Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Abbath Comes Clean

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…

You’re surely aware by now that Abbath and his band of the same name are headlining the fifth annual Decibel Magazine Tour, but we’re so psyched about his new self-titled album that we wanted to bring you the story a couple months early. And like the stories behind most Norwegian black metal legends, there’s a fair share of behind-the-scenes drama. Not Lords of Chaos-style drama, mind you—just that Abbath and the other two-thirds of Immortal (Demonaz and Horgh) recently went their separate ways. Hence, there’s plenty of juicy back-and-forth in the J. Bennett-penned cover story about, say, whether certain parties were drinking too much; were drinking plenty, but kept it in check for touring purposes; or went so far as to mandate that their fellow band members not fucking sit down during rehearsal. Excessive? Petty? You be the judge.

For Abbath, Blashyrkh is obviously (ahem…) on ice for the time being. But our man is pushing ahead regardless with a scorching new album that refines and expands upon all his familiar touchstones. Anybody who’s heard “Count the Dead” or “Fenrir Hunts” knows how urgent this music is; hell, even new lyrical collaborator Simon Dancaster fits in like he’s been there since day one. It’s a refreshingly honest, sometimes caustic piece, and it headlines an issue with a Converge You Fail Me Hall of Fame, our top 20 most anticipated albums of 2016, a Q&A with John Baizley of Baroness and a Church of Misery flexi disc. Pick it up. The cover fucking slays, right?

(Oh, and if you’re a subscriber, be grim, frostbitten and—most importantly—cool: Your issue is shipping right now.)

The February 2016 issue of Decibel can be purchased here, and also features Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Cryptopsy, and Fallujah. But if you don’t just get a full subscription, Abbath may show up at your door with an axe. Fair warning.