Decibel #226 - August 2023

METAL ON METAL HALL OF FAME

SPRING FEST ROUND-UP ROADBURN & HELL’S HEROES REVIEWED

KHANATE CRUEL TO BE KIND

REFUSE/RESIST

A L S O

OUTER HEAVEN ROYAL THUNDER RAVEN WAYFARER GRAF ORLOCK THANTIFAXATH TSJUDER BLOOD CEREMONY AGRICULTURE END REIGN

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AUGUST 2023 // No. 226

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upfront 8

metal muthas Blood of my blood

10 hell’s heroes v review Hotter than hell 12 roadburn 2023 review Reviewing heaviness 14 low culture I was always more of a Star Trek guy 15 no corporate beer The good kind of imperialism 16 in the studio:

wayfarer

How the east was won

18 tsjuder The dream of the ’90s is alive in Norway 20 raven Can’t stop, won’t stop 22 end reign Better together 24 graf orlock Last action heroes 26 hellwitch The witch is back 28 thantifaxath Rise and shine 30 agriculture Less agony, more ecstasy 32 inferion Formulas fatal to the industry 34 vulture industries Dad deathrock 36 stinking lizaveta Smell the jazz magic

features

reviews

38 royal thunder The funeral within

69 lead review Only one year removed from their stellar debut album, USBM powerhouse Blackbraid return with a follow-up that expands their sonic power with Blackbraid II

40 outer heaven The origins of horror 42 q&a: khanate For bassist and producer James Plotkin, the band’s first record in 14 years is a big mood 46 the decibel

hall of fame Despite the killer songs, the support of the metal press and the eye of (most) girls, learn how Anvil were never able to achieve the same success as their pioneering peers with the legendary Metal on Metal album

70 album reviews Records from bands that aren’t quiet quitting so much as loudly lasting, including Church of Misery, Voivod and Vomitory 80 damage ink The art of partying

One Life to Live COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY SHIMON KARMEL

Decibel (ISSN 1557-2137) is published monthly by Red Flag Media, Inc., P.O. Box 36818, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Annual subscription price is $29.95. Periodical postage, paid at Philadelphia, PA, and other mailing offices. Submission of manuscripts, illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Postmaster send changes of address for Decibel to Red Flag Media, P.O. Box 36818, Philadelphia, PA 19107. © 2023 by Red Flag Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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mom dropped what I’m sure was then comparable to a month’s rent on an Atari 2600. For an only child with little friends and even less ambitions to make more, those gigantic pixels and that single-button joystick soon became my most trusted companions. At least for a few years, until the Nintendo Entertainment System descended from the heavens and blew the minds of every fifth grader in North America. For me, that seismic change spawned countless solitary Contra, R.B.I. Baseball and Double Dragon marathons all the way through elementary school.

By the time my early education gave way to high school, priorities shifted. Most of which required me to get my fat ass out of my room, leaving my third-gen video game console to gather dust around neglected Garbage Pail Kids and dozens of 1987 Topps Mark McGwires.

Decibel art director Mike Wohlberg and ad sales director James Lewis, however, have remained resolute in their commitment to chronic eye strain. Both have been playing video games through multiple generations of consoles and platforms, nearly all of which are completely alien to a guy like me who put down his NES controller 30-plus years ago.

Last November, their lifelong nerdom culminated with the Decibel online debut of their co-authored video game column Kill Screen. Unlike other metal-leaning gaming columns, Kill Screen doesn’t review new or classic games, but instead interviews metal musicians about their video game experiences. It’s created some of the most passionate and engaging—and surprisingly emotional—content we’ve ever run on the site. As of this writing, Mike and James have published over a dozen, and we’ll press start on some Kill Screen video content sometime after you read this.

This, of course, inspired me to download (with significant assistance from Mike) an NES emulator. Now I’m revisiting lost classics like Blaster Master, discovering awesome games like Shatter Hand that I initially missed and studying Metroid maps so I can actually get the fuck around Zebes. But it’s all secondary to my 8-year-old son thoroughly beating my ass in Tecmo NBA Basketball, despite yours truly selecting the 1991-’92 Chicago Bulls. Mike and James, watch your backs! albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief

REFUSE/RESIST

August 2023 [T226]

I was 8 years old when my single PUBLISHER

Alex Mulcahy

alex@redflagmedia.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Albert Mudrian

albert@decibelmagazine.com AD SALES

James Lewis

james@decibelmagazine.com DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES ART DIRECTOR

Aaron Salsbury

aaron@decibelmagazine.com

Michael Wohlberg

michael@decibelmagazine.com CUSTOMER SERVICE

Patty Moran

COPY EDITOR

Andrew Bonazelli

BOOKCREEPER

Tim Mulcahy

patty@decibelmagazine.com

tim@redflagmedia.com CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Chuck BB, Ed Luce Mark Rudolph

Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR

Albert Mudrian

DECIBEL WEB AD SALES

James Lewis

albert@decibelmagazine.com james@decibelmagazine.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Emily Bellino Adrien Begrand J. Bennett Dean Brown Liz Ciavarella-Brenner Dillon Collins Chris Dick Sean Frasier Nick Green Raoul Hernandez Addison Herron-Wheeler Jonathan Horsley Courtney Iseman Neill Jameson Kim Kelly Sarah Kitteringham Daniel Lake Cosmo Lee Jamie Ludwig Shane Mehling Tim Mudd Justin M. Norton Dutch Pearce Forrest Pitts Greg Pratt Jon Rosenthal Brad Sanders José Carlos Santos Joseph Schafer Kevin Stewart-Panko Eugene S. Robinson Adem Tepedelen Jeff Treppel J Andrew Zalucky CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

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To order by phone: 1.215.625.9850 (10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST) To order by fax: 1.215.625.9967 To order online: www.decibelmagazine.com Decibel (ISSN 1557-2137) is published monthly by Red Flag Media, Inc., P.O. Box 36818, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Annual subscription price is $29.95.

Periodical postage, paid at Philadelphia, PA, and other mailing offices. Submission of manuscripts, illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

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Based on your order history, we suspect you’re a pretty big fan of the Decibel Flexi Series. Approximately how many of those little pieces of floppy magic do you own, and which one is your favorite?

I have 79 Decibel flexis. I think I have a couple other flexis around as well. As far as favorites go, I would have to say dB26.5, Pig Destroyer live EP [given free to all Decibel 100th Issue Show attendees]. I was not in the vinyl market when this was released. I bought it secondhand on Discogs. I really hate to just say one is my favorite. Honorable mentions: Trappist “Growler in the Yard,” Agoraphobic Nosebleed “Merry Chrystmeth” (I have the green and white version of this one) and Nails “Among the Arches of Intolerance/In Pain.”

Jade Stephens Taylorville, IL

Tell us about Taylorville, Illinois. We searched for it on Facebook, and the first results were advertisements for Golden Corral and Hooters.

Taylorville is a small town in central Illinois with a population of 10,000. Not a lot to see here, really—just corn and bean fields. There once was a Golden Corral here, but it closed down in 2003. There is a Hooters and Golden Corral 25 miles away in Springfield, though.

So, not that far to get a delicious, overpriced buffet meal should I ever have a craving for it.

6 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

We know you’re a big fan of Pig Destroyer’s beer collaborations with 3 Floyds. What are your other fave breweries that may or may not collaborate with grindcore legends?

Yes, I do love 3 Floyds. A LOT. They are by far my

favorite brewery. Central Illinois did not see distribution of 3 Floyds until 2020. Prior to that, I used to drive over to Indiana to get it.

Still waiting on that collaboration beer with Cattle Decapitation. Anyway, I love Surly Brewing as well. Anything from their year-round list is a good choice. I did not get a chance to try the 1349 collaboration beer, but I did have the King Diamond beer and it was pretty great.

I do some beer-trading sometimes and was sent a few from Pizza Port Brewing out of California. They were awesome.

Mizmor is featured on the cover of this issue.

As a longtime reader, are you stoked when we give emerging artists that kind of coverage, or are you just waiting around for our next Metallica cover?

I always love to see upcoming artists featured. It is a great thing you all do. Of course, I love when one of my favorites is on the cover, too! Thanks for doing what you do for the community.

There is a Hooters and Golden Corral 25 miles away in Springfield, though.

So, not that far to get a delicious, overpriced buffet meal should I ever have a craving for it.

Chuck BB is the illustrator of the graphic novels Black Metal, Vol. 1, 2 and 3 . For more info and art, head over to chuckbb.com

NOW SLAYING Wonder what Decibel world HQ has been rocking for the past month?

Well, here are the records that we spun most when we weren’t over-explaining all the deep-cut NES references to our kids during The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Because not all of us were spawned in the darkest recesses of hell

This Month’s Mutha: Evelyn Hamdon Mutha of Alia O’Brien of Blood Ceremony

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a Muslim of Lebanese ancestry. So, family (and food) are very important to me! More seriously, I also have a love of learning passed on to me by my parents and my grandparents. I enjoy learning through books (thanks, mom!), through nature (thank you, dad!), through relationships with living beings (from my grandparents): canine, feline, avian and even humans! I especially love and admire trees. My children have also been very important in my lifelong journey to becoming a better person.

Alia is an accomplished flutist. Did you ever imagine that she would utilize the instrument in a heavy metal context?

Well, while I did not envision her as a flutewielding frontwoman in a metal band, she was subjected to many hours of Jethro Tull. So… Your daughter holds a PhD in ethnomusicology.

Where did her interest in academia stem from?

Alia was always deeply curious and “scholarly.”

She was very active in science fairs as a child, and won a silver medal at Canada’s national science fair when she was 14. In true mad scientist fashion, one of her experiments ended (unintentionally) with a pressure cooker exploding in our kitchen, leaving a massive hole in the ceiling!

Do you share your daughter’s curiosity about the occult?

I have always been deeply spiritual and fascinated by the “unseen,” from the writings of Sufi Muslim saints and mystics to quantum and astrophysics. It is all so compelling!

What are your impressions of Alia performing live with Blood Ceremony?

I feel so grateful to have seen Blood Ceremony perform several times: Milan, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver! I’m always blown away by her energy. However (forgive me Alia), whenever I see her perform, I am always brought back to her first public performance. When Alia was 4 she participated in the Kiwanis Festival for the Performing Arts.

She recited a poem, “The Muddy Puddle,” for which she won a prize! She delivered the poem with a sassy attitude that definitely foreshadowed her BC stage persona!

Tell us something about Alia that most people would never suspect.

Upon graduating from high school, Alia was offered an engineering scholarship on the basis of her science grades. She turned it down, and the rest—as they say—is history.

Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f  Blackbraid, Blackbraid II  Mizmor, Prosaic  Dead Heat, Endless Torment  Will Haven, VII  Graf Orlock, End Credits ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e  Melvins, Houdini  OFF!, Free LSD  G.B.H., City Baby’s Revenge  Die Spitz, Teeth  Poison Idea, Pick Your King ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s  Blackbraid, Blackbraid II  Thra, Forged in Chaotic Spew  Khanate, To Be Cruel  Outer Heaven, Infinite Psychic Depths  Graf Orlock, End Credits ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r  Graf Orlock, End Credits  Mizmor, Prosaic  Outer Heaven, Infinite Psychic Depths  Blackbraid, Blackbraid II  Drain, Living Proof ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s  Pupil Slicer, Blossom  Armamento Fatal, Armamento Fatal 7-inch  Prince Midnight, Dispirited Kingdom  Ben Folds, What Matters Most  Scrotum Grinder/ CombatWoundedVeteran, Split 7-inch

GUEST SLAYER

---------------------------------Sherwood Webber : s k i n l e s s  Frozen Soul, Glacial Domination  200 Stab Wounds, All  Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken  Carpenter Brut, Leather Terror  Kublai Khan, Boomslang

—ANDREW BONAZELLI PHOTO BY

8 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

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HELL’S HEROES V

HELL’S HEROES V

H

ouston boasts every amenity one might expect from the fourth-most WHEN: March 23 – 25, 2023 populous city in the United States.

PHOTOS BY MAURICE NUNEZ That encompasses a hard arts legacy beginning with King’s X and including recent Decibel Hall of Fame inductee dead horse, plus Oceans of Slumber, Scale the Summit, Venomous Maximus and Galactic Cowboys. To any essentials list, add heavy metal convergence Hell’s Heroes. ¶ The second-largest and second-most populated state, Texas—laconic, hospitable, yet redneck, hardcore—identifies not only as metal, but also intrinsically musical. Despite its two-season paradigm (summer/not summer), festivals gather year-round here. From Top 10 metroplexes (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio) to single-stoplight towns, audio accompaniment soundtracks miles and miles of Lone Star sovereignty. ¶ On a li’l ol’ Texan knoll overlooking downtown H-town—Space City (NASA), Bayou City, (DJ) Screwston—the fifth iteration of this Gulf Coast congregation churned an international melting pot of eras, influences and legacies both vintage and futuristic.

WHERE:

White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX

Hellhammer by Tom Gabriel Warrior’s Triumph of Death ninjas, Vio-lence, Spectral Wound, Sonja, Fugitive (the new act from Power Trip guitarist Blake Ibanez) and more—HHV’s pre-party raged Thursday in the private back10 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

stage of destination destroyer the White Oak Music Hall. A wood-paneled, divinely acoustic main room with balconies inside and out, and then a second knoll outside—this one manmade, grass-covered, overlooking both the

 A sight for fainted eyes The great beast himself Tom G. Warrior delights the Texas crowd with live performances from Celtic Frost classics Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion

battleship-looking building and a 50-foot mainstage backdropped by the downtown skyline— make the back-and-forth between stages crawlable. Zero wear or tear.

Three hours straight outta Austin, an Agoraphobic Nosebleed official and myself whiffed said warm-up and finally pried ourselves from the creamy/dreamy SpindleTap Brewery late Friday afternoon after having missed Visigoth, Exciter, Century, Morgul Blade, Spell and more.

Not true of state hero and Iron Age smither/ now Eternal Champion Jason Tarpey, who signed his novel The Godblade in the merch area and talked up said acts. Just over the fence, Manowar foundry Ross Friedman—Ross the Boss—rallied a ravenous dinner crowd.

“I’m not used to this heat,” barked the frontman, both cartoon and cannon behind classic gallopers “Black Wind, Fire and Steel,” “Kill With Power,” et cetera. “I came from snow!”

Inside, atop a cochlea-crushing P.A., Portland’s Danava put on a masterclass in U.K. preextremity with its clamorous, hell-bent, two-axe attack. Priestly rumble, Newcastle bass, Derek Smalls mustache via bandleader Greg Meleney, their proto-clamor proved an electric runway

Devils in the details  The hotter than hell weather didn’t stop Brian Ross of Satan (l) and Jeff Becerra of Possessed from donning their heaviest of leather

to what followed, particularly “Eternal Villain” thumping like “Heaven and Hell.”

Swedish cape rockers Hällas then took the room back a decade. More Yes than Deep Purple, the quintet’s 1970s progressiveness pumped the keyboardist, marched the rhythm section, and let fly the guit-harmonies like Angel Witch by way of Devil Master. Makeup, vampire wear, their breakdowns fed instant converts. Outside, a deeper pledge quickly emptied the hall.

Doubled over in his wheelchair, Possessed pontiff Jeff Becerra snarled for the ages. Craggy, croaking—hair-raising—the 54-year-old Californian split himself in two, singing. Convulsed, he gutted out death metal’s birth yawp through the machine gun beats and slushy, sawing, serrated riffs of the Bay Area thrash rarities.

“Holy fucking shit, we’re in Texas, man,” he grinned. “I put my spurs on!”

In fact, he dug them into the side of every note that followed both in those 90 minutes (“Pentagram,” “Tribulation,” “Death Metal”) and the entirety of the next day, which bottled the same primal scream as Possessed.

With temperatures in the 80s, Canadians stormed the gates early on Saturday. Riot City

(Alberta), Skull Fist (Toronto) and Freeways (Ontario) all tomahawked classically NWOBHM until Razor cut loose a battering ram of jagged, icy hooks and muscled delivery, Dave Carlo’s blitzkrieg guitar attack and Mike Campagnolo’s cataclysmic bass leading the way. Portlanders Unto Others torqued the afternoon heat with a gothic dank, Gabriel Franco transforming into metal’s Robert Smith, after which back-toback sets by Pagan Altar and Satan delivered timeless U.K. doom ‘n’ boom: ancient pulsation, tattoo needle riffs and Hound of the Baskervilles percussion, “Lords of Hypocrisy” to “Ascendancy,” respectively.

Meanwhile—all day—the inside stage m-u-r-d-e-r-e-d.

NYC occultists Tower lacerated behind Sarabeth Linden, who led like Lita Ford gone Spahn Ranch. Hell’s Hero himself, showrunner Christian Larson, led Night Cobra with Snake Plissken aplomb (and even an eyepatch!) in 1970s Flying V splendor: buzzing, bashing, sword-wielding. Trevor William Church then thrilled a brimming, breathless room via a supersonic update of the Montrose classicism and nitroglycerin hooks that fuels his

SWAT team Haunt. The former’s “Rock Candy” encrusted the P.A. just ahead of L.A. triumvirate Night Demon obliterating everything before them with the sticks, riffs and bloodsweat of arena rock insatiability.

That split an atom storming Hell’s Heroes V to its conclusion.

Triptykon reanimating Celtic Frost crucible Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion went over as any metal lifer would pray—over the moon.

Having ventured to La La Land in 2018 to witness dB’s procurement of a similar set for its initial West Coast edition of Metal & Beer Fest, I experienced the same shock and absolute awe. Like Becerra with Possessed, Thomas Gabriel Fischer gave all Hell’s Heroes a moment of immortality, where a revolutionary moment in music still shrieks into the void to give fellow travelers meaning and mass, if just for 85 minutes.

“We first played these songs here in Houston in the summer of ’86,” nodded the flair of white hair and mascara under the trademark black skull cap and matching cat burglar outfit, 60 years eternal on July 19. “Without you, I’d be nothing.” —RAOUL HERNANDEZ DECIBEL : AUGUS T 2 0 2 3 : 11

ROADBURN 2023

ROADBURN 2023

THE

evolution of a heavy The Netherlands, music festival is beholden 013 venue to a thousand unknowWHEN: April 20-23, 2023 able variables. Economic PHOTOS BY PETER TROEST headwinds, changing musical trends, scene politics, public health crises and geopolitical barriers all play a role in how these events unfold, and can dictate who survives and who crumbles. Roadburn, the Netherlands’ premier heavy music festival, has weathered them all since its 1999 founding by beloved patriarch Walter Hoeijmakers. ¶ Twenty-four years in, those who attended those first few stoneriffic doom/psych gatherings would hardly recognize the festival as it’s become now, but it’s that very commitment to change that has allowed Roadburn to thrive over the years, whether it’s been by incorporating more extreme metal into its lineups, incorporating cultural programming or inviting guest curators on board to shake things up. 2023’s edition took the tagline “Redefining Heaviness” as its motto, and accordingly was a mix of the familiar and the unexpected.

WHERE: Tilburg,

This year, that heaviness manifested just as often in an emotional sense than in pure amplifier worship; there was plenty for the doom hounds to chew on, but the balance has definitely shifted in favor of the experimental and progressive. The lineup was markedly more diverse than it’s been in the past, and the side programming featured panels on folk music, queerness in metal and Roadburn’s future.

But to be clear, the lineup was still heavy as fuck. The main stage was dominated by fan 12 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

favorites like Cave In (playing an “Interstellar Mixtape”), Deafheaven (performing Sunbather and Infinite Granite) and Wolves in the Throne Room (doing “Shadow Moon Kingdom”), as well as special performances from Julie Christmas, Burst, Imperial Triumphant and Big Brave.

Thrillingly, funerary icons Bell Witch debuted their entire new LP, Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate, and seeing Chat Pile thoroughly charm/bewilder a roomful of Europeans with Arby’s and Toni Morrison references in between

 Burning brighter Jesse Matthewson of KEN Mode (l) and Julie Christmas each brought their distinct brand of heaviness to Roadburn 2023

churning through their irresistible dirtbag noise rock paeans was an abject delight.

But as always, some of the festival’s most potent treasures were tucked away in smaller rooms, the kind you had to show up for way in advance to have a hope of squeezing into.

That’s where the likes of rabid black metallers Spirit Possession, anarcho punks Bad Breeding, melancholic psych-black outlier Iskandr and Ethan McCarthy’s harsh noise project Spiritual Poison project held court. That same venue complex also held performances by Zambian Canadian horror rapper Backxwash, whose punishing meld of industrial, death metal and hip-hop (and Angela Davis samples) would’ve sent the tie-dyed hippies of Roadburns past into a coma; Wayfarer, who debuted several new songs building on their “Denver sound”-inflected Western black metal; KEN mode, who brought their trademark disjointed fury; bright sparks like Body Void, Ashenspire, Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Candy and too many others to mention here.

