Interviews
Interview – Italy’s ORBE
July 13, 2012 Daniel Lake
Last year, Italian mostly-instrumental quartet Orbe created one of those albums that I listened to with half an ear and then didn’t get back to for a while. Sometimes that’s an indicator of an album without a whole lot of immediacy, and sometimes it simply indicates the laziness of the audience. In the case of…
INTERVIEW: Shelsmusic’s Mehdi Safa (Part 1)
July 12, 2012 Zach Smith
We spend a lot of time talking to artists—whether in blog posts or in each month’s issue—and rightfully so. After all, they put their blood, sweat and tears into making the music that brings us together. We haven’t necessarily dedicated a lot of space to the people actually putting out those releases, however, so we…
UFOMAMMUT post video teaser for “ORO: Opus Alter”
July 9, 2012 Jonathan Horsley
Italian doom trio Ufomammut have released a video teaser for forthcoming album Opus Alter, out 18 September through Neurot. Opus Alter is the second half of Ufomammut’s ORO series. Its predecessor, Opus Primum, dropped in April, and was a lush dizzying headtrip of psychedelic guitars, space rock ambience all darkened by the unspoken threat of…
Interview – Solothus
July 6, 2012 Daniel Lake
In a recent dB article (issue #92), author Jeff Wagner opined that “there are too many death/doom bands out there these days.” Upon reading such a flagrantly deranged statement, I gagged on my mouthful of burrito, my left arm went all limp and tingly, and I blacked out for what might have been hours but…
Happy 4 (20th) of July: SFU’s Chris Barnes On Herb and Hypocrisy
July 4, 2012 Justin Norton
“Sit back and hold your breath/Just let nature take effect.” So said death metal OG Chris Barnes in his Six Feet Under ode to marijuana “4:20.” In addition to death and murder tales, Barnes has been an unapologetic advocate for legalizing marijuana since the early days of his metal career. Barnes has been riding high…
Interview – Arbrynth
June 29, 2012 Daniel Lake
Nothing unites the metal community quite like a healthy hit of righteous rage. War, complacency, ignorance, religion, technology, the opposite sex, government subsidies – if something pisses you off, someone’s encoding your disgust into guitar riff magic. Any good New Ager Rager knows that nature is very, um, fertile soil for dark musical themes. As…
INTERVIEW: The Day After The Sabbath (Part 2)
June 28, 2012 Zach Smith
Last week, we brought you Part 1 of our interview with The Day After The Sabbath‘s proprietor Rich. This week not only includes the rest of our interview, but a mini-playlist of five tracks hand-picked by the man himself. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out the latest TDATS compilation (#71), his…
Women In Metal Bonus: Uta Plotkin’s Playlist
June 27, 2012 Justin Norton
Decibel published its first ever “Women In Metal,” issue this month, which offers an exhaustive look at the enormous contributions women have made to metal music (and the metal industry). If for some inexplicable reason you don’t subscribe then you can snag a copy from our store . If you are wise, you might have…
VOICES FROM THE UK UNDERGROUND pt 2: HUMAN CULL on picking the crust off 30 second grind
June 25, 2012 Jonathan Horsley
Human Cull are a gnarly grindcore trio from the United Kingdom who deal largely in 30-second riff-salvos. Guitarist and vocalist Edd Robinson admits as much that the band’s entire canon will be fast and crusty, but dammit he’s a humanitarian, it’ll be memorable too. Brevity in grindcore song structures was hardwired at the genre’s birth…
Interview – Herodias
June 22, 2012 Daniel Lake
Funeral doom can be a most divisive subgenre. Whole groups of well-versed metalheads will split on the merits of a type of music that eschews speed, the associated aggression, and most anything that can be considered technical musical achievement. Of course, this very division might be part of what defines it – a hallmark of…
INTERVIEW: The Day After The Sabbath (Part 1)
June 21, 2012 Zach Smith
Scott Seward’s “Filthy 50” list from our September 2007 issue remains one of my favorite reads in these pages, or any magazine for that matter. While the initial excitement of digging up some of those lost treasures may have passed, I still listen to some of them (Groundhogs, Captain Beyond and High Tide to name…
Øystein Brun (Borknagar) interviewed
June 20, 2012 Chris Dick
OK, ICS Vortex had a cameo on “My Domain”. He’s now returned as a full-time co-vocalist. What’s the story there? I gather a lot of old-time Borknagar fans now feel it’s time for Garm to step back into the fold. Universes colliding and all that. Øystein Brun: Well, wish I could reveal an enigmatic story…
INTERVIEW – Nolan Cook of Dimesland
June 15, 2012 Daniel Lake
It’s a bit unnerving how many descriptions can refer equally to dB-approved beer and music without requiring any rephrasing at all. Local heroes excite us by infusing familiar styles with their own astonishing personalities. Indie labels tend to raise the product’s allure. Unearthed demo versions from the early nineties are always welcome. Mr. Adem Tepedelen,…
Decibrity Playlist: “Best of” Rush (Part 2)
June 14, 2012 Zach Smith
To celebrate this week’s release of the 19th Rush album, we asked a host of musicians to help us build a “best of” playlist that spans the Canadian trio’s storied career. Last week’s entries took us from 1976’s double live album All The World’s A Stage to 1980’s Permanent Waves. Now, we present the second…
Into the Depths: Marduk’s Morgan Håkansson
June 12, 2012 Shawn Macomber
Today, in honor of the recent release of the sublimely malevolent Serpent Sermon, Decibel presents an in depth interview with Marduk founding guitarist Morgan Håkansson delving into his roots as a musician as well as the past, present, and future of his much-revered black metal war machine. Last month Christ Dick streamed “Souls for Belial.”…
