Decibel #243 - January 2025 by Red Flag Media

BLOOD INCANTATION JUDAS PRIEST GATECREEPER REFUSE/RESIST

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JANUARY 2025 // No. 243

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PIG DESTROYER UNDEATH SWALLOW THE SUN THE GATES OF SLUMBER BUÑUEL BLACK CURSE KRUELTY

EXTREMELY EXTREME

January 2025 [R 243] decibelmagazine.com

upfront 10 metal muthas Lizard brain

14 haggus Mince meet core

12 low culture Conditional hails.......

16 new skeletal faces Vocalizing their praises

13 kill screen:

18 the gates of slumber Doomed to live

undeath

Word play

20 kruelty Work smarter not harder 22 buñuel Euro vision 24 black curse Super zeroes 26 swallow the sun Star light, star blight

features

reviews

28 q&a: pig destroyer Vocalist J.R. Hayes speaks from the gut on the 20th anniversary of Terrifyer

75 lead review The Gates of Slumber arise from their premature slumber, and true doom follows

32 the decibel

hall of fame New York metal lifers Krallice join the exploding ranks of forward-thinking USBM with their debut self-titled album— even if the black metal community weren’t hip to them

76 album reviews Don’t blame these records, they voted for Kodos, including Bedsore, Tribal Gaze and Panzerfaust 80 damage ink Feeling exposed

45 exclusive:

decibel presents the top 40 albums of 2024 Cry now, cry always

Still Alive COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY NIKOLAS BREMM

Decibel (ISSN 1557-2137) is published monthly by Red Flag Media, Inc., P.O. Box 36818, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Annual subscription price is $34.95. 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. © 2024 by Red Flag Media, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN 1557-2137 | USPS 023142 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

4 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

DEFY CONVENTION. EXPLORE DARK HORIZONS.

CHOICE CUTS FROM OUR DEATH’S HEAD PRESS IMPRINT

@deadskypublishinG

@deadskypub

www.decibelmagazine.com

because we haven’t shut the fuck up about it—Decibel turned 20 this year. At the risk of sounding fatalistic, it’s the kind of bittersweet achievement that reminds me that I’ve almost certainly seen more yesterdays than I will tomorrows. But if you think that I’m, uh, mature, consider that this month’s cover stars, Cirith Ungol, formed in 1971—four years before I was even born. Mind you, the Ventura, CA epic/ doom/fantasy metal progenitors took more than two of those decades off starting in the early ’90s, but since their 2015 reactivation, Ungol drummer and founder Robert Garven has made the most of the cult heroes’ second chance. After releasing a pair of stunning comeback albums and playing significantly larger shows than anytime during their initial run, the band announced that 2024 would be Cirith Ungol’s final year of performing live. This, of course, led to their current emotional run of final shows—including their first-ever Denver performance this December at Decibel’s Metal & Beer Fest—which, of course, has led to the band experiencing second thoughts about saying goodbye. That’s just one of the many ingredients in the 7-Layer Burrito of scrumptiousness that is Justin Norton’s cover story on Cirith Ungol, a band as precious to our longtime contributor as the deleted Taco Bell menu item I compared it to is your decrepit editor. As Garven, guitarist Greg Lindstrom and incomparable vocalist Tim Baker are all within spitting distance of 70, I couldn’t fault them for whatever path they ultimately choose. But if this truly is the final ride on the great black machine, Decibel is honored to be sitting shotgun in Denver. Hope to see you there. albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief

REFUSE/RESIST

January 2025 [T243]

As you may have noticed—largely 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

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michael@decibelmagazine.com CUSTOMER SERVICE

Patty Moran

COPY EDITOR

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BOOKCREEPER

Tim Mulcahy

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tim@redflagmedia.com CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

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Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR

Albert Mudrian

DECIBEL WEB AD SALES

James Lewis

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Anthony Bartkewicz Emily Bellino Adrien Begrand J. Bennett Dean Brown Liz Ciavarella-Brenner Chris Dick Sean Frasier Nick Green Raoul Hernandez John Hill Jonathan Horsley Neill Jameson Kim Kelly Greg Kennelty Sarah Kitteringham Daniel Lake Cosmo Lee Jamie Ludwig Shane Mehling Tim Mudd Justin M. Norton Dutch Pearce Forrest Pitts 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 $34.95. 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. Copyright ©2024 by Red Flag Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. PRINTED IN USA

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TAPPING THE VEIN DELUXE EXPANDED REISSUE EDITIONS OF THEIR CULT 1992 ALBUM 3LP+2CD DELUXE BOOKPACK / TRIPLE CD / DOUBLE LP / DIGITAL OUT 15TH NOVEMBER 2024

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THEIR CLASSIC EARLY ALBUMS NOW REMASTERED WITH BONUS TRACKS INCLUDING THE GROUND BREAKING KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS PARTS I AND II CD/DIGITAL

OUT NOW

READER OF THE

MONTH You are the founder (and we believe editor) of Dethrok magazine. Please tell us a bit about the publication and why aren’t you just doing a podcast like everyone else?

Deron Christman Kunkletown, PA

Decibel grew up in Wilkes-Barre, PA and has lived in various parts of the state, but has never heard of Kunkletown. What do we need to know about it? And why haven’t you started a beatdown hardcore band based there called Knuckletown?

Kunkletown is a very old village an hour south of Wilkes-Barre in the Pocono/Blue Mountains, and is famous for its fall foliage and a small ski resort. It’s a farmers’ area, and although there’s random automatic gunfire and loud-ass pickup trucks occasionally, it’s quiet and no one bothers you. Yes! Knuckletown beatdown! All breakdowns! Who wants in? Get at me!

8 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

Dethrok started as a radio show in 1998, which gave me access to bands for interviews and photos. I compiled tons of audio content from my time at the station, but it sat for years as I played in bands. In 2019, I put the first Dethrok magazine together as a physical format, and COVID added additional free time for production of more issues (#5 coming soon!). I didn’t start podcasting because everyone was doing it; plus, I didn’t know how (ya know, being old and all). However, I have recently figured it out and casted my first pod with Ron (RK) from Philadelphia’s Blasphemous. You’re a deluxe subscriber, which means you get a flexi disc each month. What’s your favorite entry in the Decibel Flexi Series, and what artist have we not featured that you’d like to see?

I was surprised as hell to find Undergang’s “Brusk” in the July [2024] issue! How they control the clarity of low tones in their music is amazing, and to see them recognized with a flexi makes it a standout among standouts in my

collection. I enjoy the variety of genres the series offers and would love to see bands like Peeling Flesh, Miasmatic Necrosis, Scissorfight, the Exploited and Xibalba, to name a few, enshrined on flex. In flex? bow flex? Funkmaster Flex?

Even though I enjoy a bit of hardcore, grind and slam in my metal, my family loves me just how I am, dammit. This issue features our annual internetbreaking Top 40 Albums of the Year list. Do you get angry about your favorite record not being ranked high enough, or do you have a family that loves you?

Mad? Nah. The Decibel staff are pretty accurate with reviews throughout the year. I respect everyone’s opinion regarding the year-end list, although I do like to fire one up, eat popcorn and read the comments. Yes, even though I enjoy a bit of hardcore, grind and slam in my metal, my family loves me just how I am, dammit. Especially my dad, who really gets a kick out of reading aloud band and album names from the glossary of Choosing Death!

ChuckBB.com / Instagram: @chuckbb_art

SONICTEMPLEFESTIVAL.COM

NOW SLAYING Wonder what Decibel world HQ has been rocking for the past month? Well, here are the records that we spun most while while hoping reading isn’t outlawed by the time you read this.

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

This Month’s Mutha: Claire Ginn Mutha of Hunter Ginn of Agalloch

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a 73-year-old mom of one son. I grew up in Augusta, GA, and saw James Brown and the Famous Flames over 30 times at the Belle Auditorium! I passed along my love of music to my son. I now live in Savannah, GA, close to Hunter. Most Metal Muthas tell us their kids who became drummers got their start banging on pots and pans in the kitchen. Does Hunter have a similar origin story?

Sort of. He beat the hell out of a corduroy ottoman with kitchen utensils. He loved playing along to Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” and the Chicago Bears’ “Super Bowl Shuffle.” We bought him a VHS copy of Def Leppard’s videos, and that’s when he really caught the bug! He played the guitar briefly, but it became clear to us that he was a born drummer. It was suggested that I inquire about “the Amphetamine Reptile incident of 1992.”

Ha! His granny was very accommodating. He wanted a copy of a Helmet record very badly, and asked my mother to write a check to “Amphetamine Reptile” to pay for it. When the package came to her house, there was a record called Dope-Guns-’n-Fucking in the Streets in it! I could have killed him! We’re told that you’ve bailed out Hunter’s bands (including Canvas Solaris) multiple times over the years. Does that mean monetarily, providing food and lodging, or something more juicy?

Oh lord. Lots of stories there. One of Hunter’s

bandmates asked to stay in our guest house for two weeks back in 2001. He moved out in 2012. One of Hunter’s friends called me from the Wake County Sheriff’s department in North Carolina. Hunter was in a bad state, too, but didn't get arrested. I had to give him money to bail out his friend the next morning. Hunter’s dad and I had to bail out Canvas Solaris’ keyboardist after he removed a boot from his car illegally and then got pulled over for driving drunk. I could go on for days. They got in a lot of trouble, but they were all good boys. They are still like family. What’s the story behind your misadventure after seeing Hunter perform at China’s Cantina in 1993?

Hunter’s first band, Revolver, used to play in this hole in the wall called China’s Cantina. He was 14 and I’m not sure how he managed to get in there. We loaded all of his gear back into our van and then went to Taco Bell. While he and his daddy were in the house eating their supper, I decided that I would help out by bringing some of his drums into the house. It was past midnight at this point, and a dew had developed on the ground. I had his cymbal case in my hands and slipped on the grass. I fell, the cymbals landed on me, and I broke my leg. They didn’t know until they came outside to look for me. I still remind him of that. What is something that most Agalloch fans would never suspect about your son?

He tries to act like a tough metalhead, but he is actually a very kind-hearted son and father to his little girl. —ANDREW BONAZELLI

Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f  New Skeletal Faces, Until the Night  Dismember, Where Iron Crosses Grow  Darkest Hour, Undoing Ruin  Demolition Hammer, Epidemic of Violence  Cirith Ungol, Forever Black ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e  Misfits, Static Age  Samhain, III: November-Coming-Fire  T.S.O.L., Dance With Me  Horrendous, Ecdysis  Terminal Nation, Echoes of the Devil's Den ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s  Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtracks  Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories  Vomit Forth, Terrified of God  Restless Dreams, Restless Dreams  Amser Segur and Nyx Bruxa, Secrets of Vallaki ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r  Undeath, More Insane  Crypt Sermon, The Stygian Rose  Full of Hell, Coagulated Bliss  Summoning the Lich, Under the Reviled Throne  The Black Dahlia Murder, Servitude ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s  Mammoth Grinder, Undying Spectral Resonance  Blasphemous, To Lay Siege and Conquer  Nirvana, Sticky Boredom: Live at U4, Wien, Austria, Nov 22nd 1989  Exodus, Bonded by Blood  Blood Incantation, Absolute Elsewhere

GUEST SLAYER

---------------------------------Brody Uttley : RIVERS OF NIH IL / NEW MIS ERA B LE EXP ERIENCE

 Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future  Crippling Alcoholism, With Love from a Padded Room  The Cure, Songs of a Lost World  Sigur Rós, Kveikur  Neil Young, After the Gold Rush PHOTO BY

10 : J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 : D E C I B E L

ALYSSA LORENZON

Fate/stay night Remastered [TYPE-MOON/ANIPLEX INC.]

I Got Fenriz Blue efore you say anything, yes, this

year is not over and no, we didn’t “forget” your band—you just didn’t release a good record. I think I’ve gone over the whole “why” of the Decibel Top 40 being “early” every year and how print publishing works a few times already, so we’ll skip it. Go to your local library and read whatever back issues I wrote this shit in. Try to avoid the unhoused gentleman jerking off by the kids section, if at all possible. We’re all going through something. For two consecutive years I’ve written blurbs about my favorite records of the year, with 2023 being somewhat predictable (if you follow me on social media, which you probably shouldn’t): Kommodus’ Wreath of Bleeding Snowfall. My favorite this year, however, was a bit of a curveball: Darkthrone’s It Beckons Us All……., a record that I spent at least 150 words shitting on without ever hearing in one of my Invisible Oranges columns I rarely—if ever—get paid for. I’ve previously written about having a complicated relationship with Darkthrone, and I had stopped paying attention when Fenriz got unsupervised access to an iPhone and filmed TikTokready videos. I figured they were just going to continue to indulge themselves and I’d spend my time elsewhere while still having the warm and fuzzies for the first four or five records, plus Ravishing Grimness and Sardonic Wrath, the latter being my most-listened-to Darkthrone record of all time. Then I was in my car and, because I hate myself, I keep the Spotify DJ on, whose recommendations are generally dogshit with some horseshit sprinkles for added mouth feel. The record’s lead single, “Black Dawn Affiliation,” appeared, and I wasn’t instantly tempted to turn 12 : JANUARU Y 2025 : DECIBEL

it off. The opening riff was enough to keep me interested. It was… dark! And yes, it’s loaded with fist-banging heavy metal feeling, but not in the way I expected. It felt like Darkthrone again. Now, all of this sounds like I haven’t enjoyed them since the mid-’00s, which isn’t the case at all. As recently as 2019’s Old Star, I’ve found a lot to like, but it seemed as though I’d skip a record or two to find one I dug. 2013’s The Underground Resistance was the first bad taste in my mouth and 2021’s Eternal Hails...... was where I got off. It just felt like a continuation of the odd rewriting of history, like the “lost” third Isengard record. I didn’t buy that Fenriz would have called a record in the mid-’90s “Cult Metal” then, and I sure as shit don’t now. I did appreciate the “fuck you” that the cover of Astral Fortress was, looking like an invitation to Fenriz’s ice skating birthday party, and I respected that they obviously didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought about their direction. There were plenty of other records to listen to instead. But I found myself preordering It Beckons Us All……., and then actually getting pissy when my copy was delayed because of a vinyl pressing plant issue. When it finally arrived, I spun it over and over, like a teenager again. And I’ve kept listening to it, months later, to the point where I can say that more than just “liking” the record, like the last few I dug, I fucking love this one. It’s my favorite since Sardonic Wrath. So, not only was I wrong about the record, but I was very publicly wrong in front of the 11 people (and few hundred bots) that read my IO column, as well as people on my social media spots. And, unlike everyone I’ve ever been romantic with, I’m glad to be wrong this time. Will it ever be like this again? Who knows, but for now (and finally again), all hail Darkthrone!

ALEXANDER JONES OF

UNDEATH HAS ALL THE BEST WORDS

iven our regular history of discussing topics such as the punishing difficulty of FromSoft games or the lurking horrors of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, you can forgive us for not immediately anticipating visual novels popping up in the Kill Screen arcade. For Alexander Jones of Undeath, however, it’s this super-saccharine Japanese gaming export that he finds himself regularly binging. Who can blame him? After spending months on the road growling songs with titles like “Disputatious Malignancy” and lyrics about eating human flesh, Jones prefers to unwind with a light-hearted rom-com concerning godlike furries saving the world (more on that in the online portion of this interview). Though Jones is not the primary lyricist for the band—guitarist and first-ever Kill Screen player character Kyle Beam handles those responsibilities—the frontman has self-published his own poetry and continues to write, presumably not about killing people. Lack of experience doesn’t denote a lack of enthusiasm from Albert’s increasingly regrettable co-nerds, and one of death metal’s most promising prospects has much to say on our digital blind spot.

Getting home from [tour], sometimes the last thing I want to do is immediately hop on Counter-Strike or something and

JUST GET SCREAMED AT BY RUSSIAN 12-YEAR-OLDS.

I [Michael] kind of get the impression that either a game is entirely a visual novel and text-based, or it’s a visual novel in service of another main gameplay loop. Something like BlazBlue is lumped in with visual novels, even though it’s also a fighting game. Is it the visual novel aspect that’s the bigger draw for you, or do you have a particular gameplay loop that the visual novel is in service of that [you prefer]?

That’s a great question. The Utawarerumono games, they’re very unique in what I have experienced, at least in visual novels. There is a very nice loop, as you described it, between the RTS elements and the visual novel elements, and that’s something that I specifically like about those games. But typically, I just really enjoy the pure, unadulterated story aspect of them. I love highly engaging, challenging video games as much as the next person, but there’s something about just opening up a visual novel and just pressing left click for two hours and just getting through another couple of chapters of a story, putting it down and moving on. There’s a very Zen quality to it and it’s very emotionally restorative, I would almost say, especially after something like being on tour where your attention is required at all times for all things. You kind of need to always be on and you have very little time to yourself to unwind. Getting home from that, sometimes the last thing I want to do is immediately hop on Counter-Strike or something and just get screamed at by Russian 12-year-olds.

I want to just open a visual novel and just lose myself in a very relaxing experience. You are a writer yourself. Even if you’re not the primary lyricist in Undeath, you do poetry as well. Have you found visual novels to have any kind of impact on your writing after playing so many of them?

Yeah, absolutely. The Fate series in particular I find to be very inspiring just because it’s full of a lot of great imagery and a lot of really cool world-building. I’ve actually got a note on my phone that’s just terms that I’ve read in the Fate visual novels that I’ve written down because they’re so cool. [Laughs] So, these are things that leak into other stuff, obviously, if you took the time to make notes of this.

Oh, totally. The name of the note is “Fate words that are cool.” I’ve got it right here: “blade of mirages,” “inverse impulse,” “serpent apocrypha.” [Laughs] I don’t know if that stuff is necessarily bleeding into my poetry, but I have aspirations of someday maybe doing a one-man Fate grind project. That would probably be the note that I return to over and over again. You could do shows with [Houkago Grind Time/Ripped to Shreds main man] Andrew [Lee]. That’d be great!

That’ll be the greatest thing that all six people at the show have ever seen. [Laughs]

CONTINUE AT DECIBELMAGAZINE.COM PHOTO BY A.J. KINNEY

DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 13

HAGGUS

nless jan ag and the members of Agathocles have meticulously submitted all the necessary recordings and paperwork requirements to an aligned songwriters’ society and retained their publishing rights, there’s a good chance that mincecore pays fewer of the bills that any other subgenre of “insert prefix here”-core. If you’re playing mincecore—that particular subset of grind “with an emphasis on musical simplicity, a DIY ethic and a political message of anarchism and anti-oppression”—you’re definitely doing it out of love and because you have something to say. Like admitted Agathocles replicants Haggus. ¶ Formed in Oakland in 2014 by guitarist/ vocalist Hambone (a.k.a. Tom Officer), Haggus was created “to worship Agathocles and reintroduce radical punk ideals into the current apathetic grindcore scene through the tactic of combining catchy, melodic punk riffs and brutal, pitch-shifted goregrind vocals. Being vegan/vegetarian for many years and finding a lack of compassion among peers in the U.S. grind scene, 14 : JA NUA RY 2025 : DECIBEL

I set out to start a project based around being openly against the meat industry. For the sake of irony, I set out to find the grossest meat product I could find for the band name and landed on Haggis. The spelling was changed almost immediately after discovering the Nazi skinhead band from Norway.” Since then, Hambone has upheld the left-wing politics and radical punk ethics of his Belgian heroes, and attempted to match their workhorse attitude by “releasing an excessive amount of material in short amounts of time.” Countless splits, EPs, compilations, compilation appearances and four full-lengths of “contagiously catchy and comically simple [riffs and songs]” bolstered by the ski-mask industry have been scattered throughout the underground via DIY channels, microlabels and distros. For Haggus in 2024, Hambone, drummer Big Turk and bassist/vocalist Mister Brisket

teamed up with Tankcrimes to issue two EPs: 3 Cadavers, 2 Corpses and a Carcass and No End in Suffering. “Our initial plan was to drop a new LP,” Hambone explains, “but I had two brand new sessions, so we figured what better way to introduce the partnership than to unexpectedly drop two new EPs at the same time. The EPs are vastly different, but nothing too far out of our wheelhouse. 3 Cadavers is a fresh take on our traditional, catchy brand of mincecore, but in a much lower tuning [drop G!]. No End in Suffering is much more experimental in the sense that we purposely used riffs and tempos we had never previously used. Like all our past releases, both EPs were recorded by me in our rehearsal studio, but since they were our introduction to Tankcrimes, we wanted to have them professionally mixed and mastered, which we rarely do.” —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

PHOTO BY HAMBONE

HAGGUS

Masked mincecore marauders avoid LP runtimes via two new EPs

NEW SKELETAL FACES

Only death rock is real on trio’s Peaceville debut

an increasingly and inevitably genre-less landscape, where all styles fuse and morph and breed together, influence becomes landmark. Feral SoCal trio New Skeletal Faces lists a bevy of 1980s punk/goth/ noir acts with taut basslines and vampiric tempos, but main man Errol Fritz still greets their citation—Gun Club, T.S.O.L., the Damned—like a long-lost fiend. ¶ “I respect you bringing up Lords [of the New Church],” writes the bandleader. “They’re underrated and a personal favorite of mine. I started getting into that stuff in my late teens. I played in punky death rock bands before, but I got bored and wanted to take it to another level. I was always into extreme metal and hard rock stuff, so I incorporated more of that into my sound. ¶ “I kinda said, ‘Fuck it, let’s do this bold new sound no one else has done.’ It came naturally.” ¶ Confirmed—all of the above. Second full-length Until the Night (Peaceville) leaps and bounds past 2019 debut Celestial Disease. The production uptick matches compositional ascension and tears off a gleeful face-ripper. 16 : JA NUA RY 2025 : DECIBEL

