Shows
Metal Nerdery Podcast#300 THE INSTRUMENTAL... CHRONICLES“If anything, it’s three 7’s…and one of them has a line in the middle…”
This episode is effectively “nonverbal” in that it contains zero lyrics and is truly beyond words (so to speak). That’s right, it’s all about INSTRUMENTALS and it just so happens that they come in a wide variety of styles and options.
On a studio album, INSTRUMENTALS are 7enerally either lon7er, extended, standalone musical arran7ements, or brief interludes which serve as a brid7e between two son7s. In a live scenario, INSTRUMENTALS are a 7re...2025-05-151h 16
Metal Nerdery Podcast#299 - PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: TERRY DATE“You’re not supposed to swallow it…but it’s fine to have it in your mouth.”
Whether it’s the debut from Metal Church or Dream Theater, or the swansong from Slayer or Pantera, TERRY DATE is undoubtedly one of the most prominent and prolific producers, engineers, and mixers of metal music to have blessed the ears of metal fans for more than 40 years.
Get ready for “a little origami”, remember that cross walks exist “for health reasons”, and discover why it’s better to not be “on the boat” during a thunderstorm if ast...2025-05-081h 32
Metal Nerdery Podcast#298 Angel of Death BREAKDOWN“I know who you’re talking about!”
So, we did a thing…
After almost 6 years into this podcast, this is the first time we’ve ever done a BREAKDOWN of a single track, and what better way to kick things off than SLAYER’s ANGEL OF DEATH, which is without question “one of the most perfect thrash metal songs EVER written” and also just happens to be the killer opener on one of the most perfect thrash metal albums ever recorded, the Rick Rubin produced legendary 1986 masterpiece, Reign In Blood.
Time to relive th...2025-05-0154 min
Metal Nerdery Podcast#297 Metal News and Happenings for April 2025“Let me see your mouth…”
Prepare to learn the proper “order of operations” with regard to relaxers and hear some hilarious post 4/20 tales that will force you to make some “executive decisions” about the rest of your day. Understand the reason a “jigger” needs to be rinsed out after every use, why you should never utter that word near the hearing impaired, and why “Black Power Metal” isn’t what you think it is.
Discover the common ground shared by “sex & buffalo wings”, understand what it means to be part of the “metal family” (even if you’...2025-04-241h 11
Metal Nerdery Podcast#296 DOWN III: OVER THE UNDER Album Review“One’s a dude, right? I want the one that’s NOT the dude…”
DOWN III: OVER THE UNDER, the 3rd studio offering from southern fried doom lords DOWN, has a very 70’s centric feel from start to finish. From the songs and the production to the album cover, OVER THE UNDER might just be the most 70’s influenced and 70’s sounding DOWN album ever recorded.
Time to fire up the “bowrider” and begin preparations for “The Dockside Sessions” coming later this summer. Discover why knowing the difference between a succubus and an incubus is critical...2025-04-171h 15
Metal Nerdery Podcast#295 - METALCORESummary:
“I’m sorry, what was that? No, the second part…the part that came after that…”
METALCORE seems to be all over the place, in that its components are quite varied and cover a broad spectrum of everything that has historically made metal awesome: double bass drumming, guitar shred, breakdowns and mosh parts, and sometimes even some emo screaming and heartfelt vocals sung straight from the balls. Like a heavy metal jambalaya with a ton of different ingredients, METALCORE is the next wave of metal for a new generation of metalheads who want to enj...2025-04-101h 16
Metal Nerdery Podcast#294 WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR BON SCOTTWE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR BON SCOTT (a continuation of our AC/DC Side 1: The Bon Scott Years episode from way back in 2020) is OUR greatest hits package from the iconic Bon Scott Years of AC/DC. And because we couldn’t include ALL of the tracks from this legendary era, there were quite a few that unfortunately got “Shot Down In Flames”. Having said that, we still managed to include everything we felt SHOULD be included which best represents the classic Bon era of AC/DC.
Find out how tasting the “after-tang” from “snooch smooching” is...2025-04-031h 28
Metal Nerdery Podcast#293 METALLICA Death Magnetic Album Review“If this is their 9th studio album, where does it rank?”
DEATH MAGNETIC, the Rick Rubin produced 9th studio album from Bay Area metal titans METALLICA (and the first studio album featuring Robert Trujillo on bass) is chock full of riffs, tons of ugly chords, a boatload of guitar solos, and loads of twin guitar harmonies that harken back to the thrash metal veterans legendary 80’s output, with a sound that is a true return to their original thrash form which could have easily placed this album being released right after …AJFA. They brought back all of the classi...2025-03-271h 24
Metal Nerdery Podcast#292 1995 Year in METALIn 1995, Los del Rio infected popular dance culture with their one-hit wonder, “The Macarena”, the U.S. national debt was only $5,000,000,000,000 (five trillion), both eBay and Craigslist were birthed into popular culture, Taco Bell offered The Volcano Burrito and The Double Decker Taco menu items for a limited time (each for less than $1.00, btw), and O.J. Simpson was acquitted thanks (in no small part) to Robert Kardashian, the man who would ultimately become responsible for fueling the success of Gary Holt’s incredibly popular line of outerwear.
Meanwhile, in the world of 1995 metal, Kyuss called...2025-03-201h 02
Metal Nerdery Podcast#291 PENTAGRAM Lightning In A Bottle Album DiveAfter 50 years, it’s great to see PENTAGRAM finally getting the attention they deserve from all across the world wide web. LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE, the band’s latest offering and their first album in nearly a decade, arrived on the scene mere weeks before a video surfaced that went viral, showing founding member and frontman Bobby Liebling (wide-eyed and seemingly possessed) powering through “The Ghoul” with the rest of the band on stage and instantly becoming a viral sensation across metal circles and the greater metropolitan global meme universe.
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE truly measures...2025-03-131h 18
Metal Nerdery Podcast#289 PRIMUS - SAILING THE SEAS OF CHEESE Album ReviewSAILING THE SEAS OF CHEESE, the 2nd beautifully bizarre edition of “the Sunday funny papers of metal”, brought to you by El Sobrante, California’s genius weirdo trio, PRIMUS, is the gold standard of the eccentric sound of “boxless” progressive, funk metal overtones filtered through a heroic dose of psychedelic infused absurdity and combined with an ample sized bowl of surreal silliness.
With drum beats that are right, smack dab ”in the pocket”, bass lines that defy the laws of music and reality, orchestrated, atonal, guitar noise that’s always a tad off, and lyrics covering a vast a...2025-02-271h 19
Metal Nerdery Podcast#288 SLIPKNOT Album Review“Don’t make it weird…”
“They all wear jumpsuits, they’re kinda like KISS because you don’t know what they look like, but they kinda look like serial killers because they all have masks on, and you kinda get Purge vibes when you look at it (the album cover), and then you LISTEN to it…”
SLIPKNOT as a band is extremely off-putting, exhausting, and quite frankly, disturbing, and their self-titled debut album conveys these qualities in the darkest way possible. The album cover alone is the stuff of horror movies and nightmares, feat...2025-02-201h 21
Metal Nerdery Podcast#287 WTF Moments in METALAs with life, “Left Turns” and WTF MOMENTS occur constantly in the world of metal. Whether it’s a radical, stylistic change to a band’s sound, any sort of unforeseen tragedy, or “Ozzy just being Ozzy” in the presence of winged, flying creatures, there is certainly no shortage of WTF MOMENTS lurking around every corner throughout the metal community.
