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Track Premiere: Mayan Bull (ft. members of Trappist & Despise You) “Kid Cleveland”

It’s not often that a band forms after being offered an opportunity to write music for a film, but that’s exactly what happened with L.A.’s Mayan Bull. Back in 2011, drummer/keyboardist Phil Vera (Trappist, Despise You), guitarist Kurk Stevens and bassist Chris Walters were approached by director Todd Hickey to write a song for the soundtrack of Takedowns and Falls, his documentary about high-school wrestling in Pennsylvania. The trio recorded 10-minute instrumental “A Dangerous Gun” in Vera’s living room with producer Paul Fig (Alice In Chains, Deftones), and Mayan Bull was born. “We had so much fun recording the song that we kept practicing and came up with new songs,” Vera says.

One of those songs is “Kid Cleveland,” which we’re premiering here today. The propulsive track is all the more impressive given that instrumental music is a distinct departure for the members of Mayan Bull. Stevens plays in the noise rock band Kevarra, Walters plays shoegaze in The Slow Signal Fades and Vera plays an entirely different instrument—guitar—in L.A. powerviolence kings Despise You and Crom. “We discussed Mayan Bull as being a project that we could do for decades to come, something that isn’t pinned down to any particular genre of music but will grow over time,” Stevens says. “We want people to hear us and watch this project evolve.”

Mayan Bull by Mayan Bull

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Track Premiere: Mayan Bull (ft. members of Trappist & Despise You) “Kid Cleveland”

It’s not often that a band forms after being offered an opportunity to write music for a film, but that’s exactly what happened with L.A.’s Mayan Bull. Back in 2011, drummer/keyboardist Phil Vera (Trappist, Despise You), guitarist Kurk Stevens and bassist Chris Walters were approached by director Todd Hickey to write a song for the soundtrack of Takedowns and Falls, his documentary about high-school wrestling in Pennsylvania. The trio recorded 10-minute instrumental “A Dangerous Gun” in Vera’s living room with producer Paul Fig (Alice In Chains, Deftones), and Mayan Bull was born. “We had so much fun recording the song that we kept practicing and came up with new songs,” Vera says.

One of those songs is “Kid Cleveland,” which we’re premiering here today. The propulsive track is all the more impressive given that instrumental music is a distinct departure for the members of Mayan Bull. Stevens plays in the noise rock band Kevarra, Walters plays shoegaze in The Slow Signal Fades and Vera plays an entirely different instrument—guitar—in L.A. powerviolence kings Despise You and Crom. “We discussed Mayan Bull as being a project that we could do for decades to come, something that isn’t pinned down to any particular genre of music but will grow over time,” Stevens says. “We want people to hear us and watch this project evolve.”

Mayan Bull by Mayan Bull

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Video Premiere: Trench – ‘Imminent Power Looming’

Canadian outfit Trench are serving up their heaviest music yet with their latest song, “Imminent Power Looming.” Building on the band’s previous framework of metalcore, death metal, hardcore and beatdown, “Imminent Power Looming” is two minutes of fight riffs and breakdowns, the perfect answer to any mid-week frustrations.

“‘Imminent Power Looming’ aims to re-create the feeling of internal helplessness,” Trench vocalist Jay Breen tells Decibel. “We want to make changes in our world but struggle to find a way to gain control over ones self, and over the future of this planet. It seems at this point in modern human existence we are finally starting to realize we don’t have as much control over our lives as we once thought. We can feel the weight of the powers that hold us down now more then ever. Something that wasn’t tangible before has now become exposed. Becoming aware of the faces in the wall might be the key to the change we seek. Ignorance fuels the fire lit on stolen stone.

“Musically, this track gives you all levels of Trench’s arsenal,” he continues. “Intense electronics coincide with blast beats and lead into an emotional build, all while being punished by unrelenting unique heaviness and intricate musicianship. Writing ‘Imminent Power Looming’ allowed Trench to meticulously experiment sonically and creatively, further pushing the boundaries of our previous offerings.”

