Decibrity Playlist: Ancestors (Part 2)

December 27, 2012

To celebrate the Mayan apocalypse, last week Ancestors shared the first half of its end of the world playlist. Doomsday or not, we automatically scheduled the second half of the Los Angeles quintet’s picks to run this morning to help satiate this guy‘s voracious appetite for the written word. But, in the off-chance we manage…

dB post-Christmas hangover content: Win ‘We Got Power’

December 26, 2012

Ah, to be a metalhead on the biggest holiday of the year. We’re imagining that you got a new fleece from Eddie Bauer instead of the rare Xasthur LP you hoped would end up under the tree. Your incontinent grandpa is still asleep on the couch. You are now hiding in your room scanning metal…

STREAMING: Valdur “Blast Beast”

December 26, 2012

Deep in the heart of east central California—that’d be Mono County or to be more specific Mammoth Lakes—lies one of the most enigmatic black metal outfits this side of France. Although Valdur aren’t particularly coy about revealing where they’re from, they’re pretty tight on who they are. Formed in ’03 but fiercely independent—their close affiliation…

Tales From the Metalnomicon: John Skipp

December 21, 2012

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….

Exclusive! Vit Premiere Video For “16 Bodies”

December 21, 2012

Vit kill.  Probably not literally, but who knows?  Their brand of grueling harshitude is just about my favorite kind of ear-hate:  a doomy churn filled with motion and eventful anarchy, a corpse-painted wretch that forgoes all amusical mopiness in favor of mounting, forboding horror.  Fans of genre-shunting black mood enhancement take heed.  Vit are shuffling bleakly…

Pleasure to Draw: An Interview with Phil Lawvere

December 20, 2012

On the surface, the name Phil Lawvere might not mean a whole lot. But if you take a root around your record collection, the importance of Lawvere’s contribution to the world of metal becomes pretty evident, pretty quickly. As the man who painted the covers to such classics as Endless Pain, Pleasure to Kill, Terrible…

Decibrity Playlist: Ancestors (Part 1)

December 20, 2012

While New Years Eve has never been one of my favorite holidays, Ancestors’ most recent effort, In Dreams And Time, was one of my top records of 2012. The previous sentence made more sense when the band was putting together a NYE playlist for us. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles quintet has assembled something even better…

Full Album Stream: Stagnant Waters

December 19, 2012

This is not Christmas music. Here at Decibel we’re always on the lookout for weird and unexpected shit for your listening pleasure. And the self-titled release from French/Norwegian outfit Stagnant Waters fits the bill. This band looks at the 12-bar structure like highly evolved aliens look at a toaster oven. We’re at a loss to…

Dive Bombs and Dive Bars # 5 – Ramming Speed’s Guide to America’s Rock n’ Roll Venues

December 19, 2012

Name: Saint Vitus Category: Venue Location: Brooklyn, NY Behind an unmarked black door on Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint lies America’s kvltest watering hole. “None More Black” doesn’t even begin to describe the interior of Saint Vitus; everything from the walls to the toilet seats are a bleak absence of light, the only respite being the…

Merry Xmas, Here’s Some Free Crap

December 18, 2012

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time to celebrate the thinly veiled pagan tradition of your choosing! In the spirit of giving without having to actually give anything ourselves (other than some links on the Internet), here are some of the finest recent metal albums available for free download on Bandcamp (a few of…