What’s up? There’s definitely some stuff to crow about here, and I’m going to tell you all about it.

I’m pretty sure the guys in Black Shape of Nexus are fucking with me. I mean, I’ve heard heavy music borne out of positive catharsis and even righteous abandon (Devin Townsend, Cynic, et al come to mind immediately), but B.SON sound like they’re coming from a totally different place – specifically boiling out of a…

I discovered Richmond’s The Catalyst the old-fashioned way: the dude at their former record company, Perpetual Motion Machine, sent me a vinyl copy of their first EP, Marianas Trench. Then, that same person sent me a CD copy of the expanded version of said record, Marianas Trench+9. At least that was the old-fashioned way for…

Two weeks ago, we ran the first part of our interview with Shelsmusic’s Mehdi Safa in which we discussed, among other things, how he finds bands and his label’s history with vinyl (you can read that here). In the concluding half of our interview, find out about Shelsmusic Studios, Safa’s views on streaming services like…

Welcome to the opening installment of Inside The Shredder’s Studio, where we talk to accomplished players and guitar nerds about the riffs that make them warm and fuzzy. It would be easy to call this another “Women In Metal” bonus feature but I’m not going to do that. You see, chances are Elizabeth Schall can…

For the past 16 years, German “power” thrashers Perzonal War have wowed thrashers and heshers in their native land. They were discovered by Rock Hard magazine in what is presumed to be a Battle of the Bands/OK Corral-type competition that pitted the hard-hitting Perzonal War against sad kids in Burzum shirts and female-fronted acts with…

Don’t say that we never tried to give you anything. We’re not saying that we are definitely going to give each and everyone of you reading this something. But if you play your cards right [see footnote 1] you may at least have a chance for us [see footnote 2] to give you something. Mighty…

Lord, do we have a bizarrely amazing contest for you all this morning! To celebrate their upcoming Steve Albini-produced 10-inch release on Anthropic Records, Philadelphia’s own self-described “down tuned psychedelic outer space beard metal” outfit Ominous Black has agreed not only to allow Decibel to stream one of these monsters of epic eclecticism, but is…

Twelve albums in on a 22-year-old career and Swedish black metallers Marduk can still be relied upon 100 per cent to stick to the program and deliver a typically iconoclastic tour de force, touching upon all the genre essentials, anti-hymns to send toes curling in the Vatican and throughout Christendom. Serpent Sermon is pound for…

This piece is a long lost companion section to Decibel #92 cover story Paradise Lost. It explores and debunks the myth of the Peaceville Three—Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema—connecting and riffing off one another in the early to mid-’90s. Think of it as an updated version of fellow Decibel contributor Greg Moffitt’s UK…