This week's episode features Mikael Stanne, of Dark Tranquillity! Yes, he's back on the podcast, only this time to celebrate the impending release of Endgame Signals, out August 16. During our chat, we discuss the Moment album cycle and how coming back to normalcy was a breathe of fresh air as a creator, why coming across as an honest creator is a high priority for his band, and how being aware of his vulnerability in his art and the journey to get there. We also discuss whether there will ever ...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 550
Mushroomhead lifer Steve “Skinny” Felton joined the podcast this week! We are all in on the latest album from Mushroomhead titled Call The Devil, due out August 9! In this episode, we discuss the many meanings fans can take from the album title and artwork, what he was going for when that was created, deciding on the vocal approach in songs when you have multiple vocalists in a project, and the improvisation and file sharing approach that was a part of creating Call The Devil, among a litany of ...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 549
We've got returning podcast guest Matthew Greywolf of Powerwolf on the show this week! With the new album Wake Up The Wicked set to release on July 26, Powerwolf is poised to get your attention in the coming days. As such, we discuss with Greywolf the cinematic music videos that accompany each new album track, the band's decision to use practical effects instead of CGI, and when he first discovered the story of Peter Stump would have an influence on the storytelling of the album. We also chat ab...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 548
Gaerea are gearing up to make a major announcement and we are excited to be a part of it! On this week's episode of The MetalSucks Podcast, we have an interview with Gaerea to discuss the band's next chapter, the release of their latest single “World Ablaze,” and how it was liberating to put that song out into the world. We also chat about the process that went into finding an identity in the heavy metal world and fighting to make sure it's not a toxic environment. Gaerea is nearing its 10th ann...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 547
This week we have Marcus Vik of Invent Animate joining the show! We are discussing the definite edition of last year excellent album Heavener which is out now! The conversation goes into his personal collection of Invent Animate material getting lost in the mail, the “acoustic” rendition of many of his peers having a lot of interest to fans, how making an effort to hike on tour is a must for team building, his new method of connecting with bands he is going to tour with, being mistaken as a band...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 546
Clémentine Delauney of Visions Of Atlantis is our guest this week! She's here to put a major spotlight on the band's latest album Pirates II: Armada, which comes out on July 5! We begin our discussion on the writing process for this record and how it was tied in the the previous album, the transition internally in the songwriting team for those records, her passion for storytelling, and the opportunity she got for the music video scripts. She also goes into the in-depth research and designs she ...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 545
This week on a very special .5 episode of the podcast we have Ken Candelas of Homerik to discuss the project ten years in the making “The Circle Of Dead Children” with release dates for the album and art book on September 20th and novel October 31st. We delve into the collaboration with artist David “Max” Millgate in the imagery of the project, the narration of master storyteller Jonathan Kruk’s, how the classic tune “Laid To Rest” by Lamb of God fit the storytelling process and so much more. Go...
Jun 28, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 544
Seven Spires axeman Jack Kosto is joining the show this week to discuss the band's newly released album A Fortress Called Home. We begin the discussions with Jack on his role on the mixing, mastering, and producing of the album, as well as how he gained the trust of the band to take on those responsibilities. We also discuss the album's visual aspect, Adrienne’s lyrical content having a distinct vulnerability this time around, the approach Seven Spires have when creating music on tour, and the s...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 544
Powerhouse personality and vocalist Lzzy Hale is back on the podcast! We are here to celebrate Halestorms’s co-headlining North American Tour with I Prevail running from July 9th all the way to August 17th. We also discuss Halestorm keeping the same members for 21 years, some of the secrets of maintaining positive relationships with bandmates, her love for animals of all kinds since because of her upbringing, the story of some diehard fans delivering letters to her on tour and the impact it brou...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 543
Orange Goblin’s Ben Ward is joining the MetalSucks Podcast this week! Their first new studio album in six years Science, Not Fiction is dropping on July 19 and we're here to discuss that and more! We talk about Ward's one and only chance meeting with the late Ronnie James Dio, which is a story in itself. We also get to talking about recording the metal lifer anthem and second single “Cemetery Rats”, how fitness infiltrating the scene has made a much more positive situation for many metalheads, p...
