Decibel Magazine

Willowtip's 2009 Stanley Cup Preview

Posted May 30 by nick (9 Comments)

By Jason Tipton, Willowtip

Here at Willowtip HQ, both Vinny and I are pretty crazy about the Pens. I’ve been a season ticket holder for 4 years and haven’t missed a home game in 2 years. Vinny actually somehow landed the amazing job of being the person that plays music between faceoffs and stoppages of play at the Mellon Arena. When you hear Electro Quarterstaff, it is a bad thing, since he plays some parts of their songs following goals from the opposition.

At 12:30 PM today, I leave for another trip to Detroit and the Stanley Cup Finals. I guess the one good thing about a bad economy in Detroit is that it is rather easy to get tickets for Red Wings games. Last year the Penguins failed to score even one goal in the first two games, which was beyond disappointing. I don’t see them getting shutout in the first two games this year though. The 2008-09 Penguins are a very different team and should threaten the Wings this year. The Red Wings are an amazing hockey team and just stacked from top to bottom. They have many advantages over the Pens, especially their scoring depth. The lines from top to bottom are just insane. When healthy, the Wings are nearly impossible to beat. But, the Red Wings are not completely healthy right now. For some reason the NHL still chooses to let NBC dictate the terms for their television schedule, and that means playing back-to-back games to start the Cup finals, which helps the Pens in this scenario.

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Nergal (Behemoth) interviewed

Posted May 29 by Chris D. (7 Comments)

Behemoth are unstoppable. Ever since frontman Nergal figured out storming the Baltic was a wee myopic, the Poles eyed a much larger geographic prize. That’d be the world. Though Nergal would’ve liked to start with Ulan Bator or Kathmandu, he set his sights on Europe and North America. Smart move. By playing tons of Risk he knows Kamchatka’s worthless compared to Ontario.

It started with 1999’s Satanica. From there, Behemoth’s albums (namely 2007’s The Apostasy), rigorous touring regimen, and savvy image have transformed them into grand ambassadors of death. Near kings, in fact. Now with nine full-lengths (new album Evangelion is considered in the tally), more EPs than Trey Azagthoth has Sailor Moon dolls, and Metal Blade Records at his beck and call, Nergal and Behemoth are ready for the final victory. Irvington, New Jersey. Wait. They conquered that hellhole already.

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Meta Hoodie

Posted May 28 by Jeanne F. (9 Comments)

How freakin’ meta can you get?!?? This is the hoodie to end all hoodies. Hardcore kids the world over just had an aneurysm thinking, “I need this, it speaks to me, BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?”

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Q&A with Thurston Moore

Posted May 27 by J. Bennett (55 Comments)

“I read Decibel, man.” We obviously love it when anyone says those four words in exactly that order, but when someone we’d never suspect says them, it’s especially satisfying. Like Sonic Youth vocalist/guitarist Thurston Moore, for instance. When word hit Decibel HQ that he’d been getting deep into black metal lately—so much that the band’s forthcoming album, The Eternal, is rumored to bear a whisper of the influence—we immediately got on the horn to grill him. Read more...

The Laughing Stock of the Neighborhood

Posted May 27 by Decibot (8 Comments)

Decibot commands you to fast forward to 3:24.

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15 Fuckin' Years

Posted May 26 by nick (5 Comments)

You would not believe how many videos from this year's Maryland Death Fest are already on YouTube. Here's the start of Bolt Thrower's Saturday night set. Anyone who stayed through Sunday got to see a double shot of Bolt Thrower, filling in for late scratches Pestilence. As Cosmo Lee of Invisible Oranges quipped, "Bolt Thrower: the original groove metal band?" Dunno, but seeing Bolt Thrower live and in the flesh was pretty groovy.

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Fangoria Weekend of Horrors

Posted May 22 by Jeanne F (1 Comments)

If it weren’t for horror movies, we may have never had death metal. So it is with oozing, dripping anticipation that the Deciblog will deploy this geek to the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors taking place June 5 – 7 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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Oceano grills Lambgoat

Posted May 21 by Chris D. (17 Comments)

Fighting over the Internet is like asking a bum to break a $50.

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Top 5 Films With (or Inspired by) Music

Posted May 20 by nick (21 Comments)

By David Hall, The White Clinical

Hi. My name is David Hall. I’m a filmmaker. I make films inspired by metal, and based on albums by metal bands. My credits include Axis of Eden: The Feature Film (based on a Today Is The Day album) and Disgorge, Mexico (based on a Fuck The Facts album). I have new projects in the works now with Sigh and Jucifer, among others.

I live in London, Ontario, Canada. I found out last week that the guy who made the film Anvil! The Story of Anvil, used to live in London, too. Weird. In a few days, I’m going to Baltimore to shoot a film called Maryland Deathfest: The Movie, a feature film about the 7th annual Maryland Deathfest, which I think is probably the best music festival in the world.

