Shawn Macomber

Superlative sludge thrashers Lair of the Minotaur recently burst back out of the infernal regions brandishing the sick (and extremely limited) new seven-inch single Godslayer. This morning guitarist/vocalist Steve Rathbone  chats with Decibel about the latter while we stream the former — the band’s first new material since the excellent Evil Power full-length in 2010….

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Blood Bound Books first came to the Metalnomicon’s attention via Rock ‘N’ Roll is Dead: Dark Tales Inspired by Music — an exquisitely depraved, cleverly devised anthology which is not only dedicated…

We got semi-retired punk/metal atavist Stevo do Caixão, currently of Tombstones and formerly of the legendary Impetigo, as well as Axeslasher guitarist/vocalist Professor Pizza, and metal scribe Andy O’Connor — sadly, that’s his real name — currently of Pitchfork, Metalsucks, and Noisey, among other publications, to break down the upcoming Maryland Deathfest, debunk old myths…

We asked Toronto’s premiere purveyors of “true, unadulterated heavy metal” Cauldron to keep tabs on the havoc and devastation left behind in the wake of the band’s epic America’s Lost tour and dudes did not disappoint with the diary below. Remaining tour dates are listed at post’s end. Purchase Cauldron’s excellent Tomorrow’s Lost here. David…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… No fences, no borders. Free movement for all…It’s about fucking time to treat people with respect. So railed Propagandhi on the incendiary Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes track “Fuck the Border,” but as…

Swedish retro thrashers F.K.Ü. — i.e., Freddy Krueger’s Underwear — cite “80’s horror flicks and old copies of Metal Forces magazine” as the band’s primary inspiration, and the band has spent over a decade now backing up that claim, encapsulating odes to Maniac Cop, Hellraiser, C.H.U.D., Motel Hell, and a bevy of other seminal horror…

We’re less than a month out now from the release of Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats’ sublime psychedelic doom n’ roll tour de force Mind Control, and, lord, does the tranquil-yet-oddly-sinister old school VHS clamshell-esque cover artwork suit the album’s messianic death cult lyrical theme and transcendentalist sonic vibe. “The whole album reeks of VHS…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… In her exquisitely rendered, frequently disquieting, always edifying new book House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films well-respected critic, festival programmer and King Diamond…

Decibel‘s coverage of the debut LP from Richmond, Virginia dark thrash stalwarts Iron Reagan has been fairly comprehensive — last month Chris premiered a stand-out track off Worse Than Dead in this space and there is a short profile of the band in the print issue on stands now — but one aspect of the…

Hold Me…But Not So Close, the follow-up to last year’s mondo excellent Stealth Beats, is nearly upon us, and if the first single “MANhattan” is any indication, it’s sure looking like the seething, roiling sonic beast christened Gaytheist will continue to (improbably) live up to the awesomeness of its name. Good to Die Records has…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Tales first encountered the infernally enchanting work of James Newman when the stalwart badasses over at Shock Totem re-released his uber-excellent “ode to 1980s horror” The Wicked last year, and subsequent forays into…

Razorback Records is calling the upcoming Oniricous album Ritos Diabolicos a “masterpiece of total HORROR FUCKING DEATH!” and in order to back that claim up the label has graciously sent along the track “Astrofobos” for this exclusive Decibel stream. It’s pretty goddamned convincing testimony! Below is a bit more info from the Razorback press materials….

