We invited guitarist Brian Eschbach of The Black Dahlia Murder to guest on the podcast this week following the release of the band's latest ripper Abysmal. We talk about the new record, using a different producer to give their music a more organic sound, what life is like off the road, how the business of TBDM works, what their relationships with former members of the band are like and the keys to success of one of the top extreme metal bands going today.

The Atlas Moth's Stavros Gianopolis joins us for another edition of "Storytime With Stavros." This time he has a little help from another member of the band and explains why weed can be very bad for you, or at least lead to some intteresting predicaments on the road. We also talk about what happens to bands after they lose core members, inspired by Tom Araya's admission that Repentless was only "half of Slayer."

Songs:
The Black Dahlia Murder - "The Fog"
Iron Maiden - "When the River Runs Deep"

Sevendust frontman Lajon Withersppon guests this week! We chat about the new album Kill the Flaw, the differences between touring at the age of 21 and touring today with a family back home, how his family is growing and what that will mean for the bands future plans, how the band's history with bad decisions and unfortunate circumstances weighs on their current processes and what surprising item of clothing he was wearing when he met his wife for the first time. We almost went down a car talk wormhole, too.

We also discuss the GoFundMe campaign for a member of a band who faked her fight with cervical cancer. What does it mean that in this time where bands are struggling to make any kind of living you have a person trying to take advantage of a music scene's generosity? Could their be wider consequences than just the people affected directly by this incident? We salute Lemmy for getting back on tour and announce our own crowd funding campaign, too.

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!

Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet guests this week. We talk about the rise and fall of Monster Magnet, from having a super radio hit to hardly selling any albums, the way the industry monetizes artists and thereby lessens the value of art, getting older and realizing what it means to have longevity, and the pitfalls of rock and roll in general. His candid perspective is unique and Dave does not mince words for those in power.

We also discuss last week's Motorhead show in Austin, where Chuck witnessed first-hand the illness that caused Lemmy's shortened performance. We discuss the crowd reaction while giving him the respect he deserves. Is this the beginning of the end for one of rock's most important icons? No matter what we hope to have him around for many more years, but it might be time to set up a residency or something.

Songs:
Monster Magnet - Watch Me Fade
Motorhead - Till the End

Shawn Drover, ex-drummer of Megadeth and Eidolon, joins us to talk about his new band Act of Defiance, whose debut album The Birth and the Burial is out now. We discuss his departure from one of metal's biggest bands, his pairing with former Megadeth guitarist Chris Broderick and why they stuck together, what they were thinking when putting this new group together and why they are most definitely not a supergroup.

We discuss the video advertisement Disturbed had to pull after its incendiary imagery came frighteningly true this week with two journalists being murdered in Virginia. Should we be more careful with the way we express our art?

Darkest Hour's Mike Schleibaum joins us again to discuss the latest happenings in the political world with another edition of "The Sadist Nation." We cover a lot of ground about the 2016 Presidential candidates and some other political topics that are trending.

Songs:
Act of Defiance - "The Lord Belial"
Stray From the Path - "Badge & a Bullet Part II"

Legendary producer, guitarist and vocalist Erik Rutan guests this week. Hate Eternal just unleashed their new album Infernus and it plays like a death metal guidebook, so we pick his brain about a wide range of topics: producing bands, the changing metal scene, whether he would ever rejoin Morbid Angel, how he hurt his hand on the Metal Alliance Tour and what the hell happened to that tour when it shit the bed mid-run.

Doc Coyle comes back to "Reject the Sickness." This week's topic: Godless' Tweet about loving Meshuggah being the hipster way to say people love Fear Factory. What kind of influence did FF have and why do people love to hate on them so much while giving Meshuggah so much credit for their influence? Doc does his best to set us straight.

Songs:
Hate Eternal - "The Stygian Deep"
Clutch - "X-Ray Visions"

Follow us on twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks

This week we talk to Amalie Bruun, the mysterious woman behind the eclectic black metal project Myrkur. Her perspective on metal is unique, and we talk to her about the haters, her philosophy on making music and art, what working with her heroes has meant to her, the public reception of Myrkur (both positive and negative) and how playing pop music influences her musical output.

Godless recaps his time at Bloodstock, his first European style festival, and how it differs from the one-day touring festivals here in the States. We chat about the recent comments by The Browning that compare the incident in Ferguson a year ago to a band getting their van broken into, and we talk about Trapt using their Facebook page to vent their political opinions. Do bands need to be more careful with what they put out for public consumption?

Songs:
Myrkur – "Mordet"
Teenage Time Killers – "Egobomb"

Soilwork frontman Bjorn “Speed” Strid guests on the podcast this week. We talk about the band's ongoing lineup changes and their effect on the sound, what it means to lose someone who has been playing with them for so long, if he's ever thought about leaving, his recent decision to quit drinking and, of course, the band's new album The Ride Majestic. 

We also discuss the recent Spotify report listing the top 25 top sub-genres of metal on the service; you won’t believe what landed at number 6! What does it all mean for bands and their music on the streaming service, and who the hell is still listening to nu-metal?

Songs:
Soilwork – "The Ride Majestic"
InAeona – "Sun/Moon"

Dino Cazares took a break from consuming young children to be our guest on the podcast one week ahead of the release of Fear Factory’s new album Genexus. While Godless goes a little gaga, we talked about the storied history of the band, the troubles with labels and producers and their struggles with the limelight and keeping band members happy. We also find out the fate of Divine Heresy and some of Dino's other projects.

We take another listener call about festivals, since that topic seems to be on the top of everyone's mind as they watch the downfall of the Mayhem Festival. We discuss whether any changes need to be made to some static festivals such as Maryland Deathfest, and whether changing the formula would give the appearance that they're "selling out." 

Songs:
Fear Factory – "Dielectric"
Amorphis – "Death of a King"

Philip H. Anselmo makes another appearance on this episode (he first joined us way back on episode sixteen!), right after his 47th birthday, and on the verge of taking Superjoint Ritual on a full tour for the first time in a decade. We talk about getting older and how it changes your perspective on conflicts with people, such as Tom G. Warrior and former band members. We also find out the status of his autobiography in the wake of the passing of his co-author and co-founder of the Housecore Horror Film Festival, Corey Mitchell.

Eyal Levi drops in for another segment of 'One Minute to Midnight,' in which unsigned bands get to be critiqued by a professional engineer, producer and all around talented dude. Event Horizon and Dissident Regressor are on the chopping block this month -- you can judge, or just listen to us tear them to shreds (actually, we attempt to help them make their music better)!

We also take another listener call and discuss who could make a good concept record (should Slipknot even contemplate trying to pull something like that off?), why Mayhem Fest founder Kevin Lyman had to apologize for calling metal "fat, old and bald," and more.

Songs:

Superjoint Ritual - "Death Threat"
Miss May I - "I.H.E."

Blake Harrison and Mark Sloan, the human portion of the parrot-fronted extreme metal band Hatebeak, guest this week on the podcast. We find out if they really think metal vocalists are obsolete, why this project should be taken seriously and why it probably shouldn't be at the same time. We learn about the collaboration's history and grill Blake about whether we'll have to wait another couple decades before the new Pig Destroyer album comes out (and if it will be a D00M album).

We take a listener question about streaming services and how bands make money via Spotify, Google Play and Apple Music. Where does the money go? Why do those royalty checks for metal bands barely buy a happy meal let alone pay a mortgage?

Songs:
Hatebeak - "God of Empty Nest"
Kataklysm - "Thy Serpents Tongue"

The enigmatic Dani Filth makes us work hard for our money on this week's episode: we talk about the upcoming Cradle of Filth record, how imagery can shape the outcome of an album, creating good artwork, how he keeps the Cradle sound intact with a rotating cast of band members, and why you shouldn't illegally download music.

Senior MS Editor Anso DF stops by to bring some of the latest news stories into perspective. How do the stories of Cobalt's new lead singer, Morbid Angel's embarrassing public split and Inquisition getting picked for Knotfest all tie together? Anso helps us sort it out!

Songs:
Cradle of Filth - "Deflowering The Maidenhead, Displeasing The Goddess"
Ramming Speed - "Don't Let This Stay Here"

Dennis Lyxzén of the legendary Refused guests on the podcast this week. We pick his brain about the demise of the band in the late '90s, what it took to get them to reunite, his philosophy on life, religion and what it means to be a working artist, the new Refused record Freedom and more.

Now that 2015 is halfway over Chuck and Godless discuss their picks for best album of the year (so far). How will the rest of the year shape up with so many big names dropping records in the next few months?

Songs:
Paradise Lost – "No Hope In Sight"
Sigh – "The Casketburner"
Refused - "Thought Is Blood"

Follow us on Twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks

Hiran Deraniyagala of Battlecross is our guest this week as the band makes their way across Canada on tour with Crowbar. We talk about their new record Rise to Power, the band's recent success and how they've managed and struggled with it so far, what that means to who they are as people, and the real reason they've had such a problem filling the drum slot.

We also invited Sergeant D, Gear Gods Senior Editor Max Frank, and MS contributor Emperor Rhombus to the podcast after the recent back and forth on the site about the emphasis on musicianship in today's metal scene. Do fans put too much emphasis on ability and not enough on songwriting? Does it matter? And how does that impact metal's place in the music scene at large?

Follow us on twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks

Songs:
Battlecross - "Not Your Slave"
Jungle Rot -  "Paralyzed Prey"

On this week's podcast we go in depth with Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler. We talked about the new Lamb of God album, how the relationships inside the band have changed over time, the differences between working with Megadeth and his own band, who the best of their many fill-in guitarists has been, what a rock and roll retirement plan should look like and his thoughts on clean singing in metal. We also get the scoop on an offer he may not be able to refuse from Dave Mustaine.

Songs:
Lamb of God - "512"
Rivers of Nihil - "Perpetual Growth Machine"

This week we have another installment of One Minute to Midnight, our chance for unsigned bands to have their music listened to and critiqued by one of our prolific metal producer Eyal Levi. Two bands get 60 seconds each to impress or completely disappoint; you be the judge.

We invite MetalSucks contributor Crash Thompson to help us try and figure out if there is still an underground left. IMNs will of course tell you that there is, and you just can't see it because you aren't looking, but with all of the constant internet coverage of metal the word "underground" may just be a term from the days of old we use to describe crappy music.

We also discuss Ronnie Radke's recent alleged indiscretion. Should the court of public opinion be what determines a person's guilt or innocence? Finding the truth can be almost impossible, and in the recent case of the Warped Tour flap over some of their talent, a measured response to accusations might be in order.

Follow us on Twitter: @BeardedApe @GodlessSpeaks

Songs:
Cattle Decapitation - "Manufactured Extinct"
Ghost - "Cirice"

I.C.S. Vortex takes a break from his many projects and family to guest this week on the MetalSucks Podcast. His new release with Arcturus is a departure from much of what he's done in the past, and we talk about that progression, his experience with an evangelical mother, how he fits his many projects into being a father and husband and his experiences with the volatile situations in Dimmu Borgir (and his subsequent departure from the band).

We also give you the first true installment of our new politics segment, "Sadist Nation" with Darkest Hour's Mike Schleibaum. We talk about the separation between church and state and whether or not metalheads can unite under one set of causes, and what it would take to make us all come together and realize the political power we have in the world after so many years of being sidelined.

This week marks the 100th episode of the MetalSucks Podcast! For this special occasion we pulled in one of our favorite people in metal today, if not the entire planet, Mark "Barney" Greenway, frontman for the legendary Napalm Death! We couldn't just have a normal interview, but one of our longest to date, covering a wide array of topics from his lengthy time with the band, his brief split, the politics of poverty and what the future of metal looks like. It really goes all over the place for almost a full 100 minutes.

Thank you to you all who have supported us, listened, subscribed and told us how terrible we are; we take it all to heart, and hopefully if we don't piss off Vince and Axl we might be around for 200.

Follow Us on Twitter: @BeardedApe @GodlessSpeaks

Songs:
Napalm Death - "Suffer the Children"
Napalm Death - "How the Years Condemn"

Marc Okubo of Veil of Maya guests this week. We cover the departure of their former lead singer Brandon Butler and new BMOC Lukas Magyar: the moment everything came to a head, adding melodic clean singing, which vocalist has dreamier eyes and what actually happened to Revocation drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne when he injured his arm last year. 

Chuck and Godless discuss their expectations when a favorite artist is releasing a new album: getting your hopes up for new music can be devastating when it falls short.

We also chat about what makes metal news, news? Is the fact that a band is thinking about heading to the studio sometime in the future news? What kind of landscaping does Don Dokken prefer in his yard? What actually matters when it comes to your consumption of headlines?

This week, Carley Coma, lead singer of the revitalized Candiria, guests on the podcast! We find out about how faith shaped his path in life, his passion for MMA, and risking his life for music. Also: when will we hear some new material for the band?  

Plus: Eyal Levi jumps back in for another session of One Minute to Midnight featuring unsigned bands looking for some expert advice on their music. Deconsecrate and The Residence get their music listened to and picked over by one of the best in the business! And Chuck and Godless discuss the flap last week between former GWAR vocalist Kim Dylla (aka Vulvatron) and current GWAR guitarist Brent Purgason (aka Pustulus Maximus), and whether the band should have handled the situation differently or not.

Songs:

Candiria – "Faction"
We Butter the Bread With Butter – "Berlin, Berlin!"

Follow Us on Twitter: @BeardedApe @GodlessSpeaks

This week we welcome back a guest who has been on the podcast before, albeit in a different capacity: Mike Schleibaum, who is not only the guitarist for Darkest Hour, but is a DC resident with some great insights into the world of politics. With elections coming up and issues at hand that will effect the entire glob, Chuck, Godless, and Mike tackles political topics of interest to metal fans.Is Marijuana legalization your thing? Second amendment rights? Free speech? Or are you just worried about your tickets to MDF while Baltimore still smolders?

We also talk to Keith Fay from the band Cruachan about the craziness surrounding their latest album title and allegations of copyright infringement brought against them by the German metal band Debauchery.

Follow us on twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks

Songs:

Darkest Hour - The World Engulfed In Flames

Refused - Elektra

Our guest this week is "Dixie" Dave Collins, frontman and bassist for Weedeater. We talk about their latest album, Eurpopean jail, why seagulls suck, and how he got his driver's license revoked. Plus: check out a new song from their upcoming album, <em>Goliathan</em>, which comes out May 18 on Season of Mist.

We also take another call from one our listeners, and discuss the new trend of pop culture absorbing the "metal look" with some of the latest fashion. Finally, we break down Pat Robertson's riff on evil music and why it's okay to beat your kids if they listen to things you don't like.

Songs:

Weedeater - "Joseph...(All Talk)"

Slayer - "When the Stillness Comes"

Matt Harvey, mastermind behind the twenty-five-year history of Exhumed, guests this week. We talk about the re-recording of the classic album Gore Metal, how bands survive with so many lineup changes, and what his personal role was in shaping the band's history. We talk about growing up without much a metal scene, keeping death metal alive in the '90s and how his new project Gruesome is really a love letter to Chuck Schuldiner and old school Death.

Chuck and Godless also talk about the recent flap between ex-Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward and SharOz Osbourne. Is the responsibility on Ward to be in the best physical condition possible to remain with the band, or do Sabbath have an obligation to bring an original member along for the the ride despite the needs of an aging member?

Songs:
Gruesome - "Trapped In Hell"
Gallows - "Leather Crown"

36 Crazyfists vocalist Brock Lindow guests on the podcast this week to talk about the band's new album Time and Trauma and their upcoming tour with Nonpoint. Brock is not only the frontman of 36 Crazyfists, but he is also the father to a five-year-old, he's started his own hockey-themed sports bar, he co-hosts a podcast about craft beer and he's an all-around hard working dude.

Chuck and Godless speculate whether Marty Freidman's alleged re-addition to Megadeth would have really been a "step back" for him or if he's missing a big opportunity. The mighty Gwar's legal woes became very complicated this week when a lawsuit brought by the father of late lead singer Dave Brockie came to light, but the band vehemently denied the accusations and have handled it all perfectly.

