Decibel #234 - April 2024 by Red Flag Media

2024 JUDAS PRIEST MIDNIGHT METAL & BEER FEST PHILLY SPECIAL PREVIEW 50 YEARS INVINCIBLE

EXPECT NOTHING LESS

REFUSE/RESIST

ALSO

BRUCE DICKINSON DRAGONFORCE MARYLAND DEATHFEST XIX TERMINAL NATION NECROPHOBIC COFFINS CHAPEL OF DISEASE BRAT

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APRIL 2024 // No. 234

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April 2024 [R 234] decibelmagazine.com

Hell’s Heroes COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY GENE SMIRNOV

upfront

features

10 metal muthas Grappling with emotions

18 necrophobic Time is a construct

26 bruce dickinson Flying solo

12 exclusive:

20 brat It’s Kenough for us

28 midnight Stairway to Hell

22 coffins Sworn to the dark

30 q&a: judas priest The metal god himself Rob Halford has a sobering look at his band’s five-decade (and counting) career

maryland deathfest xix preview Back in black (and death, and grind, and doom)

14 low culture A bittersweet pill 15 kill screen:

dragonforce Up from the underground

16 in the studio:

terminal nation

24 chapel of disease Towards the light

reviews 34 the decibel

hall of fame Far from any snowy fjords or burning churches, Oakland city slickers Ludicra craft a thematic template for USBM on their final album The Tenant

46 exclusive:

metal & beer fest: philly 2024 preview Ready to win over Philly’s hearts and crafts

67 lead review Judas Priest may not be technological wizards, but the riffs are undeniable on 19th LP Invincible Shield 68 album reviews Records from bands that know better than to ask Albert for a list spot, including Exhorder, Ghoul and Skeletal Remains 80 damage ink Age is just a number (of the beast)

To the death

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.

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April 2024 [T234] PUBLISHER

Alex Mulcahy

alex@redflagmedia.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Albert Mudrian

albert@decibelmagazine.com AD SALES

James Lewis

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

Aaron Salsbury

aaron@decibelmagazine.com

Michael Wohlberg

michael@decibelmagazine.com CUSTOMER SERVICE

Patty Moran

COPY EDITOR

Andrew Bonazelli

BOOKCREEPER

Tim Mulcahy

patty@decibelmagazine.com

tim@redflagmedia.com CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Decibel featured Deicide on our cover. That 192-issue “break” between covers is the longest for any artist in the magazine’s history. That’s not to say the Florida death metal legends have been undeserving candidates for a not-so-sweet 16, but after the churn of several increasingly melodic albums— not to mention the churn of several guitarists—I felt a little, well, oblivious to evil. Sometime in the past couple years, however, a Deicide Renaissance had taken hold. Maybe it was when guitarist Taylor Nordberg slammed shut the rotating door on the band’s lead guitar position. Or when the group performed all of Legion on tour after saying no to similar requests for several years (trust me, I made some). Even Glen Benton appears considerably cuddlier, dropping in on the occasional podcast and regularly posting caption-less self-portraits on Instagram. It’s the new record (and debut for upstart label Reigning Phoenix), Banished by Sin, however, that really signals the third act in Deicide’s career. It’s easily my favorite since Scott Burns’ last engineering hurrah with the band, 1997’s Serpents of the Light, and as you’ll read in Justin M. Norton’s excellent story, they’ve managed to recapture that old-school Deicide feel that had eluded them since the mid-’90s. And with their April Metal & Beer Fest Philly headlining performance of songs from their legendary trifixion trifecta of Deicide, Legion and Once Upon the Cross—just one of four exclusive special sets you can read about in Kevin Stewart-Panko’s Metal & Beer Fest preview piece elsewhere in this issue—Deicide can comfortably acknowledge their legacy without entering the creative wasteland of a legacy artist. But rest assured: While the head demon may have “mellowed” with age, he’ll never stop hating Roadrunner, the Hoffman brothers or Jesus. He’s still very much the same guy who two decades ago, when I asked him what motivates him to continue the band, replied, “What else am I gonna do, go work at Checkers?” Glen Benton: Still the man behind the crooked (inverted) cross. albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief

Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR

Albert Mudrian

DECIBEL WEB AD SALES

James Lewis

albert@decibelmagazine.com james@decibelmagazine.com

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

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

It’s been 16 years since the last time

Chuck BB, Ed Luce Mark Rudolph

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

BRAND NEW SOLO ALBUM RELEASED ON MARCH 1ST Across ten inventive, expansive and absorbing tracks, Bruce Dickinson and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy Z, have created one of 2024’s deﬁning rock albums.The Mandrake Project is not just an album, but also a dark, adult comic book story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientiﬁc and occult genius.

Available as limited edition blue vinyl with stencil, lenticular cover CD (both exclusive to Walmart), deluxe CD book pack with comic, CD and 180 black vinyl, digital and Dolby Atmos.

READER OF THE

MONTH You sent us a PDF of your top 30 albums last year, complete with cover art and editorial on each selection. The introduction to the list begins, “Hello, friends and relatives...” Is this an annual family tradition, and which relatives actually receive this? Does your cousin reply, “You forgot ____. Invalid list”?

Charlie Speicher East Glacier, MT

East Glacier, Montana: What the hell is out there besides Charlie Speicher?

It’s myself, my wife Sienna and our three boys. We live in a pretty remote spot in Montana on the Blackfeet Reservation, right where the prairies and mountains meet. I can run from my house and within 30 minutes be in pristine Glacier Park or the Badger-Two Medicine Wilderness. My wife is from here and comes from a big family, so there’s a ton of extended family around. I work as a school counselor in Browning at the Buffalo Hide Academy alternative school (shout-out, Blackfeet Nation!).

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I’m just a music nerd and I love metal and hardcore so much, so I make a top albums list every year and send it to my family and friends. I think like three people actually read it. I don’t usually get much feedback, but someone did comment this year that my support of the new Gridlink record was misguided. I beg to differ, as Coronet Juniper absolutely destroys! You’ve been a Decibel subscriber since issue No. 76, so that is a solid 13 years. Tell us another thing in your life that also has been a constant through that period, something even more surprising than sticking with an extreme metal magazine this long.

Well, I don’t know if this is a surprise or not, but my wife and I have been together that long. We actually started dating right around the time I began my subscription to Decibel. And I’m

happy to say that I like my odds to go the distance with both my wife and my Decibel subscription.

I’m happy to say that I like my odds to go the distance with both my wife and my Decibel subscription. This is our Metal & Beer Fest Philly preview issue. There are reasonably priced flights from East Glacier to Philly (albeit with a seven-hour layover in Denver). Are you pulling the trigger in April or what?

Sadly, I won’t be making it to Philly this year for Metal & Beer Fest, but I did make that trek once before, for dBMBF 2020 (turned out to be September 2021), with Pig Destroyer and Converge playing two of my all-time favorites in full. I somehow talked my brother and brother-in-law (two absolute non-metalheads) into going with me, and they had a great time. It really opened their eyes to see how, dare I say, evolved the heavy music scene is?

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

NOW SLAYING Wonder what Decibel world HQ has been rocking for the past month? Well, here are the records that we spun most while extending our Dry January all the way to February 2.

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

This Month’s Mutha: Karen Tardugno Mutha of Tuna Tardugno of Sweat

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a mother of three daughters, grandmother of two granddaughters and one grandson, and grandma the great to my great-grandson. I am retired from the health insurance industry after 25 years. At an early age, I was introduced to all kinds of music by my parents and older siblings. There was quite the variety since we were a large Italian family of 11. My parents played the Italian radio station on Sunday mornings, introducing us to artists like Toto Cutugno, Al Bano and Romina Power. My eldest sibling introduced me to classic rock, Jimi Hendrix, CCR, Iron Butterfly, Alvin Lee, the Beatles, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and more. When did Tuna start expressing an interest in music? Did you have any hand in shaping her tastes?

Tuna became a music lover at an early age, around a year old. She loved it when I played the Mamas and the Papas, singing and dancing along with the music. She was in dance class from 5 until 18. We went to music festivals like the Edenfest, a three-day event in Clarington, Ontario; K-Rockathons; and Woodstock ’99. I took her to see Alice Cooper, Duran Duran and Heart also. In addition to fronting Sweat, Tuna is involved in underground wrestling. Do you think that’s awesome, do you worry to death about her, or both?

I agreed to help put Tuna through art school, but I refused to put her through wrestling school 10 : A P R I L 2 0 2 4 : D E C I B E L

because she was never in a fight and I just didn’t want her to get hurt. So, I definitely worried about her. You attended Graf Orlock’s penultimate show in Brooklyn, which Sweat opened. How did that pit compare to Tuna’s other live performances?

Honestly, the performance of Sweat in Brooklyn was the only show that I saw since we are miles apart; however, I did see a live wrestling performance in Syracuse, and during both events she was very energetic and gave it 100 percent. What accomplishment of your daughter’s are you most proud of?

Tuna is a member of the National Honor Society. When she wrote stories during her school years, her teachers were very impressed! Tell us something about Tuna that none of her fans would ever suspect.

Although I am proud of many of her accomplishments, the one that stood out for a lifetime was the award that she received at her sixth grade graduation commencement. During her years in elementary school and beyond, she was a top student, receiving high honors. At this particular commencement, I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t getting any awards until the end when the principal announced the top award: the Daughters of the American Revolution Patriotism Award! That was amazing. I still hold her framed award to this day. —ANDREW BONAZELLI

Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f  Necrot, Lifeless Birth  Dödsrit, Nocturnal Will  Rid of Me, Access to the Lonely  Deicide, Banished by Sin  My Dying Bride, Live at Willem II (1993 bootleg) ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e  Maggot Heart, Hunger  Final Gasp, Mourning Moon  Devil Master, Ecstasies of Never Ending Night  Poison Ruin, Härvest  Midnight, Let There Be Witchery ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s  Deicide, Banished by Sin  Midnight, Hellish Expectations  Shock Withdrawal, The Dismal Advance  Slimelord, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished  meth., Shame ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r  HEALTH, RAT WARS  DragonForce, Extreme Power Metal  Ghoul, Dungeon Bastards  Midnight, Hellish Expectations  Shock Withdrawal, The Dismal Advance ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s  I Hate Myself, 10 Songs  Escuela Grind, DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL  Asphyx, Embrace the Death  Morbikon, “Borne of Phantom Vessel” Lathe-cut 7-inch  Various Artists, Don’t Fall in Love With Yourself

GUEST SLAYER

---------------------------------Chris Moore : r e p u l s i o n / vosh/coke bust/kontusion  Killing Joke, Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions  Vastum, Inward to Gethsemane  Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies  Nine Inch Nails, Further Down the Spiral  Coffins, Sacrifice to Evil Spirit

MARYLAND DEATHFEST

After a self-imposed one-year break,

MARYLAND DEATHFEST ack in March of 2022, Maryland Deathfest co-founders Ryan Taylor and

Evan Harting had already decided a break was needed. That meant there wasn’t going to be a 2023 edition of “America’s Biggest Annual Metal Party.” The combined forces of the COVID pandemic, inconsistent international vaccine requirements, and a post-pandemic backlog in visa processing for foreign bands had the pair burnt out and wanting a break. Even with the success of the festival’s 2022 post-COVID return, “stuff that happened up to and at the fest made the decision seem like the right one,” laughs Taylor. These include the city of Baltimore not coming through on permits for the Edison Lot stages until two days before the gates opened and a particularly vicious storm that moved Friday night’s Edison Lot program (which included Carcass and Obituary) to the Power Plant Live’s covered courtyard. Additionally, the pair behind the Deathfest brand excised satellite fests they were booking and organizing in California, Quebec, the U.K. and the Netherlands to provide sole focus to the proverbial mothership. This decision has paid dividends. The revamped deathfests.com website is cleaner, more informative and much more user-friendly. The MDF Facebook page now provides important information about visas being confirmed and approved for those bands coming from Germany, the U.K., Scandinavia, Canada, Japan, Italy and elsewhere. In addition, a handful of MDF 2024 performers (Ahab, Aura Noir, Bloodbath, Archgoat, Extortion and Yacøpse, amongst others) are 12 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

having mini-tours and off dates around their festival appearance sanctioned by Taylor and Harting as a means of giving everyone a little more bang for the expense of their credentials. “We started working with a different law firm to do the visas and started working on them way earlier because we had that year off,” explains Taylor. “I don’t know if it’s because of the firm or because we started earlier or if USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] finally got their shit together after COVID—probably a bit of everything—but we’re seeing every petition we’ve filed so far being approved within three to four weeks, which is insanely efficient.”

This is good news for fans waiting to see rare American soil performances by Sodom (who will be playing twice and airing Agent Orange), My Dying Bride, Sacrifice, Primordial, Arcturus, Dread Sovereign, Mork, Carpathian Forest, Rot and Dismember, the latter of which have been scheduled to play as far back as 2019. That’s not to discount appearances by homegrown talent Soilent Green, the reunited Oppressor, Spectral Voice (performing their latest album, Sparagmos in its entirety) and a seldom-seen East Coast appearance of Forbidden. The news gets better, especially for walking-adverse attendees, as transit time between the four stages has been cut to a couple minutes. The layout includes the continued use of the Soundstage and Rams Head venues and Power Plant Live, with the newest addition being the Marketplace Stage, an outdoor stage just outside Soundstage’s doors. “The plan is to have alternating sets between the Power Plant and Marketplace stages,” Taylor explains. “The benefit is that everything is contained in one general area, and it doesn’t force fans to miss sets walking to and from the Edison Lot. When you walk out of the buildings, the outdoor stages will be right there. It’ll feel like the old Sonar days.” —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

PHOTO BY JOSH SISK

rewards fans with a triumphant return

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock [ A C T I V I S I O N ]

Now for Something Serious, I Guess was going to lead by explaining how

a stranger asking, “Are you Neill Jameson?” can only go sideways at best, but I had an experience with my mental health recently that I wanted to document somewhere and my lists of various (and potentially sketchy) records I post didn’t seem like the right arena, sorry. Did you know Branikald is on Spotify? The AI DJ does. It’s not a well-kept secret that I’ve struggled with my mental health my entire adult life— probably most of my childhood as well—and while I’ve gone to great lengths to work on either addressing or mitigating the problems, especially in the last few years, there’s still moments that shine through. Have you written me an email that I never responded to after being very consistent with communication for years? Hey, look, there’s one. And sorry, especially those unopened ones congratulating me on becoming a father three years ago. I’m prescribed a few different things now, both for depression/ADHD and for chronic migraines. Some of you may think that I’m an idiot for allowing Big Pharma to poison me all willy-nilly through the greedy yet soft hands of my various physicians, but let me assure you: I’ve done a lot of different drugs in various (and progressively worse) locations with questionable people, some of which I’ve had unprotected sex with. I think I’ve given up on the whole “don’t roll the dice with your health” thing, regardless of how much mineral water I drink. So, I don’t need the lecture or the links to Joe Rogan or Andrew Tate or Elon Musk or whatever surrogate father figure you’ve picked that loves you just as much as your biological father doesn’t. One of my daily cocktails is Sertraline, the generic for Zoloft, and it’s the one antidepressant that has worked really well for me, at least leveling me out and keeping my mood swings somewhat under control. I’ve been on it for around 18 months, the longest continual treatment for depression I’ve had in over a decade. I was fortunate enough back in 2022 to find a psychiatrist that a) was accepting new patients, and b) took my insurance. Everything was great until a few months ago when she told me that she was closing her practice. She had opened it with her 14 : A PRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

husband, and I guess things didn’t go smoothly since she never mentioned a boyfriend to me until the day that she told me she was closing. I was given a three-month prescription, no referral to a new psych, and was basically supposed to feign happiness for her now that her life was about to get easier. Sure. Of course, these prescriptions got 10 kinds of fucked-up, and it’s been a struggle to get each one, even when I involved my primary care doctor, who I graciously inherited since he explained finding a new psych who is accepting new patients is “next to impossible.” That doesn’t mean my Zoloft didn’t get fucked up, though, and I ran out. My pharmacy is near my work, and I was off for a few days—about 45 minutes away— and it took multiple phone calls just to get a refill. By then I started withdrawals. I’ve been on like a dozen of these drugs, so I didn’t think this would be any more difficult than the previous experiences—just uncomfortable. Wrong. I don’t remember the drive to the pharmacy, but apparently I stopped to get coffee at an outof-the-way spot. I came back to reality in line while the pharmacist, calling me by name, was handing me the bag. I popped a pill before I even hit the parking lot, like a cigarette after an eight-hour flight. Figuring that somehow the world would right itself, I decided to go get some groceries. I felt some pretty fucked up, out-ofbody kind of shit, but in control until I rounded the corner towards produce, where, standing by the avocados, looking directly at me and smiling, was my friend Paul. Funny thing is Paul died of an overdose years ago. I looked again and it was just some random old man. I almost broke down into tears; but, again, history of drugs, I rationalized I was going through weird chemical shit, gripped onto reality, bought strawberries and headed home. On the drive I kept myself grounded by listening to Butthole Surfers’ “Pepper” on repeat. I’m fine now. I understand how difficult finding and keeping mental health support is, I always have, and this recent experience has solidified even more the need to advocate for ourselves and continue to fight for our mental health—and to keep speaking up anywhere I have a soapbox. Take care of yourselves.

HERMAN LI OF

DRAGONFORCE EXPLAINS WHY VIDEO GAMES NEED METAL— AND VICE VERSA ere comes a new challenger!

As Decibel’s dedicated video game column levels up to reach the world of analog media, it is with much excitement that we are able to feature DragonForce guitarist and de facto face of gaming in the metal community Herman Li as our premiere print entry ahead of the release of their latest album, Warp Speed Warriors. Having championed digital escapism in the face of social adversity and backlash even from their own fans (more on that in the online edition of this column), Li has no trouble explaining why the worlds of gaming and metal are anything but mutually exclusive. We’ve now seen an entire generation of musicians grow up in a world of Guitar Hero and rhythm games. We’ve even interviewed somebody previously [Krissy Morash, Escuela Grind] who said that they got their start playing guitar by playing Guitar Hero. Looking back at how you discovered music and guitar, how do you feel about video games being this new outlet

Extra life  Li (center) and DragonForce may not be on the radio, but neither are the next generation of metal fans

There’s not many ways to hear us. No matter how many tickets Metallica sells,

WE’RE UNDERGROUND. for people to discover genres and bands? How does it feel for you to have played such a prominent part in that?

The gaming industry and the music industry really need each other. Obviously, without the music, the games wouldn’t have that atmosphere. And for metal especially, we need the gaming industry because there’s not many ways to hear us. We’re underground. No matter how many tickets Metallica sells, we’re underground. We’re lucky that so many people play video games, actually. The Epic [Games] staff really get into metal. They feel it, you know? They feel that there’s that relation together with it. And a lot of these video games that have the metal soundtrack help. From Grand Theft Auto, the radio station back then, you can pick the metal station—and people have a choice. I think it’s about being able to, I wouldn’t say compete at the same level, but being able to give the people the choice. They can see all this at the same time. You go back to years ago when [it was] only television. MTV, they decide what people listen to. They were almost deciding the culture and trend. Now, we can let people decide it. That’s really great for DragonForce because we’re not

going to be on the radio. Even “Through the Fire and Flames”—it’s such a hit song, it’s not on the radio. They don’t play that. The best you can do is edit it to five minutes and it’s like, “That’s too, too long.” What is it that you feel makes the video game industry and metal such a symbiotic relationship? What is the overlying interest between the two?

The intensity of metal. It’s a bit like a thriller in some ways. A lot of the games, you go through, it gets scary, it gets intense, and metal really works with a lot of this atmosphere. Otherwise, it’s orchestrated, classical stuff for that. But if you’re not doing that, I can’t think of anything else but metal to be able to do that. Radio music doesn’t make the game feel exciting. Dua Lipa—I can’t see that in a video game that’s going to make [you feel like], “Yeah, let’s go!” Doom would not have been what it was if they ripped off ’80s pop instead of Slayer and Metallica.

