DECIBEL’S
ANNIVERSARY SHOW ISSUE
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INCLUDED SEPTEMBER 2024 // No. 239
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September 2024 [R 239] decibelmagazine.com
upfront 10 metal muthas Metal enough for a man, made for a woman 12 live review:
maryland deathfest xix 19 minus the COVID
features
reviews
18 spectral wound Hail horror
28 orange goblin They’ll never walk alone
20 göden Seasons change
30 nile The forever war
22 fulci Quack attack
32 q&a: geezer butler The Black Sabbath bassist masters reality and paranormal in new autobiography
61 lead review Even with new blood, Nile stay true to their history of old, old-school death metal with The Underworld Awaits Us All
16 low culture Cranking the hog
24 obscene They wanna rock
17 kill screen:
26 oxygen destroyer Turtle power
zeal & ardor Devil’s advocate
36 the decibel
hall of fame Deathevokation’s cup overfloweth with old-school reverence on sole LP offering The Chalice of Ages
62 album reviews Records from bands that finally beat Medicare, including Gel, Nails and Sissy Spacek 72 damage ink An offer you can’t refuse
Mental Fun for Real! COVER STORY COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOS BY SHIMON KARMEL
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. © 2024 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 : SEPTEMBER 2024 : DECIBEL
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September 2024 [T239] PUBLISHER
Alex Mulcahy
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Albert Mudrian
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James Lewis
james@decibelmagazine.com DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES
Decibel’s 20th Anniversary Show— headlined by this issue’s cover stars, Autopsy—more than a few people expressed their astonishment that our little shindig on August 31 at Philadelphia’s Brooklyn Bowl will mark the California death metal institution’s debut Philly performance. Apart from one brief, disastrous northeast run in 1993, when they skipped Philly in a favor of an Atco, NJ hair metal club called Bonnie’s Roxx (which is now the site of a Dollar General), Autopsy’s touring was mostly limited to regional California dates and a pair of European runs in 1990. This was in direct contrast to most of the Earache and Roadrunner acts of that era who regularly slogged through relentless eight-week runs of America. But before the band could even contemplate that missed opportunity to raise their profile beyond the most devoted undergrounders, it was 1995, death metal’s commercial appeal had waned and Autopsy were so disillusioned with the scene that they titled an album Shitfun, slapped a fake turd on the cover and unceremoniously disbanded. For the generations that came after us old farts who grew up amid death metal’s rise in the early ’90s, it’s difficult to imagine a time when Autopsy (and death metal as a genre) held anything but a revered status. But when I first contacted Chris Reifert in March 2002 for an early Choosing Death interview, he was preparing to release the third Abscess album and had no interest in reigniting Autopsy, largely because, as he told me, “No one gave a shit.” To be fair, the landscape was a lot different then. Reunions of many of those classic Earache and Roadrunner acts were still years away, while the old-school death metal renaissance was only about to get rolling (see this issue’s Hall of Fame induction). By the time Autopsy officially reactivated in 2009, there was just one high-profile extreme metal festival in the U.S. that the band could play (see this issue’s live reviews section). Some 20 years later, Autopsy have birthed six critically lauded studio albums and performed dozens of one-off live shows AUGUST 31, 2024 throughout the U.S. thanks to a thriving network of underground metal festivals propelled by an assembly of fans who weren’t even FIRST PHILADELPHIA SHOW EVER born when Bonnie’s Roxx was demolished. So, yeah, it’s been a long, surprising road that finally “FIRST 20 YEARS” ECDYSIS brings Autopsy to Philly for our 20th anniversary bash. Hope you THE STYGIAN ROSE join us for tons of (shit)fun. PRESENT
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