This week Testament's Chuck Billy and Exodus vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza guest on the podcast to kick off the Dark Roots of Thrash Tour II. We talk about the early days of thrash metal, the differences between their experiences touring in the '80s and today, the benefit show that possibly made the revival of their generation of bands possible, and we find out how these seemingly popular musicians really made their living for the last couple of decades.

Eyal Levi steps in once again for another edition of "One Minute to Midnight" by giving his advice to a couple more unsigned bands, and Chuck and Godless speculate about the situation with Skeletonwitch and their departed vocalist Chance Garnette. When a lead singer departs in such a public way, and has a family member in the band, how is it possible to move past it? 

Songs:
Various (Chuck Billy) - Mr. Crowley
Ufomammut - Temple

The New England Metal and Hardcore Fest kicks off its seventeenth year in just a few weeks, so Chuck and Godless had some questions about the prolific festival for founder Scott Lee. Scott talks about how he picks bands for the festival, the challenges of a changing audience over the past decade, finding the right combination of sponsors and lifestyle groups to make it financially viable without being a giant advertisement, what the landscape of regional festivals looks like, and how that competition shapes his festival and vice versa.

Chuck and Godless also recap their coverage of the story that broke last week about Otep and the alleged sexual assault against her while on tour. Our exclusive interview with her shed quite a bit of light on the controversy, but we reserved our commentary for this week's episode. 

Songs:
The Red Chord - "Blue Line Cretin"
Mantar - "Cult Witness"

Otep Shamaya found herself at the center of controversy this week when her band pulled out of the upcoming Civil Unrest Tour -- also set to feature Ill Nino, 36 Crazyfists and Terror Universal -- because the singer of Terror Universal allegedly "violently grabbed my crotch on our last tour."

Since then, accusations have been flying every which way. Ill Nino and the tour's organizers both issued statements on the matter, as did the wife of Terror Universal's singer (although, interestingly, no one in the band has yet commented publicly), and Otep herself shared additional details via Twitter.

In this special edition of the MetalSucks Podcast, host Chuck Loesch speaks with Otep directly to clear up all the details surrounding the incident: what happened, when it happened, and what the future holds. Otep shares all sorts of new details about the incident, including the revelation that Dave Chavarri, a longtime personal friend of Otep's and the drummer for Ill Nino, is also the drummer AND manager of Terror Universal, creating a stark conflict of interest. 

Drummer Hannes Grossmann of Alkaloid (Ex-Obscura, ex-Necrophagist) guests this week. We talk about the differences between being a session drummer and a band member, how to admit you wrote something that sucks, how playing fast is no excuse for bad songwriting, why he left Obscura and when the Necrophagist record will be coming out.

Chuck and Godless were consumed by SXSW this week but they still found the time to get some discussion topics together. Can Slipknot live forever? They discuss if bands should keep going without original members of the band or if the personnel are too critical to a band's identity. They also declare a winner for SXSW and it was not a headliner of any showcase, but rather something more special.

Songs:
Alkaloid - "Cthulhu"
Fallujah - "Allure"

Mlny Parsonz from Royal Thunder guests on the podcast with Chuck and Godless this week. We discover her surprising history with religion and spirituality, her theory on songwriting and life, her Jesus tattoos, how she's learned to look forward instead of linger on bad situations and what frightens her most about the world.

Doc Coyle joins for another segment of Rejecting the Sickness to talk about some of his latest musings in his new VH1 column. We hash out whether being a metal puritan is a real thing and if it's a liability to the genre as a whole.

Chuck can't seem to understand how neither Vince or Godless know that much about porn, or at least Mia Khalifa, one of the biggest female stars on PornHub right now. This of course after she popped up wearing a death metal t-shirt and gave us all a rise.

Chuck and Godless invite Editor-in-Chief of Decibel Magazine Albert Mudrian onto the podcast to talk about the new version of his book Choosing Death, with updated chapters on the past decade of death and grind. Albert also speculates on the future of metal; where are we headed? what might be the next hot trend? is there even any room for that nonsense anymore?

Eyal Levi drops in again for another installment of One Minute to Midnight, the segment designed to let you hear new and unsigned bands try and make an impression on one of the best producers/engineers in the industry.

Chuck and Godless will be hosting a panel at SXSW called "The Art of the Interview" in which they'll discuss the process of, the work that goes into and how to conduct a decent interview. You'll get a brief preview of the panel's subject matter here after That Metal Show apparently gave Ted Nugent a pass on the tough questions.

That Metal Show co-host Don Jamieson is our guest this week. We talk about season fourteen of the show, how and why VH1 decided to put some metal into their programming line-up, who the best and worst guests have been and why they don't seem to offer much in the way of newer metal on the program.

Chuck and Godless talk about the weekend controversy with Dimebag Darrell's grave site desecration, the band or band member responsible for the act and why his apology probably won't fly in Texas.

MetalSucks Co-Founder Vince Neilstein jumps in to talk about his recent post on the major label acquisition of Century Media. What does it mean to metal in general, for other labels and for the bands on CM's roster? Could it be a good thing to dissolve yet another metal major, or does it signal a decline in metal overall?

Songs:
Pantera - "5 Minutes Alone"
Melechesh - "Multiple Truths"

Enslaved founding member Ivar Bjørnson is our guest this week. The legendary progressive black metal band's new record In Times hits shelves in a few weeks, and Chuck and Godless had a chance to talk to him about his young children, how close the band has been to splitting up, bouncing back and solidifying a new line-up, the keys to a good relationship in a band and his "marriage" to Enslaved bassist Grutle Kjellson for the last 25 years.

We also discuss the metal events coming to SXSW -- including the MetalSucks South By South Death showcase -- and we go in depth on a recent post by Sergeant D about Papa Roach going Djent. Does this signify the coming end of djent? Will the pop-metal titans close the door on another kind of metal just like they did for Nu Metal? Or should we be happy the mainstream finally discovered something new to incorporate?

Songs:
Enslaved - "One Thousand Years of Rain"
Lee McKinney - "Skylasher"

Dave Haley, drummer for Australian tech-death band Psycroptic, guests this week, Chuck and Godless grill him about the difficulties of being an Aussie band and touring the world, the benefits of retaining the rights to their music, their involvement with Tasmanian Devil extinction awareness and which member is the true hippie of the band.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the divisions between metal fans and how those rifts reflect racial tendencies in the U.S. It can be difficult for any band to become "legitimate," but in the modern metal scene more and more bands get criticized based on their style rather than their ability to write and play songs. Is this the new normal? Why do some people just hate clean singing and only listen to death metal? Should Chuck start a new battle vest? We discuss, you decide.

Songs:
Psycroptic - "Cold"
Veil of Maya - "Phoenix"

An action packed episode this week! Chuck and Godless take a bunch of your calls, talk about love and relationships for Valentine's Day, and debut the inaugural installment of "One Minute to Midnight," where unsigned bands get to have their music featured on the podcast and heard and critiqued by veteran producer, musician, teacher and resident badass Eyal Levi. Two bands get the full treatment this week; winners? losers? You be the judge!

Doc Coyle takes us to school on Steel Panther in his ongoing "Rejecting the Sickness" segment, telling us why SP are totally legit and not as derogatory as you might think based on song titles, album titles, videos, pictures, telegraphs and smoke signals.

Songs:
Cognizance - "The Succession of Flesh"
Byzantine - "A Curious Lot"

70,000 Tons of Podcast! Chuck and Godless set sail for the Caribbean with 4,000 metalheads to experience 60+ bands and some amazing times: a bigger ship, 20 more bands and even more fans on board than ever before, all headed to Jamaica with one thing in common... metal!

Corrosion of Conformity make their first appearance on the Podcast with their Blind-era lineup. They tell us all about how this group came back together of late, the big difference with the recent return to the three piece, Reed Mullin's experience with Dave Grohl and a new project called Teenage Time Killers that features some amazing guest stars.

Later Chuck and Godless sit down with Max and Gloria Cavalera and talk about their storied history with the metal business: what it's like to have so much of their family involved, what it means to have that time together and how tragedy has shaped their destiny.

