Taime Downe is back for his first interview in a while, and the conversation covers exactly what Faster Pussycat fans want to hear: touring, the band’s legacy, the writing and recording process, and what is next. Rising out of the mid-1980s Hollywood rock scene, Faster Pussycat built its reputation on a sound that sat somewhere between glam, punk, and sleaze rock, with early staples like “Babylon,” “Bathroom Wall,” “Cathouse,” and later “House of Pain” helping define the band’s identity.  

In this interview, Taime looks back at the history of Faster Pussycat and the staying power that has kept the band going for four decades. The band’s self-titled debut and its follow-up, Wake Me When It’s Over, established Faster Pussycat as one of the standout names from the Sunset Strip era, while later releases like Whipped! and The Power and the Glory Hole showed that the band was never interested in standing still creatively. Even after all these years, Faster Pussycat has continued to tour extensively, keeping the songs alive onstage for longtime fans and newer audiences alike.  

Taime also talks about the current chapter of the band, including new music. Faster Pussycat released the single “Motorbike” in May 2025, with Taime saying he had started writing it about a decade earlier and that the band recorded it more than once before landing on the version that felt right. The release also featured a cover of the INXS song “Don’t Change” as the B-side, giving fans both a new original track and a reworked favorite through the band’s own dirty, swaggering lens.  

It is a conversation that connects the past to the present: the history, the records, the road stories, the tours, and the new single that proves Faster Pussycat is still moving forward. For fans of Taime Downe and the band, this one is a chance to hear directly from the voice that helped shape one of the most distinct acts to come out of the late-’80s hard rock scene.  

Talking with John Bush was a reminder of why he remains one of heavy metal’s most respected frontmen. In our interview, Bush discussed Armored Saint’s new album, Emotion Factory Reset, due May 22, 2026 via Metal Blade, describing it as a record that pushes the band forward while still sounding unmistakably like Armored Saint. The band’s official bio frames it as a new chapter built on diverse songwriting and a willingness to stay adventurous, while Bush has said the material expands on Punching the Sky and Win Hands Down but carries its own distinct sound and vibe.

We also looked back at the history of Armored Saint, one of Los Angeles metal’s most durable and underrated bands. Formed in the early 1980s, the group built its reputation with albums like March of the Saint and Delirious Nomad, then delivered what many fans consider a defining statement with Symbol of Salvation in 1991. Over the years, Armored Saint has endured lineup changes, industry shifts, and tragedy, including the loss of guitarist Dave Prichard, yet the band never lost its identity. That resilience is a huge part of why Armored Saint still commands such loyalty decades later.

What came through most in this conversation was Bush’s loyalty to the band and the brotherhood behind it. Even with his long and celebrated run in Anthrax, Armored Saint has always remained central to his musical identity. Now, with Emotion Factory Reset set to become the band’s ninth full-length studio album, Bush sounds energized by where Armored Saint is right now: still heavy, still evolving, and still doing things on its own terms. Not bad for a band that has spent more than forty years proving that cult status and class can hit just as hard as mainstream fame.

Chris Reifert remains one of the most important and recognizable figures in death metal history. After first making a major mark as the drummer on Death’s Scream Bloody Gore, he went on to found Autopsy in 1987, helping shape a far filthier, darker, and more depraved branch of the genre. With Autopsy, Reifert became central to the band’s unmistakable identity, combining savage drumming, sickened vocal delivery, and a songwriting approach that fused raw death metal with doom-laden atmosphere. Records like Severed Survival and Mental Funeral helped establish Autopsy as one of the most influential acts in extreme metal, with a sound that was ugly, crawling, primitive, and completely their own.

What has always separated Reifert from many of his peers is that Autopsy never felt like a museum piece. Even after decades in underground metal, the band has continued to create new material with the same diseased spirit that made them legends in the first place. Rather than simply trading on early classics, Autopsy has kept pushing forward, releasing later albums that still carry the band’s signature rot, heaviness, and warped sense of horror. Reifert’s long-running dedication to the genre has made him not only a pioneer, but also one of death metal’s most enduring lifers.

In my interview with Chris Reifert, he also made it clear that Autopsy is not standing still. He said the band plans to start work on a new album toward the end of the year, a detail that should excite longtime fans who have followed the group’s relentless run of grotesque and punishing releases. That comment speaks to what has always defined Reifert’s career: even after helping build death metal from the ground up, he is still focused on creating the next wave of sickness rather than living in the past.

For an interview introduction, Chris came across exactly as fans would expect: grounded, direct, and still completely committed to the underground spirit that made Autopsy essential in the first place. His reflections on the band’s legacy, past records, and future plans show that Autopsy continues to operate with purpose, and with the same morbid heart that has kept them vital for so many years.

In this interview, I spoke with HansFyrste (vocals) and Erik “HaaN” Sæther (guitars) of Svarttjern, the Oslo black metal band they founded in 2003. The conversation digs into the band’s history, their evolution from early demos into full-length releases like Misanthropic Path of Madness, Dødsskrik, and Shame Is Just a Word, and the path that has kept Svarttjern a respected name in Norwegian black metal.

No filler. Just a proper talk with both men about the band, the records, and the road behind Svarttjern.

For heavy music fans, Kenny Hickey needs little introduction. Best known as the guitarist and vocalist from Type O Negative, Hickey helped shape one of the most distinctive sounds in gothic and doom metal. Now, he has returned with a new project, SUN DONT SHINE, a band that brings together veteran musicians from Type O Negative, Crowbar, and Down. Alongside Hickey are Johnny Kelly, Kirk Windstein, and Todd Strange, creating a lineup rooted in doom, sludge, and classic heavy rock sensibilities. 

