Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and happy New Year. Welcome back to That's
Not Metal, where we are back once again. We will
be with you every Friday throughout the year from here
talking about all things rock and heavy metal music. My
name is Parnhaeish and joining me to kick us off,
We've got Sam dig Nunn and Mark Anderson both here. Hello, guys,
How are we doing? How was your your New Year?
Speaker 2: It was? It was nice?
Speaker 3: Yay.
Speaker 1: We very briefly saw each other on our friend Mitch
Harold's Big Fat Horror Quiz of the Year, and I
was like, I haven't seen I haven't seen for a while.
There's there's Sam's face there amongst the masses. Yes, how
we do the mark?
Speaker 3: I'm all right. My New Year's was pretty chill, pretty nice.
I went down to Glasgow and then it was characterized
by a lot of stress trying to get back up
north because we have a shitload of snow.
Speaker 4: Yes, I can imagine we're snow din right now. Nice.
Speaker 1: I spent my New Year in a pub watching literally
as it tipped every year, watching a woman bang on
the window from outside trying to get inside to pick
a fight with someone.
Speaker 4: Who was inside, and just which meant.
Speaker 1: We got directed by the bar staff to leave through
a different exit when it came to the end of it,
so literally entered the new year the wrong way through
an unintended exit.
Speaker 2: But it was very good.
Speaker 1: Obviously, we spent December doing all manner of end of
year stuff with our albums of the year and the awards.
Thank you to everybody who joined us through all those
that meant. Obviously we stopped our weekly coverage of all things.
But you get up to much sort of end of
the year wise, geta what was your last.
Speaker 4: Like show of the year?
Speaker 2: Was there the big Ice nine Kills?
Speaker 4: Right? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I mean I like.
Speaker 5: I all of my my whole year banging on about
my hardcore credibility, going to like proper hardcore gigs, catching
local bands. My last two gigs of the year were
Landmarks and Ice nine Kills, like torpedoing my hardcore credibility
there by going to watch the two most coworker bands,
like do you know what Landmarks? I've kind of come
out to being like they're pretty good actually for like
a pain of truth. Supporting them was very good and
also they under took me to church.
Speaker 2: And Christian melcore like I was young.
Speaker 5: That was the other theme of my last two gigs,
apparently because obviously Prada supported Ice nine.
Speaker 1: Kills, Yeah, which was fucking dreadful. Prada, i should say,
not Icenight Kills. Wasn't expecting that the very first band
to get to be praised on that's not metal at
all for the New Year in twenty six to be landmarks.
Speaker 4: But there you go. Often maybe we're turning over a
new leaf.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know mentioned the that Ice nine Kills show,
which was fucking ridiculously good.
Speaker 2: Actually was really and Creeple were fantastic.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mentioned that in the Award show. Same with
the Orange Goblin show that I went to my final
show of twenty twenty five. I was clutch got to
It's been actually a while since I went to one
of their you know, like every other December they do
their you know running around the UK, but it's been
a while since I've been able to go to one
of those. And it was very, very good because obviously
they changed the set list like intermittently. It was one
of those where I looked at what London got the
night after us, and it was like all the songs
I really wanted to see, like all the earth rocker
songs and stuff that they weren't playing all night. It
was like, ah, just missed out on what would have
been like the perfect setlist. But it was still rad
as hell, and we did get a fortunate sun a
Revival cover to end the set that London didn't so
so have that I suppose. Yeah, obviously excellent time seeing Glutch.
Couldn't have you know, asked for a finer way to
end twenty twenty five. Kicking off twenty twenty six news wise,
you know, in the sort of last couple of weeks
since we did our award show and everything. You know,
obviously in the wider world out there, the news is
an absolute shit show, but it's been pleasantly sort of calm.
I suppose it is how you would describe our rock
music news currently. So let us have a little look
at what we have pieced together what is going on
at the you know, within the first seven days or
so of twenty twenty six, and when I sent over
the new script for this mark, you said to me
that the first three stories I've got here, the word
you used was sobering, and that is intentional to really
kick us off, you know, with a flying start. First off,
the big man himself, Josh Franceski, took to social media
simply to say, twenty twenty six, let's cook threatening new
music is how I would put it.
Speaker 2: Chef Franceski in the kitchen. Let's go.
Speaker 5: Let's let that man cook the most spiceless music you're
gonna get, ever, isn't it.
Speaker 4: Maybe if we're lucky we get a little bit of salt.
Speaker 3: That plane Lais and your sheet give me.
Speaker 4: What I mean? Because it's going to like, it's not
going to be rock music, is it. I don't know,
why do we care?
Speaker 5: I think he's going to go down the sort of
like emo nostalgia pandering thing.
Speaker 2: I think that's is like.
