I'm back! After a nice month-long break, the show is back, and I get into what I've been up to since the July break, and how seeing Ghost live made me realize that they are absolutely the live act to see right now in rock/metal music. I dive into where they rank on my live shows list, and what makes their performance and production the top standard of live rock acts today. 

On todays short and sweet episode, I finally weigh in on the Pantera "reunion" or better said, "Celebration" of the band. In the past year since the line up of original members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown, joined by Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, have started playing shows as Pantera, of course without the iconic Abbott brothers Vinnie Paul and Dime, there has been reasonable speculation towards if this is a good thing for the band's legacy, the fans, and everything in between. I dive into what I think finally, how it has impacted me as a HUGE Pantera fan, and how this celebration impacts the lives of Pantera and metal fans alike. Enjoy, and comment what you think and how this whole celebration has made you feel!

Yesterday I proudly celebrated 3 years of sobriety! I thought it was only right that this week, I do a personal episode of the podcast about what I’ve learned so far in my journey of a lifetime of sobriety. I share any struggles, the many wins, the emotions, the physical gains, and everything in between. Getting sober changed my life, so much so for the better, that I always want to be open about it and always want to share my journey. I hope this episode is one you find some lessons in, some new knowledge, or just enjoy hearing about a human experience. Thankful for life today, and thankful for being able to share my experiences on this podcast! 

A very special episode as I film this one for you to view on YouTube as well as listen to on all your favorite podcast streaming platforms! The headline says it all, the new Avenged Sevenfold album is great. It initially had such strong hate for it, but realized, hooks in the songs were stuck in my head, did I really hate it that much? I break down why it's actually great for metal, why obscure albums like this break awful musical cycles in the genre, and how bands with new horizons, yet reminders of their classic sound, maintain and continue such a strong presence and rewarding career. Special shout out to Hangman's Park once again, who inspired this episode with their unique and creative style as well. Thanks for the support, and stay metal. 

Today I’m back with a very special 30th EPISODE! Joined by the amazingly talented and awesome Hangman’s Park. We dive deep into their new EP “The Concrescence”  and I figure out where they got the inspiration, how the recording process went, how they came up with so many creative ideas, and what might be next after such a creatively cool, and technically impressive genre-bending EP. This new EP really brings together their fun personalities, with their impressive musical talent and I’m so excited they came on and let me break this down with them!

Today I reflect on how much I've been trying to focus on re setting my life and not working 24/7. As an artist/creator I think I have spent a lot of time working hard on all of my passions to eventually be able to do all of them for a living, but with that, lost some of the joy and relaxation I used to get from solely doing them for fun, not on a schedule, just on when it would make me happy and enjoy it. I talk about how I've been trying to get back to that nice balance of enjoying everything for fun of it, while giving time to relaxing, existing, and spending time with people. I think this is something that not only artists/musicians may feel, but something we all as busy professionals with bills, lives, families, homes, etc.  may feel. I hope this is a thought-provoking episode, and you enjoy hearing about how we are all trying to find balance for a happy life and also surviving.

On this week's informative solo episode, I give insight to putting together your own efficient home studio! I recommend some gear I use/love, what I think is most effective/efficient, and what's most important, what gets me to create quickly! This is a great look into how to get your art created fast and effectively, with a super simple set up, and very little learning curve. Whether you're creating for fun, jamming,  making video content, or are in a band and making demos/mixes, this is all info that I wish I would've had, that definitely would've jump started the creating from home process for me. I hope this is helpful to you, and thanks so much for the support and listening. Have a metal Tuesday!

On this very special episode, I switch things up by introducing the episode quickly, and letting you listen to our new song "Snakeskin" in its entirety. After that, I dive into what it was like to collaborate for the first time on a release with Dark harbor since joining, the message of the song, the artwork by Joseph, suggestions we had from James of Pine Box, and just overall, all of the hands we had contributing really to the final product you've heard. I shout out everyone specifically in this episode and I want to thank you all for making this an incredible release for us, and for all of the incredible feedback since the release. I also dive into the incredible collaborative effort between my band mates and I, and just how amazing it is to get to work with the people I do every week. Stream and Enjoy Snakeskin everywhere you listen to music, as well as Youtube, and thanks for listening to this special episode of the podcast.

This week I got to do my first ever listener question solo episode! I had a question on how I practice at home, get my ideas logged, sent out to band mates, and how I collaborate in general all from home. This was super exciting for me to do, and I hope that this becomes a regular thing! So feel free to DM me on my socials @metalthrashingbuddy on everything, or ask the question in the Q & A section below the episode,  if you have any questions regarding anything you would like me to answer on a solo episode of the podcast, and this would be a super fun way for me to do solo episodes when I don't have a guest! On this episode I cover how I've gone about practicing at home, recording ideas at home, and sending those ideas out to my band mates, in both the most advanced way, and simple way! So, I hope this first ever listener question episode helps you all out in your creative journey! Stay metal!

This week Mr. Devin McCulloch of Gouged is back on a call with me to discuss how the VERY FIRST GOUGED SHOW WENT! Gouged is finally playing live and the whole scene is super excited as well as all the boys in the band. We get into how the show went, how great it is to see familiar faces at shows, playing with your friends, and we also dive into how excited we are about Cold Bloom Fest 2 being announced, which will be July 1st at El Corazone, and thrown by the very awesome Joseph Wafford ( who will be back on soon for an even more in depth look into the Festival), featuring Dark Harbor, Gouged, and a full day of other heavy PNW bands that we absolutely love. Shout out to Gouged, Devin, Hangman's Park, Primordial Atrocity, Joseph Wafford, my boys in Dark Harbor, Pine Box, Groundfeeder, and all the other amazing PNW bands we bring up in this episode and the people who make music so fun. Last but not least, THANK YOU TO THE FANS! Thank you for listening as always, and thank you for making my week always so metal and fun!