Firestarter “Disexist” sets off loping bass, gunning guitars and commando drums, yet gathers ultimate meaning as pieced through by Fritz’s keening cry from the tomb. Anguish and torment pitch at a strangely beckoning threshold—pinching pulling, clawing. Said crypt kicker could incant pretty much anything in that howl and turn heads while chilling a few black hearts. “People either love my vocals or hate them,” Fritz confesses. “Probably hated most. I’ve faced a lot of rejection for my style. I don’t consider myself a singer, though. I’m a vocalist. Pretending to shriek 100 percent of the time like most bands do now is worn out. It no longer sounds extreme or disturbing like it once did. I listen to a lot of punk and New Wave. It’s mostly about being expressive, not technically skilled.” Maybe not, but the wailing “Wombs” draws its nails across your ears and throats like John

Lydon—ditto “Enchantment of My Inner Coldness”—and said Pistol remains the most operatic singer this live music capitalist ever witnessed outside Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Fritz sounds Rotten to the core. “I’m no stranger to this comparison,” he affirms. “PIL and Sex Pistols are always on heavy rotation. John Lydon is a ‘real one.’” Bathory cover “Raise the Dead” closes Until the Night. Which begs the question: If he’s directing a Bathory biopic, what’s that look like? “Shouldn’t Jonas Åkerlund direct that?” chimes in drummer/guitarist/keyboardist and San Diego’s Cosmic Void Recording Studio owner Don Void. “He was in Bathory, though I’m sure people would have strong opinions for and against that.” “I’d call it Woman of Dark Desires,” ventures Fritz. “Let your imagination run wild…” —RAOUL HERNANDEZ

THE GATES OF SLUMBER

Underground heroes re-open the gates to true doom

hen karl simon laid the Gates of Slumber to rest in 2013, he never imagined the band would rise again from its tomb. The Indianapolis doom trio had to pass on a crucial direct support slot for Church of Misery, a tour that could have pushed them to the next level. Sadly, they couldn’t get it together and had to go on an indefinite hiatus as they worked on getting clean. Not long after, in 2014, bassist Jason McCash tragically died of a heroin overdose, and Simon announced the band would never reunite. ¶ “At that point, there was just no way the band could continue. It’s dead, it’s done,” Simon says. “I’d known him since we were teenagers. I couldn’t even form sentences after I found out.” ¶ Inspired by Trouble offshoot the Skull, Simon started a new band, Wretch, named after the Gates of Slumber’s then-final LP The Wretch. But after getting bombarded with reunion requests to play 2020’s Hell Over Hammaburg festival in Germany, Simon has brought the band back, along with a massive self-titled LP via Svart. 18 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

New music wasn’t originally part of the plan, but it was hard to stop once things started falling into place during rehearsals. By reuniting with original drummer Chuck Brown and bringing in new bassist Steve Janiak, Simon has refined their sound into the purest form of doom. Simon cranks out riffs that are both colossal and patient, with songs like “We Are Perdition” taking their time to build, allowing the music to grow into something truly massive and crushing. A highlight of the record is “The Fog,” which pays homage to Simon’s love for the classic John Carpenter film. “There was an interview Sting did with Rick Beato… and hear me out for referencing Sting in a doom metal interview,” Simon jokes, “but Sting talked about going for a walk with his headphones, just listening

to the music. So, I spent a lot of time walking, listening to those riffs and trying to figure out, ‘What does this evoke?’” Mixing the ghost story told at the beginning of The Fog with a nod to Penance’s “A Wayfarer’s Tale,” Simon and the band crafted a doom track that conveys an intense sense of dread and tension. For their next release, Simon is planning to transform some of McCash’s last compositions into a new song to honor his legacy. That said, going full-time or heavily touring isn’t in the cards, as Simon is caring for his ailing father. “I’m just happy to be here and happy to be talking to you, that anybody cares that I play guitar,” Simon explains. “Listening to this record, I thought this would never happen again, but it did.” —JOHN HILL

KRUELTY

Tokyo hardcore deathcrushers work to keep ruling

hen decibel reaches zuma, frontman for Tokyo death squad Kruelty, he’s sitting in a van somewhere between Louisville and Atlanta. The American interstate system has been his home away from home for the past few years. In 2024 alone, Kruelty have been on three full U.S. tours, and setlist.fm data says they’ve now played more total shows in America than in Japan. ¶ “There are just a bunch of opportunities in this country, music-wise, compared to sticking to Asia,” Zuma explains. “We cannot play Tokyo every week. But here, there’s a bunch of cities in the country, so we have many places to play. I think that’s one of the reasons we’re coming over here a bunch of times. We come here often, but we still have many cities that we’ve never played. And we just [started] doing good over here recently, so I don’t want to lose the hype.” ¶ That same logic would surely apply to any number of Japanese metal bands, but Kruelty are practically the country’s only representative on the U.S. club circuit. Why can’t you see Intestine Baalism or Coffins on a Tuesday night in Greensboro, NC?

20 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

Zuma blames capitalism: “Everyone is a workaholic in Japan. There’s almost no paid time off.” Kruelty’s secret weapon? Zuma has his own company. The band’s not-so-secret weapon, of course, is their killer songcraft, which has grown sharper against the honing rod of the road. On the punishing Profane Usurpation EP, Kruelty sound more confident than ever in delivering their proprietary blend of OSDM, sludgy death/doom, frantic grind and beatdown hardcore. There could be some additionby-subtraction there: Original vocalist Tatami quit shortly after the release of 2023’s Untopia, and with a full year of touring already on the books, Zuma assumed his responsibilities, working himself into double-duty shape on the fly. “I practiced a lot,” he says. “But we were not only playing weekenders. We were touring, so I was playing and singing the same songs for 30 days.”

As well as being the recorded debut of Kruelty’s trio configuration— Zuma on guitar/vox, his wife Seina on bass, Mani on drums— Profane Usurpation marks the first time Zuma has written for his own voice. Both changes helped reinvent the band. All four songs on Profane Usurpation are brutally direct, composed with the live stage in mind. “There are a couple songs off Untopia that I cannot play and sing,” Zuma says. “Before Tatami had quit, I was always just making songs, you know? But now, when I come up with a riff, I’m also thinking about how the vocals should be.” Even with its directness, Profane Usurpation retains the genre-splicing glee at Kruelty’s core. Zuma particularly enjoys seeing the way that lends itself to eye-of-the-beholder interpretations. “For our doomy parts, some kids might think, ‘Oh, this sounds like hardcore,’” he says. “But doom fans and sludge fans will think, ‘This is doom as hell!’” —BRAD SANDERS

BUÑUEL

IT’S

nice having a place to go,” Eugene Robinson says, his voice expressing both chirpiness and solemnity. As the Buñuel vocalist and overseer of Decibel’s back page column navigates the mean streets of the Bay Area during our Zoom call, he sets the interview’s theme. Or at least part of the interview because, as many of us know, a Robinson conversation (or written piece) weaves in sweeping thematic and elemental spectrums along the path to making his point. ¶ In this first instance, he’s referring to how, after the dissolution of OXBOW last summer, he landed firmly on his feet in Buñuel. He’d like you to know, however, this isn’t a rebound situation. Robinson has been fronting Buñuel since 2016 and bridging the gap between himself and Milan-based members, guitarist Xabier Iriondo, bassist Andrea Lombardini and drummer Franz Valente. He butted heads with his Azzurri-loving counterparts about featuring guns and bullets on the cover of 2022’s Killers Like Us. Then, there was that time on tour in Bristol, U.K. when, “there was a hotel screw-up and I was like, ‘No problem, I’ll sleep in the van.’

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That’s a basic part of American touring life, but they were superupset and insulted. It was cute they cared that much. [Laughs]” Mansuetude is Buñuel’s latest and most aggressively varied take on avant-garde, post-punk hardcore and experimental noise rock; an album belied by its title, which translates to “meekness” or “gentleness,” and one benefiting from Robinson’s present laser-sighted focus, though this was already part of the plan before walking from OXBOW. “Nothing different happened,” he says. “After [OXBOW’s] Love’s Holiday, the first half of 2025 was going to be about Buñuel anyway. But with the change, all business got put towards Buñuel, which means the possibility of touring Australia, South and North America.” Having stood center stage with Buñuel for four albums, with the majority of the band’s focus and live experience occurring overseas—early tours were more like

two-week smatterings of dates around Italy—has accelerated Robinson’s decision to get the hell out of Dodge in favor of the Old World. That and “being able to step out of the house and not think about murder.” He cites a gun battle that broke out on his block that had his four-year old daughter ducking behind parked cars to avoid stray bullets, and how insufficient medical insurance makes “it expensive to grow old in America,” as two of the straws that shattered the camel’s back. Not to mention that living in Europe will make life in Buñuel easier for all involved. “For what I’m paying for in California,” he reveals, “in southeastern Spain I’m getting an 8,000 square-foot house on an 11,000 square-foot plot with a pool and hot tub, three kilometers from the beach. Why wouldn’t I leave? Outside of all the British and Dutch gangsters who go there to retire, I don’t think I have much to worry about!” —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE PEJSKAR

BUÑUEL

Noise rock legend Eugene Robinson rolls with the (and throws a few more) punches

OUT NOVEMBER 15TH LP / DIGITAL CLOSEDCASKETACTIVITIES.COM

BLACK CURSE

Denver death/black metal machine suffers; here’s why

warning to those writing about Black Curse: They’re not, under any circumstance, a supergroup. ¶ “If anybody wants me to set the record straight,” says Eli Wendler, “I’ll tell you how unimportant we all are.” ¶ The guitarist/vocalist is very clear that the blackened death band—consisting of members from, among others, Spectral Voice, Primitive Man and Khemmis—should not be smeared with that distinction. But it’s also difficult to hear their new full-length, Burning in Celestial Poison, and not think the group is doing something pretty special. ¶ “[2020 debut album] Endless Wound was something we wrote over the course of like five years, and we never shared it outside of the rehearsal space,” says Wendler. “So, despite all that time being familiar with the material, it wasn’t until after we recorded it that we played live. And it was a completely different thing.” ¶ If there is one concession most musicians will make, it’s they have no objective understanding of what their music actually sounds like, 24 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

and these Denverites immediately realized their “atmospheric, sinister and brooding” project was far more destructive. “Playing live opened up this entire new element to those songs,” Wendler continues. “Basically, that shifted our perspective as to what new material would be. So, we went into this record trying to harness that same ferocity that was unleashed to us onstage and basically upping the ante on every level.” This goal quickly manifests itself on the album, as five tracks go far beyond their debut, testing the mental endurance of both those listening and performing. “There is a cathartic feeling that you get from playing this where it’s almost like a fist fight, you know?” Wendler says. “And that’s a really crazy feeling to anybody who’s had fists thrown at their face. There’s not a lot of things that give you that. And, I think, that was

unconsciously behind everything, to be like, ‘No, it’s not intense enough.’ “And there’s another aspect where a lot of bands I listen to now, it feels like they’re just playing rock ‘n’ roll, man. And that’s something I personally have no interest in. If I watch a band or I’m listening to a record and don’t feel some type of pain or excruciation coming from the musicians, it leaves something to be desired. And that was a huge underlying influence, beyond the structure or songwriting; more the feeling and emotion we’re pulling out of the music. That was our guidepost.” All of this is perfectly embodied on Burning in Celestial Poison and will be presented live as often as the members’ other musical priorities allow. Just don’t forget: Black Curse are not a supergroup. “We’re just guys,” Wendler says. “I work in a coffee shop.” —SHANE MEHLING

SWALLOW THE SUN

SWALLOW THE SUN Finnish death-doom act positively crushes it on new album

wallow the sun are known for creating some of the darkest death-doom around—literally, in the case of an almost-unbroken stretch of black album covers stretching back over their near quarter-decade as a band. And yet, the cover of their ninth studio album, Shining: white. And unlike with Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, the color reflects the sound within. The production is bright, it’s powerful, it’s almost… poppy? ¶ Singer/guitarist Juha Raivio was just as startled when he got the mix back from producer Dan Lancaster (Bring Me the Horizon, Muse). “I remember when I started to get the first mixes of the songs. And I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ And then I listened to it again. I’m like, ‘Well, it is Swallow the Sun, but what the fuck is this?’ And then I listened to it a third time, and I was like, ‘Fuck it.’ And then the fourth time it was like, ‘Fucking yes, great!’” ¶ The Finnish act is no stranger to mixing things up—their discography includes a triple album— 26 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

but it was a very deliberate choice this time to hire an unexpected producer. “It was quite nice to work with somebody who [has] totally fresh ears and comes from a totally different background, producer-wise,” Raivio continues. “It was my only rule: If we’re going to work with any producer, it must not be some basic metal producer or who has done like 10,000 of the same kind of bands. It has to come [from someone] who has basically no idea about the style and overall, not even that much of a metal producer. It was a very needed fresh set of ears after fucking 25 years. How many people even stay married for 25 years and they don’t change their wife or man? [Laughs] “Dan didn’t change anything with the music, but everything else, what he brought to the table was a huge

part about the sound and how the album feels, the power and all those things. So, yeah, it really made the album shine—in a good or in a bad way. It depends on the listener.” Which isn’t to say the bright production reflects the lyrical content or the heaviness of the songs. They’re still just as heavy and the lyrics, while oblique, are just as depressing. “Even though the music is more powerful, more uplifting in that way,” Raivio says, “still, it’s very, very far from any happy or positive album or music. Especially lyric-wise, there is a theme in this one in that I’m mirroring myself a little bit more. So, in a way, it is a positive thing that at least you try to log the faults, the good and the bad things about yourself [rather] than just to go on and be a total asshole through your whole life.” —JEFF TREPPEL

interview by

QA j. bennett

WIT H

PIG DESTROYER frontman on 20 years of the band’s classic Terrifyer

28 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

IT’S

not Montezuma’s Revenge, I don’t think, the lyrics for Terrifyer, with different lines, differ-

but it’s somebody’s revenge.” Pig Destroyer vocalist J.R. Hayes is just back from the band’s headlining appearance at the Off Limits Festival in Mexico City. He’s suffering from a stomach bug, but he says he had it before the VA grind kings went south of the border. “I didn’t get a chance to really sample the local cuisine, which sucks. But we were only there for a little over 24 hours.” ¶ Believe it or not, Hayes’ gastrointestinal health is not the occasion for our chat. The reason is the 20th anniversary of Pig Destroyer’s groundbreaking third album, Terrifyer. As the follow-up to their 2001 Decibel Hall of Famer Prowler in the Yard, Terrifyer took Pig Destroyer’s creepy horror grind to the next fucked-up level with whiplash blitzkriegs like “Torture Ballad,” “Gravedancer” and “Thumbsucker.” This 2004 climax of guitarist/producer Scott Hull’s relentless riffery, drummer Brian Harvey’s fleet-footed blasts and Hayes’ gruesomely poetic lyrics also came with an audio-only DVD featuring the band’s sinister 38-minute slow jam “Natasha” in 5.1 Surround Sound. ¶ Fast forward to right about now, and Relapse is reissuing Terrifyer with demos, rarities and liner notes by Hayes himself. Our man recently gave us the rundown.

Can you believe it’s been 20 years since Terrifyer came out?

tattoos or photos from shows. We packed it about as full as we possibly could.

It feels like it’s been 50 years. It’s a question of time or mileage we’re talking about, I guess. But it feels so long ago—a different lifetime.

What kind of memories came back as you were looking through those notebooks?

You had a big hand in assembling the 20th anniversary reissue. What was that process like?

I wrote some liner notes, and I went back through my journals from back then. I don’t really use old lyrics, typically. Once a record’s done, I might keep a couple things around to go into the next album with, but usually I like the next album to be different. I’m more about what I’m doing in the moment rather than what I did a long time ago, so I don’t usually go back through my old shit. But I went through three or four different Terrifyer notebooks and found a bunch of stuff. I put a lot of it in the packaging for the reissue. There’s probably six or seven sets of lyrics that never got used. There’s also earlier versions of some of the lyrics or things that I took a couple lines out of and threw the rest away. I tried to include everything I could find. We made a concerted effort to find old photos and show flyers and some unused artwork that Chris [Taylor] had from the session. We even put out a thing on Instagram to the fans for them to submit things. Some of them were just pictures of them in their Terrifyer shirt. Other people had PHOTO BY CHANTIK PHOTOGR APHY

Some of them were like a-ha moments, where you’re like, “Okay, I remember writing this.” Even though I had forgotten about it. But I found other things that I have no recollection of ever putting together. There were also things that were kinda scrawled, which usually means that I woke up in the middle of the night, wrote four or five lines down in the dark and then went right back to sleep. But it was cool. How do the unused lyrics hold up for you?

I wrote about this in the liner notes. I hope people don’t get too judgy with it because some of them were not finished—and kind of obviously not finished. And some of them actually were finished, but I ran out of songs to put them on, or they didn’t fit on riffs that we had. I mean, there probably could’ve been 40 pages of shit I could’ve put in there. A lot of it doesn’t hold up or was misguided or whatever, but I found between six and 10 things that I thought were legit and I put them in there. Do you usually write way more lyrics than you need for a record?

Yeah. I refine things a lot and I’m picky about stuff. There were probably three dozen versions of

ent titles. It takes a long time for me to chisel it down to where I’m happy with it. I’m just really picky and I try to have a high standard. I think my instincts are pretty good, most of the time, about what works and what doesn’t. I don’t have a lot of lyrics that I’ve put out there that I regret writing. I don’t even know if I have any, honestly. I think that’s more of a testament to how much time I put into the preparation and the writing aspect to try to make it as good as I can. Was there a theme that you were working with— or that presented itself—as you were writing the Terrifyer lyrics?

I think I felt pretty methodical about it. There wasn’t really any down time between Prowler and Terrifyer. We were already working on Terrifyer before Prowler even came out. We just kinda kept writing, so we were in the same zone that we were in with Prowler—and we extrapolated on it. People don’t believe me when I say this, but Prowler in the Yard was kind of an accidental concept album. I just had a bunch of shit, we put it all together, and it just worked. The artwork, the story, the lyrics, the recording—it all had a vibe that came together, but it wasn’t designed that way. Once it happened, it was like, “Well, this worked out cool.” With Terrifyer, it was more deliberate in all the things that we brought together for it. I had a better idea of how to tie things together. Whereas with Prowler, we just kinda got lucky. How would you characterize that theme?

It’s a lot of the same things from Prowler—and all of our records: obsession, religion, sex, violence and the intersections of all those things. And then bringing together all our musical and lyrical influences. We all like so many different kinds of things, and we’ve always been that way. Even though we’re a grindcore band, we’ve always been into doom and punk and sludge. It’s always been there. It just doesn’t always come out the same. I feel like that came through in your music even before you did “Natasha.” There would be doom parts or sludgy parts—however fleeting— in many of the songs.

Being into absurdly fast music, I think it just makes sense to be into absurdly slow music. It’s the other extreme, so why wouldn’t I like it? A lot of the “Natasha” thing was us trying to do what the Melvins did on Lysol or what Corrupted does on their records. I remember me and Scott were really taken with the first Boris record, Absolutego. We just wanted to do a longform thing. DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 29

 The Gentlemen

Hayes (c) and the original lineup of Pig Destroyer in 2004 with no time to spare

What’s the story with the extra untitled track that’s included on the reissue?

We recorded six additional songs for the album. They weren’t written as B-sides. They were written for the album—we just didn’t put them on the album. I think five of them became the Japanese bonus tracks. The sixth song, which was untitled, we gave to Albert [Mudrian] to put on the Choosing Death CD compilation [released by Relapse in 2004]. I don’t know how many of those CDs were pressed or how many people have them, but that’s the only place that song ever appeared. Why doesn’t it have a title?

Me and Scott [Hull] aren’t big on the two-, three- or four-minute grindcore songs. We like the shorties. I mean, this music is made for people with attention deficit disorder. Was “Natasha” recorded at the same time as Terrifyer?

Yes. It was intended to be on the same release. Scott was really into the surround sound idea, and the only way for us to do that was to have it on a DVD. But then I think people got confused because there was no visual on the DVD. It was just the vehicle to give you the surround sound. So, that was a little strange how that worked out. I don’t think people necessarily knew what was going on. We were just throwing things at the wall and, luckily, most of it stuck. Do you have a favorite song on the record?

I have a lot of favorites, plural, but if I had to narrow it down? Probably “Scarlet Hourglass.” That’s always been one of my favorite Pig Destroyer songs. I just think it’s a nice example of a compact, bite-size grindcore song. Me and Scott aren’t big on the two-, three- or fourminute grindcore songs. We like the shorties. I mean, this music is made for people with attention deficit disorder. Scott’s one of those people who has trouble listening to a song all the way through. He’ll skip it. That’s how impatient he can get with shit like that. It’s one thing to write a short song—like short in duration. But I think it’s really challenging to write a full-blooded song that’s also 30 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

short. “Scarlet Hourglass” has that dynamic. It resolves itself, and I like the lyric. It feels like a real song, even though it’s extremely short. And those are usually my favorite ones. As you mentioned, you started writing Terrifyer before Prowler was out. Did the success of Prowler affect the way you went about finishing Terrifyer?

I would put it this way: This was before social media, and we’ve never been a touring-all-thetime band. We’ve played pretty consistently over the years, but never in really big chunks where we’ve gotten around. Back then, we knew the people at Relapse liked Prowler, and the people we knew locally liked it. We knew we were onto something, but we didn’t know how much it had spread until later. Until Terrifyer came out, we had never even played internationally. But we knew the people around us liked Prowler, and that gave us a boost of confidence. We knew we were on the right track. I imagine it’s like playing a sport. You have some success, and it builds your confidence to have more success. And you kind of just keep stepping up. For us, it felt like there was a big leap between those two records just because of the buzz we were generating.

I never put a title on the song because it never got used for Terrifyer. A year or so later, Relapse called me to say Albert was gonna use the song for the compilation, and they were asking me what it was called. I was at work, and I hadn’t thought about that song in a long time—I couldn’t remember the lyrics, I couldn’t remember how it went—but they wanted an answer right there. So, I said it’s gonna have to be untitled because I have no idea what it’s about. Which is a stupid thing to admit as the person who wrote it, but when I got cornered for the title, I just couldn’t remember what the lyrics were. With 20 years hindsight, is there anything you’d change about the record?

No. As a person who loves music, one of my favorite things about it is the flaws. I don’t like things that sound perfect. I’m just not wired that way. I like singers with fucked-up voices. I like guitar players with fucked-up guitar sounds. For me, it’s the warts and all. It’s the great parts and the shitty parts all coming together to make something what it is—and to make it real. A lot of things have happened with digital production that I just can’t stand, so I’m really happy that these records were made in an era where we didn’t have that ability. We had to play it for real, and it’s recorded in a room and there’s air moving and there’s atmosphere. It’s not just clickety-click, cut-and-paste type shit. I hate that stuff. Some of my favorite records, like old Void records, I don’t know if they’re even in time. It sounds like it’s about to come off the rails, and that’s what makes it sound cool and urgent. When everything is controlled and sanitized, that works for pop music. But that’s not the sort of thing I want when I listen to grindcore or death metal. I want the scars and the spikes and the poison.

#1 ALBUM OF THE YEAR "If metal in The Twenties needed a S a t u r n i n e s a v i o r, i t ’s T h e S t y g i a n Ro s e" 10/10

C R Y P T S E R M O N . C O M D A R K D E C E N T R E C O R D S . C O M

the

definitive stories

behind extreme music’s

definitive albums

A World Light Years Beyond Your Imagination the making of Krallice’s Krallice JANUARY 2025 : 3 2 : DECIBEL

hank shteamer

DBHOF241

KRALLICE Krallice

PROFOUND LORE JULY 11, 2008

Raising the USBM Barr

early 2008, if you knew of Mick Barr and Colin Marston, it was as musicians operating on the outer fringes of underground metal. At the time, Barr was best known as the hyperspeed shredder for Orthrelm, a duo that made a habit of exploring unheard-of extremes, from info-overload linear density to epic-scale minimalism, while Marston was the Warr guitar-wielding up-and-comer of instrumental avant-prog, most often heard in Behold… the Arctopus or Dysrhythmia, which he’d joined a couple years prior on bass. But by that summer, a record would emerge that would align these two maverick forces, redefine their respective paths and help to open up a new vista for American black metal. If Barr and Marston’s prior work favored whiplash disorientation, the self-titled debut from their new collaborative venture Krallice immediately set a mood of trancelike wonder. Vast expanses of tremolo guitar wove together like splendid tapestries, colliding brilliantly with Barr’s desperate howls and the pummeling drums of Lev Weinstein—soon to become a full member, but here operating as a session drummer. (Befitting the ad hoc nature of the project at the time, the two guitarists divvied up bass duties, with Marston handling the bulk of the low-end.) Five out of the album’s six tracks exceeded the nine-minute mark, each one feeling like a cosmic voyage, turbulent yet serene, with hints of otherworldly beauty glinting through the fury. All the obsessive micro-detail of the pair’s respective pasts was on display, but they’d found a way to blend their signature knottiness with something deeply evocative and even touching. Spinning a track like “Energy Chasms,” you might find yourself headbanging furiously while being moved to the brink of tears by the sheer magnificence of it all. This was unmistakably black metal, but it was black metal for stargazers rather than misanthropes. At the time, the subgenre’s power center was shifting to America, with future classics like Wolves in the Throne Room’s Two Hunters and Nachtmystium’s Instinct: Decay—both later enshrined in Decibel’s Hall of Fame—signaling fresh developments and setting the stage for an explosion of interest, innovation and, yes, polarizing debate that would peak in the 2010s with Deafheaven’s likewise-Hall-inducted Sunbather. At the time, Krallice may have seemed like part of a cresting wave—and even, to some, like harbingers of the “hipster black metal” apocalypse— but, as you’ll read, Barr and Marston’s roots in the style couldn’t have been deeper, with key influences such as Darkthrone, Ulver and USBM pioneers Weakling swirling together with their innate love of the esoteric and complex. Krallice would go on to become an underground institution, expanding to a quartet with the addition of bassist-vocalist Nick McMaster, who graced Krallice with a single growling vocal cameo on the track “Timehusk”; making a home base out of Marston’s Queens, NY, studio Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, which became an internationally sought-after destination for extreme metal vanguardists; and amassing a robust discography that pushed into ever more challenging and unclassifiable realms (case in point: the latest entry, 2024’s staggeringly inventive Inorganic Rites). Stylistic orthodoxy was never going to be a priority for visionaries like these—“black metal or not,” reads a tagline on their Bandcamp page to this day—but instead they found a way to use an established aesthetic as a launchpad to their next galaxybrained peak. You can’t tell the story of modern black metal without Krallice, and we’re thrilled to welcome this game-changing outlier to the Hall.

DECIBEL : 3 3 : JANUARY 2025

DBHOF241

KRALLICE krallice

Mick and Colin, how did the two of you first become aware of each other and start collaborating?

“You couldn’t meet bigger metal fans than me and Mick and Lev and Nick. So, that’s not the case [that we’re outsiders]. But the fact that we like other styles of music and make other styles of music might make it seem like we’re coming from the outside.”

CO LIN MA RSTO N So, that was recorded at the studio at NYU, the tiny, little, shitty box recording studio that they had on the eighth floor of the School of Education. That was right at the end of when I was at school, so it was then mixed at Paincave [Marston’s pre-Menegroth home studio] when I moved in. Mick would come over to Paincave and we were working on that and a bunch of his other solo stuff. And the whole time he would come to see Arctopus, and he released that second Arctopus EP, Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning, on his imprint on Troubleman. We became friends really fast just because we both respected what each other were doing and liked hanging out. The music each of you was making at the time was obviously metal-adjacent, but at the same time so esoteric. How did you realize you had a shared interest in black metal? BARR: We hit it off pretty much right away, talk-

ing about Voivod and Coroner, Canada, Florida, Norway. Eventually we sort of latched onto the JANUARY 2025 : 3 4 : DECIBEL

Darkthrone Moonfog [Productions] albums: Total Death, Ravishing Grimness, Plaguewielder, Hate Them and Sardonic Wrath. I’m still so fascinated by those albums. They seem slightly unenthusiastic and possibly uninspired, and yet have such a depth to them. They helped me to feel like I didn’t need to always be moving artistically forward, which I found comforting at that point. MARSTON: We became aware through hanging out and working on these projects that we were both black metal fans, which sort of seemed like the antithesis of the music we were making at the time. But it was cool to learn that we were both into this ambient, long-form, more harmonic, tonal music with weird production. I remember Mick coming to see a show at the Knitting Factory Tap Bar that was Behold… the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia before I was in Dysrhythmia and Pig Destroyer. And I remember talking with him at the merch table about the Ulver record Nattens Madrigal and how we both thought that was such a sick record. So, the seeds were sown back then—2003, 2004, maybe.

PHOTO BY JUSTINA VILLANUEVA

COLIN MARSTON: I moved to New York in September of 2000 and did my first year of recording school at NYU. One of the first musicians I met there was this guy Matt Krofcheck, of the band Snack Truck. We were both into Dillinger Escape Plan and weird, heavy music. And I was really just getting deep into metal for the first time, because I had met Kevin [Hufnagel, of Dysrhythmia] a year before, and he was exposing me to Cynic and Gorguts and Atheist and all that stuff. So, Matt was like, “Well, have you heard Crom-Tech?” [ed.—Barr’s pre-Orthrelm duo.] And I remember listening to that in my dorm room months after being in New York. So then fast-forward to the next summer, 2001. I can’t remember how I heard about Orthrelm, but I knew that there was an Orthrelm show happening [in Philadelphia, Marston’s hometown]. They were opening for the Locust, still doing the mathy, non-repeating [early material]. And yeah, I mean, it was just the greatest concert I’ve ever seen in my life. [Laughs] How does it get better than that? MICK BARR: The first time I became aware of Colin was at a house show in Arlington, VA, in probably 1999 or 2000. I was there to see xthoughtstreamsx, and [early Marston project] Infidel?/Castro! was on the bill. I watched them through the window from the front porch. We met a year or two later at a show in Philly with Orthrelm and the Locust. MARSTON: I remember meeting Mick briefly at the show. He was on his way to the bathroom, or whatever, and I just remember being like, “Hey, that was cool.” We really didn’t become friends until maybe 2003 where he came to me to work on one of those Octis recordings. [ed.—Octis and Ocrilim are Barr’s two main solo projects] He had done one of these totally ludicrous records. It was one of the Troubleman [Unlimited] ones where there’s just two guitars playing a half step, and then a 20-second song with a drum machine. He had 200 of those that he wanted me to edit together, so that was the first thing I ever did for him. I would go and see Orthrelm, and they suddenly had this complete change, and they were doing the OV song, which was sort of the opposite [of the early material], where it was like this infinitely repeating 40-minute piece.

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BARR: Nattens Madrigal was an album that I really

liked a lot back in the day. It checked all the boxes of what I was looking for in black metal at the time. It was also texturally amazing and I loved the rhythmic dynamics present within the constant unchanging blast beats. What were some of your other key black metal reference points? BARR: I was a big thrash head when I was

younger and was exposed to Mercyful Fate and Possessed and Venom early on. But getting that so-called “black metal feeling” was primarily through Darkthrone. Someone played the track “Cromlech” from Soulside Journey for me in 1997. I was doing Crom-Tech at the time and we were struck by the name similarity. But the part where the drums drop out and the guitars just tremolo on their own really struck me and held on—I couldn’t get it out of my head. Then I got Transilvanian Hunger and was pulled into the vortex. I was so confused by that album at first; I couldn’t tell if there were drums or not, then I thought it was maybe just cymbals. I dove deep into black metal for a while after that, whatever I could find. [Burzum’s] Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, [Mayhem’s] Wolf’s Lair Abyss, Gorgoroth’s Antichrist [and] Ulver’s Nattens Madrigal were all favorites. I fell for the trance aspects and the emotive sadness. In a weird way, it sort of reminded me of some of the hardcore and early emo of the ’90s I had been into. I promptly got a burst of inspiration and started writing riffs in this style. I recorded the Beastlor demo This Forest for Which We Have Killed on four-track, shakily handling the drums by myself. I played it for my close friends at the time, but that was about it. Eventually Krallice re-recorded the title track and so I put the album on Bandcamp almost 20 years later. MARSTON: The entire Darkthrone catalog, for both of us. We basically are both really big Darkthrone fans, early Emperor, just all the second-wave Norwegian classics, the early Enslaved stuff, Dødheimsgard, even Satyricon. I was a really big fan of the Weakling record [Dead as Dreams]. Mick actually knew it and I think had it on tape. He knew Josh [Smith, also of the Fucking Champs] from back in the day. But I went to see the Champs in the spring of 2001 at Brownies, and I was looking at their merch table to see what they had, and they had the Weakling CD, and the guy described it to me, and I bought it just based on the description, took it home and was like, “Whoa, this is the shit. This is amazing.” I was even almost a little scared of it at first; it had that much of an impact on me. It had as much of an impact as Nattens Madrigal had and Transilvanian Hunger. It had those super long songs, and coming from prog, long songs always

made sense to me, and there was doom in there, even though I didn’t really hear it as such at the time. It had the Burzum-y screaming vocals, which—like it or not—I like. So, that was really big for me. I think it was less big for Mick. BARR: I had gotten the tape release of Dead as Dreams from [Josh] when Crom-Tech toured with the Champs in 1998, but I never really gave it a chance until Krallice was already well underway. I had stupidly assumed that since it wasn’t Norwegian, it probably wasn’t that good. I’ve since repented that oversight and am very fond of the album now. How did bonding over black metal lead into the initial ideas for what became Krallice? BARR: He had just set up Menegroth, and I was

over there a bunch hanging out and working on recordings. One night he called and asked if I wanted to make a black metal album with him. It always seemed like we’d work on something together, but the idea of doing something closer to Orthrelm or Arctopus seemed possibly redundant to us—we had those bands already. This new idea seemed like a perfect low-pressure project to try: [a] “make a lo-fi recording and possibly not release it” type of thing, like the Beastlor album. He got the ball rolling and sent over a couple rough demos a few days later. MARSTON: I think it must have come out of us hanging out and wanting to make some kind of music together, but being like, “Well, we already make this tech-y stuff...” I don’t remember having this conversation—I’m sure we didn’t— but it seemed more fun to do something that was more black metal-related. And then somehow that turned into: “Let’s do a black metal record.” How did the material take shape? MARSTON: We started writing that music, I think, in the spring or the summer [of 2007], and the first demo is the first song on the first Krallice album [“Wretched Wisdom”]—I made a demo where I was playing the kick drum with drumsticks and the snare, just some really weird way to block in what the drums would be like. So, that was the first song that was written, I think. And the first song the two of us worked on is track three on the record, which is another one of my songs, which we called “The Pounder” at the time. [ed.—This became “Molec Codices” on the album] That’s the first thing where we actually both were playing guitar, and I had these riffs, and he was writing these other riffs over my riffs, and I was like, “Oh, cool, it’s kind of like the Ulver record where the two guitars aren’t ever doing the same thing.” BARR: When we first jammed on guitars together, that was where it hit for me. We started off working on what became “Wretched Wisdom,” and Colin would loop his riffs over and over while I wrote my parts to them. I remember feeling that black metal trance while we worked this JANUARY 2025 : 36 : DECIBEL

way, and continued to work on the arrangements together for all the songs on the album. I had assumed we would spend only a couple weeks from start to finish on this album, but we wound up working on just the guitar arrangements for quite a few months before trying anything with drums and bass. MARSTON: I wrote tracks one, three and the last song [“Forgiveness in Rot”], but then there’s the song we call “The Rager,” which is “Timehusk.” The main riff in that song was an outtake riff from OV by Orthrelm, it was not only an outtake from that song; it was also, I think, used in an Octis thing, too. And we used that riff in [shortlived pre-Krallice project] Skullgrid, too. So, I was like, “OK, now Mick and I are finally making a record together—I’m gonna fuckin’ use that riff, finally.” So, I kind of wrote that song, but around a riff that he had written. That was an interesting, kind of weird way that we collaborated, which has never happened since. BARR: I remember coming up with riffs and songstructure skeletons separately, but really honing in on the sound and arrangements playing guitars together with Colin. That was where I began to see what we were doing, and that informed the next songs I would write for us. I’m always writing riffs. I usually have a little recorder with me that I record the riffs on for later reference, and so I remember one night just attempting to write black metal riffs—the “finger -moving riffs” as Fenriz said. Like, you play a power chord, and then move the pinky up or something. Finding different harmonies, and then while writing leads to Colin’s songs working out different polyphonies and rhythmics. But I think I wrote riffs that became [Krallice track] “Cnestorial” [and later Krallice songs] “Aridity,” “Dust and Light” and “IIIIIIIII” that first night. How did Lev get involved? MARSTON: It was not a band on the first record; it was just a record. So, we were starting this off just the two of us, and I had heard word that Lev was moving back to New York where he was from. I had met him when he was in Chicago a couple of years before because a friend of [Behold… the Arctopus guitarist] Mike Lerner went to college with Nick and Lev, and was a metalhead. So, I was like, “Oh, Lev is this great drummer.” I’d already recorded him once for this project, sort of in between Astomatous [an earlier, Chicago based death-metal band that included both Weinstein and McMaster] and Krallice, called Hymn. So, I was like, “Oh, this guy’s the perfect drummer for this. He’s coming back into town. Let’s get him as the session drummer.” LEV WEINSTEIN: Colin hit me up about this project he had with Mick and gave me these guitar demos that sounded amazing, but they also sounded completely inscrutable to me at the time. I have this memory of being at a

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show and Colin having me come to his car and putting it on the stereo, just sitting and listening to this stuff and being like, “This sounds amazing. I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m definitely in.” It was these hyper melodies and harmonies that were sort of just cascading in lines, and they were these wandering phrases, where I wasn’t used to hearing a riff that was 64 measures long or something. And just having a really hard time finding the center of it again, but being lost in these wonderfully swirly, cascading harmonies and melodies. So, it struck me as very different from something like Behold—or Dysrhythmia, for that matter—but inscrutable in its own way. BARR: I had met Lev a few years before at [the Paincave]. We were working on the mixes of OV and Lev stopped by and was amused by what he originally thought was a skipping CD being the actual music we were seriously working on. But once we started working together, it was amazing—just so much fun goofing around and working on this material. I tend to connect deeply with drummers, and I instantly locked in with his feel and power. He could actually play all the things that most drummers were trying to play. While the three of us were working on these songs together, I remember needing to rein in the tendency to speed everything up, as these riffs sounded sort of corny when played too fast. I felt like it was obvious right away that we could really do more with this project. It still feels that way. WEINSTEIN: When we got into the room and started actually hashing out ideas, the riffs started to make a hell of a lot more sense.

“I was greatly influenced by the black metal way of not performing much, being prolific and not being a part of the machine, if possible.”

MICK BA RR

How did the band name and distinctive spiky logo come about? BARR: I had been making up words for band

names and song titles for quite a while at that point, and so I came up with a list of words that seemed to evoke some kind of a black metal feeling. I don’t remember the others, but the two we considered were Krallice and Hathenter. I think Krallice may have been sort of a combination of Krull, one of my favorite movies, and “chalice,” though I can’t be sure. MARSTON: Really hilariously, ironically, “Kralice” with one “l” turns out to mean “queen” in Czech. And we fuckin’ are a band from Queens? It’s kind of too good to be true. The logo was by Karlynn [Holland] who did the mural [on a wall at Menegroth that was later used as the cover of Inorganic Rites] and the Dysrhythmia logo, as well. She was always the only person I had in mind to do the logo. I just knew I wanted your card-carrying, completely

unreadable, inscrutable logo. Like, if you saw letters, no, thanks. That was my stipulation. Lev mentioned the melodic element of Krallice, which really set it apart from some of Mick and Colin’s earlier work. Was that an intentional shift? MARSTON: I’ve always loved consonant music, too. When I was a kid, I liked more clean-guitar, synth-based stuff with these sort of very beautiful pop songs. That’s a part of my DNA, and there’s moments in Arctopus and Dysrhythmia where you get very consonant stretches. So, hearing the Ulver record where I’m like, “OK, it’s got this super raw sound, but it’s just this very beautiful, consonant—maybe not diatonic, but tonal for sure—music…” That kind of music always inspired me just as much as music that sounds very nasty and painful, and maybe that JANUARY 2025 : 38 : DECIBEL

first Krallice music’s a little bit painful, too, but it’s more like gut-wrenching painful than dissonant, gritty… however you would describe bands that sound more ugly or brutal. BARR: For me, that was partly the inspiration of the black metal I was exploring at the time, and partly coming out of just finishing work on the Ocrilim album Annwn, where I had sort of found a new mode of writing melodic leads for myself. But one of my favorite contradictions of this genre has been the dark, nihilistic attitude mixed with gloriously beautiful music. It definitely takes on some sort of spiritual aspect that I won’t attempt to broach ’cause I prefer not to overanalyze things like that. It was incredibly rewarding to write in this style, though. I will say that I didn’t think of it as being more accessible at the time. It was just what was coming out of us when we started to write.

PHOTO BY JUSTINA VILLANUEVA

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Colin, you cited the raw sound of Ulver as an appealing feature, but obviously the sonic presentation of Krallice is something much fuller and more hi-fi. Was it a conscious choice to break away from “necro” production? MARSTON: As we demoed the stuff, at first I wanted to make it sound necro. I was like, “Oh yeah, of course it has to sound all fucked-up and weird.” That was actually always the plan. But then I think once we demoed this stuff and I heard the richness of the music itself, I was like, “Wait, I think I should just record this normal.”

Mick, you’d handled vocals in Crom-Tech, but around this time, instrumental projects were a signature for you. What was it like stepping back into a vocal role in Krallice, and how did you refine the style you wanted to use?

MARSTON: I’d only been [at Menegroth] a little over a year. That was actually the first recording I ever did the “kitchen-mic, super-distant drum-room-mic” thing on. You hear it right at the beginning of the record. I use it on the guitar as well. So, you hear this very distant-sounding guitar start the record. That’s because it’s a mic close on the amp and a mic that’s, like, 100 feet away in my kitchen. So, the amp would be set up in the live room, the sound spills out of the live room into the hallway, takes a turn around another hallway, takes a turn around another hallway, takes a turn again, and then you’re in the kitchen. I [didn’t] have a huge live room, but to get a big room sound out of it, the way I figured out how to do that would be just to put the room mics outside of the room in another room and just leave all the doors open. So, you hear that

“the most epic fucking crescendo” at the end of “Forgiveness in Rot.” I wasn’t exactly sure what crescendo meant at that time, but his reaction stayed with me. MARSTON: I remember listening back to the mix—the first mix, or something—and being like, “This record deserves a Grammy.” [Laughs] WEINSTEIN: I felt really proud of my participation, but also, I had enough of a remove—it wasn’t my band yet—so I could be like, “This is a really cool fucking thing that these guys did that I got to be a part of.” And having that kind of separation, I certainly really gravitated towards it—I couldn’t stop singing those riffs. They were massive earworms for me, just constantly stuck in my head. So, it really did it for me, and it was pretty cool to see that I was not alone in that.

