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THEIR RIGHT ONES DETHKLOK DRAWING OWN CONCLUSIONS DYING FETUS TO TALK WITH

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OCTOBER 2023 // No. 228

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A Stunning Celebration of the Godfather of Heavy Metal

This exquisite volume features: • Slipcased hardcover format • Incredible concert and offstage photography • Images of memorabilia from throughout Ozzy’s career • Gatefold Ozzy timeline • Commissioned gatefold art depicting Ozzy through the years PART 1: OZZY ZIG SEEKS GIG, 1948–1969

1948

1963

1966

“YOU CAN’T KILL ROCK AND ROLL”

A bat-biting dovedestroyer is born.

DECEMBER 3

AUGUST 23

Ozzy goes to jail. He would be back.

PART 2: BEHIND THE WALL OF SLEEP, 1970–1979

Ozzy and three fellow Brummies start maiming innocent eardrums.

Ozzy et. al. pick a name that sticks— Black Sabbath.

1968

1969

DECEMBER 11

AUGUST 9

Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut is released.

1970

FEBRUARY 13

A local vicar unwittingly eats a cake Ozzy made with hash. Oops.

1972

1973

The band releases Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

The band releases Sabotage as the rot sets in.

A drunken Ozzy goes apeshit with a gun on some innocent chickens.

1973

1975

1976

Ozzy voids his bladder on sacred terrain— the Alamo.

Randy Rhoads dies in a plane crash along with a member of the band’s crew.

DECEMBER 1

JULY 28

Black Sabbath releases Technical Ecstasy, and the wheels start coming off the bus.

Ozzy’s second solo album, Diary of a Madman, is released.

1981

Ozzy bites the head off a dead bat. He never lives it down.

During the Blizzard of Ozz sessions, Ozzy witnessed Randy Rhoads perform one superhuman guitar feat after another.

NOVEMBER 7

JANUARY 20

FEBRUARY 19

1982

OZZY AT 75

1982

MARCH 19

Ozzy releases the Speak of the Devil live album. Some of it is live, anyway.

1976

1982

Black Sabbath releases their last album with Ozzy for many moons, Never Say Die!

Ozzy meets his first wife. By his own admission, he made a hash of the marriage.

Black Sabbath releases Master of Reality, their heaviest album yet.

1970

1971

SEPTEMBER 18

Ozzy gets fired from Black Sabbath. Everything sucks. Boo, hiss.

At his lowest point, Ozzy meets his future wife.

SEPTEMBER 28

1978

1979

Ozzy releases Bark at the Moon, his first album with guitarist Jake E. Lee.

Ozzy schools Mötley Crüe in proper poolside behavior and interior design for hotels.

NOVEMBER 27

NOVEMBER 15

1983

1984

The Unofficial Illustrated History By Daniel Bukszpan Slipcased, 200 pages

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Black Sabbath releases their sophomore outing, Paranoid. The world never recovers.

SEPTEMBER 25

NOVEMBER 27, 1979

Ozzy @75

The Sabs get invited to Stonehenge a decade before Spinal Tap.

1970

JULY 21

The boys snort their way through the recording of their next album.

Ozzy’s first child is born. For a while there, it was nice.

1972

JANUARY 20

MAY

The cocainefueled Vol. 4 album is released.

1972

SEPTEMBER 25

PART 3: FLYING HIGH AGAIN, 1979–1989

Ozzy and friends visit a local hospital to treat their diseased genitals.

OZZY MEETS RANDY RHOADS

Ozzy meets the Beatles. Sort of.

MAY 19

APRIL 27

A solo Ozzy enlists wunderkind guitarist Randy Rhoads.

1979

Ozzy releases his solo debut, Blizzard Of Ozz. If you don’t like it, you’re stupid.

Ozzy bites the head off at least two doves during a business meeting.

THE OSBOURNES ON MTV

Ozzy and Sharon visit the Fatherland, where goosestepping jokes are not appreciated.

