The MetalSucks Podcast

This week, Dream Theater frontman James LaBrie and songwriting partner Paul Logue join us! We celebrate James’ new solo album Beautiful Shades of Grey and discuss how they got James’s son Chance to work on drums for the album, and why they decided to cover Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On." We also talk about how the album was originally just acoustic guitars and vocals, life advice from our fathers that has stuck with us, and the powerful tribute James wrote for his late brother. Petar and Sylvia also discuss Kid Rock and Prince not being nice to Steve-O, Metallica playing its album to a barrel of whiskey, what record we can listen for 24 hours straight and still enjoy, and the most expensive rock song to use in feature films. Song: James LaBrie “Devil in Drag” Song: James LaBrie “Give and Take” Thank you to our sponsor Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Darkest Prince of All Rebellion from Philly’s Devil Master is our guest! We discuss him losing band members during the pandemic, regrouping to create the band’s new album Ecstasies of Never Ending Night, the difficult transition of balancing “adventure time” to “business time” on tour, landing stadium gigs opening for My Chemical Romance, and Gerard Way buying all their merch at an L.A. performance. We also discuss whether or not the band’s setlist will cater to the MCR crowd, recording the new album on analog tape, and the book that he gives to people as a challenge to complete. Meanwhile, former MetalSucks podcast hosts Chuck and Godless return to the show! They join Petar to discuss Trevor Strand of The Black Dahlia Murder teasing a Couples Video on his lady’s OnlyFans, Dino Cazares withholding who the new singer for Fear Factory is until 2023, and our take on Emperor Rhombus opinion piece on “Gatekeepers” and “Elitists” in our genre. Song: Devil Master “The Vigour of Evil” Song: Devil Master “Acid Black Mass” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maylene and the Sons of the Disaster frontman Dallas Taylor is our guest this week! We discuss the long road to recovery following his life-changing accident, the mental state he was in prior to it, how getting off medication allowed him to truly focus on his return to music, and being haunted by the ‘what if’ that motivated his creative life. Dallas also talks about noticing that people are embracing the real less and escaping more, learning that the majority of the things we worry about don’t really matter, how easy it is to hurt people emotionally when we are hurting, and how his new vampire film The Virginia Bitches came to fruition. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn also discuss Jim Carrey’s first time hearing Pantera, their own experiences when first hearing the band, and Jason Newsted not partaking in a Van Halen tribute band. Song: Maylene and the Sons of Disasters “Step Up (I’m On It)” Song: Maylene and the Sons of Disasters “Open Your Eyes” Song: Moon Tooth “Alpha Howl” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Destruction frontman Schmier is our guest this week! We discuss the 40th anniversary of the band, how writing music for their new album Diabolical was his personal savior, how influential GBH was during the the early days of Destruction, if the punks vs. metalheads feud of the ‘80s was a positive for thrash's image, and how Destruction got hate from their South American fanbase for canceling shows in Russia. He also discusses his thoughts on how social media became nothing more than a propaganda tool, his surprise at how easy it was to divide the world between vaxxers and anti-vaxxers during the pandemic, the story behind the Chef Schmier’s Cooking Studio videos on YouTube, what the first stop always is when Destruction tour America, and why he feels he is the best guy to man the  grill when the band is on the road. Petar and Brandon also discuss Dragonforce not getting paid a ton for Guitar Hero, the impact of video games and music in their youths, and Chris Jericho admitting to using backing tracks at live shows Song: Destruction “No Faith In Humanity” Song: Destruction “State of Apathy” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lord Ahriman of satanic black metallers Dark Funeral is our guest this week! We discuss his thoughts on Shakespeare and memorable theatrical performances, why the rhythms on the band’s new album We Are The Apocalypse were a primary focus, and being unable to leave Cancun, Mexico, when the pandemic hit the world. We also talk about how someone stole Dark Funeral’s stage armor the last time they toured America, how the philosophy and vision of the band has changed in the last 30 years, and how finally having a proper budget has allowed him to make the music videos he always wanted to do. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia also discuss Alex Skolnick’s comment on the Chris Rock/Will Smith Oscars slap and the ramifications of the slap on modern culture. Song: Dark Funeral “Nightfall” Song: Dark Funeral “Let The Devil In” Song: The Spirit “Celestial Fire” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest this week is Symphony X guitarist Michael Romeo! In celebration of his new solo album War of The Worlds Part II, he tells us about his first memories of the H.G. Wells classic that inspired the work, if the record is a part of a trilogy that he has planned,  changing  vocalists between Parts I and II, the CGI-inspired videos that he has released to promote the new album, and keeping the lyrics in the science fiction realm. He also discusses his favorite kaiju character of all time, the reason he feels a vocalist is important for his solo projects, how he writes music for his solo albums as opposed to how he does it for his main project Symphony X, and why he feels he needs to get back on tour before recording a new Symphony X album. Petar, Brandon and Jozalyn also discuss the heartbreaking news of the passing of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and the legacy he left behind. Song: Foo Fighters “I Am A River” Song: Michael Romeo “Divide & Conquer” Song: Michael Romeo “Metamorphosis” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sen Dog of the legendary Cypress Hill is our guest this week! We discuss the positive effects of the pandemic in regards to creating new music, how the legalization of marijuana turned out differently than the public thought it would, his crew’s upcoming tour with Slipknot, and how a heavy metal audience changes their setlist. He also talks about the upcoming Showtime documentary on Cypress Hill celebrating hip hop at 50, some of the difficulties of looking back on his career for the documentary, the challenges of success and adapting to nonstop touring, an update on his metal band Powerflo with Billy from Biohazard, and why he chose to pursue a career in hip hop over heavy metal in his youth. Meanwhile, Petar and Brandon discuss Dolly Parton removing herself from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ballot, the public responses from Dee Snider and Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest, how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shrugged her statement off, and whether or not there will be another Tool record in the next 13 years. Song: Cypress Hill “Open Ya Mind” Song: Cypress Hill “Certified” Featuring Demrick Song: Undeath “Rise From The Grave” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb joins the show! We discuss the debut full-length album from his project Haunted Shores, how the band’s formation led to him join Periphery, the riff graveyard that he uses to create songs, and on treating music for Haunted Shores like a 9-to-5 job. We also talk about how to deal with writer’s block to meet deadlines, how ‘Mario Party’ was a big part of writing ‘Periphery 4’ (not to mention who his Mario Party character was and how it caused anger within the group), how their own record label 3DOT Recordings has benefited the band in so many ways, and how intense the process has been to get ‘Periphery 5’ to sound just right. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, how we have changed as people from the COVID lockdown, our initial reaction on the show two years ago, and where we go from here. Song: Haunted Shores “Hellfire” Song: Haunted Shores “When In Oslo” Song: Nekrogoblikon “Right Now” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sabaton vocalist Joakim Brodén is our guest this week! On this episode, we discuss the stories behind three of the tracks on the band’s new album The War to End All Wars, the history and research behind those songs, and why he decided not to watch recent hit films on WWI. We also discuss almost coming to the states for the Judas Priest tour that was eventually postponed, developing the storytelling process with each album before recording, his favorite source of research, creating the Sabaton History Channel on Youtube, and the song he is most excited about performing off of the new album. Petar and Brandon also discuss Jinjer’s unfortunate cancellation of their upcoming tour dates due to the invasion of the Ukraine, Slaughter to Prevail frontman Alex Terrible addressing the conflict in the Ukraine, Matt Pike not buying into the flat-earth conspiracy theory, the return of Pete Sandoval to the world of David Vincent, and Dave Lombardo rejoining Testament. Song: Sabaton “The Unkillable Soldier” Song: Sabaton “Christmas Truce” Song: Konvent “Pipe Dreams” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The mighty Kirk Windstein is back on the show! This week, we discuss Zero and Below, the new album by Kirk’s band Crowbar. We also talk about writing the record back in 2019 prior to the pandemic, the rehearsal process and livestream reunion he has planned with southern metal act Down, the 20-year anniversary of the second Down album, the making of the record as a follow-up to NOLA, and his current tour package with Sepultura and Sacred Reich being rescheduled three times. Other topics include how difficult it was for Crowbar to cancel tours during the pandemic, why it’s difficult to tour the European festival circuit in the current climate, the importance of defeating one’s fears in his life, and if there is a new Down album in the works. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn also discuss our feelings on Cannibal Corpse fans chanting “Fuck Chris Barnes” at a recent show, Tool selling an expensive box set of Fear Inoculum, and the tragic passing of grunge and desert rock pioneer Mark Lanegan. Song: Crowbar “Chemical Godz” Song: Crowbar “ Bleeding From Every Hole” Song: Friends of Hell “Friends of Hell” Thank you to our sponsor, Metal Blade Records, for their continued support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices