Dr. Vivek Venkatesh’s office at Concordia University in Montreal is almost certainly unique in the world of academia. There probably aren’t many professors out there, for instance, who mix and match All Pigs Must Die prints and Latin salsa posters or keep vinyl collections as close at hand as research materials. And if any Decibel…

Those of you who instinctively sniff the wind for the freshest über-brutal death metal should be familiar with Hour of Penance by now. Maybe you’ve been feeling a weird kinda tingle through your core mosh-muscle groups in anticipation of the imminent release of the Italians’ fifth album, Sedition. Hour of Penance have got themselves a…

If you’ve read Cry Now, Cry Later or one of J. Bennett’s many (read: nearly all of them) cover stories for Decibel, you’re probably familiar with the dude. He writes like he’s on some sort of drug, but actually it’s just the rarefied air he breathes. Unlike the rest of us hobbits (i.e., 6′ and…

We’ve had Jeff Loomis’ Midwestern back ever since he first debuted with Nevermore on the group’s self-titled debut LP. Over the years, he has transformed into a wonder axeman (or Guitar Hero, if you want to use contemporary video game parlance), lining up with such greats as Marty Friedman, George Lynch, and Alexi Laiho. Now…

Stay warm and display your love of Satan with the limited edition Decibel Magazine Tour hoodie! And when we say limited, we mean limited, so head on over to Indie Merch and pre-order this two-sided, full-color official homage to the most goat-worshiping-friendly event of 2012. You’ll thank us when yours arrives in time for the…

We are well aware that it’s Friday but press pause on the celebratory Van Halen for like 10 minutes or something (some unfortunates have to work the weekend, y’know) because we’ve got some crucial FYI for fans of the noir melancholia of doom, death rock. Atriarch and Alaric have a split out in April 17th…

Who ever would have thought that the instrumental music scene, as it pertains to Decibel’s readership, would be as saturated and crowded as it has become since Pelican ended up on the cover of issue #33 way back in 2007? It’s gotten so much so that bands whose savant-like members who are ineffectual basket cases…

In terms of being recognized as a major force in the world of extreme music, Finland can often be overshadowed by its Scandanavian neighbors Norway and Sweden. Although the Land of a Thousand Lakes has its fair share of metal stalwarts both past and present—Sentenced, Children of Bodom and Finntroll, to name a few—it’s fair…

Portland’s a sweet city. It’s got a well-titted public transportation system, a record store for every sub-sub genre (except for Mozambique deathfolk, which is unfortunate.), a zoo, and Powell’s City of Books. Of course, it has other things, too. Like guys with 18th century moustaches in little girl pants, but so too does every city…