Heavy Stories Podcast

Robin Staps is the guitarist, founder, manager, lead songwriter and main lyricist of German progressive/post-metal unit The Ocean. On episode 18 of HEAVY STORIES, he talks about rebuilding his band's lineup almost from scratch between previous album Holocene (2023) and the brand-new Solaris. We also discuss burnout, how he runs his record label Pelagic and much more. This conversation is the final...

Devin Townsend is a maverick prog metal solo artist and the former leader of Strapping Young Lad, the Devin Townsend Project and more. On episode 17 of HEAVY STORIES, he opens up about what makes him tick, including trauma, his contrarian streak, a desire to belong and being a former people-pleaser. We also talk about his mammoth new album The Moth, why Strapping and DTP broke up, his days singing...

Shane Embury is the bassist for grindcore legends Napalm Death and a singer/multi-instrumentalist in myriad other projects. On episode 16 of HEAVY STORIES, he talks about kicking alcohol and discovering Jungian therapy, and how these things coloured his new solo album, Bridge to Resolution. He also looks back on 40-plus years of Napalm Death, from their anarchic early days to being embraced by the...

Charlie Rolfe is the lead singer of High Wycombe metalcore band As Everything Unfolds. On episode 15 of HEAVY STORIES, she opens up about the loss of her band's drummer Jamie Gowers in August 2024 and how she navigated the grief that followed. She also discusses how the band regrouped, her experiences with maladaptive dreaming and the story and themes of new album Did You Ask to Be Set Free?.

Ian Kenny is the lead singer of Australian progressive metal icons Karnivool. On episode 14 of Heavy Stories, he explains why the band took 13 years to make their new album, In Verses. From mental health issues to practical struggles and balancing life as a family man, he goes deep into the reasons for the decade-plus dry spell, and teases that it won’t take another 13 years for their next project...

It’s June, which means we’re already (nearly) halfway through 2026! The passage of time is as relentless as it is terrifying, but at least we can distract ourselves with all the top-notch metal we’ve been handed since the New Year. Join Matt and fellow music journo Pavel Kondov as they details the albums which have rattled their ears the best this year!

The last few episodes have been heavy even by our standards, with discussions of war, anxiety, suicide, being attacked in the street, ADHD and attempted murder. So, for episode 12, we got Hellripper leader James McBain to talk about fast riffs and Scottish myth, and how both shaped his new album Coronach. We also chatted about the review he got from Anthony Fantano, Metallica vs Megadeth and his i...

Dan Tompkins is the singer of British progressive metal luminaries Tesseract and rock two-piece Prince of Failure. On episode 11 of Heavy Stories, he talks about his recent diagnosis with ADHD and life as a neurodivergent person. We also discuss the new Prince of Failure album, his early days in Tesseract, his nine years as a policeman and plenty more. 

Einar Solberg is the singer/guitarist in Norwegian progressive metal band Leprous and a solo artist. On episode 10 of Heavy Stories, he discusses his history with anxiety, including how it was exacerbated by being attacked on the street aged 16 and the death of his father when he was 19. He also reveals some of his coping mechanisms and how he was able to stop his mental health from dominating his...

Nina Saeidi is the singer and co-founder of British progressive metal band Lowen. On episode nine of Heavy Stories, she talks about her ancestral roots in Iran and how her Middle Eastern heritage has inspired the music she makes. We discuss the country’s ongoing war with the US and Israel, which has deeply impacted many of her relatives who still live there, as well as her parents seeking asylum i...

Chris Hannah is the singer, guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of Canadian hardcore veterans Propagandhi. On episode eight of Heavy Stories, he sits down to talk about the impact of his childhood on airbases, including how it shaped his political beliefs and veganism. We discuss how Propagandhi was formed as a “progressive thrash” band and the distaste they quickly developed for the punk scene aro...

Lzzy Hale is the singer, co-guitarist and co-founder of Grammy-winning and Platinum-selling US rock four-piece Halestorm. On episode seven of Heavy Stories, she talks about the band’s formation and journey up the rock’n’roll ranks, starting with their early days as a family affair featuring her brother Arejay and dad Roger. She discusses playing her first gigs in churches, why organised Christiani...

Kim Song Sternkopf is the lead singer of Danish genre-testing black metal band Møl. On episode six of Heavy Stories, he talks about his childhood growing up in oppressive cults, where what he read and listened to was heavily monitored and he was prophesied as a “chosen one”. His family moved house more than 50 times as they transitioned from community to community, sometimes giving up everything t...

Zakk Wylde is the leader of biker metal rifflords Black Label Society and the longtime right-hand man of the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. On episode five of Heavy Stories, he sits down for a quick conversation midway through a Black Label US tour, where his own Black Sabbath tribute act Zakk Sabbath are serving as support. He looks back on how he got his gig in Ozzy’s band, playing a show in an infamo...

Serena Cherry is a co-founder and one of the singer/guitarists in UK post-hardcore four-piece Svalbard. On episode four of Heavy Stories, she talks about why her band are breaking up after 16 years, including creative differences and the increasing number of challenges that touring musicians face. She sounds off on the hidden costs of life on the road, the pressure of putting on a good show, balan...

Gary Holt is the guitarist of veteran California thrash metal bands Exodus and Slayer. On episode three of Heavy Stories, he talks about how his upbringing as the youngest of six children influenced him to make loud music, and looks back on learning his first guitar chords from his high school best friend and Exodus’ founder, future Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. He reflects on the backyard par...

Dustin Kensrue is the singer/guitarist of Orange County post-hardcore-turned-experimental-rock band Thrice and a solo singer/songwriter. On episode two of Heavy Stories, he talks about his spiritual deconstruction, starting with his childhood in the Christian church. We go on to discuss how discovering punk rock challenged what he thought he knew about Jesus, his time as a pastor at the controvers...

Mille Petrozza is the singer/guitarist of German thrash metal royalty Kreator. In the first episode of Heavy Stories, he talks about his youth in Cold War-era Germany, where violent gangs roamed the streets, he heard horror stories about the Berlin Wall and he tattooed himself in the back of class. He also discusses seeing Metallica on their first-ever European tour, almost joining extreme metal i...