Our guest this week is Suicide Silence guitarist Chris Garza. We discuss the band's new album, Become The Hunter, the accompanying trilogy of music videos, if he considers Become The Hunter a return to form after the band's controversial self-titled album, how the door has been opened for more experimentation after that record, his gratitude for being able to continue with Suicide Silence after the death of Mitch Lucker, and the importance of being grateful after something real happens in your l...
Feb 10, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels and keyboardist Martijn Westerholt join us on the podcast this week. We discuss the band's new record, Apocalypse and Chill, their ideas for the best possible apocalypse experience, the hopeful vibe that the lyrical approach on the record conveys despite the dark subject matter, the use of technology in the making of the album, the importance of never planning a direction when creating music, Charlotte’s desire to sing the album’s ballad live on stage, and the h...
Feb 03, 2020•1 hr 6 min
This week riff-master Kirk Windstein of Crowbar comes on the podcast to discuss his first solo album, Dream in Motion. Kirk tells us about the challenge of covering Jethro Tull, which solo artist he thinks successfully broke away from their main band to flourish on their own, the major influence of Carnivore on the Crowbar sound, his favorite Type O Negative record, which festival would be perfect for all the bands whose members comprise Down to play, his favorite Down release and why, an update...
Jan 27, 2020•1 hr 8 min
In this special half-episode of The MetalSucks Podcast we get a quick chat with Poppy to discuss her new album, I Disagree. Poppy tells us about the lyrical growth from her YouTube persona to this record, the importance of having a following on multiple platforms for success in today's music climate, the dark imagery that motivated her to change her persona into something more realistic, and the concept behind the music video for “Anything Like Me." She also discusses growing up on the internet ...
Jan 24, 2020•22 min
Sepultura frontman Derrick Green joins us this week. We discuss the band's new album, Quadra, how the numerology concept throughout it relates to social issues, the importance of branching out in different musical directions with each record for both the longevity of Sepultura and for reaching Derrick's personal goals, the fear of being in a band that traps themselves into one particular musical sound, and the importance of just having fun when creating music. Derrick also talks about the import...
Jan 21, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Midnight mastermind Athenar is our guest this week. We discuss the band's new album, Rebirth by Blasphemy, and how it fits into Midnight's history starting with the band's early seven-inches, as well as the difficulty of writing lyrics in the bizarre realm of metal, if he would ever create a record with other musicians or if he always plans to maintain full creative control, and the importance of the visual aspect behind Midnight. Athenar also tells us a bit about his personal life, explaining h...
Jan 13, 2020•1 hr 11 min
This week we resume our annual best-of-the-year episode with part two (part one right here), featuring our five favorite albums of 2019. We play a couple of tracks from each record that we found to be special, and feature an interview with Lars Frederiksen of The Old Firm Casuals and Rancid. This is our last episode of 2019, so come and celebrate the highlights that made this year important as we celebrate our love of heavy music! Songs: Whitechapel - “When A Demon Defiles A Witch" and "Hickory ...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 51 min
This week we bring you part one of our annual two-part Top 15 albums of the year episode. We count down our favorite albums from #15 to #6 (our top five will come next week) and we play a track from each record. Vicky Psarakis of The Agonist, Ray Alder of Fates Warning and Chelsea Wolfe, three of our picks, also join us for quick interviews. Come celebrate another great year with us and the music we love on The Metalsucks Podcast. Songs: Jinjer - “On The Top," The Agonist - “As One We Survive," ...
Dec 09, 2019•1 hr 41 min
This week our guest is Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery, also formerly of Dark New Day, Korn, Seether and Call Me No One. We talk about his debut solo album, God Bless The Renegades, the weight of putting his name on a record as opposed to a project with a band, Wolfgang Van Halen’s role in the project and the special songs he plans on performing live while touring the record. We also discuss the draw of decadence in rock and roll for young people, his thoughts on a healthy approach to social me...
Dec 02, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Nile mastermind Karl Sanders is our guest this week. We discuss the writing process for Nile's new album, Vile Nilotic Rites, the extensive touring prior to recording it, keeping up that momentum in the studio, the anxiety that comes with releasing new music and what made this album cycle different, how producer Mark Lewis helped strengthen its production, why he isn't interested in playing a classic album in its entirety and more. Sanders also shares the lessons that he brings to life from trai...
