Interviews

** Neo-classical outfit Amber Asylum have never been an easy sell. From debut Frozen in Amber to new album Sin Eater, the Californians, helmed by instrumentalist Kris Force, have composed and released music for darker minds and uneasy souls. There’s tradition at hand, but there’s also exploration, in tone, in repetition, in atmosphere, in tolerance, in chaos. The result is an undulating set of emotions that conflict and blend to their music. To wit, Amber Asylum is music of dreams and nightmares, spun wistfully and painfully by Force and company to the delight of the other. Music of this quality was never meant for the masses anyway. Read on as Decibel and Kris find our inners.

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.

Making a Murderfest Part III.

Dublin-based band stabs into the murk with some of the most energized, bleak and ripping blackness we’ve heard in some time.  Hear the album, Heir to Scoria and Ash, here before its April 22 release, and learn more about the band directly in our interview with guitarist L.M.

Sweden’s Livet Som Insats second full-length, Check Your Grind features a take on the iconic Beastie Boys cover. We’d say the similarities end there, but listen and see if you can pick up on the similarities between the bands while we introduce you to them via a getting-to-know you interview.

Napalm Death, the Melvins and Melt Banana will begin their triumphant month-plus trek across the States (and a couple Canadian cities) this Saturday, March 26th in Phoenix, AZ.  When ND’s Shane Embury twisted our ear about a possible oddball interview between himself and the Melvins’ own King Buzzo, there was no question.

Ivar Bjørnson talked to Decibel about his love of electronic music and what metal fans can expect when they hear his other work in Bardspec. 

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.

English death-mongering quartet Horrified are on the brink of detonating their new album of of melancholic rage (due out March 25 on Stormspell Records), and they want you to hear it here first.

One of the highlights of the upcoming Choosing Death Fest in Philadelphia this April will be the first public screening of Death By Metal, the definitive documentary on Death frontman Chuck Schuldiner. We talked to director Felipe Belalcazar.

This month, we contacted Swedish death miscreants Tribulation, whose 2009 debut, The Horror, perked up ears but whose subsequent efforts, including last year’s The Children of the Night, turned our collective heads all the way around, several times over.

Wipe up your drool in time for Thrill Jockey’s March 18th release of No One Deserves Happiness and read what drummer Lee Buford has to say about touring, pop music and working with other bands.

Lita Ford is the undisputed Queen of Heavy Metal, and after reading her long-awaited autobiography, Living Like a Runaway, I can say one thing’s for certain: Heavy lies the crown.

Jonesing for some cave-galloping, sludgy-toned, fuzzy hate-spittle metal?  Feel like you haven’t gotten your rocks off properly for the past several years?  Then you’re probably already a Black Cobra fan.  If you weren’t already a fan, you can get in on the, eh, fifth floor right now with the Cali band’s forthcoming record, Imperium Sumulacra.

This month, we talked to every last damn member of 2015 eye-wideners Publicist UK about their inspired, curious choice of cover contribution.  We’ll leave the details up to Zack Lipez (vocals), Brett Bamberger (bass) and the Davids (Obuchowski and Witte, guitar and drums respectively), but we were certainly as positively surprised and amazed at their work on Tori Amos’s “Precious Things” as we were about last year’s Forgive Yourself.

Going back to Into the Grave, Sweden’s terribly heavy death metal outfit Grave had few peers. Now, some many moons later, the Stockholmites still have few peers on new album, Out Of Respect For The Dead. Built on solid death metal foundation (no question), Grave’s new album pummels, punishes, and putrefies, with tracks such as “Mass Grave Mass”, “Flesh Before My Eyes”, and “Trail of Ungodly Trades” feeling freshly peeled off the skin of a recently-dead corpse. We tracked down frontman and original member Ola Lindgren to see what makes Grave tick after decades of cemetery work and mausoleum repair.

This month, we talked to Tatsuhito Mikami of Japan’s Church of Misery (and to vocalist Scott Carlson) about their contribution,  a special mix of “Confessions of an Embittered Soul” from COM’s forthcoming And Then There Were None record.

If you didn’t catch Richard Christy’s review in Decibel #136, let me introduce you to the most metal horror film ever: Deathgasm. It’s a Kiwi midnight party flick made for and by metalheads where blackened doom riffs unlock portals to demonic dimensions and “metal up your ass” is less of a threat than a literal promise. We’re talking corpsepaint, monsters, hilarious black metal music video parodies, dildo fights, and enough blood to satiate the most demanding gorehounds.

Stream a new track from Deströyer 666’s forthcoming album Wildfire.

Upon learning that Tom and Jim Morris have been in the process of downsizing their operation, we at Decibel had to get all the dirt straight from the Morrisource.  We tracked down Tom Morris for his thoughts on the move and his studio’s past and future in the industry.

During a recent tour with Thou, The Body and friends Heat Dust, Thou bassist Mitch Wells shot some interview footage and other moments, then cut them together to memorialize the time the bands spent together.

Stream a killer split from two Oakland bands and get a detailed report of what’s going on with metal on their side of the Bay. 

This week, restless doom lords Lycus will release their mesmerizing second full-length, Chasms, and to celebrate, we wanted to give the band a chance to sound off about their year in the run-up to the new album.

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

Since the release of Aluk Todolo’s 2012 album (Occult Rock, natch), the band have been burrowing further into their sound, and now, on the eve of the release of fourth full-length Voix, they treat us to a preview of their rhythmic, dissonant approach.

With a name like Brimstone Coven, it better be good. Hailing from West Virginia, Brimstone Coven take on throwback metal–the kind with real singing–and summon it full-throttle into the present. Rife with roving, mountain-sized riffs that are festooned in fuzz and cleverly populated with harmonious vocals–think vintage Ozzy meets John Lawton–, the group’s new album, Black Magic, represents the new era of ’70s-inspired metal. So, sit back, burn some incense, turn down the lights. It’s Brimstone Coven time.

This Decibel scribe has always fallen horned-head-over-cloven-heels for the frozen-horror lullabies crafted under the Lustre moniker.  In about three weeks, Nachtzeit will release an EP of self-proclaimed regressive black metal that strips any conceit of beauty or complexity from his other work and rages bleakly in the northern darkness.

Chicago prog metal unit Dissona will soon release their second full-length scorcher Paleopneumatic.  The album wormhole-hops through myriad styles and instrument combinatorial choices; the overall effect is a twisted journey through a musical landscape molded by dudes who really know their shit.

We spoke with Mark Kloeppel of Baltimore’s Misery Index about his band’s contribution to the Flexi Series.  Misery Index’s song – a cover of Sepultura’s “Primitive Future” – can be found in our current issue (#135, January 2016, Lamb of God cover), but you can also check it out right here while you read Kloeppel’s comments on the recording’s origins and execution.

“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.