Justin Norton

Q and A: Satanic Threat

February 13, 2013

Perhaps the most fun (and subversive) thing to drop in my musical inbox this year: a copy of Satanic Threat’s In To Hell. I missed it in 2008. As soon as I saw the cover — a perfect homage to Minor Threat’s HOF worthy Out Of Step — I was sold. So sold that I…

Blues Into Metal #1: Jason Ricci

February 6, 2013

Welcome to Blues Into Metal, an occasional Decibel interview and blog series on the history and ties between America’s homegrown music and the extreme fare our readers cherish. In it, we’ll seek out musicians from both genres to discuss the links and shared history between the blues and metal – and the misconceptions about both….

Strength Beyond Strength: The Jason Statts Story

January 30, 2013

As Decibel friend Brian Lew (aka Umlaut) says: the metal Gods work in mysterious ways. So there’s no need to tell you how we heard about Jason Statts, a Decibel reader and metal fan confined to a wheelchair after he was robbed and shot leaving his first ever gig about five years ago. The attack…

Happy Birthday To Us: Photos From An Epic Evening of Metal

January 23, 2013

In case you have been on a spiritual pilgrimage or without an Internet connection in recent months a quick reminder that we had a big party last weekend to celebrate our 100th issue. A bunch of bands that have graced the cover, best of lists or Hall Of Fame (some of them multiple honorees) played….

Anchors Aweigh: Clamfight full album stream and interview

January 16, 2013

Clamfight has a much better ring to it than, say, Mollusk Warfare (and we already have Insect Warfare). We’d quickly exhaust our nautical jokes in a sentence or two so we’ll leave it at the headline. Here’s the scoop: for your listening pleasure below is Clamfight’s new album I Versus The Glacier. This writer digs…

STREAMING: Defeated Sanity’s “Naraka”

January 9, 2013

And so begins the relentless stream of new metal releases of 2013. First out of the gate is some tried and true death metal courtesy of Germany’s Defeated Sanity. dB is streaming the second track “Naraka” off upcoming album Passages Into Deformity, due Feb. 5 and available for preorder from Willowtip. The band describes the…

Living In The Eighties: Metal Covers The Decade Of Pop

January 2, 2013

Since the New Year is the time of self-reimagination (or big promises that aren’t kept) it’s a good day to look back into the storied skeleton closet. While metal took over the planet in the 1980s via Metallica and Iron Maiden (after Black Sabbath set the stage for a decade) pop ruled the charts. You…

dB post-Christmas hangover content: Win ‘We Got Power’

December 26, 2012

Ah, to be a metalhead on the biggest holiday of the year. We’re imagining that you got a new fleece from Eddie Bauer instead of the rare Xasthur LP you hoped would end up under the tree. Your incontinent grandpa is still asleep on the couch. You are now hiding in your room scanning metal…

Full Album Stream: Stagnant Waters

December 19, 2012

This is not Christmas music. Here at Decibel we’re always on the lookout for weird and unexpected shit for your listening pleasure. And the self-titled release from French/Norwegian outfit Stagnant Waters fits the bill. This band looks at the 12-bar structure like highly evolved aliens look at a toaster oven. We’re at a loss to…

STREAMING: Bloody Hammers — “Black Magic”

December 12, 2012

It looks like “occult rock” (i.e. heavier music with discernible song structures and radio potential) isn’t going away in 2013. We’re not sure if we were swayed by necromancy or the fact that there’s a naked lady on the cover (likely the latter) but we’re streaming an exclusive premiere of the track “Black Magic” by…

STREAMING: Burnt Books — “Selfish Friend”

December 5, 2012

It’s been a shitty year for literacy in the world of extreme music. First there was Pig Destroyer’s worth-waiting-for Book Burner. Despite the title there were plenty of words to go around with a J.R Hayes story short tucked into special editions. Now, we have the upcoming At A Loss debut from South Carolina-based experimental…

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #4: Alex Bouks of Incantation

November 28, 2012

Fall has been kind to the mighty Incantation. They released their boss new album Vanquish In Vengeance (read more about the creation of the album in our new issue). And they charted like a Britney Spears single in our top 100 death metal albums of all time. One of the reasons they are shredding so…

STREAMING: Bastard Sapling’s “Cold Winds Howled Across The Desolation”

November 21, 2012

Since the Decibel faithful are about to enter a restful trance of their own thanks to pounds of turkey, pumpkin pie and stuffing (or tofurkey for all our vegan readers) we thought it was the right time to introduce a new track from Bastard Sapling’s Dragged From Our Restless Trance. Streaming below is “Cold Winds…

Full Album Stream: Grand Supreme Blood Court

November 14, 2012

The phrases “Van Drunen” and “side project” will cause more than a little excitement in these parts. The death metal frontman handled vocals on two prestigious entries in Decibel’s Top 100 Death Metal Albums (available here). He also toured with the mighty Bolt Thrower and fronts war-themed badasses Hail Of Bullets. The dude is like…

Mitch Lucker: 1984-2012

November 2, 2012

Suicide Silence seemingly started playing shows out of the blue, and quickly ascended to headliner status and gigantic tours. In 2007, I saw them lugging gear outside of a small club as they prepared to open early in the evening for Nile. In 2009, they had moved up the ladder and were second on the…

dB Live Report: Converge in San Francisco

October 31, 2012

“How’s the iPhone pit over there,” Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon says at one point midway through the band’s headlining show last week at Slim’s in San Francisco. Good question. It’s hard to figure out who would want to mind meld with their personal device when a trashcan was lobbed into the pit midway through “Trespasses.”…