“I remember listening back to the mix— the first mix, or something— and being like, ‘This record deserves a Grammy.’”

MARSTON: Within a year of us calling it a band, we were opening for Wolves in the Throne Room right as they were really blowing up. I had seen them on their previous tour play at [Brooklyn DIY space] Death by Audio. And then by the time we’re opening for them just a couple years later, they’re playing to hundreds and hundreds of people. So, that was probably the biggest indicator, right there. And as more Krallice records come out, I see reviews of them, or people talking about [the band], and then you also see them talking about other new bands. And then I’m running the studio, so I’m recording some of these other modern, new takes on black metal. It seemed like, right away, that was just the world I was in. And I don’t know if that world was really a new one being created, or whether it was just that I was becoming more aware of it. BARR: It seemed to change to having wider interest, but honestly, I couldn’t say whether or not it was an actual change or just that I started paying more attention because I was now more involved and engaged with it. There had always seemed to be a little more non-metal or “outsider” interest in black metal, over, say, death or thrash metal, probably because of the more melodic elements. Maybe certain publications like Pitchfork finally took notice or something— I’m not sure. We were lucky to benefit from some of this, and probably because of that, I didn’t see many cons—other than the surly resentment of the “trve,” which I could absolutely relate to. MARSTON: That was back in the days of “hipster black metal,” too. Obviously [that term] feels derogatory, and so you don’t want to have anything to do with it. And obviously Krallice sounds absolutely nothing like Deafheaven. I take it to mean more of this outsider “you’re not really a metal guy doing metal.” That’s

BARR: I was originally very excited to jump into

the vocals, but it had been quite some time since I had done vocals in Crom-Tech, like nine or so years. I had always been more of a hardcore shouter, for lack of a better term. For Beastlor, I had taken direct inspiration from Nocturno Culto, but for this new band, I remember wanting to do something slightly more akin to Thurios in Drudkh. His style seemed so intense and sort of a cross between the hardcore shout and the black metal rasp. I wanted to tap into that intensity, and it was fucking agonizing to get to that point. We didn’t test any vocals until we were tracking them for the album, and I remember instantly regretting that decision. My body wasn’t prepared for it, and it took quite a few days and quite a lot of honey poured down my throat to reach something passable. I felt physically wrecked for a few days after it. So, I was very happy when we started working on the material for [2009’s Dimensional Bleedthrough] when Nick took over quite a bit of the vocals. His vocal addition to “Timehusk” was vital for us at the time. We wanted him included on the album, as it was obvious he was already in the band. What do you remember about the actual recording process? BARR: I remember it being a total blast, other

than the vocal tracking. I had recorded with Colin before, but this was a pretty different setup. He had somewhat of a vision for how he wanted to record it and mix it, which I was all in favor of. We had a mic set up in the kitchen, which helped get a nice natural reverb. We tracked our second guitar tracks in the rooms with the amps turned up super loud to get some nice feedback. Also, this was probably the first time I wasn’t so acutely aware of how long things were taking, as I wasn’t paying for it out of pocket, so we were able to relax and take our time.

C OLIN MA RSTO N

on the guitar at the beginning of the record, and then that’s there for the drum sound for the whole record. So, that was kind of my, quote, lo-fi touch to the first Krallice: “OK, I’m going to have everything be clear and close-mic’d and normal-sounding, but we’re going to have, like, too much room mic on the drums.” When you were finished and listening back, did you feel like you’d accomplished something special? BARR: Listening back to the recording was some-

what revelatory, and I remember bugging Colin to play it over and over. It was exciting to hear how everything fit together. All the basslines me and Colin had written were so new and transformative as well. I also remember Lev’s old friend Ralph came by one of the last days of mixing, and he was floored by what he called JANUARY 2025 : 40 : DECIBEL

Black metal was becoming a bit of a trending topic around this time and attracting a lot of attention, both positive and negative. Did you see that swell of interest develop in real time? What was it like emerging as a black metalinformed band in that climate?

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SKELETAL REMAINS ”FRAGMENTS OF THE AGELESS”

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probably why I see it as derogatory, which is kind of like, well, you couldn’t meet two bigger metal fans than me and Mick—and Lev and Nick. So, that’s not the case [that we’re outsiders]. But the fact that we like other styles of music and make other styles of music might make it seem like we’re coming from the outside. BARR: My response was mostly to be amused by [the idea of hipster black metal] and try to not take it seriously, but I could definitely see where they were coming from. I had at times over the years been annoyed by people using metal as somewhat of a fashion accessory with no attachment to the music, and even though I was a lifelong metal fan, it wasn’t the only music I liked, and I had been deeply involved in a very non-metal scene of music for quite a while at that point. I had been playing Orthrelm and Ocrilim shows with Animal Collective and Deerhoof in the preceding years. I had short hair when we started, and wore flannel shirts, and so I assumed it was probably my fault we were labeled as such. In general, I thought people were taking it all too seriously and maybe needed to reconsider having their identity wrapped up in a musical genre. But then again, it’s black metal; it has that effect on people.

Were you surprised by the enthusiastic response to the record, and by what Krallice grew into after such a humble start? BARR: I was very surprised how much press the

album got, probably the most press of any album I have ever been involved with. A tip of the hat goes to Profound Lore for that. [Chris Bruni] seemed to have a good handle and understanding on how to manage PR at the time, and his label was rapidly gaining the reputation it has today. Also, around that time, I decided to stop paying attention to any of it and avoid seeing anything anyone wrote about us for a little while. Being the contrarian that I am, I wanted to not “strike while the iron was hot,” so to speak, and instead we just dove into writing all the time. We wrote Dimensional Bleedthrough before the Wolves tour, and sort of used the tour to practice for the recording session, which took place about a week after we got home. We were very choosy about what shows we would take and started defining the prerogative to focus firstly on what was important to us, which was writing and recording music. Also, I was greatly influenced by the black metal way of not performing much, being prolific and not being a part of the machine, if possible. MARSTON: I never in my wildest dreams would’ve guessed [what Krallice would become]. JANUARY 2025 : 4 2 : DECIBEL

Back in those days, it was like, “Well, Arctopus is my band. And I’m going to push my band. We’re going to play a lot. We’re going to get a bigger audience.” And then, “Oh, I’ll join Dysrhythmia. I’m so into music. I’ll do that, too.” Not really thinking either band would be popular, but just being like, “This is what I do. I make this weird prog. I’m 100 percent dedicated to it. This is my world, my vibe, and I’m going to put everything into that.” And then Krallice coming along just as, not a joke band, but just the fun, extra… the side project, however you want to call it. I never would’ve guessed that people would be so into it. I’m always amazed how big Krallice seems, how many records we sell and how wide the listenership seems to be of the band versus my other nerdier, proggier bands. So, it’s been surprisingly successful considering that really what it is for me is this spiritual, emotional food in my life. How do I put this into words? It feels just like this thing that really helps me get through life. Music is what I do to feel like there’s a point to life. And so the fact that Krallice is so rich in terms of creating music, it’s become this really great force in terms of just my general happiness—getting to make that music with those guys.

PHOTO BY JUSTINA VILLANUEVA

 Living rot The first Krallice show ever at the Knitting Factory, April 23, 2008

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NIGHT OF THE DARIO ARGENTO’S BLOOD BEAST (1958) DEEP CUTS

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ZYZZYX ROAD

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BEHIND THE BUCKET: A GARRISON STORY

Two adulterous lovers head to the desert to bury the corpse of her jealous boyfriend, only to discover that the body is missing from the trunk.

”Behind the Bucket” is a documentary following members of the “501st Legion”, who are known as “bad guys”... Star Wars fans who cosplay for charity.

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SNUFF QUEEN A horror documentary about Snuffing, the multibillion dollar fetish where young women & men get murdered for real on camera & hopefully get revived. AVAILABLE ON DVD

PANZERCHRIST “MALEFICIUM PART I” DANISH CULT DEATH METAL

Available on LP, CD and digital 06.12.2024

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CALL/EMAIL FOR A QUOTE www.mammothsoundmastering.com +1 (831) 566 5381 44 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

elcome to the 20th annual Decibel Top 40 Albums of the Year.

D E C I B E L ||

|| J A N 2 0 2 5

PHOTO BY ISTOCK.COM/BJONES27

That marks two full decades of countless “you forgots,” “it’s only Novembers” and at least one “No Belphegor? GTFO!” we have weathered from your critical keyboard strikes. Of course, some of those replies to our yearly Top 40 are from forlorn attentionseekers, but most of the responses come from an extremely (OK, alarmingly) passionate community of fanatics who care about underground metal just as much as we do. We just aren’t quite as liberal with our use of Caps Lock. ¶ To those of you searching for grievance, please know that it doesn’t have to be like that. If a record you loved isn’t featured in the following 14 pages, its exclusion is not a personal affront to you. Conversely, if any album you absolutely loathe appears, it doesn’t render the list an abject failure. A more likely conclusion is that arriving at consensus between nearly three dozen contributors spanning six decades of metal fandom is, to put it mildly, an imperfect exercise. ¶ Still, there is almost certainly a record in our Top 40 that you haven’t heard that is about to become one of your favorite albums of 2024. I’m sure it will feel pretty good when you tweet at us, “WTF Decibel, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Apologies in advance. — A L B E R T M U D R I A N

DECIBEL : JANUARY 2021 : 45

40 ANCIIENTS

Beyond the Reach of the Sun || SE A SO N O F M IST Eight long years have washed over Cascadia since the last record from Anciients. In my mind, their blend of somber melodeath and riffy, subtly stoned prog designates them as the Canadian answer to Opeth (Eh-peth?). “Despoiled” and “Is It Your God” emerge as some of their harshest growled compositions yet. But the songs still shimmer with Kenneth Paul Cook’s dreamy, gossamer vocal hooks. While the title Beyond the Reach of the Sun implies monochromatic darkness, this album is vibrant with oak-hearted autumnal mood. — SE A N F RA SIE R

ALBUMS THAT TIED for #41

41.

Fulci, Duck Face Killings [20 BUCK SPIN] Melt-Banana, 3+5 [ A- Z AP] Funeral Leach, The Illusion of Time

41.

Molder, Catastrophic Reconfiguration

41. 41.

[ CA RB ON I Z E D ] [ P R O STHE TI C] 41.

Umbra Vitae, Light of Death

39 DEPARTURE CHANDELIER Satan Soldier of Fortune || N UC LE A R WA R N OW !

Maybe Ridley Scott should have used this as a soundtrack. After all, few bands can capture the grandeur and drama of history quite like Departure Chandelier. Whereas 2019’s Antichrist Rise to Power was a loose, blustery and ramshackle affair, Satan Soldier of Fortune takes this energy and channels it into a well-honed sonic assault. But the sound is still raw and imbued with a ghostly atmosphere that makes songs like “By Way of Torchlight From Parliament to Catacombs” and the title track extra satisfying. — J . A N D RE W ZA LUC K Y

[ D E ATHWI SH I N C.]

MUST-HAVE ITEMS from the SATAN SOLDIER of FORTUNE WEBSTORE, by NICK GREEN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Self-sharpening titanium pitchfork Pheromones synthesized from the blood of the innocent Replacement horns (TSA-approved) Canteen with filter to turn regular water into piss White robe and halo “Angel” camouflage

ALBUMS in the DECIBEL HALL OF FAME,

according to CHATGPT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Slayer, Reign in Blood Metallica, Master of Puppets Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath Converge, Jane Doe Gorillaz, Demon Days

YOUTUBE MUSIC TRENDS of 2024,

by SHANE MEHLING 1. 2. 3. 4.

Elton John drummer hears Anthrax for the first time Anthrax drummer hears System of a Down for the first time System of a Down drummer hears System of a Down for the first time Wise King Samudragupta hears the bianzhong in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng for the first time Vocal coach hears Tool for the thousandth time and kills herself

|| J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 || D E C I B E L

ORANSSI PAZUZU Muuntautuja || N UC LE A R BLA ST

Finnish extreme music alchemists Oranssi Pazuzu have long been known for their extravagant, world-building fusions of psychedelic black metal, krautrock, prog, ambient noise and more. Even so, the deep black slithering textures and rhythms of their sixth album hit like something from left field. Born out of existential dread and an urge for a fresh start, Muuntautuja is an odyssey between being lost in space and being trapped in a moonlit obsidian abyss as a seductive subterranean monster prepares to eat your face off. It’s a landmark and a reinvention that sets a new bar for metallic exploration. — JA M IE LUDW IG

37 DARKTHRONE

It Beckons Us All……. || P E AC E VILLE It’s been easy to write Darkthrone off as being stale the last few years, immersed solely in their heavy metal era and whatever the else fuck Fenriz’s internet video personality would lead you to believe. And while they’ve kept true to themselves, it just hasn’t been as exciting to many of us. Until this record, that is. Loaded with expertly crafted Frostian/Quorthon-esque earworms—and nary any humor in sight—this is the, well, darkest (and best) record they’ve done since Sardonic Wrath. Welcome back. — N E ILL JA M E SO N

36 YOTH IRIA

Blazing Inferno || E D G E D C IRC LE Jim Mutilator’s Yoth Iria magically transports us back to the mid-’90s, when Century Media emerged from their nascent, much-storied zombie walk on the backs of Tiamat, the Gathering, Moonspell and, more poignantly, Rotting Christ to the label they are today. Blazing Inferno picks up where As the Flame Withers left off, but Yoth Iria are stronger, their melodies more heartfelt and trademark “Grecian” blasts sturdier. From the opening title track and “But Fear Not” to “Purgatory Revolution” and top-tier closer “We Call Upon the Elements,” Blazing Inferno raises fists in defiant, Luciferian mastery. Hail Hellas! — C HRIS D IC K

35 VICIOUS BLADE

Relentless Force || REDEFINING DARKN E SS Yinz can’t stop steel. Of course, the full-length debut from Pittsburgh speed/ thrash/crust crushers Vicious Blade makes no such attempt. Instead, Relentless Force hacks and slashes through nine tracks in under 28 minutes, mining the iron ore of express classics like Reign in Blood, In the Sign of Evil and, most notably, Sacrilege’s Hall of Famer Behind the Realms of Madness. The latter is thanks largely to vocalist Clarissa Badini, whose, uh, chops were recently displayed with all-woman death dealers Castrator. But fronting Vicious Blade, she cuts the deepest. —AL BERT MUDRIAN

34 HIGH ON FIRE Cometh the Storm || M NRK

With a former Murder City Devil, Coady Willis (Big Business/ex-Melvins), taking over the tribal thump, High on Fire’s Motörheaded sludge metal lost none of its signature rhythmic thunder on Cometh the Storm. Willis’ chemistry with Grammy winners/metal lifers Matt Pike and Jeff Matz is immediate, especially when the trio burns brightest on highlights like weedian ode “Lambsbread,” the Frostian fury of “Burning Down,” the tumultuous and elemental title track, or the hardcore-punk surge of “The Beating.” —D E A N BROW N

33 DECEASED

BLACK METAL DEMOS of 2024,

by DUTCH PEARCE

Clactonian, Dea Madre Namebearer, Demo I Aetos, Aetos Beleth’s Trumpet, Demo 2024 Enceladus, Demo I

BACK CATALOGUES for NEW and EXPECTANT PARENTS, by NICK GREEN 1. 2.

Children of the Morgue || H EL L S HEA D BA N G E RS

Last year, Deceased returned with their first full-length of original material since 2018’s Ghostly White, and on Children of the Morgue, the Virginian death/thrash/ heavy metal grimscribes didn’t disappoint. Since 1997’s masterpiece Fearless Undead Machines, Deceased have perfected their brand of melodic, heavy metal-influenced death-thrash and gothic horror narratives. Children showcases King Fowley and company delivering more of what their devoted fanbase craves, executed with their signature killer solos, punk-minded verve, and all the growled-out thrills and chills we’ve come to expect from these undead legends. — D UTC H P E A RC E

FLEXI DISCS of 2024,

by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1.

32 OXYGEN DESTROYER

Guardian of the Universe || REDEF IN IN G DA RK N E SS

If you like relentless blast beats, “OUGH”-drenched goblin vocals and charred, twisted thrash riffs played at a billion BPM, you’re going to like Oxygen Destroyer’s third LP, Guardian of the Universe. If you like all those things and the 1990s Gamera trilogy? Meet your new favorite album. The kaiju-hailing PNW death-thrashers put all their love for the giant turtle monster into their best, gnarliest music to date. Even if you don’t rock with Gamera, fret not. Guardian of the Universe will still reduce you to rubble. —BRAD SANDERS

31 MIDNIGHT

Hellish Expectations || METAL BL ADE The fact that Athenar can write a new Midnight album on the shitter over the course of a weekend (and record it in slightly more time), then watch it end up on our year-end list either says something about the quality of our list or the man’s expertise when it comes to creating an endless supply of glorious blackened punk-thrash. Whatever’s next up in the queue of his (probably) already written-and-recorded follow-up(s) to Hellish Expectations, we’ll just go ahead and reserve a spot for it now, because we just can’t get enough of this offensive filth. —ADEM TEPEDEL EN

Pungent Stench Trouble Terrorizer Discharge Malevolent Creation

2. 3. 4. 5.

Crypt Sermon, “Lachrymose” Deathevokation, “Black Blood” Houkago Grind Time, The Houkago Derek Time EP Glacial Tomb, “Pale Usurper” Nocturnus AD, “Nocturnus Will Rise”

QUESTIONS INTO EVERLASTING FIRE: THE OFFICIAL HISTORY of IMMOLATION AUTHOR KEVIN STEWART-PANKO WAS ASKED at DECIBEL’S 20th ANNIVERSARY SHOW 1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

“Do you have this in an XL?” “Do you know where the bathroom is?” “Do you have this in an XXL?” “Do you know if they’re going to play any songs from Atonement?” “What’s the biggest shirt size you got?”

D E C I B E L || J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 ||

30 LUCIFER

Lucifer V || C E N TURY M E D IA Dream team Johanna and Nicke Andersson’s fourth collaboration strikes paydirt— grave dirt, at the very least. Nostalgic without feeling necrotic, these reanimated heavy rock jams reference revered rockers (Mötley Crüe, the Scorpions, even Nicke’s other band the Hellacopters) while still leaving their own bitemarks on the material. “Riding Reaper,” “At the Mortuary” and “Maculate Heart” all shuffle nimbly, but “Slow Dance in a Crypt” and “A Coffin Has No Silver Lining” prove that undead doesn’t mean unfeeling. Hell may be full, but at least we have Lucifer. — J E F F TRE P P E L

RIDICULOUSLY LONG BAND NAMES (SINGLE-WORD DIVISION), by KEVIN STEWART-PANKO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis Antipsychocircumseptemsomambulation Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzectomy

PAYSAGE D’HIVER

GLACIAL TOMB

CHAT PILE

(HONORABLE MENTION, BECAUSE IT’S ACTUALLY AN ACRONYM!):

XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX

NEON METAL ALBUMS of 2024,

by JEFF TREPPEL 1. 2.

Zombi, Direct Inject, [ RE LAPSE] John Carpenter, Lost Themes IV: Noir, [ S AC RE D B ON E S]

Master Boot Record, Hardwarez, [ M ETAL B LAD E ]

4. 5.

Gost, Prophecy, [ ME TAL BL ADE] Dan Terminus, Gothic Engine,

Die Berge || K UN STHA LL P RO D UK TIO N E N

Die Berge is Wintherr’s third album since snowballing into existence via the Steineiche demo (1998). Incredibly, the prolific songmaster (who also moonlights in ambient black metallers Darkspace) hasn’t strayed too far from his gelid, arboreal spells on the follow-up to 2021’s Geister. Across seven extended-length tracks, Paysage d’Hiver hypnotically hammer isolation, haunting beauty and unknown danger into oblivion. It’s an immersive experience not for the faint of heart or easily distracted. Wintherr’s Die Berge is an open invitation to his world: windswept, cold, high up in a mountain pass where the ancients dwell. — C HRIS D IC K

Lightless Expanse || P RO STHE TIC

It’s like Glacial Tomb eyed the mud-choked moat and high stone walls that encircle dissonant death metal and decided to build a drawbridge between that stultifying citadel and the less demanding meadows of classic death metal beyond. Worrying, cyclonic riffs abound, but so do melody and a more approachable rhythmic sensibility. Sometimes, a whole glut of metal releases can feel performative, hollow in their wrath, and while Ben Hutcherson and crew definitely bring a showman’s flair to their sound, Lightless Expanse also feels driven, fertile, vital in its violence. — DA N IE L LA K E

[ S E LF- RE LE ASE D ]

NASCAR-THEMED METAL RELEASES of 2024,

by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

I Am the Intimidator, I Am the Intimidator Restrictor Plate, Slamtona 500 … … I mean, two still seems like a lot

SPELLINGS of DECIBEL,

by YOU MONSTERS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Decible Desibel Decibil Decider Revolver

|| J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 || D E C I B E L

Cool World || THE F LE N SE R Since their debut LP, God’s Country, Chat Pile have been hailed as the leaders of modern noise rock. This is well-deserved, but falls short of the truly distinct path the band has carved. Follow-up Cool World drives this home with even more propulsive, bizarre, rubble-inducing music. And vocalist Raygun Busch, he of the atonal diatribes, manages to successfully deliver howl-along choruses over and over with the ease of a veteran wedding singer playing the Top 40. God’s Country. Cool World. Chat Pile’s impact is continuing to expand. —SHANE MEHLING

26 APPARITION

Disgraced Emanations From a Tranquil State || P RO FO U N D LO R E A black and jacked muscle car slammed down the main drag here, exhaust roaring such that it literally stopped all movement in its wake and for miles: hapless pedestrians, gnarled traffic and especially non-human biology. OSDM exhaust brutal, gassy, concussive, Disgraced Emanations From a Tranquil State erupts 21st century blortus™ from Atlantis-to-be (Los Angeles), and likely not far off the La Brea Tar Pits. With their second full-length since 2019, Apparition’s bubbling expansion broils death emanations at the precipice of an evolutionary leap forward. — RAO UL HE RN A N D E Z

D E C I B E L : J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 : 49

25 NAILS

Every Bridge Burning || N UC LE A R BLA ST

ALBUMS on DAN LAKE’S YEAR-END LIST THAT I’M PRETTY SURE HE JUST MADE UP,

by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Santacreu, Cancons d’Amor, Dol i Enyoranca A/Oratos, Ecclesia Gnostica Strychnos, Armageddon Patronage Glyph, Odes of Wailing, Hymns of Mourning AK//47, Menari Dalam Abu Algoritma

FAVORITE (not best) GAMES of 2024,

by KILL SCREEN 1. 2.