Songs:
Soulfly - "Eye For An Eye"
Blind Guardian - "Ashes of Eternity"

Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb guests this week on the eve of the release of their new album Juggernaut. We talk about the recording process, guitar nerds asking too many questions, and how producing the record themselves was a liberating experience.

We take a listener call about Slayer entering into the Bonnaroo mix; what does that mean for the band and for metal in general? Does it signal metal's acceptance into the mainstream? Is the festival seeing the writing on the wall that metal fans will buy tickets? Will this expand Slayer’s fanbase, or is it just a nice, fat check? All this and a new Storytime With Stavros brings you Metallica in a continuation of his infamous New Orleans stories.

Songs:
Periphery – "Rainbow Gravity"
Venom – "The Death or Rock and Roll"

Jean Paul Gaster, drummer for the mighty Clutch, joins the podcast as the band heads into the studio to record their new album. He discusses how Clutch have been able to retain the same lineup for over two decades, keeping family and band separate, the band's experience with records labels (and launching their own) and the two things every band needs to know to be successful.

Chuck and Godless also ponder why bands would make an entire record of cover songs, inspired by Prong's announcement of their own covers album. Do bands not have any new ideas? Is it to fulfill contractual obligations? Or something more simple like getting back the inspiration that may have been lost from years of touring and writing?

Songs:
Clutch - "The Face"
Psycroptic - "The World Discarded"

Josh Middleton, guitarist and vocalist for British metal band Sylosis, guests this week on the podcast. Chuck and Godless chat with him about the local metal scene in England, their bad luck with touring and vehicle wrecks, and they grill him on why he hasn't asked his girlfriend to marry him yet. New album Dormant Heart comes out on the 13th of January, so we play a song from that as well.

Chuck and Godless dissect a recent announcement that Nuclear Blast made with the label's 2015 release slate, and they use that a springboard to try to figure out where labels are going nowadays. Is it better for labels to stick with bands who are well-known and will sell lots of albums? Have the days of big labels taking chances on bands gone by the wayside? What does it take to make it on a label these days? They also get suckered in by an unsigned band's Tweet, and are pleasantly surprised by their music.

Songs:
Sylosis - "Mercy"
Napalm Death - "Cesspits"

Chuck and Godless enlist drummer Alex "Rudy" Rudinger (ex-The Faceless, ex-The Haarp Machine, Conquering Dystopia, Monuments) to ring in the New Year with the first MS Podcast of 2015. They chat about his work with Jeff Loomis and Alex Webster in Conquering Dystopia, his take on drum-programming software, and his reasons for leaving The Faceless. Rudy also announces another band he will be subbing for in February after getting off the road with Monuments back in December.

Songs:
Conquering Dystopia - "Ashes of Lesser Men"
Call of the Void - "Cold Hands"

This week Chuck and Godless bring in MS Senior Editor Anso DF to discuss 2014's biggest news stories. Some things you might remember, others you might not; who the newsmakers were and who they should have been; and remembering several of our fallen comrades. There might be a couple of predictions for the new year packed in there too.

Doc Coyle stops in to "Reject The Sickness" and tell us why Christmas Metal is total bullshit and needs to stop before it even gets into your playlist.

Songs:
Babymetal - "Doki Doki ☆ Morning"
Dio - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

They wrote them out for you, and now they spend this episode of The MetalSucks Podcast discussing the Best Metal Albums of 2014!

Chuck and Godless received your Tweets and comments, and break down their picks versus yours as well as those of other MS staff members and critics. They also talk about what kind of year it's been for metal against what a stellar year it was in 2013, and they look at some of the releases they missed, plus jam a few extra tunes.

Songs:
Black Crown Initiate - "Great Mistake"
Fallujah - "Carved From Stone"
Wovenwar - "Matter of Time"
The Hell - "Everybody Dies"

Mike Muir, legendary vocalist for Suicidal Tendencies, is our guest this week. Instead of talking about their album and touring, we wind up hearing about his philosophy on life, how his passion for music pisses people off and how he relates to his kids differently than the way his father related to him; really, we just turned on the mics and let him roll.

Godless and Chuck also talk about their experience at the recent Slayer show, whether or not people are too cool for Slayer now, and how most people are posers when it comes to liking obscure bands and hating the mainstream. Stop pretending you don't like anything that sold more that five records; you aren't fooling anyone!

Songs:
Suicidal Tendencies - "I Saw Your Mommy"
Periphery - "The Scourge"

This week, the hosts of one of Godless' favorite podcasts to troll -- the Bad Christian Podcast -- are our guests. Podcast hosts Matt and Toby also play in a Christian Rock band called Emery. They stopped by the studio to get grilled about all things Christianity, the topic of Christian Metal and whether or not it's legit, if the guys making it are believers, or if it's just another cash cow people use to further their influence. Half of our discussion appears in our episide this week, then we'll dive into the fallacy of religion on the newest episode of their show later this week. 

Chuck and Godless also talk about the latest news: the passing of our friend Athon from Black Tusk, why Black Sabbath shouldn't have been named the #1 Best Metal band of All Time in the MetalSucks countdown, and why that awesome metalhead scientist wore that stupid shirt to a press conference. We also take a reader call-in and discuss some small but beloved bands people may not know about.

Songs:
Toothgrinder - "Relic of My Youth"
Psycroptic - "Echoes to Come"

Michael Lessard, vocalist of The Contortionist, is our guest this week. We go in depth about his home planet of Maine, his transition from his role in Last Chance to Reason as the new vocalist for this band and whether backing tracks are acceptable in a live show, among other topics.

Chuck and Godless also pontificate about the final five bands in the 25 Best Metal Bands of All Time countdown and, spurred by your calls, speculate if there were any misses, forgotten bands or glaring absences. They also gush just a bit over the cheesy but awesome new Scar Symmetry song.

Songs:
The Contortionist - "Language I: Intuition"
Scar Symmetry - "Limits to Infinity"

Richie Faulkner, guitarist for the almighty Judas Priest, is our guest this week. We talk to him about his relatively new gig with JP (seeing as their history dates back to before he was even born), which band member's daughter he might be dating, what it's like filling the shoes of the great K.K. Downing and breaking the news to Glenn Tipton that he's playing a song incorrectly.

Chuck and Godless offer some words about our friend Corey Mitchell's passing last week, they discuss Miss Fortune's dismall from the Sumerian roster due to the lead singer's run-in with the law, and they take a listener-suggested topic on whether a band's live performance is any better than watching a recorded performance of theirs online (after all, over five million people streamed Knotfest last week).

The Housecore Horror Film Festival took place this weekend in Austin, TX, and Chuck and Godless were on hand to take in as much as they could over the festival's four days. They run down their experiences at the fest, including Gwar's new lineup, the Rigor Mortis documentary, and just hanging around with the artists and movie makers.

They also sat down to talk with several guests, including:

Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski, lead vocalist for Decapitated, fresh from the side of the road outside of New Orleans where their tour van crashed once again.

Gwar's new co-vocalist Vulvatron transported from the future to tell us about her terrible experience with the men in the band, and how her lady bits keep them in line.

Michel "Away" Langevin, drummer for the legendary Voivod, gets an earful from uber-fan Godless. Away talks about the band's parting with Blacky, the loss of Piggy and keeping their 30-year history into perspective.

Songs:
Decapitated - "Veins"
Gwar - "The Road Behind"
Voivod - "Psychic Vacuum"

Our guest this week is Nick Schendzielos, bass player for deathcore heavyweights Job For a Cowboy. We talk about his new found work-out regimen, the songwriting process as a newer member of a band, how JFAC operates internally, his music listening styles and Ancient Aliens.

MetalSucks co-head-honcho Vince Neilstein drops in to add his two cents about the recent report from Billboard which found that no album released in 2014 has gone platinum, as well as other interesting data about record sales this year. He'll be writing on the topic more extensively later this week, so he gives us a preview and things to think about as you steal the latest albums off the internet.

Stavros Giannopoulos also adds his latest installment of "Storytime" with a harrowing tale of "eagle-man" and debauchery in the fine southern front of NOLA.

