Metal Never Takes a Holiday

September 29, 2011

According to the calendar hanging on the wall about two feet to the left of my bulbous head, today is Rosh Hashanah. In technical terms, this means today is the first of the high holidays, or Yamin Noraim, celebrated ten days before Yom Kippur and is observed on the first two days of Tishrei, the…

Kyuss Lives! & The Sword: Interviews From The Road

September 29, 2011

09/23/2011, Terminal 5, NYC Is this exciting, or what? Seeing Queens perform their self-titled was cool, but I never, ever thought I’d get to see Kyuss…or, uh, anything like Kyuss, either. When I found out about the NY date, as Decibel’s self-appointed toke-master general, I felt it was my duty to attend. In addition, I…

Ministry – “The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste”

September 28, 2011

I distinctly recall the first time I heard Ministry’s The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste.

Korn Shifts Gears, Explores New Territory

September 28, 2011

I was going to write what I hoped would be the definitive critique of the heart-stopping shit mountain known as Loutallica, but then I got this in my inbox: Korn announced today that they will release their tenth studio album, The Path of Totality on December 6. But this is unlike any Korn record. It’s…

Justify Your Shitty Taste: Cave In, Everything After “Jupiter”

September 28, 2011

Almost every band has that album: you know, the critically and/or commercially reviled dud in an otherwise passable-to-radical back catalog. This time, Comrade Bennett accepts the editor-in-chief’s challenge to resurrect Cave In’s post-Jupiter oeuvre from beyond hypothermia.

SubRosa Interviewed

September 28, 2011

To quote your bio: “SubRosa comprises the deep thrum that makes up the underlying plasma of our invisible surroundings.” What does that mean?Sarah Pendleton: We are attempting to be the sonic interpreters of that which is intangible. The name SubRosa implies mystery. Something hidden. Do you actively try to keep things a bit obscure? Rebecca…

Sneak Preview of an Upcoming UK Thrash Documentary

September 27, 2011

Because of the stature they have attained, much of the metal-loving world puts the Big Four as the sort of holy, uh, quadrinity of thrash metal. These are the bands—all American—that we consider the originators and finest progenitors of the genre. But not so fast. If we’re to look at many of the Big Four’s…

Hey, that Angel Has an Axe!

September 27, 2011

Looking to get off that sis river of dreams… …and onto the thrashing, squalling river of rapture? Let Death Angel be your guide! The band is partnering with Jackson Guitars to give away three signed JS32 Rhoads guitars. All you have to do is fill out this online form and then mosey on down to…

LIVE EVIL FESTIVAL 2011 PREVIEW

September 26, 2011

One way to make sure your festival doesn’t suck, isn’t polluted by buy-on bands and weird compromises that all but beseech the audience to head to the bar for every third act is to have Darkthrone’s Fenriz choose the line-up. Using our favorite hiking metal punk’s Band of the Week blog to draw upon, the…

Carlsberg Beer Tests Your Intestinal Fortitude

September 26, 2011

Here’s some genius advertising. Imagine you and a friend walk into a movie theater filled with 148 very uncuddly men, and there’s only two seats left. What do you do? Do you muster up the courage to say, “Excuse me, giant, terrifying, tattooed sir,” and politely scooch your way to the seats in the middle…