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The new record from Imperishable, Revelation in Purity, is out this Friday via Everlasting Spew Records. Listen to it with us before it drops tomorrow. Notably, the record features Brian Kingsland of Nile and Enthean on guitar and vocals, Alex Rush of Okloth and Enthean on bass, and Derek Roddy of Hate Eternal and Malevolent Creation on…
The post Album Premiere: Imperishable – Revelation in Purity appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

n this video, PG Contributor Tom Butwin breaks down the fundamentals of mic’ing acoustic, electric, and bass guitars. Learn the best microphone placements to capture the perfect tone, whether you’re looking for a bright, aggressive sound or a warm, vintage vibe.

Perched on Houston Street, the unofficial border between Manhattan’s East Village and Lower East Side, the Mercury Lounge is a venerable New York City music room with a top-notch sound system. It’s also quite small. Two hundred and fifty people max would be a generous capacity estimate, and the club’s bookings, fittingly, tend toward the alternative and the fringe. So it’s not the first place you’d expect to see a celebrated bluegrass acoustic guitar virtuosa and two-time Grammy winner. But on this extra-warm evening in late June, Molly Tuttle is specializing in the unexpected.- YouTubeThe four musicians weaving through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd ahead of Tuttle to the Mercury stage are the night’s next surprise, for more than one reason. For starters, they’re not Golden Highway, the group with which she won those Grammys (for Best Bluegrass Album, in 2022 and 2024). Secondly, they’re all female. The appealingly afro’d Megan Jane is a stone-solid drummer. Vanessa McGowan switches off between electric and acoustic upright bass. Mair Mulroney deftly handles fiddle, mandolin and keyboards. Close-cropped Ellen Angelico lets it rip on electric guitar and lap steel. “This is only the fourth show we’ve played together,” Tuttle announces from the stage, clutching the signature dreadnought that Martin built for her last year. “And the first three were festival-type things, so this is the first show that really feels like ours.”
The music they play, much of it from Tuttle’s new album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, is surprise number three. Bouncy, breezy songs like “The Highway Knows” and “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” are, in short, not bluegrass, though they abound with nods to both modern and traditional country. You wouldn’t be wrong to call this pop music, yet it’s pop of an exceptionally tuneful, intelligent and tastefully arranged order. And unlike the work of pretty much any other contemporary pop artist, it leaves plenty of room for the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument. Because while the stylistic trappings and the supporting players have changed, one thing hasn’t: Tuttle is still cross-picking up a storm, exclusively on the kinds of axes that have big sound holes and wound G strings. At least for now.
“Maybe on the next album,” 32-year-old Tuttle says with a laugh earlier that same day, in a mercifully air-conditioned record company conference room, when asked about the chances of her ever going electric. Right now she’s still happy to explore her usual instrument in a new context. “You know, you think of bluegrass as featuring the flatpicked guitar more than any other style. But strangely enough, I play so much more guitar on this album than I ever have on one of my records. That was really fun for me, and it pushed me as a player. It was like, how do we keep this interesting when I’m gonna be the only soloist on the whole record?”“This is my fifth record,” Tuttle says of So Long Little Miss Sunshine, “which is crazy. It doesn’t feel like it is. But looking at all five of them together, this one is definitely more in the vein of my first record [2019’s When You’re Ready] and the cover record. And then for the last two”—the Grammy winners, Crooked Tree (2022) and City of Gold (2023)—“I consciously wanted to make these bluegrass records to honor my family roots in that music. My grandfather played the banjo and passed down the music to my dad, who taught me how to play, and it just felt like this important thing for me to do. I know that I’ll always want to play that music, and I’m sure I’ll make more bluegrass records and tour with bluegrass bands again. But at the same time, this album feels like it’s a bigger picture of who I am as an artist. It encapsulates more sides of my songwriting and playing and singing.”