG Allin)In Solitude “Mother of…
Tales From the Metalnomicon: Despumation Press
September 27, 2013 Shawn Macomber
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… Writer/editor extraordinaire Kriscinda Lee Everitt‘s brand new Despumation Press “seeks to champion writing that explores the diverse themes metal customarily addresses using language in such a way as to evoke the feeling…
Secrets of the Sky – Full Album Stream! Video! Tour Dates!
September 27, 2013 Daniel Lake
I love me some Secrets of the Sky. I loved their album To Sail Black Waters when I first heard (half of) it last year. I loved it more when the other half made it to the Soundcloudosphere (beyond the stratosphere, just underneath the Bandcamposphere). I love it now that it’s being released by Kolony Records….
BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This Now!
September 27, 2013 Adem Tepedelen
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…
Great Falls – Humpty Dumpty’s Had a Few “Accidents Grotesque”
September 26, 2013 Kevin Stewart-Panko
Ever been to Great Falls, MT? Surprisingly, I have. Ever heard of/heard Great Falls, the band? I have. Hell, I even enjoy them. Ever seen Great Falls live? Done that too and I enjoyed it some more. Ever seen a show in Great Falls, MT? Even more surprisingly, that’s also something I’ve managed to tick…
Decibrity Playlist: Orange Goblin
September 26, 2013 Zach Smith
If you read Jonathan Horsley’s interview with Ben Ward last week, you’d have learned that the dudes in Orange Goblin recently quit their jobs in order to commit full-time to the band. You’d have also read that the UK quartet was about to embark on a massive North American tour that starts tomorrow in New…
Inside The Shredder’s Studio #8: Eric Daniels of GSBC and Asphyx
September 25, 2013 Justin Norton
There are few guitarists on the planet that get the shredder’s studio worked up as much as former Asphyx and current Grand Supreme Blood Court guitarist Eric Daniels. He writes the riffs that awaken your inner caveman. Eric was kind enough to drop in from across the pond and tell us how he started playing…
Milosz Gassan & Max Furst (Morne) interviewed
September 25, 2013 Chris Dick
** Morne’s third album, Shadows, is a best effort from our favorite funeral doom outfit from Beantown. Come to think of it they’re the only funeral doom band from Boston. So unique was previous album, Asylum, we had to catch up with guitarist Milosz Gassan and bassist Max Furst to see why, in 2013, Morne…
Seeking Wisdom from Seeker
September 24, 2013 Jeff Treppel
Seeker are heavy, technical, and here to eat all your stuff. Lock up your women, children, and refrigerators, and when you’ve done that, kneel at the feet of vocalist Bryce Lucien and prepare to receive some serious wisdom. Here we are, on tour as we have been for the better part of the last…
Listen to Mutoid Man “Scrape the Walls”
September 24, 2013 Shawn Macomber
Christ on a motherfucking crutch do we have a treat for you this morning, loyal readers: An exclusive premiere of a churning, kinetic track off what promises to be a seriously off the hook brilliant upcoming debut album from Mutoid Man, the new collaboration between Stephen Brodsky (CAVE IN) and Ben Koller (CONVERGE). We asked…
Interview: Mick Harris and Shane Embury recall Napalm Death’s debut Peel Session
September 23, 2013 Jonathan Horsley
How did Napalm Death get its first Peel Session? Shane Embury: “I joined Napalm in July ’87, so the first thing I ever did with Napalm Death was a Peel Session—even before we had played live or anything, strangely enough. At that time, the BBC would have contacted Earache and this guy Martin Nesbitt was…
STREAMING: Valkyrja “Madness Redeemer”
September 23, 2013 Chris Dick
The last time we spoke with Valkyrja they were hot on the trail of releasing second album, Contamination. Since then, the Swedish black metallers have been remarkably quiet, but that’s all about to change on November 11th. Why November 11th? Well, if you have your history book opened, it’s the date Diocletian tried to restore…
For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week
September 20, 2013 Andrew Bonazelli
Okay, I’m back for a bit. Let’s just get into it, shall we? CARCASS released Surgical Steel this week after a decade or so of relative inactivity. I’m really digging this. The front end of the record is loaded with more of the heavier songs, so some fans may find the latter half tedious, as…
Get to Know Crossover Thrash Freaks Activator
September 19, 2013 Kevin Stewart-Panko
Activator is a relatively new four-piece from New York playing New York-styled crossover/hardcore/thrash in a New York state of mind. Their self-titled debut album was just released a couple days ago and features all the stuff 80s and 90s Lower East Side dreams were made of all lovingly caressed by a modern thrashing edge. Feel…
Decibrity Playlist: God Is An Astronaut
September 19, 2013 Zach Smith
It’s hard to believe (for me, at least) that God Is An Astronaut is already into its second decade as a band. In fact, the Irish post-rockers just dropped their seventh full-length, Origins, earlier this month. The record marks a return to Rocket Girl, which also happened to license the first album I heard from…
STREAMING: In Solitude “Pallid Hands”
September 18, 2013 Chris Dick
It might be a calculated risk on Albert Mudrian’s part to feature Swedish upstarts (OK, they’ve been truckin’ since 2002) as cover stars on the new issue of Decibel (available HERE), but looking back on previous cover icons his choices have proven, largely, correct. Though it’s easy to point fingers and say, “Hey, this band…
Let’s help Jason Becker
September 18, 2013 Justin Norton
The folks who work hard to bring you the extremely extreme each week might be cantankerous but that doesn’t mean we don’t look out for our fellow man. Case in point: the gifted guitarist Jason Becker, who was struck with with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which most readers know as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The disease…
TRACK PREMIERE: Domovoyd’s “Lamia”
September 17, 2013 Jeff Treppel
I have no idea what a “Domovoyd” is (presumably something in Finnish or maybe a type of mushroom), but a lamia is a creepy snake person thing, and there are some definite serpentine tendencies to their music. It coils around your cerebral cortex, then sinks its fangs right into the pleasure center and injects 200…
STREAMING: Inquisition “Darkness Flows Towards Unseen Horizons” (Lyric Video)
September 17, 2013 Chris Dick
Lyric videos are a bit of a mystery. They probably started with pop music on major labels for no other reason than to have a video on Youtube for nerdballs to copy/paste into lyric sites (with typos) as a way to pump up their online cred factor. Well, folks, lyric videos have, fittingly I might…
EXCLUSIVE: WARBRINGER “Hunter-Seeker” lyric video
September 17, 2013 Jonathan Horsley
As you may or may not know, Californian next-gen thrashers Warbringer will be dropping album number four—IV: Empires Collapse—on Oct 29th through Century Media. The band have been on the road pretty much constantly since 2011’s Worlds Torn Asunder, and in that time have augmented their lineup with guitarist Jeff Potts and bassist Ben Mottsman,…
INTERVIEW: Ben Ward of Orange Goblin
September 16, 2013 Jonathan Horsley
Prior to the release of 2012’s A Eulogy for the Damned, the Deciblog met up with Orange Goblin and found a band that was pretty much a long-standing institution turned part-time concern. Breaking bread over a table henged with pint glasses of cider and beer, the English quartet were talking about making their first studio…
In Person Aural Devastation: Author & Punisher Live
September 16, 2013 Shawn Macomber
Decibel has made no secret of our love for the idiosyncratic have-to-see-it-to-believe-it one-man doom behemoth Author & Punisher. And these insane videos from the band’s recent performance at the Fillmore basically speak for themselves. So…further comment is probably unnecessary. The new record, Women & Children, is available here. Bonus: The Lynch-ian video for “Terrorbird” after…
Tales From the Metalnomicon: Lewis Dimmick
September 13, 2013 Shawn Macomber
Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Man, Lewis Dimmick truly delivers something special with This Music, an exquisite collection of lyrical, poignant, often very funny vignettes detailing his coming of age in the 80s New York City hardcore scene. Naturally,…
BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This Now!
September 13, 2013 Adem Tepedelen
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…
Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Ohio’s Foul Spirits
September 13, 2013 Daniel Lake
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)…
Decibel’s 100th Issue Show: The Movie Trailer
September 12, 2013 Albert Mudrian
January 19: a momentous day for America. In 1982, it gave its citizenry Jodie Sweetin, Full House’s preeminent meth fiend. In 2013, a slight upgrade: Decibel Magazine’s 100th Issue Show at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer, starring Converge, Pig Destroyer, Repulsion, Municipal Waste, Tombs, Evoken and a who’s-who of extreme music luminaries. We teamed up with director…
Gabbing with Matt Harvey, the one from Exhumed
September 12, 2013 Kevin Stewart-Panko
Tell your average schmoe on the street that you’re doing an interview with Matt Harvey and they’ll probably think the topics of conversation are set to include pitch selection, what it’s like having Andrew Bonazelli as a stalker and season ending surgery. What automatically comes to mind when you mention the name Matt Harvey to…