Songs:

Job For A Cowboy - "Sun of Nihility"
At the Gates - "Death and the Labyrinth"

David Davidson of Revocation is our guest on episode #71, with their killer new album Deathless coming out this week. We discuss the new sounds they play with on the record, touring with assholes, whether or not it is important to go to music school and the best things he learned while listening to jazz.

Chuck and Godless also discuss another listener-suggested topic: whether we need to stop worshiping the metal gods of the past and focus on the new gods of modern metal instead. We also discuss Pig Destroyer's ambitious new album, and whether they should keep doing the doom metal experiment permanently.

Songs:
Revocation - "Labyrinth of Eyes"
Pig Destroyer - "Red Tar"

Tomas Lindberg, frontman for the reactivated At The Gates, guests this week on the podcast. He tells us about the new album At War with Reality, why the band dissolved after such a seminal album, growing up in Sweden and his other career as... well, you'll have to listen to find that one out.

We take another listener call about why Slipknot smells like shit, or at least wants you to smell burning camel dung as part of your musical experience.

Doc Coyle returns for his monthly segment "Rejecting the Sickness" with the original band that sparked the idea, Avenged Sevenfold. Did they jump the shark with Hail to the King? Do they rip too much from the Metallica and GnR tab books, or are they the only thing keeping metal alive?

Songs:
At The Gates - "At War With Reality"
Rigor Mortis - "Rain of Ruin"

For episode #69 we thought it would be appropriate to talk about porn. Pornhub started a record label so Chuck and Godless discuss what that might mean in the New World Order of the music industry. Will it change the game? Has the game already been changed by Apple and U2? How, if at all, could this effect a niche genre like metal?

Chuck and Godless gush over the new Devin Townsend record and take another question from a listener about whether or not it is appropriate for fans of a band to criticize them to their face and be surprised if their reaction is not nuanced and measured.

Songs:
Machine Head - "Now We Die"
Devin Townsend Project - "Universal Flame"

Dave Lombardo guests this week on the podcast, and we discuss everything... almost: the new Philm record, his disdain for managers, his departure from Slayer, his relationship with Jeff Hanneman, and working for Disney. There just isn’t enough time in in one episode to cover it all, but Chuck and Godless tried.

Chuck and Godless also answer a question from a listener about Joey Jordison: was he fired from Slipknot for using drugs, and if that is the case, why did the band not fire Paul Gray before his death? They also ponder why Texas in July acquired a pretty good-sized set of cajones on their latest song. 

Songs:
Philm – We Sale at Dawn
Texas In July - Nooses

The legendary King Diamond is our guest this week, and we don't use the word "legend" lightly. His three decade history in music with Mercyful Fate and his solo band have influenced countless bands, and we consider it an honor to be able to pick his brain. We talk about his recent heart surgery, the upcoming tour and promoters' hesitation to book him, and his public split with Hal Patino. We even get to chat with his lovely wife Livia for a bit.

Chuck and Godless also talk about the demise of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal bands of the early '00s, inspired by Doc Coyle's piece that discussed why so many of his contemporaries are falling by the wayside. We premiere a new segment called "Storytime With Stavros" in which Chuck and Godless ask Stavros Giannopoulos of The Atlas Moth to dig up a "good" story from his memory about Blake Judd. Really, there has to be at least one good story about Blake... right?

Songs:
King Diamond - "The Family Ghost"
Unearth - "The Swarm"

Paul Mazurkiewicz, drummer of the legendary Cannibal Corpse, is our featured guest this week. We chat about how they stay active to remain on their game, the difficulties of changing things up when you are set in your ways, and how shifting lineups has effected the band. Godless almost asks him to reunite with Chris Barnes... almost.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the arrest of a man for posting lyrics of an Exodus song on his Facebook page. Was he jailed for eight days for committing no crime, or did he make a veiled terroristic threat?

Our new voice message system lends us a few topics to talk about: Century Media vs. Blake Judd, and why old bands who go out to pasture don't stay there.

Songs:
Cannibal Corpse - "Sadistic Embodiment"
Black Crown Initiate - "Great Mistake"

Senior VP of A&R for Roadrunner Records Dave Rath guests this week as Chuck and Godless try and expand the knowledgebase for bands of all levels. We discuss what it takes to get signed, the state of the industry and metal in general, and whether your band isn't doing enough work or just plain sucks. We also talk about the trajectory of one of their latest signings, King 810, and how their rise has happened seemingly out of nowhere.

Doc Coyle rejoins the podcast this week for another edition of Rejecting the Sickness, this time defending Phil Labonte of All That Remains even though he seemingly called out God Forbid by name last week for not being "musicians." Chuck and Godless discuss Vinnie Paul's recent revelation that he doesn't make any money on music; could he live a decent lifestyle on Pantera money, or are strippers simply more fun to look at than royalty checks?

Songs:
Slipknot - "The Devil and I"
Anaal Nathrakh - "Idol"

Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour is our guest this week; Axl and Vince try to figure out who got in trouble with the law on the Mayhem tour, how the transition to a new label came to pass and whether or not using electronic gear to change their tuning is cheating or totally legit. Vince also stuck around to give us his two cents about the band no one can seem to ignore, Babymetal, citing his recent trip to Japan to try to put them in perspective that many may not entirely grasp.

Chuck and Godless also rehash the topic of merch and how your band needs to do it better, with prime examples from a recent tour stop with Scale the Summit.

Songs:
Darkest Hour - "Infinite Eyes"
The Haunted - "Time (Will Not Heal)"

Jason McMaster -- formerly of Watchtower and Dangerous Toys, and current lead screamer for Evil United -- is our guest this week. We talk about about Watchtower's status as possibly the first-ever prog metal band, his experience with major labels as a hit-maker in the '80s with Dangerous Toys, and working with Gene Hoglan on the new Evil United album.

Fresh from his trip to Heavy Montreal, Chuck and Godless invited MS Senior Editor Anso DF to fill us in on his experience. We talk about what Babymetal are doing step up the metal game, what one of the biggest metal festivals in North America looks like and whether Canadian metal fans have a different way of treating the festival environment.

Songs:

Evil United - "Ghostcrushed"
Origin - "Retribution of Filth"

Brad Roberts and Mike Derks of the mighty Gwar guest this week to talk about the upcoming Dave Brockie Memorial, the Gwar-B-Q and plans for the Gwar Bar in Richmnd, VA. We talk about carrying on in the absence of their fearless leader, what it took to make the decisions about going forward and whether it's "too soon" for Godless to joke about the death of a legend.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the "controversy" of racist and homophobic lyrics by Demoniac, an early incarnation of Dragonforce. Should bands have to own the things they've said in the past? Should bands be apologetic about insensitivity that may not be part of their present day ethos?

Songs:

Gwar - "Sexicutioner"
Slipknot - "The Negative One"

Phil "Landphil" Hall (Cannabis Corpse, Iron Reagan, Municipal Waste) is our guest this week. The new Cannabis Corpse album is out now and features some great guest appearances from Chris Barnes and Trevor Strnad. We talk about the record, how he is able to keep three touring bands organized, and Godless tries to figure out how pot works all at the same time.

Chuck and Godless also talk about the Wintersun vs. Nuclear Blast controversy and how we've all become trained to have thicker skins thanks to anonymous trash-talking on the Internet. Ex-God Forbid guitarist Doc Coyle debuts in a new segment we call "Rejecting the Sickness" in which he defends some of the bands we take issue with; in this episode he tackles Godless' disdain for the band Ghost. 

Songs:
Cannabis Corpse - "Individual Pot Patterns"
Fallujah - "Carved In Stone"

Mark Kloeppel, guitarist and vocalist for Misery Index, guests this week. We discuss how a metal band can make a living these days, whether or not low level bands are touring too much (and if that's ruining things for everyone else), and their new record The Killing Gods, the record Kloeppel claims they really wanted to make all along.

Chuck makes the claim that Motley Crue need to retire after seeing Vince Neil butcher their set last week (even with his teleprompter), and we hear a new song from In Flames that has some really... different... production choices.

