Many Sabbath-drenched, horror-movie-obsessed months ago we announced our partnership with f.y.e. for the Decibel Meter, a monthly collection featured both online and in store to make sure you don’t miss any of the Iommi-indebted titles that make your collection extremely extreme. And as this month’s list, (corresponding to the December 2018 issue, with Kevin Starrs of Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats on the cover) takes us into the Wasteland laid out in their 2018 album of the same name.
“There’s a lot more than just Black Sabbath going on.”
For those unfamiliar, the UK psych doomers conjure up the spirit of Ozzy and the crew in 1970, but with a modern twist and heaviness. Probably something you’ve heard before, but how many of them involved horror-film-inspired concept albums? Or the haromonies courtesy of, as vocalist Kevin Starrs put it, a “’60s girl group influence”?!
He went on to explain that “I like this idea of having really morbid and quite aggressive lyrics, but mixing it musically with something that’s really light and so very melodic, very sort of sugary sweet–things you would not expect to go with this sort of darkness.” 
And the darker lyrics are definitely in abundance; he further elaborates that one of the driving concepts of the new record is “this idea of people living under heavy surveillance in walled cities. They escape into the wasteland, which is absolute hell on Earth–filled with mercenaries and maniacs everywhere. There’s a little bit of Escape from New York, a little bit of Road Warrior.” So doom, strange mindsets, and dystopian landscapes low on resources–somewhere in there is a joke about Walmart or our checking accounts after Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
Commentary aside, we’ve got some crushing titles in this month’s list that should not be missed. For the deathly obsessed, Hate Eternal‘s Upon Desolate Sands offers something in the line of Uncle Acid’s statements in the form of just a bit more melody, but with the signature skull crushing riffs, resulting in possibly their best. Similarly, High on Fire‘s Electric Messiah stands above the stoner metal pack, and while the title pays homeage not to Ozzy but to Lemmy, this is a 2018 release not to be missed. Other heavyhitters include Soulfly‘s massive return to form Ritual, Aborted‘s Terror Vision, Wolf King‘s Loyal to the Soil, and The Black Dahlia Murder‘s Nightbringers.
For those looking to gorge on vinyl, fye is offering a particularly gory morsel in the most recent album from old-school death metal supergroup Bloodbath, The Arrow of Satan is Drawn, in exclusive transparent vinyl.
So as you’re surveying the wreckage of the wasteland that was a harvest meal (or imaging your checking account after a Black Friday/Cyber Monday massacre), check out the full list of this month’s Decibel Meter at f.y.e.’s website, or head straight to the nearest f.y.e location to stock up!
