STORY OF ANTHRAX SPIRITWORLD BONDED BY BLOOD GARY HOLT THE IN THE STUDIO
THE DEVIL’S THIRD
LL
E
NO
LIFE
DW
FLEXI DISC
INCLUDED Don’t see it? Then subscribe!
MAY 2025 // No. 247
E
R
E
WH
S
REFUSE/RESIST
$10.00US $10.00CAN
EXTREMELY EXTREME
May 2025 [R 247] decibelmagazine.com
upfront 10 metal muthas Listen all y’all, it’s a Sabottage 12 exclusive:
maryland deathfest 2025 preview Gearing up for the big two-oh
14 low culture For the nightmare shall consume 15 kill screen:
whitechapel Royale pain
16 in the studio:
anthrax
features 18 ancient death Can I borrow a feeling?
32 rwake Friendship is magick
20 guiltless Here there be monsters
34 exclusive:
22 ingrown State of being 24 messa That ’80s show 26 idle heirs A future of violence 28 tribunal Supreme court
a fabulous disaster: from the garage to madison square garden, the hard way excerpt Exodus guitarist Gary Holt shares all the bloody details about the band’s debut album
reviews 38 q&a: spiritworld Main man Stu Folsom isn’t ready to hang up his spurs… yet 42 the decibel
hall of fame Unleashed avoid the Sunlight to craft their unique brand of Viking death metal on Where No Life Dwells
67 lead review Death metal newcomers Ancient Death have a lot to be proud of on debut LP Ego Dissolution 68 album reviews Records from bands in countries that are looking much more appealing, including Amenra, Conan and In the Woods... 80 damage ink Singing the praises
30 serpent rider It’s all Greek to us
The democratic process
Powered Up 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. © 2025 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 : M AY 2 0 2 5 : D E C I B E L
www.decibelmagazine.com
REFUSE/RESIST
May 2025 [T247] PUBLISHER
Alex Mulcahy
alex@redflagmedia.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Albert Mudrian
albert@decibelmagazine.com SALES DIRECTOR
James Lewis
james@decibelmagazine.com
If you’re reading this right now—and you’re not copy editor Andrew Bonazelli translating it into something resembling English, or art director Mike Wohlberg trying to think of what art best represents my drivel, or one of our masochistic digital edition subscribers—congrats, you’re not in front of a fucking screen! You have no idea how envious I am. To quote my teenage lodestar Henry Rollins, “I wanna pull it out!” Whether working, being entertained or somehow attempting to multitask between the two (I’m currently typing this while making my way through approximately 65 hours’ worth of Super Bowl LIX reaction videos), our time away from electronic devices grows shorter each day. For those of you who spend a significant amount of that period being terminally online, the steady stream of horror that social media has injected into your eyeballs for the better part of this year likely isn’t improving your life. Abandoning the doomscroll in favor of our scrolls of doom (and death, black, and even sometimes hardcore) hopefully provides some temporary relief from the alerts and updates that constantly threaten to derail what’s left of your sanity. So, please enjoy the words that follow with as little interruption as you can manage. We are here for you. Thank you for continuing to be there for us.
albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief
ART DIRECTOR
Michael Wohlberg
michael@decibelmagazine.com CUSTOMER SERVICE
Patty Moran
COPY EDITOR
Andrew Bonazelli
BOOKCREEPER
Tim Mulcahy
patty@decibelmagazine.com
tim@redflagmedia.com CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Chuck BB, Ed Luce Mark Rudolph
Online DECIBEL WEB EDITOR
Albert Mudrian
DECIBEL WEB AD SALES
James Lewis
albert@decibelmagazine.com james@decibelmagazine.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Anthony Bartkewicz Emily Bellino Adrien Begrand J. Bennett Dean Brown Liz Ciavarella-Brenner Chris Dick Sean Frasier Nick Green Raoul Hernandez John Hill Jonathan Horsley Neill Jameson Kim Kelly Greg Kennelty Sarah Kitteringham Daniel Lake Cosmo Lee Jamie Ludwig Shane Mehling Tim Mudd Justin M. Norton Dutch Pearce Forrest Pitts Brad Sanders José Carlos Santos Joseph Schafer Kevin Stewart-Panko Eugene S. Robinson Adem Tepedelen Jeff Treppel Aris Hunter Wales J Andrew Zalucky CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
MAIN OFFICE
P.O. Box 36818 Philadelphia, PA 19107 Tel: 215.625.9850 / Fax: 215.625.9967 www.decibelmagazine.com RECORD STORES
Jason Blake Shane Gardner Hillarie Jason Shimon Karmel Scott Kinkade Katja Ogrin Ester Segarra Hristo Shindov Gene Smirnov Hannah Verbeuren Frank White
To carry Decibel, call 1.215.625.9850 x105 DECIBEL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Decibel subscriber service/change of address: 215.625.9850 x105 or contact@decibelmagazine.com To order by mail: Consult the subscription card To order by phone: 215.625.9850 x105 To order by fax: 1.215.625.9967 To order online: www.decibelmagazine.com VISA/MASTERCARD/DISCOVER accepted Subscribers: please alert us of any change of address 6-8 weeks before the date of your move. Decibel is not responsible or obligated to re-ship issues missed because of a move we were not informed of 6-8 weeks before the move took place. DECIBEL BACK ISSUES/MERCHANDISE
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 ©2025 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
| USPS 023142
13 provinces (which I’m guessing would be turned into states?) nation into the U.S., it would be a death knell to the Republican vote. Maybe expedite turning the frogs gay, too. You’re the guitarist of longtime Decibel faves Wake, but Wake isn’t really a full-time endeavor, is it? What do you do for a living in between tours and recordings?
Rob LaChance Calgary, Alberta
So, uh, first, apologies on behalf of the part of America that still gives a shit. As a Canadian, what is your reaction to the current American presidential administration’s bizarre insistence that Canada should be annexed by the U.S.?
No apology needed! Nothing’s shocking when it comes to American political rhetoric, and I try my best to not pay mind to the current political circus that’s happening there. Our circle of friends and fans in the U.S. are mainly of the “give a shit” camp, so we don’t hold the unfortunate turn of administration against them. I mean, if he was to annex our 40 million-plus super-liberal + less religious +
8 : M AY 2 0 2 5 : D E C I B E L
Wake is something that we do to escape the monotony of real life, and I don’t think we’d enjoy it as much as we do if it was a “full-time” thing. I’m a commercial electrician for a company based out of Calgary. Trades were something I never thought I’d end up doing for a career, but the education and lifestyle worked well with our touring and recording schedules. I enjoy what I do and the freedom that comes with it. I’m employed by a company that is chill about vacation time and band stuff, so it works out well.
I’ve found that the people with the strongest opinions against this kind of thing don’t play music, and the ones that do, play in the most musically stale bands. I do believe a little gatekeeping is important for weeding out the dweebs, but cross-pollinating metal subgenres keeps things interesting not only for the people making the music, but for the listener as well.
The ‘laws’ of metal need to be broken. I’ve found that the people with the strongest opinions against this kind of thing don’t play music, and the ones that do, play in the most musically stale bands.
Deafheaven are on the cover of this issue. As someone who performs in a band with black metal influences, but isn’t explicitly black metal, can you explain to Deathlord of Abominable Farts in Basement Apocalypse and his trve kvlt pals that it is, in fact, good for bands to do this?
I prefer when metal bands take chances and make unconventional albums—Infinite Granite was one of those albums.
That rules that they’re on the cover, and I’m all for bands breaking genre constructs and taking chances. The “laws” of metal need to be broken.
Gorguts truly deserves it. Legendary band that should have won for Colored Sands. The fact they didn’t is beyond me. Luc Lemay all day!
Who brings home a Juno Award first: You guys or Gorguts?
ChuckBB.com / Instagram: @chuckbb_art