East of the Wall dropped its fourth full-length a little over two months ago. But just because we’re a little late getting around to praising Redaction Artifacts doesn’t mean that we don’t hold a special place in our grim hearts for the New Jersey quintet, one that’s been ensconced there since The Postman Syndrome’s 2002…

For years, Opeth toiled in relative obscurity. Caged to Candlelight Records for three fantastic albums and Peaceville for one stupendous full-length, the Stockholmites’ import-only status could’ve continued had Opeth’s new home, Music for Nations, not been a label proper.

In 2014, I resolve to: Descant the insalubrious. Yoko Ono Chimaira. Stop smashing hammer faces. Train my army of attack hamsters. Look into whether or not goat sacrifice requires a permit. Resist your touch of evil. Follow Darkthrone on tour. Convince Albert to do a Hall Of Fame on Nightwish’s Wishmaster. Transcribe Obituary lyrics. Watch…

On November 12th, Norwegian death metal atavists Obliteration finally broke their silence with Black Death Horizon, the long-awaited follow-up to their awesome 2009 LP, Nekrospalms. Where ‘psalms spread the gospel of old-school death metal through riffs redolent of Autopsy et al, Black Death Horizon finds Obliteration visiting a new plane of extreme metal. Death metal,…

** Every year we do it. Decibel assembles a list of killer albums based on a secret algorithm. This year, I wanted to add to our Top 40 list (as published HERE). Albums I felt were overlooked on our list. The artists and albums reflect my opinion only and weren’t subject to the secret algorithm….

What with a holiday season to service and a ten-year anniversary to celebrate, the good people of Seventh Rule Recordings have doubled down on the good cheer and offered you the chance to win their entire vinyl discography in their 10 Year Glitch Prize Package Says a dispatch from Seventh Rule’s Portland HQ: “Seventh Rule…

Many of you might have noticed—If you listen to radio that is, but that’s another blog entirely—on Black Friday many U.S. radio stations flipped from their respective formats to Holiday. All across this great (not so great if you follow Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity with any seriousness) land of ours Adult Contemporary and Pop…

If I commissioned a sculptor to create a monument dedicated to the hatred of mankind, it would probably be a metalhead with hair dangling in front of its eyes, carved from black onyx and brimstone, and “Entering a New State” would be blaring in a continuous loop from a speaker tucked inside the statue’s mouth….

Well, we all know that the year is winding down, so it’s that pesky time for end of the year lists. These are in no PECKticular order, so, you know, these are just some of the releases that are a better than fit to line my cage with. Noisem, Agony Defined:  This is thrash played the…

Years ago, a former non-Decibel coworker caught wind that I was digging into the grimy corners of the blackened underground.  This coworker – a Mr. Shuman – immediately targeted my mailbox for blast ‘n’ rasp overload.  Data CDs loaded with entire discographies of 3rd tier blasphemers with photocopied cover art, cast-off compilations, and duplicate copies…