Speaker 5: Like in line with the club dates look at but
that's when we look at that the club lights. DJ
the Cow has kept himself busy since like emit six stopped,
Like I can't, like I'm gonna listen to Josh Ranzesky's
solo material.
Speaker 4: I'm unfortunately burdened with that, but I'm not.
Speaker 2: I don't have high hopes, but let that man cook.
Speaker 1: Over Christmas, my girlfriend's mum bought me, you know, a
lose bruise the like the company that does all the
like band themed hot sauces. She bought me like a
multi pack of those, because I don't know how she
stumbled across it. But not knowing really I think what
bands I like or really what ice flavors are like
the two things that were inquested. She's just kind of
got me be a random assortment. And I do now
have a sucker punch U MEI at six bottle of
hot sauce. I haven't tried it yet. I've tried that.
I think we open the Harriot one. First of all,
there's like a I'm not really a big hot sauce guy,
but there's there's a white Chapel Baroch I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 4: To getting into.
Speaker 1: But for the first time, literally ever in my life,
I've had to welcome a visage of Josh Franceski into
into my home and so he is currently sitting in
my cupboard. So maybe when we're talking about the spiceless music,
maybe actually he will be applying a bit of that
sucker punch spice onto it.
Speaker 4: But there you go.
Speaker 1: Moving on from their Steel Panther. When we're looking at
what has been announced going on live music wise in
the UK, Steel Panther have announced there. This is really clever, right,
this is really clever their UK twenty twenty sex tour.
Speaker 5: Do you know what I've really liked about this was
I looked at the days I was like, oh, they're
playing the Forum. Now no one gives a shit about
Steel Panther anymore, like being tipped as like a download
headliner and like like the bleak times those were, and
now it's kind of like, yeah, they're just a rock
band who like play middling venues.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 1: The main thing I thought about this is I saw
the promo photo and I know that one of the
you know, original the original Panthers, if you will, left
a while ago, but I've been, you know, so checked
out with him. I don't think I knew what the
new guy looked like. And I saw the promo photo
and obviously, you know, it's not dramatic. It's just a
guy who looks like you should be in Steel Panther.
But just seeing Steel Panther at not being the four
guys I always knew was such a like, oh my god,
yeah one of them left, But it was like such
a like it was like a far ago memory that
one of them left but it's the first time i'd
actually he's like scene a photo.
Speaker 2: To photo, which one is the new one?
Speaker 1: Like the one on the is it was the basis,
So yeah, there you go. But yeah, the twenty twenty
six tour, I have a heart take about this. Yeah,
twenty twenty DIX is better. I had thought that, but
maybe get this is. This is how high staked things
are at the moment. The big track of the week
we'll to talk about comes from As it Is, with
a song called ruin My Life, which you know standard
they normally do featuring The reason we've brought this in
here really is. It features Murray McLeod of the excerpts
of you know, excerts Fame Beloved, UK T and M
band Fame getting up to some you know, questionable material,
let's say, in the last couple of years, but excerpts
you know involved here with with As it Is. And
one of my major takeaways from when we did the
tenth anniversary TNN episode last year was I was like,
fucking hell, ten years on and we still haven't managed
to shake as it Is. Like they were when we
were talking about the other first albums ever reviewed on
the show to the present day. Here we are as
it is still back at it. Yet this is very flippant, really,
isn't it?
Speaker 4: As it is?
Speaker 1: Song featuring Mary McLeod, What Do You Reckon?
Speaker 3: I listened to the song for the first time and
the first chorus hit and I was like, yarn, snooze, boring,
I don't care. Then the second chorus comes in, Murray
starts singing and it might as well be a completely
different song. And I think I like this. I think
I like it a lot. If this was an excert song,
it'd be brilliant.
Speaker 2: I agree.
Speaker 5: I think I think the song itself. You can like
Murray's written parts of this song. I'm sure like he
like the bridge could be on There Is Only You, Like,
there are parts of the song that sounded that they
could be on exits albums pre Hold Onto Your Heart. Now,
that's not just Murray singing, because he's got such a
like unmistakable voice that like, when he comes in, you
know it's him. But the first part of this song
you just have to get over the fact pay what
is a wet blanket? Like He's so just unpleasant to
listen to, just completely moist, sappy nonsense. But when Murray
comes in the life that song takes like takes on.
Speaker 4: It's genuinely really.
Speaker 5: Like I was like, ah, that's what I want from
the excerpts right there, Like it's giving me that kind
of just stirring heart on sleeve like British rot fling
that the excerpts were so brilliant at for so long,
and it's kind of a shame it's kind of just
a middle section. I mean, the guest spot from Murray
goes on.
Speaker 2: For quite a bit of this song. He gets a chorus.
Speaker 5: And a bridge, and I think, even yeah, and that's
why I'm like this, this feels like almost like pro
typing for exit material maybe, but it does genuinely lift
like make this like the third good as it is song.
