End of Days
Heart-D-beat of a nation
dB rating: 8/10

** Sweden’s In Mourning are one of the country’s most unsung death metal acts–melodic, if you’re looking for an additional qualifier. Formed in 2000, the band took a good eight years before inking a deal with Norwegian indie Aftermath Music. Two years later, In Mourning dropped Monolith on the Pulverised label to great acclaim. But it wouldn’t be until 2012’s The Weight of Oceans where the Swedes found their sound and audience. Moored by the indomitable “A Vow to Conquer the Ocean”, In Mourning’s third album crushed Year End Lists and set the stage for In Mourning to take on the mantle Opeth left behind on the Heritage effort. Well, In Mourning have returned with Afterglow, an album four years in the making. With the drummer Daniel Liljekvist (ex-Katatonia) and a pack of killer songs in “Below Rise To The Above”, “Fire and Ocean”, and 10-minute monster “The Grinning Mist”. Decibel found guitarist Björn Pettersson prepping for the release of Afterglow.

Hatebeek’s fearless feathered leader squawks tech death, powerviolence and, um, Thor.

Exhumed, Ghoul and Arcana 13 members weigh in with horror and slasher flick favorites in honor of today’s metal “holiday.” 

I Love the Mid-’90s. If you have a similar soft spot for “metallic hardcore” don’t sleep on Eternal Sleep.  

Honky addition from Texas-sized supergroup.

On this week’s Demo:listen, we awake to find ourselves strapped to the conveyor belt and headed straight toward the chopping teeth and fiery maw of Richmond’s Obscurae.

Creepsylvanian death/thrash miscreants Ghoul join the Decibel Flexi Series.

It’s raining threes for French psych doomsters Mars Red Sky.

When I first saw extreme metal Brooklynites Kosmodemonic, they were killing it on a stage Watain doused with pig’s blood soon after.