The beauty of Roadburn has always been that, no matter where you end up, you’re going to see something special. The mantra “evolve or die” has especially poignant significance within our community of big dreams and bad moves, but it’s clear that Roadburn has made its choice— and it’s not going anywhere. —KIM KELLY

AN

NEY ISEM

T

BY COUR

Passing Gas Into the Summer Breeze someone who grew up

in the ’80s, Star Wars was very important to me and still brings a nice, warm sense of nostalgia flowing from whatever part of the body generates that (probably the prostate).

I’d fallen off after the second movie of the last trilogy, never watching the third or any of the satellite movies and shows. Not for the reason that I felt it was rubbing its unwashed dick on my childhood—my neighbor did that—but it was just fucking boring and I didn’t have any motivation to continue. This changed about a week or two ago when I decided one night to give The Mandalorian a shot and got through two seasons. Without giving you something to yawn about further, we’ll just say I enjoyed it.

Next is where I fucked up—I read some related articles and wandered into the comments sections. When I emerged, I felt like I had been swimming in a poorly lit vat of stagnant, hangover piss.

I was in Philly last weekend recording Krieg’s split with Withdrawal (I’m wondering if I should have put that part in bold), and met up with my friend Ralph at a spot called Lucky’s around the corner. At which point I had what would probably be the only civilized conversation about the franchise. And as I drove home, after being awake for 24 hours and hallucinating because it was the middle of the fucking night, it dawned on me that all fanbases and conversations involving them could easily be read at a tribunal of alien invaders as evidence as to why Earth should be slingshotted directly into the sun.

Think about it for a second: If you’re either a member or lurk on some of the various places on the Internet where people discuss music, you’ll notice that even in the “civilized” segments of metal—whatever the fuck that means—there are people denigrating or even threatening each 14 : AUGUS T 202 3 : DECIBEL

other over the dumbest possible minutiae. And it’s not just the “they released a record on a label that once shared an Uber with a guy in a Goatmoon shirt” crowd. You know, the “noble” ones; it’s everywhere in every subgenre. And it’s not just about politics (though that’s a lot of it), or identity; it’s even about subjective things like people’s tastes or even their fucking spending ability.

This isn’t a new occurrence—people have always been assholes to each other from the dawn of time, and I could see the direction we were headed when I was spending a lot of time in AOL’s “Unholy Metal” chat or the Full Moon Productions forum where everyone sprayed shit at everyone else (I’m not innocent there, which I’m sure comes as a surprise). But Jesus Christ, outside of a few direct conversations, the only time I ever like talking about music is when I write something, and I’m sure to steer clear of the comments section.

“Gatekeeping” has been a hot (meme) topic in metal (or in general), and to a point I tend to agree with the side that’s for it. Why? The old man’s reason that it’s how I came up isn’t really a thing for me; but I also know that it’s just mathematical statistics that, if you put hundreds of people into a pool, at least two of them are going to shit in it and one of them will write Shakespeare. Just wade into these waters and mention the last few Darkthrone records as a litmus test. It’s all wonderful that everyone has a voice until they say something you disagree with; then the gloves (and underwear) come off and we can’t have nice things anymore.

So, just enjoy what you enjoy, because it’s your life to live and not any of these other dunces with loud voices and poor test scores. And if you live to argue with strangers on the internet about the finer points of smeared dogshit, then god bless you, and hopefully you walk into traffic.

Oh, “The Book of Boba Fett” is fucking great.

Exclusively Extreme: Greater Good Rules the Imperial Beer Scene

E

xtreme beer demand is growing.

2022 data from NielsenIQ found craft beer over 8% ABV gained a 5% market share compared to four years earlier. Whereas remote-work weirdness had everyone reaching for 3%-andunder beers a couple of years ago, many drinkers now want booze in spades. Blame the economy: Consumers want more buzz for their buck. But thank, too, breweries like Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company in Worcester, MA, who make a strong case for strong beers. In fact, Greater Good might be the most to thank, being the first brewery since opening in 2016 to focus both its brewing and its branding on imperial beers exclusively. To find out how they’ve blazed the bigbeer trail, Decibel spoke with Greater Good’s vice president of operations Chris Zampa.

What was the motivation behind Greater Good’s ethos? Why focus on imperial beers?

At the time, most beer companies maybe only had one or two skus [stock-keepingunits] that might be an imperial or double IPA. I believe [founder Paul Wengender] thought that you could make big beers, but you could also make them drinkable and consumable, [whereas] a lot of the time, your

imperial-style beers are your one-offs. You’re not really necessarily drinking four or five of them. So, it was an opportunity [to be] big, but also smooth, drinkable and approachable.

Are there any specific overarching approaches to brewing at Greater Good because of the higher-ABV focus?

I think there is a focus on your dextrose usage… in order to achieve a higher gravity, we need to introduce more sugars into the beer. I would say that because we do it every day, the approach feels the same [as all other brewing] now… But we are moving towards “imperializing” non-traditionally imperialized beers. Most of the time, imperial beers are your IPAs, double IPAs, where we’re now starting to approach the concept that we can imperialize any style. It’s unique; most people think you can’t have an imperial lager or an imperial pilsner; and it’s something we’re starting to break the barriers down on.

Is there any style that you think, “Oh, we’ll never imperialize that”?

I’d be lying if I said that didn’t come up in a conversation when we really started to think of what we could do to help expand our portfolio. We did a cold IPA called Bigg Thaw. And a cold IPA… is usually brewed with a lager yeast strain… so there was a lot of hesitation around it. We trialed it, and it came out fantastic. We also did a blonde, and a Mexican lager… Each one creates a real momentum of, “Wow, we can actually do this.”

Demand for imperial beers is on an upswing now, but for the past few years, especially

with people drinking earlier and more at home due to the pandemic, low-ABV beers dominated. How did Greater Good fare during that time, and maybe carve out its own niche? And what impact has the growing high-ABV trend had?

We actually saw a lot of growth during the pandemic. I call [these imperial beers] “couch beers,” and what better place to enjoy them during the pandemic than your couch? We [also] saw growth last year and this year. The two biggest areas in the craft right now that are growing are both your non-alcoholic and, coincidentally enough, the high-ABV side.

These are all trends that rise and fall within craft. What do you think the future is for imperial beers, and where does Greater Good fit into that?

We want to share with the world all these great products [that] we feel can continue the trend or even help grow the trend. We do call ourselves “America's only all-imperial.”

And I wouldn't say that we’re against other imperial beers or other people making them.

It is all about the industry. It’s about growing the industry, evolving the industry, and I think the key for us is innovation. I think every style, whether it’s imperial or nonalcoholic, does have its trends, but you’ve got to be able to hit outside of kind of the norms.

And I think the innovation we’ve been pushing towards with our sours, with our lagers, with traditionally, non-traditionally imperial beers will help us stay on the forefront and be at the crest of the wave as the styles do go up and down.

 From good to great Chris Zampa and Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company are here for the beer drinkers that appreciate the gravity of the situation

DECIBEL : AUGUS T 202 3 : 15

WAYFARER

STUDIO REPORT

T

WAYFARER

ALBUM TITLE hree years after Wayfarer’s excellent A Romance With Violence, Denver’s black we may have got used to TBD metal outlaws are saddling up for another quest to capture the sound of the doing live.”

STUDIO American West through the lens of extreme music. But in a surprise plot “Thematically, the scope twist for album number five, they headed east to do so. Decibel caught up has widened incrementally Redwood Studio, Philadelphia, PA with the band during their two-week stint with producer Arthur Rizk at his studio over the last two albums,” RECORDING DATES in Philadelphia. suggests McCarthy. “[2018’s] “Arthur’s the man,” enthuses vocalist/guitarist Shane McCarthy. “He’s got a World’s Blood circled a specific February great ear for production, and the fact that he’s an excellent musician helps a lot. event in American history. A March 2023 Process-wise, in the past, we would track live and then add ornamentation. This Romance With Violence zoomed ENGINEER time, everything is much more composed and built in layers. The destination out to examine the American Arthur Rizk recording thing has also been great for us because we’ve had the chance to really West as an idea and an interLABEL ‘live’ in the record. We’ve spent our days in the studio, then our nights listening pretation. This album is Profound Lore/ through takes and firming up the lyrics.” expanding in terms of looking Century Media “[In the past], we would have played the songs live a bunch before we recorded,” at America as a country in RELEASE DATE says drummer Isaac Faulk, “but we’ve been so busy with our other bands that we the early 20th century from Fall 2023 were writing right up until we left to come here.” that American West perspecVocalist/bassist Jamie Hansen adds: “We were in our own individual worlds tive because that’s where writing the parts, and the first time we got to hear it all come together was in the studio. we’re from, the identity we’ve built; and we’re That enabled a natural evolution to record without necessarily limiting ourselves by anything excited to do more with it.” —TIM MUDD

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TSJUDER

Norwegian black metal vets revisit northern hell

H

ere come tsjuder with their first full-length since 2015, and it’s such an antediluvian face-ripper that critics are calling it the best ’90s black metal album of 2023.

Who’s even making fundamentalist BM like this anymore? The herd has been thinning over the years. ¶ Yes, the genre’s evolution was inevitable, but as bassist/frontman Nag joins us from outside the rehearsal studio, the Norwegian sky a pleasing shade of obsidian as dusk sets in, he explains how Helvegr was a regression, a return to the feral spirit of an adolescence spent tearing it up and cutting demos with a drum machine. ¶ “When we were kids we didn’t know shit,” admits Nag. “We just had everything at 11 and it sounded awesome.

That’s what created the sound back in the day, and there’s a special feeling about that.” ¶ At first, no one could agree how Helvegr should sound, least of all longstanding drummer AntiChristian, with whom the band parted ways. Tsjuder had hit the wall.

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So, guitarist Draugluin took matters into his own hands, writing around 90 percent of the music. Soon, Nag drafted some lyrics.

“I’ve just given up trying to be sophisticated, so it’s just your clichéd lyrics,” he shrugs. “It’s devils, demons, evil, darkness.” Hey, simple works. See: “She loves you / yeah yeah yeah,” or, alternatively, “We toast in the blood of the holy / demons, devils, enemies of divine.”

Tsjuder brought in Emil Wiksten (a.k.a. Creature, ex-Abbath) to workshop drum ideas, with session sticksman extraordinaire Jon Rice (Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats) tapped for the recording. Pål Emanuelsen, a Tsjuder alum from way back, produced and played some guitar. Now they had a record.

“We nailed the feeling, the ’90s feeling,” says Nag. “I think this is the first album—except for Desert Northern Hell [2004]—where we

actually got our sound. Tsjuder has never been great at recording.

We have been more of a live band.

I am really happy. This really reflects us.”

Tsjuder cut two mixes, one an “extremely unpolished and extremely raw” test mix that cribbed its audio profile from Pytten’s production of Mayhem’s era-defining De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. The other made it to the pressing plant. It would be fascinating to A/B them, yet it’s hard to imagine a more savage treatment of the material.

“The sound is still raw, but it is not as raw as it was in the beginning,” says Nag. “I thought that was an excellent mix. We understood that this was going to be an album that was a ‘fuck off’ to everyone.

Me and Draugluin were really persistent in what kind of sound we wanted. We didn’t want to fuck up this record.” —JONATHAN HORSLEY

PHOTO BY CHANTIK PHOTOGRAPHY

TSJUDER

RAVEN

Proto-thrash NWOBHM legends rage evermore

R

elentless. that’s raven. This trio—nearly 50 years deep into their career—preceded the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, yet eventually made their initial fame in that seminal movement. Yeah, the Gallagher brothers— John on bass/vocals, Mark on guitar—along with a drummer nicknamed Wacko (Rob Hunter) were the supercharged miscreants who brought an element of speed and chaos to the scene well before their fellow Geordies in Venom showed up. Raven were one of the U.K. bands the nascent U.S. speed metal/thrash scene initially looked toward. Their first U.S. shows in the early ’80s featured Anthrax and Metallica opening. And unlike many of their NWOBHM peers, once the ’80s kicked over into the ’90s, these guys just never stopped. ¶ That’s why we’re Zooming with John from his home in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Raven’s 15th fulllength, All Hell’s Breaking Loose, is nearing release via Silver Lining,

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and even at age 64 he sees no reason to slow things down. “At the end of the day, are you having fun, are you making good music and are you entertaining people?” he asks rhetorically. “If those boxes can be ticked, that’s great. No one in their right mind plays this kind of music for money. This is something that we’re drawn to do, something that we have to do. It’s like breathing.

The fact that we’re able to do it and make enough financially to keep the motor running is gravy.”

Raven’s motor has been continuously running, in fact, even as metal’s favor has waxed and waned.

They did the major label thing, returned to the underground like the rest of the scene and have emerged in the new century as a force to be reckoned with, not resting on laurels or nostalgia, but dedicated to

always improving their craft. “We just keep boiling it down and refining,” Gallagher says of their musical approach. “And those elements of chaos, songwriting structure, hooks and lunacy are all racing each other. They keep getting a little higher and they’re melding more and more. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a formula, but we know how to get what we want, especially on the last three albums, from [2015’s] ExtermiNation on.”

Raven are unquestionably a legacy metal band, but one that wants to keep building on it, rather than rehashing the past. “We have a rich legacy,” Gallagher agrees, “but we’ll never stop recording new music, because we’re always shooting to go that little bit higher, that little bit further. I think we get quite a bit of respect for that.” —ADEM TEPEDELEN

PHOTO BY JAY SHREDDER

RAVEN

MORGÖTH TALES Celebrating 40 eventful years of existence, Canada's progressive sci-fi metal innovators VOIVOD present their special Anniversary release, “Morgöth Tales” FEATURING ONE BRAND NEW SONG

(”Morgöth Tales”) & 9 re-recordings of career-spanning deep cuts!

OUT 7/21 ON CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

AVAILABLE AS CD, 180G BLACK LP, AND AS DIGITAL ALBUM.

ZWIELICHT Mental Cruelty rise from the ashes, to reveal a violent tapestry of black metal, death metal, deathcore, and a madness of their very own.

FEATURING SINGLES

“Symphony of a Dying Star”, “Forgotten Kings” & “Nordlys”

AVAILABLE AS CD, 180G WHITE LP, AND AS DIGITAL ALBUM.

OUT 6/23 ON CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

GET EXCLUSIVE MUSIC & MERCH @ CENTURYMEDIA.STORE

END REIGN

END REIGN

Metallic hardcore hero combats pandemic loneliness with good company

F

ormer pulling teeth guitarist and A389 label founder Domenic Romeo began writing the songs that would become End Reign’s debut album as a pandemic-induced musical exercise. In an attempt to write more complete material rather than the piecemeal approach he normally took, Romeo challenged himself to write one song per day. “Good company,” he observes when learning that Stephen King suggests the same approach. ¶ “Even when I was doing the Integrity record, it’s always been a thing where I write micro-songs, cobble the best parts together into real things,” Romeo tells Decibel. “This was a more conscious effort to write songs that had a full-on beginning, verse, chorus, kind of thing.” ¶ Romeo is joined by a hand-picked lineup of musicians that form a supergroup of sorts. Focusing on working with artists he’d never collaborated with before, the guitarist sent single “House of Thieves” to All Out War vocalist Mike Score, instructing him to do his best to sound like Best Wishes-era Cro-Mags. It came out so well, Romeo says, that it was the linchpin to assemble a full lineup, turning End Reign into a full band.

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Continuing his mission of working with new individuals, Romeo tapped Exhumed/Noisem shredder Sebastian Philips, Pig Destroyer/ Misery Index drummer Adam Jarvis and ex-Bloodlet bassist Arthur Legere. The final result is the Relapse-released The Way of All Flesh Is Decay, a dark, 10-song record that reflects the circumstances of its mid-pandemic creation.

“Every day I would go out and there were no cars on the road,” Romeo recalls. “I still had to go to work, there’d be nobody on the road, there’d be nobody at work, there’d be nobody at the stores.

“That kind of really cold, calculated vibe is what I wanted,” he adds. “It’s inspired by the time and place, being lonely and dealing with being at the end of the road, but it’s not really over.”

The Way of All Flesh Is Decay includes a few notable guest features as well. Integrity vocalist Dwid Hellion and Full of Hell screamer

Dylan Walker both lend their vocal talents to songs, but the most interesting is Ed Ka-Spel, frontman of experimental rockers the Legendary Pink Dots.

Everything about End Reign’s debut album feels intentional. The band members wear their influences—Slayer, Bathory, Amebix, Cro-Mags—on their longsleeves, but each musician’s style is felt. Romeo explains that he’s always worked this way, holding a defined idea of what each member should be doing.

Relapse will issue The Way of All Flesh Is Decay in July. What comes after that isn’t clear yet—the members of End Reign are all busy with family and other musical endeavors, but more music or live shows could be on the horizon if the stars align.

“If it works out, it’ll be special and worth seeing,” Romeo concludes. “Because it’s not going to be something you see every day.”

—EMILY BELLINO

GRAF ORLOCK

GRAF ORLOCK

Retiring cinemagrinders know why you cry, but it’s something they can never do

YOU

think the mcu has tortured the world with too many sequels? Graf Orlock are right behind our corpserate capeshit overlords with five LPs, a couple splits, and an eighth and final EP, End Credits, out June 23 on “executive producer” Jason Schmidt’s label, Vitriol Records. Unlike the vast majority of superhero movies (and heavy music, for that matter), this particular endgame will be fun, unpretentious and ignorant-in-a-good-way— SoCal’s 20-year-old “cinemagrind” institution intends to go out with a bicoastal extinction level event-size bang, leveling L.A. in July, Brooklyn in September, and Anaheim in December. ¶ “The one in December’s gonna be real stupid,” Schmidt promises. “No other bands are playing. We’re gonna do raffles.

We’re gonna try to get as many Cameos [of action movie-adjacent actors] as we can, have a piñata with DVDs in it. I want people to come dressed up as movie characters.” ¶ That’s a big ask from a band that’s played Halloween shows under the guise of Terminator 2, Die Hard and Point Break characters, but we have no doubt their cult will come correct. Graf’s “formula” 24 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

(withering action movie samples + hardass dialogue repurposed into guttural call-and-response + blasting hardcore punk) has allowed guitarist/vocalist Schmidt, drummer Alan Hunter, co-vocalist Karl Bournze and a few other cast members to decimate 40 countries purely on the power of DIY. Although the project “became a logistical nightmare” due to members moving across the country (middle age sucks), End Credits rolls as hard as its predecessors, referencing dystopian classics Dredd, Waterworld, Snowpiercer, Mad Max and Children of Men. “If you actually listen to ‘Mega City One,’ there’s a part that slows down like the ‘slo-mo’ drug [in Dredd],” Schmidt laughs. “The last song [references] Children of Men, and over that breakdown part at the end is the symphony part from the middle of the movie.”

While this world is far too stupid to offer our antiheroes At the DriveIn or Refused-level reunion money,

we felt obligated to remind Schmidt that, sure, the EP’s called End Credits, but every Hollyweird “event” these days seems to feature a mid- or postcredits scene to pump you up for the next cash grab.

“I don’t want to ever be in a band that gets back together, one,” he answers. “Two, I want to film the last show and that’ll be the post-credits scene.”

In lieu of waiting 10-20 years for their big reunion moment, Graf’s members will forge on with Vitriol standbys Daisy Chain, Sweat and Ghostlimb. All of whom are as righteous, yet distinctively weird as the uncanny valley press photo above (which, amazingly, is not AI-generated).

“It’s meant to be like a funeral picture that you would put on a stand at a funeral, but it ended up really fucked because of the colorization,” Schmidt sighs. “[Instead] it looks like a colorized photo from World War I.” —ANDREW BONAZELLI

HELLWITCH

AT

60, pat “patwitch” ranieri has no grander designs for Hellwitch than the next full-length. In a way, it’s a quaint view on the unhurried lifecycle of his labor of love. In others, it’s entirely resolute. Debut album Syzygial Miscreancy fell bellicose out of orbit in 1990 on Cali indie Wild Rags. Fans of the rabid riff mania employed by the likes of Sadus, Coroner and Mekong Delta immediately felt Hellwitch’s multidimensional pull. It then took the better part of 19 years for the follow-up, Omnipotent Convocation, to appear on Spain’s Xtreem Music. By that point, the landscape of extreme music had changed, but Ranieri’s drive only went deeper inward. He had Hellwitch, a reconfigured lineup—guitarist J.P. Brown had returned after a long absence—and was bringing it like never before. Then it all went dark again. ¶ “We didn’t really do anything for about two or three years after Omnipotent Convocation,” says Ranieri. “We did come back strong in 2011. We did a 10-day tour of the eastern U.S. and our 30th Anniversary tour with Solstice in 2014. After that, we just didn’t really write.

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One of the band members moved to Atlanta and our drummer, Joe [Schnessel], who had been with us for two albums, just wasn’t into it anymore. It was only when Brutal Brian [Wilson] joined in 2015 did we start getting enthusiastic about moving Hellwitch forward. That’s when things started to pick up again. Of course, COVID put a hold on things for a few years, too.”

