Chapter 684 - "Not A Preplanned Thing" ...as read by Martijn Westerholt of Delain and Eye Of Melian

Today we welcome Delain and Eye of Melian keyboardist and songwriter Martijn Westerholt to the podcast! The new Eye Of Melian album, Forest Of Forgetting, is out today on Napalm Records. Martijn talks about the influence of his brothers and getting into keyboards, starting Delain after leaving Within Temptation, Charlotte leaving Delain, the inspiration for Eye Of Melian and creating something not in the metal world, and so much more.

https://eyeofmelian.com/

https://eyeofmelian.bandcamp.com/

https://www.delain.nl/

https://delain.bandcamp.com/music

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Chapter 684 Music:

Eye Of Melian - "Symphonia Arcana"

Delain - "Frozen"

Delain - "Dance With The Devil"

Eye Of Melian - "Dawn Of Avatars"

Chapter 683 - "The Way Heavy Metal Is Supposed To Sound" ...as read by Tom Hewson of Tailgunner

Today we welcome Tailgunner bassist and founder Tom Hewson to the podcast! Tailgunner released Midnight Blitz back on February 6th with Napalm Records. Tom talks about his love for and wanting to make classic British heavy metal, finding the right band members to execute the musical vision in his head, signing with Napalm Records, the visual aesthetic of the band and heavy metal as a whole, and a lot more.

https://tailgunner.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-blitz

https://napalmrecords.us/collections/tailgunner

February Sponsor - Tapehead City https://tapeheadcity.com/

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Chapter 683 Music:

Tailgunner - "Midnight Blitz"

Tailgunner - "Tears In Rain"

Tailgunner - "Barren Lands And Seas Of Red"

Tailgunner - "War In Heaven"

Chapter 682 - "A More Energetic Album" ...as read by Kat Keo of Hoaxed

Today we welcome back to the podcast Hoaxed front woman Kat Keo! The new Hoaxed record, Death Knocks, is out today on Relapse Records! Kat talks about adding April to the band on bass, touring with black metal bands, the preparation the band put into the songs before hitting the studio, the lyrical ideas on Death Knocks, and more.

https://www.hoaxedband.com/

https://hoaxed.bandcamp.com/

https://asthestorygrows.com/episodes/hoaxed

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Chapter 682 Music:

Hoaxed - "Where The Seas Fall Silent"

Hoaxed - "The Family"

Hoaxed - "Kill Switch"

Chapter 681 - "The Hardest Years Of Our Lives" ...as read by Dima Kozhuhar and Alex Zaterkovny of Space Of Variations

Today we welcome Dima Kozhuhar and Alex Zaterkovny from Ukrainian metalcore band Space Of Variations to the podcast! Space Of Variations will release Poisoned Art this Friday, February 13th, on Napalm Records. The guys talk about how war affected the band and how playing live serves as a moment of escape for the band and fans, being excited to release music even though it was during Covid lockdowns, the themes on Poisoned Art, and more.

https://label.napalmrecords.com/space-of-variations

https://spaceofvariations.bandcamp.com/album/poisoned-art

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Chapter 681 Music:

Space Of Variations - "Doppelgänger"

Space Of Variations - "Halo"

Space Of Variations - "Ghost Town"

Chapter 680 - "The Power Of Chasing Creativity" ...as read by Jake Woodruff of Jagged City/Defeater

Today we welcome Defeater guitarist Jake Woodruff to the podcast! Jake has a new project called Jagged City and they released their debut EP, There Are More Of Us, Always, last Friday with Pelagic Records! Jake talks about his early days touring, joining Defeater, the inspiration behind Jagged City, connecting with Robin and Pelagic Records, and more.

https://jaggedcity.bandcamp.com/album/there-are-more-of-us-always

https://defeaterhc.com/

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Chapter 680 Music:

Jagged City - "Imaginary Lines"

Defeater - "Unanswered"

Jagged City - "Ocean East, Ocean West"

Jagged City - "Deluge In A Paper Cup"

Chapter 679 - "Death & Connection" ...as read by Joe Edwards and Sam Finney of Shields

Today we welcome Joe Edwards and Sam Finney from UK Metalcore band Shields to the podcast. Shields released Death & Connection last Friday, January 30th, with Long Branch Records. We dive deep into this new record, talking abut the musical exploration and diversity on the album, the trials and suffering the led the band to reunite and inspired the lyrical ideas, the art design concept, and so much more.

https://shields.band/

https://shieldsuk.bandcamp.com/album/death-connection

February Sponsor - Tapehead City https://tapeheadcity.com/

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Chapter 679 Music:

Shields - "Abuser"

Shields - "Death & Connection"

January 2026 Recap

Today you'll Dave Lee of Signal Snowboard, Sabine Edelsbacher and Arne "Lanvall" Stockhammer of Edenbridge, David Grossman of New Miserable Experience, Uri Dijk of Textures, Mike Gitter of BLKIIBLK Records, Joe Nally of Urne, Nils Wittrock and John Lappin of The Hirsch Effect and Manuel Möbs of Our Mirage.

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Music:

Turnstile - "Holiday"

Edenbridge - "Where The Wild Things Are"

New Miserable Experience - "Payback From God"

Textures - "At The Edge Of Winter"

Unto Others - "Angel Of The Night"

Urne - "The Spirit Alive"

The Hirsch Effekt - "Das Seil"

Our Mirage - "Violent Spin"

Chapter 678 - "A Huge Increase Of Energy" ...as read by Manuel Möbs of Our Mirage

Today we welcome Manuel Möbs, bassist for German metalcore band Our Mirage to the podcast. Our Mirage’s new album, Fractured Minds, is out today on Arising Empire Records. Manuel talks about transitioning from piano to bass guitar, the band surviving and releasing music throughout Covid lockdowns, their relationship with Arising Empire, the musical shifts on Fractured Minds, and more.

https://ourmirage.de/

https://arisingempire-us.shop/collections/our-mirage

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Chapter 678 Music:

Our Mirage - "Violent Spin"

Our Mirage - "Awakening"

Our Mirage - "Fractured"

Our Mirage - "God Behind Your Eyes"