Chris Akin Presents

There’s never been a time when you could find more information faster—and Andrew Hudson thinks that might be exactly what’s screwing everything up.

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The Harlot guitarist opens up about the overwhelming flood of information, misinformation, algorithms and clickbait that makes even the simplest story impossible to take at face value. Why do people automatically believe the version that agrees with them? Have we gotten so buried in bullshit that we’ve stopped caring about what’s actually true?

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And just when you think the conversation is done going down that rabbit hole, Andrew gets into how technology is changing music, why discovering new bands has become harder, and the bizarre future of AI-generated music.

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It’s a hell of a conversation about truth, technology, music and the sheer amount of noise coming at us every damn day.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

SickSense isn’t exactly interested in staying in its lane—and the new Funerals EP makes that painfully obvious.

Vicky Psarakis opens up about the band’s darker musical direction, the surprisingly personal story behind A Moment of Violence, and why chasing whatever happens to be commercially popular can be a fast track to sounding like everybody else.

Then the conversation gets downright nasty when AI music enters the picture. Suno, Spotify, musicians skipping the hard work, endless AI-generated albums and the question nobody seems to want to answer: what happens to music when the humans stop being necessary?

Add a new North American tour and a completely DIY approach to keeping the band alive, and this interview goes a hell of a lot deeper than simply talking about a new EP.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

What if one of the biggest musical revolutions in history started because a DJ was pissed off that the best part of a record was always over too damn fast?

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That’s where this conversation gets really interesting.

Grandmaster Flash goes deep into the experimentation, science and sheer ingenuity behind the techniques that helped build hip-hop—from extending drum breaks and creating a musical bed for MCs to throwing park parties with makeshift sound systems long before the record industry understood what was happening.

He also explains how hip-hop escaped New York, why it took so long for the mainstream to recognize what had been created, and why so many of the people who helped build the culture still aren’t remembered the way they should be.

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And then there’s the really crazy part: techniques invented in the 1970s are now embedded in rock, metal, pop and electronic music all over the planet.

It’s a hell of a story—and Birth of a Culture finally puts much of it on paper.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

Walking into Asia as the new vocalist means stepping directly into the crosshairs of fans who know every note, every lyric and every inflection.

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Harry Whitley doesn’t shy away from that pressure. He talks about the John Wetton comparison, the challenge of performing the classic songs, and what changed when he finally got the chance to help create brand-new Asia music with Geoff Downes.

Then there’s Indigo — the album that puts his own stamp on the band and forces the obvious question: can a new era of Asia actually satisfy fans who grew up with the classics?

Harry also gets into working with some seriously intimidating musicians, the band’s chemistry behind the scenes, touring plans, fan reaction and why buying the music still matters in the streaming era.

There’s a lot more going on here than just another new album interview.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

Cloven Hoof has been pounding away at heavy metal for decades, but Lee Payne says something very interesting is happening right now: the band may be in the strongest creative period of its entire career.

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In this conversation, Lee gets into the new album Never a Prophet in Your Own Land, why Cloven Hoof keeps pushing itself instead of playing it safe, how Harry Conklin completely changed the band’s songwriting possibilities, and why the new record was far from the end of the road.

There’s also the story behind that album title—and why it connects to Cloven Hoof’s history, the British metal press, and the late Russ North in a way that’s much more personal than you’d expect.

Then we get into songwriting inspiration, cancelled touring plans, the evolution of heavy metal, and why Lee believes the music has survived for nearly 50 years despite everything the industry has thrown at it.

If you’re a fan of Cloven Hoof, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, classic heavy metal, or just musicians who still have something to say, this one is worth your time.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

Frozen Crown isn’t exactly backing away from the power metal formula — they’re turning the damn thing up.

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Federico Mondelli explains why The Legend of the Six Kings sounds darker, rougher and more aggressive than what came before, how playing live changed the band’s songwriting, and why one Yngwie Malmsteen song helped define the direction.

Then it gets even more interesting: building the band’s fantasy world, finally having the money to bring those ideas to life, touring America with Kamelot, and why Federico refuses to regret the earlier records.

This is a great look inside the head of a guy who clearly has a very specific vision — and isn’t afraid to say no when somebody screws with it.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

Nearly 30 years later, Fear Factory’s Obsolete isn’t sounding quite as fictional as it once did.

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On this episode of CHRIS AKIN PRESENTS..., Burton C. Bell takes a deep dive into the story behind Obsolete and the completely different way he’s now bringing that story to an audience.

Burton explains “Obsolete by Word of Mouth,” his intimate performance built around the original material he wrote for the album, including his handwritten and typed manuscripts, the stories behind the songs, and a theatrical reading of the Obsolete narrative.

And here’s where things get weird.

Ideas that sounded like futuristic science fiction when Obsolete was released can now hit a lot closer to home. Burton talks about his fascination with apocalyptic science fiction, how writers often use imagined futures to reflect the world they’re actually living in, and why revisiting his own material today has produced some pretty startling reactions from audiences.

He also goes back to the making of Obsolete and tells the story of how Fear Factory’s version of Gary Numan’s “Cars” came together — including Numan flying to Vancouver to record his vocals, knocking them out in one take, and then hanging out with Burton for an unlikely trip to the movies to see Dark City.

But Burton isn’t simply cashing in on another anniversary by playing the album live.

Instead, he’s created an intentionally small and personal experience limited to roughly 50 people, where the audience becomes part of the performance and the story is delivered without the distance of a massive concert.

So after almost three decades, the question is pretty damn obvious:

Was Obsolete really ahead of its time?

Watch and decide for yourself.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

Nailbomb should have been a footnote in metal history. Instead, 32 years later, Point Blank is back onstage—and it still sounds pissed off.

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Igor Amadeus Cavalera gets into why this record has survived, what it means to step into Alex Newport’s role, and why a new generation of fans is suddenly discovering music that was supposed to be buried in the ’90s.

But the conversation goes way beyond Nailbomb. Igor talks about growing up a Cavalera, dealing with the “nepotism” label, watching his father continue to destroy stages decades into his career, and the brutal family history surrounding the Sepultura split and the birth of Soulfly.

And just when you think the Nailbomb story is over, Igor hints that there’s more coming.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

Blood White aren’t exactly trying to blend into the metal crowd—and that’s the point.

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The German band has built an entire world around From Hell, combining crushing modern metal with a bizarre white-and-red medical aesthetic, theatrical characters, and songs that aren’t afraid to get seriously dark. But behind the masks, there’s something a lot more interesting going on.

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They talk about creating Blood White, why their visual identity came together so quickly, what happened when they hit the road with Lordi, the songs “Before I Die” and “Fear,” and what it would mean to eventually step onto a monster stage like Wacken.

And if you’re wondering whether this band has the songs to back up the image… yeah. There’s a reason this record caught our attention.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.

A massive four-octave vocal range, a 50-piece orchestra, and a classic ballad sitting in a vault for three decades. What made a legendary frontman keep one of his absolute best vocal performances buried while a pop megastar dominated the airwaves with the exact same track? From dodging industry politics to randomly tracking duets with grunge and metal heavyweights on a whim, this sit-down pulls back the curtain on pure vocal power, studio chaos, and why streaming pennies are killing the music scene.

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All comments are merely the opinions of the people speaking them, are for comical performance, and are in no way stated as factual.