The Breakdown: In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, host Ryan Rayle interviews members Austin Blades and Giancarlo Fernandez of the San Antonio-based band Left IV Dead. They discuss the band's formation, their energetic live performances, and the evolution of the metal scene over the years. The conversation delves into the creative process beh…

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, host Ryan Rayle interviews the members of Tibetan Sky Burial, a local band known for their introspective and heavy sound. They discuss their musical journey, the challenges of maintaining a band, the chaos of live performances, and the creative process behind their music. The conversation also…

The Breakdown Backbiter, a metal band from Ohio, discusses their formation, music, and experiences in the local music scene. They talk about how they recruited a new member based on his participation in their shows and how having two guitarists enhances their live performances. The band shares their influences and how their sound has evolved over t…

The Breakdown Jake Murphy, a solo artist from Denver, shares his journey of becoming a solo artist and creating music. He started his music career in a band in Oklahoma and later moved to Denver to pursue his solo project. Jake collaborates with Tyler Ruhl and Elliott Post to create the instrumental tracks for his songs. He records the vocals himse…

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan Rayle interviews the members of Lift the Curse, an alternative heavy rock band based in Austin, Texas. The band consists of Jon Yadon Jr. on guitar, and Ryan Hegefeld on guitar and vocals. They discuss their background, the formation of Lift the Curse, their songwriting process, and their…

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan sits down with the band Venustra. The band has a unique theatrical show and incorporates elements of shock rock, Japanese visual Kei, and swing music into their sound. They have faced challenges in defining their genre but strive to create a bigger sound that sets them apart from other ba…

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan sits down with Eamonn Danzig, one of the creators of the Bat City Black Metal Fest. They discuss the origins of black metal, the message behind the festival, and the efforts to promote inclusivity and distance the genre from its tainted past. The festival will feature eight bands, live sw…

The Breakdown In this conversation, Ryan interviews Dave Perry of Fear of Water. They discuss various topics including the music industry, radio stations, and the success of Fear of Water's music. Dave talks about the secondary market for radio stations and how they have embraced his music. He also shares his experience with imposter syndrome and t…

The Breakdown: Glass Grinder is a metal band from Austin, Texas that combines elements of grindcore, deathcore, and heavy metal. They aim to stand out by not being confined to a single genre and experimenting with different styles. The band started as a three-piece improvisational group and eventually evolved into a five-piece band. They have relea…

The Breakdown: In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan and Josh discuss their foray into the world of reaction videos and their love for metal music. Josh, also known as Drifter Voyages, is a metal reaction content creator on YouTube and the frontman of a metalcore band. They talk about what they look for in reaction videos, their favorite e…

The Breakdown: A Means To An End is a metalcore band from Corpus Christi, Texas. The band has been together for about eight or nine years, but started taking their music seriously about five years ago. The band consists of Storm Galindo on guitar and vocals, Noah Delos Rios on vocals, Ralph on drums, and Kyler on bass. They describe their sound as …

The Breakdown In this conversation, I chat with members Dan and Tanner of the band Waterfront to discuss their background, education, and signing with Affiant Records. We talk about their musical influences and how they came together as a band. They also share their experiences in high school and university, particularly in relation to their music …

Hello Grimlins! We are back again with another couple of outlandish stories for you! This week, Jenni tells the story of the Sandman and Taylor tells the story of the Ramree Island Massacre.

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan sits down with the band DSGNS to discuss their new record and their journey in creating it. They talk about the process of recording the album live and the challenges they faced. The band members also discuss their approach to playing chaotic music and their collaborative songwriting proc…

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan interviews the band members Daniel and Stephen of Thumbscrew and delves into their journey as a metal band. The conversation covers their early years, the evolution of their sound, the transition to a new vocalist, recording and promotion challenges, touring experiences, and memorable mom…

It's February 1, also known as Season 2, Episode 1. What's to come? No one knows! Hold on to your bootstraps and enjoy this reboot of A Little Bit Grim! In this episode, Taylor and Jenni discuss the hiatus, their indestructible friendship, and of course some spooky fun stories! Taylor gives the details of her new homeland - Helltown, Ohio. Jenni te…

The Breakdown In this episode of the ATX Metal Podcast, Ryan interviews Kevin Hellestad from the Chord Progression Podcast. They discuss the importance of supporting the local music scene and how to discover new bands. Kevin shares the origin story of his podcast and his passion for promoting local artists. They also talk about the challenges of be…

The Breakdown In this interview, I speak with Colin and Ashleigh of Tulip, a symphonic groove metal band from Dallas. We discuss the band's unique sound and influences, as well as their journey forming the band. The conversation also touches on the challenges of balancing music and relationships, finding time for music amidst family duties, and the…

The Breakdown In this conversation, Dalton Kennerly from the band LEVELS discusses various aspects of the band's journey and music career. He talks about treating the band as a business, the band's influences and musical style, their collaboration with Landon Tewers (The Plot in You), and the sound shift in their new singles. Dalton also shares ins…

