MetalCast – the ultimate metal show

Tarja Q&A Session

So, Kobe has been back from London since a few weeks now, which means no real dual hosting for some episodes to come. Furthermore, we’ve been spoiling you with four specials in a row, so let’s get back to another regular episode in which several styles and bands are featured. Many albums have hit the streets so far and many more are scheduled to come out in the second part of this year. Labyrinth made a somewhat crucial return with “Return To Heaven Denied Pt. 2″, Dark Tranquillity had the heavy task of making an album to top “Fiction”, Tarja Turunen has her third album out (“What Lies Beneath”), Terra Prima was uncovered by our beloved Judit and Marcus… where does he find such bands like Odem Arcarum or Besatt? These two also have new material out. As usual, we hope there’s something, if not all, that pleases you and don’t hesitate to let us know. Cheers! Hosting: Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Judit, Marcus, Tim 01. Heathen – Contol By Chaos 02. In Mourning – With You Came Silence 03. Audrey Horne – Blaze Of Ashes 04. Besatt – The Ninth Spirit (Paimon) 05. Tarja – Dark Star 06. Terra Prima – Essence 07. Tristania – The Passing 08. Labyrinth – A Chance 09. Dark Tranquillity – The Fatalist 10. Odem Arcarum – The Body and Perpetual Imagination

A long time ago we got a request for a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) Special. At the time our collections weren’t that big in that domain, so we first worked on many other episodes until the time was right to go back to that famed period that spawned many bands and influenced many bands that were formed years later. The request specified the period around 1980, but again due to collection reasons we tried as much as we could, but had to add songs from a few years later to complete the list. Mind you, the NWOBHM did last several years. You all know Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, Blitzkrieg, Jaguar, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Venom, Tokyo Blade and more. Even if you don’t, we’re happy to show you some gems from the past, not necessarily all the aforementioned. Get set, buckle up and enjoy this journey into the NWOBHM. Hosting: Polina & Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Marcus, Tim 01. Angel Witch – Whose To Blame 02. Motorhead – Overkill 03. Bitches Sin – Invader 04. Witchfynde – Cloak and Dagger 05. Grim Reaper – Run for Your Life 06. Venom – Sons of Satan 07. Tygers Of Pan Tang – Slave To Freedom 08. Tank – Heavy Artillery 09. Iron Maiden – Prowler 10. Blitzkrieg – A Time of Changes

And another request, this time from Winterburner. He was eager to hear an(other) Avantgarde Special, so he sent us a request. As this kind of Metal is always special and requires specific knowledge, we had no other choice but have our Brazilian non-standard Metal god Marcus do it all himself, i.e. look for the songs and do the hosting. No wait, our beloved Polina was actually very fast in offering her candidature for the hosting, thus making this episode very easy for the remaining members of the Cast. Enjoy and do leave your feedback, as usual. Host: Polina Tracklist: Marcus, Marcus, Marcus, Marcus and Marcus 01. Arcturus – Radical Cut 02. Subterranean Masquerade – Six Strings to Cover Fear 03. A Forest of Stars – Female 04. Ulver – A Song of Liberty 05. Transcending Bizarre – Cosmic Zero Equation 06. Thy Catafalque – Csillagkohó 07. StrommoussHeld – Long Ago Gone 08. Mystical Fullmoon – As I Walk Along the Darkest Paths of My Soul 09. Ephel Duath – I Killed Rebecca 10. Oblomov – Deconstructing the Order AVANTGARDE SPECIAL I

Several months ago we got the request from a certain Marc J. for a second Melodic Death Metal Special. The first one being episode dates back to the summer of 2007, but since then we’ve played many Melodic Death Metal songs, from both big names and less big names. As usual, we looked around to see what in our collections could fit the bill and we did find interesting material. Indeed, you cannot avoid the big bands like Amon Amarth, Into Eternity, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, and more – well, we did ignore the last three in favour of less known bands – to create a nice mixture of old and new. Old as in bands that have been around since a long time and new as in bands that are to continue the legacy, so to speak. So tune in, enjoy and don’t hesitate to leave your feedback. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Kobe 01. Kalmah – Godeye 01. Requiem Laus – Perfect World 01. To Hate – Step Of Truth 01. Into Eternity – Splintered Visions 01. At The Gates – Suicide Nation 01. Mors Principium Est – Altered State Consciousness 01. Red Descending – The Grand Memory 01. The Duskfall – Tune of Slaughtered Hearts 01. Amon Amarth – No Fear For The Setting Sun 01. Equilibrium – Snüffel Link: Melodic Death Metal Special I

We’re back in the studio this time as opposed to the live songs previously. 2010 is halfway and many good releases have been thrown on the market so far, which makes it hard to pick a favourite or which to add to your collection and which not. Today’s episode promises to be rather heavy and extreme, countered here and there with Power Metal or shall we call it a melodic touch? The majority of the material dates from this very year and comes from Canada, Norway, Brazil, Italy, Chile and Sweden. As usual, nothing but quality selections can be expected. So open your ears and learn about bands you might not have yet in your collection. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Judit, Kobe 01. Ihsahn – Frozen Lakes On Mars 02. Sodom – Incest 03. Korzus – Evolution 04. Darkthrone – Black Mountain Totem 05. Inferis – Arauco 06. Kreator – Catholic Despot 07. Kaledon – Power In Me 08. Necronomicon – Into The Fire 09. Sabaton – Coat of Arms 10. Borknagar – For a Thousand Years to Come

With the summer having started, the festival season is now on the roll again. Graspop and Hellfest ended only recently, but there’s more coming up, like Bloodstock, Wacken and …too many to go to without losing too much money. Anyway, in this context our beloved Polina was hit by the sun and thought it would be nice to have another Live Special. Our first one was in December 2007 (EP 43), pretty cold to play outside then. No. 2 was broadcasted in February 2009 (EP 98), not exactly hot either, though at that time the seasons didn’t know which came first, so winter had a tough time hanging on back then. Now, in (!) the summer, we present you our third live episode, trying to avoid previously featured bands. From Progressive Death over Folk/Pagan to Heavy, all keeping it very recent and new. So tune in, enjoy and have a great festival season. Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Judit 01. Opeth – Under the Weeping Moon 02. Sonata Arctica – Kingdom for a Heart 03. Strapping Young Lad – Oh My Fucking God 04. Pagan’s Mind – United Alliance 05. Nightwish – Sahara 06. Arkona – По Сырой Земле 07. Primal Fear – Riding the Eagle 08. Atheist – Unquestionable Presence 09. Dark Tranquility – The New Build 10. Subway to Sally – Eisblumen

And we’re back from The Netherlands. We hope you all enjoyed your stay over there and learned about new bands. But back to business with regular and varied episode. Before taking off for Graspop, Kobe quickly added his input to guide you safely through the list. Again we travelled to several countries (yes, Scandinavia remains a popular destination) and found new stuff for you to check out and enjoy. For instance, there’s Demolished, the Belgian winners of the Wacken Metal Battle this year. The unsigned Canobliss represents the USA, while Judit sought in France and Spain for some Power Metal bands. Musth finally made it onto the playlist, despite an earlier planning. Pol added Northern Kings due to a Bon Jovi gig. And there’s more, of course, from Classic Rock to Schizo Metal. Tune in, enjoy and leave your comments at the usual places. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Judit MySpace band of the Week: 01. Threshold – Fist of Tongues 02. Bel O Kan – Fire on Ice 03. KYPCK – Rozhdestvo V Murmanske 04. Canobliss – Man Is The Enemy 05. Dekadent – The Hand of Truth 06. Nivaira – Espiritu de Fuego 07. Musth – My First Desert Trip 08. Northern Kings – Wanted Dead Or Alive 09. Demolished – Adjustment Of The Face 10. Kingdom Of Deadmen – Bullet In The Head

Last month, in May, one of our listeners who goes by the name of Wouter, asked us to visit The Netherlands for a Special episode. We have visited this country many times before for regular or other special episodes. This time the playlist consists of only Dutch bands. The Netherlands has many known names in their scene: Within Temptation, Epica, Gorefest, Heidevolk, Ayreon, After Forever, Sinister, Carach Angren, Officium Triste, Legion Of The Damned, and so on and so forth. As usual, we can’t play them all and there are more than those, hence our offering of old(er) and new songs, from young and veteran bands. Tune in, enjoy and be sure we’ll play more Dutch bands in the (near) future, as long as the material is available. Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Judit 01. Ayreon – Sail Away to Avalon 02. Fuelblooded – When Passion Dies 03. ReVamp – Fast Forward 04. HDK – Requests 05. Heidevolk – Nehalennia 06. Profound – Star Gazer 07. Grimm – Van Drakenbloed Fel 08. De Magia Veterum – The Blood of Prophet and Saints 09. Within Temptation – All I Need 10. Nox – Insane Hatred for the Supposed Creator

It’s time to move on and present you with a new load of Metal, from Europe and abroad, from Death to Power, old and new. Marcus went to Italy and couldn’t get Aborym out of his head, so these Black Metallers made it onto the playlist. Polina went to Lisbon, Portugal, and what better band to play then than Angra? From Romania we’ve got Magica showing us new material, while Finland’s Tarot also recently put out a new album. On top of that – yes, they’re still around – NWOBHM veterans Iron Maiden have new material coming up, which means we couldn’t let the opportunity escape to already add a new song. And that’s just half of what we will be serving you. So tune in and bang the head that doesn’t bang! Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Judit 01. Iron Maiden – El Dorado 02. Angra – Lisbon 03. Aborym – Roma Divina Urbs 04. Gonin-Ish – Shagan no Tou 05. Tarot – I Walk Forever 06. Immolation – Majesty and Decay 07. Magica – Anywhere But Home 08. Pro-Pain – Unrestrained 09. Hellchief – Ignition 10. H.e.a.t – Danger Road

The first Dio Special focused on the man’s work with his own band, DIO. This second and last part of the tribute concentrates on Ronnie’s activities in other bands and projects: Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, collaborations with other bands/artists, etc… While Dio has made and sung many great songs with several bands, we at the Metal Cast did not want to follow the classic path of giving you a playlist of the hits and typical songs. We’re not the only ones dedicating an episode to the voice of Metal, hence trying to seek less known stuff and even adding non-Metal songs from way back in the day. This episode shows that Dio didn’t always need heavy guitars and pounding drums to show his skills. So tune in and enjoy the uniqueness of a special voice. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Polina, Tim, Marcus, Kobe Black Sabbath – Lonely Is The Word Elf – Ain’t It All Amusing Tenacious D – Kickapoo Hear ‘N Aid – Stars Elf – Liberty Road Ronnie And The Red Caps – Love Potion No. 9 Heaven & Hell – The Turn Of The Screw Munetaka Higuchi – What Caused War Black Sabbath – TV Crimes Rainbow – Catch The Rainbow

Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010): the king of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the little man with the big voice, the voice of Metal, the horns aka m/. A man with a lot of integrity, passion and drive. He has touched many people, made them laugh and cry, gave life meaning, and so much more. Words are not enough to describe it all. On a musical level, the man has been active in several bands, even before his Metal career. Since he was such an active person, one episode wouldn’t do him or his work justice. This is part one, an episode with only DIO songs, i.e. from his own band. We tried to cover each period, from Holy Diver to Master Of The Moon. Ok, Angry Machines was skipped for some reason. DIO made many classics, but we chose to select the more “unknown” songs or less played songs. Fact is that you cannot go wrong with any DIO album. Enjoy and check back next week for Dio’s other works. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Kobe Wild One Caught In The Middle I Speed At Night Pain Shivers Lord Of The Last Day King Of Rock And Roll Scream We Rock All The Fools Sailed Away

One week after the death of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll aka Ronnie James Dio, it’s hard not to use Dio material. But since we had planned something, the Dio-tribute is postponed ’till later. As usual, we selected very solid and worthy material from all over the world: Finland, Germany, Australia, Italy, Venezuela and elsewhere. We’ve got new material from Masterplan, The Ocean, Black Majesty, Eluveitie, Rhapsody Of Fire, Alcest and more. And that includes some requests. On top of that, we’re happy to announce our beloved Polina had an interview with Rhapsody Of Fire co-founder Luca Turilli. Yep, after all those years il Luca finally reserved some time to talk to the Cast about the band, the album and more. So tune in, enjoy the Q&A, and foremost the music and don’t hesitate to leave your feedback at the usual places. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Judith, Polina, Kobe Masterplan – Blue Europa Cardiant – Fire On Ice The Ocean – Swallowed By The Earth Gillman – El Esequibo Alcest – Écailles de Lune (Part II) Black Majesty – Far Beyond Rhapsody Of Fire – Reign Of Terror Shining – Fisheye Enslaved – Isa Eluveitie – Everything Remains As It Never Was

Everyone must go at some point in life. Being a musician in the world of Hard Rock and Metal can be tough. It requires persistance and dedication, plus staying with both feet on the ground. One’s skills are tested each time and many have shown to be very good at what they do (singing, guitar/keyboard/bass/… playing, drumming, etc…). Metal’s history is filled with great names, bands and musicians themselves. However, several of them had to leave at an earlier stage, earlier than foreseen, than needed, than desired. Quorthon, Chuck Schuldiner, Cliff Burton, Euronymous, Criss Oliva, Vitek and very recently Peter Steele are just a few names. Hence this tribute to (some of) the fallen ones, who brought us great music. Hail and R.I.P.! m/ Host: Kobe! Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Judith 01. Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me 02. Exodus – Exodus 03. Death – Crystal Mountain 04. Decapitated – Human’s Dust 05. Mayhem – Funeral Fog 06. Pagan’s Mind – Dreamscape Lucidity 07. Metallica – (Anesthesia) Pulling teeth 08. Windir – Todeswalzer 09. Savatage – Ghost In The Ruins 10. Bathory – Dragon’s Breath

Following a request by Ola Haakon Svendsen from the Norwegian band Musth, who play what you could call Schizo-Metal, the idea arose to make a Weird Metal Special. Obviously, most of the material came from our Brazilian centipede. An interview was recorded, but the sound quality couldn’t allow the interview to be used in this or any other episode. However, Musth are represented in the list, together with several other bands who play a mix of several styles, coming from Europe, Japan, the USA and Canada. Sigh, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Le Grand Guignol, Lifelover, Stolen Babies, … names not immediately sounding very Metal, yet it’s the music that says it all. Tune in, enjoy and don’ hesitate to provide feedback. Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Kobe 01. Shining – The Madness And The Damage Done – Pt. 1 02. Stolen Babies – Mind Your Eyes 03. Thy Catafalque – Köd Utánam 04. Sigh – The Soul Grave 05. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – Sleep Is Wrong 06. Musth – Fish and Ships 07. Le Grand Guignol – Le Grand Guignol – Mens Insana In 08. Lifelover – Mitt Öppna Öga 09. Diablo Swing Orchestra – Rancid Romance 10. Unexpect – Novaë