MetalCast – the ultimate metal show

Another Special, yeehaa! Yes, the Legends of Metal. Anyone can instantly name tens of bands who have had a major impact on this great style of music. We made a Pioneers episode some time ago, where we focused on bands that started or were co-responsible for starting a specific style in the world of Metal, be that Heavy, Progressive, Doom, Black and so on. Many of them are also legends of their craft, but in this new episode the emphasis lies more on the bands we all know, whether they started a genre or just helped to further promote it. As usual, we tried to make the list as varied as possible, thus spanning several styles: Judas Priest, Kreator, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Gamma Ray, Obituary, Skepticism, Dream Theater, Emperor and not to forget, Paradise Lost. Plenty of bands left for more episodes, but we’ll start with this one. Enjoy! Hosting: Polina & Kobe Tracklist: Judit, Tim, Si, Kobe, Polina 01. Judas Priest – The Sentinel 02. Kreator – No Escape 03. WASP – I Wanne Be Somebody 04. Emperor – Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times 05. Skepticism – Forge 06. Gamma Ray – Hold Your Ground 07. Obituary – Gates To Hell 08. Paradise Lost – Pity The Sadness 09. Alice Cooper – Snakebite 10. Dream Theater – Pull Me Under

Done reading books? We hope not. But it’s good to take a pause now and then, be it from reading, music, work, study, or otherwise. Which means, time for some tunes again. Variety sure is present (again) this time, from Thrash over Death and Industrial to Power. There’s new stuff from Evile, Amebix, Disma, Dischordia, Van Canto, Samael and Mastodon. Capricorns, Seventh Avenue and Slough Feg complete the list with material from last year or older. Make sure to edit your list for this year’s best releases. Enjoy and before we forget, don’t hesistate to mail us regarding our anniversary episode that’s due in November. Cheers! Hosting: Si Tracklist: Judit, Tim, Si, Kobe 01. Evile – Five Serpent’s Teeth 02. Mastodon – Stargasm 03. Dischordia – Dark Passenger 04. Amebix – God Of The Grain 05. Capricorns – Seventh Child of a Seventh Child 06. Van Canto – If I Die In Battle 07. Slough Feg – 95 Thesis 08. Seventh Avenue – Authorities 09. Samael – Pagan Trance 10. Disma – Lost in the Burial Fog

It’s been almost two years since we last read something to you. Or better, played songs based on books, whether Fantasy, History, Philosophy, etc… And while it’s good to read and here too genres are subject to taste, we tried to put in a bit of everything in terms of literary works. Authors featured in this episode are, in no specific order, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Andrew Tompkins, père Alexandre Dumas, Friedrich Schelling, Weis & Hickman, Victor Hugo, Miguel de Cervantes. Brought to you by Queensrÿche, Apocalyptica, Magic Kingdom, Paramaecium, Summoning, Tristania, Eibon La Furies, Mägo de Oz, Obscura and Pyramaze. And like before, if you like the song, then why not check out the books as well? Enjoy! Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Tim, Si, Marcus 01. Pyramaze – Caramon’s Poem 02. Tristania – My Lost Lenore 03. Obscura – Euclidean Elements 04. Mago de Oz – Molinos De Viento 05. Magic Kingdom – Monte Cristo 06. Paramaecium – Of My Darkest Hour 07. Queensryche – Before The Storm 08. Eibon la Furies – Horse Of The Invisible 09. Apocalyptica – On The Rooftop With Quasimodo 10. Summoning – The Mountain Kings Return Episode 136 – Book Special I

New weekend, new episode. Oh yeah! We’ve got stuff from several places again and this is how we travelled: Canada (2 stops) – USA (2 stops) – Faroe Islands – UK – Spain – Germany – Austria – Russia. From Black Metal over Power Metal into the realms of Doom after having gone through a whirlwind of Death Metal. Representatives include Bal-Sagoth, Seamount, Týr, Serenity, Unexpect and several more. From signed acts to unsigned acts, each worth checking out. Tune in and enjoy! Cheers! Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Judit, Tim, Si, Kobe, Marcus 01. Serenity – Far From Home 02. Nekrogoblikon – Bears 03. Seven Kingdoms – The Ones Who Breathe the Flame 04. Bal-Sagoth – Callisto Rising 05. Innerfate – Circle Of Despair 06. Seamount – Torch Of Doom 07. Emerald Mind – Breathless Kiss 08. Týr – Far From Home 09. Unexpect – Silence this Parasite 10. Augury – Jupiter to Ignite

