Metal Shop's Backstage Pass

JR Conners is the drummer for the Boston-based heavy rock band Cave In. They recently released my favorite album of the year (so far) , Heavy Pendulum on Relapse Records. I spoke with JR about his love for Motley Crue and Metallica as a kid, breaking his arm skating but continuing to tour on it, Boston bands and much more

Manuel Gagneux is the mastermind behind the awesomeness that is Zeal & Ardor. They are coming to The Crocodile in September, so I chatted with him about his inspirations, the idea behind the band, recording their newest album and much more

Chris Whited is the drummer for Florida-based deathcore band Bodysnatcher. We chatted about his punk and hardcore background, old school Myspace deathcore, Against Me, MRSA, their new album, touring DIY and much more. 

I am joined by Scumdog guitarist Pustulus Maximus from GWAR to chat about some things including but not limited to .. his hatred for New Hampshire his hatred of Europe his hatred of chain restaurants what a GWAR only fans would look like.... the new album !

Atlanta based metal band CLOAK will be playing day 3 of Northwest Terror Fest 2022 (This SATURDAY!), so I chatted with vocalist / guitarist Scott Taysom about the Atlanta metal scene, his love of AFI and Danzig, touring after the world opened up again, fests, Sepultura and much more.

Cryptic Slaughter is back ! The legendary California thrash band is reunited and ready to rage at Northwest Terror Fest 2022 next week - Friday July 1st - at Neumos in Seattle. I chat with Scott about how Cryptic Slaughter came back, the origins of the band, his life outside of music and much more. Come see Cryptic Slaughter at Northwest Terror Fest 2022 !

Joshy is the drummer for Washington, D.C. based sludge metal band ILSA. They will be playing Northwest Terror Fest 2022 ! I chatted with Joshy about their return to the Northwest, his favorite NW band of all time, his inspiration to get into heavy underground music, new ILSA tunes and much much more.  GET MORE INFO ABOUT NORTHWEST TERROR FEST AND PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle) just released his debut solo album "What Normal Was" and will be performing this Sunday (June 19th) at Neumos on Capitol Hill. I chatted with Billy about the idea to do a solo album, his inspirations, a star studded rock n roll Birthday dinner and much more....

Max and Iggor Cavalera are legends in the world of heavy metal! These two brothers are gonna be in Tacoma on Monday, June 13th (2022) for the "Beneath Arise" tour celebrating two classic Sepultura albums and an iconic era for both of their careers. I chatted with Max and Iggor about what those albums mean to them, their feverish love of underground music, their first band shirts and much much more...

Jungle Rot is coming back to Seattle this Tuesday (June 7th) ! They are playing Club Sur alongside Internal Bleeding I chatted with vocalist Dave Matrise about being a death metal lifer, his career as a hunting instructor, being a proud meat and potatoes death metal band, his favorite band shirts growing up and much more

Ace is the singer of a killer band called Mutually Assured Destruction who just released their new LP "Ascension" - I spoke with Ace about the album, booking a new fest, trends in hardcore, working with Randy Blythe and much more.  

David Mikkelsen is a highly prolific artist when it comes to sewer dwelling caveman death metal. Based out of Denmark, Mikkelsen plays in several killer bands like Undergang and Phrenelith + he runs and operates his own record label and storefront for Extremely Rotten Productions. I chatted with David about everything from being a small business owner during the pandemic to boils and cysts. Keep i...

This past Wednesday we lost a legend in the world of heavy metal. This episode of the podcast is a tribute to the memory of Trevor Strnad - vocalist of The Black Dahlia Murder. Thank you to Schuler Benson (@deathmetalradio) and Jonny Myrick for the assistance with this episode. At the tail end of the episode is my interview with Trevor from 2020 right as the "Verminous" album was about to be unlea...

Gatecreeper is coming back to Seattle on Tuesday May 10th for a headlining show at Neumos on Capitol Hill, so I caught up with vocalist Chase Mason. We chatted about their return to full time touring in 2022, how they decided on their tour support for this run, online hate and criticism and much more.

Greg Anderson just released his debut solo album "Forest Nocturne" under his monikor of "The Lord." I spoke with Greg about his deep roots in the Northwest music scene, the iconic Brotherhood album cover photo, essential albums on his label Southern Lord, growing up listening to KISW, the importance of loving every album he invests in and much more.

 Borknagar will be playing Seattle (El Corazon) on April 24th with Rotting Christ for “Devastation on the Nation.” I spoke with founding member Øystein G. Brun about his early days in Norway as a kid, life in the mountains, working as a producer, staying sane during the pandemic and much more.  

UNDEATH IS BACK! The brand new Undeath album “It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave” is out next Friday (April 22nd) via Prosthetic Records. I spoke with vocalist Alexander Jones about the new album, the formation of the band, his hardcore roots, inspiration as a vocalist and much more.

Miss May I is playing El Corazon this upcoming Thursday (April 14th) alongside Varials and All That Remains, so I chatted with vocalist Levi Benton about being back on the road and bringing his family with him, formative bands he grew up with back in Ohio, new music and much more. 

Texas metal / hardcore band Kublai Khan just released a killer new EP called "Lowest Form of Animal" and are currently touring with Knocked Loose. After that, they're hopping back on the road with Terror. Talk about a couple of heavy hitter tours. I chatted with drummer Isaac Lamb about the constant grind of being a blue collar metal band, the insanity of the 2018 Warped Tour, Texas food and much...

Wharflurch is a killer death metal band from Florida who put out an incredible album called “Psychedelic Realms Ov Hell.” I spoke with guitarist Myk Colby about a variety of things including – death metal fests in Mexico, musical inspiration, his favorite death metal bands, new music and much more. Get FLURCHY!

Napalm Death recently released a new album called "Resentment is Always Seismic - a final throw of Throes", so I chatted with vocalist Barney Greenway about everything that went into it, his favorite hardcore bands, staying sane during the pandemic, touring with GWAR, scars and much more.

Northwest-based melodic death metal band The Devils Of Loudun recently released their new album "Escaping Eternity" via The Artisan Era, so I had the guys on to chat about what went into the making of the album, the evolution of the band, the deep concepts of their albums, music they love and much more. This interview features two songs from their new album "Escaping Eternity" available now!

Away aka Michel Langevin is the drummer for the legendary Montreal-based metal band Voivod. They released their 15th studio album "Syncho Anarchy" in February...and it's great! I spoke with Away about his musical influences and favorite punk bands, growing up in the Montreal music scene, working on music during the pandemic and much more.

Athenar is the man behind the mystery of Midnight - a Cleveland based heavy metal machine that is releasing their album "Let there be Witchery" March 4th on Metal Blade Records. I spoke with Athenar about rejecting smart phones and social media, Cleveland heavy metal history, the roots of Midnight, writing four albums during the pandemic and much more. This was a really fun one. Check out the new...

This is a really fun conversation with an absolute legend in heavy music! Corpsegrinder is releasing his first ever solo album on February 25th, so I got on the line to chat with him about working with Jamey Jasta on the record, his tactics for winning in claw machine games, his love for the band Off with their Heads and other hardcore and punk bands, working with Erik Rutan as an official member...