Influencers of Metal Podcast

Nothing beats an Influencers-2 holiday! Summer is here, the barbecue is fired up, the drinks are cold, and the playlist needs to be loud. Collin and Tom each bring their picks for six metal bands that perfectly capture the spirit of summer. Whether you're relaxing by the pool, hanging around the campfire, hitting the beach, or hosting a backyard party, these bands prove that metal isn't just for d...

Festival season has arrived, and while most people are thinking about food trucks and carnival rides, Tom and Collin have something much louder in mind. This week on the Influencers of Metal Podcast, the guys take a tour around the world's biggest and most legendary metal festivals—from Canada's Loud As Hell and the brand-new ProgStorm, to European giants like Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, Bloodstock...

Sleep Token is one of the biggest and most divisive bands in modern metal... but are they actually geniuses, or is the mystery just a really effective gimmick? In this edition of Gimmick or Genius, Collin and Tom dive into one of metal's hottest debates. They discuss Sleep Token's anonymous image, lore, live reputation, songwriting, fanbase, and whether either of them actually understands what the...

The monthly listening party returns! Collin and Tom are back with another edition of What Have You Been Listening To?, breaking down the albums, bands, and songs that have been dominating their playlists throughout June. This time, the duo is joined by a very special guest — the Pumpkin Queen — who jumps into the chaos as the official audience representative, sharing her thoughts, reactions, and o...

A great entrance theme can make or break a wrestler. The right song can turn a simple walk to the ring into a full-blown moment of chaos, intimidation, and pure hype. In this episode of the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom return to the world of wrestling and metal by reimagining the entrance themes of six current WWE and AEW wrestlers — replacing their existing music with the perfect...

Before the blast beats, breakdowns, and walls of distortion… there was the beginning. Collin and Tom fire up the metal time machine and head back to the 1970s — the decade where heavy metal began crawling out of the blues, putting on leather jackets, turning the amps up to eleven, and scaring everyone’s parents. In the first episode of their new “Decade Defining Albums” series, the guys explore th...

The Influencers of Metal Podcast is heading back around the globe! This time, Collin and Tom land in Uzbekistan, a country known for its ancient Silk Road history, stunning architecture, and apparently… an absolutely ridiculous amount of black metal. The boys dive into the underground metal scene of Uzbekistan. From raw black metal to atmospheric darkness, they explore bands including Smärtgränsen...

This week on the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom officially hit the “we’re running out of ideas” stage of podcasting and launch a brand-new series: “Is It Really a Subgenre?” First victim? Crabcore. The legendary 2000s meme born from low squats, synchronized breakdowns, keyboard synths, and enough hair straightener fumes to destroy the ozone layer. Check out more from Collin! https://...

The quest to find the MOST METAL Guitar Hero game of all time continues! Collin and Tom dive into Guitar Hero 5 — the game with a gigantic setlist, questionable metal representation, and somehow BOTH Iron Maiden and Band Hero energy at the same time. From Children of Bodom, Darkest Hour, Megadeth, Rammstein and Dethklok… to Limp Bizkit, Faith No More, Motley Crue and GWAR doing GWAR things… the bo...

In this episode of “Are They Rock or Metal?”, Collin and Tom tackle one of the hardest bands to classify in heavy music history: Faith No More.  From “The Real Thing” and “Angel Dust” to “King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime” and “Sol Invictus”, the guys break down how the band constantly shifts between genres while somehow still sounding unmistakably like Faith No More. Are they too weird for...

On this gloriously unhinged episode of the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom return to one of their favorite recurring topics: absolutely baffling metal covers. From Blind Guardian somehow making “Mr. Sandman” sound majestic, to Sodom covering “Surfing Bird,” the guys dive headfirst into the weirdest “why did this band cover THAT?” moments in metal history. Along the way, they discuss D...

Breakups suck. Whether it’s your ex leaving you because you spent the mortgage payment on Cannibal Corpse vinyl variants… or your favourite metal band calling it quits forever. In this episode of the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom dive into the bands they wish were still around, from legendary icons like Death, Type O Negative, and Dio to underground favourites like Cathartic Demise...

In the May 2026 edition of WHYBLT, Collin and Tom dive into the albums, songs, and discoveries that dominated their playlists over the past month. Along the way, they discuss listener submissions from Municipal Waste, Brojob, and Motionless in White, highlight honorable mentions from Faith No More and Breaking Benjamin before counting down their Top 5 albums and songs of the month, featuring Froze...

