#368 Mastodon — Marrow Deep Album Review: Atlanta's Own Returns

It’s DEATH MATCH season again, and it’s time to take two of the very best PANTERA albums and make them battle it out in the Bunkerpoon Octagon, featuring 1992’s multi-platinum VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER against the 1994 Billboard Number 1 follow-up, FAR BEYOND DRIVEN.   VULGAR was under construction throughout the band’s relentless tour for Cowboys From Hell in the states and following their legendary performance at the Monsters of Rock show in Moscow at Tushino airfield in 1991 in front of more than a million people after the fall of the Soviet Union. Possessing a far heavier, angrier, and potent sound than its predecessor, VULGAR had just raised the bar for metal and perfected the power groove metal sound that began on Cowboys.   DRIVEN, much like VULGAR, progressed forward in the same fashion, with a much more aggressive production quality and a sound that is effectively the hairier, darker, and uglier follow up to Vulgar with just as much of a beautifully brutal assault on the senses, not to mention an exponentially more intense album cover (NO, not THAT one!  The OTHER one…but also…definitely THAT one, for sure!)   It’s time to throw down the gauntlet and unleash hell in the Bunkerpoon Octagon, because the time has come to pass judgment and “there can be only one” to reign victorious.    So “take your shoes off if you need to” and “get your Book of Sevens out” before you JOIN US to find out THE WINNER of this PANTERA HEAD-TO-HEAD DEATH MATCH, featuring two of the finest back-to-back Terry Date produced albums in metal history: VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER & FAR BEYOND DRIVEN.   Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast   Show Notes & Time Stamps: (00:01): “That’s the noise I make…” / “Have y’all seen the Chick-Fil-A Chicken & Waffle thing?” / “I love The Lord’s chicken…but their biscuits aren’t good… / #ChickFilA “As long as we’re talking shit about fast food…”/ #BK #chickennuggets “Cats, Rats, & Bats Value Menu…” / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***  “That was Bill…about 35 years ago…” ***WELCOME BACK TO THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE AND THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / “I did get the spicy (sandwich)…that’s the move…”   (05:20): ***PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** “This episode is gonna feature some SHITTAH sent to us by the band…this band is called Maidenhead…” #EPK #bandcamp “I saw that name and immediately thought of an Iron Maiden cover band…” “Matthew promised he’d be totally respectful…maybe not ‘totally’ respectful…” #Maidenhead KILL OR BE KILLED - feat. Chris Poland (Maximum Clonage – 2026)  “It’s gotta be after the breakdown…solos kinda go after a breakdown…” “(Chris Poland’s) sound is very distinct…”/ “All of our followers in Bangladesh are gonna love this…it’s like our 2nd biggest market…” “Australia likes eccentric stuff…eccentric is a fancier way of saying stupid and sophomoric…” (13:40): ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram #TikTok  ***EMAIL US at [email protected]  ***GIVE US A CALL AND VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** “Dude, that’s fistworthy…let’s do it.” / “Sorry, 4th wall, dude…” NOTE: Big Hairy Elephant (aka Mastodon) actually played a surprise “secret show” at The Earl in Atlanta, Georgia on 09/11/2026   (17:43): “Take your get ready pills…NOW…He’s ready…he’s primed.”  METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS THE PANTERA HEAD-TO-HEAD DEATH MATCH – Vulgar VS Driven #PanterA #VulgarDisplayOfPower #FarBeyondDriven #DeathMatch “Let’s start with the (album) covers…” “Who is getting punched in the face there?” (“It looks like Geoff Tate from Queensryche…”) “Here’s my vocal addendum about Far Beyond Driven…the original cover is WAY more graphic…look at THAT! That’s like Metal Up Your Ass times a thousand!” “It’s still the pooper…are they holding the cheeks apart?” What’s YOUR vote for the best cover? / Both albums produced by Terry Date / Vulgar – released in 1992, Driven – released in 1994 /  “So…before we start: which album do you like better?” / #markthetime “(Vulgar) sounds classic…to us.” / “As we say this…just thinking about it…I have a feeling…”   (27:15): MOUTH FOR WAR “(The guitar) sounds like a fucking saw…it’s always sounded like a saw, to me…that slide…” “Talk about a killer opener…I think Bill might have been right before…” “Far Beyond has the one Pantera song that I don’t like that I’ll skip every time…we’ve already talked about it…”/ STRENGTH BEYOND STRENGTH “I’m bone, brain, and cock…deep down, stronger than all!” The Verdict    (31:36): A NEW LEVEL / “Such an iconic riff…there’s up-picking in that part…” “This album (Vulgar) really created groove metal…this album mastered it.”/ BECOMING “That’s actually an ugly solo…” The Decision “Here’s the problem: the next two are the two Pantera songs I get tired of…both of them.” “(Walk) is an anthem…it’s Enter Sandman for Pantera…” (37:54): WALK  “To me, (the main riff from Walk) that’s always ‘heavy’ Roadhouse Blues…I always think of Roadhouse Blues by The Doors…”/ “Basically the same song on the next album…” FIVE MINUTES ALONE “We’ve had this discussion multiple times about the production differences between each Pantera album…you can REALLY hear the difference in production between Vulgar and (Driven)…” Judgments (43:15): FUCKING HOSTILE “That’s one of the raddest fucking solos ever!” “I’m already gonna tell ya…on I’m Broken, that outro part…one of the best moments in the Pantera catalog…you can just put that on a loop for 18 hours…” (“And now…Doro with The Weather…”) I’M BROKEN “Hostile is thrash mayhem and Broken is groove mayhem…”   (48:02): “And we’re back…” / #tornadowarning (NOTE: the Bunkerpoon is the safest place to be during a tornado warning) / Decisions, decisions… (regarding Track 4) /  THIS LOVE / “Alright, go halfway up…”/ “No. More. Head. Trips.” /  “You have to have something quiet before it gets loud…it’s called light and shade…”/ “Okay, NOW it’s time for Bill’s favorite song on Far Beyond Driven…” GOOD FRIENDS AND A BOTTLE OF PILLS “Sounds like he’s nutting off on somebody there…” “Jury, have you reached a verdict?”   (53:44): “I think that might be one of my favorite tracks on Vulgar…whatever track 6 is…” RISE / “That is thrash goodness right there…that’s thrash metal…old school.” “(It’s) Helmet…Unsung…” (the verse riff on Rise) /  HARD LINES AND SUNKEN CHEEKS “This was a skippy…I like it…I don’t ‘not’ like it…I just don’t know if I like it as much as Rise…” / “That’s a creepy riff…” / “That kinda reminds me of 10’s in a way…the vibe of it…” Decision Time “We’re literally just zigging and zagging…zagging and zigging, zigging and zagging…” “I almost feel like Side 2 of Driven might be better than Side 2 of Vulgar…”   (58:59): SLAUGHTERED / “Here comes the sawblade tone again…”/ “We’ve gotta hear the middle part of this, too…”/ “Completely ridicurlous…”/ NO GOOD (ATTACK THE RADICAL) / “This one’s got a bunch of ‘Awwwwww Mannnnnn’…” / “What!? That’s NOT what he said!” / “That’s a tough one…” Decisions, decisions… “Some of these songs with the Far Beyond mix would be different…that song…I think it would be heavier…” / “For the workout mix, Slaughtered gets it for sure…”/  “Y’all can do a half a point…to be fair…if you wanna split, if you wanna draw…” “That’s my new name by the way…Dick Wildcard.”   (1:06:06): LIVE IN A HOLE “This may have always been my skipper on Vulgar…” “That just sounds like a drunk riff, doesn’t it? Sounds like Dimebag after a few Black Tooth Grins…”/ “Ugly blues, that’s it.”/ NOTE: It’s actually called a Talk Box. The Voice Box is more commonly called the larynx. “(Peter Frampton) is the master. He did it first…in his mouth. That’s how you do it, dude…” “No, it’s bigger than a straw…you ARE David Lee Roth if you’re snorting cocaine with that straw…”/ 25 YEARS / “The riff is just a pick scratch and a bend…it’s ugly.” “The formula on both albums is the same…” / “It’s like 2 different songs basically…” The Verdict   (1:13:13): “So, let’s go back to Vulgar…” REGULAR PEOPLE (CONCEIT) “Great riff…very technical…like ZZ Top on steroids…” “I’m trying to remember how the middle part went…oh yeah…the weird, siren guitar solo…” #usethoseheadphones / “To me, that’s where he started with all the weird noises…”/ SHEDDING SKIN “That clean part kinda reminds me of ‘The Sleep’ (from CFH) …”/ #markthetime  “That’s a meaty fucking bass tone…” Decisions, decisions…   (1:20:37): BY DEMONS BE DRIVEN “I still love it…that riff is so ugly…”/ “Breakin’ the law…” / #JudasPriest /  #BeavisAndButtheadASMR / “It’s the same exact cadence and everything…”/ USE MY THIRD ARM “It’s almost like death metal, this next part…that’s fucking death metal!” “That one is on the workout mix, for sure…” Hmmmmmmm…which one?   (1:25:45): HOLLOW “You don’t even have to play the first part, just get to the meat…” “It’s the perfect evolution of Cemetary Gates…” “That solo before the breakdown? Oh my God…chef’s kiss.” “Ovah they-uh, I declay-uh…I say, I say, boy…” / THROES OF REJECTION “Let’s jump to that end part…” “Reminds me a little bit…of the end of Bury Me In Smoke…” “(Driven) is an uglier album…it’s got more hair on it…”/ “Wanna split a point? ½ point?” Last call…what’ll it be?   (1:34:13): “We’re not gonna include Planet Caravan in the tally…” “Take your shoes off if you need to…maybe you should get your Book of Sevens out…” AND THE WINNER OF THIS PANTERA HEAD-TO-HEAD DEATH MATCH IS… “We have the answer…that’s pretty close.” “I need some either wings or fried chicken…”/ “I’ve got a wings question…” THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #DeathMatch #outroreel  

