SPECIAL REPORT
U.S. VISAS THE HIGH COST OF PLAYING ABROAD
CLUTCH
BLAST TYRANT HALL OF FAME
TESTAMENT NECROT ON THE SHOULDERS OF TITANS IN THE STUDIO
REFUSE/RESIST
FLEXI DISC
INCLUDED
MYRKUR ABYSMAL DAWN HEAVEN SHALL BURN TEMPLE OF VOID HAUNT AKURION WVRM
MAY 2020 // No. 187
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TESTAMENT
NIGHTWISH
LAMB OF GOD
AUGUST BURNS RED
TITANS OF CREATION
HUMAN. :||: NATURE.
LAMB OF GOD
GUARDIANS
GREY DAZE
DANZIG
tetema
HUMAN IMPACT
AMENDS
SINGS ELVIS
necroscape
HUMAN IMPACT
ALLEN/OLZON
SEMBLANT
HER CHARIOT AWAITS
WE SELL THE DEAD
WORLDS APART
OBSCURA
HER CHARIOT AWAITS
BLACK SLEEP
M CO
MYRATH LIVE IN CARTHAGE
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LAMB OF GOD
GREY DAZE
LAMB OF GOD EXCLUSIVE RED WITH BLACK SWIRL VINYL
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May 2020 [R 187] decibelmagazine.com
upfront 8 metal muthas Like mutha, like son
14 akurion A real ball buster
10 low culture Don’t start him talkin’
16 temple of void Shades of godliness
11 no corporate beer ¿Beinvenidos a Miami?
18 irist No horsing around
24 sicarius Darkness in the sunshine state
12 studio report:
20 mamaleek Hell comes home
26 wvrm Establishing a new colony
necrot
Mortal rites
22 heaven shall burn Welcome to Job Land, where jobs grow on jobbies
28 psychonaut DIY bother?
56
features
reviews
30 abysmal dawn Destroy. Erase. Improve.
67 lead review Cirith Ungol return from a 30-year exile with ebony blade in hand on comeback album Forever Black
32 testament Twelfth strike still deadly 34 q&a: myrkur New mom Amalie Bruun talks folk implosion 38 special report:
u.s. visas
Even Norwegians should take note 44 the decibel
hall of fame Clutch walk away from major labels to make their own way with mid-career landmark Blast Tyrant
68 album reviews Releases that can’t believe more than 50% of you animals don’t already wash your filthy hands, including the Black Dahlia Murder, Oranssi Pazuzu and Sweven 88 double negative Winter has come
Guardians of the Realm COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY ESTER SEGARRA
Decibel (ISSN 1557-2137) is published monthly by Red Flag Media, Inc., 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Annual subscription price is $29.95. Periodical postage, paid at Philadelphia, PA, and other mailing offices. Submission of manuscripts, illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Postmaster send changes of address for Decibel to Red Flag Media, 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia PA 19107. © 2020 by Red Flag Media, Inc. ISSN 1557-2137 | USPS 023142 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. 2 : M AY 2 0 2 0 : D E C I B E L
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REFUSE/RESIST
May 2020 [T187]
Decibel turns 16. Only Odin knows how we’ve never managed to run a cover story on the progressive post-black metal heroes over that shared history. Of course, it’s not like we haven’t covered the legendary Norwegians while counting the days to Ragnarök; I can recall a trio of Decibel Hall of Fame inductions—1993’s Hordanes Land EP, 1994’s Frost and 2003’s Below the Lights— another pair of Decibel Flexi Series releases, a headlining spot on our 2018 Decibel Magazine Tour and the first-ever (and last-ever) North American performance of their entire Frost LP as part of 2019’s Metal & Beer Fest: Philly just to start. Despite such well-earned plaudits, a proper Decibel cover has astonishingly eluded them. If you’re counting Enslaved studio LPs alone, your favorite publication has now had eight fucking opportunities to get this right! And believe me, over the years we’ve certainly gotten close. Bear in mind that, since 2004, every single Enslaved album from Isa through 2017’s E has cracked Decibel’s Top 40 Albums of the Year list. That’s seven albums. To put that in perspective, the second most Top 40 entries any other artist has placed in that span is five (by perennial Decibel slobber victims Converge, Baroness and Napalm Death). Considering Enslaved’s unprecedented creative run, it’s appropriate that their loooooooong overdue first Decibel cover appearance should culminate with Utgard (out in May on Nuclear Blast), a record that rows the good Viking ship through virtually every era of the band’s incomparable career, yet