Speak N' Destroy - METALLICA Podcast

SLAYER cofounder Dave Lombardo talks about Slayer and Metallica's first show together; filling in for Lars Ulrich; the Big 4; which Slayer song was influenced by Metallica; designing the Slayer logo; how he almost joined Megadeth in 1986; Grip, Inc.; The Misfits; Mr. Bungle; Rick Rubin; holiday text messages from Glenn Danzig, and much more. Check out the Beloved Ghouls song HERE . Speak N' D...

METALLICA: THE CLUB DAYZ, 1982 - 1984: Live, Raw and Without a Photo Pit! collects the multitude of killer pictures of Metallica captured in their formative years by Bill Hale. He was there for six of the band’s early shows, including their first with Cliff, the band's last with Dave, and the first Metallica show with Kirk. Megadeth: Another Time, A Different Place is similarly stuffed with semina...

Ex-MEGADETH lead guitarist and solo artist Marty Friedman on discovering KISS, his formative bands in Hawaii, hearing the Metallica demo, Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, the behind-the-scenes similarities between Megadeth and Metallica, what makes "Enter Sandman" and "Through the Never" so hilarious to the Japanese public, and so much more. The YouTube video Marty talks about...

COMEDIAN Dean Delray draws upon a life of heavy metal and Harleys that began in the Bay Area, telling stories as a standup and longtime host of the Let There Be Talk podcast. His show bears the distinction of being the first podcast to feature all of the current guys in AC/DC. He spent four hours talking with Kirk Hammett for one episode and has himself appeared on the podcasts hosted by his frien...

SKYLANDERS ACADEMY creator Eric Rogers tells the story of getting James Hetfield to voice werewolf musician Wolfgang in the hit animated series, which ran for three seasons on Netflix. Based on the Activision game series, Skylanders Academy also featured the voice talents of Justin Long, Ashley Tisdale, Breaking Bad ’s Jonathan Banks, Bobcat Goldthwait, and my favorite comedian of all time, Norm M...

MUSIC ATTORNEY Eric German worked with the record companies in their lawsuits against Napster, including A&M Records v. Napster. He’s also a massive Metallica fan and spent his teenage years playing in rock bands. These days, his clients include Five Finger Death Punch, AWOLNATION, Bad Wolves, and Asking Alexandria. This conversation is filled with insights about copyright law as it pertains t...

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT  lead guitarist (and sole consistent member!) Buck Dharma on meeting Metallica; the band’s cover of “Astronomy”; the famous Saturday Night Live sketch with Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken; writing, recording, and making music videos during the pandemic; participating in the 1986 metal all-star project Hear ’n Aid; his solo work; and BOC’s fourteenth st...

ARMORED SAINT (and Fates Warning) bassist Joey Vera discusses the band’s long career and the group’s history with Metallica. Speak N' Destroy podcast theme composed, performed, and produced by  Scott Mellinger . Visit  SpeakNDestroy.com . Support us on  Patreon . Follow on  Twitter ,  Instagram , and  Facebook . Follow  Ryan J. Downey on  Twitter ,  Ins...

ARMORED SAINT vocalist and former Anthrax frontman John Bush talks about turning down an invitation to sing for Metallica; touring with Metallica and W.A.S.P. back in the day; Sound of White Noise ; balancing life, family, and career; singing with Metallica at the band’s 30th anniversary shows; and the possibility of a solo tour doing material from his era fronting Anthrax. Speak N'...

ARMORED SAINT: THE MOVIE director Russell Cherrington tells the behind-the-scenes stories of interviewing James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich for his documentary. His relationship with Armored Saint goes all the way back to the tape trading days of the early ‘80s metal scene. Metallica once extended an invitation to Armored Saint vocalist John Bush to join their band. Russell is also the...

ALL WITHIN MY HANDS Executive Director Edward H. Frank talks about his relationship with Metallica and the work they do together. Ed worked in the computer industry for more than 30 years, including a stint as Vice President of Macintosh Hardware Engineering at Apple, where he led the development of several generations of Macintosh computers. In addition to supporting AWMH, Ed and his wife Sarah h...

AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ talks about growing up and his band's fantastic relationship with Metallica. Speak N' Destroy podcast theme composed, performed, and produced by Scott Mellinger . Visit SpeakNDestroy.com . Support us on Patreon . Follow on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Follow Ryan J. Downey on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Speak N' Destroy is part of the P...

DIRTY DONNY hand-illustrated the Metallica Stern pinball machine and is responsible for several of the band’s posters and the artwork that adorns Metallica HQ. Donny talks about his career in the arts, meeting Metallica, how he ended up working at HQ for several months, and more. The work of Dirty Donny (aka Donny Gillies) can be seen on skate decks, pinball machines (including Aerosmith’s game),...