Jun 10, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 542
This week on The MetalSucks Podcast, Evergrey's Tom S. Englund returns to discuss the band's 14th studio album Theories of Emptiness, due out this Friday, June 7. During our chat, discuess what went into the promotional picture where the band is covered in mud and the experience cleaning all that off after the shoot. We also discuss the music video for “Falling From The Sun” and some of the artistic decisions that went into its creation, Looking to the band's future plans, Englund lists the coun...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 541
This week we are putting a spotlight on one of the more interesting releases so far this year, Crypt Sermon's latest The Stygian Rose, which will release on June 14. To that end, we got Brooks Wilson and Steve Jansson on the show to talk about everything from getting into the studio in 2022 to finally being done with it and ready for release. We'll chat about the pros and cons of going into the studio prepared, how doing that helped capture their sound, and how Brooks created the cover art. They...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 540
Guitar wizard and Intervals mastermind Aaron Marshall is our guest on this week's MetalSucks Podcast! We discuss their new album Memory Palace out right now! During out chat, we also tackle the guest performances on the new record, how improvising works in the band when it comes to studio and live performances, and he attempts to breakdown what makes a prog metal instrumental ballad work. Marshall also shares some of the team building exercises he and his crew use on the road and the surreal mom...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 539
This week's show features an awesome interview with Joseph Rowland of the mighty Pallbearer! During our chat, we hear all about the new album Mind Burns Alive out this Friday, May 17. We also discuss the band's approach of embracing the “quiet” on many of the songs, the comfort he feels in creating in music in an isolated space, and the approach they take on artwork for album covers. Things also take a turn for the philosophical, as the concept of “fate” comes up, how these days the truth requir...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 538
This week on The MetalSucks Podcast, we welcome Brittney Slayes, vocalist of the mighty Unleash The Archers! During our chat, we discuss the band's forthcoming album Phantoma due this Friday, May 10. Some of the topics covered during our conversation includes what went into the creation of the album's concept and overarching storyline, how the protagonist in the story is thrust into horrible situations but that hope is always right around the corner, and how this relates to us having to slow lif...
May 06, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 537
Iconic guitarist Marty Friedman is back on The MetalSucks Podcast! We're celebrating his new solo album Drama, which is coming out on May 17. In our chat, we discuss his return to touring North America after the pandemic, look back on the visually arresting livestream he participated in during the Tokyo Jukebox album cycle, and a breakdown on the song structure of the centerpiece track “Mirage." We also discuss how having access to a collection of vintage and rare guitars is beneficial to record...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 536
Eyal Levi of Dååth is our guest on The MetalSucks Podcast this week! He's here to chat about the band's first album in over a decade, The Deceivers, out May 3. In our chat, Eyal describes how his exercise regimen during the pandemic was a direct impact on returning to playing guitar and how he felt about his guitar playing after not playing for eight years. He also reflected on making the decision to create new music and revive the dormant Dååth, the team that was assembled around the project, w...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 535
This week, we've got Wolf Hoffman of Accept back on The MetalSucks Podcast! During our discussion, we take a walk down memory lane to learn how he initially felt about the band's name, the trend of modern bands having hard to pronounce names, if he feels every new record is a discovery record for new fans or if adding to the legacy of Accept is the focus, and why releasing singles has very little merit in our genre. We also talk about Andy Sneap’s opinion and important direction on modern Accept...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 534
J.T. Cavey of ERRA is joining us this week to celebrate the new album Cure and the headlining North American tour the band's going to embark on starting April 23. We also discuss our current daily caffeine intake, why mixing it with water is a must, and what he feels is the energy drink of choice for metalcore bands these days. We also chat about the positive vibe he's noticed from making the bed everyday, releasing songs in a calculated way in modern times, the addition of guitarist Clint Tusti...
