Month: March 2015

ALL CRASH, NO BURN: Minsk’s “The Crash and the Draw” Album Stream

March 31, 2015

It’s hard to think of any instance in which post-metal could be considered uplifting. Minsk certainly aren’t going to change that. This Illinois-based act brings a widescreen sensibility to their Neurosis, storming through 76 minutes of sludge and misery. With the ever-dependable Sanford Parker guiding the storm, their latest descent into the void is a…

Maiden Meets Middle Earth: Exclusive Black Tower Video Premiere!

March 31, 2015

JRR Tolkien meets a seriously eclectic heavy metal melting pot on the upcoming Black Tower full-length debut The Secret Fire (Unspeakable Axe/No Idea, June 2), and we’ve got the exclusive premiere of the video for the track “Death March.” Here’s what drummer/vocalist Dave Williams had to say: “‘Death March’ is the opening battle cry from Black Tower’s inaugural…

Exclusive Interview: King Diamond vs. Food Poisoning

March 30, 2015

Last October saw King Diamond’s glorious return to the lighted stages of North America after nearly a decade away. The shows were unanimously well-received—audiences throughout the land were captivated by the massive stage setup, delightful theatrics and spot-on set list. In fact, our #3 extreme vocalist of all time says everything went about as smoothly…

The 2015 Decibel Magazine Tour Starts TODAY

March 27, 2015

Fifteen North American dates, three weeks, one goal: utter decimation. The 2015 Decibel Magazine Tour launches today! Featuring At the Gates, Converge, Pallbearer and Vallenfyre (and assorted special regional openers), our fourth tour is by far the most representative of the magazine’s demented diversity. Multiple shows are sold out or near sold-out, so pick up…

EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Remaster of Schammasch’s “Black But Shining”

March 27, 2015

Here’s one to send you off into the TGIF abyss… We’ve got an exclusive stream of “Black But Shining,” one of seven gorgeously remastered tracks on the re-release of Sic Lvceat Lvx, the debut album from forward-thinking black metallers Schammasch. Here’s the lowdown from vocalist C.S.R. Six years have passed since me and B.A. (drums)…

This Will Keep Your Brain Busy For a While: Upsilon Acrux Track Premiere

March 27, 2015

Admittedly, before a couple weeks ago, I didn’t know much about California’s Upsilon Acrux. I had no idea the band had been around for almost twenty years, is set to release album number seven and have toured and shared the stage with the Locust, the Fucking Champs, the Dillinger Escape Plan, the Boredoms and a…

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

March 27, 2015

Is it me, or are the releases pretty slow? I mean, there’s stuff coming out, but nothing that gets my feathers ruffled, if you get my gist. Just seems like a lot of reissues coming out, but hey, that’s cool, too. So, you know, it’s like, whatever. Teutonic death metal band MORGOTH release their first…

Decibrity Playlist: Sannhet (Part 1)

March 27, 2015

I’ll just come out and say it: Sannhet‘s Revisionist is one of my favorite albums of the year so far. So I was stoked when John Refano–that’s him below–agreed to participate in this little series we’ve been doing for three (!) years now. I’ll let the guitarist/loopist explain what “Kill Yr Idols” is all about:…

FLYING SAUCERS + GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS = Ufomammut’s “Ecate” Full Album Stream

March 26, 2015

If you’re a doom metal fan and don’t know Ufomammut, go hang your head in shame and sit in the corner for a while, then check out one of the most inventive discographies ever in the entire history of heavy music and then come back here for their latest. Ecate is ostensibly about Greek gods…

Track Premiere: Royal Thunder, “Forgive Me, Karma”

March 25, 2015

Atlanta foursome Royal Thunder will be releasing Crooked Doors, the much-anticipated – and outstanding – follow-up to 2012’s standout CVI on April 7 via Relapse, but in the meantime the band has steadily been premiering new songs across the metal/hard rock internet, and today it’s our turn. Not only that, but we’ve been given one…

TERRA AT 20,000 FEET: Terra’s “Untitled” Album Stream

March 24, 2015

You like formless shrieking, right? Hell, what’s NOT to like? Especially when it sounds like it’s taking place in the void of space. Yes, I know technically you can’t hear anything in space, but nobody told these guys that. Terra, despite their name being rather earthbound, go for the more cosmic sort of black metal….

VargTube

March 24, 2015

Varg Vikernes, a 42-year-old father of three who lives in France, is only interested in one simple thing: Never shutting the fuck up. At least that seems to be what his Youtube channel is trying to prove. Burzum would’ve released roughly ten additional records about Orcs if Vikernes spent a little more time with his Casio…

The Brett Netson Masterclass: Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom.

