Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

378 Pages·2009·3.47 MB·English

by  Albert Mudrian

0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page i
PRECIOUS METAL
“This page left intentionally blank.”
0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page iii
PRECIOUS
METAL
ø
DECIBELPresents
the Stories Behind
25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
Edited by
ALBERT MUDRIAN
DA CAPO PRESS
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2009 by Decibelmagazine
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United
States of America. For information, address Da Capo Press, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge,
MA 02142.
Designed by JeffWilliams
Set in 11 point Adobe Caslon by the Perseus Books Group
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Precious metal : Decibel magazine presents the oral histories of 25 extreme metal essentials /
edited by Albert Mudrian.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-306-81806-6 (alk. paper)
1. Extreme metal (Music)—History and criticism. 2. Death metal (Music)—History and
criticism. 3. Heavy metal (Music)—History and criticism. 4. Rock musicians—Interviews.
I. Mudrian, Albert, 1975– II. Decibel (Philadelphia, Pa.)
ML3534.P73 2009
781.66--dc22
2009007835
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corpo-
rations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special
Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadel-
phia, PA 19103, or call [phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail
[email protected].
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page v
FOR JENNIFER AND GROB OF SONIC RELIEF PROMOTIONS
Ø
“This page left intentionally blank.”
0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page vii
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 Ø HOLY HELL
The Making of Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, by Adem Tepedelen 1
2 Ø A RARE GEM
The Making of Diamond Head’s Lightning to the Nations,by Adem Tepedelen 15
3 Ø PROCREATION OF THE WICKED
The Making of Celtic Frost’s Morbid Tales,by J. Bennett 31
4 Ø WHO’LL STOP THE REIGN?
The Making of Slayer’s Reign in Blood,by J. Bennett 48
5 Ø SLAVES TO THE GRIND
The Making of Napalm Death’s Scum,by Kory Grow 56
6 Ø SCARED TO DEATH
The Making of Repulsion’s Horrified,by Matthew Widener 73
7 Ø IMMORTAL RIGHTS
The Making of Morbid Angel’s Altars of Madness,by J. Bennett 85
8 Ø MEMORIES REMAIN
The Making of Obituary’s Cause of Death, by Kory Grow 96
9 Ø LEFT HAND LEGACY
The Making of Entombed’sLeft Hand Path,by J. Bennett 109
10 Ø AN ETERNAL CLASSIC
The Making of Paradise Lost’s Gothic,by Scott Koerber 120
vii
0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page viii
11 Ø ROTTEN TO THE GORE
The Making of Carcass’ Necroticism—Descanting the Insalubrious,by J. Bennett 130
12 Ø THE CRYPTIC STENCH
The Making of Cannibal Corpse’s Tomb of the Mutilated,by Chris Dick 142
13 Ø HAZARDOUS PRESCRIPTION
The Making of Eyehategod’s Take as Needed for Pain,by J. Bennett 165
14 Ø HUNGER STRIKES
The Making of Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger,by Albert Mudrian 179
15 Ø 1993: A DESERT ODYSSEY
The Making of Kyuss’ Welcome to Sky Valley,by J. Bennett 196
16 Ø ALTERING THE FUTURE
The Making of Meshuggah’s Destroy Erase Improve,by Kevin Stewart-Panko 213
17 Ø MASTERBURNER & THE INFINITE BADNESS
The Making of Monster Magnet’s Dopes to Infinity,by J. Bennett 223
18 Ø AT THE GATES OF IMMORTALITY
The Making of At the Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul,by J. Bennett 237
19 Ø FLOWER POWER
The Making of Opeth’s Orchid,by Chris Dick 245
20 Ø PILLAR OF ETERNITY
The Making of Down’s NOLA,by J. Bennett 267
21 Ø TOTAL ECLIPSE: METAL, MAYHEM & MURDER
The Making of Emperor’s In the Nightside Eclipse,by J. Bennett 280
22 Ø HIGH TIMES
The Making of Sleep’s Jerusalem,by J. Bennett 292
23 Ø 100% CLASSIC
The Making of the Dillinger Escape Plan’s Calculating Infinity,
by Kevin Stewart-Panko 304
24 Ø FALLEN EMPIRE
The Making of Botch’s We Are the Romans,by J. Bennett 318
25 Ø WHO’S THAT GIRL?
The Making of Converge’s Jane Doe,by J. Bennett 331
Photo Credits 349
Index 351
viii Contents
0306818066-Mudrian_01:Layout 1 5/4/09 1:28 PM Page ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Decibel’s Managing Editor Andrew Bonazelli, who tirelessly edited each Hall of
Fame in this anthology at leastfive goddamn times. Senior Editor Patty Moran,
who’s also copyedited more of these stories than she likely cares to remember.
Decibel Publisher Alex Mulcahy, who still doesn’t understand why there’s no
Hall of Fame on Sepultura’s Arise album. Gordon Conrad, who waits in vain for
a Judge Hall of Fame. DecibelArt Director Jamie Leary, who would still rather
listen to You Fail Meinstead of Jane Doe. Decibeldesigners Bruno Guerreiro and
Jon Loudon, who’ve somehow made 6,000-word features look awesome—even
over seven-page spreads in the magazine. Mark Evans, who remains cautiously
optimistic about the possibility of a Fudge Tunnel Hall of Fame. Scott Hun-
garter and Lucas Hardison, who are secretly bummed that both Katatonia and
Mastodon didn’t make the cut for this volume of the book. J. Bennett, who has
written half of these Hall of Fame pieces and turned in less than 10 percent of
them under word count. Michaelangelo Matos, who has been talking peoples’
ears off about us for years. Ben Schafer, who was smart enough to listen. Nick
Green, who is still waiting for Refused, Suicidal Tendencies and Rage Against
the Machine to return a few emails. Adem Tepedelen, who has obviously been
metal longer than any of us. Kory Grow, who is still splicing that Bill Steer in-
terview tape back together. Matt Widener, who owns the corresponding t-shirts
for half of these Hall of Fame records. Kevin Stewart-Panko, who owns the
other half. Scott Koerber, who’d rather bridge a scene if he could. Chris Dick,
who is currently working on a Moog-less mix of Tales from the Thousand Lakes.
The dBonline forum, which has created over a dozen unique threads dedicated
to just the Hall of Fame. And all the band members who agreed to be inter-
viewed for these pieces—we literally couldn’t have done it without you. Every-
one mentioned here rules. Thank you.
ix