VOICES FROM THE UK UNDERGROUND: OBLIVIONIZED on booking shows and saying yes to DIY misanthropy
June 11, 2012 Jonathan Horsley
Sitting in on rehearsals when London (-ish) death-grind crew Oblivionized first started it was kind of hard to see where they were going. Powered by former drummer Jonathan Rushforth’s hyper beats, with guitarist Sammy Urwin riffing under the creative direction of vocalist Zac Broughton, it was technical death metal at a time when technical death…
INTERVIEW – North Carolina’s MAKE
June 8, 2012 Daniel Lake
When a few talented dudes out of the American South filter recent faves ASVA, Death Grips, Arbouretum, Demdike Stare, and Wolves in the Throne Room through their long-burning love of Godflesh, Spacemen 3, Lungfish, Darkthrone, Talk Talk, Neu!, and Carcass, said dudes are destined to MAKE something noteworthy. In this case, they actually called their…
Decibrity Playlist: “Best of” Rush (Part 1)
June 7, 2012 Zach Smith
We may not write about these Canadians very often, but it’s undeniable that Rush has had a profound effect on legions of artists that we do cover. So to celebrate next week’s release of the ubiquitous band’s 19th (!) full-length studio album, we compiled a “best of” Rush playlist that features tracks hand-picked by some…
EXCLUSIVE: Unreleased 16 tracks from Zoloft Smile era
June 6, 2012 Justin Norton
It’s been a good year for 16, a band known for writing about bad times. They finally have a steady lineup (for now) and their new album Deep Cuts From Dark Clouds was praised in the July issue of this magazine. So it seems like the right time for 16 to dig into their vaults…
INTERVIEW: Tankard Talk Beer, Beer & More Beer
June 5, 2012 Adem Tepedelen
Tankard were living the Brewtal Truth life, long before we ever had our first sip of beer.
Beyond the Veil: Decibel Tour ’12
June 5, 2012 Shawn Macomber
Backstage at the Philadelphia stop of the inaugural Decibel Magazine Tour with Nergal from Behemoth. Plus Watain, The Devil’s Blood, In Solitude, some guy in the pit wearing a sombrero, etcetera… If you enjoy this, please check out previous Decibel video segments with Morbid Angel and Bonded by Blood.
CHURCH OF MISERY: Of Serial Killers and Sushi
June 4, 2012 Justin Norton
Church of Misery has toured Europe seven times, but this summer marks their first ever visit to America. Considering that much of their oeuvre consists of love letters to American serial killers it’s a long overdue trip. COM appeared at the Maryland Deathfest (if you had a chance to see them, tell us about it…
INTERVIEW – Aenygmist
June 1, 2012 Daniel Lake
If you listen to Aenygmist, then you’re probably either living in or around southern Quebec, a black/death completist with internet access and no career prospects, or me. If you haven’t heard this female five-piece’s gut-ripping 2010 record Creation Born of Trauma, you can hardly be blamed. Creation is the band’s self-released 2010 full-length, their first and only entry…
Decibrity Playlist: Dawnbringer
May 31, 2012 Zach Smith
Given that Dawnbringer’s Nucleus landed high up on our Top 40 list of 2010, we’ve been stoked ever since we heard that the band would be releasing its fifth full-length this year. We were even more pumped when we found out that it would be a concept album, one that “follows the story of a…
Accept the Resurrection
May 29, 2012 Shawn Macomber
After a fourteen year hiatus from writing and recording new music — not to mention the permanent break with longtime vocalist Udo Dirkschneider — fans had some cause to be skeptical of Accept‘s 2010 return. Blood of the Nations, however, proved to be a shockingly impressive comeback record — not just a resurrection but a…
INTERVIEW: Ihsahn on new album “Eremita”
May 25, 2012 Jonathan Horsley
Once Second Wave titans Emperor were done scorching the earth with black metal, Ihsahn wasn’t slow in scaling the genre’s perimeter fence, and high-tailing it in search of a fresh sound that rested far from the genre’s weirdly orthodox iconoclasm. Progressive metal was a neat fit, a suitably abstract direction to define his sound as…
Decibrity Playlist: Ufomammut
May 24, 2012 Zach Smith
I’ve never been on tour, but I’d imagine that being couped up in a car/van/bus with the same people for hours on end necessitates certain accoutrements. One of the most basic and relevant for our purposes, of course, is the car stereo. The AUX jack may put your entire library at your fingertips, but just…
INTERVIEW: Storm Corrosion’s Steven Wilson
May 21, 2012 Jonathan Horsley
A meeting of minds between Opeth’s big chief Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion is a down-beat, atmospheric heavyweight that is the sort of Weird Science fantasy wet dream prog-heads have been jonesing for ever since Wilson took over production duties on Opeth’s groundbreaking Blackwater Park. Their eponymous debut eschews any of…
Decibrity Playlist: Shadows Fall
May 17, 2012 Zach Smith
Former Decibel cover stars Shadows Fall just released their seventh album, Fire From The Sky, on Tuesday. As Kirk Miller pointed out in giving the record his seal of approval in our June issue, the ten tracks have a little something for everyone, leading us to wonder what tunes these Massholes were blasting throughout the…
Alligators and the Giant Maggot: Kylesa’s life on the road with GWAR
May 16, 2012 Jonathan Horsley
Last month, Savannah psychedelic metal crew Kylesa put in some serious road miles in support of GWAR. Prosthetics, artificial blood and semen are not everyday items on the underground metal touring circuit, so we got Kylesa guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants to take some pics and notes. This is what went down. 04-13 San Antonio, TX |…