The MetalSucks Podcast

Whitechapel vocalist Phil Bozeman is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new record, Kin, the challenge of revisiting his childhood for its lyrical themes, the necessity of tackling your past and forcing yourself to face it regardless, the music videos that accompany the storytelling on the album, and how his perception of reality has changed dramatically as he grows into his 30s. We also t...

Steve "Stevic" MacKay of Twelve Foot Ninja is our guest this week to discuss the band's new album, Vengeance, sitting on it for over a year while the pandemic raged on, the new novel and graphic novel connected to the album, teaching himself how to code to build a Twelve Foot Ninja video game, working with Huey Lewis and Jinjer's Tatiana Shmayluk on music videos, and a session gig he took working...

Melvins drummer Dale Crover is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new album of acoustic re-imaginings, Five Legged Dog, how the band narrowed down the song list for it, which songs the band attempted to rework but failed, and his thoughts on doing an acoustic tour. We also talk about the recent passing of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, how he found out fellow Melvins drummer Coady W...

Lewis and Henry de Jong, the brothers behind Alien Weaponry, join us this week! We discuss the the band's new album, Tangaroa, the record's themes of environmental awareness and how everyone needs to do more, why they felt writing about their Maori heritage was extremely important, how touring has changed their perspective on major issues affecting the world, how to fix mistakes made by previous g...

Jeremy Spencer, aka Grim Synner from Psycho Synner (the band formerly known as Psychosexual) -- and former drummer for Five Finger Death Punch -- is our guest on this special half-episode of the podcast! We discuss why the band rebranded from Psychosexual to Psycho Sinner, his plan to release nine albums on the same day (and when that will happen) and the visual aesthetic of the band changing alon...

Our guest this week is Local H mastermind Scott Lucas! We discuss the band's latest album, Lifers, and his activity on social media to promote it during the pandemic, working on the record with legendary producer Steve Albini, his tribute song to George Floyd, and how artists are often unaware of how many people their music reaches. We also talk about performing all of his albums in full throughou...

Guitarist Jani Liimatainen of Insomnium (ex-Sonata Arctica) is our guest on this special half-episode of the podcast! We discuss the band's new EP, Argent Moon, releasing the songs as singles throughout the pandemic, how the tour for their last album, Heart Like A Grave, was completely cut short but they decided to forge ahead with new music anyway, the upcoming 25th anniversary of the band, the e...

Rivers of Nihil vocalist Jake Dieffenbach is our guest this week to discuss the band's new album, The Work! We talk about how the band fearlessly continues to pursue their own musical direction with no boundaries, the meaning of and story behind the Dan Seagrave cover artwork, the pressure of following up their critically acclaimed 2018 album Where Owls Know My Name, why he felt he needed 18 month...

Sven de Caluwé of Aborted is back for a special half-episode of the podcast! We discuss how he needed the band's new album Maniacult to keep him connected to music, how the horror movies he binge-watched during the pandemic inspired the album, why he feels the first two Friday the 13th films didn’t age well, how the 25th anniversary of the band passed by during Covid, creating an action figure to...

Mike Stringer of Spiritbox is our guest this week! We discuss their new album, Eternal Blue, the strategy of releasing standalone singles to introduce the project to fans, spending three years promoting music while unable to tour, the cancelation of their recent run with Limp Bizkit, how the FACTOR program from the Canadian government helped them start Spiritbox, and his hopes to tour nonstop in 2...

Björn “Speed” Strid of The Night Flight Orchestra and Soilwork is back on the show! We start out by discussing the brand new album from The Night Flight Orchestra, Aeromantic II; why they released standalone singles that are not on the record, the entire band catching Covid-19 after their last tour in March of 2020, why there would not have been a new album if not for Covid-19, the band's plans on...

Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk is back on the show! We discuss the band's new album, Wallflowers, the preparations the band is currently undergoing to get ready for a heavy touring schedule, what last year's socially distanced shows were like as performers, filming music videos and putting out a live album during the pandemic to stay engaged with their fans, and her desire to tour as much as pos...

