Coming at its beguiling brand of blackened death metal with what feels like as much reverence for Emperor and Paradise Lost as Morbid Angel, long-running Modena, Italy quartet Valgrind hit a new high-water mark on Seal of Phobos, a diverse, assured slab of extreme metal full of deftly executed heavy riffage, pitch-black atmospherics, and hairpin turns.

Get yourself something to remember Decibel Metal and Beer Fest after it’s over.

Craven Idol lead a blackened assault on greed and mindless worship on The Shackles of Mammon.

Stream Russian funeral doom outfit Funeral Tears‘ third album.

Their first album since the reunion of Jersey’s morbid thrash cult, Blood Feast, The Future State of Wicked boasts deadly riffs, razor-sharp vocal attacks, and explosive battery. Out this Friday on Hells Headbangers, The Future State of Wicked is here. 

Before their Decibel Metal and Beer Fest performance – and before Panopticon drop their much-anticipated next album – we got to hear “Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing” in the ongoing Decibel Flexi Series.  After dozens of listens, we wanted to get mastermind Austin Lunn’s perspective on the song and its creation.

Deathrash Armageddon is a Japanese label that releases a number of raw thrash and black metal bands. 

Throughout rock ‘n’ roll history (we’re talking proto-metal here), J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have influenced heavily. Whether it’s lyrical references or inspiration — such as Led Zeppelin‘s “The Battle of Evermore” and “Ramble On” or Rush‘s “The Necromancer” and Rivendell” or Black Sabbath‘s “The Wizard” — or bands taking Tolkien-named places, things, persons to call their own, rock, metal, and all their relevant sub-genres owe much to Tolkien. Death metal and black metal, of course, are no exception.

Bardspec explore soundscapes on “Fire Tongue.”

Get to know your Decibel Metal & Beer Fest breweries. Today we can chat with Californian crushers, Three Weavers, brewers of the Prosthetic Records collaboration Blood Junkie.