Speaker 4: Or a fourth or four maybe four.
Speaker 2: I know we did age that was free on on
the Deby album.
Speaker 3: Wasn't it.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I didn't feel any of these positive feelings that you're
you're saying, mainly because I suppose like I still had to, like,
you know, check myself when Murray came in, because it
still has you know, pop as it is production essentially,
So when you're saying it sounds like there is only you.
I'm like, God, if there is only you who sounded
like this, it would.
Speaker 4: Be a terrible record.
Speaker 1: But maybe some of that pelp positivity can be that
you're feeling can be carried forward into new excerpts material
this year. That would be nice, wouldn't it much better
than as it is? Is? Bleeding Through Drop on streaming
this week their cover of Sick of It All's We
Want the Truth. It was quite a nice surprise, you know,
in the first week of the year scene Bleeding Through
drop something or streaming and be like, oh, you know
new bleeding Through or something. I do have to break
into people with. This cover is actually about twenty years old,
but it's only been on like deluxe you know, pressings
of vinyl and stuff up to this point. So a
nice Sick of it All cover, I guess, particularly right
now be considering, you know, some of the difficulties that
you know Lou from from Syca what has been going
through and sycavi all have been like off the map
understandably for a little while.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: It's nice just to have some general Sick of it
All support going around. And if you've never heard Bleeding
Through covering, you know classic sick of it all, then yeah,
it's now more readily available.
Speaker 4: Good for you.
Speaker 1: You get to enjoy that over the Christmas period, we should,
you know, kind of bid our farewell. Refused have wrapped
up and finished their farewell run, so we are back
again at a stage of refused once again, having parted
and Refused are no longer in active band.
Speaker 2: Actually fucking dead, they really are.
Speaker 4: Did you get to see them on their.
Speaker 2: I didn't know.
Speaker 5: I had family stuff on that weekend, so that was
the same week come when I was the Parkway show.
Speaker 2: There are a few.
Speaker 5: Shows all at the same time, and I got sort
of quite going family stuff. I coudn't go to that,
which was a real shame. But by all accounts they
they went out on a high.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I didn't see them on this either. But looking at
particularly there's a last like run of sort of five
or six Swedish shows, and looking at the setlists of them,
different stuff they're doing each night, Like there's one night
where they bring Nick Anderson out from entombed and they're
playing not only the helicopters but also a black Flag cover.
Speaker 4: There's one night where they there's one where they bring.
Speaker 1: Out pillow from The Hives, to Do Hate to Say,
I Told You So and the cover of Where Eagles
Dare by The Misfits, and on one of the last
shows as well, in a Mayor they do an Anti
Cimex cover in the encore and.
Speaker 4: It's like fucking you know for a band who not say.
Speaker 1: They refuse whatever like that mainstream, but they are like
a name recognition band to be on one of your
final ever shows, being like, yeah, Anti Simex cover, fair
enough real ones. Yeah, So farewell to Refused. Unfortunately, it's
also a farewell to the plans of Coalesce coming to
the EU and the UK, which was due to happen
in a few months time. Unfortunately, they have parted ways
with one of their guitarists due to stuff that you know,
I'm not going to get into the ins and outs
of what is involved there. You can go look it up,
but they have parted ways with one of their guitarists
and unfortunately that does mean that the Coalesce. You know,
if you were looking forward to coales playing here around
Roeburn Festival in the next few months, that is not
on the cards currently. Maybe they'll be able to get
things back together and reschedule. I don't know what this
means for their general reunion plans, but that's an unfortunate cancelation.
But switching back over to the positive again, talking about
you know, the last couple of years, all the reunions
and stuff that we've been going on about, and even
just like in the last few months of twenty twenty five,
there were some exciting ones. You know, Black Breath or
sixteen horse Power or whatever. The festival in the US
Fire in the Mountains that is partially responsible for sixteen
Horsepower coming back, just dropped like in this sort of
New Year week randomly that Subrosa are also reuniting to play.
Currently it's just Firing the Mountains festival. But sub Rosa,
I mean, I think I name dropped them on one
of the you know end of years shows I talk
about as a comparison point for something, because sub Rosa
are like one of my favorite doom bands of I
guess I would say the twenty first century, and if
you don't know they or if you weren't around during
the underground for that period in the early twenty tens
of subros are drop in so like genuine for my money,
modern classics in that scene record like more constant than
the Gods, and the last one they left off with
was fantastic as well. This is like a band I'd
have genuinely missed, and I'm really pleased to see sub
ros are coming back. I don't know how active they
they might be, or indeed if this might find its
way over to here at any point, but I only
saw subros as the once on the tour for their
final album. Just another really exciting out of nowhere. Ah,
Subrosa are back again at this pretty incredible looking festival
fire the mountains in the US. Maybe more ne used
to come from there. There is news coming from the
Jane's Addiction camp that they have settled the lawsuits essentially
that fell over from the twenty twenty four on stage
punch up into the essentially that very you know, swiftly
and unceremoniously ended some of.