It’s time to find out why some “poon juice” has an “extra aroma” and remember that “for less than the price of a pack of smokes OR a bottle of lube” you too can become a part of our Patreo...2025-02-131h 20
Metal Nerdery Podcast#286 FLOTSAM & JETSAM - DOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER Album ReviewDOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER, the debut album from FLOTSAM & JETSAM, was released on July 4, 1986, after being recorded in just a mere 2 weeks with a paltry $12,000 budget. In short, it is a bona fide, legendary, thrash masterpiece. And if you’re reading this and thinking “Okay, FLOTSAM & JETSAM…why does that sound familiar?”, the reason is because the bass player for that band would later become Metallica’s new bassist following the tragic and untimely death of Cliff Burton in late 1986. It is without question, a speed/power/thrash/heavy metal classic that is so steeped in 1986 vibes that we’re actually...2025-02-061h 20
Metal Nerdery Podcast#285 Women In MetalFor the longest time, metal has been predominantly a “dude game”, dominated by men. Thankfully, more and more female fronted metal bands (particularly over the last couple of decades) have been expanding their presence and growing into a formidable force throughout the metal community, covering a variety of styles and a multitude of subgenres from all across the metal spectrum.
Get ready to find out which metal drummer “makes Taylor Swift sound palatable” and remember that “sometimes you’ve gotta jam it in” and JOIN US as we get into a “double header” with a whole lot of modern...2025-01-301h 12
Metal Nerdery Podcast#284 - Part 2 - Deep Cuts of the First Four from The Big FourWe’re back with the backside of the ballsack of the taint of the boner of the top of the ass crack of the...WHATEVER you want to call it, now we’re up to “the meat” of THE BACKSIDE OF THE FIRST FOUR OF THE BIG FOUR. And if you have zero attention span, then you’re probably not even reading this anyway, so just tip-toe back over to Tik Tok and enjoy the rest of your life in 30 second increments until it actually gets banned “for real for real”.
Discover the most alarmingly stupid thing ev...2025-01-231h 14
Metal Nerdery Podcast#283 TOP 20 METAL ALBUMS OF 19851985. Back To The Future would become the highest grossing film of the year, the Live Aid benefit would be hosted simultaneously in 2 different venues on 2 different continents, and the Coca-Cola Company would experience a catastrophic failure with “New Coke” by (once again) failing to put its namesake ingredient from the ORIGINAL “Original Formula” back in their legendary beverage.
We are well aware that there are multiple listicles already out there featuring the “Top 20 Metal Albums of 1985” because 40 years is quite the chronological landmark. Nevertheless, we still felt compelled to construct our own list. It’s not necessarily...2025-01-161h 50
Metal Nerdery Podcast#282 - Deep Cuts of the First Four from The Big Four Part 1“I wanna talk about DOWNTIME…”
Many moons ago during the B.R. era (Before Russ), back in the early days of this podcast with Adam, we took on The 1st Four of The Big 4, taking a look at each of the debut albums from Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer, respectively.
To take that episode a step further (and to add a slight twist to the original premise), we thought it might be fun (and a bit of a challenge) to attempt to identify which tracks would be considered the DEEP CUTS from The...2025-01-091h 15
Metal Nerdery Podcast#281 - Ozzy Diary of a Madman Album ReviewDIARY OF A MADMAN, the 2nd album from OZZY OSBOURNE (and his band, BLIZZARD OF OZZ) is a perfect example of how an artist’s follow-up album often eclipses their debut outing. With a heftier mix and heavier riffs, darker lyrical themes & eerie gothic metal elements, and of course the disturbingly graphic album artwork, DIARY represents a quantum leap forward for “The Prince Of Darkness”, combining each of the aforementioned components into one of the darkest and heaviest metal albums ever to have emerged from 1981.
Get ready to “call the lawyers” and prepare to be bathed “in a huge sp...2025-01-021h 25
Metal Nerdery Podcast#280 - 2024 YEAR END WRAP-UPIt’s time to say goodbye to 2024 with our Bunkerpoon International holiday celebration, where we will be waxing nostalgic on this year’s episodes and simultaneously ripping holes in the “space time continuum” whilst checking out some highlights and indulging in our own “Pepperidge Farm moments” of metal infused lunacy.
Remember to “expect the worst & hope for the best” whenever consuming a “vegetable shake” and understand that being called a “handsome woman” is flattering, “doppelgangers” are eerily unsettling, and our “Spotify Wrapped” referenced one episode that was “508% more” impressive than average.
Get ready to break out the “chunkless grav...2024-12-261h 16
Metal Nerdery Podcast#279 - HAIR METALJust to be 100% TRANSparent, this is NOT an officially sanctioned “Chronicles” episode. However, it is the time of year for the TRANS-Siberian Orchestra (featuring the “Savatage Brothers”) and we felt compelled by the power of the holiday season to delve into the realm of HAIR METAL and reflect back on one of the least desirable (yet often most satisfying) subgenres of metal alongside memories of poon from the days of yore with the kinds of girls you would “meet once at a party and never talk to again”. Really, the entire objective of hair metal was to give actual metal heads...2024-12-191h 40
Metal Nerdery Podcast#278 DIO Last In Line Album Review“I’m sorry, what was that? What was the last thing you said?”
Forty years ago this year (specifically, July 2, 1984), DIO (the man and the band) released THE LAST IN LINE, the follow up to their 1983 debut and the first album to feature full time keyboardist Claude Schnell. Forty years later, it still maintains its relevance throughout the realms of metal, especially when compared (relatively speaking) with music from 40 years prior to 1984!
Think about the music from 40 years before 1984. There is absolutely NO WAY anyone was listening to Bing Crosby ANYWHERE in 1984...2024-12-121h 23
Metal Nerdery Podcast#276 TOOL Ænima Album ReviewAENIMA, the 1996 album from progressive metal shamans TOOL, is a progressive, heavy, and atmospheric album loaded with layers and layers of sonic texture that should be enjoyed with headphones to ensure the ideal experience. In short, if Tool is the metal community’s Pink Floyd, then AENIMA is most definitely their Dark Side Of The Moon. And as with any prog album of such incredible quality, you must listen to it “front to back”, in its entirety because it’s truly a “start to finish” experience.
You may recall that we did an album dive of this many...2024-11-281h 51
Metal Nerdery Podcast#275 - 1992 THE YEAR OF OUR RIFF LORD“You were all pro-bass during the Biden years…”
The year was 1992, way back when a gallon of gas cost just over a dollar, compact discs had finally outsold cassette tapes, progressive metal masters Dream Theater released their highly anticipated 2nd album, Images & Words, and everybody got a brief glimpse of Sharon Stone’s glorious “downstairs” in Basic Instinct.
Prepare yourself for the most “thick and full” compilation of on-mic burps ever to appear on any podcast anywhere in the history of podcasting. Get ready to “grow your nails out and play with your hair”, go fix...2024-11-211h 47
Metal Nerdery Podcast#274 - CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’s 1994 masterpiece, DELIVERANCE“It’s an actual word, dude, I’d appreciate it if you’d recognize it as such…”
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’s 1994 masterpiece, DELIVERANCE, delivers the sonic equivalent of “Skynyrd Fried Sabbath” covered in ZZ Top gravy that instantly evokes visions of wood paneling, shag carpeting, weed, and November. In short, DELIVERANCE is the perfect soundtrack to fall.
Discover the significance of “The Preamble” and understand why its importance desperately needs to be revisited. Get ready to “make it bigger” and go “busking in New York and/or Helsinki” because it’s high time we end all the world’s probl...2024-11-141h 34
Metal Nerdery Podcast#273 CONCERT REVIEW - KING DIAMOND & OVERKILLOn Friday, October 25th, 2024, we traveled to The Eastern in Atlanta, Georgia for the Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920 Tour to see KING DIAMOND & OVERKILL (LIVE!) in concert, and it was everything we wanted and expected it to be: A perfect venue without a bad spot in the house, incredibly killer bands with album perfect production and sound, and absolutely ZERO traces of “party gravy” to be found anywhere on the premises.