By Hawking-like measures of time, Ranieri’s new album, Annihilational Intercention, is coming at near-lightspeed via France’s Listenable Records, and it’s as antagonistic, angular and aggressive as ever. Even Ranieri’s trademark ear-destroying snarl is intact.

Tracks like “Solipsistic Immortality,” “Hellwitch” and “Anthropophagi” deftly conjure involuted frenzies, while “Delegated Disruption,” “Megalopalyptic Confine” and the pick-burning pace of closer “Torture Chamber” remind us that

even though speed kills the ride’s always worth it.

“There’s one song, ‘Torture Chamber,’ from 1985 on there,” Ranieri says. “I also have songs that are more recent, too. There’s a good bit of variety from all eras of Hellwitch.

The main thing is that I’m excited I get to hear the songs with good production. Jeremy [Staska] did a killer job. We had real guitars through real speakers, and we used real microphones. No digital guitars here! The drums were real. So, what you hear on Annihilational Intercention is the band, a real band playing and recording extreme music. I’m totally psyched it was done real. Actually, I’m already writing songs—well, one song—for the next album.”

Will Ranieri bang out another Hellwitch album at 70? Impossible to tell at this point, but if we’re the wagering kind, it’ll rip hard and murder (what’s left of) the front row fast when he does. —CHRIS DICK

PHOTO BY ROBERTO BADILLO

HELLWITCH

Four-decade death/thrash vet adds to his legend

THANTIFAXATH

Toronto mystery men return a decade later, more unusual than ever

K

icking and screaming from a world of entropy, the Solar Witch awakens.” With that characteristically enigmatic lyric, Thantifaxath welcome you to the bizarre world of Hive Mind Narcosis. ¶ “Maybe try to see her like a symbol or an image in a dream,” an unnamed spokesperson for the fully anonymous band explains. “The most I can say is that the Solar Witch represents something powerful in the unconscious that has been suppressed for a long time. This album sees it waking up.” ¶ The Solar Witch’s awakening heralds what might be the most harrowing work to date by the Toronto experimentalists. Hive Mind Narcosis comes six years after Void Masquerading as Matter, the dizzying EP that marked the last time we heard from Thantifaxath. According to our interlocutor, that’s entirely due to the pandemic and the vagaries of the music industry, not any kind of creative block. ¶ “This music tends to show up of its own accord,” they say. “I don’t feel it works to really go looking for it.

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When it comes, it is usually fast.

I try the best I can to be there to capture it.”

The music they captured on Hive Mind Narcosis is, in typical Thantifaxath fashion, tough to pin down. Snaking black metal guitars cut through fogs of hissing noise.

Liturgical chants duel with stabbing electronics. Riffs disintegrate and rebuild themselves in terrifying new forms. All that sonic strangeness is in service of an exploration of humanity’s shadow self.

“From my viewpoint, addiction, escapism and distraction have been a normal part of being human for as long as I can remember,” our spokesperson says. “Regardless of whether we feel a sense of control or not, in time, most pleasures start to feel empty, most pain is strategically avoided and, eventually, all that’s left is a vague but constant undercurrent of fear.”

For Carl Jung, who pioneered the “shadow” theory, the antidote was to embrace the dark subconscious, not reject it. Thantifaxath hope to provide a means for doing just that: “Maybe dark art and music is an indirect way to fuck with opening a door to something powerful and ugly that lives in the symbology of the collective unconscious.

“I believe the most powerful art comes from a place we can’t understand consciously,” our figure adds.

“I don’t think anything I’ve consciously pursued under the pretense of creating a product or impressing an audience has ever turned out well. I find it impossible to force— especially with Thantifaxath. I’ve tried and failed at that, which feels like a part of the process. As with the anonymity, the presentation of the band is whatever you want to see. So, if you see avant-garde, that’s what you see.” —BRAD SANDERS

PHOTO BY MGM PHOTO CO.

THANTIFAXATH

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

L.A. quartet professes life to the spiritual sound of true ecstatic black metal

I

love the spiritual sound of ecstatic black metal by the band Agriculture is emblazoned on more than one piece of Agriculture merchandise. Such a penchant for tongue-incheek branding shows an element of a band that is selfaware, but it isn’t all irony for this Los Angeles “ecstatic” black metal band. ¶ “A lot of our music is spiritual, but not religious music,” says guitarist and vocalist Daniel Meyer-O’Keeffe of the band’s upcoming, self-titled record. “I think ‘god’ is a useful shorthand, but also a loaded term. I think a lot of people come to extreme music with a lot of anger towards what their image of god is. What attracted me to black metal as a template is that it’s the only type of religious music that isn’t super corny in contemporary music. I think Gorgoroth made some really beautiful, spiritual music. Their approach towards spirit is a little questionable, but provides an extreme connection to something bigger than the small self. That’s what we’re coming from.

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It’s tongue-in-cheek, the T-shirt, obviously, but it is spiritual music.

I hope people are able to connect to that in their own way and not get turned off by ‘god’ as a shorthand or even think too hard about it. The goal is connection with each other, with spirit, and I think music is a great vehicle for that.”

Due to the album’s interpersonal nature and, quite literally, ecstatic energy, there are many details to be found within Agriculture’s interactiveness. “Listen as many times as you want,” suggests lead guitarist Richard Chowenhill. “There are so many details that we put in there. I think it rewards repeat listens.”

In as many details, Agriculture is both an album of movements and moments. “The record as a whole is long-form and explores long-form.

If you like long-form, you’ll like it when the record comes out,” Chowenhill promises. “You have a huge surprise waiting for you.”

Either way, Agriculture delve into the unexpected to make a refreshing, exciting album. “I think we like to throw a wrench in what we’re doing,” says bassist and vocalist Leah B. Levinson. “It’s a benefit of how we work—arranging a lot of the music together and producing the album together—that we get to try every idea we want to try.

Sometimes our weirdest idea is the one that excites us the most, and a lot of those stranger parts come from that process.”

“Frequently, Dan says, ‘I have a terrible idea,’ and we try it,” adds drummer Kern Haug. “At least 50 percent of the time, it works!”

Agriculture’s debut album, following last year’s The Circle Chant, took about as long to write, record, mix and master. Now calling the Flenser their home, Agriculture’s spiritual sound is destined to find its way into unexpecting ears.

—JON ROSENTHAL

INFERION

INFERION

Black death vets remain most comfortable in their own skin

RAY

mitchell doesn’t fault fans for their impatience. The guitarist for U.S.-based extreme metal lords Inferion knows well that fan fatigue is real, particularly with nearly 10 years between studio releases. Inequity, though, is worth the wait. ¶ “We are being honest with what we’re writing. And we’re not interested in genres, clicks, fitting into whatever box or any of that stuff,” Mitchell shares, railing against the copy-and-paste state of modern metal. “One of the things that makes me crazy about metal in general, which should be the most free form of music on the planet, it’s the most constraining and restricting genre of music because of what people think a metal album should or shouldn’t be. Everything is so formulaic.” ¶ Formulaic isn’t a term one would use to describe Inferion, a band with nearly 30 years of history, that, through trials, tribulations and self-imposed exiles, emerges whole and ready to take the metal world by storm with their follow-up to 2014’s This Will Decay.

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Mitchell, alongside guitarist, frontman and founder Nick Reyes, bassist Frank Gross and drummer Elan O’Neal, finds himself and his band at its most potent and versatile, paying homage to its history with a firm eye towards the future.

Inequity channels ’90s-era melodeath, with paralyzing dual vocals, frenzied down-tuned guitars, grinding bass tones and frenetic doublebass-oriented drum groove patterns pulverizing the listener across 55 minutes of extreme metal excess.

“This album is definitely a statement of intent that we’re going to keep pushing and expanding from this,” Mitchell says. “We’re already talking about Inequity 2.0. ‘Okay, let’s see where we can go next.’ Bigger sound and production. You know: cleaner, tighter, just details in the way we play and execute the songs.”

Drum engineering comes courtesy of Studio Wormwood (Fires in the Distance, Stone Healer), with

mixing and mastering by Robert Kukla of Obsidian Studios (Aeon, Obscura, HammerFall) in the famed Studio Fredman facility in Sweden.

The album is tight and polished to coincide with earworm hooks as addictive as any within Inferion’s lengthy catalog.

“We felt that the songwriting was more concise and a little bit back-tobasics, because I’m an advocate for good hooks and choruses,” Mitchell teases, doubling down on Inequity serving as a personal self-expression of all band members in the moment, defiant of industry trends or genre cliches.

“I am who I am, and Nick is who he is, and Frank is who he is, and Elan is who he is, you know?

So, let’s just be the best us we can be. That’s the overarching, endless goal: Let’s be the best us we can be, whatever that is, and just hope that somebody else out there likes it.”

—DILLON COLLINS

VULTURE INDUSTRIES

When the world terrifies you, turn to True Norwegian Dad Rock

IT’S

been a while since we heard from Norwegian weirdos Vulture Industries, whose Ghosts From the Past follows a six-year silence after their last album. Vocalist Bjørnar Nilsen promises the band did so with good reason. ¶ “We had kids!” exclaims Nilsen with a laugh. “I got my firstborn on the day I was supposed to go into the studio to do the final mix adjustments on the last Vulture Industries album, so that got postponed and then everything got postponed from there. We managed to pull off a couple tours, but then family life took completely over. Now my eldest is 6 and my daughter is 3, so now things are kind of loosening up and it’s possible to have some time for creative stuff. Being creative with really small kids around, that didn’t work. ¶ “There’s been a couple of creative moments where the kids were involved,” he continues. “‘Deeper’ was given to me by my son when he was just over 1 year old, I think. We were in the car and had been at our cabin—we live on the West Coast,

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so there are many ferries because of the fjords. We were waiting in line and it was very hot. He couldn’t talk and when he got hungry he would make a sound—aum! aum! I started drumming on the dashboard, and that became the main idea for the song ‘Deeper’! It was just my kid being hungry in the backseat. I was a bit neglectful because, before I fed him, I recorded the song on my cell phone!”

Ghosts From the Past fully cements Vulture Industries not as a metal band like on previous albums, but more as a rock band… and a weird one at that. “We’ve been drifting a bit in the rock direction, so it feels like a natural transition,” Nilsen offers. “It’s not like something we set out or wanted to do.

When we write, it’s just going with the flow and seeing where the road takes us. We never sit down and decide where we want to go;

we just get creative and see where it leads.”

On the time it took to write such a different-sounding album, Nilsen explains, “It took a longer time not to write, and then we started writing. [Laughs] There were more things changed in our lives, and with the period being longer, we had changed more as people than from album to album in the past.

That’s the main reason we changed so much.”

As a vocalist, Nilsen also handles all of Vulture Industries’ lyrics, and he looks to the darker tendencies of the current era to fuel his writing.

“They’re mostly what’s going on around me,” he says. “How I feel the world is looking. I think the world is a bit scary at the moment—lots of scary stuff going on. Lots of old men desperate to secure their legacy and go down in history as someone to remember.” —JON ROSENTHAL

PHOTO BY HOVA MOE

VULTURE INDUSTRIES

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STINKING LIZAVETA

STINKING LIZAVETA Philly philthies’ riff factory is anything but all that jazz

D

oom jazz: sweet catchphrase. ¶ “[That] term was used to describe us in a book called [A-Z of Doom, Goth & Stoner Metal],” emails Stinking Lizaveta guitarist/founder Yanni Papadopoulos. “At first, we felt uncomfortable with the description, like, ‘Hey man, we’re just a rock band.’ But over the years, as our musical vocabulary grew, we started to own it, and doom jazz began to guide us. We love tunes like ‘’Round Midnight,’ ‘Lonely Woman’ and ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.’ We have a song called ‘Sketches of Pain,’ [and] this album there’s ‘Blue Skunk,’ an obvious tribute to [Thelonious] Monk. ¶ “Jazz to us means you need to be flexible and think on your feet. Our goal is spontaneity in our music so we can get off the script and bring the audience into the moment.” ¶ The first long-player since 2017 for the Philadelphia trio stretching back over three decades, Anthems and Phantoms hammers the anvil of instrumental post-punk, metallic and the untamed, but indeed no more jazz than Fugazi.

And yet, riffology beacon “Electric Future” opens the album 36 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

with the interlocking progressiveness of musicians conversing through sound—loudly. Upright electric bassist Alexi Papadopoulos and drummer Cheshire Agusta power the grid.

Likewise, loping romper stomper “Shock” bludgeons and throbs like the Jesus Lizard getting worked over by Friedman & Becker. “Nomen Est Omen” knocks down the razor factory of riffs, while “Serpent Underfoot” lets loose a nest of sidewinder licks under Yanni’s epic, burning solo.

“For ‘Nomen,’” writes the shreddist, “I was looking into the melodic minor scale (nerd alert!), trying to get out of my diatonic patterns.

Sometimes I’ll play a scale and see what it wants to say. This one has three whole steps in it, giving it an augmented sound, [so] it wanted to say something doomy! Once I had one riff, the rest of the scale, which is more diminished, wanted

to respond to it. Then the specter of John Bonham put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘A drummer could have a good time with this one.’”

“Yep,” chimes in Agusta. “A drummer does, in fact, have a good time with this one. Oh yeah, and ‘razor factory of riffs.’ Does anyone not yet understand why I let other people describe our music rather than vainly attempting to describe it myself? Right then, all set.”

What legendary metal LPs might lend themselves to a jazz interpretation?

“People should revisit Black Flag, The Process of Weeding Out,” offers Yanni. “Greg Ginn expanded the vocabulary of rock guitar with his chromatic tricks. Eyehategod, Take as Needed for Pain, could use a jazz interpretation, and Saint Vitus, V, would be cool with Hammond organ. Now you got me thinking about [1970s French progressives] Clearlight!” —RAOUL HERNANDEZ

OUT JULY 14

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www.atomicfire-records.com www.firelash-records.com DECIBEL : AUGUST 2023 : 37

Atlanta rockers

ROYAL THUNDER

L

slay their demons with Rebuilding the Mountain story by JOSÉ CARLOS SANTOS • photo by JUSTIN REICH ong answer, right? Well, I guess you’re used to that from me,” Mlny

Parsonz laughs at one point in our conversation, after offering another admittedly lengthy chapter in the ongoing Royal Thunder story. Parsonz’s answers are indeed often long, but mostly due to her unflinching raw honesty. ¶ You’re not exactly holding a gossip rag right now; we don’t dig for personal stuff unless musicians feel that’s a part of the process that has shaped their music somehow, and they choose to tell us about it. She does, and she does it with a refreshing openness, which gives us a rare opportunity to realize how much of a deep connection there actually is between artist and art.

Though evidently bumpy and with several obstacles along its way, the road traveled by this band isn’t necessarily that much different from any other: troubles, breakups, substance abuse, self-sabotage, recovery, healing, friendship, love. Royal Thunder are perhaps more direct in the way their music is fueled by their own trials and tribulations. That much is clear in their past discography, and new album Rebuilding the Mountain, a welcome return after half a dozen years out in inactivity wilderness, is arguably even more evident in that connection. Title and all.

“The phrase is something [guitarist] Josh [Weaver] heard in an old black-and-white western and it struck a chord with him, but obviously we adopted new meanings and it’s very much about us,” Parsonz explains. It’s a rebuilding that began, first of all, with the lineup itself, 38 : AU PR G IULS2T022012:3D: EDCEI B C IEBLE L

getting back to power trio basics, the core duo of Parsonz and Weaver reuniting with former drummer Evan Diprima. It was, in fact, the reestablishing of that connection that kickstarted everything again, after the scattering of the band following their last album, Wick, in 2017.

“I felt like my family had gotten back together again, reconnected, reunited,” Parsonz says. But there was still more rebuilding to do. “Getting Evan back was the spark, but in reality, for me, that spark only totally hit until this year, February 1,” she recalls. “I was in Philly and I was really ill. Suddenly, I… woke up. In that moment, I realized what I was doing to my bandmates and to myself. I was fucking with people’s dreams, with all the sacrifices we’ve made for this band. That was truly it really happened for me, when I got sober. Dude, now I’m even replying to emails and staying on top of shit and everything. That’s not old Mel!” “Old Mel” and old Royal Thunder might have made fantastic music, but they were never sustainable for long. Fortunately, the band and its relationships proved to be stronger than the other stuff. The pang of their possible loss was acutely felt during the bad years.

“I felt really stripped away,” Parsonz admits.

“On one hand, I’ve never really put my identity on the fact that I’m in a band. That’s probably the last thing about me I’m going to tell you. But it’s still a huge part of me. Everyone has the thing they love to do which makes them feel centered; this is it for me. To have that stripped away, I

I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but the album is a long goodbye to my old self. It was like,

‘I’M NOT MAD AT YOU, OLD SELF, BUT YOU HAVE TO FUCKING GO.’ MLNY PARSONZ

got really suicidal. I dove deep into cocaine and alcohol and whatever else. I was smoking like a motherfucker, doing everything you can possibly do to ruin a voice. It was self-sabotage in a lot of ways. I just gave up, in my heart and in my mind. I didn’t listen to anybody’s music either; I didn’t even put on a fucking Boston record.”

Now, both Parsonz and Weaver are sober, and it has made a world of difference, in their lives, their relationships within the band and, crucially, the music itself.

“This feels very different from the other albums,” Parsonz reflects. “We’re on a different trip, a different journey. There is a newfound freedom in our mental state, in our creative space, that we hadn’t explored before. This time we weren’t hiding behind that, ‘I’m gonna drink a little bit of this to take the edge off’ kind of thing. That’s cool if that’s what works for you, but for us it feels totally different now.

It feels more vulnerable. I don’t want to say it’s a ‘grown-up’ record, but it feels like a more matured version of what we used to do.”

Rebuilding the Mountain does feel like a sort of a coming-of-age record, and the first direct effect you might notice is how shorter and more concise the songs are in general.

“I wonder what it was about those days that made us take so long,” she laughs. “It’s like we were drunkenly arriving at whatever parts after seven minutes of stumbling. Now it’s like, just tell me the truth. Shoot from the hip, let’s fucking do this, let’s talk. That’s how the new songs feel like. A reflection of where we are, as people and as musicians.”

The lyrics, poetic as they sound, also cut a little deeper than before. “I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but the album is a long goodbye to my old self,” Parsonz confesses. “It was like, ‘I’m not mad at you, old self, but you have to fucking go.’ Going sober for me was like taking a mask off, not having anything to hide behind anymore, and then it was time to figure out, really, who are you?”

Who is the new Mlny Parsonz, then? Who are Royal Thunder today?

“Something to be proud of,” she hits back immediately. “This is where we’re at now; this is the beginning of us rebuilding the mountain. I don’t know how high it wants to be, but it’s far from over. It feels precious and sacred, but we’re not holding on to it out of insecurity or worry. As long as we’re taking care of ourselves, it’s going to reflect everywhere in our lives. As a band, we’re happy as shit right now.”

D EDCEI B C IEBLE:LA:UAGPURSI T L 2023 1 : 39

T E E T E R ING ON T H E

SCI-FI HORROR AUTEURS

TAKE DEATH METAL TO INFINITE PSYCHIC DEPTHS OF COSMIC TERROR

H

STORY BY DEAN BROWN

orror and death metal mutated as one when Possessed unleashed “The Exorcist,” the opening track from their groundbreaking 1985 full-length Seven Churches. “When death metal began, it was meant to shock and scare, drawing influence from the now-classic horror elements of that time,” notes Austin Haines, vocalist of contemporary death metal outfit Outer Heaven.

“Fans of horror media are already imbued with a love of the shocking and grotesque. So, to find a music form catering to those same elements is a no-brainer.” ¶ The connection between these spine-chilling art forms means a lot to Haines. On his band’s second LP, Infinite Psychic Depths, the vocalist—whose bestial bark recalls Lord Worm with severe laryngitis—continues the sci-fi horror world-building of Outer Heaven’s 2018 debut, Realms of Eternal Decay. ¶ “Infinite actually serves as a prequel to the narrative on Realms, and this is represented in everything from the music to the artwork to the lyrics,” Haines explains. “So much so that when the artworks of the two albums are placed one on top of the other, they create one seamless image.”

G IULS2T022012:3D: EDCEI B C IEBLE L 40 : AU PR

He continues: “As far as the story itself, it tells of the creation of a humanoid species born from a god-like cosmic essence. The god figures create this civilization to worship them, but the humanoids begin to squander this gift, and so, a mind-plague is unleashed upon them. The mind-plague creates a hallucinogenic/drug-like psychosis in its victims, causing them to ravage and kill. As the plague spreads, the whispers of a prophecy arise, foretelling of an ancient stone tablet that holds the answers to defeating this mind-plague. As the humanoids quest to find the stone tablet, they discover that they must acquire the essence of a dying star as the main component to defeating this plague. The gods become angered with their creations and begin to wage war against them. This culminates in the total destruction of the humanoids and their civilization. Out of the destruction, the essence

of the mind-plague falls through space and down to the world below. This is where we connect to Realms. The humanoid cannibals and the dystopian wasteland on the Realms cover are the result of the events of Infinite.”

