Rock of Aging

In this episode of Rock of Aging , Dave and Erika speak to Riki Rachtman , the legendary host from MTV's Headbangers Ball . Everyone watching this episode grew up watching Riki every Saturday night -- he introduced us to the bands, the videos, and the scenes throughout the world of heavy metal. But Riki is much more than the host of a great TV show that we grew up watching. He has opened and...

Before online stores, limited-edition drops, and social media ads, there was one place to get the coolest band merchandise: the merch table at the concert. In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika take a nostalgic trip back to the golden age of 80s metal merch. From overpriced concert t-shirts and tour programs to posters, buttons, patches, bandanas, and everything in between, we remember...

Dave and Erika recently appeared on the Youth Gone Mild Podcast. We spoke with Gen X Joe about the state of 80s metal, Sebastian Bach joining Twisted Sister, which 80s bands still "bring it" live, and so much more. Thanks, Joe, for having us. Find Youth Gone Mild: https://www.instagram.com/youthgonemildpc https://www.youtube.com/@UCcj0SJ2GGwoJ0aPaqvNfTog https://www.facebook.com/profile....

In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika reminisce about the lost art of making the perfect mixtape. Nobody who wasn't alive back in the 80s can relate.  Whether you're recording your favorite songs from the radio for repeated playback, making a soundtrack for a road trip, trying to "turn on" a friend to some cool music, or trying to get the attention of a girl in your...

In this episode of Rock of Aging , Dave and Erika revisit our most popular video - The Lost 80s Hard Rock and Metal Albums episode. Everyone seems to love to talk about that great album that no one else knows about; or that one album by your favorite band that everyone ignored, but you loved it. All music fans can relate. At the end of that video, Erika asked the audience for their recommendations...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika take a trip to the darker side of Hollywood in the late 1980s. The 1987 film, Less Than Zero , told a tale of extreme wealth and extreme behavior among a circle of friends navigating young adulthood. The movie starred some of the biggest actors of the era: Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr, Jami Gertz, and James Spader. Neither of us was old enough...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, we crank the volume and fire up the TV for a celebration of our favorite 1980s metal music videos. Back when MTV ruled the culture, videos weren’t just promotion—they were events. Bigger hair, louder guitars, cinematic concepts, wild performances, and enough smoke machines to fill an arena. Dave and Erika each count down the videos that defined the era for them—fr...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, we are talking about the harder side of 80's metal! Erika and Dave debate The Big 4 of Thrash: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. Let's just say that we don't see eye to eye on this part of the 80s metal scene. For Dave's (Not So) Deep Dive, he is talking about a new band from Ireland called SPRINTS who has just released an EP called &ap...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika are going back to school! In a sense, anyway. We have both been given our homework assignments! Erika has assigned Dave Richie Sambora's 'Stranger In This Town.' This 1991 album was the first solo LP from the Bon Jovi guitarist and songwriter. Dave has assigned Erika Ace Frehley's 'Frehley's Comet.' The 1987 record...

In this episode of Rock of Aging , Dave and Erika are talking live shows. Which 80's metal and hard rock bands have we seen the most times in concert? Club shows, theater shows, arena shows, stadium shows, festivals -- they all count! We both have a lengthy history of seeing concerts, beginning in the early 1980s. But who have we seen the most times over the years? Specifically, which hard ro...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika discuss their favorite "lost" 80s hard rock/heavy metal albums. Our definition of a lost album is either one by an unknown band that seemed to have major potential, but was ultimately ignored, OR an album from a more established band that failed to live up to the commercial standards of past releases. We have some of both. We'll be di...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika rewind to the glory days of MTV, when music videos weren’t optional, they were everything. Before streaming, before algorithms, before phones in our pockets, MTV told us what mattered — what to wear, how bands looked, and which artists became legends. We dig into how music videos transformed songs into visual events, turned musicians into larger-tha...

In this episode of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika dig into the often-overlooked contributions of women who shaped 80s metal, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. We talk honestly about what it meant to be a woman in a genre that frequently celebrated rebellion—while resisting equality. We explore trailblazers who didn’t just participate in the scene, but helped define it: Gerri Miller...

These albums ruined our lives. In the best way. In episode 13 of Rock of Aging, Dave and Erika reveal the “gateway” albums — the records that turned them into 80s metal fans, then metalheads, and eventually people who never quite recovered. This is our metal origin story — the records that flipped the switch and sent us down a lifelong rabbit hole of riffs, hair, denim, leather, and way too many c...

Help celebrate an 80's metal Festivus with Dave and Erika! This is the 12th episode of Rock of Aging, and it's our first ever holiday show! For this special episode, we decided to celebrate the "alternative" holiday of FESTIVUS, as celebrated on the TV show, Seinfeld. With an 80s metal vibe, we'll be airing our grievances, offering up Festivus miracles, and maybe even our...

This is the 11th episode of Rock of Aging, and this month, we are looking back to the 1970s. Heavy metal was invented in the 1970s, and it was a massive decade for this music: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, and KISS helped to define the decade's music. But what about when those artists hit the 1980s? Success in the 70s did not automatically guarantee similar success in the 80s. What...

This is the ninth episode of Rock of Aging: the series where my co-host Erika and I explore the depths of our "hair metal" past, and try to discover what it is about the music of that era that has kept us captivated for decades. Rock of Aging is your go-to spot for 80s metal conversion and community. This month, we're talking Dave's all-time favorite band, KISS. We haven't...

This is the eighth episode of "Rock of Aging." In this series, Dave and Erika explore the depths of their "hair metal" past, and try to discover what it is about the music of that era that has kept us captivated for decades. Rock of Aging is your go-to spot for 80s metal conversion and community. This month, we gave ourselves a "Heavy Metal Homework" assignment. We ea...

This is the third episode of the "Rock of Aging" series. In this series, my co-host Erika and I will be exploring the depths of our "hair metal" past as well as trying to discover what it is about the music of that era that has kept us captivated for decades. It's your new, go-to spot for 80s metal news and conversation! In this month's episode, we begin with a little...

This is the second episode of the "Rock of Aging" series. In this series, my co-host Erika and I will be exploring the depths of our "hair metal" past as well as trying to discover what it is about the music of that era that has kept us captivated for decades. In this month's episode, Erika and I offer up our selections for an "alternate" Big 4 of 80s metal. Most...

Today's episode is the first in a new series here at The Dark Stuff called  "Rock of Aging." In this new series, my co-host Erika and I will be exploring the depths of our "hair metal" past as well as trying to discover what it is about the music of that era that has kept us captivated for decades. Because it's the first episode of the series, we begin with a series o...