Regrettably, we missed show opener NIGHT DEMON because we had to drive “from South Carolina” through Atlanta traffic to get to the venue and the start t...2024-11-071h 08
Metal Nerdery Podcast#272 TYPE-O-NEGATIVE: INSIDE THE METAL“Dude, you know you can donate plasm…”
Because of the obvious “Halloween tingle” wafting through the Bunkerpoon, we decided to finish out “the month of Halloween” with a rrrrrevisitation of the grrrrreen tinted, goth infused, Sabbath inspired doom metal druids hailing from Brooklyn, New York known as TYPE-O-NEGATIVE.
To be fair, “technically” we have already done an INSIDE THE METAL featuring TYPE-O, but that’s been (approximately) 3 years and 10 days ago, and A LOT has changed since then, not only with regard to the world at large but also with the quality of this podcast as well...2024-10-312h 04
Metal Nerdery Podcast#271 - KING DIAMOND Metal Master of the Macabre“Are you comparing King Diamond to KISS!?”
KING DIAMOND is the undisputed champion of all things dark & creepy that scarify & terrify throughout the metal multiverse. In our humble opinion, The King should be deemed the official ambassador of Halloween.
Through the use of the creative forces granted unto him by his Scandinavian homeland (and perhaps with a little supernatural assistance for added evilocity), The KING has been unleashing terrifying tales of gothic horror backed by a progressive power metal soundtrack that have been scaring the Hell out of audiences for nearly four decades (even...2024-10-242h 04
Metal Nerdery Podcast#270 GHOST - INSIDE THE METAL“They’re the Toto of metal…”
In keeping with the Halloween centric theme of October, obviously we’ve got to talk about “devil music”, and what better band to represent “the devil stuff” than GHOST, who’s not at all bashful about their utilization of Satan for inspiration.
Imagine the mysteriousness of Blue Oyster Cult, but “kinda more metal, and sorta satanic a little bit”. While not overtly hateful or evil per se (as far as “devil music” goes), there is certainly a dark, otherworldly, and strangely hypnotic aesthetic to GHOST. With music containing powerful melodies & catchy hooks and...2024-10-171h 36
Metal Nerdery Podcast#269 - HALLOWEEN 2024 SUPER SPECIALUpon descending deep down into the dank, cavernous darkness of the Bunkerpoon Dungeon, there’s a mysterious change in atmosphere that instantly transforms the entire month of October into Halloween, with all of the usual suspects present and accounted for: witches and wizards, ghosts and goblins, vampires, werewolves, reapers, reptiles, and even a little bit of good natured “Halloween themed psychic fisting” thrown in for good measure to make everything as authentically creepy as possible.
Halloween season conjures thoughts of misty mornings, the enjoyment of fresh greenery, and visions of vast landscapes filled with leafless, haunted...2024-10-102h 02
Metal Nerdery Podcast#267 - Alice Cooper Rob Zombie and Shock Rock“That’s NOT how you eat a chili dog…”
The allure of SHOCK ROCK is, has been, and always will be the LIVE component of it; being at the show and viscerally experiencing all of the sights and sounds, in the flesh and in the moment. While many artists do also have lyrical subject matter which might make them eligible for placement in the SHOCK ROCK subgenre (see also “devil stuff”), the primary component to ensure proper “shock rock” cred is the LIVE concert experience, the actual SHOW!
Whether it’s spitting blood, breat...2024-09-261h 23
Metal Nerdery Podcast#266 - CAN’T BE LOUD ENOUGH VOL. IIIIt’s time to learn about the healthiest, most productive way to release “all of your aggressions” fueled by “road rage” and crank the volume all the way up to LOUD to indulge in metal that comes shrink wrapped “pre-LOUD” from the factory.
Remember that sometimes “it’s a little gamey and a little tangy” which is why it’s always a good idea to “dip ‘em in the egg wash” first. Find out what it means to “dig some schnitzel” and why the strategic ambiguity of “vaguebooking” is extremely off-putting, irresponsible, exhausting, and frankly, tiresome.
Grab a bag...2024-09-191h 46
Metal Nerdery Podcast#264 TITLE TRACKS“I’m just letting you know; I was holding back…it may get worse…”
TITLE TRACKS are not always the ultra-obvious, one trick pony they’d seem to be.
Sometimes it IS ultra-obvious and is smack dab in the middle of the chorus where it belongs, sometimes only one of the words might be included in the chorus, and still other times “the chorus is not explicitly mentioned” anywhere within the title track at all.
As you can tell, the rules regarding TITLE TRACKS are often “unburdened by what has been” particularl...2024-09-051h 39
Metal Nerdery Podcast#263 NWOOSTM Vol. IV: THRASHING LIKE A MANIAC“You can take something so pretty and make it so ugly…”
It’s been a while since we discussed any NWOOSTM, so we figured we’d check out one of the NWOOSTM playlist recommendations from “Mr. PB&J” himself. (NOTE: that’s New Wave Of Old School Thrash Metal in case you’re not into acronyms). THRASHING LIKE A MANIAC (which you can find on Amazon music), has a wide variety of NWOOSTM bands with newer, old school, classic thrash sounds.
Discover the height of intimacy involved when you “finish each other’s sandwiches” and under...2024-08-291h 24
Metal Nerdery Podcast#262 IRON MAIDEN SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON - Album Dive“If Bruce Dickinson wants more cowbell, we should probably give him more cowbell…”
You’ve heard of movies based on books, but what about albums based on books? IRON MAIDEN’s seventh studio album, SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON, released on April 11, 1988, is inspired by Orson Scott Card’s 1987 novel “Seventh Son” and is their first official “keyboard” album, confirming IRON MAIDEN’s progressive metal mastery as one of the finest progressive metal albums of all time.
Get ready to take on an army of “Roided up Roos” who are “boxing the trees” and always r...2024-08-221h 10
Metal Nerdery Podcast#260 EXODUS - The KILLER Openers“Do you know how many burps I edit out?”
EXODUS have been blessed with the almost uncanny gift of delivering absolutely devastating opening tracks on every album they’ve ever done.* There’s simply nothing like the “violently articulate” manifestations of Gary Holt’s riff wizardry to fuel the intensity of how blisteringly killer the opener (not to mention, the rest of the album) will be, which is why we’re BUILDING THE PERFECT ALBUM OF KILLER OPENERS to convey the critical importance of “setting the tone”, right out of the gate.
Discover the powerfu...2024-08-151h 26
Metal Nerdery Podcast#259 SLAYER Diabolus In Musica Album DiveHopefully by now, everyone is familiar with those first three notes from the first Black Sabbath album. During The Middle Ages, this was referred to as DIABOLOUS IN MUSICA (which is Latin, meaning “The Devil In Music”). While also known as “The Devil’s Interval”, or in musical parlance simply as the tritone, SLAYER fans recognize DIABOLOUS IN MUSICA as the band’s 8th album of sonic evilocity and darkness, and the 2nd with Paul Bostaph on the drums.
Even though it was released on June 9, 1998, as the nu-metal era was peaking, DIABOLOUS IN MUSICA is most defini...2024-08-081h 20
Metal Nerdery Podcast#257 - TESTAMENT Souls of Black: Album DiveOften in life you have to “strike while the iron is hot” because more often than not, the “First Strike Is Deadly” and not striking may result in lost opportunity and success. And while TESTAMENT were riding the wave of success from their first three albums and the subsequent tours that followed, their fourth album within three and a half years, SOULS OF BLACK, might have been a step too far.
