Southern California

Necrot unleash sickening, aggressive death metal from they prepare to give Blood Offerings. 

So This Is Suffering drop the first single from their new record, Palace Of The Pessimist. 

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…

Given the opportunity to write about craft beer every month in Decibel has been eye-opening. The idea that our “Brewtal Truth” column would have lasted more than four years (and counting) and even spawn a book—The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers, out in November—is pretty amazing. Now it’s time to bring a little “Brewtal…

Jack Grisham’s place in the world of punk and extreme music is secure. In the early 80s, he was the volatile frontman of T.S.O.L. (True Sounds Of Liberty), a band that along with Black Flag and the Circle Jerks defined southern California hardcore. He handled vocals on their debut EP and the eternal classic Dance…

Guitarist and vocalist Joe Wood is best known for his time in T.S.O.L., including the classic Change Today? album – a hybrid of punk and blues that I consider one of the best Southern California punk albums in the early-to-mid 80s. The album’s highlight is “Flowers By The Door,” a near-perfect song that is still…

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…