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

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.joelmciver.co.uk)
• DX Ferris (author of Slayer: The Jeff & Dave Years, www.slayerbio.com)
• Albert Mudrian (author of Choosing Death: The Improbably History of Death Metal, editor of Decibel Magazine, www.decibelmagazine.com)
• Eli Santana (guitarist of Holy Grail, www.holygrailofficial.com)
• John Tole (comedian, singer of Pitboss 2000, www.johntole.com)
• Emperor Rhombus (writer at Metalsucks.net)

So check out our first ever attempt at an online listening party and celebrate SLAYER along with! Purchase Repentless here on physical formats and here digitally if you haven't yet. And when we tell you, push play on Repentless and hold on!