FEAR, EMPTINESS, DECIBEL: GHOST AND THAT WHICH CAN’T BE NAMED

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

It’s always a plus when a band has a distinct, imaginative visual presence and it’s not commonly referred to as their “shtick.” Then again, once you read our Ghost cover story, it should be clear that the Nameless Ghoul and his minions are perfectly content with the concept of … well, whatever “shtick” translates to in Sweden. Ghost and their debut LP Opus Eponymous are polarizing for a number of reasons—sonic resemblance to another infamously pale, made-up metal provocateur being the big one—but the band clearly places as much emphasis on message as music. The hooks are intended to get you under the tent for exposure to the really subversive stuff.

We had to go across the pond to get it, though, as the Nameless Ghoul leads dB scribe James Hoare through the corridors of London’s iconic St. Bartholomew the Great (known to viewers of endearing dogshit as a pivotal setting in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). The resulting deconstruction of heavy metal as entertainment is alternately cynical and inspiring, but a great read allthe way through. Subscribers will have the issue within the next couple weeks, but the rest of you can pick it up today and get your bonus Gates of Slumber hot flexi injection.

–A.B.

Decibel’s June 2011 issue, also featuring Killing Joke, Hate Eternal, Gorguts, and Scale The Summit is available here, or be make your mama proud and just get a full subscription.