The MetalSucks Podcast

This week's guest on the podcast is Johan Hegg of the mighty Amon Amarth! Listen in as we discuss why he the band's new album, Jomsviking, may quite possibly be the band's finest work to date, the story behind the band's first concept record, the cause of their first line-up change in twenty years, and their decision not to hire a new permanent drummer.

Plus: Eyal Levi is back again for another installment of One Minute to Midnight! Two unsigned bands have their material examined by one of the finest producers in metal today, who offers up tips to help them continue to grow their careers. On this episode, Sweet Little Machine and Plagued by Humanity face the chopping block, and... well, let's just say they have some work ahead of them.

 

Direct download: METALSucks20Podcast20Ep0137.mp3
Category:The MetalSucks Podcast -- posted at: 9:03am PDT

Steve Austin, vocalist and guitarist for Today is the Day, recently formed a new band called UXO with his longtime friend Chris Spencer of Unsane. We invited Steve to chat with us and wound up having one of the longest, most interesting discussions we've had in a long time. We talk about how the UXO project came together, where his drive to create introspective, destructive music comes from, how his relationship with his family molded the person he is today and how his children changed his outlook on life and music.

We also try and figure out whether or not Bring Me the Horizon's Oli Sykes really has beef with Chris Martin and Coldplay or if he's just trying to get more people to pay attention to him. He claims he did not know that his stunt at the NME Awards was directed at the band, but we're not necessarily buying it. Also, just to warn you, there will be graphic depictions of a surgical procedure one of us had in this episode... let's just say the results were unexpected.

Songs:
UXO - "Trauma"
Toothgrinder - "The House (That Fear Built)"

Direct download: METALSucks20Podcast20Ep0136.mp3
Category:The MetalSucks Podcast -- posted at: 7:21am PDT

This week we were recovering from our trip to the Caribbean on the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. The floating festival is in its sixth year, offering 60 bands over the course of four days, and somehow we survived our third trip. Whether you love to see the crowd, the destinations or the bands you will have a spectacular time. As part of the press corps, we got the opportunity to talk to some of the bands on board in an "official" capacity, and this can present some challenges for your hosts who tend to talk without end.

The guitar shredder Herman Li of the mighty Dragonforce took some time to speak with us. They had a tough go of it -- their first performance was cut due to tech problems, then rescheduled, and their final show was booted from the main stage by the weather -- but he was in good spirits the whole trip and we were able to have an in-depth chat with the man behind the guitar.

We had been working to get Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom to guest on the show when their latest album dropped and couldn't make it work, but he had nowhere to run on the cruise ship. You may forget how long Children of Bodom have been bringing the metal, and his history with the band is obviously interesting, so we pick his brain to find out what drives him to keep moving forward, both personally and musically.

Songs:
Dragonforce - "The Game"
Rotting Christ - "Tou Thanatou"
Children of Bodom - "I Worship Chaos"

Direct download: METALSucks20Podcast20Ep0135.mp3
Category:The MetalSucks Podcast -- posted at: 7:54am PDT

This week we invited Steve "Stevic" MacKay of the genre-bending Twelve Foot Ninja to the podcast for one of our favorite interviews to date. Shamelessly outspoken about music, the business side of things and the media, Stevic tells us all the things that are haunting him as a person, and the obstacles the band has encountered from the other side of the globe in Australia. His unique perspective is quite a bit different than what we had expected, and we were impressed with how candid and concerned the person behind the music really is.

We spent a lot of time with Stevic in this interview, and we are currently sailing the seas on the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise, so we left our weekly topic at the door. Don’t worry, there really isn’t anything to talk about in metal right now anyway, right? 

Songs:
Twelve Foot Ninja – "One Hand Killing"
Amon Amarth – "First Kill"

Direct download: Metalsucks20Podcast20EP0134.mp3
Category:The MetalSucks Podcast -- posted at: 7:04am PDT

Steffen Kummerer, guitarist and vocalist of Obscura, guests this week. With their first new album in five years, Akroasis, coming out this week, we talked to Steffen in depth about his approach to writing the new album, his experience and education, how the shifting membership in the band shaped where they are today and whether having a master's degree or being a metal vocalist gets more traction with the ladies.

We also invited Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour back for another edition of our political segment "Sadist Nation" to talk before today's Iowa Primaries. We also couldn't ignore the controversy involving Phil Anselmo and his Nazi salute and "white power" scream at Dimebash; you may have read the statement about the incident from Darkest Hour last week, but Mike elaborates further about what it means for the metal community. (Note: we recorded this episode before Anselmo's apology video, but we got a feeling his sentiment did not change much).

Songs:
Obscura - "The Monist"
Darkest Hour - "Painkiller"

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Direct download: METALSucks20Podcast20Ep0133.mp3
Category:The MetalSucks Podcast -- posted at: 9:08am PDT

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