I’m going to be brutally honest with myself and you, gentle reader, and come clean here. Folks, while I consider myself a fan of Belgium’s Rise and Fall, self-reflection regarding my actions during their last seven years of existence illustrate that I may not be as big a fan as I thought I might be….

If you read Shane Mehling’s review in our March issue, you’ll know that we—along with most of the interwebs—hold Pallbearer’s recent debut in rather high regard. While it’s way too early to say whether Sorrow and Extinction will go on to be talked about in the same breath as a Calculating Infinity or Remission, the…

I bet you did not see that one coming. Ingram, who has his fingers in seemingly every Kansas pie available, worked with hardcourt bike polo equipment makers Fixcraft to design and market this ball because, we assume, he plays hardcourt bike polo. Personally I thought he just liked smoking cigarettes, putting band names on pocket…

If you were to ask us to describe Atlanta, Georgia’s Royal Thunder, we’d probably have to say, “Well, John, they sound a lot like getting your ass kicked by a ’70s-era Tony Iommi while he was a coke and HP Lovecraft bender.” If you were to ask us, “What the hell does that mean?” We’d…

There’s no denying the intense visual impact of seeing Author & Punisher (ne Tristan Shone) perform using machines and speakers he has crafted himself. We’ll admit to being utterly mesmerized by it. Thus we are stoked to be exclusively premiering a brand new track—the opener “Terrorbird”—from Author & Punisher’s upcoming album Ursus Americanus on Seventh…

Dr. Vivek Venkatesh’s office at Concordia University in Montreal is almost certainly unique in the world of academia. There probably aren’t many professors out there, for instance, who mix and match All Pigs Must Die prints and Latin salsa posters or keep vinyl collections as close at hand as research materials. And if any Decibel…

Those of you who instinctively sniff the wind for the freshest über-brutal death metal should be familiar with Hour of Penance by now. Maybe you’ve been feeling a weird kinda tingle through your core mosh-muscle groups in anticipation of the imminent release of the Italians’ fifth album, Sedition. Hour of Penance have got themselves a…

If you’ve read Cry Now, Cry Later or one of J. Bennett’s many (read: nearly all of them) cover stories for Decibel, you’re probably familiar with the dude. He writes like he’s on some sort of drug, but actually it’s just the rarefied air he breathes. Unlike the rest of us hobbits (i.e., 6′ and…

We’ve had Jeff Loomis’ Midwestern back ever since he first debuted with Nevermore on the group’s self-titled debut LP. Over the years, he has transformed into a wonder axeman (or Guitar Hero, if you want to use contemporary video game parlance), lining up with such greats as Marty Friedman, George Lynch, and Alexi Laiho. Now…

Stay warm and display your love of Satan with the limited edition Decibel Magazine Tour hoodie! And when we say limited, we mean limited, so head on over to Indie Merch and pre-order this two-sided, full-color official homage to the most goat-worshiping-friendly event of 2012. You’ll thank us when yours arrives in time for the…