Chris Dick

Grand Magus grand magister JB Christoffersson said to us recently: “Well, in heavy metal the drums are extremely important, maybe more important than many people realize. There has been a tendency in “modern” metal to focus too much on a fat guitar sound, resulting in really weak sounding or fake sounding drums. In my experience,…

** Alexander von Meilenwald, unlike almost every other solo act in metaldom, is intensely interesting, engaging, and deep with musical prowess. Decibel interviewed von Meilenwald in our December 2013 issue (available HERE), but we figured the German had a lot more to say regarding new album, Blood Vaults, and the creation process of said full-length….

It’s no secret, lists create controversy. Like our Top 100 Black Metal Albums of All Time Special Issue (available HERE just in time for Christmas). It’s also not a secret that metalheads are a contentious, shit-talking, and unnecessarily protective lot, claiming personal ownership of bands, albums, and, surprisingly enough, entire scenes when, in fact, they…

By Whores (and not the kind you’re thinking of, you perverted bastards!) 5. Fight Amp – “Bad Listener” We met Fight Amp through a local Atlanta promoter when we first started out, and they have since become practically part of our extended family. They are one of the best working bands today, and I’d rank…

Back in 1993, the least fashionable music—as far as extreme music is concerned—was heavy metal. Unless it was Iron Maiden, but they were also on the skids with Fear of the Dark. For Swedes Tad Morose, they had precious little chance of surviving the music climes of death metal, the nascent (and hyper-ascendant) black metal…

If the name Christophe Szpajdel doesn’t ring a bell you probably don’t own CDs or LPs (or, you’re new to underground metal; hey, we all start somewhere). ‘Tis the conundrum of being the product of a digital age. Liner notes, credits, lyrics, etc. often get pushed to some dark corner of a binary folder (or…

** Hard to believe Jungle Rot’s been kicking death metal’s can since 1994. With seven full-lengths in their body bag—the most recent of which is this year’s Terror Regime—the Cheese Staters have written the book on Midwest death. We sit down with founding member Dave Matrise via the wonders of technology (that’s the Internet for…

** Katatonia recently ventured through the U.S. with Cult of Luna, Intronaut, and Anciients. I sat down with old buds Jonas Renkse & Anders Nyström to have a laugh, chat, talk about old shit (not transcribed), and highlight “experiment” album, Dethroned and Uncrowned. Read on Katacolyts! What was the motivation behind Dethroned and Uncrowned? Anders…

For a band that “likes” Taco Bell (and White Castle), we’re pretty sure the dudes in Weekend Nachos have had their fair share of Nacho Bell Grandes. With a name such as Weekend Nachos, well, why wouldn’t they? Remember when Taco Bell used to put black olives and scallions on those things? Anyway, it’s not…

** Today, November 1st, 2013, is an auspicious day. Decibel’s 100th Issue Show: The Movie DVD is out today, exclusively through Decibel’s kick-ass webstore (click HERE). To celebrate we’ve nailed down Handshake, Inc. proprietor David Hall. Who is Mr. Hall? He and crew were responsible for lensing the entire 100th Issue Show. So, let’s get…

Limited edition records are kind of stupid. Every record, even Michael Jackson’s Thriller, are limited. At least, that’s what the late great Doug Earp (he of Wyatt Earp Records; Repulsion fans take note) said to me one day while I was buying a Cathedral Soul Sacrifice 12″. And he was absolutely right. Nevertheless, labels continue…

Michigan’s From Hell is the latest quality act from the Motor City. Self-described as d-beat meets thrash meets goth, From Hell’s Dischange-covering-Converge-with-Boss-HM-2s-hooked-up-for-maximum-effect is right down our proverbial plate. The group’s new full-length, Heresy, has been out since June, but From Hell are just now premiering—thanks to Paper+Plastick Records—the video for Heresy’s most intense track, “Holy…

** We make it no secret we’re fans of My Dying Bride. From their Hall of Fame induction to innumerable citations in pages and blogs, My Dying Bride has appealed to our inner and outer miser for an age or two. Well, this session was originally sent off to My Dying Bride in June, hoping…

January 19th will go down in Decibel history as an auspicious moment.

** Decibel caught up with Anathema guitarist/vocalist Vincent Cavanagh on the group’s first headline tour of North America. Since we’ve been into the Liverpudlians before they had a full-length [many thanks to tape-traders and Witchhunt Records], we jumped at the chance to talk to Cavanagh, who was clearly having moments of his life while on…

** The following five questions with the legendary King Diamond were part of a series of interviews I set up for the XXX: Three Decades of Roadrunner Records [click HERE for more info] boxset, for which I wrote the liner notes. Former Roadrunner Records Senior VP A&R Monte Conner facilitated the initial exchange with King…

** Back in August, Decibel premiered new Twilight of the Gods tune, “Destiny Forged in Blood.” Click HERE to listen. Since then, we’ve imbibed heavily on debut album, Fire on the Mountain, which is the product of guys and ex-guys from Dimmu Borgir, Einherjer, Thyrfing, and, of course, Primordial saluting age-old heavy metal with a…

Paradise Lost have done a retrospective compilations before—The Singles Collection, Reflection, and more recently 2012’s Lost in Time—but none of them are as special as Tragic Illusion 25, a collection of old and re-worked tunes celebrating the Brits’ 25th year as a functioning, productive outfit. And by re-worked, we’re not talking something stupid like an…

** My interview with Dan Swanö appeared in Decibel, but decided the long-form version of my chat with the omnipresent Swanö would best read out in its entirety. Why am I talking to Swanö? He’s the lead man (well, half) of new project Witherscape. The group’s new album is The Inheritance, which is available now…

Tim Yatras is Australia’s answer to Dan Swanö. From Austere and Nazxul to Woods of Desolation and Ilium, the Wollongong-based multi-instrumentalist has had his hands full over the last decade. True, he may not have the visibility of Swanö, but his contributions to all types of metal is noticeable and commendable. In fact, he’s mostly…

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…

** 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…

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…

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…

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…

The last time we spoke to black metal pontificator Alexander von Meilenwald he had the following to say about The Ruins of Beverast’s origins: “I didn’t define any concrete goals in the beginning, to be honest. The Ruins Of Beverast were established rather spontaneously when I felt the need to express new musical urges that…

If you were to ask Vulture Industries’ main-brain Bjørnar Nilsen where inspiration comes from, he’d probably say this: “We draw inspiration from all over but tend to give each part a good kick in the side to bend it a bit out of shape. If you draw a hexagon and put Tom Waits, Nick Cave,…

** Niklas Sundin and I first interviewed back in ’93 after the release of Skydancer. Well, this year Skydancer, Dark Tranquillity’s stunning debut album, turns 20. To honor how time has been kind to this stellar release, Niklas agreed to answer a few nifty questions. More importantly, Dark Tranquillity have acquired the rights to both…

There comes a point where progressive is no longer progressive. It’s a step beyond. For Venezuelan guitarist Felix Martin, he’s taken the six-string and transformed it into a 14-string creating what he calls “jazz metal.” Now, if we’re to rewind history a bit, “jazz metal” was already covered—to some degree—by Cynic, Pestilence, and Atheist. But…

Before High on Fire signed to Relapse, the Californians had plenty of buzz. The group’s debut, The Art of Self Defense, along with the cloyingly faddy label Man’s Ruin, sent waves of heshers yammering about the next big thing.