NOVEMBER 27

SEPTEMBER 15

1980

1981

MARCH 27

51 THE WORLD’S FAVORITE DOVE-DECAPITATING DAD

MARCH 5, 2002 Ozzy is sued over alleged backward masking, leading to a fan’s suicide.

1984

Ozzy releases The Ultimate Sin, album number two with Jake E. Lee.

Ozzy releases the live album Tribute in Randy Rhoads’ honor.

Ozzy is mistakenly diagnosed with HIV. What a boner!

OCTOBER 26

FEBRUARY 22

1986

1987

MARCH 19

Ozzy releases No Rest for the Wicked, with new guitarist Zakk Wylde.

1988

While extremely shitfaced, Ozzy nearly murders Sharon.

1989

SEPTEMBER 28

SEPTEMBER 3

Ozzy and Sharon with their very happy children Jack and Kelly at home (otherwise known as the set of the reality show The Osbournes) in 2002.

134 Ozzy @75

JakeArt1

80+ GUITARISTS FROM THE 1970S TO TODAY, FEATURING PHOTOS AND THE DETAILS OF THEIR CAREERS AND GEAR. Author and guitar journalist Pete Prown presents his subjects by defining eras and subgenres, including early metal, arena rock, prog, Euro metal, hair metal, shred, thrash, and more.

Available September 2023 Ultimate Heavy Metal Guitars The Guitarists Who Rocked the World By Pete Prown • Hardcover, 192 pages

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EXTREMELY EXTREME

October 2023 [R 228] decibelmagazine.com

upfront 10 metal muthas Something to crow about

features 18 empire state bastard Extreme conditions demand extreme metal

32 uada Lunar thaw

20 filth is eternal Black flannel

34 dying fetus Leave them begging for more

14 low culture Contact low

22 great falls Fast-acting relief

36 ken mode Staring back

15 no corporate beer Mead for me

24 till the dirt With a little help from his friend

38 cryptopsy Igniting an old flame

12 the dungeon

is alive! review Storming the castle

16 in the studio High on Fire are preparing for the next storm

26 hexvessel The cold never bothered them anyway

40 savatage Death metal’s siren song

28 colony drop Smile, you fuckers

reviews 42 q&a: metalocalypse Co-creator and lead shredder Brendon Small has big plans for Dethklok’s end 46 the decibel

hall of fame Ten years gone, Deafheaven revisit extreme metal’s identity crisis and blackgaze’s defining moment as the Hall of Fame welcomes sophomore full-length Sunbather

71 lead review Baroness haven't completely drained the color from their latest album, but they forge a more hardened offering on Stone 72 album reviews Records from bands that made Mitch McConnell lose his train of... including Cannibal Corpse, Horrendous and Profanatica 88 damage ink It’s like a dream

30 soen Direct current

Unholy Wars COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY ROB MENZER

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. © 2023 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 2023 : DECIBEL

UPGRADED. ELEVATED. UNRIVALED. PRO PLUS SERIES

I first met acclaimed underground

albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief

www.decibelmagazine.com

REFUSE/RESIST

October 2023 [T228] 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

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Michael Wohlberg

michael@decibelmagazine.com CUSTOMER SERVICE

Patty Moran

COPY EDITOR

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Tim Mulcahy

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tim@redflagmedia.com CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Chuck BB, Ed Luce Mark Rudolph

Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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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 ©2023 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

