Chris Akin Presents

Prog metal used to be about pushing boundaries, but now it feels like a giant flexing contest for music nerds. Temic keyboardist Diego Tejeida stops by to break down why so many modern bands are utterly obsessed with technical wankery and complex time signatures instead of writing actual songs that hit you in the gut. From cutting through bloated solos to the raw reality of staying alive on the ro...

Most musicians who try to act look like complete fools the second the camera starts rolling. They think hitting a stage translates to movie stardom, but the reality is usually a cringey train wreck. London May went from beating the hell out of the drums in Samhain to taking on intense, dark movie roles. Chris Akin digs into what actually goes down on a film set, the brutal reality of pretending to...

There’s never been a time when you could find more information faster—and Andrew Hudson thinks that might be exactly what’s screwing everything up. GET HARLOTT'S EXSEQUIIS HERE: https://amzn.to/46BEvx9 The Harlot guitarist opens up about the overwhelming flood of information, misinformation, algorithms and clickbait that makes even the simplest story impossible to take at face value. Why do people...

SickSense isn’t exactly interested in staying in its lane—and the new Funerals EP makes that painfully obvious. Vicky Psarakis opens up about the band’s darker musical direction, the surprisingly personal story behind A Moment of Violence , and why chasing whatever happens to be commercially popular can be a fast track to sounding like everybody else. Then the conversation gets downright nasty whe...

Walking into Asia as the new vocalist means stepping directly into the crosshairs of fans who know every note, every lyric and every inflection. GET INDIGO FROM ASIA ON VINYL HERE: https://classicmetalshow.locals.com Harry Whitley doesn’t shy away from that pressure. He talks about the John Wetton comparison, the challenge of performing the classic songs, and what changed when he finally got the c...

What if one of the biggest musical revolutions in history started because a DJ was pissed off that the best part of a record was always over too damn fast? DON'T WAIT! GET YOUR COPY OF GRANDMASTER FLASH'S BOOK BIRTH OF A CULTURE NOW!! https://amzn.to/4bXCiPU That’s where this conversation gets really interesting. Grandmaster Flash goes deep into the experimentation, science and sheer ingenuity beh...

Cloven Hoof has been pounding away at heavy metal for decades, but Lee Payne says something very interesting is happening right now: the band may be in the strongest creative period of its entire career. GET NEVER A PROPHET IN YOUR OWN LAND FROM CLOVEN HOOF ON VINYL HERE: https://amzn.to/4qogwKW In this conversation, Lee gets into the new album Never a Prophet in Your Own Land , why Cloven Hoof ke...

Frozen Crown isn’t exactly backing away from the power metal formula — they’re turning the damn thing up. GET FROZEN CROWN’S THE LEGEND OF THE SIX KINGS HERE: https://amzn.to/3U0v2g1 Federico Mondelli explains why The Legend of the Six Kings sounds darker, rougher and more aggressive than what came before, how playing live changed the band’s songwriting, and why one Yngwie Malmsteen song helped de...

Nearly 30 years later, Fear Factory’s Obsolete isn’t sounding quite as fictional as it once did. GREAT DEAL OF FEAR FACTORY’S OBSOLETE ON SPECIAL EDITION VINYL: https://amzn.to/4xnBYli On this episode of CHRIS AKIN PRESENTS..., Burton C. Bell takes a deep dive into the story behind Obsolete and the completely different way he’s now bringing that story to an audience. Burton explains “Obsolete by W...

Nailbomb should have been a footnote in metal history. Instead, 32 years later, Point Blank is back onstage—and it still sounds pissed off. GET NAILBOMB’S POINT BLANK ON VINYL HERE: https://amzn.to/4hyiLZU Igor Amadeus Cavalera gets into why this record has survived, what it means to step into Alex Newport’s role, and why a new generation of fans is suddenly discovering music that was supposed to...

Blood White aren’t exactly trying to blend into the metal crowd—and that’s the point. GET BLOOD WHITE'S FROM HELL ON VINYL HERE: https://amzn.to/462ZOYa The German band has built an entire world around From Hell , combining crushing modern metal with a bizarre white-and-red medical aesthetic, theatrical characters, and songs that aren’t afraid to get seriously dark. But behind the masks, there’s s...

A massive four-octave vocal range, a 50-piece orchestra, and a classic ballad sitting in a vault for three decades. What made a legendary frontman keep one of his absolute best vocal performances buried while a pop megastar dominated the airwaves with the exact same track? From dodging industry politics to randomly tracking duets with grunge and metal heavyweights on a whim, this sit-down pulls ba...