Silent Hill 2 [ B LOOB E R TEAM /KONAMI] Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree [ F R OM SOFTWARE /B AN DAI NAM CO]

3. 4.

Crow Country [ SFB GAMES] Helldivers 2 [ P L AY STATI ON STU D I OS/ SONY]

Thank Goodness You’re Here! [ C OA L SU PPE R/PAN I C I NC.]

LYRICAL THEMES from ENCYCLOPAEDIA METALLUM,

by SHANE MEHLING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Metaphors (The Black Rook) Fake Elden Ring Lore/Memes (THMPRSS) Anti-poser attitude (Propagator) Anti-poser war (Axevyper a.k.a. AxeVyper, AxeViper, AxVyper, AxViper) Being dumb (Toxocariasis)

ROTTEN SOUND COVER BANDS,

by KEVIN STEWART-PANKO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Rotting Sound Stinky Sound Smells Like a Sewer Sound Festering Pile of Sound Dumber Than Shoeprints on Dogshit Sound

|| J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 || D E C I B E L

Try to put on this record as background. It won’t work. It’s like keeping a wild animal as a pet. Clock how long it takes before you look up with a nervous glance. It’s probably as long as a Mike Tyson knockout. Sure, the punching power is there. So is the speed. But it’s the small stuff—impeccably timed feedback, finely tuned mosh parts, deadly combos of Slayer riffs with Motörhead solos—that make these 17 minutes and 47 seconds perfect. — C O SM O LE E

24 HELLBUTCHER Hellbutcher || M E TA L BLA D E

When Swedish necro-overlords Nifelheim began going tits up, vocalist Per “Hellbutcher” Gustavsson parted ways with his twin brother and planted his own flag. Enlisting members of Bloodbath, Mordant, Gaahls Wyrd and Unleashed, our man carves off a sizzling slab of blackened speed metal steeped in the style of Nifelheim—but catchier, more streamlined and (slightly) less chaotic. While we hope this isn’t the end for Nifelheim, we’re lucky to have Hellbutcher filling the void. — J . BE N N E TT

23 BLACK CURSE

Burning in Celestial Poison || SE P ULC HRA L VO IC E Featuring members of Spectral Voice, Primitive Man and Khemmis, Black Curse’s manic-blastin’ extreme metal is the kind of more-kvlt-than-thou sonic devastation that war metallers would bloodlet for. Instead of redundantly hiding behind a wall of reverb-riddled feedback and barking incoherently over it (like many of their gauntlet-bedecked brethren do), Black Curse, once again, impart genuine power to their occultic black/death riffs and allow the mayhemic atmosphere to ooze out from within. A worthy contender for the most evil-sounding LP of 2024. — D E A N BROW N

22 THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER Servitude || M E TA L BLA D E

It’s not often a band’s 10th long-player faces the same hand-wringing and teethgnashing as Detroit’s melodeath maniacs. In the face of such an unenviable position, the Black Dahlia Murder flexed their combined decades of experience to craft an album showcasing equal parts familiarity (rippers “Aftermath” and the title track) and ingenuity (the groove and dynamics of “Cursed Creator” and “Mammoth’s Hand”) that assuaged any doubts about their capabilities. May their service to the gods of rock ‘n’ roll continue for years to come. —MICHAEL WOHLBERG

21 FULL OF HELL

Coagulated Bliss || C LO SE D CA SK E T ACTIVITIE S Sometime in the last decade, Full of Hell emerged as one of the most important extreme bands of their era. These uncanny East Coast mutants have become the Rogue of their marvelously noisy universe, absorbing and then deploying all the powers they gain from their myriad collaborations, which now culminate (so far) in this year’s corner-turning triumph of composition and corruption. Zero superfluous riffs or words are permitted; the band’s practiced scalpel leaves only what’s absolutely necessary for the poetry of the psychotic whole. —DANIEL LAKE

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DECIBEL : JA NUA R Y 2 0 25 : 51

20 UNDEATH

More Insane || P RO STHE TIC Plenty was written about these Rochester natives naming their latest More Insane. The gall! The insensitivity! The mixed messages! There’s no smiling in death metal! Whatever, people. Undeath channeled the rocket-fueled uptick in busyness and popularity following It’s Time… to Rise From the Grave and posted up with a cavalcade of CDC-level infectious riffs and hooks, as well as their particular brand of slithery mosh parts in a sonic world where more insanity equals more fun and the most repeated listens. — K E VIN STE WA RT- PA N KO

THINGS the KILL SCREEN CO-NERDS DID instead of PLAY VIDEO GAMES,

by KILL SCREEN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Interview people about video games Transcribe interviews about video games Make assets promoting interviews about video games Promote interviews about video games Make Decibel magazine, I guess

DECIBEL CONTRIBUTORS WHO HIT “REPLY ALL” in the TOP 40 ALBUMS EMAIL THREAD DESPITE MY PLEAS to NOT DO THAT VERY THING, by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

José Carlos Santos Chris Dick Nick Green Jeff Treppel Neill Jameson (sorry, I don’t make the rules)

IS IT A TENNIS RACQUET or IS IT A POWER METAL BAND?,

by KEVIN STEWART-PANKO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Prince Warrior The White Prince Perfect Prince Prince Beast Prince Bandit

BREAKOUT SUBGENRES for 2025,

by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

NWOSNFTM (New Wave of Old-School Non-Fungible Token Metal) Nü-oise rock Grungeon synth Progressive mincecore Whatever the fuck Dorothy sounds like

|| J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 || D E C I B E L

DÖDSRIT

OPETH

Nocturnal Will || WO LVE S O F HA D E S Sweden’s Dödsrit offer an infectious and unusual blend of melodic black metal, charging D-beat hardcore, and a dueling lead guitar that recalls Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson’s interplay in Thin Lizzy. Picture the Rohirrim rolling into the Battle of Helm’s Deep on a bunch of 1936 Harley-Davidson Knuckleheads—that’s what it sounds like when their fourth full-length kicks into overdrive. You can call it stadium crust, or you can call it Dissection for leftist punks, but you can’t ever call it boring. — J O SE P H SC HA F E R

The Last Will and Testament || RE IGN IN G P HO E N IX M USI C Extravagant and experimental since day one, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Opeth find a new way to marry extreme metal and progressive rock on their 14th album. The Last Will and Testament takes everything to a more dramatic level, featuring tortured, poetic lyrics about family and identity and exploring the darker side of Opeth’s oeuvre. Yes, Åkerfeldt’s unparalleled growls are back, and this is Opeth’s heaviest album since Watershed, but any notion of fan service is dashed by the album’s Succession-meets-Thick as a Brick twists and turns. The bar’s been raised, yet again. — A D RIE N BE GRA N D

17 TERMINAL NATION

Echoes of the Devil’s Den || 2 0 BUC K SP IN Terminal Nation rage against the machine with brick-subtle brutal death metal (augmented with some hardcore skull-punching). This Arkansan quintet pulls stories from the front page as fucked-up as those in the crime section, but what the lyrics lack in nuance they make up for in impact. Whether they target arms merchants, cops or politicians, none escape intact. The primal riffs hammer the point home on social justice slammers like “Written by the Victor” and “No Reform (New Age Slave Patrol).” A future classic—if we have a future. — J E F F T R EP P EL

16 ULCERATE

Cutting the Throat of God || D E BE M UR M O RTI P RO D UCTIO N S Some tech-death whips through ideas too quickly to gain traction. Some extreme doom drips too slowly to hold attention. The trouble with the middle path between these extremes is… nothing. There is empirically no trouble with doomy death metal. Even when mediocre bands attempt it, discerning listeners can find something to latch onto. When Ulcerate recreate it from scratch, master and then elevate it, the results are ecstatic. Cutting the Throat of God is melodic, majestic and murderous. As He gurgles, so we say, “Amen.” — DA N IE L LA K E

HYPAETHRAL R E C O R D S Est. MMXII

hypaethralrecords.com @hypaethralrecords

DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 53

15 SPECTRAL VOICE Sparagmos || DA RK D E SC E N T

SPECTRALS of 2024

2. 3. 4. 5.

Wound Voice Altar Chain Decay

Experience calls to us—quickens our pulse, pounds in our ears, courses through our brain. Albums thus come and go, surge and vanish, but true understanding ionizes the entire matrix. Only their second full-length event, Sparagmos moves mountains for Denver death clerics Spectral Voice, who deliver four tracks in 45 minutes like the four seasons of doom. Short track “Sinew Censer” ignites closing inevitability “Death’s Knell Rings in Eternity.” At MDF this year, the band’s pitchblack performance felt as if the void of light itself awoke. — RAO UL H ER N A N D EZ

14 RIPPED TO SHREDS Sanshi || RE LA P SE

DEATH METAL DEMOS of 2024,

by DUTCH PEARCE

Grotesque Bliss, Grotesque Bliss Morgellons, Delusional Parasitosis Refugium, Monuments to Degradation Solitary Ruin, Rite of Despondency Thorax of a Mastermind, Anesthetized Displacement

As busy and prolific as R2S mainman Andrew Lee may get—dude also released a Houkago Grind Time full-length and contributed to a Draghkar split in ’24—there’s always time to worship Carcass. Unlike his fellow congregants, Sanshi saw him spreading love across the Liverpudlians’ career, then adding classic Entombed buzz and grindcore swarm to his salutary beast. The difference being that Sanshi’s economically strict songwriting, blisteringly literate solos and exploration of Chinese history all worked to have a stunning uniqueness emerging from the familiar. — K E VIN STE WA RT- PA N KO

13 200 STAB WOUNDS

Manual Manic Procedures || M E TA L BLA D E

REASONS MICK HARRIS SHOULD JOIN THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF,

by NICK GREEN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Noel Fielding is a nob Weakened by sultana scones Chuffed by bicarbonate of soda CHOUX PASTRY IS FOR GOBSHITE WANKERS Nothing left to prove

Whatever led you to this black market alley to offload a secondary organ is a problem for future you. Right now, this is the soundtrack you need. Ohio’s death dealers anesthetize before grooving into gut-spilling riffs prescribed to brutalize—and that’s just track one. “Led to the Chamber / Liquified” adds ambient horror to your grim decision as these surgeons finish slicing to the capitalist lamentations of “Parricide.” Quick with their scalpel, you’ll stagger away with a paw full of bloody Abes in no time, and one more slab to add to your putrid list. — TIM M UD D

12 HULDER

Verses in Oath || 2 0 BUC K SP IN

ZOOM INTERVIEW TAKEAWAYS,

by RAOUL HERNANDEZ 1.

Autopsy flayer Chris Reifert likely ranks a lieutenant colonel in the KISS Army. Scott “Wino” Weinrich, desert-born tank-top dweller, can’t live East Coast forever… Orange Goblin center back Ben Ward looks imposing even sitting at his booking console. Rotting Christ cross-bearer Sakis Tolis couldn’t care less about interview tech, but he’ll gush bonhomie like your best friend all night long. J. Bennett likely ranks a captain in the KISS Army.

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Hulder’s evolution from the one-woman raw black metal band behind one of 2018’s best demos to a headlining act, amassing hordes of rabid fans globally, has been the most exciting trajectory to witness in my years of self-inflicted hearing loss. With Verses in Oath, the Belgian expat and her band further pursue the “heavy” black metal sound first demonstrated on 2022’s The Eternal Fanfare EP. The result is a deeply moving, transportative mix of old-school European melo-black and PNW atmospheric heaviness, all adorned with gothic flourishes like clean singing and ethereal synths. — D UTC H P E A RC E

11 MOTHER OF GRAVES The Periapt of Absence || P RO FO UN D LO RE

Just about every band that Mother of Graves worships—Katatonia, Paradise Lost, Anathema—eventually made the journey from crushing death/doom to some form of gloomy alt-rock. Don’t expect the same trajectory from the Indianapolis neo-traditionalists. Their sophomore album, The Periapt of Absence, is every bit as heavy as 2022’s breakout Where the Shadows Adorn, and it’s even more deft with the dynamics (and dramatics) that make their songs feel so enormous. May their brave murder day last forever; may they never yield for one second. — BRA D S A N D ER S

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC!

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DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 55

10 NECROT

Lifeless Birth || TA N KC RIM E S As experimental as death metal has been lately, it’s important not to overlook the work of the traditionalists out there, and when it comes to old-school, churning, subtle-as-a-cinder-block death metal, Necrot master the form on their third album. Grave, Autopsy and Cannibal Corpse loom large over this record, and the Oakland trio do those legends proud thanks to their predilection towards gnarly, catchy arrangements and deliciously violent imagery. Sometimes you need a band to say what we’re all thinking, and in 2024 it’s, “DRILL THE SKULL. LOBOTOMY. THE FUTURE IS SHIT.” — A D RIE N BE GRA N D

ALBUMS of 30 YEARS AGO,

by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Mayhem, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Thergothon, Stream From the Heavens Brutal Truth, Need to Control Acid Bath, When the Kite String Pops Emperor, In the Nightside Eclipse

INTER ARMA

JULIE CHRISTMAS

GATECREEPER

TZOMPANTLI

ATTENDEES of SICK NEW WORLD 2025,

by SHANE MEHLING 1. 2. 3. 4.

Guys who still say they like all music except country and rap Acid Bath’s biggest fan who can afford tickets and legally cross state lines Vegas bookies mistaking Meshuggah time signatures for betting odds Vulture capitalists who view the random glut of aged musical has-beens as the easiest method of sucking up the few remaining dollars from a dying industry Roofie salesmen

ONLINE RESPONSES to DECIBEL’S TOP 40 ALBUMS of 2023,

by ALBERT MUDRIAN 1. 2. 3.

Shit list No Dying Fetus. No Suffocation. No Tsjuder. Pathetic. Y’all need to work on your stroke, you’re always a month and a half early, there’s still stuff coming out. Cult Leader, Hellripper, The Bleeding, Uada, Dying Fetus, Nightmarer, Tsjuder, Celestial Sanctuary, Blut Aus Nord, Bell Witch, Sulphur Aeon, Eremit, Perilaxe Occlusion to name a few on my list Least gay list in years nice work.

IN ANAGRAM FORM,

by NICK GREEN 1. 2. . 4. 5.

Mr. Corny Pets Lit Bacon Donation Bloat Ruin It Just Diapers Clear Putdowns

|| J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 || D E C I B E L

New Heaven || RE LA P SE

Inter Arma have already proven their mastery of multiple subgenres. But it’s the band’s ability to seamlessly meld everything from black, death and doom metal to industrial, Americana and folk into one singular form that has distinguished them as a leading force in progressive extremity. New Heaven applies concise songwriting to an already winning formula—a substantial achievement given the vast palette of sound. Cinematic, gripping, extreme, disorientating its maddening descent, while thematically rich with brutal truths of our grim realities, New Heaven is apex art. — D E A N BROW N

Ridiculous and Full of Blood || RE D C RK Julie Christmas has always had an uncanny gift for composing songs that are somehow alluring, mischievous and whimsically terrifying. Ridiculous and Full of Blood—featuring the outstanding lineup of guitarist/vocalist Johannes Persson (Cult of Luna), drummer Chris Enriquez (Spotlights), bassist Andrew Schneider (KEN mode, Unsane), guitarist John LaMacchia (Candiria) and keyboardist Tom Tierney—is a feral, mood-driven, post-metal symphony of raw emotion brought to life by Christmas’ rabid vocal incantations. Pure and childlike one moment, pained and delirious the next, Christmas continues to shock and awe with her superior level of communicable urgency. — LIZ C IAVA RE LLA - BRE N N E R

Dark Superstition || N UC LE A R BLA ST On their third album, Arizona’s death metal kings deliver more melody, tighter compositions and an OG stamp of approval via the behind-the-scenes input of Dismember’s Fred Estby. Stone rippers “Dead Star” and “Oblivion” channel the finest Swedish death of the golden ’90s while “The Black Curtain” reveals a sleek English goth influence that might even make Andrew Eldritch crack a fleeting smile. The combined effect brings Gatecreeper one step closer to realizing their stadium death metal dreams. — J . BE N N E TT

Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force || 2 0 BUC K SP IN Tzompantli’s 2022 debut Tlazcaltiliztli slayed, but Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force kills. It’s nothing short of breathtaking hearing this California-based crew deliver transcendent death metal art through their specific cultural lens. Indigenous instrumentation meets subterranean DM on an album that won’t soon be forgotten for being genuinely moving, terrifying and, well, genuine. From the title track’s Apocalypse Then sludge to “Otlica Mictlan”’s grinding doom, mainman Brian Ortiz (Xibalba) tapped into all the right ancestral forces here. —GREG PRATT

DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 57

TRIBULATION Sub Rosa in Æternum

CENTURY MEDIA

hen we hop on a Zoom call with Adam Zaars, the

founding guitarist of dour goth metallers Tribulation is uncharacteristically upbeat—he’s sporting a newer, shorter haircut and a sunny outlook on the Swedish quartet’s latest record, Sub Rosa in Æternum. The development of their last record, chronicled in the cover story of Decibel No. 197, precipitated former guitarist Jonathan Hultén’s exit and the entrance of Joseph Tholl. In contrast, the Tribulation of 2024 are copacetic and ready to conquer. “There was no friction on this one,” Zaars says. “We were all on board with what we were doing. We never knew where we were going, but we were all happily joining hands and going that direction, wherever it took us.”

