Greetings, Decibel readers!
It’s been a couple weeks, so we’re playing catch-up a bit here. Couldn’t let the new Cattle Decapitation and The Acacia Strain releases go unmentioned. The legions would never allow it! Also, big new release from VHS as well. Easily a top contender for one of the best albums of the year. It’s already the most fun, and I doubt they’ll be bested in that regard once it gets cold out again.
Enjoy!
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The Acacia Strain – Step Into the Light
The masters of crushing, oppressive negativity return and are as brutal as ever. The band has basically taken its blend of hardcore beatdowns and sludgy riffs and made it into a science. I find this latest peer-review essay quite satisfactory.
Stream: Apple Music
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Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite
Hey! You, reading this article, go see Cattle Decapitation on the Decibel Magazine Tour with Dark Funeral, 200 Stab Wounds and Blackbraid. Anyway, you know what these guys are about. And if not, it’ll be clear pretty quickly once you press “Play.”
Stream: Apple Music
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Sporae Autem Yuggoth – …However It Still Moves
Deep in the mountains of Chile, a new beast has awoken to reign riffs and terror upon us all. This kind of death metal never fails, and this band is definitely one to watch.
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Thulcandra – Hail the Abyss
Thulcandra exists for a single, noble reason: to prove that you can never have too many blue-cover-black metal albums. It helps that the band has refined its approach on every album to earn their own identity and create fantastic works of heavy metal distinction. This is yet another entry in that pantheon.
Stream: Apple Music
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VHS – Quest For the Mighty Riff
We’re major supporters of VHS around here. Check out our full-album premiere:
“The 14-tracker touches on all the highlights of the genre, so expect to hear songs on subjects like the Beastmaster, King Arthur and so much more. The album features guest vocals from Aaren Pantke of Molder on “Cleave ‘Em and Leave ‘Em,” Marlee Ryley of Hyperia on “Crimson Haired Warrior,” Schuler Benson of Trocar on “There Can Be Only One” and James McBain of Hellripper on “Are You Afraid of Dragons?” Quest for the Mighty Riff was mixed by Mike Hochins and mastered by Topon Das/Apartment 2 Recording. Matt Harvey created the intro/interlude music, while Schuler Benson did the narration.”
Stream: Apple Music