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Because every day another band records another song.  Because 83% of those songs are unlistenable and you can’t be bothered to sift through the dreck.  Because metal is about not giving a shit and waking your own personal storm.  Because music is universal, expression is boundless, and even indie labels (whatever that means these days)…

Given the opportunity to write about craft beer every month in Decibel has been eye-opening. The idea that our “Brewtal Truth” column would have lasted more than four years (and counting) and even spawn a book—The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers, out in November—is pretty amazing. Now it’s time to bring a little “Brewtal…

Considering how quickly fairweather fans come and go from the metal scene, I guess you could say I’ve known “Cannibal” Cam Schwarz since the beginning of time, proportionally speaking anyway. An old-school lifer, Schwarz has been “fighting the good fight” in the name of his love for metal and against gainful employment for as long…

Last week, Scale the Summit guitarist Chris Letchford (that’s him second from the left) shared his workout playlist. Fortunately, he was also kind enough to pass along tips for working out and eating well while on tour, all of which are pretty useful even if you’re not in a band. Despite what Chris may say…

For decades, 16 vocalist Cris Jerue has written lyrics about the consequences of bad behavior, bum brain chemistry and addiction. The end result of said behavior is that it’s often tough to find a place to settle down. In his first ever post for the Deciblog, Jerue writes about the natural consequences of said behavior…

** It’s been an age since Ulver have had anything to do with metal. Yet, somehow, Ulver, like others who departed from the dome of metal, have managed to capture our minds and hearts. Musically speaking, Ulver have very little business on the Deciblog—all things being fair—yet here they are, connected via an ability to…

I’m not 100% sure how Phantom Glue would even really work as an adhesive. I guess sometimes you just need to keep some damn ghosts in place. Apparently it requires some really heavy duty stuff, but even if they can’t hold the wraiths in place, this goop should be able to slow them down pretty…

Legendary horror metal maven and self-described “semi-retired punk/metal atavist” Stevo of Impetigo/Tombstones fame assures Decibel “baseball scorekeeping is in many respects a totally underground and kVlt activity” and links a “re-kindled passion for baseball to my still-burning passion for metal.” On the eve of the Razorback Records deluxe reissue of Impetigo’s classic 1992 leveler Horror…

Courtesy of Forge Again Records and exclusively for all you Decibangers out there, may this cursed quarter of the Internet be the first to steam in full the debut LP from Detroit punks Old Gods, Stylized Violence. What can you expect? Sheesh . . . Well, it is worth noting that the album artwork features…

Back in the day (about four years ago), Trouble’s follow-up to Simple Mind Condition was titled, The Dark Riff. Pretty cool title. Succinct and descriptive. Well, the title’s changed to, The Distortion Field, and we’re pretty sure it’s just as descriptive, but there’s a little more to interpret. We won’t try, of course. The title…

OK, seems like this one will be a little lean, but lemme scratch a bit and give you some stuff that I love (or pecking want to line the birdcage with). PHILIP H. ANSELMO is releasing Walk Through Exits Only on his own Housecore Records. What we have here is Phil really trying to get…

It’s possible you’re not yet an initiate of the Lustre phenomenon.  Despite several recent releases, I think the last time the project drew Decibel’s attention was when Scott Seward reviewed 2010’s A Glimpse of Glory.  So, yeah, it’s been a while.  Since then, head nature-screamer Nachtzeit has given the world another EP, a split, a…

Given the opportunity to write about craft beer every month in Decibel has been eye-opening. The idea that our “Brewtal Truth” column would have lasted more than four years (and counting) and even spawn a book—The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers, out in November—is pretty amazing. Now it’s time to bring a little “Brewtal…

On Tuesday, Japanese post-hardcore legends, Envy will release Invariable Will, Recurring Ebbs and Flows, a 14 LP and double DVD box set to commemorate their 20th anniversary. Here’s a quote from the press release: “Invariable Will, Recurring Ebbs and Flows is a limited-edition super-deluxe box set that collects every song ever recorded by Envy (95…

We here at the Deciblog are proponents of good health. So when we were presented the opportunity to present a playlist with that lofty goal in mind, it was an easy choice (not to mention we’re big fans of Scale the Summit’s instrumental musings). As guitarist Chris Letchford explains, “I spend five days a week…

If you are scanning the Internet chances are you have a set of headphones and 15 minutes to burn. If that’s the case check out this funky little EP The Briefcase from New York City duo Bangladeafy. We’re running out of phrases to describe their music today so if you have any questions just ask…

** Dark Tranquillity have a new album out. It’s called Construct. As one of the many requirements of writing about metal is interviewing bands when they have new albums out. Hence, this feature. Actually, scratch that. I’ve been interviewing Dark Tranquillity for almost 20 years now, since the Skydancer effort, so me and the Gothenburg…

Those who have been following my writings in the pages of the magazine , on here, or on Twitter (@JeffTreppel) will probably have figured out that I’m not the biggest death metal guy. So, for a death metal band to catch my attention, they really have to be something special. Beyond (Germany) fit that criteria….

Axeslasher and Decibel present an exclusive stream of a song off the gore-obsessed thrashers’ upcoming album Anthology of Terror, Vol. 1, due later this year on Antithetic Records. Mixed and mastered at the Filth Chamber in Denver with producer Patrick Bruss (CRYPTICUS, TOMBSTONES), “Woodland Tortuary” is a tongue-in-cheek look at late ’80s sadism, inspired by…

Like his bandmates in Boston death-thrash champs REVOCATION, Dan Gargiulo should have been getting ready for Summer Slaughter 2013. Y’know, there are important duties to be done before hurtling across the country in a van: like filling said vehicle full of diesel, packing a bag, loading his guitar into the van, stockpiling Cheetos and cancelling…

By Jon Leon (White Wizzard) 5. Watchtower’s Control and Resistance (1989) Possibly the most over-the-top falsetto vocals of all time…Mixed with some of the most technically proficient playing I have ever heard. Everyone talks about Voivod, who are great, but I think this album is superior to anything any technical metal band did in the…

Guitarist and vocalist Joe Wood is best known for his time in T.S.O.L., including the classic Change Today? album – a hybrid of punk and blues that I consider one of the best Southern California punk albums in the early-to-mid 80s. The album’s highlight is “Flowers By The Door,” a near-perfect song that is still…

Dan Swanö. The man. The myth. The machine. The dude’s got more bands, projects, one-offs, production credits, and engineering nods than anyone in the so-called ‘biz.’ Well, he’s returned, with buddy and guitarist extraordinaire Ragnar Widerberg in tow, on new outfit Witherscape. Those in the Swanö Swanclub have known about Witherscape for a day or…

Window display at Sonic Boom in Toronto: trying to pelt the glare into submission with invisible oranges. ***As chronicled by Alia O’Brien, singer/flutist/organist for Canada’s finest occult rockers, from their recently completed tour with Kylesa, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf. Order their phenomenal new LP, The Eldritch Dark, here As we drove away from Calgary, missing…

Yesterday was Canada Day! In order to celebrate that entirely meaningless (to us US-based folk) event, we are pleased to bring you an exclusive full album stream of Toronto-based swamp metal soldiers Pyres’ debut Year of Sleep, courtesy of Granite House Records. Proof positive that you don’t have to be from warm climes to ooze…

We asked Toronto’s premiere purveyors of “true, unadulterated heavy metal” Cauldron to keep tabs on the havoc and devastation left behind in the wake of the band’s epic America’s Lost tour and dudes did not disappoint. (See earlier posts here and here.) We couldn’t resist beginning the third diary entry at Orion Fest before going…

Demon Lung‘s debut LP, The Hundredth Name, is a doom album constructed around a grand concept. Yes, it is a doom LP that incorporates some of the genre fundamentals and takes its cues from Candlemass and Coven’s ceremonial sense of theater, but lyrically it follows a tantalizing narrative wherein (loosely speaking) Satan’s long-lost kid is…

By Joseph Michael (White Wizzard) 5. Savatage’s Edge of Thorns (1993) This is one of my favorite albums to listen to on LSD. Great vocals, guitars, and songs. RIP Criss Oliva. The solo on “Edge of Thorns” is worth the price of the album alone. 4. Marty Friedman’s Dragon’s Kiss (1988) This is the guitar…

The masters of the macabre are back, and finally getting their due. AUTOPSY are dropping the utterly filthy The Headless Ritual. To be honest, they aren’t breaking any new ground here, but this is a pecking cool record. If you’re a fan of these guys, you will not be disappointed. If you’re not a fan,…

Because every day another band records another song. Because 83% of those songs are unlistenable and you can’t be bothered to sift through the dreck. Because metal is about not giving a shit and waking your own personal storm. Because music is universal, expression is boundless, and even indie labels (whatever that means these days)…