Jeff Treppel

Synthtracks: Contact Playlist, Part 2: AE Paterra/Majeure

November 18, 2014

Because synthesizers are awesome, and movie soundtracks are awesome, we asked the duo of British film composer Paul Lawler and American drummer AE Paterra (Zombi/Majeure), collectively known as Contact, to put together a playlist for us with their favorite soundtrack tunes and some words on each. This week, we have Paterra’s picks; click here to check…

Synthtracks: Contact Playlist, Part 1: Paul Lawler

November 11, 2014

Because synthesizers are awesome, and movie soundtracks are awesome, we asked the duo of British film composer Paul Lawler and American drummer AE Pattera (Zombi/Majeure), collectively known as Contact, to put together a playlist for us with their favorite soundtrack tunes and some words on each. This week, we have Lawler’s picks; check back next…

TRACK PREMIERE: Centinex’s “Rotting Below”

November 6, 2014

Got an iron deficiency? Ask your doctor to prescribe Centinex. Manufactured in Sweden using a formula passed down for generations, Centinex will provide you with all your daily metal requirements. Side effects may include headbanging, moshing, and death. Do not take Centinex if you suffer from whiplash. Try out a sample dose below. ***The FDA…

Looking for Trouble: The Skull’s “For Those Which Are Asleep” Album Stream

November 3, 2014

Apparently there are two competing versions of doom progenitors Trouble now – at least this one isn’t called “Trouble featuring Eric Wagner” or something like that. This iteration does feature Wagner’s inimitable pipes, along with bassist Ron Holzner and drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson – and while Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin’s guitars were obviously important, that monolithic rhythm…

STREAMING: Fides Inversa’s “Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans”

October 28, 2014

Fides Inversa play black metal in a Primordial style, and they sure take it seriously. I mean, check out the interview below. I had to read it like three times to understand what they were talking about, and I think it basically comes down to “the devil.” Still, their music is pretty rad, so not…

STREAMING: Decaying’s “One to Conquer”

October 21, 2014

Look at those dudes, hanging out in the forest. Pretty old-school. So’s their music. Some Entombed, some Paradise Lost, and a whole lot of death metal, Decaying bring the pain like they used to in the Clinton era, Finland style. We have the entirety of their new album, One to Conquer, to help darken up…

STREAMING: October 31’s “Bury the Hatchet”

October 14, 2014

Sometimes you just want to play some damn heavy metal. Members of October 31 play in Deceased, Overlord, and Twisted Tower Dire, but this is a much more primal proposition, a chance to bang out some straightforward, satisfying jams in the vein of Iced Earth.  I mean, look at those guys above. What ELSE are…

STREAMING: Bludded Head’s “Reign in Bludd”

September 30, 2014

So there’s a lot of depressing music out there, much of which we cover in this magazine, but very little of it was made by someone who had stage IV melanoma. Nevada Hill did, and along with Ryan Williams, John Teague, and David Saylor, created some pretty fucked up Harvey Milk-style noise rock inspired by…

STREAMING: Castle Freak’s “Still Rotting”

September 23, 2014

When a band names itself after a straight to video 1995 Stuart Gordon fright flick, you can rightfully expect some lo-fi death metal goodness, most likely with samples from horror movies. Castle Freak don’t disappoint. Menacing, evil, and poorly recorded, this is some seriously quality old-school death. Their latest EP, Still Rotting, is even coming…

TRACK PREMIERE: Noctem’s “The Adamantine Doors (Orchestral Version)”

September 16, 2014

The Spanish answer to Behemoth, Noctem have been slamming out blackened death metal since 2001. Their third full-length, Exilium, drops today, and it sounds pretty damn evil. Of course, like many bands in the style, Noctem are big fans of symphonic bombast. In fact, one of the bonus tracks for the album is an orchestral…

Dronouncement: New Wrekmeister Harmonies Album, “Then It All Came Down!”

September 9, 2014

A little over a year ago, we debuted a stream of Wrekmeister Harmonies’ You’ve Always Meant so Much to Me, a harrowing piece of modernist drone from mastermind JR Robinson (the Alan Moore-looking dude above). We dug it a lot,  so we are super psyched to let you know that he’s already recorded a follow-up,…

TRACK PREMIERE: Divider’s “Crow Eater”

September 2, 2014

Labor Day’s over. No more wearing white. Black, however, is always in season. Check out that fashionable album cover below for Divider’s All Barren. Their music also pulls together different shades of darkness, its menacing slow burn drawing from bands like Neurosis and Tombs. We are pleased to offer the opening track from the album…

STREAMING: Blackwolfgoat’s “Drone Maintenance”

August 26, 2014

“Black,” “wolf”, and “goat” are all words frequently found in the pages of our magazine, so any band with all three words in its name has to be good, right? Absolutely! Only probably not for the reason that you think. Blackwolfgoat is the solo project of guitarist Darryl Shepard (Black Pyramid, The Scimitar, Hackman, Milligram,…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Killer Be Killed’s “Snakes of Jehovah”

August 25, 2014

It’s Monday morning. Mondays suck. It doesn’t take a cartoon cat to know that. But lo and behold, we have something to brighten your week: a video featuring Troy Sanders, Greg Puciato, Max Cavalera, Dave Elitch, and a naked chick with a snake. Who says we aren’t good to you? Here’s the latest video from…

STREAMING: Children of Technology’s “Future Decay”

August 20, 2014

You want music that sounds (and looks) like one of the high-octane action scenes from the classic film The Road Warrior? Well, Children of Technology embrace the post apocalypse pretty enthusiastically with their dystopic D-beat punk attack. They even dress up like members of Lord Humongous’s gang of marauders, which is way more awesome than…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Funeral Horse’s “Stoned and Furious”

