After a lengthy hiatus, Feckin' Metal returns to discuss some newsworthy topics, such as the final Black Sabbath show, the upcoming Seven Sisters album, and the return of Irish metallers, Stereo Nasty. I also give my terribly-late and frankly no longer relevant list of favourite releases from 2024. It's great to be back!

Clips featured in episode:

1. Seven Sisters - "Heart Of The Sun" - Heart Of The Sun  [Digital Single] (2025)

2. Stereo Nasty - "Black Widow" - Nasty By Nature (2015)

3. Judas Priest - "Devil In Disguise" - Invincible Shield (2024)

4. Judas Priest - "Crown Of Horns" - Invincible Shield (2024)

5. Midnight Force - "Choseon" - Severan (2024)

6. Midnight Force - "Severan" - Severan (2024)

7. Angel Sword - "Weekend Warrior" - World Fighter (2024)

8. Angel Sword - "World Fighter" - World Fighter (2024)

9. "Guile's Theme Street Fighter II Guitar Cover" - (Posted to YouTube by FamilyJules)

10. "Ken's Theme Street Fighter II Guitar Cover" - (Posted to YouTube by FamilyJules)

11. Amethyst - "Queen Of A Thousand Burning Hearts" - Throw Down The Gauntlet (2024)

12. Amethyst - "Serenade (Under The Rising Moon)" - Throw Down The Gauntlet (2024)

13. Writhen Hilt - "Death Undone" - Ancient Sword Cult (2024)

14. Writhen Hilt - "Sorcerer's Gate" - Ancient Sword Cult (2024)

15. Dolmen Gate - "Retribution" - Gateways Of Eternity (2024)

16. Dolmen Gate - "Chambers Of Magic" - Gateways Of Eternity (2024)

17. Pulp - "Common People" - Different Class (1995)

18. Coltre - "Feast Of The Outcast" - To Watch With Hands… To Touch With Eyes (2024)

19. Coltre - "Rat Race" - To Watch With Hands… To Touch With Eyes (2024)

20. Freeways - "Can't Deny Destiny" - Dark Sky Sanctuary (2024)

21. Freeways - "Private Myth" - Dark Sky Sanctuary (2024)

22. Heavy Sentence - "Warriors Of Madness" - Warriors Of Madness (2024)

23. Helvetets Port - "Wasteland Warriors" - Warlords (2024)

24. Helvetets Port - "Golden Axe" - Warlords (2024)

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I catch up with Rob, Tim, and Jarvis from Cirith Ungol/Night Demon regarding recent happenings with both bands, and look towards next week's Frost & Fireland Festival in Limerick, Ireland. Learn how the fellas nearly caught Venereal Disease in Australia, made women cry in China, and what James Bond has in common with Cirith Ungol. We also discuss Night Demon's recent touring activity and support slots with Bruce Dickinson and Michael Schenker. 

On this episode, I chat to Dave Morrissey: guitarist, and founding-member of Irish trad-metallers Celtic Legacy. This band have been around the block more than a few times and have suffered numerous setbacks, but they're still standing. Dave and his counterpart, Dave "Slim" Boylan have kept the ship afloat during many trials and tribulations, also known as the "Celtic Legacy Curse". Throughout all of this, they have continued to release excellent albums, and kept a positive attitude. Celtic Legacy are survivors. They will not back down and will not take no for an answer. And they may just have their best line-up yet. 

On the latest episode of Feckin' Metal, I chat to Graham Killin, one of the two guitarists of NWOBHM band, Bleak House. If you're not familiar with the band, this is the perfect place to start. Formed in the early 1970s, in Hertfordshire, England, they survived many name changes, and the emergence of punk, to release two critically-acclaimed, but relatively-obscure EPs in the 1980s, then disappeared. That was until singer Graham Shaw received a phonecall from Oliver Weinsheimer, organiser of the Keep It True Festival, in early 2021. Since then, they've been on the up and up, and we cover all bases in between.

On the latest episode of Feckin' Metal, I catch up with Steven Waddell from Oath Sc, and we discuss recent activity from his band, then delve into recent releases by Blaze Bayley and Bruce Dickinson, with a brief chat about the latest Judas Priest album/tour as well.

I also give a detailed rundown of my recent trip to Germany to attend Keep It True XXIV, and a swift rundown of Bruce Dickinson in Glasgow!

On this episode, I chat to Yves Bradler, guitarist from up-and-coming traditional heavy metal band Amethyst. Amethyst made waves in 2023 with their excellent debut EP "Rock Knights". I chat to Yves about his early exposure to rock music from listening to his parents' record collections, starting to play guitar in his teens, feeling isolated at this time due to lack of likeminded friends, then meeting a new group of people in his 20s when he started attending metal festivals. We also discuss the upcoming Amethyst album, and upcoming festival appearances and gigs for this year. Amethyst are definitely one to watch.

On this episode, I join forces with my friend Melissa from the Metal Chat Podcast to delve into the discography of the original incarnation of Sortilège. We discuss how we discovered the band, rate them against their contemporaries, and examine each of the first three releases: Sortilège, Métamorphose, and Larmes de Héros, playing clips from some of our favourite songs along the way. An ideal introduction for the uninitiated. 

This is the third and final part of my interview with DJ Neal Kay. Here, like in previous installments, we discuss many topics, including:

-Getting white labels from record companies

Buy Neal's book!

Contact Stjepan Juras at [email protected]

Clips featured in episode:

1. Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden" - The Soundhouse Tapes (1979)

Continuing on from last week, here Neal covers his first interactions with Iron Maiden, and what set them apart from the rest of the NWOBHM pack. He also talks about his various dealings with record labels and A&R folk (that's artist and repertoire, you know), how Glenn Miller's Orchestra and Buddy Holly influenced heavy metal, Def Leppard's place in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and a lot more.

Buy Neal's book!

Contact Stjepan Juras at [email protected]

Clips featured in episode:

1. The Damned - "Love Song" - Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)

This episode features the first part of a lengthy interview I conducted with DJ Neal Kay back in December of last year. Famous for his involvement in Iron Maiden's early success, Neal's name will be familiar to many. Here, Neal discusses the early start of his DJing career, and brings us right up to the point where he got a five days per week residency in The Bandwagon, home of the Heavy Metal Soundhouse, in Kingsbury, London. Along the way he tells numerous stories of his early DJing career, mentioning how he felt Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band changed the face of popular music, the influence of Leo Fender and Les Paul, working the Berlin club scene in 1969, music changing again with the evolution of disco and punk, and a serendipitous event which resulted in his five nights per week slot in the Bandwagon. Enjoy!

Buy Neal's book!

Contact Stjepan Juras at [email protected]

Clips featured in episode:

1. Iron Maiden - "Prowler" - The Soundhouse Tapes (1979)