In all those year we have presented you bands from practically all over the world, in various episodes: regular and specials (nation, books, genre, or other). And since Metal is a kind of music that knows no boundaries, especially nation-wise, we made this International Special. What’s different? Bands that sing in their native language. Spanish, French, English, Italian, Finnish, etc… etc…. the examples are legio, but it doesn’t mean they are easy to track down or rather, their music. But we managed and as a first episode in this context, there’s known and unknown stuff, but definitely worth checking out. So tune in and enjoy the linguistic variety. Hosting: Si Tracklist: Tim, Si, Marcus 01. Blaze Bayley – Madness and sorrow 02. Dragonauta – Arcana Premonicion 03. Bann – Narrenschyff 04. Dalriada – Hajdutanc 05. Darkness over depth – Gone with the mist 06. Woodscream – Chernaya Smert 07. Manigance – Larme de l’Univers 08. Inquisitor – The end of certainty: Supremum 09. Aphangak – Somos la Muerte 10. Ulcerate – Martyr of the Soil

We’ve got another interview done. Or better, our dear Si has one done with Astrohenge, a British band that plays Omni Metal. What that is, you can hear in this new episode, which also features Groove Metal from Israel (Betzefer), Black Metal from Norway (Demonaz, Kampfar), Death Metal from Canada (Beyond Creation), Thrash Metal from Finland (Bloodride), Gothic/Symphonic Metal from Germany (Midnattsol) and a bit of Doom from the US of A (Karma To Burn, Argus). Lots of 2011 songs, including one instrumental. So get set for another diverse buffet of Metal, served by your host Kobe. Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Si, Marcus, Judit Interview: Si 01. Demonaz – Over the Mountains 02. Bloodride – March of the Dead 03. Argus – A Curse on the World 04. Astrohenge – The Chanting of the Priests 05. Astrohenge – Origami Werewolf 06. Midnattsol – Spellbound 07. Betzefer – Nothing But Opinions 08. Kampfar – Ildstemmer 09. Karma to Burn – 48 10. Beyond Creation – Omnipresent Perception

We’ve played several long songs in the past, ranging from, say, 8 minutes, to 18 or something like that. In our quest for more Specials, the light dawned on Kobe who suggested we devote an entire episode to lengthy tracks of at least 15 minutes. Choices are legio, of course, in various genres. And as you may expect, we tried indeed to keep it as diverse as possible. Sadly, no ten songs this time, due to the length of the songs, but also the entire episode would be too big to download or stream. Anyway, tune in for long run of Doom, Power, Black and more. There’s more where that came from, but let’s take it episode by episode. Enjoy! Hosting: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Kobe, Si, Marcus, Polina 01. Avantasia – The Seven Angels 02. Drudkh – False Dawn 03. A Forest of Stars – Delay’s Progression 04. Rhapsody – Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness 05. Esoteric – Circle 06. Symphony X – The Odyssey

It’s Graspop weekend and so Kobe and Polina couldn’t, once again, reserve time to host. Neither could Marcus, as he too has a busy weekend. Thankfully mr. Si Smith came to the rescue to guide you through a new load of Metal. Several new releases have come out so far, and as we sort of neglect the wonderful genre that is Doom Metal, this episode has a bit more of that. This to compensate the overload of Black and Power Metal, for example, in most of the previous episodes. For the lighter souls, we did add some Hard Rock and Power Metal. Enjoy and if you couldn’t tune in the first time (because you were at a festival or some place else) there’s plenty of time afterwards. Cheers! Hosting: Si Tracklist: Tim, Kobe, Si, Marcus, Judit, Polina 01. 4th Dimension – A new dimension 02. Umbrtka – Sedesatiny 03. Rev 16:8 – Ashlands 04. Jettblack – When it comes to lovin’ 05. Electric Wizard – Black Mass 06. 1000 Funerals – Vast infinite beauty 07. Marche Funebre – The well that drowns me 08. Silva Nigra – Chains 09. This is Past – Swimming among clocks 10. Long Distance Calling – Invisible giants

