Episode 11: Interview with Samuel Nelson of STIGMA: The Art of Samuel Nelson

Sam sits down with Samuel Nelson, the mastermind behind STIGMA: The Art of Samuel Nelson. Samuel has painted dozens of album covers across a slew of metal sub-genres. We discuss his beginnings as an artist, art in heavy metal as a whole, gory album art, not-so-gory gory album art, his influences and more. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Episode 10: Interview with Matt and Jordan of Iapetus

Sam sits down with Matt and Jordan of Iapetus. We discuss the origin of the band, their debut album, influences, favorite movies, female guest vocals in metal and go on many brief side tangents, including: Ne Obliviscari's new album, The Punisher trailer, and why Matt wants to punch Jordan when they're near a keyboard. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 9

I hope you all enjoyed Episode 5 of Steel Legion Podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we know how it is to hear a band's name or album title and not know how to spell it or even remember it and we discussed a bunch of stuff during our interview. So here's some links if you'd like to dig deeper into Episode 9 (and if you like something, go buy the album and support the artists!).

Dream Void on Bandcamp

Dream Void on Facebook

Dream Void on Youtube

Dream Void on Spotify

The Room Colored Charlatan

Kossuth

Dawn of Dementia

Deceptive Dreamscape, debut EP by Dream Void

The 5 Act plot of Diablo 2

Malcom Pugh, the omnipresent

Hatchling

Drew's Diablo chest tattoo (not finished)

Episode 9: Interview with Drew Keedy of Dream Void

Sam sits down with Drew Keedy, lyricist and vocalist for Dream Void. We talk about Dream Void's latest release, "Sanctimonious", as well as Diablo 2, Shadow of Intent, tattoos and mama's home cookin'! Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 8

I hope you all enjoyed Episode 8 of Steel Legion Podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we covered a whole Hell of a lot of in-depth topics, so below I've compiled a list of links that follow the episode in chronological order (for the most part). Hopefully you can dig a bit deeper into this exhaustive topic. And don't forget that last link - Shea's neo-folk/black-metal-esc/spoken-word/poetry musical project!

Deferred Gnosis Podcast

LaVeyan Satanism

Left-hand Path

The Bornless Ritual

Behemoth's "O Father O Satan O Sun!"

Aleister Crowley

Ordo Templi Orientis

Abramelin the Mage

Goetic Spirits of King Solomon

Thelmites

Biblical Satan

Satan as Pan

Satan as Dionysus

Satan takes on characteristics of other culture's deities

Satan as the Liberator

Satan's Similarities with Loki

Early Gnostic Christians Views on Yahweh/Yaldabaoth

Parallels between Lucifer and Jesus

Satan as the Light-Bringer

Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost

Satan and Prometheus

Satan in Islam

Ozzy's "Mr. Crowley"

Jimmy Page's Interest in the Occult

Ghost & Papa Emeritus

Slayer's Tom Araya

Bathory (band)

Pentagram (band)

Black Metal (second wave)

Until the Light Takes Us (film)

Lords of Chaos (book)

Varg Vikernes (musician)

Gaahl (musician)

Wardruna (band)

Gorgoroth (band)

Ihsahn (musician)

The Norse Pantheon

Hecate Enthroned

The Satanic Temple

Dissection (band)

Watain (band)

Deathspell Omega (band)

Satan and Gnosticism

Temple of the Black Light

Screamin Jay Hawkins (musician)

Zeal and Ardor (band)

Shea's Pick of the Month (music) - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem

Shea's Pick of the Month (film) - The Ninth Gate

Keifer's Pick of the Month - Arctic Thunder by Darkthrone

Sam's Pick of the Month - Axis Mundi by Decrepit Birth

Shea Bile on bandcamp

Episode 8: The Role of Satan in Metal, with Special Guest Host Shea Bile

Sam and Keif sit down with special guest host Shea Bile (host of the Deferred Gnosis Podcast) to tackle some controversial questions: Why are Satanic imagery & lyrics so common within the metal scene? What is the role that this provocative figure has within heavy metal? And how (in the Hell) and why did metal get to this point? So, join us as we head down a fascinating and thought provoking Left-Hand Path. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 7

I hope you all enjoyed Episode 7 of Steel Legion Podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we know how it is to hear a band's name or album title and not know how to spell it or even remember it and we covered a lot of bands. So here's some links if you'd like to dig deeper into Episode 7 (and if you like something, go buy the album and support the artists!).

Dead in a Meadow, band of Mason T.

