In our first on-location podcast, we infiltrate the sordid underworld of Scott Hull’s Visceral Sound studio to talk Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, the Decibel 100 show and much more. Featuring:Pig Destroyer “Rotten Yellow” (Live from Decibel’s 100th Issue Show)Pig Destroyer “The Bug”Agoraphobic Nosebleed “Merry Chrystmeth”Pig Destroyer “Junkyard God”

Before you jump all down my throat and get up in my grill, understand that not all metal festivals are on the same level as Wacken, MDF, Roadburn, Chaos in Tejas, Bloodstock, one of the annual Scion-sponsored shin-digs or even Hopscotch or FunFunFunFest. Not every fest has the ability to draw thousands or can be…

Given that Ulcerate is one of the more forward-thinking death metal bands around (as will again be evidenced on the trio’s upcoming album Vermis), it’s only fitting that drummer Jamie Saint Merat’s playlist fits his group’s modus operandi. As he explains, “Being a drummer, I figured it might be an idea to pick something that…

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…