SUN DONT SHINE is not just another side project. The band has been described as a meeting point between the bleak weight of doom metal and a broader, more dynamic songwriting approach. Hickey has said he did not want the music to be one-dimensional or trapped in one mood, emphasizing contrast, depth, and songs that feel lived-in rather than performatively dark. He has also spoken about wanting lyrics with more real-life weight, reflecting where he is now rather than trying to recreate the mindset of earlier decades. 

That perspective makes this project especially interesting for longtime Type O Negative fans. There is naturally a connection through Hickey and Kelly, but SUN DONT SHINE appears aimed at being its own entity rather than a nostalgia exercise. The group’s debut, From Birth To Death, positions itself as a fresh chapter built by musicians who have already left a permanent mark on heavy music and are now pushing into something more mature, reflective, and collaborative. 

What makes the band compelling is the chemistry of its members. Hickey’s melodic darkness, Kelly’s unmistakable rhythmic identity, and the Crowbar/Down side of the lineup give SUN DONT SHINE a foundation that feels both heavy and seasoned. Reports on the band’s formation describe it as growing out of collaboration among artists with shared roots but different regional and stylistic histories, especially the New York and New Orleans traditions that each member brings into the room. 

Finnish extreme metal innovators …And Oceans join the show for a conversation about one of the most distinctive and unpredictable careers in underground metal. Rising in the mid-1990s out of the ashes of death metal outfit Festerday, the band built its name by fusing symphonic black metal with industrial, electronic, and experimental elements, refusing to stay in one lane for very long. Their catalog has moved from the early ferocity of The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts and The Symmetry of I – The Circle of O to the more futuristic and abrasive territory of A.M.G.O.D. and Cypher, making them one of Finland’s more adventurous extreme bands.  

In this interview, the band reflects on that evolution, the creative risks that shaped their sound, and how …And Oceansreturned in recent years with a renewed focus that reconnects their symphonic black metal roots to the more expansive vision they developed over time. Since reforming under the …And Oceans name, the group has released Cosmic World Mother and As in Gardens, So in Tombs, proving that their comeback was not nostalgia but a genuine continuation of the band’s identity.  

This episode is a deep dive into artistic reinvention, longevity, and the restless mindset that has kept …And Oceans both relevant and difficult to categorize. For longtime fans, it is a chance to hear the story behind one of metal’s most shape-shifting bands; for newer listeners, it is a strong entry point into a catalog that has always balanced extremity, atmosphere, and experimentation.  

Andy Brings joins the show to talk about the new deluxe reissue of Sodom’s 1994 album Get What You Deserve, which was reissued on February 27, 2026 through BMG. The expanded edition was remastered and newly mixed by Brings himself, and it also includes the remastered/remixed Aber Bitte Mit Sahne EP, bonus live material, and additional archival content from that era. Sodom’s official channels have also been promoting Andy’s involvement through recent box set unboxing and playback features tied to the release.  

During the conversation, Andy looks back on his time in Sodom, where he served as guitarist in the early 1990s and played on Tapping the Vein and Get What You Deserve—two records that remain fan favorites for their intensity, rawness, and refusal to follow trends. In discussing the reissue, Brings has described Get What You Deserve as an intentionally hostile, stripped-down album, while Tom Angelripper has said the band was aiming for something more rooted in Venom and Motörhead, with Andy’s punk influence helping shape its short, aggressive attack.  

This episode is a chance to revisit a chaotic and underrated chapter in Sodom history with the guitarist who helped create it. From the band’s creative mindset at the time to the process of revisiting and remixing the material decades later, Andy offers an inside perspective on an album that still sounds like a bar fight pressed onto vinyl—in the best possible way.  

In this episode, I sat down with Ross Dolan of Immolation to talk about the band’s latest chapter and the upcoming release of their new album, Descent, due out April 10, 2026 through Nuclear Blast. We got into the creative process behind the record, the mindset of the band going into this release, and what fans can expect from a record already previewed by the singles “Adversary” and “Attrition.”

Ross spoke in depth about Immolation’s continued drive to push forward while staying true to the dark, punishing identity the band has built over decades. Our conversation covered the themes and intensity behind Descent, the evolution of the group’s songwriting, and how Immolation continue to stand as one of death metal’s most respected and uncompromising bands.

We also talked about the response to the new material so far, especially the early impact of “Adversary” and “Attrition,” which have already given listeners a strong sense of the atmosphere and aggression surrounding this new album. Ross gave great insight into where the band is creatively right now and why Descent feels like an important record in Immolation’s ongoing legacy.

Kyle Thomas of Exhorder joins the show for a great conversation about his voice, life touring on the road, and the reality of what goes on behind the scenes when a band is out performing night after night. He also talks about new music currently being worked on, first for Trouble and then for Exhorder, giving fans a look at what may be coming next from both camp

Ron Rinehart of Dark Angel joins the show for a conversation about the band’s history, the intensity and legacy of their music, his approach to songwriting and singing, and what may be ahead for the band in the future. Ron reflects on Dark Angel’s place in thrash metal, the creative process behind the songs, and the passion that continues to drive the band forward.

It’s a strong look at one of thrash metal’s most respected names, with insight into the past, the music, and the road ahead.