Speaker 4: Their reunion plans.
Speaker 1: Does this mean that Jane's Addiction the reunion will kind
of pick itself back up, and maybe Elliott will get
his chance to see Jane's Addiction that he was, you know,
so lamenting not having I don't know, I wouldn't necessarily
get my hopes up, but that is settled at least,
and I just guess, you know, sort of pop culture
news for that, you know, metal and rock adjacent. Of course,
we had the ending of Stranger Things in the last
sort of a couple of weeks or so, and much
attention always paid to you know, rock music, needle drops
and stuff like that, the big Master of Puppets moment,
of course, from from the previous series. In the finale
Iron Maidens, the Trooper got deployed in a quite you know,
a nice little excellent moment of just a nice bit
of yeah, fuck yeah rebellion, the kind of you know,
general sentiments that heavy metal is always can be deployed
in nice note of the Trooper playing in there.
Speaker 4: I did a lot of pop for it.
Speaker 1: I suppose we can just say, you know, did you
guys kind of watch to the end of a Stranger Things?
What do you make of the general wrap up of that?
You know what has been a certainly music adjacent pop
culture phenomenon for the past decade.
Speaker 5: So I didn't really care for majority of the final season.
I felt a lot of it. It was like, this
is just shot for TikTok and just kind of like
losing a lot of what I like things, but I
enjoyed the finale as are kind of just like, yeah,
this is a big, overblown, stupid wrap up with a
nice kind of like filgen epilogue. I was not at
like for someone who did like the majority of the season,
I thought the finale was kind of like as good
as I could hope for.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I I don't know.
Speaker 2: Lastly is not great.
Speaker 3: A specific problem I have with it is comparing to
what we all love about Stranger Things, which is these
four kids and the way they interacted with each other
and how cute they were. We loved these characters and
we liked seeing them be friends. All of Season five's
dialogue is just exposition, and it's just no imagine that
this slinky is vechna, this pen is you dust, and
imagine that. Like it's all exposition. It's so dry. I
was not looking forward to the finale, but then when
the last hour of the finale is just a really
indulgent wrap up giving me what I wanted, which is
these characters talking to each other, it got me. It
really got me. Like I went into the finale soul salty,
but by the end I was like, ah, go on, then, why.
Speaker 1: What you've just just described as essentially my exact thoughts
as well, Where like the first seven and a half
episodes or whatever it was, I suppose of the last
series I thought was mostly bollocks, Like it is mostly
as characters standing around explaining plans to each.
Speaker 4: Other again and again and again.
Speaker 1: But the sort of you know, the second hour of
the finale was basically, you know, considering what TV episodes
are meant to be, that might as well be an
episode of itself. The kind of epilogue of the last episode.
It got me in the same way of like, ah, yeah, okay,
you know this thing where we have you know, followed
these stories and whatnot, and this has kind of been
a thing that has happened throughout the majority.
Speaker 4: Of my adult life.
Speaker 1: Essentially, I was like, oh, and you know, it gave
most of the characters a pretty nice ending. I did
enjoy it, like it was probably honestly, the last hour
of it was probably the most I've liked Stranger Things
in general in a good while, even though the majority
of the series, like I just didn't really care at
all about what was going on. But the final hour
or so, the actual wrap up of it, I was like, ah, yeah, okay,
wasn't Stranger Things a nice experience for res all in
some ways at least and certainly I made and getting
their big deployment moment. I don't know if it's necessarily
going to be as you know, I suppose already we
can say it's not. You know, it's not quite as
dramatic a usage and therefore dramatic cultural spike as either
you know, Run Up That Hill or Master of Puppets
from the last series, but a nice little bit of
metal in the last episode. Sure, why not? Let's move
into some questions where we like to start off the
new year with a bit of a question section from
you guys, And because it is the first episode, they're
mostly going to be questions looking forward to you know
what we have got coming up in twenty twenty six.
First off, Ami Lanio asks more of a really rounding
off twenty five question. Have you listened to an album
after making your twenty twenty five top twenty lists that
you now feel should have been there or should have
been much higher? I think no right now, But because
it's so soon in my experience, when these things do happen,
you go, Dan, that really should have been higher. It's
much more with the process of time, albums being given
their chance to grow or you know, discover or whatever.
So not right now, but I'm gonna switch and twist
this question a little bit just to say, is there
anything maybe from you know, other lists that you know,
other hosted or just you've seen up there or whatever,
or just anything you've discovered from the end of the
year kind of period where you've gone like, oh, yeah,
that was a cool album that I'd missed, but that
one's very much, you know, an enjoyable one that's going
to stick with me as well.
Speaker 2: Steroid, Yes, like other things.
Speaker 5: I remember seeing that Steroid artwork and I was like,
I should probably check that album out, and then just
never got round to it. And again, like, I agree,
my list is too much setting stone. My list has
not buys my feelings on these ams haven't really changed.
And again, like, there are some albums on the other
post list I've been mentioned that I've checked out, and
some of them other kind of just been like yep,
not for me, or like fair enough, you know, Elliott,
you like what you like. But Steroid is one where
I'm just going like, ah, man, this is just this
just makes me feel good. It makes me happy. I
couldn't quite believe it when I hit play and just
the vocals came in, and I was like, man, I
would like that.
Speaker 4: That's that's a left field like turn a little gnome.
Speaker 5: But the just the feeling of these songs about rocking,
like are just so good. The riffs are sick like
it's generally liked of just goes. But then it's just
this like little high pitch voice talking about rocking, and
I'm just like, I love this. I'm having such a
nice time, and just I want to go and rock
and like rock by myself, like rocking alone at the show,
like at the arena show.
Speaker 4: Are so good, yeah, so like.
Speaker 1: Steroid obviously is one that I mentioned at the beginning
of our Albums of the Year show, and I expected
that to be the extent of the you know, I
wanted to give it a shout out because I've been
listening to it a bit and I thought it was cool.
But I expect that to be the extent of where
it would show up in all of the end of
year stuff. And Little Dough I noticed was about to
become a major feature of a lot of ar thing and.
Speaker 2: They found out they were playing London the night I
got into them.
Speaker 5: I was like, fuck off, did I just literally miss
yeah was playing London as well as.
Speaker 1: I think I think that was a common experience where
a lot of people want to we started raving about it,
but like, yeah, because I mentioned it, but the fact
that it became it came up so often then over
the next couple of weeks meant I was thinking about it,
listening to it more, and yeah, a nice fixture. I
will also give credit to to Elliot Paisley on this
one and say the album that I kind of discovered
from the lists and stuff which I have listened to
a good amount since, is the Lepomer album that he
mentioned in his list No Cure for the Sick, which
is like the medieval sort of you know, harpsicled chamber
music version of a hard Time with this one of
gorgrin genuinely I love it. I thought like when Elliot
was describing like ye, it's a goregrind album with you know,
slurpy b vocals and everything, but also like power metal
lead lines, that I was a little bit skeptical, but
that is exactly what it is like, that's generally what
it sounds like, and it is the most I've enjoyed
similarly anything from the sort of gore grinding world. And
I don't know how long, and I've been listening to
it a lot, and I think that is a really
great record. So another nice little discovery for me at
the end of the year. There shout out Elliott that
one rips mark anything that you've been listening to, being like, yeah,
that's a nice another fun one for the pile.
Speaker 3: Yeah, similar to you. The Leypolmo album Rocks. It is
so what my street. I love guttural nonsense and I
like the major key nonsense. It is beautiful. I think
the only other album that I heard post me doing
my Top twenty that I really like is the Coroner album.
Yeah that's good, which is fucking sick. Two albums that
you know, I just didn't give enough the listens before
my list. I don't know if they would well. Steroid
might Star Wars Steroids are one of them. Can't stop
listening to it, obsessed with it as always. But another
album I've listened to a lot, sort of over the
festive period. I'm brave enough to say it Mildador or
Disco by Master's Hammer.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I listened to it again as well, and I
was listening to obviously when we did it for the review.
I was listening to it very much with the knowledge
that like the cheeky smile on my face of like
Sam and Elliott going to have to hear this. When
I laughed as at about or Disco, it was just
for own personal pleasure, and I was like, Yeah, I
like this, no bones about it.
Speaker 3: I love how sort of old it sounds because it's
obviously old black metal guys. I love how crazy the
array of synths are, where there's like there's craft work since,
but also there's since that genuinely there's songs on this
that genuinely sound like like pre debut album Electric Collboy.
If you do remind me of electronic core and your
Eurovision and craft work, I don't care. I love you.
This record is so insane, but I think I'm on
board with everything it's doing.
Speaker 4: Thumbs up for that. Right.
Speaker 1: Let's move on, of course, to the current year we're
now in, and Adam Blakeway asks, what is your most
anticipated album for twenty twenty six? What is coming up?
That either maybe things you know we definitely know are coming,
but also anything that you you know, you kind of
have a feelings down the pipeline or whatever. What are
you really looking forward to for the new year musically?
Speaker 5: Converge obviously feels like kind of like of my bands,
that's the big one. There's the new Pony album out
next month, which I am very excited for, Like that'll
be a really nice time. Holy Blade have said they're
going to get an album out this year, which is sweet.