Yeah, you’re ripping and tearing!

CONTINUE AT DECIBELMAGAZINE.COM PHOTO BY TRAVIS SHINN

DECIBEL : A PRIL 2024 : 15

TERMINAL NATION

ometimes even the best laid plans get torn to shreds.

STUDIO REPORT

TERMINAL NATION

The last year and change didn’t go the way that the members of Terminal Nation wanted it to go, but, in the words of singer Stan Liszewski onstage, “If you want to stop Terminal Nation… then you better. Fucking. ALBUM TITLE Kill. Us.” Echoes of the Devil’s Den In October 2022, bassist Chase Turner was involved in a brutal car accident that saw him ejected through the sunroof. A month ENGINEER later, he was performing alongside his bandmates at Act Like Ryan Bram, You Know Festival in Tulsa, OK. They’re carrying that indomiSTUDIO table spirit with them into 2024, and their new album is slated Homewrecker Recording Studio, for release later this year on 20 Buck Spin. Tucson, AZ Unfortunately, Turner’s accident wasn’t the only hardship RECORDING DATE to impact Terminal Nation. In March 2023, Liszewski’s home July 2023 was hit by a tornado, causing extensive damages to the propLABEL erty and his community. Those two tragedies, paired with the 20 Buck Spin band’s growing popularity, had an impact on the more mature songwriting for LP2. RELEASE DATE “There’s going to be a lot more subject matter on mortality, May on legacy, on survivor’s guilt,” Liszewski explains. “A lot more self-reflection than people are used to. Strife and struggle, because some of the situations you’ve been in don’t deviate too far from a political spectrum, with healthcare and things like that.” Though Terminal Nation believe that broadening their style will help the band continue to grow

16 : A P R I L 2 0 2 4 : D E C I B E L

and show new depth to their songwriting, they haven’t forgotten the qualities that brought them to the dance. “Now don’t get me wrong—song three, we still say, ‘Fuck every cop who ever fuckin’ lived’ at the end of the song,” Liszewski assures. “You’re still getting your same Terminal Nation.” Recording initially took place over 10 days with Ryan Bram at Homewrecker Studios, the same spot that Gatecreeper routinely utilize, the band’s first extended period with a producer. The process was relatively straightforward, with minor hitches—guitars took longer than expected because an amp arrived late and the Sonoran Desert isn’t kind to unfamiliar vocalists, so a few days were tacked on to be handled later. The album features numerous notable guest vocalists from around the extreme spectrum, highlighting its more ambitious and personal nature. Cover art by Adam Burke ties the package together, portraying Arkansas’ Devil’s Den State Park in an incinerated state. Life may be hard, but Terminal Nation are always harder. —EMILY BELLINO

NECROPHOBIC

hen decibel catches up with Joakim Sterner, drummer and founding member of Swedish blackened death metal institution Necrophobic, he doesn’t even realize that 2024 marks 35 years of the band’s existence. ¶ “Wow! Really? Damn,” he laughs. “I remember thinking I’d play this kind of music until I was ‘old,’ meaning 35 years or something.” ¶ In that time, Necrophobic have persevered, weathered lineup changes and released 10 albums, if you include their upcoming onslaught In the Twilight Grey. Despite their tenure, I only saw Necrophobic live for the first time in 2022 when the band played a triumphant late-night set at Maryland Deathfest without guitarist Johan Bergebäck, who was denied entry to the United States because he was not yet vaccinated for COVID-19. “It felt strange to play as a four-piece,” Sterner remembers. “But we did a great show.” ¶ That stripped-down formation highlighted an essential aspect of Necrophobic’s music that sets them apart from their often more chaotic cohorts at the border of black and death metal. There’s a surplus of old-school melody and arena-rock song structure in their music, and it’s reflected in their charismatic live delivery. 18 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

“The way we perform onstage is not typical for a black metal or a death metal band,” Sterner agrees. “We grew up with heavy metal and the stage shows they did in the ’80s; we are inspired by those bands. I have heard from our younger audience, who have grown up with black metal, that they had been surprised in a positive way after seeing us live.” But for Necrophobic, that’s the way it’s always been. “From the beginning of this band’s existence, dark, gloomy and grandiose melodies have been more important than riffs in our songwriting,” Sterner continues. “The music has since been developed, fine-tuned and improved throughout the years. We have found our form and sound, so to speak.” Still, the traces of Dio and King Diamond peer further out from the fog on In the Twilight Grey, particularly on the infectious lead single “Stormcrow.” “I think [In the Twilight Grey] sounds very old school,” Sterner

opines. “It differs from the two previous albums in a necessary way, so Necrophobic doesn’t sound repetitive—even though Necrophobic is known for being a band you instantly recognize. “Black heavy metal can be a description of a few of the new songs,” he suggests. “However, the melodies that are the band’s trademark throughout the career are still there.” So, after 35 years of riffs from the dark side and numerous lineup changes—what is the throughline in Necrophobic’s career? “I don’t know what our legacy is,” Sterner admits. “We have a decent back catalog and have always stayed true to what we like. We are maybe an ‘Iron Maiden version’ of black/death metal. We do what we do best, and if people like what we do, I am happy.” In other words, “We are Necrophobic. We play blackened death metal… still!” —JOSEPH SCHAFER

PHOTO BY JENS RYDÉN

Swedish black/death heroes straddle heavy metal’s line between evil and divine

BRAT

uitarist brenner moate and vocalist Liz Selfish didn’t plan to launch a new microgenre when they decided to start a new band together back in 2020, but even before they chose a moniker, it became clear that this wasn’t going to be just another run-of-the-mill fast-loud outfit. ¶ “I don’t remember exactly how we landed on BRAT, but after that, things gradually just got more and more pink,” the former explains. The hot pink, so-cute-it-might-kill-you vibe that’s become BRAT’s signature pulls from a whirlwind of visual influences (Mean Girls! Paris Hilton! Playboy Bunnies reimagined as Salome with Hugh Hefner as a decapitated John the Baptist!) to conjure up a retina-searing demon coquette fever dream straight out of Y2K. Hi, Barbiegrind! ¶ Now, the New Orleans quartet (rounded out by bassist Ian Hennessy and drummer Dustin Eagan) are putting “bimboviolence” on the map by churning out new material and touring their asses off, all while slinging some of the best merch in the grind game. ¶ “So much of metal and music in general is extremely serious, and we don’t feel it needs to be—the rest of life is serious enough, and music is an escape for many of us,” 20 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

Moate reasons. “We’ve seen the way our genre-bending, traditional aesthetic-slashing approach has upset some internet neckbeards, and that’s pretty fun for us, too, so it just makes leaning into all of it that much more enjoyable.” Three years in, they’ve released two EPs, two singles and a compilation; last year, they inked a deal with Prosthetic Records to release their full-length debut, Social Grace, in March. Their busy tour schedule has kept them in near-perpetual motion, so the album came together on the fly. “Rather than taking a big chunk of time from touring to fully write and record the album, we would write two-three songs at a time and then record them at Hightower Studio in New Orleans in between tours,” Moate says. “Our previous releases were mostly written by me with some tweaks from the rest of the band, but this one is a good bit more collaborative.”

The end result is a pummeling mishmash of grind, hardcore, death metal, thrash and powerviolence that hits as heavy as a truncheon and occasionally dips into slow Southern heat (check out the title track’s malevolent swing). “People like us, who enjoy some or all of these things, will dig our sound, but we tend to get hate from the purists,” Moate continues. “And that’s okay—the internet is for hating.” Haters and losers aside, as their tour schedule continues to fill up for 2024, BRAT are committed to ensuring that everyone feels at home at their shows, especially marginalized heshers who haven’t always gotten the friendliest reception from the metal world. “We’ve had queer kids come up to us at shows and tell us they’ve never felt more welcomed at a metal show before,” Moate says. “They usually just say something like, ‘Hell yeah, y’all’s band is gay as hell and that’s badass.’” —KIM KELLY

PHOTO BY GRETA GERSTNER

BRAT

Fresh-faced NOLA powerviolence crew welcomes all— even neckbeards

“A THEMATICALLY GRITTY AND VIOLENT RECORD WITH PERFORMANCES TO MATCH IT...”

COFFINS

Tokyo extreme metal legends aren’t boxed into one generation of fans

apan sits atop a tectonic interchange, which explains all the kaiju—like Coffins. Monstrous Tokyo death metal practitioners fast approaching three decades of radioactivity, their quaking upheaval now avalanches only the band’s sixth studio full-length, Sinister Oath. Buried by Visa paperwork for a tour that includes a return to Maryland Deathfest after the quartet’s 2020 slot was canceled with the rest of that year, group constant and guitar seismograph Bungo Uchino finally surfaces. ¶ “The pandemic was the worst,” he emails. “But [our] government’s subsequent reactive approach sucked even [more]. People are still suffering from the effects of this poor response.” ¶ An event rather than a cluster of songs, Coffins’ third LP for Relapse heaves roiling riffs as group oracle Jun Tokita approaches the lowest human vocal note (G-7) and rhythmic faultline Masafumi Atake and Satoshi Hikida sunder terra firma. Opening fuzzbuster “B.T.C.D.” animates graven blort “Spontaneous Rot” on the way to the erupting title track and nine-minute back-end calcification “Everlasting Spiral.” 22 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

More primal than pandemic precursor Beyond the Circular Demise in 2019, Sinister Oath corrodes. “For Beyond the Circular Demise, we aimed for a death metal sound that encompasses the influences of U.K. metal/hardcore,” writes Uchino. “Our roots include Black Sabbath, Venom, Discharge, Amebix, Killing Joke, early Earache bands and more. We sought to return to the origins of the U.K. extreme sound with our own interpretation. The same can be said about this album.” Having founded his band as drummer, Uchino maintains Hall of Famecaliber cred at home. Decibel mentions recent interfaces with scene peers Tatsu Mikami (Church of Misery), Yusuke Sumita (Defiled), Yukito Okazaki (Eternal Elysium) and Mirai Kawashima (Sigh). “I’m the same generation as the four you named,” affirms the Coffins keeper. “But there is a crucial difference between me and them: I started the band in the mid-’90s and

they’ve been playing since the ’80s Japanese underground metal scene. “Coffins has been in a unique position since formation,” he continues. “When we started, we were mainly in the crustcore/powerviolence scene and had little to do with the underground metal scene. We also had doom/sludge-type sound, not doom/death metal. At that time, the underground scene was booming with loud rock and melodic hardcore, and the death metal scene was [in] decline. “This situation continued for a long time, but around 2017, Kruelty emerged with a sound rooted in old-school death metal called death metal hardcore, and the current old-school death metal scene in Japan has changed a bit. They profess the influence of Coffins, involve veteran doom death metal hardcore Second to None and are bringing a younger audience’s interest to Japan’s old-school death metal scene.” —RAOUL HERNANDEZ

FRAGMENTS OF THE AGELESS

“Fragments of the Ageless” pushes CA’s death metal elite into their most grotesque gear yet. FEATURING SINGLES

"Void Of Despair" “Relentless Appetite” and "To Conquer the Devout" available as CD, Ltd. Sunspot LP, Spring Green LP, and as Digital Album. OUT 3/8 ON CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

U N E X T I NC T

HIDEOUS DIVINITY are ready to unleash their latesttoffering of tech death mayhem upon the Earth. Prepare for the cataclysmic brutality that is "Unextinct". FEATURING SINGLES

"The Numinous One" and "Against The Sovereignty Of Mankind" Available in Jewelcase CD,,Ltd. Transparent YellowwLP, and DigitallAlbum formats. OUT 3/22 ON CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

CHAPEL OF DISEASE

CHAPEL OF DISEASE It’s not just a phase for German dark metal progressives

riffs in there are death metal.” ¶ That’s hardly a sentence you would expect to be uttered by a band whose namesake is cherry-picked from the Morbid Angel catalog, but it fits the German outfit Chapel of Disease like a glove. ¶ Formed in 2008 in Cologne, Chapel of Disease released Summoning Black Gods in 2012, an album straightforward in its devotion to classic American death metal. 2015’s The Mysterious Ways of Repetitive Art was an audible left-turn, incorporating ’70s rock and prog. Then came 2018’s …And as We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye, which stripped all pretense of death metal (save for growling vocals). Deliciously crammed with hooks and epic songs, the record had a noticeable effect on the band’s fanbase: It expanded while simultaneously contracting. ¶ “I have phases that I go through, and of course, there will be an old-school death metal phase, but it’s definitely not my main music,”

24 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

explains vocalist and guitarist Laurent Teubl, the sole remaining original member of the band. “It’s not like I start my day by listening to Altars of Madness. Been there, I’ve done that. And it’s cool… but the music that just touches me as a player and listener is definitely different. It’s more in the classic rock or proto-heavy metal vein; more in the ’70s or proggy ’80s stuff.” This sentiment is abundantly clear within Chapel of Disease’s sonic output. Evoking comparisons to the unusual trajectory of Tribulation, Ulver, In Solitude and Darkthrone, the band is now on the cusp of releasing Echoes of Light. The sonic palette contained within is vast, even if the death metal has been stripped away. Completed before the remainder of the lineup

departed for undramatic and personal reasons, Echoes is resplendent with atmosphere, smashing Pink Floyd, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Midnight Odyssey and Marillion into a blender accented by floating solos and growling vocals that frequently transform into slow, sad passages. “[The band] needs some sort of constant, even if the music changes,” explains Teubl. “That, to me, has to do with the general atmosphere of the music. With this album, you could have a song that doesn’t carry any distorted guitars, and maybe some trick that you would normally find on a Woven Hand record, and it would still be dark-sounding and mystic-sounding. It’s all about trying to get the inspiration from ’70s space music.” —SARAH KITTERINGHAM

IRON MAIDEN VOCALIST

BRUCE DICKINSON’s

LONG-IN-THE-MAKING SEVENTH SOLO ALBUM HOLDS MANY MUSICAL SURPRISES STORY BY ADEM TEPEDELEN PHOTO BY JOHN McMURTRIE 2 6 : A P R I L 2 0 2 14 : D E C I B E L

oes Bruce Dickinson really need to do a solo album in 2024? Since

he returned to Iron Maiden in 1999, after six-plus years away, the band has found plenty of worldwide success with a series of lauded albums and ensuing tours. And it’s not like his creative input hasn’t been considered in Maiden. He’s been a consistent co-writer on the six albums since his return. So, what gives? We can understand the need for a creative outlet when, say, you’ve quit your day job (as Dickinson did in the early ’90s), but the dude has had plenty of financial success in the last couple of decades with Maiden. There’s no disputing that. ¶ But, as evidenced by the many extracurricular activities the vocalist has engaged in outside of Maiden over the years—pilot, BBC presenter, Olympic-caliber fencer, writer, etc.—he’s just not one to sit still for long. So, maybe his latest endeavor, the ambitious The Mandrake Project, is as much for him as it is for fans, an effort to keep the juices flowing and his ever-active brain stimulated. It’s like Dickinson is a shark and he has to keep moving to survive.

Fate should have it, however, that Dickinson’s seventh solo album, was to be many years in the making, not just something he knocked off during Maiden downtime (of which there seems to be precious little). It was, not surprisingly, easier to find the time to make the earlier solo albums when he wasn’t constantly touring the world. “We had this great run with Accident of Birth [1997], The Chemical Wedding [1998] and then Tyranny of Souls [2005],” he tells us via Zoom from his home in France, just prior to the holidays. “The subsequent reaction over the years to [my] solo work, since people have had a chance to sit back and take a listen to everything—six albums of it—people started to say, ‘When are you going to do another one?’ So, in 2014, I went to [longtime collaborator/producer] Roy Z and said, ‘Hey, maybe we should put it together. Let’s do it. Let’s actually do it.’” That initial reunion resulted in some demos (including an early version of “If Eternity Should Fail”), a rough idea for a concept and the possibility of releasing an accompanying comic book. “Well, Maiden decided they wanted to use ‘If Eternity Should Fail’ as the opening song on [2015’s] The Book of Souls, and I went, ‘Yeah, that’s cool, that’s fine,’” he says. “Because I figured I could always re-record it if I decided to record it [for a solo album] anyway. Then I got throat cancer [in 2015]. So, that was a year. Then I was touring like crazy with Iron Maiden, playing catch-up. And then the world caught a cold and we were all locked up for three years. So, seven years after I said to Roy, ‘Maybe we should have a go at this album [in 2014],’ I was back in L.A. saying to Roy, ‘Maybe we should have a go at this album again, Roy, quick, before something else happens.’” [Laughs] Set for release 10 years after the earliest songs were written, The Mandrake Project is as ambitious as one might expect from Dickinson at this point in his five-decade-spanning career. Not a concept album itself, it is nonetheless linked to a 12-issue quarterly comic of the same name, featuring

characters—Dr. Necropolis and Professor Lazarus—Dickinson conceived. “There was no need whatsoever to have the album as some kind of concept album. It’s unnecessary,” he tells Decibel. “The comic is that. There are a couple of songs on the album that kind of relate to the comic. I kept that. But there are other songs that don’t relate to the comic in the slightest. Most of them, in fact.” Indeed, The Mandrake Project, is exactly what one might imagine a solo album assembled in fits and starts over a decade might sound like. Dickinson and Roy Z set no boundaries for what might be included material-wise, and the result is quite a varied collection of tracks fostered by an open creative working relationship. “Some things we bounce off each other; some things I [bring] to him half finished,” Dickinson explains. “With ‘If Eternity Should Fail’ [retitled ‘Eternity Has Failed’ here], I came to him with the whole thing. So, I’m not really precious about anything. Whatever makes for interesting noise, that’s what we do.” One song, “Shadow of the Gods,” was a holdover from the ill-fated Three Tremors project that was to pair Dickinson, Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio for an album and tour that never happened. The most unexpected track, however, is closer “Sonata (Immortal Beloved),” a fantasy tale ad-libbed by Dickinson almost completely off the cuff, put to a trip-hop-inspired beat. “If people can spare 58 minutes and 30-something seconds of their life they’ll never get back again and listen from start to finish, it’s really worth doing that, because the album will have such an effect on you,” Dickinson assures. “Everybody who’s listened to it that way speaks about the album as being a journey, like a journey with a narrator or something like that. It’s just a musical and emotional journey. You start off in one place and you think you’re heading in one direction, and by the end of it you realize you’ve ended up in a completely different place—a very emotional place—at the end of the record.”