Album Reviewed: "The Gathering Swarm" by ATOLL

Summer Prognosis Tour, featuring:
Prog/Tech-death Stevie: Tethys
Vow of Volition
Apotheon
Seren

Stevie's breakout: "Sentient" by Dissonance in Design

Black Metal Stevie: "The Alchemist" by Ashen Horde

Tech-death Stevie: "Birthing Homunculi" by Equipoise

Biggest non-metal influence on Stevie: "Black Holes and Revelations" by Muse

Stevie's Death Row Meal: Dragon Rolls

Stevie's dream: To be a Ghost type trainer in Pokemon

Stevie's curse word of choice

Stevie's next tattoo: Majora's Mask

Episode 7: Interview with Stevie Boiser of Ashen Horde, Equipoise and Tethys

Sam and Keif sit down with Stevie Boiser, front man of three awesome bands: Ashen Horde, Equipoise and Tethys! We also review Atoll's album, "The Gathering Horde", with audience member Mason Timosko and finish out the episode with a killer track from Missouri's own Gravehuffer! From prog-death, to black metal, to tech-death, to slam and crust/sludge we cover the gamut this episode. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Episode 6: Interview with Warbringer's John Kevill

Sam and Keif sit down with John Kevill, vocalist for the almighty Warbringer. Everything is on the table, music, history and other existential thoughts. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 5

I hope you all enjoyed Episode 5 of Steel Legion Podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we know how it is to hear a band's name or album title and not know how to spell it or even remember it and we covered a lot of bands. So here's some links if you'd like to dig deeper into Episode 5 (and if you like something, go buy the album and support the artists!).


Equipoise's debut EP: Birthing Homunculi

Learn more about (and maybe donate to) Jason Becker and his fight against ALS

Undrask's bad ass debut album: Battle Through Time

Undrask's 2015 debut EP

Horrible Quantum Leap clothing

Undrask's Longhammer music video

Red Hook Brewery's Longhammer IPA - the inspiration for the song

The Last Reign - Melodic Death Metal Band from Buffalo, NY

Duskmorn (atmospheric black metal)

Malphas (melodic death metal)

Nathan East, bass player

North Carolina vs Kansas City BBQ

NOT SAFE FOR WORK "La Petite Mort" music video by King 810

Episode 5: Interview with Undrask’s Erik, Darryl and Daniel

Sam and Keif sit down to talk with Erik Collier, Darryl Dewitt and Daniel McCoy from Undrask! We discuss their awesome debut album, Battle Through Time, as well as the Melodeath scene, BBQ, Beer…and somehow end up on the topic of porno-music-videos. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 4

So this one was a big one and we're not even gonna attempt to link all the bands we talked about. However, I've included the Wikipedia links to the subgenres we covered as a starting point. They do a fair job with listing some bands to check out. Beneath that I've included links for songs we think are worth checking out in that subgenre. Happy hunting!

Wikipedia list of Subgenres, sorted alphabetically

The Metal Archives - Encyclopedia Metallum

Traditional Heavy Metal
Sam's pick - Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Dave's pick - Nervous Man by Armored Saint
Brandon's pick - Rainbow in the Dark by Dio


New Wave of British Heavy Metal
Sam's pick - The Trooper by Iron Maiden
Brandon's pick - 2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden


Glam Metal
Sam's pick - Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard
Brandon's pick - I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness


Thrash Metal
Sam's pick - Silhouettes by Warbringer
Brandon's pick - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying by Megadeath
Dave's pick - Succubus by Coven
Dave's pick for Death/Thrash - Out of the Body by Pestilence



Groove Metal
Sam's pick - Locust by Machine Head
Brandon's pick - Lighthouse by Pitch Black Forecast
Dave's pick - Down for Life by Testament


Death Metal
Sam's pick - Beaten From Belief by Morbid Vomit
Keifer's pick - Carrionshrine by Cryptopsy
Brandon's pick - Priests of Sodom by Cannibal Corpse
Dave's pick - Never Say My Name by Vader


Melodic Death Metal
Sam's pick - Lethe by Dark Tranquility
Brandon's pick - The Oppressed Will Rise by Mors Principium Est
Dave's pick - World Divides by The Absence


Technical Death Metal
Sam's pick - Fundamental Process by Beyond Creation
Brandon's pick - Wanderer from the Fold by Solution .45
Dave's pick - Occurrence Concealed by Invocator


Black Metal
Sam's pick - Sculptor of Flesh by 1349
Keifer's pick - Carving a Giant by Gorgoroth
Brandon's pick - I Am the Black Wizards by Emperor


