Matt Solis

Horrendous

October 26, 2015

Anareta

Everyone can hear them scream: 

Horrendous bring their otherworldly death metal to a new star system

dB Rating: 10/10

Panopticon

October 19, 2015

Autumn Eternal
So… winter isn’t coming?
dB Rating: 9/10

The Serpent Tradition: An Interview with Nechochwen

October 15, 2015

Nechochwen is a West Virginia-based duo that merges black metal with Native American instrumentation, artwork and lyrical themes. We spoke to their eponymous guitarist/vocalist/songwriter about his musical process, artistic philosophy and deep ties to Native American culture.

Weird Tales with Witch Mountain’s Nathan Carson

October 1, 2015

Metal bands have been using literature as inspiration for decades, but for whatever reason, the two worlds seldom intersect when it comes to actual production…writers tend to stay on one side of the room while musicians stare at them from the other. Shuffling around somewhere in the middle are people like Nathan Carson, drummer of Portland-based doom titans Witch Mountain and published author of short fiction.

Crossin’ Over with Deafheaven’s George Clarke

September 17, 2015

Deafheaven have been living in rarefied air for the past few years—a metal band doing metal things in a non-metal world. With the release of their third LP, New Bermuda, a mere two weeks away, we caught up with vocalist/lyricist George Clarke to break down the details of Deafheaven’s unlikely crossover appeal.

Exclusive Interview: Austin Lunn of Panopticon

September 3, 2015

Staying true to this breakneck creative pace, Austin Lunn is mere weeks away from dropping Panopticon’s sixth LP, the enthralling and resonant Autumn Eternal. The album is a thematic companion to his two previous LPs, but musically, it eschews the “blackened bluegrass” approach in favor of emotionally charged, mournfully melodic black metal (think Winterfylleth meets early Katatonia). We talked to Lunn about creating Autumn Eternal, taking inspiration from nature and being a musician in the often-disheartening environment of the digital age.

Interview: Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Doolittle

August 20, 2015

One of the best things about heavy metal is the sense of community it fosters: we’re all in this together because no one else fucking cares. So when an unexpected metalhead pops up in daily life, it’s always a cool feeling. Sometimes it’s that weird guy at work who never says a word to anyone but comes in one Friday wearing a Stargazer shirt…and sometimes it’s an MLB All-Star relief pitcher with more than 200 career strikeouts and a beard with its own zip code.

Exclusive: Ahab’s “The Isle” + Studio Recording Video

August 13, 2015

Disciples of the deep, rejoice: German funeral doom legends Ahab are mere weeks away from dropping their fourth LP, the monstrous and expansive The Boats of the Glen Carrig. Based on William Hope Hodgson’s 1907 horror novel of the same name, it’s another impressive collection of face-compressing riffs, churning psychedelia and hymns to all that dwells beneath the waves.

Hall of Fame Countdown: Megadeth’s Rust in Peace

July 23, 2015

I was 7 years old when the ’Deth dropped their fourth LP in 1990, and my first experience with the thrash masterpiece was not a pleasant one. It was my friend Jason’s birthday party, and along with the obligatory Nerf products and Stüssy shirts, his gift haul included two cassette tapes: Iron Maiden’s No Prayer for the Dying and Megadeth’s Rust in Peace (inducted into the Decibel Hall of Fame in May 2012, buy the issue here).

C/D: Performance Art is Metal

July 9, 2015

From Alice Cooper’s face paint and Iron Maiden’s elaborate stage sets to Watain’s demon-summoning rituals and Ghost’s hooded robes, heavy metal has always had a close relationship with “performance.” Substance comes first, without a doubt, but performance ain’t far behind. Dimmu Borgir dress up like Satanic carnival barkers. Glen Benton branded an upside-down crucifix into his forehead. Robb Flynn had that Insane Clown Posse hair during The Burning Red days. Simply put, the spectacle of creating extreme music seems to be one of its most potent aspects, and countless bands have used it to their advantage.