still discovers previously uncharted lands. As Matt Solis’ fantastic cover story illustrates, that creative fire between visionary Ivar Bjørnson and musical foil Grutle Kjellson—having first sparked in a cramped Haugesund rehearsal room three decades ago— still rages just as brightly today. They’ve spoiled us to the point where we consistently expect greatest from their recordings and live performances. Just because they have never failed to deliver on either of those fronts doesn’t mean we should take their excellence for granted. And that includes Decibel. Ivar, Grutle, Ice Dale—sorry, this cover should have happened ages ago. I guess Hiindsiight finally arrived in 2020. albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief
PUBLISHER
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Vince Bellino Adrien Begrand J. Bennett Shawn Bosler Dean Brown Louise Brown Chris Chantler Richard Christy Liz Ciavarella-Brenner Chris Dick Chris Dodge Sean Frasier Nick Green Raoul Hernandez Jonathan Horsley Neill Jameson Scott Koerber Daniel Lake Shawn Macomber Shane Mehling Justin M. Norton Andy O'Connor Dayal Patterson Dutch Pearce Forrest Pitts Greg Pratt Jon Rosenthal Joseph Schafer Rod Smith Matt Solis Kevin Stewart-Panko 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., 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Annual subscription price is $29.95. Periodical postage, paid at Philadelphia, PA, and other mailing offices. Submission of manuscripts, illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Postmaster send changes of address for Decibel to Red Flag Media, 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia PA 19107. Copyright ©2020 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 ESTER SEGARRA
Enslaved turn 29 years old this year.
READER OF THE
MONTH You released a ton of rad acts under your Chainsaw Safety label (Rorschach, Black Army Jacket, Anodyne, Only Living Witness) back in the day. Ever think about reviving it? Like, maybe you hate having money!
Will Tarrant Astoria, NY
You’ve been around the block a few times. Please dispel the antiquated notion that old farts like us can’t fully appreciate new bands.
There are a ton of new bands out there that are completely killing it: Ascended Dead, Oath of Cruelty, Slaughter Messiah, Sewage Grinder, Triage, Blood (Fucking) Incantation, Carnation, Contaminated, Six of Swords, Skeletal Remains—I can keep going. There’s an infinite amount of new music going on, and I’m happy to check it all out!
6 : M AY 2 0 2 0 : D E C I B E L
I don’t hate money. I’ve never had it in my hands long enough. As a parent, a professional social worker and a former label owner, I’ve embraced poverty well. The label was a forum for me to release music in a format that was supportive to the bands who are all still my friends. I look back on all of it with fondness, but would never think to resurrect that corpse. Decibel has been attending Maryland Deathfest annually since 2008. We’ve seen you there every year for as long as we can remember. What brings you out regularly?
I enjoy attending every year and have been there since 2009 (barring a year or two, I think). One highlight for the fest is that I get to catch up
with tons of friends. It’s like being on tour again, but with none of the crappy 10-hour drives! And Albert gives me the five-minute platform to pitch ideas for the magazine every year. One of these days he may actually use one of them!
As a parent, a professional social worker and a former label owner, I’ve embraced poverty well. According to our admittedly spotty records, you’ve been a Decibel subscriber since issue #22. That’s a hell of a commitment. What exactly are we providing you that you can’t get for free on the interwebs?
Really? That long?! I guess I am an old fart! The magazine has always been a testament to introducing new bands and properly crediting the founders. I greatly enjoy the Hall of Fame because it gives many of those albums a new perspective for me. And I can safely say I learn about at least three new bands I really dig after reading every issue. You guys consistently do a great job. Now, my next new idea for the magazine 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 in between our daily Tom Keifer updates from Blabbermouth.