Speaker 1: I was literally I was thinking of right about that.
I was like, when we're going to I mean.
Speaker 5: They did an Instagram post sort of saying like twenty
twenty six new album.
Speaker 2: I was like, wicked, I'm really so for that.
Speaker 5: So those are the ones where I was for, like interns,
the ones I know are definitely coming, and then one
that has sort of said it's coming and I'm excited for.
Speaker 2: Those are the three.
Speaker 5: I'm like, yeah, that's what's kind of like on the
horizon for me to really get excited about right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, now you've mentioned Holy Blade, I will add
that to my list for sure. Converge obviously, I mean
that's out very very soon, and this is probably the
time for me to mention that I've had it in
my inbox since about late no them, and we got
so busy with all of the end of the year stuff,
i haven't had the chance. I haven't had the time
even to put it on that so I've been sitting
on new conversion I haven't heard, but obviously I'll get
to that very soon because it's out soon.
Speaker 4: And yeah, obviously looking forward to that one. I think
the one that I'm really.
Speaker 1: Like, you know, keeping my eyes out for is there
was a bit of talk a while ago now that
Electric Wizard had an album basically kind of you know,
pretty close to being in the can, and there was
also talk that it might potentially be the final Electric
Wizard album. But it has been a number of years
now since the last Electric Wizard album. So I really
want that Electric Wizard album and the general Electric Wizard
you know season that it might bring with it. Of course,
the Act the Gates album that is, you know, supposedly
in the can. Obviously that's gonna have a lot of
you know, mixed emotions come in with it. But I
obviously I want to hear, you know what the final
out of the Gates album if it is to be the
final that the Gets album, certainly the last one of
Thomas will be like Clutch, I've got one in the
words seven, they've got one that.
Speaker 4: I mean.
Speaker 1: They played a couple of new so when I saw
them in December, So new Clutch always exciting. The last
album was really really good. We're pretty much it was
definitely getting new Masidon this year, aren't we, Like there's
a new Masidon record in the cannon, you know, similarly
that's gonna be the first one without Brent on it.
But obviously I want to hear what new Mastodon is
in terms of one that is like, you know, definitely
coming soon and you know we've heard parts of it
and more on the sort of rock end of things.
I'm looking forward to the new Marmosett's album, of course,
because I haven't checked out the second single they've released
from it. But the first one that we covered was
fucking great and just such a reminder of like, oh,
this is why we all love Marmosette. So I'm excited
to hear what the new mam.
Speaker 5: I've forgotten poison the well that's supposed to do. Yeah, yeah,
And if we're getting new Poison the Well like along
with me seeing him in the summer.
Speaker 2: I'm very much ready for the new Poison the Well mode.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and uh one that is coming very very soon.
But I'm looking forward to hearing the new Mega f album.
Speaker 4: You know, the.
Speaker 1: Last Megath album Kiss. There's one single of release which
I just thought was a good song. There's another one
which has not left any of our minds. I'm looking
forward to. You know, that will be in our first
reviews bag at the end of this month. But I'm
looking forward to the new Megadeth album Mark, how about
you anticipated records in twenty six.
Speaker 3: I feel like I don't know anything that converge obviously
Poison the Well, if that's coming, I want that obviously,
Josh Franceski, Steel Panther and top of all of our lists.
I think, Well the Male album is coming out in
a couple of weeks.
Speaker 4: Yeah, excited about that.
Speaker 3: I love more. Similarly, Land Loss just and Know it's
the new album.
Speaker 4: Very excited for that.
Speaker 3: I like Black Gays basically, and in twenty twenty six,
please King Diamond, please.
Speaker 4: Fucking please, my god, it comes out.
Speaker 1: I've seen him play that new track or at least
a couple of you tracks so many times now just
want the album fair enough? Yeah good shouts. Zach Hogan asks,
give us a blind take for something you'll think slash
want to happen this year in terms of music, can
be wild or mild, and let's see what happens. I'm
calling the next silly way a hardcore will break up,
a hardco band will break up is because the drama
will be stealing someone's Pokemon cards. Whether you can't get
any more stupid than gooning and estrogen. I think, looking
at you know, the some of the controversies that have
been happening in the last kind of week or two,
like it's ever evolving, isn't it. But I think there
has to be some kind of grock related rock drama,
Like some band will break up because what are their
members asked grock to undress like another member's girlfriend or
something along those lines, or even if just like a
weird AI descriptor involves some falling out somewhere along the line,
I think it has to be the year of grock
interfering more so in all of our lives.
Speaker 5: I mean, AI is good, like you said, like any
sort of Ai controversy of a band where something gonna
go wrong because some bamber's got decided to say I
have something and it made the rest of the band
look bad and they're all going to fall out.