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Which isn’t to say Zaars has nothing to be anxious about. During the call, he’s preparing for a U.S. tour opening for Opeth, which will be long over before this article hits the stands. It’s the band’s first proper trek across America since 2018, and

it will be most folks’ first taste of Sub Rosa in Æternum’s streamlined and occasionally cleanly sung songs. In 2021, Zaars said Tribulation would never go clean, so what changed? “My mind changed,” he responds. “I know I’ve said in the past that we might as well start another band if we did clean vocals, but we’ve grown older and wiser.” In fact, Zaars, Tholl and drummer Oscar Leander all contributed vocal melodies alongside bassist and lead singer Johannes Andersson. “We’re having fun with them at the moment.” Tribulation’s turn toward vocal melody came when Andersson delivered the demo for “Poison Pages.” According to Zaars, “He was singing on that one cleanly, as he does on the album. We weren’t sure about it at the beginning, but the more we worked on that song, the more we saw that we could do it. And if we could do it, then why wouldn’t we?” He adds that many of the strongest cuts on Sub Rosa in Æternum wouldn’t exist if Andersson hadn’t been willing

to switch things up. “His doing that song opened many new doors for us to explore. It was a blessing.” If Andersson opened the door leading to Sub Rosa in Æternum, Tholl pushed the band through the threshold. “He comes from a different way of thinking about what a song is and how you write it,” Zaars explains. “He’s been doing singer-songwriter stuff since we were teens. We come from an extreme metal background. It was interesting to see those two worlds meet. We’ve been closing in on that side of things, simplifying things and writing more pop- or rock-based songs, but he wasn’t afraid to tease or push us in different directions, and we weren’t afraid to do so because we’ve been friends for so long.” That fearlessness and zeal for experimentation make Sub Rosa in Æternum one of the most exciting developments in Tribulation’s story, reaffirming Zaars and friends’ place at the forefront of metal in 2024. — J O SE P H SC HA F E R PHOTO BY DAMON ZURAWSKI

early 50 years separate Judas Priest’s first album,

Rocka Rolla, and their latest, Invincible Shield. And in those decades the band shaped, created and inspired the metal world as it exists today. So, with vocalist Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill and guitarist Glenn Tipton now in their 70s, they could be forgiven for maybe slowing the pace and issuing the odd clunker here and there in their “dotage.” But as evidenced by their 19th full-length, that definitely ain’t happening. Invincible Shield is as vital and exciting as anything in the Priest canon, 11 glorious tracks of timeless British steel. And despite Priest’s stature and half-century of success, Hill is still humbled by the enthusiasm in which their new releases are received. “It’s a buzz, really. It’s a nice surprise, a lovely surprise,” he tells us via Zoom, when we break the news that Invincible Shield ranked fourth on our year-end list. He’s in Seattle, as Priest continue their U.S. trek filling arenas, and he’s excited to be playing a few new tracks— amid a slew of classic cuts—to appreciative fans. “We’re doing three [Invincible Shield songs] at the PHOTO BY LEVAN TK

moment,” he says, “and all three are going down extremely well. ‘Panic Attack’ is the opening song of the show, and we’re also doing ‘Crown of Horns,’ which is more laid back, and the title track. That’s one of my personal favorites on the album; I really do enjoy playing that.” As highly acclaimed as 2018’s Firepower was, the band wasn’t content to simply follow that same path to glory. Their M.O. has always been push forward, never look back, and that’s evident here. “We’re learning new things every day, and there are

JUDAS PRIEST Invincible Shield E P IC

new devices coming out, and new recording techniques,” Hill says of the recording process. “All these things we try to embrace. It keeps things fresh and relevant. As long as [our latest album] stands up to what [we’ve] already done, that’s the major thing. If it doesn't stack up, there isn’t really much point in doing it. It has to be at least as good.” Halford’s voice continues to defy age and, in many ways, as he goes, so goes the band. Hill is at a loss, though, as to how this is possible. “I don’t know how he does it, I really don’t,” he says of the singer’s still incredible range. “And he’s genuine. He goes out there and belts it out every night, and my hat goes off to him.” And as long as they, and their bandmates—guitarist Ritchie

Faulkner and drummer Scott Travis—continue to operate at such a high level, this may not be the last time Priest end up on our yearend list. “All these years of putting an album together, [our] process has worked really well,” Hill says. “The fact that we can still do it— especially at my, Rob’s and Glenn’s age—is something remarkable even to me. But it is in [our] genes and it gets to the point where we can’t understand not doing it. We still do it because we love it. There’s no other reason apart from that. If the ideas are there and the drive is there, yeah, get out there and belt it out, you know. Obviously, if performances start to drop, then [we’ve] gotta start thinking about it. I’d rather go out on a high than a slow fade.” — A D E M TE P E D E LE N D E C I B E L || J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 ||

SPECTRAL WOUND Songs of Blood and Mire

PROFOUND LORE

pectral Wound have long been one of the most

respected names in modern black metal and within the pages of Decibel. Albums like 2018’s Infernal Decadence and 2021’s A Diabolic Thirst (which landed at #34 on Decibel’s Top 40) were cherished by underground audiences for their blend of speed-driven fury and cascades of melodic mastery. But on Songs of Blood and Mire, the band has clearly taken its sound to another plane of dark energy— and fans (including us) have responded accordingly. It’s why 2024 has seen the band touring across the world, supporting 1349 on their Aural Hellfire tour of the eastern U.S., playing a string of European festivals, mounting their own tour of Asia, and wrapping up

|| J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 || D E C I B E L

with the Bloodmoon Oath tour of the western U.S. with Hulder and Aridus. Spectral Wound are no longer simply a cool Quebecois black metal band that plays really fast and has cool riffs; they’re now one

of the best extreme metal bands on the planet. What’s fascinating is that, to Spectral Wound, this all came together naturally. According to the band, “There was no preconceived notion of ‘progress,’ or of taking a markedly different direction than the earlier records.” They go on to say that “Songs of Blood and Mire only found form in the fires of its own creation.” And while there is definitely a consistent stylistic thread from the band’s previous work to now, this album introduces much more variety in tempo, unpredictability in mood, and nuance in the weaving together of Jonah Campbell’s ferocious vocals, Illusory and Sam Arseneau-Roy’s rhythmic powers, and Patrick McDowall and Andres Arango’s guitardriven alchemy. As for the album’s inspirational core, the band states, “If there is exultancy, it is one colored by madness; if there is triumph, it is laced

with a grim irony; and if there is fatal melancholy, it is a liberatory one, fueled less by hopelessness than by the irrelevance of hope.” And this is clearly evident on the mad exultancy of “Fevers and Suffering,” with its descending and dramatic guitars, unrelenting drums and screams that never yield. Likewise, the interplay of guitars and drums on “At Wine-Dark Midnight in the Mouldering Halls” evokes feelings of triumph while still sinking the listener in endless gloom and futility. And few songs can better capture the irrelevance of hope than the crushing “Less and Less Human, O Savage Spirit.” Songs of Blood and Mire is both a culmination and an evolution of the band’s characteristic sound. It shows the success of their approach in which “a free rein was given to our impulses… at some point Illusory said, ‘Let there be rock,’ and, lo and behold…” —J. ANDREW ZALUCKY PHOTO BY BEN ZODIAZEPIN

ight from the start, Blood Incantation foreshad-

owed their exit from Earth’s atmosphere, the intention to blast off into the final frontier in search of cosmic epiphanies, to be in communion with alien species. But it was Timewave Zero that ultimately unshackled their creative consciousness from Earth’s gravitational pull, revealing the coordinates for Absolute Elsewhere, an album that fully commits to the Denver quartet’s musical curiosity with the fusion of death metal, prog and krautrock, the ambient and the terrifying all held in an unquiet equilibrium. Released in 2022 and officially billed as an EP, Timewave Zero presented us with a feature-length deep dive into three-dimensional ambience, the sound of a band with prodigious creative appetites warping audiences expectations—and perspectives— through layers of analog synthesizer. Frontman/guitarist Paul Riedl says it created the space in which Blood Incantation could draw from the primordial gnarliness of their 2016 debut Starspawn and the agile, quicksilver arrangements of its successor, PHOTO BY ALVINO SALCEDO

2019’s Hidden History of the Human Race, and experiment with material that was rooted in all three releases. “The thing with Timewave Zero is that it flushed out and opened up the potential for everything to be mixed together,” says Riedl. “It expanded the headroom.” Decamping to Berlin’s Hansa Studios was a power move. This was where Eno worked with Bowie, Tangerine Dream tracked Force Majeure, and nearby where the Berlin Wall once stood. Metal’s own Eno,

BLOOD INCANTATION Absolute Elsewhere C E N TURY M E D IA

Arthur Rizk, oversaw production and “deserves a Grammy.” Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning guested on synth. While Riedl and company tracked arrangements that were hitherto beyond them. “The biggest thing back in the day with our other music is that we were just limited by our physical ability, not as much by our creative ambitions,” says Riedl. “We always wanted to make [it] crazy psychedelic, very intricate and cosmic progressive… Our musical vocabulary grew a lot during the Timewave process.” Emerging with a two-track epic divided into six “Tablets,” Blood Incantation have executed a great evolutionary leap for the art form. If that casts some of their audience

adrift in Absolute Elsewhere’s celestial expanse, then so be it. “We like to push ourselves in the music as much as we enjoy seeing the listeners and the audience be pushed as well,” says Riedl. “Because that’s why we’re into extreme music. We don’t want something that’s the same every time from a band that you know their next move. What’s the point?” But there is a higher purpose driving Absolute Elsewhere, too. Riedl says nihilism has had its time and place in his life; he wants people to take hope from this album, to be inspired. “A new consciousness is still possible,” he says. “A new humanity is still possible.” — J O N ATHA N HO RSLE Y D E C I B E L || J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 ||

CRYPT SERMON The Stygian Rose DARK D E SC E N T

The

heavens opened and the stars aligned for Pennsylvania’s headsmen of

heavy Crypt Sermon in 2024. The Quaker City underdogs had spent years— during and after the plague—refining the spellcraft of The Ruins of Fading Light, an album that cracked our Top 5 of 2019. Not only were they assiduous and furtive in the forging of their third full-length, but Crypt Sermon also busied themselves with a lineup change, where bassist Frank Chin moved to guitar and Matt Knox of buddies (and fellow Decibel darlings) Horrendous filled in on four strings, with keyboardist Tanner Anderson (of Obsequiae and Majesties fame) joining on keyboards. This twofer was instrumental in making The Stygian Rose. While metaldom had collectively cheered Out of the Garden (2015) and its follow-up—specifically tracks “Key of Solomon” and “Christ Is Dead”—Crypt Sermon’s rise to metallic greatness was only natural. ¶ “We’ve said this in every interview we’ve ever done,” reinforces drummer Enrique Sagarnaga in Crypt Sermon’s official biography. “The whole ethos of this band has been to keep things exciting and constantly moving. We’re not doom metal or trad metal guys per se. Between the six of us, we’re into a lot of different stuff. The unifier of The Stygian Rose is the hook.”

Amid vicious competition and a fantastic 2024 release schedule, the hook—make that plural—is precisely why The Stygian Rose is #1. When the quintet, also featuring guitar whiz Steve Jansson and vocalist/conceptualist Brooks Wilson, unfurled the album’s first single, “Heavy Is the Crown of Bone,” the Internet went alight, with comments ranging from “strong Headless Cross-era Black Sabbath vibes” to “powerful and majestic.” The song’s hook was immediate, heavy and groovy, yet imbued with orphic might, the kind heard in vintage Savatage and Metal Church. The follow-up single, “Glimmers in the Underworld,” hit even harder (and faster). A genuine barnburner of classic caliber, Jansson’s oldworld solos struck gold against the song’s expertly executed and timed gallop. There are countless heavy metal bands, but Crypt Sermon are heavier metal on “Glimmers in the Underworld.” By the time the Philadelphians trebucheted The Stygian Rose’s third single, “Thunder (Perfect Mind),” Biblical times were upon us. Wilson’s finest moment might be the album’s title track, but here, the PHOTO BY SCOTT KINKADE

white-booted proclaimer had us in his clutches. “I told Enrique, ‘Did they, like, fuck it up?’” says Jansson, his head in his hands on a Zoom call with Decibel, still in disbelief that The Stygian Rose got the top spot. “I laughed and thought, are they going to call back and be, ‘Oh, sorry, we messed up the [voting] pool.’ I’m still waiting for that call: ‘Okay, well, we actually fucked up.’” “I’m just laughing along,” jests Wilson. “It still feels really surreal. We feel passionate about the album, but it doesn’t seem like the thing that would have hit everyone. On the other hand, we were trying to make an album encompassing all the different elements of heavy metal. When it comes to epic doom or whatever, we’ve always wanted to create a bigger world, but in this case, rather than a bigger world, we created a more fully realized vision. Of course, it references our Mercyful Fate and King Diamond influences, but we were going for a vibe. I think we expanded our world a little more.” The Stygian Rose’s magic elicits strong and familiar, but unspecific

memories. From “Down in the Hollow” to “The Scrying Orb” to the title track, Crypt Sermon’s songwriting principles embarked on a remarkable heavy metal journey. Whether it was mental pictures of a Bathory song never made, a Nevermore movement that should’ve been, a long-forgotten but ultimate Martin-stage Black Sabbath riff, or a hat-tip to Alone-era Solitude Aeturnus, it all felt intimately relatable, yet utterly Crypt Sermon. “Originally, ‘The Scrying Orb’ had this huge Bathory chorus,” Wilson says. “I wrote the chorus, and I had to write around it. There are a lot of guitar lines—the widdly-widdly stuff—under the big chord structure, but we turned into something spooky, and once we did that, the whole album trajectory changed. The tone became more dark, sinister and brooding. Adding Tanner to our process was a bit of a game changer, too.” “It sounds familiar, but fresh,” adds Jansson. “The structures and a lot of the ideas come from classic metal—like Metallica and whatever else—but the tonality comes from newer places, at least on my end. A lot of the tonality in my playing and

the riffing comes from more black metal-oriented stuff. So, it’s a little darker, but it has the flow and song structures of classic records.” As with any artist, Crypt Sermon have their eyes on the horizon. They have a release planned for 2025, which may include songs written for and recorded during The Stygian Rose, and possibly another release to compile the Decibel Flexi Series tracks “Lachrymose” and Mayhem dagger “De Mysteriis Doom Sathanas.” While that all gets worked out and Crypt Sermon are riff-deep on their next chapter, the quintet is basking in the crepuscular glow of their accomplishments. “We’re enjoying the record again,” Sagarnaga says. “The making of a record is always stressful—all of it. Now that we’ve had time to live with it, play the songs live and hear all this amazing feedback, out of any record I’ve done with any group of people, including these gentlemen across some of our other bands, this is definitely the record I’m the most at peace with. It was such a wonderful moment in time that we were able to capture.” — C HRIS D I C K D E C I B E L || J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 ||

SAILORS ON THE

64 : SEPTEMBER 2023 : DECIBEL

Inside

CIRITH UNGOL’s

heartwarming final trip around the world STORY BY

PHOTOS BY

JUSTIN M. NORTON

NIKOLAS BREMM

DECIBEL •

• J A N 2 0 25

DECIBEL : SEPTEMBER 2023 : 65

THE PAST IS A SCRIPT WE ARE CONSTANTLY REWRITING.

MICHAEL MOORCOCK, ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS Somewhere outside Hamburg, Germany, Robert Garven is mulling his good for-

tune. The other day, he visited Paiste’s gong factory. After an unnerving drive down narrow rural roads, he spent the afternoon hitting gongs that sell for more than $40,000. “There was an 80-inch gong, and if you hit it and stood before it, you could feel the vibrations through your body,” Garven says. “It’s hard to explain. If you hit one in your house, the entire block would come out on the porch to see what was happening.” ¶ Visiting the gong factory is just one of the recent road highlights for the 68-year-old drummer and co-founder of Cirith Ungol. At a concert in Switzerland the previous evening, a drunk fan told Garven the show felt like the second coming of Christ. Bartenders at the Guinness factory in Ireland printed CU’s logo on beer foam. Two hundred people lined up out the door for a signing in Italy. Everywhere Garven goes, someone shows him a Cirith Ungol tattoo. It all seems unbelievable because Garven remembers so well when no one seemed to care. Now, no one wants to say goodbye. “People are drawn to us because of our honesty,” Garven says. “Sometimes I go a little over the top with the adjectives, but that’s just metal talk. Our goal has always been to create good music for ourselves, hoping like-minded listeners will appreciate what we do. It’s hard to appreciate that people like us when we make this music entirely for ourselves. The last 10 years have allowed us to share our vision of true heavy metal.” None of this was supposed to happen. Cirith Ungol—named after a pass into the dark land Mordor in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy—formed in 1971. Their debut, Frost and Fire, didn’t arrive until a decade later. Their doom masterpiece, King of the Dead, came in 1984. Their 6 6 : S E•PJTAENM2B0E25 R 2•0 D 2 3E C: IDBEECLI B E L

music was out of step with time. While metal in the ’80s claimed to be a haven for misfits and outsiders, it unknowingly parroted popular culture. Thrash metal fans weren’t much different than jocks. Hair metal fans were the popular kids, preoccupied with parties and fashion. Cirith Ungol was music for outsiders in a community of outsiders. Their albums featured Michael Whelan’s fantasy art, also used on the cover of Michael Moorcock’s Elric novels. They sang about the end of time, sorcery, and even evergreen themes like survival and alienation. Their music was perfect for kids who haunted role-playing shops in strip malls, scoured the shelves of bookstores for collections like Thieves’

World, and bonded over role-playing games in basement apartments decorated with blacklight posters. A handful of fans became dedicated listeners for life. During Cirith Ungol’s formative run, it seemed only those few outsiders were listening. When the band called it quits after Paradise Lost in 1991, they couldn’t afford a practice space. By the close of the ’90s, their catalog was out of print and available only in record bins. Garven mothballed his drum set. Everyone in the band settled into everyday life. But with the growth of social media and the rise of the internet, something happened; the band began to hear from those old fans. Those fans, in turn, influenced younger and better-connected listeners. A band once considered too strange and extreme was slowly embraced. Cirith Ungol were coaxed out of retirement by their friend and now manager/bassist Jarvis Leatherby, who grew up in their hometown of Ventura, CA. The band reformed on October 8, 2016, at the second annual Frost and Fire Festival in Ventura. The festival appearances haven’t stopped: Keep It True, Up the Hammers, Hammer of Doom, Northwest Terror Fest and Wacken Open Air. Their comeback wasn’t just a greatest-hits bonanza or an excuse to tour. Cirith Ungol’s live album I’m Alive scored nearly perfect in this magazine. Even the pandemic didn’t stop them. Their 2020 comeback album Forever Black was released as the world closed for COVID-19. The band couldn’t tour, but the record found an audience of fans stuck at home. As the pandemic waned, promoters and clubs opened their arms. Cirith Ungol recorded another album, Dark Parade, in 2023. In 2024, they are on their final lap, culminating with a run of shows, including Decibel’s Metal & Beer Fest in Denver. “I would never choose them as bandmates, but they are like family,” Leatherby says. “I care about them as people. It’s sad for me to think we won’t have these adventures anymore. But we need the magic and excitement around us to play. We must go away and maybe come back when no one expects it.” He adds that Cirith Ungol’s appeal is simple: “We live in an age where things are rehashed. They can’t be replicated.” Vocalist Tim Baker says it’s strange that a band once considered an outlier and oddity is now regarded as traditional metal. “Back in the ’80s with hair bands and thrash, we were considered too extreme,” he remembers. “I think it was my vocals. Now, [vocalists] are making cricket noises and sound like they are gurgling underwater. If you look around, we aren’t extreme anymore. There are so many branches of the metal tree. There are so many subcultures and genres that we’ve almost become more acceptable. We were outsiders and weren’t part of the L.A. scene. We were children of the ’60s and ’70s. We’ve always been a band out of time—we were too extreme for that era, and nowadays we are almost not extreme enough.”

THERE’S NO SHORTAGE...

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DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 67

Back in the ’80s with hair bands and thrash, we were considered too extreme. I think it was my vocals. Now, [vocalists] are making cricket noises and sound like they are gurgling underwater.

IF YOU LOOK AROUND, WE AREN’T EXTREME ANYMORE. TIM BAKER

Social media is a mixed blessing, but Baker says Cirith Ungol have benefited from a connected world. Cirith Ungol were rarely featured in newspapers or rock magazines during their heyday. The internet makes it easy for fans of niche or forgotten bands to connect. “There is this whole metal community we’ve been able to connect with around the world, and that gave way to all these festivals,” Baker says. Co-founder and guitarist Greg Lindstrom sold Cirith Ungol shirts on eBay in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Initially, he sold one shirt every few weeks. He was soon selling four or five a week. “I think our heyday wasn’t the ’80s, but 2018 to the present,” says Lindstrom, who is sitting out the final leg of the farewell tour to tend to family matters, including an illness. “We didn’t get too much love in the late ’70s and ’80s because our stuff was too weird or ahead [of] or behind the times. We put out our most iconic music, but weren’t appreciated. I think people just caught up with us.” Cirith Ungol have stayed the same in many respects; they’ve refined their sound, but it is shamelessly old-school. The world, however, has changed. During the ’80s Satanic panic, censors and politicians pilloried fantasy fans and metalheads, calling them sociopaths and threats. Fantasy films like Clash of the Titans reached small 6 8 : S E•PJTAENM2B0E25 R 2•0 D 2 3E C: IDBEECLI B E L

audiences, Dungeons & Dragons had a cult following, and mid-market authors wrote fantasy novels. Fantasy and role-playing are now part of mainstream culture. Cosplaying is celebrated on Instagram. Franchises like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones make billions. World of Warcraft and mobile game Clash of Clans are played worldwide. “There was always a market for this stuff, but it was on the edge of popular culture,” Garven says. “When I saw Game of Thrones, I almost felt like putting my brushes aside because people can now 3D-model dragons and make them look real,” says Whelan, who played a crucial role in developing Cirith Ungol’s aesthetic. “I still like painting dragons, but reality hit home for me—that and seeing fantasy books on all the bestseller lists. I went into this thinking I’d live a niche lifestyle. I never expected to be a mainstream force in culture, but it’s happened. There is almost this unreality about it. I hope things don’t get too watered down by people who only want to make a buck.” Whelan says he first met the band when they contacted him about using his Stormbringer art on Frost and Fire. “They didn’t think they had a chance of me agreeing,” Whelan says. “I agreed to it pretty quickly. I read the lyrics and thought if Elric was going to be on anything, it had to be

on music with a mythic feeling. And one thing led to another.” Whelan went to a science fiction convention in Southern California near Ventura and met the band, and they have remained friends for decades. Whelan says he never expected the band’s music or his artwork to reach larger audiences. “I liked them and wanted to please myself,” he says. “I wasn’t thinking about the impact this would have outside of hoping people liked it. I left that up to fate and hoped enough people would appreciate it. It certainly felt worth it. I like where the music has gone in the past few years. I have so much respect for how hard they’ve worked. They’ve stayed true.” “Cirith Ungol came back with astonishing force and a sense of eminence,” said Triptykon founder and frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer. Cirith Ungol inspired Fischer in his formative years before he founded Hellhammer. “Their [new] music benefits from the sound quality possible due to modern production possibilities. The songwriting and sound of the Forever Black and Dark Parade albums are staggeringly good. And Baker has managed to preserve his voice. I was infinitely happy to discover all this, and equally happy for them. They deserve to be recognized internationally.”