Since January, I’ve been watching a lot of movies about concerts, bands and music, and since that time have narrowed my viewing habits down to five films that truly stick out as untouchable in terms of cinematic quality, invention and awesomeness. Here they are:

Posted May 19 by Chris D. (6 Comments)

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Top 5 Doom Metal Logos (of All Time)

Posted May 19 by Chris D. (78 Comments)

5. Saint Vitus. Crosses galore on the second Vitus logo. Three of them. For the Trinity perhaps. The original SVS logo only had one. Three’s a crowd, we say. But this logo is boss. Looks a bit cheap and overdone at first blush, but the barbed letters? Could be heavy metal cliché. Nope. Crown of thorns symbolism. Crosses that dot the two “I” letters? Could be just crosses. Nope. Candle flames. The gigantic “V” with the cross in it? Sacred feminine cock block. We made the last bit up, but you never know. The logo's still in use today.

Posted May 18 by Albert (7 Comments)

Now I know you’re coming down from the contact high of learning about the Decibel Hall of Fame book, Precious Metal. So, you should probably sit down for this: On July 31^st at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, grindcore legends Repulsion will kick off our book release show with a once-in-a-lifetime performance of their Hall of Fame-inducted classic Horrified in its entirety! Oh yeah, Pig Destroyer and Brutal Truth will be there to tear the venue a new one, too. Not too shabby, eh? Come early, buy a book. Go home late, leave smart and deaf. UPDATE: Purchase tickets here.

Posted May 18 by Albert (12 Comments)

On July 15th Da Capo Press will release the Decibel Hall of Fame anthology titled Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces. We’ve selected our 24 favorite HOF pieces, which we’ve published in Decibel over the past five years and expanded the shit out of them. Plus, we have (read: yours truly has) put together a special BONUS Hall of Fame that will only be available in the book. Hint: it’s not Neurosis. UPDATE: Pre-order here! The official press release is after the jump:

Posted May 18 by Albert (2 Comments)

The Decibel-sponsored Metal Beard night at Johnny Brenda's is set to take place this Thursday, May 21st and promises to be the most blast beat-filled night most local beardos have ever experienced! Antigama, Sectara, Complete Failure and Drugs of Faith bring the pain. You bring the five bucks.

Posted May 15 by Jeanne F. (4 Comments)

The viral video sensation known as Play Him Off Keyboard Cat has had this writer convulsing with laughter to the point where I’m pretty sure two drops of pee escaped on more than one occasion. The equation is so simple. Human idiots are caught on film doing something idiotic. Cut to a big orange cat in a shiny powder-blue t-shirt plonking away on a Casio. End scene.

You know what would be awesome? If we could splice the human idiot-epic known as Heavy Metal Parking Lot with Keyboard Cat…

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Ravenous, Murderous. God or Satan?

Posted May 15 by Chris D. (10 Comments)

We here at dB are by no means religious scholars. We talk a big game -- usually about Deicide, Morbid Angel, and Marduk --, but when pressed we'll sheepishly admit Sunday School was the highest formal religious education we received. There might be exceptions -- different denominations, religious roots, etc. When we were presented this graphic, however, we knew right away the responsible party for it probably studied The Bible a lot. Or they were bean counters. Or dead bored.

Posted May 14 by Chris D. (10 Comments)

Back from Dubai and I can safely say it was a unique experience. I wanted to absorb the place, so I stayed a few days more after the show and a good decision it was. The place is extremely dynamic and the people I met there are ace. I was sitting in the desert in a Nomad-type camp with my band, we were smoking the Sheesha/Nargila (water pipe with flavored tobaccos), having wine while the sun was setting and listening to classical Arabic music. I suddenly looked at them and said, “It’s really intriguing where Melechesh always takes us.” From the wildest towns to the quietest villages from the holiest cities to the most decadent alleys, from Fjords and Scandinavian snow-filled mountains to sand dunes in the middle of the desert all under the flag of Sumerian thrashing black metal or Mesopotamian metal or just our music! I think I will head back to Dubai when I have some time, but first I got to go and discover Istanbul from a cultural, spiritual (especially the occult side of the city and the Sufi sects. “Like dervishes’ menacing whirl a vortex of Shamash turns...” some of you might get it some won’t) and, last but not least, musical perspective. Istanbul has always been a hub between the East and the West and the music there has developed accordingly.