March 24, 2015

Brett Netson. One of the most soulful, inventive, vivifying shredders on the face of the planet.

Bringer of sublime aural sturm und drang via roots-y-alt-rock-meets-psychedelic-doom outfit Caustic Resin. Art rock force multiplier in Built to Spill. Vanquisher of smarmy motherfuckers. And, now, mastermind of a ridiculously killer multidimensional, dark snarling rock trio, Brett Netson & Snakes.

On the occasion of the release of Snakes’ transcendentScavenger Cultit seemed as good a time as any to ask the group’s iconoclastic leader for a playlist of his heavier influences.

We expected eclectic, and Netson did not disappoint…
 

Streaming: Infernal War’s “No Forgiveness”

March 23, 2015

Poland’s Infernal War has been relatively quiet for the better part of a decade. The band is about to release their new full-length album Axiom via Agonia Records. Here’s their take: “Axiom is the essence of Infernal War. At the same time, it’s not a copy of our previous works. The new material is more…

Studio Report: Drugs of Faith Record Split with Cloud Rat

March 23, 2015

I hate studio reports because I get to hear about music instead of the actual music. Like yeah, it’s great you’re doing something but I need that goodness hurled into my sound pits right now. But we should all be willing to wait for something like Drugs of Faith, the grind and roll three-piece led by…

Vicotnik (Dødheimsgard) interviewed

March 23, 2015

** Dødheimsgard’s new album, A Umbra Omega, is no joke (see mental strongman Vicotnik’s argument at the very bottom). It’s a vicious mind-warp of an album, aggressive in its obtuseness and adventurous in its boundlessness. It’s at once black metal (free think!) and not at all (non-conformist!). A Umbra Omega riffs on, then destroys said riffs on, previous albums 666 International and Supervillain Outcast. This is Dødheimsgard. Extra-dimensional black from the deepest, darkest pits of space and time. A Umbra Omega is ritualistic in its abrasiveness, religious in the outcome of surviving its completeness.

From 666 International forward, Dødheimsgard has imbibed in the weird, the strange, and the obtuse. I figured you would’ve tried to pull the opposite of what you’re known for on A Umbra Omega. Maybe that’s too predictable too. So, you opted to stay weird. Was that kind of the idea?

Vicotnik: It was no specific idea as such, but since I love music, it is natural for me to get inspired by other genres as well. There was really never any moment in my life, where I only listened to black metal. I am also product from that school of reasoning that was very much present in the early ‘90s scene, that plagiarism is the biggest sin of them all. So if you look at 95% of the bands from my era, they all (for good or for worse) evolved in some shape or form. The black metal sound of the ‘90s was in itself a little piece of sonic evolution, since early black metal records of the ‘90s did not really have any specific counterparts from the ‘80s. In addition, you had the x-factor in the ‘90s, because nobody knew what they were doing, and the engineers that were set to produce these records had no knowledge of how a record like this was supposed to sound like. I like the idea of pursuing the unknown factor, that sets the table for creativity. There are viable reasons for bands to produce their record over and over again. They may be based on some sort of ideal, or success-recipe. Inadvertently this also means that these bands, to some degree, have to abandon the creative process. Musically one could say that the main focus of this album is the feeling/atmosphere, while the tools rendered to achieve that sought after atmosphere varied through different creative approaches.

Gearified: NAMM 2014

March 21, 2015

**Matt Olivo is the founding guitarist of extreme metal trailblazers Repulsion, whose Horrified LP ranks as Decibel’s #1 grindcore album of all time. Because we know that every reader ever plays guitar, we brought his print column to the Deciblog. In issue #114 Matt took a trip to NAMM 2014, where “metal gear is indeed solid.”

The National Association of Music Merchants, or NAMM, or “The NAMM” (careful—only if you’re a vet) is a massive four-day convention held annually in Anaheim, CA. It exists so that music gear companies from every rank, tier and division can present their latest designs in hopes of making deals to distribute them for financial gain. Fortunately for us, the smell of new music gear is practically a clarion call for tattooed longhairs and hessian beardfolk. They crawl out from under manhole covers in all directions and make their way to the venue. Once inside, they sprinkle metal, lice and everything vice into the crowd, thus making it much more festive atmosphere.