Extreme metal is usually about raw power and fast riffs, but one group is throwing out the traditional playbook entirely. Blending black metal, orchestral arrangements, progressive jazz, and full-length feature filmmaking, they’ve created an experience that forces listeners to sit down for an entire hour just to process what happened. But is taking a risk this massive going to alienate traditional...

Seven years is an absolute eternity to vanish from the heavy metal world, but what actually happened behind closed doors after 2019 was total chaos. Lineup walkouts, tour exhaustion, and near-mental breakdowns completely stalled everything. But instead of throwing in the towel, Exumer brought in fresh blood, locked themselves away, and unleashed a level of pure aggression nobody saw coming. Mem St...

Getting tapped to front an iconic pop culture soundtrack isn’t just luck—it’s cutthroat competition. Power metal vocalist Brittany Slayes opens up about beating out major vocalists to land a massive theme song, surviving the brutal reality of the modern music industry, and navigating the absolute chaos of balancing touring life with a growing family. Plus, hear the truth about taking on massive le...

Ross Valory has spent decades being identified with Journey, but his solo music is a completely different animal. GET ROSS VALORY'S ALL OF THE ABOVE ON VINYL HERE: https://amzn.to/4bR530t In this interview, he gets into the weird, eclectic world behind All of the Above , why he never expected to build another music-business career, why the album took more than a decade to finish, and why he still...

Some true-crime stories become cases people follow for years. Others become part of a family’s life forever. In this deeply personal conversation, Amy Mihaljevic’s father, Mark, and Ryan Ruiz talk about Amy before the headlines — the kid she was, the things she loved, and the memories that existed before October 27, 1989 changed everything. They also talk about what came after: decades of grief, t...

An underground European power house is putting out pure hard rock gold, but radio programmed drones in the States don’t even know they exist. Riffs so heavy they steal straight from classic metal giants, twin-guitar harmonies, and hooks so nasty they get stuck in your brain like gum in your hair. Are American rock fans completely out of their minds for sleeping on this, or is the hype totally fake...

The metal scene is bigger than ever, but something behind the scenes is getting stripped away. Everyone claims they want heavier music, but the second a band takes a real risk, the internet turns on them. Is the pressure to look cool online completely killing actual musicianship? GET SEASON OF SURRENDER BY AUGUST BURNS RED ON VINYL: https://amzn.to/3RN2tln We sit down with Jake Luhrs of August Bur...

Pro-Pain is back, and Gary Meskil has plenty to say about why the band decided to return with Stone Cold Anger after everything they’ve been through. The conversation gets into the album’s rage-fueled subject matter, Eric Klinger’s return, the surprising sound of “Uncle Sam Wants You,” and why one song takes direct aim at the social-media Kool-Aid mentality. Get STONE COLD ANGER from Pro-Pain on v...

Chris Akin sits down with Johnny Lee Middleton to dig into a release that’s been sitting in the vault for decades... and the stories behind it are every bit as wild as you’d expect. From the band’s return to the stage to the truth about the old days, image, MTV, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and where Savatage goes next, this conversation goes places you probably won’t expect. KILLER PRICE ON SAVATAGE...

This wasn’t supposed to happen. A legacy band just outperformed the entire modern metal scene. And nobody’s ready to admit it. GREAT PRICE ON MEANSTREETS FROM RIOT V ON VINYL: https://amzn.to/4da3bRq If you’re watching this here, you’re already behind. The full episode, exclusive 3rd segment, and early interviews are on Locals: https://classicmetalshow.locals.com Chris sits down with Don Van Stave...

The war isn’t over; it just moved into the studio. James LoMenzo just pulled back the curtain on why Dave Mustaine decided to hijack a Metallica classic for Megadeth’s final statement. Was it a tribute, or the most calculated “spider-chord” flex in thrash history? If you think you know the story of the 1983 fallout, you haven’t heard how it ends. 👉 JOIN THE VIP INNER CIRCLE: https://classicmetals...

Gene Simmons just did the unthinkable in Louisiana, and it’s not another overpriced box set. For the first time in fifty years, the Demon is reaching into the vault to pull out the tracks he spent decades burying. Is this a genuine tribute to the Spaceman, or a calculated move to keep the Kiss brand alive on the back of Ace’s genius? We’re peeling back the makeup to see what’s really happening beh...

The Prince of Darkness didn’t just walk into the sunset; he stared down a medical death sentence and spat in its face. Sharon Osbourne finally pulled back the curtain on the “Back to the Beginning” show, revealing a reality far grimmer than the press releases suggested. While the world cheered for a charity reunion, the doctors were checking their watches, waiting for the inevitable. You think you...