“Strangely enough, I play so much more guitar on this album than I ever have on one of my records.”So where does this leave Golden Highway? “It’s on hiatus,” Tuttle responds, “and I don’t know when we’ll play together again. But I certainly hope that we do. I think we were all ready to slow it down a bit. We’ve had so much fun over the past three years, but everyone knew that I was gonna want to do something different. Some of the band members expressed that they wanted to pursue their solo projects, and we’ve been touring at such a high intensity, it just felt like a natural stopping point. I don’t think anyone wanted to say this is the end, and I certainly don’t. We’re all still great friends, I see them around in Nashville, and I think when the time’s right, we’ll have an epic musical reunion.”Molly Tuttle’s GearRoad GuitarsPre-War Guitars Co. Dreadnought (tuned EADGBD)Martin Molly Tuttle signature model (D-28 style, tuned DADGAD)Studio and Home Guitars1943 Martin D-18Pre-War Herringbone and Double AughtPreston Thompson D-BA Preston Thompson Molly Tuttle SignaturePickupsK&K Double Helix, blended with internally mounted Shure microphoneK&K Pure MiniL.R. Baggs HiFi DuetGrace Design FELiX preampStrings, Picks & CaposD’Addario EJ12 80/20 Bronze strings, medium gauge (.013-.056)Dunlop Jazztone 208 picksShubb and Elliott caposAs for the new band, Tuttle claims that the lack of Y chromosomes in its lineup wasn’t pre-planned. “I reached out first to Vanessa, who’s playing bass, and then she connected me with the rest of the band. I’d already toured with Megan, the drummer, in 2021, and we did some pandemic livestreams together. But we didn’t mean to make it all-female. Being a woman in the music industry, you never want to feel like you’re being asked for a gig just because you’re a woman. But when you get together organically, as we did, it’s like, yay, this is pretty fun.” That sense of high spirits is evident at the Mercury Lounge, as Tuttle’s bandmates prove equally adept at both the poppier new material and Golden Highway nuggets like “Alice in the Bluegrass” and “Over the Line.”“I’m sure I’ll make more bluegrass records and tour with bluegrass bands again.”Tuttle may not have played any of the electric guitar parts on So Long Little Miss Sunshine (those were handled by Joyce), but in the absence of Golden Highway in the studio, she did make another notable recorded debut: playing her grandfather’s banjo. “I always had a banjo player before,” she explains, “but all of a sudden I had to be my own banjo player. And that was a conscious decision—we still wanted to have banjo [on the album]. That way you see how it connects to my previous work; even as we’re moving into new areas, we tie it back to the roots.” Beyond serving as a timbral bridge from one Tuttle era to another, the banjo also combines with her acoustic to create alluring textures on the album’s final two songs, “No Regrets” and “Story of My So-Called Life.”In the latter composition, an exercise in elliptical autobiography, Tuttle gives a shout-out to the Orange Line, a branch of the Boston subway system that she rode almost every day she lived there. Even though she’s been a Nashville resident for years, the time she spent in Massachusetts’ capital as a student was clearly pivotal. “I learned so much at Berklee,” Tuttle recalls. “I knew no music theory before I went there. I’d never read any music or tablature. I had such an aversion to all that. So when I got there, it was a big shock. But after about a year I really understood music more, and I could communicate better with other musicians. A lot of times, I was the only acoustic player in my guitar classes, which was kind of funny. But I learned to embrace that, even if it sometimes made me uncomfortable.” Back at the Mercury Lounge, the surprises keep coming. Toward the end of the set, Tuttle and her band launch into another new tune, “Old Me (New Wig),” with rockabilly swagger. At a climactic moment, Tuttle dramatizes the song’s subtitle by reaching up and removing her carefully coiffed brown wig, revealing a smooth, white pate beneath. What feels on some level like a Sinéad O’Connor-style protest against the patriarchy is also a touching acceptance of reality: Tuttle’s natural hair stopped growing when she was a child due to an autoimmune condition called alopecia universalis. Fans have long known this, but for her to acknowledge it onstage so openly—and play the rest of the show wigless—is further evidence that Tuttle continues to embrace the uncomfortable.For the last song of the evening, Tuttle plays what feels like her trump card: a radical reworking of Icona Pop and Charli XCX’s “I Love It.” That it’s in the set list isn’t one of tonight’s bigger surprises—it’s a highlight of her new album—but the decision to close with it is bold. Where the original is a snotty dance-punk anthem, Tuttle turns it into something else entirely: a bleak ballad, sung by a woman whose recent romantic breakup may have brought her to the end of her tether. In her hands and voice, a fun pop throwaway becomes strangely moving. It’s a powerful moment, hinting at even more to come.“I always had a banjo player before, but all of a sudden I had to be my own banjo player.”“I really liked doing my last two records, the bluegrass ones,” Tuttle says. “That felt so in my wheelhouse. I knew exactly what to do. This one took much longer to figure out: How do I put my own voice on the guitar into this new style of music? And a lot of the songs changed a ton from the way they were when I started writing them.”She continues, “But now, having these new songs and this new style adds an element that I feel can make the live show bigger and reach more people, which is exciting. And the new band lineup is cool because we can still incorporate the bluegrass stuff too; everyone can play that. For me, it just feels good to branch out artistically.”YouTubeMolly Tuttle stops into CBS’s Saturday Sessions to play her song “San Joaquin,” from 2023’s City of Gold.

