MetalCast – the ultimate metal show

Avantasia recently released two albums, The Wicked Symphony and Angel Of Babylon. They are parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy that was started with The Scarecrow. Once again Tobi saved neither cost nor effort to create something extraordinary… depending how you look at it. In that context our beloved Polina had a word or two (or more) with the man himself and if it wasn’t for the time-limit they could have gone on for a few hours more. Musically you’ll get nothing but Tobi material: from Edguy over collaborations to his biggest project, Avantasia. And yes, it’s Polina herself who will tell you all about it. Host: Polina Tracklist: Polina Interview: Polina 01. Edguy – Judas at the Opera 02. Avantasia – Stargazers 03. Aina – Flight of Torek 04. Hartmann – Brothers 05. Ayreon – Elected 06. Avantasia – Scales of Justice 07. Bruce Kulick – I’m the Animal 08. Shaaman – Pride 09. Edguy – Falling Down 10. Avantasia – Avantasia

Portugal, a country not much is known about in terms of Metal. Of course, there are the big names like Moonspell and eh… Corpus Christii, Ava Inferi, Gwydion, Heavenwood, Tarantula, and eh.. lots of bands that make you go . Which also means our collections are limited in terms of Portuguese albums, but we managed to scramble a few together and create a decent playlist. This is only a selective view on their scene, but we hope to cover more as time and money allow it. Either way, welcome to Portugal. Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina 01. Moonspell – Memento Mori 02. Prayers of Sanity – Monochromatic War 03. Thanatoschizo – Sweet Suicidal Serenade 04. Oratory – Beyond Earth 05. Thee Orakle – The Great Masterpiece 06. Hyubris – Segnis 07. Epping Forest – Sphinxs Riddle 08. A Dream of Poe – Whispers of Osiris 09. Sirius – Aeons of Magick 10. Filii Nigrantium Infernalium – Caes de Guerra

Did you all survive Halloween? Good, because we’ve got another round of your favourite music ready. This one’s 80% focused on 2009 and 100% 21st century. Kobe aged a little this past week, so that might be heard in his hostings, but the music will certainly keep his spirit young, and yours as well, we hope. From brutal to soft, from melodic to raw, from Europe to the USA… be it Dying Fetus, Sabaton, Marduk, Defiance, Anubis Gate or even Blaze Bayley, they all deserve to be promoted and played. And as most of them have a new album out, you know the drill. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Judith 01. Blaze Bayley – Waiting For My Life To Begin 02. Illdisposed – My Number Is Expired 03. Therion – Lemuria 04. Anubis Gate – Find A Way (Or Make One) 05. Dying Fetus – At What Expense 06. Marduk – Funeral Dawn 07. Defiance – The Prophecy 08. Obituary – Left to Die 09. Torian – Thunder Times 10. Sabaton – Into the Fire

This time the focus has shifted a little as this episode features quite a bit of female-fronted bands and more Gothic ones this time. By accident, even though we’ve sort of been neglecting that genre a bit. Next to that we make a stop in Australia and the USA but remain for the biggest part in Europe. Power Metal, Gothic Metal, Melodic Death Metal… we even have something new on offer: Psychobilly. Strange but true. Assjack is the name and you’re in for a surprise here. Pleasant or not, that’s up to your taste. Most of the songs are new (i.e. from 2009), so check your local store for the albums. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Kobe, Karsten, Judit 01. Thunderstone – Dirt Metal 02. Darksun – Para Siempre 03. Wolf – Curse You Salem 04. Cruachan – The Very Wild Rover 05. Lacrimosa – Feuer 06. Primordial – Children Of The Harvest 07. Assjack – Tennessee Driver 08. Leaves’ Eyes – Emerald Island 09. Omega Lithium – Andromeda 10. Be’lakor – Outlive The Hand Movie of the Week

