For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week

February 28, 2014

What up, beak freakz?  Notice the “z”? Yeah, I’m going nu-metal; a-parrot-ly it’s making a comeback. Nah, juzt kidding. Did you know there were two bandz named Portal? I did, and I’m going to review one of them. Oof. What time is it? Huh? PORTAL — no not that one, the one from Sweden — release…

New Song Exclusive: Dirge’s “Venus Claws”

February 28, 2014

Prepare yourselves, mortal ones, for a mighty slab of awesome to descend upon your unworthy skull.  First arising from the industrial haze of the mid-90s, France’s Dirge has shape-shifted through the past 16 years and (now) six albums to crush souls with music entirely in concert with their name. In two weeks, Dirge will see…

BREWTAL TRUTH: Drink This Now!

February 28, 2014

Last week’s Q&A with Exit-13 vocalist Bill Yurkiewicz got us thinking about Belgian beers. Actually, we’re frequently thinking about Belgian beers, but this is a good time of year for drinking the the big, high-ABV ones—and there are plenty of them out there. It also made us consider the “classics” of the beer world, iconic…

DB TOUR NEWS: New Santa Ana Opener and Dallas Venue Change

February 28, 2014

Late-breaking news for the just-around-the-corner 2014 Decibel Magazine Tour. We’ve added another regional opener that should get you lucky SoCal metalheads good and stoked. L.A.’s mighty deathgrind institution Nausea will be added to the Santa Ana show on Tuesday, March 25, at the Observatory. Gotta appreciate how we’re sticking to the theme of bands who take…

Exmortus – “Foe Hammer” Video Premiere

February 27, 2014

California’s Exmortus blew my ears and balls back with their debut full length, In Hatred`s Flame back in 2008. The quartet seemed destined to take their prodigious talents, love of aggressive 80s-inspired metal, interest in neo-classical shred and proclivity for combining all three of those elements to the top of the then-bubbling thrash revival. Then,…

Decibrity Playlist: Melt-Banana

February 27, 2014

Melt-Banana‘s last record Fetch earned a place in our top 10 of 2013. Since Kevin Stewart-Panko already asked the now duo of vocalist Yasuko “Yako” Onuki and guitarist Ichiro Agata nearly every question imaginable back in October (most importantly about their Geocities website), we weren’t left with much ground that hadn’t already been covered. Onuki…

STREAMING: RiotGod’s “Driven Rise”

February 26, 2014

Bob Pantella spends part of his year behind the kit for the Hall Of Fame certified band Monster Magnet. When he’s not playing with them and several other bands he leads RiotGod. We’re streaming their new track “Driven Rise” below. The band’s third album Driven●Rise will be released March 18th on Metalville Records/E1 and is…

Sucker For Punishment: Also Known as Heretication

February 26, 2014

This week’s a funny one, with one hugely, hugely obvious Album of the Week pick, one that’s most likely destined for my personal best metal of 2014 list. But after some real digging, I’ve found a couple other albums well worth checking out, too: a long lost reissue from a forgotten Metal Massacre band, some…

TRACK PREMIERE: Vices’ “Wasteland”

February 25, 2014

Hey, finally a band name AND song title combo that describes my managing editor’s life. Vices play hardcore with a blues rock edge, reminiscent of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster before they started to suck. “Wasteland” will make you want to go smash some liquor bottles down by the creek real good. Their debut…

Constant Lovers Visit the Amazon

February 25, 2014

This morning we’re streaming an exclusive new earthy, driving rocker from Seattle’s self-described “caveman goth” heroes Constant Lovers.