What’s up, beaks and geeks? Your old boy Waldo is gearing up for the U.S.’s biggest metal party of the year. And while I’d LOVE to do a Maryland Deathfest-centric blog, there just aren’t enough new releases by those artists this time around; but, you know, fuck it, right? ZOMBIEKRIG release Den Vanstra Stigens Ljus, and while your boy Waldo doesn’t know much about these Swedes, this record is pretty fun. It ...

The man-boys in Converge suggest we shouldn’t have any heroes.  Ironic, that, since they qualify as heroes themselves.  Another hero whose deeds we love to celebrate is Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till.  The man has helped guide the forces of nature his band channels into masterpieces of world-ending ferocity, and this alone makes him an astonishing example for musicians and artists of all strains ...

It’s impossible to be hyperbolic about the legacy of Jeff Hanneman. Our own Justin Norton comes right out and says it in this month’s cover story: “Every band ever featured in this magazine owes [Slayer] something.” Hanneman and Slayer have coursed through Decibel‘s lifesblood from the onset, from two Hall of Fames to two exhaustive cover stories. For #105′s long-form tribute, we compiled a moving retrospec ...

Today marks the final installment of Old School hardcore Thrusdays with the members Umea throwback punks, AC4. Check out parts one and two, if you should so desire. This week, I asked bassist Christoffer Jonsson and guitarist Karl Backman to list off the albums they spent as much time longingly staring at back in the day as much as they did listened to. Top Five Old School HC Album Covers Karl: Exploited – ...

Want to know how excited Fight Amp is to be playing its first hometown show of the year? So excited that my fellow South Jerseyans decided to give away a pair of tickets to their May 28th show at Philadelphia’s Kung Fu Necktie and asked us to help. Oh, did we mention that the evening will also features the likes of Weedeater, Old Wounds and Philadelphia’s own Serpent Throne? Nah, you didn’t need any more co ...

We remember the folks who were around when we started listening to metal. One of the people I have a vivid memory of is my old friend Robert Dyer: a wild haired guitar aficionado that sat next to me in many a math class during our four years at a parochial prep school. Robert often watched in horror as I attacked my desk with a high school issue compass, which the TSA would classify as a weapon today. Rober ...

OK, where’d this come from? Majestic Loincloth’s been in the works for a while, right? Richard Christy: Yes, I actually filmed Majestic Loincloth as a low budget live action film with all my metalhead drinking buddies back in Florida in 2002 and 2003. I’d gather everyone together on a Sunday, buy a case of beer, and we’d act like idiots wearing Viking outfits and film it. I actually made several full-length ...

You like free stuff? Of course you like free stuff. Free stuff is pretty punk rock (not that I would know; I look like I should be listening to Coldplay or The National). Moshpit Tragedy have a whole slew of awesome crust, punk, hardcore, and grind, all available for “name your price” on Bandcamp or for free download from their website. You can explore killer releases from Total Fucking Destruction, Agrimon ...

Superlative sludge thrashers Lair of the Minotaur recently burst back out of the infernal regions brandishing the sick (and extremely limited) new seven-inch single Godslayer as well as a new batch of their own signature brew Evil Power Imperial Pilsner. This morning guitarist/vocalist Steve Rathbone and drummer Chris Wozniak chat with Decibel about the latter while we stream the former — the band’s first n ...

A couple of weeks ago we told you that UK writer Dayal Patterson had finished off a 600-page history of black metal, Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, a book that aimed to peel the corpsepaint off black metal’s sensationalist public image and look at how it started and how it got to where it is today. Evolution of the Cult is now available for pre-order here at a discounted price. Well here’s author Dayal ...