STUDIO REPORT
ARE NO THE ANSWERS BOUNDARIES FOR THE BAND. AT THE GATES THERE ICE-T QUESTION
REFUSE/RESIST
ALEXI
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MARCH 2021 // No. 197
T H E N E W F A C E of H E L L
FUDGE TUNNEL MOONSPELL CAVE IN BLOOD FROM THE SOUL AL S O
AKHLYS SWAMPBEAST DURBIN
EXTREMELY EXTREME
March 2021 [R 197] decibelmagazine.com
upfront 8 metal muthas And we continue to chase the son 10 obituary:
alexi laiho The metal world mourns yet another loss
12 low culture Happy to forget you 13 no corporate beer SAD!
features
reviews
16 swampbeast Positively negative
24 moonspell Antisocial media
18 durbin Activating beast mode
26 q&a: ice-t The O.G. himself talks life and loss in the age of COVID
51 lead review Gatecreeper provide one of the only good surprises of recent memory with An Unexpected Reality
20 akhlys The night extends towards new horizons 22 blood from the soul Never giving up the ghost
14 in the studio:
at the gates
No soul to steal
Prophets of Gloom COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY ESTER SEGARRA
30 the decibel
hall of fame Fudge Tunnel find an opportunistic home with uneasy company for their oft overlooked classic Hate Songs in E Minor
52 album reviews Releases from bands that are happy to never know what a Bean Dad is, including Cult of Luna, Mogwai and The Ruins of Beverast 64 damage ink Go ahead and jump
40
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. © 2021 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 : MARCH 2021 : DECIBEL
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REFUSE/RESIST
March 2021 [T197]
In the deep recesses of my base-
ment closet resides a box of early-’90s extreme metal T-shirts and longsleeves. This ill-fitting wardrobe—amassed from approximately 1991 to 1995—includes my then-daily ensemble of Arise, Shades of God and Turn Loose the Swansthemed, general population-repelling attire. These shirts—many of which have been retired for decades—are actually in excellent condition, yet aren’t for sale. I don’t know why. Honestly, I might as well show my kids this box’s location and label it “Things You Can Throw Away When I’m Dead.” Lest you think I’m some kind of deranged hoarder, I will occasionally donate one of these threaded treasures to a good home. When Decibel’s former customer service guru Mark Evans was hired back in 2006, he was, as a man of prodigious taste, a great admirer of my original Fudge Tunnel Hate Songs in E Minor shirt. (I’m certain it was an original because 15 years ago, you couldn’t have convinced anyone— the band included—that there was a market for merch from the long-defunct Nottingham noise trio.) Mark also consistently lobbied for a Hall of Fame induction of Hate Songs, which—to me—seemed to have an even narrower audience than shirts depicting stick figure decapitations. Since that story was clearly never happening, I thought that furnishing Mark with my Hate Songs shirt was the best consolation prize. And because his precious Cows Sexy Pee Story shirt was forever ruined after he wore it accompanying me to one of Watain’s first blood-soaked U.S. performances, this was the least I could offer in return. Fourteen years later, Mark gets his other wish courtesy of original dB contributor and fellow Fudge Tunnel advocate Nick Green via this issue’s Hate Songs in E Minor Hall of Fame induction, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album. Mark moved to Texas a little over a decade ago, and I’ve not seen him since the magazine’s 100th issue show in 2013. But after a few texts, I received the above visual confirmation that both he and the Hate Songs shirt are living their best lives. Maybe it’s time to clear out the rest of those shirts. albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief
PUBLISHER
Alex Mulcahy
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Albert Mudrian
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ART DIRECTOR
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
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Andrew Bonazelli
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Tim Mulcahy
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CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Chuck BB, Ed Luce Mark Rudolph
Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Vince Bellino Adrien Begrand J. Bennett 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 Sarah Kitteringham Scott Koerber Daniel Lake Andrew Lee Shawn Macomber Shane Mehling Justin M. Norton Andy O'Connor Dutch Pearce Forrest Pitts Greg Pratt Jon Rosenthal Joseph Schafer Rod Smith Matt Solis Kevin Stewart-Panko Eugene S. Robinson Adem Tepedelen Jeff Treppel J Andrew Zalucky Bradley Zorgdrager CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Rotten cotton
Our former dB blood cow… er, employee modeling our dear leader’s former wardrobe staple
Postmaster send changes of address for Decibel to Red Flag Media, 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia PA 19107. Copyright ©2021 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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READER OF THE
MONTH (The Promised Land)” and said something like, “That was a tasty little ride cymbal flourish,” and Danny says, “I was wondering if you’d notice that!” In my head, I was like, Yessssssss. Tell us about your DuPage County Hardcore archival project. Please start by telling us what the DuPage County Hardcore archival project is.
