The MetalSucks Podcast

Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann is our guest this week. He discusses the band's new album, Too Mean To Die, working with producer Andy Sneap virtually due to the pandemic, his complete lack of interest in doing any kind of livestream concerts, and why he feels the music he's written in the past decade is the best of his career. He also tells us which sub-genre of metal he likes the least, how today's music fans are more relaxed and open-minded than in the past, and which Accept record he feels is the most underrated. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia tackle Tommy Vext's split with Bad Wolves, Marko Hietala walking away from Nightwish, and Suspect208's firing of Scott Weiland's son, Noah, due to alleged drug issues. Songs: Accept - “Zombie Apocalypse," The Dead Daises - “Holy Ground (Shake The Memory)," Demon Head - “The Feline Smile” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week our guest is JJ of the post-black metal duo Harakiri for the Sky. We discuss his dual life in two different parts of the world, how the second lockdown in Austria hasn’t been taken seriously by most people, his thoughts on the current restrictions for shows in Europe and what it would be like to perform for 50 sitting people, his thoughts on anti-vaxxers holding the world back from moving forward, how his lyrics have grown sadder the older he gets, the challenges of building friendships after you turn 30, and whether he wants to beef up or scale back the band's touring schedule when things go back to normal. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia tackle the two biggest stories in metal from the past week: the passing Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho and Iced Earth leader Jon Schaffer’s involvement in storming the Capitol. Songs: Children of Bodom - “The Nail," Harakiri for the Sky - “Sing For The Damage We’ve Done," “And Oceans Between Us” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The one and only Ice-T is back on the program to celebrate Body Count’s second Grammy nomination, this time for "Bum-Rush" in the Best Metal Performance category. Ice tells us that if Body Count win he'll dedicate the award to late Power Trip frontman Riley Gale and recalls the intense experience of attending the Grammys in person in 2018 (nominated for "Black Hoodie" in the same category) and why he is glad it's being done remotely this year. He also shares his thoughts on Donald Trump leaving office, the demonstrations that inspired "Bum-Rush," an update on his new book, Split Decisions, and whether there is any new Body Count music on the horizon, and the recent passing of many of his colleagues from Covid-19. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia discuss Kiss breaking a Guinness record for pyrotechnics on New Year’s Eve, the hater assault on Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton’s Instagram account, Rob Halford showing off his ass to ring in 2021, and Glenn Danzig’s feelings being hurt by all the memes about him. Songs: Body Count - “Bum-Rush” and “Point The Finger" (Featuring Riley Gale), Faith No More and Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E - “Another Body Murdered” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman is our guest this week. We discuss how 2020 went for him creatively, missing out on performing at the Olympics due to the pandemic, the collaboration with visual artist Nobuyuki Hanabusa for his upcoming livestream concert on New Year’s Day, and the importance of pursuing musical endeavors he has never tried before. Marty also tells us how he misses American cereal while living in Japan, how the Beach Boys have been the “room cleaning” band for him this year, and the importance of finding things that distract from reality to stay positive. Petar, Brandon, and Jozalyn talk about New Year’s Eve shows as stand-up comics, seeing arena-level bands in small venues at huge ticket prices, our personal takes on New Year's Resolutions, and much more. Songs: Marty Friedman - “The Perfect World” (Featuring Alfakyun), Nervosa - “Perpetual Chaos” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale is our guest this week! We discuss her progress on Christmas shopping this year and how it feels like drunk shopping, the story behind her Christmas song with Dee Snider, “The Magic of Christmas Day," and how a gift Celine Dion gave Dee's wife inspired it. Lzzy also speaks about how revisiting past years' music brings back distinct personal memories of those years, the upcoming David Bowie tribute concerts that she will be participating in, her upcoming role hosting the She Rocks Awards, and an update on the progress of the next Halestorm record. Songs: Dee Snider & Lzzy Hale - “The Magic of Christmas Day," Halestorm - “Break In” (Featuring Amy Lee of Evanescence) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MetalSucks Podcast hosts Petar, Brandon, Jozalyn and Sylvia go all out to celebrate the art we