Granted, the October 9, 1990 release of SOULS OF BLACK was a prerequisite for the band’s inclusion on the European leg of the Clash of the Titans t...2024-07-251h 13
Metal Nerdery Podcast#256 1991 METAL and THRASH Albums1991 was a year unlike any other. KFC changed their name to avoid paying royalties to the “trademarked” commonwealth for which they were named (whereas K-Y Jelly could not be reached for comment), Terminator 2: Judgment Day was blowing up the box office as the number one movie in America, the first ever “world wide web” website was introduced to the world by Tim Berners-Lee, and just 6 days after that, on August 12th, 1991, Coroner’s fourth album (Mental Vortex) AND Metallica’s self-titled fifth album were BOLTH released on the EXACT same day.
It's time to get in the time mac...2024-07-181h 37
Metal Nerdery Podcast#255 KERRY KING - FROM HELL I RISE Album DiveMay 17, 2024, marks the day that KERRY KING released the diabolically brutal debut, FROM HELL I RISE, forging a new chapter in thrash metal. And before you get all “skeptical” about it and start in with some snide remark like “Oh, this is just diet Slayer…”, understand that this is definitely NOT Slayer (although, it kinda is…even though it’s “allegedly” not).
Make no mistake, KERRY KING is not just that bald, tattooed dude from Slayer with some random backup band. In fact, KERRY KING is a legitimate thrash super group with an all-star line-up featuring members of...2024-07-111h 22
Metal Nerdery Podcast#254 - M.O.D. (METHOD OF DESTRUCTION) INSIDE THE METALNot only is BILLY MILANO a blessing and “a bold, courageous man”, he’s also the mastermind behind M.O.D. (METHOD OF DESTRUCTION), the crossover thrash patriots that emerged following the end of S.O.D. with a similar sense of politically incorrect humor, biting social commentary, and a more hardcore infused thrash sound than S.O.D. (Stormtroopers of Death).
As with S.O.D., M.O.D. was “designed to piss people off” (and “if you’re not doing that, what are you doing with your life?”). So, it is with extreme irony (and tremend...2024-07-041h 22
Metal Nerdery Podcast#253 QUEENSRYCHE OPERATION: MINDCRIME - Album DiveMay 3, 1988, may just be the biggest, red-letter, landmark date in all of progressive metal, as it marks the release of QUEENSRYCHE’s 3rd studio album OPERATION: MINDCRIME, one of the finest concept albums in all of metal. It’s very much a “Pink Floyd meets heavy metal” style and vibe, and is quite a departure from their two previous albums (The Warning & Rage For Order), with a very “in your face” mix, some power metal overtones, and perhaps the most aggressive bass sound on a metal album EVER, which is weirdly ironic considering that QUEENSRYCHE was the weirdest opening band choice...2024-06-271h 16
Metal Nerdery Podcast#252 AC/DC FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK - Album DiveSummary:
AC/DC’s follow-up to Back In Black, 1981’s FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK (WE SALUTE YOU), seems to have a heavier, darker, and doomier vibe than its legendary, multi-platinum predecessor. FTATR (WSY) is all about dynamics, as Robert John “Mutt” Lange’s production masterfully blends the sounds of Highway To Hell & Back In Black with just a touch of the old school Bon era, resulting in an album that’s louder, crispier, crunchier, and overall, pure FIRE! (Not to mention, it’s got frickin’ cannons on it!). And similarly, as with Back In Black, there is almost an int...2024-06-201h 23
Metal Nerdery Podcast#251 Side 2 - DEATH MATCH - MASTER OF PUPPETS vs REIGN IN BLOODWe’ve already tackled Side One of our ’86 HEAD-TO-HEAD DEATH MATCH featuring MOP & RIB (“Puppets & Blood”), and now it’s time to go through Side Two in order to reach our final verdict. As usual, there were difficult decisions to be made, and the deliberation was not easy, but we did it, and the only thing we can really say that will make any sense at all is that it’s really hard to compare two such incomparable albums that are as equally incredible yet vastly unique as tacos and spaghetti.
Get ready to find out how “left...2024-06-131h 28
Metal Nerdery Podcast#249 - NEW YORK HARDCOREDefinitely “angsty” and undisputedly heavier, more aggressive, and focused than punk, NEW YORK HARDCORE (NYHC) emerged at a time when punk was on its way out and thrash was on its way into the heavy music scene, ultimately becoming a “de facto” bridge between the thrash and punk scenes and eventually bringing them both together to bless the metal world with the new genre known as crossover (insert “shameless” United Forces reference here).
It’s time to learn the best way to “lift weights” in the weight training community and discover how to avoid an unwelcome “updraft w...2024-05-301h 33
Metal Nerdery Podcast#248 SABBATH MOB RULES - Album Dive“Is this the GOOD Sabbath or the BAD Sabbath?”
We know what you’re thinking: “Wait, didn’t they skip a few albums in there somewhere? Did they put them all on Patreon or…what happened?” Rest assured, nothing has been skipped, however, we did jump ahead a little bit because “some of us” have been jonesing to fast forward through the BLACK SABBATH catalog by 3 albums or so and time travel straight to 1981 and the release of MOB RULES, the final studio album (at the time) from the legendary Ronnie James Dio era of the band.
Ther...2024-05-231h 23
Metal Nerdery Podcast#246 - Metallica CoversAfter catching Damage Inc. live in concert a few weeks back, we felt inspired to investigate the vast conglomeration of artists who have performed their own cover versions of songs originally written by the biggest cover band to have ever blessed heavy metal, the mighty METALLICA.
Even though METALLICA have come a long way from their old school “dirty thrash” sound, modern artists continue to create their own interpretations of songs from throughout METALLICA’s vast catalog. Whether it’s completely reimagined with an entirely different arrangement or a faithful, note perfect rendition of the original...2024-05-091h 37
Metal Nerdery Podcast#245 - SLEEP - Inside The MetalBefore OM and High On Fire, there was the marijuana infused, Sabbath worshipping, stoner metal power trio hailing from San Jose, California known as SLEEP. Just saying the name transports you to a land filled with THC infused riffs, the sweet aroma of sinsemilla, and enough smoke to indicate that the pyramid sized bong is fully loaded and ready to transport you to another dimension of audio stonerdom.
Imagine Black Sabbath (circa Master of Reality) time traveling to SLEEP’s jam room in the early 90’s and bestowing upon them the knowledge of “the riff filled l...2024-05-021h 35
Metal Nerdery Podcast#244 - 1994 Metal and Thrash AlbumsAhhh, the joys of 1994 and the youthful days of yore. Y’know, there was a time when 1994 actually seemed relatively “recent”, like maybe a couple of decades ago, but we’re actually 30 years beyond 1994, the year when Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in his garage, Quentin Tarantino released an ultra-vulgar display of cinema with “Pulp Fiction”, Sony forever changed the gaming landscape with the PlayStation, Slayer returned with a new drummer and a newly “manscaped” look (for some), and Pantera released their most extreme album to date that went to Number 1 on Billboard and forever changed the mainstream perception of metal.
2024-04-251h 10
Metal Nerdery Podcast#243 Lights Camera Revolution SUICIDAL TENDENCIES Album DiveIt’s safe to say that 1990 represented the absolute zenith of thrash metal greatness. All you have to do is thumb through everything released that year and you’ll have irrefutable proof. Thrash was at its peak when SUICIDAL TENDENCIES unleashed their 5th studio album, LIGHTS…CAMERA…REVOLUTION! their first to feature “future Metallica bassist” Robert Trujillo and also their first album to be sonically dominated more so by pure thrash than their earlier punk based, crossover sound.