Such fantastical overarching concepts will have DM horror nerds/stoners frothing. But for those who just want their necks wrecked, the force of OH’s new music alone will splinter bone through skin. During 2021, the band released a stopgap EP, In Tribute…, whereby they powered through death and grind classics by Morbid Angel, Mortician, Pig Destroyer, Repulsion and Death.

Given that the new LP sounds more cunning, technical-minded and yet, still beyond brutal, it would appear that the covers project had an inspirational bearing on subsequent songwriting?

“Definitely,” confirms guitarist Jon Kunz. “We wanted to incorporate more of those influences before we even started writing Infinite. Scott Hull, Trey Azagthoth and Chuck Schuldiner are a few of my ‘riff gods.’

When we recorded those classic songs, it opened up new places for our own music to go. The songs written after we recorded those covers are some of the more intense ones on Infinite.”

“We had so much fun learning and recording those covers that it definitely influenced our writing for the latter songs on the record,” adds guitarist Zak Carter.

“I would be lying if after we recorded [Death’s] ‘Secret Face’ I didn’t say, ‘Damn, we need some Human riffs on the new album!’”

We’re told that Infinite was a much more collaborative affair for the guys in terms of songwriting—this was their first time with two guitarists firing off riffs. Thrash/grind fiend Carter also stepped up further to help out Kunz after he fractured his right wrist upon suffering a seizure in the shower.

“I have epilepsy and playing music keeps me grounded, so whenever that outlet is closed, it’s rough,” Kunz shares. “Zak kept riffing, laying down skeletons of the last few songs while I was healing. When I could play guitar again, though, it was on. We finished writing the album once we were all back in the jam space.”

Haines, meanwhile, passed some lyric-writing duties to heavy-hitting drummer Paul Chrismer after suffering COVIDrelated demotivation, as well as preparing to become a father. Also, Derrick Vera (Tomb Mold, Dream Unending) joined the sessions to lay down finger-mangling bass tracks, and guest scream spots were placed for Pig Destroyer’s J.R. Hayes, Morbid Angel’s Steve Tucker and Undeath’s Alex Jones. Hell, Dave Suzuki (Churchburn, exVital Remains) was even brought in to counter solo on “Rotting Stone/D.M.T.” With USDM currently marauding around like a reanimated corpse hellbent on mass destruction thanks to the stellar efforts of Tomb Mold, Horrendous, Blood Incantation, Gatecreeper, Undeath and others, and given the heightened musical and conceptual scope of Infinite, you can now add Outer Heaven to that list of top-tier modern talent.

“We have been very fortunate to come up in the metal scene alongside a lot of amazing bands, and to form bonds with these bands as a result of that,” Haines says of his DM peers. “Whether it’s playing shows together, sleeping on each other’s floors or collaborating musically. To go from seeing a band in a bar playing their demo, then two years later seeing them play in front of hundreds or thousands of people is a cool ride to take. To be friendly with those same people and know that they bust ass to make it happen is even cooler. I like to think—and hope—that [these] bands want each other to succeed to elevate the death metal art form as a whole.”

I WOULD BE

LYING IF AFTER WE RECORDED [DEATH’S]

‘SECRET FACE’ I DIDN’T SAY,

‘Damn, we need some Human riffs on the new album!’

Zak Carter

D EDCEI B C IEBLE:LA:UAGPURSI T L 2023 1 : 41

interview by

QA JAMES j. bennett

WIT H

PLOTKIN KHANATE bassist and producer on long songs, “mood-enhancers” and the band’s surprise new album

42 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

A

bbath may have coined the phrase “unending grimness,” but the Steve and Tim discussed trying to continue the

sentiment always applied better to Khanate than to his own band.

As sonic descriptors go, it really captures the terrifying, protracted suffocation that the New York City doom squad brought to the stage and studio. Even calling them a doom band sells them short: The cramped corner of hell that Khanate take the listener to, sonically and psychologically, is way beyond doom. It’s doom as a foregone conclusion, as merciless atmospheric pressure, as a blunt object to crack you over the skull with, slowly, repeatedly and forever. ¶ The thing is, Khanate haven’t taken us there since 2009. That was the year their last album, Clean Hands Go Foul, hit the streets. And that was three years after the band officially broke up. But like all things undead, Khanate have risen from the proverbial grave. Guitarist Stephen O’Malley, bassist/producer James Plotkin, drummer Tim Wyskida and vocalist Alan Dubin have returned with the surprise full-length To Be Cruel. True to form, it’s three stultifying 20-minute songs spread across an oppressive and hideous hour. “The fact that we’ve managed to keep it all on the down-low is amazing,” Plotkin says. “I was sure that at some point something would leak. We really wanted it to come out of nowhere so there weren’t any expectations.”

The last Khanate record came out in 2009.

How long have you guys been planning this?

It’s funny—we never actually discussed it.

There’d always been talk about getting together for festivals, but I’ve always been sort of against getting together to play decade-old songs and stuff like that. Tim and Steve got together, and I guess they must’ve been testing the waters to see if they could come up with some new material, because Tim presented me with maybe six to eight hours of recordings they had done and asked what the viability of that was of becoming a new Khanate record. It was a strange proposition because Alan and I had no idea they were even doing that.

What did you think when you first heard it?

It sounded like Khanate material, and I could hear the potential. Alan needed a little bit more convincing. Alan thinks a lot of stuff is boring, but once I started piecing things together, he came around. But it’s taken quite a bit of time, mainly due to everything slowing down in the years of the pandemic. I think they did the initial recordings in 2017 or ’18, so this has been a work in progress for quite some time.

Did Stephen and Tim go into those recording sessions with the intention of writing a Khanate record, or was that a surprise to even them?

I’m not sure I can actually answer that. If they were going into the studio without the intention of recording new Khanate material, then whatever they were doing was just gonna be a blatant Khanate rip-off, so I have to assume PHOTO BY EBRU YILDIZ

that was the intention. But because there was no discussion, it’s not like they could approach me like, “Here’s new Khanate material—let’s work on it!” That’s very presumptuous. But the skeleton of the recording, which is the drums and the guitar, was very fragmented. It was not fully composed. It needed a lot of editing and replacing of certain elements—we later did an additional session together—but there’s no mistaking that it’s Khanate material. I often wonder what would’ve happened if Alan and I were like, “Nah, not interested.” What would’ve become of those recordings?

Why did Khanate fizzle out back in the late 2000s?

Certain band members were having personal issues, and other band members… I think there was just a different level of intent and commitment. It wasn’t a priority for a lot of people, I think. Not to mention, the music itself was just mentally destabilizing. Having to play that kind of music at the volumes we did, a longer tour could really start to damage your psyche and your hearing. Add the fact that the four of us are four completely different types of people, and I guess it was a hot coal that burned out a little bit too soon. Steve had more commitments coming up from Sunn O))); I wanted to stop destroying my hearing and get more into production work; Alan’s always had a pretty lucrative career as a video editor, so he always had work coming in for that. It was people slowly moving in different directions, and at some point it just didn’t make sense anymore. I think I bailed out first. I know

band, but then decided to call it quits.

Why did you decide on a surprise release for the new album?

I’m one of those people, when I hear a band is releasing a new album, but you have to wait three months for it, I’m like, “Fuck. Why even tell me about it?” And I don’t really like to have expectations building in a way that could be detrimental to the actual content of the record.

Aside from that, I don’t really have much energy to dedicate to self-promotion at this point. I’ve never been good at it in the past, and I probably never will be. I don’t really care what sells records. I don’t really care how to promote a record. None of that interests me in any way. The music is what matters to me. The process of creating the music and being able to execute ideas is the only part I’ve ever really been interested in.

You’ve said that the members of Khanate are more focused on your own experiences within the music rather than the listener’s. Why do you think that is?

If we were a young, aspiring band, I’m sure it would be different. But at this stage in our lives, I don’t feel like other people’s concerns are my concerns. And, really, there’s no control that you have over the way that anybody is going to interpret something. You can talk them to death about what the record is supposed to be and what it’s supposed to say to them, but it just never really translates until somebody hears it for themselves—and then it’s completely up to them how they interpret it. It’s pretty obvious from the music itself what our point is or why we do it, but other than that? One way to be a really miserable person is to give a shit about what other people think about what you do. Once you eliminate that, not only does it improve your outlook; it enables you to do anything that you wanna do and not worry about the results for other people.

It’s been said that “mood-enhancers” were used during tracking. What does that mean, exactly?

I think Tim said that. He likes to offer unorthodox tidbits about the creative process. [Laughs] That’s not something I’m really going to go into, but I have absolutely nothing against using mind-altering drugs for recreation or professional use. As long as it doesn’t impede productivity, I’m 100 percent fine with it.

He also said that these mood-enhancers led to “firework tracking.” Does that mean you lit off fireworks in the studio?

[Laughs] Yeah, we did. One of the things that Khanate never really had the chance to do DECIBEL : AUGUST 2023 : 43

 To be, or not to be For Plotkin (center r) and Khanate, cruelty is more of a way of life

I’m one of those people, when I hear a band is releasing a new album, but you have to wait three months for it, I’m like, ‘Fuck. Why even tell me about it?’

How did you decide on the album title, To Be Cruel? I realize it’s also one of the song titles, but theoretically you could’ve used another song title—or anything else, really.

There was a lot of debate about this. There are a lot of lines that Alan wrote that could’ve served as titles—or band mottos, maybe. [Laughs] But I think it encompasses what’s going on in Alan’s mind. Being an asshole might be by design, but to be cruel is really a choice. It’s hard to speak for Alan, because in person he’s an extremely friendly, nice, funny guy. But the lyrics he writes suggest that there’s someone beneath that who’s completely obscured from day-to-day life. I think the lyrics to that song in particular are a much better representation of his mindset than the pleasantries or casual conversations you can have with him. So, it just sort of fit. I’ve always been terrible with words and lyrics, so I mostly 44 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

stayed out of that. But I’m very happy with what they decided on.

What little Alan has said about the lyrics leads one to believe that they’re about someone who is creating their own problems, but blames outside forces—and wants revenge. What’s your take on that?

I’ve known Alan for 30 years now, and there’s a depth to his personality that I don’t fully understand or realize. I wouldn’t say the lyrics are autobiographical or anything, but I know there’s a lot of disdain for the human race and people in general from him. So… yeah. I don’t really know how to elaborate on that.

You’ve been playing in bands with Alan since the ’80s. How do you view your musical development together? How much has changed, and how much has stayed the same?

I’m sort of amazed at the trust that he’s had in me personally to just get on with the music.

He’s never really had any substantial complaints about what we’ve done. I’ve always been fascinated with his lyrics because lyrical content has always been a real stickler for me. If I hear a great piece of music that has stupid lyrics, I don’t want anything to do with it. But the contrast between his personality and his lyrics has always been fascinating to me. Even back in

the days of O.L.D., his lyrics were very thoughtful and cerebral and focusing on subjects that I never would’ve been able to imagine myself.

But I think the most drastic change we’ve experienced together is Khanate, because the style of the music is so much different than anything else we’d done together. I’m thankful that he’s been around the whole time and is excited to work on things.

One of Khanate’s specialties is super-long songs. Why do you think you’re attracted to lengthy compositions?

The listener has to be invested. I enjoy music for all sorts of recreational purposes—I like instant gratification from music, I like deep meditation from music, and I like to be able to analyze things—but if a band has a very long piece of music, you have to be invested to get everything out of it that you can. There’s just a certain dedication to listening that doesn’t exist in a lot of modern music, which is short songs and music geared towards markets or being a pop star. It doesn’t involve the same kind of dedication or analysis that you would need to fully digest a long piece of music. That’s one thing that I really enjoy: forcing people to pay attention. [Laughs] But once you get past a certain time threshold, you can really begin to lose yourself in sound and music.

PHOTO BY EBRU YILDIZ

was work extensively in an actual studio together. We did one record in a studio, and it didn’t really work out all that great, but this time it was a comfortable scenario, so everyone really let loose. Alan had ideas for a track that never really materialized, but it involved recording fireworks, broken glass… I stepped back a little bit at that point because it started to get a little dangerous. None of that stuff was used, but it was a spectacle in that studio for a day or two.

by

adem tepedelen

A

DBHOF224

ANVIL

Metal on Metal AT T IC APRIL 15 , 1982

Proto-thrash from the Great White North

D E C I B E L : 47 : A U G U S T 2 0 2 3

nvil landed on the metal scene in the early ’80s with a resounding impact.

There was a metal zeitgeist moment happening around the world—in Japan, Europe, the U.K., North America—and they inserted themselves into it with authority. The Canadian quartet, originally called Lips, released a debut effort, Hard ‘n’ Heavy, under their original moniker before signing to Attic Records, adopting—ahem—a heavier name and reissuing said debut in 1981. That first album quickly found favor with the U.K. press that was fawning over the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement at the time.

Anvil fit right into the NWOBHM narrative musically with their hyper-charged, OTT approach, and were welcomed into the fold like long-lost second cousins twice removed from across the Atlantic. Attic had already issued/licensed early efforts by Motörhead, Riot and Judas Priest; they clearly understood at the time that Anvil had a better shot at success outside of the band’s Toronto hometown; and they promoted them accordingly.

Kerrang!, the metal magazine of record in the U.K., championed Anvil in England like conquering heroes, so when the band followed up their promising (but uneven) debut with 1982’s Metal on Metal, the response was overwhelming—cover stories, features, glowing reviews, full-page photos.

And as the primary tastemakers of the aforementioned metal zeitgeist, English magazines like Kerrang! and Sounds were largely responsible for putting Anvil on the radar of American metal fans. Though based just across the border from the U.S., Anvil didn’t make inroads there until Metal on Metal’s hype caught the attention of a young generation of metalheads—like Lars Ulrich, Slash and Scott Ian, among others—who were seeking out the harder, heavier, faster new sounds. Metal on Metal delivered on all counts. Forty-one years later, no one would call it a thrash or speed metal album, but the seeds of that sound were being sown here.

Anvil’s career arc has been well documented via 2008’s Anvil! The Story of Anvil documentary (and its subsequent 2022 re-release), and let’s just say that the promise of Metal on Metal didn’t carry the band forward to an especially fruitful career. The lineup of vocalist/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner, guitarist/ vocalist Dave “Squirrely” Allison and bassist Ian “Dix” Dickson only lasted another six years, with Kudlow and Reiner continuing to carry the torch to this day. But in spite of the travails of these long-suffering Canadian heshers, Metal on Metal remains unassailable, the foundation of not only the band’s decades-long career, but also a key influence on the thrash metal it inspired. Every aspect of it—from the band’s name to the cover image to the songs herein—screams metal, leaving little doubt that Anvil’s second album clearly belongs in our Hall of Fame.

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the

definitive stories

behind extreme music’s

definitive albums

Keep on Pounding the making of Anvil’s Metal on Metal AUGUST 2023 : 4 6 : DECIBEL

PHOTO BY JOE ALLEN / FRANK WHITE PHOTO AGENCY

by

adem tepedelen

A

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ANVIL

Metal on Metal AT T IC APRIL 15 , 1982

Proto-thrash from the Great White North

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nvil landed on the metal scene in the early ’80s with a resounding impact.

There was a metal zeitgeist moment happening around the world—in Japan, Europe, the U.K., North America—and they inserted themselves into it with authority. The Canadian quartet, originally called Lips, released a debut effort, Hard ‘n’ Heavy, under their original moniker before signing to Attic Records, adopting—ahem—a heavier name and reissuing said debut in 1981. That first album quickly found favor with the U.K. press that was fawning over the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement at the time.

Anvil fit right into the NWOBHM narrative musically with their hyper-charged, OTT approach, and were welcomed into the fold like long-lost second cousins twice removed from across the Atlantic. Attic had already issued/licensed early efforts by Motörhead, Riot and Judas Priest; they clearly understood at the time that Anvil had a better shot at success outside of the band’s Toronto hometown; and they promoted them accordingly.

Kerrang!, the metal magazine of record in the U.K., championed Anvil in England like conquering heroes, so when the band followed up their promising (but uneven) debut with 1982’s Metal on Metal, the response was overwhelming—cover stories, features, glowing reviews, full-page photos.

And as the primary tastemakers of the aforementioned metal zeitgeist, English magazines like Kerrang! and Sounds were largely responsible for putting Anvil on the radar of American metal fans. Though based just across the border from the U.S., Anvil didn’t make inroads there until Metal on Metal’s hype caught the attention of a young generation of metalheads—like Lars Ulrich, Slash and Scott Ian, among others—who were seeking out the harder, heavier, faster new sounds. Metal on Metal delivered on all counts. Forty-one years later, no one would call it a thrash or speed metal album, but the seeds of that sound were being sown here.

Anvil’s career arc has been well documented via 2008’s Anvil! The Story of Anvil documentary (and its subsequent 2022 re-release), and let’s just say that the promise of Metal on Metal didn’t carry the band forward to an especially fruitful career. The lineup of vocalist/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner, guitarist/ vocalist Dave “Squirrely” Allison and bassist Ian “Dix” Dickson only lasted another six years, with Kudlow and Reiner continuing to carry the torch to this day. But in spite of the travails of these long-suffering Canadian heshers, Metal on Metal remains unassailable, the foundation of not only the band’s decades-long career, but also a key influence on the thrash metal it inspired. Every aspect of it—from the band’s name to the cover image to the songs herein—screams metal, leaving little doubt that Anvil’s second album clearly belongs in our Hall of Fame.

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“We were quite spectacular in a certain sense, setting off bombs and all kinds of shit.

And not to mention, I was playing my guitar with a vibrator.”

ST EV E “LIPS” KUD LOW DAVE “SQUIRRELY” ALLISON: We weren’t part of any scene. We were unique. No one was doing what we were doing.

IAN “DIX” DICKSON: The local scene was mostly cover bands. Anvil burst on the scene as a total original band, and that’s what gave us the advantage.

STEVE “LIPS” KUDLOW: There wasn’t much of anything really going on. We were like a real weird thing. It’s not like we had tons of competition.

There was virtually nothing out there. Most of what was out there was all cover bands. No one had enough balls to write their own material and take a crack at it. That kind of thing was what I was dead set against. In fact, when we first went out as Lips, we only played originals.

ROBB REINER: The scene was not metal. We were pioneers, or trailblazers. There was no metal around. There were original bands. We used to make fun of the others as the “Canadian sound.” I guess that meant lame-type vocals and keyboard sounds. We were not that. We just did our own thing. We were very isolated in our own world. We had our focus directed on ... we wanted to do something different, be different and definitely sound unique.

the club to the booking agent was, “The band is great, but we’re not gonna have them back unless they pick out cover songs.” Just imagine that: You just successfully did a show with your own material and everything is fine, but then they tell you if you want to come back, you have to play covers. It was crazy.

REINER: So, we picked up a few [covers] and kind of made them Anvil-style, and mixed that with our original shit. We got away with that, and people just started digging our own shit. That was our formula. That’s how it all began. We had a pretty outrageous show and we were pretty unique. Nobody was doing our thing. We struggled, but we stood out from everybody. Record companies didn’t understand anything we were doing at that time.

KUDLOW: Well, I mean, we were quite spectacular in a certain sense, setting off bombs and all kinds of shit. And not to mention, I was playing my guitar with a vibrator and shit. We came out [as] what we are and what we’ve been ever since, fundamentally. And that drew people, regardless whether they knew the material or not.

evolving in and around us, as well as in the band. Of course, most of the material on the first album was written in the ’70s. You’ve gotta get the first album out before you start working on the second one. What eventually happened is the [Lips] album came out and it did whatever it was going to do, which actually started up the whole process. It brought a lot of interest to the band.

It was the onset of what everybody was calling heavy metal at the time. [Attic Records] said to us, “You haven’t got a metal name. Come up with a metal name.” We came up with Anvil, and I don’t think you can come up with a more heavy metal name than that. [Laughs] REINER: We played with Motörhead, and that changed everything. They were so inspirational.

We played some shows with them in Toronto and it was very inspirational. That was when we were promoting our first album at that time. After that, that whole period, we thought that we should take the rock ‘n’ roll thing and just toughen it up.

What was your writing process like in those days? Jamming in a practice room?

DICKSON: We rented a rehearsal space. It was

How hard was it at that time being an all-original band like Lips/Anvil?

Your debut was recorded when you were called Lips. By the time you got to making Metal on Metal, with the name change and everything, did you feel like making an Anvil album (as opposed to a Lips album) inspired you to pursue a heavier direction?

KUDLOW: We did [one] show and the report from

KUDLOW: We were on that path. It’s what was AUGUST 2023 : 4 8 : DECIBEL

quieter during the day and we worked out riffs and wrote words once we had a template arrangement.

KUDLOW: I’d come in and play a riff and everybody would join in. We’d work our way through it and then I’d come up with a title. Then we’d all stand around and create the lyrics.

PHOTO BY FRANK WHITE

What was your local hard rock and metal scene like in the Toronto area in the early ’80s?

