The CMS Network’s Substack Podcast

Vinnie Vincent has launched an auction featuring KISS memorabilia, stage-used guitars, handwritten lyrics, contracts, clothing, publishing rights and more. Some of the asking prices—including a $50,000 belt and $200,000 music copyrights—have become major talking points. We break down the most surprising items and prices from the collection. GOOD PRICE HERE ON THE VINYL OF VINNIE VINCENT INVASION’S...

Something about this conversation between Chris Akin and guest host Jim Bartek hits a nerve. What started as a discussion about Geoff Tate’s comments quickly turned into a much bigger question about legacy, performance, and what fans are willing to overlook. GET MOTLEY CRUE’S GREATEST HITS ON VINYL HERE: https://amzn.to/4ej2sN7 Some fans think people are being too harsh. Others think the criticism...

For decades, fans believed they knew the story behind Whitesnake’s massive 1987 album. Now John Sykes is challenging that version of history. From claims about songwriting credit to accusations involving David Coverdale’s recording sessions, this interview has reopened one of hard rock’s longest-running disputes. RARE VINYL OF THE WHITESNAKE 1987 ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION: https://amzn.to/3SBfJte If...

Let’s not pretend the music industry makes any sense anymore. Usually, guys in bands the size of Def Leppard don’t talk to anyone outside of rolling stone, corporate radio, or major television networks. They live behind a wall of publicists and management teams whose entire job is to keep things sterile. But somehow, things took a completely different turn this week. Chris Akin ended up on a call...

The gatekeepers of rock history are making decisions that don’t make any sense, and legacy artists are scrambling to handle the fallout. From the messy politics behind who gets into the Rock Hall to veteran musicians dropping “reimagined” tracks nobody asked for, the line between honoring the past and exploiting it is completely blurred. If you’re watching this here, you’re already late. The full...

Let’s face it—we’ve spent the better part of the last two decades on this show laughing at the stupid things Dave Mustaine says. He’s usually the poster child for shooting off his mouth before engaging his brain. But hell has officially frozen over, because Mustaine just dropped a truth bomb that every single multi-millionaire rock star needs tattooed on their forehead: Stop telling your fans how...

Let’s be real: the “modern rock” industry is a sanitized, corporate circle-jerk where talent goes to die unless you’ve got a massive pile of cash to buy your way onto a tour. Curtis Don Vito from SNEW joined us, and what started as a standard interview quickly turned into a cold, hard look at the financial rot killing real rock n’ roll. Snew’s WHAT’S IT TO YA is seemingly out of print, but Amazon...

THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW has been exposing the soft underbelly of mainstream rock radio for decades, and this highlight is a total bloodbath. Watch as a CMS fan penetrates the legendary Rockline to ask Heaven and Hell a better question than host Bob Coburn ever could. Stop listening to the corporate puppets and get the real story with us. GET UNFILTERED ACCESS NOW: https://classicmetalshow.locals.co...

Is mainstream radio nothing more than a sanctuary for “radio hacks” and recovering cops? This week, Chris takes a text from “The Rocket” and decides to light a match and toss it into the studio. Was it a friendly visit, or did the CMS just expose how soft terrestrial radio has truly become? You have to hear how this “civil” crossover turns into a total slaughter of the mainstream status quo. This...

This episode originally aired on 11/7/09. Most “tributes” in the radio industry are filled with fake tears and sanitized memories, but Neeley and Chris just stumbled upon a “memorial” so cringeworthy it defies logic. Who was Brian “Bad Ass” Boone, and why is a certain segment of the 80s hair metal world acting like the King of Rock has fallen? Is the mainstream media—and these delusional internet...

Why is a rock star hitting the road to tell stories instead of shredding? Chris chats with Grammy winner David Ellefson about his upcoming South American BASSTORY tour, the deep reasons behind his storyteller shows, and his time at the BACK TO THE BEGINNING concert. It’s a look behind the bass! Get commercial-free versions of our episodes, early releases, and exclusive content by subscribing to ou...

Why did one of the most influential guitarists in rock history spend decades running away from the very songs that made him a star? Was Sammy Hagar’s solo success actually the final nail in the coffin for Montrose’s legacy as a “classic rock staple”? Keith St. John joins Chris Akin to pull back the curtain on the creative differences, the “business moves” that defied logic, and what it really feel...

How would you react if the one thing that connects you to the world—your ability to walk—was stripped away in an instant? Most people see the prosthetic leg; they don't see the sweat, the blood, or the rotting sleeves that feel like "death" after three years of wear. Join Chris and Seth as they talk with Josh Green about the terrifying vulnerability of being manhandled in a hospital bed and why th...

