Decibel approached me interested in a review. I never shy away from a chance to listen to a group I have never heard. Death doom? Why not. Then I saw it: 3 albums. Which one would I choose? Where would I begin? Then the OCD vortex took hold. I listened to them all in a single marathon. My spirit crushed with the moroseness of it all, the solution became simple: review all the things! Strap in, cuz your earholes have work to do.
Plague is Decibel's sophomore album. This was my personal least favorite, but it has its charm. The vocals are submerged deeply in brutal death grunts and croaks throughout. Nathan Explosion being ground to a pulp. Riffs are simplistic, repetitive death doom structures that hover around mid pace with some death metal leads that sometimes overlay the basic rhythms. It's dark and aggressive, but let's move on for now.
Enigma is full of catchy, crunchy doom riffs. Plenty of meaty power chords, but also ominous sludgy picking to complement the haunting monotone vocal harmonies. Some of these portions brought to mind Undersmile; just with male leads. Decibel will also throw in some death growls, as well as the occasional spine-tingling screech as in “The Day the Sun Burned Out.” The variety in the vocals is definitely a plus when sitting through the duration. The grumbled spoken word portions are like a young Marilyn Manson pontificating in a dark practice space. A more recent comparison would be the opening moments of Suicide Silence's “Witnessing the Addiction.”
Then there is my personal favorite: Malice. Expect oodles of 90's head bobbing action. “Reject” is a great track with Helmet-ish groove, start-stop riffs, and lively drum fills. In fact, the whole album has a similar production to Meantime or Betty: gritty, but in a live performance sort of way. The snare rings out so raw and harsh, and that surprise scream... Then take a big heaping dose of the infectious picking at the beginning of “Progress.” Do I detect a hint of Alice in Chains? This album has less diversity in the vocals, but the guitar more than makes up for it. Malice is not above a little funky break or some instrumental action either.
From the first tracks I sampled, I immediately thought that Decibel would make a great opening act for a group like Lord Mantis or Primitive Man. They have that same sickening disdain in their atmosphere. But the clincher, the Pièce De Résistance, is the lone track, “Rise.” This would be the perfect way to begin a set. I can almost picture the pitch black stage in some dank back room as this terrifying ambient piece takes hold of the crowd. It reminds me of the Quake soundtrack that Trent Reznor did for the first game.
So there it is. Three albums, one track; Name Your Price for the lot. You could be a mooch and snatch them up for free, but I think that Decibel have earned at least a few of your hard-earned dollars. This is someone who has created several completely different listening experiences with his own sweat and blood. The result is nihilism incarnate. What have you done today?
