John Dyer Baizley of Baroness on five life-changing album covers

July 29, 2013

“I could go on all day about Pink Floyd record covers,” says Baroness frontman/guitarist John Dyer Baizley. “I could go on all day about Neurosis record covers or Converge—Jacob Bannon is another great album cover artist.” He really could. But we’re mean and we need five to compile an easily digestible list of cover art,…

For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week

July 29, 2013

The dog days of August are certainly here, and boy howdy, there’s at least ONE release that I’m super-stoked on. Let’s get into it, shall we? The masters of Gore Metal are back at it. EXHUMED release Necrocracy, and this thing rips. This gore-soaked platter has grooves, blasts, hooks and, well, plenty of gore. At…

STREAMING: Fyrnask “Vigil”

July 29, 2013

As summer reaches her cruel arms into August (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), the days elongate (not scientifically), the sun burns hotter, and time stands still. The Dog Star blazes the night sky. These are, my friends, Canicular Days. But what if long-dead winter—his biting cold and piercing winds—suddenly came into view. A brief…

STREAMING: Gorguts “Colored Sands”

July 29, 2013

Spoiler alert! The new Gorguts album, Colored Sands, rules. But you knew that already. The band that put Canadian death metal on the map—with Considered Dead and Erosion of Sanity—and then sent death metal into fits of spiral rage on 1998’s Obscura and 2001’s From Wisdom to Hate have returned, with class, chops, and curveballs…

Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Montreal’s The Unconscious Mind

July 26, 2013

 Because every day another band records another song. Because 83% of those songs are unlistenable and you can’t be bothered to sift through the dreck. Because metal is about not giving a shit and waking your own personal storm. Because music is universal, expression is boundless, and even indie labels (whatever that means these days)…

BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This Now!

July 26, 2013

Given the opportunity to write about craft beer every month in Decibel has been eye-opening. The idea that our “Brewtal Truth” column would have lasted more than four years (and counting) and even spawn a book—The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers, out in November—is pretty amazing. Now it’s time to bring a little “Brewtal…

Spirits of the Dead: The Deadly Spiritual Interview

July 25, 2013

Hailing from Oslo, Spirits of the Dead ignited an incense-scented dookie stick firestorm of praise and wonder with their 2011 second album, The Great God Pan (their debut was self-titled and from two years earlier). Best pegged as a effusive mixture of psychedelic, folk and stoner rock, said album had critics and fans from the…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Beneath Oblivion “The Atomic Mother”

July 25, 2013

Beneath Oblivion put out a monster of a record back in 2011 in the form of From Man To Dust. As our own Shane Mehling–never one to sugar coat things–once explained on this very site, “[r]arely do you hear a doom band so good at integrating other influences, from folk to death metal to experimental…

Episode DB002 – 2013 Decibel Tour Wrap-Up

July 24, 2013

Albert and Andrew interview Decibel publisher Alex Mulcahy and talk shop with members of the three bands leading the 2013 Decibel Magazine Tour–Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse, Shane Embury of Napalm Death and Ross Dolan of Immolation.   Featuring: Immolation “All that Awaits Us”Cannibal Corpse “Crucifier Avenged”Napalm Death “A Gag Reflex”

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #7: André Foisy Of Locrian

July 24, 2013

Locrian’s new album Return To Annihilation is one of the better records I’ve heard this year, and the praise keeps rolling in. We decided that it was a perfect time to invite frontman André Foisy to the shredder’s studio. He shared a list of eclectic infuences and might be the first shredder featured ever that…