Our guest this week is Local H mastermind Scott Lucas! We discuss the band's latest album, Lifers, and his activity on social media to promote it during the pandemic, working on the record with legendary producer Steve Albini, his tribute song to George Floyd, and how artists are often unaware of how many people their music reaches. We also talk about performing all of his albums in full throughout the years, allowing the audience to pick what tracks the band performs, how he has been in his own...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Guitarist Jani Liimatainen of Insomnium (ex-Sonata Arctica) is our guest on this special half-episode of the podcast! We discuss the band's new EP, Argent Moon, releasing the songs as singles throughout the pandemic, how the tour for their last album, Heart Like A Grave, was completely cut short but they decided to forge ahead with new music anyway, the upcoming 25th anniversary of the band, the emotions of seeing his first live concert (as a fan) in a year and a half, why he likes to play obscu...
Sep 30, 2021•47 min
Rivers of Nihil vocalist Jake Dieffenbach is our guest this week to discuss the band's new album, The Work! We talk about how the band fearlessly continues to pursue their own musical direction with no boundaries, the meaning of and story behind the Dan Seagrave cover artwork, the pressure of following up their critically acclaimed 2018 album Where Owls Know My Name, why he felt he needed 18 months off after touring non-stop in support of that record, feeling a little rusty after entering the ne...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Sven de Caluwé of Aborted is back for a special half-episode of the podcast! We discuss how he needed the band's new album Maniacult to keep him connected to music, how the horror movies he binge-watched during the pandemic inspired the album, why he feels the first two Friday the 13th films didn’t age well, how the 25th anniversary of the band passed by during Covid, creating an action figure to sell to fans for the new album, and his favorite action figure toys from his youth. Petar and Brando...
Sep 23, 2021•54 min
Mike Stringer of Spiritbox is our guest this week! We discuss their new album, Eternal Blue, the strategy of releasing standalone singles to introduce the project to fans, spending three years promoting music while unable to tour, the cancelation of their recent run with Limp Bizkit, how the FACTOR program from the Canadian government helped them start Spiritbox, and his hopes to tour nonstop in 2022. Petar and Brandon dissect the onstage meltdown of Ronnie Radke, Tommy Lee being “stoked” that a...
Sep 20, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Björn “Speed” Strid of The Night Flight Orchestra and Soilwork is back on the show! We start out by discussing the brand new album from The Night Flight Orchestra, Aeromantic II; why they released standalone singles that are not on the record, the entire band catching Covid-19 after their last tour in March of 2020, why there would not have been a new album if not for Covid-19, the band's plans on investing in a tour at this stage of the pandemic, his view on how Sweden handled the pandemic with...
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk is back on the show! We discuss the band's new album, Wallflowers, the preparations the band is currently undergoing to get ready for a heavy touring schedule, what last year's socially distanced shows were like as performers, filming music videos and putting out a live album during the pandemic to stay engaged with their fans, and her desire to tour as much as possible despite the current climate. Tati also updates us on her family, who are currently living in a...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Derrick Green of Sepultura is back on the show! We discuss the band's upcoming touring schedule, his thoughts on fans having to show vaccination cards to attend shows, how Sepultura decided to stay connected with each other through Zoom during the pandemic, why he feels the conflict currently happening in the Amazon needs more media attention, and which Sepultura deep cut was most interesting to revisit on the band's new live album, SepulQuarta. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss the passing of ...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Between the Buried and Me guitarist Paul Waggoner is our guest this week! We discuss why he feels the time was right to make a sequel to their classic album, Colors, the difficulty of being in the right mental state to write music during the pandemic, all the work that went into the animated video for “Fix The Error," the emotional experience of returning to live music, his thoughts on the experiment of releasing the Automata album series in two parts, how he feels about performing The Great Mis...
