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Can you feel it in the air? For two months starting October 1st, it’s Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and my birthday all rolled into one once again! Throughout my years as an unashamed and drooling Melt-Banana fanboy, whenever the Tokyo’s masters of the musical kitchen sink return to tour North America, I get all giddy in-and-outside…

Dubai-based band Nervecell “The best rock is a religious experience,” says Mark Levine, author of Heavy Metal Islam. Yes, sure, but as history has shown, since man first grew hair on his ass, if you happen to belong to the wrong religion, it’s reason enough for you to die in a hail of bullets. And…

OK, vinyl nerds, pay attention. What you’re about to witness is a little teaser from the fellas in Skeletonwitch and their label Prosthetic Records. In case you haven’t heard, Skeletonwitch will be releasing their fourth long-player, Forever Abomination, via Prosthetic on October 11 in North America. It’ll be available in three different formats but the…

Cuidado, homies. Fans at the September 8 Morbid Angel concert in Santiago, Chile, were not taking any shit from walkie-talkie-wielding security guards in windbreakers, Blabbermouth reports. Hell no. They broke right through whatever flimsy human barricade was in place like a pack of wild dogs. While some guards attempted to do their jobs, the security…

Even though Iceland is bankrupt, cold and Bjork is printed on their money, 200 of its peoples are getting real tired of being in America, especially during the three dozen simultaneous natural disasters on the east coast. So what do you do when you need to get back to your homeland but regular planes are…

Are you oblivious to trends in fashion and style? Are you a filthy long hair who doesn’t own a single hair product, except, understandably, Head & Shoulders? Have you ever wondered what yourself or a colleague would look like with a swoop haircut? Why not, right? Or maybe you’re trying to get your band into…

Century: “Oak God” by Decibel Magazine If you had told me fifteen years ago I’d be in Seattle writing about a song featuring Kevin Martin from Candlebox I would’ve punched you right in your goddamn time-traveling face. But thanks to Pennsylvania’s Century, this is now a reality on the track “Oak God” from their new…

You’d think that a band with 40 years under its belt would have figured out the whole commercialism part of the music business by now. Some of the more enterprising elder statesmen have given up on marketing their music — Marky Ramone has his own brand of pasta sauce, and Stephen Pearcy is hawking hot…

When I heard Jani Lane of Warrant passed away last Thursday night, I immediately texted my attorney Juan Perez and recent Decibel cover artist Tom Neely, both of whom—like myself—are avid cock rock enthusiasts. Neely’s cogent response? “Too much cherry pie!” The details of Lane’s death hadn’t been revealed yet, but Tom was right, of…

Thanks to MTV, the words Jersey Shore have become synonymous with glistening douchetards, making plenty of us Jersey natives extremely upset at the portrayal of our seaside haven. So it was a sight for sore eyes when I saw this most excellent of men’s swimsuits while strolling the Asbury Park boardwalk this past weekend. It…

Sean Yseult, White Zombie bassplayer, owner of a fun to say last name and the woman responsible for (something that’s supposed to be comical but comes off creepy and gross) in my youth, has released a one of a kind recording featuring herself, Phil Anselmo and Dime Motherfucking Bag Motherfucking Darrell.

In a just world Swiss actor Bruno Ganz would be better known for his work in Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, Herzog’s Nosferatu or, yes, his chillingly-authentic turn in Downfall than he is for a four-minute-performance-cum-fodder for a seemingly endless series of YouTube parodies — “The Hitler Meme,” as the New York Times dubbed it…

If you’re like me, then you see these images all the time because you google the words “king diamond tattoo” everyday. For the rest of y’all, here is a crucial collection of the evilest ink out there.

When Decibel needs their Reviews illustration for every issue or the dopest drawing of Glenn Danzig ever wet-dreamed about, we go to Mark Rudolph. But there is more to Mr. Rudolph than Municipal Waste vomiting. In fact he is on his way to Kickstarting an amazing 70-page graphic novel. A reimagining of the short Lovecraft…

The fifth installment of Scion A/V‘s video series is now upon us and, per usual, the company has not skimped on the heavy, producing this tasteful, high quality short for Immolation, which we at Decibel are very happy to exclusively premiere below: We last profiled these American Death Metal stalwarts last year in issue 67….

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s not every day that the Deciblog introduces you to a whole new genre of extreme music. But today is special. Today, we bring you a new breed of ferocity.

