The MetalSucks Podcast

This week the legendary Max Cavalera joins us for our first ever live podcast interview. We took some time before his show in Austin to talk about his philosophy on metal, working with guests on his albums, the formation of a path for himself after Sepultura, coming back together with his brother after such a bad split, and how his children use their coping skills versus what he had to do as a young child growing up when his father died. We also cover Jill Janus and the strange circumstances surrounding her split -- and subsequent return -- to Huntress, what mental illness looks like and why the metal world is accusing us of talking about her only because she is a woman. Can metal commentators help themselves from name-calling and shaming? Not so much, but the double standard may not be quite what some people say when compared to other people with similar problems. Songs:Soulfly - "Live Life Hard!"Abigail Williams - "Will, Wish and Desire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daniel Tompkins lead singer of TesseracT guests this week, bringing us insight into his decision to return to the band, what it was like to reclaim his spot in a band that's taking off, what the changing sound of the band means for fans, how they react to those changes and how he copes with the shrinking opportunities for bands in the industry today. Chuck and Godless discuss the ballsy decision of Ne Obliviscaris' drummer Daniel Presland to quit a six-figure job to continue with the band and go on a world tour. Is this dude insane? Is he sacrificing stability and security for what is probably a futile pipe dream, or is he the gutsiest guy playing in a metal band today? Many bands we talk to have to be able to bridge music and day jobs to survive, but are they just selling their music short by telling us they they're not really good enough to quit their day job? Songs:Tesseract - "Messenger"Windhand - "Crypt Key" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born of Osiris guitarist Lee McKinney guests this week just as their new album Soul Sphere drops. We talk about the new album, growing up on the road, his relationship with the other band members and how that's changed over the years, how touring effects his private life and whether his skills as a guitarist enhance certain parts of his alone time. We also listen to a bit of the new Protest the Hero song and discuss their decision to turn the industry on its head yet again with a subscription-based EP release. Is it a smart move to offer their fans something no one ever has, or will there be backlash for releasing just six songs in as many months? Songs:Born of Osiris - "Resilience"Zombi - "Pillars of the Dawn" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Michael Sweet of the legendary Christian metal band Stryper joins us to talk about his new album and the history of the band. Whenever anything remotely Christian comes up, Godless gets to flex his Atheist muscles. They discuss Sweet’s relationship with God after suffering through so much tragedy in his life, his departure from God and his ultimate return, and how that effects the band to this day. We learn about his time with Boston, his relationships with his children and so much more. We also invited Doc Coyle back to "Reject the Sickness" of Vince Neilstein himself on the treatment of certain mainstream metal bands like Five Finger Death Punch on the website. Is it acceptable to trash bands when they are allegedly doing good things for metal? Is it justified to keep pushing negative opinions of bands who are just trying to do their thing? Songs:Stryper – "Big Screen Lies"Megadeth – "Fatal Illusion" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The timer at MetalocalypseNow.com has run out, and we were able to get the show's creator Brendon Small on the line to talk about the big announcement. He wouldn’t tell us what happens to Murderface, but he gives us all the details on what happened with Adult Swim and their decision not to renew the show for the fifth and final season, the thought process behind the social media campaign to bring the show back, his progress with its production, the latest on Dethklok and what we will need to do to help get Metalocalypse back on the air to finish its epic story arc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week the legendary Alex Skolnick of Testament joins us to talk shop about Metal Allegiance, his place in metal history, how his work ethic differs from his counterparts, the differences between the jazz world and the metal world, and what it meant to work with such a variety of musicians on a project like Metal Allegiance. We also find out when a new Testament record is coming! Chuck and Godless talk about the variety of beefs between musicians that seemed to pop up this week. Many were between metal-ish bands like Motley Crue and Metallica, but we wonder whether or not it is healthy for ANY scene for this kind of dishing to be happening... or maybe it needs to be happening more? Who can we find to get angry with Dave Grohl? That guy is way too nice to everybody and someone must have a problem with him, right?! Songs:Metal Allegiance - "We Rock"Fit for an Autopsy - "Wither" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Clarke from Deafheaven guests this week. We find out what he thinks about the band's meteoric trajectory since their inception just a few years ago, what it means to be critically accepted, shaping the band while members are leaving (and what that means to the bands sound), his relationship with the other bandmates and whether he might need therapy soon. We also discuss the recent "takeover" of the Billboard Top 200 by four metal bands in the top 20. It may not seem like that many but when you see 20% of album sales and streaming going to metal new and old, that's encouraging. The bright spots in metal album sales have been few and far between, so could this signal a bit of a trend? Either way Metallica's black album still sold 2000+ copies last week, so at least there's that. Follow us on twitter: @beardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks, and support us on Patreon. Songs:Deafheaven - "Come Back"Bring Me The Horizon - "Throne" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We invited guitarist Brian Eschbach of The Black Dahlia Murder to guest on the podcast this week following the release of the band's latest ripper Abysmal. We talk about the new record, using a different producer to give their music a more organic sound, what life is like off the road, how the business of TBDM works, what their relationships with former members of the band are like and the keys to success of one of the top extreme metal bands going today. The Atlas Moth's Stavros Gianopolis joins us for another edition of "Storytime With Stavros." This time he has a little help from another member of the band and explains why weed can be very bad for you, or at least lead to some intteresting predicaments on the road. We also talk about what happens to bands after they lose core members, inspired by Tom Araya's admission that Repentless was only "half of Slayer." Songs:The Black Dahlia Murder - "The Fog"Iron Maiden - "When the River Runs Deep" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sevendust frontman Lajon Withersppon guests this week! We chat about the new album Kill the Flaw, the differences between touring at the age of 21 and touring today with a family back home, how his family is growing and what that will mean for the bands future plans, how the band's history with bad decisions and unfortunate circumstances weighs on their current processes and what surprising item of clothing he was wearing when he met his wife for the first time. We almost went down a car talk wormhole, too. We also discuss the GoFundMe campaign for a member of a band who faked her fight with cervical cancer. What does it mean that in this time where bands are struggling to make any kind of living you have a person trying to take advantage of a music scene's generosity? Could their be wider consequences than just the people affected directly by this incident? We salute Lemmy for getting back on tour and announce our own crowd funding campaign, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We had the chance to talk to Sean Reinert right on the heels of the announcement that his seminal band, Cynic, would be calling it quits before their next tour -- which was not only a surprise to fans, but, according to Facebook, a surprise to other members of the band, too. We asked him about the recent Facebook posts he wrote about their break up, what issues lead to the current situation, the back and forth between he and Paul Masvidal, and why two people who have worked together for so long can no longer bear to be around each other. Follow us on Twitter: @BeardedApe and @GodlessSpeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices