MOB RULES HALL OF FAME
GOJIRA THE Q&A… OF DEATH!
ZAO
STARING INTO THE VOID
OBSCURA IN THE STUDIO
REFUSE/RESIST
BARNABY
STRUVE
FLEXI DISC
1 9 7 2 - 2 0 21
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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT
Death MAY 2021 // No. 199
ConquEring
SMITH / KOTZEN
The debut album from guitarists / vocalists Adrian Smith & Richie Kotzen out on 26th March 2021 Featuring 9 songs evocative of the classic rock bands of the ’70s brought bang up to date with punchy hooks, harmonies & sheer guitar virtuosity from two of rock’s most respected musicians INCLUDES
TAKING MY CHANCES “The perfect collaboration from two of Rock’s greats” Paul Anthony, Planet Rock Radio
CD · Limited Edition Red/Black Smoke Vinyl · Black Vinyl · Digital www.smithkotzen.com
The Self-Titled Full Length Album Available March 12th 2021
WWW.CLOSEDCASKETACTIVITIES.COM
· WWW.GODSHATE.US
EXTREMELY EXTREME
May 2021 [R 199] decibelmagazine.com
52
Necrogenic Resurrection COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY ALEX MORGAN
upfront
features
reviews 63 lead review Black Metal vets Vreid share their tough love for their homeland on Wild North West
8 metal muthas Heaven sent
14 solstice Coming up triple sixes
24 the lion’s daughter Synthetic skin
32 zao Forever true
10 low culture All the small things
16 bongzilla Legalize(d) it
11 no corporate beer To Evil!
18 genghis tron Unboard the house
26 wode A long, hard look in the mirrors
34 q&a: gojira Joe Duplantier wants to save the world, even if we can‘t save ourselves
12 in the studio:
20 bewitcher Fun isn‘t a four-letter word
obscura
Turn the page
22 spectral wound Blood drunk
28 sanguisugabogg Corrosion of gender conformity 30 mare cognitum Black and blue
38 exclusive:
rotting ways to misery excerpt In which Amorphis put Finland on the death metal map
42 the decibel
hall of fame
64 album reviews Releases from bands that would really like their $2,000 checks right about now, including Eyehategod, Haunt and Wolf King 80 damage ink At dawn he slept
An album worthy of breaking our sacred rule, Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules marks yet another milestone for the storied masters
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 : M AY 2 0 2 1 : D E C I B E L
www.decibelmagazine.com
REFUSE/RESIST
May 2021 [T199] 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@redflagmedia.com
albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief
patty@decibelmagazine.com
COPY EDITOR
Andrew Bonazelli
BOOKCREEPER
Tim Mulcahy
tim@redflagmedia.com
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Chuck BB, Ed Luce Mark Rudolph
Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR
Albert Mudrian
DECIBEL WEB AD SALES
James Lewis
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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 Courtney Iseman 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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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 ©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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ILLUSTRATION BY LITTLE BROTHER MUDRIAN
My home office does not have a door.
The towering Ikea Kallax—buckling under the stress of records, magazines and books—barely serves as room divider, let alone any significant deterrent from entry. The lack of barriers also allows virtually anything to escape. One is the daily sound of extreme metal, which my two children—having been regularly exposed to the stuff since their births—simply dismiss as “daddy music.” A year into the pandemic and neither has returned to in-person school, which means I have prepared a lot of lunches and they have heard a lot of metal records. While my grilled cheese game has never been stronger, big sister remains a firm skeptic of the latter. She occasionally asks unsolicited questions like, “Why would anyone want to listen to this?” Which is something I’ve also pondered, depending on how many new releases I’ve screened that day. Little brother, on the other hand, has displayed more curiosity (though I suspect his initial motivation to hang out in dad’s noisy office was to avoid his writing assignments). He first took a shine to Tribulation; to his credit, never questioning the growled vocals (whenever I’d play something with traditional sung vocals, he’d immediately request something “more deathy”). More importantly, any songs not performed up-tempo were quickly rejected, as they failed to provide a suitable soundtrack for jumping up and down on the guest bed right next to my office. With his interest in galloping rhythms noted, I played him “The Trooper.” Then “2 Minutes to Midnight.” Then—what would prove to be his favorite—“Iron Maiden.” By the time he laid on eyes on some of the cover art, my 6-year-old was fully entranced by the Maiden universe. A month or so into his immersion, I have exhausted every note of Maiden I can access. OK, so maybe not all of the Blaze era, or the two Smith-less records that preceded it, but I can definitely now rank all 11 Iron Maiden live albums if I had the space. (Hot tip: En Vivo! is a sleeper masterwork.) Fortunately, his Maiden mania remains so strong that it functions as an incentive to get him to complete his schoolwork. (“Finish Social Studies and then you can listen to ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner.’”) At the very least, his unsolicited rendition of the self-titled album cover should net him extra credit points in Art. I’m still not certain when he’ll be back in a schoolroom, but I’m sure if someone like this issue’s Reader of the Month winds up in his class, their band is going to rule.
Patty Moran
CUSTOMER SERVICE
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
READER OF THE
MONTH forward to going back to school? What have you been doing with all of your extra time?