Watch the video below:

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Track Premiere: Imperialist – ‘Majesty of the Void’

Forget Satan—we’re talking about space today. California black metal quartet Imperialist explore that vast unknown, alongside other science-fiction topics, with “Majesty of the Void,” a new track from their upcoming second LP, Zenith.

There’s a Swedish flavor to the music despite their West Coast home base, weaving soaring melodies in between blast beats and waves of tremolo-picked, thrashy guitars. That’s not to say that Imperialist inspire thoughts of snowy landscapes and frigid winters; “Majesty of the Void” invokes the cold and lonely feeling of floating in space, particularly when the music slows down and is allowed to breathe, like at the four-minute mark.

Zenith is due November 26 on Transcending Obscurity, but “Majesty of the Void” is streaming now.

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Track Premiere: Phrenelith – ‘Gorgonhead’

Enter a death metal vortex with “Gorgonhead,” the latest offering from Danish outfit Phrenelith. The fourth track on their album, Chimaera, “Gorgonhead” serves as the divider between the front and back half of the album. That doesn’t mean the song is an interlude—Phrenelith hammer the listener with cavernous death metal for the entire run time.

“With its deathly howls and piercing riffs clawing away at the listener with baneful talons, ‘Gorgonhead’ showcases the band at their most ferocious,” Phrenelith tell Decibel. “As we aim for a musical approach that’s as carnivorous as the malformed and abhorrent entity it’s named after.”

Chimaera is out on December 10 via Nuclear Winter but Decibel is streaming “Gorgonhead” right now.

Chimaera by PHRENELITH

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Full Album Stream: Hyperdontia – “Hideous Entity”

Hideous Entity, the second album from international death metal outfit Hyperdontia, is an improvement on the band’s debut album in every way. Picking up in a similar place to the last album but sharpened by an EP and split with death/doom dealers Mortiferum, Hyperdontia drag the listener into a murky pit of doom-tinged riffs, blasting drums and eerie atmosphere.

The tone is set immediately on “Snakes of Innards,” which begins with a crawling riff and restrained drumming before settling into an aggressive, rolling pace. At 40 minutes and eight tracks, Hideous Entity maintains a brisk pace throughout, feeding the listener one riff or creepy melody after another.

Hyperdontia have succeeded in creating a pure, ugly death metal album with Hideous Entity. Listen to the full record below and grab a copy via Dark Descent (US), Me Saco Un Ojo (UK) and Dessicated Productions.

Hideous Entity by Hyperdontia

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Video Premiere: Crystal Spiders – ‘Harness’

Take a quick detour from the work day to the riff-filled land, courtesy of Raleigh, North Carolina trio Crystal Spiders. The trio, which features founding Corrosion of Conformity bassist/singer Mike Dean on lead guitar and production, released their second LP, Morieris, last month. Clocking in at eight tracks, the album sits at the crossroads of stoner metal, doom and heavy psych and emerges from a thick cloud of smoke.

Today, Crystal Spiders share the video for “Harness,” the third track on Morieris, via Decibel. The video is just as psychedelic as the song, ending up in full-on sci-fi territory by the end of its runtime.

“‘Harness’ is loosely inspired by the myth of the fall of Phaeton, a parable to mediate conflicting desires to admire and resist figures of authority,” explains Crystal Spiders bassist/vocalist Brenna Leath. “It’s about the rush and a crash resulting from a prideful desperation to wield power. I love that myth because it feels so inevitable, but there’s an implicit warning to be careful what we wish for; play with fire, and you might get burned.”

Check out the video yourself below; Morieris is out now on Ripple Music.

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Full EP Stream: Nequient – ‘Collective Punishment’

Chicago D-beat crew Nequient are back in the saddle with Collective Punishment, a four-song EP that features a pair of outtakes from the recording sessions for the band’s upcoming second LP Darker Than Death or Night and two live tracks. For those who worship at the altar of nonstop metallic hardcore and the aforementioned D-beat, Collective Punishment is a shot of pure adrenaline.