Even with all of the other epic albums released back in 1990, THIS one has the perfect guitar tone. With crystal clear...2024-04-181h 02
Metal Nerdery Podcast#242 CIRITH UNGOL - INSIDE THE METALAlthough they formed in Ventura, California in the early 70’s just a few short years after Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, CIRITH UNGOL (which, if you know anything about J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings lore, translates to mean “Spider’s Cleft”) sound like a band “out of time”. Whether they’re releasing 70’s sounding albums in the 80’s or releasing 80’s sounding albums in the 90’s, it should be noted that CIRITH UNGOL are one of the first ever doom metal bands, with a sound containing a unique blend of both doom and power metal elements, as wel...2024-04-111h 09
Metal Nerdery Podcast#241 MEGADETH Rust In Peace - Album DiveWith the release of their 4th album (a.k.a. one of the finest albums in thrash metal history), MEGADETH conquered new levels of greatness with their progressive thrash masterpiece RUST IN PEACE, featuring Marty Friedman on guitars and Nick Menza behind the drum kit who, along with founding members David Ellefson and Dave Mustaine, would become known as “the classic lineup” of the legendary band.
Jam packed with crushing riffs, majestic guitar solos, and vivid lyrical imagery, RUST IN PEACE might very well be MEGADETH’s “Master of Justice…And Puppets for All” in terms of shee...2024-04-041h 25
Metal Nerdery Podcast#240 SOUNDGRADEN - Inside The MetalAfter hair metal all but destroyed heavy metal in the late 80’s and early 90’s, things were a bit grim. Grim in the same sort of way that Birmingham, England was grim in the late 60’s. Perhaps one of the silver linings to emerge out of the make-up and hairspray laden aftermath of glam was the down to earth, retro metal infused sounds emerging out of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, specifically, the “Seattle scene” which brought us an entirely new genre of metal (aka “grunge”) that served as a desperately needed palette cleanser and helped to breathe new...2024-03-281h 32
Metal Nerdery Podcast#239 Bootleg Edition - Album Dive - KillersWelcome to the inaugural episode of the Metal Nerdery Podcast “Bootleg Edition” series, recorded deep within the echoey underground confines of The Bunkerpoon, direct from The Bunkerpoon video feed. While we strive to be “The Black Album of Podcasts” (in terms of sheer production quality), we decided to see what it might sound like if Bob Rock produced the podcast equivalent of St. Anger (which is still Bob Rock btw…just sayin’). Think of this episode as “the raw demo” edition of Metal Nerdery Podcast before Rock & Rubin come in to transform it into the Black Album of the Reign in Blood o...2024-03-211h 23
Metal Nerdery Podcast#237 SEPULTURA – ARISE Album DiveSpring, 1991. Thrash had hit its apex as a genre and was beginning the transition into what would become “the next wave” of thrash with a sound and identify located somewhere between the thrash, groove, and death metal genres. With SEPULTURA’s 4th album, ARISE, emerging a mere 2 years after their 1989 thrash masterpiece, Beneath The Remains, the Brazilian metal shamans continued to refine and intensify the evolution of their sound, creating a veritable cocktail of extreme metal with new dimensions of heaviness, including tons of crushing riffs, creepy soft intros, and eerily dark harmonies.
It’s time to di...2024-03-071h 19
Metal Nerdery Podcast#236 1984 – YEAR IN METAL1984 was the year that saw the introduction of the Apple Macintosh, the launch of the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, and the year the world learned of the terrifyingly destructive potential of A.I. courtesy of Skynet and The Terminator.
1984 is more than just the title of George Orwell’s cautionary, dystopian novel or Van Halen’s wildly successful 6th album. 1984 is the year that heavy metal began to intensify exponentially, including the continued evolution of thrash and black metal, as well as the release of “the ultimate anthem” that resulted in one of the greatest music vid...2024-02-291h 30
Metal Nerdery Podcast#235 METAL CHURCH - INSIDE THE METALOriginally formed in the thrash metal mecca known as The Bay Area a year before Metallica was even a thing (shortly before relocating to the Tri-County, metropolitan Seattle, Washington realm), METAL CHURCH continues to bless congregations of faithful metal fans with their own unique brand of thrash infused progressive power metal which has relentlessly persisted and triumphed for more than four decades. While we acknowledge “we can’t judge entire albums” by just a sample of songs from each one, there’s no denying the consistent sonic salvation found throughout the entire METAL CHURCH discography.
Find out...2024-02-221h 40
Metal Nerdery Podcast#234 DEATH MATCH - Vol 2 South of Heaven vs ...And Justice For All“And in THIS corner…”
Already knowing (going in) that our 1988 HEAD-TO-HEAD DEATH MATCH was gonna be “bigger than China”, the Bunkerpoon oversight committee made the executive decision to break this “hog” of an episode into a two-part cliffhanger dangler.
At this point, we’ve covered side 1 and now we’re tackling side 2 of Metallica’s …AND JUSTICE FOR ALL and Slayer’s SOUTH OF HEAVEN. And let’s just say that since “the upstairs and downstairs no longer match” you’re gonna wanna “get you some popcorn” and brace yourselves for multiple “hockey soccer” moments because this one was a bloodbath to the...2024-02-151h 29
Metal Nerdery Podcast#233 DEATH MATCH - Vol 1 South of Heaven vs ...And Justice For All“In THIS corner…”
Throughout the thrash community, there’s always been a battle line drawn between the progressive, harmony laden sensibilities of METALLICA and the darker, eviler shades of SLAYER. For many of us, the two albums from these two thrash titans that are most synonymous with summertime and high school are Metallica’s …AND JUSTICE FOR ALL and Slayer’s SOUTH OF HEAVEN, two undisputed thrash classics released in the Year of our Riff Lord, 1988.
Discover why the only thing more “off-putting, irresponsible, and exhausting” than hearing your friend say: “your mom was hot” is hearing them say: “I...2024-02-081h 14
Metal Nerdery Podcast#232 STUCK MOJO Inside The MetalBack in the early 90’s (along with hometown thrash titans Ghost Story, Akathesia, and Nihilist) one of the most unique bands to have dominated the local metal scene and trailblazed the path for rap metal before it was even a genre was Atlanta cross-over, groove metal pioneers, STUCK MOJO.
Armed with the aural onslaught of Rich Ward’s behemoth guitar sound and the “no bones about it” ferocity of Bonz’s rhymes, STUCK MOJO were definitely THE band to experience live, with one of their most memorable shows transpiring when “The Duke of Metal” and company performe...2024-02-011h 28
Metal Nerdery Podcast#231 BACK IN BLACK Album DiveEleven years before Metallica released “The Black Album”, AC/DC released “The FIRST Black Album”, BACK IN BLACK, their seventh studio album overall and their first album featuring new vocalist Brian Johnson following the tragic and untimely passing of former frontman Bon Scott.
While AC/DC always had an aggressively intense, hard rock sound throughout the 70’s on their rise to glory during the Bon era, BACK IN BLACK is arguably the first “official” heavy metal album that AC/DC ever released, a perfectly produced classic from front to back and arguably one of the few albums in h...2024-01-251h 20
Metal Nerdery Podcast#229 EXODUS STEVE “ZETRO” SOUZA ERAAs of this episode, we will have covered each and every era of every EXODUS vocalist, from Paul Baloff to STEVE “ZETRO” SOUZA to Rob Dukes (and back again) to ZETRO. As the 2nd vocalist for EXODUS, STEVE SOUZA’s voice gave the band a distinct sonic ferocity which set them apart from their “Big Five” counterparts, spewing forth some of the most brutally savage lyrical imagery in all of thrash. While we’ve already touched on a couple of ZETRO era albums in earlier episodes (which you can locate in the “sizably girthy” Metal Nerdery Archives), we thought a brief refreshe...2024-01-111h 20
Metal Nerdery Podcast#227 OZZY BARK AT THE MOON - Album DiveNovember 18, 1983
Put your ’83 hat on and travel back to the days of yore when OZZY OSBOURNE was still a relatively new solo artist struggling to bounce back after enduring the tragic and untimely demise of guitarist Randy Rhoads following The Ozzman’s first 2 legendary albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.
Enter Jake E. Lee, Rhoads’ successor, and the debut of his shred skills on Ozzy’s 3rd studio release, BARK AT THE MOON. While perhaps a departure from those first 2 records with Rhoads, BARK AT THE MOON has a more keyboard...2023-12-281h 10
Metal Nerdery Podcast#226 VAN HALEN I Album DiveNot only were VAN HALEN effectively “the Black Sabbath of shred” but they ultimately paved the way for the L.A. hair metal shred scene that exploded during the 80’s. Not only is this episode an ALBUM DIVE into the first VAN HALEN album (by none other than the mighty VAN HALEN), but If you’re into “reading books with your ears” then check out the audiobook “Van Halen Rising” as it provides some interesting insights into the origin story of the legendary band, including their rise to power, their earliest musical influences, and how Edward Van Halen’s signature brand of...2023-12-211h 21
Metal Nerdery Podcast#223 SLAYER Live Undead Album DiveAfter 39 years, LIVE UNDEAD may still be one of the finest recorded moments in SLAYER’s budding thrash legacy, capturing a “kinda live” re-recording of the best parts of their hugely successful Metal Blade debut (SHOW NO MERCY) and their follow-up EP (HAUNTING THE CHAPEL) in a room full of rowdy, surly, and occasionally unruly, die-hard SLAYER fans with the objective of capturing the “live” performance & energy of a band forged & tempered by dates on the road with an improved sound and just the slightest tweak of production sorcery.
It’s time to uncover “the biggest scam on...2023-11-3056 min
Metal Nerdery Podcast#212 PANTERA PRE-GAME“Awww mannn…”
As of the recording of this episode, we were hyping ourselves into a frenzy to get fired up and ready for the upcoming PANTERA show (with King Parrot and Lamb of God opening) at the Ameris Amphitheater in Alpharetta, Georgia on September 12th, 2023.
And as of the publishing of this episode, we will have already borne witness to the awesome display of power which made PANTERA the quintessential metal band of the 90’s (more on that later…), and for that, we give “bigly tremendous” thanks and our utmost respect to both Charlie Benante...2023-09-141h 17
Metal Nerdery Podcast#192 AC/DC POWERAGE Album DiveAC/DC’s 1978 banger, POWERAGE (pronounced like voltage, amperage, and sausage; NOT like volt-AGE, amper-AGE, or saus-AGE) is undoubtedly one of “the most 1978 sounding” albums that has ever been released in rock and metal. And after giving it a listen, you’ll undoubtedly agree.
It’s the first album to feature Cliff Williams on bass, the first album to not have a title track and (perhaps most importantly) it’s the favorite AC/DC album of both Keith Richards and Edward Van Halen. Relative to the rest of their catalog, POWERAGE is quite simply an album beyond comp...2023-04-271h 12
Metal Nerdery Podcast166: Halloween Metal and Movies“How could The Exorcist be your LEAST favorite scary movie?”
Gratuitous thunderclaps, ominous church bells ringing in the chapel, creepy haunted castles, ghosts & poltergeists, witches & werewolves, paranormal and supernatural activity, candy…
That’s right: candy!!! And with any luck, hopefully some fortunate trick-or-treaters will be blessed with some of that “good candy” on their door-to-door quest to satiate their sugar fix. All overly concerned parents are encouraged to send any suspect candy you may find to our 33rd Floor I.U.B.P. Laboratory for further testing, confirmation, and (potential) enjoyment (by us). Because it’s HALLOWEEN: the...2022-10-271h 16
Metal Nerdery Podcast163: SLAYER Head to Head DEATH MATCH - Show No Mercy vs Hell Awaits“Yeah, yeah…”
For SLAYER fans, their merciless 1983 debut SHOW NO MERCY and their even darker, more progressive 1985 follow up HELL AWAITS both possess a somewhat more sinister sound and atmosphere relative to the totality of their catalog. These first two records mark the beginning of their development into the fiercest, darkest, and evilest of The Big Four of thrash, featuring a virtually continuous “all-you-can-eat” onslaught of death, Hell, and Satan.
Now, imagine what would happen if you were to pit SHOW NO MERCY and HELL AWAITS against each other? What if both albums had to get in the...2022-10-061h 27
Metal Nerdery Podcast155: PANTERA OFFICIAL LIVE: 101 PROOFWith the upcoming PANTERA reunion in the works, we felt it would be reprehensibly “irresponsible” of us to NOT touch on one of the greatest live albums by one of the greatest live bands to have dominated metal during the 90’s: Pantera’s OFFICIAL LIVE: 101 PROOF.
Not only does it span the era of their catalog from “Cowboys” to “Trendkill”, but it also comes with a generous helping of between song stage banter that’s some of the best in the business, and finishes with a couple of previously unreleased, newly recorded studio tracks.
Prepare for a reading of our...2022-08-111h 33
Metal Nerdery Podcast153: Just Talking Shit-tah Vol.1 - PANTERA MEGADETH OZZY S.O.D.“Why can’t you just enjoy it? Why do you gotta complain about it?”
People worldwide have been asking these EXACT same questions forever (OR, at a minimum, at least the last couple of years). Whether it’s with regard to hijacking someone else’s pleasure, enjoying some over-done meat drapes, or debating whether a band is its brand (or vice versa), these questions (along with countless others) persist and cannot be ignored or denied. And given that this episode might be a bit of a departure from our “normal” format, it might get a little weird for some of yo...2022-07-281h 03
Metal Nerdery Podcast151: 1982 Year In MetalA time of momentous change in the world. The Weather Channel premiered on cable television, Sony introduced the first compact disc player, “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial” was released in theaters and Metallica released their “No Life ‘Til Leather” demo. (And that’s not even “everything” that happened in 1982!)
1982 METAL was morphing into something louder, faster, and heavier, helping to lay the foundation and pave the way for future generations of metalheads, ensuring that the rest of the 80’s (at least from a metal perspective) would become “the best decade ever”.
It's time to “put your ’82 hat on” and enjoy a little “armpit rom...2022-07-141h 24
Metal Nerdery Podcast147: DEATH METAL Vol. IAlthough the differences between thrash and DEATH METAL seemed subtle at the time, there was a distinctive demarcation between the two subgenres, most notably with DEATH METAL having much deeper, guttural sounding vocals, faster time signatures and much darker, supremely bleaker soundscapes and lyrical themes than thrash. There was something palpably different there, we just couldn’t quite put our tentacles on it (at the time). We just thought it was the next wave of extreme heavy metal. And quite frankly, we couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome.
As you all know, “it’s no...2022-06-161h 16
Metal Nerdery Podcast146: Megadeth So Far So Good.. So What Album Dive“DAVE MUSTAINE FOR PRESIDENT, 2024!!!”
While many outside the tri-county metal multiverse would be absolutely mortified to have the MEGADETH leader as the “Commander In-Chief,” many feel it’s the only way to ensure that America (along with the rest of the planet) stays metal (and awake) forever.
With the release of their third album (1988’s SO FAR…SO GOOD…SO WHAT!), Megadeth continued to hone and diversify their sonic palette, staying true to their blisteringly articulate thrash fury and passionately vitriolic vocal commentary on key issues such as total nuclear annihilation, reckless driving, and profound personal loss (ju...2022-06-091h 29
Metal Nerdery Podcast145: INDUSTRIAL METALIt’s time to embrace the sound…of Skynet! Obviously, “Skynet Core” isn’t a thing (yet), but INDUSTRIAL METAL certainly IS!
Nothing else in the heavy metal multiverse sounds quite like this ultra-modern, mechanical subgenre of metal which most closely resembles a symphony of machine sex augmented with synthesizers, sequencers, sampling and (obviously) a ton of tambourine!
Prepare to check-in to the Metal Nerdery Industrial Metal Complex and behold “some of the best South American adult entertainment you’ve ever heard”, including a fantastic “Johnny Depp impression”, a brand new “handy” technique, and some exhausting & off-putting “...2022-06-021h 51
Metal Nerdery Podcast144: SLAYER Seasons in the Abyss Album Dive“Which of The Big Four ‘Black Album-ed’ first?”