IF PEOPLE CAN SPARE 58 MINUTES AND 30-SOMETHING SECONDS OF THEIR LIFE THEY’LL NEVER GET BACK AGAIN AND LISTEN FROM START TO FINISH, IT’S REALLY WORTH DOING THAT,

BECAUSE THE ALBUM WILL HAVE SUCH AN EFFECT ON YOU. DECIBEL : APRIL 2024 1 : 27

STORY BY

BRAD SANDERS

PHOTO BY

HANNAH VERBEUREN

JUST AS YOU’D EXPECT, THE NEW

ALBUM RULES

these records have been coming out for 20 years. That’s double the career of Led Zeppelin!” —athenar, midnight ¶ The first Midnight demo, home to immortal anthems like “All Hail Hell” and “I Am Violator,” was burned to a run of CD-Rs back in 2003, the band name Sharpied across the disc face. Despite (or perhaps because of) the release’s no-fi presentation, masked mainman Athenar quickly had a cult smash on his hands. Midnight’s combination of Motörheadian swagger, speed metal tempos, and black metal blasphemy lit up the underground, and the demo soon led to a stream of 7-inches, splits and comp tracks. Even so, Athenar wasn’t moved to record a full-length album for nearly a decade. 2011’s Satanic Royalty kicked off the streak of all-killer, no-filler long-players that’s continued up to Midnight’s latest album, the punk-inspired ripper Hellish Expectations. Athenar and his merry band of marauders have also become consummate road dogs, touring every corner of the globe both as headliners and alongside legends like Mercyful Fate and Danzig. Things have certainly changed since Midnight’s humble origins. Or have they? 4 : DECIBEL 28 : APRIL 2021

“I’m not really nostalgic,” Athenar declares. “Maybe if things were totally different, but in reality, I’m still doing everything exactly the same way I have. Even when people go, ‘Oh, you’re on Metal Blade Records, that’s a huge record label.’ Yeah, but I still record shit just up the street, the same way I did before. It’s not like, ‘You’re gonna be recording in the Bahamas this weekend!’” The “just up the street” that Athenar refers to is Brainchild Recording Studio, where Nunslaughter guitarist and fellow Clevelander Noah Buchanan has been recording Midnight albums with him for years. They have the process down to a science— Athenar brings in the songs, Buchanan gets them on tape, and a handful of tweaks later, there’s a new Midnight album. (“There’s really not a lot of mixing that goes on,” Buchanan admits. “What is there to do?”) Hellish Expectations was quick, even by Midnight standards: All the music was done in two days. “I don’t try to get inside his head too much, but [Athenar] definitely had a vision walking into it,” Buchanan says. “Whereas some of the other stuff we’d done in the past is kind of, ‘Let’s see how it works.’ He’ll have a demo at home, and he’ll bring me a four-track, and it’s really rough. But these [songs] were a little more fleshed-out walking in.” There’s never been a bloated Midnight album, but it was a point of emphasis for Athenar to keep things extra-tight this time around. Coming in so prepared helped him stay on top of that goal. Hellish Expectations clocks in at 26 minutes, with only one of its 10 songs eclipsing the three-minute mark. Athenar cites Discharge’s Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, Slayer’s Reign in Blood, and Agnostic Front’s Victim in Pain as key touchstones for the kind of ultra-forceful brevity he was trying to achieve with the record. “I just wanted to trim every ounce of fat,” he says. “I’d go, ‘OK, does this solo need to be eight bars, or could I get away with doing it in four bars? Eh, I can do it in four bars.’ You know? That kind of stuff. So yes, there was an element of hit and quit it. Hit it hard and fast and move on. And you can’t make an album like that and have it be over 30 minutes.” “He had conveyed that to me from the beginning,” Buchanan adds. “He said, ‘I want to make a more garage-y album.’ That’s how he put it, was garage-y. It was, ‘Let’s spend less time worrying about what it sounds like than in the past. Let’s do a little more straightforward approach.’ And it works for that style. It almost has a D-beat vibe to it at times, and that’s the type of stuff that I like.” There’s a deep resonance between the sharp-edged, punk-rock approach of Hellish Expectations and the earliest days of Midnight. Athenar might not be one for nostalgia, but he has been nodding to the band’s past more often lately. At Houston’s Hell’s Heroes festival in March, Midnight will play a Complete and Total Hell set, exclusively playing songs from the compilation that collects material from their first five years. (“There’s a few tunes we haven’t played, and we have to learn them, and that’s been fun,” Athenar says.) The first—and, arguably, the best—song on Hellish Expectations also nods to that now-classic comp. “Expect Total Hell” is a mission statement for the band, and an assurance of quality: “Expect no quarter/ Expect no mercy/ Expect total hell.” When I first connected with Athenar, I told him the highest compliment I could pay Hellish Expectations is that it sounds like a Midnight album. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” was his deadpan reply. I’m still pretty sure he took it for the praise it was. “[‘Expect Total Hell’] was kind of like a little jab at myself,” he says. “People have said, ‘Oh, this album is kind of like the last one, but just a little different.’ And, well, yeah! That’s what it is! That’s what it’s gonna be. That was a kind of nod to myself, and people saying, ‘Hey, what can we expect from this album?’ Expect total hell, man. What do you want? I’m not gonna make a jazz odyssey.” DECIBEL : APRIL 2024 1 : 29

interview by

QA j. bennett

WITH

The Metal God on 38 years of sobriety, 50 years of Rocka Rolla and JUDAS PRIEST’s new album

30 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

ob Halford has been waiting on his guy all day. Not that guy— this thing called the internet. And then we have

the Metal God hasn’t touched the stuff in nearly 40 years—but his computer tech, his IT guy. “My guy never gives me a heads-up,” he tells us. “He just appears. Unplanned, untimed, no budget. All the things that drive me nuts is how I started my day. And there’s been this epic search for a box. We have to find the box. Where is the box? Finally, I told him, ‘Let’s do this tomorrow. I’ve got an interview coming up.’” ¶ Which is where we come in: to take Halford’s mind off unscheduled appearances and technology woes. The salve, as it were, to epic box searches. But more importantly: to get the inside skinny on Judas Priest’s 19th and latest album, Invincible Shield. To get health updates on Priest guitarists Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton, who suffer from a heart condition and Parkinson’s, respectively. To congratulate our man on 38 years of sobriety and 50 years of Rocka Rolla, Priest’s excellent and largely unheralded debut. And most of all, to bask in the heavy metal glory and British gentility of Rob Fucking Halford.

I want to start off by congratulating you on 38 years of sobriety. There’s a misconception that it somehow gets easier the longer you do it, but that’s not actually true, is it?

It’s not true. But it did cross my mind earlier on: Is this going to get any easier? And it doesn’t, because it’s a disease. It’s an addiction. It’s the way your brain works. There is no pill, there’s no medication you take. What is beautiful is this bottomless well of power we all have to deal with something like this, or for anything in life, really. So, thank you for asking about that. It means a lot. Even though I go through the day not really thinking about it, there’s always the little thing subconsciously in the back of my mind telling me to try to get through the day clean and sober. How’s Richie doing? I know everybody was very happy to see him onstage with you guys back in October at Power Trip.

This is a remarkable story. Barely three percent of people that have his condition even survive, so there’s a miracle right there. And he’s doing well. He really has the metal heart. This is a little device in there that’s gauging the blood flow and so forth. Much like Glenn with Parkinson’s: Man, you never give up. You never give in. You never surrender. Richie’s able to do his work and Glenn is still active and contributing. Richie and I have been FaceTiming a lot, because we’re getting ready to reconvene in the U.K. shortly for rehearsals to start the world tour for Invincible Shield. I’ll be speaking with him probably again tomorrow, because now we’re trying to do the set list. How’s that coming along?

Oh, the set list! Don’t make me do a Painkiller PHOTO BY JAMES HODGE PHOTOGR APHY

song at the front end. I’ve got to get warmed up. When we chat on the FaceTime and he’s giving me a list, it’s usually, “For God’s sake, Richie, don’t put that song at the front end.” In a band, you can’t have the captain or whatever, but you do need some focus on an individual that’s kind of leading the ship. Otherwise, it becomes the Titanic and then you hear Celine Dion playing in the background as you go under the water. Why did you decide to call the new album Invincible Shield? I realize it’s the name of a song as well, but theoretically you could’ve named the album after any of the songs.

In our world, the Invincible Shield is heavy metal. It’s this great sound, this great community. It’s everything we love and cherish about the whole experience wrapped up in two words. We’re keeping the faith, we’re the defenders of the faith, we’ve got the metal faith. All of those aspects just kind of bounce off this invincible shield, and a shield is for defending, but it’s also for pushing forwards, and pushing ahead, and pushing through. So, it all seemed to make sense, particularly as I was writing the words. It’s just this resilience and determination and all of those other things I’ve been talking about forever. Not only for Priest, but for metal. Tell me about “Panic Attack.” It’s the opening song and the first single. Why did you choose it to not only open the album, but to be the first representation that fans would hear?

We’re still an album band. We’re not a song here and a song there band. And in the album world, your first three songs are crucial. Your fans are waiting. What’s it going to sound like? You probably grew up like I did, where suddenly we have

social media, and then we have “You are a complete asshole,” or “Another lie’s been made at the White House.” All of that starts happening, you know? I used to have panic attacks before I became a clean soul, but they’re very debilitating. I don’t have them now. With panic attacks, you feel like your world is in an earthquake zone. With that in mind, we have the really great essence of the music, but I’m surrounded, like you are, by the world of the internet. It can bring a nation to its knees. It can create wars. People are so sensitive to a phone, or an iPad, or a computer. They’re seeing these words and some people just lose it. They’re going into a sense of rage. I’ve always said that, when it comes to that, they’re just words. How you accept the words, how you are emotionally engaging with the words really sends a signal about who you are as a person. So, we thought, let’s investigate some of the darker aspects of what that internet can do. The clatter of incensed keys, somebody in a rage banging away on the keyboard. That’s how that opening track really fulfilled what those first three moments should achieve. To what extent was Glenn able to be involved in this new record?

Every step of the way. But he’s not playing on every single track. Let’s get that out of the way. There’s no need to hide that. Richie did most of the guitar work, but Glenn is on three or four tracks in playing. His condition has prevented him from doing certain things on the guitar, so he made the perfectly sensible decision: “Richie, you pick up my parts, dial in my sound.” You can tell that there are two distinctive guitar sounds and two distinctive lead styles and so forth. But Glenn’s with us. He oversees everything. He’ll say, “Try this, or maybe if you move that midsection to this place, bring it to four bars earlier,” all this stuff. He’s writing songs—“Trial by Fire,” “Escape From Reality”—there’s two or three more. He’s an active player with these horrible limitations that Parkinson’s has put on his skills. God knows how he deals with that. It’s like if I woke up and I couldn’t sing. I don’t know what I would do. But he’s still very hands-on. His fingers and his brain are all the way through Invincible Shield. Many fans—me included—feel that Priest is enjoying a renaissance with Firepower and Invincible Shield. Most bands in their 60s and 70s have completely lost the plot. But you guys are still writing great songs. What do you attribute that to?

I could give you an hour-long answer, but a lot of it is who you are as a person. I take Judas DECIBEL : APRIL 2024 : 31

Even though I go through the day not really thinking about it, there’s always the little thing subconsciously in the back of my mind telling me to try to get through the day clean and sober.

 None for the road Almost four decades of sobriety keeps Halford battle ready for Judas Priest’s future

Do you have anything special planned for the 50th anniversary?

Yeah, sometime later on. Obviously, we don’t want things to bang into each other. Some cool things have been happening behind the scenes. I listened to that album just over the holidays, and it’s a bit like any band that’s had the great set of destiny, fate, luck, hope, whatever has been able to go so long. If you listen to Rocka Rolla now, you can sense that something big is going to come out of that record. “Dying to Meet You,” “Never Satisfied,” “Winter Retreat”—there’s all those little seeds at the roots that are taking hold, and you can sense it. And then the ginormous leap from Rocka Rolla to Sad Wings of Destiny within a matter of like a year or two. I mean, let’s face it, we were still in the dark. We had no templates. We had no reference points. We had some Hendrix, we had some [Deep] Purple, 32 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

but we didn’t really have what it is. What are the ingredients to make a heavy metal band? We were inventing the music as we went along. You recently recorded a duet of “Living After Midnight” with Doro that appears on her new album. I love hearing you two together. Tell me about that experience.

Well, I love her. She’s amazing. She’s a pioneer, not only for what she does as a singer, but because she was one of the first to kick the doors down for women in the metal world. We’ve known each other forever. We’ve done tours together going back to Warlock. We saw each other at Hellfest in France maybe a year or two ago. She came into our dressing room for the hugs, and then she mentioned the album that she was making, Conqueress, and said she wanted to do “Living After Midnight” with me. I said of course. Funnily enough, I did my vocals sitting on Andy Sneap’s bed in a hotel in San Antonio with a handheld SM58, because I was so busy. I go, “Can we do this now?” Andy’s always got his gear with him, so I run into his bedroom, put on the headphones and sang it to him in one take. We sent the files off to Doro. But when she came into the dressing room, I told her, “There’s a song I’ve always wanted to do with you: ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’” It’s one of my favorite pop songs from the ’80s. She goes, “Oh, wow—that song is so great. Let’s do it!” A week later, she sends me the track. For that one, I got to do it properly here at the studio in Phoenix. I love hearing the textures of our voices together, the masculine and the feminine. I love her voice and

it’s a great match. And it’s become a thing: Over a million views on YouTube. You’ve published two books since the last Priest record came out. In the first one, Confess, you talk about a lot of very personal things. Did you struggle with what to include?

One of the great joys of being clean and sober is you’re brutally honest. And that’s been part of who I am ever since I’ve been born. But particularly when you take away the alcohol and the drugs, your honesty is just so raw that it’s sometimes quite frightening. You find yourself saying things and then go, “Should I have said that?” When we started working, I was with [Confess ghostwriter] Ian Gittins, just having tea, and I said, “Are there some things I shouldn’t say? There are some things that have happened to me, and I’m not sure whether we should bring them forward.” And he said, “No, you must say everything that comes from the heart. No matter how painful it is, as long as you can handle it. Don’t force yourself.” So, when we came to those difficult elements, like the sexual abuse and the suicide of one of my former boyfriends, it was more difficult talking about it when I was reading it back. When I was doing the audiobook, I just had to stop. I was in tears. I had to stop, because when you’re talking like this, your defenses are down, but when you’re reading it from a book, it’s like the rawness is even stronger. But why leave anything out? As long as it’s not hurting your family, because I love my family to death. And some of my family haven’t read the book, because they’ve heard about the rawness of it. But it’s a complete book.

PHOTO BY JAMES HODGE PHOTOGRAPHY

Priest so seriously. I have a lot of fun with the band, but I take it so seriously and all of us are craftsmen in the work when I’m talking about songwriting, and words, and arrangements, and mixing, and so forth. We’re so immersed in every single aspect of this band. We cherish the band so much and we never lose sight of that fact. It’s really cool that you’ve said “renaissance,” because I used that word with Richie three days ago on the FaceTime. I said to him after this Power Trip thing, I’m seeing and reading things, it’s like a little bit of a renaissance going on for this band. People are reinvestigating and they’re going, “Look at this band, what they’ve done.” They’re talking about Firepower and even back to Rocka Rolla, which is turning 50 this year.

the

definitive stories

behind extreme music’s

definitive albums

Gray Matters the making of Ludicra’s The Tenant APRIL 2024 : 3 4 : DECIBEL

joseph schafer

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of America’s first black metal bands was also one of its most adventurous. The Bay Area’s Ludicra carved a unique identity for themselves in that stylistically restrictive subgenre. These five crows left of the murder flew in the face of the genre’s conventions, culminating in their 2010 masterpiece, The Tenant. Ludicra’s heresies include drawing inspiration from mental illness and urban alienation instead of majestic woods and Satanic malice. Employing sophisticated musicianship instead of keeping things primitive. Playing with progressive rock, traditional metal and hardcore punk instead of maintaining cvlt purity. Putting on ripping live shows instead of never performing. Dressing like art school dropouts instead of wearing corpsepaint and spikes. Rejecting gatekeeping machismo by having two women in the band—on lead vocal and guitar, no less. The band’s deviant behavior was no contrivance. Instead, it stemmed organically from its members. Guitarist John Cobbett of Decibel Hall of Famers Hammers of Misfortune and drummer Aesop Dekker, later of Agalloch (also Hall of Famers), founded the band, but Ludicra was a collective of musicians with disparate influences: lead guitarist Christy Cather (then from death thrashers Missile Command), bassist Ross Sewage of gore metal staples Impaled and Exhumed, and punk vocalist Laurie Sue Shanaman of Tallow. The quintet embodied the independent and free-thinking spirit of black metal while rejecting its aesthetics before doing so was commonplace, which alienated potential fans; Ludicra were beloved on the West Coast, but nationally underappreciated even as they honed their sound on three studio albums: Hollow Psalms, released on Dystopia’s Life is Abuse; and Another Great Love Song and Fex Urbis Lex Orbis, both via Jello Biafra’s punk-oriented Alternative Tentacles. Their talents came into full bloom in 2010 when the band released The Tenant on Profound Lore. The Tenant is a double LP of funereal dirges and triumphant riffs uneasily rubbing up against each other like strangers on a crowded BART train. Songs like the barnburning “Clean White Void” and rhythmic centerpiece “The Undercaste” showcase the Ludicrans’ undeniable chemistry, which earned them a modest but notable amount of critical acclaim on crossover outlets, including NPR. But that chemistry was also highly combustible. Following benighted tours of America and Europe, Ludicra publicly and contentiously disbanded in 2011, just as they were poised to break out to a larger audience. “What if Ludicra never broke up?” remains one of metal’s great counterfactuals. USBM was about to enter its imperial phase, propelled by acts that replicated some (but never all) of Ludicra’s triumphs. The Tenant set the precedent for Deafheaven’s bitter daydreams, Panopticon’s working-class heroism and Liturgy’s unwillingness to color inside musical lines. Ludicra reformed for a brief run of farewell gigs in 2022 and 2023, proving their stage prowess remains undimmed and confirming what NPR knew but gatekeeping dorks didn’t: The Tenant is one of black metal’s singular albums, one that we’re honored to induct into the Decibel Hall of Fame.

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The struggle was real

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Ludicra were a black metal band, but played fast and loose with the genre. What was your relationship with black metal’s conventions? CHRISTY CATHER: John and Aesop had the idea that

we were going to do a primitive black metal band, but when we got together, we realized that it was fun to make more interesting music with all our different influences. We have too many different styles to be just black metal. I’ve always thought of Ludicra as a “blackish” band. We didn’t care if people didn’t think we were true black metal. None of us are Satanists. I don’t believe in God or Satan. None of the lyrics have anything to do with Satan or typical black metal stuff. That’s been our style from day one. Once Laurie joined the band, there wouldn’t be any other way. Even if the rest of us said, “We need to be singing songs about Satan,” she would probably say, “No, I’m not going to do that.” But we wouldn’t ask her to. JOHN COBBETT: Rules are tricky. Rules can be good. Putting limitations on things can solve problems creatively because if something’s limited by certain rules, then there are a lot of decisions that are not available, so you end up being more creative with the things you can do. However, I can’t do “pure.” When I did the music for The Sims video game, that was me trying to be generic; I was embracing clichés left and right all over the place. Those clichés would never make it onto a Ludicra or Hammers record, which may be part of why we failed to be pure black metal. Any time I’ve tried to be primitive and repeat a riff 36 times, it gets called filler. When other people do it, it gets called genius, hypnotic, transcendental. But when I do it, it gets called filler. So, I don’t do that shit. LAURIE SUE SHANAMAN: We started out with a very black metal influence, but as the years went on we grew as well, and we felt there was much more to do than keeping a “true black metal only” sound. I occasionally discover bands that people say sound a bit like Ludicra, and I’m always stoked to see this comparison. We had our own sound. If I had to describe it, well, I’m not sure I can. The punks loved us as much as the metalheads. We crossed over and somehow resonated with diverse music lovers. AESOP DEKKER: Musically, we were fucking around with black metal, but we never wore corpsepaint. We took some shit for that. We got dragged through the mud. A local fanzine decided we weren’t gonna last; we were just punks trying metal on like an outfit. There’s probably some degree of truth to it, but we outlasted a lot of the bands that started around the same time. We knew we weren’t going to be Judas Iscariot; we didn’t have a place in that linear timeline of American black metal. There’s people that don’t want to call us black metal, and we’re fine with that.

“We had no label. We just made the record and paid for it with weird money we’d gotten from Scion and Adult Swim, you know, from being corporate funding whores.”