Derrick Green of Sepultura is back on the show! We discuss the band's upcoming touring schedule, his thoughts on fans having to show vaccination cards to attend shows, how Sepultura decided to stay connected with each other through Zoom during the pandemic, why he feels the conflict currently happening in the Amazon needs more media attention, and which Sepultura deep cut was most interesting to r...

Between the Buried and Me guitarist Paul Waggoner is our guest this week! We discuss why he feels the time was right to make a sequel to their classic album, Colors, the difficulty of being in the right mental state to write music during the pandemic, all the work that went into the animated video for “Fix The Error," the emotional experience of returning to live music, his thoughts on the experim...

Spirit Adrift mastermind Nate Garrett guests this week! We discuss the band's new EP, Forge Your Future, how his move to a new environment impacted the music, on being open to his influences when writing songs, the compliment that he got from Fenriz of Darkthrone, and the timeframe on a new Spirit Adrift full length. Nate also tells us how he's become an MMA fan while leaving boxing behind, his go...

Gost mastermind Baalberith is back on the show! We discuss the inspiration behind the new album, Rites of Love and Reverence, his mindset on following up Valediction after getting some harsh feedback from long-time fans, the need to be adventurous as a musician as he grows as a person, and the positive side of not touring during the last year. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Live Nation's decis...

Booka Nile from Make Them Suffer is our guest this week! We discuss their latest single, "Contraband," how the collaboration with Spiritbox's Courtney LaPlante came together; the current state of COVID in her native Australia, and the mental health issues that come with the pandemic; our strong sense of community across the heavy metal scene; not being able to perform any of the songs off their la...

The legendary Dee Snider returns to the podcast this week! We discuss his new solo album, Leave a Scar, writing and recording it with Jamey Jasta and his team, if he feels the "sophomore effort" label applies to this record given his history, and how this was the first time he has written lyrics since the Widowmaker days in the '90s. Dee also offers his take on the recent David Ellefson scandal, e...

Periphery mastermind Misha Mansoor is back on the podcast this week! Our conversation centers around his new solo album, Moderately Fast, Adequately Furious, releasing ten albums worth of Bulb archives last year, whether he ever plans to perform the Bulb material live, collaborating with his brother, and the trouble with getting honest feedback from friends. Misha also talks about Periphery, inclu...

Mayhem vocalist Attila Csihar guests this week to discuss the band's new EP, Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando, which consists of three new originals and four classic punk covers. Attila shares the punk rock albums that shaped him in his youth, how he had to smuggle music into communist Hungary while growing up there in the early '80s, his first time meeting Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, Di...

Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage and Times of Grace is our guest this week! We talk about the new Times of Grace album, Songs of Loss and Separation, their first in 10 years, and reflect on its predecessor, The Hymn of a Broken Man. Adam shares his thoughts on the importance of keeping his mind busy during dark times, working on music videos with Nick Hipa (ex-As I Lay Dying, ex-Wovenwar), his...

Prolific death metal drummer and multi-instrumentalist Hannes Grossmann is our guest! We discuss the recruitment process for his latest solo album, To Where The Light Retreats, the role he takes on as composer for his own material, how Tori Amos inspired a song on the new record, the story behind the hand-drawn cover artwork, how the songs on his first solo album were originally intended for Obscu...

Howard Jones is back on the podcast! We discuss H.A.I.T.(How Awesome Is That), his movie watching podcast with Jamey Jasta and Charlie Bellmore; the imprint '80s action movies left on us growing up' the work environment that surrounded him during the making of the new Light the Torch album; his lyrical approach on the new record; being open to change; the decision to cover the Terrence Trent D’Arb...

Aaron Beam of Red Fang is our guest this week! We discuss the band's new album, 'Arrows,' the dark turn in the playful music video for their single “Why?”, reuniting with producer Chris Funk, the album's title, the benefits of meditation, how that process makes him more productive in all of his avenues of creativity, and more. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia also discuss their BEST OF 2021 SO FAR! Than...

Perturbator mastermind James Kent is back on the show! We discuss his first new album in five years, Lustful Sacraments, why it took him so long to complete the record, the heavy influence of goth music this time around, why he feels it's important to tour less than he did in the past, and the 10 year anniversary of Perturbator. He also tells us about opening for John Carpenter, his plans for his...