EDGE OF A KNIFE This final and lengthy tour has been uplifting, but also challenging. Baker recently flew home from Germany, stayed less than a week, then flew back to Austria. His trip home from Austria was almost 27 hours. He can sleep on planes, but traveling is hard. His secret? He doesn’t identify as an old man. “I just do what I do and don’t feel much different than I did 30 years ago,” Baker says. “I try not to do anything stupid. Live a normal life and don’t worry about it. It’s kind of tiring once in a while. I don’t do anything special. It just still works.” Garven, however, has faced challenges, including a heart arrhythmia that required surgery several years ago. He’s made lifestyle changes to help him in this late-life run, but 15-hour flights are still “highly uncomfortable.” “We flew here to play one show, then turned around and flew back to America,” he says. “It can be draining if you fly here for a day or two. But it doesn’t bother me because the result is there. The golden ring is the show. When you play and it’s successful, it makes it all worthwhile—all the pain and suffering of extended travel. Anything under six hours to me now feels like getting on a bus to go around the block. “I’m not going to lie: We’ve been gone for 14 days, and I’ve only had two days of decent sleep,” Garven says, laughing. “Everyone in the group has something wrong with them one way or another. You aren’t a normal human being if you are almost 70 and perfect.” Cirith Ungol’s fans are just as dedicated as the band. Joseph Aprill, an educator and

such a brilliant player. I love that this great music went away and came back. I’ve always loved Cirith Ungol and love that they’ve had this resurgence.” Garven says several managers tried to change the band, including one who later worked for Guns N’ Roses. “Back in the day, some managers wanted us to wear makeup and lipstick,” he says. “We’ve never changed who we are or our mission statement—to play the heaviest music we can. There are bands now with rubber masks and face paint. They have a gimmick. Our gimmick is music.” The 2024 lineup, however, looks different than their classic lineup: Baker and Garven are the only originals. Lindstrom has been unavailable for many reunion shows. Guitarist Jim Barraza left (more on that below). Night Demon guitarist Armand John Anthony joined Leatherby in the final lineup. “Jimmy is one of the most amazing guitarists I’ve played with, and Greg founded the band with me,” Garven says. “But whenever someone left, the newer lineup was successful. We’ve changed lineups over the years, but consistently become more powerful. That doesn’t take away any of the contributions, but a band is like survival of the fittest.” occasional metal writer, saw the band’s first comeback show in Ventura and has seen them numerous times since. He recently extended a European vacation and visited Ireland when he heard Cirith Ungol were playing in Limerick. “I always gravitated to bands with a knack for a riff who know how to use it in a good song,” he says. “They have that knack. There is also this epic metal nature to what they do. It’s like going into your grandfather’s attic, finding an old science fiction paperback and dusting it off.” “Would I like to see them keep going? Sure,” Aprill says. “I think some of this is realizing the fragility of age. But being able to control that situation and have a final hurrah is great.” Cirith Ungol say goodbye at shows now. But the band tries to leave a door open for a return. “Tim says this might be the last time we ride on the black machine at every show,” Garven says. “It’s our way of keeping things open-ended.”

CHAOS RISING Metal was only a decade old in the early ’80s. Giants like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest were in their prime, and an independent metal scene flourished. Cirith Ungol were one of the fixtures, along with Metallica, Exciter, Jag Panzer, Manowar and Slayer. “They were a fully realized concept, but they were an acquired taste,” says Ian Christe, author of the heavy metal history Sound of the Beast and founder of Bazillion Points. “Baker’s hellacious screams, [original guitarist] Jerry Fogle’s reedy iron guitars, [Michael] Flint’s balls-forward bass playing and Garven’s over-thetop thunder drumming were a lot to take—it was a statement. “Cirith Ungol did not look, play, or sound in step with the times,” Christe continues. “They : IDBEECLI B E L 7 0 : S E•PJTAENM2B0E25 R 2•0 D 2 3E C

were rulers of their forgotten kingdom. They were in step with the sword and sorcery of metal in 1983, but had nothing to do with the hardcore punk infiltration of metal by 1985. Still, despite the fantastical cover artwork and other trappings, they wrote many down-to-earth songs about life on the outs.” Christe says the band has “benefited from the flattening of metal time thanks to the internet and especially YouTube … Like Satan, Bulldozer and Pentagram, their quality has been rediscovered, and it’s an unthinkable miracle to see them play live. Seeing Baker belting out ‘Black Machine’ on this final tour, his hair-raising voice intact, was unforgettable.” Brian Slagel, president and founder of Cirith Ungol’s label home Metal Blade, has known the band since he featured their song “Death of the Sun” on the 1982 Metal Massacre compilation along with Metallica, Ratt, Bitch and Steeler. Metal Blade partnered with Enigma/Restless to distribute Frost and Fire and King of the Dead. Metal Blade released Cirith Ungol’s third album, One Foot in Hell, to modest sales before the band returned to Restless for Paradise Lost. Slagel says Cirith Ungol never fit in with what was popular or accepted in Southern California. The band’s catalog remained out of print through much of the 1990s until Metal Blade acquired the rights to the early albums and reissued them in the early 2000s. Around that time, Slagel noticed something strange: kids half his age wearing Cirith Ungol shirts at festivals. “There are so many bands we think should have been huge that don’t make it,” Slagel says. “But good music is good music. Their music was always so good and deserved to be heard. I liked them because no one sounds like them. Jerry was

HOW WE GOT TO FAREWELL On September 28, 2023, Leatherby got a call from Baker and his bandmates. Baker started the call by saying, “We are here and on speakerphone. Shit is fucked.” Leatherby had just returned from a tour with Night Demon in Europe. He stopped in New York to check on Satan (who he also manages) and review paperwork from Metal Blade about a live Cirith Ungol album at the Roxy in Los Angeles. The issue was that Barraza was dealing with personal problems and struggling to perform. “The guys said the band was over,” Leatherby says. “I said, ‘You signed this deal and everyone has been paid. We have to do it.’” “I had an ongoing health issue, which I sought treatment for in October 2023,” Barraza says. “It has been fully resolved since January 2024, and I am physically and mentally healthy. Throughout the band’s reunion, there were always unforeseen challenges that may have contributed to my health issues. Yes, it was hard for me to leave when the band finally gained the success we deserved. But I needed time for myself more than anything. In hindsight, it’s not an ending, but a new beginning for me.” Anthony knew the set, and the band agreed to honor the Roxy commitment. The show was well received, and the band decided to tour more. “I said, ‘Look, let’s put together a plan. Tell me precisely what you want to do, and I will get it,’” Leatherby says. “Let’s pick up the pace once we have a second comeback album out.” Leatherby says the best bet was a farewell tour. Demand for farewell shows would be high, and one long tour would put an exclamation point on the comeback. Leatherby agreed to

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Everyone in the group has something wrong with them one way or another.

YOU AREN’T A NORMAL HUMAN BEING IF YOU ARE ALMOST 70 AND PERFECT. ROBERT GARVEN

contact promoters worldwide, put his reputation on the line and book a long, final farewell run. He is adamant that things must end—at least for a while. “Do we keep going out playing the greatest hits and losing one member at a time?” Leatherby says. “We agreed to play for a year. I agreed to put my name on the line and call everyone around the globe. I knew I could get all of these bookings. It’s been epic and insane. But Rob is like, ‘We are playing better than ever. Why should we stop?’ I understand that. The reality is other people are involved; this is not just one guy’s vision. He doesn’t have another band or other stuff going on. Going out on top is the idea. That’s what you want. “Rob is the kind of guy that only needs to hear from a random fan that they are the best band in the world, and he will believe it ’til his dying day,” Leatherby continues. “He will never forget a bad opinion like someone hates an album. But I am around him every day, helping take care of shit and riding alongside with him.” “At the time, it was the right decision,” Baker says of the agreement to make it a farewell tour. “We didn’t have a band because Jimmy had left. We had the show at the Roxy booked, and it was a big deal. The thing with Jimmy went down like 7 2 : S E•PJTAENM2B0E25 R 2•0 D 2 3E C: IDBEECLI B E L

10 days before it. We were sitting in our underground band room thinking, Will we cancel this thing? But Armand was here, and he knew all the songs. From there, we decided to do it and committed to doing a last run of shows.” Garven says he understands Leatherby’s perspective. At the same time, it’s hard to let go when the band sounds better than ever. “Undoubtedly, people are coming out because they think it’s the last show,” Garven says. “Without any exception, everyone says don’t quit and make another album. And when you hear that repeatedly, you think people are on the same wavelength I am.”

THE OLD LEGION Erich Keller, an influential early metal zine writer and later the vocalist of the formative Swiss grindcore band Fear of God, was one of Cirith Ungol’s first hardcore fans. After hearing their song on Metal Massacre, he started corresponding with them (in broken English) in 1982. “They were so generous—they sent me free stickers, shirts, and even the King of the Dead album for free, just like that, to some kid out of Switzerland of all places,” he says. Keller then founded Slushy Brain Productions, a glorified fan club for Cirith Ungol and similar bands.

“I made fliers and hung them everywhere— Cirith Ungol, Voivod and Manilla Road,” Keller recalls. “I doubt it had any effect, but I learned from it quickly, and only a year later, I had my fanzine and was part of an international underground scene that would soon change the face of music.” “They had die-hard fans, but they were few,” Keller says of Cirith Ungol. “Their first album was hard to get, and they had no press, which gave them this mysterious aura. All that combined spoke to me, especially since music was a crucial element in finding my place as an outsider. I didn’t want to fit in at all, nowhere.” Cirith Ungol found other fans. One of them was Fischer, who later formed Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. Fischer discovered Frost and Fire at a record store in Switzerland in 1981. “The album looked utterly intriguing to me,” he says. “The front cover ruled, and I loved the band shot on the rear, replete with Rickenbacker basses, flying V guitars and killer poses. The unique Lord of the Rings-derived name added to the mystique. “They looked different than any other band, and they also had their very own sound, unlike anything I had ever heard,” Fischer continues. “It was a completely original approach: proggy hard rock with a notable presence of the Rickenbacker’s characteristic sound and these completely extreme vocals on top. It was quite a daring combination. None of my friends knew Cirith Ungol, but I immediately connected to their music. I couldn’t stop playing the album.” Fischer purchased his first instrument, a Rickenbacker bass, shortly after discovering Cirith Ungol. “Their music was uncommercial, unafraid and nonconformist,” he says. “To a complete outcast like me—which I certainly, and not entirely by my own choice, was—they appealed to me to no end. They seemed like outsiders even in the metal scene. Cirith Ungol provided a guiding light throughout my early years with Hellhammer and Celtic Frost.”

THE NEW LEGION Decades later, the music found a younger generation of fans—even when the albums were out of print. Mark Sugar, vocalist and guitarist of the Chicago progressive metal band Black Sites, grew up listening to doom and traditional metal. He was visiting the legendary Metal Haven store in Chicago in the late ’90s when he heard Cirith Ungol over the speakers. “There was an older generation of fans, and Cirith Ungol was right up there with bands like Manilla Road, but they were super obscure when I was growing up,” Sugar says. “They weren’t very active, and many albums were out of print. “The music straddles that line between early rock and power metal and doom before things splintered off into their bubbles,” Sugar says. “Some of Frost and Fire sounds like Alice Cooper or garage rock, and then they built something new from that. The changes they went through

and the artistic decisions they made are super interesting. Frost and Fire and King of the Dead move genres forward. They took ’70s rock and made it heavier and darker. They brought in lyrical themes no one was doing except maybe Blue Öyster Cult. In the early ’80s, many bands flew under the radar, like Pentagram and Trouble. When you listen to Cirith Ungol, you recognize that their music has helped shift things. “Cirith Ungol was under the radar for a long time,” Sugar continues. “They put in the work, but were held back by the times. I imagine grunge breaking had something to do with it. But the comeback and these new albums are a victory lap they deserve. There is a fest called Frost and Fire that honors them! That’s huge, and they should feel good about it. It’s the best ending they could hope for. It’s great they were able to reunite with as much of the original lineup as they could, do these tours and fests, and see their influence over the past 40 years.” Sarah Kitteringham, the lead vocalist for the fantasy-influenced doom/power metal band Smoulder (and a Decibel contributor), is a dedicated Cirith Ungol fan who wrote the liner notes for the 40th-anniversary reissue of Frost and Fire. The first time she and her husband and bandmate Shon Vincent hung out with Smoulder guitarist Collin Wolf in person was at Cirith Ungol’s inaugural reunion show. Smoulder’s first festival gig was opening for Cirith Ungol in Chicago. “They hold a special place in our collective hearts,” she says. “I’m unsure if I found them on [Encyclopaedia] Metallum, crate-digging or YouTube,” Kitteringham continues. “I remember how hearing it made me feel. Initially, I was just in awe at how much Baker sounded like a possessed wizard. Growing up, my dad loved Rush, so hearing someone sing in a similarly strained, but more intensely demented way was cool and inspiring. I eventually started looking for a copy of King of the Dead and was ultimately given an original press of it for my 24th birthday by my then-best friend and now-husband. “Heavy metal thrives when it’s ugly, weird, contemplative and original,” Kitteringham says. “I’ll take a band that plays with their hearts over technically precise but soulless music any day. Cirith Ungol always struck me as the former: a band that did fantasy metal in a very nuanced, incredibly dorky and powerful way. I like that their first gig ever was at a Vietnam anti-war rally. I think any discerning fan realizes that sentiment remains in their lyrics to this day.” Another connection: Smoulder have also used artwork by Whelan on their album covers, which Kitteringham says was a happy coincidence. “People love being part of an underdog story, and in this story, the band and the albums they make have the clout and power to legitimize the love, unlike some other underdog revivals,” she says. “Also, how satisfying is it when a band that made several underrated classics at one point returns and releases albums that are true to the

sound and spirit of their original records? Very few metal bands achieve that—among them Satan, Angel Witch and Pagan Altar. It’s a small list. People feel emotionally invested in supporting Cirith Ungol.”

A LITTLE FIRE IN DENVER Baker has a few requests before playing at Metal & Beer Fest in Denver this December. “I told Jarvis to get me an oxygen bottle,” he says, laughing. He also wants someone to take him to Casa Bonita, the famed Mexican restaurant and indoor theme park made famous thanks to the long-running comedy show South Park. “I want to see the indoor cliff divers,” Baker says. Baker and Garven concede that making a setlist is difficult, mainly because the new material is strong and deserves to be heard. But certain songs must be played, including “Black Machine,” “I’m Alive” and “Atom Smasher.” “We try to do two or three songs off each album—it’s a complete discography sort of thing,” Garven says. “But I’m also the guy in the crowd yelling for songs that bands will never play.” “Not only are we striking a good balance, but we are also getting in a little bit from each album,” Baker adds. Will he sample some of the beers? “Of course. Altitude is one thing, but I’ll be sampling everything they’ve got. It should be interesting to try.” Garven also loves beer and enjoys sampling local fare when touring countries like Germany. He’s never been to Denver or experienced the altitude. “After the show, I will sample all the beer,” he says.

“WE ARE ALL THEIR LEGACY” Garven was up for two days recently in Germany, working on a letter to the author of this story. The gist: He doesn’t want to walk away from the band. I was reluctant to do this interview because the last thing I wanted to talk about was the end of the band I helped found, but I owe the truth to our loyal fans. I wish we had announced a final tour, but not ruled out one-off shows. Every time I heard or read, “This is the final show here or there,” I was not on board with that in my heart and soul, but we had already made our announcement. Unlike many of the other bands that have had their final tours and decided to get back together after a year or so for one reason or another, my misgivings started soon after our announcement because the situation on the ground had significantly changed, leaving me with serious regrets. Even now, Garven is thinking about the band in the present tense. “We thought we could have made Dark Parade even better,” he says. “Every time you have a new slate, you have a chance to improve upon what you made. You get a feeling from playing music that you can’t explain. For me, the final chapter still needs to be written.”

“It’s been fantastic to come back and then be able to make something out of it,” Baker says. “I think what we’ve done is even better than what we did back in the day. It’s great that people have had so much love for the band. Who would have known that could happen after a quartercentury break? It’s been a dream to travel the world and do this. If it ends like this, I will be totally satisfied. And if anything else happens, that is good, too.” Even though Lindstrom and Barraza aren’t onstage for the final lap, they, too, are grateful for the closing act. “I’d just tell people to write what they like and never think about what is popular,” Lindstrom says. “Eventually, your music might catch up with the people.” “The timing was right, and the band is fortunate to be riding the wave,” Barraza says. “I take great pride in contributing to the band finding that big audience and delivering the goods.” The reality, however, is that this might be the last we see of Cirith Ungol for some time, possibly forever. The upside is that their catalog, including two comeback albums, will live on. And their unflappable belief in their music— even in the face of hostility and indifference— will continue to inspire. “We are all their legacy,” Fischer says. “Their existence informed a large part of the modern extreme metal scene to some degree or another. They were among the few bands that dared to do their own thing without copying others.” Kitteringham says Cirith Ungol have always played music out of love, not recognition. “I think it’s easy to make grand declarations about band reunions, but they are mostly pretty bad and majorly disappointing,” she says. “Cirith Ungol skipped being disappointing because they were never that big, and their reunion came about because the fans kept asking for it. They don’t seem to be under any illusion that they are rock stars; instead, they seem to genuinely love what they are doing. “They are kind to bands they are on bills with,” she adds. “I’ve worked with them numerous times over the years, and every time I run into them at festivals and gigs, the guys speak to me. They remember details, they are nice, they are funny, and they are kind. They do the same for everyone. They’ve stayed humble. I think the fact that they genuinely enjoy what they do and genuinely feel grateful for the opportunity to play shines through.” For now, however, if this is goodbye, what a goodbye it’s been. “This all means so much to me,” Garven says. “We’ve contributed so much to heavy metal. Instead of just disbanding or being buried alive, maybe we should do a show here and there or write some new music. Our last two albums were powerful. I think we can come up with another super heavy and good album. It’s my reason for existing, and I don’t want to see it go away.” EE L P•TJEAMNB2E0R25 : S D E C ID BEEC LI B 2 0•2 3 : 7 3

MUSIC PRESENTED BY

BEER PRESENTED BY

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INSIDE ≥

76 BEDSORE Never stop moving 77 COSMIC PUTREFACTION Space Gross

ALL THE NOISE THAT FITS

77 ISLEPTONTHEMOON Lunar client 78 OLD FOREST Mourning woods 79 RECIDIVIST First-time

repeat offenders

The Awakening

JANUARY

Missing a lot of the best ones, but hey, at least they tried

Not even metal

6 1

How can you do a Top 40 when there’s a still a month & a half of the year left? Honestly, this is pretty good

Midwest doom lords THE GATES OF SLUMBER triumph over tragedy with their first album in over a decade

uppose you woke up one morning handcuffed to the radiator of a dilapidated basement with a jumper cable connecting your genitals to a car battery. Your captor, wearing THE GATES a makeshift executioner’s hood, informs you that he’s going to ask OF SLUMBER you a question before you meet your electric funeral. He’ll set you The Gates of free if you answer correctly, but the wrong answer means you’ll Slumber S VA R T ride the lightning. The question is: Who was the best doom metal band in the United States during the Barack Obama administration? ¶ Fuck. What do you say? YOB? Pallbearer? SubRosa? Those are great answers, but this madman’s masked face hasn’t ever stared at a smartphone. Your response must be T-R-V-E. ¶ If you want to get out with your naughty bits intact, the safest answer might be the Gates of Slumber, whose new self-titled album is their first in over a decade. The Indianapolis power trio dropped five indomitable albums of sword-and-sorcery-wielding riff workouts between 2004 and 2011. Their reign of terror was cut short by the untimely passing of

ILLUSTRATION BY MARK RUDOLPH [MARKRUDOLPH.COM]

DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 75

BEDSORE

even as the tempo shifts in a lovably organic fashion. But the best thing about the Gates of Slumber has always been the band’s understanding that their forebears (Sabbath, Vitus and others) did more than doom out—they wrote articulate songs with stylistic variation. Submitted as evidence: the garage boogie of “Full Moon Fever” or the head-nodding biker groove of “At Dawn.” Those brief deviations make it more effective when Gates dig in for an extended excruciation, like the slow-burn horror of “The Fog,” a tribute to the John Carpenter film of the same name. Mercifully, the two longer doom passages that close the record don’t overstay their welcome— neither tops the eight-minute mark. Simon and the boys do such an excellent job of keeping things concise that The Gates of Slumber’s relative brevity (about 35 minutes long, just six songs) feels like an unfriendly tease when you consider the trio reformed in 2019. I would have gladly kept them in the dungeon longer if it yielded one more tune. —JOSEPH SCHAFER

Dreaming the Strife for Love WTH?! | 2 0 B U C K S P I N

If psychedelic death metal conjures images of Chris Reifert or Trey Azagthoth at Woodstock, we’re already down a different rabbit hole. Italy’s Bedsore—and by extension Sweven, Venenum, Reveal! and further back Alf-era At the Gates and Disharmonic Orchestra— aren’t so much of the patchouli-scented, shoeless variety of psychedelic, but more of the sinister seen-the-unseen/oh-shit type. While Hypnagogic Hallucinations (2020) was a thing, the Rome-based non-traditionalists

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have honed their wildest of crafts on Dreaming the Strife for Love. As expected, this isn’t an easy listen, an unfathomable nexus of demo-era Cynic on some of the wickedest Comus drip-drip gummies, taking off into ’70s mind-expanding horror. While the opening track, “Minerva’s Obilesque,” and its companion, “Scars of Light,” open the salvo of Bedsore’s potential, it’s centerpiece “A Colossus, an Elephant, a Winged Horse, the Dragon Rendezvous” where they truly wing

ABHORRATION

Demonolatry

INVICTUS PRODUCTIONS

Ow, my virgin ears

It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. In this spirit, I’m not checking with Albert first, and instead just gambling that the phrase “putting it in dry” is not too vulgar for the sensibilities of Decibel’s readership. We’re all adults who have listened to Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse here. That’s how Oslo’s Abhorration give it to you on “Chamber of Agilarept,” the first track of debut LP Demonolatry. No one’s plunking on a clean guitar or holding down a synthesizer key to get you in the mood; Abhorration’s idea of an intro is to say fuck an intro and crash through the gate at full speed with the entire band—including snarling vocalist Magnus Garathun—in coordinated assault mode from the very first second. These dudes have served time in bands like Condor, Hecatomb and Obliteration, who shared an affection for the earliest, evilest

out, weird inward and transform exward into the unbelievable. It’s almost 12 minutes long, and like Opeth’s “Forest of October,” the song length vanishes into nothingness. Bedsore carry time effortlessly. Again, there’s no toe-tapping crossroads blues here, but unorthodox—almost jazz-like—movements, some more “Italian” (e.g., Quella Vecchia Locanda, Picchio dal Pozzo) than others. If Dreaming the Strife for Love didn’t end on “Fountain of Venus,” a sprawling, brassy, cosmic gem, Bedsore would’ve been docked a point or two out of sheer spite, but since the byproduct of repeated listens is a fugue state, it’s everything egg-headed proggers could’ve ever asked for in the modern era. —CHRIS DICK

