The Metalsucks Podcast

You might know Richard Christy as a cast member of The Howard Stern show, but metalheads know him as being a badass drummer with Death, Control Denied, Iced Earth, and now Charred Walls of the Damned. In our in-depth interview we spend a lot of time talking about that history, his relationship with Chuck Schuldiner, the story of Death and the end of the band, how he approaches the drums, and what Charred Walls of the Damned means to him in his very busy schedule. Christy has been a vital part of not one but two crucially important and disparate cultural icons, Death and The Howard Stern Show; how did he do it? We dig in. Also this week we praise ICP followers for being the most dedicated fans of all time. Cutting one's finger off to pay tribute in a ritual salute to a fallen Juggalo is the most metal thing we have heard a fan of any genre of music doing in twenty years. Boredom and Faygo can be a dangerous mix. Songs: Charred Walls of the Damned – "The Soulless" Alcest - "Oiseaux de proie" Learn more about

The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman guests this week on your favorite metal podcast, and we decided to make this the definitive interview about the impending split of the band. He and drummer Billy Rymer were willing to discuss the decision in depth with us, what it means to them to make a choice to quit at the top of their game, who ultimately raised the idea of breaking up, whether there's a chance it might be a fluke or snap decision, where they plan to go from here, ... we asked every question about the breakup of the band from every angle we could think of. We also dive a little deeper into Ben’s personal life, and ruin him for any other podcasters out there. Sorry, guys. We also play the new song from In Flames figure out where we've heard the chorus before (hint: it was a big hit in 2001). Once you hear it, you won't be able to un-hear it! The "original" is not just an obscure track, it comes from an album that is listed as one of the top Nu-Metal albums you must own. Coincidence? Are In F

Author Dayal Patterson guests this week on your favorite metal podcast to give us a lesson in underground black metal; his book Black Metal: The Cult Never Dies Vol I will come out via Decibel press this month (order here). We wanted to find out more about the significant evolutions in black metal that came from its controversial origins. We all know black metal can be a very secretive genre of music, sometimes by design, other times by accident, and what Dayal has done to get artists to expose themselves to the world is unrivaled in this underground scene. Beyond the mythos and the big stories of burning churches and murders, who are the people involved and what is the story of the music they made that created a movement that's lasted over 30 years? We also explore Havok's woes on getting booted from their tour with Megadeth, either by Dave Mustaine or his son Justis Mustaine -- the story isn’t crystal clear -- after they refused to sign a management contract with Mustaine Management. We try to make sense

We have wanted to talk to Devin Townsend for quite some time now, and we finally got our chance! He has been a guest on your favorite metal podcast before, but Axl and Vince had the opportunity to do the interview and now we run him through our own ringer. You gotta love this guy! To call him a singer or a guitarist would be selling his talents short, and although he hates to be complimented, Devin is one of the most prolific and inspiring musician of the last two decades. Whether you loved Strapping Young Lad, Ziltoid, the Devin Townsend Project or any of his guest appearances or records he produced, his talent is undeniable. We consider ourselves lucky to have such a candid chat about psychosis, the different ways he sees music as opposed to just hearing it, the progression from one style or influence to the next, how his wife deals with his eccentric nature and the debut of Fun Sponge (you’ll get it when you listen). We also discuss the Dio hologram that took Wacken 2016 by storm. You thought Dio had die

Karl Sanders of the mighty Nile is our guest on your favorite metal podcast this week. We caught up with him midway through the Summer Slaughter Tour for our interview and he had quite a bit to say about the tour package, playing with old friends Cannibal Corpse and Krisiun and the young bands on the bill like Carnifex and After the Burial. We also chat about the transition from touring to home life, his experience and what kind of person he becomes while at home, his routines and training in martial arts, and his favorite video game. Karl shares some insight into why the relationship with the band's former record label ended so badly and his reactions to expectations from fans, and we also get a few details about the recent flap they encountered in Russia with the singer of Belphegor.  We also talk about getting left behind in a band. Angus Young may be the last man standing in AC/DC and now it appears that Kerry King may be left on his own at some point in Slayer. When a band member does decide to hang it

Neil Fallon of the mighty Clutch guests this week on your favorite metal podcast! In our interview with the singer, we talk in-depth about the 25 years of the band's history, how it might have just been a nice accident that they have lasted this long, the progression of their music through their career, his side projects Dunsmuir, The Bakerton Group, and The Company Band, dealing with the ever changing landscape of the music business as a band and, more recently, as the owner of the label Weathermaker Music, what the plan looks like for the next 25 years, and what you do when Lemmy gives you advice. Neil also tells us about the Clutch song they played every night for several years but now don't... and gives us details about his house! We also discuss when musicians need to stop. Is there an age limit to the metal? Should bands who cannot do it anymore just finally give up and go home, or is there still a place in metal for the old guard? Vince’s editorial about Jason Newstead sparked the discussion about a

Sumerian Records proprietor Ash Avildsen is our guest this week. You might know him from an array of different projects, whether you are a fan of his music, the bands on his label, his pioneering touring packages like Summer Slaughter or the recent movie What Now and soon-to-come American Satan. We started our chat by celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Summer Slaughter Tour with Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Suffocation, After the Burial and plenty more, but as is our tendency, we stray from the path into his interesting history with women, his family and the dynamics it take to be successful in today’s business. We also attempt to unpack the unprecedented divisiveness we are seeing in the metal community. It’s not just cvlt vs. posers -- or any of those age-old separations that seem to be creeping into the world of metal the past couple years -- but a much more scary form of racism and misogyny that's fighting back in a way we haven't seen before. Is this indicative of the anti-PC movement we are seeing play

This week on your favorite metal podcast we feature our first interview with a member of the Mt. Rushmore of the metal industry, Brian Slagel, founder and owner of Metal Blade Records. Brian and Metal Blade have been in the metal business for nearly 35 years, developing some of the biggest acts in the history of metal such as Slayer, Gwar, Amon Amarth, Behemoth, Between the Buried and Me, and so many more. Brian's early career found him side by side with some of the most well-known musicians in the genre; his first release included a track from a little-known band called Metallica. We're a bit star struck, as his ability to choose acts and stand tall with and against trends over the years is the stuff of legend, but Slagel is still one of the most down to Earth people in the industry and maintains day to day operation of his label. We talk about the past and future of Metal Blade and the industry as a whole, his finest achievements and biggest mistakes, how streaming is effecting the current revenue models i

Scott Ian Lewis, lead singer for deathcore mainstays Carnifex, guests this week. In our in-depth exclusive interview we talk about their new record, Slow Death (out next month on Nuclear Blast), what it takes to make it in the music business, leaving a label that wasn’t a good fit for the band, taking a hiatus to try and regroup, and being able to survive the pitfalls of constant touring. Plus, Lewis talks about his songwriting strategies, the financial burden of touring musicians, and much more. We talk about the new Thy Art Is Murder EP and we try and make sense of why a band would continue with a singer or a member who already left the band. When a member decides that it's time to move on to different things, why would a band even bother to put out music featuring that member? It’s one thing if a member dies, but if they just want to do something else does it make sense to release new material with them on it? Or is that just longing for times that have already passed and teasing fans about something they

Dave Davidson, acclaimed guitarist and vocalist of Revocation, makes his return to the podcast this week, and we debut "Profanum Vulgus" from their upcoming album Great Is Our Sin. We talk about the new album and we talk Dave's views on politics and religion and how that all influences his songwriting and perspective on making music. Revocation enjoy nearly universal acclaim for their genre-clashing songs and Davidson's virtuosic guitar playing, so hear from the brains and fingers behind the music and listen to a brand new song for the first time anywhere! We also talk about waiting for new albums form your favorite bands. So many people are obsessed with when the new Tool album will drop, or when Metallica are going into the studio, or if *insert band name here* is working on something that might be cool sometime in the future. Why are fans so focused on what is coming from their ancient favorites and not paying more attention to the great new music coming out now?  Songs:Revocation - "Profanum Vulgus"D.R.

  Alex Erian, vocalist for recently reactivated deathcore pioneers Despised Icon, guests on the podcast this week. In our exclusive interview we delve into the reasoning behind the band breaking up and moving on and then, after a short time, making the decision to come back together. We talk about their new record Beast and how recording with two bands at one time creates headaches for him. We find out there might actually be a hip hop beat behind one of the songs on the new record and about how they've been able to retain their fanbase despite what looked like the end for the band. Maybe all bands -- and couples -- need to break up and get back together. We also talk about the recent editorial on Decibel about "SJWs" in metal that turned the metal internets into a firestorm. With opinions ranging from "SJWs are tearing our scene apart" to "nazi metalheads must die," is there a real discussion going on right now, or are we all just picking sides while trying to reinforce whatever we believe already and refu

Aaron Turner of Sumac, ex-Isis, Mammifer, Old Man Gloom and Hydra Head Records is our guest this week. We discuss the new Sumac album What One Becomes, how he has changed emotionally since his early days with Isis, the role his wife played in turning him into a more well-adjusted person, his introverted nature, whether Isis will return someday, how a different view of his life shapes his reaction to his past art and what he is currently working to express with new musicians. We also discuss Benji Webbe, frontman for Skindred, who mocked the young women of Babymetal at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, It's pretty obvious that his attempt at humor fell flat and appeared racist, but did his "apology" via Twitter pacify Babymetal's fans? Or did he actually make it worse by giving a halfhearted statement? If you screw up what makes for a good apology, is it more important to be truthful? If not, it can really look worse than the faux pas you committed in the first place. Songs: Sumac – "Rigid Man" (Partial

Jamey Jasta, lead singer of Hatebreed, joins us this week. In our in-depth interview with the revered frontman, we talk how politics inform Hatebreed's new album, The Concrete Confessional, as well as his songwriting process, how small utterances on social media can provoke big reactions, his thoughts on the state of the music industry, why a separate metal streaming service would be a bad idea (at least for him), and how music is only one facet of his life alongside podcasting and branding. Plus: we offer you the worst segue in our podcast history. That’s right, if there were a podcast awards show, we'd have this category locked down! We also speak to Noisey writer Cat Jones about her recent story she penned detailing the reasons Wax Idols and King Woman dropped off their tour with Pentagram. Cat discusses the importance of taking on a story like this, and how it matters to not just the women who were potentially wronged by Bobby Leibling and the Pentagram staff, but to the entire metal community. Learn mor

This week we take a look at the best metal albums of 2016 so far. Of course we see it differently from one another but we lay out what this year has offered and what it really means in the scope of metal history and the rest of the year to come. We also invite Rob Pasbani of Metal Injection and the Metal Injection Livecast to offer a different perspective on this year’s releases. He fills us in on his new-car jams and takes a look ahead at which albums might be on the slate for the top of the year overall. We talk about Gojira's new album Magma as well as other highly anticipated albums of 2016 and how they have measured up to expectations, as well as some albums that've surprised us. Rob also tells us about the coolest listening party in history: a small gathering of journalists and friends at Gojira's new Silver Cord Studios to hear Magma in its entirety. What does he think of one of the most anticipated metal albums of 2016? We spin four of the year's best tracks on this episode instead of the normal two

Cristina Scabbia, lead singer for Lacuna Coil, guests this week to talk about the band's new album Delirium, their eighth studio album over a 20-plus year career and the first to be totally self-produced. Cristina talks about relationships between band members, experiences with past producers and the pressures the band has been under leading up the album's release. She talks about where the lyrical themes on this album stem from, some metaphorical and others from her personal relationship with mental illness.  Chuck and Godless discuss a very common word that we may or may not need to take out of our vocabulary (especially as Chuck is 'blank' for Nails). We examine how the botched launch of Prophets of Rage turned our internet feeds into a frenzy of activity, but for the wrong reasons. Did Rage Against the Machine control their message in the wrong way, or did they simply underestimate the appetite for a reunion? Zach de la Rocha may be having the last laugh, until he hears our idea for the one dude on earth

