Metal

Pic by Peter Palotas After viewing the latest video, “Ataraxia,” from atmospheric doom duo, The Answer Lies in the Black Void, we’re reminded of a line from a UFO song: “chains, chains pulling you down.” The nearly five-minute video we’re premiering today largely consists of vocalist vocalist Martina Horváth (Thy Catafalque live vocals) slowly lugging

Powerhouse South African thrashers Truth Decayed burst onto the scene during the pandemic era with their vicious and timeless brand of take-no-prisoners metal. The ensemble of Daniel Philogene (drums), Ryno Theron (vocals and guitar), Renz Kruger (bass) & Warren Jones (guitar), hail from Durban, South Africa, and united in metal during lockdown in early 2020.

Like many of their contemporaries, Swedish black metal outfit Watain is celebrating a major milestone this year with their 25th anniversary. With seven studio albums under their belt and a history of absolutely wild live shows, it only makes sense that the band would mark the occasion with a special live album later this year.

After forming in 1988, Japanese death metal pioneers Transgressor released a series of coveted demos. Their Ether for Scapegoat debut (1992) revealed a band on the genre’s cutting edge. But the band soon entered a period of inactivity that lingered until the late ’90s. Although a splatter of splits and compilations followed, Transgressor has not

Photo by Joe Singh Truthfully, the co-nerds that run this column are not the biggest fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Having played it somewhere around its initial release over a decade ago when the game’s buzz was at its peak, our interest in other genres and collective lack of experience with the series

Photo: John Malley Michael Freiburger is a pillar of the Seattle metal community. He heads the growing label Satanik Royalty Records (based on the name of a Midnight album), plays bass in the doom band deathCAVE, and is the founder and promoter of the emerging Disemboweled God fest. On top of this, he recently opened

Born Again is the strangest album in Black Sabbath’s career and the product of their strangest era. It might be the most bizarre album in heavy metal’s 50-plus-year history. Unsurprisingly, it started with a night at a bar.  Sabbath was without vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who left the band after recording two Decibel Hall of

Photo: Soren Hixenbaugh We’ve covered Seattle noise rock/post-hardcore crew Great Falls a bunch of times in the past and not just because longtime Decibel contributor Shane Mehling plays bass (plus members of Kiss It Goodbye, Undertow, Playing Enemy, et al) in the band. No, Great Falls play genuinely great and demoralizing tunes that are bleak, discordant and leave you

Ok, last week we learned about “irony,” so how about we tackle “sarcasm” this week, courtesy of Norwegian post-hardcore progniks Kambodsja. The Refused-inspired quartet offer a perfect example in their latest track, “Basement Prophet,” whose video we’re premiering below. Ya see, the chorus in this particular adrenalin-fueled basher is, “we could all use a little bit

Texas black metal legion Necrofier are still blazing a left hand path on the strength of their sophomore crusher Burning Shadows in the Southern Night. The latest stop on the road to hell is a stunning new video for scorching single “Destroying Angels.” “‘Destroying Angels’ is about transforming yourself into something new after learning things

Australian deathcore act Thy Art Is Murder hasn’t had the best time in the press lately and yet another issue could further hamper their sixth studio album Godlike. Earlier today, the band took to social media to announce that the new album would have to be pushed back a week to September 22 due to

Decibel Books is proud to announce the publication of The Scott Burns Sessions: A Life in Death Metal 1987 – 1997, a massive 480-page oral history of the celebrated Morrisound recording career of iconic extreme metal producer and engineer Scott Burns. Fans can pre-order their copy now with an expected ship date in late October/early November.

Indianapolis, Indiana’s Flesher, the power trio consisting of Paul Breece, Gus Matracia, and Dustin Boltjes, serve up hearty helpings of gore-drenched brutality on their latest sinister offering Tales of Grotesque Demise.  Featuring past and present members of Skeletonwitch, Demiricous, Chrome Waves, and Sacred Leather, Flesher was forged in the summer of 2022 releasing their acclaimed

It’s Monday morning and you hate everything, right? Match the music to your mood with Break.Burn.End., the new album from Charlotte-based metallic hardcore bruisers Violent Life Violent Death. Decibel has covered the band numerous times before and I’m happy to report that they haven’t changed the formula all that much. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Hatebreed,

Madi Watkins from Year of the Knife has been slowly making progress since the band’s tragic van accident, and recently, she and her husband Brandon Watkins filmed a video for fans. Since the band’s latest update, she has taken her first steps since the accident and is also able to eat solid food. Previously, as

Dethklok are currently on tour in support of the recent Metalocalypse movie, and their pre-show PSA by beloved mascot Facebones has a word to the wise about personal hygiene and behavior at shows. In the PSA, which has been viewed over 3 million times on TikTok, Facebones implores the audience to take a shower before

Mutoid Man will be touring the East Coast this November in support of their latest album, Mutants, out via Sargent House. Tickets for the show dates can be found here. The band say about their upcoming show run: “More U.S. East coast dates surrounding the November show with Botch have been added. Current European dates

Hardcore weirdos Venomous Concept just scheduled a tour across the U.K. and Ireland next year. The band features members of Napalm Death and Brutal Truth, and Dave Witte from Municipal Waste will be handling drum duties this tour cycle. Dates are listed below. 01/12 Southampton, UK @ The 186501/13 London, UK @ Boston Music Room01/14

The Browning announced on Wednesday that they are back with a new lineup and a new record deal with FiXT. Jonny McBee just welcomed Hardcore Keem, a heavy music influencer, and drummer Cody Stewart into the band. The post also seems to be teasing a music video for a new song. We’re not entirely sure

Less than 24 hours after attendees were forced to either scramble under makeshift shelters or stand in the rain for hours waiting for transportation back to their campsites, continued shitty weather forced Blue Ridge Rock Festival organizers to pull the plug on the whole thing. The following announcement came less than an hour ago via