BAY AREA GODFATHERS director Bob Nalbandian met Lars Ulrich in Huntington Beach before the formation of Metallica. Envious of the young Dane's New Wave Of British Heavy Metal records, Bob was witness to the first shows by Metallica: Lars, James, Dave, and Ron. In 1982, at age 17, he started a fanzine called The Headbanger, interviewing then-unsigned bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Armored Saint....

RAVEN frontman John Gallagher tells hilarious and candid stories from 1983's Raven/Metallica tour, Kill 'Em All For One. 17 people in a Winnebago, what could go wrong? Plus, Raven's early days, Neat Records, the NWOBHM, and their new album, Metal City . Speak N' Destroy podcast theme composed, performed, and produced by Scott Mellinger . Visit SpeakNDestroy.com . Support us on Patreon . Follow on...

The Decade That Rocked. Mark Weiss is responsible for multiple iconic photos of Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, and Aerosmith. As the main photographer for Ozzy Osbourne, Mark first shot Metallica during the 1986 Ozzy/Metallica tour, and was soon after drafted to do the band's first publicity photos with Jason Newsted. It's all chronicled in his new book, The Decade That Rocked, focused on his work from t...

TRAUMA is best known as Cliff Burton's pre-Metallica outfit, but they're a solid heavy metal band in their own right. I was hired to write a new bio for them in 2017 and spoke with vocalist/cofounder Donny Hillier by phone. Donny was going to come on to Speak N' Destroy to talk more about Cliff, but we never made it happen. When I heard the sad news of Donny's passing in September 2020, I remember...

Comedian! Musician! Metallica fan! Dave Hill is one-half of the psych-garage duo Painted Doll, together with Chris Reifert (Death, Autopsy). As an actor and personality, Dave has appeared on  The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , The Tick ,  @midnight ,  Inside Amy Schumer , Full Frontal with Samantha Bee , and  The Jim Gaffigan Show . He’s written three books, appears all...

We saw Metallica at the drive-in! Andrew Carter returns to Speak N' Destroy along with Kevin Burwick for an in-depth conversation about the Metallica drive-in experience. The set list, the sound, the atmosphere, and a whole bunch of well-researched facts about the vineyard, among other things. Andrew is the former Deputy Editor for Terrorizer Magazine, an ex-music manager, and longtime entertainme...

BLACK VEIL BRIDES drummer Christian "C.C." Coma details what it was like to work with Bob Rock on the band's 2014 album. The band's self-titled set was recorded at the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver and mixed at legendary A&M/Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood, just like the Black Album. A ton of relatable stories about Bob reaching out to the band; Paul Stanley visiting the studio; tones, techniq...

Ex-FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH drummer Jeremy Spencer talks about discovering Master of Puppets; what makes the early Metallica records so special; Lars Ulrich; his early Indiana band, Cornucopia Of Death; Metallica on the Monsters of Rock Tour in 1988; moving to California at 19; playing with one of the BulletBoys and briefly, W.A.S.P.; the formation and rapid ascent of Five Finger Death Punch; dinne...

BAD WOLVES. Doc Coyle returns! The first repeat guest, with all new Metallica-related stories to tell. Doc was one of the guitar players in The Wedding Band, alongside Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, performing a set of songs by AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Billy Idol, Kool & The Gang, and more, first in July 2019 and then again in March 2020. Doc tells the story behind his role in both shows. He a...

ZAO guitarist Scott Mellinger talks about discovering Metallica; learning his first Metallica songs and covering them in his first band; the unique partnership between him and the rest of the guys in Zao, past and present; and to top it off, he's composed an original theme for Speak N' Destroy!  Follow Scott on Instagram to keep up with Zao, Pack (featuring members of the Juliana Theory), and...

TETRARCH shredder Diamond Rowe, who AfroPunk described as "the guitarist repping for black women making metal," talks about growing up with a music business father; discovering Metallica via the MTV: Icon television performance; learning "Enter Sandman" on guitar; covering "Master of Puppets"; seeing the band for the first time; her favorite bassist; the nuances of each member's playing; her Top 5...

PEER PLEASURE podcast host Dewey Halpaus (founding member of Fearless Records recording artists Anatomy Of A Ghost and a onetime touring guitarist for Portugal. The Man) talks about growing up in Alaska, including the role a mayor named Sarah Palin played in helping his local scene; discovering punk, metal, and Metallica; the origin story behind the Peer Pleasure podcast; and his personal Metallic...