Justin Norton

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #10: Marissa Martinez-Hoadley

May 7, 2014

Marissa Martinez-Hoadley is: A. Awesome B. Bandmates with our first ever studio participant Elizabeth Schall C. A bonafide shredder She’s also working to finalize a new Cretin album for release this year. It’s about eight years later than we wanted but it’s a new record so we’ll take it. Please welcome Marissa Martinez-Hoadley the shredder’s…

STREAMING: Cradle of Filth’s “The Raping Of Faith”

April 30, 2014

It might seem like Cradle Of Filth has been around forever because, well, they have. But even the black metal superstars had their formative period. One of the documents of that time was Total Fucking Darkness, COF’s third demo. Decibel got the first sneak peak of this old but new material, the track “The Raping…

Full Album Stream: Ifing’s “Against This Weald”

April 28, 2014

Happy Monday. For your listening pleasure today please check out a full stream of Ifing’s debut folk/black metal album Against This Weald, available for preorder now from Blood Music and also available digitally soon via Bandcamp. The limited release (due May 6) will include 1,000 copies of a digipack CD and and a limited vinyl…

Brainsqueeze II Photo Gallery

April 23, 2014

The second Brainsqueeze Fest put on by our friends at Tankcrimes was held last weekend in lovely Oakland. Our friend and frequent Decibel contributor Raymond Ahner was onhand for the second day to capture the festivities and document them. Check out our exclusive photo gallery below courtesy of Ray.

Low Fidelity: Thoughts On Record Store Day

April 16, 2014

As every Flexi lover and vinyl nerd knows this Saturday is Record Store Day. There’s no one better to break down what it all means than our main man, Low Fidelity columnist and record store employee Neill Jameson. He is the brains behind the great black metal band Krieg and also survived years as a…

Change Today? Turns 30

April 14, 2014

Pushing boundaries is taken for granted in extreme music. The review pages of Decibel are packed with bands that eschew convention in the hopes of creating something different. In the early 80s, hardcore punk and metal were ruled by dogma. T.S.O.L. was one of the standard bearers: Weathered Statues and Dance With Me were benchmarks…

Studio Report: ACxDC

April 11, 2014

Satanic powerviolence. Say what? Yes indeed, this is a thing, or at least a band. Decibel was so intrigued with the workings of the Southern California band Antichrist Demoncore that we teamed up with main man Sergio Amalfitano to offer an exclusive studio report on the makings of their Melotov Records debut, due June 24….

How To Build A Successful Metal Band Without Wrecking Your Life

April 9, 2014

Many of our readers are aspiring musicians or already recording and touring. But the music business is a dicey proposition in today’s world: record royalties are a rarity, and touring is necessary if you want to make a living. How can you be a metal musician and not wreck your adult life in the process?…

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #9: Kevin Hufnagel of Gorguts, Dysrhythmia and Vaura

April 2, 2014

Kevin Hufnagel is traveling around the country right now blowing minds with Gorguts on the Decibel tour. We thought it was a perfect time to pull him aside and learn about the riffs that shaped his shredding style. Please welcome Kevin Hufnagel to the Inside The Shredder’s Studio. — Here it is: a list of…

Decibel Exclusive: First New Meatmen Track in 19 Years!

April 1, 2014

This is not an April Fool’s joke, except on the politically correct thought police: We have the first new Meatmen track in two decades! When I was a kid I sat in my room and cranked The Meatmen at ridiculous volumes and memorized Tesco Vee’s banter on the classic Meatmen platters. So to say this…

Repulsion: Live Tonight!

March 26, 2014

In case the lineup of Carcass, The Black Dahlia Murder and Gorguts isn’t enough to convince you to attend the San Francisco stop of the Decibel Tour tonight (in which case you’re crazy) there’s another treat on hand: an exclusive appearance by Hall Of Fame verified legends Repulsion. Repulsion is near and dear to both…

Dave Brockie: 1963-2014

March 24, 2014

In the late 90s, perhaps around 1998, I pulled over at a truck stop about 45 miles outside of Richmond, Virginia. I grabbed a few snacks and went to the checkout line when it occurred to me that the clerk was staring, somewhat horrified. I looked down and remembered why: my entire body was covered…

Coprolite Crüe: The Deciblog Interview With Shitfucker

March 19, 2014

Shitfucker caught our attention with their 2013 Hells Headbanger’s release Suck Cocks in Hell, which received an “8” in the pages of our print sibling. The record contains some of the most infectious, rocking songs that have crept from the underground in a dog’s age. Shitfucker took it up another notch with the wonderfully low-fi…

Full Album Stream/Interview: Dead Conspiracy

March 12, 2014

Old death metal dudes never go away for good. They just do one (or all) of the following: reform; work on a reissue of their out-of-print material; write new songs or join a new Six Feet Under or Malevolent Creation lineup. For Portland death metal OG’s Dead Conspiracy it’s three out of four. They’ll reissue…

Life After Last Days: The Deciblog Interview With Bobby Liebling

March 5, 2014

The hard road of Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling, who has fought the real demons of addiction for decades, was well chronicled in the documentary Last Days Here as well as J. Bennett’s May 2011 cover story. While the film had a happy ending everyone knows that after the credits roll life continues. Hollywood doesn’t like…

Selim Lemouchi: 1980-2014

March 5, 2014

Metal musicians quote Nietzsche far too much, almost as much as they quote H.P. Lovecraft. Sometimes it’s for blatant and misdirected political purposes; other times, to add a veneer of intellectual heft to mediocre material. But when you consider the short life of musician Selim Lemouchi, one of the German thinker’s best known quotes resonates:…

STREAMING: RiotGod’s “Driven Rise”

February 26, 2014

Bob Pantella spends part of his year behind the kit for the Hall Of Fame certified band Monster Magnet. When he’s not playing with them and several other bands he leads RiotGod. We’re streaming their new track “Driven Rise” below. The band’s third album Driven●Rise will be released March 18th on Metalville Records/E1 and is…

See the new BRAINSQUEEZE commercial!