We are back in school in person. I go to Montessori school. I have been reading a lot. Like Highlights, Decibel, Mad Libs, NatGeo Kids and The One and Only Ivan (with my dad). Metal-detecting for Civil War stuff, looking for old bottles, shooting my BB gun. Listening to podcasts. And playing with my sister.
Lela Jane Barry (age: 8) Richmond, VA
Congrats on usurping your father’s Decibel subscription! He’s a local legend in the Richmond punk rock scene. Does he give you the freedom to be different? Whose friends are weirder: his or yours?
Yes, he does let me be myself. He lets me dress how I want and listen to whatever music I want. But he doesn’t let me watch TV or use the computer much. My friends are weirder and crazier than his. Daddy’s friends are a lot of fun, but not very weird.
6 : M AY 2 0 2 1 : D E C I B E L
If you could be the editor of Decibel for one month, who would you put on the cover? And who would you want to feature inside?
I’d put Joan Jett on the cover because she is my favorite singer. “Bad Reputation” is my favorite song right now. Inside, I’d put a Richmond band like Municipal Waste, even though they were in there [recently]. Or a band like the Distillers. Right now, most kids your age have been at home during the pandemic. Are you looking
My friends are weirder and crazier than [my dad’s]. Daddy’s friends are a lot of fun, but not very weird. What do you think the world will be like in 20 years?
I think the world will be weird and crazy and fun. I hope to be in a band—punk, metal or rock.
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 trying to get Iron Maiden into the only Hall of Fame you should give a shit about.
Because not all of us were spawned in the darkest recesses of hell
This Month's Mutha: Tara-Leigh Tarantola Mutha of Austin Haines of Outer Heaven
Tell us a little about yourself.
As a full-time professional, I am a communications manager at a large medical device company. My spare time is spent babysitting Austin’s son (sorry, I mean dog) Ozzy. We understand you volunteered to be a Metal Mutha after stumbling upon the column in a back issue. How metal are you, compared to your son?
I don’t consider myself “metal,” but more of a “metal supporter.” Austin and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as musical tastes, but his father used to listen to bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. I am more of a country or coffeehouse-type music fan, but I have always supported Austin’s interests and dreams, so I am thrilled that he has such a passion for it, and I always look forward to listening to Outer Heaven’s new songs. I’m proud to say that I have fed and hosted many metal bands overnight in my home during tours, and have found them to be some of the nicest people on earth. Have you sampled NecroGenesis, Outer Heaven’s collaboration beer with the Adroit Theory brewery?
Of course! Mushrooms, maple syrup, brown sugar and vanilla. What’s not to like? We keep an empty bottle to show off on our back deck bar. Austin’s lyrics are pretty wild, touching on hallucinogenic-inspired cannibalism. Did he exhibit an interest in writing at a young age?
Austin was always very creative, and his 8 : M AY 2 0 2 1 : D E C I B E L
elementary school stories were epic! During his high school years, I’d find his writings in little notebooks, on backs of envelopes and on sheets of paper all over the house. I had no idea at the time that they were lyrics to songs. I thought maybe they were just random thoughts or poems, like he was trying to work something out in his head. I’m glad he wasn't making plans to be a cannibal, and I can also see that my expert oversight on his vocabulary and spelling all those years paid off! Realms of Eternal Decay was our 20th favorite album of 2018. Any other accolades in your son’s past that we should know about?
I was so proud after high school when he was accepted into an audio engineering program in Baltimore, and then graduated as one of the top students in his class. He built a recording studio in our basement, and even recorded a finalist from The Voice. What is something most people don’t know about Austin?
My favorite question! Austin is actually very shy and a homebody. I sometimes think his performing is a way to overcome that, giving him a platform to express himself through a different voice. He is an extreme perfectionist, loyal to a fault, and behind the tough tattooed exterior, he’s very sensitive. He can also be extremely stubborn. Ask him about the time he failed gym class because he refused to take out his piercings! —ANDREW BONAZELLI
Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f Iron Maiden, Powerslave Iron Maiden, Piece of Mind Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast Iron Maiden, Somewhere in Time Iron Maiden, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e The Black Angels, Directions to See a Ghost Sonic Jesus, Grace Gravediggaz, Just When You Thought It Was Over SQÜRL & Jozef Van Wissem, Only Lovers Left Alive Kælan Mikla, Nótt eftir nótt ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s Cannibal Corpse, Violence Unimagined The Crown, Royal Destroyer Cannibal Corpse, Gore Obsessed Socioclast, Socioclast Slow Machine, Black Tide ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r Power Trip, “Hornet’s Nest” Cannibal Corpse, Violence Unimagined The Red Chord, Fused Together in Revolving Doors Mutilation Rites, Empyrean The Crown, Royal Destroyer ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s Insect Warfare, World Extermination Frozen Soul, Crypt of Ice Nunslaughter, Hells Unholy Fire I Hate Myself, 11 Songs Horrendous, Sweet Blasphemies
GUEST SLAYER
---------------------------------Marko Tervonen : t h e c r o w n Deicide, Once Upon the Cross Type O Negative, World Coming Down Mötley Crüe, Shout at the Devil Paradise Lost, Icon Hellripper, Coagulating Darkness