Dave Hofer Chicago, IL
You’ve spent the majority of your adult life managing a record store. What has it been like to transition out of that into a career as a librarian?
Part of the reason I decided to pursue my MLIS and library-related work is because there are a lot of parallels between record store and library work. For example, they both involve databases of information that need to be appropriately cataloged. In addition, they both require reference work (“I’m looking for an album, I think the cover is black, do you have that in stock?”), outreach (setting up in-store performances, meet-andgreets, etc.) and acquiring materials that are appropriate to the communities they serve.
6 : MARCH 2021 : DECIBEL
You’re the author of the Dan Lilker biography Perpetual Conversion. What’s the best Danny story that didn’t make the final cut of the book?
Any stories that didn’t make the final cut didn’t make the final cut on purpose! I started working on the book with no deal or potential publishers, just to see if I could make something happen. Thankfully, he was open to the idea. I had only spent a little time with him on a few Brutal Truth tours, so it’s not like I knew him. I was a bit starstruck, admittedly. There was one night, early in the interview process, where Danny and I were sitting in his car, listening to some then-unreleased Nokturnal Hellstorm material. I play drums, and noticed a tasty little ride cymbal flourish à la Pete Sandoval in “World of Shit
DuPage County Hardcore is an online archive of Chicagoland-area underground music I started in 2013. Initially, the idea was to digitize my old bands’ demos and upload them for former members that might not have copies and/or a way to play them. After I exhausted my old bands’ material, I started digitizing my close friends’ bands and uploading those. Now, it’s snowballed to over 450 out-of-print releases, all of which are free to download. I also painstakingly scan all inserts so anyone that downloads a release can enjoy the original artwork as well. Fudge Tunnel’s Hate Songs in E Minor is the Hall of Fame induction in this issue. As a longtime Chicago resident, tell us why noise rock-influenced metal bands don’t get more love.
I’d wager that it’s because of some surfacelevel “they don’t look very metal” kind of bullshit. I like when a band looks straitlaced and then absolutely crushes me. It’s like musical camouflage!
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
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NOW SLAYING Wonder what Decibel world HQ has been rocking for the past month? Well, here are the records that we spun most while we just wanted to find 11,780 votes for that last Ulcerate album.
Because not all of us were spawned in the darkest recesses of hell
This Month's Mutha: Marie Kathy Brodsky Mutha of Stephen Brodsky of Cave In
Tell us a little about yourself.
For the past 22 years I have worked in food service, mainly at the Marsh Elementary School in Methuen, MA. When I have the time, my hobbies are reading and gardening, and I enjoyed being mom to Baby, my pet cockatoo, and my two box turtles, Beavis and Beatrice. Also, my favorite place to vacation is anywhere on Cape Cod. Your son has very diverse musical tastes. What kind of hand did you have in that when he was growing up?
I have always encouraged Steve in all of his musical endeavors. But I have to be honest: I also encouraged him to go to college just in case his musical career didn’t pan out. Luckily, he’s very talented and has proved me wrong (but he did get his Associate Degree). Back in grammar school, he wanted to take saxophone lessons. I have to admit, when he first started, it was horrible. But after a few weeks, he started to get better. And then he got tired of it and quit. Then he found one of his dad’s guitars and started playing it. He would be in his room all night, playing until his fingers would bleed. When he was about 12 or 13, he started a band (New Breed) with his friends in the neighborhood. I think at first I was the only mom of his band members to let them practice in our basement. He also took private guitar lessons for a couple years, which he really enjoyed. But his father was also very instrumental (pun intended) in his success. They would talk about music and different bands that they both enjoyed. Music is in his genes, as his great 8 : MARCH 2021 : DECIBEL
uncle Sammy used to sing in the North End, and his grandmother Marilyn also used to sing as well. Steve has played a lot of memorable covers both in Cave In and his gig on Two Minutes to Late Night. Any personal favorites?
