This week I’m pleased to welcome the godfather of dungeon synth and former bassist for Emperor, the legendary Mortiis. Our discussion spanned all of his various eras, his decision to return to the stage after a lengthy hiatus. We speak about the realities of growing older as a musician and Mortiis reveals why he almost gave up on music altogether. Then, it’s on to a rundown of some of my favourite releases of the last weekend, including new albums by Other World, Modern Rites, Deceased and Concr...
Sep 03, 2024•2 hr 38 min
This week I’m joined by a true legend of the underground as King Fowley drops by to discuss Deceased’s sensational new record, “Children Of The Morgue”. True to form, King doesn’t hold back as we discuss the early days of the band, his brushes with rockstar behaviour in the scene, our love for Dio-era Sabbath and much more. Then the mighty Drugoth joins me for this week’s news rant, where we discuss Dricus Du Plessis’s win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 and round up the latest singles by Deveni...
Aug 27, 2024•3 hr 8 min
This week, Bjørn Bihlet (aka Hellpig) guitarist and founding member of Danish black metallers, Horned Almighty, stops by to talk about their new album, “Contagion Zero”. Along the way we also get into his views on the modern black metal scene and Bjørn shares his take on why black metal’s second wave never caught on in Denmark to the same extent as it did in the Nordics. On my weekly news rant, the Arch Deacon of the Necrosphere - Marco of Stellar Master Elite - joins me to round up the latest t...
Aug 20, 2024•2 hr 44 min
This week Jerry Kurunen, host of the wildly popular Rauta YouTube channel and frontman for Nightside and Annihilatus, makes his long overdue debut on Into The Necrosphere. We discuss his musical endeavors, black metal, our shared love of Rammstein, interviewing controversial figures in the scene and much more. On my weekly news rant, I’m joined by the sinister minister, Karl Haikara, to round up the latest singles by 1349, Solstafir, Dreamless Veil, God Dethroned and others for judgment. PLUS: H...
Aug 13, 2024•4 hr 10 min
Robin Harris, bassist and vocalist for Canada’s Wormwitch, joins me this week to discuss their sensational self-titled album, released by Profound Lore Records in July. We also explore how Robin discovered metal, Wormwitch’s creative evolution, and we go deep on our personal experiences of organized religion. On my weekly news rant, I check out the first single by Opeth to feature death metal growls in over a decade. I also round up the latest cuts by Oranssi Pazuzu, Concrete Winds, Undeath, Abr...
Aug 06, 2024•2 hr 34 min
Legends return on this week’s episode of the show, as Matt Wilcock and Sam Bean of Australia’s premier death metal horde, Werewolves, make their way back to the podcast. We discuss the making of their crushing new album, “Die For Us”, trade our favourite memories of the halcyon days of MMA, talk about our shared love of old school gangsta rap and more. I also get updates along on the way on a number of their projects outside of Werewolves, including Abramelin and The Antichrist Imperium. PLUS: O...
Jul 30, 2024•3 hr 6 min
On this week’s episode the stars finally align enough for me to welcome one of the podcast’s most requested guests to Into The Necrosphere. Sebastian Ramstedt of In Aphelion and Necrophobic joins the podcast to discuss religious cults, W.A.S.P., how he balances his day job with a life in black metal, “Reaperdawn” and much more. PLUS: On my weekly news rant, the latest singles by Nile, 1349, Modern Rites, Bewitcher, High Parasite and others are rounded up for judgment. And the blackened hardcore ...
Jul 16, 2024•2 hr 32 min
This week I welcome Spellgoth of Horna and Night Shall Drape Us to the podcast for the first time to discuss “Lunatic Choir”, growing up in Finland, discovering black metal, and playing music with his brother. Spellgoth also shares some insight into how he approaches his on-stage performances, and we get an update on the forthcoming Horna record. On my weekly news rant, I round up the latest singles by Deceased, God Dethroned, The Spirit and others for judgment, along with reviewing new releases...
Jul 09, 2024•2 hr 55 min
This week Jamie Bailey of Brodequin joins me for a track-by-track deep-dive into the band’s utterly savage new album, “Harbinger of Woe”. We discuss the medieval history that inspires Brodequin’s lyrics, Jamie’s views on the death metal scene today, what kept the band out of action for nearly two decades and much more. Then, Mike Scondotto - hardcore legend, Necromaniacs co-host and a fellow Horseman of the Podcasting Apocalypse - hops on Zoom to help me set the world to rights on my weekly news...
Jul 02, 2024•3 hr 14 min
For the first time ever, three members of Gehenna’s classic mid-nineties line-up join the podcast to discuss their first two releases - “The First Spell” and “Seen Through The Veil Of Darkness (The Second Spell)”. Dolgar, Sarcana and Svartalv also share memories from the early days of the band, give their perspective on the black metal scene in Norway at the time and much more. PLUS: the world premiere of brand new single by Danish black metal upstarts, Perdition’s Mire. And on my weekly news ra...