Sweetwater CEO Mike Clem recently stopped by the Know Your Gear podcast for a look inside how one of the largest music gear companies operates.In the conversation, Clem talks about the ways Sweetwater listens to customers, employees, and the broader market when making decisions. He shares how the company responds to challenges in the industry, from supply chain issues to evolving technology, and how those challenges shape everyday operations.Clem also touches on leadership and supporting employees in their roles, offering insight into how a large company keeps everyone moving in the same direction without losing sight of its culture. It’s a detailed look behind the scenes, full of takeaways for musicians, gear enthusiasts, and anyone curious about running a growing business in a competitive industry.You check out the full interview above.

BOSS introduces the PX-1 Plugout FX, an innovative hardware platform that captures the timeless BOSS compact pedal experience in one versatile pedal.This convertible stompbox holds multiple authentic effect recreations from the historic BOSS effects lineup, providing endless fuel for every creative journey. Sixteen effects are included with purchase, and more can be added over time with the BOSS Effect Loader app for iOS and Android devices. Since 1977, BOSS compact pedals have inspired generations of musicians around the world. Over 140 unique models have been produced, over 19 million units have been sold, and many have remained in non-stop production for decades. From vintage classics and go-to workhorses to rare and specialty effects, the PX-1 unlocks the diverse BOSS compact pedal range within a single stompbox.Backed by newly developed BOSS algorithms, each effect in the PX-1 delivers the genuine sound and response of the pedal it’s based on. Every detail is modeled with stunning accuracy, thanks to a powerful DSP engine dedicated to recreating the sound of a single effect at a time. Users can dial in tones fast with the familiar BOSS knob interface, supported by an onboard display for current parameters and internal settings. The PX-1 offers external control with one or two footswitches or an expression pedal. There’s a Swap function to switch between two effects, and nearly any parameter can be assigned for real-time expressive control while performing. Stereo I/O provides flexible connectivity and enhanced sound for models with stereo operation, while tap tempo and MIDI clock support are provided for time-based effects. An Ever-Expanding LibraryThe PX-1 comes with 16 unique effects, including eight permanently installed “1” models and eight that can be loaded into the pedal’s eight user memories.Many more PX-1 effects will be added over time, and each new effect will be available with a low-cost Model Pass within the BOSS Effect Loader app. Included effects: OD-1 Over Drive SP-1 Spectrum PH-1 Phaser SG-1 Slow Gear CS-1 Compression Sustainer TW-1 T Wah SD-1 SUPER OverDrive DS-1 Distortion CE-2 Chorus BF-2 Flanger PN-2 Tremolo/Pan OC-2 Octave PS-2 Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay VB-2 Vibrato DD-2 Digital Delay DF-2 SUPER Feedbacker & Distortion Roland Cloud Ultimate Membership Included The same PX-1 effects are also available for computer music production with the BOSS Effects Pedals plug-in on Roland Cloud, and six months of Roland Cloud Ultimate membership comes with the pedal. This provides complete access to the full BOSS Effects Pedals library, JC-120 Jazz Chorus and RE-201 Space Echo plug-ins, and many other powerful creative tools. Availability & Pricing The BOSS PX-1 Plugout FX will be available in September for $249.99 USD. Many more PX-1 effects will be added over time, and each new effect will be available with a low-cost Model Pass within the BOSS Effect Loader app.

