Matt Solis

King Witch are our Best New Noise.

British doom practitioners With the Dead are this week’s Best New Noise.

There are many reasons why Dying Fetus’ Destroy the Opposition rules, but one in particular stands (severed) head and shoulders above them all: the riffs. Slick, catchy and heavy as fuck, this is death metal that was written to be remembered. 

Wretch’s Karl Simon talks about how the band’s debut LP came to be, how his friend and ex-bandmate Jason McCash’s death affected his songwriting process, and his plans for a brand-new chapter in his life.

I’m no expert on multiverse theory, but I’ve listened to enough stoned podcast ramblings to get the gist: Anything that can happen has already happened, and not only that, it’s happened an infinite number of times.

Our Times of Grace Hall of Fame interview with Neurosis touches on how the band decided to record a companion album of ambient music under their Tribes of Neurot moniker (Grace) with the specific intention of creating an “active listening experience,” but alas, the cursed restraints of print media only allowed for part of the story to be told. Thankfully, you’re on the Internet right now, so you can simply read on to hear the rest of the tale.

Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith
Satan is good, Satan is our pal
dB rating: 8/10

For Nate Garrett, the healing power of heavy riffs is nothing new. Many know the Arizona-based musician as the guitarist in Gatecreeper and Take Over and Destroy, but 2016 introduces a new chapter in his musical career: the one-man doom project Spirit Adrift. With the release of the band’s debut LP, Chained to Oblivion, a mere week away, we caught up with Garrett to talk about the events that led to its creation.

This August, Portland-based multi-instrumentalist A.L.N. will bring his one-man black/doom metal project, Mizmor, to the stage for the very first time at Migration Fest in Olympia, Washington. We caught up with A.L.N. to talk about the process of transitioning Mizmor into a live band, the challenges that come with creating music by yourself and the finer points of rehearsal room tomfoolery.

It’s weird to think of any Slayer album as “transitional,” as they all share the same basic sonic sensibilities (namely, the sound of your skin being flayed from your quaking bones), but if there’s any record that marks a clear turning point in their career, it’s 1988’s South of Heaven.

Unortheta
Nothing’s zhocking
dB rating: 8/10

L7’s seminal third LP stands the test of time via its excellent songs, hefty production (courtesy of the legendary Butch Vig), pithy lyrics and general “go fuck yourself” attitude. Ranking these nasty jams from “worst to best” is a downright punchable offense, but let’s do it anyway.

Did you catch Napalm Death in the past couple of months when they rolled through your town? If not, you missed one of the most eclectic tour packages of 2016. We caught up with vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway ahead of the band’s first of two sold-out shows at Slim’s in San Francisco to talk about how the “Savage Imperial Death March Tour” came about, the logistics of grindin’ for six straight weeks and, of course, the three-ring circus that is American politics.

Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka is a near-perfect death metal album—absolutely pummeling and technically astonishing, yet layered with unique instrumentation and musical phrasing that give it an ancient, otherworldly atmosphere. Ranking such a slab of awesomeness from “worst to best” is about as ridiculous as Sully Erna’s face tattoo, but that’s never stopped us before!

You’d be hard-pressed to describe Finland’s Moonsorrow without using some kind of synonym for “epic,” so the fact that their new LP, Jumalten Aika, out-epics anything they’ve done is nothing short of astounding. We caught up with guitarist/vocalist Mitja Harvilahti to discuss the musical, thematic and personal influences that helped bring this beast of an album to life.

The Decibel Magazine Tour has been in full swing for three weeks now, and for Skeletonwitch, it’s been a perfect vehicle to introduce their new frontman, Adam Clemans. We caught up with Clemans and guitarist Scott Hedrick after a blistering 40-minute set at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom to talk tour stories, album plans, and Facebook etiquette.

Earlier this month, Neurosis took up residency at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom for an epic weekend of shows to commemorate their 30th anniversary. We caught up with vocalists/guitarists Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till to talk about the significance of the event.

When it comes to heavy metal collectibles, it doesn’t get much bigger than Blood Music’s Emperor: The Complete Works box set. We caught up with label mastermind J to talk about the logistics of taking this monolith from concept to reality.

Nightfall‘s big brother may get most of the attention, but Candlemass’ sophomore LP has more than enough potency to sit on its own throne. Ranking the songs by merit is utter madness since it’s a stone cold masterpiece…but that’s never stopped us before!

Wildfire
Burninating the countryside
dB Rating: 8/10

Värähtelijä
Trance With the Devil
dB Rating: 9/10

With three rock-solid releases preceding it (one of which is an undeniable first-ballot classic) and two, shall we say, polarizing releases following it, Arise is the sound of Sepultura finding their sweet spot. Ranking the songs from “worst to best” is borderline insane as they all completely rip, but we did it anyway.

Zhrine is an Icelandic black/death metal band that melds the disgusting atonality of Deathspell Omega with the oppressively frigid atmosphere of Svartidauði (guitarist Nökkvi Gylfason is a member), complete with a fetid dusting of sludge as a sickening after-dinner mint. Check out the exclusive premiere of their song “Spewing Gloom,” off their upcoming LP, Unortheta.

Finnish melodic death metal mainstays Omnium Gatherum are mere weeks away from dropping their seventh LP, Grey Heavens, and their timing is impeccable: it’s cold as balls out there. To celebrate, the boys have dropped a new video for the album’s second single, “Frontiers,” and we have the exclusive U.S. premiere.

Twenty-two years later, Tiamat’s Wildhoney remains a marvel—a truly mighty bridge that countless bands have since crossed in an effort to meld the brutal with the otherworldly. We break down the 120th entry into our Hall of Fame over a big ol’ glass of Psilocybe tea.

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

Fleshgod Apocalypse vocalist/guitarist Tommaso Riccardi talks about the philosophical concepts behind the band’s new album, King.

“Best Of” lists are child’s play compared to Chip McCabe and his absolutely bonkers “666 Days of Metal” project. As a giant middle finger to Top 100 lists everywhere, the Connecticut-based writer chose the 666 greatest albums in metal history and proceeded to write a review of each album every single day for almost two fucking years. We caught up with Chip to talk about the mind-numbing logistics of sticking with such a daunting project.

King Diamond and crew are currently slaying their way across the U.S. playing Abigail in its entirety, so what better time to break down our 84th entry into the Hall of Fame?

Andrea Subissati is a Toronto-based sociologist, writer and co-host of The Faculty of Horror podcast. We talked to her ahead of All Hallows’ Eve to get her take on horror, metal and why the two are eternally intertwined.