Metal Shop's Backstage Pass

Today - August 27th, 2021 – Finnish death/doom band Hooded Menace is releasing their highly anticipated sixth album “The Tritonous Bell.” I spoke with vocalist Harri Kuokkanen about scars, the old school traditional metal inspirations for their material, the unique songwriting approach of Hooded Menace and much more. Hail Hooded Menace!

Escuela Grind is a killer grindcore band from the East Coast that will be invading Washington this September. I chatted with the band about their come up, getting hate from certain elitist scenesters, working on their new album, living together during the pandemic and much more.

New Jersey deathcore band Lorna Shore is celebrating the release of their brand new 3 song EP “And I Return to Nothingness” (Century Media), so I spoke with drummer Austin Archey about the process of finding a new vocalist, building out a home studio during the pandemic and much more.

Quicksand is gearing up to release a brand new album and hit the road in support, so I hopped on the phone with the legend himself Walter Schreifels. We discuss his four favorite hardcore bands of all time, his affiliation with Vans, recording the album right before the pandemic hit and much more. Start Today!

Dee Snider is the legendary vocalist of Twisted Sister. But instead of just resting on his laurels, Dee has been pushing his boundaries and producing all out HEAVY metal with the help of producer Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed). His new album "Leave A Scar" even features George Fisher from Cannibal Corpse! We talk about the new album, what keeps him motivated, his love for hardcore band Death Before Disho...

Northwest based Kaiju-themed death metal band Oxygen Destroyer is gearing up for the release of a brand new album, so I chatted with them about life during the pandemic, Lord Kaiju's move to Portland, the new album and more. Stay tuned til the end for a band new Oxygen Destroyer song! 

Portland rockers Red Fang has a new album called “Arrows” available now via Relapse Records. I caught up with vocalist/guitarist about the album, northwest rock n roll, scars and much more. 

Last Friday, Swedish metal masters At The Gates released their 7th studio album “The Nightmare of Being.” To promote the album, I conducted a live interview with ATG vocalist Tomas Lindberg Redant on the official Century Media Records Youtube page on the day of release. Here is the full audio from that video interview.

I caught up with Vitriol guitarist / vocalist Kyle Rasmussen about what he's been up to during the pandemic, spikey guitars, his guitar strap company Steelweather, the awesomeness of Erik Rutan, some of his favorite death metal albums, early inspirations, new Vitriol music and much more. 

Aaron Weaver is one of the founding members of the Olympia-based black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room. The band is gearing up to release their new album "Primordial Arcana," so I spoke with Aaron about recording the album at his home studio, growing up listening to Metal Shop, how he got into black metal, the majestic beauty of the Northwest and much more. 

Olympia based progressive technical death metal band No Living Witness is back with a brand new song to share with us. I caught up with Sam and LJ from NLW and we premier the track at the end of our chat. Support Northwest metal! 

This is a special compilation episode featuring three special guests from very different ends of the globe.    First up is an interview with the solo rock n roll musician Ricky Warwick who lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Ireland. Ricky also plays with the Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy and has performed with Stiff Little Fingers in the past.  The second interview is with Paul...

Fresh off the release of their killer new album "Celestial Putridity," I spoke with two thirds of the badass Cleveland death metal band Inoculation. Check out what they have to say about their celestial, mind bending brand of heaviness. 

Ken Escobedo runs an awesome YouTube channel called "Ken's Death Metal Crypt" where he focuses on raw, underground death metal music. Whether it's unveiling old school demos or unboxing brand new vinyl scores, Ken reps death metal to the fullest. I chatted with Ken about his history with metal music, how he got started on YouTube, the upcoming "Crypt Fest", some underrated bands and much much more...

Animal Schoolbus is an incredibly unique father/daughter grindcore band that made headlines for their recent video "I Can Do One Handed Cartwheels." The band consists of Charlie Sad Eyes (father) and Princess Beast (daughter). I sat down and zoom'd with the band and chatted all about Kids Bop, Mother's Day, jiu jitsu and more. Enjoy! 

French progressive tech death band Fractal Universe is gearing up to release their third full length album "The Impassable Horizon" via Metal Blade on June 25th. I spoke with lead guitarist Hugo Florimond about recording the album during pandemic, live streaming on Twitch, his favorite French metal bands, crying onstage as a kid and much more. 

I spoke with Year of the Knife guitarist Brandon Watkins about musical influences, their newest album "Internal Incarceration," Hatebreed, the Punisher, his graphic design work and much more. 

You probably know this by now, but I'll say it anyways : Bandcamp is a great resource for up and coming artists as well as music fans. I wanted to get a better idea of some of the initiatives behind the artist-friendly nature of Bandcamp and some of the history behind the company, so I chatted with Andrew Jervis (Chief Curator and host of Bandcamp Weekly) and Brad Sanders (Bandcamp metal columnist...

Gojira is gearing up to release "Fortitude" on April 30th, so I caught up with vocalist Joe Duplantier. We chatted about staying home with the kids, working on an album during a pandemic, designing his own metal t-shirts and much more. 

Dying Wish is an awesome metal core band from Portland that is gearing up to release their debut full length album later this year. I spoke with vocalist Emma Boster about recording the album over 5 weeks in New Jersey, her first musical influences, some of her favorite albums, how she's been staying busy during the pandemic, doing vocals on a Knocked Loose song and much much more. 

Enforced is an awesome thrash/hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia that recently released "Kill Grid" on Century Media. I spoke with vocalist Knox Colby about Richmond music, growing up in the hardcore scene, signing with Century Media, dealing with life during a pandemic and much more. 

“The power of the riff compels me!” These words were made famous by Eyehategod guitarist and DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower. I spoke with Jimmy via phone from his home down in New Orleans about the brand new Eyehategod album, the role New Orleans played in his music taste, life during the pandemic, his favorite riffs and much more.

Nervosa is an awesome thrash metal band from Sao Paulo, Brazil that recently released their fourth full length “Perpetual Chaos.” I spoke with guitarist Prika Amaral about lineup changes, the new album, being the first all female metal band on the cover of Decibel and more in this short chat.

Simon Wright is a legendary drummer in the world of rock n roll and metal who is most well-known for his years in AC/DC, UFO and of course DIO. I spoke with Simon about the release of the brand-new DIO live albums, what it’s like performing with a hologram of Ronnie James Dio, life during Covid, early influences and much more.

Wolf Hoffmann is the last remaining member of the O.G. Accept lineup and it doesn’t sound like he’s going anywhere. I spoke with Wolf about the new Accept album “Too Mean to Die”, life during the pandemic, early inspirations and much more.