Nov 25, 2019•1 hr 36 min
Nile mastermind Karl Sanders is our guest this week. We discuss the writing process for Nile's new album, Vile Nilotic Rites, the extensive touring prior to recording it, keeping up that momentum in the studio, the anxiety that comes with releasing new music and what made this album cycle different, how producer Mark Lewis helped strengthen its production, why he isn't interested in playing a classic album in its entirety and more. Sanders also shares the lessons that he brings to life from trai...
Nov 18, 2019•1 hr 15 min
This week we chat with film composer and Marilyn Manson producer Tyler Bates. Tyler worked with Manson on The Pale Emperor and Heaven Upside Down and has composed musical scores for the entire Guardians of the Galaxy and John Wick franchises, in addition to films such as Deadpool 2, Watchmen, 300, Halloween (2007), Atomic Blonde and numerous others. We discuss his involvement with the first live action Cirque Du Soleil show, R.U.N., how that process compares to composing films, the multiple TV s...
Nov 11, 2019•1 hr 5 min
This week we have vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer on the show. We discuss the short gap between the Micro EP and new full-length album Macro, the difficulty of writing lyrics quickly as opposed to taking your time, how deadlines help motivate her, and the lyrics behind the track “Retrospection” and how it is connected with her childhood. Tati also tells us about growing up in the Ukraine as the U.S.S.R. was falling apart in the '90s, how her childhood was creative and happy despite the circu...
Nov 06, 2019•1 hr 25 min
Fit For an Autopsy songwriter/guitarist and metal producer Will Putney returns to the show this week to discuss Fit For an Autopsy's new album The Sea of Tragic Beasts. He tells us the dream that motivated the title of the album, how the traumatic issues children in broken homes face influenced it, the positive message that the band tries to put forward, and how he utilizes his artistic output to influence the next generation. Will also recounts the process of producing Body Count’s No Lives Mat...
Oct 28, 2019•1 hr 12 min
This week we chat with Cory Brandan of Norma Jean! We discuss his return to Norma Jean after releasing the Hundred Suns project, having the lifer mentality when it comes to the art form of metal, the difficult writing process for Norma Jean's new album, All Hail, how the loss of a fan inspired the creation of many songs, going through the stages of grief while creating songs, comparing the lessons learned from art to those learned to history, the essence of a “fictional reality,” and much more. ...
Oct 21, 2019•1 hr 20 min
This week we chat with Refused drummer David Sandström. We discuss the band's new album, War Music, the emotional energy needed to write the record, the years of Refused’s inactivity and if he had any clue the band could ever experience a second life, being very obscure in the States during their original run, the legacy and lasting power of The Shape of Punk to Come, and how War Music is his proudest moment as a musician. David also talks about what it's like to be in a band that is a voice on ...
Oct 14, 2019•1 hr 4 min
GosT mastermind Baalberith is our guest on the podcast this week. We discuss GosT's new album Valediction, having the record start heavier than all his previous one, the limitless possibilities working in the electronic music medium allows, his choice to include vocals on a majority of the album, the recent tour with 3Teeth, and his expectations for heading out with Mayhem and Gaahl’s Wyrd in Europe. We also have some fun creating our own horror film from scratch: we decide the genre that we wan...
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 11 min
This week's guest is Gatecreeper frontman Chase Mason. We discuss the band's upcoming new album, Deserted, the insane hand-drawn cover art by Brad Moore and the story behind it, his favorite tour memory with Power Trip, the bromance between Gatecreeper and Iron Reagan, and his take on pornogrind. We also talk about his love for Pauly Shore despite (or perhaps because of) not being much of a film buff, how having a short attention span is responsible for his love of music above other art forms, a...
Sep 30, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Opeth mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt is our guest this week! We delve into his search for the perfect Latin phrase to name an album, his choice to sing in two languages, King Diamond's influence on the new album, how the term “heavy” has changed throughout his career and his opinion of the phrase, writing the new record in secret without anyone knowing, his refusal to modernize his studio and using old equipment to record, using more samples on this record than all the previous Opeth records combin...
Sep 23, 2019•1 hr 20 min
In this special half-episode episode we catch up with Nine Inch Nails and Angels & Airwaves drummer Ilan Rubin about his solo project, The New Regime. Ilan tells us about his choice to release the album as four EPs -- titled Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul -- how much touring he would like to do with The New Regime despite his commitments with NIN and Angels & Airwaves, the difficulty of juggling all of his projects, pulling double-duty on tours with multiple bands, and the importance of tim...
