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So, I’m assuming you’ve all heard about the so-called prank wherein Old Man Gloom and Profound Lord sent out promos of their The Ape of God double album. Included within was new music that wasn’t actually new music as it appeared on the official release of the album(s). if you want to read a more…

Please North Korea, threaten a terrorist attack over ALL Seth Rogen and James Franco movies from now on. Vat on the Pats This past week, the inevitable happened: The New England Patriots claimed their sixth straight AFC East title, and are on the fast track (for the millionth time) to the playoffs, with a bye…

In December of 2010, Decibel brought flexi back. Four years later, the obscure-yet-awesome medium is obviously here to stay. Our vaunted Flexi Series is going to be a whopping 50 deep as of the February 2015 issue, and there’s no better place to store and preserve these highly collectible, exclusive items than the Deluxe Edition…

When you invite a a published novelist to the shredder’s studio expect a narrative. Such was the case with death metal veteran and Broken Hope founder Jeremy Wagner. Not only did Mr. Wagner visit the shredder’s studio — he provided your host with a near novella on the riffs that shaped him in chronological order….

Last week on Twitter I asked to no one in particular, if a publication is going to put out a “Best Metal of the Year” list, why do they all focus primarily on the extreme metal side? Hey, I like Dark Descent, Gilead, and Nuclear War Now as much as anyone else, but there’s a…

They make everything heavier in Australia. That’s probably because gravity is stronger down there (or so I’m told). Horsehunter come from down under, and they bring some seriously slow, Sabbath/Sleep-style doom. “Stoned to Death” follows in a grand tradition of epically long songs, and it’s like being between two tectonic plates at the moment of…

Today the Metalnomicon welcomes Reason senior editor Damon Root, one of the most thought-provoking, singular voices writing on the intricacies of American law today. He’s also a metal/hardcore devotee and the original articulator of the Suicidal Tendencies litmus test for federal candidates, which, as we all know, has had a profound effect on our nation…

Publicist guy says: “We think you’ll like this — it sounds like Coffins.” So, we decide to check it out because we love Coffins. And yes, we can hear that a bit but we hear even more similarities to Mitochondrian and Decibel favorites Incantation. These are promising comparisons for extreme metal. Despite throwing out a…

“Pale Pretender travels heavy hearted through ominous landscapes in a world where more is not enough,” says Callisto vocalist Jani Ala-Hukkala. Finns aren’t the most talkative of peoples, so it stands to reason Ala-Hukkala is letting the gravity of his statement (and the “Pale Pretender”) do most of the talking here, which is fine for…

Steffen Kummerer is better known for his stupidly good guitar and vocal work in the obscenely great tech death outfit Obscura. But Kummerer has a dark side. One that harkens back to the mid-’90s, when Swedish death metal tyrants Dissection reigned the cold winds of nowhere and drank, with pure joy, night’s blood with Elizabeth…

Some of us recognize Jeff Tuttle as a recent guitarist with the Dillinger Escape Plan, where he tore ears and brain matter from 2007 until 2012.  Jeff has also been active as a filmmaker (see his new-ish video for a new Child Bite song here) as he continues his musical pursuits in Old Gods and…

I’d like to take this opportunity to nip something in the bud: Cambridge, Ontario’s Greber is in no way associated with, saluting, paying homage to, or actually even really aware of, former NHL goaltender Martin Gerber. The first indication should have been that the moniker as selected by the two-man sludge/doom monolith is spelt completely…

Darth Raider Welp, Raiders fans: I hate to say it, but I think I’m going to be retiring Oakland Raiders talk for the rest of the season. With three weeks left, and teams fighting for their playoff lives, I don’t see how a two-win team could be worth mentioning. That said,  I’m going for one last…

Primordial dropped its eighth LP late last month, another stellar entry in an already impressive oeuvre. To celebrate, frontman Alan Averill (aka A.A. Nemtheanga) sent us a playlist that, as he describes, “might be something a little different.” After perusing his picks, it’s hard to disagree. We’ll let him take it from here: “I always…

I consider Botanist to be one of modern black metal’s great “projects.” Germinated by a solitary San Franciscan named Otrebor, it’s a band whose music is both utterly bizarre (floraphilic paeans from a misanthropic hermit, rendered only in drums, voice and hammered dulcimer) and emotionally devastating. This is all to say that when Otrebor tells…

