I remember listening to Focus as a teenager and feeling the convulsive, architectonic shift of possibilities blistering the material of my otherwise under-seasoned reality. Cynic’s debut fundamentally altered my understanding of what I could demand of art—whether it was created by others or by myself. In fact, it’s a personal axiom that Focus, (along with
Metal
If this were a seasonal beer, when would you release it? Spring seems like the obvious choice as a tie-in to maple sugaring season—typically when the snow begins to thaw and temperatures are consistently above freezing. Before global warming, that used to be somewhere between mid-February and mid-March on the East Coast. But this isn’t
What’s up? It’s your old boy Waldo here, to inform you about some new and upcoming releases, good, bad, or otherwise. Remember, I’m not an elitist, you just have terrible taste. First of all, I’d like to mention that I RARELY do reviews of releases that have already passed—mostly it’s about two weeks ahead—BUT I’d
Demons are gracing us with another track from their forthcoming album, Under The Western Heel, the heavy and sludgy “Sweet Dreams.” Demons are a four-piece punk band from Norfolk, Virginia, and from the sounds of this track and their previous release, “Husk,” the Under The Western Heel is going to bring the sludgy, East Coast brutality times a hundred.
Trippy progressive sludge metal duo Radiant Knife rise once against from the swamps of Southern Louisiana to release their fifth full-length, Pressure, on July 14th. The combined forces of Greg Travasos on drums and Stephen Sheppert at the helm of guitar, synths, and vocals drawn inspiration from the likes of Today is the Day, Zeni
Sometimes you don’t feel like getting your head kicked in. Sometimes you maybe just wanna give your brain a swirl. Diminishing, an industrial, ambient drone metal duo, can help you with the later. The new project formed by Gridfailure genius Dave Brenner and his Texas-based partner in crime, Lane Oliver (Yatsu), offers up a miasma of
I keep trying to drill it into the heads of my pals in American-based touring bands that there is a treasure trove of metal goodness ready to welcome them (and come to their shows and buy their merch) east of Montreal. Alas, for whatever reason, routing will rarely take a band past the island where
Last year I premiered the first EP from a new Death Metal band called Phantom Horde. Describing songs from The Umbra, I wrote: “while the members hail from California and Texas, the blood of Gothenburg’s golden era rages through their veins.” Less than a year later, they return with a two-track tandem of singles that
Photo by Blake Roemer End Reign — the new crossover powerhouse featuring members of All Out War, Pig Destroyer, Exhumed, and more — makes a proper full-length debut next month. The quintet fuses hardcore elements with tinges of thrash and death metal that makes The Way of All Flesh is Decay a much-anticipated release. To hold everyone
Maniak isn’t messing around. The Swedish newcomers have blasted out of the gates of hell to reign blood, fire and death upon the world with pure mid-80s extreme metal worship. It’s with pride, therefore, that Decibel delivers the band’s new EP to you. Here is what the band had to say: “Speed Metal Terrorist is
Where they from?New Brunswick, New Jersey. My friend recently said that every hardcore band is from New Jersey, whether they know it or not. This very true as hardcore and grind require a certain depressed/disillusioned mindset that only the armpit of America can truly provide. Just ask Kevin Smith or the Dillinger Escape Plan. Why
Roughly three months since the release of their latest album V: Djent Is Not A Genre, Periphery has finally scheduled their first headlining shows of 2023 — but just barely before 2024 hits. Announced earlier today, the progressive metal band revealed they’d be playing on November 4 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California
From the rocky shores of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada comes a blood ceremony, an unholy sacrament of the wicked riff. The Order of the Precious Blood congregates to bask in the red glow and immense power of heavy fucking metal. Precious Blood, Eastern Canada’s ferocious experimental hardcore punk five-piece, drop their highly anticipated
Photo by Charles J. Tice We don’t know if Anchorage metallic hardcore outfit She walks by moonlight, but if their debut full-length, Goodpaster, (no idea) is any indication of their extracurricular activities, they definitely enjoy brutalizing earholes. This frost-bitten Alaskan foursome—Andrew Sims (vocals), Mercy Cofield Jr. (guitar), Justin Costiniano (bass), Justin Rodda (drums)—has been honing its
If you like your death metal dizzying and brutal, with perhaps a side of jazz to spice things up, you’ll find a lot to like on Sarmat‘s debut album, Determined to Strike. The group blasted its way into the metal word with the Dubious Disc live ep, and this new full-length establishes their hegemony over
Our esteemed Decibel colleague Adem Tepedelen might be too modest to tell you, so we’re gonna tell you for him: He wrote a fucking book. With Steve Turner of Mudhoney, no less. Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion is basically Turner’s life story, from his Seattle childhood and BMX/skate days to his
Photo courtesy of Stabbing Texas’ favorite slam-meats-brutal-death-metal ensemble, Stabbing, are gracing us with a new video today for “Visions of Eternal Suffering.” The song comes from the band’s 2022 record, Visions of Eternal Suffering, via Comatose Music. Now, the relentlessly heavy anthem is paired with campy slasher vibes in the most fitting way possible. “This song
Downwind from the long burned out mushroom clouds birthed from man’s fascination with destruction within the Nevada desert circa 1953, brutal and horrific death metal has risen from the ash of Phoenix, Arizona. Enter Nuclear Remains, a vicious quartet of death metal purists who draw influence from the pantheon of the greats; from Skinless to
Reaping Flesh hail from Milan, Italy, 2023 but could easily be from Tampa, United States, 1987. Citing Autopsy, Massacre and Death as their main influences, Reaping Flesh have dropped their first music in the form of debut EP Lies of Existence. Clinging closely (and intentionally) to their influences, Lies of Existence is a total rager that starts off with
Killswitch Engage fans were in for a treat at their June 9 show when the group were joined by special guests onstage. The guest appearance happened at their New Hampshire show at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna and former Killswitch singer Howard Jones wowed fans by joining in during certain songs. Belladonna