The Metalsucks Podcast

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 new normal of pandemic road life, the challenge of being hard of hearing and pursuing a career as a musician, the reality that his hearing could continue to degrade as a result of performing, and how Rivers are Nihil are going to convert podcast host Petar's stepson into a metal lifer. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss the disgruntled fan who drove his car into the front of the venue at a P.O.D. show, Petar talking his stepson to his very first heavy metal concert, and Metallica’s Black Album returning to the top te

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 Brandon get ready for October by celebrating the horror films that made them fall in love with the genre, the series they need to revisit, and the first film that scared them into loving the feeling of fear from cinema. Songs: Aborted - “Dementophobia” and “Drag Me To Hell” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 film about his leaked sex tape is being made, and Dave Mustaine's recent "medical tyranny" comments. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Spiritbox - “Circle With Me” and “Hurt You," Wage War - "High Horse" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 only restrictions and no lockdowns, why he feels sometimes Sweden is a very spoiled country, and how The Night Flight Orchestra started as a side project but has since become so much more. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Corey Taylor’s son's thoughts on Joey Jordison’s passing, the rumor of John Corabi replacing Vince Neil on the Motley Crüe stadium tour, and the drama between Bad Wolves and former lead singer Tommy Vext. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Song

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 war zone. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn discuss someone pooping in the pit at a Turnstile show, the Dio hologram turning into a screen, and David Lee Roth’s refusal to open for Motley Crüe. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Jinjer - “Mediator” and “Wallflowers” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 The Skull / ex-Trouble vocalist Eric Wagner and his refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine, the Nirvana Nevermind baby suing the band, Insane Clown Posse retiring from touring, and the passing of The Rolling Stones' drummer Charlie Watts. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Trouble - “Pray For The Dead," Sepultura - “Mask (Featuring Devin Townsend)” and “Slave New World (Featuring Matt Heafy), White Stones - “New Age of Dark," The Rolling Stones - “Street Fighting

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 Misdirect in its entirety on tour right now, and his thoughts on the role of livestreams in the future of heavy music. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Randy Blythe's Covid-19-related plea to fans, and our own return to live music at the Psycho Las Vegas festival, the good, the bad, and all the other feelings that have come with it. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Between the Buried and Me - “Revolution In Limbo” and “Fix The Error” Learn more about your

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 track “Invisible Enemy." Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss the podcast's 400th episode milestone, Til Lindemann's $117,000 price tag for a meal out with the Rammstein frontman, who we would pay to have dinner with, and the split between Max Cavalera and Marc Rizzo. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Spirit Adrift - “Forge Your Future" and “Wake Up," The Ugly Kings - “Technodrone” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 to concerts, Madball’s decision not to perform any shows where vaccinations are required, and our reaction to the New Guns N’ Roses song. Songs: Gost - “Coven” and “Bound By The Horror," Wizardthrone - “Black Hole Quantum Thermodynamics” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 difficulty of having a relationship as a touring musician; and the current plans for the next album from Make Them Suffer. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn also tackle the tragic news that Slipknot's Joey Jordison, ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, and Metal Church's Mike Howe have all passed away.  Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Make Them Suffer - "Contraband" (featuring Courtney LaPlante), Make Them Suffer - "Erase Me," Ex Deo - “Boudicca (Queen of The Icieni)" (featuring Brittney Slaye

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 from the artist, his story about listening to Lzzy Hale’s live monitor mix to make sure she was really singing live, his gripe with young bands honoring the past by replication, and his timeline for retiring as a live vocalist. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss the retirement of the Dio hologram for now, the Dave Grohl vs. John Joseph Covid-19 battle, and, in honor of Aaron Lewis’s recent double performance, we go down memory lane of artists we saw play live while hammered. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal

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 team put too much pressure on the band, looking back at Periphery IV, and an update on the eventual Periphery V. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Stormy Daniels running the merch booth at an upcoming Eyehategod show, our take on the new Iron Maiden track, Ed Sheeran being open to death metal, and Oli Sykes getting some vampire fangs with his wife. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support. Song: Bulb - “Upload Apathy” and “Far Too High” (Featuring Axel Mansoor) Learn more a

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 violent shows of the '80s. Attila also relays how the pandemic has affected Mayhem, how they plan to tour with ever-shifting rules in every country, and the horror movie soundtrack he's working on with Greg Anderson of Sunn O))). Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss the mother that named her children Metallica, Pantera and Slayer, Dave Mustaine running up his Cameo price in under a week, and our thoughts on the upcoming Woodstock '99 documentary. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued sup

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, and the silver linings that are happening now after a rough year mentally. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn discuss “old country” methods of healing things and cultural differences between consumers in America and other parts of the world. Apologies for the audio issue during our banter. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Times of Grace - “The Burden of Belief” and “Medusa” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 he takes towards his own music. Hannes also says he hopes there will never be another Necrophagist record and explains why. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn discuss Wes Borland’s statement on Fred Durst’s high standards for the next Limp Bizkit record, the official reunion of Shadows Fall, and our thoughts on the next NWOAHM bands to reunite. Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Hannes Grossmann - “The Great Designer" and “In The Glacier’s Eye” Learn more about you

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; an update on rescheduling the North American tour with Killswitch Engage the was cut short; and his love of seeing live stand up comedy.  Petar and Brandon discuss Pete’s first foray back into concertgoing, how show attendees' behavior has changed, the reason we think Vince Neil cancelled his second show of 2021, whether or not Robb Flynn is the dictator of Machine Head, and Atreyu's disappointing first-week record sales.  Songs: Light The Torch - “More Than Dreaming,” Light The Torch - “Let Me Fall Apart,” Vexed - “

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,” Tomahawk - “Business Casual,” Epica - “Freedom - The Wolves Within,” Soen - “Deceiver,” Red Fang - “Why” and “Funeral Coach,” Gojira - “Born For One Thing,” Harakiri for the Sky - “I, Pallbearer," Erra - “Divisionary,” The Crown - “We Drift On” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 cinema in comparison to the rest of the world's art. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Vince Neil's awful performance at his first post-pandemic show, their joy that Jason Newsted is not joining Megadeth, whether Ozzy Osbourne should have accepted Weezer’s song “Hash Pipe” when it was offered to him, and our thoughts on Bad Wolves' new singer Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz (ex-The Acacia Strain). Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Songs: Perturbator - “Death of the Soul" and "De

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 death metal, and reveals the career he would have chosen instead of metal in hindsight. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Megadeth's firing of David Ellefson, the whirlwind story of child supergroup Suspect208, and Bruce Dickinson’s decision to finally use a smart phone at 62 years old. Songs: At The Gates - “Spectre of Extinction” and “The Paradox," Scar of The Sun - "Quantum Leap Zero II: Transition To Turbulence” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 experience as a metal journalist, and a quick update on the progress of Crypta's next album. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn discuss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubbing Iron Maiden, Les Claypool auditioning for Metallica, and Whitesnake topping the charts after the passing of Tawny Kitaen. Songs: Crypta - “Starvation” and “From The Ashes” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices