MetalCast – the ultimate metal show

We’ve had band specials in the past and a few artist/musician specials, but our latest addition to the crew, aka Si Smith, seems to be a big Martin Walkyier fan. You might know him from bands like Sabbat, Skyclad, The Clan Destined and Hell, but also from guest appearances for, for example, Suidakra, Skilltron, Cradle of Filth and so on. in addition, Si had the pleasure and honour to have a chat with mr. Walkyier, so you not only get an overview of Martin’s career, he will even tell you about it. So tune in, enjoy and when done, please leave your feedback at the usual places. Cheers! Hosting: Si Tracklist: Si Interview: Si 01. The Clan Destined – Devil for a day 02. Sabbat – A cautionary tale 03. Cradle of Filth – For those who died 04. Sabbat – The Clerical Conspiracy 05. Skyclad – The Declaration of Indifference 06. Skiltron – Spinning Jenny 07. Suidakra – The one-piece puzzle 08. Skyclad – The thread of evermore 09. Elvenking – The penny dreadful 10. The Clan Destined – Beautiful start to the end of the world

The initial plan and suggestion (by Kobe) for a Southern Special meant playing songs from countries in the south, like Spain, Portugal, Italy, South America, etc… the warm regions, the more exotic stuff. One musical example, even though they’re from up north, is Diablo Swing Orchestra. Alas, our quest led nowhere. Or better, it never took off to venture into those regions and find similar material, aka Latin Metal. But we’ll find enough songs some day. Until then, the decision was sort of made to make it a Southern Rock/Metal Special then, since that’s what everyone knows when referring to this style. Black Label Society, Rebel Meets Rebel, Orange Goblin, Down, Alabama Thunderpussy and several more made it onto the list. So get set to have a fun time. Cheers! Hosting: Polina Tracklist: Si, Marcus, Tim 01. Kickhunter – Shy Shy Shy 02. Corrosion of Conformity – Dirty Hands Empty Pockets – Already Gone 03. Black Label Society – Southern Dissolution 04. Alabama Thunderpussy – Words of the Dying Man 05. Down – New Orleans is A Dying Whore 06. The New Black – Altar Boys 07. Redneck Remedy – Bleed 08. Rebel Meets Rebel – Rebel Meets Rebel 09. Place of Skulls – The Maker 10. Orange Goblin – Beginners Guide to Suicide

2011 is a good month old and already there’s quality material available. In this new, regular episode we’ve got Onslaught, Artas, Meadows End, Mr. Scarecrow and Scorner who already put out something this year. But fear not, the rest of the playlist is filled with material from last year, like Atheist, which, according to Kobe, should have been featured in one of our two Best Of episodes. But better later than not. EP 191 is also an aggressive and destructive one, judging by the kinds of bands and genres. An excellent way to bang the head that doesn’t bang and get energized for the flood of releases that’s yet to come. Hosting: Polina, Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Si, Marcus, Kobe, Tim Interview: Si 01. Meadows End – Homeland 02. Onslaught – Rest In Pieces 03. Trick Or Treat – Loser Song 04. Scorner – Dark Passenger 05. Primitive Graven Image – A Gruesome Relic Of Death And Decay 06. Wizards – I remember 07. Artas – Fortress Of No Hope 08. Atheist – Faux King Christ 09. Lemuria – A Coming Storm 10. Mr. Scarecrow – I’ve Been To The Mountaintop

From India we fly directly to Japan for the Anime Metal Soundtrack episode. Since all bands featured on this episode are from Japan, you might as well consider this another Nation Special. But it’s not that, as the focus lies on Anime, Japanese animation. This is found in comics, cartoons, films and yes, even music. Maybe not specifically under the term Metal, rather J-Rock. Our master host Kobe, coincidentally a Japanese name , suggested this specific Special. Having Naruto and Bleach in his collection, it is a start. Our dearest Marcusss and Si also contributed to the playlist. As usual, enjoy this trip into the unknown (depending on your knowledge). Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Si, Marcus, Kobe 01. Eizo Japan – Samurai Sentai Shinkenger 02. High And Mighty Color – Ichirin no Hana 03. Aikaryu – Ryunen on the Contrary 04. Detroit Metal City – Death Penis 05. Unlucky Morpheus – Next Season 06. Eizo Sakamoto – Akiramenai 07. Sex Machineguns – Mikan no Uta 08. Asriel – Metamorphose 09. Animetal – Zankoku na Tenshi no Teeze 10. Takanashi Yasuharu – Kenkonitteki 11. Takanashi Yasuharu – Keisei Gyakuten

Our last Nation Special dates from June 2010, when we were in The Netherlands. Since then we got a request (or two, by Ishaan Kumar) to travel to India. Now, not a lot is known about the scene there and of course we had enough work trying to find bands from that country. Thanks to the brilliance of our beloved Marcus and Si, a tracklist could be compiled. You’ll notice that most material is to be cataloged under Extreme Metal (Thrash, Death, Black), but luckily there is countering in the form of Power and Progressive Metal. In short, it’s a learning trip for us all and who knows, perhaps this will help these bands to get a European or American deal, if only for distribution. So tune in, enjoy and take care. Hosting: Si Tracklist: Si, Marcus 01. Blood and Iron – Blood Oath 02. Age After Armageddon – Call to the Vikings 03. The Demonstealer – The Empty Wasteland of Despair 04. Nerverek – Flesh for food 05. Heathen Beast – Religious Genocide 06. Demonic Resurrection – Journey to Solaris 07. Silver Tears – Dirt beyond Beauty 08. Exhumation – On the platter 09. Kryptos – Heretic supreme 10. Amogh Symphony – Greenhouse Effect

We hope you enjoyed our first flashback of 2010. Of course the majority of the tracks were of the melodic kind, but that’s also because 2010 was a year where these kinds of releases stood out more than the extreme ones. However, both will always be present aplenty, with varying quality, obviously. Without much further ado, here’s our second flashback of 2010. Enjoy, have a great year and don’t hesitate to let us know what you thought of 2010, which releases stood out for you, which didn’t, etc… Cheers! Hosting: Kobina Tracklist: Judit,Polina, Tim, Kobe, Si, Marcus 01. Alcest – Percées de Lumière 02. Doomshine – River of January 03. Delirion – Walls and Waves 04. Blind Guardian – Curse My Name 05. Avantasia – States Of Matter 06. Dark Moor – Tilt at Windmills 07. Solefald – Norrøn Livskunst 08. Pretty Maids – Cielo Drive 09. Enslaved – Lightening 10. Wuthering Heights – Desperate poet 11. Helloween – Raise The Noise 12. Exodus – The Ballad Of Leonard And Charles

The year 2010 has come to an end. As usual, the market was flooded with releases, too many to list them all, let alone listen to them all. And like before and as it happens each year underground talent comes to the forefront to help carry the flame. Some succeed, others fail miserably, so to speak. Big names continue to put out quality material, others had a dip, it seems. The opinions are again divided, but this past year was one where melodic Metal stood out, this in the styles Heavy, Power, Progressive. But the extremer sorts also delivered their share to counter as much as possible. While we played lots of stuff from several of these styles, it is logical lots will not be featured. We keep our objective standing: diversity is key and we tried to make the playlist accordingly. Star One, Sigh, Perpetuum, Ancient Bards, Sabaton, Finntroll and more were selected by our specialized crew. Hosting: Kobina Tracklist: Judit,Polina, Tim, Kobe, Si, Marcus 01. Allen Lande – The Showdown 01. Ancient Bards – Only The Brave 01. Kamelot – If Tomorrow Came 01. Sigh – Prelude to The Oracle 01. Star One – Human See, Human Do 01. Finntroll – Solsagan 01. H.e.a.t – Black Night 01. Sabaton – The Final Solution 01. Perpetuum – Into The Deepest Darkness 01. Rhapsody Of Fire – Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio 01. Aborym – III 01. Shining – Blackjazz Deathtrance

