Metal Shop's Backstage Pass

You probably know this by now, but I'll say it anyways : Bandcamp is a great resource for up and coming artists as well as music fans. I wanted to get a better idea of some of the initiatives behind the artist-friendly nature of Bandcamp and some of the history behind the company, so I chatted with Andrew Jervis (Chief Curator and host of Bandcamp Weekly) and Brad Sanders (Bandcamp metal columnist...

Gojira is gearing up to release "Fortitude" on April 30th, so I caught up with vocalist Joe Duplantier. We chatted about staying home with the kids, working on an album during a pandemic, designing his own metal t-shirts and much more. 

Dying Wish is an awesome metal core band from Portland that is gearing up to release their debut full length album later this year. I spoke with vocalist Emma Boster about recording the album over 5 weeks in New Jersey, her first musical influences, some of her favorite albums, how she's been staying busy during the pandemic, doing vocals on a Knocked Loose song and much much more. 

Enforced is an awesome thrash/hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia that recently released "Kill Grid" on Century Media. I spoke with vocalist Knox Colby about Richmond music, growing up in the hardcore scene, signing with Century Media, dealing with life during a pandemic and much more. 

“The power of the riff compels me!” These words were made famous by Eyehategod guitarist and DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower. I spoke with Jimmy via phone from his home down in New Orleans about the brand new Eyehategod album, the role New Orleans played in his music taste, life during the pandemic, his favorite riffs and much more.

Nervosa is an awesome thrash metal band from Sao Paulo, Brazil that recently released their fourth full length “Perpetual Chaos.” I spoke with guitarist Prika Amaral about lineup changes, the new album, being the first all female metal band on the cover of Decibel and more in this short chat.

Simon Wright is a legendary drummer in the world of rock n roll and metal who is most well-known for his years in AC/DC, UFO and of course DIO. I spoke with Simon about the release of the brand-new DIO live albums, what it’s like performing with a hologram of Ronnie James Dio, life during Covid, early influences and much more.

Wolf Hoffmann is the last remaining member of the O.G. Accept lineup and it doesn’t sound like he’s going anywhere. I spoke with Wolf about the new Accept album “Too Mean to Die”, life during the pandemic, early inspirations and much more.

A few months back I spoke with Eric Lauder from the Detroit, Michigan based thrash/death metal band Plague Years. Their newest album “Circle of Darkness” is AWESOME! We chat about rap, death metal, Detroit, scars and more. 

Cannibal Corpse will be releasing “Violence Unimagined” in April, so I chatted with bassist Alex Webster about the album, staying consistent, recording from across the nation, living in Portland, working with Erik Rutan full time and much more.  

Texas death metal band Frozen Soul released their debut LP “Crypt of Ice” on Century Media Records within the first week of 2021. I spoke with vocalist Chad Green about teaming up with Century Media, the Mt. Rushmore of Texas metal, growing up with grandparents owning a rock club and much more.

I spoke with Cult of Luna founding member Johannes Persson about their new EP “The Raging River,” , their collaboration with Mark Lanegan, working in the Swedish film industry, being an artist during the pandemic and much more.

Over the past couple years you may have seen the Maggot Stomp logo floating around on the artwork of some killer death metal albums. Well, Scott Magrath is the dude behind the madness at Maggot Stomp. We chatted about everything from growing up in the CT hardcore punk scene to elitism in underground music. Check it out and support Maggot Stomp!  

Bell Witch bassist Dylan Desmond has been busy as hell during the pandemic. Aside from working on new Bell Witch material, he is in the process of creating a bunch of new bands and projects. I chatted with Dylan about all his new music, his KIX shirt, his songwriting process and much more. Enjoy!

Gatecreeper surprised the metal world by dropping a brand new 7 song album “An Unexpected Reality”out of the blue last week. I spoke with vocalist Chase Mason about the album, the blogspot era, his new car, trends in music he’d like to see come back, stadium death metal and much more. 

This week on the podcast I chat with Sanctuary guitarist Lenny Rutledge about the legendary Warrel Dane, the anniversary of “Into the Mirror Black”, new music, life during the pandemic and much more. Enjoy!

Kamelot is a long running power metal band based in Tampa, Florida. I chatted with guitarist and founding member Thomas Youngblood a couple months back about their brand new live Blu-Ray, early inspirations, writing music during the pandemic and more. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! To ring the new year in, I spoke with Briant Tatler, the lead guitarist for the iconic NWOBHM band Diamond Head. We chatted about the re-release of Lightning to the Nations, life during the pandemic, bands he can always revisit when he's down and much more.

Happy Holidays! I spoke with Rob Halford a few weeks back via Zoom about his new book "Confess", scars, his career in Judas Priest, the importance of being yourself, staying inspired through music and so much more. You can check out the video of the interview on the KISW website.  

Hatebreed recently released their new album “Weight of the False Self” via Nuclear Blast, so I hopped on the phone with guitarist “Florida Frank” Novinec and we chatted about it along with a variety of topics ranging from working at a record store, riding BMX, his musical journey and much more. Hails!

Little Rock, Arkansas based death metal / hardcore band Terminal Nation released their killer debut LP “Holocene Extinction” via 20 Buck Spin this year. I spoke with vocalist Stan Liszewski via Zoom about the album, growing up booking DIY hardcore shows, working out at home and much more.

Mastodon recently released an awesome B-sides, covers and rarities compilation album called “Medium Rarities.” I spoke with guitarist Bill Kelliher via Zoom about life during the pandemic, how he’s staying sane, quarantine collaborative covers, his gear and much more.  

Rochester, NY based underground death metal UNDEATH released their debut full length album “Lesions of a Different Kind” on Prosthetic Records. We talked about everything from his love of old school death metal, the video game Dark Souls, bootleg t shirts, putting out an album during a pandemic and much more.

Legendary prog metal band Fates Warning is celebrating the release of their 13th studio album "Long Day Goodnight". I spoke with vocalist Ray Alder from his home in Madrid about the new album, life during the pandemic in Madrid, what it was like joining his favorite band and much much more.

Arkansas-based melodic doom metal band Pallbearer recently released their new album “Forgotten Days” on Nuclear Blast. I spoke with vocalist/guitarist Brett Campbell about teaming up with NB, doom metal, zoning out to modular synth noise, scars and much more.