The legendary Ihsahn guests on the podcast this week. We talk about his new album Arktis being a departure from his last experimental album, working with Trivium’s Matt Heafy and his love for black metal, the differences between writing music in a band setting versus the creative process as a solo artist, and if he would ever entertain returning to a "band" or he's too comfortable working independently. Also: find out why he isn't really interested in the business side of the music industry.

We couldn’t let the flap with Gloria Cavalera go unnoticed either: in a recent post to Facebook, she called out some other band that may or may not be Sepultura (she never named a name). Godless seems to think she is just doing her job telling it like it is in a time where too many people sit back and get walked over, in stark contradiction with others in the MS family.

Songs:
Ihsahn – "Mass Darkness"
Walls of Jericho – "Reign Supreme"

Otep Shamaya, known for her outspoken and honest nature, brings it to the podcast this week. We talk about her new record Generation Doom and how it almost didn't happen, how her history informs her present, how the music industry almost ruined her passion for music, her work as a voiceover artist and what it feels like to have regained the passion for her art. We could only fit in part of our lengthy interview, but we talked at length about politics and the state of the union. The full interview, including her take on the current U.S. Presidential race, is available to members of our Patreon family at chuckandgodless.com.

Chuck and Godless talk about crowd funding fatigue; are you tired of being the go-to source for funds for your favorite bands? With more and more artists attempting to monetize their work individually -- to record, tour, buy a new van or pay for their medical bills -- have we reached a tipping point, or are those things what we should be spending our money on in the first place? Perhaps that money you've been saving on music the last two decades by downloading it for free needs to be put to better use than picking up a grande latte if you really want your favorite band to make a new album.

Songs:
Otep - "Zero"
Killswitch Engage - "Quiet Distress"

Anthony Notarmaso, vocalist for the embattled After the Burial, guests this week with one of our most heart-wrenching interviews to date. It's unfortunate that the band can't do interviews without talking about their late guitarist Justin Lowe, who tragically passed away last year, but that enabled the band to reach into spaces not many can comprehend. We talk about Justin, how the band decided to carry on in spite his absence, how the loss continues to effect them every day, what it meant to try and move on so quickly and how they struggled with this new album Dig Deep and ultimately released their highest debuting release to date.

We also talk about how a bunch of teenagers could possibly be suffering through their sophomore slump. The new Babymetal song is out and isn’t as aggressive as their last record; does this signal a shift in their approach? are they trying to go more mainstream? does anyone even care? It would appear that a softer image might play better in the US as they are poised to start doing more shows in the States, or perhaps this is where the rubber meets the road for a band whose debut everyone praised.

Songs:
After the Burial – "Laurentian Ghosts"
Babymetal – "Karate"