Prepare for maximum discomfort, courtesy of Dutch BM crew’s “Wille Zur Macht”

Yes, that title does refer to the two styles of music and the trading card game. 

Hollow Earth have always sounded like they wanted to be more than a hardcore band. Sure, the midwesterners never lacked the ability to break necks with and start pits, but there was something around the edges that showed a real thirst for something different, with flashes of doom and melody.  

We were tempted to post a mid-’80s photo of German thrashers Exumer. But, alas, this would be a misrepresentation of the reality of time. Actually, that’s not entirely true. For the better part of two decades Exumer has parlayed Euro-centric thrash into solid gold. That’s right, from 1985 to 2016, the Germans have transcended time and trends to make what is arguably the best thrash album to hit the public since Exodus’ Force of Habit.

“Spain’s superb hardcore punk misfits clash with Finland’s finest grindcore deviants on this unforgivingly brutal split 7” that’s going to pummel you into submission from the very first notes.”

Veteran Dutch devil worshippers Cirith Gorgor are back to wreak blackened havoc.

Abbath
Still no Vinnie Vincent guest solo
dB Rating: 8/10

Decibel is fueled by love for metal’s storied history, and we’re taking our responsibility as historians to the next level with the inaugural Decibel Yearbook, celebrating all things 1991. 

During a recent tour with Thou, The Body and friends Heat Dust, Thou bassist Mitch Wells shot some interview footage and other moments, then cut them together to memorialize the time the bands spent together.

** After a late night driving session with a friend trying to trick me into falsely identifying Finnish melodic death/rock outfit Fall of the Leafe’s third album, Fermina, I figured the Deciblog could use some Finnish mastery. Though this piece would go nicely to complement my cover story on Finland (HERE), it’s really too hard to forget how great Fall of the Leafe were. Early on, they held the tenets of melodic death metal tight–with flair–but as they matured, so too did the music. OK, so albums from Fermina on were light on death metal, they were heavy on wicked riffs, oddball songwriting, crazy singing, and emotion. Check out my favorite Fall of Leafe tunes below!