A E SO P D E KKE R ROSS SEWAGE: They were calling us “gray metal”

because we weren’t quite black metal. I thought we should use that label, but it didn’t fly even though I thought it was very marketable. I’ve come to the conclusion that we were a rock band that forgot they were black metal. We channeled a particular flavor that nobody had done before. We didn’t talk about epic nature and things of that sort, which has its place. We spoke to a more unique experience, and maybe that’s why we were more niche. Urban isolation doesn’t necessarily relate to everybody. Everybody can relate to looking at a forest and getting that it’s beautiful and feeling small. The discourse we had on the nature of civilization itself may not be what everybody wanted to have. And maybe they also weren’t ready for some sick riffs. Ludicra had a reputation as an excellent live band. What made your shows so special, and how did you achieve that performance quality? CATHER: There’s good chemistry between the five of us, and we practiced a lot. It’s as simple as that, really. We’ve always said that we are each always just one-fifth of Ludicra. We can’t do it if one of us isn’t there because of the strange chemistry we have together. We all loved playing those songs; maybe that comes through live as well. APRIL 2024 : 36 : DECIBEL

COBBETT: Ever since we played our first couple of shows, we had a good draw locally. People came to our shows, and Ludicra shows were always fun because of that. The music was not rocket science. We got up onstage and took care of business. Ludicra always drew way better than Hammers locally. I don’t know why; I guess it just worked for people. I don’t think our albums sold very well. I’m not going to say that our shows were always packed, but on the West Coast, we pulled well. It was nice to be able to play and have 250 to 400 people show up. To this day, it was the only band that I’ve ever been in that had that. It was blessed in that way. SHANAMAN: I believe in full live energy. Everyone should bring it or you lose that connection onstage. I wouldn’t know how to just stand there. It’s cathartic, and it can be nerveracking, yet I always feel completely comfortable being on a stage if I’m prepared and I love the music. It’s similar to that Janis Joplin quote about how you can’t stand still in a rock band “with all that rhythm and volume going.” Rocking out with Ludicra was always infectious; we connected greatly in our live shows together. Emotional headbanging was my goal. If it gave you the urge to feel that emotional rescue, then we succeeded.

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How was The Tenant written? DEKKER: John Cobbett is the principal songwriter. Those songs are his. He’d show us a riff, everyone would play around with it, and then we would build on it and start piecing things together. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about John is, if we weren’t into a riff, he would always have another one; John was excellent at coming up with parts. Arranging them into songs was a group effort that happened in practice. The strength was John writing a part, Ross being a great bass player, Christy being a great guitar player and so on. The original parts were John’s, but the arrangements were everybody’s and the individual parts belonged to the individual person. I believe that bands are supposed to be meritocracies. You’ve got to have trust, where the person that can does. That’s why all the art and visual stuff was left to Ross; he was best suited and understood visuals best. We’d have input and things to say about it, but ultimately we entrusted Ross to that, we entrusted John to the riffs, and it was a collective effort to mold them into cohesive songs. COBBETT: The previous three Ludicra records were basically what we do live put on a record with a few little things like pianos here and there. On The Tenant, I decided to make a Ludicra record the way I make a Hammers record, which is: I don’t give a fuck what we do live. We were going to have acoustic guitars. I wanted the songs to be solid; I wanted to make a great listening record, not just a representation of what we do. We were going to make a capital-A album. I wanted to make a record that was a piece of art. I don’t know how well that decision sat with my bandmates, but I can tell you that was what was going on in my head. I thought, “Nobody’s listening to our records? Okay, I’m going to make one that people will go back to.” I wanted to make our quote-unquote Dark Side of the Moon, so it was time to get a little extra creative with the production. A good example of that on The Tenant is the intro to “Truth Won’t Set You Free,” which starts out with an acoustic guitar figure, then the blast beat comes in behind the acoustic guitar and it turns into a soundscape. SHANAMAN: Much of the album was written at practice. John and Christy worked really well together, building on each other’s riffs and compositions. It’s such an organic connection that I’m not sure I’ll be lucky enough ever to experience it again. Watching them work on The Tenant was an exciting thing to witness. It was a slow process, but it came together as it always would. Living in the Bay Area has setbacks that keep many of us desperate musicians at a slower pace, and I feel that this hindered us often. I guess life just can get in the way, and it certainly did at

times, but I felt excited about the songs, and felt we had something special at the time. SEWAGE: The best times that we’d have were playing shows and recording; the worst times were writing. The Tenant grew more organically than Fex Urbis Lex Orbis. The writing process was so slow! At a certain point, the different stringed instruments felt free to go their own way and do a lot more counterpoint and juxtaposition. The riffs lent themselves to it. Christy could write a harmony, and I could write a bassline that was different, but hit with a melodious sound that worked out better than some chromatic metal riff. I knew what I should be doing with Aesop on rhythm, and Christy and John knew how to counterpoint each other, so it was a more educated record in terms of our interpersonal dynamics. CATHER: John wrote most of The Tenant. I only wrote a few parts, but I did a lot more vocals. I remember getting together with Laurie before we recorded and going over our vocals together, which was something we hadn’t done much before. We spent more time on the parts that we sang together so we wouldn’t waste time and money figuring out how and where to place the vocals. We played a lot of the songs live before we recorded them, so we had our parts figured out. Unlike most black metal, Ludicra focused lyrically on things like urban alienation, class struggle, gentrification and mental illness. These themes are most prominent in The Tenant. Why did you focus on those topics? SHANAMAN: I’ve always suffered from depres-

sion, anxiety and other mental health conditions–and now at 53 with some physical conditions. Usually, the theme for me is writing lyrics based on personal experiences, heartbreak, crippling anxiety and, of course, the overall human disparities and stigmas that are sadly too present in this country. I experienced quite a lot of vicarious trauma while working in human services in San Francisco for many years. It’s only become worse with time. The divide in financial stability is daunting to see every day here. I usually don’t know how to write about anything else, but if I hopefully delve into more music again, I want to think more about different themes and stories that move me. It’s all about pain in the end. DEKKER: It would have felt weird for us to be Satanic, or evil, or sing about fantasy things, because that wasn’t who we were, as people. We came out of punk, so it felt like it would be aesthetically dishonest; it would be a pretend world. We made the decision to stop writing woe-is-me-type songs by the time The Tenant came about. The title was about living in tiny boxes just so that you can make art and still eat. CATHER: I felt similar to some of the themes in The Tenant; throwing away your money every APRIL 2024 : 38 : DECIBEL

month for some shitty apartment. I lived in a crappy neighborhood in West Oakland with bars on the windows. In the Bay Area, a lot of people are struggling. It’s pretty grim. COBBETT: The record isn’t about gentrification per se, but it’s about being a renter. Being a tenant is very stressful, especially in a situation like San Francisco. Rent is going up all the time, and housing is getting harder to find. If you lose your place, it’s like, “What the fuck am I gonna do?” That anxiety played into the title track. “The Undercaste” deals with homelessness; Laurie was working with, and still works with, people who are going through crisis and homelessness. These problems are not new at all. They’ve been going on and on and getting worse, and nobody’s doing anything about it. What is it going to take? Where is my kid going to live? Is he ever going to be able to move out? Is he ever going to be able to afford his own place? I don’t know how younger people do it. I was lucky enough to get a rent-controlled apartment in 1993 and held on to it with both hands. These problems have been going on since the dotcom, boom, not the social media boom, not the handheld boom. Up until then, our neighborhood, the Mission District, was considered a fucking warzone. The mayor called it downtown Beirut. Nobody wanted to live there. That’s why Aesop, Laurie and I lived there: because it was cheap. SEWAGE: It was a conscious decision to talk about subjects that were more personal to us. We were 20- and 30-something punk rockers and metalheads living in urban environments. We weren’t living in Norway. We asked, “What are our forests? What are our snowy peaks?” Well, I have to walk to work in San Francisco, and I see a needle buried in a pile of human dung. So, we’re gonna talk about that and step away from the mystical elements of black metal. We brought something more grounded in reality, though I wouldn’t call it political. The Tenant sounds immaculate. What were those recording sessions like? SHANAMAN: We recorded The Tenant in the summer

of 2009, with Justin Weis at Trakworx here in the Bay Area. I still think he’s the best recording and mastering engineer I’ve worked with. There were a few challenges. For example, I came down with the swine flu in the middle of recording vocals. But it all worked out in the end. DEKKER: Hammers of Misfortune always went before us to the studio; we were lucky to have them. Hammers figured out the logistical shit, so we were good to go as far as recording. I still have people telling me that the drum tones on The Tenant are some of the best they’ve heard on a metal record, and I tend to agree. That was because Hammers went to Trakworx first and tested the waters for us. At that point, we were a tight band that practiced a lot, had done a lot

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of traveling and played a lot of live shows, so we just went into the studio and did our thing. We had no label. We just made the record and paid for it with weird money we’d gotten from Scion and Adult Swim, you know, from being corporate funding whores. CATHER: By the time we went into the studio, we knew the songs well. The recording process was about trying to get as close as possible to our live sound. We had a couple of songs where we used the first take, where the energy was there. It always helps to make things sound more natural if you can get it right on the first take without overdubs. The other major factor was that it was our second time working with Justin Weis at Trakworx. He’s an incredible engineer, easy to work with, and knew our style and the sound we were going for. Cobbett had worked with him countless times during many of the Hammers albums. Their rapport made the whole process much smoother. SEWAGE: Recording The Tenant was a good experience. We went in very focused; we knew what the songs were going to sound like. We worked with one of my favorite producers ever, Justin Weis, who did three of the four Ludicra fulllengths and a lot of Hammers recordings. Weis got massive but clean-sounding recordings, which is very unlike most black metal bands. John would have crazy ideas, but maybe 20 percent of them were feasible. I love that John had that creativity in the studio; he just needed someone like Justin to temper him. I knew that if I left those two alone, we were going to have the best-sounding record that we had done.

Ludicra had been working with Alternative Tentacles for the previous two records. How and why did you transition to Profound Lore for The Tenant? COBBETT: When I say people weren’t listening to our records, I think part of that was because they came out on a punk label. We were thrilled to be on Alternative Tentacles, of course, but it wasn’t great at marketing us to our target audience. Look at Panopticon or Wolves in the Throne Room; both have done fantastically. Bullseye. That’s what I mean by reaching your target audience. We never got that bullseye. I don’t know if we even had a target audience. DEKKER: Profound Lore had approached us before. [Label head] Chris Bruni came out to San Francisco for this wild show that Nachtmystium and Sabbat played. During that visit, he came to one of our practices and said he wanted to put out our record. The label wasn’t anything; I think he’d put out four or five records at that point, so we went with Alternative Tentacles. When we recorded The Tenant, I circled back around, hit up Chris and asked if he would be interested in putting it out. Chris is a straight shooter. He said, “You guys have been around a long time; nobody gives a fuck about you. I can’t sell that record. I’m not going to put it out.” Later, we went on tour with Hammers, and he came to our show in Toronto, where I gave him a finished CD-R of The Tenant. At the time, we’d gotten offers from Century Media and Candlelight, but they were terrible. We drove away in the van and after almost the exact timing of the album, he texted me: “Don’t let Candlelight have this record. It’s too good. I will do it.”

SEWAGE: I wanted to stay with Alternative Tentacles because I liked their contracts. They’re very fair, and they were local. For me growing up, punk rock was Dead Kennedys, and calling Jello Biafra once in a while to talk business was a thrill to me. They did have a change in their administration, some of the employees went, and we were not as much of a priority as we had been to the previous general manager, Dave Adelson, who ended up running 20 Buck Spin. Aesop had met Chris Bruni somewhere; he was a big fan and came to our practice. I didn’t want to step in the way of Ludicra being hungry for touring, because I also had been itching for that band to get out on the road, and Profound Lore let that happen.

The Tenant has only been pressed to vinyl once. Why is that? SEWAGE: The Profound Lore deal was only for the CD release. It took me almost another year to find a label willing to put out the LP. 20 Buck Spin passed on it because they weren’t willing to do a double LP. Alternative Tentacles had inquired, but it was the same problem. Eventually, I found Throne Records in Spain, who were willing to do a double LP. I put my heart and soul into making it the coolest record packaging possible. There was a sealed envelope inside of it with five postcards featuring photos of the band and all the things that were in the lagoon. You had to destroy the envelope to get the postcards, which I was very into at the time. I made them all by hand, sealed them and sent them to Spain. The pressing was limited to 500 copies, and we got 40. That’s all that ever made it to the United States. It’s bittersweet. The album sounds better on LP than on CD; the pressing plant got it just

Ross, how did you make The Tenant’s iconic album art? SEWAGE: The idea of the cover was the Bay Area is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but everybody’s stuck in these shitty conclaves run by slumlords and rental corporations. I tried to juxtapose the beauty I saw around us with this shitty urban living that we had. I did some test shots in different locales with the same props, like the redwoods and some other areas, until I found this area I liked to hike in on this weird island, the Albany Bulb. I found my muse in a lagoon next to the ocean. The lagoon has a serene quality, and the water has this weird colored reflection. I based all the photos out of that area. I’m proud of that cover. People asked me if it was Photoshopped and I said wholeheartedly, “No. I drug a fucking door into a fucking lagoon, set it up, jumped in the water and took photos.” I left the door and all the props behind because people would leave found art on the island, or make art out of driftwood there. I just set the door up on this tiny peninsula and let people question what the fuck that was about.

 Adore me Bassist and cover artist Ross Sewage documents how underwater the housing market is in the Bay Area

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right. The Tenant is a perfect-sounding vinyl record that nobody I know has ever heard. DEKKER: At the time I was traveling with Agalloch, I’d meet people and they would say, “Oh, you’re in this other band? I’ll check it out,” But I never saw our records in stores. And nobody I met [on tour with Agalloch] ever saw Ludicra. Speaking of tours, Ludicra were supposed to support Mayhem after The Tenant dropped, but Mayhem canceled. What’s the story behind that? SEWAGE: The move to Profound Lore was to get more traction in the metal scene; that’s why we got that offer for that tour. Of course, Mayhem canceled for whatever reason. And thank God because, though I have some associations with Ludicra that I wish didn’t exist, I’m gratified that we are not associated with Mayhem and that the tour didn’t happen. We had a much better tour on our own. It was smaller. It was more intimate. We played shows that people will remember. And I didn’t have to deal with their crypto bullshit. CATHER: The Decancellation tour, we called it. We had to cancel three or four shows because John’s appendix burst. A couple of days before we hit the road, John was at General Hospital in San Francisco because his stomach hurt. They told him it was gas and that it would be fine once he, you know, took care of business. A couple of days later, the tour was in Portland and he was feeling horrible. The next day, we drove to Olympia for the second show. [Ludicra’s booking agent] Nate Carson ended up taking John to the emergency room. It turns out that his appendix had already burst in San Francisco; that’s why he was in so much pain. He’d spent five or six days walking around with a burst appendix. The doctors told him what kept him alive was that a cyst had formed around the toxins and held them in place, so luckily they didn’t leak into his body. John had surgery and stayed with Wolves in the Throne Room in Olympia for a week. We canceled Olympia, Seattle, Boise and Denver, and played Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul as a four-piece. John flew to meet us in New York and finish the tour. That’s what we get for calling it the Decancellation tour. COBBETT: We could have taken it to the next level after The Tenant. We got on the right label and we were getting more attention. We got asked to play Roadburn, which was an honor. Roadburn was the place to be back then. We did a little tour of Europe, but not many people showed up. That’s the way it is when you go to Europe for the first time; nobody’s heard of you. Things did start happening for us: We got asked to tour with Mayhem, who then canceled because of visa problems. That tour would have been awesome, but I still don’t think the band would have survived.

After The Tenant was released, Ludicra broke up. By all accounts, the split was contentious. What can you tell me about the decision to end the band? SHANAMAN: Something with the overall com-

munication died. A few members quit abruptly. I believe other band commitments may have got in the way of Ludicra’s slow but steady path. Regardless, that was then, and I care for everyone like family, I love all of them very deeply. I’m just grateful for the handful of reunion shows. I wish we could do a few more, but it is what it is. Trying to move on from any relationship, be it band or partner or friendships, is part of life, as sad as it can be. Life is too damned short and fragile for miscommunications and stubbornness. I believe we deserved better as a band, but you can’t let the lack of “success” destroy you. Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, sometimes it’s real hard work, the ability to be able to learn and improve with time. Trying to have a thriving band is not always easy, but you can keep at it and hopefully still get the same enjoyment from it as you did in your 20s.

“We asked, ‘What are our forests? What are our snowy peaks?’ Well, I have to walk to work in San Francisco, and I see a needle buried in a pile of human dung. So, we’re gonna talk about that and step away from the mystical elements of black metal.”

R O SS SEWAG E

person. Arguments got vicious at times. It wasn’t about money. It was about principle, and egos and shit that doesn’t matter when you get older. I have regrets about the way it went down, but we weren’t happy. We didn’t like each other anymore. It was like a couple that stayed together for the sake of the kid. SEWAGE: Two days after I got back home from a fraught tour with Impaled, Aesop sent the message that he and John had spoken and that he was done with Ludicra. I was hurt. He had come to me at other times saying that he was thinking about quitting, and I had told him to take a break. He didn’t come to me this time; I didn’t get to tell him to take a break. He just left. To his credit, he gave us his blessing to continue with another drummer, but I had zero interest in dealing with the band anymore. I’d been the key organizer in terms of making shows and tours happen, and I was not a primary songwriter. There had been random talks of one person quitting on different tours, but we would always come back to the fact we could not exist without each other. Ludicra cannot exist without the five key players. When he quit, it came as a big shock to Laurie and Christy, who weren’t involved in some of those previous conversations. There were public postings on Facebook that were taken negatively by other parties. I retreated because I had other projects on the horizon. The breakup was acrimonious and was not to my taste. We made peace later, and I’m glad that we’re able to revisit it with a more subjective way of thinking. Everyone can appreciate the work that we all put into this band together now and be friends again. CATHER: I didn’t see it coming. It was difficult for me, to be honest. Even knowing how it turned out, I would still have still given up everything I gave up for it. I don’t have any regrets. But it took me time to get over it. COBBETT: We weren’t getting along. That’s what it boils down to. That’s a pretty fun, short answer. Are you going to leave it there?

DEKKER: We all had different ideas of what we should be doing. The big thing was, “Where are we getting our self-worth, as people?” John and I were in one camp where we thought, “Fuck touring, fuck playing shows; let’s just make records. These are important. These will be around forever.” Christy has always been whichever way the wind blows, but Ross and Laurie enjoy performing. You can see it when we play shows; they are performers. I think the idea of not playing shows or touring was frustrating for them. Ross always has six other bands that will provide that, so I think it was easier for him, but it was much harder for Laurie. Because of our differences in ideas and goals, it became hard for me and Laurie to get along. I wasn’t a happy or nice APRIL 2024 : 4 2 : DECIBEL

COBBETT: It had nothing to do with romantic entanglements. When you play in a coed band, romantic entanglements can and do happen. I happen to be married to my keyboard player. They say you should never do that. I’m the only case I’ve ever heard of where it worked. But there was none of that in Ludicra ever, in case anybody’s wondering.

Looking back at The Tenant, and Ludicra in general, what do you think is their legacy? SHANAMAN: I will always grapple with what

exactly my musical and non-musical accomplishments are in life, but I’m forever proud of what we created and shared together in Ludicra. I believe we brought something memorable and

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LUDICRA the tenant

“Emotional headbanging was my goal. If it gave you the urge to feel that emotional rescue, then we succeeded.”

LAU R IE SUE SHA NA MA N unique to the black metal table with The Tenant, and our other albums, and I will always cherish the true chemistry we had together as a band and as friends. I will always be grateful for the fans and genuine support we received, and I’m thankful for getting to meet and befriend so many good folks over the years. CATHER: I think I was the one that held out on this reunion for the longest time. I honestly believed that no one cared about the band. I felt like that door closed, and I didn’t think that there were good reasons to open it again. After some long conversations, I realized that it was about more than just me. I had so many friends who had never seen Ludicra and told me, “Oh my god, I’d love to see it once.” That helped to open my mind. When I started relearning these songs, I remembered: I really love these songs, and I missed playing them live with these people, because we had chemistry together. SEWAGE: I knew we were making something special for some people. While we weren’t one of the biggest bands ever, at the reunion shows, one of the common refrains is that people tell me that they cried. I feel proud of what we’ve done. Somehow, we came together as a band that each

of us wouldn’t have done in any other circumstances. It’s lightning in a bottle that you can’t recreate. Even if we were to try projects with each other, none of them would equal the sum of the parts that we had. DEKKER: When we played reunion shows, the crowd was the same people from back then, plus also kids that said, “I never got to see this. I discovered you guys a year ago!” I think Daniel Lake’s book [USBM: A Revolution of Identity in American Black Metal] helped a lot. All these factors came into play, reminding people, “Oh yeah, this band was cooler than I remember.” I think there are a lot of bands like that. Acid Bath comes to mind. These bands were amazing, but didn’t find an audience until later. Is there anything about The Tenant that you would change? CATHER: I can’t think of anything. I think it was really well thought-out. It’s a very unique metal album, and I wouldn’t change anything about it. SHANAMAN: I might have done a few vocals differently. I felt nervous about the song “The Tenant,” as it never seems to flow well for me like the other songs, but it’s all good. APRIL 2024 : 4 4 : DECIBEL

COBBETT: You can’t make any other record besides the one that’s going to come out, and that’s the one that came out. I would not change much about it, except maybe a bit more brutality. I would prefer there to be one more big blaster song [like “Clean White Void”], but I also understand that that’s not where we were going. DEKKER: No. When I listened to the rough mixes of The Tenant, I thought, “We made the best album this year.” It sounds pompous, but it was the first time any band I’ve been in made the best album we could possibly make. I think it’s head and shoulders above many things that were coming out at the time, and still, it went kind of uncelebrated. SEWAGE: I would have had it fit on one LP produced by an American label, and easily available for everybody. I wanted to eject “The Undercaste” from the record because The Tenant would have fit on a single LP without it, but I was overruled. I would have rejected any song in a heartbeat to keep the ball rolling. I wanted the ball to roll forever. Ludicra was the most beautiful work I’ve accomplished in my entire life. I’m sorry that it didn’t continue, but I’m eminently proud that it happened.

Man with a promise  Biohazard’s Evan Seinfeld may spare your liver, but expect their Urban Discipline set to dole out some strict punishment

DEICIDE, BIOHAZARD, DyING FETUS, CROWBAR A N D JESUS PIECE LEAD T H E L UN AT I C S OF Q UA D ’ S LIB ATION AT

METAL & BEER FEST PHILLy 2024 STORY BY K EV I N ST EWA R T-PA N KO

of hops and heaviness, it would be The Decibel Metal & Beer fest is the best fest ever! gatherings foolish to think this edition is going to be any-

Forgive us for allowing Witching vocalist Jacqui Powell to blatantly and unabash-

edly toot our drinking horn, but it’s hard not to disagree and dare to rain on her ebullient parade. Especially since, while in conversation on the topic of the upcoming seventh edition of Metal & Beer Fest: Philly, the frontwoman for the City of Brotherly Love blackened doom sludge quintet can hardly suppress her glowing smile and bubbling excitement. ¶ “I’m the only person in Witching that drinks anymore,” she says with a laugh. “But I think metal and drinking are a classic pairing. I love going to Amon Amarth shows, drinking beer and headbanging. I love this fest because you get your little sample cup, you walk around, everyone is chugging and hugging. It’s great!” ¶ Powell might be referencing her past experiences at 2022’s Metal & Beer Fest: Denver (where she was working the Metal Blade and Translation Loss tables) and last year’s in Philly (where she was working her sample cup),

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thing but an awesome time, as 14 bands will slay the stage, 15 breweries—including longtime presenting brewery, the legendary 3 Floyds—will be slaying livers, and vendors of all stripes will be hawking wares and slaying bank accounts as folks from places far and wide gather at the 2,500-capacity Fillmore, sometimes for the first time, to experience the festivities. “When [editor] Albert [Mudrian] asked if we were interested in playing, without even knowing the lineup, we 120 percent said yes!” enthuses Stan Liszewski, vocalist for Arkansas-based death metallers Terminal Nation. “This is a bucket list thing for us and the first time we’ll be there at

PHOTO BY JOHANN WIERZBICKI

but given the rousing success of the previous 11

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CHAMBER SPINS A SIX-PACK Also appearing will be Tomb Mold, straddling the line between ’90s Finland and astral death metal, Lamp of Murmuur’s syllable-weighted black metal, Will Haven repping West Coast sludgecore, 200 Stab Wounds’ death metal slurry, heavy-bag hardcore heroes Jesus Piece and slamdeath legends Internal Bleeding. For the penultimate and latter of those, different relationships with beer might exist, but there’s a mutual reason both are happy to be included.

I love how the beer scene has grown, how craft beer has moved beyond the dude with the curled mustache, loafers and skinny jeans drinking the flavor of the day,

Aaron Heard and hometown hereoes Jesus Piece are proud to buy local, drink local

all. It’ll only be our second time in that part of the country and our first time in Philly—we played Necrofest in NYC last year and had to sort of drive past the city. I’m also not familiar with most of the breweries, but I’m the kind of person who likes to go into things blind. So, I’m very excited to go through and taste-test to my heart’s content.” Liszewski is at his wit’s end trying to figure what he’s most excited about: Terminal Nation making their Philly debut, testing frothy concoctions from the breweries slated to be on-site (including locals Yards Brewing and New Trail Brewing, as well as Pacific Time Zone-based Holy Mountain Brewing Co.) or the appearance of Biohazard, who will celebrate the one-year mark of their reunion by playing 1992’s Urban Discipline in its entirety. “I was not expecting the Biohazard set,” he gushes. “That was like, ‘Whoa!’ I know there are going to be kids and friends of ours from Little Rock who will be flying up for that.” As far as curated sets are concerned, Biohazard will be joined by Dying Fetus doing a “special old-school” set; Crowbar dusting off selected numbers from 1998’s Odd Fellows Rest and their 1993 self-titled album; and Deicide, who will be kicking out the blasphemy jams from

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their first three LPs, Deicide, Legion and Once Upon the Cross. Philadelphia blackened thrashers Daeva are not only looking forward to opening the fest’s second day, but for guitarist Steve Jansson, it’s an especially sweet landmark. Jansson, who has performed at two previous Metal & Beer Fests with his other band, Crypt Sermon, is particularly looking forward to sharing the stage with Deicide on April 13, as it coincides with his daughter’s first birthday. “One day I’ll be able to tell her, ‘Daddy played with Deicide when you turned 1,’” he laughs. At the other end of the bar, so to speak, Enforced vocalist Knox Colby will be quickly drying off after their set on the first day to take care of two items of business. His goals—in addition to scalping skulls with ripping crossover thrash—are to taste-test/crush “everything that’s available. I don’t have a palate and I’m not picky. I’ll put it in my mouth and tell you if I like it,” while sitting back and drowning his sorrows as Crowbar trundle their way through Odd Fellows Rest, one of his all-time favorites. “That album is everything to me,” Colby says. “If you drink, that album speaks volumes to you. It’s so… sad. [Vocalist/guitarist] Kirk [Windstein]’s voice on that album is perfect. I love it.”

BILLY GR AZ IAD EI , BIOHAZ AR D Says Jesus Piece guitarist John DiStefano, “There really isn’t a strong relationship between beer and the hardcore scene. Three guys in our band are totally straight-edge, and me and [vocalist] Aaron [Heard] are casual drinkers at best, but if the [beer’s] logo and label looks cool and it’s Philly local, I’ll try it. Supporting local beer and breweries aside, I can’t wait for Biohazard!” At 56 years of age, Internal Bleeding’s Chris Pervelis remembers when microbreweries and craft beer weren’t a thing, and says he’s had to taper his beer consumption because “every beer I drink adds an inch to my waistline.” But when the fancy strikes, he definitely knows what he wants of his beverage selection. “I like beer, but I’m very, very particular,” he points out. “I’m a cigar smoker and my normal go-to is a good whiskey and a cigar, but when the urge hits, I’ll pair a cigar with a good dunkel, like Kloster Kreuzberg, which is fantastic and hits my sweet spot. I find a lot of beers go for one thing and therefore lose balance and complexity as everything else falls by the wayside.

PHOTO BY A . J. K INNE Y

 The most known unknown

and how people aren’t just drinking to get drunk.

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I always look for complexity in everything from my whiskey and cigars to my beer and music, which is funny because

I play in a band that plays dumb fucking riffs!

CH R I S P E RV ELIS, I NTE R N A L B LEEDING

I always look for complexity in everything from my whiskey and cigars to my beer and music, which is funny because I play in a band that plays dumb fucking riffs!” Pervelis is happy to be bringing four decades of dumb fucking riffs to Metal & Beer: Philly to join a lineup he describes as “fucking wild. As someone who used to book ‘fests’—which were more like shows with 20 Long Island death metal bands no one’s heard of—I don’t envy Albert and the people putting this together, because it’s a logistical nightmare. But I’m excited to be a part of it because it’s always been a dream of mine to be on a bill with Biohazard. It blows my mind that we are.” Crowbar’s Windstein has drastically curtailed his beer intake over the years, but he’ll still take time to neck a few when the time is right, when he feels his body can handle it, and when 14 bands and 15 breweries gather at one of the best live music venues in Philadelphia to celebrate what they do best. “Look, I’ll never see a beer commercial and not salivate,” he says with a Bayou-tinged guffaw. “I’m almost 59 years old, and I’ve been drinking since I was 16, so I try my best to ‘be good.’ But when we’re on tour, I love going out to the merch area and having a couple beers with fans.” It’s those moments when he’s clinking glasses with supporters that Windstein treasures. It allows him to commune with the people who have put him in the position he’s in and enjoy the deep band-fan connection, as the burly frontman is nothing if not a gigantic fan himself.

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“I’m hoping I get to see Biohazard again,” he drawls. “We played the same day as them at the Milwaukee Metalfest last year, which was their first show back. They’re one of my favorite bands; I actually just got a Biohazard tattoo two days ago, finally!”

SHADES OF LIQUID GOLD As many times as Billy Graziadei has been around the block and been on the wrong side of the tracks, you’d think the Biohazard guitarist would have seen and heard it all. But, despite the number of fellow Metal & Beer Fest: Philly performers that have been extolling the fest’s virtues and anticipating his band’s performance, it quickly becomes clear during our Zoom chat that the concept of a festival deliberately combining metal and beer is surprisingly foreign to him. That’s likely because, until recently, our man has rolled in the same straight-edge circles a band like Jesus Piece presently and comfortably calls home. However, after having his Vanilla Bean and Cherry Milk Stout popped, and even though it’ll be his and Biohazard’s first time playing a gathering with beer associations beyond corporate sponsorships and backstage swag bags, he explains how he’s come to be fully onboard with the idea. “Dude, this story is crazy—goes way back and is going to throw people for a loop,” he begins. “When we started, [bassist/vocalist] Evan [Seinfeld], our original drummer Leo [Curley] and myself made the final decision to call the band Biohazard while sitting around a table smoking crack! Someone handed me a loaded stem and I

said, ‘Let’s go with Biohazard,’ while inhaling, and our lives changed immensely. Suddenly, it was ‘BAM!’ Not because we were smoking crack [laughs], but because we became more focused, interested, driven and passionate about creating music, which was obviously more positive. One by one we got off drugs, stopped partying and drinking, and for most of our career, we were straight and sober. Fast forward to the first couple of months of the pandemic. My wife is Brazilian and she likes to party. Every day she’s like, ‘Have a beer,’ and I kept saying no. One day she’s like, ‘We could die tomorrow! Have a fucking beer!’ So, because [the long-term impact of] COVID was unknown at that time, I grabbed a beer, loved it and have loved it since. The biggest test was going back on tour, but after Biohazard got back together and toured, it wasn’t an issue. “I love how the beer scene has grown,” he continues, “how there’s always something new coming around, how bands from Iron Maiden to the Descendents have their own beers, how craft beer has moved beyond the dude with the curled mustache, loafers and skinny jeans drinking the flavor of the day, and how people aren’t just drinking to get drunk.” “Put it this way,” Witching’s Powell joyously concludes. “Metal and beer makes sense, but this fest is about everything. Our bass player Tatiana [Buonassisi] has been clean and sober for 15 years, but she also loves Metal & Beer. She loves checking out the merch tables, seeing all the artwork and seeing everyone happy. Even people who don’t drink enjoy it. We’re so pumped for this!”

PHOTO BY HILL ARIE JA SON

Reflection of ignorance  Chris Pervelis and Internal Bleeding want you to stay classy, but not too classy

Crowning achievement  Crown of Mountains, the collab between Yards Brewing Company and Decibel, seeks drinkers brave enough to face its complex flavor profile

One of Metal & Beer Fest: Philly’s calling cards is the special band and brewer beer collaborations exclusively debuting at the Fillmore throughout the weekend. Highlighted here is just a small flight from a few of our featured breweries.

YARDS BREWING X DECIBEL MAGAZINE CROWN OF MOUNTAINS, NEW ENGLAND IPA, 7%

“As you ascend this mountain of a 7% New England IPA, the journey will be fierce,” says Yards brewer Bob Stokes. “You will face steep slopes of mango-infused malt foundations, a troposphere of Mosaic and Citra hops, and at its summit sits a crown of habanero heat as a reward for your bravery.”

NEW TRAIL X WITCHING INCENDIUM, HAZY IPA, 6%

“This IPA will be heavy on the haze, with a full mouthfeel and high citrus character,” offers New Trail’s Erin Dintinger. “The beer was named with our designer, Don [Rieck], me and Qui [Powell, vocalist] from Witching—artwork for the can was also chatted between Qui and Don. We definitely wanted to focus on Witching’s new album—hence the name—and combine our friendship and love of beer and music into a sick collab.”

BRIMMING HORN X LAMP OF MURMUUR INFERNAL PASSION, PONCHE NAVIDEÑO, 13%

“I love making meads with complex and layered flavors,” says Brimming Horn head meadmaker and co-owner Jon Talkington. “M from Lamp of Murmuur emailed us about his idea for a Ponche Navideño-style mead. Ponche Navideño is

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a Mexican-style punch that is served around Christmas. The mead has honey, tejocotes, apples, guava, piloncillo sugar, oranges, hibiscus and spices (cinnamon, cloves, star anise). Tejocotes are a type of fruit commonly used in Mexican cuisine, similar to crabapples, and are a key ingredient in Ponche Navideño. The name of this mead will be ‘Infernal Passion,’ and is a perfect example of the creativity and passion that goes into every Brimming Horn Meadery product. This blend of exotic ingredients brings together a unique combination of sweet, tropical and light spices that will have you coming back for more! Infernal Passion will clock in around 13% ABV.

MAGNANIMOUS X ENFORCED AGGRESSIVE MENACE, LIGHT LAGER, 4%

“‘Aggressive Menace’ will be a 4% Light Lager made with Pilsner Malt, malted barley and corn to give a very traditional light lager body and flavor,” beams Magnanimous head brewer Mike Lukacina. “This beer is designed to crush, party and repeat. We also decided to use some German hops to balance and add some slight spice and floral character. After discussing favorite styles and beverage influences, we decided to make a beer that both the bands and brewers would want to drink before the show or after a long brew day.”

STO RY BY

Justin M. Norton PH OTO S BY

Gene Smirnov

54 : SEPTEMBER 2023 : DECIBEL

DEATH METAL LEGENDS

Deicide

READY THE RELEASE OF BANISHED BY SIN, BUT NOT BEFORE ONE PROFEASTING EVIL NIGHT AT METAL & BEER FEST PHILLY D EC I B EL

: A P R I L 20 2 4

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This is a halcyon time for Benton, a divisive lightning rod even in repose. For starters, Deicide were right about numerous hot-button social issues. Many of Benton’s critics have proved to be as terrible as Deicide claimed. The Catholic Church is still embroiled in a pedophilia scandal. Evangelicals are burning books, supporting would-be dictators and making life miserable for any neighbors who aren’t white Christians. Benton—a demonic pied piper they said would lead children astray—has achieved, well, blackened enlightenment. He rides road bikes with his friend Jeramie Kling (a Deicide confidante who recently drummed with Venom Inc.), has moved past toxic relationships and has two welladjusted adult children. He also has bandmates he likes. Benton’s targets are making the world more terrible while he is minding his business and playing death metal.

We’ll pull a few songs off the first albums we haven’t done in a while, but we need to dust them off.

len Benton, one of the forefathers of death metal and the 56-year-old frontman of Deicide, owns three Cannondale bikes, including the ultralight SuperSix EVO. Before he heads out to the Suncoast Parkway Trail—a greenway that runs from near his home to Tampa—he attends to his morning routine: wake up, scratch his balls, brew coffee and hit the vaporizer. Then it’s time to put in earbuds and hit the road for up to 20 miles, where he imagines creative blasphemies and Deicide hooks. ¶ “It’s a way to get out there and get some air in my fucking lungs,” Benton says. “I was also going to the gym, but when I started doing fucking lats, my shirts started cutting into my arms. But now I hear from Steve [Asheim, drummer and co-songwriter] about Bono and all these other people who’ve crashed on their bikes.” ¶ Asheim, who has been with Deicide since the band’s inception in 1987, supports Benton’s wellness routine. He just wishes Benton would work out at home. “He needed to lose a couple of pounds and get his heart in better shape,” Asheim says. “I told him to get a Peloton because he doesn’t need to go over the handlebars and get head trauma. He still has a decent amount of hair and is hanging in there. We aren’t doing bad for being over 50 years old.” Is this the same Benton who publicly feuded with original Deicide guitarists Eric and Brian Hoffman? The same Benton who once talked about a late-night trip to Waffle House for multiple pork chops that ended with food poisoning so severe he was vomiting and shitting at the same time? The same Benton who struggled with hypertension? The same Benton who branded an inverted cross on his head? The same Benton who told Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor to

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blow him? The same Benton who threw animal innards at an audience? The same Benton who shot a squirrel with a pellet gun during an interview? The same Benton pursued by government officials and religious figures and reviled by parents? The same Benton who called famed exorcist Bob Larson and acted possessed? Most of these antics are firmly in the rearview. Glen Benton in 2024 is leaner, more focused, perhaps more circumspect—but no less evil.

We might bring back ‘Trick or Betrayed.’

GLEN BE NTON This doesn’t mean that the Benton we grew up with is gone. Deicide released their new single “Bury the Cross… With Your Christ” on Christmas day. In the accompanying video, Benton and his bandmates feast on Jesus’ cadaver inside a church. Deicide will headline the Decibel Metal & Beer Festival in Philadelphia this April with a special set of material from their eponymous debut, Legion and Once Upon the Cross. Deicide will also release their 13th album, Banished by Sin, on the upstart label Reigning Phoenix on April 26. It’s Deicide’s strongest effort in the 21st century and as much of a comeback album as The Stench of Redemption (released in 2006). But while Stench was powered by guitarist Ralph Santolla and Jack Owen’s technical chops, Banished by Sin leans into the old Florida caveman death metal sound. “Life throws a lot of shit at you, know what I mean?” Benton says from his home in Florida. “I lost my parents in the past few years—pretty much all of my family. I was in a dark place

there for a bit. And one day, the switch was pulled. Your mind just has enough of something. A few things happened to snap me the fuck out of it.” Asheim says Benton’s renaissance doesn’t surprise him—or that he never fulfilled his threat to kill himself at 33 (the same age that Jesus was crucified). “I’m not amazed that he is still alive, but I am amazed we are still at this,” Asheim says. “When he was 25, he was full of piss and vinegar and perfect for this style of music. But he’s also had a full life—a marriage and kids. He’s mellowed at his age. It’s just him and the band. We don't need to scrap for every dollar to pay the bills. “Nowadays, there is less on his plate, and he is more focused,” Asheim continues. “This is just a natural progression with age. Glen can still pull out his maniac shit if you get his ire up. He is good at what he does, and he’s always been driven, especially when he was young. We had former members who made things more difficult than needed out of sheer ignorance or unprofessionalism. Now that that stuff is out of the way, it’s easier to focus on making music.”

GLEN BENTON IS NOT A SNOWFLAKE Glen Benton may be more mindful, but is certainly not woke. These are just a few barbs from a recent conversation one winter morning. THE DECIBEL METAL AND BEER SET: “I’ll base it

on which ones I hate the most.” EX-BANDMATES: “Oh fuck, dude. I could get

Laurel and Hardy in the band and pull off a stronger performance than the Hoffmans.” MODERN DEATH METAL: “Every record seems to have too much compression, and it puts a blanket of shit on top of the sound.” OLD FOE BOB LARSON: “What shtick—that guy is an incredible actor and is still doing that exorcism shit.” THE SONG “ONE WITH SATAN”: “I just got the guitar and finger-fucked it out of my mind.” THE ALBUM TILL DEATH DO US PART: “That reads like an angry love letter, like, ‘Dear piece of shit.’ I won’t say I wouldn’t get married again, but I haven’t done it in 19 years.” THE PANDEMIC: “I was just writing songs and smoking a lot of weed like everybody. I got vaccinated for it and got it and got it again.” HIS INFAMOUS BIGFOOT SIGHTING: “I don't give a fuck if people don’t believe me. I’ve seen what I’ve seen. I’ll take you out there if you want, but I’ll also leave you there. I’m not sticking around. I had a full-sized coyote charging at me here when I was at my fucking mailbox.” Guitarist Kevin Quirion, who joined Deicide in 2007, says the band’s stable lineup allows Benton to focus less on drama and more on music. “When his kids moved out, he just had

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more time to do other things,” Quirion explains. “Bands are all about the chemistry of the people you have. If you will be on tour three months a year, you must be able to tolerate each other. It’s like any relationship.” “When I first joined Deicide, the first question from everyone was, ‘How is it working with Glen?’” says guitarist Taylor Nordberg, who joined Deicide in 2022. “The answer is he’s a sweetheart, cares about his guys and crew, and wants them to be taken care of. He is the leader you would want for your group. I’m a Deicide fan, so I was familiar with the antics and the myths. Glen has an image, and I’m sure there have been some expectations to live up to the image. But I’ve also learned to take stories with a spoonful of salt. Glen is in his 50s and living how he wants to, and he is excited to do this. It’s just a very inspiring place to be.” Legendary producer Scott Burns, who produced Deicide’s imposing first four albums at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, says there was always far more to Benton than the public persona. Burns first saw Benton with Amon when they opened for Morbid Angel. Amon wore full suits of armor, and Benton yelled the following at Burns from the stage during soundcheck: “Hey dickhead, I can’t hear myself over the monitors.” “Listen, from day one, either you fucking liked Glen Benton or thought he was a douchebag,” Burns says, laughing. “He has a

presence and knows how to work with journalists, the media and the crowd. And between him and Steve, they write catchy shit. When I recorded them, he was into it. He was also always in tune with the financial side. As far as perseverance goes, this doesn’t surprise me. Are any of us the same as we were when you were in your 20s? We all grow up and change. People are complex, right? You could write Glen off as the guy who burned a cross on his head, but there is much more to him. “He was always thinking,” Burns elaborates. “He would always talk to you about how he was going to do something. He’s a lot more calculated than people know. And he has Steve, one of the greatest musicians in this genre. Steve wrote a lot of those songs and played drums. Between everything with the Hoffmans, he helped keep the band together. Was [Benton] a pain in the ass a lot of times? Sure, but it wasn’t personal. He wanted to get money from the label.” Burns considers Deicide’s 1990 debut one of the best death metal albums he ever recorded, and far catchier than almost any of its peers. “He put a lot of thought into things,” Burns says. “It wasn’t like they came in with one good track.” Kimberly Baarda, a Canadian metal podcaster, publicist and longtime Deicide fan, isn’t surprised by Deicide’s resilience or Benton’s third act. Baarda first heard Deicide as a teenage death metal fan when friends loaned her Once Upon

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When I first joined Deicide, the first question from everyone was, ‘How is it working with Glen?’ The answer is he’s a sweetheart, cares about his guys and crew, and wants them to be taken care of.

He is the leader you would want for your group. TAY L OR NORDB E RG

the Cross. She loved the band so much she named a pet rat “Benton.” She hid the album (which features artwork of Christ after an autopsy) in her house, thinking, “I’m going to get into some shit if my parents see this.” “It was good to see my questions being validated by some of this music—that it was OK to say no to things like religion and to not like it,” Baarda says. “After Serpents of the Light, I lost track of Deicide for a while. I don’t know if it was the albums they were putting out or if I was just going through different stages. You just didn’t hear a lot about those albums. There was a period when Deicide was not on my radar. That being said, there are some great albums from that period. Till Death Do Us Part isn’t the Deicide I know and love, but it’s a good album. Glen has said before that going through some shit makes people more creative.” “Look at Ulver and Enslaved and many black metal bands who have changed over the years. Deicide can also go through stages like that,” she continues. “Deicide set a lot of standards for death metal. They paved the path for extremity and defined the genre. They still have dedicated and hardcore fans even when people don’t like some of their albums.” While Benton remains a fan of Deicide’s first comeback album, 2006’s The Stench of Redemption, he says Banished by Sin, mixed and mastered by Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Megadeth and Bad

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Religion) is even better and will appeal more to diehard fans who never moved past 1995. “We went for an old-school Tampa sound in all of this,” Benton says. “I went the opposite way with little to no compression on everything. I stressed that to Josh. You can tell just listening to this that the production is different. What creates these later Deicide albums is that everyone has their fingerprints on them.” The result of all of these changes is that Benton seems genuinely excited. “Taylor is a great person and team player. Kevin is a team player and is a good person,” Benton says. “We have an incredible team assembled from my agents to my road manager. For the first time maybe ever, I am content with what is happening. Taylor can pull off all the leads effortlessly, and along with Kevin, there is this incredible tightness. The sky’s the limit for what we can do, and I can’t wait to see the looks on people’s faces when they hear the new album.”

GLEN REMEMBERS The Satanic Panic—a cultural witch hunt in the ’80s that targeted metal musicians—kicked off with a little remembered book called Michelle Remembers, written by Michelle Smith with her future husband, psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder. In it, Smith recounts how she was abducted and sexually abused as a child by a Satanic cult. Large sections are more unhinged and detailed

than any song in Deicide’s catalog. The mass market paperback promised “a shocking true story of the ultimate evil—a child’s possession by the Devil.” At one point, the book was studied by the Vatican. While the book has since been discredited, most recently by the 2023 Canadian documentary Satan Wants You, it caused irreparable harm throughout the 1980s and after. Daycare center owners and teachers were tried for ritual abuse, even if confessions were coerced from children. Psychiatric patients across the country claimed to have repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse. Police tried to tie crimes to Satanism and the occult. And metal musicians became a target for the cultural jihad. The crackdown ultimately led to Congressional hearings and the infamous parental warning sticker adorning select album covers. While the Satanic Panic ruined lives in some ways, it helped metal; when anything is taboo—whether it is Elvis Presley or Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast or Deicide— young people will seek it out. In the early ’90s, it was clear that the Satanic Panic was largely a hoax and fears of the occult faded, at least in more urban areas. However, the culture wars raged in more conservative parts of the country. The arrests of the West Memphis Three in Arkansas, three metal fans who were wrongly charged and convicted in 1994 of the death of three young boys, were clearly part of a cultural hangover from the Satanic Panic. Benton came of age as a musician in conservative Florida, now the home of Governor Ron DeSantis, a conservative culture warrior. Benton quickly decided to up the ante and make Satan scary again. “The Satanic Panic was over in some places, but in suburban Florida in the ’90s it didn’t matter,” says Terence Hannum, a member of the experimental metal band Locrian and author of the novella Beneath the Remains, which is based on his experiences as a death metal fan in Florida in the ’90s. “If you wore black, you were a weirdo and had to be prayed for. The church had a lot more sway in small towns. I even remember a pastor going off about AC/DC.” Hannum purchased a Legion cassette in 1993 from Camelot Music in Naples, FL. Even locally, Deicide had reached mythic status. “At that time, you couldn’t just go to YouTube,” Hannum explains. “It took forever to get to the record store, and then you hoped your parents didn’t see it. I immediately loved Legion. The irony was that I was fairly religious then, and it was like, whoa! I listened to the album recently, and it’s still very intense. I think a lot of it is Steve’s super intense and fast parts. I was obsessed with Slayer and Sepultura, but many lights went off when I heard Deicide.” Kyle Messick, who specializes in the psychology of religion and music culture studies, says Benton was the perfect foil for the

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Christian Right in the ’90s. “Death metal was about being as extreme as possible, and one of the ways Deicide did this was to make people very uncomfortable,” says Messick, who also owns the death metal label Sewer Rot and is an avid death metal collector and musician. “They came out of a religious area. They went heavy into Satan. It’s hard to say if Benton’s stage persona differs from his personal life, but his commitment to it made people pay attention. He burned a cross into his forehead! There are a lot of bands that had these themes, but they didn’t display it in such a visceral way. One of the things that was viral was his legendary calls to Bob Larson. Glen was playing it up like he was possessed and mocked [religion] in a way we’d never seen from anyone before.” According to Messick, Benton was also far ahead of his time, discovering trolling long before the Internet. “He’s said some ridiculous things like he is chasing Bigfoot,” Messick says. “I wonder how much is the legitimate Glen Benton or how much is he just great at trolling and getting attention. Part of that is what made him such a larger-than-life character and helped him stick around.” Messick goes on to suggest that Benton’s abrasive public persona and anything-goes sense of humor belie the fact that Deicide helped foster conversation about the excesses of religion: “Death metal is valuable for creating a dialogue. So, having anti-religious lyrics or talking about things like violence or mental illness helps dialogue. Many metal fans are more open about thinking and talking about these things because they’ve been exposed to it by bands like Deicide.” And yet, Benton the musician was arguably more important than Benton the cultural antagonist. Along with Asheim, Benton wrote some of the early Florida death metal canon. The first three albums contain roughly 90 minutes of the best music in the genre’s history. Dustin Boltjes, drummer of Midwest OSDM upstarts Flesher, says Deicide’s music changed his life. Boltjes will make the pilgrimage from Indiana to Philadelphia in April in part for Deicide’s Metal & Beer special set. Boltjes first heard Deicide in 1992 when he was a freshman in high school in Plainfield, IN. He’d recently started drumming. “I heard ‘Dead by Dawn’ on a compilation called At Death’s Door. It just sounded scary when you were 14. The Satan stuff had become corny coming out of the panic of the ’80s, but Deicide sounded truly evil. I gravitated right towards it.” Everything changed when Boltjes dropped a huge hit of acid and a friend came over with a cassette copy of Legion. Boltjes was frying and terrified. “I was peaking on acid when the glass breaks on ‘Trifixion’—it was some of the most sinister shit I’ve ever heard. I’ve been a loyal fan ever since the early ’90s. Those first two records got a hold of me. To hear the goats and all the backward talking—it just grabs you.”

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Boltjes says he resents that some metal fans seem to forget Deicide when they discuss the best death metal albums. “Decide should always be right there on the king’s throne of death metal,” he declares. “Now that there is a throwback to the ’90s shit, they are finally getting the credit they deserve. A whole new generation of kids is digging back into the ’90s records. And if you dig, you come up with Deicide. The riffs have these razor-sharp turns, and the music is like a straight-up battery the whole time. It’s like a jackhammer to the face. The songs are all short and sweet. Before you know it, the album is over. It’s in and out and has no frills.” Benton is not overly boastful about the early days of death metal or his oversized influence, but does say some seem to forget he built the ground floor. “In all honesty, I was doing it all this way before everyone,” he says. “Chris Barnes reached out to me when [Cannibal Corpse] were just starting. There was even stuff I did before Deicide—my vocal stuff has been around since I was 16. This all started because I thought metal bands needed better vocals. I thought plenty of bands should be more intense. I was active when Nasty Savage and Savatage were around. I was doing my fucking shtick way back then.”

DRINK THE (BARLEY) WINE Deicide fans attending Metal & Beer Fest Philly: Don’t expect to down beers with the band. Both

guitarists are teetotalers. Benton prefers dirty martinis, quipping, “I don’t want to feel like I have a keg under my shirt.” Asheim, however, might have a few. “I’ve heard some great things about the fest, and playing this classic material is an honor,” the drummer says. “It’s an exclusive set, so it’s going to be killer. This is a prestigious position, and we are excited to be part of it. We are getting this special set tuned up and might throw in a new song or two, because why not?” Deicide were approached with a chance to headline the festival by their agent after they’d been on the road performing Legion to rave reviews. All three albums will get their due during the set. Nonetheless, Benton jokes that there are songs on the early records he “refuses to fucking play”: “There was one or two on Once Upon the Cross. No one gave a fuck about those songs then and they don’t know them. The fucking crap filler songs, nah. The good songs, yes. We’ll pull a few songs off the first albums we haven’t done in a while, but we need to dust them off. We might bring back ‘Trick or Betrayed.’ Honestly, Kevin and Taylor have already learned all of these songs. You just need to freshen me and Steve up. I will give you guys a nice set of some oldies, and we might drop a new song on you or two.” Asheim counters that Benton doesn’t hate any early songs: “I just think some of them were written with the Hoffmans.”

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While making the Decibel set heavy on Legion would be easy, Asheim says the band will also revisit songs that haven't been played much since the ’90s. In particular, he would like to revisit “Carnage in the Temple of the Damned” (a song about Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre) with the loud alarm bell in the beginning. “We could probably do a lot of Legion,” Asheim says. “However, there’s a lot of stuff we honestly haven't played since the ’90s, so we’re still deciding what will be the best to bring back. We only have so much time. We will play a lot from Once Upon the Cross. We’re picking the fan favorites and will do them in order.” Asheim says it’s also a revelation to play older material with decades more experience. He plans to keep the same energy and delivery so fans feel like they are hearing the authentic item. “My playing style is much different now than in 1990,” he stresses. “I got a lot better and smoother in my application. It was just a natural progression. So, hopefully, these songs sound like they did and we don’t polish them too much. I will try to play with some of the same feel—we want people to recognize the songs. I like to hear people nailing things like I remember it. “I just got better as a drummer,” Asheim specifies. “When I came along, I was doing things other drummers couldn’t do. Now, drummers do things I can’t do. It’s been impressive to watch metal drumming evolve. I remember when blast beats took off. I’ve always had to do many other things in the band, like writing music and playing guitar. I was always working, but not on drum prowess. I was working to be a better songwriter. The [drumming] ship has sailed for me, but what I did for our band and death metal is good enough. I don’t need to be out there gravityblasting. There is no point trying to play catchup. My time is better served making sure our songs sound good. I just need to do what I do.” Quirion says that Deicide expect to play several festivals each year. But precious few of those festivals are held in the United States. He hopes that changes, thanks in part to Decibel. “Doing festivals in the U.S. isn’t something we normally do. In the U.K., you could tour festivals for months.” For the Decibel set, he says the band “is thinking five or six songs per album. We just did the Legion tour. We might bust out a few songs we haven’t ever done and some we haven’t done in 15 years live. You have to play ‘Dead by Dawn.’ You have to play ‘Sacrificial Suicide.’ You have to play ‘Once Upon the Cross.’ And Legion is the bestselling death metal album ever, so we should be playing some songs off that anyway.”

“IT’S GOOD TO BE MYSELF AGAIN” Benton isn’t just exercising, either. His newfound attention to diet rivals that of an Instagram health influencer. He passes on breakfast and has lunch meat or cheese in the afternoon. Then it’s chicken and broccoli or salad

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and a steak. “I do live a predominantly keto lifestyle,” he says. “Unfortunately, I am surrounded by people who eat like flies, so it’s impossible to keep some of that out of my field of vision.” Messick says he met Benton years ago and found him much different than expected. He approached Benton before a Deicide show, and Benton told him to come back later. “You hear these stories about him being menacing and unapproachable, and other people have different experiences. But after that show he was friendly and talked and took a picture. I think there is a lot of buildup to get into the zone. It might

Are any of us the same as we were when you were in your 20s? We all grow up and change. People are complex, right?

You could write Glen off as the guy who burned a cross on his head, but there is much more to him. S COTT BU R NS,

DEICIDE , LEGION A ND ONCE UPON THE CROSS ENGINEER be overwhelming and exhausting to turn this off and on. He seems wonderful if you give him space and time to be what he needs to be.” The world is also changing along with Benton. He hasn’t just lost family members, but also old friends and bandmates, including former guitarist Santolla. Benton says he ran into Santolla several times after he was fired from Deicide, and they were on good terms when Santolla passed in 2018. “We had a tumultuous relationship,” Benton says. “I fired him a few different times. He had some personal issues with drugs and alcohol. I never care if you can do your job, but it got to the point where he couldn’t stop embarrassing

himself. Obituary tried the same thing with him. I still love the guy and will always. We did a festival in [Tampa neighborhood] Ybor City and Ralph was there. When I walked up, he about shit his pants. We hugged it out and had a good time.” Hannum says he’s not sure anyone could provoke and shock in 2024 like Benton did in his heyday; it’s too easy for people to learn everything about you online. Despite this, Deicide’s best albums retain their ability to scare, shock and move. “Everything in our world is oversharing,” Hannum posits. “Everything in our world is instantly findable. You can see pictures of people on Instagram with their dogs, so everything becomes contrived. Now that I’m older I think, ‘Would that work now?’ Who is a metal person now who could even be close to [Benton]? At that time, no one was a figure sticking their finger in people’s eyes outside of Marilyn Manson if you go wider into pop culture. Death metal is niche, and that was probably the most popular it’s ever been. You could never capture that mystique again. It would be impossible for someone like Glen to get that back. But Deicide has never just been about persona. These records rip: Deicide, Legion and Once Upon the Cross are great. There is a mood and a tone there that is still scary.” Benton also finds it increasingly difficult to be that foil and bogeyman in our divided culture. While Benton’s nemeses in the ’90s were expected—churches, parents and conservative politicians—his outspokenness even bristles people who consider themselves metal fans. Politics are so hopelessly polarized that any strong statement is attacked. As a result, Benton mulls retiring in Tennessee or West Virginia— places where his music was likely attacked during the ’90s. “I think this world is a damn dumpster fire,” Benton says. “I’ve been looking for a place up in the mountains to get away from it all. We live in a day and age where you aren’t allowed to have an opinion because it will put you out of business. I’m learning the older I get that having an opinion these days is a death sentence.” For now, there is still work to do and miles to log on the bike and the tour bus (Benton finally agreed to use the latter after decades of touring in minivans). “At this point it’s not about needing money,” Benton says. “It’s about enjoyment. For a while, I was trying to make ends meet. Now I am doing it to express myself and I don’t have anyone to stop me from being what I am. I just want to be me. After all the years of having to keep a lid on it so people don’t show up at my door, I’ve had some things that have come into my life that have inspired me to do great things and be myself again. After years of government agencies breathing down my fucking neck, it’s good to be myself again.”

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Ironclad Defense JUDAS PRIEST

On their 19th album, metal legends prove they aren’t ready to let the robots take their place just yet

APRIL

Delivering the Goods

Heading Out to the Highway

Riding on the Wind

Victim of Changes

ALL THE NOISE THAT FITS

J 8

udas priest have always had a contentious relationship with technology. Some of their finest songs deal with them listing the risks: “Electric Eye,” “Metal Gods,” “Blood Red Skies,” etc., don’t paint the most flattering picture of sciJUDAS entific advancement. That hasn’t stopped them from fucking PRIEST around with it on the technical side of things, though. Some Invincible Shield of their more controversial moments came when, for example, SONY they added synthesizers to their sound on 1986’s Turbo or (allegedly, but not really) used backwards masking to tell a teen to kill himself. Technology’s effect on modern society is obviously very much in the zeitgeist right now, and Priest put that dynamic front and center on Invincible Shield. ¶ That’s literal in the case of the cover art—that (almost certainly) AI-assisted abomination may be their worst since the clownish CGI prognosticator on Nostradamus. It also manifests in less obvious ways. Opener “Panic Attack” deals with information overload courtesy of antisocial media, and even contains a nod to Turbo in the form of a “Turbo Lover” synth swoosh. In fact, Andy Sneap’s slick production plays a strong role everywhere.

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Rob Halford may be a legend, but the man is almost old enough to be president. He can’t quite hit the high notes we expect, so he gets a little help from the computer. It’s more noticeable here than on their other recent efforts. That said, his trademark sneer’s in fine form, and AI could never replicate that (although it could probably do Ripper Owens just fine). Musically, their 19th defense of the faith very much falls into the “give the people what they want” mentality of the Glenn Tipton/ Richie Faulkner era. A band 50 years into their career shouldn’t be able to deliver the goods this viciously. Halford’s lyrics are a little on the nose, but nobody can deliver them as convincingly as him. “Panic Attack” sits with their long tradition of high-octane side one/track ones. The title track similarly keeps up the level of quality expected from those with another rousing metal unity anthem. “As God Is My Witness” would fit nicely on Decibel Hall of Fame entry Painkiller, while “Gates of Hell” and “Trial by Fire” provide some midtempo relief. Things get a little saggy after the latter tune—no “Lochness”-style stinkers, but no standouts, and the three bonus tracks at the end of the deluxe edition didn’t make the cut for a reason—but it’s still another strong showing overall. A combination of well-honed songwriting chops from the longtime members and the occasional injection of fresh blood has kept Judas Priest at the forefront of traditional metal for half a century. Even though we don’t know how many more albums they have in them, that they’ve remained relevant despite all the advancements around them (technological and otherwise) speaks wonders for the durability of their British steel. —JEFF TREPPEL

APPARITION

Disgraced Emanations From a Tranquil State P R O FO U N D LO R E

Wait, did they just make a fart joke?

Apparition’s follow-up to their 2021 debut, Feel, is a fierce showcase of the Californian quartet’s protean musical capabilities. We knew they could lace death metal with the sunken timbre of doom metal, that they had chops and ideas, but Disgraced Emanations takes things further. It’s as though Feel was basic training, and now their army of musical ideas is ready to push forward until they culminate and die on the hill in a state of rapture. From this remove, that hill is kinda proggy, with Apparition unafraid to play, to stretch out and apply spidery jazz atonalities to a dynamic brand of chaos, or to design the occasional 68 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

ambient avant-garde soundscape when it’s time let us breathe. With its logorrheic title and merciless darkness, the audacious “Imminent Expanse of Silence and Not (or Not)” perhaps betrays a Demilich influence. But if you’re starting to gray out because progressive death metal is, well, theoretically fine, but can turn out as much fun as eating quinoa and solving math puzzles for recreation, fear not, because ultimately Apparition are unafraid of a little shock and awe, liberally dispensing the depraved thrills of a pummeling death metal riff. An exacting command of the art form allows Apparition to modulate between riffs for the mind and the body, between blast beats and slack tempo post-metal, between the crushing and the super crushing. “Circulacate” is a masterclass in genre expansionism, brutal, morbid and smart. Some guitar parts sound as though they’re suspended in another dimension. The production, courtesy of bassist Taylor Young, teases everything out, gives it a depth of field, like the whole thing is three-dimensional, an auditory walk-in nightmare. —JONATHAN HORSLEY

BORKNAGAR

Fall

CENTURY MEDIA

Fjord or heavy

There haven’t been many floors to Borknagar’s impressive 28-year catalog of 12 albums, but it does feel as if the Norwegians are in yet another renaissance. 2016’s Winter Thrice, with its riveting title track, started it all. The 2019 follow-up, True North, anchored by the inimitable “Voices,” continued the streak. Now, Fall bears the brunt of what is likely the group’s most anticipated album since Empiricism was announced in the early aughts. Cultists are no doubt still sticking with their Garm-only mandate, which is appreciated for its monomania, but it’s been a lifetime already. Borknagar are arguably at the top of their game on Fall. It’s easy to focus on opening track “Summits,” a sprawling eight-minute waterfall of old-school aesthetic wrapped in a contemporary autumnal blanket. ICS Vortex’s untouchable snarls and mountaintop cleans have a wonderful pair in Lars A. Nedland’s cool vulnerability. To be cliché, “Summits” is all very epic and unquestionably professional, especially the solo section leading into the song’s apex coda. Believe it or not, Borknagar turn on the pyrotechnics and wide-angle views on other tracks. “Nordic Anthem” soundtracks us into Nedland’s thumping Nordic heart—if it feels like a theme song to a Visit Norway commercial, it’s because it’s destined to be. “Stars Ablaze”

is equally stunning, just more flickering black metal with a meandering, broad-minded core. Although no track is a sleeper, “The Wild Lingers,” a sort of thematic centerpiece, is Borknagar’s crowning achievement. The whole bluesy solo intro is uncommon, but works ever so well in chief songmaker Øystein G. Brun’s nighttide palette. His sideman, guitarist Jostein Thomassen, continues to be an absolute value add, also evidenced on “Moon.” If Borknagar aim any higher, we’re all gonna need oxygen masks. —CHRIS DICK

CUNTROACHES

Cuntroaches SKIN GRAFT

It’s black-noise-punk. Now read the review.

Sure, I’ll review a band called Runt Coaches. That’s a pretty snide way to refer to parents who volunteer to run a little league team, but I’ve been there, I can commiserate. I might even be willing to check out a record by Trunk Chokers. Maybe it’s some grab-the-elephant-by-the-snout kind of masturbation metaphor. I wouldn’t use the phrase in conversation, probably, but I won’t pass judgment on anyone who does, either. But this band’s called Cuntroaches? Man, fuck off. This German trio’s debut is pretty rad, but let’s be honest—you’re not listening to this. I mean that in multiple tenses. At this moment, while you read this waste-of-your-time review, you are not currently listening to Cuntroaches, unless you’re a contrary piece of shit and you queued it up in the past few seconds just to prove me wrong. Also, you probably won’t be listening to Cuntroaches in the near future, or even in the far future, when we’re all likely to be roach food anyway, whether we’ve been cunts or not. Jesus, now they’ve got me using a word I’ve happily steered away from pretty much forever. The point is, this is not going in your earholes unless you think that crossing Von with Merzbow and an off-the-shelf dirty punk project destined to burn out in 13 months sounds like the best idea ever. Or if the Locust grew Cult of Luna-sized ambitions and looked to the genius of Enbilulugugal for inspiration. The record has eight songs—and they’re definitely songs, with discernible (if trashy) rhythms and intentional creative arcs—but everything is scummed with the same acidic noise, so you listen to the whole half-hour shebang to achieve a particular sociopathic experiential pitch. But what am I saying? You’re not listening to Cuntroaches, no matter what they call themselves. —DANIEL LAKE

UNDERGROUND MUSIC SINCE WWW.IODINERECORDS.COM | @IODINERECORDINGS

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DROWN IN SULPHUR

Dark Secrets of the Soul SCARLET

Progenies of the musical apocalypse

With the breakout success of Whitechapel, Lorna Shore, Fit for an Autopsy, Shadow of Intent or Slaughter to Prevail over the last few years, we have now entered the “post-deathcore” era. No longer simply hampered by troglodyte breakdowns, triggered blasts, porcine squeals and mouthbreather riffing/song structuring, this much maligned movement has recently displayed some organic growth due to the stylistic expansion of rigid musical boundaries by forward-looking bands. Unlike their symphonic black metal-influenced peers in Worm Shepherd, though, and considering new album Dark Secrets of the Soul, Drown in Sulphur will not be ones to push deathcore forward. If their cringeworthy attempts at corpsepaint—with the Italian band looking like a Fisher-Price Abigor—weren’t enough to deter you, exposure to their awful music is about as pleasant as huffing down the putrid stench of the chemical element chosen to form part of their name. Think Dimmu Borgir suckling at the flabby teat of Thy Art Is Murder. Or Nergal post-frontal lobotomy after being spiked on his head during a Mental Cruelty gig. It’ll take more than hackneyed black metal aesthetics and sterile-sounding atmospherics to hide how inept Drown in Sulphur are at sidestepping the banality of deathcore’s most bastardized signifiers, all of which are found in abundance on this supposedly “vampiric,” yet cloyingly overproduced, record. A lubefree rectal exam performed by a doctor sporting a spiked arm gauntlet would be more enjoyable than repeat listens of Dark Secrets. —DEAN BROWN

EXHORDER

Defectum Omnium NUCLEAR BLAST

Eavy-hay oom-day

In 2019, NOLA groove thrashers Exhorder returned with Mourn the Southern Skies after a 27-year break between albums. There had been reunions over the years, but nothing put on tape until guitarist/vocalist Kyle Thomas assembled a fresh lineup and brought the beast back to life on a record that not only kept the Exhorder sound intact, but ably updated it. Such is the same on Defectum Omnium (apparently Latin for “a failure of all”). The sludge, the doom, the groove and the thrash are all part of 70 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

the gumbo, and Thomas seasons it with his aggro bellow, a voice capable of both melody and its opposite. There’s also a solid dose of straight-up hardcore on tracks like “Forever and Beyond Despair,” “Divide and Conquer” and “Year of the Goat.” The pervading theme, as suggested by the title, is the world is in bad shape and Thomas ain’t havin’ it. Brother is pissed. The seriously crushing material is made all the better by a very sympathetic production job by the band. Thomas’s vocals cut through the thick, drop-tuned guitars and a rhythm section that propels the songs through the murk. His Trouble bandmates (he’s also fronted the Chicago doomlords since 2012) Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin even make an appearance, and ex-Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O’Brien helps out with some leads. Defectum Omnium successfully encapsulates all the best aspects of Exhorder—that mix of thrash, doom, punk and groove—but finds new, interesting ways to manifest this unique sound. Definitely not a failure. —ADEM TEPEDELEN

FALL OF SERENITY 8 Open Wide O Hell LIFEFORCE

O, hell yes!

Forget everything you may have known about Fall of Serenity. Fifteen years since their last full-length, this cult fixture of the European underground has blackened their brand of melodeath, rebirthed from hell’s gash meaner and more brutal. Gone are the aped ’80s thrash guitars and cloying cleans. Dark rhythms, soaring melodies and guttural howls that bludgeon the sky bleed a new level of maturity and confidence, each member wielding their instrument with mastery and nary one false move in their production choices. The one-two punch of opener “Thy Pathway” and “Darkness, I Command” (the bangiest of them all that should be a serious contender for your next workout, drag race or bank heist) will have you immediately on the ropes before you’re ripped around the ring by singles “I Don’t Expect I Shall Return” and “Wastelands.” Neatly placed between the instrumentals “I” and “II,” the glory of OWOH’s center cuts may be missed upon first acquaintance, but seethe to the fore on repeated listens, especially “To Tear the Flesh.” By the time you get to fitting album closer ‘I Am the End,” you’ll be begging for reincarnation as you hit play and start over. There is no fat to cut; each listen hits deeper and grooves harder while feeling neither overbearing nor “groovy.” The instrumental interludes comprise a scant 1:33 of the 37:43 beating, while additional glimmers of melodic reprieve woven throughout

allow the most ferocious moments to shine, highlighting the band’s exceptional songwriting and end-to-end album craft. Fall of Serenity have delivered my first favorite record of 2024 and set a high bar in the process. Now, be good, children—open wide and take your medicine. —TIM MUDD

FARSOT

Life Promised Death PROPHECY

Structure over function

Have you ever heard a band who was billed as black metal only to realize that they a) don’t make black metal anymore, and b) have moved onto something more interesting? German dark metal (I don’t know what else to call them) troupe Farsot have, on their new album, transcended black metal’s icy grip in favor of creating something that might not be incredible (I give them credit, as this is new and frightening), but is ultimately an enjoyable listen all the same. Relying on groove and mood more than black metal’s static rhythms and expected emotional content, Life Promised Death bounces between heavy riffing and tense melodicism in a choppy, unexpected sort of way. What could ultimately be called “avant-garde” or “post-black metal” (if it was still the 2000s), Life Promised Death moves in unpredictable ways that at first are exciting, but then leads one to wonder how much thought was put into the actual songwriting. It isn’t bad, but is this exciting nature the accidental result of prog riff salad or a more conceptual and truly progressive songwriting approach? I’m leaning towards the former more than the latter, but what this album shows is potential. Farsot can capitalize on this unique structure and make something truly challenging the next time around. Is Life Promised Death a great album? Not great—more good. It isn’t bad, the musicianship is good and the songwriting is certainly compelling, but I don’t feel excited by this record like I was expecting. It feels too laid back, and I’d love to hear something like this with a little more energy. —JON ROSENTHAL

GHOUL

Noxious Concoctions TA N K C R I M E S

Chug the Ghoul-Aid

Despite a hefty back catalog, it’s been eight years since Ghoul’s previous full-length, an extended break which the masked death-thrashers spent apparently not writing very much music. Instead,

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their return is a modest EP, Noxious Concoctions, five tracks you can listen to in under 20 minutes. And listen you should. The proceedings start off fairly grand with “The Eyes of the Witch,” hitting all the sweet spots from the gruesome foursome: old-school shredding, fretboard agility and a super catchy guitar lead played over gurgling vocals, which in this context makes all the sense in the world. The remaining three originals are abbreviated versions of the same, packing in enough riffs to demonstrate that, whatever reason for the delay, the cream of the swamp was chosen for this release. Rather than evolve their sound, which no one has any interest in, they’ve pumped up their production, giving them a clear, sharp attack that makes previous albums sound lightweight by comparison. This also helps with their cover of “1-900-DTH-Line” by Funerot. True, this means they passed over other worthy Funerot covers like “Pooptarts” and “Penile Assassin,” but it’s a short, harmless tribute that wraps this up as a satisfying, low-stakes good time. Ghoul have been around since 2001 and if they returned to simply drop Noxious Concoctions before disappearing again, so be it. It would just be unfortunate if a band that’s still writing at this level (and still having this much dumb fun) hangs up their gore-caked double-headed battle axes forever. —SHANE MEHLING

GREY SKIES FALLEN

Molded by Broken Hands P R O FO U N D LO R E

Weather the storm

As I write this, the nation’s being throttled by the kind of “unprecedented” cold weather surge that now happens each winter. Outside my window it’s wet, it’s dark and it’s beautiful—the kind of beauty that’s augmented by the human suffering it causes. It’s the perfect weather for death-doom, likewise gorgeous and miserable. Rather than reach for the old standards, why not sample something contemporary such as Grey Skies Fallen? Their latest album, Molded by Broken Hands, showcases a competent and pristine take on the genre they adore. It’s a fine-tuned tribute to the Peaceville glory days, from the chainsaw rhythm guitar and chorused-out leads to the alternating roaring death vocals and plaintive guy-with-a-cold clean singing. Molded by Broken Hands is my first encounter with Grey Skies Fallen, so even though the band dates back to 1997, I can’t say whether or not it’s a step forward in their career. But I can say that if you crank it in your headphones and stare into freezing rain at sunset, the two experiences will mesh perfectly. It’s engaging enough that I plan to dive into their back catalog soon.

JERSEY METAL: A HISTORY OF THE GARDEN STATE’S HEAVY METAL SCENE, VOLUME ONE (1969-1986) by Frank White and Alan Tecchio SELF-RELEASED

Metalheads with working pairs of eyes have undoubtedly seen the work of Frank White at some point in the last 40-plus years. The photojournalist has been snapping pics his entire life and capturing some of American metal’s earliest and most pivotal moments since before it was a big deal to show up at a gig with a camera through to the present when everyone has a quality device in their pocket. A proud New Jersey resident who has been around the state’s metal scene essentially since its inception, White has tapped his archives, voluminous knowledge and (photographic?) memory, and teamed up with another Encyclopedia Metallicus, Alan Tecchio (Hades, Non-Fiction, Watchtower), to chronicle the rich

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Grey Skies Fallen may not catch some listeners’ attention without such perfect visual and atmospheric accompaniment. Molded by Broken Hands displays more variety as it progresses, and therefore becomes more interesting. Its best songs, such as the charging “Cracks in Time” and triumphant “Knowing That You’re There,” wait on the second side of the LP. Uncovering its charms requires patience—but baby, it’s cold outside, and you’ve got nothing better to do. —JOSEPH SCHAFER

GUILTLESS

Thorns NEUROT

Giltless

In 2007, Canadian math rockers The End gave us “The Never Ever Aftermath,” a cheeky track lamenting the fact that humanity’s imminent demise seems to be taking so goddamn long. “I don’t want to wait another day for the countdown,” pleads vocalist Aaron Wolff, “because I fell in love with my visions of the mushroom cloud.” In every generation, self-appointed oracles of doom grouch about how everything is the worst it’s ever been, that the tragic precipice is right underfoot, yet the fall gets postponed, decade after crawling decade. It’s exhausting.

history of Dirty Jersey’s metal scene in this, the first of three volumes. Part personal anecdote, part clinical documentation, Jersey Metal gravitates between charming storytelling and a wholesale vomit of whos-and-wheres. Tales of White sneaking out to shows for years without ever being found out and bands making a decent—or decent enough—living simply playing the New Jersey club circuit are heartwarming and amazing. Less compelling (unless you grew up in the Garden State, I imagine) is the exhaustive minutiae paid to the vast phalanx of bands who amounted to little. Though, picking through the historical detritus and seeing familiar names is always fun. The visual side of this coffee table-sized tome is gorgeous, the stuff galleries are made of; the written side does leave something to be desired in terms of copy-editing and narrative flow. Overall, Jersey Metal is a fascinating artifact that covers everything from early Twisted Sister, KISS club shows and the state’s Black Sabbath connection to the Old Bridge Militia wreaking havoc with Metallica and Raven and Bon Jovi’s popularity ascent through the eye/lens of metal lifers. —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

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Josh Graham helms and voices Guiltless, and the man’s résumé speaks for itself: Neurosis, Battle of Mice, Red Sparowes and A Storm of Light provide Graham’s sludge bona fides, while his experimental and largely ambient project IIVII splashes around in very different waters. Guiltless’ debut EP, Thorns, sees Graham (as well as Intronaut’s Sacha Dunable and other current and former members of A Storm of Light) clinging once again to those sludgy roots, groaning and growling about the dereliction of civilization and society pitching unavoidably toward chaos and extinction. It’s dark, dense music made by longtime professionals and connoisseurs of the style, so of course it all sounds good in isolation, but this music’s one real letdown is how much it sounds like all its forebears without offering any of their dynamic range or narrative propulsion. After consuming end-times omens in this format for so many years, it’s hard to get worked up about such vague misanthropy anymore. If it’s all gonna burn, then let’s get it over with. As Wolff yelled in 2007, “I can’t take another false alarm.” —DANIEL LAKE

HAND OF KALLIACH

Corryvreckan PROSTHETIC

Thankfully not Corrs-core

Hand of Kalliach do themselves a disservice in their promo material by describing themselves as “playing a blend of melodic death metal with atmospheric Gaelic and Celtic influences, inspired by Scottish folk music.” That makes it sound like the married musicians are cheeseball early-2000s folk metallers, back when all you had to do to get signed to Napalm Records was have an attractive female singer wearing a corset and a long-haired dude growling about sad Vikings, then put heavy guitars under Chieftains covers. Nope—their second full-length, Corryvreckan, does the atmospheric thing for like two minutes at the beginning before the swords come out. If anything, songs like “Dìoghaltas” and “Deathless” feel more akin to something like Thy Catafalque or even Rebel Wizard, layered levels of swirling guitars and mechanistic drums and ethereal/earthly contrasting vocals creating an inescapable polar vortex. They do have (what I believe are) synthesizers replicating a bagpipe sound, but it works in the overall mix. The duo achieves something genuinely cool here, reinterpreting folk metal to emphasize the metal part and relegating the folk influence to the melodies themselves (instead of loading up on hurdygurdies and didgeridoos or whatever). 74 : A P R I L 2 0 2 4 : D E C I B E L

