The MetalSucks Podcast

This week, the hosts of one of Godless' favorite podcasts to troll -- the Bad Christian Podcast -- are our guests. Podcast hosts Matt and Toby also play in a Christian Rock band called Emery. They stopped by the studio to get grilled about all things Christianity, the topic of Christian Metal and whether or not it's legit, if the guys making it are believers, or if it's just another cash cow people use to further their influence. Half of our discussion appears in our episide this week, then we'll dive into the fallacy of religion on the newest episode of their show later this week.  Chuck and Godless also talk about the latest news: the passing of our friend Athon from Black Tusk, why Black Sabbath shouldn't have been named the #1 Best Metal band of All Time in the MetalSucks countdown, and why that awesome metalhead scientist wore that stupid shirt to a press conference. We also take a reader call-in and discuss some small but beloved bands people may not know about. Songs:Toothgrinder - "Relic of My Youth"Psycroptic - "Echoes to Come" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Lessard, vocalist of The Contortionist, is our guest this week. We go in depth about his home planet of Maine, his transition from his role in Last Chance to Reason as the new vocalist for this band and whether backing tracks are acceptable in a live show, among other topics. Chuck and Godless also pontificate about the final five bands in the 25 Best Metal Bands of All Time countdown and, spurred by your calls, speculate if there were any misses, forgotten bands or glaring absences. They also gush just a bit over the cheesy but awesome new Scar Symmetry song. Songs:The Contortionist - "Language I: Intuition"Scar Symmetry - "Limits to Infinity" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richie Faulkner, guitarist for the almighty Judas Priest, is our guest this week. We talk to him about his relatively new gig with JP (seeing as their history dates back to before he was even born), which band member's daughter he might be dating, what it's like filling the shoes of the great K.K. Downing and breaking the news to Glenn Tipton that he's playing a song incorrectly. Chuck and Godless offer some words about our friend Corey Mitchell's passing last week, they discuss Miss Fortune's dismall from the Sumerian roster due to the lead singer's run-in with the law, and they take a listener-suggested topic on whether a band's live performance is any better than watching a recorded performance of theirs online (after all, over five million people streamed Knotfest last week). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Housecore Horror Film Festival took place this weekend in Austin, TX, and Chuck and Godless were on hand to take in as much as they could over the festival's four days. They run down their experiences at the fest, including Gwar's new lineup, the Rigor Mortis documentary, and just hanging around with the artists and movie makers. They also sat down to talk with several guests, including: Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski, lead vocalist for Decapitated, fresh from the side of the road outside of New Orleans where their tour van crashed once again. Gwar's new co-vocalist Vulvatron transported from the future to tell us about her terrible experience with the men in the band, and how her lady bits keep them in line. Michel "Away" Langevin, drummer for the legendary Voivod, gets an earful from uber-fan Godless. Away talks about the band's parting with Blacky, the loss of Piggy and keeping their 30-year history into perspective. Songs:Decapitated - "Veins"Gwar - "The Road Behind"Voivod - "Psychic Vacuum" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest this week is Nick Schendzielos, bass player for deathcore heavyweights Job For a Cowboy. We talk about his new found work-out regimen, the songwriting process as a newer member of a band, how JFAC operates internally, his music listening styles and Ancient Aliens. MetalSucks co-head-honcho Vince Neilstein drops in to add his two cents about the recent report from Billboard which found that no album released in 2014 has gone platinum, as well as other interesting data about record sales this year. He'll be writing on the topic more extensively later this week, so he gives us a preview and things to think about as you steal the latest albums off the internet. Stavros Giannopoulos also adds his latest installment of "Storytime" with a harrowing tale of "eagle-man" and debauchery in the fine southern front of NOLA. Songs: Job For A Cowboy - "Sun of Nihility"At the Gates - "Death and the Labyrinth" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Davidson of Revocation is our guest on episode #71, with their killer new album Deathless coming out this week. We discuss the new sounds they play with on the record, touring with assholes, whether or not it is important to go to music school and the best things he learned while listening to jazz. Chuck and Godless also discuss another listener-suggested topic: whether we need to stop worshiping the metal gods of the past and focus on the new gods of modern metal instead. We also discuss Pig Destroyer's ambitious new album, and whether they should keep doing the doom metal experiment permanently. Songs:Revocation - "Labyrinth of Eyes"Pig Destroyer - "Red Tar" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tomas Lindberg, frontman for the reactivated At The Gates, guests this week on the podcast. He tells us about the new album At War with Reality, why the band dissolved after such a seminal album, growing up in Sweden and his other career as... well, you'll have to listen to find that one out. We take another listener call about why Slipknot smells like shit, or at least wants you to smell burning camel dung as part of your musical experience. Doc Coyle returns for his monthly segment "Rejecting the Sickness" with the original band that sparked the idea, Avenged Sevenfold. Did they jump the shark with Hail to the King? Do they rip too much from the Metallica and GnR tab books, or are they the only thing keeping metal alive? Songs:At The Gates - "At War With Reality"Rigor Mortis - "Rain of Ruin" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For episode #69 we thought it would be appropriate to talk about porn. Pornhub started a record label so Chuck and Godless discuss what that might mean in the New World Order of the music industry. Will it change the game? Has the game already been changed by Apple and U2? How, if at all, could this effect a niche genre like metal? Chuck and Godless gush over the new Devin Townsend record and take another question from a listener about whether or not it is appropriate for fans of a band to criticize them to their face and be surprised if their reaction is not nuanced and measured. Songs:Machine Head - "Now We Die"Devin Townsend Project - "Universal Flame" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave Lombardo guests this week on the podcast, and we discuss everything... almost: the new Philm record, his disdain for managers, his departure from Slayer, his relationship with Jeff Hanneman, and working for Disney. There just isn’t enough time in in one episode to cover it all, but Chuck and Godless tried. Chuck and Godless also answer a question from a listener about Joey Jordison: was he fired from Slipknot for using drugs, and if that is the case, why did the band not fire Paul Gray before his death? They also ponder why Texas in July acquired a pretty good-sized set of cajones on their latest song.  Songs:Philm – We Sale at DawnTexas In July - Nooses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The legendary King Diamond is our guest this week, and we don't use the word "legend" lightly. His three decade history in music with Mercyful Fate and his solo band have influenced countless bands, and we consider it an honor to be able to pick his brain. We talk about his recent heart surgery, the upcoming tour and promoters' hesitation to book him, and his public split with Hal Patino. We even get to chat with his lovely wife Livia for a bit. Chuck and Godless also talk about the demise of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal bands of the early '00s, inspired by Doc Coyle's piece that discussed why so many of his contemporaries are falling by the wayside. We premiere a new segment called "Storytime With Stavros" in which Chuck and Godless ask Stavros Giannopoulos of The Atlas Moth to dig up a "good" story from his memory about Blake Judd. Really, there has to be at least one good story about Blake... right? Songs:King Diamond - "The Family Ghost"Unearth - "The Swarm" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices