Speak N' Destroy - METALLICA Podcast

LORDS OF CHAOS. Jonas Akerlund talks about directing the Metallica videos "ManUNkind," "Whiskey in the Jar," and "Turn the Page," as well as his new film about the early days of Norwegian black metal. Before he made award-winning music videos with Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, U2, and Paul McCartney, the Swedish born filmmaker was the drummer for Ba...

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME. The prolific and versatile Tommy Giles Rogers on using Metallica riffs to teach himself guitar; the first five Metallica albums; Some Kind of Monster; Death Magnetic; the stylistic evolution of bands like Metallica, Opeth, and his own; James Hetfield's voice; why Between The Buried And Me chose to cover "Blackened"; and much more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our...

THE SALVATION KINGDOM. Cliff Burton's big sister talks about the late Metallica bassist growing weed in the closet; his organ from Sears; his earliest influences; his Misfits tattoo; Trauma; Cliff Burton Day; Jagermeister; Day on the Green; Ozzy; and of course, the early days of Metallica. She is the subject of the documentary The Salvation Kingdom, which examines the spiritual side to Cliff Burto...

EXODUS/SLAYER. Gary Holt on Kirk Hammett teaching him his first chords; Kirk leaving Exodus for Metallica; the early days of the Bay Area thrash scene; "Creeping Death" and the old Exodus song "Die By His Hand"; the magic right hand of James Hetfield; the Big 4; Paul Baloff; honoring Jeff Hanneman in Slayer; the next Exodus album; and more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep...

TESTAMENT. Chuck Billy on joining the band that became Testament; the 30th anniversary of The New Order; first hearing, seeing, and meeting Metallica; his love of Metallica's ballads; Metallica at Day on the Green; the Black Album; the Load/Reload era; writing the foreword for the unofficial James Hetfield biography; his late 90s audition for Sepultura; the relationships within Testament; and more...

APOCALYPTICA. Perttu Kivilaakso reflects on more than 20 years of Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos; the support from Metallica over the years; seeing the S&M taping; playing the 30th anniversary shows; collaborating with members of Slayer, Sepultura, and Slipknot; artistic courage; life as a classically trained metalhead; and more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plu...

SEPULTURA. Andreas Kisser on his audition to fill in for James Hetfield in 1992 after the Metallica frontman was burned in a pyro accident; Sepultura's first meeting with Metallica in 1989; his Sexoturica side-project with Jason Newsted in the '90s; his thoughts on Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, the Black Album, Load/Reload, and St. Anger; the guys who auditioned for Sepultura after Max Cavaler...

DREAM THEATER. Dream Theater fans received a massive surprise one night in Barcelona when the band tore through the Master of Puppets album from start to finish. Lars Ulrich would later tell Mike Portnoy it helped inspire Metallica to do the same thing. The legendary rock drummer (who played in Dream Theater for 25 years and has recorded and/or performed with Avenged Sevenfold, Twisted Sister, and...

DIAMOND HEAD. Metallica played four Diamond Head covers at their very first show. Since that gig on March 14, 1982, they've played "Am I Evil?" more than 700 times. As Lars Ulrich attested during his band's 30th anniversary celebration, "[Diamond Head] is the reason Metallica exists, it's that simple." Cofounder and lead guitarist Brian Tatler joins Speak N' Destroy to talk about Metallica and the...

ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE. “SO WHAT?” Anti-Nowhere League vocalist Animal tells about the origin of the wonderfully outrageous lyrics to the English punk legends’ best known song; his background as an outlaw biker; the U.K. punk scene of the 1980s; getting thrown off Top of the Pops; how performing with Metallica at Wembley in 1992 resurrected the band; behind-the-scenes of his visit to San Francisco fo...

PANTERA. Rex Brown on the massive influence of Metallica on Pantera; when he and Dimebag Darrell played a half-dozen Metallica songs with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in a tiny Texas bar; the night Metallica stuck Pantera with the strip club tab for both bands; the historic 1991 Monsters of Rock show in Moscow that united AC/DC, Metallica and Pantera at the twilight of the Soviet Union; fellowsh...

THE ATLAS MOTH. Born on Cliff Burton's birthday, the same year Kill 'Em All was released, Stavros first concert was Metallica, at age five. In addition to his role as guitarist/co-vocalist for The Atlas Moth, Stavros was part of American black metal supergroup Twilight alongside members of Leviathan, Nachtmystium, and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. Stavros has an extensive collection of rare Metall...