Tribulation

March 20, 2015

The Children of the night
Tribulation fly, wingless into the night, redefine modern death metal
dB Rating: 9/10

STREAMING: Human Improvement Process “Tortured Hands of Reason”

March 20, 2015

What happens when Meshuggah and Decapitated are fused together in brutal staccato matrimony? Human Improvement Process. Based in Italy, but not sounding particularly “Italian” (or that they’re from the home of balsamic vinegar), Human Improvement Process (or HIP) are one of the country’s upcoming stars. They’re technical, atmospheric, yet highly aggressive. “We’re beyond excited to…

Unrest

March 20, 2015

Grindcore
dB Rating: 9/10

The Healing Monsters Benefit Anthology Releases its Cover

March 20, 2015

Something very radical has been brewing for a while to help someone in need and preserve another’s memory. Horror author/metalhead Dustin LaValley has been suffering from life-threatening Crohn’s/IBD issues while Metal Maniacs cofounder/former editor Katherine Ludwig lost her battle with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier this year, leaving an irreplaceable void in the community. This inspired the…

Goetia Stream “Heliotrope” for Deathbound Release, Le Vide

March 20, 2015

Ottawa quartet Goetia have been heaving sludgy post-metal into the great northern atmosphere for some time now, and recently they joined forces with Deathbound Records – home of melancholic crushers Woccon and historical battlefield-stompers Catuvolcus – for an official release of their album Le Vide.  Lovers of grandiose epicness should take note, now that some…

Holy Shit, We’re All Fucking Old!: The Final Bit of Celebratory Relapse Shop Talk.

March 19, 2015

And so it ends. My personal weeks-long salute to Relapse’s 25th anniversary in interview form, that is. The real celebratin’ hasn’t even yet begun – what with the upcoming fests, tours, beer collaborations, reissues and the loose promise of more Devourment thongs and booty shorts, it promises to be a crazy year steeped in warm…

VALLENFYRE to play free Decibel Tour after-party show in NYC

March 19, 2015

As previously announced, VALLENFYRE will join AT THE GATES, CONVERGE, and PALLBEARER on the North American Decibel Magazine Tour that begins on March 27 in Los Angeles. In addition to the 15-date run, VALLENFYRE will also perform at the official Decibel Magazine Tour after party, which will take place at Saint Vitus after the sold-out Webster…

CONTEST: The Wounded Kings

March 19, 2015

It’s been a pretty good stretch for doom lately, from Pallbearer and YOB garnering much deserved critical acclaim last year to Crypt Sermon, Elder and Brothers of the Sonic Cloth dropping strong releases already in 2015 with plenty more (Monolord!) on the way. There’s also that whole top 100 doom metal albums thing that no…

The Deciblog Interview: Oliver Amberg

March 18, 2015

When Oliver Amberg was barely out of his teens he joined Celtic Frost as they started perhaps the most contentious shift in extreme metal history. But Amberg’s roots with the band stretch back several years; he was friends with bassist Dominic Steiner, who played on To Mega Therion (see the Hall Of Fame in our…

Kult of the Wizard is Anything but Heartless

March 18, 2015

Hailing from Minneapolis, Kult of the Wizard quietly put out a pair of instrumental EPs in 2013 and 2014, but the foursome’s latest EP, The White Wizard, deserves to attract a good deal of attention from the doom crowd, especially those who are especially transfixed by the melodic tones, occult themes, and blues influences of…

DIRE VOLE: Maestus’s “Voir dire” Stream

March 17, 2015

It’s not like Oregon has a monopoly on great doom acts, but sometimes it feels that way. Between Witch Mountain, YOB, and now Maestus, the Beaver state seems like the place to go if you want to get massively bummed out. Which is weird, considering they have legalized pot and everything is organic there. Whatever…

STREAMING: Der Weg Einer Freiheit “Stellar” + Nikita Kamprad interviewed

March 17, 2015

What is the literal translation to the band name, Der Weg einer Freiheit? Is there a secondary, less obvious interpretation as well? Nikita Kamprad: It can be roughly translated to “The Way of a Freedom”, but actually I never liked any of the translations I came across. Writing and playing music live makes me feel…

Streaming: Gouge’s “Breath Of The Reaper”

March 16, 2015

The Ohio brothers behind the indomitable Hell’s Headbangers label don’t fuck with the formula. Their excellent releases during the past two years or so include Midnight, Nunslaughter (a new EP every month), Shitfucker and, err…Goat Semen. You can welcome the appropriately named bangers in Gouge to the extended dysfunctional clan. Like many of their brethren…