Nate Garrett's Big Riff Energy

Is Spotify CEO Daniel Ek the worst person who's ever lived?   Discussing how Daniel Ek and other corrupt billionaires like him are ruining the earth, answering fan emails about the best "psych noir" albums, recounting personal experiences with the Spotify/major label mafia behind the scenes, and more…   Album of discussion: Zombi - Direct Inject (2024) __________________________________________ Re...

A guided tour through the birth and evolution of the riff in the United States of America.   Albums of discussion: Muddy Waters discography Hank Williams discography Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (1967) Credence Clearwater Revival - Green River (1969) ZZ Top - Rio Grande Mud*** (1972) Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond (1972) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced (1973) Bob Seger - Night Moves (1976) Tom...

Reviewing the new Ghost song "The Future Is A Foreign Land," and ranking the entire discography.   Plus... catching up on a significant backlog of fan e-mails.   Albums of discussion (recommended for fans of Ghost): Ashbury - Endless Skies (1983) Alice Cooper - Trash (1989) Hallas - Isle of Wisdom (2022) Wytch Hazel - IV: Sacrament (2023)   __________________________________________ E-mail all que...

GIG REVIEW of the recent Necrot/Bat/Street Tombs show in Austin CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT First official trip into the VAULT OF INSANE STORIES per listener request   Album of discussion: Bat - Under The Crooked Claw (2024) __________________________________________ E-mail all questions/ideas to: BIGRIFFENERGY@GMAIL.COM To move your question to the front of the line and get a guaranteed response...

This interview is best experienced with video on YouTube! __________________________________________ Necrot is one of the best current death metal bands in the world. They sat down in Austin, TX so we could guess each other's favorite Death albums. We also discuss their new album Lifeless Birth, Big Riff inspirations, writing death metal with depth, and more!   Album of discussion: Necrot - Lifele...

Two big giveaways in celebration of 5K subscribers, including a vinyl haul of some of 2023 and 2024's best metal albums. Lots of Big Riff Recommendations, including Tzompantli, Crypt Sermon, Ulcerate, and the best band ever submitted to the podcast by a listener. Remembering Brad Raub of Eternal Champion / Sumerlands, and more… Albums of discussion: Ulcerate - Cutting The Throat Of God (2024) Tzom...

What albums are perfect front to back, with no lulls or skippable songs? Catching up on fan questions. Paying tribute to Samothrace's Bryan Spinks (RIP). Albums of discussion: Samothrace - Life's Trade (2008) Samothrace - Reverence To Stone (2012) __________________________________________ E-mail all questions/ideas to: BIGRIFFENERGY@GMAIL.COM To move your question to the front of the line and get...

Talking about the top 25 greatest debut LP's in the history of metal. (non-debut) Album of discussion: Sacrifice - Forward to Termination (1987) __________________________________________ E-mail all questions/ideas to: BIGRIFFENERGY@GMAIL.COM To move your question to the front of the line and get a guaranteed response on the podcast, send $10 to https://paypal.me/BigRiffEnergy . Include your quest...

Ending the In N Out vs Whataburger debate once and for all, remembering epic hangs with John Carpenter and Mel Gibson in the orbit of the world's greatest burger joint, thoughts on hyped melodic death metal (via hardcore), overlooked musicians and bands throughout history, the unfortunate power of click bait, and more! Album of discussion: Freeways - Dark Sky Sanctuary (2024) _____________________...

MAX CAVALERA, the ultimate ambassador and lifer for Big Riff Energy, takes us on a journey through a life of relentless riffs and unrivaled passion for extreme music. From recording early Sepultura as a young teenager in Brazil, to making the best re-recordings ever heard in metal as a seasoned veteran. His rollercoaster of a riff-centric life includes midnight album release signings for Chaos AD,...

Steve Albini was one of the most important figures in music history. Memorializing a titan of pure BRE, detailing a Big Riff Selected Works from Albini's unrivaled catalog, digging into the Vault Of Insane Stories and reminiscing about life-altering experiences recording at Albini's Electrical Audio from 2008 - 2022 (including total unbridled mayhem during Barack Obama's presidental acceptance spe...

Answering a fan question about weed leads to a flashback of a life-altering failed attempt to break out of the simulation via psychotropic drugs. Also discussing a truly unique and captivating death metal album. Album of discussion: Civerous - Maze Envy (2024) __________________________________________ To move your question to the front of the line and get a guaranteed response on the podcast, sen...