It’s a delicate subject, one which SLAYER fans will be unable to refute or deny, but SEASONS IN THE ABYSS (as genius as it is) IS actually (kind of) “Slayer’s Black Album”.
Do you want proof? Well, there’s hooks (wait: hooks?), there’s melody (that’s right: melody), and there’s the perfect sonic coalescence of their four prior studio albums, making it the perfect climax to their legendary 80’s output and the ideal way to close out their inaugural “decade of aggression”.
S...2022-05-261h 33
Metal Nerdery Podcast143: JUDAS PRIEST: Vol I - 70’sTalk about problematic procrastination: only twenty-three years AFTER they were first eligible to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, JUDAS PRIEST will FINALLY have their day!
Few bands in the history of metal have matched the long, prosperous, and influential career of JUDAS PRIEST, who have been collectively “screaming for vengeance” and “defending the faith” (as it were) for more than ½ a century, continuously honing, evolving, and intensifying their trailblazing, twin-guitar, “rapid fire” metal sound for over 50 years. For the sake of preventing our discussion from getting out of hand and turning into a 29.5-hour “me...2022-05-191h 18
Metal Nerdery Podcast142: Randy Rhoads TributeWith the release of “RANDY RHOADS: Reflections of a Guitar Icon”, we felt compelled to take a closer look at the brief yet mythical career of one of the most gifted guitarists in the history of heavy metal and a true “game changer” in the realm of heavy metal guitar playing, RANDY RHOADS (of Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz).
Grab yourself a handful of some “special van candy”, get ready to “play the tuning song”, find out the true meaning of “bone movies” and prepare to be “fully decorked” before you JOIN US for a look back at s...2022-05-121h 30
Metal Nerdery Podcast138: Primus - Inside The MetalDon’t deny the power of three. Whether it’s certain “anti-relaxers”, a brilliantly executed joke, or the divinely strange shades of psychedelic metal weirdness created by the “power threesome” known as PRIMUS, three packs quite the powerful punch.
PRIMUS have always stayed in the realm of the weird and unorthodox, forging their own unique path by blending surrealistic bass driven prog metal with absurdly weird lyrical vistas and some of the strangest riffs known this side of the multiverse to create a brilliant, yet oddly eccentric, brand of metal that is uniquely theirs and theirs alone.
Time...2022-04-142h 12
Metal Nerdery Podcast137: Stoner Metal Doom Metal Vol. IVClose your eyes, take a deep breath, and inhale the enticing aroma of the “jam room bouquet” while basking in the brown wood paneled, wall-to-wall orange shag carpeted, STONER DOOM jam room aesthetic (complete with a fully loaded “infinity hookah” in the middle of the room to tie it all together).
DOOM and STONER metal bands should really be classified by “strain” instead of “genre”. Some bands are more “Fuzzy”, some more “Doomy”, and some more “Stony” * than others. Hell, some of them may even be “hybrids”. Guess what: we enjoy them ALL!!! (Spoiler alert: some of them we REALLY enjoyed!).
...2022-04-071h 22
Metal Nerdery Podcast133: Sacred Reich - Inside The MetalSometimes it’s imperative to “step away” in order to continue evolving. While it seemed that SACRED REICH had permanently stepped away and slipped into thrash limbo during their hiatus, the thrash quartet hailing from Phoenix, Arizona was working towards their comeback and, quite literally, putting the band back together to record 2019’s “Awakening”, their first new album in over twenty-three years.
Prepare to dispatch the “helicopters and spotlights” before tuning in for some quality “adult entertainment”, including the reading of entries from “Dahmer’s Joke Notebook” as read by Metal Nerdery junior correspondent, Dick Taintler.
JOIN US as we go Inside...2022-03-101h 09
Metal Nerdery Podcast132: ...And Justice For All - Album Dive…AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (or AJFA if you’re an acronym fan), the 4th album from METALLICA (and the last album before “The Black Album”) was a strange yet glorious time for fans because it marked the beginning of a new era, with Jason Newsted taking over on bass duties after Cliff Burton’s tragic and untimely demise during the Master of Puppets World Tour.
Some people call AJFA “The Last Great Metallica Album”. Some people call AJFA “The ‘Pre-Black Album’ Black Album”. Metal Nerdery Podcast people call AJFA “The most progressive thrash metal album ever released by the biggest thrash metal...2022-03-031h 41
Metal Nerdery Podcast128: Forbidden - Inside the MetalLove is a complex, multi-splendorious thing. Especially our love for thrash, and MOST especially, our love for Bay Area Technical Thrash Wizards, FORBIDDEN.
In fact, if FORBIDDEN doesn’t make you “swollen and girthful” (“hard” btw) with their uber precise, mathematically challenging brand of techno-thrash shock and awe, then clearly YOU don’t love FORBIDDEN as much as WE love FORBIDDEN.
JOIN US to understand “the reason for the screaming” (“Put it in and do it again…”) as we unveil “the first song they ever wrote in their life”* while savoring the flavoring of “Saturday morning cartoon cereal”, as Meta...2022-02-031h 25
Metal Nerdery Podcast127: 70’s MetalThanks to stylistic innovations such as the dawn of punk, the proliferation of shock rock, and the ever growing prominence of guitars in riff writing, the sound of 70’s rock music gradually morphed into the grittier, grungier and heavier realm of sonic bliss that would become heavy metal, a genre of music as LOUD as (if not LOUDER than) the gaudy home décor and fashions of the day.
It’s time to crack open that Costco sized drum of relaxers, climb into the time machine and set the controls for the 70’s, because we’re going back in tim...2022-01-271h 34
Metal Nerdery Podcast126: Speak of the Devil Album Dive“We’re gonna do a number now…which was the very first song I ever wrote in my life…”
After 2 successful solo albums with his solo band (Blizzard of Ozz), OZZY OSBOURNE was set to release a live album consisting exclusively of songs from his former band, Black Sabbath.
“Wooo! Wooo!!”
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is a double-live album of classic Sabbath tracks from the storied Ozzy era of the band throughout the entirety of the 1970’s. As if that weren’t enough, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL also contains some of...2022-01-201h 31
Metal Nerdery Podcast123: DIO Holy Diver Album DiveMay 25th, 1983.
After fronting Rainbow and Black Sabbath during the 70’s and early 80’s, it was time for RONNIE JAMES DIO to assemble his own band of genius musicians to forge and unleash upon the world one of the greatest debut albums in all of metal (if not in all of existence): the seminal masterpiece known throughout the metal realm as HOLY DIVER.
It’s the end of the year. Time to raise your T-Rex arms and lift your swords (if you’re able), begin “rubbing the top” and prepare to be “totally stretched out” (yeah, it’s about...2021-12-301h 27
Metal Nerdery Podcast122: AC/DC Side 2: The Brian Johnson YearsNot only was BRIAN JOHNSON charged with the extraordinary task of filling the void left behind by the passing of legendary AC/DC lead singer, BON SCOTT, but he also helped to propel the Aussie juggernauts to breathtaking new highs over the span of their extensive ½ century long career.
(Yeah, that’s definitely a LONG one!)
Oy! All you Metal Blokes and She-Blokes, it’s time to decorate the Holiday Relaxer “tree”, have yourself a holiday appropriate clinky before getting your stockings stuffed and “accidentally” feeding the reindeers those “special” holiday cookies your hippy uncle brought...2021-12-231h 33
Metal Nerdery Podcast121: Thunder GODS and Bass WIZARDS of METALSometimes life just isn’t fair. (Actually, most times it’s not…but I digest.)