Time for another Special. Our devoted listener, Si Smith, posted his Space Metal list on our Facebook some time ago. We all found it a nice gesture and so a new episode was born. “Space” is the theme, the music as diverse as usual. Mainly Scandinavia and Canada are represented this time. Again as usual, especially in Scandinavia’s case. But let it be clear that these songs are just the tip of one of the several icebergs on our planet. Enjoy and keep up the support! We love you. Host: Polina Tracklist: Si Smith 01. Devin Townsend – Ziltoidia Attaxx!!! 02. Bal-Sagoth – The Scourge Of The Fourth Celestial Host 03. Gamma Ray – Men, martians and machines 04. Dragonland – Supernova 05. Keldian – The last frontier 06. Voivod – Cosmic drama 07. Iron Savior – Starchaser 08. Dawn Of Relic – When Aldebaran is visible 09. Scar Symmetry – Artificial Sun Projection 10. Cage – Planet Crusher

Polina, who’s a big fan of cover songs, desperately wanted us to make another Special where songs from (mainly) Pop, but also other Metal bands, are played by Metal bands. Considering it was Polina’s idea, why not fully grant that wish by letting her tell you all about it? When Metal bands play Pop songs (in a Metal jacket) the result is normally quite good and in some cases better than the original. Rest assured, the playlist also features Metal songs. So sit back, and enjoy material originally by Queen, Simon & Garfunkel, Alice Cooper, Skepticism, Radiohead and more. Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Judit, Polina 01. Raintime – Beat It 02. Nevermore – The Sound of Silence 03. Kaledon – We Will Rock You 04. Stream of Passion – Street Spirit 05. Reverend Bizarre – Deceiver 06. Strapping Young Lad – Room 429 07. Tarja – Poison 08. Lacuna Coil – Enjoy the Silence 09. Shroud of Bereavement – Forge 10. Van Canto – Wishmaster Episode 24 – Cover Special Vol. I

Kobe didn’t feel like hosting, preferred instead to go to the Pukkelpop festival. Everybody else is back and our dearest Polina seduced Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian into a Q&A at Bloodstock. Judging by the picture on her Facebook profile he does look a bit tipsy. What happened over there? Besides the interview you can expect another load of excellent Metal, and most of it comes from Scandinavia… again. Last but not least, you might even hear some jingles that Polina recorded while at Bloodstock. If you’re asking for a Special, don’t worry, there will be one (and more) soon. Enjoy this new episode! Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Karsten, Judit, Polina 01. Serenity – The Heartblood Symphony 02. Beherit – Pimeyden Henki 03. Einherjer – A New Earth 04. Constancia – I Never Said Goodbye 05. Manigance – Miroir De La Vie 06. Blind Guardian – Another Holy War 07. Reverend Bizarre – The Children of Doom 08. Narnia – One Way to Freedom 09. Stratovarius – Falling Star 10. Drudkh – Distant Cries of Cranes

Time for another genre Special. Although requested via Facebook by one of our loyal listeners who goes by the name of Andrew, we have been playing with the idea of a Folk/Pagan Special not too long before his request. Folk/Pagan Metal has been hot for quite some time, not in the least because of Paganfest, Heidenfest and bands like Korpiklaani, Amon Amarth, Týr, Eluveitie, Ensiferum and many more. But next to those obvious choices, we would like to show there is much more out there, equally deserving the attention, though not always having the same means for it. We’re staying in Europe, though cross the border with Russia a few times, which was also requested us to do so. Enjoy! Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Judit 01. Týr – Tróndur I Gøtu 02. Alestorm – Leviathan 03. MÃ¥negarm – Dödsfärd 04. Тролль Гнёт Ель – Сырный Штурм 05. Menhir – Wotans Runenlied 06. Kalevala – Гой, Олень! 07. Mägo de Oz – Hasta que el cuerpo aguante 08. Pagan Reign – Славянское Восстание 09. Falconer – For Life and Liberty 10. Arkona – Kolyada