Aug 23, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Spirit Adrift mastermind Nate Garrett guests this week! We discuss the band's new EP, Forge Your Future, how his move to a new environment impacted the music, on being open to his influences when writing songs, the compliment that he got from Fenriz of Darkthrone, and the timeframe on a new Spirit Adrift full length. Nate also tells us how he's become an MMA fan while leaving boxing behind, his go-to music during his own fitness routine, and how he turned a Donald Trump phrase into a line on the...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Gost mastermind Baalberith is back on the show! We discuss the inspiration behind the new album, Rites of Love and Reverence, his mindset on following up Valediction after getting some harsh feedback from long-time fans, the need to be adventurous as a musician as he grows as a person, and the positive side of not touring during the last year. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Live Nation's decision allowing their venues to require proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 tests for admission t...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 22 min
Booka Nile from Make Them Suffer is our guest this week! We discuss their latest single, "Contraband," how the collaboration with Spiritbox's Courtney LaPlante came together; the current state of COVID in her native Australia, and the mental health issues that come with the pandemic; our strong sense of community across the heavy metal scene; not being able to perform any of the songs off their latest album live yet; her participation in the reality TV show Married at First Sight, and the diffic...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 30 min
The legendary Dee Snider returns to the podcast this week! We discuss his new solo album, Leave a Scar, writing and recording it with Jamey Jasta and his team, if he feels the "sophomore effort" label applies to this record given his history, and how this was the first time he has written lyrics since the Widowmaker days in the '90s. Dee also offers his take on the recent David Ellefson scandal, explains why he has stayed sober throughout his entire career, his thoughts on separating the art fro...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Periphery mastermind Misha Mansoor is back on the podcast this week! Our conversation centers around his new solo album, Moderately Fast, Adequately Furious, releasing ten albums worth of Bulb archives last year, whether he ever plans to perform the Bulb material live, collaborating with his brother, and the trouble with getting honest feedback from friends. Misha also talks about Periphery, including all the work that goes into running the band's own label, 3Dot, how his previous management tea...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Mayhem vocalist Attila Csihar guests this week to discuss the band's new EP, Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando, which consists of three new originals and four classic punk covers. Attila shares the punk rock albums that shaped him in his youth, how he had to smuggle music into communist Hungary while growing up there in the early '80s, his first time meeting Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, Discharge reacting to the Mayhem cover of their track, and why he prefers today's audiences to the vio...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage and Times of Grace is our guest this week! We talk about the new Times of Grace album, Songs of Loss and Separation, their first in 10 years, and reflect on its predecessor, The Hymn of a Broken Man. Adam shares his thoughts on the importance of keeping his mind busy during dark times, working on music videos with Nick Hipa (ex-As I Lay Dying, ex-Wovenwar), his attempt at the Big 4 of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, how he gets grumpier as he gets older...
Jul 06, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Prolific death metal drummer and multi-instrumentalist Hannes Grossmann is our guest! We discuss the recruitment process for his latest solo album, To Where The Light Retreats, the role he takes on as composer for his own material, how Tori Amos inspired a song on the new record, the story behind the hand-drawn cover artwork, how the songs on his first solo album were originally intended for Obscura, the less experimental nature of his solo project compared to Alkaloid, and the elitist mentality...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Howard Jones is back on the podcast! We discuss H.A.I.T.(How Awesome Is That), his movie watching podcast with Jamey Jasta and Charlie Bellmore; the imprint '80s action movies left on us growing up' the work environment that surrounded him during the making of the new Light the Torch album; his lyrical approach on the new record; being open to change; the decision to cover the Terrence Trent D’Arby; preparation for his upcoming livestream on June 25th; going back out on tour after the pandemic; ...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Aaron Beam of Red Fang is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new album, 'Arrows,' the dark turn in the playful music video for their single “Why?”, reuniting with producer Chris Funk, the album's title, the benefits of meditation, how that process makes him more productive in all of his avenues of creativity, and more. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia also discuss their BEST OF 2021 SO FAR! Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Zao - “Transitions,” ...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 32 min
