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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…

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…

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,…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

“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….

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Miss those summer road trip days? Of course you do. It’s March. Weather’s an unpredictable bitch and the likelihood of something cool happening is pretty much nil. Well, France-based The Socks are an unlikely candidate to warm up your otherwise shitty spring. Now, you’re probably thinking: France + good ‘ol hard rock = yeah right….

Sometimes the ravenous darkness crashes down to feast on your soul, and sometimes it flinches timidly away from all of your grasping. Last Friday, Aborted callously mounted the Deciblog to bring you a terrifying few minutes of violent death metal; today, we showcase the more ethereal side of shadows with new music from Barren Harvest….

Well, I’ve been reading some of my past reviews, and it seems that some of you want me to review some particular releases. I’m open to this idea; just leave your ideas in the comments. Obviously, I can’t review everything — Decibel pays me by the word, and the budget for this column is $4.35…

Belgian brutal deathsters Aborted expect to lay waste to bodies and spirits next month when they drop their 8th studio album in 15 years.  Necrotic Manifesto, due out April 29th on Century Media, tears through more than 40 minutes of churning, brain-berating death metal that alternates between harrowing chaos and deeply bangable grooves.  You can…

Back in the mid ’80s, long before every outdoor structure was skateboard-proofed, a bunch of California skate punks turned the urban landscape into their own skate park. This was the birth of street skating, where everything from concrete walls to empty pools to parking medians were fair game for pulling off some sick move. This…

We love death metal around these parts. We’re also big fans of Evoken. So we were pretty stoked when we heard that Evoken frontman John Paradiso and his cohorts in New Jersey’s Grim Legion were finally set to release their debut full-length. The album doesn’t drop until next week (March 18th via Horror Pain Gore…

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into your favorite online bookseller… DTV — the excellent rock ’em, sock ’em ode to the heyday of 80s larger-than-life action film excess and its absurdist/dehumanizing aftermath from Decibel Managing Editor & novelist Andrew Bonazelli — is back in a brand new edition, complete with…

Old death metal dudes never go away for good. They just do one (or all) of the following: reform; work on a reissue of their out-of-print material; write new songs or join a new Six Feet Under or Malevolent Creation lineup. For Portland death metal OG’s Dead Conspiracy it’s three out of four. They’ll reissue…

What stuck out to me immediately upon hearing Conan’s album Monnos two years ago was not only how dense, how pulverizing the Liverpool trio’s brand of doom is, but how blunt it is. It’s the metal equivalent of Lothar of the Hill People. The term “caveman doom” has been bandied about in attempts to describe the…

You guys realize that we are in a renaissance for doom metal right now, right? So much excellent heaviness out there. Maybe it’s because everything sucks just like it did back in the 70s. I don’t know, I’m not an historian. I do, however,  know quality when I hear it, especially when it’s as attached…