Bad Cat Amplifiers is proud to announce the release of the Bad Cat Ocelot, an all-new compact tube amplifier designed for modern players who demand premium tone, total flexibility, and uncompromising quality—in a small 12 lbs. package.The Ocelot brings together the warmth of pure analog tube circuitry with advanced digital features, redefining what’s possible in a small-format amp. Whether you’re recording at home, gigging, or practicing silently with headphones, the Ocelot adapts to your environment without ever compromising your tone.Compact Size, Massive FlexibilityEquipped with two independent channels and two distinct gain modes, the Ocelot delivers a wide sonic spectrum:Channel 1 features sparkling, high-headroom cleans with the ability to nudge into rich edge-of-breakup tones via a Hi/Lo mode switch.Channel 2 brings tight, punchy crunch and full-bodied, high-gain saturation—with articulate response and massive sustain.Each channel has its own volume control, and the amp includes shared Treble, Mid, Bass, and Presence EQ for easy tone shaping.Studio-Ready Features, Stage-Proven DesignThe Ocelot’s real power lies in its flexibility:Two notes Torpedo DynIR™ integration with six onboard virtual cabinet presets from the official Bad Cat DynIR Pack.Selectable Power Modes – Choose between 20W for full punch or 1W for quiet playing.XLR and Headphone Outs – For silent practice or direct-to-DAW recording, complete with Cab Sim and adjustable Cab Level control.Buffered Effects Loop – Keep your pedals sounding pristine and punchy.USB-C Port – For firmware updates and remote editing via Two notes Torpedo Remote software.MIDI Control – Full MIDI implementation for switching channels, modes, and cab presets on the fly.And thanks to its internal speaker load, you can use the Ocelot without an external cabinet—perfect for late-night jams or tracking in a silent setup.Built for Real LifeCrafted with a heavy-duty aluminum chassis and powered by a custom Bad Cat transformer set, the Ocelot is a rugged, reliable, and road-ready package. It includes a two-button footswitch and is backed by Bad Cat’s 5-year limited warranty.SpecificationsDesigned in the USA by Bad Cat Amps20 Watts, switchable to 1 Watt2 x EL84 Power Tubes3 x 12AX7 Preamp TubesTwo Channels with Hi/Lo ModeTreble, Mid, Bass, and Presence ControlsMaster VolumeTwo notes Torpedo DynIR Integration (6 presets)Cabinet Simulated XLR OutputCabinet Simulated Headphone OutputMIDI InputBuffered Effects Loop8, 16 Ohm Speaker OutsHeavy Duty Aluminum ChassisUSB-C ConnectivityFootswitch Included5-Year Limited WarrantyStreet Price: $1,299.99The Bad Cat Ocelot: Go anywhere. Play anything. Available August 28, 2025.For more information or to place an order, visit www.badcatamps.com

Portuguese death thrash band Biolence are dropping their fifth album, Violent Obliteration, on September 1 via Doomed Records, Raging Planet and Selvajaria Records. Check it out here.
The post Album Premiere: Biolence – ‘Violent Obliteration’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

After more than a decade, Philly sludge regulars Sunburster have their debut album on the way and you can hear the first track now.
The post Track Premiere: Sunburster – ‘Jinn’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Sludgy North Carolinians Cosmic Reaper fire up some “Bones” in their latest video from new album Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned.
The post Video Premiere: Cosmic Reaper – “Bones” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.