PHOTO BY FRANCESCO MARIA PEPE

bassist Jason McCash. Afterward, vocalist and guitarist Karl Simon soldiered on with Wretch— effectively the same band—who released a single record before drummer J. Clyde Paradis also passed on too young. Considering such tragedy, it’s a miracle that the Gates of Slumber are back in the saddle. However, it’s no surprise that Simon’s songwriting is still superb. Opener “Embrace the Lie” punches with all the bewitching brutality of the brainwashing tyrant it depicts. It’s as strong as classic Gates cuts like “Chaos Calling” and “Ice Worm”—and the rest of the record keeps that level of quality. That like-no-time-has-passed-at-all quality comes partly from Simon’s updated rhythm section, drummer Chuck Brown and bassist Steve Janiak. The two both riff and sing in fellow Indianapolis doomsters Apostle of Solitude (coincidentally another correct answer to your inquisitor’s question), and have previously worked with Simon. The trio’s chemistry is obvious; their transitions are buttery smooth

death-thrash and a blackened edge to varying degrees. If they’ve developed any new musical interests, they didn’t form Abhorration to explore them; there’s an overt tribute to Morbid Angel’s “Chapel of Ghouls” in “Ai Apaec,” and some early-Deicide frenzy in the middle of “Spawn of an Abhorrent Entity.” A sulfurous whiff of Hell Awaits hangs over the whole thing, too, most notable in the chaotic soloing of “Invoke Them.” And like that Slayer opus from before Rick Rubin made ’em trim the fat, track lengths on Demonolatry average around six minutes, but the intensity doesn’t let up. I don’t want to make Abhorration sound like an ’80s tribute band, so I’ll highlight the otherworldly squelchiness of Arild Torp’s lead guitar on “The Grace of Immolation” as a cool, original thing. (No lyric sheet with the promo, so I’m still working to confirm this song is about Ross Dolan’s hair.) —ANTHONY BARTKEWICZ

COSMIC PUTREFACTION

Emerald Fires Atop the Farewell Mountains P R O FO U N D LO R E

Follow the yellow brick road

Real talk: When you hear “progressive death metal,” you probably expect endless noodling and atmospherics that water down the brutality you came for. Cosmic Putrefaction’s Emerald Fires Atop the Farewell Mountains walks a fine line here, but trust me—this one’s worth your time. Sure, Gabriele Gramaglia leans into the cosmic storytelling and adds more layers of cinematic atmosphere, but at its core, this is still death metal with teeth. For starters, the riffing and drumming are sharp as hell. Giulio Galati’s work behind the kit isn’t just technically impressive— it’s dynamic and genuinely punishing when it needs to be. His drumming alone should justify your weekly chiropractic visits through tracks like “Hallways Engraved in Aether,” which manages to balance chaotic brutality with melody in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard to be “art.” And while Gramaglia’s penchant for layered guitars, synths and orchestral elements might raise some eyebrows, it never fully drowns out the primal, aggressive side of the music. The real kicker? This album isn’t just some overproduced, atmospheric exercise—it’s surprisingly grounded in its heaviness. The production ensures that the raw aggression shines through the cosmic haze, and the riffs carry enough weight to satisfy even the most cynical death metal fan. The title track is a prime example of how Gramaglia can keep things heavy and

crushing, even while exploring more ambitious territory. Does it push boundaries? Sure. But it never forgets its roots in death metal’s most brutal traditions. So, if you’ve got reservations about all that “progressive” talk, give Emerald Fires a shot—you might be surprised by just how much you enjoy the journey. —TIM MUDD

DEADBODY/ TRIBAL GAZE

Split

C LO S E D CA S K E T ACTIVITIES/ MAGGOT STOMP

Not slam, but also not great

Based on the band names, artwork and song titles, I would have wagered most of Decibel’s crypto holdings that this Deadbody/Tribal Gaze split LP was full-on slam metal. Neither band fits the bill, but without question there is a significant difference between the two. Deadbody—despite opening with the eightsecond grind track “D.E.A.D.B.O.D.Y.” (where they spell out the word “Deadbody”)—have managed to cover quite a bit of ground on their five tracks. “Pleonexia” is impressively economical, fitting in pinched harmonic fretboard runs, deathgrind, a skanking hardcore part, a killer slow riff and killer solos on top of it. “Six Shots Saved” does almost as much in half the time. Yet these never feel disjointed or off the rails. And final track “Dead Body II” takes its time with a sludgecore second half that is the best part of the album. Then there’s Tribal Gaze—one of those bands that, on their own, are decent. These three songs are mid-paced death metal with some faster moments, but a lot more groove and some of those parts where one guy in the pit starts taking really big, slow steps. Hearing this after Deadbody, though, it’s fairly mundane. The riffs themselves don’t leave an impression, and there is really nothing you don’t expect. It’s a holding pattern until the other side starts again. As far as splits go, you want at least one side to be good and one side to be not terrible. Deadbody are good, Tribal Gaze aren’t terrible. Success. —SHANE MEHLING

DEADFORM

Entrenched in Hell TA N K C R I M E S

Now and forever

In a world largely defined by chaos, there’s something to be said for consistency. Bolt Thrower will

always be Bolt Thrower. Cannibal Corpse will always be Cannibal Corpse. Not everyone wants to experiment, and that’s just fine. Consider the subject of this review: Deadform went into this project with a clear idea of what they wanted to create and telegraphed that intent very intentionally by highlighting keywords like “former members of Dystopia, Laudanum, Stormcrow,” and, for those who remember what the Bay Area was like before the invasion of the tech bros, “Oakland.” The band’s three members are culled from several of the area’s most dearly departed extreme metal outfits, and the inclusion of drummer/ vocalist Dino Sommese offers a particular sweetener for those still nursing a Dystopia-sized hole in their hearts. A “members off” project like Deadform doesn’t even have to be very good for people to love it—it’s just convenient for us, the listeners, that this one is. Accordingly, Deadform’s output is crusty, sludgy and miserable, with spooky spoken word parts, crunchy mid-tempo death metal riffs aplenty and an overall unsettling atmosphere. On their 2022 demo, the band served up a perfectly satisfying slab of grimy death-crust, but this full-length surpasses the sum of its parts and dials up the Killing Joke and Amebix vibes. Those anxious post-punk influences bleed through the murk on songs like opener “Of Plagues” and the noisy panic attack of “Misery.” Deadform love a sample, and “The Exit” is bar none the album’s most chilling track, thanks to its choir of disembodied voices, while “Peacekeeper” is a dynamic crust odyssey. Even if you don’t have a ratty Stormcrow shirt rotting away in your closet, you’re going to want to listen to this. —KIM KELLY

ISLEPTONTHEMOON 6 Only the Stars Know of My Misfortune BINDRUNE RECORDINGS

Clear eyes, full hearts, let’s lose

It’s an open question whether the best music should live and die by its context—the temporal, social, and personal circumstances in which it is created and appreciated—or if it should succeed wholly on its own artistic merits, powerful in its craft whether external meanings are inflicted on it or not. Right off the dome, you can probably list a dozen or so essential records that would line up in support of each side of that argument with equal strength. Isleptonthemoon is an anonymous solo project that weaves shimmery post-gaze and occasionally reimagines black metal as if it belonged to that DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 77

world. Maybe the title says it all, and none but the impossibly distant celestial orbs can understand this music’s origins, but without further context, Only the Stars is just the saddest Friday Night Lights soundtrack imaginable. A few potent tricks return to the spotlight several times throughout this record’s half-hour runtime: relaxed strumming whose intensity ebbs and flows with the songs’ emotional energy; plaintive, whisper-washed tenor vocals that communicate as much in their atmosphere as in their verbal logic; smoothly effected melodic tremolo guitar clouds that buoy the vocalist’s weary soul; tear-splashed piano accompaniment for added sentimental color; crackling blast beats and anguished cries borrowed from black metal, but mainly used to ratchet up Isleptonthemoon’s native style a couple gears beyond what post-rock can usually reach on its own. It’s affecting, but we’re left with the nagging feeling that some specific context could fill in some important gaps here and rescue this potent music from the slurry of familiar sounds that threaten to camouflage and consume it. —DANIEL LAKE

OLD FOREST

Graveside

SOULSELLER

Walk the path to the land of dark immortals

I’ll be honest: I didn’t really want to write a review after my initial listen of Graveside. The promo materials really hammer home how this is one of those “roots” records with nods to Gehenna, Emperor and other famous Norwegian second-wavers, so I was expecting something close to last year’s Darkthrone covers EP with the production of the low-key classic debut Into the Old Forest. This isn’t that, nor is it really a return to their old style, and because of this I mentally checked out. Until the second listen. And third. And so on. Graveside has moments of Old Forest circa 1999 for sure, but less Gehenna and more Cradle of Filth (think The Principle of Evil Made Flesh and only that) and other countrymen of the era. This isn’t a negative. In fact, it’s a step in the right direction, sort of closing the book on the epic, pagan style Old Forest perfected since re-emerging last decade. It’s atmospheric, traditional black metal crafted with obvious reverence to where they came from, with moments of chilling greatness (check out those Thorns riffs in “Witch Spawn,” for instance). If this sounds at all in your wheelhouse, you’d do worse than giving Graveside a few spins. —NEILL JAMESON 78 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

PANZERFAUST

The Suns of Perdition: Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion EISENWALD

Tanks a lot

Beginning in 2019 and concluding in 2024, The Suns of Perdition stands before us as a brilliantly executed tetralogy from Canadian black metallers Panzerfaust. With a concept that casts the listener headfirst into war-ravaged history while also introspectively exploring the mental machinations behind such atrocities, Panzerfaust have distinguished their Marduk-and-Behemoth-esque BM attack with increased reliance on enveloping Cult of Luna-like post-metal. Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion draws this riveting series to a conclusion—nihilistic punctuation for a world set on inevitable ruin at humanity’s gnarled hands. “The Hesychasm Unchained” opens the final chapter with dissonance created in cyclic riff patterns, propelled by dizzying double bass and multi-tongued screams and roars. Panzerfaust have always crept along the discordant axis established by Deathspell Omega, though not as obtusely, and such maniainducing drama continues on “When Even the Ground Is Hostile,” a striking showcase of the power they now harness. Equally massivesounding, “Occam’s Fucking Razor” acts as a blackened post-metal monument to our failings as a pathetic species dead-set on repeat wars for power gain, while the title track brings the four-part series to a suitably apocalyptic finish: “Somewhere, a new sun rises / But all our graves go unvisited in the end…” The scope of what Panzerfaust have achieved with this opus will not be appreciated until all four chapters are considered, musically and thematically, as one. In totality, it might be devoid of hope, but it’s certainly been a thought-provoking journey to shadow Zion. —DEAN BROWN

QAALM

Grave Impressions of an Unbroken Arc H Y PA E T H R A L

As a baalmb

If you heard Qaalm’s oppressive, depressive debut, 2022’s Resilience & Despair, consider yourself unprepared for this second salvo. It’s like night and day. Well, night and darker night. Even if they aren’t armed with a more cheerful outlook, this pared-down power trio (guitarist/vocalist Henry Derek Elis, drummer Dave Ferrera and new guitarist Minsu Dylan Kim) uses Grave Impressions of an Unbroken Arc’s

four songs and briefer runtime to explore more varied territory than its predecessor. Big improvement: songs that stand out from each other, a general problem with progressive death metal, where this nominally sits. Here, they solve that problem by tossing genre orthodoxy out the window. Principal songwriter Elis brings in unexpected touches from other influences: Type O Negative moping on “King of Contradiction” (the “Doesn’t mean anything at all” refrain towards the end); Adrien Belew-era King Crimson spring-loaded guitar on “Hangman’s Lament”; even some heads-down, hair-out Metallica/Testament riffing on “Shadows Behind the Sun.” The tangents don’t distract from the overall vibe; instead, they feel organic, part of the metallic totality. It also sounds heavy as a headstone—they hired Paul Fig (Rush, Slipknot) to engineer and Zeuss (every other band) for the mixing and mastering, and the expense paid off. Don’t expect much lightness on the lyrical side, either. Elis brings the same grim POV from his eponymous dark Americana side project; it’s just harder to understand some of the words here. Elis has been kicking around the underground for a while now, but this feels like him letting loose and having fun (relatively speaking). It’ll definitely leave an impression. —JEFF TREPPEL

RAPTORE

Renaissance DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS

Where’s Marianne Gravatte when you need her?

For how pretty it made the boys look in 1984, all that damned Aqua Net and blue eyeliner has made it difficult for the musical prowess and innovation of glam metal to be truly appreciated by the tiresomely heteronormative metal scene. Sure, the bacchanalian lifestyles of the famous and the failures make for riveting storytelling, but it’s gotten to the point where the actual music is being ignored in favor of the same old lurid tales of who fucked whom while snorting what. Deep in the metal underground, however, there’s no shortage of younger musicians who are resurrecting the chrome ‘n’ leather Sunset Strip vibe that once permeated heavy metal, such as Enforcer, Skull Fist and the best of the lot right now, Sonja. The brainchild of Argentinian musician Nico Cattoni, Barcelona-based Raptor seeks to resurrect that vintage sound also, and the band’s third album does a very good job combining the grit of early Manowar with the flashy sleekness of Ratt’s Invasion of Your Privacy and the European edginess of Witch Cross.

The riffs are razor-sharp and extremely catchy, walking the delicate line between masculine muscle and feminine warmth, while Cattoni’s vocals bear an uncanny similarity to Sonja’s Melissa Moore, which is never a bad thing. “Satana,” “Abaddon” and “Requiescat in Pace” toss in plenty of devilish, occulty fun, while “Darklight” wonderfully captures the nocturnal vibe of Dokken’s Under Lock and Key. Raptore understand the assignment completely, and have emerged with a record that’ll have the bros invading their girlfriends’ closets in no time. —ADRIEN BEGRAND

RECIDIVIST

Madness Malformed C R E AT O R - D E S T R U C T O R

Drink up

By now, you know the names: Terminal Nation.

Kruelty. 200 Stab Wounds. Maul. Tribal Gaze. Vomit Forth. Bands that hail from the new school of hardcore kids decked out in Gildan heavy cotton tees one or two sizes too big and windowless-white-van mustaches who discovered death metal, HM-2 distortion and Floridian sweatpant boners (and vice versa). Emerging from that ridiculously fertile corner of Planet Metal comes Recidivist, a quartet whose primitive take on the combo of metallic hardcore and death metal has been soiling sacred undergarments all around their Salt Lake City hometown for a couple years now. Madness Malformed, via the fine folks at Creator-Destructor, moves Recidivist onto a bigger stage and puts more ears on them. And what those ears are going to hear is a lot of what they heard in the ’90s. The knuckle-dragging slow parts are all Obituary and Internal Bleeding without the obvious—and respective—Redneck and Fire Island

WALKING WOUNDED

Bestial Condemnation

Cleveland rocks… and we all fall down | R E L A P S E

From the Relapse-provided bio: “The band emerges from Cleveland’s notoriously gritty and aggressive underground music scene with a fresh take on the Rust Belt city’s storied heritage.” This quote sparked memories of two of my favorite Cleveland stories—lore that the Cleveland Historical Society would probably like to forget. The first involves that time in 1969 when the ridiculously polluted Cuyahoga River caught fucking fire! The second pertains to the appalling hilarity of Ten Cent Beer Night and how it made an Indians-Rangers game

much more interesting back in June of ’74. Walking Wounded are very recent additions to the city scene, so where they fall on Cleveland’s historical continuum remains to be seen, though I hazard to guess they’re at the stage where security is still shooing them off the lawn at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Combining the thudding thunder of ’90s Clevo hardcore (Integrity, Ringworm, In Cold Blood, One Life Crew) with the thudding thunder of the thunderously thudding Bolt Thrower, Obituary and Xibalba, Bestial Condemnation lines up another entry at the crossover of breakdown-heavy

stomp. The fast parts reference the tottering chaos of Napalm Death’s Mass Appeal Madness and early Skinless. Weaved into those musical milemarkers is plenty of Earth Crisis and Merauder. A band this rooted in past basics might have no business penning a seven-minute epic (“Cryptic Nightmare”), but any amount of repetitive clobber is gussied up with a solo so rudimentary in its scale usage, phrasing and delivery that only the most soulless of old heads won’t find it charming, if not hilarious. The drum sound may tend towards flatness (as the guitars do dryness); nonetheless, Recidivist deliver lunch-bucket extremity with no frills, existing like a glass of water after the addition of a packet of salt. Sure, you get… salt water. But in the same way an untamed chug on an unassuming glass of salt water can do a number on your taste buds, throat and stomach, so too can Madness Malformed insidiously fuck you up. —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

hardcore and meathead death metal. The ace up Walking Wounded’s sleeve is their ability to dispense with restraint. Noah Hardesty’s vocals are at once rabid, venomous, scathing and menacing, which might all sound like the same thing, but a blistering variety of sounds and spit is coming out of this one man. Chief songwriter Steve Perrino never shies away from appropriate use of classic Slayer tritones and precision, yet delivers balls-out thrash riffage in “Battle Worn,” “Anguished Solitude” and “Food for the Crows,” which contrasts with the one-two, smooth-brain ID-expulsion of “Depravity” and “Birth.” Officially a six-song EP, though loaded with just as many bonus tracks, Bestial Condemnation is a solid introduction from a band very wise beyond their two-year history. —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

DECIBEL : JANUARY 2025 : 79

EUGENE S. ROBINSON

CONVERGE, JESUS LIZARD + COUCH SLUT,

OH MY! O

ver the years, finding yourself naked onstage, penis in hand, and g0d knows what else stewing in the brain pan occasionally might leave one feeling… well, shameless is not the right word, but maybe, to a certain degree, impervious to that which others might find disconcerting. It ended up happening as the result of a very specific calculus. One that started in 1983. You see, living in a house nicknamed Alpha Drugs might have (spoiler alert) tipped a few hands about how life was lived for me in 1983. Guys getting their PhDs in chemistry cooking up acid was just the tip of a much more tripped-up iceberg. Sitting around one day with the walls crawling, clothes had started to feel like an encumbrance to me. So, I took them off. Then the room started to feel less like a room and much more like a cell. Which is to say, I wanted to go OUT. But, as the acid-fueled thinking went, if I go outside naked people will… um, laugh? Then Robert Plant in my head, as clear as day, when he asked, “Does anyone remember laughter?” 80 : JANUARY 2025 : DECIBEL

Yeah, screw it. Outside I went. And at first, a passing couple did laugh. Until I turned to look at them and I realized in this power exchange an unbothered naked man is much more of an implied (or actual) threat than a nerve-wracked one. Which is when it became a thing for me. Call it the day that shame—and the shyness associated with it—died. Which is why it was so strange to be in the midst of recording Buñuel’s Mansuetude and being set upon by a sudden fit of reluctance. The way this works, the way it’s always worked for me, is that amid recording new music, I start to have audio hallucinations. These are not nearly so hallucinatory as the aforementioned ones that drove me naked into the streets. No, these musical phantoms I’ve figured out over the years, are guest artists, the ones that exist in my head, suggesting themselves and offering their contributions. In no place but my head. Jacob Bannon, Duane Denison, Megan O., Converge, the Jesus Lizard, Couch Slut.

This is what struck me. Not at first, but soon after I added vocals. I could hear them and nothing but them. I don’t mean I thought I heard them. I mean I actually heard them. And then, surprise of all surprises, a sudden fit of shyness. A hesitancy. A reluctance. While you can’t reveal more than sitting astride a monitor wedge with nothing on but an erection, this prospect, of asking for something from people who I hold in high esteem? Quasi-terrifying. Partially because of a fear of rejection. About 40 percent was this, sure. The remaining 60 percent was totally grown out of me knowing me and knowing that if I was denied it would mean an unsettling that would make it extremely hard to enjoy the musical canon that had formed the backbone of a lot of my listening during very specific times of my life. Yeah, yeah, I know I’d like to say that I’d be bigger than that, but I’ve failed to be/do so in the past and like was said in Clint Eastwood’s Magnum Force flick, a good man’s got to know his limitations.

But not asking? I’d have rather died than not listen to the voices in my head and in the mix. So, I asked. And waited. And waited. Megan said sure. Duane, too. And then last and maybe lastingly, Jacob wrote back and agreed. Then a twist: Megan wrote back and declined. “If it’s coming out on Profound Lore…? I just can’t,” she said. “Too much to explain, but I’m sure you’d understand anyway.” The record was coming out on Skin Graft in the U.S. and Overdrive in Europe. So, tragedy averted. Their parts recorded. Like climbing back into my firstfloor room after a day of walking around nude, ease and a kind of lassitude descended. Right up until I heard the final mix. It was eerie. Twilight Zone eerie. All of what I had heard before they recorded, what had inspired me to ask in the first place, was exactly what they had recorded. So, you see? People talk about all of the bad things acid has done. Why do they never talk about the good things? Well, yeah, I guess I just did. ILLUSTRATION BY ED LUCE

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