Is the “British Wave” of Heavy Metal actually dead in its own home country? Most new bands are too afraid to challenge their idols, but what happens when a young group tells a legend like KK Downing that his ideas aren’t right for their record? Bones from Tailgunner joins Chris Akin to reveal the “road dirt” reality of winning over hostile crowds and why being “radio friendly” isn’t a dirty word i...

GET EDDIE MONEY - THE COVERS on Vinyl: https://amzn.to/4suNHgr Think you’ve heard the worst AC/DC cover in history? You haven’t seen anything until you witness the mainstream media trying to prop up a “legend” while a literal toddler out-shines them with zero effort. Why is the industry lying to you about what “real” talent looks like? Neeley and Chris expose the lackluster garbage being sold as r...

Is the new Anaconda movie a high-stakes thriller or just another piece of low-budget streaming fodder? Most people saw the trailer and immediately wrote it off as a joke, but is there a layer of self-aware humor that everyone is missing? Chris Akin breaks down why this "reboot" isn't what it seems and why the measly $9,000 budget might be the best thing about it. You’ll have to hear his final rati...

“He took his belt off and started whipping him like a slave!” [Sponsor: Blackout Coffee - https://www.blackoutcoffee.com?p=BoNofhazE → Code CHRIA20 for 20% off] Bro, the world has officially gone off the rails! First, we’re talking about Belgian kids smuggling 5,000 ants out of Kenya because people apparently want to EAT them? Then, we head to Pittsburgh where a PNC Park vendor literally took off...

Think you know what “Real Metal” sounded like in 2025? While the mainstream media was busy worshipping the same three legacy bands, a massive shift was happening underground that most fans completely missed. Why has Chris Akin officially turned his back on the “Hair Metal” classics that built the industry? And which “forgotten” thrash legends are currently embarrassing the Big Four in terms of pur...

“Nobody is enjoying going to your screen and working their way between Star Wars crap and, um, whatever is on there—DC or Marvel...” [Sponsor: Metallica - The Broadcast Collection 1988-1994 - https://amzn.to/4phEFBg ] Disney has a “convoluted problem”. They bought Hulu, assumed they could just “suck it in” , and instead, they’ve created a tech nightmare that’s confusing even for the “techies”. If...

[Sponsor: Blackout Coffee - https://www.blackoutcoffee.com?p=BoNofhazE → Code CHRIA20 for 20% off] Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals! Chris Akin is back and someone just got the boot right before Santa arrived. Nazareth officially kicked Carl Sentance to the curb, and Chris is losing his mind over the “cold, ugly cut.” No “future endeavors,” no “we wish him well,” just GTFO. Plus, Chris asks the...

Chris and Neeley are reminiscing about the early days of The Classic Metal Show, and Chris drops a story that will make you spit out your beer. You wouldn’t believe the lengths we went to for content back then... including calling a rock star after he was dead and getting his voicemail. What the hell were we thinking?! Bro, the sheer disrespect... but we can’t stop laughing 🤘😂. This show is powe...

BRO, rage fueled by the best! This episode is brought to you by Blackout Coffee - https://www.blackoutcoffee.com?p=BoNofhazE → Code CHRIA20 for 20% off. Drink coffee strong enough to survive a Chris Rant! 🤘 WHAT. THE. HELL. Gene Simmons had a massive faux pas calling Ace Frehley “dead” due to “bad decisions.” Neeley and Chris are tearing into The Demon, surprisingly agreeing with some of Eddie Tr...

🚨 NEELEY RAGES: IT’S HIS FAULT SHE GOT FIRED! 🚨 A drunken female police officer groped two colleagues, and Neeley is losing his mind not because she got fired, but because the male officer reported her! Bro, she wanted to get FUCKED. Take advantage, don’t report her, you dummy! The chaos is proudly powered by Rush - 50 BOX SET - https://amzn.to/44XV0DS . Want tomorrow’s episode TODAY + VIP exclu...

“By 2026, the local news anchor you’ve watched for twenty years is going behind a fucking paywall or they’re going extinct. Free TV is a corpse, and the streamers are just waiting for the smell to get bad enough to bury it.” [Sponsor: Black Sabbath - SABOTAGE COLLECTOR’S EDITION BOX SET - https://amzn.to/45gHgDc ] Bro, are you ready to get shaken down by every network on the planet? Chris Akin jus...

This being the second of them and this was the I don’t know if you can call it the bigger one because it was a collaboration, but it is absolutely one of the shittiest pieces of shit that ever shit out of shit, ate the shit, then shit it out again and made a bigger piece of shit.” Bro, this Lulu rant had us DYING, what the actual F were Metallica thinking?! Holy shit, metalheads – Jon & Brian from...