Songs:
Misery Index - "Gallows Humor"
In Flames - "Through Oblivion"

Bass wunderkind Dan Briggs of Between the Buried and Me, Trioscapes and Orbs guests this week on the podcast. We discuss the foundations of his writing techniques, playing with two bands on the same tour, and why the members of BTBAM choose not to interact with their fans at shows.

Chuck and Godless discuss the recent fascination with Babymetal, Unlocking the Truth and metal "youngsters" in general. Do we not have enough young blood making music, or are we setting the bar too high for these up-and-comers? We also discuss whether $25K is a good salary for a touring musician in light of the revealing statement released by ex-Testament bass player Greg Christian.

Songs:
Trioscapes - "Stab Wounds"
Monuments - "Origin of Excape"

Josh Scogin, ex-lead singer for The Chariot and current frontman for '68, is our guest this week. We talk about the demise of The Chariot, leaving Norma Jean, Christianity, labeling metal as "Christian," and Godless takes him to task about curing a woman's cancer with prayer and believing the Earth is only 6,000 years old.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the biggest news story of last week, Upon A Burning Body's publicity stunt. In the most real genre of music is it right for a band to pull a hoax on their fans and those of us who try to keep up with real information?

Songs:
'68 - "Track One"
Cannibal Corpse - "Sadistic Embodiment"

This week, guitarist Nick Hipa goes on the record about Tim Lambesis, the demise of As I Lay Dying, and the rise of Wovenwar, his new band with the other former members of AILD. The chat went so long, this episode is pretty much dedicated solely to the interview!

This week, guest Michael Amott discusses the new Arch Enemy record War Eternal, the transition from vocalist Angela Gossow to Alissa White-Gluz, and his decision not to continue with Carcass after their reunion tour a few years back.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the arrest of Roadrunner Records signees King 810 and BTBAM's statement that they'll never play their pre-Colors material again. 

Songs:

Arch Enemy - "Never Forgive, Never Forget"

Septicflesh - "Order of Dracul"

Ice T is our special guest this week: Axl gets to chat with the actor, rapper and frontman for Bodycount, the latter of whom has their first album in eight years coming out soon. Ice and Axl talk about making the new record, the state of race in metal, working with Jamey Jasta and more.

Chuck and Godless invite MetalSucks Senior Editor Anso DF to talk about upcoming changes to the site including a new feature called "Friday Five" that will debut on June 20th. We also discuss the toxicology report on Dave Brockie's death and how it made us all disappointed and sad.

Songs:
Body Count - "Talk Shit, Get Shot"
Opeth - "Cusp of Eternity"

Herman "Eddie" Hermida, the new lead singer of Suicide Silence, guests this week on the podcast. He talks about the difficulties of coming into the band after the death of Mitch Lucker, his role in taking over the helm, why leaving All Shall Perish was not as easy as just saying goodbye, and his experiences with both bands.

Chuck and Godless ponder what the GwarBar will look like, if they're going far enough with the idea (how about a Gwar Theme Park??), whether or not you can have a restaurant with broad appeal when considering some of the extreme imagery of the band, and what other bands might be able to pull off a similar thing. Chuck also remixes the new Judas Priest song into something more Priest-y.

Songs:
Suicide Silence - "Cease to Exist"
Judas Priest - "Redeemer of Souls"

We mark a year of podcasting with a double episode! Vince and Axl jump in to tell Chuck and Godless if they get to keep their jobs and discuss a recent post Vince made about bands taking risks. Should a band who has a signature sound experiment? Everyone's got a different opinion on the issue, and there's nothing like a bunch of metal snobs to tell dudes how to make music.

We also interview Matt Heafy of Trivium, right on the heels of canceling some tour dates and exchanging personnel. We get the scoop about the news, talk about the metal scene and why the brotherhood between metalheads has changed over the last few years.

Journalist Ryan Downey guests to talk about his recent, incredibly in-depth interview with Tim Lambesis. Ryan and Tim have been friends for years, and Ryan spent quite a bit of time putting together the piece prior to Lambesis' sentencing.

Stream this week’s episode below. Remember to subscribe to the MetalSucks Podcast on iTunes, subscribe to our direct feed or download this episode directly.

Songs:
Trivium - "No Way to Heal"
Austrian Death Machine - "Get Your Story Straight"

Sam Dunn, director, producer, anthropologist and co-owner of Banger Films is our guest this week. He has become the de facto record-keeper for heavy metal, having produced Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Metal Evolution, Global Metal and more focused documentaries about Iron Maiden, Rush and now Super Duper Alice Cooper. Sam tells us the history of a legend who so many of us know little to nothing about, and we pick his brain to find out who might be next, how he became a metal filmmaker and more.

We discuss the fascinating story of Vik Guitars founder Vik Kuletski, hating on gay people and headless guitars, whether a niche businessman can come out against an idea and lifestyle that is now in the mainstream, and whether those consequences are just. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but when you're selling $5,000 guitars can you afford to lose even one customer? We also hear the new Wovenwar and avoid talking about the sentencing of Lambesis, instead focusing on the damn catchy song the other members made without him.

Songs:
Gwar - "School's Out"
Wovenwar - "Rise Up"

Stavros Giannopoulos of The Atlas Moth guests on this week's episode... and so does his girlfriend, at least for a little bit. Stavros points out the flaws with dating ladies who are into metal, explains how measuring his metal dick is a pain, what it means to be a true Cubs fan, and yeah, he talks about the new record a little bit too.

Chuck and Godless weigh in on the chart success of Whitechapel's latest album; is this one of the heaviest releases to ever make the Top 10 in its first week? They aren't sure, but they definitely have an opinion about it.

Songs:
The Atlas Moth - "Collider"
Black Anvil - "Still Reborn"

Ben Falgoust, front-man for the almighty Goatwhore, guests this week after the band's appearance on the Metal Alliance Tour stop in Austin. We talk about the NOLA metal scene, his experience after his debilitating van wreck, Goatwhore's new album and his new favorite band Vallenfyre; we even get to see the new album artwork before anyone else does.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the announcement of a crowdfunded metal festival to be hosted in South Texas and why it may be a terrible idea, and how a promoter could help to ensure a successful fest in Texas (and the world, for that matter). Godless also reminds you to put your cell phone away at live shows after he smashed a few in the Dillinger Escape Plan pit on Saturday night.

Songs:
Vallenfyre - "Scabs"
Agalloch - "Celestial Effigy"

Nergal of the mighty Behemoth is our guest this week. Chuck and Godless had the opportunity to have a conversation with the man about his personal life philosophy, where he stands in the world of metal, his role in the band and their success and how his battle with disease has shaped his worldview. Kinda heavy.

The Revolver Golden Gods Awards took place this week, and although it's great that there is some form of award for metal music, does it really represent what is happening out there in the world of metal, or is it just glad-handing the most popular bands they can find at the time? We also listen to and dicuss the new Slayer song: is it even necessary, or does their legacy supersede the music?

Songs:
Behemoth - "Oro Pro Nobis Lucifer"
Slayer - "Implode"

Amos Williams, just one of the masterminds behind Tesseract sits down with us before their show in Austin, we talk about how a band can go through four vocalists when they only have two albums, whether or not Ashe O'Hara is the right fit for the band now, and how the past effects the future of this ground breaking band; also he just has a sexy accent, that goes a long way.

After Shane Blay said he can't quit Oh, Sleeper because he has it "tattooed on his chest," Chuck and Godless want to see your shittiest tattoos of a band, you know you have them so be ready to tweet them, or add them to the comments, and they try to figure out why you would even think about getting a band tattoo, if there is a circumstance where it makes sense to get your favorite act permanently added to your skin, probably not.

Songs:

Tesseract - "Nocturne"

Conquering Dystopia - "Ashes of Lesser Men"

Opeth mastermind Mikael Akerfeldt guests on this week's podcast to talk about their new album that drops in June, his life, how his kids take to metal and whether or not he is done with "death metal" altogether.

Chuck and Godless also discuss the week's news about As I Lay Dying and the new project without Tim Lambesis, and they try to figure out why the band members keep having unfortunate missteps with their soon-to-be incarcerated lead singer.