loved in this trying year of 2020. We let the music do most of the talking as we play a track from each one of our collective 15 favorite albums of the year, and we share in the celebration by chatting with the artists that made that music: Barney Greenway of Napalm Death, Brittney Slayes of Unleash The Archers, Madeleine and Rickard of Eleine, Jamie Graham of Viscera, Johanna Sadonis and Nicke Andersen of Lucifer, and JP and JD of Loviatar. Enjoy and celebrate some of the songs, bands, and artists that made this year unforgettable for the right reasons as we count down from 15 to our number 1 album of the year. Stream the episode below. Remember to subscribe to the MetalSucks Podcast on iTunes, subscribe to our direct feed or download this episode directly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tarja Turunen is our guest for our first-ever holiday episode of The Metalsucks Podcast. We discuss some of her favorite memories of Christmas while growing up in Finland, how a personal tragedy ruined the holidays for many years, her decision to make her first solo record in 2006 a Christmas album, her upcoming Christmas livestream performance, and her favorite Christmas album as a child. She also speaks to the difficulty of not being able to work during the pandemic, the struggle of finding inspiration during this time, her desire to do a full tour for the In The Raw album before releasing a new rock album, and how livestreams will endure as a platform for bands for years to come. Petar, Brandon, Jozalyn, and Sylvia tackle the four metal bands that get the vast majority of streams, our first hard rock/metal albums we got for the holidays, and much more. Songs: Tarja - “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (Live) and “Dead Promises” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soilwork and The Night Flight Orchestra guitarist David Andersson is our guest this week. We discuss Soilwork's latest EP, A Whisp of The Atlantic, the "Feverish" trilogy of videos accompanying the EP's singles, the dream that lead to the epic 16-minute title track, becoming a major songwriter for Soilwork since he joined the band, and why it's important to adapt and change in music to ensure survival. David also tells us about his day job as a doctor, the frustration of people rejecting the basics of science concerning the pandemic, how he deals with the doubters and deniers, his personal experience with contracting Covid-19 and how long it took him to recover, and Sweden’s unconventional mitigation strategy. Petar, Brandon, Sylvia, and Jozalyn answer listener emails, discuss what their personal definition of a "supergroup" is, and our thoughts on Revolver naming the new Run The Jewels record as one of the best metal albums of the year. Songs: Soilwork - “Death Diviner” and “Desperado," The Night Flight Orchestra - “Impossible” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Underoath electronics wizard Chris Dudley is our guest this week. In celebration of the interview taking place on Friday the 13th, we discuss that film series in its entirety, apologists for Jason X and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, how to introduce R-rated movies to your kids without taking it too far, and the last horror movie that actually scared us. Chris also tells us how much time Underoath spent practicing to make their recent observatory livestream performances as special as possible for fans, an update on the band's next album, his thoughts on releasing standalone singles during this bizarre time, and how artists tend to thrive when they have limitations like those in place right now. Petar, Jozalyn, and Sylvia discuss the movies, music videos, and comedies that scared them as kids, the babysitters they had that uttered the phrase “Don’t tell your parents,” and how that makes us feel today. Songs: Underoath - "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures” (Live) and "Too Bright To See, Too Loud to Hear” (Live) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week our guest is TesseracT guitarist James Monteith! We discuss the current climate of the UK as they go into their second shutdown due to COVID-19, how promoting records has been a booming business during this time, the band's plans for their next record and how they feel about releasing new material without being able to tour behind it, the luxury of having no deadlines when creating music, relearning songs from his past, trying to figure out how perform live for the fans via streaming, and his personal frustration during the pandemic. Petar, Brandon, and Sylvia also tackle the revelation that Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter is a flat-earther, how we handle conversations with people that share Carpenter's beliefs, and Brandon’s relationship with comics that have similar beliefs as Carpenter.   Songs: TesseracT, “Of Mind - Nocturne” and “Of Energy - Singularity” Fates Warning, "Scars" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices