Month: March 2014

Failure – “Fantastic Planet”

March 31, 2014

Next to Queensrÿche and Bad Religion… ah fuck, who are we kidding? This is by far the least extremely extreme inductee in the Decibel Hall of Fame, and probably will be until we honor Jesu’s Kittens Upon Pillows of Limitless Down Luxuriating in Sunbeam EP in 2024.

INTERVIEW: Mike Abominator from Gravehill is going to crawl out the speaker and choke you to death

March 31, 2014

Gravehill rule for a whole bunch of reasons. The Californian alpha-headbangers just have this anything goes attitude to playing gory ol’ school death metal and would just as soon mix in a little hardcore punk and crust feel as they are to bring it down slow and low and meditate upon a doom riff for…

STREAMING: Monolord “Empress Rising”

March 31, 2014

“…that fuzzed out soundscape was exactly what we were looking to achieve. We actually didn’t have any specific genre in mind starting this band, we just wanted to make music as heavy and gritty as possible. If anyone wants to label it doom, stoner or sludge is entirely up to them. But we’re totally fine…

It’s MLB Opening Day and Your Team Doesn’t Suck (Yet)!

March 31, 2014

Why does every baseball fan everywhere look forward to opening day of Major League Baseball more than any other day of the season? For some it’s the only day their team isn’t in the cellar (Houston) or languishing in mediocrity (Chicago Cubs) or headed toward another 100-loss season (Seattle). For others it’s the possibility of…

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

March 28, 2014

OK, I know, its GOT to get better. There’s not too much I found this week, so I guess I’ll get into it. Nux Vomica releases the oh-so-crusty Nux Vomica (self-titled, for those of you that aren’t that quick on the uptake) on Relapse.  Calling this just crust would be a little unfair, sure there…

Album Stream: I Döden by Swedish Atmospheric Black Metallers Skogen

March 28, 2014

A little over a week from now, Skogen will release their fourth album in five years, called I Döden, meaning In Death. The three Swedes have compiled an hour of farsighted, contemplative black metal – not quite folk, even though quiet acoustic passages exist; often raucous but with the sharpest edges all filed away by…

BREWTAL TRUTH: The Next Generation

March 28, 2014

We’ll get the self-congratulatory crap out of the way right up front. We’ve been writing about craft beer in America’s only monthly extreme music magazine since 2009. No one else was writing about beer and metal at the time. So, we’ll go ahead and plant the we-were-there-first flag in that one. But, if you’ve been…

Into Mosh Pit: Nervosa Interviewed

March 27, 2014

Sao Paulo, Brazil thrash brigade, Nervosa had their debut album, Victim of Yourself hit the streets very recently, although the buzz in the patch-jacketed ‘n’ bullet-belted underground has been swirling around this trio for a couple years. Being a trio of staunch and avowed all-tits-no-dicks thrash heads hailing from a faraway, sun-kissed land will always…

Decibrity Playlist: Iron Reagan

March 27, 2014

Sure, it’s been a year since Iron Reagan dropped its debut full-length. Despite the various other commitments of its members, the band recently began a run of tour dates that will take them through April, all while wrapping up work on their sophomore LP (which, by the way, will be for Relapse). Given how much…

Jets Fan Tommy Victor of Prong Rights the Ship

March 27, 2014

NFL free agency has been in full swing for a couple weeks now. Prong’s Ruining Lives drops courtesy of Steamhammer/SPV on April 28; we asked longtime mainman Tommy Victor what he would do if he were in charge of his favorite team, the New York Jets. Snap your fingers, snap the ball, do not buttfumble….

Repulsion: Live Tonight!

March 26, 2014

In case the lineup of Carcass, The Black Dahlia Murder and Gorguts isn’t enough to convince you to attend the San Francisco stop of the Decibel Tour tonight (in which case you’re crazy) there’s another treat on hand: an exclusive appearance by Hall Of Fame verified legends Repulsion. Repulsion is near and dear to both…

Sucker For Punishment: Of Death & Cuttlefish

March 26, 2014

Everyone dies. Of course we all know that, we’re aware of it from an early age. Yet in metal the idea of death, actual death, not phony-baloney doom and gloom play-acting, has always been overly romanticized rather than dealt with head-on. The explanation is simple: heavy metal is still a very young subculture. Prior to…

TRACK PREMIERE: Raw Power’s “We’re Moving”

March 25, 2014

Raw Power have long been one of the most underappreciated bands of the early crossover movement (I even did a Lazarus Pit on them a few years back). Still going after 30 years of punk fury, their 10th full-length, Tired and Furious, is about to kick everyone’s ass. We have the first track for you,…

“Barf Out Riffs, Barf Out Thoughts”: The Die Choking Interview

March 25, 2014

Back in January Philadelphia grind-punk all-stars Die Choking — bassist/vocalist Paul J. Herzog (ex-Total Fucking Destruction), drummer Joshua T. Cohen (Cop Problem), guitarist Jeffrey V. Daniels (Burden) — hit the ground running, unleashing a leveling sonic devastator in the shape of a debut self-titled digital E.P. as infectious as it is unsettling. A few weeks…

Read ’em and weep: Will Lindsay of Indian gives us his all-time on-tour reading list

March 24, 2014

Chicago’s Indian are presently hauling their blackhearted nihilism across the tarmac of the UK and Europe in support of the Decibel-approved From all Purity. It’s a sick record from disturbed men, maybe more noisy, more off-the-chain than anything they’ve cut to record before, and if your record collection exists primarily to harsh your mellow (which,…

Dave Brockie: 1963-2014

March 24, 2014

In the late 90s, perhaps around 1998, I pulled over at a truck stop about 45 miles outside of Richmond, Virginia. I grabbed a few snacks and went to the checkout line when it occurred to me that the clerk was staring, somewhat horrified. I looked down and remembered why: my entire body was covered…

STREAMING: Gamma Ray “Born To Fly” and “Master Of Confusion”

March 24, 2014

Power metal isn’t a frequent sight on the Deciblog. For that we (kinda) apologize. There are times when powerful metal, with soaring vocals, eagle cries, and shiny battle armor rules our respective roosts. But most of the time it doesn’t. Power metal, at least of the Euro variety, is, well, too Euro. We do have…

STREAMING: Insomnium “Revelation”

March 21, 2014

“We haven’t changed our style dramatically”, vocalist and bassist Niilo Sevänen explains. “Fans can rest assured that it is still classic Insomnium. Of course there’s also some new flavors here and there, and maybe it’s even more diverse compared with the last album. The easy stuff is easier than before, the heavy stuff is heavier….

Spell Song Premiere: “Possessed By Heavy Metal”

March 21, 2014

Candles?  Flowing hair?  Human bones?  Leather?  Bullet belts?  A moustache?  Song titles like “Shocker” and “Possessed by Heavy Metal”?  We all know what this leads to… Vancouver rollickers Spell used to be called Stryker, and under that earlier name the trio released an EP and a split full of trad-heavy love.  Next month, they’ve enlisted…

BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This (or Something Like it) Now!

March 21, 2014

Apologies first off, if you go looking for this specific beer and can’t find it. Consider it an example of the kinds of beers that are subject of this week’s online Brewtal Truth. The topic at hand is “gypsy brewing,” or if you find that term offensive, “itinerant brewing.” Basically, if you’re a brewer, but…

Kevin Stewart-Panko’s 7 Inches of Pleasure, Pain and Mediocrity

March 20, 2014

I get sent a lot of shit* to review; more than I can fit in any one place at one time. But because folks out there take the time to send me their wares, I usually feel obligated to give some sort of mention, nod, kudo or deliver a full-on scathing, hatchet job to those…

Decibrity Playlist: Fight Amp

March 20, 2014

Last we’d heard from Fight Amp, the trio was just off a red-eye after spending 30 days last fall playing 30 shows across Europe with Black Tusk. Now that the South Jersey natives are set to hit the road yet again–a brief jaunt of seven shows in seven days–guitarist/vocalist Mike McGinnis passed along five current…

Coprolite Crüe: The Deciblog Interview With Shitfucker

March 19, 2014

Shitfucker caught our attention with their 2013 Hells Headbanger’s release Suck Cocks in Hell, which received an “8” in the pages of our print sibling. The record contains some of the most infectious, rocking songs that have crept from the underground in a dog’s age. Shitfucker took it up another notch with the wonderfully low-fi…

Sucker For Punishment: They Are (They’re Them)

March 19, 2014

One of the best ideas the music industry has had in the last couple years is the mini box set. Either consisting of a band’s entire discography or a certain era in its history, these reasonably priced little collections of CDs in replica vinyl sleeves, usually housed in either a clamshell box, cardboard sleeve, or…

Decibel Hall of Fame Feature Kick-Starts Agnostic Front Reunion

March 19, 2014

There have been many proposed Hall of Fame features that have been derailed by inner-band animosity and grudges, but our recent spotlight on Agnostic Front’s groundbreaking NYC crossover masterpiece, Cause for Alarm, in the March issue, actually brought the five musicians that played on the album back together. Guitarists Vinnie Stigma and Alex Kinon, bassist…

Exclusive Sneak Peek at Danny Lilker Biography “Perpetual Conversion”

March 18, 2014

Danny Lilker is a goddamn legend in the metal scene. His long history includes stints in bands as diverse and influential as Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, Storm Troopers of Death, and Brutal Truth. Now on the verge of his 50th birthday, he’s announced his retirement from the touring life, and what better to celebrate his accomplishments…

The Decibel Magazine Tour Starts TONIGHT!

March 18, 2014

You’ve patiently waited out one of the grimmest winters in recent memory. Now it’s time to collect your reward: The third annual Decibel Magazine Tour is finally upon us, as Carcass, the Black Dahlia Murder, Gorguts and Noisem descend upon Orlando’s Beachum Theater tonight before traversing North America for 21 dates of vintage and modern death…

Demon Hunter Goes Extreme, Track By Track

March 18, 2014

Looks like it’s time to storm the gates of Hell again, kids. That’s right. Demon Hunter returns today with Extremist, an aptly-titled album that raises all of the various and sundry elements of the band’s burly signature sound to new maximal intensities before melding the whole shebang into a more cohesive, focused whole than ever…

STREAMING: I Declare War “Noose”

March 18, 2014

Formed in 2007. As of 2014 no original members are left standing in I Declare War. How does that lineup dynamic fit into I Declare War’s new album, We Are Violent People By Nature? It doesn’t. Not one iota. And why should it with a band with huge t-shirt slogans like, “Fuck your tits! Show…

TRACK PREMIERE: GRAVEHILL “The Ascending Fire”, ft. Eric Cutler and Chris Reifert of Autopsy

March 17, 2014

We could introduce “The Ascending Fire” but telling you how it is the closing track on Gravehill’s third full-length, Death Curse. We could chime in and offer our ten cents’ on how the track will give you a real taste for a vulgar doozy of an old-school death metal record that’s unafraid to augment its…