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Fundamentally, I was the boss, because I was the guy who was singing and they were my riffs. To a great degree I guided what was going on. We really worked together very well as a band and we each participated in making that come together.

ALLISON: We were just jamming together. Lips would bring a riff. He’d have an idea and we would expand on that. It was me and Lips going back and forth trying to figure out what to do with [his] riff and how we were gonna make a song out of it. We were a writing team.

DICKSON: It was our first real collaboration, because I was the last to join the band and most of Hard ‘n’ Heavy [had already been] written, but not recorded when I joined.

REINER: Sometimes we’d throw ideas together at gigs. As I recall, some of the Metal on Metal material was put together that way. “March of the Crabs” was written on the road at a soundcheck or something. Lips was always full of riffs. He still is to this day. I think “Tease Me, Please Me” was written somewhere up in Quebec on the road. It all came together by doing stuff like that.

ALLISON: I wrote “Stop Me,” the one I sing lead vocals on my own. I wrote that musically and lyrically. It’s about a girl in Quebec I met who was absolutely gorgeous. You gotta realize, I went through a lot of women in my life, but she was absolutely gorgeous. But “Stop Me” is about “stop me when we’re kissing,” because she wouldn’t let me go any further. She wouldn’t let me fuck her.

That’s a very personal song for me.

REINER: We had the lyrical spirit of the time.

In the ’80s, it was a lot of sleaziness or whatever you want to call it. It was quite different a few years later. It was made out of pure fun and innocence.

What do you remember about writing the title track, which has become the band’s signature song, much as Motörhead had “Ace of Spades”?

KUDLOW: In the writing process, I played the riff for “Metal on Metal” and I immediately identified it: This is “Metal on Metal.” I can hear the riff going metal on metal, so I go, OK, I guess that’s what this is. I said it to the guys, and they were like, “Yeah, that’s awesome, because the last album was Hard ‘n’ Heavy, so we can call this album Metal on Metal!” It took, from the time I came up with the riff until all the lyrics were written, about 15 minutes. Because when you’ve got something, it’s really easy. You know exactly where it’s gotta go. You know exactly what it needs. And you just do it. That’s how simple and straightforward it was. And everybody participated. Robb suggested that every verse needed to start with “metal on metal.” From there we just started filling in the verses, and we had way

more than we needed. So, we just cherry-picked the ones we wanted to use.

REINER: When we were writing the lyrics for “Metal on Metal,” all of us were throwing in our two bits. We were just doing it. It turns out that it’s pretty cool stuff.

ALLISON: Lips came into the rehearsal room with that riff [sings riff]. That song belongs to Lips.

There are parts I contributed to, but that song was pretty much all Lips. The truth is, I absolutely hate that song. It’s only because we had to play it so many goddamn times and it’s not that complicated of a song. It’s very simple, actually.

KUDLOW: Although it was a motto of ours that we were never gonna sell out—and, quite frankly never have—the song “Metal on Metal” was about as commercial as we’d ever got. It is our most famous song and it’s actually carried us for 40 years. Regardless of what I might be saying about it or might think about it or what other people might think about it, it’s what it is. Every band needs one [song like “Metal on Metal”], at least. And most only ever get one.

Were you well-rehearsed and ready to go into the studio?

REINER: Oh yeah, we knew what we wanted to do.

We made demos. We [also] played on the road a lot in those days, so we would play new songs on the road and develop them.

KUDLOW: All the material had been written previously. There was nothing really that was put together in the studio, other than stuff like the last verse of “Jackhammer.” That was made up on the spot.

How did you get the budget to record at such a prominent studio like Phase One? KUDLOW: The record label paid for it. We’ve been paying for it ever since.

DICKSON: It was a great studio to record in. We would have recorded in the backyard just to get it done, we were so eager!

ALLISON: Phase One was a bit of an experience for me. That was fuckin’ amazing. It was pretty impressive. I can’t say that I was really ready for that, but I did my best with it.

KUDLOW: It was really cool, because when we went in, we found KISS’s guitar picks. Paul Stanley’s guitar picks were all over the place.

They had been in that studio recording The Elder before we went in to record Metal on Metal. That was pretty fuckin’ cool.

How did you get English producer Chris Tsangarides to work on the album?

DICKSON: The record company we were signed

with set up the producer. He’d worked with Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang.

KUDLOW: The record company came to us some time after we’d put out Hard ‘n’ Heavy and they said that on the next album they were going to get an English producer who had produced AUGUST 2023 : 50 : DECIBEL

Tygers of Pan Tang and who was a sound engineer on [Judas Priest’s] Sad Wings of Destiny. I mean, c’mon, the guy worked with Judas Priest?

Bring him on! That’s the way we looked at it.

REINER: We were into listening to all those English bands of the time—Saxon, Motörhead, Tygers of Pan Tang, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Priest. Our label said that they could [hire] this guy from England who’d produced the Tygers of Pan Tang’s latest album. We thought that was cool; we related to it right away.

ALLISON: I would say it was the label. They made a very good choice. Chris was extremely helpful with that album. When you’ve got a band, you’ve got a lot of different personalities going on. So, as a producer you have to deal with all these personalities. I don’t imagine that’s easy.

What did he contribute to your sound and aesthetic on this album?

ALLISON: He was very knowledgeable. He was very good at getting quality sound out of what we were doing. I absolutely appreciate everything Chris did to create that album, and the next one. Chris was a special kind of guy and he got along very well with the band; he was an excellent recording engineer.

DICKSON: Chris had a few great ideas. He knew how to get a good performance out of each of us.

He had a great sense of humor and put us at ease when things got tense.

KUDLOW: You could say that maybe he would have been a better producer if he’d been a hardass motherfucker and pushed us around and told us what to do. But he was quite the opposite.

He was very, very relaxed: Do whatever you like; go for it; gimme your best shit you can fuckin’ muster up and I’ll record it. Where he excelled and added to things were the sound effects in the music. In songs like “Mothra,” he brought in the idea of using a vocoder, which is a keyboard that simulates vocals. I would sing into a microphone that was plugged into the keyboard, and it has that very strange sort of tone. Those were the kinds of things that CT brought to the table. Obviously, there was the big gong at the beginning of “Mothra.” CT was a big part of the sound effects on that album.

REINER: I’d say primarily he was an engineer. But he had ideas. Not songwriting ideas. He might have [suggested an] arrangement adjustment on the odd track, perhaps. To me he was always just an engineer.

KUDLOW: He was the right person at the right time, and it was the right album at the right time. Everything was correct, except for the record label. [Laughs] And we had no management. So, [we had] a great album, but no legs to take it anywhere.

What was the recording session like?

DICKSON: The session went very well. We

recorded [the rhythm tracks] together and did

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“We were received interestingly at [Castle Donington]. But we were too fuckin’ stupid to understand what was happening. They were throwing shit at us.

But that’s a positive, really, if you learn the culture and what’s going on.

They were throwing mud and piss bottles and all kinds of shit.”

RO B B RE INE R off from the [control room] for a couple hours.

Her and I did our thing in the back room. I can’t even remember her name, but whatever. She came by the studio to see me. She was just, uh… a groupie friend; let’s call her that.

Anvil has been noted as an inspiration to early thrash and speed metal bands. What was inspiring you to play faster and faster?

KUDLOW: The thing is, we didn’t realize, and you never do. How are you gonna know? You’re just doing what’s in your heart and you follow it.

We really loved Deep Purple and we loved Black Sabbath. We loved the higher-tempo stuff, particularly. Uriah Heep also had those really fast songs, but Deep Purple was well-renowned for their fast-tempo songs, like “Flight of the Rat.” On the In Rock album, there’s “Speed King.” Deep Purple was pretty much the home of that. [We were] taking those influences to a different level.

That’s what we were doing. It’s not a matter of imitation; it’s influence and inspiration. You’re bringing it to the next level. [With] Robb’s ability to play double bass, we were creating something that hadn’t quite existed yet.

REINER: We were pioneers of that [fast double bass], but I don’t like talking about myself in that regard. We weren’t copying anything.

We just tried different stuff. It just happened.

It’s not premeditated. Lips just comes up with shit and we develop it. It was like speedy Deep Purple. Those were templates for metal forever, from what I see now. At the time, we were just another band, having a bunch of fun.

DICKSON: We were listening to Motörhead around then. I always liked Black Sabbath and Budgie, AUGUST 2023 : 5 2 : DECIBEL

too. My heritage is Scottish, so I’m partial to British music. I think the rest of the band had favorites that were British as well.

ALLISON: Lips showed up one day with “666.” He just had this riff [sings riff]. It was something that we’d never tried before. That was totally different. I would say that “666” off Metal on Metal is the start of all speed metal. I would say that we started speed metal. I don’t think anybody else was doing it at the time. Not Iron Maiden, not Judas Priest ... they weren’t doing stuff like that. That would be, I guess, our claim to fame.

Not that we didn’t write a whole lot of excellent other songs. But our claim to fame would be that we were the first speed metal band out there.

You found early success in the U.K. as the NWOBHM was happening and were asked to play at the 1982 Castle Donington Monsters of Rock festival. What was that experience like?

KUDLOW: It was [our] first album that made the impact [in the U.K]. That’s what actually started the whole thing. It was the catalyst. What eventually happened is that the booking agents in England became interested as a result of the first album. Then we were offered the opening slot at the Donington Festival [in August 1982].

REINER: We were green. It’s like anything: humble beginnings. You start with not much and things start coming. It was exciting times.

It meant everything to us initially. The U.K. was a big place… it was the place of metal, the place of rock, the history. At the time, as young guys, it was a big deal. We were received interestingly at [Castle Donington]. I believe they liked us at the end of the day, looking back on it.

PHOTO BY FRANK WHITE

a few takes of each song. Chris made the studio a very enjoyable experience for me.

REINER: I remember it all being very enthusiastic and inspirational. It felt like things were changing. We were still kids, but we were growing—making a bigger record in a cool studio. It was a very quick record. We recorded and mixed it in three weeks. It was done very quickly, even for that time period. We liked the songs. We were still unaware of the songwriting “deal.” We were just making songs. So, we went in with all these songs that we thought were cool. There was a lot of energy that went into the moment. We were all buzzing. We had a major producer, the label threw some cash into it, all that kind of stuff.

KUDLOW: Some of the [process] was extremely frustrating for me in a sense, because I was doing 90 percent of the work. The other members of the band were pissballing around and partying in all of the back rooms while I’m working. Some of those things really annoyed me, because it was like, Come on, man, I’m trying to get work done.

Sometimes the party would work its way out into the control room and there goes another half hour because those guys are fucking around and talking about a girl they’re banging in the back room. Whatever! You’ve gotta realize this was during the ’80s and things are not like they are today. Ian and Dave at that time were the partiers. They had very little to do with what was going on, as far as the recording was going, because they were too busy carrying on in the back rooms and stuff. There was a back room with a bed in it, so the guys were busy! It’s not that I’m bitter about it, I’m just recounting it.

ALLISON: I had this chick come by, and I fucked

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I think we walked away from it confused [at the time], from the reaction and the response, the blowback. But we were too fuckin’ stupid to understand what was When the Metal meets the Anvil  happening. It was actuOld Bridge Militia with ally pretty good. They Anvil guitarist Dave “Squirrely” Allison and Metallica, date unknown. were throwing shit at us. But that’s a positive, really, if you learn the culture and what’s going on. They were throwing mud and piss bottles and between him and Jonny. We took the more corporate path, figuring Jonny was small-time. all kinds of shit.

DICKSON: Donington was one of our first big Looking back, we should have just gone with shows. We were the first act of the day and we the ground-roots guy and his hunger. Jonny came out with all guns blazing! The adoring fans could have grabbed Anvil and did what he did offered gifts of earth and bottles through the with Metallica. It was the same kind of music. air. Some of them had good aim. We didn’t let it But we were green. We were so young at that dampen our spirit! I think by the end of our set time, we just made bad business decisions.

DICKSON: I’m often surprised by how much we made an impression.

ALLISON: It was absolutely amazing. Donington attention Metal on Metal gets to this day. Movies was one hell of a gig. It was great to hang out and television! When we made that album, with the rest of the guys that were playing there. it was just what we were doing. A natural It was a lot of fun. It was a really good stage, with progression to our headspace at the time. We lots of room to move around. Lots of room to put were working hard and having fun. Working on a decent show. I think we were received quite together for a single purpose.

REINER: It was a very successful piece of work well. I think the people liked us. The aftershow that has stood the test of time. It was made by party was amazing—lots of chicks. I used to tell a bunch of young kids who were having a lot of Lips, “You bring the guys in, I’ll bring the chicks fucking fun. in.” That was kind of the gig, because I was cute, I was good-looking. I dressed well.

Looking back, what stands out about this album to you, or what memories do you have of this period?

KUDLOW: It’s really a prototype. It ended up being a prototype. That’s what we did, and we did it with innocence. It wasn’t like I decided to put together a song called “666” because I was going to invent speed metal. That was the furthest thing from my mind. It was just like, “Check this riff out, it’s cool, let’s play it.” That’s how that came to be. Inventions happen by accident. That’s what that album is: It’s what we were doing at that moment. It was a combination of a lot of different stuff that was a result of the era in which it was born.

REINER: This album is what brought us to the United States. Jonny Z [of Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven and later Megaforce Records] was selling copies of it like crazy as an import. Eventually, he got in touch. He told us we had a lot of fans down there and asked how he could bring us down for a show. Next thing you know, we’re down there and playing to 1,500 people. It was mind-blowing.

Jonny was interested in working with us. David Krebs, who had a big management company, was also dealing with us, and we were deciding

What are your favorite tracks and also songs you still play from this album?

KUDLOW: We’re not gonna get out of playing “March of the Crabs” or “Mothra” or “Metal on Metal.” I’m fucked! They’re there [in the set] forever, whether I like it or not. [Laughs] And I like it, so it’s all good. We place them in the set because [of the reaction they get]. Obviously, we end the night with “Metal on Metal,” because we’re not gonna outdo that.

REINER: One of my real favorites that we don’t play anymore is “Heat Sink.” I always really rocked that tune. All the other tunes, we played them all, more or less. We still play some of them to this day.

ALLISON: I love “Mothra.” I think “Mothra” is an amazing example of two guitars playing together, but playing apart and creating a serious mountain of music. I liked to take Lips’ idea and play over it and create something that complemented it.

DICKSON: I liked “Heat Sink.” It had all the signature elements of who we were at the time.

It’s fun to play. We rocked through the whole album. I liked all the songs, but “Mothra” was cool with all of the parts and arrangement. It’s a great album to listen to front to back.

AUGUST 2023 : 5 4 : DECIBEL

Anything you’d change about the album or do differently?

KUDLOW: Not on Metal on Metal. I don’t really have anything on that album that I wish I didn’t do.

I can’t honestly say that about every one of my records, but there’s something about that record that’s completely satisfying for me. Which is a good thing. There’s nothing I would do to change it. It’s totally fine.

ALLISON: I think that the songs on that album are fantastic. We put a lot of work into that.

Anvil have not reaped the financial rewards that other notable metal bands from this era have, but you’ve received much acclaim. Does that offer some professional fulfillment?

DICKSON: Sometimes it’s enough to be “nomi-

nated.” The music business is a harsh mistress.

We did well considering the many setbacks and obstacles. I’m just glad people still get to hear Metal on Metal.

KUDLOW: That album speaks for itself. It’s music that has lasted forever and given us legendary status. It doesn’t go away. Metal on Metal is still viable to this day. People are still enjoying it.

Thank goodness!

REINER: That makes me feel like, yeah, we’ve made millions of dollars, in a sense. It’s successful. I’m all good with the past records. They’re part of our whole history, and I’m still proud of the work.

ALLISON: The one thing that Anvil has always lacked is a manager, a real manager. All bands need a manager. They need somebody looking out for their prospects and looking out for their business aspects. That was one of our huge problems.

KUDLOW: I think that out of the bunch of albums, Metal on Metal really was the center lane. It was the center lane of what we really were trying to do. There were certainly a wide range of influences and things about that album that either went too far to the right or too far to the left on all of our albums ever since. There’s something about that album that’s right down the middle of the road; it’s perfect. You’ve got just the right kind of mixes of songs—fast songs, rock songs, every flavor. And they’re good examples of each of those flavors. That’s how I perceive Metal on Metal.

PHOTO BY KEVIN HODAPP / FRANK WHITE PHOTO AGENCY

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s to r y by

Jo n a th an Ho rs ley p h otos b y

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56

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pare a thought for the 21st century perfectionist in search of

self-improvement. Here is an individual trying to engineer a change in their working temperament in a world where the Wellness Industrial Complex dispenses therapeutic bromides through the ether as though they were antibiotics for the mind. We are constantly under bombardment from a barrage of homespun mindfulness in a culture that instructs us to always put the work in, to be the best version of ourselves; and yet, for the perfectionist, being the best version of oneself has been part of the problem all along. ¶ Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Perfect is the enemy of progress. The memes. The productivity gurus. The bumper stickers. The apps for when it’s time to ask technology for the answers to quintessentially human problems. It’s absurd. We are an absurd species. A.L.N., the mastermind of Portland, OR black and doom metal project Mizmor, has always recognized this, drawing inspiration from this mortal farce. And he also recognizes himself being the perfectionist in need of deprogramming. ¶ But as he joins us to discuss Mizmor’s latest LP and first for Profound Lore, Prosaic, he carries the air of a changed man. Having gone to the wall on previous releases, he says Prosaic was an occasion to cut loose.

This was a record that could be led by the gut and brain in lockstep. This would have a more human rhythm, drawing thematic inspiration from the metronomic grind of our everyday lives lived to the clock, our time belonging to someone else. Today is a new day. How are you going to fill it?

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“I wanted to make a record that was intentionally less conceptual, and more slice-of-life and from-the-hip compared to my other works,” he says. “I just wanted to make a record that I obsessed over less, that felt more honest and human, and less grandiose and epic. I didn’t want to have to go down into the hole and lose perspective. I wanted to make a less selfindulgent record, more human and raw, closer to the nerve.”

A.L.N. has done epic. His discography has charted his relationship with God and loss of faith. The first Mizmor album, the self-titled from 2012, was written from his perspective as a Christian wrestling with a faith that he didn’t yet know for sure he would lose. Thereafter, agnosticism cast his sound—his outlook—in shades of gray. But with his faith now wholly evaporated, A.L.N. is making use of this spiritual freedom to explore other aspects of the human condition. There are other big questions in need of answers.

“From [2019’s] Cairn on, everything was my monument I was erecting to fully being comfortable with being an atheist,” he says. “And at this point—I’m glad you asked me this—I have fully made peace with that journey, and I am not really on it anymore. Actually, Prosaic is the first record that I have ever made that has no content whatsoever related to God or atheism. It’s actually the most atheistic record I could make because I just don’t even pay any lip-service or mind to it whatsoever, and I don’t need to think about it anymore.

“I have trauma that I carry around from my upbringing, and from religion, and from different dogmas that I believed as a kid and a young adult, so that will always be swirling around.

I am very interested in that and other people’s journeys through cults and religions. As for what I am thinking about, and thinking through right now, it is not that. I feel very comfortable and confident where I have arrived epistemologically. It’s nice to not have this open wound that I am still dressing, and to get some real healing and closure.”

All of which is personal growth. Finding a new headspace, an atheistic clarity. Where the real challenge lay was in whether or not he could let go and make a record he could stand behind and be proud of without holding himself to the perfectionist ideals that has governed his creativity so far. He was curious if he could ever cultivate an artistic temperament that is okay with letting some things slide, and by doing so whether it would supercharge Prosaic’s emotional payload. It involved a change of process. There had to be some limitations.

“The whole time I was trying to practice finding that line of where something’s good enough,” he says. “The record is not about being perfect, and so—because I do drums first, and then I do all the guitars and the bass, and then I do the vocals—it takes me quite a while to

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go through everything myself, and at every step of the way there were moments where I was tempted to get stuck, and listen back over and over again and wonder if I could do it better.

“I found that there’s a sweet spot in terms of takes of your performances, and it’s usually not the first couple. You’re still warming up. But it’s also usually not the eighth or ninth. Now, at that point, you are probably working backwards, and the sweet spot is somewhere between the third and sixth take.”

Those who know him best can be forgiven for being a little skeptical. They have seen A.L.N. work and the lengths to which he’ll go. They know that when it comes time to learn this material to perform it live, he has an exacting ear. Nate Myers has drummed with Mizmor live for years and knows just what to expect.

“He is a very meticulous and professional musician,” says Myers. “Just to give you an example, the last album he recorded, well, I guess this is two albums ago now, but we lived in the same house, and he recorded in the basement. I remember he spent a whole week trying to find the source of some buzzing, and after reading extensively online on these forums, he determined it was a light dimmer, so I helped him unscrew the switch from the wall and we just unplugged the light, and he used a lamp. He spent a whole week just doing that.”