Speaker 2: Yeahs Afi U kate or.
Speaker 4: That is my big prediction.
Speaker 5: The Afi delusion lives on a fi U k T
or twenty twenty six let's go.
Speaker 3: Oh please, I need it. I think some like twenty
ten's brit Rock Chancer will attempt the wrong president.
Speaker 4: Blitz kids.
Speaker 3: Yeah for some a nuclear sort of take Mikey from
Mallory Knox. I'm just putting out there. He seems like
the type I reckon. Some desperate metal core band will
use six seven as a marsh call.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I'm surprised I had already happened to
be honest, but it could still happen more.
Speaker 3: It could probably happen, but I only listened to Dokin,
so I wouldn't know. I reckon. An aging hair metal
lunatic will attempt to launch a normally fans and fail.
And this is more just wishful thinking, but hopefully someone
else will attempt to sell come.
Speaker 1: I hope that catches on as well. Take a leaf
out of the profanatica book, Yeah, very good, and Jonathan
Gordon asks, will Spotify still be king by the end
of the year? AI seems to be a real issue
to the platform. Is physical media released by real artists
the most logical way to combat this. I am going
to have my most cynical realist cap on for the
moment and say, will Spotify is still be king as in,
you know, the most popular youth streaming service by the
end of the year, Yes, I absolutely think so. I
think the AI stuff that is very much, you know,
particularly on that platform, prevalent. It is, you know, just
disgusting and terrible. But if you look at like those
you know, AI songs that get in all the playlists
and kind of game streams and stuff like that, if
you see how well they're doing, you know a lot
of people the kind of you know that the unthinking
masses out there do have just kind of been consuming them,
and they've been you know, prevalent. So while you know,
subcultures like ours are going to have real problems with it,
the actual like majority of the consumer population I don't
think are going to be leapfrogging from Spotify anytime soon.
Physical media from you know, realized the way to combat this,
I would say, again from a subcultural point of view,
you know that, or even just you know, throwing them
some you know, digital download money on band camp or
whateverything like that. But that's of course a good way
for us to continue supporting our bands. But I don't
think Spotify is going to be dislodged as the primary
you know medium anytime soon. But again I'm going to
twist this question very slightly and just say just because
it seems like the relevant place to bring it up.
One of my you know, I'm not really one for
New Year's resolutions or anything like that, but this year
I have decided. I was like, right a beginning of
this year, I am going to try to changing streaming service.
And you know, I have used Spotify Premium for however
many years now, but at the start of this year
I have switched to Apple Music. I'm currently got that going,
and so I have spent a lot of my you know,
first week of twenty twenty six just like sorting out
my library and stuff like that, because it did kind
of turn into a bit of a cluster fuck when
it like it merged with my years old, unmaintained iTunes
library because it's Apple and sudly there was just like
it was a nightmare that was duplicates the very thing.
It was terrible, But I've got it in some good
working order.
Speaker 4: Right now.
Speaker 1: I am playing around currently with just using Apple Music
and if I you know, enjoy that, if it, if
it suits me, and I can stick to it for
for the rest of the think I did decide like, right, yet,
this is the time between not only just you know,
functional things that I was curious about with Apple Music,
but all of the outright evil things even amongst you know,
large mega corporations. Spotify has been doing some unreal levels
of nasty stuff between AI, between you know, political donations
and all this kind of stuff. I was like, right, yeah,
I'm going to try it changing. So as of the
beginning of twenty twenty six, hopefully for a while, I
am currently an Apple Music though.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I made the shift over to Apple Music last
year as well. It is actually just the audio quality
is as better as a service.
Speaker 5: But the thing is Spotify is still gonna be king
all of these corporations. They're all in on AI. I
don't think any of you watch the Anthony Fantana video.
We did a couple of last week' something about how
all of the labels are like, yeah, we've just partnered
with these AI companies that have been putting all this
like AI music on streaming services. They're now all in
with the labels, so it's going to be getting even
more pushed. These major labels are happy to sort of
like give these AI slop services their music to just
steal from now, so it's not going anywhere. It's not
gonna fect Spotify, and as you say, a lot of
the people are just happy to just kind of unthinkingly
just take these songs in and it's I mean, yeah,
I feel the AI bubble is going to burst at
some point when everyone realizes it is a just shit
that they're like when when someone so to pert like
an all AI movers and the quality is just abysmal,
and then we're gonna goes, oh, actual like human art
is kind of required.
Speaker 2: Then the I bubble will burst and that'll be good.
Speaker 5: But Spotify, as you've said, is still involved in several
other shitty things. But yeah, its like again I've always said,
like we're streaming, use your streaming service because there's too much.
Speaker 2: Music out there.