Full Album Stream: Venomous Maximus — “Beg Upon The Light”

October 24, 2012

Venomous Maximus isn’t a cover band that does a cool version of “Witching Hour.” This Houston band likes riffs, penned a song that’s an indirect ode to King Diamond (see below) and has earned comparisons to Pentagram and Electric Wizard. We’ll gladly take that over a Cronos impersonation. For your exclusive streaming pleasure, Venomous Maximus…

STREAMING: Anaal Nathrakh’s “Todos Somos Humanos”

October 17, 2012

“Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.” So said Heath Ledger’s eminently quotable Joker in The Dark Knight. And there is perhaps no better push than new material from the two maniacs behind Anaal Nathrakh. Decibel is happy to give you a sneak peak of “Todos Somos Humanos,” off the upcoming…

Full Album Stream: Darsombra’s “Climax Community”

October 10, 2012

I don’t know about you but a “climax community” sounds like a hell of a nice place. It definitely beats what we usually see in America: retirement communities, gated communities and segregated communities. Who doesn’t want to get down? A climax community is actually a term involving heady ecological ideas that hurt our feeble brain….

EXCLUSIVE: New VON music — “Jesus Stain”

October 3, 2012

Of all the bands to crawl back from the metal abyss here’s something we never expected. VON is releasing a new album at the end of October and dB got an exclusive stream of “Jesus Stain” from Satanic Blood. The band expects to play a limited run of shows. Take a listen below and then…

STREAMING: Bedemon’s “Lord Of Desolation”

September 26, 2012

Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling has received much deserved attention for his comeback from a harrowing addiction and the revival of his musical career, not to mention late in life fatherhood. A few of his former bandmates might not have dealt with the same demons but they’ve had their share of tough times seeing their musical…

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #3: Jon Levasseur of Cryptopsy

September 19, 2012

Only a short introduction is needed here. This gentleman played on Hall Of Fame certified None So Vile, not to mention the inimitiable Blasphemy Made Flesh. He’s back in Cryptopsy and a big reason their eponymous new album rules. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re proud to welcome Jon Levasseur to the shredder’s studio this week. Hey…

STREAMING: Lecherous Gaze — “War Woman”

September 12, 2012

We get a lot of music in these parts that doesn’t make you feel good. So dB will gladly accept sweet party anthems secure in the knowledge that many readers give ample spins to Appetite for Destruction when they are claiming to dissect some obscure 80-minute black metal opus. “War Woman” comes from Oakland’s Lecherous…

Inside The Shredder’s Studio #2: Mike Hill’s Favorite Riffs

September 5, 2012

We’re chuffed to have a dB album of the year award winner take over the shredder’s studio this Wednesday. In this second installment, Tombs guitarist and vocalist Mike Hill tells us about the riffs that led him on a musical path of totality. While you are at it make sure to check out the new…

STREAMING: Arkhamin Kirjasto’s “The Cult Of No Return”

August 29, 2012

One of the more intriguing things to have landed in my inbox recently is Finland’s Arkhamin Kirjasto. It might be because music writers are anxious to drop a label on something and it’s damn near impossible to classify. Is it power metal? Hard rock? Or, as the band says on their Facebook page, “Lovecraftian Hard…

EXCLUSIVE: New Cryptopsy track “The Golden Square Mile”

August 22, 2012

We’re always stoked to get new material from one of the members of our storied Hall Of Fame. Decibel has received an exclusive sneak peek at the new Cryptopsy song “The Golden Square Mile,” from their forthcoming self-titled, self-released LP (due September 14). Cryptopsy also gave us a little more information about the song, which…

Full Album Stream: Sophicide’s Perdition Of The Sublime

August 9, 2012

Working alone from home is often viewed poorly in metal thanks to about 10,000 too many shitty low-fi pornogrind and black metal bands. But sometimes doing your own thing and calling the shots on all aspects of your music is a very good thing. Case in point: Sophicide’s new album Perdition Of The Sublime, streaming…

dB Exclusive: Studio Footage From Upcoming Pig Destroyer Album Book Burner

August 8, 2012

Despite the exhortations of much extreme metal that life isn’t worth living there are things left to get excited about. One of them is the upcoming album from Pig Destroyer, their first since dB’s 2007 album of the year Phantom Limb. News flash: the new album from Relapse is called Book Burner and we’ve secured…

Inside The Shredder’s Studio: Elizabeth Schall’s Favorite Riffs

July 25, 2012

Welcome to the opening installment of Inside The Shredder’s Studio, where we talk to accomplished players and guitar nerds about the riffs that make them warm and fuzzy. It would be easy to call this another “Women In Metal” bonus feature but I’m not going to do that. You see, chances are Elizabeth Schall can…

Garage Days Eternal: Zac Ohler’s Life In Hardcore

July 18, 2012

If this sounds like the rambling of an old fart, so be it: kids have it too easy these days when it comes to underground music. If you have a laptop and spare time you have unfettered access to pretty much every rare treasure recorded during the past four decades of metal and punk. That…