MEGADETH. Megadeth co-founder and bassist on meeting ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine; No Life 'Til Leather; hearing Kill 'Em All for the first time; meeting James and Lars; "Mechanix" / "The Four Horsemen"; "Go to Hell" / "Enter Sandman,"; behind the scenes of the Big 4 shows; Lars Ulrich's favorite Megadeth song; James Hetfield's evolution as a lyricist; the Black Album; A Year and a Half in...

TESTAMENT. Alex Skolnick of Testament, Metal Allegiance, The Alex Skolnick Trio, and ex-Trans-Siberian Orchestra on the Bay Area thrash scene; taking guitar lessons from Joe Satriani in high school; Metallica at the Keystone Berkeley in 1983; the Black Album; Load/Reload; Lars; Exodus; the Big 4; LuLu; MetalliGaGa; that time Kanye West wore a Testament t-shirt; and so very much more. Don't forget...

BAD WOLVES. Doc Coyle was invited to stand in for Lamb Of God guitarist Mark Morton on three weeks of the World Magnetic Tour with Metallica. As a cofounder of God Forbid, Doc had gone from DIY shows to Ozzfest and Mayhem. Metallica? That's his favorite band of all time and he wasn't going to miss that chance. In this episode, Doc talks about discovering metal; the Metallica catalog; the World Mag...

HESHER. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, and writer/director Spencer Susser of the movie HESHER, from Ryan J. Downey's interview archives. Cliff Burton was the inspiration for the title character's look, mannerisms, and spirit. The cast and crew made Metallica a central part of the film's story. Thanks to a personalized letter, the band ultimately approved, even lending their iconic logo for th...

HIT PARADER . How do you book Metallica for your television show? Josh Bernstein shares all the behind the scenes details about Metallica's performance at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, including collaborations that almost were, and more. Josh is the president of Hit Parader, and the co-creator of the Loudwire Music Awards, Revolver Golden Gods Awards, and Alternative Press Music Awards.

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY. Was Jason Newsted asked to join Sepultura? What was it like discovering music in Brazil? Iggor Cavalera, legendary metal drummer and cofounder of Sepultura, talks about the new Cavalera Conspiracy album and of course, Metallica.

SIRIUSXM . Jose Mangin is Director of Programming & On-Air Host for Liquid Metal , Octane , and Ozzy’s Boneyard on SiriusXM Radio. He joins Ryan J. Downey to talk about discovering Metallica and heavy metal, his first experiences meeting and interviewing the band, and to share great stories about his personal interactions with Metallica. Jose talks about trading emails with James about the lin...

HALESTORM. Halestorm singer/guitarist Lzzy Hale talks discovering Metallica via the Garage Inc. release; seeing Metallica live for the first time; what makes the band great; choosing to play a Gibson Explorer; Halestorm's cover of "Ride the Lightning"; opening for Heaven & Hell at what turned out to be Ronnie James Dio's final performance; working with producer Nick Raskulinecz; the next Hales...

HATEBREED. Jamey Jasta on the Black Album; Napster vs. Metallica; the wisdom of Torben Ulrich; what may have caused Metallica to release that Lou Reed album; the impact of illegal downloading on Hatebreed's first major label album, Perseverance; the politics and challenges of putting together a touring package; discovering heavy music as a kid in Connecticut; his first band; his popular podcast; h...

Ex-ELEKTRA RECORDS. Michael Alago signed Metallica to Elektra Records on September 12, 1984. As a major label A&R executive, he worked with Metallica, White Zombie, Metal Church, Dokken, Nina Simone, Cyndi Lauper, and more. He was a kid with a fanzine about the Dead Boys when he was plucked from obscurity to be a talent booker at legendary New York rock club, The Ritz. Michael talks about his...

LAMB OF GOD. Mark Morton talks with Ryan J. Downey about performing on three continents as part of the World Magnetic Tour; the production extremes between Garage Days, …And Justice for All, and the Black Album; switching from drums to guitar; struggling and persevering through personal tragedy; trying to make sense of life, death, and the mystery of it all; collaborating with the late Chester Ben...

MACHINE HEAD. Robb Flynn of Machine Head tells Ryan J. Downey about coming of age in the Bay Area during the dawn of the thrash metal scene; seeing Metallica, Exodus, Raven, D.R.I., and other crucial acts in the ‘80s; the highly influential KUSF radio; the prominent role of Dave Mustaine in the early days of Metallica; the formation of his third wave thrash band, Forbidden Evil; supporting Metalli...

JUDAS PRIEST. Rob Halford, legendary frontman for metal icons Judas Priest (a huge influence on Metallica), sits down with Ryan J. Downey live at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, California for an in-depth and wide-ranging talk about his career, going all the way back to the band’s humble beginnings in Birmingham, England.