Heavy Stories Podcast

IRAN, RACISM, FAMILY AND MUSIC WITH NINA SAEIDI: Lowen singer on Middle Eastern heritage, bringing weapons onstage, US–Iran War, the time someone died on her

Nina Saeidi is the singer and co-founder of British progressive metal band Lowen. On episode nine of Heavy Stories, she talks about her ancestral roots in Iran and how her Middle Eastern heritage has inspired the music she makes. We discuss the country’s ongoing war with the US and Israel, which has deeply impacted many of her relatives who still live there, as well as her parents seeking asylum in the UK in 1979, how her aunt fled the country after being a political prisoner for nine years, her experiences with racism, falling in love with metal, the time someone actually died on her on the London Underground, and much more. (Image: Katja Ogrin)

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PROPAGANDHI: singer/guitarist Chris Hannah on American politics, annoying the KKK, going vegan, growing up on airbases, new album At Peace, aggravating punks, musical evolution

Chris Hannah is the singer, guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of Canadian hardcore veterans Propagandhi. On episode eight of Heavy Stories, he sits down to talk about the impact of his childhood on airbases, including how it shaped his political beliefs and veganism. We discuss how Propagandhi was formed as a “progressive thrash” band and the distaste they quickly developed for the punk scene around them, especially the jocks and skateboarders they encountered in California after signing to Fat Mike’s Fat Wreck Chords. This hatred led to them becoming proud bear-pokers, antagonising crowds at gigs and even the KKK. Other topics covered include new album At Peace, the four-piece’s musical evolution over four decades and Chris’ thoughts on American politics under Donald Trump’s second administration. (Image: Dwayne Larson)

LZZY HALE TACKLES THE BIG TOPICS: Halestorm singer/guitarist on songs about sex, coming out, being a woman in metal, turning away from the church, wildest fan encounters, firing her own dad and more

Lzzy Hale is the singer, co-guitarist and co-founder of Grammy-winning and Platinum-selling US rock four-piece Halestorm. On episode seven of Heavy Stories, she talks about the band’s formation and journey up the rock’n’roll ranks, starting with their early days as a family affair featuring her brother Arejay and dad Roger. She discusses playing her first gigs in churches, why organised Christianity wasn’t right for her in the end, the tumultuous making Halestorm’s of 2009 debut album and winning a Grammy with the single Love Bites (So Do I) in 2013. She also goes deep on writing songs about sex, coming out as bi via social media, her wildest fan interactions, meeting the legendary Ronnie James Dio and her experiences as a woman in the massively male-dominated 2000s and 2010s metal scene. (Image: Jimmy Fontaine)

HOW KIM SONG STERNKOPF ESCAPED FROM CULTS: Møl singer talks childhood under narcissistic preachers, oppressive communities, moving 50 times, discovering music, breaking from organised religion

Kim Song Sternkopf is the lead singer of Danish genre-testing black metal band Møl. On episode six of Heavy Stories, he talks about his childhood growing up in oppressive cults, where what he read and listened to was heavily monitored and he was prophesied as a “chosen one”. His family moved house more than 50 times as they transitioned from community to community, sometimes giving up everything they had to worship under new, narcissistic preachers. He remembers the psychological effect that this all had on him and his four siblings, how his parents’ search for “meaning” was manipulated by leaders, and how he finally broke the cycle in his mid-to-late 20s. He also discusses the impact of his recent diagnosis with ADHD as well as his band’s brand new album, Dreamcrush. (Image: Rolf Meldgaard)

25 MINUTES ALONE WITH ZAKK WYLDE: guitarist talks Ozzy Osbourne relationship, new Black Label Society album, playing in prison, Yungblud, Robbie Williams, recording with William Shatner

Zakk Wylde is the leader of biker metal rifflords Black Label Society and the longtime right-hand man of the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. On episode five of Heavy Stories, he sits down for a quick conversation midway through a Black Label US tour, where his own Black Sabbath tribute act Zakk Sabbath are serving as support. He looks back on how he got his gig in Ozzy’s band, playing a show in an infamous prison, starting Black Label, that time he and his fans drank all the alcohol in a venue, his unlikely friendship with Star Trek actor William Shatner, and lots more. (Image: Justin Reich)

WHY SVALBARD ARE SPLITTING UP (AND WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT A BROKEN TOURING INDUSTRY): Serena Cherry on her band’s break-up, unseen difficulties of touring, work life vs music life, future plans

Serena Cherry is a co-founder and one of the singer/guitarists in UK post-hardcore four-piece Svalbard. On episode four of Heavy Stories, she talks about why her band are breaking up after 16 years, including creative differences and the increasing number of challenges that touring musicians face. She sounds off on the hidden costs of life on the road, the pressure of putting on a good show, balancing touring with a full-time job, how the rising price of stadium shows affect underground artists, and much more. We also discuss the band’s history, her plans for her black metal solo project Noctule, why it’s so important to tackle things head-on in lyrics, and her love for the WWE and video-games. 

GARY HOLT’S LIFETIME IN THRASH: Exodus/Slayer guitarist tells Metallica, Megadeth, Paul Baloff, Bay Area, glam metal rivalry stories

Gary Holt is the guitarist of veteran California thrash metal bands Exodus and Slayer. On episode three of Heavy Stories, he talks about how his upbringing as the youngest of six children influenced him to make loud music, and looks back on learning his first guitar chords from his high school best friend and Exodus’ founder, future Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. He reflects on the backyard party scene that made Exodus (in)famous, the night he spent in jail aged 17, meeting late frontman Paul Baloff, becoming blood brothers with his bandmates, bootlegging his own t-shirts, kicking his meth use and much, much more. We also talk about how he joined Slayer in 2011 and what keeps him going while contemporaries such as Megadeth call it quits. (Image: Jim Louvau)

THE DECONSTRUCTION OF DUSTIN KENSRUE: Thrice singer/guitarist on losing faith, abuse in the church, authoritarianism, death, old lyrics

Dustin Kensrue is the singer/guitarist of Orange County post-hardcore-turned-experimental-rock band Thrice and a solo singer/songwriter. On episode two of Heavy Stories, he talks about his spiritual deconstruction, starting with his childhood in the Christian church. We go on to discuss how discovering punk rock challenged what he thought he knew about Jesus, his time as a pastor at the controversial Mars Hill Church, and how he moved away from reformed theology and Calvinism (which teaches that it’s predetermined as to whether someone goes to Heaven or Hell) to embrace uncertainty. We also unpick some of Thrice’s most interesting lyrics, look back on their “frenetic” early releases, examine the anti-authoritarian messaging of new album Horizons/West, and talk about their ongoing European tour.

THE CHAOTIC TIMES OF MILLE PETROZZA: Kreator frontman remembers Cold War Germany, early Metallica shows, self-tattooing, Celtic Frost audition, rejecting drugs, thrash metal’s decline and return

Mille Petrozza is the singer/guitarist of German thrash metal royalty Kreator. In the first episode of Heavy Stories, he talks about his youth in Cold War-era Germany, where violent gangs roamed the streets, he heard horror stories about the Berlin Wall and he tattooed himself in the back of class. He also discusses seeing Metallica on their first-ever European tour, almost joining extreme metal innovators Celtic Frost aged 18, being pen pals with Sepultura, the state of thrash during the turbulent 90s, having his music featured in hit Netflix series Dark, and much, much more. (Photo credit: Robert Eikelpoth)