No X-Mas carols this time, sorry. But as the weather’s cold and what now, we hope you can warm yourselves a bit with the melodic and melancholic tunes from a wide range of bands, eh, styles. Our beloved Marcus had a very nice talk with While Heaven Wept mainman Tom Phillips about the band, their latest (live) release and more. So, see it as our Christmas gift for you this year. Don’t worry, we didn’t forget the beer, as Tankard was kind enough to provide some. We’ll be taking a break after this one, which means the next episode is scheduled for January 9, 2011. Merry X-Mas, Happy New Year (or however it’s called for you ) and more to all of you. Thanks for your support all those months and years and we hope to hear from you again next year. Cheers from the entire TMC crew and take care! Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Judit, Tim, Kobe, Si, Marcus Interview: Marcus 01. Solefald – Stridsljod 02. Therion – Kali Yoga III 03. Katra – Vendetta 04. While Heaven Wept – Living Sepulchre 05. While Heaven Wept – Vessel 06. Signum Regis – Dura Europos 07. Tank – Judgement Day 08. Elenium – Caught In A Wheel 09. Tankard – Fat Snatchers (The Hippo Effect) 10. Baroness – Swollen & Halo

It appears our beloved Brazilian master of (fill in), aka Marcus, cannot wait to be fully back in town. Since Agalloch has a new release out, and this being one of his favourite bands, the man worked on an entire Agalloch Special. To not make it monotonous, the playlist consists of Agalloch material and that of other bands that play comparable music. This choice is inline with our (unwritten) rule to show you and you and you the beauty of Metal, also outside the standard boundaries. On top of that, Marcus had an interview with the band or at least one member. Who? Tune in to find out. Keep it warm, enjoy the tunes and as usual, leave your feedback at the known places. Cheers! Hosting: Si Tracklist & Interview: Marcus 01. Negură Bunget – Chei de rouă 02. Agalloch – Dead Winter Days 03. Mael Mórdha – The Gaelic Twilight 04. Agalloch – Falling Snow 05. Primordial – Traitors Gate 06. Agalloch – I Am the Wooden Doors 07. Agalloch – The Watcher’s Monolith 08. Empyrium – The Blue Mists of Night 09. Drudkh – Twilight Aureole 10. The Fall of Every Season – The Triumphant Beast

Back from our Sunday church, we soldier on with the intensity and devotion of before. 2010 is nearing its end, but that doesn’t mean we ran out of material. Food for everyone, from Helstar, Grave Digger, Dark Moor over Apocalyptica and Helloween to Bilocate, Deathspell Omega and more. We travelled quite a lot: Germany, Czech Republic, France, Jordan, Spain, USA, Finland, Ukraine and Norway. Or better, we sent our dear Si to look for some unknown material. His flights to Jordan and Ukraine (and back) went very well, though he only had his tent to sleep in. We couldn’t risk giving him funds, for fear of him spending too much. Either way, enjoy and may this episode be inspirational for the holidays. Cheers! Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Marcus, Si, Tim 01. Helloween – Far In The Future 02. Deathspell Omega – Epiklesis II 03. Dark Moor – Gadir 04. Virvel Av Morkerhatet – When God is dead… 05. Grave Digger – Paid In Blood 06. Umbrtka – Rodina 07. Apocalyptica – Bring Them To Light 08. Vulture Industries – The Hangman’s Hatch 09. Helstar – Monarch Of Bloodshed 10. Bilocate – Ebtehal

Si, the newest addition to the crew, made his debut with the excellent Underground Black Metal Special. But his eagerness for more is hard to stop at the moment and with the help of several of you – to be precise, Kelly Hoffart, Brandon Archer, Andrew Helinski and Andrew Bowcock – there was enough material for him to put this new episode together. Religion is a sensitive subject, especially the last number of years. Many kinds exist with each many followers and one not always agreeing with the other. Either way, because of the suggested material it became clear the episode would focus on christianity, in a more positive light. Not the anti path. The examples are legio and even if you’re neither religious nor a christian, in the end the music is still very much Metal. And that’s what matters. To each his/her own, as the saying goes. Enjoy the tunes and feel free to leave feedback in a peaceful manner. Hosting: Si Tracklist: Si 01. Trouble – The Wolf 02. Crimson Moonlight – Embraced by the beauty of cold 03. Extol – Ember 04. Divinefire – The world’s on fire 05. Slechtvalk – Call to arms 06. Holy Blood – Shining Sun 07. Mehida – Land of Oblivion 08. A Hill To Die Upon – Prometheus Rebound 09. Becoming the Archetype – Dichotomy 10. Virgin Black – Museum of Iscariot

The year’s end is drawing near and there’s still so much material from 2010 to be played! So, time for another regular where we offer you a new load of what this year has served us so far, from Power Metal to Black Metal, from Magic Kingdom over Aborym to Star One, for example. in addition, our ever-busy Black Metal god Marcus couldn’t resist and added two tracks in preparation of his comeback, which is due soon enough. But of course, all in due time. Get set for another excellent load of high-quality Metal, no matter the genre. Making the Best Of 2010 will certainly prove to be a very hard task. But that’s for the near future. in the meantime, tune in, enjoy and leave your feedback at the counter. Hosting: Polina, Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Marcus, Tim, Si 01. Salamandra – Masters Of Rock 02. Made Of Hate – Friend 03. Aborym – Psychogrotesque VI 04. Alkonost – Chilly Fire of the Night 05. Dyscordia – Black Clown 06. Humut Tabal – Denizens of Eternal Night 07. Magic Kingdom – Symphony Of War 08. Sinocence – Perfect Denial 09. Allen-Lande – Never Again 10. Star One – Victim Of The Modern Age

Thrash is hot again, lots of new bands bringing back old school Thrash or even playing a modern version of it. Our first Thrash Special dates from March 30, 2008 (episode 55) and since there’s lots of Thrash out there and thus lots not yet played, we thought the time was right for a follow-up, so to speak. Yep, we’re keeping it international, even though we could fill an episode with only German bands as well. Death Angel was requested but nothing new, as we didn’t have Relentless Retribution yet. We do now, so we’ll play something off that album later. We also added Violator, Dew-Scented, Gama Bomb, Annihilator and several others. tune in and bang the head that doesn’t bang. Cheers! Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Marcus, Tim, Kobe 01. Annihilator – Striker 02. Lich King – Mascot War 03. Ektomorf – Love And Live 04. Gama Bomb – Zombie Blood Nightmare 05. Overkill – Ironbound 06. Violator – Futurephobia 07. Anihilated – Scorched Earth Policy 08. Warshall – The Secret 09. Dew-Scented – The Invocation 10. Death Angel – Thrown To The Wolves

Our Black Metal god Marcus is still sorely missed, but surprise oh surprise, newcomer Si put together an entire Underground Black Metal Special, featuring bands none of us (well, with the exception of Marcus perhaps) have heard of. Immolith, Darkside Of Innocence, Nutr, Old Forest and several others. In addition, the bastard () even declared himself host of the show. What do you mean, arrogance? For shame! But seriously, kudos to our dear Si for all the effort he put into creating this episode, looking up info about the bands and so forth. Please welcome: Si and the Underground Black Metal Special! Hosting: Si Tracklist: Si 01. Immolith – Hymns to the Countess 02. Catharsis Nocturna – Bajo el Manto De La Noche 03. Illapa – Poemas de mi Culto 04. Darkside of Innocence – Of a cursed dawn eclipsed 05. Ossadogva – The house of catchers 06. Nutr – Under the Blackened sky 07. Hexentomb – I come to join this dark side 08. Old Forest – The Long man of Wilmington 09. Mist – A world of ashes 10. A Transylvanian Funeral – When sky and ocean are one

And we’re back to normal. Even though Marcus is taking a break and you’re all worrying about a possible lack of extreme Metal, newcomer Si is happy to keep that style in the playlist with Myrkgrav and Winterfylleth. But it must be said that Kobe and Tim also offered something on that front with Enslaved and Fatal Injury, for example. It’s been four years, but the Progressive Power Metallers from Angra have returned with a new album, Aqua. The sailors of The Vision Bleak also entered the MetalCast harbour. To know what else is played on shore, hit the Play button to know what to expand your collection with. Hosting: Polina Tracklist: Polina, Kobe, Tim, Si 01. Fatal Injury – Inert Existance 02. Enslaved – The Beacon 03. Angra – Awake From Darkness 04. Achilla – Arashi 05. Myrkgrav – Tre Skygger Tel Kølabrennern Kom 06. The Vision Bleak – Descend Into Maelstrom 07. Kathaarsys – Pesadelo, transicion, evolucion, constatacion reiterada 08. Winterfylleth – A Valley Thick With Oaks 09. Powerstroke – A Better Man 10. Lysergene – Shock Treatment