A new genre special, this time offering an ear on Neoclassical Metal. This has been suggested, but we’ve been playing with the idea for some time, yet it wasn’t that easy to instantly find enough, let alone the right kind of bands. Neoclassical Metal is based on the works of classic composers like Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven and others, and you’ll find bands from all over the world implementing these influences. One big example is Yngwie Malmsteen, but there’s also Rata Blanca, Dark Moor, Rhapsody, and many more. As usual, there are known and unknown/less known bands/artists. Neoclassical Metal is another domain which we need to explore more. Life is about learning, no matter which domain. Enjoy the show, give feedback and stay tuned. Host: Kobe Tracklist: Tim, Judit, Marcus, Polina 01. Virtuocity – Flames in the sky 02. Kelly Simonz’s Blind Faith – The Rule of Right 03. Vitalij Kuprij – Track on Fire 04. Victor Smolski – Sarabande 05. Dark Moor – Dies Irae (Amadeus) 06. Made Of Hate – Hidden 07. Rata Blanca – Los Ojos del Dragon 08. Yngwie J. Malmsteen – Far Beyond the Sun 09. At Vance – Four Seasons – Spring (originally by Vivaldi) 10. Rhapsody – The Wizard’s Last Rhymes

And here it finally is, the long awaited Special. This time it’s one of our listeners, Metalshaman, who suggested we offered you something from down below aka Australia. Australia has many excellent Metal bands, though not all have the means to reach the international audiences. As usual we tried to add multiple flavours to the tracklisting and at the same time try to add some lesser known bands. This is just a tip of the iceberg (we have some more, though) and we would love to add more Aussie Metal to our collections, obviously. So keep those suggestions and comments coming and help create more exciting episodes. Host: Marcus Tracklist: Tim, Marcus, Polina, Kobe, Karsten 01. Voyager – Pulse 04 02. Misery – Ill of the Dead 03. The Berzerker – An Unforgotten Force 04. Black Majesty – Tomorrowland 05. Gospel of the Horns – Chaos Bringer 06. The Eternal – Without Reason 07. Mournful Congregation – Descent Of The Flames 08. AC/DC – Back in Black 09. Deströyer 666 – Cold Steel… 10. Kinstrife & Blood – The Bronze Army

And here it is, the Episode 100. Applause! In this episode we’re offering you a flashback to some of the songs we have played in those +/- two and a half years, as each of us made his/her selection of three. As a result you’ll hear very recent material as well as old(er) songs, depending on who picked what. But rest assured that it’s not really a standard episode and that there IS a wide variety of styles again. But to make no. 100 extra special, our three hosts combined forces to guide you through the show. And that’s an unicum! Enjoy and do let us know what you thought of it. Host: Polina / Kobe / Marcus Tracklist: Marcus, Tim, Judit, Polina, Kobe, Karsten Rhapsody of Fire – Silent Dream Nile – Annihilation Of The Wicked Volbeat – The human Instrument Orphaned Land – Ocean Land Mastodon – The Wolf Is Loose While Heaven Wept – The Drowning Years Kamelot – Rule the World Amon Amarth – Twilight Of The Thunder God Amorphis – The Smoke Lost Horizon – Welcome Back Symphony X – Set The World On Fire Taake – Hordalands Doedskvad Part III Dark Moor – Wind Like Stroke (Attila) Evoken – Suffer A Martyr’s Trial (Procession At Dusk) Angra – Voice Commanding You Cynic – Evolutionary Sleeper Sigh – Finale: Hangman’s Hymn / In Paradisum / Das Ende Threshold – Slipstream

Just as we were about to discuss what to do next, one of our listeners suggest a Live Special. The idea was just splendid. Considering it’s been since episode 43 we last really focused on live material, and considering there have been a relative number of live releases put out since then we can easily put you in the mood for any upcoming gigs or festivals. Once again we tried to add a bit of everything, but keeping a selection of known and less known bands in mind. So sit back, close your eyes and picture yourself at the particular gigs (and have a beer, if needed). Host: Polina Tracklist: Tim, Judit, Polina Movie of the week: Marcus 01. Eldritch – The Deep Sleep (buy) 02. In The Woods – Titan Transcendence (buy) 03. Kamelot – Center Of The Universe (buy) 04. Artillery – The Challenge (buy) 05. Marduk – Of Hells Fire (buy) 06. Within Temptation – Stand My Ground (buy) 07. Malevolent Creation – Alliance or War (buy) 08. Stratovarius – Forever (buy) 09. Nevermore – Narcosynthesis (buy) 10. Rhapsody – Emerald Sword (buy)