Love is in the air. So are emotional breakdowns, questionable seduction tactics, and at least one man trying to romance a cathedral. This week on the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom dive headfirst into the world of metal power ballads — from the tearjerking sorrow of “Snuff” by Slipknot and “Hickory Creek” by Whitechapel, to the arena-sized heartbreak of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by...

Collin and Tom dive headfirst into one of metal’s most dangerous gambles: replacing the vocalist. Sometimes it destroys a band. Sometimes it accidentally creates legends. From Howard Jones elevating Killswitch Engage to arena-status dominance, to Bruce Dickinson transforming Iron Maiden into metal royalty, the guys break down the greatest vocalist replacements that actually worked. Along the way,...

This week on the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom dive headfirst into one of their most gloriously nerdy discussions yet: TV show themes that would absolutely rip as metal songs. The guys break down why certain themes already flirt with metal energy, which bands could pull off the perfect covers, and how cartoons from the ‘90s and 2000s had no business going that hard. Check out more f...

This week on the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom dive headfirst into the beautifully brutal world of Metalocalypse and its legendary band Dethklok to answer one simple question: are they a gimmick… or absolute genius? From the origins of the show on Adult Swim, to the musical insanity of Brendon Small and Gene Hoglan, the guys unpack how a cartoon band somehow became one of the tighte...

Collin thought this episode was doomed from the start. Tom thought otherwise. In this chaotic installment of the “What Is _____’s Heaviest Song?” series, the duo tackle one of the weirdest challenges yet: ranking the ten heaviest songs by Finnish cello-metal legends Apocalyptica. What starts as pure skepticism slowly transforms into genuine shock as the duo dives deep into distorted cellos, crushi...

Collin and Tom return from the Amonklok Conquest Tour in Toronto with stories of soaring Viking anthems, animated brutality, theatrical doom metal wizardry, and merch prices capable of physically stunning a grown adult. The duo break down their full experience at the Great Canadian Casino Resort venue, including the surprisingly spacious layout, the controversial cashless setup, and the overall co...

This month’s “Are They Rock or Metal?” debate dives into early-era Evanescence — specifically their first two albums, Fallen (2003) and The Open Door (2006). Collin and Tom break down the band’s explosive rise, fueled by hits like “Bring Me to Life”, and debate whether Evanescence truly crosses into metal territory—or if they live comfortably in the gothic hard rock world. Along the way, they expl...

Collin and Tom are scrambling out the door for the “Amonklok Conquest Tour” in Toronto—but not before squeezing in a chaotic, last-minute episode of What Do We Want to Hear? With Dethklok and Amon Amarth set to take the stage, the guys break down the ONE song each they’re dying to hear from both bands. From epic Viking anthems to animated death metal insanity, expectations are high—and so is the r...

Collin shows up late… with a championship trophy, zero sleep, and the energy of a man who’s been on a two-week bender. Naturally, that derails things immediately. Once the beer-league victory lap settles down (slightly), Collin and Tom dive into April’s WHYBLT (What Have You Been Listening To?)—featuring listener submissions, copyright chaos, cursed YouTube music, and a surprisingly stacked month...

Collin and Tom take a nostalgic (and slightly unhinged) trip through record store culture—sparked by a visit to Mourningstar Records in Hamilton. From bizarre $2 finds like Dream Theater covering Number of the Beast to Arnold Schwarzenegger-themed death metal (yes, really), the episode dives into why record stores still matter in 2026. They explore the value of physical media in a streaming-domina...

It’s 4/20, and Collin and Tom are celebrating the only way they know how—by pretending to be absolutely baked and diving into the hazy world of stoner metal. From the legendary influence of Black Sabbath to modern heavy hitters like High on Fire, Mastodon, and The Sword, the guys break down what makes stoner metal such a unique and immersive genre. They also explore the iconic sounds of Sleep (yes...

What happens when metalheads start ranking video game characters by how brutally metal they are? You get this episode. Collin and Tom dive headfirst into the wild world of gaming to break down the most metal video game characters of all time—from the obvious picks like the Doom Slayer and God of War’s Kratos, to the unexpected chaos of Isabelle from Animal Crossing somehow being canonically tied t...