Apr 08, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 533
We have heavy metal legend Buck Dharma of Blue Öyster Cult on the show! We discuss the latest studio album Ghost Stories coming out April 12, as well as how many of the songs have a long history with the band, if having so many demoes of the tracks through the years changed the new recordings, and how they play legacy songs differently throughout the years for the fans to keep things interesting. He also discusses what it's like to perform newer material at this stage in the band's career, the p...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 532
Anders Fridén is back on the show! We're celebrating their upcoming North American tour with Gatecreeper and Creeping Death, so naturally we discuss Fridén's involvement in selecting the opening acts for the tour, how playing live means so much more after the pandemic, the importance of a scene for heavy music to rise, and how In Flames rehearses with members living in different countries. We also discuss the importance of artwork for heavy metal, what he considers the 30th anniversary of In Fla...
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 531
This week, we've got Steve Moore of Zombi joining us on The MetalSucks Podcast. In our chat, we discuss the band's latest album Direct Inject out this Friday, March 22. We discuss 2024 being the 20th anniversary of Zombi, if he thought that milestone would have happened when the band started as a side project, and how important their label Relapse has been in keeping the band alive. We also discuss some of the approaches Zombi take to make new fans, his experience as a touring musician during th...
Mar 18, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 530
Dragonforce’s Herman Li is joining us for this week's MetalSucks Podcast! The band’s latest album Warp Speed Warriors is coming out this Friday, March 15, so Li tells us how Dragonforce landed the Despicable Me 4 trailer, how we have noticed metal is getting its due in the advertising world, his physical music collection being across the pond, and how his London home is a bit of a time machine. Naturally, we also discuss the last video game he remembers beating in the arcade, the album artwork f...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 529
Don't look now, but Kittie's very own Morgan Lander is back on the show! We are here to discuss Kittiepig, the only non-alcoholic beverage with the Canadian band's name and stamp of approval. In our chat, we talk about the idea and origin story behind the collaboration, some of the notes she gave after doing a taste testing, what a Saskatoon berry tastes like, and if there will be any available at the merch both when the band tours your city. We also celebrate their first single in 13 years “Eye...
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 528
Øystein Brun of Borknagar is on the show this week! During our chat, we discuss the latest album from the Norwegian black metal legends Fall. We also chat about we discuss Øystein's childhood in Norway, the concept of nature’s connection with man on the new record, music truly being something created from nothing, touring Borknagar more the last 10 years and the perspective that has given him. Petar and Brandon discuss all the thoughts and emotions that surround Slayer's return, how this affects...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 527
This week's guest is none other than John Henry of Darkest Hour! He's here to celebrate the band's first full length record in six years, Perpetual/Terminal coming out February 23. Additionally, we discuss the challenges of following up on Godless Prophets and The Migrant Flora, how Ozzfest shaped the band's professionalism, the brotherhood that bands had when doing traveling festival packages, and at what point in his career that he was comfortable doing stage banter. In a bit of fun sports tal...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 526
Ihsahn is joining the podcast this week to celebrate his new self-titled album coming out Feb. 16. In this episode, we discuss his passion for film composition, some of the names that he's followed over the years, his drive to always have an orchestral element to his music, the rock artists that transition into doing full time film work, and how he created a world based on the orchestral release of the self titled album. In addition to all that, we chat about what perimeters would need to be met...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 525
Ross Jennings and Peter Jones of Haken join the podcast! We are here to discuss their upcoming North American tour starting February 10, the anticipation of playing the latest album Fauna will be played in its entirety, Peter Jones releasing a keyboard guide of his work on the album, playing Japan for the first time in the band’s history after the North American tour, the positive experience when albums make year end lists, saving a cat’s life last time they toured America, the team building the...
Feb 05, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 524
The ever-talented Lena Scissorhands of Infected Rain is our guest on this week's episode of The MetalSucks Podcast! During our time together, we discuss the band's latest album Time out February 9. Other, totally not super heady topics also get discussed, such as the journey we all take to ensure we're not wasting time, the realization of how a toxic element in your life can affect you, and how singing the new songs live will take an emotional toll on her. We also chat about the music videos and...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 523
Don't look now, but Gabe Mangold of Enterprise Earth is on this week's episode of The MetalSucks Podcast! Naturally during our chat we discuss the latest album Death: An Anthology and how parts of it were written in a parking lot. We also learn all about the story behind the featured guests that helped out, the process of completing five music videos at the same time being less stressful then past music videos, and the changes that occurred in the Enterprise Earth camp since the previous album. ...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 522
