Interviews

The Armstrong Metalfest has grown from humble beginnings to be a regular mainstay with its south-central BC location making for a popular summertime destination for fans and bands alike. We tracked down co-founder Jesse Valstar to get the low-down.

As grind-infused industrial black metal levelers Anaal Nathrakh put the finishing touches on the band’s as-yet-untitled ninth full-length — tentatively slated for an October release via Metal Blade — Decibel caught up with vocalist Dave Hunt for a illuminating chat.

Read on as we interrogate Convulse leader Rami Jämsä.

In honor of Black Sabbath‘s final trek around the globe, we are running our 2014 print feature on the story behind the cover art of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which was illustrated four decades ago by a rising Los Angeles artist named Drew Struzan. 

SubRosa‘s hulking chords, massive percussion and thick bowed-string atmospheres absolutely crush on their contribution this month.

Hideous: a new old-school death metal supergroup worth readying that denim vest for!

Expedite your passport application, make the trek north of the border, take advantage of the Canadian dollar trading at 75-80 cents on the American greenback.

Get to know Brussels’ latest death metal anomaly, Moss Upon The Skull, with a stream of their new EP The Scourge of Ages and an exclusive interview. 

Few are the bands who will still gleefully slaughter your favorite pet in service of the seething abyss.  Sweden’s Astrophobos are one of these few.

Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund gives Decibel the exclusive scoop on how the long-awaited return of one of the greatest death metal bands of all time. 

Portland, OR extreme art duo Muscle & Marrow sound off about performance jitters, the benefits and drawbacks of performing their music with only two sets of arms/legs/throats, and an offhand hope for more cats and books in their lives.  We couldn’t fit it all in the magazine, so get the rest of the interview right here.

Alaric vocalist and lyricist Shane Baker talked to Decibel about death rock, learning to sing and End of Mirrors. 

Shai Hulud‘s drummer talks about balancing his duties with teaching at School of Rock.

Get yourself some Black Fucking Cancer with an exclusive track premiere and an in-depth interview with the band.  

Emperor‘s Ihsahn, Ulver‘s Garm and Darkthrone’s Fenriz venture beyond the genre’s confines.

Heavy Metal Parking Lot was filmed 30 years ago today. We still haven’t had an opportunity to jump Rob Halford’s bones, but we did interview the filmmakers and cast members about the legendary documentary… 10 years ago. Enjoy this flashback piece or you belong on fuckin’ Mars, man.

Death, metal, “Wall of Death,” and vinyl. Get the inside story from our Ghoul contact in Creepsylvania. 

The Diamond Head frontman chats about the band’s new album.

Did you catch Napalm Death in the past couple of months when they rolled through your town? If not, you missed one of the most eclectic tour packages of 2016. We caught up with vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway ahead of the band’s first of two sold-out shows at Slim’s in San Francisco to talk about how the “Savage Imperial Death March Tour” came about, the logistics of grindin’ for six straight weeks and, of course, the three-ring circus that is American politics.

Celebrate Death‘s Scream Bloody Gore reissue with these never-before-seen interview cuts about the LP from limited edition Choosing Death book.

Speaking with Kriscinda Lee Everitt and Shawn Macomber for a behind-the-Monsters look at what it takes to put together such a righteous benefit anthology, which now spans two volumes!

A Piece of the End compiles four songs that coalesced unexpectedly during rehearsal, and Vidian have decided not to sit on them until the next album is ready, which is good, because sitting on anything this spiky-lumpy-grumpy would not be good for the posture.  Check it all out right here.

Guitarist/vocalist Jason Mendonça is excited and filled with positivity. And you should be, too. 

Digital artist Stephan Dreadford accidentally fell into the craft of animating famous heavy metal cover art. The single incident, which involved doing animated cover art for social media for his brother’s band, has now pushed Dreadford down a very cool path. Over a very short time, Dreadford has animated numerous cover paintings, turning them into moving pieces of awesome–by such artists as Ed Repka to Andreas Marshall–from static greatness. Dreadford’s vision has put into–well, actual–motion covers by Judas Priest, Sodom, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Pantera, Kreator, and many more. He sees the art like we all do… Living, breathing covers, but instead of using our imaginations to see where, for example, Mark Wilkinson (cover artist for Painkiller) wanted go, Dreadford does it for us. Read on as we extol the virtues of Dreadford’s GIF prowess.

Get the scoop the new Blekkmetal film and Enslaved‘s Ivar Bjørnson’s BardSpec project.

Worried that you might not find fitting way to mark the twentieth anniversary of Cannibal Corpse’s Vile that doesn’t require being, say, devoured by vermin, mummified in barbed wire, or eaten from the inside? Were you hoping to celebrate George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher’s debut via a more metaphorical than naturalistic orgasm through torture?

War master Andy Whale re-enters the realm of chaos for death/grind victory with Memoriam.

Minneapolis’ El-Ahrairah find a new warren at the Greek tape label Underground Soundscapes, release self-titled full length tape.

Lariyah Hayes of Khaotika talked to Decibel about what’s planned for her series of Darkadya books and how she was motivated by her brush with death. 

** Sweden’s In Mourning are one of the country’s most unsung death metal acts–melodic, if you’re looking for an additional qualifier. Formed in 2000, the band took a good eight years before inking a deal with Norwegian indie Aftermath Music. Two years later, In Mourning dropped Monolith on the Pulverised label to great acclaim. But it wouldn’t be until 2012’s The Weight of Oceans where the Swedes found their sound and audience. Moored by the indomitable “A Vow to Conquer the Ocean”, In Mourning’s third album crushed Year End Lists and set the stage for In Mourning to take on the mantle Opeth left behind on the Heritage effort. Well, In Mourning have returned with Afterglow, an album four years in the making. With the drummer Daniel Liljekvist (ex-Katatonia) and a pack of killer songs in “Below Rise To The Above”, “Fire and Ocean”, and 10-minute monster “The Grinning Mist”. Decibel found guitarist Björn Pettersson prepping for the release of Afterglow.