Because not all of us were spawned in the darkest recesses of hell
This Month's Mutha: Nancy Cancilla Mutha of Trevor William Church of Haunt
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in Oakland, CA. I graduated from Skyline High School, then went to Marinello’s Beauty College in Oakland. [When I] moved to Pleasant Hill … one of my clients was my cousin Denny Carmassi, who was the drummer for Montrose. The band liked the way I cut his hair, so they hired me to do theirs. In 1977, the “Electric Church” [Bill Church] and I got married; four years later, we had Trevor. What a blessing! He was the most perfect baby. So darn cute! I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. When Trevor was a few weeks old, I mentioned to Trevor’s dad that I was going to quit my job and take care of him. Bill asked if I was kidding about quitting. I told him no; I’m not leaving my son with a sitter. I want to be there for him and watch him grow. I’m still here for him for whatever I can help him with. Trevor tells us that you’re a rocker. What are some of your favorite bands?
Yes, I am, and always will be. The world would be a sad place to live in without music. Led Zeppelin is one of [my] most favorite, although it’s very, very hard to pick just one. I love all rock bands, heavy metal, soul, rhythm and blues, oldies and, of course, Haunt! Trevor’s father is famous for his work with Sammy Hagar, Van Morrison and Montrose. Was it clear from an early age that he would be following in his musical footsteps?
Yes! When Trevor was 2, he turned my family room into his stage. Every day I would watch my little one-man band play. He had a ukulele, 8 : M AY 2 0 2 0 : D E C I B E L
and then would run to his Casio keyboard; then he’d grab his Fisher-Price popper and would sing into the handle. To top it off, he laid his tricycle on its side, and for drumsticks, he would get my wooden spoons and bang on the wheels. I definitely saw his musical footsteps at such an early age. Absolutely adorable! Later, I opened an account with Guitar Center to get him whatever he needed—guitars, amps, strings. What was it like seeing Trevor on the cover of Decibel?
When my February issue arrived, seeing Trevor on the cover, I got teary-eyed! I was thrilled, excited and very happy for him. I’m a happy mutha! I can truly say he has earned it! What is something that most people would be surprised to know about your son?
During his teenage years, Trevor was really into skateboarding. I must have bought him two skateboards a month. He would always split them in half, trying tricks. He told me that he wanted to be a professional skateboarder like Steve Caballero. He tried hard to convince me, but I told him, “No, you’re not! You’re going to be a guitarist.” You can’t fool this mutha! When Haunt play in Sacramento, I don’t miss a show. Trevor loves, and I mean it—he loves his fans. They love him, too. He works super hard to give them what they want to hear. I can feel the love in every note he plays. I am so, so proud of him—not only in his music, but in his life. He has given me a beautiful daughter-in-law and an amazing grandson. He is a wonderful son, husband, dad and person. —ANDREW BONAZELLI
Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f Göden, Beyond Darkness Sweven, The Eternal Resonance Cirith Ungol, Forever Black Enslaved, Utgard Old Tower, The Last Eidolon ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e Sequentia, Canticles of Ecstasy Triptykon, Melana Chasmata Sun Ra, The Futuristic Sounds of the Sun Domkraft, Slow Fidelity Mark Lanegan Band, Somebody’s Knocking ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s Enslaved, Utgard Enslaved, Monumension Clutch, Blast Tyrant Clutch, Earth Rocker Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy VI Original Soundtrack ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r Drain, California Cursed Panzerfaust, The Suns of Perdition Chapter I: War, Horrid War Tombs, Monarchy of Shadows Caustic Wound, Death Posture Mega Drive, Sleeper Street Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s Choir Boy, Choir Boy Die Choking, IV Converge/Hellchild, Deeper the Wound Curl Up and Die, Unfortunately, We’re Not Robots Zealot R.I.P., Zealot R.I.P.
GUEST SLAYER
---------------------------------Rhett Thorgrimm Davis : s t yg i a n c r ow n / g r av e h i l l Winter, Eternal Frost Black Flag, Slip It In Brendan Perry, Eye of the Hunter Unleashed, Across the Open Sea “Weird” Al Yankovic, In 3-D