August 12, 2014

Funeral Horse clearly watch the same terrible shot-on-VHS 80s movies that I do, because their video for “Stoned and Furious” captures them perfectly: the dead-on framing, the cheap sets, the “acting.” That’s enough reason to watch the video on its own, but hey, throw in some some quality stoner punk and you have yourself a…

TRACK PREMIERE: Freak Kitchen’s “Mathematics of Defeat”

August 5, 2014

Although Freak Kitchen don’t have much of a presence in the US yet, apparently they’re popular enough to be able to raise $140,000 on Kickstarter for an animated video, not to mention consistently selling out guitar clinics. SOMEONE must like them. That someone might even be you. If you’re into progressive metal with a really…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Eluveitie’s “Call of the Mountain”

July 30, 2014

Folk metal, fuck yeah. You know what I like about the video for Eluveitie’s “Call of the Mountain?” Lots of nature. You don’t need crappy CG for your video when you have the beautiful wintry landscapes of Switzerland. I guess there is also a dude with a harp and some woman standing on top of…

FREE DOWNLOAD: Device (CA)’s “Miracle Metal”

July 29, 2014

No, not THAT Device. This Device is from Canada, which instantly makes them 1000% cooler. Featuring noted metal scribe Kyle Harcott putting his money where his mouth is (or drumstick holding/typing hands) and a sweet space station album cover from up-and-coming designer Brandon Duncan, Device go decidedly old-school. Not just the usual touchstones like Iron…

TRACK PREMIERE: Kaine’s “The Wanderer”

July 22, 2014

Their name is Kaine and the song is called “The Wanderer,” so the nerd in me wants to say that this UK band named themselves after the  classic TV series Kung Fu – but their name is spelled differently and also they look like they are about 16 and oh God I’m old. Anyway, there’s…

TRACK PREMIERE: Cardinal Wyrm’s “Dreams of Teeth”

July 15, 2014

One look at the chipper trio above should clue in any somewhat knowledgeable reader that Cardinal Wyrm play doom metal.  The Bay Area group definitely has the look of people that have seen some shit. This is the fun kind of doom, though! Theatrical and grandiose, closer to Rev. Bizarre, Violet Theatre, or even Bauhaus…

FREE DOWNLOAD: Electric Citizen’s “Savage”

July 8, 2014

Our own Adrien Begrand has been raving about Electric Citizen for months now (like here, for example), and since he has pretty impeccable taste (for a Canadian), I figured I would check them out – and he was right. The nice thing about this whole occult rock trend is that the bands need to have…

STREAMING: We Have a Ghost’s “We Have a Ghost”

July 1, 2014

While perhaps not the most extremely extreme thing we’ve covered on this blog, We Have a Ghost are nonetheless one of those bands that dovetail nicely with metal mentality. For one thing, it’s a real downer of a record. A lot of it feels reminiscent of the more unsettling ambient passages from The Fragile-era Nine…

STREAMING: Nunslaughter’s “Angelic Dread”

June 24, 2014

None more slaughter, the slaughterest of the slaughter, Nunslaughter have an actual full-length out now after approximately 600 EP’s, singles, and splits. It sounds like Nunslaughter. What more could you ask for? In case you don’t believe me, we have THE ENTIRE ALBUM streaming for you below. Angelic Dread has 31 blasphemous blasts, half of…

Life to False Metal: Perturbator’s Dangerous Days

June 17, 2014

Okay, Perturbator’s Dangerous Days is obviously a retro 80s electro album, but it’s got a giant fuckoff pentagram on the cover and robots and a woman in a sexually compromised position, and that if that isn’t metal, what is? Besides, and this is the important thing, the vibe is metal. It may be synthesizer-based with…

STREAMING: Xibalba/Suburban Scum “Split”

June 10, 2014

Sometimes, it’s not enough to have your recommended daily dose of righteous anger delivered by just one band. Sometimes, you need to split the rage. Xibalba and Suburban Scum are happy (angry?) to oblige. On their side of things, Xibalba bring the sludge. On the flipside, Suburban Scum deliver some thrashing hardcore. We have both…

Official Report: Dave Brockie Died of Accidental Heroin Overdose

June 4, 2014

Earlier this year,  the world of film lost acclaimed actor Philip Seymour Hoffman to a tragic heroin overdose. Now it appears the drug is also responsible for the demise of one of metal’s most beloved figures. Dave Brockie, popularly known as Oderus Urungus, died on March 23, but it wasn’t until yesterday that officials ruled…

TRACK PREMIERE: Moab’s “Whittled Away”

June 3, 2014

Scion A/V have tossed lots of free singles, EP’s, splits, compilations, and socks to the ravening metal hordes, but it’s rare that a band releases an entire album through that imprint. Los Angeles-based heavy rock trio Moab are doing just that. Their latest nine-song opus of fuzz and feedback, Billow, will be released later this…

My Scion Rockfest 2014 Experience in Shitty iPhone Photos

May 27, 2014

While everyone else is reporting from that East Coast festival this week, we here at Decibel’s Los Angeles Bureau are lazy and don’t like to go further than 43.5 miles from our home base. Fortunately, on May 17, Scion held their annual Rockfest in Pomona, which is exactly that distance. Sweet! I was there, and…

INTERVIEW: Trans Am’s Phil Manley

May 20, 2014

Trans Am have been around since the 90s, and in that time they’ve explored everything from post-rock to electronica and Krautrock. They’ve always had hard rock influences, but never more obviously than on their latest release, Volume X. As soon as we heard the stoner rock and thrash vibes of a few of the songs,…