Plus, with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of KISS this week, Chuck and Godless argue about who the first ten inductees into the Metal Hall of Fame would be. Not bands, individuals. Not hard rock, not R & B, not heavy metal, but METAL! It's harder than you think!

Songs:
Opeth - "Slither"
Trap Them - "Salted Crypts"

Vince and Axl sit down with the spandex-wrapped vessel of hair metal, Steel Panther. They don't get to talk for long, but they don't need much time to make you laugh, and, for that matter, cry. They talk about the new Steel Panther album, inspiration for their hit songs, and their talents for flatulence.

Chuck and Godless talk about the rash of performers getting caught on video completely blotto on stage and discuss whether it cheats the fans or makes for 'special' moments you will never see again. We also invited MS contributor Grim Kim to offer a serious discussion about women in the metal scene and metal journalism, we talk about how musicians treat young women, but also how young women metal fans are viewed in general and ways to address the stereotypes every female metal fan must confront. Changing lives one podcast at a time!

Songs:
Steel Panther - "Gangbang at the Old Folks Home"
Misery Index - "The Calling"

Howard Jones, ex-Killswitch Engage and current Devil You Know vocalist, is our guest this week. We talk about his bout with depression, his reasons for leaving KSE and his new project, and we generally atempt to psychoanalyze a way too humble man.

Chuck and Godless also talk about the cuttlefish in the room, the death of Dave Brockie; what his death means to them and what it might mean for the band -- Godless already thinking about their future and Chuck stuck in the past. They also let you hear the new supergroup Killer Be Killed which they can't help but like, and they discuss the reasons why bands try to make something new when they already have a good thing going (or if that is even the point of the exercise?).

Songs:
Devil You Know - "Seven Years Alone"
Killer Be Killed - "Wings of Feather and Wax"
GWAR - "Maggots"

Trevor Strnad, lead screamer of the Black Dahlia Murder, is our guest this week. We talk about death metal bands versus scene metal bands, his run-ins with fans about buying albums, what he has tattooed on his ass and what his mom would have named the band.

Chuck and Godless also talk about the big news of the week: Angela Gossow's departure from Arch Enemy and how the band handled the transition. Did they do it the best way possible? If you have a female vocalist, should you replace her with another female vocalist? They also try and figure out if Down losing Kirk "Riff Lord" Windstein has harmed their sound forever.

Songs:
The Black Dahlia Murder - "Raped In Hatred by Vines of Thorns"
Down - "We Knew Him Well"

Wendy Dio is our guest this week. We talk about Ronnie James Dio's final days and his legacy, their relationship, her mission with the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund and the new tribute album coming out in April featuring Motorhead, Metallica, Anthrax, Rob Halford and many more.

Chuck and Godless had to make a few adjustments to their recording this week with the wicked SXSW festival in their fine city of Austin, but Chuck tries to defend his other passion -- terrestrial radio -- and make the case for its relevance, although Godless doesn't buy it (ane we're not sure if anyone else will either).

Songs:
Motorhead (Feat: Biff from Saxon) - "Starstruck"
Indian - "Directional"

Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel guests on the podcast this week. We talk about Phil's incredibly troubled childhood, from both of his parents dying at a young age to the severe anxiety problems he experiences to this day. Of course we talk about the new Whitechapel album as well. 

Chuck and Godless also talk about how Emmure caved to pressure by changing the title of one of the songs on the new record and whether that is a tell-tale sign of metal losing its balls; should we (the royal ‘metal’ we) be afraid of offending people? We also talk about SXSW and whether it's relevant for you or your band in general, musically, professionally or otherwise, and the most important thing to consider during the conference: tacos and beer.

Songs:

Whitechapel – "The Saw is the Law"
Destrage – "My Green Neighbour"

Jonathan Nuñez of Torche joins our podcast this week; we talk about the ease of recording in his own home, having Kurt Ballou as the go-to guy for their albums, plans for their next record and which bands reached him at an early age.

Chuck and Godless also tear down the Revolver Golden Gods Awards nominees, and they try to be kind to all of you A7X lovers out there -- but really just try -- and cover a few other big headlines of the week like the Lambesis guilty plea and Malevolent Creation's "gay" drummer controversy.

Songs:
Torche - "Without a Sound"
Whitechapel - "The Saw is the Law"

KEN mode brothers Jesse and Shane Matthewson sit in on this episode. We talk about their recent Converse video; the realization that they're both accountants as are their parents, what it's like to put everything on tour in terms of dollars of merch sold, and whether or not their extremely high frequency of touring is worth while or not.

Chuck and Godless also revisit the topic of the mosh pit and audience safety in light of the $1.4 Million judgement against Fishbone, the fan arrested at a Bring Me the Horizon show and the security collapse during the Thy Art is Murder set at Soundwave festival. Who is to blame?

Songs:
KEN mode - "Your Heart Warming Story Makes Me Sick"
Hark - "Black Hole South West"

Scott Ian drops in for this week's episode to talk about his upcoming Speaking Words tour, crowd funding his new DVD, Anthrax reclaiming their spot on the big four, getting made up as Jack the Ripper for Kirk Hammett's FestEvil and most importantly where his child was conceived. SO many news items to cover, Chuck and Godless focus on the band changes going on, The Faceless, Dave Lombardo and Slayer and what the hell happened to Newsted and Mustaine with the Soundwave Festival?

Songs:

Anthrax - Got the Time

Junius - Battle In the Sky

Chuck and Godless spent a week floating around the Caribbean with 40 bands and 2000 metalheads on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise, and they've got a couple stories to tell... at least what they can remember.

Soilwork, The Haunted and 70,000 Tons of Metal organizer Andy Pillar are the special guests on this week's podcast: Chuck and Godless get into how Soilwork deal with equipment issues, how the members of The Haunted handle the At the Gates reunion taking up so much of their band, and how a festival on the open seas can happen without as much as a hiccup.

Songs:
The Haunted - "Eye of the Storm"
Soilwork - "Spectrum of Eternity"

Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society brings his wisdom to this episode. We talk about his run-ins with health issues, his recent birthday, how his dad's service in WWII affected him and whether he could be the man who could bring Pantera together.

Chuck and Godless also talk about some of their experiences from the 70K Tons of Metal cruise and coming back to the non-metal real world. They also discuss whether there are more women coming to metal shows in light of the recent MTV article, and if that matters other than growing the fanbase.

Songs:
Black Label Society - "My Dying Time"
Within Temptation - "Dangerous (feat. Howard Jones)"

Paul Masvidal of Cynic is our guest this week. We have a long chat about his childhood, anger issues, his career as a writer for television and movies, the new Cynic album and why Focus broke up the band nearly 20 years ago.

Chuck and Godless also talk about the importance of bands getting an accountant and deciding up front how to divide up the workload in light of the current situation Machine Head find themselves in, with former bassist Adam Duce suing the band. We also get stoked for the upcoming 70K Tons of Metal cruise this week.

Song:
Cynic – "Kindly Bent to Free Us"

We grill this week's guest Trevor de Brauw of the mighty Pelican about taking a break from his job to do an interview, if he's learned anything from his time in the music industry to help his band's career, how cloth diapers effect his neighbors and if not having a singer means less band drama.

Chuck and Godless try and figure out why Metal, with a capital M, is getting less flak in the media lately when violent acts happen. We're not getting blamed for mass shootings, but we still have crazy dudes stabbing people and threatening politicians on Facebook. We also ponder a return to the kinder, gentler age of Fred Durst and Nu Metal; has Metal Hammer accidentally conjured that terrible time in metal just by shining a light on it? You hope so... for reals, yo!

Songs:
Pelican - "The Tundra"
Cannabis Corpse - "The Inhalation Plague"

You may have just seen them perform on Letterman on Friday night, and now Aaron Beam from Red Fang is our guest on the podcast. We talk about turning 40 years old in an up-and-coming band, knowing that you just wrote a hit song, and his wishlist for a no-nonsense and mixed bag tour lineup.