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Though perhaps currently better known as one of the most innovative and imaginative artists currently plying his trade in the world of heavy metal design, Joshua Andrew Belanger also happens to be an…

This morning Decibel is pleased to bring you an exclusive stream of the latest slab of uber-brutal, raw-as-fuck experimental noise metal from the true (and truly bizarre) power trio Terminator 2. It’s drawn from the Handmade Birds cassette series and it is nuts. Here’s what the label has to say about the release: We know…

Bombay metal stalwarts Bhayanak Maut — “terrible death” in Hindi — are a groove n’ grind powerhouse. That much is beyond dispute. But listening to the band’s latest EP Metastasis, one nagging question did arise: Say Decibel gets all fired up and flies halfway around the world to see a Bhayanak Maut home country performance…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Though the teeming masses may not have caught on quite yet, Dark Discoveries has long been one of the absolute best magazines for lovers of horror fiction/culture, casting an aesthetic net wide enough…

Dark Gods: Seven Billion Slaves — the first volume of VON‘s Dark Gods trilogy — is still a few weeks away from release, but for those wondering what the soundtrack is going to be like down in the sulphur mines, Decibel has an exclusive stream this morning of the seething, sinister track “Hands of Black…

The most aptly titled release of the year so far is almost certainly Howling’s A Beast Conceived — a hellacious sonic amalgamation of Heartwork, Ride the Lightning, and Tom G. Warrior-style sinister riffage fronted by the restless extreme music paragon Vanessa Nocera and brimming with lyrical homages to cult horror movie classics like The Beast…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… If any subcultural phenomenon has ever truly earned the designation “stranger than fiction,” surely it must be the late eighties/early nineties youth crew/krishnacore straight edge scene. Yet, outside of a couple oral…

Norwegian hard rockers Audrey Horne may have a sound that marries Seventies arena rock to a chug/gallop/chug reminiscent of early Priest and Maiden, but the band’s name is all homage to a memorable character from David Lynch’s infamous early nineties crash n’ burn foray into network television. Thus, on the eve of the release of…

Remember the collective freakout we had last year when that “Bath Salt Zombie”* ate another man’s face on a Miami causeway? Well, picture a more frenzied, pluralized version of that event set to a hardcore punk rock soundtrack — e.g., The Dwarves, The Meatmen, ANTiSEEN, The Murder Junkies, World War IX — and you’ll have…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… The general outline of the rock bio is by now well established — young, innocent spitfire achieves dream against all odds only to find fame, riches, and rock n’ roll excess does…

Man, it gets fucking crazy in the Lightning Swords of Death practice space if this video for “Baphometic Chaosium” — the title track of the new record available now — is any indication. There are what appears to be grown-up versions of the Phantasm munchkins, a rather busty-sassy ram-headed demoness, and several trim dudes in…

Not only is The Cemetery an exquisite slab of nasty/fun uber-brutal indie horror — think Cabin Fever via Evil Dead — it also throws extreme music fans a serious bone with a soundtrack featuring a gang of grind n’ blasters including Fleshgod Apocalypse, Gorod, Ulcerate, Circle of Dead Children, Defeatist, The Year of Our Lord,…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors…

Formed in 2005, instrumental heavy space rock outfit Cloud Minder was the first band to sign to Philadelphia “psych doom” label Anthropic Records, toured extensively with such kindred spirits as Earth, This Will Destroy You, and Film School, and were beginning to round the corner into what felt to them like even more sublime creative…

“The weak pale in the face of both baking and metal!” Metalcakes proprietor Kathy Bejma declares when asked how she first came to realize heavy metal and cupcakes belonged in the same mixing bowl. “Plus ovens are like little mini hells accepting your sacrifice of unborn chickens, butter, and sugar…Occasionally I’ll get the How dare…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Gonzo dark fiction author, screenwriter, martial arts sensei, serious connoisseur of heavy metal and hardcore — there’s a lot thrown into the mix when it comes to the literary force of nature…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a new twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… “We have to raise hell, man,” Jake Hamer chides his wavering rock n’ roll brethren early on in John Skipp and Craig Spector’s 1988 let’s-give-the-fucking-PRMC-something-to-really-fear barnburner The Scream. “It’s our sacred duty….

“I’ve got a problem with bands that come from an area but don’t reflect where they’re from,” While She Sleeps vocalist Lawrence Taylor says toward the end of the press release accompanying This is the Six, the UK band’s latest hypercharged slab of frenetic metalcore. “I know a lot of bands that will sing with…