Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Death Angel’s The Ultra-Violence Inducted Into the Hall of Fame!
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…
Chris Dick is one of the strongest hitters in the Decibel murderers’ row, and he smartly uses that capital to get the front office’s ear. You’ll notice his byline on our Hall of Fame pieces more often than not—I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s pitched his entire fucking record collection. But also more often than not, the dude’s just plain right. In the case of the HOF for the June issue—Death Angel’s The Ultra-Violence—persistence paid off. Chris first pitched it to Albert five years ago, but because our editor-in-chief is a sadist (he is running a metal magazine, after all), he passed until just recently. Chris is used to shrugging off static, though. You don’t want to know how long it took him to convince the top of the masthead to induct Tiamat’s Wildhoney or Amorphis’ Tales From the Thousand Lakes. Ultimately, we’re glad we did.
As for this particular induction, it makes us feel young again, for good reason. Alongside teen titan cover stars Noisem, Death Angel are a perfect counterweight to our “kids table” issue. The all-Filipino Bay Area thrash upstarts cut their teeth way back in 1987, thanks in no small part to the counsel of Metallica’s resident nice guy, Kirk Hammett. Talking to them 28 years after the fact, they retain not only excellent memories about growing up and kicking ass in thrash’s golden age, but extreme enthusiasm for what the genre’s all about. Namely, according to guitarist Rob Cavestany, “being true. It was metal or fuck off!” Tr00er words, folks.
Check the Ultra-Violence HOF in the June issue. If that’s not enough denim-rockin’ lunacy for you, we’ve bundled a fuck-ton of our thrash content together, eight issues worth, super cheap. Tap the keg, seek, destroy, read.
The June 2015 issue of Decibel also features Noisem, High on Fire, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed and can be purchased here. But anyone who doesn’t just get a full subscription may be subject to ultra-violence.