One year and a half ago we made our first Historical Special (EP 139), playing songs which dealt with events or persons of the past. Bands like Ex Deo, White Skull, Primordial, Sabaton, Iced Earth and more were featured. Now we bring you our second Historical Special, which still deals with the same idea: persons and events from the past. Only this time we have bands like Silent Force, Windir (defunct, but still…), Hyperborean (put out a new album), Vesania, Marduk, the reunited Hell, Angeli di Pietra (just put out a new album), Iron Maiden, KYCPK and Imperial Vengeance. Or, in terms of music: a nice balance between melody and aggression. Enjoy! Hosting: Si Tracklist: Tim, Si, Marcus, Judit 01. Vesania – The Dawnfall (Hamartia And Hybris) 02. Hyperborean – The last stand of Leonidas and the battle of Thermopylae 03. Angeli di Pietra – Fate Of The Promised Land – Mark Of The Scimitar 04. Windir – 1184 05. Iron Maiden – Montsegur 06. Marduk – Everything bleeds 07. Hell – Plague and fyre 08. KYCPK – Бурлаки На Волге (Burlaks on the Volga) 09. Imperial Vengeance – 6th Airborne Division 10. Silent Force – Heroes

Are you missing our Specials? Want another one to bring you in a nostalgic mood or you just want to bang the head that doesn’t bang? As said before, we’ve got several in the pipeline, but we never put a timing on them. They’re “special” after all. Anyway, as busy as our beloved Brazilian god Marcus may be, his devotion and dedication to the Cast is without limits, it seems. So he dug around a little, searched the planet for ten bands that would fit the bill and created an Old School Thrash Special. Yep, no modern stuff this time, only the real thing. Good ol’ Si had the honour and pleasure to talk you through this voyage back in time. So tune in, crank up the volume and Thrash on! Hosting: Si Tracklist: Marcus 01. Rigor Mortis – Shroud of Gloom 02. Toxic – Heart Attack 03. Morbid Saint – Spectrum of Death 04. Wehrmacht – Napalm Shower 05. Ulysses Siren – Lake of Fire 06. Evildead – F.C.I. / The Awakening 07. Holy Terror – Blood of the Saints 08. Vio-lence – Kill on command 09. Gammacide – Endangered species 10. Demolition Hammer – Skull fracturing nightmare

The Bloodstock festival is due again soon. Like in previous years a massive list of bands has been booked to provide you with another diverse, brutal, melodic, and entertaining experience. Be that At The Gates, Devin Townsend Project, Exodus, Morbid Angel, Forbidden, Therion, Rhapsody Of Fire or even the new and hyped band Amaranthe, or perhaps the NWOBHM veterans Angel Witch, you’re in for a treat. No doubt about that. As usual, we would like to give you a pre-taste of what to expect. Hence the addition of, for example, Lawnmower Deth, Angel Witch, Wolf, Motörhead, Napalm Death and yes, even a new track from Morbid Angel. So tune in and get ready for the festival season. Cheers! Hosting: Polina & Kobe Tracklist: Kobe, Marcus, Tim, Si 01. Motorhead – I know how to die 02. Therion – Unguentum Sabati 03. Wolf – Vicious companions 04. Napalm Death – Work to rule 05. Amaranthe – 1000000 Lightyears 06. Lawnnmower Deth – Seventh Church jadajadajada 07. Morbid Angel – Nevermore 08. Rhapsody Of Fire – Tornado 09. Devin Townsend – Addicted! 10. Angel Witch – Angel Witch

We hope you enjoyed our first label special. There’s more coming your direction, but let’s do it gradually. Carrying on with a new regular episode, one that again offers something for everyone: Progressive, Black, Death, Heavy, Power, Doom… Ten bands again, lots of them having put very new stuff lately: While Heaven Wept, Primordial, Ancient Creation (back after 4 years), Vomitory (the Swedish masters of Death Metal are on their way to their 25th anniversary), Axenstar, Sons Of Seaons (Oliver Palotai’s own band, next to Kamelot), and more. Germany and Sweden take the lion’s share of the tracklist. As usual, one might say. But if it’s good, why not? So tune in and enjoy ze toons. Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Marcus, Tim, Si 01. Axenstar – The Escape 02. Sons Of Seasons – Soul Symmetry 03. Evergrey – Leave It Behind Us 04. Vomitory – Bloodstained 05. Symphorce – Do You Ever Wonder 06. Ancient Creation – Stories In The Snow 07. Sorgeldom – Through Dust Into Lostness 08. Die Apokalyptischen Reiter – Hammer oder Amboß 09. While Heaven Wept – Hour Of Reprisal 10. Primordial – Lain With The Wolf

