Jon Mess and Will Swan of Dance Gavin Dance guest this week on your favorite metal podcast. We talk about how the band is shunned by metal fans and where they believe that comes from, how they have succeeded while so many others have failed, and their latest release, Mothership. We also talk about their perspective on the rotating door at their lead singer position, and how that changes the way they write music and what they are able to do as a band. 

We talk more about the lead singer problem in light of the big news this week that Asking Alexandria dumped their new singer to take back their old one. Who has that worked for in the past and how might it feel for the people involved? Is it a “grass is always greener” issue, or the thrill of the chase? It worked for Anthrax, TesseracT and several other bands; fans certainly seem to want the old guy back. Well, except in Iron Maiden…

Songs:
Dance Gaving Dance – "Chucky Vs. The Giant Tortoise"
Whores – "Participation Trophy"

This week our guest on your favorite metal podcast is Jessica Pimentel, both a metal musician and star of the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black. Her career has been taking off with the portrayal of Maria Ruiz on the jailhouse drama, but her ties to metal run deep, whether with her band Alekhine’s Gun, her main squeeze (Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake), or just the circles she runs with in her native Brooklyn. In our interview we talk about her recent excursion to see Metallica at Webster Hall, her relationship with heavy music, her background in classical, the similarities and differences between being an actress and musician, how close she was to ending her career as an actor, and what "terrible" album she won’t admit to loving.

We also talk about Lords of Chaos being made into a Hollywood film. What does it mean for an underground genre of metal to get the dramatization treatment? We ponder what other stories in metal might be worth telling in the same format; there have been plenty of compelling narratives involving metal music and musicians over the years, but which one would you choose to put on the silver screen? What kind of disaster show will Hollywood make of the soundtrack for this movie? What SHOULD the soundtrack include?

Songs:
Alekhine’s Gun – "Atlas"
Opeth – "Chrysalis"

Jordan Mancino, drummer for Wovenwar (and ex-As I Lay Dying) guests this week on your favorite metal podcast to talk about the band's new record, Honor is Dead, which is out now. We talked with Jordan about the recent departure of bandmate Phil Sgrosso (he'd been a part of AILD and/or Wovenwar since he was a teenager), how they were able to reconstruct themselves after Tim Lambesis decided to "go rogue" and what that looked like from the inside, how that time in their history informs who they are today, and their experience as a Christian band evolving into a secular group in such a visible way.

We also talk about bands who come to represent entire genres of music. Some bands that barely have a connection to a type of music adopt a new aesthetic and sound, then rise to the top of a genre by writing middle of the road tunes that play on the popular pieces of the genre's past and capitalize on the lowest common denominator of fans. Are such bands legit? It's happened with many different genres over the years: Green Day with punk, Limp Bizkit with nu-metal, Avenged Sevenfold with metal and many more.

Vicky Psarakis, vocalist of The Agonist, guests on your favorite metal podcast this week, and in our interview we discover a genuine and enthusiastically nice person behind the voice of one of the most exciting bands in metal today. We talk about how she finds and fleshes out great hooks and writes songs, her rise from a YouTube singer to taking over for Alyssa White-Gluz as the frontwoman of an up-and-coming metal band, transitioning from never being in a band before to touring around the world, why being a singer shouldn’t affect your ego, and what it was like living in Greece during the financial crisis and how that spurred her to innovate with her music career.

We also talk about how bands need to be more proactive on all platforms and social media. We’ve all seen the tour updates, behind-the-scenes studio videos and the like, but there aren't many bands who can get past the clichés and turn their online presence into something more relatable for their audience. Some of the best are using different outlets to round out the ‘who’ more than the ‘what’ of their music careers. Should it even matter? No matter the answer, due to the ever-changing ways of consuming music and art bands need to be ready to open the doors and let the audience in.

Songs: 
The Agonist – "The Moment"
CarBomb – "From the Dust of This Planet"

This week on your favorite metal podcast we talk to virtuoso guitarist Monte Pittman, who has played with plenty of non-metal acts like Madonna and Adam Lambert, but also alongside Tommy Victor in Prong. He ha an extensive solo catalogue as well, including his latest metal installment Inverted Grasp of Balance. In our interview we talk about his whole career, from starting out in East Texas to becoming the King of LA (crowned by us), his ability to work with all walks of life, what it's like to play both stadiums and small clubs, teaching as an outlet for expression (as well as an income stream), and we try to find out more about his personal life.

We also talk to DX Ferris, author of the definitive biography on Slayer's Reign in Blood, to commemorate the 30th birthday of the album. On October 7th, 1986, metal changed forever, and DX enlightens us on some of the huge misconceptions about the record, what really spurred the change from longer songs to a shorter, more polished attack, how this album may not be their best-selling, and more (you’ll get the rest in a detailed post later this week on MS). DX dispels myths about producer Rick Rubin's influence on Reign in Blood's songs as well as late guitarist Jeff Hanneman's contributions. Mind = blown.

Songs:
Monte Pittman – "Arisen in Broad Daylight"
Slayer – "Necrophobic"

This week on your favorite metal podcast we talk to virtuoso guitarist Monte Pittman, who has played with plenty of non-metal acts like Madonna and Adam Lambert, but also alongside Tommy Victor in Prong. He ha an extensive solo catalogue as well, including his latest metal installment Inverted Grasp of Balance. In our interview we talk about his whole career, from starting out in East Texas to becoming the King of LA (crowned by us), his ability to work with all walks of life, what it's like to play both stadiums and small clubs, teaching as an outlet for expression (as well as an income stream), and we try to find out more about his personal life.

We also talk to DX Ferris, author of the definitive biography on Slayer's Reign in Blood, to commemorate the 30th birthday of the album. On October 7th, 1986, metal changed forever, and DX enlightens us on some of the huge misconceptions about the record, what really spurred the change from longer songs to a shorter, more polished attack, how this album may not be their best-selling, and more (you’ll get the rest in a detailed post later this week on MS). DX dispels myths about producer Rick Rubin's influence on Reign in Blood's songs as well as late guitarist Jeff Hanneman's contributions. Mind = blown.

Songs:
Monte Pittman – "Arisen in Broad Daylight"
Slayer – "Necrophobic"