The Metalsucks Podcast

This week the legendary Max Cavalera joins us for our first ever live podcast interview. We took some time before his show in Austin to talk about his philosophy on metal, working with guests on his albums, the formation of a path for himself after Sepultura, coming back together with his brother after such a bad split, and how his children use their coping skills versus what he had to do as a young child growing up when his father died. We also cover Jill Janus and the strange circumstances surrounding her split -- and subsequent return -- to Huntress, what mental illness looks like and why the metal world is accusing us of talking about her only because she is a woman. Can metal commentators help themselves from name-calling and shaming? Not so much, but the double standard may not be quite what some people say when compared to other people with similar problems. Songs:Soulfly - "Live Life Hard!"Abigail Williams - "Will, Wish and Desire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daniel Tompkins lead singer of TesseracT guests this week, bringing us insight into his decision to return to the band, what it was like to reclaim his spot in a band that's taking off, what the changing sound of the band means for fans, how they react to those changes and how he copes with the shrinking opportunities for bands in the industry today. Chuck and Godless discuss the ballsy decision of Ne Obliviscaris' drummer Daniel Presland to quit a six-figure job to continue with the band and go on a world tour. Is this dude insane? Is he sacrificing stability and security for what is probably a futile pipe dream, or is he the gutsiest guy playing in a metal band today? Many bands we talk to have to be able to bridge music and day jobs to survive, but are they just selling their music short by telling us they they're not really good enough to quit their day job? Songs:Tesseract - "Messenger"Windhand - "Crypt Key" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born of Osiris guitarist Lee McKinney guests this week just as their new album Soul Sphere drops. We talk about the new album, growing up on the road, his relationship with the other band members and how that's changed over the years, how touring effects his private life and whether his skills as a guitarist enhance certain parts of his alone time. We also listen to a bit of the new Protest the Hero song and discuss their decision to turn the industry on its head yet again with a subscription-based EP release. Is it a smart move to offer their fans something no one ever has, or will there be backlash for releasing just six songs in as many months? Songs:Born of Osiris - "Resilience"Zombi - "Pillars of the Dawn" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Michael Sweet of the legendary Christian metal band Stryper joins us to talk about his new album and the history of the band. Whenever anything remotely Christian comes up, Godless gets to flex his Atheist muscles. They discuss Sweet’s relationship with God after suffering through so much tragedy in his life, his departure from God and his ultimate return, and how that effects the band to this day. We learn about his time with Boston, his relationships with his children and so much more. We also invited Doc Coyle back to "Reject the Sickness" of Vince Neilstein himself on the treatment of certain mainstream metal bands like Five Finger Death Punch on the website. Is it acceptable to trash bands when they are allegedly doing good things for metal? Is it justified to keep pushing negative opinions of bands who are just trying to do their thing? Songs:Stryper – "Big Screen Lies"Megadeth – "Fatal Illusion" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The timer at MetalocalypseNow.com has run out, and we were able to get the show's creator Brendon Small on the line to talk about the big announcement. He wouldn’t tell us what happens to Murderface, but he gives us all the details on what happened with Adult Swim and their decision not to renew the show for the fifth and final season, the thought process behind the social media campaign to bring the show back, his progress with its production, the latest on Dethklok and what we will need to do to help get Metalocalypse back on the air to finish its epic story arc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week the legendary Alex Skolnick of Testament joins us to talk shop about Metal Allegiance, his place in metal history, how his work ethic differs from his counterparts, the differences between the jazz world and the metal world, and what it meant to work with such a variety of musicians on a project like Metal Allegiance. We also find out when a new Testament record is coming! Chuck and Godless talk about the variety of beefs between musicians that seemed to pop up this week. Many were between metal-ish bands like Motley Crue and Metallica, but we wonder whether or not it is healthy for ANY scene for this kind of dishing to be happening... or maybe it needs to be happening more? Who can we find to get angry with Dave Grohl? That guy is way too nice to everybody and someone must have a problem with him, right?! Songs:Metal Allegiance - "We Rock"Fit for an Autopsy - "Wither" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Clarke from Deafheaven guests this week. We find out what he thinks about the band's meteoric trajectory since their inception just a few years ago, what it means to be critically accepted, shaping the band while members are leaving (and what that means to the bands sound), his relationship with the other bandmates and whether he might need therapy soon. We also discuss the recent "takeover" of the Billboard Top 200 by four metal bands in the top 20. It may not seem like that many but when you see 20% of album sales and streaming going to metal new and old, that's encouraging. The bright spots in metal album sales have been few and far between, so could this signal a bit of a trend? Either way Metallica's black album still sold 2000+ copies last week, so at least there's that. Follow us on twitter: @beardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks, and support us on Patreon. Songs:Deafheaven - "Come Back"Bring Me The Horizon - "Throne" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We invited guitarist Brian Eschbach of The Black Dahlia Murder to guest on the podcast this week following the release of the band's latest ripper Abysmal. We talk about the new record, using a different producer to give their music a more organic sound, what life is like off the road, how the business of TBDM works, what their relationships with former members of the band are like and the keys to success of one of the top extreme metal bands going today. The Atlas Moth's Stavros Gianopolis joins us for another edition of "Storytime With Stavros." This time he has a little help from another member of the band and explains why weed can be very bad for you, or at least lead to some intteresting predicaments on the road. We also talk about what happens to bands after they lose core members, inspired by Tom Araya's admission that Repentless was only "half of Slayer." Songs:The Black Dahlia Murder - "The Fog"Iron Maiden - "When the River Runs Deep" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho

Sevendust frontman Lajon Withersppon guests this week! We chat about the new album Kill the Flaw, the differences between touring at the age of 21 and touring today with a family back home, how his family is growing and what that will mean for the bands future plans, how the band's history with bad decisions and unfortunate circumstances weighs on their current processes and what surprising item of clothing he was wearing when he met his wife for the first time. We almost went down a car talk wormhole, too. We also discuss the GoFundMe campaign for a member of a band who faked her fight with cervical cancer. What does it mean that in this time where bands are struggling to make any kind of living you have a person trying to take advantage of a music scene's generosity? Could their be wider consequences than just the people affected directly by this incident? We salute Lemmy for getting back on tour and announce our own crowd funding campaign, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad

We had the chance to talk to Sean Reinert right on the heels of the announcement that his seminal band, Cynic, would be calling it quits before their next tour -- which was not only a surprise to fans, but, according to Facebook, a surprise to other members of the band, too. We asked him about the recent Facebook posts he wrote about their break up, what issues lead to the current situation, the back and forth between he and Paul Masvidal, and why two people who have worked together for so long can no longer bear to be around each other. Follow us on Twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new album from SLAYER drops today (9/11/15), and we've decided to give you all a special podcast to listen along with Repentless! This is something that's never been tried before in the history of the planet, so who knows if it will work or not -- but as you explore the new record you can listen to commentary about the new songs, a discussion of Slayer's place in history and more. We don't give you the music -- you use your own disc, LP, cassette or stream -- and listen alongside the podcast. But this is not just the two of us hosting! We thought you might need some expert opinions to carry you through why this record may (or may not) be the best thing since sliced wrists. So we invited some of the foremost Slayer experts, musicians, comedians and more to chat along with the album and put things in perspective: Ian Christe (Host of "Bloody Roots" on Sirius XM, author of Sound of the Beast: Complete History of Heavy Metal, www.bazillionpoints.com) Joel McIver (author of The Bloody Reign of Slayer, www.

Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet guests this week. We talk about the rise and fall of Monster Magnet, from having a super radio hit to hardly selling any albums, the way the industry monetizes artists and thereby lessens the value of art, getting older and realizing what it means to have longevity, and the pitfalls of rock and roll in general. His candid perspective is unique and Dave does not mince words for those in power. We also discuss last week's Motorhead show in Austin, where Chuck witnessed first-hand the illness that caused Lemmy's shortened performance. We discuss the crowd reaction while giving him the respect he deserves. Is this the beginning of the end for one of rock's most important icons? No matter what we hope to have him around for many more years, but it might be time to set up a residency or something. Songs:Monster Magnet - Watch Me FadeMotorhead - Till the End Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shawn Drover, ex-drummer of Megadeth and Eidolon, joins us to talk about his new band Act of Defiance, whose debut album The Birth and the Burial is out now. We discuss his departure from one of metal's biggest bands, his pairing with former Megadeth guitarist Chris Broderick and why they stuck together, what they were thinking when putting this new group together and why they are most definitely not a supergroup. We discuss the video advertisement Disturbed had to pull after its incendiary imagery came frighteningly true this week with two journalists being murdered in Virginia. Should we be more careful with the way we express our art? Darkest Hour's Mike Schleibaum joins us again to discuss the latest happenings in the political world with another edition of "The Sadist Nation." We cover a lot of ground about the 2016 Presidential candidates and some other political topics that are trending. Songs:Act of Defiance - "The Lord Belial"Stray From the Path - "Badge & a Bullet Part II" Learn more about your a