Blackgaze/Post-Black Metal
Sam's pick - Inkhaust by Mord'a'Stigmata
Brandon's pick - God Alone by Alter of Plagues


Grindcore
Sam's pick - Pacific Grim by Cattle Decapitation
Brandon's pick - The Prophets of Loss by Cattle Decapitation


Symphonic Metal
Sam's pick - Ruins by Shade Empire
Brandon's pick - Lilth Immaculate by Cradle of Filth
Dave's pick - Starfire Burning Upon the Ice Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule by Bal-Sagoth


Folk Metal
Sam's pick - King by Eluveitie
Brandon's Pick - The Widdershins Jig by Skyclad
Dave's pick - Oh Grand Old Alaric! by Adolf Castle


Viking Metal
Sam's pick - Destroyer of the Universe by Amon Amarth
Brandon's pick - Broken Sword by Bathory
Dave's pick - The Heathenish Foray by Falkenbach


Progressive Metal
Sam's pick - Pyrrhic by Ne Obliviscaris
Brandon's pick - Empire by Queensryche


Djent Metal
Sam's pick - Eden by TesseracT
Brandon's pick - One Hand Killing by Twelve Foot Ninja


Avant-garde Metal
Sam's pick - Clockworks by Meshuggah
Brandon's pick - My Ass is on Fire by Mr. Bungle


Doom Metal
Sam's pick - The Gathering of Black Moths by Swallow the Sun
Brandon's pick - Relentless by Pentagram
Dave's pick - Heresiarch by Atlantean Kodex


Drone Metal
Sam's pick - Death Becomes You by Sunn O)))
Brandon's pick - Rise to Glory by Earth


Funereal Doom Metal
Sam's pick - ...In the Mist by Shape of Despair
Brandon's pick - The Will to Die by Funeral


Sludge Metal
Sam's pick - Falling While Rising by Crowbar


Alternative Metal
Sam's pick - Forty Six & 2 by Tool
Brandon's pick - We Die Young by Alice in Chains


Nu Metal
Sam's pick - Bored by Deftones
Brandon's pick - Our Apologies by Mushroomhead


Rap Metal
Sam's pick - Bring the Noise by Anthrax featuring Public Enemy
Brandon's pick - Freedom by Rage Against the Machine


Metalcore
Keifer's pick - A New Language by Coalesce


Mathcore
Keifer's pick - Pig Latin by Dillinger Escape Plan
Deathcore
Sam's pick - The Purest Strain of Hate by Thy Art is Murder
Brandon's pick - Antman by The Red Chord


Neoclassical Metal
Sam's pick - Moonlight Sonata (Act 3) by Exmortus
Dave's pick - Rondo a la Turca by Stormwitch


Power Metal
Sam's pick - Soldier of 3 Armies by Sabaton

And fine, Keifer...here's the damn Babymetal Link


Picks of the Month:
Dave's pick (music) - The album Devil's Seed by Wolf (song: Shark Attack)
Dave's pick (film) - Hard Ticket to Hawaii
Brandon's pick - The album "Wasted Mind" from Direct Hit (song: Paid in Brains)
Keifer's pick - The album "When Life Comes to Death" by Young and in the Way
Sam's pick (music) - The album "Primordial" by Shadow of Intent (song: The Aftermath in Jat-Krula)
Sam's pick (film) - Until the Light Takes Us

Episode 4: The Heavy Metal Subgenre Round Table Discussion

Sam and Keif sit down with friends Brandon and Dave for Episode 4 to discuss, debate and break each other's balls over the endless list of Heavy Metal subgenres! From the early days of Sabbath, to Thrash, Death, Tech, Prog, Black, Nu, Babymetal and everything in between. Thanks, and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 3

I hope you all enjoyed Episode 3 of Steel Legion Podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we know how it is to hear a band's name or album title and not know how to spell it or even remember it and we covered a lot of bands. So here's some links if you'd like to dig deeper into Episode 3 (and if you like something, go buy the album and support the artists!).

Seraphical Euphony, the awesome debut album by Hyperion!