Very few bands in the history of recorded music have managed to maintain the same lineup for as long as Atlanta, Georgia’s own progressive metal titans, MASTODON. After Brent Hinds’ departure from the band in 2025 and the tragic permanence of his untimely demise which followed just a few months later, it seemed that after 25 years the band which Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Troy Sanders had launched with Hinds was finished.   Thankfully, the remaining three were able to transmute their tragedy into a new era for the band by introducing two new members (Nick Johnston on guitar & João Nogueira on keyboards) and crafting one of the most powerful comeback albums of all time with MARROW DEEP, the band’s 9th studio album and perhaps one of their most well rounded and progressive albums to date.   There are so many layers to this album that it’s nigh impossible to digest it all in one single listen. With familiar sonic textures, elements, and themes that span all the way through the band’s catalog (from Remission to Hushed and Grim) combined with the contributions of Nick Johnston and João Nogueira, MARROW DEEP possesses an almost darker, 70’s flavored progressive quality, making the album a mountaintop moment for “Mastodon 2.0” and resulting in one of the finest and most sophisticated albums of the band’s career.    Buckle up and get ready to find out which disgusting sounding form of hydration is actually “closer to broth”, always remember that releasing an album on 9/11 will ensure that you “never forget”, and prepare for a reading from “The Book of Sevens” when you JOIN US as we dive into what may very well be a contender for Album of the Year with MARROW DEEP from MASTODON. Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast Show Notes & Time Stamps: (00:01): “Which do you think is grosser? Boiled egg water…OR…hot dog water?”/  “It’s closer to broth…” / #inthemiddleofthenight /  ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** “I have a new problem…gunt sweat…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST IN THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!***   (05:04): “Can I speak upon the Zombie shirt?” #RussellsReflections #RobZombie / “I’m gonna give you guys a quick review…” #RobZombie #MarilynManson #Orgy /  “He sounded good…his voice was great…I mean it was never good, but…you know what I mean?” #FreaksOnParade    (14:14): ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram & #TikTok (“Where everything is going vaginal…”) ***  ***EMAIL US at [email protected] or GIVE US A CALL AND VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** / #inthemiddleofthenight with #AmericanDave   (17:22): ***WE’LL PLAY YOUR SHIT-TAH!!!*** #TheFierceAndTheDead (Regional Theater – September 11, 2026) / #NeverForget /  SHAKE HANDS AND EXIT / “That’s a great time to release an album, too, because people NEVER forget when they get something on September the 11th…”   (21:20): ***METAL NERDERY PRESENTS: MASTODON – MARROW DEEP*** #Mastodon #MarrowDeep / “It doesn’t suck, you just grew out of it, it’s not your thing, or they moved on without you…” /  “It still sounds like Mastodon, but it’s got some 70’s/retro vibes…”/ “If you like Mastodon, you’ll like this. This is Mastodon 2.0…”/ New members: Nick Johnston (guitar) João Noguiera (keyboards) Some special guests: Neil Fallon, Josh Homme, Geezer Butler, Joe Duplantier Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge) and Patrik Berger   (24:42): BARBARIANS BLOOD “The lyrics…(are) a lot about loss…and tragedy…”   (28:16): “The next one opens with a clip from The River’s Edge…”/ POISONOUS WEAPONS “And I felt so FUCKING ALIVE!!!”/ “It’s progressive but it has a 70’s vibe to it…”/  “All hail the weakest link!”/ “I love the midrange guitars…without the scoop…”/ #inyourface  (31:11): “What’s with The Book of Sevens?”/ #Wheelerglyphics /  ***If you’re wondering where the 7’s reference comes from, go check out our Instrumentals episode…*** / #imgonnasendyouafile “This was the first single…” / YOUR GHOST AGAIN /  “Constantly reminded how good I’m not…how do they come up with that?”/  “They’re riff shamans…”/ “(Mastodon) have been the same lineup for 20 plus years…”   (34:10): “How about some SNAKES FOR DINNER? This one has some (Mr.) Josh Homme at the end…”/ “‘About’ 3:51…” / “Talk about haunting…that’s haunting…”   (37:40): OUT LIKE A LAMB /  “This kinda has Blood Mountain & Emperor of Sand vibes to it…” /  “The songcraft is really, really good…”   (39:40): “This is about Troy’s family losing everything in Hurricane Helene…”/ IN THE RUINS “It sounds like space…like a planetarium…” / “There’s a lot of texture on this album…”/ “What I like about it is it’s very emotive…a lot of emotion involved.” “This has got all the good elements: the heavy stuff, the grooving stuff, the melodious stuff…”   (44:26): THEY’RE COMING FOR YOU / “Track number 7 in The Book of 7’s…”/  “I was gonna say: it’s a lot like Dream Theater, but more listenable…”/  “That sounds like Deep Purple (see also Child in Time… specifically around 5:43)”/  “My ears are happy…I’m just hearing cool shit.”/ “The thing that makes me laugh…”/ #riffgravy   (47:48): “See if you can count this next one…”/ GOLDEN SPIRES /  “This one’s pretty heavy…I think it’s in 4/4…” “I like the atmosphere that the keyboards give…and the fuzz on the bass.”   (50:11): “The next one I really like…it’s a change of pace…”/  “If YOU don’t know what The Book of 7’s says, then we’re all fucked.”/  MOTH AND BONE / (“Insert relaxers here…”) / “It’s kind of a departure…”/ “It’s guitar on one side and keyboards on the other…”   (54:23): A VAMPIRE’S DEMEANOR /  “A lot of nice use of light and shade…soft and hard…dark and light…”/  “On the last two (tracks) we’ve got guestesses…on The Vanishing we’ve got Geezer Butler… “Terrible tragedy turns into beautiful art…”   (57:22): THE VANISHING (Ladies & gentlemen, Mr. Geezer Butler) /  “This has kind of a weird Kyuss vibe…like a mellower Kyuss…I’ve heard some people say ‘Elder’…”/ “It’s like night driving music…”/ “It’s like stoner metal Mastodon…kinda.”/ “The more we love, we suffer in it…”   (1:01:14): “Let me consult The Book of 7’s…” / THE THREE FATES (featuring Mr. Neil Fallon) “Definitely a relaxer album, for sure…”/ “1:37 is when Neil Fallon comes in…”/ “What’d you guys think?” / “I think the keyboards bring some things out…but I think more and more metal bands are starting to embrace keyboards…that 70’s vibe is kinda coming back…”   (1:10:06): ASK THE METAL HEAD… / #AskTheMetalhead /  “Debut album covers…which is better?” “For an ’84 record…which is better?” “For an ’85 record…which is better?” “Tacos or burritos?” “Food – Japanese or Chinese? Pizza or wings? Pizza, wings, or fried chicken?” /  “Fried chicken and ice cream!?” / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel

In early July 1985, ¾ (or 75%) of the “Fistful of Metal” era of Anthrax (Charlie Benante, Scott Ian, and Dan Lilker) joined Billy Milano in the studio to form the legendary crossover thrash band S.O.D. (aka STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH) and in less than one week, recorded and mixed one of the most notoriously hilarious thrash albums of all time, SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE.    In the highly unlikely event that you’re thinking “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of S.O.D…”, just think back to the good old days of Headbangers Ball in the late 80’s, with all of the vintage black and white film footage of trains slamming into each other head on, rodeos gone wrong, cars crashing, and failed BMX stunts. The bumper music that was the soundtrack to all of that visual chaos was actually from SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE.    If you’re going to Rocklahoma this year, please be sure to stop by Camp Corruption and say “High” for us, get fully and properly relaxed, and then prepare to “blast ABBA in the middle of the night” before you JOIN US for a walk down metal memory lane as we celebrate one of the finest, rawest, and funniest albums in thrash metal history as we attempt to SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE talking about STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH. Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast (00:01): “Pepper cream gravy…it’s perfect (on a steak).” / “A little salt, a little pepper, a little garlic (on a steak) …”/ “You can take the garlic and shove it in the steak before you grill it…”/  “I love food…I think food is my new porn…the other day I had a weird craving for mashed potatoes and gravy…brown gravy.”/ “Let’s do halfsies…in the interest of health…”/ #onmicburp / “That was wet…that might have had a little gravy in there…” /  “Speaking of which, we didn’t see any party gravy the other night at the show…that’s a big difference from the old days…”/ Remember to keep your pregaming to a minimum before the show so you can actually enjoy (and remember) the show the next day. ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***   (03:45): “You know what I’d like to do? I’d like to talk about cocaine enemas and blasting #ABBA in the middle of the night…” Big thanks to American Dave for the soundbite of the year!!! / #inthemiddleofthenight  ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST IN THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** “It’s a Friday night…we’re all dressed up appropriately for a metal Friday…it’s like a combination of Headbanger’s Ball and Friday Night Videos wrapped into one, but it’s a podcast.” JOIN US on any and/or all of the following platforms and/or modes of social media and communication: ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast ***  ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Instagram #Facebook & #TikTok *** ***EMAIL US at [email protected] *** ***VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** “Hey metal motherfuckers!” Marty Fucking Moose is headed to #Rocklahoma so be sure to be on the lookout for him there at Camp Corruption!!! #CampCorruption at #Rocklahoma “We need y’all to help us out and send Russell, Billiam, and Matthew to Rocklahoma so we can put pasties on breastesses…” ***Check out our Metallica Covers episode…*** (May 10, 2024) “Did you guys know there’s a Fight Fire With Fire by Kansas? Obviously, it’s NOT the same one…”/ #Vader FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE (Necropolis – 2009)    (14:30): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH (S.O.D.) – SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE #SOD #StormtroopersOfDeath #SpeakEnglishOrDie /  “To be fair, American Dave was referring to an older episode that we did (and we recommend highly that you DO NOT go back and listen to it!) …it was during COVID, it was before Russ…Adam was remote and we were watching him on a screen…it was very surreal.”