Legendary producer, guitarist and vocalist Erik Rutan guests this week. Hate Eternal just unleashed their new album Infernus and it plays like a death metal guidebook, so we pick his brain about a wide range of topics: producing bands, the changing metal scene, whether he would ever rejoin Morbid Angel, how he hurt his hand on the Metal Alliance Tour and what the hell happened to that tour when it shit the bed mid-run. Doc Coyle comes back to "Reject the Sickness." This week's topic: Godless' Tweet about loving Meshuggah being the hipster way to say people love Fear Factory. What kind of influence did FF have and why do people love to hate on them so much while giving Meshuggah so much credit for their influence? Doc does his best to set us straight. Songs:Hate Eternal - "The Stygian Deep"Clutch - "X-Ray Visions" Follow us on twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we talk to Amalie Bruun, the mysterious woman behind the eclectic black metal project Myrkur. Her perspective on metal is unique, and we talk to her about the haters, her philosophy on making music and art, what working with her heroes has meant to her, the public reception of Myrkur (both positive and negative) and how playing pop music influences her musical output. Godless recaps his time at Bloodstock, his first European style festival, and how it differs from the one-day touring festivals here in the States. We chat about the recent comments by The Browning that compare the incident in Ferguson a year ago to a band getting their van broken into, and we talk about Trapt using their Facebook page to vent their political opinions. Do bands need to be more careful with what they put out for public consumption? Songs:Myrkur – "Mordet"Teenage Time Killers – "Egobomb" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soilwork frontman Bjorn “Speed” Strid guests on the podcast this week. We talk about the band's ongoing lineup changes and their effect on the sound, what it means to lose someone who has been playing with them for so long, if he's ever thought about leaving, his recent decision to quit drinking and, of course, the band's new album The Ride Majestic.  We also discuss the recent Spotify report listing the top 25 top sub-genres of metal on the service; you won’t believe what landed at number 6! What does it all mean for bands and their music on the streaming service, and who the hell is still listening to nu-metal? Songs:Soilwork – "The Ride Majestic"InAeona – "Sun/Moon" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dino Cazares took a break from consuming young children to be our guest on the podcast one week ahead of the release of Fear Factory’s new album Genexus. While Godless goes a little gaga, we talked about the storied history of the band, the troubles with labels and producers and their struggles with the limelight and keeping band members happy. We also find out the fate of Divine Heresy and some of Dino's other projects. We take another listener call about festivals, since that topic seems to be on the top of everyone's mind as they watch the downfall of the Mayhem Festival. We discuss whether any changes need to be made to some static festivals such as Maryland Deathfest, and whether changing the formula would give the appearance that they're "selling out."  Songs:Fear Factory – "Dielectric"Amorphis – "Death of a King" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Philip H. Anselmo makes another appearance on this episode (he first joined us way back on episode sixteen!), right after his 47th birthday, and on the verge of taking Superjoint Ritual on a full tour for the first time in a decade. We talk about getting older and how it changes your perspective on conflicts with people, such as Tom G. Warrior and former band members. We also find out the status of his autobiography in the wake of the passing of his co-author and co-founder of the Housecore Horror Film Festival, Corey Mitchell. Eyal Levi drops in for another segment of 'One Minute to Midnight,' in which unsigned bands get to be critiqued by a professional engineer, producer and all around talented dude. Event Horizon and Dissident Regressor are on the chopping block this month -- you can judge, or just listen to us tear them to shreds (actually, we attempt to help them make their music better)! We also take another listener call and discuss who could make a good concept record (should Slipknot even contempl

Blake Harrison and Mark Sloan, the human portion of the parrot-fronted extreme metal band Hatebeak, guest this week on the podcast. We find out if they really think metal vocalists are obsolete, why this project should be taken seriously and why it probably shouldn't be at the same time. We learn about the collaboration's history and grill Blake about whether we'll have to wait another couple decades before the new Pig Destroyer album comes out (and if it will be a D00M album). We take a listener question about streaming services and how bands make money via Spotify, Google Play and Apple Music. Where does the money go? Why do those royalty checks for metal bands barely buy a happy meal let alone pay a mortgage? Songs:Hatebeak - "God of Empty Nest"Kataklysm - "Thy Serpents Tongue" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The enigmatic Dani Filth makes us work hard for our money on this week's episode: we talk about the upcoming Cradle of Filth record, how imagery can shape the outcome of an album, creating good artwork, how he keeps the Cradle sound intact with a rotating cast of band members, and why you shouldn't illegally download music. Senior MS Editor Anso DF stops by to bring some of the latest news stories into perspective. How do the stories of Cobalt's new lead singer, Morbid Angel's embarrassing public split and Inquisition getting picked for Knotfest all tie together? Anso helps us sort it out! Songs:Cradle of Filth - "Deflowering The Maidenhead, Displeasing The Goddess"Ramming Speed - "Don't Let This Stay Here" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices