The MetalSucks Podcast

Myrkur mastermind Amalie Bruun is our guest this week. We discuss her new album Mareridt, her collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe, how she feels more connected with nature than most humans, balancing style and substance as an artist, some of her favorite books and her passion for knitting. Brandon and Petar tackle the issue of groping when people stage dive and crowd surf, try to make sense of the gu...

This week we hit a milestone with Episode #200! We catch up with the first guest that ever graced the podcast, Valient Himself of Valient Thorr, to talk to us about being on Warped Tour, the band's efforts to create new fans on a festival geared towards youth, his unhappiness with the way the band's latest album Old Salt was handled by Napalm Records and more. We also connect with the forefathers...

The mercurial, supremely talented Julie Christmas calls in this week. We discuss the upcoming North American tour for Mariner (her collaboration with Cult of Luna), her career as an educator, her past musical endeavors with Made Out of Babies and Spylacopa, her love of novelist Cormac McCarthy, the possibility of future work with Cult Of Luna, and which record in her catalogue would make a great s...

Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree -- whose fifth solo album To the Bone comes out on August 18th -- is our guest this week. We discuss how social media is anti-social, the abuse and criticism people give artists' work without even listening to it, the loss of ambitious music and the fear of change in the mainstream, how the underground maintains the arts and much more. Brandon and Pete discuss the t...

Legendary Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne is our guest this week. We discuss the last time he had a regular job, his philosophy on how to be truly successful in life, his take on getting a college education in America, how important it is to find the right person to share your life with, plenty about his various musical projects and much more. Meanwhile, Brandon and Petar find a truly great politici...

Ben Falgoust of Goatwhore is our guest the week. We discuss the band's latest album, Vengeful Ascension, his hobbies of cave exploration and deep sea diving, the current state of the world, calling black metal “catchy" and a few words about Soilent Green. Brandon and Petar discover a new version of the bible by Blameless Dave Mustaine, and Pete shares a tale of when he first saw Goatwhore and the...

Byzantine vocalist/guitarist Chris “OJ” Ojeda is our guest this week. We discuss the band's recent move to Metal Blade Records, their upcoming album The Cicada Tree, OJ's personal experience with the opioid epidemic in the band's native West Virginia, how he balances touring and family life... and, of course, no interview with Byzantine would be complete without a discussion of the catchphrase “No...

Jason Keyser of technical death metal masters Origin guests this week. We talk about the band's new album Unparalleled Universe, their 20th anniversary, his lyric-writing process, his thoughts on bands that wear their own merch, and the decision to cover a Brujeria song despite not being fluent in Spanish. Brandon and Pete discuss the recent spate of "Best Of" metal lists provided by Rolling Stone...

Boy oh boy, we do have a special episode for you this week! It's a short one -- we'll return to our regularly scheduled full episode this Thursday -- but it's such a rare treat that we had to release it right away.  In our chat with Tool bassist Justin Chancellor we discuss the band's recently wrapped up tour, jumping back into the studio following the run, the record being 90% complete (!), how t...

This week we interview Trey Williams from Dying Fetus. We discuss how the title of the new record, Wrong One to Fuck With, came about and the writing process for the album, their extremely intense and NSFW new music video, the way they approach set lists on tour and all of our day jobs. Brandon and Pete tackle the saga of Five Finger Death Punch's disastrous show in the Netherlands: the show itsel...

Brann Dailor talks to us about his new project Arcadea. He tells us about the origins of the band, finding time to create music outside of Mastodon, the angle he would pursue if he did a solo project with other members of Mastodon, his ongoing desire to create art and much more. Pete and Brandon introduce the world to a new feminine product for men, discuss Suicidal Tendencies' L.A. show being shu...

This week death metal icon Terrence Hobbs of Suffocation is our guest. We discuss their new record ….Of The Dark Light, the latest line-up changes, the old days of fliers and long distance phone calls vs. today's mass emails and social media, what it's like to play a classic record in its entirety and the band's approach of "no small talk" death metal. Brandon and Pete introduce the world to a new...

