Alex Erian, vocalist for recently reactivated deathcore pioneers Despised Icon, guests on the podcast this week. In our exclusive interview we delve into the reasoning behind the band breaking up and moving on and then, after a short time, making the decision to come back together. We talk about their new record Beast and how recording with two bands at one time creates headaches for him. We find out there might actually be a hip hop beat behind one of the songs on the new record and about how they've been able to retain their fanbase despite what looked like the end for the band. Maybe all bands -- and couples -- need to break up and get back together.

We also talk about the recent editorial on Decibel about "SJWs" in metal that turned the metal internets into a firestorm. With opinions ranging from "SJWs are tearing our scene apart" to "nazi metalheads must die," is there a real discussion going on right now, or are we all just picking sides while trying to reinforce whatever we believe already and refusing to hear anything that might challenge those opinions? Is there a real problem, a perceived problem, or are we missing the target altogether?

Songs:

Despised Icon – "The Aftermath"
Be’lakor – "Roots to Sever"

Aaron Turner of Sumac, ex-Isis, Mammifer, Old Man Gloom and Hydra Head Records is our guest this week. We discuss the new Sumac album What One Becomes, how he has changed emotionally since his early days with Isis, the role his wife played in turning him into a more well-adjusted person, his introverted nature, whether Isis will return someday, how a different view of his life shapes his reaction to his past art and what he is currently working to express with new musicians.

We also discuss Benji Webbe, frontman for Skindred, who mocked the young women of Babymetal at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, It's pretty obvious that his attempt at humor fell flat and appeared racist, but did his "apology" via Twitter pacify Babymetal's fans? Or did he actually make it worse by giving a halfhearted statement? If you screw up what makes for a good apology, is it more important to be truthful? If not, it can really look worse than the faux pas you committed in the first place.

Songs:
Sumac – "Rigid Man" (Partial)
Make Them Suffer – "Ether"

Jamey Jasta, lead singer of Hatebreed, joins us this week. In our in-depth interview with the revered frontman, we talk how politics inform Hatebreed's new album, The Concrete Confessional, as well as his songwriting process, how small utterances on social media can provoke big reactions, his thoughts on the state of the music industry, why a separate metal streaming service would be a bad idea (at least for him), and how music is only one facet of his life alongside podcasting and branding. Plus: we offer you the worst segue in our podcast history. That’s right, if there were a podcast awards show, we'd have this category locked down!

We also speak to Noisey writer Cat Jones about her recent story she penned detailing the reasons Wax Idols and King Woman dropped off their tour with Pentagram. Cat discusses the importance of taking on a story like this, and how it matters to not just the women who were potentially wronged by Bobby Leibling and the Pentagram staff, but to the entire metal community.

This week we take a look at the best metal albums of 2016 so far. Of course we see it differently from one another but we lay out what this year has offered and what it really means in the scope of metal history and the rest of the year to come.

We also invite Rob Pasbani of Metal Injection and the Metal Injection Livecast to offer a different perspective on this year’s releases. He fills us in on his new-car jams and takes a look ahead at which albums might be on the slate for the top of the year overall. We talk about Gojira's new album Magma as well as other highly anticipated albums of 2016 and how they have measured up to expectations, as well as some albums that've surprised us.

Rob also tells us about the coolest listening party in history: a small gathering of journalists and friends at Gojira's new Silver Cord Studios to hear Magma in its entirety. What does he think of one of the most anticipated metal albums of 2016? We spin four of the year's best tracks on this episode instead of the normal two.

Songs:
Primitive Weapons - "Ashes or Paradise"
Zeal and Ardor - "Devil Is Fine"
Mantar – "Era Borealis"
Fallujah – "The Void Alone"