Decibel had a brief conversation with Nequient vocalist Jason Kolkey about Collective Punishment and Darker Than Death or Night, holding their album throughout the pandemic and the band’s DIY approach to playing music. It’s available to read below—edited for length and clarity—alongside an exclusive stream of the Collective Punishment EP, out November 5 on Nefarious Industries.
Collective Punishment by Nequient

It’s been a long time since you last released music. How do you think this compares to your prior output?
In large measure, we’re just building on and redefining what we were doing already. It would be safe to describe as what we did on the previous as this sort of early ’00s, late ’90s metallic hardcore sound mixed in with some grind, a little bit of thrash, a little bit of death metal—all of those elements are still very much there, maybe even ventures a little farther into some of those different directions and adds a little more in terms of the noise rock, mildly psychedelic influence. I think there’s a little more adventurous musical stuff going on here and there throughout the record, but it’s still a heavy metallic hardcore record at its core.

You did the record at Bricktop Studio?

Bricktop with Pete Grossman. Pete and Andy [Nelson] from Weekend Nachos own that studio but Pete’s the one we’ve worked with forever now actually. He’s actually recorded every official release, every non-demo release that we’ve done so far going back to 2015. We love that studio, we love the whole atmosphere there.

Was it weird to record the EP?
Here’s the funny thing: all the actual tracking has been done forever. This is one of those cases where we went to Bricktop and recorded everything in early 2020.

So you recorded something and everything got fucked.
Yeah. We had wrapped all the tracking by late January 2020 and we were starting to figure out how we were going to handle the mixing and artwork and everything went to hell. Everything got shut down, every aspect got horribly delayed and it eventually reached the point where we just decided to push everything back.

I think that ended up being a sound decision for us. For some bands, they have enough of a dedicated fanbase that they can rely on the idea that if we put something out, people are going to listen to it. We’re not quite there, we need to get out on the road and play the songs for people.

Like you were saying, it works out fine because you want to get on tour with [your record] and take it on tour as a new thing.
There was no way we were going to be able to do anything the way we would want to do it in late 2020 or early 2021. It ended up being the best decision given the horrible set of circumstances. You can see bands on tour right now of course and it’s getting better—especially if you have the budget to do a really good job of maintaining your protocols—but I’m hoping coming springtime, it’ll be a much more hospitable atmosphere to do the touring and be able to do it in the DIY way that we do it.

There’s two live tracks on the EP that were recorded in 2019.
That was the last time we were able to actually tour. We did just a few dates with the band Ox out of Denmark.

Those songs were recorded at a place called the Valdosta DIY House in Valdosta, Georgia by the guy who runs that house. His name is Alan Sifuentes. It’s just a great DIY spot, bunch of college kids hanging out and they just bring in all different genres of music. It’s very hospitable and really cool that he would record and film every set that’s done there.

Given that we knew that was out there, we ended up getting in touch with Alan and sort of talking about could we get ahold of these tracks so we could mix them—our guitarist did the mixing on those. We came up with a couple that we felt were solid enough to put on this EP. The idea was that it would give you a sense for what it’s like to see us live in our natural environment, which is that kind of underground DIY spot.

So you feel then that this is an accurate teaser of what people can expect from your new record when that comes in the not-so-distant future?
The new record should be out first quarter of next year. The two outtake songs do cover a lot of the breadth of what we’re doing on this new record. The first song, “Collective Punishment,” is a typical Nequient song in a lot of ways. It’s going to hit the thrashy riffs, you’re going to get some blast beats, you’re going to get the big, slow, sludgy breakdown and you’re going to get me over the top of it all screaming about politics, in this case mostly about cops. I think every song we try to bring something a little fresh to the table but if you wanted to break down our formula, that could go a long way to it. We’re bringing together those different kinds of subgenres and trying to deliver it in a concise, hooky package that will make you bang your head and mosh.