We cover the latest revelation from Jason Newsted about his ouster from Metallica and the main reason no one remembers Echobrain (hint: not because of James Hetfield). We also talk about musicians deciding to retire in light of Dan Lilker's recent announcement that his time in music is done, and we wonder why anyone would quit, or mostly why they would bother to announce it.

Songs:
Red Fang - "Blood Like Cream"
De La Tierra - "Maldita Historia"

The always controversial Dave Mustaine is our guest this week. We chat about his kids, learning to be a better person, his relationship with Roadrunner Records and we try to get an answer out of him about that whole "big four not happening again" thing from last year.

Chuck and Godless talk about metal drumming and whether or not drummers are even necessary anymore, Godless predicts what will happen in the metal world during 2014 and Chuck tries to hammer out the details of his birthday party coming up in a few weeks.

Our guest Kirk Windstein of the mighty Crowbar discusses his 25 years with the band, how he needed to change his focus away from Down towards his family and Crowbar, and the influence Exhorder had on Crowbar's sound in the early days.

Chuck and Godless also talk about their favorite albums of 2013 -- as much as they could in this "extended" episode -- and they discuss KEN Mode's threat to fans who text at their shows and how that relates to a terrible Fear Factory performance Chuck saw last week.

This is the final episode of the year, so thank you for listening. We have a lot of good stuff lined up for 2014!

Troy Sanders of Mastodon guests on the podcast this week. We talk about Mastodon's new DVD Live at the Brixton, why the band looks prettier in this one than on Live at the Aragon, Troy's kids and family growing with the band, and also how it feels to be the second sexiest hunk in metal.

Chuck and Godless also discuss whether bands should evolve away from where they originally started, if those moves should be accepted or shunned, or even if such a change calls for a band to start over. The 50 Hunkiest Dudes in Metal list gets a once over, and we try and decide if it is too sexist toward the beastly gender or exactly the right amount of what we deserve.

Songs:
Mastodon - "All the Heavy Lifting"
Disfiguring the Goddess - "Industrial Quarter"

Our guest this week: the legendary Matt Pike of High on Fire! Not only did he play a show with his shirt on, but he allowed us a glimpse into his mind post-rehab, how his life is shaping up without drugs and booze, and how he handles some serious situations that come up on the road.

We also try and shake off the Thanksgiving hangover by talking about the sickness that is Ian Watkins and the Lostprophets mess, and we discuss whether an album that came out two months ago should even be considered as the best metal album of all time.

Songs:
High on Fire - "Slave the Hive"
Wax Audio - "South of the Grapevine"

Our guest this week is the always-controversial Billy Milano, former lead singer for S.O.D. and current frontman for M.O.D. We hit record in mid-sentence and find out about his dog, Buster, who just passed away, his history with animals, his family, food, and how he gets mis-represented as the character he portrays in his stage life.

Chuck and Godless talk about the stagedive heard round the world by some dude named Watsky. He lived, but he hurt a few people in the audience and apparently has no idea about the "miracle" of gravity and physics. We also try and figure out why we needed a metal tribute to Michael Jackson, or, for that matter, any tributes at all.

Songs:
S.O.D. - "Kill Yourself"
Chuck Billy/Various - "Thriller"

This week Mark Osegueda of Death Angel fends off Godless' advances as we talk to him at a stop of Death Angel's latest tour. We chat about their rise to to the forefront of thrash metal, the bus accident that led to their break-up in 1991, Mark's time managing a vintage clothing store and more.

Chuck and Godless also discuss how lesser known bands can get attention from blogs, zines and critics and they completely disagree about the best methods. Good music and recording vs. drama and boobs? We argue, you decide!

Songs:
Death Angel - "Fallen"
Weekend Nachos - "No Idols and No Heroes"

This week we get to know the day to day operation of Gojira with our special guest, Joe Duplantier. Joe gives us insight into how they structure their tour runs, which brother is Mom's favorite and gives us a sneak peak at a song they were working on before we rudely interrupted.

We also share some adventures from FunFunFun Fest, give a salute to our retired military for Veterans Day and somehow relate advances in the technology of war to the technological advances of music -- creating it, recording it and playing it live.

Songs:
Gojira - "Liquid Fire'
Dethklok - "Blazing Star"

Tom Araya of the legendary Slayer is our guest this week; we speak about life in small town Texas where he lives, his family and experience with loss surrounding Jeff Hanneman and how it has affected his songwriting, and why bands need to get over themselves and lose the egos.

We talk about Broken Hope's apology to Glen Benton of Deicide (and take a little credit for working through the drama), we examine Brandan Schieppati of Bleeding Through's letter of disappointment to himself and his fans and hope he isn't trying to slit his wrists because of a facebook comment, and we discuss whether bands should stick to the hits on tour, play full albums, or just perform the new stuff.

Songs:
Slayer - "Evil Has No Boundaries"
Suicide Silence - "No Pity for A Coward"

This week Chuck and Godless talk to Rody Walker from Protest the Hero about his obsession with Star Trek (chosen poorly, in Chuck's opinion), their uber-successful crowdfunding campaign, the new album Volition and how he doesn't know anything about writing music.

We also talk about the Broken Hope stabbing incident in El Paso and whether or not we need to stop circle pits altogether, we cover our experience at the Housecore Horror Film Fest and we discuss why Orgy should have never expected to make more than ten bucks with their effort to regain former glory.

Songs:
Protest the Hero - "A Life Embossed"
Disfiguring the Goddess - "The Pathway to Everlasting Nothingness"

Controversy erupted this week when Deicide's Glen Benton kicked Broken Hope off their current tour. Broken Hope shared their side of the story on the Interhole, so we decided to talk with Benton to get his side of the story. After covering the controversy, Benton shared all sorts of other info with us about his life, Deicide, and more. 

Chance Garnette calls in to talk about the new Skeletownitch album that drops next week, what it's like touring with the band ten years in, and who his Mom actually comes to see when he and his brother are playing live.

We also discuss Metallica's ongoing willingness to take risks in the context of the flop of Through the Never; whether a music festival, movie or a terrible record with Lou Reed, you can't deny that they're pushing the envelope... or can you? Godless explains why "doom" or "occult" rock sucks -- or at least isn't trying very hard -- and Chuck just wants to listen to yacht rock.

Songs:
Skeletonwitch - "Serpents Unleashed"
Noctum - "Liberty In Death"

This week we try and make sense of the White Wizzard controversy with one of our guests Joeseph Michael, the ousted singer of the band who has been the focus of most his former band mate Jon Leon's misery. We also have Adam D from Killswitch Engage on to talk about the upcoming tour with Lamb of God, their album with returning singer Jesse Leech, and whether or not metalcore is dead. We also try to figure out why Danzig is a douchebag (we could do a whole show and not find the answer) after he tells his audience to go after another fan filming his performance, and whether or not you need to put your damn phone away during a live show.

Songs:
Killswitch Engage - "Beyond the Flames"
Protest the Hero - "Without Prejudice"

Our guest is the legendary Gene Hoglan. Not only is he the nicest guy in metal, but he has the longest list of active projects of anyone ever (including Testament and Dethklok). Gene gives us his thoughts about Jeff Hanneman's funeral, why he isn't drumming for Slayer, his struggle with weight and how his latest round of clinics, The Gene Hoglan Experience, is not just for drummers.

We also discuss Metallica's new concert flick Through the Never; unbelievably it kinda lives up to some of the hype the band has been building around it. We also try to figure out which band could be the next band to do something on this scale... never say never.

SONGS:
Fear Factory - "Powershifter"
Toxic Holocaust - "Out of the Fire"

This week Vince ventures into the mind of the mad genius Devin Townsend; they talk about his latest work, Casualties of Cool, the Retinal Circus live DVD, and his uncanny ability to multitask so many different projects at once while staying somewhat sane.

We invite Kurt Brecht, lead singer of D.R.I. and Pasadena Napalm Division, into the studio to help us figure out why metal singers and lyric writers have stopped using their pulpit for politics, or at least have shifted away from calling out Regan and Pol Pot by name in favor of a more introspective attitude. Have bands gotten heavier and lyrics gotten softer?

Songs:
Pasadena Napalm Division - "Terror Cell"
Devin Townsend Project - "Lucky Animals (Live)"