A member of our extended family needs your help. Joe Wickstrom is the bassist of Atriarch and has played with numerous Portland bands. He was diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease in 2011 and has had a tough go. The disease narrows the arteries and makes it tough for blood to reach the limbs and extermities….

Formed by members of Spawn of Possession, Psycroptic and Space Raven, Mephistopheles comes out of the gate complicated. Actually, not that complicated, but perhaps different. The riffing of Ben Lawless squeaks, skronks, and pulls strange chords from the Netherverse. When he, drummer James “Blower” Excell, and bassist Sam Dowson lock, it’s like Dysrhythmia with a…

Today it is Decibel‘s pleasure to host this exclusive stream of “Sky Full of Witches,” a sublime slab of smoldering, cinematic fuzz-groove off ex-Melvins/Clown Alley guitarist Mark Deutrom’s upcoming third solo record Brief Sensuality and Western Violence. Here’s what Deutrom told us about the track: In 2012 the so called FAA Modernization and Reform act…

Wake are from Canada. They play grindcore. They seem generally unhappy about things. Here’s a description of the film that Handshake Inc. owner David Hall is making based on the album that sums up the general vibe better than I ever could (a NSFW segment of which can be found below). “False” is a film…

There has never been a shortage of bands in extreme music eager to wed horror cinema imagery to brutal riffage, but few have ever managed to do so with as much skill, class, or cleverness as avant grinders Corn on Macabre. A few months back the defunct band unleashed the towering, essential Discographic Violence retrospective…

In 1985, a kid by the name of Tommy Memzercardo released “The Innocent, The Forsaken, The Guilty”, an off-kilter fantasy/epic metal EP featuring Bill Ward on drums. Back then, the former Black Sabbath drummer couldn’t be credited for legal reasons, while Memzercardo was a mystery all of his own, calling himself The Mezmerist and playing…

** Originally slated for an early July release, Avichi’s new album, Catharsis Absolute, is now coming this October. If the stars align. Below is a conversation with Avichi mastermind Andrew ‘Aamonael’ Markuszewski about what separates Catharsis Absolute from its predecessor The Devil’s Fractal. We also explore the spiritual and personal concepts behind it. What is…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… In his latest antagonism 90s Island, reliably hilarious literary raconteur and self-described “luscious beacon of truth” Marty Beckerman (The Heming Way, Generation S.L.U.T.) spins a satirical yarn of two brothers fed up with a…

Catuvolcus, those purveyors of anthemic historical metal, have been waking ancient Gallic spirit from their home in Warwick for the past six years.  In that time, they’ve dropped an EP and two full-length records.  Decibel‘s only exposure to their sound has been through Gergovia, the band’s second album, and it’s a heavy-as-hell burner of a record….

Municipal Waste are no strangers to Decibel-land. Having performed admirably at our 100th Issue show, appeared as chefs on the cover of issue #89 [available HERE] and earned an honorable place on Albert’s mancave mantle, the Virginia-based thrashers are, well, like family. When Scion A/V approached us to air an exclusive interview with the Wastoids—in…