But then sometimes we do other stuff. The first song, “Collective Punishment,” is mainly written by our guitar player, Patrick [Conahan]. The other song, the main writer of the music was our bass player, Keenan Clifford. He’s very into a lot of post-metal kind of stuff and I think that more expansive vibe starts to come through that song. There’s still D-beat parts and there’s a little bit of a black metal influence, but it’s also got that exploratory nature and it stretches out a little more.

I think that does in fact sum up what we’re trying to do—stay in touch with that more visceral, direct kind of songwriting while allowing ourselves some room to explore other stuff. We can allow ourselves to go to some weird places as long as we still make sure we’re going to hit you in the face with a heavy riff.

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Track Premiere: Ghoul – ‘Off With Their Heads’ (Live)

Splatterthrash maniacs Ghoul are finally leaving their lair in Creepsylvania to resume live activity (including a performance at Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Los Angeles) and what better way to set the mood than with a new live album? Live in the Flesh was recorded, well, live at the Oakland Metro Operahouse in 2018 and showcases the band at their best and most ghoulish.

Live in the Flesh is already available for streaming, but today the band shares a new video for “Off With Their Heads,” which shows them performing the song live to a rowdy crowd. If you’ve never seen Ghoul live in all their masked, horror movie-esque glory, this is a great place to start. If you have seen them before, it’s a great time to do it again!

“What better way to celebrate our return to the stage after a nearly two year voluntary sabbatical where we cut ourselves off from all media than with the release of this high-quality video of one of our most beloved songs!” says frontman Digestor. “Anyway, what’s been going on the last two years? Any news?”

Watch the video for “Off With Their Heads” below. Live in the Flesh is out now on Tankcrimes. Get your copy here.

Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Los Angeles on December 10-11, 2021—featuring special classic album-sets from Converge (Jane Doe) and Cave In, (Until Your Heart Stops) as well as appearances from DeadguySacred ReichRepulsionGhoul and tons more—takes place at the Belasco in Los Angeles, CA. Full daily lineups and ticket options including “Metal & Beer VIP Sampling Experience/Early Entry,” “Metal & Beer” ticket and the “Just Metal” ticket, which starts at just $40, are below!

Purchase Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Los Angeles Two-Day tickets
Purchase Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Los Angeles December 10 tickets
Purchase Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Los Angeles December 11 tickets

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10
Converge (performing Jane Doe in its entirety)
Sacred Reich
Repulsion
Early Graves (final show)
Night Demon
Ripped to Shreds
Saber

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11
Cave In (performing Until Your Heart Stops in its entirety)
Deadguy
Gatecreeper
Ghoul
Crypt Sermon
ACxDC
Spiritworld

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Album Premiere: Holy Death – Separate Mind from Flesh

There’s more than one way to Separate Mind from Flesh, as the Las Vegas-based death-doom trio Holy Death quite persuasively demonstrate on their debut full-length album. There’s, for instance, the route these three took, the monstrously hostile way of combining skull-fracturing death-doom and spine-shattering sludge into one staggeringly aggressive wall of destruction. 

Torie John, Holy Death’s guitarist/vocalist, told us last year that Holy Death was formed after he had a near-death experience. Recently he informed us that Separate Mind from Flesh “is somewhat of a continuation of [Holy Death’s] last release Deus Mortis,” which we premiered almost a year ago exactly. The frontman continues to explain: “Instead of the focus being on the god of death, Yama, the focus of this record is on Yamantaka—destroyer of death. His influence is found throughout the entire record. This deity represents the aspiration of conquering the cycle [of] death and rebirth. For me personally this represents overcoming physical/metaphysical obstacles within my own life.”

Separate Mind from Flesh finds a kind of peace at the center of some impressively brutal punishment. As a track like “Shame” proves, it’s not all about the massive wallops and the sadistic heaviness. There’s a suffocating amount of misery amidst the atmosphere like an inquisitor’s chamber. 

Out tomorrow from Redefining Darkness Records, this is Separate Mind from Flesh.

Separate Mind From Flesh by Holy Death

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