Bill Kelliher of Mastodon calls in this week. We discuss the band's new album Emperor of Sand, being old and the hassle of playing music from a cloud, what his solo record would sound like, his bandmates' various side projects, how Mastodon decide on their setlist and much more. Meanwhile Brandon takes the opportunity to ambush Pete’s interview skills, finding an awful bit Pete threw away and brin...

Local H recently won Metallica's "Hit the Stage" contest to become local openers on their tour, so we talk to frontman/guitarist Scott Lucas about their victory, the criticism they've received about not being a true local band, their recently completed "Two Balls and a Dick" tour and the ups and downs of being a music lifer. Brandon and Petar tackle the weight of the Chris Cornell tragedy, discuss...

In our interview with James Hart from Eighteen Visions, we discuss how the reunion of the band came to be, the writing of their new record XVIII, the Orange County music scene from which they came, the loss of bassist Mick Morris and the band's future plans. In light of the allegations that Pentagram's Bobby Liebling physically harmed his mother, Brandon and Petar discuss when it's time to finally...

This week we interview Aaron Turner of Isis, Sumac, Mamiffer and Old Man Gloom. We discuss the end of Isis, his memories from the new live record, Live VII (out now on Ipecac), his journey with Hydra Head Records and his decision to release new music on the label after shutting it down in 2012, the recording process for the new Sumac record, and the art vs. business side of technology in music. Br...

This week we talk to Mike IX Williams from Eyehategod. He discusses his recent liver transplant, the person that kept him together through the whole ordeal, the New Orleans heavy metal scene, surviving Katrina, the status of new music from Eyehategod, and all the times in his life he's cheated death. Brandon and Petar introduce the world to a new dispensary, discuss Local H winning Metallica's loc...

This week we talk to Mix Master Mike of The Beastie Boys. We discuss his upcoming tour with Metallica, his stint touring with the Axl Rose-led version of Guns N' Roses (before Slash and Duff rejoined) and the terrible reception he received, his love of metal throughout his career, the difference between scratching records and modern day DJs, the story behind how he got involved with the Beastie Bo...

This week we talk to Dan Briggs from Between the Buried and Me and Nova Collective. We discuss the importance of side projects, how the Nova Collective came about and the band's latest album “The Further Side." We also talk about the tenth anniversary of BTBAM's classic record Colors, the new live Blu-Ray for Coma Ecliptic, modern bass players he respects and the new BTBAM record coming out this y...

This week we speak to Josh Weaver from Royal Thunder. We discuss the band's new album Wick, the black metal band he was in with singer Mlny Parsonz prior to Royal Thunder, his passion for hot tubs on the road, the importance of listening to albums as opposed to individual songs, and how they maintain a metal fan base with their mostly un-metal sound. Brandon and Petar advertise a new book, discuss...

This week we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the legendary Metal Blade Records by talking to three generations of musicians on the label. Our show starts with Joey Vera of Armored Saint and Fates Warning. He talks about the Los Angeles scene from which the label was born, the evolution of the formats on which music is consumed, and the label's importance to Armored Saint. Next we talk to Greg Bu...

This week we talk with John Kevill of Warbringer. He discusses the long delay between records, the starting-over process that occurred between album cycles and the direction of the latest record Woe to the Vanquished. We also get into his knowledge of history and his take on the current era -- the best time to be alive, according to him -- and he throws down an epic Arnold monologue per our reques...

This week we have legendary Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Willetts on the show to discuss his new project Memoriam. We talk about his approach to lyrics on Memoriam's new album For the Fallen, which Bolt Thrower songs they plan on playing live, what he envisioned when he decided to create a new band, the decision to end Bolt Thrower after Kiddie’s passing, and what newer bands he's digging. Brandon a...

This week we interview Mike Schleibaum from the mighty Darkest Hour. We talk about the new record Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, what producer Kurt Ballou brought to the table, the crowdfunding campaign behind the record (and how scary it was to make the decision to try it), the tenth anniversary of Deliver Us and how to mobilize the youth with music in this day and age. Brandon and Petar t...

We talk to producer and Fit For An Autopsy guitarist Will Putney about his band's new record The Great Collapse, his non-traditional role in the band, the writing process for the record and how being a third guitarist makes it less stressful to tour. We discuss which type of bands he prefers producing, his views on remixing and remastering older material, and his biggest success as a producer/musi...