Myers’ knowing laugh when asked if perfectionism figured at all in the design of Mizmor’s sound says everything. Tearing a socket out the wall to nix a 60-cycle hum is just one example among many. By his own admission, A.L.N. will go “down into the hole” when necessary. Myers says this is what sets him apart.

“He pays a lot of attention to detail, and one thing I admire about him is that he can actually sit and focus and complete a job. That is one of my weaknesses, because I do a million different things and never finish all of them 100 percent.

He wants to get it right. He won’t stop and say, ‘good enough.’ He will keep on going and going until it’s perfect, and I have seen him do that with other people, too. Audio engineers, if something is not right, he’ll ask for minor modifications, then modify it again, and again, and then the engineer doesn’t have time for that, and they get frustrated. In the end, he ends up pushing far enough to get exactly what he wanted out of it.”

Andrew Black has known A.L.N. since the fourth grade and plays bass with Mizmor live.

While he went down the electronic/ambient path, he keeps a foot in both camps, with a solo black metal project of his own to announce. He and A.L.N. were both musicians growing up in Salem, OR. Black was a guitar player; A.L.N. was a drummer. Performing Mizmor’s bass parts live is difficult because they are so complicated, not because A.L.N. treats his backing band like James Brown and the J.B.’s; it’s because every detail matters. He notices.

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“When he was recording Cairn, he went down the rabbit hole,” says Black. “He was getting rattle on his amp. I can’t even remember what he did to his amps to get the most no-fuckery tone possible. It is how he works. He has got to have it right. For what it’s worth, I actually quite like this. I have played in a lot of projects. I like playing and working with people who have different ways of doing things. I think it is eye-opening and I think it coaxes different things out of you.

“He is very detailed in the sense of recreating every texture, like when we were doing Cairn, the last tour Mizmor did. The little bass stops or the extra plunk-punk at a particular part needed to be there; otherwise it just isn’t right. Now, arguably—and I think he would admit this—the person in the audience who would notice that extra plunk is maybe non-existent! [Laughs] But I like that! Certain details, like, really minute details on the record that get recreated live take a lot of practice, and he is dialed in on noticing if it isn’t there.”

T h e

Bla c k A l b um Prosaic is a steep change for Mizmor.

Sonically, it has all the elements you would expect. Few can work that borderland between black metal and doom like A.L.N., drawing metal’s most punishing and bruising frontiers closer together.

Few can work in an acoustic guitar and keep it kind of Bach, kind of Iommi circaMasters of Reality, without puncturing the atmosphere and breaking the spell. Songs are still rendered in long-form. “Only an Expanse” opens the album with just short of 15 minutes of tour-de-force extreme metal: raw, totally Nordic second-wave ferocity for long stretches, punctuated by the wide-open spaces of funeral doom before cranking the tempo back into the red. The production remains super premium.

The emotional trajectory is still bleak. The main difference now is that its creator could approach making it from a vantage point of, if not ecstasy, then something approaching fun.

“When you make records for a long enough amount of time, your process inevitably evolves, and part of the evolution of my process—at least with this record—has been out of self-love, and wanting to make a record that is more fun to make,” says A.L.N. “No one wants to make the same record over and over again. The records are also for other people, but they are for me at the same time, and I don’t always want to feel like I have to suffer because I want to make a new record.”

In doing so, Prosaic turned out more black metal, with more anger amid the despair, A.L.N. drawing a wide enough canvas to accommodate both void-choking doom and black metal,

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pivoting between the two gracefully within a few bars. Maybe black metal and doom work together because the former can take on those melancholic, elegiac doom qualities at high tempo, and doom—as Burning Witch exemplified—can articulate anger at a tempo that’s like walking through treacle.

“I did want to make a more black metal record,” says A.L.N. “Mizmor started as more of a black metal project. The doom and drone have always been there, but there is something about the tempo of black metal. There is a certain brand of more old-school black metal that’s more raw and crusty, and rock ‘n’ roll, and feels like, ‘Fuck it!’ That was feeling really good to me with what I had to express. I feel like the doom is so fucking epic. I just wanted to make something a little bit more gritty, working-man kind of feel, and for some reason, the black metal was just really satisfying for me.”

Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it lacks some kind of intentionality, as if the whole thing were composed by happenstance. We can draw a comparison with Hell, the solo project of A.L.N.’s longstanding friend and collaborator Matthew S. Williams, in which he plays live drums and laid down guest vocals on Hell’s eponymous 2009 debut. Williams takes a different approach to sound and production, where at its sludgiest, Hell has more stray frequencies and noise, the chaotic overspill of on-record nihilism.

“As long as the music is out of me, then that makes me happy,” says Williams. “I am not really thinking about what the listener’s experience is going to be. Like, he wants people to listen to it and appreciate the time he put into these little subtle details, and when I mix something, I just want it to sound cool to me, and then I am happy with that.”

Once upon a time, way back pre-Mizmor/ Hell, A.L.N., Black and Williams all played together in the traditional doom band Sorceress. Old habits die hard. When Mizmor sets out to tour Prosaic, Williams will join once more, this time on guitar. Playing Hell, playing Mizmor—it doesn’t amount to a great deal of difference, he says. They both occupy a similar headspace. For what it’s worth, Williams, who has known A.L.N. since they were 14, says he has mellowed with age.

“He definitely likes to get his way,” says Williams. “He is good at getting what he wants from people and he tries not to step on toes to get there. He is always particular about his things and routines. He’s been like that the whole time.

It can be frustrating, but we love him and that’s who he is. He has this vision for how he wants it to sound, and he spends a lot of time making sure it sounds exactly how he wants it to sound.

He doesn’t cut any corners when he is producing one of his records.”

The re r ec ord rdss a re als o fo for o th theer pe ople , bu t the y aarr e for me a t tthhe sa sa me t ime, and

I d on’t alw ay s want t o feel lliike I ha have to ssuuffer bec aus e I want to m a ke a ne w r ecor d. a . l. n .

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It is often said of the blues that it is the simplest musical style played by the world’s most gifted musicians, and there’s something in that.

The most basic arrangements can often be the most difficult to perform because everything must be right. It’s the same with Mizmor. There isn’t layer upon layer of instrumentation. The arrangements are huge, but spare. They’re not Ornette Coleman jams or the technical ecstasies of turn-of-the-century death metal. Designing the sound is where much of the heavy lifting is required. There is something of the epicurean in how A.L.N. gussies up or distresses the sound to taste, applying the know-how his “engineer and producer guru” Sonny DiPerri has taught him over the years.

“I am really inspired in general by ’70s production,” says A.L.N. “An interesting thing about Mizmor, that is not super common in the genre, is that all of my drums are totally dry, with no reverb, and that’s like a fucking ’70s thing. I like tight, punchy, dry-sounding drums as opposed to, ‘I’m playing in a cave!’ Which also sounds really cool, but not for my music.”

As black and doom metal goes, this is gourmet shit. It is raw, analog, warm and three-dimensional, and it needs to be for those doom sections to open up wide, swallow the audience, give people that sense of awe. Performing them isn’t easy. Everyone has to be on point.

“A lot of people make these comments like, ‘Oh, you play doom metal. It’s so boring and

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easy,’” says Myers. “But if I had to compare black metal versus doom, I would say there is less room for mistakes in doom. There is more open space, and if you don’t get it exactly right, it is much more noticeable.”

The perfectionism is rewarded in the sound and performances. That’s why when it comes time to rehearse this material, the Mizmor live band will be in the room together drilling down one part over and over again until it’s right. It is tedious work, going back and forth, referencing what’s in the room against the recorded version.

“There is no way that another individual is going to play it exactly as you played it on the record,” says A.L.N. “It is just impossible, so the live version is always a little bit of an interpretation or translation of what I’ve done on the records, and I am good with that!”

He’s good with that? That’s the sound of an artist who has come to terms with the reality of delivering a solo project that has been obsessed over for years in a live setting, where every instrument has been written, performed and recorded by him. That’s the sound of a reformed perfectionist. “‘Reformed perfectionist’ is a really nice way of putting it,” says Black. “Reformed or at least in the process of attempting to be less perfectionist, and that was the intention with this record—to step away from obsessing about it and let it be. It is undoubtedly what makes him a unique artist. That is what makes Mizmor—a little bit obsessive, a little bit uncomfortable and in pain, and a well-studied, well-practiced musician.”

No M os h , N o C or e , N o Tr e n d s , N o F u n There were all kinds of extreme metal influences kicking around in the Salem underground scene. Hesher freaks would rock up at the Burial Grounds, a dilapidated address known to all in the Cherry City scene (and to pretty much any PNW metal or punk band coming up looking for a place to party or play in the basement). Myers would pay less than $250 a month in rent there.

You might ask who got the better deal from a realtor’s point of view, but it was undisputedly all to the scene’s benefit. “Meeting Nate, and the other dudes at the Burial Grounds crew, was huge,” says A.L.N. “I was shown another world of bands that were living a more DIY, nihilistic life, and they were going on tours, even just playing house shows, venues, clubs, bars. There were DIY record labels. Everyone was releasing tapes and vinyl. I was shown what the DIY ethos and heavy metal/extreme metal culture was, and that was something that I had never been exposed to before.”

Whether you were there to play, trade tapes, or just drink beer and bang your head, this was the spot. On a good day, they could get over 100 in the Burial Grounds for a show. “Piece-of-shit death metal” is Myers’ happy place. His tastes 64 : MARCH 2023 : DECIBEL

were cultivated at the Burial Grounds. A.L.N. came out of that same milieu, but Myers says his friend’s appetites always skewed more avantgarde. “I am always at less-than-a-hundred-people death metal/grindcore shows,” says Myers. “I don’t think the whole piece-of-shit death metal people appeal to him as much!” [Laughs] A.L.N. always needed something different from extreme metal. Death metal was just too much like a good time.

“That’s a really funny quote from Nate,” says A.L.N. “He knows I am not a huge death metal fan. I do like some of it. But it just doesn’t pull my heart strings, and I am in it for the sadness. I really like melancholic music, which is why doom metal and black metal appeal to me so much. Death metal just gets old quick to me because there is not a lot of depth to it.

Now, that’s also why it’s fun. I totally get that.

Sometimes you just wanna hear a fuckin’ good riff, drink a beer and bang your head. End of story. You don’t want to think about much deeper, and there’s a place for that, and I think that is cool, but I have just learned about myself that I am not as interested in that.”

Death metal has its share of thinkers, but ultimately, it’s an art form occupied with plumbing new depths of horror on record, and with that, it’s inevitable the gore-obsessed demographic draws a lot more water. A.L.N. found black and doom metal a better vessel to traffic the ideas he’s been working through all this time. Prosaic is his most atheistic album, and the only Mizmor album that isn’t tethered to an overarching concept. He might take a certain freedom from arriving at the conclusion that he is an atheist, but that didn’t stop the search for meaning, for why we are here.

“I am really interested in biology, in evolutionary biology, physics, astrophysics—things that address the questions whose answers were lost when I walked away from religion,” he says.

“Where do we come from? Why are we here?

How did we get here? Things like that. I like to know what the smartest people think about the most current evidence that we have, and how that can be applied to questions like that.”

Those people include rock-star atheist thinkers such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris. The likes of Stephen Hawking and Neil deGrasse Tyson pique his intellectual curiosity—the answers, tantalizingly, might yet be found among the heavens. If you’re looking for someone to credit for informing a worldbuilding sensibility that gives Mizmor such scale and scope, you could look to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, particularly the latter’s sci-fi trilogy. (“Perelandra is totally incredible.”) Albert Camus is an evergreen influence. His 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus underpinned much of the lyrics on Cairn, and is relevant to Prosaic. The idea of rolling a boulder up a mountain day after day for the

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edification of an indifferent universe is mother’s milk to A.L.N., and while it is the sort of philosophical treatise that gets Kierkegaard and Schopenhauer all heated up, it should similarly resonate with anyone who has punched the clock and wondered why they bother, anyone who’s working a double in a restaurant, washing dishes and cleaning down just to do the same damn thing again in the morning, and still struggling to make rent come the end of the month.

“No matter what your job is, even if you have no quote/unquote job, the absurdity of life is still ever-present,” says A.L.N. “The sun rises every day, and you get on your feet and figure out how to use every day, and I think most people come up against some kind of routine and monotony in life, and this record is still very much about that.”

To make any sort of peace with this world you have got to be comfortable with the paradoxes life throws at you. Sure, many would sack off the nine-to-five if given the chance, but then what? Work can suck, but what sucks worse is not having it.

“Prosaic is more about that day-in, day-out grind, and the fact that work brings us so much purpose,” says A.L.N. “We need it to keep rolling the boulder up the hill, and it is also the thing that brings us a lot of suffering. There is sort of this paradox with work, where you want to clear your schedule and have nothing on the docket so you could just relax, and then once you are relaxing, it’s, ‘God! There’s all this stuff I should be doing!’ And so, work propels you through the day. It gives you purpose and it is also the thorn in your side. There is this sort of acceptance that I am exploring, with work and all this futility and the absurdity that brings, but also how we appreciate and need it. You kinda just have to ride that wave.”

B e lie v i n g I s See i n g Ride that wave and embrace the paradox. There’s no escaping absurdity. Even if Prosaic could be described as the first post-belief Mizmor album, it arrives at a time when new beliefs and religiosity are evolving even as western societies grow more secular. Dogma is on the march. The world is getting so much more complex. How we live and work is being upended by technology. And yet everyone seems so sure of the answers; they have their theory for everything, belief systems every bit as rigid as those they superseded.

“Religion is still alive and well in different forms,” says A.L.N. “As a society, globally, at least it seems like we are progressively more and more secular as the ages go on, but now you have new cults. You have political cults and religions, and things like that—at least in the political realm—that sprout up in place of what you might think of as religion, but it’s actually a similar kind of dogmatic mechanism that people are still using, which I think is the heart of the issue; faith and dogmatism as opposed to evidence and reason.”

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Th e ssuun ri se The sess ever y da y, and yyoo u get on you r fee t and fi gu re out ho w to us e ever y d ay , and I thi nk most peoplplee c ome u p aga ins t some ki nd of routitinn e a nd mon ot on y in life,

a nd th i s re co r d is s till v ery m uc h abou t tha t . a . l. n .

Can’t atheism be as dogmatic? Conversation with atheists can be like speaking to someone who has just quit smoking and is wondering what to do with their hands, or those newly converted to veganism who have found the secret to making silken tofu taste just like egg. There is a sense that atheists protest too much, and that, in the unexplained, there is room for faith in a higher power. But A.L.N. says if that evidence and reason changed our conclusions about the existence of God, he would be open to that.

“That’s the difference between dogmatic thinking and scientific thinking,” he says. “I don’t think for most religious people there is nothing that could change their mind about the existence of God, but for truly scientific people, there is.

We don’t have it yet. I call myself an atheist. I wish I didn’t have to, in the sense that you don’t need a word for not believing in the bogeyman.”

The duality of humankind allows for both reason and irrationality to coexist. We all have a bit of both. We need both. We all need some things we can be certain about, and the imagination to theorize about what’s just over the horizon. We can rely on gravity. Newton’s laws of motion thus far seem unimpeachable. You can 66 : MARCH 2023 : DECIBEL

rely on WD-40 when all else fails. You can rely on your friends, too. For a solo project—like Mizmor, Hell and, like, seemingly every metal artist from Salem—this is vital. Not only do they provide each other with tactical support when it’s time to tour, but collectively they helped inform each other’s aesthetic. They all went on this journey together.

His dad taught him drums. His brother taught him guitar. At an early age, he was musical.

But only when befriending people like Andrew Black and Matthew S. Williams did A.L.N. find metal. Salem was that sort of place. Smaller than Portland and Eugene. Less liberal. More conservative, buttoned-down and dry. “You moved to Salem to start a family, and it works really well for that,” says A.L.N. Big city kids get it too easy. There is culture everywhere. In places like Salem, you have to build your own scene from the ground up.

“What’s cool about a place like that is that it will—however small—create a counterculture,” says A.L.N. “And I found a few people, even from the time I was a kid. There was something happening in Salem when I was a teenager. There was a small music scene that really isn’t around

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anymore. It was special to be a part of. And for how small and normal and rinky-dink Salem is— there were just a couple of venues downtown— there were a decent amount of bands that played almost every weekend, always playing with each other. You find your like-minded ‘alts’ that you can band together and make music with—and it’s not even like we were necessarily being directly rebellious. I think that was an undercurrent, and we had some angst. I am just thankful there were other people to do that with.”

A.L.N. is not sure what would happen should the day come that the likes of Williams, Myers and Black aren’t around to work on Mizmor’s live performances. They are all inured to each other’s idiosyncrasies. Musicians develop a shorthand after years playing together. Moreover, this music is personal. It’s easier to share it with friends, those who’ve passed through the Burial Grounds. “It was totally huge to get brought into that world and to be made to feel welcome,” he says. Mizmor will always be a solo project on record and a live band in concert. Live performances rely on the chemistry. Solo recordings are defined by a specific vision. They have been a source of therapy for A.L.N. since the sixth grade. “I need to be able to have at least one outlet where I am the only creative voice, where the vision doesn’t get changed or compromised, or expanded, or edited in any way,” he says. “If I have that, I am happy to do a band with someone else. But if I don’t, I will go crazy.”

Consider Mizmor as therapy for us all.

Therapy by design. A.L.N. wants to take us on the journey, to luxuriate in the sorrow and taste the darkness, but also to know that, in the moment, that darkness is behind a firewall. The negativity is exorcized on tape.

“I want it to lead my listeners to a positive place, too,” he says. “It’s addressing serious stuff.

I am making records about depression, anxiety, existential dread, but at the same time I feel like it is really unhealthy to just stay in that mindset.

It ultimately needs to bring about healing and growth and change and evolution. I don’t want me or my listeners just to be wallowing in some pit.”

Nihilism is fun and freeing in metal, but it has its limits. The anti-life posturing, the death obsession—it’s momentarily exhilarating. But cheering on death gets old fast. Besides, if you just hang on, death will get you in the end. Make it wait. There’s more to do. Like, it’s time to get back to work. That’s a message we can take from Prosaic, a work of blue-collar black metal for those who can handle the absurd, who can tolerate the perfect and imperfect alike, who can keep their heads as irrationality and dogma closes in, and for those who haven’t found the answers yet, but will keep on looking.

“Yeah, pretty much. It’s just about fucking work, man,” says A.L.N. “Surviving and figuring out how to keep doing it, and to feel contentment and acceptance. Though there is plenty of misery floating around in there, too.”

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A R e volu tion of identit y in A mer ic A n Bl Ack M e ta l

by DA N I E L L A K E foreword by TOM G A BR I E L WA R R IOR

AvAi l aBle exclusively at

STORE.DECIBELMAGAZINE.COM

INSIDE ≥

72 CHURCH OF MISERY Electric funerals 76 JAG PANZER Surrounded by Jags

ALL THE NOISE THAT FITS

78 THERAPY? Irish eyes unsmiling 79 VOIVOD Re-Pre-Ignition 79 WILL HAVEN Seventh offensive

The Night IsBLACKBRAID Awake

AUGUST

Indigenous black metal phenom quickly returns to the Adirondacks for album number two

9

Succession finale

7

Barry finale

5

Ted Lasso finale

1

Dr. Phil finale

IF 9

it feels like blackbraid went from a concept to opening the Decibel Tour within a year, you’re not crazy. After writing two songs inspired by his connection to nature and native ancestry, guitarist Jon Krieger BLACKBRAID decided to formally begin a solo project. The result was Blackbraid II Blackbraid, a one-man force of emotive black metal that comBLACKBRAID menced 2022 with a head-turning roar. After assuming the pseudonym Sgah’gahsowáh—which translates to “the witch hawk” in Mohawk—Krieger’s project swiftly grew from unsigned oddity to Bandcamp best-seller. With the summer nearly upon us, the second LP from Blackbraid arrives with the power of a seasonal change. ¶ Blackbraid’s debut was like exploring the Adirondack Mountains surrounding Sgah’gahsowáh’s home by moonlight. The shadowy mix captured the darkness and nocturnal majesty of the endless pines and peaks. In comparison, Blackbraid II’s warm production honors the true vastness of the Adirondacks’ six million acres. You can thank

ILLUSTRATION BY MARK RUDOLPH [MARKRUDOLPH.COM]

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returning drummer and engineer Neil Schneider for the record’s clarity and detail. Well, unless you’re one of those audio cultists who require their black metal rawer than chicken tartare.

From the opening plucks of acoustic intro “Autumnal Hearts Ablaze,” there’s more room for the atmospheric elements to breathe. And that’s not just because this record clocks in at an expansive hour, plus a cover of Bathory’s “A Fine Day to Die.” Two centerpiece epics emerge as the album’s heart beating blood to the rest of Blackbraid II. At 13 minutes in length, “Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon” isn’t exactly a short and punchy industry standard single. But these songs exist beyond the concerns of algorithmic supremacy. Between “Moss” and “A Song of Death on the Winds of Dawn,” it’s like losing yourself in the woods and realizing that time passes faster when you’re not obsessing with a clock. Rife with riffs and traditional woodwinds, Blackbraid II is to the Adirondacks what Two Hunters is to the Cascadians of the Pacific Northwest.

