Welcome to our second exclusive excerpt from Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel’s upcoming book, Swing of the Blade: More Stories from Metal Blade Records. This week, we present a portion of the chapter “You Win Some, You Lose Some,” which features metalcore heroes Killswitch Engage. If you want to read more, Swing of the Blade is set for a May 9 release and can be preordered here). You Win Some, You Lose Some As healthy as things are currently, I do occasionally hear people saying that many of the current metalcore bands sound pretty much the same. To a certain extent, I take that poin ..read more

Vicious Colorado-based quintet Mouth for War unleashes brutal therapy on their new album Bleed Yourself, available on October 27th through MNRK Heavy. The combined forces of Trae Roberts [vocals], Mason Sego [drums], Gabe Moya [guitar], Jonah Starbuck [guitar], and Michael Guglielmi [bass]—rally listeners together around unflinchingly honest and uncontainable bursts of aggression and emotion. Decibel is proud to unveil their latest single and music video “Captivated” alongside an in-depth Q&A with frontman Trae Roberts. Life Cast in Glass had no shortage of critical or fan appreciation ..read more

What’s up? It’s your ol’ boy Waldo here, to inform you about some new and upcoming releases—good, bad, or otherwise. Remember, I’m not an elitist, you just have terrible taste. Sanguisugabogg is releasing Homicidal Ecstasy, continuing the “slammy” fun that the previous LP Tortured Whole was. Man, this band is a blast. Slam bands have been circulating in the underground for years now and it’s great to see one finally get recognized by one of the bigger labels. All the hallmarks of a slam band are here: death metal growls, fast, pingy snare, and breakdowns. Although Sanguisugabogg (damn, that na ..read more

Welcome back to The Lazarus Pit, a look back at should-be classic records that don’t get nearly enough love. Today we’re looking at Drowningman’s 1999 full-length debut, Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline. It was a good time for metalcore, and it was a good time for Hydra Head Records; the more forward-thinking bands of this ilk were all converging around the label, putting out extremely quality releases that did everything right, from the artwork to the runtimes. And Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline most certainly gets everything right, even though it’s not talked about as much as your We A ..read more

Emerging from the wretched mid-Atlantic hive of scum and villainy known as Richmond, Virginia, mathcore stalwarts Black Matter Device have been carving a destructive swath over the musical landscape for the past several years. Combining the stark anti-melodies of bands like Psyopus and the Dillinger Escape Plan but with a polished modern edge and a grindcore mentality (short songs), Black Matter Device proudly bring the genre of mathcore back from the brink of obscurity and into the current spotlight with a string of abrasive albums, most recently Autonomous Weapons, released this past April ..read more

You can’t really question a band’s dedication to metal, if in order to pursue their musical passions/dreams, they leave everything in their lives behind and immigrate to another country. That’s the story that Iranian quintet Out of Nowhere—Amin Yahyazadeh (vocals), Ali Mostanbet (guitars), Kasra Jafarzadeh (guitars), Hamid Shahcheraghi (bass), Soroosh Kheradmand (drums)—tell in the video for their new track, “Dying Sun.” The song is the first new music the band has recorded since pulling up stakes in Mashhad, Iran and moving to Turkey, and it chronicles both their literal journey as well as th ..read more

If you’re in the mood for some sonic punishment, Pennsylvania’s Model Prisoner has a quick burst of fire, rocks and riffs to spit in your face on their new track, “Dirt Merchant.” Decibel is stoked to premiere the song and video as an introduction their their latest EP: Compulsion Analysis, out today via the band’s Bandcamp page. The band’s raging metallic hardcore is the perfect fix for fans of All Pigs Must Die, Nails, Black Breath, and Weekend Nachos. It’s straightforward, satisfying stuff. For those of you in the area of Wales, PA, the band will be playing its debut show at the North Wales ..read more

Riding an opening riff straight outta Metallica’s Load/Unload era, Dutch quintet Disquiet show their collective musical hand in the first minute of their new video for “Wrecked.” The tune bounces from progressive Bay Area thrash to melodic death metal, with some power metal acrobatics, as well. And when they say “featuring” in regard to the Agonist vocalist Vicky Psarakis’ guest appearance, they ain’t kidding. She handles the bulk of the lead vocals on the tune, doing both clean and growled vocals alongside Disquiet frontman Sean Maia. “Wrecked” is the second single released from Disquiet’s t ..read more