Perturbator mastermind James Kent is back on the show! We discuss his first new album in five years, Lustful Sacraments, why it took him so long to complete the record, the heavy influence of goth music this time around, why he feels it's important to tour less than he did in the past, and the 10 year anniversary of Perturbator. He also tells us about opening for John Carpenter, his plans for his own newly launched record label, his favorite French metal band, and how he feels about French cinem...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 12 min
At The Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new album, The Nightmare of Being, the emotions that informed its songwriting process, the difficulty of choosing a single from an album designed to listen to from start to finish, recognizing art as a defensive mechanism for himself, and his feeling about At War With Reality’s legacy. Tomas also talks about rejoining Lock Up and gives an update on their new album, tells us who he considers to be the inventor of d...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Crypta bassist and singer Fernanda Lira (ex-Nervosa) is our guest this week! We discuss the journey of creating Crypta's debut album, Echoes of The Soul, why leaving Nervosa was both the best and most difficult decision she ever made, the recruitment process for finding the right members in the new band, why the old-school cover painting by Wes Benscoter was vital to the album's presentation, how the pandemic is still raging in her native Brazil thanks to government mismanagement, her past exper...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares is our guest this week! Front and center is the band's new album, Aggression Continuum, and the public spat between Cazares and former singer Burton Seabell, whose vocals appear on the album. Dino discusses the communication breakdown between he and Burton after recording the album in 2017, how he is handling all the negative attention from the fanbase, his response to reports of a physical altercation between he and Burton, the reason he left Burton’s vocals ...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 26 min
Caliban guitarist Marc Görtz is our guest on this special half-episode of The MetalSucks Podcast! We discuss the band's decision to re-record some classic songs in their native German tongue for the Zeitgeister EP, the reason they choose the track "Intoleranz" for a video, advice on how to keep a band together for 25 years, the difficulty of touring America at this point in their career, why they feel meet and greets aren’t something they are willing to do, an update on their completed new full-...
May 13, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Ben Thatcher of power duo Royal Blood is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new album, Typhoons, the emotional clash of the lyrics and music, the importance of dedicating the record to Ben's mother who recently passed away, using his DJ mind when it comes to sequencing an album, and the lasting mental effects the pandemic has had on him. Ben also dissects the "rock is dead" statements many older musicians have made recently, the lessons he learned from going on tour with Queens of the St...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 6 min
This week we bring Hollywood and thrash metal icons together on one episode to celebrate the soundtrack of the new film Thunder Force! Composer Fil Eisler tells us why he felt he needed to pitch adding Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo to the Melissa McCarthy-led Netflix film, how avant garde techniques can be brought to scoring film that wouldn’t work in traditional songwriting, how they got Corey Taylor and Lzzy Hale involved to write a theme song, which film soundtrack he would like to do a heavy m...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 17 min
Steve Von Till of Neurosis is our guest this week! Steve tells us how the door first opened to him as a solo artist, the path of his solo records throughout his career, and wrestling with negative thoughts as he worked on his latest album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, and his first book of poetry in 2020. He also discusses his alter ego, Harvestman, how music has saved him many times throughout his life, the courage that punk rock gave him, and an update on new music from Neurosis. Petar, Sylvia, ...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 28 min
Gojira frontman and guitarist Joe Duplantier joins us this week! We discuss the band's new album, Fortitude, the lessons they learned while making their previous album, Magma, that directly affected the new record, getting legendary engineer Andy Wallace to mix it, why he feels Gojira have been able to maintain the same line up for 20 years, and achieving success in a progressive way that has benefited them. Joe also explains his passion for the band's charitable effort in conjunction with the s...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Daniel Freyberg, former guitarist of both Children of Bodom and Bodom After Midnight, joins us this week. Our focus is Bodom After Midnight's forthcoming EP, Paint the Sky with Blood, as well as the late Alexi Laiho, as we dive into working with Laiho on those new songs and the decision to move forward with their release after his death. Freyberg also details what it was like as a fan of Children of Bodom before he was invited into the band, his experience writing and recording on the band's fin...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Zao guitarist Scott Mellinger is our guest this week! We discuss the band's the new album, The Crimson Corridor, the feeling of being a bit more introspective this time around, the importance of the physical product to the record's overall experience, and how the band collaborates with artists to interpret their visions. Scott also looks back at the band's 2006 classic, The Fear is What Keeps Us Here, what it was like working with legendary producer Steve Albini, the difficulty of getting the ma...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 22 min