But the album isn’t a wild sprawl of blast beats and tranquil interludes. “Twilight Hymn of Ancient Blood” wields a surly mid-paced stomp that crescendos to a thrashing sprint.

Sgah’gahsowáh’s snarl is a conduit for the voiceless, surging with conviction. Like the eponymous debut, Blackbraid close with a blackened doom composition that feels like the slow creep of windowpane frost.

Few albums invoke the feeling of place and haunted memory that Panopticon achieved a decade ago with Kentucky. Blackbraid II is a sequel that expands the landscape of black metal by inviting the listener to return to forgotten forests. —SEAN FRASIER

ADVERSVM

8

Vama Marga MORIBUND

True death/doom tape boxset

If the deck above confounds, note that Donald Zaros, keysmaster of Decibellauded death/doom experts Evoken, is now parlaying his (under)worldly orchestral ways in the Adversvm lineup. Not that Zaros’ inclusion changes the downtrodden—nay, voidward—trajectory of the mostly German outfit. The group’s well-received Dysangelion built studiously on its predecessor Aion Sitra Ahra, where deathly funerals were mercilessly subjected to the doomed-out machinations of progenitor Sascha Borchard.

Vama Marga is another stately layer.

Much of Adversvm’s success isn’t in traditional songwriting—a prominent trait of funeral doom, one might say—but rather their ability to cast a umbriferous atmosphere and 70 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

sacerdotal import with equal measure. From “Emanation” to “V.:.O.:.A.:.D,” Vama Marga projects an antediluvian, despairing regality.

Whereas defunct Finnish masters Colosseum harnessed the abyss, this scores the tribulations of once-mighty kings viciously asphyxiated by the power and inevitability of time. In parts, “Feind” and “Vindex” reinforce this as they volley old Septic Flesh-isms (from their Mystic Places at Dawn era). Guitarist Fabian Guschlbauer, also of death metallers Apophis, has matured into a well-suited sideman. His eldritch presence on “Emanation” and “Sinistrum” complements Borchard’s sabulous roar in new ways.

Certainly, the production of Jörg Uken, who also sits in on drums, makes Vama Marga more monstrous than before. Of course, plunging into Adversvm’s caliginous world isn’t easy, but the faithful will get it. They might even notice the Obituary nod in “Sinistrum.” —CHRIS DICK

CADAVERETTE

7

We Are Everything but… Not Anything SELF-RELEASED

The miss and her machine

Since the dissolution of the Dillinger Escape Plan, former front-muscle Greg Puciato has, amongst other projects, embarked upon a namesake solo band, a band that’s as multi-directional as one might imagine. This makes for a frustrating time for those only wanting to hear him wield the same mathematical machine gun as Dillinger. I bring up Puciato’s solo works Child Soldier: Creator of God and Mirrorcell as a springboard for where Maine’s Cadaverette are at with third full-length, We Are Everything but… Not Anything. With roots in punky metallic noise, Cadaverette—led by guitarist Logan Abbey and vocalist August West, and backed by essential rhythm section Ian Riley and Dan Capaldi—turn the idea of heavy all sorts of upside down. Heck, for a good chunk of the album’s final third, they take steps away from strictly heaviness.

Here’s a brief laundry list of territories covered: album opener “Sledgehammer” abuses anthemic indie-tinged noise rock clanging. “Ghost” utilizes a pensive and wailing, candy-like shoegaze drone before moving to the urban hardcore of Couch Slut jamming in the Bad Brains’ practice spot. “Crashing” is like Lush getting hooked on palm-muting and aquatic single-note riffs. But before you go thinking Cadaverette are only about obvious borrowing and a quick-change approach, consider a) “Tapping the Green Vein” and its linear, tech-y sludge, melodic chorus and solo straight from the dustiest bin of the classic rock section of the dustiest record store in town,

and b) “Against the Wall,” a harrowing and emotionally brutal expulsion that recalls Julie Christmas screeching at Unsane and Shudder to Think through a broken phone receiver.

It’s here that West venomously spits/croons, “I don’t love you / I just fuck you / You don’t love me / We’re just fucking / There’s no love here / We’re just fucking,” and crushes the spirit of anyone who thought they had the key to her heart. Though she and her bandmates should grab a few hearts (and ears) with their expansive approach. —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

CALLIGRAM

7

Position | Momentum PROSTHETIC

Totale Fottuto Necro

If Anaal Nathrakh have always presented a little too harsh, a little too highbrow, a little too lead-footed and/or a little too English for your sensibilities, Calligram might be the balm to the sonic road rash Mick Kenney and Dave Hunt have delivered over the years. Sure, they also hail from England (London, to be exact) and definitely drove on the left side of the road to visit Russ Russell’s countryside Parlour Studios and record this, their second full-length, but Calligram feature a multi-national lineup that includes vocalist Matteo Rizzardo cathartically caterwauling about life’s existential shitshow in his native Italian.

While Anaal Nathrakh may be one of the first comparisons that comes to mind, Calligram possess more nuance to their brand of overwhelm. Indeed, they do black metal, but it doesn’t always barrel by at a few hundred clicks a second. Theirs is earthier and breathes using more lung capacity. As well, inspiration is drawn from blackened hardcore bands like the Secret and Oathbreaker, plus the various amounts of melodic sludge provided by Downfall of Gaia and Celeste.

Throughout Position | Momentum, wavering moods are showcased. “Eschilo” starts in thoughtful slow motion before an accelerated stab at aggressive depression, whereas “Tebe” and “Ostranenie” may initially highlight sullen post-metal hallmarks, but not before high-octane spin-o-ramas that’ll catch the ear of melodic punk fans. They flash an experimental card on “Per Jamie” (which utilizes acoustic guitars, orchestral brass and the levity of a Swans rehearsal), then cash in a time machine ticket to black metal’s second wave. A similar move pulled is on “Ex-Sistere.”

In fact, there are a number of nods on Position | Momentum towards those of their influences, but the wildly spirited shifts and the natural

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unhinged sound of Rizzardo’s howling provides encouraging slivers of uniqueness.

—KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

CHURCH OF MISERY 7 Born Under a Mad Sign RISE ABOVE

Of course, it’s killer

A dark, low-frequency hum precedes the cocking of a firearm. Synth flare, radio scan, then a discharge. Repeat. Out of the static cuts in a 2002 network newscast: “... terrifying situation for thousands of people, gunmen in the neighborhood killing individuals in a methodical way.” An on-scene reporter details the first three D.C. sniper murders, gunfire edited in and resounding “again and again… and again.”

By the time “Beltway Sniper (John Allen Muhammad)” booms to life like Birmingham 1970, another quaking album opener tolls Church of Misery. Gnarled, clattering, exigent, the Tokyo quartet approaches the two-thirds Sabbath mark—nearly three decades of shuddering doom.

Seventh studio LP Born Under a Mad Sign ends the group’s longest layoff following 2016’s And Then There Were None…, which found band originator Tatsu Mikami preceding over an American threepiece voiced by Repulsion’s Scott Carlson.

Mikami offshoot Sonic Flower, throttling both Rides Again (2021) and last year’s Me & My Bellbottom Blues alongside ex-COM personnel, reunited the bandleading bassist and sole composer with Vol. 1 frontman Kazuhiro Asaeda. Best English interpreter across the volcanic catalog, Asaeda crows into the tar pit, making him either the Glenn Hughes or Tony Martin of this legacy congregation. In contrast, Eternal Elysium atomizer Yukito Okazaki lights up every six-string bend.

Between the ghostly harmonics closing “Beltway Sniper” and Icarus soloing on grand finale “Butcher Baker (Robert Hansen),” Okazaki spines the album right down to midpoint “Murder Castle Blues (H.H. Holmes),” throbbing its genre between both guitarists. “Freeway Madness Boogie (Randy Kraft)” joins prior COM HOF detonations “Filth Bitch Boogie (Aileen Wuornos)” and “Shotgun Boogie (James Oliver Huberty).”

Finally, “Come and Get Me Sucker (David Koresh)” chants down Babylon. —RAOUL HERNANDEZ

DEAD HEAT

8

Endless Torment TA N K C R I M E S

Join the new army

Let’s get meta for a moment: This winter, I penned a story about crossover bruisers Enforced that 72 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

strongly implied that crossover’s best work is being done on the East Coast. There is ample proof for this if one considers Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan for starters. Cosmic metal forces must want me to stand corrected, or at least render me circumspect: Dead Heat’s blistering EP Endless Torment arrived recently, and it is courtroom-ready proof that California, home of crossover legends Suicidal Tendencies, is still birthing formidable crossover.

Mind you, Dead Heat (from Cirith Ungol capital Ventura County) are not a new band; they’ve been around for almost eight years and built a strong following in SoCal. The band has released several EPs, a split with Mindforce and two full-length albums, including their latest, 2021’s World at War. Endless Torment shows a band so confident in their craft that they need less than 20 minutes to get the job done.

While it’s tough to pigeonhole Dead Heat (this is a good thing), their music has some Suicidal groove circa the Join the Army era, the intensity of onetime Decibel cover stars Nails and a precision not often associated with crossover. Armand John Anthony’s production and Arthur Rizk’s mixing keep the band’s undeniable musicality front and center, but also don’t wash out the goodness in a wave of digital modernity.

Crossover flourished not just because of a regional scene, but a national movement of bands offering their own punk-metal mash-ups.

It’s good to see the genre is in good hands on both sides of the country (and abroad). Endless Torment should push this powerful band into the stratosphere. —JUSTIN M. NORTON

EAST OF THE WALL 6 A Neutral Second T R A N S L AT I O N L O S S

Another brick

In trying to find new lands to chart with progressive metal, East of the Wall go east of The Wall and find themselves in post-metal territory. The neutral ground they discover uses the tensionrelease dynamics of the latter along with the complex song structures and time signature manipulation of the former. A Neutral Second follows their excellent NP-Complete. What made that disc such a delight was the presence of distinct songs within the flurry of notes, something all too rare in the genre. Alas, while an impressive musical showcase, album number six lacks that achievement.

Which doesn’t mean it’s bad, of course. The songs just tend to blur together in a wave of melancholy and musicianship. At 42 minutes, it certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome. It’s a matter of mood—everything feels kinda

one-note. Impressive moments abound.

“Momentum Mori” uses some twisting Porcupine Tree-style passages to great effect. “Detonator Gauntlet” controls its explosions well. Even interludes like “Spite of Icarus” show off their skills. Nothing sticks, though, as well-executed as it all may be.

To borrow a term from their album title, East of the Wall feel stuck in neutral here. Despite structuring the record to split up the longer statements with short pieces, there’s a real problem with finding songs that you’ll remember upon second listen. If you decide to make the trip beyond the barrier, you’d do better with their previous album. You aren’t in for a bad time here; it’s just a neutral experience in the end. —JEFF TREPPEL

EKROM

8

Uten Nådigst Formildelse EDGED CIRCLE

Norwegian black metal vets turn down the heat

If someone wanted to know what black metal sounds like, you’d first explain that a lot of it was recorded to answer the question, “What if an AM radio was haunted?” Then a good next step would be playing them Ekrom. I doubt calling this quintessential BM would make the Norwegian two-piece particularly upset, as they have been active in the scene since the ’90s.

Maybe they didn’t burn a church, but they know a guy’s cousin who did. And this has only been a net positive for their debut full-length, Uten Nådigst Formildelse.

Google tells me those words mean “Without Merciful Appeasement,” but it probably means something more grim because, as mentioned, this is the kind of genre-loyal music where people talk about shit being “frostbitten” or whatever. Putting aesthetics aside, though, the songs are great: heaping helpings of melody, memorable riffs, relentless drumming, a goddamn demon on the mic, and production that is clear and crushing.

What might the issues be, then? Well, there are five hundred million black metal bands doing the same thing, and I personally have gotten worn out by this sound’s ubiquity. With that said, neither of these guys wanting to reinvent the spiked gauntlet doesn’t make the songs any less enjoyable or accomplished.

If you hate black metal, this is everything you hate about black metal. But if you’re even a mild fan of the genre, Uten Nådigst Formildelse will ironically appease you, though Ekrom will have to decide how merciful it shall be.

—SHANE MEHLING

DECIBEL : AUGUST 2023 : 73

FEN

8

Monuments to Absence PROPHECY

Masters of the mire

For the sake of transparency, you should be aware of my unabashed bias for metal from the late ’00s and early ’10s.

Some truly inspired advances in black metal were birthed from that time period (Panopticon, A Forest of Stars, Altar of Plagues, too many others) that widened the genre thematically, melodically, culturally and structurally. During this era, guitarist/vocalist Frank “The Watcher” Allain was writing articles for some online outlet or other, which is how I found out that his band Fen were dropping their debut record, The Malediction Fields. That album was a strong entry in the U.K. black metal scene, and its approach fit perfectly into the tapestry that their fellow bands were weaving at that time.

A decade and a half—and six records—later, Fen still feel like they’re spinning marshdrowned straw into high-drama gold, continuing to hone the sound they’ve been polishing all this time. There are no massive departures on this year’s Monuments to Absence, but that’s meant as praise; passages of violent density crumble into quietly reverbed contemplation, and those mashups are as terrifying and beautiful as they have always been on Fen records. The clean choral chants that inject themselves throughout the record also imbue this music with the same kind of historically-minded vibrance that Winterfylleth and Arð have used, to phenomenal effect.

For their entire existence, Fen have been consistently worth the required investment of time, emotion and money, which is no mean feat— you try writing and recording seven straight hours of top-tier music over the course of 15 years and see how you fare. Monuments to Absence is another outstanding artifact that proves that metal’s 21st century renaissance still has more than enough fuel for the furnace. —DANIEL LAKE

THE GLORIOUS DEAD

7

Cemetery Paths BINDRUNE

From the cradle to the grave

The Glorious Dead play no-nonsense old-school death metal—the viscera-sodden variety synonymous with early Death, Massacre, Autopsy, Deicide and so on. Unlike some of their current peers, who are also inspired by the formative stylings of metal’s most gruesome subgenre, however, the Glorious Dead’s hardened members all appear to have lived through DM’s birth 74 : A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 : D E C I B E L

We’ve replaced Jeff Treppel with ChatGPT. Let’s see if anyone notices. —JEFF TREPPEL

OF

all the places in this mag you meatbags would expect to find avantblack metal provocateurs KRALLICE, this column might be the last— they’re more likely to show up in the cult DVD ad. Porous Resonance Abyss [ SEL F- R EL EA SED] , a surprise Bandcamp drop, engages in the kind of synthesizer side-fuckery previously explored by bands like Wolves in the Throne Room (Celestite) and Blood Incantation (Timewave Zero). They still work in their signature post-black metal mayhem. Still, this goes even further into the void than their previous releases. The title suite is split into four parts, peeling back the synthetic skin further with each subsequent segment to reveal the demonic muscle and bone beneath. Although the atmospheric keys have been part of their sound for a while, this finds them fully indulging in their love of Carpenter/Froese. It’s a match made in the deepest, darkest abyss.

Previous conflicts from CONFRONTATIONAL played more in the Italo giallo disco space.

On Cut [ N EWR ETR OWAVE] , the one-man masked murderer trades in his black leather gloves for black latex. Although there are still traces of the more melodic darksynth he’s used in the past, harsh EBM beats make this the most violent confrontation yet. It comes down to personal preference—I prefer the synthwave stuff, but this’ll definitely make for a great soundtrack to your local goth night. The highlights: “Replay” does a spine-tingling job of combining the two sounds, while the Carpenter-ized “The Chase” makes for a thrilling theme for running from a slasher killer.

Speaking of giallo, CONTAMINAZIONE take their name from Luigi Cozzi’s goofy 1980 Alien knockoff—not exactly the same genre, but close enough to make the cut.

Featuring musicians from Swede-metal acts like Gravmaskin and Century, their debut Pericolo Di Morte [ H ELTER SK ELTER / R EGA IN ] traffics in the kind of deadly dangerous sounds pioneered by Goblin and Fabio Frizzi. It’s a loving homage for sure, and unlike a lot of the one-man synth acts doing similar work, the presence of the full band gives terror themes like “Vivi Vilocemente, Muori Lentamente” the kind of deep red depth the old masters obtained. I’d be okay if they spread their contagion even further.

as it happened, from Seven Churches to Scream Bloody Gore, Severed Survival and Onward to Golgotha. Maintaining authenticity is therefore key to their craft.

Cemetery Paths is the second record by these classic DM disciples to be released on Bindrune Recordings—a label well-known for USBM; the rustic home to Panopticon, Nechochwen and others. This label choice makes more sense when you know that Bindrune’s figurehead, Marty Rytkonen, plays guitar in the Glorious Dead.

Rytkonen (a former scribe for Metal Maniacs) and co-guitarist/vocalist T.J. Humlinski—backed by the Neanderthal thud of drummer Chris Fulton

and bassist Chris Boris—tear through “Horizons of Ash,” “Daylight Graves” and the Incantationworthy “Corpse of the King” with fiery gusto, charging each gnarly riff transition with requisite face-grindin’ impact.

The album is leaden with such strong, sensible songwriting, devoid of any modern-day frills, and will undoubtedly appeal to anyone who still hasn’t had enough of late-’80s/early-’90s DM. On that basis, you will get exactly what you expect from these guys—particularly so if you’ve heard their 2020 debut, Into Lifeless Shrines, which gorged on the same putrid mana for inspiration as the new material. —DEAN BROWN

HIGH PRIEST

7

Invocation

MAGNETIC EYE

Spacegrass

There is a greater than average chance that the “high” in “High Priest” refers to the euphoric state induced by mind-altering substances. Savvy readers should already have a pretty good idea of Invocation’s general musical intent. Still, these Chicagoan stoners bring some potent strains to the party. It’s not just desert rock here—they draw from other sources, like classic alt rock à la Soundgarden, grand doom like Pallbearer and stoner pop like Torche. Admittedly not the widest or most unexpected field of influences, but it helps them stand out slightly from the crowd.

Most importantly, they know how to lock into a killer groove. The two highlights are the ones named after religious concepts: “Divinity” finds a heavenly rumble and closing track “Heaven” invites Queens of the Stone Age to rule its kingdom. It’s a little less satisfying when they go low and slow. “Cosmic Key” takes its time unlocking its stellar space, really taking flight when they apply more propulsion. “Universe” does the best job of drawing the listener into its mysterious galaxy. And when High Priest get real heavy, like on “Conjure,” their gravity well sucks in everything around.

Ultimately, it’s hard to judge this except on its own terms. It’s not like these clergymen attempt to discover new stars. Invocation mostly acts as an excuse to invoke the holiest of rituals: that of basking in the loving rays of an Orange amp. And at that, it succeeds divinely. —JEFF TREPPEL

JAG PANZER

8

The Hallowed AT O M I C F I R E

Plenty of destruction to go around

Metal is such a young genre that bands from four decades ago are just now becoming accustomed to growing old, and the misfit kids who followed them at the beginning are feeling it, too. Here’s a form of music that was dismissed in the ’70s and ’80s as music for young people, yet the old grayhairs won’t go away. We’re stubborn like that. For those old bands, especially the ones who’ve been slugging it out in the underground, one big challenge has been figuring out how to keep the creative juices flowing, to keep things fresh without becoming a parody of their former selves.

Jag Panzer had a good idea of their own last year, releasing a comic book based on the fantasy themes they’ve sung about since 1984’s Ample 76 : AUGUST 202 3 : DECIBEL

Destruction and following that up with a concept album as a companion piece. Because a concept album requires both a plot arc and a musical arc that reflects the storyline’s drama, it forced the band out of their comfort zone, and that sense of urgency is on full display on The Hallowed.

It’s their strongest album in eons, leaning hard into the swashbuckling sound they pioneered, only this time with stronger songwriting, stronger production and youthful exuberance that belies their age.

New guitarist Ken Rodarte forms a formidable tandem with founding member Mark Briody, while the inimitable Harry Conklin, whose voice is ageless, turns in towering performances on “Edge of a Knife,” “Bound as One” and the colossal closer “Last Rites.” You’re never too old for music this good. —ADRIEN BEGRAND

KILL DIVISION

6

The Thoughts and Prayers EP REDEFINING DARKNESS

Functioning on impatience

Kill Division is a pretty rad old-school grind band, as evidenced by their 2022 debut Peace Through Tyranny. Now, only about nine months later, The Thoughts and Prayers EP is out, and it’s not totally clear why that is.

The lineup is unchanged, including the two dudes who were in Malevolent Creation and drummer Dirk Verbeuren, from a thousand bands, who’s currently in Megadeth. This kind of muscle served them well on their album filled with originals. This EP, though, isn’t filled with originals. At about nine minutes, it’s actually barely filled at all. There are four tracks, with three of them being covers: “Memories of Tomorrow” by Suicidal Tendencies, “World Painted Blood” by Slayer and “Screaming at a Wall” by Minor Threat. All are odes that keep the spirit of the originals with some enhanced brutality, screams and well-placed blasting. Some may say that Hanneman’s missing solo is the best part of that Slayer song (like me; I would say that), but they’re still good.