The festival season is drawing near. Well, it’s not there aren’t any festivals in other seasons, but there are usually a bit more in summer. One of them is the Belgian Graspop Metal Meeting. This year it’s again in June, as usual, and more specifically from the 24th ’till and including the 26th. On the bill: Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Kreator, Arch Enemy, Whitesnake, Journey, Black Label Society, Opeth, Cavalera Conspiracy, Iced Earth, Moonspell, Arkona, Amorphis, Pain, and many many more. This episode thus serves as a pre-taste of what to expect. For obvious reasons, we can’t play ‘em all, but we tried nevertheless to keep the playlist as diverse as possible. Kreator and Arch Enemy, for example, are working on new material. Cavalera Consipracy recently brought out a new album and the Scorpions are doing their farewell tour. And we’ve got new stuff for you: Kvelertak. So tune in, enjoy and get set for the season. Hosting: Polina & Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Si, Tim 01. The Cavalera Conspiracy – Blunt Force Trauma 02. Legion Of The Damned – Shrapnel Rain 03. Arkona – On the Unknown Trail 04. Arch Enemy – In This Shallow Grave 05. Kvelertak – Liktorn 06. Whitesnake – Dogs in the Street 07. Kreator – Radical Resistance 08. Moonspell – Scorpion Flower 09. Scorpions – Raised on Rock 10. Triptykon – I Am the Twilight

And here it is, our 200th episode! Woohoo! No. 100 was a personal selection of the best songs, or most liked ones, we played in the 99 preceding ones. This time the idea popped up that again we should make a (personal) selection… of what we learned from each other’s tastes via the MetalCast. That is, the songs/bands that were new to us (depending on the crew member) and thus pick a song from those respective bands. As you can imagine, we’ve played a whole ocean of songs so far, so making a choice was not as easy. Each of us picked two songs, so in a way this episode is a trip back in time, but also shows that even we are not all-knowing on our own. Some picks may even be thanks to some of you, the listeners, when you requested band x or y to be played. Enjoy! P.S.: for this episode three hosts came together to celebrate it in a proper manner. Hosting: Polina, Kobe, Si Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Kobe, Si, Tim, Marcus 01. Amorphis – Magic & Mayhem 02. Powerwolf – Raise Your Fist Evangelist 03. Hate Eternal – Dogma Condemned 04. H.e.a.t – Late Night Lady 05. Baroness – Gnashing 06. Gojira – Oroborous 07. Serenity – Heartblood Symphony 08. Carach Angren – Van Der Decken’s Triumph 09. Deströyer 666 – I Am Not Deceived 10. Gwyllion – A Thousand Words 11. Týr – Tróndur í Gøtu 12. Threshold – Fighting for Breath

Kobe said “Go!”, Tim said “I can add 10.” The others were happy with having more free time. And so it happened. There’s of course plenty more that can be added, but since new material has been acquired and bought, it would be a shame to not spread the word about those bands. A word of thanks in any case to Vesa Ruokangas from Violent Journey Records from Finland for providing the songs of Ordog and Cyphosis (for this episode). You’ll see that Scandinavia is well represented this time, but that’s also because it’s one of the regions where Metal is grand and continues to spawn many bands in several genres. We had a Hungarian Special in 2007 (EP 29), but since then not that much Hungarian Metal has been played. The Folk Metal band Dalriada just released a new album, which we couldn’t ignore. Enjoy and as usual, your feedback is very much appreciated. Hosting: Polina & Kobe Tracklist: Tim 01. Axenstar – Dogs Of War 02. Lords Of The Trident – Legions Of Hypocrisy 03. Abysmal Dawn – Pixilated Ignorance 04. Preach – Path To Solace 05. Cyphosis – Nine Seas 06. Ordog – Human Shell 07. Dalriada – Igeret 08. Voodoo Circle – King Of YOur Dreams 09. Battlelore – Kärmessurma 10. Moonsorrow – Munaiset