Well, Steve always surprises me! I have seen him perform in both Cave In and Mutoid Man, and I have seen him on Two Minutes to Late Night, which is a different venue for him, but no less enjoyable (although a little over the top sometimes). His solo performances may be my favorites. I will never forget the night he performed solo at the House of Blues. It was special. He recently joined Old Man Gloom, giving him at least three active bands, counting Cave In and Mutoid Man. What are your impressions of him onstage?
He is very comfortable up there. He knows how to connect to and engage with his audience. He loves to perform, and that charisma comes across in all of his shows. He puts everything he has into each of his performances. What’s something most people wouldn’t know about Steve?
Steve is a wonderful artist. Early in his music career, he drew much of the artwork for the front covers of his albums and CDs. I don’t think he has much time for that now, though! I also doodled and drew cartoons in my early years, and I still enjoy doodling today. Some of my artwork even ended up on one of his CDs! —ANDREW BONAZELLI
Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f Gatecreeper, An Unexpected Reality Tribulation, Where the Gloom Becomes Sound Sentenced, Shadows of the Past The Crown, Crowned in Terror Fudge Tunnel, Creep Diets ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e Dry Cleaning, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks In the Company of Serpents, Lux Fontanes D.C., A Hero’s Death Thurston Moore, By the Fire Clockcleaner, Babylon Rules ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s The Crown, “Driven to Disaster” Decibel Flexi The Crown, Royal Destroyer Clutch, The Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 Wolfheart, Winterborn Ignominious Incarceration, Of Winter Born ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r Yelle, L’Ère du Verseau Body Count, Carnivore Carpenter Brut, Leather Teeth Various Artists, Cyberpunk 2077 Original Soundtrack Sexless Marriage, Sexless Marriage ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s Various Artists, Killed by Deathrock Vol. 1 Shadows Fall, Of One Blood Cattle Decapitation, Human Jerky GWAR, Scumdogs of the Universe (30th Anniversary Edition) Killer Be Killed, Reluctant Hero
GUEST SLAYER
---------------------------------Piotr Wiwczarek : v a d e r Slayer, Show No Mercy Havok, V Dark Angel, We Have Arrived Abysmal Dawn, Obsolescence Deicide, Deicide
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MONO Beyond the Past • Live in London with the Platinum Anniversary Orchestra MONO’s massive 20th anniversary concert backed by a full orchestra on this intensely special limited release.
WILLIAM BASINSKI Lamentations Transforming operatic tragedy into abyssal beauty, the tape loop pioneer has crafted his most mournful work since The Disintegration Loops.
MOGWAI As The Love Continues The Scottish icons return with their first new album in four years, continuing to offer solace from the mundane.
SPARKLE DIVISION To Feel Embraced The new duo of William Basinski and Preston Wendel debut their unlikely concoction of vintage lounge, new jazz, and sample-based electronic groove.
INVENTIONS Continuous Portrait The duo of Matthew Robert Cooper (Eluvium) and Mark T. Smith (Explosions In The Sky) returns with a brilliant, boundless album.
ENVY The Fallen Crimson Japan’s most iconic and influential post-hardcore band returns with their first new album in five years. Released in the UK/EU by Pelagic Records.
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY How Strange, Innocence Anniversary Edition Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the birth of Explosions In The Sky with this exquisitely remastered, repackaged reissue.
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY The Rescue – Anniversary Edition Beautifully remastered and repackaged, Explosions In The Sky’s sought-after “secret album” is finally available on vinyl for the first time ever.
MASERATI Enter The Mirror The legendary cross-continental synth-rock group returns with their first new album in five years, taking equal inspiration from 80s industrial noise and new wave.
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