Ironically, the title track/only original on here is grindless, leaning heavily on ’90s groove.

It has cool riffs and it’s pretty catchy, but when there is so little else to feast on, it lacks any genuine heft that would make it truly mandatory.

Which is to say that Kill Division made a neat little thing with The Thoughts and Prayers EP. But considering their last record is just old enough to crawl, they probably could have waited to put out something more substantial.

—SHANE MEHLING

KRIGSGRAV

9

Fires in the Fall W I S E B LO O D

This rules…

When Decibel covered Krigsgrav’s previous album, The Sundering, in 2021, we likened it to a lethal merge of Dawn, Katatonia and Wolves in the Throne Room. In a way, this still holds true. Fires in the Fall is the immediate—as written in nearly the same timeframe—successor. While still way (and probably unfairly) under the radar, David Sikora (all instruments), Justin Coleman (guitars) and Cody Daniels (guitars) show they’re going from strength to strength as they round the corner on their seventh full-length.

Fires in the Fall obviously has a Nordic peel, skyward in melodic disposition, yet devastating when it matters most. But under the mantle, Sikora spears the DNA of his influences into forming something distinctly Krigsgrav. Tracks like “An Everflowing Vessel,” “The World We Leave Behind” and “When I’m Gone, Let the Wolves Come” capture the essence of the title, as well as Cameron Hinojosa’s (Khemmis) autumnal-themed cover art. The rust of October and the inevitable death of winter permeate Fires in the Fall.

Mastery, however, comes in the form of “The Black Oak,” a track that reminds of 1994, but is expertly thrust into the present with its American directness. Really, the midsection alone is reason enough to pick up Fires in the Fall. Elsewhere, “Journeyman” posits deep thoughts while “In Seas of Perdition” sears the spiritual heart of complacency. Sikora’s wrathful vox have the desperation of Fredrik Arnesson and the hostility of Henke Forss. It’s understandable that newcomers Majesties are getting attention for their velvet creation, Vast Reaches Unclaimed, but it’d be absolute folly to sleep on the greatness that is Fires in the Fall. —CHRIS DICK

NATTEHIMMEL

8

Mourningstar HAMMERHEART

Do not go gentle into that good night

Nothing will ever match the transcendental magic that still emanates from those first three In the Woods… albums, Omnio in particular. If the Botteri twins themselves couldn’t pull it off with 2016’s return album Pure, certainly the sad excuse for In the Woods… that currently exists won’t either. But maybe what the Botteris needed was freedom from the weight of the name, shooting off towards a different kind of star.

Okay, Strange New Dawn’s two records are all right, but Nattehimmel, also featuring their

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SND companion S. Rothe on drums and Orcrypt members D. Carter on guitar and James Fogarty on vocals, is their best music since that immortal triptych. More black metal-oriented, though in that unmistakable stargazing, proggy, mazy kind of way, it refreshingly feels like a new entity, with its own universe to exist in. Honestly, if you hear this without knowing, those midperiod Katatonia-esque guitar leads could give you a hint, but it’s not until the seventh song, “Realm of Hades,” that a couple of totally In the Woods… bits really appear (if the guitar part that kicks in at 3:40 doesn’t transport you immediately to “299 796 km/s,” you need more Omnio in your life), and the ride is otherwise a very exciting one. Wavering between mournful yet catchy prog/doom and more forceful atmospheric black metal, Mourningstar is an inspired, inspiring, soaring journey among the stars.

James Fogarty is a crucial part of all this, too—though a part of the failed (artistically, at least) In the Woods… comeback, he fits Nattehimmel like a glove, crooning, speaking and screeching his way through an amazingly emotional and evocative performance. The album opens with the last two verses of that well known Dylan Thomas poem, and that’s precisely what these musicians have done with Mourningstar—the light is alive, and the rage has been worth it this time. —JOSÉ CARLOS SANTOS

RUÏM

7

Black Royal Spiritism – I: O Sino da Igreja PEACEVILLE

Return to the wolf’s lair

In a just world, Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen would be a household name.

Between his works in so many bands—Aura Noir, Ava Inferi, Vltimas and more—Blasphemer crafted unique, interesting works in a kaleidoscopic, metallic lens. However, where his newest band RUÏM is concerned, it’s Blasphemer’s work as Mayhem’s guitarist and primary songwriter that must be considered. Purportedly inspired by a formerly lost cassette containing unused Wolf’s Lair Abyss riffs, RUÏM’s debut, 25 years after the fact, continues to show just how timeless of a songwriter Blasphemer truly is.

Whether or not the riffs involved came from this mid-’90s cassette or were dreamt up within the past few years, the consistency found within portrays Blasphemer not only as a dependable songwriter, but also an identifiable one. It’s obvious that Blasphemer wrote this album, just as easy as it is to tell that he wrote Wolf’s Lair Abyss and Grand Declaration of War. The black metal presented here is strange, but still aggressive—Blasphemer’s signature sound.

There are jagged chords and weird harmonies, 78 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

and yet Black Royal Spiritism – I: O Sino da Igreja doesn’t come off as eggheaded. This is weirdo black metal for the people, not necessarily for the seasoned Ved Buens Ende and Deathspell Omega fan.

The only issue with RUÏM is how samey the album can get. Blasphemer can write a good song, for sure, but he wrote it a few times here, and at 49 minutes in length, Black Royal Spiritism – I: O Sino da Igreja ends up overstaying its welcome by a solid 10 minutes. Even so, this is pretty enjoyable—more so than your standard 1992-jerking affair. —JON ROSENTHAL

SARMAT

8

Determined to Strike I, VOIDHANGER

All that deathjazz

Have you ever imagined what it would sound like to have reality completely purged and scattered into oblivion? Perhaps it would sound something like most death metal. OK, but what if the purge and scattering was really confusing and oddly hypnotic? Then you’re probably getting close to what listening to this album feels like.

Sarmat’s Determined to Strike combines a lot of the vibe and technique of brutal technical death metal (or should I say technical brutal death metal… don’t answer that) with the jazzier influences well-known to fans of bassist Steve Blanco’s main band, Imperial Triumphant. The result is an impressive and immersive listen that holds onto brutality as the only tether to cohesion.

Whether you’re into this will largely depend on mood. If you simply come for the crushing grooves, dazzling riffs and mind-bending drums, there’s plenty here for you. But getting really into it demands an extra layer of concentration. It’s like back in the day when your friend would put on WinAmp and make you sit and watch the visualization function: “Trust me, bro, just watch and you’ll get it.” It probably was pretty cool, but you needed to be along for the ride.

That said, the ride is pretty rewarding, particularly on songs like “Arsenal of Tyranny,” which makes copious use of trumpets, and the title track, which is determined to make me like the saxophone. The latter shows the band at its best, with the most striking contrast between moody horn sections and absolutely nasty guitar and bass action.

Another major highlight is “Disturbing Advances,” which boats trumpet lines structured in a way that would normally be played by a lead guitar. It’s a fantastic union of chaos and precision that few other bands can match without being boring. —J. ANDREW ZALUCKY

THERAPY?

6

Hard Cold Fire MARSHALL

JAAW

7

Supercluster S VA R T

Class of ’94

This band’s name has always been the Jeopardy! answer to the question, “What you will need after listening to one of their albums.” Therapy? is basically the AC/ DC of incredibly depressing sad-sack parables transformed into earworms through the power of driving tempos and hooks. The Irish trio’s straightforward presentation hasn’t shifted that much over the last three decades: “Woe” is directed at an individual that does not spark joy, while the track that follows (“Joy”) is, in a twist that will shock almost no one, about experiencing the sensation of woe. Certainly, by now, Therapy? are serving up a stodgier porridge that kinda lodges itself in your gut, but to aid digestion, these dudes remain ruthlessly efficient songwriters; Hard Cold Fire presents 10 songs in just around 30 minutes, all of ’em pretty tethered to a verse-chorus-verse format. Sure, there are more major chords and uplifting moments on the band’s 16th (!) album, but for the most part, every single one of its moves—including re-teaming with producer Chris Sheldon—is designed to remind you that Therapy? brought you the stone-cold classic Troublegum.

For a different sort of nostalgia trip, there's also the post-industrial supergroup JAAW that prominently features Therapy? guitarist/ vocalist Andy Cairns. Supercluster draws heavy inspiration from vintage Godflesh and early Einstürzende Neubauten (particularly on “Rot”), but with a heavily syncopated sound that also recalls mid-’90s ambient and breakbeat music. The first half of the record pins the listener under a crushing weight, but Supercluster seems to lose the plot somewhere in the middle of “Bring Home the Motherlode, Barry.”

Ironically, JAAW present the same worldview as most Therapy? records, just with more sonic variance and a more urgently unpleasant curdle. Recommended for fans with facial hair of all types, not just goatees. —BOB A. O’REILLY

THRA

7

Forged in Chaotic Spew T R A N S L AT I O N L O S S

Slowly we slop

After deathly sludge riffs, churning waves of tribal toms and multi-tongued screams turn into a blasting section that recalls

Immolation in its strident nature, full-length debutants Thra finish opener “Flame Lurker” by kicking into a nasty hardcore beatdown. This Arizonan four-piece sounds very comfortable while moving through these styles—which is perhaps down to the fact that the aforementioned track had appeared on an EP from 2020 and Thra have been taking their time in honing their sound since forming in 2016.

But interestingly, the previously unreleased material with less gestation time sounds just as compositionally assured and stylistically clear.

While not as beholden to black metal as Inter Arma, there’s a comparison to be made in terms of how Thra combine Grief-like sludge—the nihilistic, caustic end of that subgenre—with death metal’s old- and new-school tenets. “Fracture” repetitively pounds a stellar doom riff into the dirt in emphatic fashion; “Drag” retains the noxious elements of sludge, but is much more animated rhythmically in its death metal-intocrust attack; while “Primordial Engorgement” and “Cosmic Scourge” take Autopsy and Incantation dank DM and combine that with the noisy squall of Iron Monkey.

Further development of this interesting sound by doubling down on the sheer sonic terror of sludge at its most effective (Take as Needed for Pain animalism comes to mind) could really make Thra stand out from what is a jam-packed scene full of talented new death metal bands that are vying for attention and creative acclaim. For now, the aptly titled Forged in Chaotic Spew is a strong opening statement. —DEAN BROWN

VOIVOD

8

Morgöth Tales CENTURY MEDIA

If I can’t have less göth, I’ll take Mor

For those unfamiliar with the project, Morgöth Tales is a compendium of re-recorded classics chronologically sequenced in celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary.

One of the principal factors distinguishing any D’Amour-era Voivod record, (excluding Katorz and Infini) lies in its production, and the band overtly toys with this device from track to track, evoking Angel Rat’s lonesome shimmer on “Nuage Fractal” as comfortably as it does the crummy, cassette-tape-hiss-fit of “Condemned to the Gallows.” It’s a neat touch, and yet— along with the utter faithfulness of the band’s performances—my initial playthroughs led me to wonder if Morgöth Tales would provide more long-term value if these songs were reimagined, as opposed to simply recited?

As a ride-or-die Voivod zealot since the ’80s, I’ll admit to feeling a whisper of discomfort as this mild reproach sank its chompers into me,

but I think the question’s legitimate. We don’t need another Voivod “best of,” and this may feel too close to that sort of joint for some. For my part, as I continued to mull this over repeated playthroughs, the joy that this current lineup breathes into each track thoroughly overthrew my persnickety ass. If what you’re looking for is a contemporary revision of vintage Voivod, well, we essentially already have that in the form of the excellent Target Earth LP. This ain’t that; this is basically a legacy band marveling at its reflection. (And what can I say? I’m here for it.)

It’s amazing to hear Voivod’s evolution demonstrated as a sort of auditory time-lapse. As ever, Away distinguishes himself as one of the most brilliant living rock/metal drummers, and the record’s sole new composition, the title track, divulges even more strangely colored pastures awaiting fans in the near future. Caveat emptor, guys, but my preorder’s in. —FORREST PITTS

VOMITORY

6

All Heads Are Gonna Roll M E TA L B L A D E

Bang the head that chooses to roll

Your humble narrator may be a nitpicky little soand-so, but there’s a nagging issue to be had with the title of Vomitory’s latest and ninth album, their first since 2011’s Opus Mortis VIII. If your band has been mostly silent since 2013—save for the occasional festival appearance and drummer Tobias Gustafsson and bassist/vocalist Erik Rundqvist turning up in the excellent Cut Up— and your return was designed to be a statement of violent intent into a world that has gotten increasingly violent in your absence, it might be best to reconnect with everyone available to reconnect with. Hence, exchanging Roll with Bang in the title might have been a better metallic populist call. That’s what metalheads have been doing with their noggins since the beginning and will be doing until the planet implodes.

Or maybe I’m just scrounging for an angle for an album that’s a decent shoulder shrug at best? Herein lies Vomitory in a nutshell. They’re a band of Sverige OGs, but have perpetually been sent down the right hand path when it comes to discussions about Swedeath’s historical madness.

But it’s not like they have anyone to blame but themselves. Like much of Vomitory’s discography, All Heads is serviceable thrashing death metal with the occasional standout moment. In this case, it’s the punky and melodic second halves of “Beg for Death” and the charmingly titled “Raped, Strangled, Sodomized, Dead”; the bouncy Bay Areameets-Entombed two-step of “Dead Man Stalking”; the minor-key blaze of “Disciples of the Damned” as well as various well-massaged guitar solos.

Working against those positives is Rundqvist’s dull, monochromatic bellow and how quickly they can turn against themselves. It’s actually shocking how they go from the fury of “Disciples of the Damned” to the painful ennui of “Dead World,” and how slowly the album comes out of the gate, as much of its dynamic excitement is located during the tail end. Which is more than a bit curious when your band is trying to reestablish itself and drive the point home about being mentioned in the same breath as their contemporaries. But that seems to be the Vomitory way: taking one step forward before taking two selfsabotaging steps back. —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

WILL HAVEN

8

VII

MINUS HEAD

Making their own luck

It’s easy to get caught in the excitement of a new album from a band that you’ve long admired and spew unfair hyperbole like “return to form” or whatever, but Will Haven never dropped below a constant level of excellence. Their career has been a continuous fine-tuning of the balance between relentless heaviness and intricate atmosphere.

So, it’s hard to put a finger on just exactly what it is about VII that makes it so goddamn enticing.

It’s not normal for an almost 30-year-old band to cause this with their seventh album, but as soon as first single “5 of Fire” kicks in (not counting “Wings of Mariposa,” the most direct, unfussy song on the album, already shared a year ago), you feel it in your gut straight away. Guitarist Jeff Irwin has called that song “the blueprint for this record (…) heavy, chaotic, with different moods and tempo changes,” but it mostly showcases those elements in a separate way—the brutal part, the atmospheric part, the build-up, the stompy, super-heavy closing part. It’s great to start things off, but the true genius comes later, when they find ways to merge all of those vibes.

“Evolution of Man,” with its almost unbearable tension caused by the vocal harmonies, the surreal “Paloma’s Blessing” (which builds into a massively brutal, yet deeply atmospheric landscape to such an extent that, when it ends abruptly, you’re shaken as if from an uneasy dream), the snarly menace of “Diablito” or the mournful despair of “No Stars to Guide Me”: all examples of how far Will Haven have come in their incessant exploration of their sound.

When the colossal dirge-like comedown of “La Ultima Nota” hits, you’ll be drained, dazed, but ultimately with a very full heart. Their best album yet? What the hell, why not cave in to excitement just this once? Yeah, it is.

—JOSÉ CARLOS SANTOS DECIBEL : AUGUST 2023 : 79

by

EUGENE S. ROBINSON

PARTYING WITH

PLOTKIN Let me just lay this out there,” she said, and it was an entreaty that beats its way to my door infrequently, but welcome whenever it does. “If I was going to party with anyone, it’d be you and Plotkin.”

Context-free like that, I was puzzled. First off… who the hell was Plotkin?

So, to the honchos at the once and mighty Hydra Head: Who the hell is Plotkin?

“You dumbass,” the voice on the phone was a little bolder than voices in person, but I love their old label manager Mark Thompson, so sidled by the saltiness. “You were just talking to him.”

Oh, THAT Plotkin. He of Khanate, a band I had come to love on account of sharing label space with them and being able to hear what they were wanting me to hear from top to grisly bottom. And the woman wanting to “party” with us?

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I look better in photos than I do in real life.” Which I heard as don’t NOT worry. I mean, in some sort of

80 : AUGUST 2023 : DECIBEL

Groucho Marx not wanting to be a member of a club that would have him as a member, the concern was always, “What kind of lunatic wants to party voluntarily with lunatics?” I couldn’t speak about Plotkin, as he had always seemed cordial, even tempered/sane in our frequent interactions. But me?

Not to talk down on myself, but traditionally the deal has been if you want to party with me, you’re all about those “anything can happen” days (or nights), and “anything” is an awfully wide portfolio. The difference between my anything and maybe the portion of the world that gets arrested for anything is that I am exceedingly upfront about my anything. Call it total disclosure, but I disclose.

“That’s fine,” she said, confidently. “As long as Plotkin is there.” A statement that stung a little—oh, just a little. I mean, we’re all stars of our own dramas, but being mindful of suddenly being thrust into the center of someone else’s? Strange. And strangely specific. I mean, who has fantasies about Eugene from Oxbow while

simultaneously having fantasies about James from Khanate?

But that something else that I heard, the something that bothered me, should have been understood as the foreshadowing it was. “As long as Plotkin was there.”

So, I checked. “Bro… you’re going to be there, right?”

Plotkin’s response was not encouraging: “Where?”

Then, a reminder. But it was trending right past tragic and into comic: “What?”

So, I had to remind him—and then a little bit of maybe muchneeded sane talk regarding the perils of meeting strangers for strange reasons and expecting not strange outcomes. That is, sane talk from him. To me. By way of a cautionary tale. Or a warning.

And I heeded it like I’ve heeded almost every other “don’t go in that bear cave if you don’t want to get mauled” warning I’ve ever gotten.

Then, this thinly veiled threat: “You just be there!”

If I had said this instead of written it, I might have heard Plotkin laugh. He’s a good guy, but he’s

taking orders from no one, let alone me. So, later, when she’s asking when Plotkin’s going to show up, though I firmly state that he’ll be at a place I have no idea if he’ll be at, she’s not convinced. But the party must continue.

“Here, take this…” she offers, and if you’ve ever seen a horror movie, you know this is the part where you’re screaming at the screen or wondering who exactly is stupid enough to do the kind of shit people do routinely in horror movies.

Me, that’s who. Even though I have some important stuff to do the next day, I figure what’s the worst that could happen?

Staggering through the streets later, I guess I know. She’s gone, Plotkin never showed, and I’m trying to maintain an upright position somewhere in midtown Manhattan where my mantra is, as always, don’t fall down, avoid the cops and try not to soil your pants.

I guess Plotkin tried to warn me.

I love Plotkin for trying to warn me.

But he really should have showed.

It’s part of the lunatic credo, you know? Well, I guess you wouldn’t.

ILLUSTRATION BY ED LUCE

LIMIT ED EDITI ON PICTU RE DISC BOX SET

OUT NOW

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PANTERA NORTH AMERICA 2023 TOUR DATES JUL. 13 - CADOTT, WI JUL. 15 - MANSFIELD, OH JUL. 28 - BURGETTSTOWN, PA JUL. 29 - NOBLESVILLE, IN JUL. 31 – MILWAUKEE, WI AUG. 02 - CAMDEN, NJ AUG. 04 - EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ # AUG. 05 - HERSHEY, PA AUG. 06 - SCRANTON, PA AUG. 08 - SYRACUSE, NY AUG. 09 - DARIEN CENTER, NY

AUG. 11 - MONTREAL, QC # AUG. 12 - TORONTO, ON AUG. 15 - ROGERS, AR AUG. 17 - WOODLANDS, TX AUG. 18 - ARLINGTON, TX # AUG. 20 - AUSTIN, TX AUG. 23 - DENVER, CO AUG. 25 - INGLEWOOD, CA # AUG. 26 - CHULA VISTA, CA AUG. 29 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT AUG. 31 - ALBUQUERQUE, NM SEP. 01 - GLENDALE, AZ #

SEP. 03 - PRYOR, OK SEP. 07 - BANGOR, ME SEP. 08 - GILFORD, NH SEP. 10 - ALTON, VA SEP. 12 - ALPHARETTA, GA SEP. 14 - VIRGINIA BEACH, VA SEP. 15 - BRISTOW, VA SEP. 23 - LOUISVILLE, KY OCT. 05 - SACRAMENTO, CA NOV. 03 - ST. LOUIS, MO # NOV. 10 - DETROIT, MI #

# - WITH METALLICA