/ “The funniest thing about this record…other than everything…”/  Recorded July 2-5, 1985 /  “It’s Spreading The Disease but less produced…that’s what Speak English or Die is…”/ “We were reading the lyrics, real time, as we were listening to the songs (on the prior S.O.D. episode) …” “(Sargent D): Like Captain America…but way better.” “(Sargent D) was like the dude in Full Metal Jacket but with a cigar in his mouth…or a blunt…or bolth.” “We said it at the same time…let’s fist bump, dude…it’s like two towers at the same time…”/ #alwaysremember #neverforget / “21 songs, 28 minutes…”/ “Before we start, I’ve gotta ask: how much relaxers do y’all think they did when S.O.D. made Speak English or Die?” / “That’s where the fun is…”   (23:41): MARCH OF THE S.O.D.  “One of the best openers EVER…the bass makes it…if you don’t have that ugly bass, it’s just not there…”/ “That sound (on Speak English or Die) should have been the sound on Fistful of Metal…” SARGENT D AND THE S.O.D. “This is ’85, right? It don’t sound like ’85…it doesn’t have the weird echo…this sounds like it could have come out last week…” (27:19): “Alright…this one…this one…this is great…” /  #LilburnDaze #PoonMobile / #TheOzone /  “This is getting weirdly darker by the minute…I’m getting more and more uncomfortable as I listen to this…”  Get ready for a nostalgic edition of #RussellsReflections regarding a local band full of teenagers covering the song “Kill Yourself” by S.O.D. at a local, small-town arts & crafts festival in Lilburn, Georgia.    (31:20): KILL YOURSELF / “Can you do…the MILANO MOSH /  “Think Headbanger’s Ball and the 2 trains colliding into each other…”/ “If you’re in America, you must…SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE” / “That’s death metal before death metal was death metal…”/ “(Dan Lilker’s) bass only makes everything else sound heavier…”/ #dogbarkingASMR / ***Check out the #Doomsicle version of this next one…*** / UNITED FORCES “Black, White, Yellow, and Red…”   (40:27): CHROMATIC DEATH  “Every time, it’s (the sound of) Headbanger’s Ball, it just takes me back…even before I heard the album, I heard this first (on Headbanger’s Ball) …”/ PI ALPHA NU  “This is a song about fraternities and sororities and such…” (aka “Pie Avenue…”) “Wait a minute…where’s McMahon?”   (42:22): “This is my favorite song on the album…” ANTI-PROCRASTINATION SONG /  WHAT’S THAT NOISE? “Hey Alex, WTF is that noise?” /  “This album captures the fun and the youth that thrash used to be…” “It was a joke…and then it just blew up…just like this podcast…” /  FREDDY KRUEGER #NightmareOnElmStreet  /“It’s almost a Slayer riff…it’s like a happy Slayer riff…”/ #FistfulOfSteel /  MILK “Some milk and a Pepsi, right? All I wanted was one Pepsi…and some milk.” “Milk was the first time I ever heard blast beats…”/ #blastbeats #extremedrumming   (49:23): “Alright…this one…is REALLY funny…” / PRE-MENSTRUAL PRINCESS BLUES “I’m passing clots the size of basketballs…”/  A clear definition of what it means to be “pussy whipped” “(Pussy) is like Mexican food: even when it’s not great, it’s still pretty good…” PUSSY WHIPPED /  “This one was always kinda funny to me…” FIST BANGING MANIA  “You’ve gotta bang fists, dude…fist banging mania…it’s not June…” “Is this the one with the weird Tom Araya type scream at the end? No, it’s the Douche Crew where that happens…”   (55:05): NOTE: Spirit In The Sky was written and performed by Norman Greenbaum #RussellsRingtoneASMR /  “The weird thing about (No Turning Back) is that No Turning Back sounds like a ‘serious’ song…” NO TURNING BACK “It’s a global warming song…they were way ahead of their time…” “I feel like every bass should have that gnarly, distorted attitude to it…”/  FUCK THE MIDDLE EAST (“Done and done”) /  DOUCHE CREW (“This is it…the scream.”) “That sounds like Among The Living Anthrax right there…” Remember, “mosh part equals breakdown…if you’re new here.”/  HEY GORDY!  BALLAD OF JIMI HENDRIX DIAMONDS AND RUST (Extended Version)   (59:02): “Oooh, we get extras…” IDENTITY (See also the “Seasoning the Obese” EP – 2000) / “It ends with Ram It Up, right?” 6 SONGS IN 9 SECONDS /  “A little bit of Ram It Up and call it a night?” / #albumcover / RAM IT UP (Inferno cover) “I feel like…anytime you’re feeling “988 down”, just put this on and you won’t feel that way anymore…you will feel immediately uplifted.”/ #988 #SAVE “That’s the Metal Nerdery PSA for this episode…” / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel

“On a scale of 1 to 5 Honks, how many Honks would you give it…for their performance at the show?”   The STRAP IT DOWN TOUR (featuring Spirit In The Room, Helmet, and Down) kicked off in relentlessly heavy fashion on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at The Eastern in Atlanta, Georgia, and we made our way down into the heart of the city to experience opening night firsthand, in the flesh.   “I don’t wanna say anything off-putting…”   The turnout was incredible, the venue was awesome, and the whole vibe of the entire evening was perfectly dialed in, with merch lines resembling what one might see at an amusement park and well-rehearsed, tight performances from each of the bands that were delivered loud and crystal clear (yet “not necessacelery” so loud that we were all “screaming at each other and not listening”), with the final crescendo of the evening being a massive jam that can only be described as “controlled chaos” as EVERYONE in the first two bands took the stage and proceeded to jam with Down on the outro to “Bury Me In Smoke” until the riffs and the grooves left everyone with a contact high.   “Man, I hate those things!”   Get ready for a taste of the brand-new DOWN tune, Blood Oath, remember why you should NEVER put your concert shirts in the dryer after you wash them, discover why being ultra “relaxed” is the only way to EVER travel in a Waymo, and get ready for some BONUS concert reflections worth its weight in Honks when you JOIN US as we share our post-game wrap-up of the first night of the STRAP IT DOWN TOUR!   Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast (00:01): “Getting more exercise in one night than I’ve had in 5 years…”/ #TheEastern /  “Dude, I was really, really concerned…bro turned so red…” / #HailTheLeaf /  “The cop and the Waymo thing was probably my favorite part of the night…” /  ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “That is dericious…” /  “We are 6 days after…almost a week to the day…” / “Hey…note where the letters start and stop…these are my nips…perfectly engineered shirt…that’s what we’re talking about today…” ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST IN THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** “Someone saw this shirt and thought it said ‘Doom’…and I’m like ‘Well you’re not wrong…’…” / “I think I have too many hats…but hats are a good thing to have…”/ #snapback / “I asked for both of them in 2XL…” / #dontdryconcertshirts / “It’s not the washing, it’s the drying…” / “That (Down) long sleeve…that thing’s roomy…”/ “We don’t do the beer of the episode much anymore...but this is the Allagash Haunted House Hoppy Dark Ale, 6.6%ABV and there’s a 6-pack of cans in there… #666   (06:43): ***PATREON US AT patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / “Or they get sick of you talking about June…”/ “I’d like to stuff June Cleaver’s beaver…”/ “Bring the hair back…we miss it.” / #TheScience /  ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #Facebook #TikTok #Instagram & #YouTube / EMAIL US at [email protected] and VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!***   (12:00): “In the spirit of this show, this particular episode…” / “It’s tuned down to C standard…” / #Down #VolumeV #DownV BLOOD OATH (Volume V – 2026) /  “You know that rehearsal space is LOUD!”/ “There’s one part there, right before the chorus…it reminded me of ‘The Small Hours’…” (from Garage Days Re-Revisited)    (18:51): #TheDocket / STRAP IT DOWN TOUR – (First show of the Tour) in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at The Eastern (Spirit In The Room, Helmet, & DOWN) / “We did get a lot of goodness…basically we got the first album…and then Lyrsergik and Ghosts Along The Mississippi…”/  “To kick off a tour, that’s not a bad way to warm up…since that’s where it all started… (with NOLA)” / The rooftop bar and stage TV & viewing area at #TheEastern /  “It’s like super ultra surround sound…”/  “We were upstairs initially when #SpiritInTheRoom started…”/ “I don’t wanna say anything off-putting…”/ “Okay, well then maybe it was a dude with tits…that’s totally fine.”/ “Uh, dude, I don’t know if you’ve noticed…we ALL have tits, dude…women just have the best ones…”/ “I think (Spirit In The Room) were playing through Helmet’s rigs…”/  #FryetteAmps #VHT / “It’s just one lady, bro…” /  “The drummer looked like he just got out of highschool…” “Everything (Spirit In The Room) played that night fit in the pocket of the #Down and #Helmet stuff…”/ “We’re all interneting at the same time…” / #recordscratch / “Apparently they’re on #HousecoreRecords (Phil’s record label)…”/ “Here’s the setlist…none of those songs are on this list…”/ #SpiritInTheRoom U R MY RELIGION    (31:42): “Let’s dive into the Helmet…”/ “They opened with Holiday (from LEFT)…I think (Page) changed the lyrics…”/ “He mentioned he was 7 months sober (to the day, on the day of the concert) …”/  “They played 14 songs…”/ “I think the magic and the power is in that fuchsia-colored ESP…he’s been playing that guitar for 30 years!”   (37:00): “I didn’t really know DOWN until the podcast…” /  “We need to do a Melvins show…they’ve got 29 albums…”/ “Pot brownies got me into Melvins…”/ “I think that was my 3rd DOWN show…”/  “I feel like The Eastern and the new Masquerade…they’ve perfected it (the soundcheck and changeover between bands).”/ “You guys didn’t wear protection…”/ “I never got one warning…every time I’m in an environment that’s over 90 decibels, my watch will tell me…I have no idea what they’re doing…even though we were there and we felt the music, it didn’t seem too loud…”/ “We’re screaming at each other and not listening…”/ “Collectively, I think we all enjoyed the Helmet…”   (42:00): “Let’s move on to ‘The Down’…the set by…DOWN…”/ “Why do they keep saying ‘The’?” / “I knew it wasn’t NOT gonna be good…I knew automatically it was NOT gonna suck.”