ISSN 1557-2137

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PHOTO BY TINA KORHONEN

metal author Dayal Patterson at a book signing. Makes sense, right? Only it was a signing for my book, Choosing Death, back in 2005. It was in the basement of the old Rough Trade Records shop in London. I was joined by Lee Dorrian, Shane Embury and a then still-civilian Jeff Walker. A local death metal band, Ted Maul, performed in the store while shoppers casually perused Sigur Rós albums that they’d soon attempt to convince themselves were good. The shop thoughtfully ordered dozens of copies of Lords of Chaos for the event, apparently hedging their bets that people would at least purchase that book. On my own, I was perhaps not the strongest draw. It was there that Dayal handed me a copy of his old fanzine Crypt, which was my main source of entertainment on the long flight back home. We stayed in touch over the years; before long, Dayal was sharpening his chops contributing to Terrorizer when he told me about a colossal black metal book project he was methodically assembling. That, of course, became Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, which now stands as inarguably the greatest and most important document ever written about the genre. Turns out Dayal was just getting started. He founded his publishing company to release not only more of his writing on black metal, but also books from fellow authors on other extreme metal subgenres. Decibel has been fortunate to publish our own versions of many of those via our Decibel Books imprint, while Cult Never Dies has exclusively distributed a few of our books throughout Europe. Now a decade after its original release through Feral House—the publisher responsible for the first editions of both Choosing Death and Lords of Chaos—we’ve collaborated with Dayal again to release the definitive version of the definitive black metal book in the U.S. Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult—The Restored, Expanded & Definitive Edition is a massive 800-page hardcover, and that includes 120,000 words of new content (over 20 new chapters and 20 expanded chapters), over 60 new interviews (over 130 in total), an eye-popping 80-page color photo section, a vastly improved layout and a stunning new illustrated cover. It’s easily the largest project that Decibel Books has ever tackled. Decibel is the exclusive North American distributor for this edition of Evolution of the Cult, while Cult Never Dies controls the book’s distribution in Europe. And if you’re in England, you can always look for it at a Rough Trade shop.

Ryan Olson Akron, MI

You once told our editor that you’d been reading the magazine since issue No. 1, but waited until about 2019 to start subscribing—what convinced you to finally take that plunge?

I’d wanted to subscribe to the mag for ages, but there were three main factors that kept me from pulling the trigger. The first was that I tended to move around a lot, so I didn’t want to risk missing an issue due to semi regular address changes. The second was that, since I was a kid, I had been a loyal patron of a local mom-and-pop hobby shop, and that was where I always went to buy mags that were available via regular distributors. The final factor came into play when I started working at a record

8 : OCTOBER 2023 : DECIBEL

store, where I was running a dedicated metal section in a separate room at the back of the shop. We carried the mag there, which made it even easier for me to acquire my copy each month! But that all changed when I moved from my home state of Wisconsin to Michigan to be with the wonderful woman who chose me to be her husband. We bought a house and established our family stronghold, comprised of three children and a menagerie of critters. We live out in a very rural area, and the nearest place where I could reliably get the mag was a 40-minute drive, so it very quickly became clear that the time was right to subscribe at long last!

cassette releases, but I’ve worked on vinyl and CD formats as well. So, here we are, over a decade later, and I’ve done the lion’s share of the work on Dread’s releases. I’m self-taught, continually learning and honing my craft, but I never would have dreamed that I’d be given the opportunity to work on releases by bands such as Mayhem, My Dying Bride, Demilich, Moonspell, Necrophagia, Drudkh and Troll! I consider it a great honor and a privilege to make a contribution to the enduring legacy of many well-known and lesser-known bands.

You’re the owner of Deadspeak Design. Tell us what that entails.

We’re publishing a revised and expanded edition of Dayal Patterson’s Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult book this year. We assume you’ve read the original, but are you shelling out for this definitive edition or what?

After a great deal of trial and error, I became possessed with the inspiration to start my own design-based imprint in June of 2012. I’ve long been a massive fan of Brian Lumley’s Necroscope book series, so that’s where the Deadspeak part of the name comes from. Around this same time, my longtime dear friend (and brother) Miguel was beginning to transition his Dread Records distro into a label. It wasn’t long before the seeds of us working together would begin to grow within our spirits. Things really started to accelerate once Miguel shifted his focus largely to

I do own, and have read, the original book, but pulling the trigger on the upgraded edition is a no-brainer for me! Your work and Dayal’s work is second to none, and it’s been a great pleasure to watch the development of Decibel and Cult Never Dies over the years! This music has played—and still does play—a significant role in my life. If I may add one final comment, it’s that I cannot express strongly enough how much I’m positively delighted to see the collaboration between Decibel and CND! It’s truly a perfect union.

