Bitches, Listen… to the New Robocop Jam “Word Virus”

February 2, 2012

A sharp blast of powerviolence and sludge, with intricate lyrics and a pitch-perfect cover of Napalm Death’s “You Suffer,” Maine trio Robocop’s 2011 full-length Robocop II is easily one of the best releases on Grindcore Karaoke to date. Maybe we’re a little biased, because Robocop guitarist Ryan Page is consistently one of the most droll…

Not Exclusive- Scourge Schematic: ‘Life Savings’

February 1, 2012

The name of Scourge Schematic’s debut is not exactly cryptic. Life Savings is what the four-piece cashed in to record this EP, hoping somebody out there would give a damn. Money well spent, dudes. Clearly influenced by the death and grind giants of the 90s, the band has soldered elements of thrash and punk rock…

STREAMING: A Liquid Landscape “The Unreachable”

February 1, 2012

To honor national prog day — yes, it really is 2.1.12 here in the United States, where we don’t mess up the date by transposing the month and day — Decibel was originally going to get Rush to perform Opeth covers in our offices, but logistics proved the event’s undoing. They were all up for…

Overkill – “The Years of Decay”

January 31, 2012

No strangers to the north east thrash metal scene—then dominated by Hall of Famers Anthrax—New Jerseyans Overkill famously peeked out from the underground on ‘88’s Under the Influence.

R.I.P. Riot Guitarist Mark Reale (1955-2012)

January 31, 2012

We’re obviously not breaking the news that Riot guitarist, Mark Reale (far L in photo), passed away on January 25 from complications from Crohn’s disease. Nonetheless, we wanted to pay tribute to a musician—and more importantly, a band—that hasn’t gotten his/their due in American metal history. Reale was not only a founding member of Riot,…

Not Dead Yet

January 31, 2012

Get ready to put whatever trivial bullshit you were planning to bitch and moan over today on hold: The upcoming documentary Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet is imbued with the kind of uplifting against all odds triumph and spellbinding never-say-die persistence that reorients perspective in a serious way. After making a name for himself in…

HYSTERICAL: Hysteria – The Def Leppard Story, awful biopic, comedy gold

January 30, 2012

Firstly, kudos to Ben Ward of Orange Goblin for posting this on Facebook today and reminding us that This is Spinal Tap doesn’t have a monopoly on eliciting belly laughs at the expense of rock and metal’s superstars. You may like Def Leppard, and even those who don’t may still appreciate “Rocks Off” from On…

Murder Death Kill Mired In Controversy? No, Stupidity.

January 30, 2012

Metal writers (sorry, not journos) are subjected to a slew of email proclamations from publicists, labels, and other label-centric interests. Stuff like “on tour now”, “new promo materials”, “x band celebrates the release of y album”, and so on. Basically, every day it’s email after email of one band’s new album release after another. Well,…

Say hello to the weekend with RED FANG’s “Hank is Dead” video

January 27, 2012

Oh praise be! The most miserable month of the year is all but over and it’s the weekend. This has been such a dry-mouthed hump of a month, but when Red Fang released their video for their super-catchy loose-minded stoner jam “Hank is Dead” the Deciblog made like Barney Gumble with the non-alcoholic champagne and…

From the Middle East to Southern Ontario. An Interview with Nephelium

January 26, 2012

The band’s name may not be familiar to the majority of you and their moniker isn’t going to help them stand out from the crowd, but Toronto’s Nephelium is bound to garner interest solely based on the fact that they originally called Dubai home. And not the “new” Dubai where everything seems like it prolapsed…