/ #markthetime / “Bro, I was exhausted when I got home…”/  “If you had to pick 2 or 3 favorite moments of the Down set, what do you think?”/ #BuryMeInSmoke #killercloser /  ***Go check out the #Doomsicle version of Bury Me In Smoke on Patreon*** “Not necessacelery…”/ “As a first show experience, how would you rate it, on a 1 to 10?” / “Look at it this way…what you basically, essentially got was the Live Undead/Origin of the Feces version of NOLA…” / “If you like any of these bands, go see them!”/ #moneywellspent  “I was just gonna say…I’ve never seen Waymos before in my life… #Waymos are like #Ubers that drive themselves…”/ “Man, I hate those things!” / “The person freaked it out…”/  #NoMoWaymo   (54:23): “I don’t wanna let this one go…I also went to another concert last week…” #RussellsReflections #MotleyCrue #Tesla #Extreme / “I didn’t buy tickets…”/  “Wand seats…”/ “I’ve seen the videos…of your honk…”/  “We got there right before Extreme starts…”/ #VanHalenIII / “It’s better than St. Anger…”/ “Whoa! So, it was Extreme, Tesla, AND Motley Crue!? Damn, and you got free tickets to THAT!? Even Bill might have gone to that show…that’s pretty awesome!” “I’m not a Tesla guy…”/ “If you’ve heard Mechanical Resonance, you know most of that album…we’re gonna do a dive on that at some point…we totally are.”/ #noteven /  “Because I’ve decided not to shit on singers anymore… (he just pees on ‘em now…)” /  “So, Vince Neil and his Honk…” / “I’m gonna read the (Motley Crue) setlist…” / #AISlop /  #CarnivalOfSins / “But then…they bring the grand piano out…and Tommy starts playing the piano (with his dick) …”/  “On a scale of 1 to 5 Honks, how many Honks would you give it…for their performance at the show?” / #untilthenext #untilnext #outroreel  

New York City. A place where the subways never close, you can hit any deli, diner, or pizzeria in town at all hours (“in the middle of the night”) for a bite to eat, and your soul will become properly calloused with a “G.F.Y.” mentality and attitude in the most hard core, New York way imaginable.    And when it comes to infusing that kind of attitude into metal, NYC’s PRONG has quite literally turned that into an artform.   Formed in “The City That Never Sleeps” in 1986, PRONG had two independent releases (Primitive Origins in 1987 & Force Fed in 1988) before signing to Epic records in 1989. With a sonic palette consisting of crossover thrash which would eventually morph into the “then” emerging sound of groove metal* combined with subtly understated industrial soundscapes, PRONG would become one of the earliest crossover bands to blend thrash, groove, and industrial metal into a unique, attitude driven style that would heavily impact the next wave of metal to come in the 90’s.   Get yourself a taste of the brand-new single “The Banner” from Prong’s forthcoming self-titled album, realize that snakes “roll around and do stuff” just like people do (“in the middle of the night”) and get ready for a special, remixed edition of the Outro Reel that will absolutely leave you breathless when you JOIN US as we go INSIDE THE 90’s with PRONG. (*Yes, even before that other groove metal band from the 90’s whose name also starts with the letter “P”).   Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast Show Notes & Time Stamps: (00:01): “I always love proving points…it’s fun to prove points…”/ #EvilBean /  “I thought it’d be a great bit, but I thought it’d be an even better skit…” / #Blackman /  #SamuelLJackson / “I saw that Jim Carrey was gonna do The Jetsons…”/ “Is that fake Jim Carrey or weirdly botoxed Jim Carrey?”/ “The dude’s been facelifted…” / “You put it in your mouth!”/ #markthetime /  “I found out how snakes fuck…they roll around and do stuff…” / #parthenogenesis /  ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***  “Oh man, I wanna put my snake in a box…I need to…” (05:43): ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / “The meat has a little bit of a salty finish…and it’s kinda hard in my mouth…”/ #markthetime  ***PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast #YouTube #InstaGram #Facebook #TikTok *** / ***EMAIL US at [email protected] ***  “As long as she fits…as long as I fit…I’m gonna fit…” ***VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** / “I do have a voicemail…but it’s 2 minutes long…” “I like the long ones…”/ #AmericanDave /  “Why don’t you tell ‘em how you like to do your cocaine enemas and blast ABBA in the middle of the night…”/ “We were just talking about that S.O.D. episode…”  (13:38): “Oh wait…let’s ASK THE METALHEAD…”/ #AskTheMetalhead /  “What is the perfect starter album for someone brand new to heavy metal?” / “Which metal vocalist change made the band better?”/ “Why does everything have to suck?” /  “I don’t even think the people who bitch about that phrase know what that phrase means…”/ “Gaykeepers? Or Gatekeepers?” / “How about some ‘This or That?’…”/ “Alright, last one: Should metal albums have ballads?” / “I guess it depends on what you would call a ballad…”/  “I’d be curious to hear a Slayer ballad…” /   “I’ve gotta tell you this…” / “Not even ‘Thad’…’THAT’!” / #drivethruaudio #pronouns (26:30): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS:  PRONG – INSIDE THE 90’S/ #NYC / #Prong / “They formed in 1986…”/  “They’ve always had a nice mix of thrash, industrial, and groove…”/  “Prong has a new album coming out very soon, their eponymously titled Prong…”/  “This is an educational episode for us…” (30:00): Beg To Differ (1990) / FOR DEAR LIFE / “This feels like high school…”/  BEG TO DIFFER / LOST AND FOUND / “I’ve heard this (Lost and Found) before…it sounds very familiar…”/ “It’s very, very tight…it’s almost claustrophobic…in a good way…” (NOTE: The quietest room in the world (not just America) is an anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, MN) / #anechoic  (36:50): “Fast forward to 1991…” Prove You Wrong (1991) / IRRELEVANT THOUGHTS /  “We’re only doing the 90’s today…” / BRAINWAVE /  “I can’t place the guitar (on Prove You Wrong) …tell me what it sounds like…I swear I’ve heard it somewhere before, but I can’t place it…” / PROVE YOU WRONG /  “That’s very Zeppelin…”/ “It does have that Jimmy Page…weird, twangly, sloppy-ish…sound.”   (43:48): The Cleansing (1994) / Produced by Terry Date / ANOTHER WORLDLY DEVICE /  “It’s probably more groove metal than thrash…”/  “It’s like a more hardcore version of Helmet…like an angrier Helmet…”/ #markthetime / CUT-RATE / “(Regarding the guitar solo) It’s almost like Deep Purple…like the Speed King solo…”/ HOME RULE / “You playing a game over there? / “Glad you’re present…”/ “That’s a nasty guitar sound…I like it.”/ “It’s definitely got an attitude…it’s like a ‘more attitude Helmet’…”/ “That’s just straight up ‘Fuck You!’ …”/ #NewYorkEthos / “The streets of New York, after hours, riding the subway…I’ve gotta tell y’all this since we’re talking about New York…”/ #AndrewDiceClay / “Oh bless your heart…fuck off.”/  “How about the big hit single?”/ SNAP YOUR FINGERS, SNAP YOUR NECK  (58:58): “So now we’re up to ’96…” / Rude Awakening (1996) /  “If this is your first time checking out this podcast, whenever we’re talking about ‘coke lines’…if you go into Amazon music and you’re looking at the ratings, that’s what we’re talking about… the more coke lines, the better…” / CONTROLLER / #recordscratch /  “Where were we…You wanna see these?”/ RUDE AWAKENING / “It’s almost got a weird NIN vibe…”/  “Something about the way he does riffs…I can’t explain it…when (Tommy Victor) does the Tommy Victor thing, it’s like when (Tony) Iommi does the trill…or when Page (Hamilton) does the weird, ringy, Helmet chords…” / SLICING / “Here’s the lesson here, folks…don’t let the coke lines fool ya…”/ CLOSE THE DOOR /  “I do like his use of the industrial stuff…it’s kind of understated; it’s not in your face…” (1:11:00): “They took a little bit of a break…” /  (NOTE: The new album is coming out November 6, 2026) /  THE BANNER (Prong – 2026) / “That’s like a return to form…the thrashiness of it.”/ “That rhythm section is a monstrosity!” / “We learned some new stuff today…Prong, 90’s edition…”/ THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel #extendedremix

“It’s been a while since we’ve been to a show together…”   The STRAP IT DOWN Summer Tour kicks off on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at The Eastern in Atlanta, Georgia, featuring DOWN, HELMET, & SPIRIT IN THE ROOM, so naturally, we decided to engage in a little PRE-GAME preparation to get in the right headspace for the show.    As you may recall, we last traveled to The Eastern back in 2024 when we saw King Diamond and Overkill, and the sound and layout of the venue made for one of the best concert experiences we’ve had in quite some time. Having said that, we are equally excited to get to see DOWN & HELMET on the first date of this tour at this venue as this show (and tour) promises to be one of the most crushing metal events of the summer.    Always remember that when you’re buying tour shirts to “get ‘em big, because when you do laundry, things shrink”.  Find out who’s getting the “hog slap” and discover which podcast makes “laying face down more enjoyable” when you JOIN US for the PRE-GAME show as we kick things off in preparation for the STRAP IT DOWN Summer Tour featuring DOWN & HELMET. Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast   Show Notes & Time Stamps (00:01): “Yeah, that is some salty jerky.  Why do they call it ‘jerky’?”/  “Ohhh…it got on my face…” / #markthetime /  “So and so said that so and so was on drugs last night…um, duh!” /  “That was the best blooper I’ve ever seen…”/ #BravesVsMarlins /  ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “I’m gonna feng shui this…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST IN THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** “It’s been a while since we’ve been to a show together…” / “You get a hog slap…” /  “Metallica was June of 2025…the King (Diamond) was November 2024…”/ “Actually, no, you DO get the hog slap…” (05:01): “How about them Patreon folks?”/ ***PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / “Get ‘em big, because when you do laundry, things shrink…”/ #fatclothes /  “Were you bigger when you were married?”