Rise of the Machines: A Dark Electronic/Ambient Starter Kit

June 25, 2015

Heavy metal has been flirting with electronic music for decades now, but the lines between the two worlds seem blurrier today than ever before. Chalk it up to Internet culture—with instant access to all the world’s information comes a vast multitude of subgenres that have enough permutations to satisfy all but the most discerning purists. Add to that the recent popularity of synth-heavy horror flicks like It Follows and numerous electronic artists signing to metal labels (Goblin Rebirth on Relapse, Gost/Dan Terminus/Perturbator on Blood Music) and it becomes pretty obvious: dark electronic/ambient music has pulled off a full-scale crossover!

Top 5 Shark Movies with Giant Squid’s AJ Gregory

June 11, 2015

AJ Gregory knows his sharks. Whether he’s laying down monstrous prog/post-metal hymns with Bay Area mainstays Giant Squid (known for such fishy jams as “Sevengill,” “Revolution in the Water” and “Monster in the Creek”), bashing away with his Jaws-themed side project Squalus or slinging paleobiology-themed apparel through his Cotton Crustacean clothing line, the dude is fully immersed in the life aquatic. So, we asked AJ to crawl out of his diving bell and wax poetic about his five favorite shark movies.

Remembering Drew Cook with Wild Hunt’s “Scroll and Urn”

May 18, 2015

On April 21, 2015, the Bay Area metal scene—and the underground metal scene as a whole—lost a prolific and talented artist named Drew Cook, guitarist for Oakland-based bands Dimesland and Wild Hunt.

Justify Your Shitty Taste: King Diamond’s “The Graveyard”

May 11, 2015

I’m going to give my editors the benefit of the doubt here and assume they meant Verify Your Awesome Taste. I mean, come on, everybody knows there’s no such thing as a shitty King Diamond record. Some might be less memorable than others based on your personal criteria and/or schlock tolerance, but I’ll be goddamned if King has ever had a “St. Anger” moment in the span of his career. 

Hall of Fame Countdown: Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell

May 7, 2015

1980 could have been a disaster for Black Sabbath. They had recently parted ways with Ozzy Osbourne, their batshit crazy yet undeniably entertaining frontman, and drummer Bill Ward’s Hemingway-esque boozing was threatening his very ability to play. Instead of accepting their inevitable slide into obscurity, band masterminds Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler knuckled down and wrote eight songs that expressed a variety of new dynamics, textures, and emotions. Oh, and they recruited a little ol’ singer named Ronnie James motherfucking Dio, whose previous work with Elf and Rainbow had already cemented him as one of rock’s premier wailers.

Black Rainbows: Under the Influence

April 27, 2015

In this month’s issue, we talked to Black Rainbows’ guitarist/vocalist Gabriele Fiori about the Italian band’s new album, Hawkdope—a gloriously psychedelic romp that pays homage to legends of the riff like Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Hawkwind and Monster Magnet. With that in mind, we asked our man to single out the best song from each of the aforementioned bands…no easy task considering their extensive, decades-spanning catalogs.

Gruesome’s “Savage Land”: Track-by-Track Breakdown with Vocalist/Guitarist Matt Harvey

April 20, 2015

Last week, we brought you an exclusive stream of Savage Land, the forthcoming debut LP from Death-worshipping supergroup Gruesome. This week, vocalist/guitarist Matt Harvey (Exhumed, Dekapitator, the “Death to All” tour) breaks down the inspiration for each song and provides some hilarious insight on what it’s like to write and record music that’s delightfully derivative.

Exclusive Stream: Gruesome’s “Savage Land”

April 13, 2015

Metal has seen its fair share of worship bands over the years (see Black Sabbath’s direct line to every doom band ever), but it’s rare that one comes along whose sole purpose is to pay homage to one specific group and their highly specific style. Enter Gruesome, a bonafide supergroup (members of Exhumed, Malevolent Creation,…

Talkin’ Prog with Enslaved’s Grutle Kjellson

April 6, 2015

Enslaved recently wrapped up a month-long North American tour that saw them play several tunes off their latest album, In Times—another progressive masterpiece for the band’s impressive portfolio. We talked to vocalist/bassist Grutle Kjellson to find out what the band thinks about the “progressive” label and how that translates to their musical output. What does…

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…