Before bastard sons begat cunting daughters, flyswatter stakes were driven through chests and pleasures thought unobtained fully experienced, California thrashers Slayer were hell-bent on leveling not just previous milestones, but any band with an inkling of heaviness.

Mount Pleasant, Michigan’s Cloud Rat play grind and they play it really well. They have a new album in the holster and on the ready entitled Moksha, courtesy the fine folks at Halo of Flies. What follows is an interview with guitarist Rorik Brooks and some vids and crap I lifted from their website. Check…

It’s only been a year since Graveyard last came to New York City, and coupled with last week’s sub-freezing temperatures and a second show in Brooklyn two nights later, I was curious to see just how many people would show up to Friday night’s performance. By the time I arrived at the Bowery Ballroom a…

As Decibel friend Brian Lew (aka Umlaut) says: the metal Gods work in mysterious ways. So there’s no need to tell you how we heard about Jason Statts, a Decibel reader and metal fan confined to a wheelchair after he was robbed and shot leaving his first ever gig about five years ago. The attack…

There’s a time when two Dicks are better than one. But we’re not talking about porn here. Or, some swinger party in Urals. No, sirs. When the universe conspires to bring Chris Dick (me) and Chris Dyck (Anciient guitarist/vocalist) together, it means something. What exactly? Let’s leave it up to the cast of Ancient Aliens…

With the throes of winter usually comes a dearth of new releases. So after perusing the innumerable year-end lists, there’s no better time to catch up on all of the records you missed, not to mention your back catalog. If you’re in a band, it’s also a good time to put out something new given…

In case you have been on a spiritual pilgrimage or without an Internet connection in recent months a quick reminder that we had a big party last weekend to celebrate our 100th issue. A bunch of bands that have graced the cover, best of lists or Hall Of Fame (some of them multiple honorees) played….

Back in the old days—1988-1991—you didn’t need to sound “retro” to be cool. Even if you sucked you were cool because you were death metal. Black and white band photo, a group of scowling dudes, the obligatory cemetery backdrop (or rubble heap), and a kick-ass logo were all you needed to convince worldwide throngs you…

Man, it gets fucking crazy in the Lightning Swords of Death practice space if this video for “Baphometic Chaosium” — the title track of the new record available now — is any indication. There are what appears to be grown-up versions of the Phantasm munchkins, a rather busty-sassy ram-headed demoness, and several trim dudes in…

I have a pet hamster. His name is Ozzy. He is adorable but terrified of everything. However, over the course of his cohabitation with me, he’s become acclimated to the sounds of heavy metal, probably due to the fact that I play it for 16 hours a day. I’ve discovered that he actually has quite…