Speaker 5: You can't support every band and now we want to
listen to But that's why I've always said, like, like,
I think streaming services are fine for that, but like,
don't have that be the.
Speaker 2: Only way you consume music.
Speaker 5: Support the artists you like, your favorite, your top twenty
alms of the year, Buy as many of those albums
as you can digitally, CD, vin or whatever. Go see
those bands on tour, Go buy a T shirt. That's
the sort of way. But in terms of like combating
the AI stuff with Spotify, I don't think realistically there's
a way to combat it right now until as I say,
that AI bubble just bursts.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so yes, I do think Spotify will still be
king as you put it, at the end of the year.
If it's not, then that probably means something good has happened,
and that would be a nice surprise that we can
look forward to, hopefully over the next twelve months or so.
Speaker 4: But yeah, keeching.
Speaker 1: Cassettes will be king, maybe, But yeah, you know, keep
sporting the bands you love. And as said, I have
you know, at the beginning of this year, for the
for the foreseeable, I have switched to Apple Music, and
if you are you know, curious or concerned or whatever
it might be with streaming service and stuff, then I
would at least encourage, you know, looking into your options
of different services and stuff you can use and figure
out what is you know best for you and how
you like to do things. So those are our twenty
twenty six casting our mind forward subjects. Let's end hyperblasts
for this first edition of twenty twenty six the new
year with a handful of releases, and obviously it is
just a small handful because we are, you know, a
few days into the new year. Essentially we had a
very small you know couple uh smatted out over like
the first couple of days of the year, and then
this Friday, the ninth, we have from here on that
we will of course be doing our weekly rounds ups.
So some things that kind of appeared in the last
kind of week or so. This was actually released on
New Year's Eve, so technically a twenty twenty five released
because they don't know why they've taken to doing this
over the last couple of records, but you know, you
might have missed it. Ulva put out a record called Neverland,
and after their series of more kind of dark synth
pop adjacent records. This one is more of a kind
of an ambient thing, but it does have kind of
some familiar sounding like beats and electronic passage and stuff.
If you've enjoyed the last year, it seems like you
know their kind of era of being that kind of
gothy synth pop band. I feel like they've kind of
done what they wanted to do with that now and
this seems like they might be transitioning into whatever the
next phase is, but as a kind of interesting again
progression out of that and maybe into something else.
Speaker 4: Then there is new.
Speaker 1: Ulva out there for you called Neverland Fuath, which is
Andy from Sewer, the Scottish black metal band that Mark
so loves his other project that is more kind of
like frosty, atmospheric black metal. I've forgot about this band
actually because it's be a few years and say released
anything but about their third record three and the great
black metal band Woe from America. It's always black metal
that populates like the first couple of days of the year,
because it's one the genres that never stops releasing anything,
doesn't care about calendars. Whoa for some reason they have
a last A few years ago they put last record,
Legacies of Frailty, and I was quite excited when I
saw Woe like Surprise dropped a record at the beginning
of this year, only to realize that it's basically just
a re recorded version of that last record called Legacies
of Human Frailty. The difference being the last record was
primarily assembled and recorded by the main guy in the band,
whereas this is a record with the full live band
you know, chippy and live recording of it, so you know,
not really new material, but a different interpretation of the
material if you like, that is out there. And also
a pale Face Swiss put an EP following there, you know,
somewhat of a breakout years last year they put an
EP following that album called the Wilted EP. Today, as
you are listening to this Friday the ninth, I literally
have two releases written down in front of me that
were you know, particularly jumped out. But the considering this
is the third episode of the year, surprisingly big releases
all things considered.
Speaker 4: One of them is alter Bridge.
Speaker 1: Like you know, actually really big mainstream you know, contender band.
Their new album, the self titled alter Bridge record is
out now, so a really big one to start the
year off. And the other one I've got is not
comparable in terms of size, but it's a record I
was actually looking forward to. The Ruins of beaver Est
have also got their new album out called Temple Schlaff
and the last Ruins of Evers album, if you remember,
I was super keen on and I think I had
it in my top twenty that year, and so the
follow up to that is something that I would be
looking forward to. So I can't believe actually that we
are here with our very first release round up of
the year, and there was already at least one album
that I was genuinely anticipating and looking forward to hearing.
So here we Go twenty twenty six begins musically. We
will be with you week in, week out for the
rest of this year, doing what you always know us
to do. Thank you everybody for rejoining us here, and
we look forward to being here with you over the
next year or so. So we will be back next week.
I think next week I will also, you know, announce
what our next immediate plan is. Special wise, for all
of you who are plugged into the that's a metal
Patreon and you know, help support us. We will of
course be kicking off our special plans very very soon,
and I think I will lay out what those are
next week, so tune in then and otherwise, yeah, we'll
have a good rest of you know, beginning of January,
and I will see you there bye,