/ “I mean, I was married, so…that’s part of it…”/ #infidelity / “It’s not like I’m banging some hooker…it’s Wristina, you’ve known her…”/ “Actually, he just switched…he’s a switch hitter…”/  “There was a massive rainbow yesterday after that big storm we had…”/  “Perhaps Dark Side of the Moon might be Ronnie James Dio’s favorite Pink Floyd album…”/ “Dude, you need to start cupping those…there’s gonna be a burp super mix…” (09:46): ***SOCIAL MEDIA US AT #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram #TikTok ***EMAIL US at [email protected] *** /  “We’ll have to do it together, so it gets burned into your brain…”/ #markthetime /  #GrimReaper / “Hold on, the email is from The Drunken Irishman…”/ “They make laying face down more enjoyable…”/ “What is your opinion of the British heavy metal band Grim Reaper?” / “They did a lot of stuff in Hell…”/  “I’m sorry we’re talking about you like you’re in the other room…”/  #GrimReaper SEE YOU IN HELL (See You In Hell – 1983 (1984 in the USA)) /  “The next one’s gonna be bigger…”/ “That sounds like 1983…”/ #NightRanger /  “Remember the arcade game Moon Patrol?” / “Boon Duggy…”/ #arcadegames /  “I feel like we do ‘go-fish’ whenever we do this…”/  ***GIVE US A CALL AND VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** #MartyFuckingMoose / #Melvins /  “Fun fact…the last time that I saw DOWN, Melvins opened for them…at Center Stage I think…” / “They’ve got like 30 albums I think…oh boy, let’s count ‘em…29!”/  “Let’s fuck before we eat, that’s a better idea…” (21:11): “Did you see the new Tony Iommi track (short film)?”/  #TonyIommi WORLD ALONE (From The Dark – 10/23/2026) / “What is he, 78?” (26:02): “How about some ‘Ask The Metalhead’?” / #AskTheMetalhead /  “Who’s the best guitarist in metal EVER!?” /  “Which underrated band deserves WAY more recognition?” / “Alright, let’s do one more…”/ “What album would you delete from a great band’s catalog…other than Metallica?” /   “Alright, last one…Which decade had the best metal: 80’s, 90’s or 2000’s?” /  “One day we’re gonna do a Dream Theater episode…”/  “Next time we do a Chronicles, we’re doing that…we’ve gotta do it…” / #LickItUp /  “And then after that, we’ll do The Power Ballads…” (36:40): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS:  THE STRAP IT DOWN TOUR (featuring DOWN, HELMET, & SPIRIT IN THE ROOM) PRE-GAME SHOW / #Alanna / #markthetime / “You know what, I think to kick things off…” /  #DOWN THE SEED (DOWN II – A Bustle In Your Hedgerow – 2002) / “Larry Gitis…” (41:54): “I got another one here…” / WITCHTRIPPER (DOWN IV – Part I – 2012) /  “That’s got a Sabbath vibe to it…”/ “They were supposed to do 4 different EP’s for Down IV…”/ “Got another Hog Slap on the way, pal…” (45:30): GHOSTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI (DOWN II – A Bustle In Your Hedgerow – 2002) / “You can smell the moss on it…”/ WHERE I’M GOING /  (NOTE: Check out the Loyola University interview with Phil Anselmo from 2009) / “Just a dark night in the swamp…it’s just got a dark, haunting quality to it…”/ “Sometimes going through Hell makes beautiful art…”/ #GarzaPodcast #SmokingJesus   (52:42): “How about some Helmet?” / #Helmet MILQUETOAST (Betty – 1994) /  “I like those ringy chords…”/ “Here’s a Helmet question for you, Billiam: which album do you prefer - Meantime or Betty?”    (56:27): #Helmet SEE YOU DEAD (Size Matters – 2004) / “Okay, Betty or Aftertaste?”/ #markthetime / DRIVING NOWHERE (Aftertaste – 1997)    (1:00:03): “I’m not familiar with this one at all…”/ BAD NEWS (Dead To The World – 2016) / DEAD TO THE WORLD / #CartmanASMR / “It’s kinda got an Ozzy quality to it…”/  “Wanna check out the last album, LEFT?”/ HOLIDAY (Left – 2023) / “And we’re back…”/ “Angry Helmet is better…” / “This one just popped in my head, so I wanna hear it…”/  #Helmet #HouseOfPain JUST ANOTHER VICTIM (Judgment Night Soundtrack – 1993) / NOTE: (Helmet) were briefly a 3 piece during Aftertaste    (1:07:17): “Wanna do one more DOWN to round it out?”/  #DOWN EYES OF THE SOUTH (Nola – 1995) / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! /  “We’ll have a report when we come back from the show…I think we might be the first date on this next leg…” / NOTE: The Strap It Down Summer Tour starts in Atlanta, Georgia on August 15, 2026, at The Eastern /  #DOWN #Helmet #SpiritInTheRoom / #untilthenext #outroreel

“Chimpanzee, he said it…he said chimpanzee…”   PRIMUS is always a fun stop on the road to Relaxerville (especially if you’ve got something to inhale), and PORK SODA (the band’s 3rd official studio long player) is the perfect soundtrack for just such an occasion.    Released on April 20th, 1993, almost 50 years to the day after Albert Hofmann’s legendary trip on Bicycle Day, PORK SODA ups the dosage of weird that was previously experienced on Sailing the Seas of Cheese with a unique formulation that only PRIMUS is capable of delivering. If anything, PRIMUS should be called “psychedelic metal” because in a weird way, that’s kind of exactly what it is.    It’s jazzy, ugly, funky, and heavy, with some of the most potent, caricaturized, and cartoonesque lyrics in metal delivered in the weirdest, most absurd & surreal manner possible. For people who have never ingested entheogens and wonder what Dr. Hofmann’s historic lysergic fueled bike ride might have been like, PORK SODA is an excellent reference point.    Discover the difference between low rise jeans & high-rise jeans (and find out why one variety is (allegedly) better than the other), understand that Amber Alerts are “only important if your girlfriend’s name is Amber”, and “go get you some weird” before you JOIN US as we crack open a can of PORK SODA and marvel at the wonderous weirdness of PRIMUS. Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast   Show Notes & Time Stamps: (00:01): “No, these are 4.5…”/ “That’s what it sounds like…when dubs cry…or when dubs fly…”/ “I am now listening to the Duff McKagen audio book…”  (NOTE: There are two books – It’s So Easy *And Other Lies* & How To Be a Man (And Other Illusions) / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “Waste not, want not…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE AND THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / #surprisebuttons /  ***PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / “Is it...what?”/ “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…because it’s not June anymore…”/  “(Aussie) Dave, let us know if ‘floral cunt’ or ‘right cunt’ is better…”/  ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram & #TikTok /  ***EMAIL US at [email protected] and VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!***   (05:05): “There’s a lot of excitement in the Forbidden camp…”/ “Did you say dropped?”/ “Forbidden was always kinda proggy…”/ #Forbidden PSYCLOPS (Forbidden – 10/22/2026) “He’s wearing a #KISS shirt…that’s awesome!”/ “There it is!”/ “Sounds like Forbidden…”/ “I’m kinda digging the KISS basketball jersey…I think that’s Bill’s favorite part of the video…”/ “Oh wow, there IS a tracklisting…”   (10:50): “Let’s do some weirdness…” / “Primus is a fun stop in Relaxerville…if you’ve got something to set on fire and inhale, you should totally do that with the Primus…/  #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS:  PRIMUS – PORK SODA / #Primus #PorkSoda “Released (appropriately) on April 20, 1993…”/  (NOTE:  Suck On This is a live album that came out before Frizzle Fry…and John The Fisherman was on bolth albums.) “They should almost call it psychedelic metal…because in a weird way that’s kinda what it is…” / “The cool thing about a Primus album…even for people who have never done drugs, that’s kinda what it’s like to do drugs…” / “Zima soup?”   (15:47): PORK CHOP’S LITTLE DITTY (instrumental) / “This is all it is…and then…”/ MY NAME IS MUD / “It’s always been…” / “It’s just so ugly…it just sounds ugly…” / “I wonder, did Les just let him (Larry LaLonde-guitars) do what he wanted, or is there any writing involved? Because it sounds ad-libbed…”/ “That’s not weird enough…do it again…”/  “To me, it sounds like jazz…like he makes it up as he goes along…improv jazz…”/  #amberalert / “That’s only important if your girlfriend’s name is Amber…”   (19:15): WELCOME TO THIS WORLD / “You can hear the South Park-ness…”/  “That’s heavy…but why?”/ “That’s very jazzy, for sure…it’s jazz metal…”/ #jazzmetal /  “Left turn…” /  “Primus is one of those bands that when you put in the CD…you’ve got to listen to it front to back…”/  “One of their records is a full experience…the songs kinda flow together…”   (22:55): BOB / “Those lyrics are dark…”/ “That’s very heavy…it’s almost angry…”/  “That’s me and BJ…”/ #markthetime / #guitarclass /  “He was giving the stoners a class to fuck off in, and that’s what we did…” / #RussellsHighSchoolReflections /  “That’s how you can sum up Primus - those two words: Why? & How?”/ “Imagine…if Les (Claypool) would have joined Metallica?”   (28:55): DMV / “Chimpanzee, he said it…he said chimpanzee…”/ “Call it…POINTLESS…”/ “All the jazzy stuff aside, I think you kinda forget how heavy they are…it’s nobody else’s heavy…”   (31:37): THE OL’ DIAMOND BACK STURGEON (FISHERMAN’S CHRONICLES, PART 3) / #happyprimus / “That’s a fun noise…I’ll put that in here…”/  “A lot of their stuff is kinda stonery, too…I think that’s why the metalheads like it…”/  “It fits in all the buckets…and yet it fits in no bucket…they’re like an ugly #RUSH…a 90’s RUSH…”/ “The 90’s were pretty hot…”/ “Oh, the 80’s are terrible…”/ #bighair /  “Low rise jeans or high-rise jeans?”/ #momjeans #eightiesjeans #hightops /  “When you unbutton and unzip, you were still a good six inches away from the entertainment center…”   (34:02): NATURE BOY / “I’m good at it…”/ #bootsandcats / #readthoselyrics /  “That’s a very ugly tone…that guitar tone…” / “I’ve got a hot take…”/ “That’s jazz…abstract, ugly jazz…”/  “Here’s the hot take I had…I think that Larry’s guitar sound…the annoying factor…it’s like taking a wah pedal and putting it half-way in between…” / #wahwahASMR   (39:02): WOUNDED KNEE (instrumental) /  #relaxerbreak #ASMR / “It’s definitely got relaxer vibes, for sure…spark up and hit play.”