Corpsegrinder is back on the show! We talk about Cannibal Corpse's upcoming new album, Violence Unimagined, the experience of recording it during the pandemic and welcoming longtime producer Erik Rutan into the band as a guitarist and writer, how Cannibal Corpse pick singles for their albums, and his desire to learn new technology despite his admittedly old school ways. We also discuss Corpsegrinder's passion for the NFL, including his thoughts on Tom Brady bringing a Super Bowl to his hometown ...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 43 min
Our guest this week is Josh Scogin of ’68, The Chariot and ex-Norma Jean. We discuss the danceable quality of '68's new record, Give One Take One, the year-long journey of making their animated, hand-drawn video for "Bad Bite," missing out on a tour opening for Faith No More because of the pandemic, the pros of being in a duo as opposed to a band with four or five members, his preference to forego set lists to keep live shows spontaneous and natural, and creating guitar solos on the spot instead...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Mark Morton of Lamb of God is our guest this week! We discuss a number of topics including his memories of Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho, his picks for the Big 4 New Wave of American Heavy Metal bands, his thoughts on the Black Crowes reunion as a huge fan, how he's never seen any classic action movies from the '80s, and his choice for the de facto heavy metal TV sitcom. Mark also gives us a quick update on the new material he's been working on this year. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn discuss th...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Tomahawk and The Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison is our guest this week! We discuss Tomahawk's new album, Tonic Immobility, the 20-year anniversary of their self-titled debut, how he first presented the idea for the band to Mike Patton, and what it's been like working with him over the years. Duane also shares his thoughts on what touring will be like when it returns, his day job working at a library during the pandemic, the importance of practicing and improvising to generate new ideas as ...
Mar 08, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Demon Hunter frontman Ryan Clark is our guest this week! We talk about the journey of creating acoustic versions of classic Demon Hunter tracks for their new album, Songs of Death and Resurrection, which track was hardest for him to convert from heavy to acoustic, how an acoustic livestream concert went from an afterthought to a very successful event, which song they'll play acoustically going forward even at regular shows, and his thoughts on the silly tradition of encores. We also talk about R...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 9 min
The Crown guitarist Marko Tervonen is our guest this week. We discuss the band's upcoming album, Royal Destroyer, and how their previous one, Cobra Speed Venom, was a comeback album of sorts, why having an outside producer this time around was helpful, writing a tribute song to late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, and how the band's new lineup has given them a new dynamic and added momentum. Marko also tells us how his son finds younger bands that still inspire him, shares some memories of the S...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Brand of Sacrifice guitarist Michael Leo Valeri is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new album, Lifeblood, the various guest spots on the album (members of I Prevail, Emmure, Shadow of Intent, Traitors and Viscera), the chemistry of writing the record with so much distance between band members, their plans to tour endlessly when live shows return, and the importance of having a digital-first mindset and leaning into social media to keep momentum going during this time. Michael also shar...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Epica vocalist Simone Simons is back on the show! We discuss the band's new album, Omega, why the addition of a children's choir on the record was a bucket list item for them, the alternative ways they are looking to promote and present the album during the pandemic, the decision to record the album acoustically in addition to its standard version, how the downtime last year flew by despite the fact they couldn’t tour, and how she is really antsy to get back on the road to play songs from Omega ...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Johannes Persson of the mighty Cult of Luna is back on the show! We discuss the band's new EP, The Raging River -- which Johannes describes as an artistic continuation of their previous album, A Dawn To Fear -- writing songs based on instincts instead of the clear start-to-finish approach they utilized in the past, how coming up with new ideas has become more difficult over the years, and the band's collaboration with Mark Lanegan. Johannes also talks about the decision to release The Raging Riv...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Tribulation guitarist Adam Zaars is our guest this week. We discuss the band's new album, Where The Gloom Becomes Sound, and the departure of guitarist Jonathan Hultén, who wrote most of the material on it. Adam tells us that the band discussed breaking up after Jonathan's departure, mulls over how the writing dynamic will change in the future without his presence, and reveals that new guitar player Joseph Tholl was key in the band's decision to continue. Zaars also tells us about his ongoing st...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann is our guest this week. He discusses the band's new album, Too Mean To Die, working with producer Andy Sneap virtually due to the pandemic, his complete lack of interest in doing any kind of livestream concerts, and why he feels the music he's written in the past decade is the best of his career. He also tells us which sub-genre of metal he likes the least, how today's music fans are more relaxed and open-minded than in the past, and which Accept record he feels is...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 11 min
