** Broughton’s Rules are from Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is on the western side of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It’s a former rustbelt city that’s experienced a rennaisance in recent memory. Its citizens are no-bullshit and its music, espeically Broughton’s Rules, follow a similar mindset. Well, Broughton’s Rules (formed out of the ashes of instrumental wonderkids Don…

Sit back, y’all. Steve Austin-affiliated psychedelic post-rockers LAE are about to take you to another plane of existence via the title track of the album Break the Clasp out next week. (Physical pre-order here; digital here.) Here’s what the band has to say about the track… In the last months of our previous band, Lae-Tseu,…

Holiday shopping is the worst. If you’re buying for a non-metalhead, that is. Luckily, we don’t associate with those kinds of jerks! So, if you or a loved one are an avid collector of our rare, exclusive and esteemed Flexi Series, we’ve got just the thing to put the grin in your Grinch: the brand…

With all the music that comes across the Decibel desk in a month (hell, in a single week), I find it can help to stick labels on music that I want to be sure to spend time with.  Earlier this year, when Owl’s Into the Absolute EP came down, I tagged it with the descriptor “weird death metal”…

Sloths is a Portland-based trio who’ve been described as a cross between Botch, Slint, Old Man Gloom, Shellac, Converge and NOT the 60’s garage/punk band of the same name who recently reconvened in a hail of revivalism and the discovery of their old 45s going for shitloads on eBay! For these particular Sloths, a good…

Bigger ass? Kim Kardashian or Kim Kardashian’s ass? Keeling Over and Dying Happy This past Thursday, it dawned on me that my ‘lude had worn off and I was actually watching a football game where the Cleveland Browns had a lead in the fourth quarter, in a division game, and if they won, they’d be…

Last week, we brought you the first part of Aaron John Gregory’s “epic love letter to music.” When he left off, Giant Squid‘s vocalist/guitarist was in some baby cephalopod bands (The Pedestrians and The Connection) and listening to tons of Subhumans and Citizen Fish. Now, of course, the Californians have a fantastic new record out…

Ah, Mysticum, how you’ve been missed. There was so much talk for so long about the comeback album Planet Satan that we were convinced the record was either a myth or an elaborate troll. But no: Planet Satan was released this fall after decades of speculation, marking the return of a band audacious enough in…

Anatomy of Habit, Ciphers + Axioms (Relapse): Featuring members of Tortoise, Indian, and Bloodyminded, this Chicago noise rock supergroup has joined forces with producer Sanford Parker to create a spellbinding two-track, 40-minute opus that expertly blends dissonance and melody, aggression and introspection. The overall effect is not unlike that of Psalm Zero’s excellent debut from…

Because synthesizers are awesome, and movie soundtracks are awesome, we asked the duo of British film composer Paul Lawler and American drummer AE Pattera (Zombi/Majeure), collectively known as Contact, to put together a playlist for us with their favorite soundtrack tunes and some words on each. This week, we have Lawler’s picks; check back next…