It's an impressive effort. The biggest criticism is that, while each track feels different in sequence, it’s hard to find standouts in such a maelstrom of similar songs—at least “Of Twilight and the Pyre” brings things to a more restrained close. Definitely a group to keep your ears on. You might even learn some Gaelic! —JEFF TREPPEL

HATE FORCE

Systems of Terror C LO S E D CA S K E T ACTIVITIES

Cruisin’ for another bruisin’

Featuring ex-and-current-and-in-limbo members of Like Rats, Weekend Nachos, Harm’s Way, Pagan Youth and Idiom—if you can keep track of who’s on hiatus, who’s reformed and what bands are part-time vs. full-time, good on ya!—Hate Force are a formed-just-before-the-pandemic addition to the growing queue of hardcore dudes starting bands based on combining dusty breakdowns with dusty Bolt Thrower and Swedish death metal albums. With the most mountainous of man-mountains, James “Running Man” Pligge, throttling vocals, guitar and bass backed by—or blocked out by!—fellow guitarist/bassist Todd Nief and drummer (as well as fellow guitarist/bassist) Drew Brown, Systems of Terror is a tuned-down-tothere two-toned tempo gallop that embraces and drags contemporaries like Frozen Soul and Sanguisugabogg through razor-wire swamps, busts out half-time slow-downs best appreciated by the bandana and basketball jersey set, sprinkles grind with World Below and features the sickest bass sound this side of Soul of a New Machine. The result is like a hammer to the back of the brain. It’s thunderously and filthily heavy enough to get folks in their 40s contemplating time spent in a pit and justifying it against high-calorie tailgate lunches (“Descending Down,” “Inevitable War”), but also spotlights lunkheaded and repetitive fast-slow-fast-slow songwriting that’ll put a glorious grin on your face while making you feel dumber listening to it (“Total Violence,” “Power/Master”). The virtues of friendly violent fun have been extolled endlessly throughout the history of extreme music, and Hate Force are firmly planted in that line as well. —KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

ISENORDAL

Requiem for Eirênê PROPHECY

European dark metal time capsule

Isenordal’s Requiem for Eirênê

sounds specific. Like something from the past that has been reawakened, but with a new flair. This project, which is more of an ensemble than your average black or doom metal band, takes the mournful, folk-inflected sounds of mid-’90s Austria (think acts like Estatic Fear, Dornenreich and especially Empyrium) and blends them with the equally romantic (but more transcendental) sounds of late-2000s Cascadia. At the crux of all of this is a reverence for nature in what is either a Byronic or Thoreau-esque sense, and what Isenordal do is blend those two schools of thought into one. Stylistically, Isenordal take folk, baroque and romantic music and inject them all into blackened doom, or sometimes funeral doom, complete with haunting strings, clean-sung vocals and absolutely bottomless dread—but there are ecstatic moments with blast beats and progressive rock tendencies that keep the record interesting and exciting throughout its lengthy runtime (just under an hour, which can be a marathon for a doom album). Though Requiem is quite literally a requiem, there is a dash of hopefulness found deep in Isenordal’s cavernous despondency. These brief passages of major chord triumph are especially powerful, as the rest of the record plumbs depression’s depths. Emotionally multifaceted and musically reverent to style, Requiem for Eirênê both brings a foreign style to U.S. soil and, true to their Pacific Northwest roots, shows it a thing or two about new-millennium American black metal. —JON ROSENTHAL

KARKOSA

Esoterrorcult REDEFINING DARKNESS

Come on inside, little priest

Although Indiana black/ death force Karkosa formed in 2013, their first decade produced only the Harvest of the Adept EP. It was a solid introduction, but the corpsepainted canvas felt incomplete. Now these Hoosiers kick the doors of their 11th year off the hinges with their striking debut LP, Esoterrorcult. Nothing against the time-honored instrumental intro, but sometimes you want to press play and immediately face the firing squad. Karkosa launch Esoterrorcult with a furnace blast of hellfire and riff shrapnel. Despite ferociously opening the album, “Encorcelled Spirits” isn’t a one-speed war machine. Between icy tremolo storms, Karkosa craft a swelling chorus so good that I thirsted for its return. Sadistically, the song ends without a reprise. Hooks be goddamned, Karkosa have other plans for all us children of the night. They achieve a supremely

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catchy black/death record without resorting to traditional composition structures. Vocalist Rafael Palacios punctuates the album with poisoned growls and occasional clean lines that invoke Black Anvil’s melodic leanings. Some of the tech-death embellishments distract from the album’s haunted forest aura, like the opening of “Cyclopian Gateway.” The mixing and mastering by Anthony Longano is mostly excellent, lending a frostbitten clarity to “The Freezing Shadows of Eternal Winter” even when the layers pile up like Midwestern snow. Although there’s nothing wrong with an old-fashioned fade-out, it felt like a premature demise for “Shattered Throne.” “Angelus Ejectiones” concludes the album with a sprinkle of synths; a moment of fragile reflection after the record’s violent warpath. Esoterrorcult is an evolutionary achievement showcasing how each band member sharpened their skills between releases. Hopefully this dizzying and downright menacing declaration of war turns heads so fast it snaps spines.

songs (the countdown in track one, repeating the title in track three). Messiah switch tempos and try elevating the doomed lurch of “Speed Sucker Romance” with eerie synths, but the song still reduces Side A’s momentum to a sludgy crawl. Despite those missteps, founding guitarist R.B. Bröggi is still a force of nature, bringing infernal thrashing to “Centipede Bites” and “Acid Fish.” But Messiah have zero interest in banking on nostalgia and reanimated ideas. They close with two-part composition “The Venus Baroness,” a bold gamble at 11 minutes in total length. In the end, if you crave Extreme Cold Weather’s thrashing madness and the death grooves of Rotten Perish, Messiah will answer your prayers. —SEAN FRASIER

MINISTRY

HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES NUCLEAR BLAST

Nopium

—SEAN FRASIER

MESSIAH

Christus Hypercubus HIGH ROLLER

They have risen

Swiss death/thrashers Messiah formed 40 years ago when thrash was still an infant genre. Their Powertrash demo delivered self-described “real hardcore metal mayhem.” A few years later, their maniacal Hymn to Abramelin LP helped forge the blackened speed genre. Once Andy Kaina assumed vocals, Messiah leaned harder into death metal and a meatier guitar tone. Even when Messiah steered into the groove metal boom of the mid-’90s, they were on the forefront of extreme metal. The band entered a period of extreme deep freeze from 1995 to 2020. But Messiah rose again for their triumphant 2020 comeback album Fracmont. In the aftermath of that record’s post-hiatus release, Kaina’s sudden passing was a tragic loss. Marcus Seebach joined in late 2021, and the band’s new album, Christus Hypercubus, is his first chance to helm the mic and crush the altar. Chapel-haunting opener “Sikhote Alin” introduces Seebach’s gruff growl and a deliciously shadowy atmosphere. The title track boasts polished propulsion and fresh blood as the album’s first single. The throwback tenacity of “Once Upon a Time… NOTHING” creates a time portal back to ’91. Those three songs illustrate Seebach’s strengths, but also feature unnecessary vocal additions that cramp and crowd the 76 : A PRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

Did you know Sandy Koufax is alive? Decibel editors obviously knew, but I assumed he was dead and buried back in the 20th century. Anyway, nobody wants to see the 88-year-old pitching legend face a starting lineup, so why would anybody want Ministry, with its 65-year-old frontman, to put out a 16th full-length album called HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES? Al Jourgenson seems to release a record whenever his folder of samples and puns is full, so there isn’t anything pressing here. His anti-W. Bush trilogy didn’t stop oil, so he’s back with “Just Stop Oil,” and the attacks on white nationalism from recent albums continue with songs like “Goddamn White Trash” and “Aryan Embarrassment,” but the lyrics are less incisive commentary on society and more an assurance that Uncle Al isn’t a Facebook grandpa. Music-wise, there are some moments. “New Religion” is their best song in ages, with an oldschool confidence and craft. Unfortunately, two tracks later, “Cult of Suffering” features Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz and may qualify as the worst song the band’s ever released; a competition that, rest assured, is stiff. Any other decent parts can’t diminish the majority of riffs that sound inspired by acrid ’90s industrial, but written for an iPhone game. The closer is Fad Gadget’s 1980 synth track “Ricky’s Hand,” a move that coincides with Jourgensen’s decision to finally revisit his new-wave With Sympathy era. And that seems appropriate: reflections, celebrations, maybe a ceremonial first pitch at a Cubs game. Just no more records like HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES. —SHANE MEHLING

MONKEY3

Welcome to the Machine N A PA L M

Monkey3, monkey do

If in space no one can hear you scream, that cuts down on the overall blather. Metal lives to bloviate, too: Catholicism, capitalism, the anthropocene. Swiss instrumental quartet Monkey3 formed in 2001, a groundzero arrival given their allegiance to the silver screen existentialism of Kubrick, Tarkovsky and the Wachowskis on Welcome to the Machine. Walking tall and carrying an equally big toolbox: the Syd Barrett in the capsule. Fifth studio launching and eighth long-player overall, this interstellar voyage streamlines the group’s previous two missions. Otherworldly, omnipresent, 2019’s Sphere spiraled heavy synths into expansive guitarscapes compelling enough for any auto-narrative overlay—alien thriller on the sands of tomorrow, say. 2016 opus Astra Symmetry leaned into Indian exotica: chants, spot vocals and even singing—in addition to acoustic guitars, tablas and drum-circle hypnotherapy. Centerpiece “Mirrors” reflected the titular invocation here: weightless Floydian solos woven into dread keyboards and Masonic cymbal napalm. Welcome to the Machine hurtles farther. Six-string mainframe Boris de Piante and key homme Guillaume Desboeufs floor engine room Walter Albrecht (drums) and Jalil Perrenoud (bass) on “Ignition,” alighting like Meddle fuse “One of These Days,” which Monkey3 covered on 2009’s Undercover. Like said space rock precursor, the Lausanne-ians’ opening thruster transcends prior cohesion, axes throbbing like suspension bridge cables. “Collision” blooms mushroom-cloud intensity, increasingly and exponentially, while fire-pit midpoint “Kali Yuga” offers a definitive narrative for the non-verbal simian quadrumvirate: celestial peaks follow lunar valleys. In Monkey3’s cosmic lyricism, substance staunches ambiance, particularly when “Collapse” closes in full-on DSOTM mode. Halfway into its 12 minutes, the ninth ring of Saturn appears and boosters cruise for eternity until transmission shortcircuits and Welcome to the Machine over-and-outs. —RAOUL HERNANDEZ

NEGATIVE PRAYER

Self // Wound CHAOS

Hurts so good

Heck of a beefy résumé between the members of Negative Prayer for just

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two dudes: Guitarist and vocalist Kyle House has slung death metal riffs for Necrot, Vastum and Acephalix, helped keep Portland punk legends Poison Idea active, and plays in Decrepisy with Negative Prayer drummer Charles Koryn, who’s got a long list of contemporary death metal credits (Ascended Dead, Funebrarum, Vrenth) and stints drumming live for Incantation, Hulder, Demoncy and more. These names don’t just establish Negative Prayer’s bona fides; they also helpfully map out the liminal space where the duo operates—the one where death metal and DIY punk dissolve into one another. There’s nothing fancy or pretty happening on Self // Wound. It’s death-rotted D-beat, burlier and meaner than Disfear, more relentless and less melodic than Tragedy. The closest things to flashes of color are occasional guitar leads and melodies, a cover of the Misfits’ “Bloodfeast” and the doomed-out tempos of closer “Amputate.” Lyrically, it’s completely fucking hopeless, spelled out in mononymic blunt-force titles like “Violence,” “Caged” and “Noose.” “Wound” functions as an almost-title track, with a refrain of “deep cut, scarred for life!” that sounds selfinflicted, while external forces of abuse and oppression face just as much wrath from House’s raspy death grunt. Self // Wound is sick, but in a way that’s so single-minded and monochromatic that, in the absence of dynamics, it could’ve been 10 minutes shorter and been even sicker. Not repeating all three songs from Negative Prayer’s debut EP from last year would have done the job handily, but I guess I can’t give them too much shit for giving you, the consumer, more. They’ve obviously been through plenty already. —ANTHONY BARTKEWICZ

SATURNALIA TEMPLE

Paradigm Call LISTENABLE

Return trip

It might be a sign of the times when you dig into an album of ritualistic occult metal and get the sense it could be one of the most soothing, grounding experiences you’ll have all week. Especially when the record in question is the latest from Sweden’s Saturnalia Temple, who have specialized in unadulterated primal doom for nearly two decades. As founder and frontman Tommie Eriksson told our Kevin Stewart-Panko in a 2020 interview, the band “make it sound very fucked-up intentionally.” Certainly, their trippy, mystical 78 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

tonics of snarling vocals, blackened psychedelic atmospheres, and thick, plodding rhythms can sound as dank and unsettling as if they emerged from a sea of cobwebs, goat blood and fossil fuels. But one person’s fucked-up is another person’s treasure, and—as Saturnalia Temple suggest on their new LP, Paradigm Call—the most rewarding are sometimes one and the same. Paradigm was recorded in Eriksson’s newly built studio T.O.N./Temple of Naamah Studios, and within its warm production and loose atmospheres, the band sounds like a well-oiled war machine. There’s no pretense or bells and whistles, and beneath the cosmic twists and scuzzy guitar solos, the songs are propelled by meditative riffs and locomotive grooves that grow more overwhelming and encompassing on repeat listens. Nearly 20 years into their career, Saturnalia Temple remain a compelling force; If the future can’t be bright, let it be darkened by the masters. —JAMIE LUDWIG

SKELETAL REMAINS

Fragments of the Ageless CENTURY MEDIA

It’s perfectly natural to master emulate

Skeletal Remains were generated from the crucible of a long-established formula. Their modus operandi has always been the obvious mimicry of Morrisound’s death metal heyday, and at five records in, this band has essentially become an emulation of their own emulation. Considered in the least flattering light, each successive album in their catalog is basically the equivalent of an iOS update: much ado about the insinuation of trivial bells and whistles. However, Fragments of the Ageless is also a testimony to Skeletal Remains’ prowess; they are masters of this art form. New drummer Pierce Williams may have actually outshone Charlie Koryn’s performance on 2020’s The Entombment of Chaos. Their guitar team’s frequent leadwork is engaging and meaningful (unlike many guitarists within the genre who seem to treat their solos as “that special time in a song when they get to flash us their business card”). The record is sonically incredible, and I don’t believe that there’s a weak track in the bunch. My grievance is more contextual. Not only could any of these compositions have comfortably existed on their previous records, but with few exceptions—such as the drawling, Cannibal Corpse-esque riff kicking off “To Conquer the

Devout”—one could exchange any of Fragments’ riffs from one song to another and it wouldn’t have any measurable impact on their cogence or quality. This amounts to a satisfying listen in short bursts and a total slog as a complete work. And honestly, I miss the dippy song titles from the last record (try saying “Dissectasy” with a lisp). Admittedly, my feelings on this record are rife with ambivalence. In summation, this is Skeletal Remains’ best album to date. And I feel… fine. —FORREST PITTS

VLTIMAS

EPIC

SEASON OF MIST

It feels so good, it’s like walking on glass

After 2019’s Something Wicked Marches In, it was hard to know if VLTIMAS would become more than a one-off for former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent, Cryptopsy’s drum-demon Flo Mounier and the dissonance master who replaced Euronymous in Mayhem, guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen. Judging by the vice-tight interplay between the trio and the genuine sense of excitement on their debut, however, you would have hoped it was the beginning of a lengthy collaboration between esteemed veterans. That album was the first for Vincent since a certain abomination of 2011, and he swiftly silenced critics. It was a redemptive return for the MA monolith, backed by two supremely gifted individuals who make complex musicianship sound immediately gratifying. Without question, Vincent remains a premier death metal vocalist in 2024, and he is on classic form on album two, imbuing new tracks with his signature occultism, treading the line between genuinely threatening (“Epic”) and cartoonishly evil (“Mephisto Manifesto”). Once again, Mounier and Eriksen set a technical-yetcatchy framework of guitar discordance and impaling blast beats and double-bass drills. Both musicians already had a writing relationship prior to VLTIMAS, and the in-sync nature of their playing remains impactful whether at hyperspeed (“Miserere,” “Scorcher”) or adding slower-paced drama to Vincent’s slithering Hammer Horror-isms (“Spoils of War”). Or a combination of both on the impervious power of “Invictus.” Very few supergroups in metal live up to their billing, but VLTIMAS are one of the best we’ve seen from seasoned extreme musicians. —DEAN BROWN

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EUGENE S. ROBINSON

THE AGED GLORIES OF

HOARFROST the

look was nothing

if not what I would later come to call it: baleful. I was backstage at a King Diamond show and, several decades ago like it was, I was watching them scratch on their corpsepaint and heavy metal finery, and the hardcore kid in me was on full mock. The backstage area was littered with the trappings of their soon-to-be staged show. A fake corpse of a fake woman across a broken and fake altar, and the part of me that hungers for authenticity was just… appalled. This should have been seen for what it was: a harbinger of trouble to come. I just wasn’t smart enough to see it. However, first of all, it should be said that I was a fan of King Diamond and super excited to be playing the show, Oxbow opening for them, second on a four-band bill, like we were. But liking the pictures on the menu is different from liking 80 : APRIL 2024 : DECIBEL

the meal, and so faced with how this particular sausage was made, I could feel myself liking them less. So, what was it that put me off? I was ashamed to say it then and I am ashamed to repeat it now, but it was how old they were. It was ageism, pure and simple. King Diamond himself is now 67, something he seems to have no problem with. I am 61, something I rarely do not have a problem with. In fact, I’ve come to, in full prick fashion, throw others under the silver bus when called upon to fess up to the age actual. “Yeah, I’m younger than Iggy Pop,” I have said. “Or Rollins, or Perry Farrell, or…” any number of contemporaries. The King Diamond situation, high philosophizing aside, ended up in screams, fistfights, and blood, and eventually the cops were called to drag me offstage (cop-stage removal #3, if memory serves) after everything took a turn for the worse when a chesty promoter took

it on himself to cut our set short by 10 minutes. But this is not what stuck with me. What stuck with me is that metal is the only form of popular music that comfortably accommodates aging. Blues, classical, yeah, yeah, they do, too… but I said popular. In fact, I never forget a band that had been popular, in a pop music sense, back in the day. They were getting no purchase for their new music, so they changed the band name, hired some younger guys for the band photos and got signed immediately. When they hit their TaDa! moment of revelation, the label, unamused, unsigned them. Both proving their point and punishing them for it. But last time Oxbow played Roadburn, or some doom metal festival in Copenhagen, the graybeards, gravitas and all, were not only in evidence, and not just on the periphery, but on stages as well. All of the stages. And not just graybeards. Guts, too. Older men, and women,

who, much more clearly than some 19-year-old punk rock kid, were not giving a fuck in the grandest fashion of all. I mean, people are still invested in the 75-year-old Ozzy and whether or not he plays again, and let’s see that kind of enthusiasm for Jackson Browne, or Steve Winwood, at anything other than an oldies appreciation night at a winery. No, the life cycle in metal is complete and total. I started listening to it when I was 13 in 1975 and I’ll be listening to it when I die, and when I die, probably still not too much older than Phil Anselmo, or definitely younger than Axl Rose, I will do so knowing that out of all of the wrong things people will have to complain about, not one of them will be on account of me being an old asshole. Asshole, yeah, sure, maybe. Just not an old one. Because old is relative and, if we’re all going down together, insignificant. So, thanks metal. We’ll see you in hell. ILLUSTRATION BY ED LUCE

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