This week our guest is JJ of the post-black metal duo Harakiri for the Sky. We discuss his dual life in two different parts of the world, how the second lockdown in Austria hasn’t been taken seriously by most people, his thoughts on the current restrictions for shows in Europe and what it would be like to perform for 50 sitting people, his thoughts on anti-vaxxers holding the world back from moving forward, how his lyrics have grown sadder the older he gets, the challenges of building friendship...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 25 min
The one and only Ice-T is back on the program to celebrate Body Count’s second Grammy nomination, this time for "Bum-Rush" in the Best Metal Performance category. Ice tells us that if Body Count win he'll dedicate the award to late Power Trip frontman Riley Gale and recalls the intense experience of attending the Grammys in person in 2018 (nominated for "Black Hoodie" in the same category) and why he is glad it's being done remotely this year. He also shares his thoughts on Donald Trump leaving ...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman is our guest this week. We discuss how 2020 went for him creatively, missing out on performing at the Olympics due to the pandemic, the collaboration with visual artist Nobuyuki Hanabusa for his upcoming livestream concert on New Year’s Day, and the importance of pursuing musical endeavors he has never tried before. Marty also tells us how he misses American cereal while living in Japan, how the Beach Boys have been the “room cleaning” band for him this year, and t...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale is our guest this week! We discuss her progress on Christmas shopping this year and how it feels like drunk shopping, the story behind her Christmas song with Dee Snider, “The Magic of Christmas Day," and how a gift Celine Dion gave Dee's wife inspired it. Lzzy also speaks about how revisiting past years' music brings back distinct personal memories of those years, the upcoming David Bowie tribute concerts that she will be participating in, her upcoming role hostin...
Dec 17, 2020•44 min
MetalSucks Podcast hosts Petar, Brandon, Jozalyn and Sylvia go all out to celebrate the art we loved in this trying year of 2020. We let the music do most of the talking as we play a track from each one of our collective 15 favorite albums of the year, and we share in the celebration by chatting with the artists that made that music: Barney Greenway of Napalm Death, Brittney Slayes of Unleash The Archers, Madeleine and Rickard of Eleine, Jamie Graham of Viscera, Johanna Sadonis and Nicke Anderse...
Dec 14, 2020•3 hr 33 min
Tarja Turunen is our guest for our first-ever holiday episode of The Metalsucks Podcast. We discuss some of her favorite memories of Christmas while growing up in Finland, how a personal tragedy ruined the holidays for many years, her decision to make her first solo record in 2006 a Christmas album, her upcoming Christmas livestream performance, and her favorite Christmas album as a child. She also speaks to the difficulty of not being able to work during the pandemic, the struggle of finding in...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Soilwork and The Night Flight Orchestra guitarist David Andersson is our guest this week. We discuss Soilwork's latest EP, A Whisp of The Atlantic, the "Feverish" trilogy of videos accompanying the EP's singles, the dream that lead to the epic 16-minute title track, becoming a major songwriter for Soilwork since he joined the band, and why it's important to adapt and change in music to ensure survival. David also tells us about his day job as a doctor, the frustration of people rejecting the bas...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Underoath electronics wizard Chris Dudley is our guest this week. In celebration of the interview taking place on Friday the 13th, we discuss that film series in its entirety, apologists for Jason X and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, how to introduce R-rated movies to your kids without taking it too far, and the last horror movie that actually scared us. Chris also tells us how much time Underoath spent practicing to make their recent observatory livestream performances as special as possible f...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 12 min
This week our guest is TesseracT guitarist James Monteith! We discuss the current climate of the UK as they go into their second shutdown due to COVID-19, how promoting records has been a booming business during this time, the band's plans for their next record and how they feel about releasing new material without being able to tour behind it, the luxury of having no deadlines when creating music, relearning songs from his past, trying to figure out how perform live for the fans via streaming, ...
Nov 16, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Troy Sanders of Mastodon, Gone is Gone, and Killer Be Killed is our guest this week! Celebrating the second release by Killer Be Killed, Reluctant Hero, we discuss Troy's desire to do a full tour with the band despite it being seen as a side project, having a total of 12 active bands between Killer Be Killed's four members, and how the writing process is different with all the vocalists he works with in each project. We also talk about how he prefers to write with the energy of people in the sam...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 12 min
This week Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquility is our guest! We discuss bringing in two new guitarists for the band's forthcoming album, Moment, their plans to eventually celebrate Moment live, and an update on the scheduled fall 2021 North American tour after letting go of booking agent John Finberg following allegations of sexual harassment. Mikael also tells us which of the band's albums is his favorite from a lyrical perspective, which artists passing away hit him the hardest in recent years, a...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Legendary drummer Mikkey Dee is on the show this week! Mikkey talks about the upcoming 40th anniversary of Ace of Spades, his first time seeing Motörhead as a teenager before joining the band, Lemmy's reluctance to play songs from the Ace of Spades live, and why Hammered is his least favorite record he performed on. Mikkey also talked about a whole lot about Lemmy: which part of Lemmy that always fascinated him, why having a sense of humor was such a key component to the joy of being around Lemm...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Cradle of Filth leader Dani Filth is back on the show! We discuss the band's upcoming streaming concert set for October 30, how some fans have angrily demanded the livestream be free, recording a new album during a pandemic with all the band members living in different parts of the world, how Covid-19 is crippling the entertainment industry beyond just music, and the creative drive that will follow the pandemic for music and art. Dani also talks about the over-population problem the world is fac...
Oct 20, 2020•1 hr 19 min
Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn is our guest this week! We discuss the origins of Mr. Bungle while the guys were still in high school, why he felt that he and his friends gravitated towards metal in those years, and his ongoing drive to write music that sounds new and original to him. In light of the band's plans to release a re-recording of their early demo, The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny, Trevor discusses how that project came together, if he would want to revisit any of the other three d...
Oct 13, 2020•1 hr 9 min
Legendary vocalist John Bush of Armored Saint (and formerly of Anthrax) is our guest this week. We discuss the band's new album, Punching the Sky, trying to keep his lyrics positive in light of all the terrible things happening in the world, why he doesn't have personal social media accounts despite the assets they'd be to the band, the importance of surrounding himself with the people who helped him rise up, and the band's virtual record release show at the Whiskey A Go Go scheduled for October...
Oct 05, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Brett Campbell of Pallbearer is our guest this week! We discuss how the songwriting process on the band's new album, Forgotten Days, differed from that on past albums, how the band formulated the new songs to resonate live, how the lyrics have a direct tie to the band's debut, Sorrow and Extinction, and why they worked with an outside producer this time. Brett also tells us how the extended break brought on by the pandemic allowed the band members time to reflect on their lives, and shares a sad...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Our guest this week is Brutus bassist Peter Mulders. We discuss the band's first live album, Live In Ghent (out October 23), how the recording wasn't initially meant for fans to hear, the organic process of how songs evolve after playing them live, the energy of getting to record a show in his hometown, and the painstaking process of obtaining visas for the North American tour in March that was eventually cancelled and the financial repercussions of the pandemic. Peter also tells us the band's t...
Sep 21, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Elize Ryd of Amaranthe is our guest this week! We discuss the band's upcoming album, Manifest (October 2), how the mental reality of the pandemic affected the recording of the record, the importance of making a fun and positive record during this time, and the story behind the guest artists on the album. Elize also tells us about why creating music videos is still one of her favorite parts of being a musician, her desire to put out a live DVD/Blu-ray, how she feels that fan-filmed YouTube videos...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Enslaved's Ivar Bjørnson is our guest this week. We discuss the band's new album, Utgard, and the concept behind it, the shorter songs therein compared to their previous three albums, the experience of the band's recently completed virtual tour, and what new drummer Iver Sandøy brings to the band both behind the kit and vocally. We also talk about the influence Deep Purple have had on Enslaved, their decision to cover Faith No More’s "Jizzlobber," the Enslaved record he thinks those new to the b...
Sep 08, 2020•1 hr 25 min
