Metal Brainiac

Vicky Psarakis said she had prepared her whole life for what proved a career opportunity. Vicky has made three albums with The Agonist and a new EP, titled "Days Before the World Wept," since replacing original vocalist Alissa White-Gluz. She has more than proven herself with a broad dynamic range and five distinct voices in her sonic pallet—a power clean, a falsetto, growls at two octave levels and a scream. On this episode, Vicky talks about her evolution as a vocalist and songwriter, her creative process within The Agonist and branching out to a second band called Sicksense.

There’s a deep history of Christian metal, and one of the leading torchbearers over the past 15 years is the metalcore band Phinehas. While the band’s early lyrics were loaded with clear Christian themes, vocalist Sean McCulloch has evolved into a much more complex songwriter. Throughout the band’s new album, titled “The Fire Itself,” McCulloch wrestles with depression, isolation and other personal battles that mask any overt nods to the Christian bible.  McCulloch talks here about his introduction to metal outside the bounds of his faith, his creative path behind the new album and his distaste for how Christianity plays out in modern politics.

Saudi Arabia is on the other side of the world from the United States, but even a repressive monarchy hasn’t kept heavy metal out of its borders. Wasted Land is from the coastal city of Jeddah and it’s one of the few metal bands that have managed to record and distribute music and attract fans and supporters beyond Saudi borders. In this conversation, guitarist Ayman Al Ghamdi and vocalist Emad Mujallid speak about finding their way to metal, building a band against oppressive governmental pressure and keeping their metallic dreams alive after more than 15 years of promise and struggle. 

Zosia West grew up in Pittsburgh’s musical theater community, and you can hear that foundation in the power she brings to her metal band, Reign of Z. Her lyrics come straight from personal experience—often of trauma and also of resilience.

In advance of her band's upcoming tour opening for Combichrist and King 810,  Zosia talks about migrating from musical theater to metal and the catharsis of her lyrics, along with some candid, behind-the-industry financial realities for any emerging band striving for bigger things.

At the beginning of 2020, technical death veterans Lorna Shore had a new vocalist, a new album and a new outlook. But beyond the damage brought by the pandemic, Lorna Shore parted with the replacement vocalist amid sexual abuse allegations against him. Founding guitarist Adam DiMicco went back to teaching guitar and battled depression. 

Behind yet another vocalist, Will Ramos, Lorna Shore recorded a new EP, “And I Return to Nothingness," helping to lift DiMicco out of his despair. In this episode, DiMicco talks about the classical influences on his playing and compositions, the challenges of the past year and plans for making a new full Lorna Shore record.

Concept albums are commonplace in metal, but what about concept bands? Drummer and songwriter Frankie Mish of the up-and-coming Michigan band Sleep Waker is today’s guest on the rebirth of Metal Brainiac.

Frankie was just 16 when he co-founded Sleep Waker with vocalist Hunter Courtright on the concept of music about sleep—or lack thereof—and all the psychological and fantastical roads where that leads.