Jun 25, 2024•3 hr 47 min
This is a conversation recorded at the inaugural Fortress Forum, part of the 2024 installment of Fortress Festival held in Scarborough, UK on June 1st and 2nd. Gaerea is a Portuguese black metal band that emerged in 2016. Known for their atmospheric and intense sound, they have built a formidable reputation off the back of their intense live performances, and unique blend of raw aggression and melancholic melodies. https://www.gaerea.com/ https://www.season-of-mist.com/...
Jun 21, 2024•37 min
This week Harald Fossberg - a journalist, writer of “Nyanser Av Svart” and member of death punks, Turbonecro - joins the podcast to share his perspective on the advent and evolution of Norwegian black metal. We also talk about the influence of British bands like Judas Priest and Killing Joke on the scene, and we reflect on the panel discussion about hate speech in black metal that both of us participated in at this year’s Inferno Festival. Later, I review one of the year’s most anticipated relea...
Jun 18, 2024•3 hr 8 min
This is a conversation recorded at the inaugural Fortress Forum, part of the 2024 installment of Fortress Festival held in Scarborough, UK on June 1st and 2nd. Ralph Schmidt is the guitarist and vocalist for the German black metal band, Ultha. He plays in the post-punk ensemble, SUIR, is a die-hard fan of professional wrestling, a card-carrying member of the Horsemen of the Podcasting Apocalypse and a man I consider to be a dear friend. https://ultha.bandcamp.com/ https://vendetta-records.com/...
Jun 14, 2024•42 min
On this episode, I speak to Aaron Weaver, drummer and founding member of seminal US black metal band, Wolves In The Throne before a captive audience at this year’s iteration of Fortress Festival. Aaron shares some of his memories of recording “Two Hunters”, we debate the merits of Metallica’s “Some Kind Of Monster” documentary, discuss our mutual love of Neurosis and much more. Then I give you my take on the good, the bad and ugly of Fortress Festival 2024 and on my weekly news rant I give you m...
Jun 11, 2024•2 hr 35 min
This is a conversation recorded at the inaugural Fortress Forum, part of the 2024 installment of Fortress Festival held in Scarborough, UK on June 1st and 2nd. Der Weg Einer Freiheit is a German black metal band from Würzburg. They were formed in 2009 by Tobias Jaschinsky and Nikita Kamprad and have released five critically acclaimed records, including “Unstille” in 2012 and “Finsterre” in 2017. Their latest album, “Noktvrn” is out now on Season of Mist. https://derwegeinerfreiheit.de/ https://w...
Jun 07, 2024•35 min
This is a conversation recorded at the inaugural Fortress Forum, part of the 2024 installment of Fortress Festival held in Scarborough, UK. Dayal Patterson is a British author, music journalist and founder of the excellent publishing house, Cult Never Dies. He has written several non-fiction books about metal, most notably the seminal “Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult”. You can view and purchase his works here: https://www.cultneverdies.com/. Frank Allain aka The Watcher is a legend of the UK ...
Jun 04, 2024•48 min
This week living legend and one of the nicest guys in metal, Sakis Tolis, returns to the show to discuss Rotting Christ’s new opus, “Pro Xristou”. We explore how his approach to writing music has evolved over the course of his career and we uncover some surprising admissions about his creative process. After that, I discuss why the latest records by Göden, Vredehammer, Gatecreeper and Atrae Bilis should be on your regular rotation. On my weekly news rant, I discuss Trelldom’s comeback and give y...
May 28, 2024•2 hr 23 min
This week’s episode takes me to the Munich High End Hifi Show, where I catch up with Rune Skov, Sales Director for Gryphon Audio. We dive into his inspiring journey from teacher to a leader in one of the most cutting-edge brands in high-end audio. We chat about the future of the industry, swap hifi stories, and much more. PLUS – I break down three budget-friendly entry-level hifi systems you’ll love, give you an exclusive tour of my own hifi rack, and reveal my top six hifi test tracks. And on m...
May 22, 2024•2 hr 44 min
The great and powerful Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir makes his first appearance on Into The Necrosphere to discuss the band’s triumphant performance at this year’s Inferno Festival. He also walks me through the complexity of recording with large orchestras, shares his reflections on a career spanning over three decades and much more. On my weekly news rant, new singles by the likes of Darkened, Crypt Sermon, Orange Goblin, Vulvodynia, Cryptic Hatred and more are rounded up for judgment. There’s also a...
May 14, 2024•2 hr 36 min
On this episode I visited with D.G., guitarist and vocalist for Icelandic black metal powerhouse, Misthyrming, shortly following their show-stealing performance at this year’s Inferno Festival in Olso, Norway. We discussed his influences, our shared love of Rammstein, his reflections on the band’s career to date, what motivates him today and much more. Later in the show, I also share another round-up of some of my favourite releases of the past few weeks, including albums by Bythos, Night Shall ...
May 07, 2024•2 hr 31 min
This week I get to tick off a wishlist podcast guest as I welcome Matt Pike of High on Fire to the show for the first time. He is joined by his bandmate, Jeff Matz, to discuss their ferocious new album, “Cometh The Storm”. I also get Matt to share the stories behind some of my favourite High on Fire tracks over the course of their discography, discover why Matt decided to pick up the guitar, learn about Jeff’s obscure musical tastes and their influence in the band’s writing and much more. PLUS: ...
Apr 30, 2024•2 hr 50 min
My guest this week requires absolutely no introduction: the legendary David Vincent, currently spreading the devil’s message by way of Vltimas, Terrorizer and I Am Morbid. We had a lengthy conversation about a host of topics including his songwriting and performance philosophy, living life on your own terms and what continues to motivate him at this stage of his career. PLUS: The world premiere of a new track taken from the upcoming Coldborn album, a celebration of the brilliance and powerful me...
Apr 23, 2024•2 hr 43 min
For this very special episode of Into The Necrosphere, I caught up with Dayal Patterson, founder of Cult Never Dies, at the Inferno Festival in Norway. We discussed his journey from photographer to journalist and eventually writer of indisputably the greatest book to chronicles black metal’s history ever published, “Black Metal: The Evolution Of The Cult”. Dayal went into detail about the book’s development, the obstacles he faced on the road to completing it and of course, we also shared our th...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 34 min
On this week’s episode, I connect with S.B., drummer and vocalist for Richmond, Virginia’s Antichrist Siege Machine, for his first ever long-form podcast interview. In a wide-ranging discussion, we cover several topics including how S.B. manages drumming and vocals on stage, the steps he took with regards to his own physical health to level up his performance, the upcoming Antichrist Siege Machine record, “Vengeance of Eternal Fire” and we talk about some of our experiences of growing up in reli...
Apr 16, 2024•2 hr 34 min
In this episode, I’m on location at the historic Akershus fortress in Oslo, Norway, where I have the pleasure of a conversation with Archaon, the guitarist of 1349. We delve into his personal journey into black metal, the origins of the band, and get an exciting glimpse into their upcoming album. Later we’re also joined by my good friend Svartalv, of the band Nocturnal Breed, who shares his insights as the lyricist for 1349 and much more. PLUS: the world premiere of the new single by Australian ...
Apr 09, 2024•2 hr 28 min
This past weekend I had the privilege of ticking off an experience that's been very high on my bucket list by attending the 2024 edition of the legendary Inferno Festival in Oslo, Norway. Joining me on this grand odyssey was my good friend and fellow Horseman of the Podcasting Apocalypse, Shayan of the band Trivax and the host of Iblis Manifestations. On this episode we discuss our experiences over four incredible days, pick our favourite performances and moments from the weekend and also discus...
Apr 02, 2024•2 hr 15 min
On this episode I’m joined by Andrew Craighan, founding member and guitarist for seminal UK doom mongers, My Dying Bride. We discuss their upcoming record, the masterful “A Mortal Binding”, and go in depth into the history of the band, including a frank assessment of arguably their most controversial album, “34.788%... Complete”. Then it’s on to a round-up of new releases by Brodequin, Civerous, Khold and Conspiracy X. And on my weekly news rant, the latest singles by Selbst, Verberis, Whoredom ...
Mar 26, 2024•2 hr 51 min
My friend Jason Peppiatt makes his long overdue return to Into The Necrosphere this week. I get the latest on all of his musical endeavours, including Psycroptic, Domination Campaign and Permafog. We also discuss his approach to writing lyrics, his thoughts on AI in the metal scene, dealing with growing older and much more in an epic 2-hour long conversation. Then, I’m joined by my fellow Horsemen of the Podcasting Apocalypse, Necromaniacs’ own Mike Scodotto to round up the latest singles by Bla...
Mar 19, 2024•3 hr 39 min
Joakim Sterner of Swedish blackened death metal legends, Necrophobic, joins me this week to discuss their tenth album, “In The Twilight Grey”. We also reminisce over the halcyon days of the Swedish death and black metal scene, Joakim reveals how and why he became a drummer and much more. PLUS - I wax lyrical about some of my favourite new releases, including albums by Skeletal Remains, Keres and Permafog. Baltimore’s Intimidation Display basks in the glow of my unsigned band spotlight, and on my...
Mar 12, 2024•2 hr 32 min
Katy Irizarry makes her fourth appearance on Into The Necrosphere, and true to our tradition, we hold nothing back as we set the world to rights. We delve into the influence of AI in music, the chaotic state of today's politics, and much more. Katy also provides an exciting update on the rapid expansion of Suspiria PR, and we offer a sneak peek into the panel she will be moderating, which I am proud to be a part of, at the upcoming Inferno Festival at the end of this month. PLUS on this week’s n...
Mar 05, 2024•3 hr 14 min
