Kevin Stewart-Panko

Spazz – “La Revancha”

December 22, 2014

The setting: the San Francisco Bay Area. The era: the mid-’90s. The sound: the violent and harried subgenre of powerviolence, going over with the natives like a wet fart in a dry church.

Happy Fucking Easter from the Wise-asses in Old Man Gloom

December 18, 2014

So, I’m assuming you’ve all heard about the so-called prank wherein Old Man Gloom and Profound Lord sent out promos of their The Ape of God double album. Included within was new music that wasn’t actually new music as it appeared on the official release of the album(s). if you want to read a more…

Greber: Not Named After a Goalie

December 11, 2014

I’d like to take this opportunity to nip something in the bud: Cambridge, Ontario’s Greber is in no way associated with, saluting, paying homage to, or actually even really aware of, former NHL goaltender Martin Gerber. The first indication should have been that the moniker as selected by the two-man sludge/doom monolith is spelt completely…

Your Daily Dose of Confusion: Activator’s “Sexy for Breakfast”

December 4, 2014

Some time ago, I introduced you to a new face on the NYC crossover scene, Activator (refresher course, here). At the time, they were on the eve of the release of their self-titled debut album. Since then, they have been relatively quiet, especially considering bands these days post every aspect of their musical and non-musical…

Primitive Man/Fister Split Stream

December 2, 2014

So, last week, we debuted the self-produced video for Fister’s “Life is Short, Life is Shit, Soon it Will Be Over.” That was done here. That was done in the lead-up to the split release with Denver’s Primitive Man which is out now via friends of Decibel, A389 Recordings. Primitive Man “deliver three savage new…

Fister Video Premiere: Not What You’re Probably Thinking…

November 25, 2014

Lemme tell you a little story about how I offended a good number of folks in a room full of people I had just met or hardly knew. I know what you’re thinking: “You’re only going to tell us one story?” I know, right? Anyway, I was working. Seriously, a real job and everything. What…

American Heritage: Album Stream and Song-By-Song Self-Deconstruction

November 24, 2014

I didn’t realise it, but I’ve been a fan of American Heritage for a long time. When I say I didn’t realise it, it’s because the band which is split between Chicago and Atlanta haven’t exactly been the most prolific of outfits since forming in 1997, have probably played fewer shows than they have releases…

Much Better Than a Polar Vortex. Piss Vortex Interviewed

November 20, 2014

The band is called Piss Vortex. They hail from Copenhagen. And if I didn’t feel the responsibility to inform you that they play some ferociously angry and chaotically bent grind, as you might imagine a band named Piss Vortex would, I might’ve just left things to those first two sentences and let you discover the…

Introducing Sloths. New EP Stream? Yes. Interview? Sort of.

November 13, 2014

Sloths is a Portland-based trio who’ve been described as a cross between Botch, Slint, Old Man Gloom, Shellac, Converge and NOT the 60’s garage/punk band of the same name who recently reconvened in a hail of revivalism and the discovery of their old 45s going for shitloads on eBay! For these particular Sloths, a good…

The Other Side of the Same Coin: An Interview with Merdarahta’s Topon Das

November 6, 2014

For those who came late to the on-going party that is Fuck the Facts, you might not realise that some of the earliest works with the FtF brand on ’em came more from the noise side of the extreme music spectrum. And if you take into consideration that we recently dedicated an entire issue to…

Taking on the Internet: Interview with FunFunFunFest’s Graham Williams (Part II)

October 30, 2014

Earlier this month, I re-introduced you to Graham Williams, the man essentially responsible for procuring the across-the-board talent for FunFunFunFest, the annual party that’s taken place in Austin each year of the past eight. Not only is Williams a prolific promoter/booker with a seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of what the hell is going on in every…

Four Stages. Quadraphonic Sound. Eight Albums. One Band: Kong Interviewed

October 23, 2014

I’ve been going on about Amsterdam’s Kong for almost 25 years. The instrumental metal/electronic/dance-y/trance-y/industrial quartet show no sign of slowing down which, by default, means I’m not going to be able to slow down in my unwavering support for the band. And if they keep offering up killer albums like their recently released eighth album,…

Satan’s Coming to North America (the Band, Not the Dude)

October 16, 2014

Starting tomorrow, rejuvenated NWOBHM heroes, Satan make a return to North America for a series of tour dates that haphazardly criss-crosses the continent over the course of the next couple of weeks in support of their new live album, Live Sentence. Recorded on their first and only tour of the colonies last year in support…

It’s Good to Have Goals and Dreams Can Come True – An Interview with David Rodgers of Southwest Terrorfest

October 9, 2014

Around this time last year, we spoke to Godhunter guitarist/vocalist David Rodgers as he was in the process of putting together the second edition of Tucson, AZ’s Southwest Terrorfest (go here to read all about it). At the time, under the Deciblog’s interrogation hot lamps, Rodgers mentioned that one of the bands on his “booking…

King Diamond Likes to have FunFunFun: An Interview with FunFunFunFest’s Graham Williams (Part I)

October 2, 2014

The 7th, 8th and 9th of next month sees the ninth edition of FunFunFunFest, a ginormous three-day mixture of all sorts of extreme music, indie rock, electronica, hip-hop, comedians, extreme sports and air cannons that fire tacos into a crowd of thousands, take over the city of Austin, TX. Last year, I introduced you to…

Exclusive Album Stream: Introducing Laika’s Somnia

September 25, 2014

So, I was in Winnipeg a couple weeks ago and boy-howdy was it already cold as shit! When I was there in early November last year, there was already a disconcerting and disheartening layer of frost covering the city the morning I rolled into town and I recall snow pelting me one day when I…