Profiler is a Nu-Metal reawakening from the mind of vocalist and guitarist Mike Evans. This band is inspired by those who have incited change in genres, arts, and theories. It's a weight of legacy that Profiler is comfortable shouldering, backed by SharpTone Records, its home since 2020. After starting as a solo project in Bristol, UK, Mike stepped…

ESP was founded in 2015 by Timothy Moss. The band’s concept and music was inspired by Timothy’s travels in the Middle East and events in the US. The band’s first release, “Call To Arms” was produced by Wyn Davis at Total Access Recording Studios in Redondo Beach, CA . The release on Starwest Entertainment Records was well received and garnered indu…

I love when "new to me" bands reach out asking to check out their music out. It's one of the cool aspects of running a metal podcast. Vox Nostra dropped me a DM on Instagram about a month prior from the date of this release asking to check out their debut single "Façade". Upon the pressing of the play button, the riff begins and I got drawn into bl…

Release The Captive have been around the Austin, TX metal scene for a few years now. I spoke with the band previously back in Dec of 2021 (link below if you want to give that a listen first). Now that the band has a new drummer and a new single, "Defiance", we got together and caught up with the guys to see what's been going on in the RTC camp. We …

I get a fair amount of emails asking for reviews and promotion and I came across one email for a band based out of Germany. It isn't everyday that I get emails from across the pond so I had to check it out and I am glad I did. Thanks to Hannes, he connected me with Christopher Danner, the vocalists/guitarist of Torrential Rain, a metalcore outfit f…

I wanted to mix it up a little bit so instead of interviewing one band, I sat down with three individuals from three various projects to talk about all things guitar. In this episode I sat down with a long time friend Brien Allen (Bridges Ablaze / Arborenna / Altermind), Dylan Kortz (Living Hollow / Hopefool) and Jon Tadon (Lift the Curse / The Bro…

It is always good when I finally get to interview a local/regional band that's been on the radar for a while. Familiar With Failure is one of those bands for me. This 4 piece hailing from La Grange, Tx came up to The Fieldhouse in Cedar Park to sit down with me and have a chat about everything FWF. We chat about everything from how they started to …

The A&R Foundation was founded in 2022 as a non-profit organization, providing services to independent musicians in Austin, TX. Since then, our mission has been to turn creative passions into sustainable businesses by providing independent musicians access to tools, resources, and education on entrepreneurship and music business. The A&R Foundation…

Episode Info: Website: https://www.affiantrecords.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/affiantrecords/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/AffiantRecords/ Audio/Written Book: https://www.amazon.com/Music-Agenda-Best-Practices-Career/dp/B086DC2TCP Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna Featured track: "I Wanna Run Feat. Gutter King," by Waterfront, a Calgar…

Episode Info: Website: https://ststx23.wixsite.com/slaythescenetx IG: https://www.instagram.com/slaythescene_tx/ Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna Featured track: "Cause He knows Casinos" by Gnarwolf ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/ Message from Slay the Scene: As creatures of habit and emotion we often revisit times, places, feelings, a…

Akron, OH is known for the Goodyear Plant that makes racing tires specifically (in case you were wondering) and is my hometown. Another thing you can find in Akron is the band Audience of Rain. I was pleasantly surprised to find out after talking with the band that the rock/metal scene is doing well there. We talked about how and when they formed, …

I sat down with Eric Gutierez of Scoundrel out of Fresno, CA and was also joined by the man himself Taylor Anderson (Titan Audio /Aaerial/Pala) for a chat back in late April 2023 to learn a little bit more about the heavy coming out of the west coast. Due to life getting in the way on my end, this podcast was a little behind schedule to promote the…

Sozora is a band with a diverse and evocative sound. the group's music combines many influences, including post-punk, hardcode, and more. I sat down with Trevor, Jacob, Aaron and Jake along with Jet who helped produce the interview out at DUP Recording Studio in Burnet, Tx. I have known these guys for a really long time, seen them play at various v…

I sit down and chat with Jake Miller (vocals) and Jesse Pina (drums) to talk about their latest single "Slaughtered in the Woods" and their latest album "The Eagle Lake Slasher". If you are into Texas death metal, slam and beatdown tunes, then Scrap Pile is going to need to be added to your playlist. Scrap Pile is an up can coming but yet semi seas…

Framing Skeletons is a progressive metal band from Houston, Texas that fuses the complex polyrhythms and soul-crushing heaviness of djent with the thematic consistency and experimentation of traditional progressive rock. The band consists of Jeremy Burke (guitars/vocals), Bryan Holub (drums/back vox) and Ethan Berry (bass/back vox). The music scene…