/ PORK SODA / “That’s the weirdest vocals in history…”/ “Even the vocals are kinda jazzy…”   (41:17): THE PRESSMAN / “The timing of that is weird…it wasn’t where I thought ‘1’ would be…” / “It’s just weird…it’s really good…it’s the cartoonized thing…it kinda just fits them.”/ “You know it’s gonna be a good time, and it’s gonna be silly, and it’s gonna be absurd…”/ “The lyrics are potent, but the delivery is very caricaturized and cartoonesque…”/ “You guys ever see (Primus) live?”/ #RussellsConcertReflections /  “The last time I remember seeing Prong…” / #markthetime   (48:04): MR. KRINKLE / “They’re not really riffs…it’s like noises, in a way…”/ “It’s just this weird little diddly…”/ “It (the guitars) kinda reminds me of how the guitar player for The Doors was…” / “If you add some distortion to Air Supply, you get Styx…”   (51:05): THE AIR IS GETTING SLIPPERY / “That is just ridiculous…” /  #RussellsReflectionsEncoreEdition #TheGoodies /  “That’s like carnival music…sideshow music…”/ HAMBURGER TRAIN (instrumental) / “This one’s a shorty…all eight minutes of it…”/  “This is the point in the album where you reload the bong and get ready for the next album…”/ “It’s totally metal funk. It’s more metal funk than funk metal I think…”   (55:50): PORK CHOP’S LITTLE DITTY / “It’s named the exact same thing (as the opener) …”/  “That’s the ultimate, dude: go out and burn one, hang out on the porch, and play your mandolin…”/ HAIL SANTA / #markthetime / “That’s a bicycle bell…”/  “That sounds like the guitar tuning song…”/  “It (sounds) like a musical interpretation of when Albert Hofmann discovered LSD…”  #AlbertHofmann #BicycleDay (04/19/43) #Sandoz #LSD #lysergicaciddiethylamide / “I just pulled that out of my ass…”/ “Sometimes it takes a minute for the lightbulb to click…”/ THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!!  “Go get you some weird…go get you some Primus…find you some psilly…” #untilthenext #outroreel

“How many people do you think go into a bar and say: ‘I’d like an Everclear on the rocks, please…’?”   Looking back, 1997 seems utterly surreal…   To put things in perspective, 1997 marked the debut of South Park on Comedy Central, the release of Radiohead’s breakthrough, third album, OK Computer, the beginning of the final season of Seinfeld, and (of course) the arrival of Metallica’s conclusion to The Loads with Reload.   Perhaps one of the most surreal (and tragic) parts of 1997 was the time a bunch of children in a band called Hanson went viral with a song called MMMBop while a lesser known, criminally underrated, and FAR SUPERIOR band (with an extremely similar sounding name, consisting of former members of Helmet & Quicksand) called Handsome released their one (and only) album, Handsome, earlier that same year.     Sometimes life is just too weird and utterly unfair…   It’s time to discover the power of “a better magical piece of paper” that is not a college degree and understand that whenever someone uses the term ‘dating’ that “we know exactly what they’re talking about”.    Find out who “stayed metal the whole time”, who was “chuggin’ the D”, and who wasn’t going to metal shows “unless it was Metallica” when you JOIN US as we go back in time almost 30 years with THE CLASS OF 1997. Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast   Show Notes & Time Stamps: (00:01): “Now we’re about the same height…”/ “Alright, let’s see ‘em…”/ “Has anybody had any weird diarrhea lettuce issues?” / “You had it before it was cool?”/ #BastieBoys / “I got so freaking sick…out of both ends…also, every 5 minutes, I was having contractions…”/ “Doctor, he’s dilated…”/ #cyclospora / “So it was the exact same thing?”/ (NOTE: “Cyclospora stays dormant in your body for up to 2 weeks…) / #nightsoil / “Reason #2 I don’t eat greens…”/ “Email Russ at [email protected]...” /  ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “And frankly…tiresome.”   (05:50): “You wanna say the hellos and the welcomes?” /  ***WELCOME BACK TO THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE AND THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / #rainylanta /  “Because of the gudatron? The front gunt?” / “I’ve been having to find all my fat clothes…”/ “What, was it 121/81?” / #RussellsHealthReflections   (09:19): ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / #Doomsicle #SmogMountain #SabbathFuzzySabbath /  “I like floral cunt, I’m gonna keep using it…” / “We speak your names…”/ “I’m just gonna go ahead and make this statement…”/ ***EMAIL US at [email protected] ***/ ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram #TikTok *** / “Are we gonna have to hire somebody to go through our emails now?” /  “CD Samplers…?”/ ***VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** /  #doowop (NOTE: It’s Padavona, NOT Padanova) /  #RJD (14:19): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PRESENTS: THE CLASS OF 1997 / “The year I graduated from college and got that magical piece of paper…”/ “You know what a better magical piece of paper is?” / “It makes for a much better life…”/  “And by ‘dating’…we know EXACTLY what they’re talking about…”/  “That dude’s a Dude, man…”/ “Spittin’ Crickets is such a 90’s band name…”/  “I gotta ask the question…where did y’all get that name?” / #hawktuah / #RussellsReflectionsNostalgiaEdition / “That’s some red neck shit; that’s not frat boy shit…”   (19:02): “I will say…in 1997…we were big followers of a local heavy metal band…who released their breakthrough album…” / #RussellsSevendustReflections /  #Sevendust BLACK (Sevendust – 1997) / “That’s a good opener…like a show opener…”   (23:38): #StrappingYoungLad ALL HAIL THE NEW FLESH (City – 1997) / #CanadianMetal / “Get ready…”/ “It’s like a super charged Filter…”/ “If I was still working out, that would be in the playlist for sure…”   (27:00): “Hold on, so it’s a different singer?”/ NOTE: This is the first Priest album with Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals, and also the first Priest album since 1990’s Painkiller / #IcedEarth / #JudasPriest JUGULATOR (Jugulator – 1997) / “You pulling up the Jugulator?” / #moonshine /  “How many people do you think go into a bar and say ‘I’d like an Everclear on the rocks, please…’”/ NOTE: Everclear is the active ingredient in Hunch Punch / “Chuggin’ the D…” /  “That does not sound like Judas Priest…”/ “That’s a very different vibe…that’s a different band!”   (33:30): “How about some…Overkill?”/ “In 1997, were you looking for Overkill albums?” /  “(The Hodges) stayed metal the whole time…” / #WFO #TheKillingKind / #NostalgicReflections / “I wasn’t going to metal shows…unless it was Metallica…”/ “There were a lot of used CD stores back then (in the mid to late 90’s) …” /  #Overkill IT LIVES (From the Underground and Below – 1997) / “I love panning…”   (39:56): “Alright, Matt…look at the inventory of cokelines…”/  “Track 5…I know it doesn’t have as many cokelines…trust me…”/ “Is it more of the Forbidden Evil?” / “Imagine Forbidden doing groove stuff but it still sounds like Forbidden…”/ #Forbidden FACE DOWN HEROES (Green – 1997) /  “This was in the Can’t Be Loud Enough…”/ OVER THE MIDDLE /  “This sounds nothing like Forbidden Evil…”/ “That sounds like…Slayer.” (43:20): “Did y’all ever hear that one (Demonic)?”/ “That’s where the power comes from, dude…”/ #Testament DEMONIC REFUSAL (Demonic – 1997) / “This is where (Chuck Billy) changed his voice…that’s death metal…”/ “Looks like I need a bigger rug…”/  “That’s definitely different Testament…”   (46:28): “Mark the time, please…”/ #Kreator PHOBIA (Outcast – 1997) / “Like Slayer, you always know what you’re gonna get (with Kreator) …”/ #industrialsound / “That’s different than normal Kreator…”/ “It’s almost like industrial punk…it’s almost like a Kreator side project…”   (48:52): “We’ve got to pay tribute to The Loads…”/ “I think that’s probably the best song on the album…but it takes forever to get there…” (Fixxxer) /  “It might be worse than Sandman…” (Fuel) / #Metallica DEVIL’S DANCE (Reload – 1997) / “That’s a meaty bass sound…”/ “It’s like a weird, Metallica, stoner metal…”/ “Yeah, it needs a laugh right there…”/ “Under a different name, they’re good rock and roll records…” ***Go check out our Building the Perfect Load episode…*** / “Watch him pull up Queensryche…big fan from way back…more than KISS…” (53:47): #Misfits DIG UP HER BONES (American Psycho – 1997) /  “It’s like Peter Steele with a higher voice…”/  “He sounds like Peter Steele PLUS the singer from Life of Agony…”/ #Caputo / “They came back, dude…”/ “It’s like Optimus Prime can be a robot, and then he can be a truck, and then he can be a robot again..." (56:26): “This sounds like a lovely title…I guarantee you it sounds like WASP…”/ #powerballads / “Let us know if we should do a whole episode of power ballads…” /  “We might need some extra special relaxers for that episode (power ballads) …” / “No microdosing…we gotta go full tilt…bring sleeping bags…”/ #TheChronicles / “Have you ever heard anybody talking in their sleep?”/ #sleeptalking #gibberish / “He would call in air strikes…while he was at home in bed, years after the war…”/  “We got new chairs down here in The Bunkerpoon…I look a lot more slender because I’m hiding my gunt underneath the table…” / #WASP KILL FUCK DIE (Kill Fuck Die – 1997) / “Oh listen, it’s industrial…when L.A. Metal goes Industrial, that’s kind of a weird sign…”/ “What is it?  What’d you say?” / “That was not at all what I was expecting…” (1:01:24): “Look at that album cover…that just screams 1976…he looks like the homeless hatchet guy…there’s a documentary about this dude…”/ “But he looked just like that dude…” / “Turn up the fuzzmeter…”/ #FuManchu EVIL EYE (The Action is Go – 1997) / “Kinda sounds like ‘I Disappear’ a little bit…”/  “It’s good rock and roll with a lot of fuzz on it…” (1:04:39): “On that note, how about a little Karma to Burn…”/  “Hold on, that was wet and you didn’t cup…you SHOULD have cupped…”/ #instrumental /  “I’m going in with an open mind…and a pink shirt…”/ “I don’t care…” /  “Where are we on the whole ‘how do snakes fuck?’