Witch Mountain: An Outgoing Debrief with Uta Plotkin

September 18, 2014

While the news has had time to sink in with the passing of time, it was a big ol’ shocker when Witch Mountain vocalist Uta Plotkin announced she was stepping away from her post after five years of fronting the Portland doom heroes. According to drummer Nathan Carson, he and the other members [guitarist Rob…

Onward Into Battle: Talking MMA with KEN Mode

September 11, 2014

By the time this goes live, KEN Mode’s first round of what promises to be another couple years of non-stop touring will have come to a close and the boys will be getting set to kick their feet up for about 20 minutes before hitting Europe with HARK. See all the details and particulars at…

Duo Me All Night Long: An Interview with Fossils

September 4, 2014

Denmark’s Fossils are another impressive addition to the growing collection of killer two-man bands currently forming in the shadow of the continued absence of Lightning Bolt and the acceptance of the reality that the price of gas is never going to drop below $3 per gallon anywhere other than Indian reservations and south Texas. The…

KEN Mode News and Notes: Tour Dates! New Material! New Videos!

August 28, 2014

Tomorrow begins the touring cycle for Winnipeg’s tireless road warriors, KEN Mode in support of their forthcoming album, Success. The record itself isn’t slated to be recorded until November, but after almost a year at home, the rest of the world can almost hear the itchin’ in their britches to get back out on the…

When There’s No More Beer in Hell: Cross Examination Returns with Dawn of the Dude

August 21, 2014

This almost didn’t happen. By ‘this,’ we mean the interview portion of our announcing the return-of-sorts of St. Louis’ Cross Examination to the world of playing crossover thrash while balancing tens of beers on their livers. The quintet, after about six years of silence, has a new 7″ out and available as of last month…

The Deciblog Presents More “My Awesome Day Job” Content: USA Out of Vietnam Does a Secret Vegan Supper Club. Of Course.

August 14, 2014

In simplistic terms, I guess one would/could say USA Out of Vietnam is a space rock band. Actually, the Montreal outfit is a genre-defying entity that incorporates elements of everything from psychedelia, shoegaze and black metal to doom, noise rock and Angelo Badalamenti-sounding soundtrack stuff. The band has a new record out on New Damage…

Fest or No Fest, Don’t Call it a Fest Promises to be Pretty Awesome

August 7, 2014

Next Friday the 15th, the inaugural Don’t Call it a Fest slams into the Motor City with all the impact of a severely downgraded credit rating and an avalanche of housing foreclosures. Even during the best of times, Detroit has always had a negative air surrounding it; some of that civic black eye has been…

“All PsychFest All the Time.” Interview with White Hills

July 31, 2014

New York-based experimental psychedelic stoner spacerockers White Hills has only been a band since ’round about 2005, yet they’ve already amassed the following discography: They’ve Got Blood Like We’ve Got Blood (Fuck Off And Di/Head Heritage, 2005) Koko (White Hills, 2006) Glitter Glamour Atrocity (White Hills, 2007) Abstractions and Mutations (White Hills, 2007/Thrill Jockey, 2009/Immune,…

Raw Power is Coming to America Again! Why So Glum Chum?

July 24, 2014

In addition to holding the illustrious (or dubious) honour of being one of my personal favourite bands of all time, Italy’s Raw Power is undoubtedly one of the most enduring and consistent hardcore punk bands to emerge from the world of hardcore punk. They formed in 1981 (with roots going back to the late 70s),…

The Deciblog Presents Bonus ‘My Awesome Day Job’ Content: Psychotic Gravedigging with Psychotic Gardening

July 17, 2014

A couple months ago, I introduced you to Winnipeg death metal outfit Psychotic Gardening here. In the search for additional and interesting content for this here spot on this here blog, I was altered to the fact that vocalist Chris “Gillishammer” Gillis’ dayjob was as a gravedigger! As soon as I heard that, I immediately…

Not the Rough Boys Pete Townshend Was Singing About, but Still Pretty Rough

July 10, 2014

Not that this has anything to do with that, but ever since I was a kid, one of my favourite songs has been Pete Townshend’s “Rough Boys” from his 1980 solo effort, Empty Glass. And despite the fact I can usually feel vast numbers of my brain cells begging for mercy before committing honourable hari-kari,…

KSP (Sorta) Plays A&R. Client #1: Shroud of Despondency

July 3, 2014

One of the most distinct memories I have pertaining to Milwaukee black metal outfit Shroud of Despondency is as follows: the scene was February 2011, Clearwater Beach, Florida. My wife, kid and I were in the midst of our annual pilgrimage down south in order to escape the depressing, bone-chilling cold of another southern Ontario…

Holy Shit III – Ironsword’s Overlords of Chaos

June 26, 2014

Hello folks, it’s been a while, but I’m back with another installment of ‘Holy Shit.’ If you’re unfamiliar with the concept – and you should be, because until a few days ago, I totally forgot this series existed here and here – basically it boils down to the disciplinary practice of me keeping it in…

Damn Kids!: Godstopper Interview and EP Stream

June 19, 2014

Godstopper has been a fixture on Toronto’s sludgy/doomy/stoner scene for some time now. Recently, they’ve taken small steps to branch out beyond the city limits. A betting man would wager they’re making that move because they’ve just about had it with Rob Ford’s tarring and feathering of the city’s reputation, the perpetual gridlocked traffic and…