The Bottomless is a progressive experimental band that defies genre! The name " the Bottomless" is in reference to the infinite potential of music and drive to want to change! Members include Aj Johnson on vocals and guitar, Sheridan Kruitz on Vocals, Tyler Watts on guitar and Tj Hargrove on drums. This was one of my first in person interviews this…

I got a chance to sit down with James Gonzalez of the Texas Metal Collective and Grim ATX at Independence Brewing during a live show that James put together. We sat down and got a few words in in the newly renovated Stash lounge (which is for rent btw). We wanted to talk about the Come and Take It Back Showcase happening on March 18th at Independen…

Episode 100 is here!!! This one is a wild one so strap in. Paradise Refined is another band I randomly found in the comments of the Bill Lumberg meme and I have to say, I am happy I found them. I had the honor of hosting Reagan (vocals/guitar) and Charlie (bass) on their very first podcast. We covered so many topics in this 90+ minute episode. I ho…

Originating from a Bill Lumberg meme (if you don't get the reference, you're missing out), I found GratitudeTx in the comment section. After giving their music a listen on a run, I had to connect with them. They are a hardcore / metalcore faith based band formed in Corpus Christi, Tx. They originated from a ministry called Thy Kingdom Come. They be…

Dialing it in all the way from Germany, I get to chat with an old friend of mine Patrick Duvall, that is the mastermind behind his project "Of The Sun". Originally formed in South Carolina in 2010 time frame, after not much success with the project there, he picked up and moved to Austin, TX and as he said "shit hit the fan many times" with the pro…

Par for the course, I finally found the SD card that held our end of year wrap for 2022. We didn't dig into "best album" or "our favorite song" of '22. We spent the bulk of the time just going over what we all accomplished last year and what we have in the oven for this year. Unfortunately, Jared "The Young One" and newly minted "Baby Daddy" Jeremy…

The Xebellian Triangle is a symphonic death metal band from Houston, TX melding many influences of technical and melodic death metal, accompanied by full orchestral and electronic arrangements. Technical but melodic riffs, blast beats, extreme vocals, strong and full string arrangements, apocalyptic choirs, blaring brass, booming percussion, and sp…

Stoneside is an independent music project based out of rural Texas, focused on bringing into this world the stories of those who have passed from it. The music is as haunting, emotional, raw and beautiful as the stories that it gives voice to; combining elements of a range of genres including alternative rock, prog-metal, ambient and electronic, th…

This is Kick It with Kittie’s final interview of 2022, closing the year out with Austin black metal band Orodrim. In this episode, Kittie and Eamon (guitarist of Orodrim) chat about the band’s appearance on the Black Metal Rainbows compilation and their plans for the new year. Be sure to check out the links below Listen to Orodrim here: https://oro…

This is the last showcase interview prior to the show on Saturday Dec 3rd, 2022 at Come and Take It Live in Austin, Tx. I headed over to meet up with Otis Archer (vocals/guitar) and Jordan Jensen (drums) to wrap about what has been going on in the Otis Archer camp. We talk about the evolution of their music, the different approaches to each album a…

This is the final Come and Cast It episode of the year. I really enjoyed doing these live and in the moment. There is just a different vibe when chatting with artists fresh after a set. In this episode, I sit down with members Zach Elizondo (bass), Eric (lead guitar) and Tory Fonseca (vocals / he joined the party a little late but its all good) of …

I got to sit down with one of the newest bands to come out of Austin, Tx. I spoke with Dylan (guitar) and Chris (guitar) after their set sharing the stage with Attlia back in Oct 2022 for one of their very first handful of shows. We talk about how their first few shows have gone and how they felt about them, what makes them stand out of the crowd a…

I was fortunate enough to catch up with Tony (guitar) and Ricky (vocals) of HateWaker when they opened up for Attila back in Oct 2022. We chat about what's to come from HateWaker, their South By So What experience and their replay of their set that night. They are planning their first tour for 2023 and I see a chance to get "Rep Your City Tour" off…

This is one of those episodes that I was excited to be able to do. My buddy Matt Fourman (Deadmouth, Formerly Morningside/Taking On Poseidon) is chasing his music career dreams by trying out to be the new vocalist of Japanese heavy weights, Crystal Lake. Matt has been on the podcasts radar pretty much since day one. From his days in Taking on Posei…

Welcome back to another segment of the ATX Metal Podcast. In this short run series titled "Showcase Interviews", I talk to band members from the bands that will a part of the ATX Metal Podcast Showcase. It is our annual show where we showcase the wide range of Texas talent. In this episode, I talk with Astrixion's new drummer Hunter Hagberg. Astrix…

This was a rare occasion for myself as I was invited to Evil Snail Studios (thanks to Kfir Gov) in Austin, Tx to chat with a Rick Fernandes (founder/lead vox/guitar) and Edward Chavez (bass) from Tibetan Sky Burial. Formed in Austin during 2019, Texan natives Rick Fernandes and Bryan Stevens wrote a concept album about loss and the five stages of g…