February 19, 2014

Live in California or fancy travel? The second Brainsqueeze Fest is coming to Oakland in April via our friends at Tankcrimes. Get your super passes now and check out the sick running order below. Decibel is happy to premiere the new ad as well. Friday 4/18 – Oakland Metro – all ages, bar w/ ID…

Fatality’s Wintour Diary

February 19, 2014

Last summer, the young bucks in Fatality wrote a cogent piece for the Deciblog on how you can successfully crowdfund a project without pissing off fans. As a result, we got to know bassist Adam Zed pretty well and found him to be a likeable and hilarious chap. Then, he approached the Deciblog about doing…

STREAMING: Dodsferd covers The Misfits

February 13, 2014

Dodsferd will soon release their ninth album The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race, which promises more punk along with the black. For your streaming pleasure today we have a Misfits cover from the upcoming album (We Are 138), bookended by audio samples from the Greek riots in February 2012. Check it out below and…

Do your best Bolt Thrower, win a limited Bolt Thrower LP

February 12, 2014

Our friends at Century Media records recently unveiled something incredibly cool: a limited 500-run vinyl pressing of Bolt Thrower’s War Master. Here’s how they describe it: Pressed in a double gatefold format, this special War Master reissue features three sides of “blood-drenched” hymns on red/silver splattered white wax with side 4 being an exclusive etching….

Hollywood Babylon: Paul Masvidal’s Life in LA

February 5, 2014

Few people have a professional circle that includes Chris Barnes and Alex Webster, sexy pop starlet Terri Nunn and global film star Jim Carrey. One of them is Decibel Hall Of Fame inductee Paul Masvidal (enshrined with his Cynic bandmates for Focus). When Cynic fell apart in the mid-90s, Masvidal relocated to Los Angeles, where…

Grind! Stream the new Cripple Bastards song

January 29, 2014

Here’s some fresh new grind to get you through midweek. Below, stream the new track “Nemico A Terra” from certified legends and lifers Cripple Bastards. It’s off the new album Nero In Metastasi, due in North America on February 18th and available for preorder from Relapse. Frontman Giulio The Bastard says: ‘Nemico A Terra’ translates…

Decibel Exclusive: Read a Jack Grisham short story

January 22, 2014

T.S.O.L. vocalist, author and provocateur Jack Grisham has visited the land of the extremely extreme several times in the past year or so. He wrote a moving tribute to Jeff Hanneman in our memorial issue last July. In August, he joined the Deciblog for a career-spanning interview where he talked about the classic Dance With…

Stream the new Deadkill album

January 21, 2014

Deciblog faithful, for your streaming pleasure we have the new Deadkill album No, Never! available starting today from our friends at Good To Die Records. Give it a listen and then read a track-by-track breakdown from the band. Orpheus Bryan Krieger: Brutal opera about descending into the depths of hell for one you love: love…

STREAMING: Godhunter’s “Brushfires”

January 15, 2014

For your streaming pleasure today we are premiering the track “Brushfires” from Arizona’s Godhunter, a nasty hybrid of thrash and sludge. Preorder the album City Of Dust here from The Compound. Some details on the track follow the stream. Brushfires is an analogy for the divisiveness that embroils the political nature of mankind. In that…

At War With Sooners: Behind the Okie Baphomet Lawsuit

January 13, 2014

We weren’t surprised to find out that one of the people involved with efforts to place a gigantic Baphomet statue on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds is connected with extreme metal. I guess we’re just happy that they are pursuing their goals through civil discourse rather than pulling a Burzum. Brian Werner is a High Priest…

At War With Sooners: Thoughts On The Okie Baphomet

January 9, 2014

The day Christians have long feared, the day that would part the Heavens and kick-start the apocalypse, is upon us. In the unsuspecting locale of Oklahoma City, a group of enterprising Satanists is working (not via hex or spell, mind you, but the legitimate channels of public policy) to place a gigantic statue of Baphomet…

Bongs and Blood: Stream the new Cannabis Corpse / Ghoul split

January 8, 2014

Readers might already have a heads up on the new Cannabis Corpse album From Wisdom To Baked, due this spring (if not check out the studio short in our February issue). The band also has a “joint” project with Ghoul that’s out now on Tankcrimes. Stream the entire Splatterhash split below and order it here….

Live Report: Neurosis in San Francisco

January 2, 2014

I once heard a story about a deaf neighbor in our townhouse complex who blasted music at all hours. When one of the neighbors went to complain he learned that the man would sit on the floor and let the rhythm wash over him so he could “feel” the music. Even for those fortunate enough…