The boom in metal’s popularity may have irritated some tr00ly tr00 fans, but by and large, I’ve embraced it, if only because it means I have easier access to the music. Listen up, children, there used to be a time where pop-punk was the most extreme music the record store would carry. Maybe, just maybe,…

Finnish “heavy metallers” Lordi have gone 3-times Platinum (90,000 copies sold) in their native Finland, Gold (30,000 copies sold) in Sweden, Gold in Germany (100,000 copies sold) and have probably earned sales medals throughout Europe. Pretty neat considering Lordi are nothing but a bunch of fakers. Check out this clip from 2006. The horror-masked Finns…

If you’re in Los Angeles this coming Friday and Saturday, make your way down to the Nomad Gallery for the two days of the second New Weird America Festival. If on Friday you’re choosing to not embark upon a sympathetic celebration of the socialist welfare state to the north known as Canada (July 1st is Canada Day,…

After the untimely passing of Jared Southwick, another icon is no longer with us. Eric Swenson, one of the most visionary figures in the history of skateboarding, committed grisly suicide in front of a police station in San Francisco. The 64-year old Swenson, who co-founded both Independent Trucking Co and Thrasher magazine, put a gun…

Artist: YOB Title: ATMA Producer: Mike Scheidt Studio: Dogwood Recording, Eugene, OR Recording Dates: May 3 to 24 Release Date: Aug. 16, 2011 Label: Profound Lore YOB frontman Mike Scheidt has spent the past 10 minutes describing the new gear he’s rounded up for the band’s sixth album, titled ATMA. Having about as much expertise…

Okay, so maybe the (free!) Suffer Mental Decay demo isn’t quite as showy as a mass rock plateau suicide, but, good goddamn, the not-overly-modern-death-metal-with-a-twist of Masada sure is an awesome breath of fresh air in these deathcore-laden days. Featuring ex-members of Immolation and Goreaphobia and fronted by Crucifier’s “Black Lourde of Crucifixion” Cazz Grant, this…

Flipping through the latest issue of the New Yorker this weekend I happened upon something you don’t frequently see in the pages of that august publication: A portrait of a guy in a Trivium T-shirt.

You’re probably familiar with the Grill ‘Em All food truck and Kuma’s Corner, two notorious heavy metal-themed beef huts. But a Decibel writer tipped me to an overlooked den of blazin’ beefitude known as Zippy’s Giant Burgers, and it is arguably the most metal of them all, thanks to the guy above and to the…

German forward-thinking metallers The Ocean give us Part 2 of their recent trouble-filled trek through the U.S. and Canada. What to expect? A pro-filmed video, a few different accents (British, German, Australian), quick shots of front row boobage, the realization that the Job for A Cowboy dudes pump iron like Stallone, the group’s driver disappearing…

The Rev. Aaron Pepelis is a veritable heavy metal institution in the Northeast. His long-running radio show Return to the Pit — transmitted from WUNH in Durham, New Hampshire and streamed here — is about as solid as tru blackened grind industrial death rock radio gets. He is a consummate and tireless photographer whose work,…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wy_mXuEsP0 Brent Hinds has twirled his Mastodong around by starring in a surprisingly well done commercial for Atlanta bar and restaurant Elmyr. We can only assume that Hinds truly enjoys their food and was happy to do it as I doubt a place that sells two kinds of PBR is flush with marketing cash. But…

In an typically astute review of the new In Flames disc Sounds of a Playground Fading penned for the issue of Decibel hitting stands right about now, Adrien Begrand argues — correctly, in my negligible opinion — that despite the Gothenburg quintet’s obvious (and occasionally egregious) missteps, far too much of the band’s post-Clayman output…

Photo: Cee Lo Green, working out his Immortal aspirations. Perhaps our most high-profile Closet Metalhead to date, Cee Lo Green turns 37 today. I had the honor of interviewing him for Decibel #76, and in case you missed it (order it here), here’s an excerpt: When I was a kid, we would go out to…

Our second eulogy for dearly departed Metalgazers Isis includes more reminiscing from the band, more photos (again thanks to Mark Dawursk) and an old school live clip from one of our favorite songs. Let’s get to it: Bryant Clifford Meyer (Electronics, Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals) For some reason my memory has become slightly out of whack…