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OCTOBER 2021 // No. 204
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October 2021 [R 204] decibelmagazine.com
60
Inside the Torn Apart COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY ESTER SEGARRA
upfront 10 obituary:
mike howe A somber sermon
12 obituary:
joey jordison Metal’s No. 1 drummer
14 metal muthas A buck for your thoughts 16 low culture Flippin’ angry 17 no corporate beer Drink to life 18 in the studio:
oceans of slumber The stars have aligned
features
20 zealot r.i.p. Stockholm syndrome
34 unto others Idle no more
22 wraith ALL CAPS NO FILLER
36 skepticism Happiness in misery
24 succumb Is this your card?
38 q&a: andrew w.k. The Partymaster General doesn’t have all the answers… well, except for these
26 green lung The horror of the ’70s 28 dungeon serpent Bloom in decay 30 filth is eternal Unbound and ready to tour 32 mastiff Unleash the beasts
reviews 42 exclusive:
decibel magazine metal & beer fest: philly 2021 preview Sold out, but never sellouts
48 the decibel
hall of fame Doro casts a spell over the metal community via Warlock’s final album Triumph and Agony
73 lead review Full of Hell continue their hot streak with the always heavy, never predictable Garden of Burning Apparitions 74 album reviews Releases from bands that are old enough to remember how shitty Woodstock ’99 really was, including Aborted, Quicksand and Sculptured 88 damage ink The most dangerous game
Decibel (ISSN 1557-2137) is published monthly by Red Flag Media, Inc., P.O. Box 36818, 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, P.O. Box 36818, Philadelphia, PA 19107. © 2021 by Red Flag Media, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN 1557-2137 | USPS 023142 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. 4 : OCTOBER 2021 : DECIBEL
TASCAM Congratulates
Tommy Bolan on the release of the
DORO - WARLOCK ‘TRIUMPH AND AGONY LIVE’ Album
CD/DVD/Boxset
Out Sep 24 Worldwide Rare Diamond Productions Doro.merchnow.com
Photo Credit: Shawn Sand
“The TASCAM Porta One was an essential tool for me when working on my original ideas for ‘Triumph And Agony’. TASCAM continues to capture all my inspiration. With my TASCAM DP-32SD, I created and recorded my actual album tracks for the song, ‘Legacy’, featured on the upcoming ‘Triumph And Agony Live’ album. Without a doubt… TASCAM is the Reference Standard.” – Tommy Bolan-Warlock/N.Y.C.
Plug, Play, Create.
TASCAM.com
www.decibelmagazine.com
REFUSE/RESIST
October 2021 [T204] PUBLISHER
Alex Mulcahy
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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 $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, P.O. Box 36818, 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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On July 26, the metal scene endured a pair of stunning losses, as both former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison and longtime Metal Church frontman Mike Howe passed away. At the time of publication, Jordison’s cause of death had not been made public, but a few days after Howe’s death, it was revealed that the 55-year-old vocalist committed suicide. To those of us familiar with Howe’s thoughtful and often empathetic lyrics on classic LPs like Blessing in Disguise and The Human Factor—as well as his trademark athletic frame— he was seemingly the increasingly rare mentally and physically fit middle-aged metal musician. Earlier that day, Decibel ran an editorial on our site titled “Gus Rios (Gruesome, Union Black) On His Brush With Suicide and Fighting Depression.” It was a piece that was over a year and a half in the works, as Gus first contacted me about the idea in late 2019. I’ve known Gus for years, and before he shared his story with me, I had no idea that he struggled with mental health issues. The fact that Gus reached out for help only after literally having a gun to his head is the sole reason his story didn’t have the same conclusion as Mike Howe’s. Obviously, the pandemic has done nothing to improve the mental health of pretty much anyone who wasn’t already a billionaire. While suicides declined in 2020, deaths from opioids in the U.S. rose considerably last year. In an emotional announcement of Howe’s death, the surviving members of Metal Church stated, “He was victimized by a failing healthcare system and subsequently poisoned by the venom of Big Pharma.” Over the past 18 months, the challenge of pulling oneself out of a spiral has only grown greater, so expecting more endings like Gus Rios’ and fewer like Mike Howe’s is a terrible bet. If you even suspect someone you know is struggling with depression, please reach out to them. Even a gesture as seemingly insignificant as a text or a tweet—but not an Ello direct message, because they are never gonna see that shit— can make a huge difference to someone feeling isolated. And if you are having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Help is available 24 hours a day.
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New album out digitally September 17 LP/CD Out October 8 Thrice.net - Epitaph.com
READER OF THE
MONTH At some point last year during lockdown, you decided to listen to every album from several years’ worth of Decibel’s Top 40 Albums of the Year lists. What brought that on and what did you get out of the experience?
Tim McCollum Morgantown, WV
Tell us something cool and/or exciting about Morgantown, West Virginia.
Morgantown is home to West Virginia University, which helps make it one of the cultural hubs of WV. There are many cool restaurants, bars/breweries, clubs, shops, etc. It’s a big enough city that a lot of bands come through that people probably wouldn’t expect—the Black Dahlia Murder, Converge, Eyehategod, D.R.I. and tons of others. When I was with my old band, we got to open for Suffocation, Crowbar and Voivod.
8 : OCTOBER 2021 : DECIBEL
I work at a grocery store, so work during the pandemic was really crazy and really stressful. My wife suggested I listen to music to make the day go by quicker. With everything shut down and canceled, I was craving new music! I realized there were a bunch of lists already put together by you guys, and I wanted to know why those records, out of everything released that particular year, were “the best.” The experience was a lot of fun because the Top 40 lists are always so diverse — always something new to listen to or revisit. I discovered Mizmor and Prurient, both of whom are amazing. I also discovered that I am apparently a big fan of doom! You're a big craft beer nerd. Please recommend three breweries we should invite to pour at either edition of our Metal & Beer Fest.
Oh man, there are so many fantastic breweries
out there, most of which no one even knows about unless they live close to them! Picking just three is hard, but I’d have to go with: Cinderlands Beer Co. (Pittsburgh, PA), Hitchhiker Brewing Company (Pittsburgh, PA) and the Veil (Richmond, VA). Those breweries do a lot of different styles and they do them all really well. I’ve never had a beer from them that I didn’t absolutely love. Honorable mention to my hometown brewery, Morgantown Brewing Company, because they made a blood red IPA called Listen to Slayer! Carcass return to the cover of Decibel this month. Torn Arteries notwithstanding, what’s your favorite LP from obviously the most famous rock band to ever hail from Liverpool?
Carcass has evolved so much that it’s hard to pick one album above the rest. If I had to choose, though, it’s gotta be Surgical Steel—it is the sound of a band out to prove that they are still on the throne and reigning supreme. I’ve seen them live twice, and I feel like the songs from that album just hit harder than everything else. I am really stoked for Torn Arteries, though. As far as lesser known Liverpudlian bands, I am actually a fan of the Beatles, especially the later stuff when they were “expanding their minds.”
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