Dyscarnate List Favorite Metal T-Shirts from Their Collections

A metalhead’s t-shirt collection contains some of their most prized possessions. Sweaty, stained and torn, our shirts are chronicles of our lives, physical markers of a past time and place that we pridefully put on our bodies every day. They have a clear pecking order: there are those shirts you wear only when all the best ones are in the laundry, there are the absolute favorites you wear once every couple of weeks, and there are all the shirts in between, each with their own clear rank. To a metalhead, T-shirts are EVERYTHING.

UK death metallers Dyscarnate are the latest to share their favorites for our new series My Metal T-Shirt Collection, with drummer Matt Unsworth, guitarist/vocalist Tom Whitty and bassist/vocalist Al Llewellyn teaming up for this entry. Dyscarnate will appear on the MetalSucks-sponsored Bloodletting North America Tour later this fall with Origin, Archspire, Defeated Sanity, Visceral Disgorge and The Kennedy Veil; get dates here or at the bottom of this post.

Gojira (Tom)

I was a bit late to the party with Gojira, but when they released L’Enfant Sauvage it really blew me away. I’d never heard another band that did simplistic style riffing with loads of atmosphere so well and it really resonated with me. I went back and discovered their whole catalogue and they quickly became a big influence on me in terms of songwriting, giving me a new perspective on the term “heavy.”

Misery Index (Tom)

I’ve been listening to Misery Index since their Overthrow EP back in 2001. They’ve definitely been one of my biggest influences on writing music through the years. They were always able to find the perfect balance between speed and groove which is something that we were always trying to capture as well. I don’t remember when I picked this shirt up but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t in this decade!

Aeon (Matt)

I got this shirt when we played support to Aeon across the UK in 2012. Another really awesome set of characters. Their drummer Emil spent the whole tour eating bananas and dropping his guts in the van. What a man. He plays for Abbath now; I’d hate to think what that bus smells like. I also like the phrasing “Awaits you does misery.” Makes me feel like I’m being set upon by some kind of Darth Yoda character.

Psycroptic (Matt)

I got this one back in 2010 on our first big nightliner tour across Europe. We were sharing with Cephalic Carnage, Psycroptic, Ion Dissonance and Hour of Penance for a month; still one of my fondest touring memories. The Psycroptic guys took us out a few more times after this in Europe and Australia; we always have such a great time with them. Probably the tightest band going.

Dyscarnate (Matt)

I know I suck for including one of our own, but I had to hang onto one of our first Russian headline tour shirts. It was the first time our visual artist Valnoir had done something for us with a propaganda style, which definitely fueled some inspiration for the With All Their Might artwork (which he is also responsible for).

Pantera (Al)

Well, it’s Pantera, isn’t it? I don’t know anybody in the metal scene who hasn’t been influenced by Pantera in some way, shape or form, so while this shirt isn’t particularly special and doesn’t have any real story behind it, it was was my go-to shirt for a very long time! These guys were one of the first metal bands I discovered at a young age that weren’t thrash or old school heavy metal and I couldn’t get enough of the power and groove that they had on display. Rex was a real inspiration when I was learning to play bass, and I based a lot of my early vocal efforts on Anselmo. If in doubt, put on the Pantera tee!

Opeth (Al)

I picked this longsleeve up at a gig Opeth played in Birmingham on the last leg of shows supporting the Ghost Reveries release. This was around the time the band set up their own clothing line called “Omerch” and just before releasing Watershed I thought it a good idea to buy some merch direct from the band as I’d been a fan of theirs for a long time. Opeth were one of those bands which really made me rethink the way I wrote and listened to metal, as previous to discovering them I thought death metal could only be one-dimensional riffs and blast fests! I hadn’t heard anybody take the genre on like they did and I instantly became hooked.

Dyscarnate (Al)

Before joining the lads in the band I was a fan of their work! I met the guys at Hammerfest through a mutual friend a few years ago, and afterwards I had some drinks with them and I bought the shirt to support their work. I remember coming back from the festival and showing the guitarist in my band at the time the video for “The Promethean,” saying, “Check this out, I met these tidy lads at the weekend… we need to be writing more shit like this!” A few years and a line-up change later and I am writing more riffs like that, in that very band. Nice!

Napalm Death (Tom)

Napalm were probably the first proper heavy band that I got into growing up. It took me a while to really get what was going on in their music but once I had my head around it I was hooked! Their riff style and focus on aggression was ultimately a big influence on me. This is one of many Napalm shirts that I’ve had through the years after seeing them live countless times!

Xerath (Al)

Flying the flag for the British underground! Before joining Dyscarnate I played in a different U.K. metal band, and over the years of playing/attending shows and festivals I learned Xerath were a dominant force in the U.K. metal scene. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with the lads on a number of occasions and it was through the Xerath chaps that I met Dyscarnate! Unfortunately Xerath have now parted ways and moved on to other projects but they’re definitely worth checking out, orchestral groove metal at its finest.

The Bloodletting North America Tour, featuring Origin, Archspire, Defeated Sanity, Dyscarnate, Visceral Disgorge and The Kennedy Veil (tickets for all dates are available here): 

10/20 – Kansas City, MO The Riot Room
10/21 – Milwaukee, WI Club Geribaldi
10/22 – Chicago, IL Cobra Lounge
10/23 – Westland, MI The Token Lounge
10/24 – Toronto, ON Mod Club (**MOVED from Rochester, NY Montage Music Hall**)
10/25 – Manchester, NH Bungalow
10/26 – New York, NY Saint Vitus Bar
10/27 – Stanhope, NJ Stanhope House
10/29 – Durham, NC Motorco Music Hall
10/31 – Spartanburg, SC Groundzero
11/01 – Nashville, TN Exit/In
11/02 – Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
11/03 – Houston, TX Walters
11/04 – Tulsa, OK The Shrine
11/05 – Dallas, TX The Curtain Club
11/06 – Austin, TX Come And Take It Live
11/07 – Lubbock, TX Jake’s Sports Cafe
11/08 – El Paso, TX Rockhouse Bar
11/09 – Mesa, AZ Club Red
11/10 – Upland, CA Gideon’s Hall
11/11 – San Diego, CA Brick By Brick
11/12 – Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
11/13 – Portland, OR Rock Hard PDX
11/14 – Seattle, WA Studio Seven
11/15 – Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
11/17 – Salt Lake City, UT Metro Music Hall
11/18 – Denver, CO The Roxy Theater