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 when we weren’t watching washed up nü metal bands play to 20% capacity crowds in summer amphitheaters.

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

This Month’s Mutha: Renae LeTulle Mutha of Crow Lotus of Capra

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Renae and I’m 61 years old. I like to do outdoor activities, and one of my favorite hobbies is playing tennis. I’m a very active person, and I try to exercise at least five days a week. I’m also a flight attendant and a licensed hairstylist on the side. I have five children, including my daughter Crow. Your daughter was strictly a bassist before becoming Capra’s frontwoman. Did she sing at all when she was young?

We used to do karaoke at home, and I would have to force Crow to sing because she was so shy growing up. She also used to scream and cry a lot when she was little, and I think that’s what gave her the powerful voice she has now! Crow has said she got into music at a young age by sneaking off to listen to your CDs, some of which had parental advisory labels. What were some of your go-to records?

When Crow was little, we often listened to Bad Company, Def Leppard, the Doors and Led Zeppelin, which is my favorite. I did have some more explicit artists in our CD case at the time, like 2 Live Crew, Snoop Dogg and Salt-N-Pepa, but I never really knew my daughter was going through them. That might be a conversation we’ll have to have at some point!

quiet person, but she is so loud and powerful when she is onstage! It’s like she is able to express a completely different side of herself than you see when she isn’t performing. I was surprised when I saw her with Capra for the first time. Crow has written about her experiences with sleep paralysis. We have to imagine that was a difficult affliction for a mother to navigate.

It was definitely difficult for me because I was worried about her, and also because I used to experience the same thing when I was little and knew exactly what she was going through. When it would begin to come over me, I would try to wake myself up and my heart would beat so fast. It’s a really scary thing to experience. I would even be scared to go to sleep the night after an attack because I would be so afraid of it happening again. It doesn’t affect me as much now that I am an adult, and I believe that certain foods can trigger it in different people. Tell us about a quality Crow has that most people wouldn’t suspect.

What are your impressions of your daughter onstage?

She’s very smart, and she was a belly dancer for over 10 years. She even taught classes at one point. Also, I don’t know if Crow remembers this, but she used to be double-jointed when she was younger. She could hold a hanger in front of her and rotate her arms completely backward until they were behind her without letting go of the hanger. It was pretty crazy.

It’s like night and day. She’s usually a pretty

—ANDREW BONAZELLI

Albert Mudrian : e d i t o r i n c h i e f  Filth Is Eternal, Find Out  Enslaved, Vikingligr Veldi  Deicide, Deicide  Atheist, Piece of Time  Death, Individual Thought Patterns ---------------------------------Patty Moran : c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e  Dead Heat, Endless Torment  Slayer, Undisputed Attitude  D.R.I., Dirty Rotten LP  Midnight, Shox of Violence  Warzone, Open Your Eyes ---------------------------------James Lewis : a d s a l e s  Incantation, Unholy Deification  Cannibal Corpse, Chaos Horrific  Uada, Crepuscule Natura  Omnium Gatherum, Spirits and August Light  Clutch, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach ---------------------------------Mike Wohlberg : a r t d i r e c t o r  Woe, Legacies of Frailty  Uada, Crepuscule Natura  Death, Human  Final Gasp, Mourning Moon  Dying Fetus, Make Them Beg For Death ---------------------------------Aaron Salsbury : m a r k e t i n g a n d s a l e s  Uamh, At the Edge of the Loch  Venomous Concept, The Good Ship Lollipop  Khemmis, Deceiver  Blackbraid, Blackbraid II  Deadwood, Music from the HBO Original Series

GUEST SLAYER

---------------------------------Jacqui Powell : w i t c h i n g  Blut Aus Nord, Hallucinogen  Dreadnought, The Endless  Worm, Bluenothing  Gaerea, Mirage  Gojira, From Mars To Sirius

PHOTO BY

10 : O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 : D E C I B E L

GENE SMIRNOV