On The Bus with Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman
May 8, 2013 Justin Norton
Jaz Coleman is known for tackling big subjects in interviews: climate change; the degradation of the food supply; technological singularity and the Renaissance. Spending some time with him in person — not in a Conga line of press interviews — is a much different proposition, even if he still hints at his scholarly pursuits. Decibel…
Decibel’s Top 5 Doom Metal Logos
May 8, 2013 Chris Dick
5. Saint Vitus. Crosses galore on the second Vitus logo. Three of them. For the Trinity perhaps. The original SVS logo only had one. Three’s a crowd, we say. But this logo is boss. Looks a bit cheap and overdone at first blush, but the barbed letters? Could be heavy metal cliché. Nope. Crown of…
EXCLUSIVE: Godflesh clip from Maryland Deathfest: The Movie III
May 8, 2013 Jonathan Horsley
There’s no introductory preamble necessary for this clip from Maryland Deathfest: The Movie III. You all know that Maryland Deathfest is an obligatory pilgrimage for any self-respecting blastbeat-worshipping Decibangers. And Godflesh are, well Godflesh: The marriage of riff to machine, the sound of urban alienation, of a dead city collapsing in on itself, et cetera….
TRACK PREMIERE: Set and Setting’s “Spiraling Uncertainties”
May 7, 2013 Jeff Treppel
It’s been shitty and raining in Los Angeles the past few days. Obviously you don’t care, since we have beautiful weather 99% of the time, but these are perfect conditions for Set and Setting. Not because Set and Setting are shitty; they aren’t. If you’re going to listen to heavy post-rock like this, it’s best…
An Unauthorized Guide to Maryland Deathfest XI
May 7, 2013 Shawn Macomber
We got semi-retired punk/metal atavist Stevo do Caixão, currently of Tombstones and formerly of the legendary Impetigo, as well as Axeslasher guitarist/vocalist Professor Pizza, and metal scribe Andy O’Connor — sadly, that’s his real name — currently of Pitchfork, Metalsucks, and Noisey, among other publications, to break down the upcoming Maryland Deathfest, debunk old myths…
STREAMING: Shining (NOR) “My Dying Drive”
May 6, 2013 Chris Dick
For a long while, Shining (SWE) and Shining (NOR) were swappable entities to the uneducated metal hoi polloi. Thankfully, they’re hardly interchangeable sonically (and visually), as one’s firmly razor-deep in DBM and the other is applying jazz, rock, and black into something rather undefinable—they call it ‘blackjazz’—but altogether Norwegian. Guess which one we have on…
For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week
May 3, 2013 Andrew Bonazelli
Hey there, beak geeks; it’s been a while. Your boy Waldo has been suffering from a seed allergy.The theme for this week is old-school, so let’s just dig right into it, shall we? The most overlooked “tion,” IMMOLATION hit us with a new record called Kingdom of Conspiracy on Nuclear Blast. Right in time for…
Jeff Hanneman: 1964-2013
May 3, 2013 Justin Norton
When it comes to creativity and vision, the best of us don’t compromise. It’s easy to shift and jump on a trend to make a buck, or follow blindly when someone promises a path to success. It’s a path many of us would take. Those destined to make a mark never compromise on their vision,…
Interview with Death To All 2013 Frontdude Max Phelps
May 3, 2013 Daniel Lake
Admission of personal bias: I think Max is awesome, because I’ve seen Max do Max’s thing in Max’s band (Exist) and Max’s band is awesome. I once described Exist’s music as not metal so much as a rad jazz quartet that decided to plug in and rip it up all loud-like. Those proggy death-flecked jams…
Old-School Hardcore Thursdays with AC4. This Week: Rocking with Raw Power
May 2, 2013 Kevin Stewart-Panko
First thing you need to know is that what you’re reading is being written in mid-April. Don’t ask why, unless you come out to the Fear Factory/Hate Eternal tour, MDF or Chaos in Tejas; then you can ask me why. Anyhoo, if all goes the way I’ve planned, I will still be coming off the…