This epic interview with NOCTURNO CULTO is best experienced with the visual aid of our smiling faces (on YouTube): https://youtu.be/C-jgVTTxOyw Talking BIG RIFFS with the man himself, Ted Skjellum/ Nocturno Culto from Darkthrone. We discuss the new album "It Beckons Us All," (out now on Peaceville Records), the steady evolution and thrillingly diverse eras of Darkthrone, how to conjure riffs from...

This episode was recorded remotely in downtown Austin. It is strongly recommended that you experience the episode with full visual accompinament on YouTube: https://youtu.be/roRFT2KCZr0?si=9V8MqB75jtFGIv5J __________________________________________ Join Outer Heaven as they take us on a cosmic journey through first-person UFO encounters, CERN large hadron collider-created alternate timelines, cryp...

Roasting the worst "metal" bands that have ever existed, highlighting the best metal releases of April 2024, and more! Albums of discussion: Necrot - Lifeless Birth (2024) High on Fire - Cometh The Storm (2024) Replicant - Infinite Mortality (2024) Whores - War (2024) __________________________________________ To move your question to the front of the line and get a guaranteed response on the podc...

Ranking the Top 5 (or 6 or 7) Crowbar albums and discussing the riff supremacy of Kirk Windstein in celebration of his birthday. Plus the top 5 most anticipated bands at the upcoming Austin Deathfest, catching up on backlogged emails, addressing the current status of Spirit Adrift (live performance and writing plans), and more! Album of discussion: Crowbar - Crowbar (1993) ________________________...

Reviewing the MASSIVE riff energy of the debut Coffin Storm album. Discussing how Coffin Storm channel the most exciting period of metal when trad metal, doom metal, thrash, extreme metal, hardcore, crossover, and the fledgling extreme metal styles were swirling in an exciting alchemical riff energy stew. Answering e-mails regarding The Sword, doom metal, merch cuts, combat sports, discovering Sol...

SOLITUDE AETURNUS DEEP DIVE! Is Solitude Aeturnus the best and/or most underrated doom band of all time? Ranking their discography, reviewing their set at Hell's Heroes, examining their significance in the context of doom metal's epic history. Plus a brutally honest review of a monumental letdown at Hell's Heroes, answering your e-mails, assembling a fantasy all-star metal supergroup, and more! Al...

Praising the decades-long, fearless, rule-breaking domination of Darkthrone, ranking my top 5 favorite albums by these black metal legends, appreciating the full-circle glory of hearing Spirit Adrift played on Radio Fenriz, getting poser checked by Phil Anselmo for wearing a Darkthrone tee, answering epic emails (including one from the frontman of the most brutal modern death metal band), and more...

THIS EPISODE IS BEST EXPERIENCED WITH VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pVtIw1Q825M   First Zoom guest ever! TJ Childers, drummer and mastermind of Inter Arma discusses what it means to be a lifer, the key to making impactful records that stand the test of time, favorite guitar amp, favorite Van Halen/Metallica/Morbid Angel records, what it was like blowing Foghat off the stage by the time he turned 10 year...

Reviewing the epic Tank Crimes Brainsqueeze tour, featuring Dead Heat, Necrot, Ghoul, and Municipal Waste. Randomly running into the most exciting new Austin band at the gig in San Antonio, reviewing the new Judas Priest album, answering your e-mails, and more! Album of discussion: Mean Mistreater   - Razor Wire (2024)   __________________________________________ To move your question to the front...

Discussing Nile's timeless technical death metal milestones. Answering MORE e-mails about the harsh realities of "rockstardom" and touring, thoughts on Machine Head, Rob Flynn vs. Phil Anselmo nonsense, Pearl Jam ticket prices, and more! Album of discussion: Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked __________________________________________ To move your question to the front of the line and get a guarant...

Why do we wait until bands/big riffers are no longer around to voice our appreciation? Is High on Fire the only band with a perfect discography? Praising their new song, and the new album by fellow lifer big riffers The Obsessed. Answering profound and thought-provoking questions about the 10 most important/influential songs, the best Australian bands of all time, and more! Album of discussion: Hi...

Could this criminally overlooked Russian technical thrashterpiece be the single most underrated thrash album of all time? Praising the recent Nuclear War Now pressing of this infamous masterpiece, recounting first hand experience bringing Big Riff Energy to Russian soil, exploring the ways that universal BRE can defeat the power-hungry propagandists and psychotic leaders of military industrial com...

Fielding questions regarding Kerry King, Acid Bath, New Wave Of Norwegian Thrash Metal, movies and how they relate to the creative process/big riff energy, and more! Album of discussion: Chapel of Disease - Echoes of Light (2024)  ______________________________________ Find Nate: https://www.youtube.com/@borntoonate  ______________________________________ Find Spirit Adrift: https://spiritadrift.b...