Featured

In our final metal teacher installment, we bring you two men who hold down less traditional teaching positions:  Voivod’s Dan Mongrain, who teaches music at the college level; and Rage Nucléaire’s Lord Worm (Dan Greening), who teaches English language skills to business people who have left behind the traditional classroom setting.

And now for something from the farthest reaches of left field, if not outer space.

French soul-threateners Aum will release their highly destructive (and equally esoteric) force, debut record Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum, this Friday on Iron Bonehead.  We asked the band some questions, and we got some enthusiastic and thoughtful responses.  Read up on Aum’s focus and vision right here.

Decibel had the opportunity to interview bassist Andreas Vidhall and guitarist/keyboardist (and occasional vocalist) Pär Stille about what makes Stilla tick. 

Justin Pearson (The Locust, Retox) is no stranger to the road. Dude has been staring at blacktop and lane dividers in the name of playing dive bars and assorted shit holes around the world for ‘round about 20 years

now we put you in touch with two more teachers who like to yell and throw elbows even when they’re not surrounded by confused adolescents:  Mike Score of All Out War, and Mike Armine of Rosetta.

Check out the new track “Soft Palates Rasp” from Seputus, off their pending debut Man Does Not Give.

Back to school means it’s time for At the Gates‘ Tomas Lindberg to go back to his other job: teaching. 

For the first time in western Canada in a long-ass time, and for the first time on one stage ever, hoser headbanging heavyweights…

When metal-inspired ideas leave the guitar behind and embrace their ebony/ivory duality, you get Goatcraft.  In this interview, you get more Goatcraft.

Whatever trajectory Heathen Beast were on seems to have led them to self-destruct, and whether that is permanent or simply a momentary lapse is unclear.  Before they broke up, however, they left us with twelve impressive diatribes and responses to the following questions.

A manga-themed progressive metal band that sounds like a cross between Ghost, Faith No More and the Mars Volta pimping an ‘80s/VHS-quality surrealistic, horror-themed video as part of the celebration of the release of their fifth album. Really?

This month, Integrity dig back into the exquisitely obscure by bringing out a righteously energetic cover of “Deathly Fighter” by Japanese (mostly) solo effort, the Randy Uchida Group.  We asked vocalist/mainstay Dwid Hellion about the process of choosing and recording the song, and here’s what he had to say.

In an attempt to gain an outside perspective on our current cover stars, Gojira, we contacted author, radio personality and all-around bearded badass Ian Christe.  Here’s what our man had to say about his personal interest in the band and how he sees them fitting into the wider scope of the current metal scene.

Hailing from Wrocław in western Poland, The Dog has been blasting out the powerfully violent powerviolence for a solid three years now. Here’s a rather apt description: “Lost generation music for people who feel like shit and don’t know exactly why. Keywords: lost hope, broken dreams, lack of satisfaction, stagnation.”

By now, we hope you have been enjoying Gojira’s new album, Magma, as much as we have.  What follows here are outtakes from our cover story interview, including discussions about specific songs on Magma, the forthcoming U.S. tour and that mystical, mysterious place called NYC.

Welcome to the first installment of an occasional Decibel blog feature called How We Roll. In this series, we’ll look behind the scenes to see what bands bring on the road to make extensive touring more comfortable (or more forgettable). Our first guests: Venom Inc.

Hear “Of Hollow Judgement” from Colosso‘s forthcoming death metal steamroller Obnoxious.  (That’s the album title, not commentary on releasing new death metal steamrollers.)

The Armstrong Metalfest has grown from humble beginnings to be a regular mainstay with its south-central BC location making for a popular summertime destination for fans and bands alike. We tracked down co-founder Jesse Valstar to get the low-down.

As a monument to the collapse of one isolated psyche, as an exploration of an emotional sphere often relegated to the unconscious, Neurosis & Jarboe is far more compelling than any other attempt we’ve heard yet.

In honor of Black Sabbath‘s final trek around the globe, we are running our 2014 print feature on the story behind the cover art of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which was illustrated four decades ago by a rising Los Angeles artist named Drew Struzan. 

SubRosa‘s hulking chords, massive percussion and thick bowed-string atmospheres absolutely crush on their contribution this month.

Expedite your passport application, make the trek north of the border, take advantage of the Canadian dollar trading at 75-80 cents on the American greenback.

Few are the bands who will still gleefully slaughter your favorite pet in service of the seething abyss.  Sweden’s Astrophobos are one of these few.

Portland, OR extreme art duo Muscle & Marrow sound off about performance jitters, the benefits and drawbacks of performing their music with only two sets of arms/legs/throats, and an offhand hope for more cats and books in their lives.  We couldn’t fit it all in the magazine, so get the rest of the interview right here.

Alaric vocalist and lyricist Shane Baker talked to Decibel about death rock, learning to sing and End of Mirrors. 

Death, metal, “Wall of Death,” and vinyl. Get the inside story from our Ghoul contact in Creepsylvania. 

A Piece of the End compiles four songs that coalesced unexpectedly during rehearsal, and Vidian have decided not to sit on them until the next album is ready, which is good, because sitting on anything this spiky-lumpy-grumpy would not be good for the posture.  Check it all out right here.

Says vocalist Agathon about the song: “‘The Shameful Kiss’ is about The Ritual conjuring the dark forces. Those forces might be unknown for many, but it does not mean that they do not exist. I think ‘The Shameful Kiss’ caught the old Gloomy Grim mood… Without the keyboards this could be pure Thrash Metal song.”

Lariyah Hayes of Khaotika talked to Decibel about what’s planned for her series of Darkadya books and how she was motivated by her brush with death.