…” / “It IS whittled…”/ #debutalbum /  #KarmaToBurn EIGHT (Karma To Burn – 1997) / “This sounds like some good pre-show music…very good background music…” (1:07:54): “Annihilator had an album out that year…”/ #recordscratch #mouthsounds /  “That sounded almost like a record scratch…I can’t do it again…make it a button…”/  “All the cokelines…”/ #Annihilator MURDER (Remains – 1997) / “That’s gated…there’s your ’97 vibe…”/ “He’s gonna yell in a minute…he yelled…I heard him…”/  “Let’s pick another one…” / SEXECUTION / “Sexecution…that’s got to be good…”    (1:12:45): “We’ve got to cleanse…”/ “What did (Annihilator) do there?” /  “I’m hoping, for the sake of all that is evil…that Venom will sound like Venom…”/  “Metallica’s the ONLY band that changed in the 90’s…whatever…”/ #Venom THE EVIL ONE (Cast in Stone – 1997) / “That’s what heavy metal sounds like…”  (1:15:41): “You know, THAT guy from THAT band…”/ “Who sings on this, him (Geezer Butler)?” / NOTE: This was NOT Burton C. Bell on vocals, it was Clark Brown on vocals…/  #GZR MAN IN A SUITCASE (Black Science – 1997) / “Strangely industrial? Or weirdly industrial?” (1:17:27): “How about a little Grip Inc.? That was Dave Lombardo’s band after Slayer…”/ #GripInc PATHETIC LIAR (Nemesis – 1997) / “That has the Slayer sound to it…if you’re playing with Dave, I’m sure it’s going to sound like Slayer at some point…”   (1:19:44): “I was just looking up some In Flames…”/ “Let’s cup so they get the full effect…”/ #InFlames JOTUN (Whoracle – 1997) / “I think that’s what they call melodeath metal…”/ “It suits this kind of day…the gray and cloudy…” / “Nothing’s gonna impress me anymore after Psycroptic…” / “It’s the first thing we’ve heard in forever that’s really a mindblower…you keep getting away from the novelty effect…and then you hear that (Psycroptic)…”   (1:23:34): “Billiam never picks trash…”/  “We should do the most underrated bands and talk about nothing but Poison and Nickelback the whole time…”/ “You don’t shit on Nickelback and you don’t shit on Creed…”/ “It’s just fun to talk like that…” /  NOTE: This was NOT Bruce Dickinson’s first solo album…it was his fourth /  #BruceDickinson ROAD TO HELL (Accident of Birth – 1997)  (1:26:38): “My only thing about that…remember when (Dave) did the thing (remixed the entire Megadeth catalog in 2004…) with the drums?”/  #Megadeth TRUST (Cryptic Writings – 1997) / “I think he got mostly cleaned up in the early 90’s…”/ “Would you call that rock or metal?” / “If you could take 5% (of that bass mix) and drop it in AJFA…” / “2002 was (allegedly) when (Mr. Mustaine) fully gained sobriety…”   (1:30:18): “I think Billiam finally found what he was looking for…”/ #MachineHead TEN TON HAMMER (The More Things Change – 1997) / “It’s weird that harmonics could be so heavy…”/ “It’s like harmonics with a cape…”   (1:32:10): “Awwwwwww mannnnnnn…” /  #Pantera WHERE YOU COME FROM (Official Live: 101 Proof – 1997) / “Wait for it…”/ “They recorded (the 2 new songs) in 12 days…”/ “Should we call it Class of ’97?” /  THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel

“It’s the most readable death metal logo I’ve ever seen in my life…”   Dave and Joe Haley.   If you’re trying to understand the importance of this particular drum & guitar team, just think of some of the other legendary “band of brothers” in the metal community that come to mind who have gone on to elevate and transform modern music as we know it…brothers such as Alex & Eddie Van Halen and Vinnie & Darrell Abbott.    Formed in 1999 (“the year of the Matrix”) and hailing from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, technical death metal juggernauts PSYCROPTIC have swiftly evolved from the stereotypical “cookie monster” style of traditional death metal into an exponentially advanced, ultra precise, tech death riff machine of such complex artistry & surgical precision that the only proper response to have when listening to them is to laugh out loud in amazement and exclaim “WHOA!” with utter disbelief, shock, and awe at such incredible technical proficiency and prowess.   Hear one of the most complimentary voicemails we’ve ever received, never forget that “you’ve gotta use your teeth” whenever you are “schlebbin or schluppin”, and find out how snakes bang when you JOIN US as we go INSIDE THE METAL with the most technically gifted band of tech death Aussies we’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to with PSYCROPTIC. Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast Show Notes: (00:01): “Do-Da apparently is a term for…the entertainment center…man’s best friend.../ “Whatever you preserve…” (Deserve + Prefer) / “There was some crazy…1986 thunder yesterday…”/ “You count between the flash and the boom…”/ #funnyfunmovie /  “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die…”/ “That applies literally to sex, drugs, and metal…”/ #RussellsReflectionsMovieEdition / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST & THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** / “Remastered thunder…”   (04:37): “Let’s use stats in the right way…”/ ***PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** /  “I’ve oversold The Hog Story so much, I’m sorry…”/ “We’ve got the dogs who aren’t paying a dime into the Patreon…” / #Patreon #MembershipDrive / “I didn’t cup, I didn’t exacerbate it…”/ ***EMAIL US at [email protected] *** ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram & #TikTok *** ***VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!***  “I like my revenge best served cold…” / #Prong / “I’m about to run out of back episodes…”/ “He left another message…”/ #MissouriMoose / “It’s gonna be a button, I know…”/ #BlacktoothGrin PLASTIC JESUS (Blossom & Decay – 2009) /  “It’s doomy…that sounds like open road…trees on the side of the road…”/ “Chrisssssss…”/ “Let’s save that…for the actual episode…”/   (13:38): “Big Thanks to Norvyn…and HAIL to our friends Down Under…” / #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: PSYCROPTIC / #technicaldeathmetal /  “The Tasmanian Devil…to me, I think about #Cornholio but before Cornholio was Cornholio…”/ From Hobart, Tasmania, Australia / Psycroptic has been active since 1999 / ***New Album Alert: The Pulse of Annihilation (released 07/17/2026) *** /  “What do you think about their logo?” /  “It’s the most readable death metal logo I’ve ever seen in my life…”/ #Sanguisugabogg /  “God Bless You…”   (17:30): #Psycroptic / The Isle of Disenchantment – 2001 / CARNIVAL OF VULGARITY / PSYCROPTIPATH / “I think it’s cool that they incorporated their name into a song title…”/  #cookiemonster / “Is that Hulk Hogan?”/ “No band starts out, rarely…rarely does a band start out of the gate and they have awesome production…”   (20:46): The Scepter of the Ancients – 2003 /  “You can’t read their album titles without talking like that…I feel like I need a robe, and a staff, and a longer beard, and longer hair…”/ THE COLOUR OF SLEEP / “That’s weird, because their later stuff doesn’t sound like this…I wonder if we’ll find the turning point…”/ PSYCROLOGY / “So you’re saying the 3rd album might be the turning point…or the TIPPING POINT…”   (25:00): Symbols of Failure – 2006 / “This came out on #BlackSabbathDay 36 years after the debut of #BlackSabbath …”/  “You’re right…”/ “Wait…say that again…what did you just say?” / “It was a matter of time…”/  ALPHA BREED / “New singer…” (vs the first 2 albums…) / “How does he do that the entire show?”/ “They’ve got the coke lines…”/ MERCHANTS OF DECEIT / “Those riffs are sick…”/ “I can hear elements of #Death (the band) in there…”/ “It may not be a breakdown but it’s something different…”/   (29:40): Ob(Servant) – 2008 / “There’s still hope…”/ OB(SERVANT) / “Ohhh, this was released on my birthday…”/ “It’s in 4/4…”/ “WHOA!”/  “Here’s the different part…there’s always a different part…”/ “I saw something the other day talking about that song… (Behind the Crooked Cross) /  BEHIND THE CROOKED CROSS (See Also: #Slayer – South of Heaven – 1988) / #TourEdition   (35:03): The Inherited Repression – 2012 / “That needs to be an episode…the best coke lines…”/ CARRIERS OF THE PLAGUE / “Way better production…more modern like what we’ve heard recently…”/ “That’s the tipping point, right there…”/ “This is the first one that doesn’t sound like traditional death metal…”/ NOTE: “(Ob(Servant)) was their first for Nuclear Blast…”/ THE THRONE OF KINGS / “That’s got more of a thrashy vocal vibe…”/ “I can’t even wrap my brain around that, dude…”/ Joe Haley – guitar /  “This dude should be in every guitar magazine…this dude IS a walking guitar magazine!”/  “They definitely grew out of the whole cookie monster, traditional death metal…”/  “Alright, the next one…it’s their eponymous…that’s the fancy word for ‘self-titled’…” “See, again, I didn’t cup…guess what? I’m cupping next time…”   (40:56): Psycroptic – 2015 / “Notice that the logo is different…”/ Psycroptic Personnel /  “You know what that means? Brother combo…”/ #markthetime /  “I just wanna get to wherever my dick is…do snakes have dicks? Do they have vags? How do they fuck?”/ #IDontKnow / “Birds do it, bees do it…I know they’ve got rhinos…”/  ECHOES TO COME / “It’s more thrashy, yeah…”/ “I don’t know why that guy is not on every guitar magazine cover everywhere…” / “WHOA!”/ “Elements of black metal in there…”/ “I’ll bet it’s gonna be just like the #VanHalen thing…the drummer should be on every drum magazine everywhere…” (Dave Haley – drums) / “It’s like that…going back to that record right there (pointing to Forbidden Evil) …”/ “Mr. Petrucci…I offer a challenge, sir…”/  “These guys are professionals…”/ “Schlebbin’ or schluppin’?”/ COLD / “I’m just gonna sit here in amazement again…”/ “HFS! Not on an acoustic…are you shitting me!?”/ “That’s kinda groove…”/ “I wanna see it live…I wanna believe it by seeing it live…”/  “You could do one…how are you gonna do the other one?”/ “Make that whole thing a button…”/ #guillotine / “You’ve gotta use your teeth…”   (51:00): As the Kingdom Drowns – 2018 / “New bass player…and HAIL to The Haleys”/  “Everything they do is badass!!!”/ “We just Rogan’d these guys…”/  “Look at the #cokelines …” / “I like when we branch off and try new stuff…”/ “It’s like having a steak at The Waffle House vs Longhorn vs Bones…stepping up the game…”/  “(Psycroptic are) currently touring in Australia...in fairness, (Australia) is the size of the United States…”/ #outbackfest / “All of our Aussie folks, let us know your thoughts on the Psycroptic…”/ WE WERE THE KEEPERS / “In context, that’s a thrash riff…”/ BEYOND THE BLACK / “That time I cupped…that was for you…”/ “Definitely NOT a Metal Church cover…”/ “That must be the guest vocalist…”/ “I almost feel overstimulated…”   (57:25): Divine Council – 2022 / REND ASUNDER / “That may be the simplest riff they’ve played so far…”/ The Pulse of Annihilation – available 07/17/2026 / NO BLADE OF GRASS (drum playthrough video) / “He’s making it look easy…another day at the office…”/  “Is this an instrumental?”/ “A lot of times on playthroughs it’ll be the song as it is…”/ “That was a learning experience…Oh My God, was that a humbling moment…”/  THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / “Hail to The Haleys…strive to be like them…”/ #untilthenext #outroreel

