Metal Shop's Backstage Pass

Portland metalcore band Dying Wish has had a crazy past 12 months. I caught up with vocalist Emma Boster to chat about some crazy tours in 2021, their debut full length "Fragments of a Bitter Memory," growing up singing, her love of basketball, upcoming tours and much more. 

I spoke with Leah and Joseph from Northwest Terror Fest about the return of NWTF in 2022, what it takes to run a fest, learning experiences, how to curate a good lineup and much more. Northwest Terror Fest 2022 is going down June 30th – July 2nd at Neumo’s in Seattle.

Lord Ahriman is the founding guitarist and current bassist of the groundbreaking Swedish black metal band Dark Funeral. I chatted with him about their upcoming album “We are the Apocalypse”, his musical inspirations, early influences and favorite artists, being stuck in Cancun at the beginning of the pandemic and much more.

Tacoma technical death metal band Aethereus is back with a badass new album called “Leiden.” The album is out today (January 14th), so we dissect the making of the album and the evolution of the band. Stay tuned until the end to hear an epic song from “Leiden.”

Aeon is a death metal band from Sweden that returned from a nine year hiatus in 2021 to release “God Ends Here” on Metal Blade Records. I spoke with guitarist Zeb Nilsson about discovering metal at just 5 years old, his love of the band WASP, his views on religion, scars on his body and more. “God Ends Here” is available now!

I spoke with John Olgeirsson,  the vocalist of Icelandic tech death band Ophidian I about their new album “Desolate”, living in San Diego while his band is in Iceland, working with both Season of Mist and Unique Leader, nerdy stuff, metal t shirts, staying sane during the pandemic, growing up in San Diego, vocal influences and much more.

Happy Holidays! I caught up with a good friend Brian Ortiz from Xibalba. We chatted about their most recent album, the return to shows, his side projects Tzompantli and Mortuary Punishment, the Sopranos and more.

Brann Dailor is an incredibly talented drummer who just happens to draw clowns. I spoke with Brann about the new Mastodon album “Hushed and Grim,” drawing a clown a day during lockdown, 70’s prog, Alice in Chains and much more.

After Eyehategod was forced to cancel their Seattle show on November 30th due to Covid, I decided to check in with vocalist Mike IX about how they’re all doing. We also discussed their new album, some of his favorite New Orleans based punk bands, being the last metal band to play Bumbershoot, his medical issues and transplant, Dimebag stories and much more.

Dead Heat is a southern California based crossover hardcore/thrash band who released a KILLER album “World at War” this year. I spoke with the band prior to their record release shows and we touched on a variety of subjects including the definition of “Nardcore,” being a band during the pandemic, early musical influences and much more.