Posted May 14 by nick (13 Comments)

Here's a photo (courtesy Deciblog fave Justina Villanueva) of Curran Reynolds doing a "pit check" on Grace Perry from Landmine Marathon. You may know Reynolds as the drummer from NYC noiseniks Wetnurse (coming to a city near you with Lord Mantis in June-July), but he's a man who wears many hats and we're here today to give him his propers for booking the "Precious Metal" series at Lit Lounge. May 25 marks the 3rd anniversary of the series with performances by Deathwish Inc stalwarts Victims and Trap Them + a pair of non-black metal "Black" bands, Black Breath and Black Anvil. Awesome, no? Now just imagine a kick-ass line-up like that every Monday night for three years straight! Now a few quick words from the man (the myth, the legend) on the history of Precious Metal and how to put on a killer show:

Posted May 14 by Albert (5 Comments)

That’s right; Decibel and Dean Guitars have teamed up to giveaway a Demonator 4 bass guitar autographed by Morbid Angel bassist/vocalist David Vincent! One lucky winner will receive a phone call from Mr Evil D, who will personally deliver the good news. It’s up to you if you wanna use that phone time to ask him when the hell new Morbid Angel will actually be finished. Anyway, just follow the simple rules below:

Posted May 13 by Chris D. (6 Comments)

Summer's hot, sticky, and humid. What's the best way to spend a summer day? The beach (for you East Coasters, the 'shore')? Nah. Too many Guidos trying to impress. What about the museum? Maybe. It's always between 68° and 72°, but there are always too many walls of royal European assholes (and the occasional assholette) to tolerate for more than 10 minutes.

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Happy Birthday Chuck!

Posted May 13 by Chris D. (5 Comments)

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Good Head

Posted May 13 by Jeanne F. (7 Comments)

The recent headbutting episode starring Kiefer Sutherland and fashion guy Jack McCollough got us thinking. If we were going to take one on the nose, whose head would we least want to encounter? More to the point: who has the most dominating cranium in all of metal? Who would we pit against a Bighorn ram?* The Deciblog Collective salutes the best foreheads in metal.

*Decibel does not, has never, and will never condone the use of animals in anything even remotely violent and/or dangerous.

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Ex Deo “Romulus” video available now

Posted May 12 by Chris D. (6 Comments)

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Art Stag

Posted May 12 by frank (16 Comments)

All you blowhards in the windy city on Monday, May 18th, will be treated to a very unique event. Something special, that all Chicago-based members of the Melvins Army will be particularly interested in. Cause, you know, by this point we've all seen the Melvins. We all know which albums we like and which ones to avoid, and we can rock-out to our top Melvins jams backwards.

Posted May 11 by Chris D. (4 Comments)

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Happy Birthday Don Rickles

Posted May 8 by Jeanne F. (4 Comments)

The Deciblog extends its best wishes to the most evil and extreme (and hilarious) comedian alive today. Happy 83rd birthday, Don Rickles. May you keep insulting humanity for years to come. As Sarah Silverman says, "Everyone wants to get shit on by Don Rickles." Amen.

Posted May 7 by Chris D. (7 Comments)

Remember when Stryper used to throw Bibles into the crowd? We don't. Well, with all the Xtiancore out there maybe instead of chucking The Book they can whip these wafers into the audience? There are several benefits to this: A) Wafers weigh less B) Therefore lawsuits will be minimized; Unless someone catches one of these discs of death in the eye and C) The cost per save is lower thereby increasing take-home profit after the gig.

Posted May 6 by Chris D. (9 Comments)

We went absolutely bonkers over Slaughter of the Bluegrass’ cover of At the Gates classic "Blinded by Fear" (see video at end of interview) last week. So nutso, in fact, we contacted Slaughter of the Bluegrass for an interview. Just to see if these dudes are real. Turns out, A) they’re real B) they’re totally into Swedish death metal and C) they might put out a CD of covers if timing and cashflow are right. Rad!

Founders Peter Norlinder and Dan Norman answer our questions while working on cover number two. A ripping version of Dark Tranquillity’s "Punish My Heaven." Vote on Slaughter of the Bluegrass’ website to see which cover they’ll tackle next. At the moment, percentages say it'll be In Flames’ "Moonshield". Though we feel we’re gonna have to rig some of those votes to get Opeth’s "Bleak" in front of it.

Give a background. Who is Slaughter of the Bluegrass? Where are you guys from? What bands are/were you in?
SotB began in Peter and Dan’s recording studio in Stockholm as a fun project in our spare time. We had been playing in different garage bands throughout the years and now wanted to try something new. When the idea came up, we realized that we actually had a few friends that were already playing folk music (Alexander from the Finnish band Skrå, Hannah from NuWa, and a jazz bass player named Mike from a small town near Stockholm).

Posted May 6 by Chris D. (2 Comments)

If you're in Greenville, South Carolina on May 8th, record store Earshot is honoring hometown heroes Nile by hosting a meet and greet with the original Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka line-up. Nile were recently inducted into Decibel's Hall of Fame for the kicking loads of pharoah ass in 1998. High resolution handbill here.