Dawn - criminally underrated Swedish metal band according to Erik and Anders

Erik's non-metal music pick: Glenn Stafford - Warcraft 2 Soundtrack

Anders' non-metal music pick: Herbert von Karajan conducting Beethoven

The band that got Erik and Anders into metal: Iron Maiden - The Best of the Beast

Pick 'Em Winner: At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul

Pick 'Em Runner-up: In Flames - The Jester Race

Pick 'Em Runner-up: Dark Tranquility - The Gallery

Episode 3: Interview w/Erik Molnar & Anders Peterson of Hyperion

Sam and Keif interview Erik Molnar and Anders Peterson from Sweden's Hyperion for Episode 3! Topics include the writing process behind their debut album, the importance of lyrics (especially when using gingerbread dough and rum as lyric-writing fuel) and a debate about the albums that defined the Gothenburg scene. Thanks and Enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 2

I hope you all enjoyed episode 2 of Steel Legion podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we know how it is to hear a band's name or album title and not know how to spell it or even remember it and we covered a lot of bands. So here's some links if you'd like to dig deeper into Episode 2 (and if you like something, go buy the album and support the artists!).

NEW RELEASES:

Nidingr - "On Dead Body Shore" from their new album "The High Heat Licks Against Heaven"

Mors Principium Est - "Apprentice of Death" from their new album "Embers of A Dying World"

Undrask - "Longhammer" from their new album "Battle Through Time"

Mord'a'stigmata - their new album "Hope"

Felix Martin - "Bom" from his new album "Mechanical Nations"

SMALL BAND SPOTLIGHT:

Priests of Ba'al - "Divining The Akashic Records For Satanic Apotheosis"

Pronostic - "An Atomic Decision"

PICK OF THE MONTH:

Keif's pick - For Honor on PS4

Sam's pick - Louder Than Hell - The Definitive Oral History of Heavy Metal

Episode 2: Grammy's and Metal? Concert crashing and other rants.

Join Sam and Keif yet again for Episode 2! The guys go over some new releases, spotlight a couple of small bands and get sidetracked discussing getting dragged to non-metal concerts by the ladies in their lives. Then, Sam rants about metal at the Grammy’s as he and Keif debate the value of exposing metal to the masses vs. keeping it out of the mainstream. Thanks and enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Behind Episode 1

I hope you all enjoyed episode one of Steel Legion podcast! If you haven't listened to it yet, check it out HERE

But we know how it is to hear a band's name or album title and not know how to spell it or even remember it and we covered a lot of bands while breaking down the best of 2016. So here's some links if you'd like to dig deeper into Episode 1, including a link to visit Allegaeon's Patreon page. If any bands made both our lists I've linked different tracks just for some variety and for you to get a feel for our personal tastes (and if you like something, go buy the album and support the artists!).

Keifer's Best of the Rest:
Witherscape
Uada
Ulcerate
Mistur
Drudkh

Sam's Best of the Rest:
Winterfylleth; track - Ensigns of Victory
The Algorithm
Vektor
Meshuggah
Hope for the Dying
Fallujah

Top 10 lists:

Keif's 10: Frontierer
Sam's 10: Wardruna

Keif's 9: Harakiri for the Sky
Sam's 9: Amon Amarth

Kefi's 8: The Dillinger Escape Plan
Sam's 8: Hyperion; track - Moral Evasion

Keif's 7: Waldgeflüster
Sam's 7: Be'lakor

Keif's 6: Winterfylleth; track - The Dark Hereafter
Sam's 6: Insomnium

Keif's 5: Panopticon
Sam's 5: Metallica

Keif's 4: Anaal Nathrakh
Sam's 4: Exmortus

Keif's 3: Allegaeon; track - Subdivisions (Rush cover)
Sam's 3: Vale of Pnath

Keif's 2: Hyperion; track - Flagellum Dei
Sam's 2: First Fragment

Keif's 1: Ihsahn
Sam's 1: Allegaeon; track - All Hail Science

Keif's Track of the Year: Nails - You will Never Be One of Us
Sam's Track of the Year: Allegaeon - Proponent for Sentience II, The Algorithm

Support Allegaeon on Patreon BY CLICKING HERE

Episode 1: The Best of 2016 and Interview with Allegaeon’s Greg Burgess

Join Sam and Keif for our premiere, mammoth of an episode! We’ll review our Top 10 albums of the year, discuss other great ones that didn’t quite make this list and pick our Track of the Year. After that we sit down with Greg Burgess from Allegaeon for an in-depth interview. Thanks and Enjoy!

To listen via SoundCloud, click HERE

To listen via iTunes, click HERE

Welcome to Steel Legion Podcast

Happy to announce the launching of Steel Legion Podcast! We'll talk heavy metal, conduct some interviews, argue, rant and rave.

Episode one coming later this month and we're pumped to be interviewing Greg Burgess, shredding axe-man from melodeath/tech masters Allegaeon!

In the meantime, listen to these wizards at work: 

Allegaeon: Grey Matter Mechanics from the album Proponent for Sentience