Summary: “Have you ever been to a buffet where you literally try everything?”   Sometimes the best way to find your new favorite things is to just sample a lot of different things until you find the things that you enjoy the most. As with a buffet…or even dating, you just “grab something” you think you might like and “give it a taste”. If you like it, you keep going back for more. And if it’s not your thing, you simply continue the process of sampling and tasting other things until you find something you truly enjoy.   Founded by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf, Germany way back in 1987, NUCLEAR BLAST has signed a myriad of metal artists over the years from across the spectrum of sub genres, ranging from hardcore and symphonic metal to industrial metal, thrash metal, and beyond, including some top tier legacy thrash bands from the 1980’s that enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the 2000’s (fun fact: Slayer’s final studio album, Repentless, is the highest charting NUCLEAR BLAST release in the United States, making it to Number 4 on the Billboard 200.)   In the context of this particular episode, we are referring to our recent sampling of the artist roster from NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS, and much like with dating and buffets, there were some bands we enjoyed more than others, some that were right up our alley and REALLY hit the spot, and some that just weren’t our cup of tea (so to speak), but rest assured that everything we sampled was most definitely interesting and we learned a few things along the way.   Prepare for the most philosophical voicemail about metal music that we’ve ever received, realize that when it comes to power outages and paranormal activity that “I just wanna make sure that they know that I know that they know” and remember that “sometimes, wet’s not bad” when you JOIN US on our sampling expedition of the NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS artist roster.  Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: [email protected] Can’t be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast Show Notes: (00:01): “So, it’s wet over there…? Sometimes wet’s not bad, dude…”/ “I got a weird, kinda ghost story-ish thing to tell you…”/ #powersurge #poweroutage #thrice #supernatural /  “Third time now…but now it’s off for about 5 minutes…right before I dial the number…”/ “I can promise you that THEY know…”/ “I just wanna make sure that they know that I know that they know…”/ #markthetime / “This house has an elevator in it…”/ “Are they blue tarps? Well at least they’ll get skipped when the apocalypse comes…”/  ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “It’s on a coaster…Lake Matthew has all but dried up over here…”/  ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST IN THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** / “I still don’t know why that’s funny, I still don’t know why it irritates people…”/ #sixseven / “I’m gonna keep raw dogging it…”   (04:23): ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / #NewPatreons / “Hold on one second…I did not forget him…you forgot Phil!”/  ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #FaceBook #InstaGram and on #TikTok (“I don’t know if you need to say that (we’re going ‘viral as fuck’) …”) ***EMAIL US at [email protected]  ***VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** #voicemail / “We’ve got some long ones…they’re big…girthy…thick and full…”/ “The Real Reason Metal Disappeared from American Culture In The Late 90’s” on #TikTok / “That was the most profound voicemail I think we’ve ever had…”/ “I’d like to talk philosophy with that dude…I feel like he wears a cowboy hat all the time…”   (11:00): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS (An overview of the artist roster on Nuclear Blast Records)/ #NuclearBlastRecords / “They’ve been around since 1987…”/ ***Check out our Combat Records and Megaforce Records episodes…*** / “Relax, I didn’t cup…”/ “Tums don’t do shit for burps…”/ “Like a buffet of metal…”/ “That’s basically dating, right? You just grab something you like and give it a taste…”/ “How about Killer Be Killed? / “They were like the Damn Yankees of metal…”/ “You’ve got Troy Sanders from Mastodon, you’ve got the singer from Dillinger Escape Plan (Greg Puciato), you’ve got (Max) Cavalera, and the other dude (Dave Elitch, from The Mars Volta) …”/ #KillerBeKilled WINGS OF FEATHER AND WAX (Killer Be Killed – 2014) /  #Icarus / #supergroup   (15:43): “This looks thrashy…”/ “Dude, ‘cos there’s K’s in there…”/  #NeckBreakker SHACKLED TO A CORPSE (Within The Viscera- 2024) / “You thinking death metal (on the vocals)?”/ “Their sound is amazing…you can hear the different guitar tones…”   (18:25): “Look at those crazy guys right there burning shit…let’s play it…”/ #TurmionKatilot TURVASANA (“Safe Word”) (Global Warning – 2020) / “Sounds like Electric Callboy…we’ll see…”/ “That’s not satanic dude, that’s elitist…”/  “That album cover is pretty weird…they’re having a good time…” “I wanna know what the name means now…they’re from Finland and they’re an #IndustrialMetal band…”   (21:09): “This is kinda interesting when we do the rabbit hole…”/   “Shut your mouth…is that the name of the single?”/  #Pain SHUT YOUR MOUTH (Nothing Remains The Same – 2002) / “(Pain) Sounds almost like darkwave…”   (23:00): “Let’s get some tits…how about Nightwish?”/ “Nemo…like the fish?”/  #Nightwish NEMO (Once – 2004)/ “It’s got piano, Bill’s gonna love this…(sounds) like (a) heavier Evanescence maybe?”/  “She sounds like a vampiress with a beautiful voice…”/ “I kinda like it…it’s cool…it sounds like good rainy day rainy night music…maybe I’ll meet a lady and that’s like her favorite band and she likes to do kinky stuff to that…”   (25:03): “I’ve always heard things about them (Paradise Lost) …I think they were around during the high school days…”/  “They (Paradise Lost) were formed in 1988…pioneers of the death doom genre…”/  #ParadiseLost JUST SAY WORDS (One Second – 1997) / “This sounds like #darkwave too, doesn’t it?” / “It’s the melody that’s throwing him I think…”   (26:59): “How about some Municipal Waste to bring the energy back up…”/ “Hell yeah…Tango & Thrash?” / “Everything is about one of his (Kurt Russell’s) movies…”/ #MunicipalWaste BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (Tango & Thrash – 2024) / “Nine songs nine minutes…”/ #MunicipalWaste DEMORALIZER (Electrified Brain – 2022) / ***Go Check out our Municipal Waste Episode!!!*** / “They check all the Gen-X thrash boxes…”   (30:40): “So I’ve heard things about Nails…they’re much more heavy but kinda modern…”/ #Nails YOU WILL NEVER BE ONE OF US (You Will Never Be One Of Us – 2016) / #hardcore / “It’s got the mix of The (Old) Masquerade (from) back in the day…”/ “This is interesting…it’s like going to a metal buffet and getting a plate…have you ever been to a buffet where you literally try everything?”   (33:10): “Oooh, have y’all heard about Igorrr?”/ “It’s not Igorrr with E…it is Igorrr with I…”/ “It’s metal but they’ve got weird sampling…you’ve just gotta hear it…it’s crazy…”/ #Igorrr  MUSTARD MUCOUS (Amen – 2025) / “Wait for it…that’s wild…”/  “That’s Igorrr with three R’s by the way…”   (35:47): “How about some Green Lung? It sounds stonery…”/ “Those album covers…fuzz!”/ #GreenLung MAXINE (WITCH QUEEN) (This Heathen Land – 2023) / “I was not expecting that…” “It almost sounds like video game music…like Castlevania or something…”/  “(Green Lung) reminds me of Ghost…it’s like a weirder version of Ghost…it doesn’t sound like them, but it reminds me of them…”   (37:47): “Coke lines galore…can you dig it?”/ #Kreator SEVEN SERPENTS (Krushers Of The World – 2026) / “The killer opener (Seven Serpents) with a great intro…”/ “Get some of THAT!”/ “That sounds almost like black metal in a way…like symphonic black metal…that’s badass!”   (40:30): “Check her out…uhhh, hey baby…”/ “What’s your guess if you had to wager a bet (about Beyond The Black)? Are you thinking ‘a lot of melody’?”/ #BeyondTheBlack LET THERE BE RAIN (Break The Silence – 2026) “I was not expecting that…”/ “Too much melody for you…I knew it was gonna happen…”/   (42:10): “How about a cleanser? You wanna do Big Ass Truck (IE)?” /  “Their #IG handle, dig this: @BigAssMFTruck / “Just grab one…Big Ass Beer…Big Ass Dog…”/ #BigAssTruckIE BIG ASS TRUCK (Big Ass Demo – 2024) / “Wait, this is their demo!?”/ “(Big Ass Truck) is like a grungier, more fun Hatebreed…”/ “That’s fun…that’s the great thing about metal (and Big Ass Truck) …that’s what we need…we need the fun factor back!”   (45:01): “(Vader) is a death metal band from Poland…formed in 1983…”/ #Vader CARNAL (Black To The Blind – 1997) /    (47:44): “We haven’t done this in a while so we could end it with a Slayer of the episode…”/  “Actually, you know what, just for fun…off of the The Repentless Killology live album…pull up War Ensemble because there’s a nice little thing at the beginning…a little Tom (Araya) banter…it’s the last or one of the last shows they ever did and they captured that live…it’s at the same place where they recorded Decade Of Aggression…”/ “So it’s one of those…where they put the banter at the of the song instead of the beginning…”/  #Slayer WAR ENSEMBLE (The Repentless Killology (Live at The Forum in Inglewood, CA) – 2019) “So, you guys ready to have some FUN!? You sure you’re ready? Because this is where you need to get off the ride if you need to get off the ride…are you SURE YOU’RE READY!?” / “Make that (between song banter) the intro…this is the best intro ever!”/  THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / “Peace, metal, and vag…”/ #untilthenext #outroreel