Sure, the vocalist and the guitarist get the lion’s share of groupies and love. And yeah, occasionally, even the drummer might get some of the “leftovers”, but what about the BASS PLAYER, man? Because without BASSISTS to add the depth, dimension, and definition to the band’s sound, “heavy metal” would just be…well it would just be sad…and, quite frankly, rather “bottomless”.
It’s time to learn proper shot etiquette according to Irish Booze Shamans, discover the maddening effect “chewing wi...2021-12-161h 40
Metal Nerdery Podcast118: Some Old School ThrashIt’s time to break out your old jean jacket (the one with the patches and buttons), head to the mall to hand out flyers for your next show (wait, do malls actually still exist?), brace for the imminent tsunami of “Olan Mills” style Thanksgiving pictures arriving on Black Friday (fun fact: “Olan Mills” roughly translates to “Uncomfortably Awkward”), discover which band is the “Galaga” of thrash (it actually makes perfect sense), and JOIN US for some premium, “South American Adult Entertainment” (technically, that’s not wrong) on this very special Thanksgiving Turkel Day spectacular as Metal Nerdery Podcast gives thanks for all things...2021-11-251h 44
Metal Nerdery Podcast117: Metallica HARDWIRED…TO SELF DESTRUCTNovember 18, 2021: Metal Nerdery Podcast releases an episode dedicated to HARDWIRED…TO SELF DESTRUCT on the 5th anniversary of this (double) album’s release and, coincidentally, on the 24th anniversary of the release of RELOAD (which represented the 2nd of “The Loads”, which was kind of a double album as well). Let’s just call November 18th “METALLICA Day”, to be filled with loads of positive affirmations.
Prepare your wolf steak & “space lettuce wraps,” consider the subtle, stoner-doom presence found in “The Loads,” put some boom back in your boom, get ready for a whole lotta “YEAH!” and JOIN US as we dive into HAR...2021-11-181h 50
Metal Nerdery Podcast116: Knotfest & Inside the Prog MetalThink of this episode as Metal Nerdery Podcast’s “double-concept-EP-hidden-bonus-split-album” podcast, with “double the content” (kind of…) of any of our prior episodes (I mean, not really…but also, definitely kind of…).
Not only will you get the Metal Nerdery Concert Report featuring a review of the boys’ recent KNOTFEST experience in Atlanta, but you’ll also get, for a limited time* (again, kind of, but not really…but also again, …definitely kind of…) the latest installment of “Inside the Metal” as Metal Nerdery explores the deep layers of musical virtuosity, showmanship and complexity that fuels The PROG-METAL
2021-11-111h 34
Metal Nerdery Podcast103: Metallica The Black AlbumIt would seem that the hour (and a half or so…) is upon us. As of the date of the release of this episode, we here at Metal Nerdery HQ 33rd Floor I.B.P. Studios (and really, EVERYONE in the greater metropolitan multiverse) will be “officially” unofficially (or “unofficially” officially) celebrating the 30th Birthday of METALLICA, METALLICA’s eponymous 5th studio album affectionately known here at Metal Nerdery HQ (and EVERYWHERE throughout the world and other dimensions) as “THE BLACK ALBUM”.
Go ahead and call in your to-go orders for Ron’s limited edition marinated Wolf Steak*, fly your Ga...2021-08-121h 38
Metal Nerdery Podcast096: Top 10 Thrash Albums of 1989For the year that gave us dial-up internet, Global Positioning System satellites, and "Seinfeld", 1989 gave us an equally legendary year in Thrash (and that's including Metallica's absurd Grammy "loss" to Jethro Tull. Insert retroactively-effective kancel-kulture tantrum-sigh here.)
JOIN US and behold the painstaking craftsmanship and delicately balanced relaxer levels required to manifest such a totally subjective, potentially speculative, and muchly suspective lysticle as METAL NERDERY PODCAST'S TOP 10 THRASH ALBUMS OF 1989.
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Leave us a Voicemail to be pla...2021-06-241h 31
Metal Nerdery Podcast049: Getting to know your hosts Metal Nerdery Top Fans Shout Outs and moreGetting to know a fellow Metalhead is a lot like dating: you have to ask the right questions to see if THEIR Metal is in alignment with YOUR Metal.
So, we decided it’d be fun to give everyone a more intimate view of what drives the Metal Nerdery magic by addressing some basic “Getting to Know You” style questions.
For example:
What’s the word about the Metal Nerdery nerds?
What is their backstory as it relates to Metal?
And for the love of Tony Iommi and all things Metal, WTF are ‘...2020-07-301h 24
Metal Nerdery Podcast036: March Metal Madness 2020This is definitely a March like no other: It’s our first ever March Metal Nerdery Madness episode!
During our Desert Island Discs episode, we discussed a Facebook post made on the Metal Nerdery Podcast page regarding favorite albums (Favorite Album and…GO!). Clearly, 1 is simply NOT enough, there just needs to be MORE METAL! So we took all of the albums referenced in that social media post (check out the resulting Metal nerdery episode: metalnerdery.com/podcast), put them in our uber mega ultra-randomizer to shuffle them and came up with the bracket template for what woul...2020-03-1921 min
Metal Nerdery Podcast035: Top 6 Desert Island Albums“Favorite Metal Album…and GO!” That was the original post we posted on our Facebook Page and the response and input we received made us realize that not only was 1 just NOT enough and/or possible!
So we expanded it to a discussion of our Top 6 Desert Island Albums.
JOIN US as we discuss our own personal favorites and also several other amazing ones that were mentioned in our original Facebook post. If you’d like to join the discussion, hit us up on any of the socials with YOUR Top 6 or shoot us an email at...2020-03-0525 min
Metal Nerdery Podcast022: Album Dive: Testament The LegacyTestament. Every thrash enthusiast is already very familiar with the band and their groundbreaking catalog. If you’re unfamiliar with Testament, think of it this way: If there were a Big 5, Testament would be part of it! JOIN US as we dive into their first (not so burnt) offering, “The Legacy” and discuss the artwork, the production and the “eerie inhabitants” on this record that gives it the perfect amount of “spooky”. Plus we get into the tracks and some nerdtastical Nuggets of Nerdery (along with our usual brand of hysterious ludicrosity)
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In...2019-11-211h 06
Metal Nerdery Podcast020: 1st 4 of the BIG 4The Big 4: That’s really ALL that needs to be said. On this episode, we get into The First 4 of The Big 4 and talk about the 4 albums that birthed a new movement that would change metal forever: THRASH METAL!!! We cover some of the lore with each of the albums, along with some other neat information and factoids about each one, our respective first Big 4 experiences, the tracks, some shared Anthrax commonalities among the Metal Nerdery and the upcoming Billy Milano side project that’s tied to all of this in a Big 4 kinda way.
Metal...2019-11-061h 14
Metal Nerdery Podcast018: Metal Massacre I Compilation ReviewGoing back to a time of growth and change in metal (thanks to one Brian Slagel!), we get into the Metal Massacre I Compilation courtesy of Metal Blade Records. (NOTE: This is definitely the most metal sentence you will read today). JOIN US as we review the Metal Blade Metal Massacre I compilation and get deep into some metal history, some Metal Nerdery (and most DEFINITELY some metal silliness and ridiculousnessness!)
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00.00: Intro (We’ll get...2019-10-171h 18
Geek Nerdery PodcastGeek Nerdery Podcast: Summer Movies And BeyondFor the first episode of the official Geek Nerdery Podcast we take a look at what is coming to the cinemas for the rest of 2017. What are we excited about? What are we not? Also we chat about some films we’ve already seen so far this year. Music provided by The Fantastic Plastics. Catch … <a href="http://geeknerdery.com/2017/03/30/geek-nerdery-podcast-summer-movies-beyond/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Geek Nerdery Podcast: Summer Movies And Beyond</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/GeekNerd...2017-03-3000 min