Sep 19, 2019•33 min
Johannes Persson of the mighty Cult of Luna is our guest this week. We discuss the band's much lauded collaboration with Julie Christmas, Mariner -- which recently landed on our list of the 25 Best Metal Albums of 2010-2019 -- and its impact on Cult of Luna's new full-length, A Dawn to Fear, what it was like performing that album live due to popular demand, getting everybody back together and on the same page for A Dawn to Fear, the companion videos that became a nightmare project and how they e...
Sep 16, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Monolord bassist Mika Häkki is our guest this week. We talk about his musical upbringing in Finland, the gateway bands that led him into underground metal, watching the Swedish metal scene explode, the impact of bands like At the Gates and Refused had on both him and the world, the trial and error process that saw the discovery of Monolord's sound, the influence country music has on him, the journey towards signing with Relapse Records for the release of No Comfort, and the importance of artists...
Sep 09, 2019•1 hr 2 min
This week we're joined by drummer Ray Luzier, from Korn and KXM! We discuss the origin of the supergroup KXM, the chemistry between band members, the group's creative freedom, and why they've never played a live show. We also chat about Korn's new album, The Nothing, the personal tragedy vocalist Jonathan Davis suffered during the creation of the album, and why this is Ray's favorite record he has done with Korn. Finally, we get Ray's thoughts on Army of Anyone’s first and only album, learn whet...
Sep 03, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Betraying the Martyrs vocalist Aaron Matts is our guest this week. We discuss the recent fire that struck the band's trailer and forced them to cancel their North American tour, the results of the investigation into the cause of the blaze, the sad news that the drum kit Chris Adler used with Megadeth burned up, how Adler became the band's manager, how skate culture was Aaron's gateway into music, the importance of using cannabis at a responsible age, and how crucial it is to wake up far away fro...
Aug 26, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro from Lacuna Coil guest on the show this week. We discuss their recent live DVD commemorating the band's 20th anniversary, everything that went into the production and special guests of that two-day performance (and what went wrong that viewers would never know), how revisiting songs they haven’t played in years influenced the new album, Black Anima. We also look back at the standout tours that broke Lacuna Coil into a different league, the tour that they did tha...
Aug 20, 2019•1 hr 33 min
The Contortionist vocalist Michael Lessard returns to the show. We discuss the band's new EP, Our Bones: how the creative seeds for the record came out of soundchecks while on tour, enjoying the hyper-focused lens that a shorter release grants the songwriting process, producing the music video for “Early Grave” and his passion for editing music videos, and choosing to cover the Smashing Pumpkins “1979." Lessard also tells us how the band has embraced meet and greets with fans, how James Taylor w...
Aug 12, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Carnifex vocalist Scott Lewis is the guest on our 300th episode. We discuss the band's new album World War X, the concept behind the record, the importance of the atmospherics and layers to the album's sound, the importance of the visual aesthetic in this album's videos, and how this year’s Summer Slaughter tour has been going and why it's working so well. We also discuss Scott's passion for action films, the importance of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, why Tim Burton’s vision is not o...
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 15 min
This week we talk to Mike D’Antonio of Killswitch Engage. We discuss the journey of making the band's new record Atonement, Jesse Leach's vocal cord surgery during the recording of the album, signing to Metal Blade Records and the pride they have in completing their record contract with Roadrunner, ranking all the cover artwork he's created for Killswitch from best to worst, and his thoughts on reaching new fans after 20 years as a band. We also talk all things Cro-Mags, from the band's massive ...
Jul 30, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Ex-Turbnegro frontman Hank Von Hell is our guest this week. We discuss his first North American solo tour later this summer, the circumstances that led to the original tour's postponement earlier this year and the difficulty of rescheduling all the dates, how his past addictions still haunt him and the myth of rock n' roll's tie to mental illness, why he had to step away from the rock scene for many years, why the need for rock n' roll is back in a big way, his current relationship with all the ...
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Sabaton bassist Pär Sundström is our guest this week. We discuss the band's new album The Great War and the World War I anniversary that inspired it, the concept of war history and heavy metal working so well together, the draw metalheads feel towards towards such topics, the band's recent tour across Europe with a full choir, filling in last minute when Manowar canceled at Hellfest, having to cut all pyrotechnics when playing shows in the States, and how art forms of all kinds have changed over...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 27 min
