In the event you are enjoying summer too thoroughly, Orchestrated Misery is giving away five copies of Crushed by the Wheels of Progress, the second full-length by Indiana sludge trio Yellowtooth, in order to remind you why everything is terrible. 

The proverbial long way to the top has definitely been a long one for Byzantine, which started in a part of rural West Virginia with minimal access to heavy metal and widespread economic problems. Many of the band’s best songs since their formation have touched on the problems of Appalachia, particularly rampant prescription drug abuse. Decibel  talked to frontman Chris “OJ” Ojeda about his long metal apprenticeship and one of the world’s most dangerous jobs: prescription pharmacy delivery driver in rural America. 

Danish death squad Undergang are set to release their third full-length, Døden Læger Alle Sår, on Dark Descent July 10. Take a listen to the whole thing right here.

What do Cathedral, Death Penalty, and cover artist Lucifer have in common? Guitarist Gaz Jennings, of course. Here’s our exclusive interview with the grand maestro of doom riffs.

Well, it’s that time of the month again, beak freaks, and we’re going to spew out about some new releases. 

Pregame for next week’s Independence Day revelry with Crisis’ top 5 songs/albums that best represent independence. 

Waldo the Parrot gives the Chicago blackened deathgrinders of Immortal Bird two beaks up in the forthcoming September issue’s Call & Response, but lucky for them, humans like them, too! 

Heavy metal has been flirting with electronic music for decades now, but the lines between the two worlds seem blurrier today than ever before. Chalk it up to Internet culture—with instant access to all the world’s information comes a vast multitude of subgenres that have enough permutations to satisfy all but the most discerning purists. Add to that the recent popularity of synth-heavy horror flicks like It Follows and numerous electronic artists signing to metal labels (Goblin Rebirth on Relapse, Gost/Dan Terminus/Perturbator on Blood Music) and it becomes pretty obvious: dark electronic/ambient music has pulled off a full-scale crossover!

We’re happy to give you the meat and potatoes death metal you need to get through a Wednesday afternoon, although that’s selling Kronos way too short. 

I was planning on only reviewing this band’s photo, but the image came with the rest of that nonsense on the side, and I can’t just move on without saying a little about the moniker Cry Excess.