They'll also be spinning Karl Sander's new solo album, Saurian Exorcisms, on 11. We're not sure if they'll have refreshments (or a sandbox), but try stopping at the Pita House on S Pleasantburg Drive for a mouth-watering assortment of falafel, shawarma and hummus plates if in doubt.

Decibel June 2009 (#56), aka the "Zahi Hawass issue", is at newstands now.

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Big Business Lay the Snackdown

Posted May 6 by Jeanne F. (4 Comments)

Behold: nachos. They were the only snack food that Beavis and Butthead ever left the couch for. And clearly, nachos have the power to mesmerize metal dudes. Just take a look at those Big Business bastards up there. Toshi Kasai, Coady Willis, and Jared Warren are half a second away from unleashing their O-faces and getting macho with that nacho.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Big Business go buck wild over a hot ‘n’ tasty mound (exhibit A after the jump), so the Deciblog decided to investigate. Though it took some significant effort (read: crowbar, motor oil, loss of dignity), we pried Warren from the love-pile and got the inside info on the snacking habits of these stoner boogie behemoths.

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Prime Directive: Exterminate

Posted May 5 by nick (6 Comments)

Our favorite Don Henley-loving douchebags The Ataris recently performed a full set of Misfits covers on the opening night of The Bamboozle. Judging by the description of the Ataris as "cookie cutter pop-punk" on the festival's website, even the promoters weren't too stoked on this. Dudes, you do not need to have been there to know that this sucked. Where there are cookie-cutter pop-punk bands, there are terrifically shitty Misfits covers. Where there are malls with scene kids choking on soft pretzels, there are terrifically shitty Misfits covers. Kevin Lyman will no longer tender contracts for the Warped Tour unless the prospective bands agree to cover "Astro Zombies." OK, we totally made that last part up. But somewhere, Glenn Danzig gently weeps.

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Sweet Tards

Posted May 4 by frank (4 Comments)

To commemorate the release of the Tardy Brother’s debut CD, Bloodline, Candlelight is currently looking for publishers to pick up a new book series based on the Tardy's, entitled “The Tardy Boys.” Frank W. Dixon has officially signed up to work on the series, but that doesn't say much, since he is just a pseudonym anyway.

The books will feature our two protagonists solving such metal mysteries as, “What ever happened to Celtic Frost?" and, "If GWAR is really based in Antarctica, then do they just keep the slaves in Richmond?" Our heroes will solve these mysteries using only a flashlight and a lantern during broad daylight. The series is sure to be essential reading for kiddies and adults alike, and will supply the perfect opportunity for metal-fathers to introduce their preppy, bastard children to this wonderful genre of music.

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Lord Mantis: Track-By-Track

Posted May 4 by nick (2 Comments)

Charlie Fell and Greg Gomer of Lord Mantis discuss the meanings behind the songs on the new Lord Mantis album, Spawning The Nephilim:

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Where the Wild Things Are

Posted May 2 by nick (4 Comments)

Across The Shields

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Photographer Justina Villanueva

Posted May 1 by Jeanne F. (6 Comments)

A few years ago, I was contacted by three college girls who were working on their final project for their broadcasting class. The topic was death metal and debunking the stereotypes surrounding ’bangers. I stayed in touch with one of them, and now, I’m one of her biggest fans. Jersey girl (holler) Justina Villanueva is my favorite live photographer working today. She’s a tireless, obsessive metalhead who is literally at every single metal show in the tri-state area, taking photos for Brooklyn Vegan, writing a column for Metal Injection, and documenting all the awesomeness that goes down on any given night in a shithole club. She went to Russia with Psyopus , clicked her way through the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest, and is gearing up to go on the road with Mayhem. And she loves Decibel. Back atcha, sister!

How'd you get started taking pictures as a sort of art form? Were you the little cousin at family parties always taking pictures of everyone?

I think about it now, I really wish I would have put a camera to use when I was a kid. My one uncle's house parties would get so ridiculous. I was like 11 years old and watching my cousins fall into bathtubs drunk. But, no. I was a loser up until my sophomore year of college. I started taking pictures of trees in the middle of the night. I was really bored and I couldn't sleep.

What led you to metal?

The first album I ever really listened to and got that "HOLY SHIT THIS IS EVIL AND I NEVER WANT TO STOP LISTENING TO IT" feeling from was [Notorious B.I.G.’s] Ready To Die. I was 9 or 10 years old. So I grew up as a hip-hop kid. But, then one day while switching radio stations I stumbled on [Pantera’s] "Walk." That was all I needed. From then on I just tuned it to WSOU and tried to hear everything I could, which at the time was mostly Korn and Sevendust.