This week, I speak to none other than the living legend, Blaze Bayley! Blaze holds nothing back here, and discusses: ordinary heroes, mental health, positivity, the Higgs Boson, Nikola Tesla, Stephen Hawking, heavy metal fan culture, meet & greets, the concept of "identity", Pointless Celebrities, and touring as a heavy metal musician. This is one not to be missed!
A little later than usual, it's Episode 17 of Feckin' Metal. This week, I take a sneak peek at the upcoming Haunt album, "Beautiful Distraction", review the recently-released album from Saber, "Without Warning", and also take a look at some recent releases from Accept and Dread Sovereign.
After a four week break, Feckin' Metal returns! On this episode, I talk about some hard rock and heavy metal albums celebrating significant anniversaries in 2021, examine Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth's recent actions and try to make sense of it all, and look eagerly towards some upcoming releases this year. It's great to be back!
This week, I speak to my long-time personal friend, Kevin Daly, about the Sabaton Open Air Festival. We turn the clock back five years, and set the scene to explain how we became Sabaton fans in the first place, and how we ended up attending the Sabaton Open Air festival for five consecutive years. We attended this festival from 2015 to 2019, and have a plethora of stories and memories to share. Hear about Swedish off-licences, sleeping in prisons, night trains, sneaking in Jägermeister in our s...
This week, I speak to "The Texan Iron Maiden Connection" - Uncle Steve. This episode features: Bad Texan impressions, Iron Maiden milestones in Steve's life, finding God, boring Rammstein shows, reflections on the Download festival, Forrest Gump quotes, the digital vs. physical debate, and more, in this very enjoyable chat with a fellow Iron Maiden enthusiast! Outside of the interview, I give my rundown of my top metal/rock albums from 2020, with music from Black Soul Horde!
This week I welcome back Nesbit, best known as co-host of Talking Maiden, to Feckin' Metal. We discuss Iron Maiden PR disasters, artwork and the evolution of Eddie, international shipping costs, Nesbit's Maiden collection, hairdryer-like crowd noise, Friends references, The Osbournes, oh, and we do a track-by-track analysis of the new live album too! Nesbit was on top form, as usual. I sincerely apologise for audio issues in the second half! (as explained in the opening segment)
This week I speak to Michael Podrybau, the singer of the comeback kings, Portland Oregon's own Glacier! I chat with Michael about the early days of the band, being fired and rehired by Glacier, recording the first EP, disappearing off the scene in the 1980s, and the triumphant return of the band, initially under the pseudonym "Devil in Disguise", in 2017, and eventually as Glacier in 2018. Another inspiring comeback story of a band that has plenty of gas left in the tank, if their recent release...
For my first ever solo episode, I decided to discuss my favourite band of all time - Iron Maiden. I delve into the deep cuts of post-reunion Iron Maiden and bring you a carefully-chosen selection from each of the studio albums between Brave New World and The Book of Souls. I also go off on several rants and tangents about: Iron Maiden video games and comics, Blabbermouth.net, Iron Maiden single releases, the band's obsession with "death", The Osbournes, and the TV program Lesser Spotted Ulster. ...
This week I speak to Robert Garven from doom and power metal pioneers Cirith Ungol. Rob talks about his early fandom of Thin Lizzy, buying import records as a teenager, spending pocket money on pot and corn burritos, meeting Rush at the Whisky A Go Go, pay-to-play gigs, the artwork of Michael Whelan, the influence of Lord of the Rings, being too heavy for heavy metal radio, and so much more, in this career-spanning chat. Rob was an absolute pleasure to speak to and has an abundance of stories fr...
This week on Feckin' Metal, I speak to Steven Waddell, the creative force behind Scottish act Oath Sc. Steven talks about how the original Oath EP was recorded using primitive equipment, the advancements in the Oath sound since recruiting Trevor William Church from Haunt, lyrical inspiration and how "sword and sorcery" is not a good fit for him personally, the artwork of Daniel Porter, the culture of online trolls, and his upcoming full album - Computer Warrior. We also fit in some chat about Ol...
This week on Feckin' Metal I speak to Trevor William Church, the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and guiding force behind Haunt, who are based in Fresno, California. Trevor talks in great detail about his recent collaborations with the Los Angeles band S A B E R (correct spacing), and Scottish outfit, Oath. He also discusses his approach to interacting with fans, re-investing earnings in studio equipment, Shadow Kingdom Records vs. the freedom of being independent, Spotify vs. Bandcamp, the stigm...
This week I chat to Jake Rogers from Salt Lake City-based traditional metallers - Visigoth. We talk about Jake's early singing days and how he inadvertently trained his voice during many long car journeys. We also discuss the scene in Salt Lake City, traditional metal acts of today potentially headlining stadiums in the future, Visigoth's songwriting approach and how pop should not be dismissed when coming up with hooks and choruses, the legalities behind a name, the importance of quality mercha...
This week on Feckin' Metal, I speak to Adrian Maestas, long-standing bass player from the San Francisco-based heavy metal band Slough Feg. We talk about Adrian's early experiences buying Napalm Death, and German import Misfits records, Slough Feg's Spinal Tap drummer syndrome, philosophy, the COVID lockdown affect on the band, dog aliens, the iconography of the Traveller t-shirt, cancelled gigs and promoters who still owe the band money, pool balls in socks, LED lights, touring, and what may lie...
This week, I speak to night Demon frontman, and generally very busy bloke, Jarvis Leatherby. We discuss Night Demon's approach to releasing music, Jarvis's role in bringing Cirith Ungol back to the stage, what festivals like Keep It True and Up The Hammers mean to the scene, how Jarvis took matters into his own hands and ended up managing Visigoth, The Legacy Of The Beast video game - and a broader discussion about band mythology, and we even chat briefly about DDP Yoga! This was a very enjoyabl...
This week I speak to Gerry Mulholland, guitarist in Belfast-based heavy metal stalwarts Rabid Bitch of The North. Gerry and I have a varied discussion covering the origins of the band (and the name), the heavy metal scene in Ireland, the prevalence of extreme metal bands on the current scene, bootleg merchandise, and future plans for Rabid Bitch of the North. Rabid Bitch have been flying the flag for Irish metal for a decade and a half and this chat is well worth your time!
In Episode 3 of Feckin' Metal, I speak to Nesbit, the co-host of Talking Maiden and host of the Night Demon Heavy Metal Podcast. Nesbit and I go back a couple of years, since we met in The Cart & Horses pub in London, on a weekend where Iron Maiden were playing a double header in the O2 Arena. We've been talking rock and metal regularly since then, so I thought it would be nice to have him on as a guest to discuss his top 5 hard rock and heavy metal albums of all time. This was a thoroughly ...
In Episode 2 of Feckin' Metal, I speak to Kyle McNeill, singer and guitarist from UK-based heavy metal band Seven Sisters. We discuss the origins of the band, Kyle's unlikely start as a singer (and the steps he has taken so as not to sound like the Lancashire Hotpots), early releases, first gigs, and approaches to songwriting. We also chat about the duelling formats of vinyl and streaming, and their coincidental rise in popularity, the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal movement, and what legac...
In the first episode of Feckin' Metal, I speak to my oldest friend, Kevin Daly, about our metal evolution. From queuing up for U2 tickets, to buying Appetite for Destruction, to attending Iron Maiden, Motorhead, and Dio gigs - listen to the journey of two old friends who discovered classic heavy metal in the early 2000's and are still avid fans to this day. This journey takes us through VHS tapes, MiniDiscs, DVDs, and Spotify, as we discuss our enduring fandom for a genre that will always evolve...