The legendary black metal drummer Frost of Satyricon is our guest this week. In our interview we talk about the re-release of their classic album Nemesis Divina on its 20th anniversary, what that means for the band, if the classic albums he grew up with would be different if they were remastered, and whether or not there is space in black metal for change and openness in songwriting. Forgive us for the poor quality of the recording, but in trve black metal style we chose to distress the audibility of his phone connection for full effect. We also discuss the announcement of Ozzfest Meets Knotfest. We try to figure out if it actually means anything for the genre, or if it's just another cash grab for the Osbourne family. Why would Slipknot give up half of their successful (or seemingly successful) festival? To get hold of the brand? To extend their legacy? Or is this just an example of the lovely spirit of cooperation in the metal community? Songs: Satyricon – "Forhekset" Black Crown Initiate – "For Red Cloud

This week Joe Duplantier of the mighty Gojira returns to the podcast for another interview ahead of the release of their new album Magma. We find out how the emotional impact on the Duplantier brothers of losing their mother effected the production of this album, whether having kids makes Joe think about the business differently, what the changing direction of their music means for the future of the band, how they feel about peoples' responses to the new record, and how building a studio in New York City changes the way he looks at making music. We also talk about "fake" bands, whether it's a band that has a front, as in Dethklok or new Season of Mist signees Sons of Balaur, or as in the case of Ghost Bath, where a band propagates misinformation to make themselves seem more interesting. Is it right to try and fool people into thinking you are something you are not? Is having a "story" worth the effort it takes to create something larger than your original band, like Gwar? We also give you a first hand accou

Luc Lemay, legendary guitarist and vocalist for Gorguts, guests this week, and in our revealing interview we discover how he became and maintains the status of being the nicest guy in death metal. We even try to get him to hate on people but he holds his ground, refusing to say one bad word about anyone we mentioned. We also talk about his return to composing after such a long hiatus, how he was sure to be very careful around all the sharp objects in his woodshop, and the process of writing a single 33-minute song that turned into the band's new EP Pleiades' Dust. We discuss our disappointment in Iron Maiden's decision to bow to the Chinese government by changing the way they perform their set. Should a band stick to their principles and not censor lyrics, or is it OK to cater to a government so the fans of the band actually get a chance to see them play? We know where Maiden came down on the subject, but were they right in doing so? Songs: Gorguts – "Wandering Times" (Exerpt from Pleiadies Dust) Polar – "B

Evan Brewer guests this week on the podcast, fresh on the heels of releasing the debut full length album with his new band Entheos. In our interview we spend more time talking about bass than ever before, but we also learn about his decision to leave The Faceless, what that meant for his career, why going solo for a few albums was a good idea and whether or not he likes watching movies with all the other nerdy prog metal guys that are getting popular these days. Later in the episode we talk about Monuments' financial woes, which led them to drop off a tour, and how dumb mistakes can ruin your band's future, or at least create hurdles that may or may not be overcome. We examine the dynamics of finances and planning on a band's well-being and what should be expected at certain levels of the game... and let’s just say Monuments should be way ahead of where they are now. Songs: Entheos – "Terminal Stages of Nostalgia" ETHS - "Nihil Sine Causa" Follow us on Twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks Follow us on

This week the always intense and enigmatic Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen guests on the podcast. His new project, Surgical Meth Machine, just released their debut self-titled album, and we find out where this next level of music came from and how it turned into something bigger than expected, how the grind of the industry drives him crazy and how he inadvertently became what he most despised by creating his own label to combat the things he hated. We also discuss the boundaries an audience needs to obey when going to shows. A young woman gets literally kicked off the stage at a pop-punk show; is that reaction justified? Does this coincide with the David Draiman discussion from last week? Where should we draw the line between audience and performer? The rules of the game are changing every day, but no one seems to know what best practices are for audience behavior... except us... we obviously know the right answer. Songs:Surgical Meth Machine - "I Want More"Death Angel - "Cause For Alarm" Learn more about