Ampere — the band featuring Will Killingsworth of much-celebrated Amherst, Massachusetts scream-y, powerviolence-y trailblazers Orchid — is back with a new split on No Idea and, as the super-intense, raw-as-fuck exclusive stream below will surely attest, the band has not missed a single goddamn step… Here is what vocalist Stephen Pierce told Decibel about the…

Ah, December — the time of the year when everyone puts out their “best of” lists and thinks about albums that will come out in summer 2015. We’re just as guilty at Decibel; our annual top 40 extravaganza is probably on your nightstand. This would lead you to think that no new music comes out…

Brooklyn might be known for its rather healthy underground metal scene that revolves around more cutting-edge, extreme sounds, but it’s heartening to know that some folks in the borough are flying the old school, “true” heavy metal flag high and proud. The Defenders of the Old Fest has been kicking around the Eastern seaboard for…

Finland and fire are the cheapest special-effects for a metal video. Wolfheart have both! Started as a solo project by Tuomas Saukkonen (ex-Before the Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, a whole bunch of others), it’s since morphed into a full band effort. The video below comes from the upcoming reissue of his debut, Winterborn, so most…

They say to know the heart of a man first you must walk a mile in his shoesWhat I am learning from your footsteps…One day in my life would destroy you I remain firm where you falter I swim in the tears of your daughter So roars Alekhine’s Gun’s singular force of nature frontwoman Jessica…

We’re not at all shocked that a band called Couch Slut had trouble printing the artwork to their new album My Life As A Woman. And that’s before we even saw the image — a nothing-is-hidden illustration of felicitous fellatio too racy for ribald 70s tome The Joy Of Sex (check it out on their…

Lev Weinstein, Krallice drummer and extremely extreme baseball aficionado, asked us for a chance to nerd out on metal and MLB with ESPN senior baseball writer/bastion of sensibility Keith Law (whom we interviewed in the 2014 baseball preview). We’re not surprised that both of them stepped up to the plate with the following insightful and…

** 2014, the Year of the Horse. 2014, the Year of Horrendous. While Horrendous’ previous full-length, The Chills, sent death metallers back to the grave (whatever that means), new album Ecdysis made the stateside trio a household name (admittedly small number) and a contender for top spots on Year End lists. Trust us, the word…

Ok, ok, ok, it’s getting to be the end of the year, so the releases REALLY slow down here. I’m going to just go ahead and get my end of the year list out of the way now, in case you want to get your Xmas shopping on.  If you have a curiosity or have…

Two years ago, we tried to wrap our punk-savvy tech-death brains around Dimesland’s debut EP, Creepmoon.  The task proved too difficult to complete, but we sure enjoyed trying.  Complex frustration/anger/love is one of the perks of freaking out on heavy music. Next week, the Dimesland crazies will release their full-length, Psychogenic Atrophy, which features this gem we’re…

German/Yank quartet Downfall of Gaia have returned with their latest attack on the status quo with Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay, the band’s third complete full-length.  This is a late-in-the-year offering you’ll want to pay some attention, as it gathers all shades of darkness, then both pets and pummels you with it.  It’s occasionally sludgy,…

Some time ago, I introduced you to a new face on the NYC crossover scene, Activator (refresher course, here). At the time, they were on the eve of the release of their self-titled debut album. Since then, they have been relatively quiet, especially considering bands these days post every aspect of their musical and non-musical…

Black Hole Son Two weeks ago, I watched a game that captivated me like few have this season. It was a match between the then 7-3 Kansas City Chiefs (who are riding what I believe will be a massive tailspin) and the 0-10 Oakland Raiders. The Raiders had nothing to play for but their fans. As…

Axegressor hails from Finland, home of Decibel HOFers like Amorphis and Skepticism. As you can tell from the video below for “Command to Last”, even though the quartet might sound nothing like those fellow countrymen–it’s more thrash than anything else–like most Fins we’ve encountered in our worldly travels, the band seems to know how to…

By Mike McGinnis The point of no return. It’s not always the easiest concept to absorb. But approaching that point during the production of a record is both frightening and cathartic. After about a year of writing and almost half a year of demoing and recording eight new songs, we’re now approaching that point. We…