Spinning the Wax

Friend and Knotfest colleague Tori Kravitz, host of the femme-centric podcast She's With the Band, as well as the behind-the-scenes series Beyond the Breakdown, stops by to listen to Alice in Chain's masterpiece "Dirt". This is a favorite album for both of us and it facilitates some deep and meaningful conversation, in addition to the usual gushing and awing at these songs. Tori discusses the wide...

Violinist and singer Andrea Morgan introduces Jon to Buried Inside and their 2005 album "Chronoclast (Selected Essays on Time-Reckoning and Auto-Cannibalism)". Andrea plays in atmospheric and blackened doom metal band Exulansis, as well as Rebecca Vernon's new solo project The Keening, with whom she toured Europe and North America earlier in 2024. She chose to spin a concept album about time and i...

On this episode of Spinning the Wax, guitarist Sammy Urwin of UK metalcore band EMPLOYED TO SERVE (and founder of the amazing CHURCH ROAD RECORDS) listens to "Close to the Edge" by Yes. A self-described musical magpie, Sammy holds my hand while I listen to a Yes album for the very first time. He talks about how the band were an acquired taste (like a lot of 70s prog) and explains his journey const...

It's time to dance under the shadow of the atomic bomb! Hellripper's James McBain joins Spinning the Wax with Beastmilk's impossibly catchy album "Climax." Before permanently changing their name to Grave Pleasures, Beastmilk ushered in a tidal wave of goth-rock, post-punk and nihilistic goodness that many bands have tried to emulate since. James discusses how this album influenced his early songwr...

On this episdoe of Spinning the Wax, vocalist Adrienne Cowan shares the album that taught her who she is: Kamelot's "Epica". Adrienne is one of the most talented musicians you'll ever meet, and uses her talents for the amazing symphonic metal band Seven Spires, in addition to lending them to Avantasia, Sascha Paeth's Masters of Ceremony and Sonic Symphony. In this wide-rangin...

In this episode of Spinning the Wax, powerhouse guitarist and vocalist Debbie Gough of UK's Heriot brings on the emotionally crippling "Rheia" by Oathbreaker. Though not always an easy listen, Debbie speaks about how the album influences her approach to writing music and how there's so much to take away from it even after countless listens. She also discusses seeing the band live...

In the first episode of Spinning the Wax, Undeath vocalist Alexander Jones kicks things off with At the Drive-In's seminal album "Relationship of Command." He talks about his obsession with this album in his teenage years and how the influence of At the Drive-In that resonates to this day. Jon and Alex also discuss Undeath's latest album "More Insane," and how producer...