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The “nine albums that made me” trend has largely died down and we missed the boat, given that our bandwidth is constrained by however many megabytes of data we have left on our shared cell phone plan. Our delayed response granted us the time to reach the following conclusion. The pathways to metal are lit by the usual suspect albums. You can name most of them without thinking. A list of the nine albums that introduced us to metal and formed our tastes would read as unsurprising. However, these records come after first contact with heavy metal. Whether that be an overheard Tony Iommi riff gripping you for the first time or “Freak on a Leash,” all that matters is the initial indication that there’s more to music than what constitutes pleasantry. These haphazard occurrences come via the song rather than the LP, and today, we honor those morsels that broached the devil and got us individually hooked on extreme music.

–Colin Dempsey

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“Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” – Metallica 

Metal was one of the last genres I explored as a teenager. That changed when I watched Paradise Lost, a documentary about the West Memphis Three. I was captivated by these misunderstood teenagers whose interest in metal and the occult made them targets for prejudice and injustice. I recognized myself in their alienation, and their story haunted me. Metallica’s “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” became inseparable from their ordeal through its use in the documentary series. Inspired by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the song explores the psychological torment of confinement and the desperation of being denied freedom. Its delicate, melancholic opening gives way to distortion as Hetfield’s vocals become raw with emotion. By the end, resignation has turned to fury. Hearing those desperate pleas alongside the story of three young men whose convictions were later overturned revealed an emotional vulnerability I hadn’t imagined metal could possess, and inspired me to explore the genre further. 

–Lily O’Delia

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“Nothing to Say” – Angra

At age eleven I realized I was into metal. I already had my fair share of proto-metal bands like Uriah Heep and Rush via my family, and grunge was everywhere as were Iron Maiden and Metallica. Being this young, though, heavy music is a giant playground with signs you can’t properly read. 

Then, I discovered Angra’s “Nothing to Say” while still unable to read the signs. Hell, I didn’t even register the boldness of using Brazilian rhythms like xaxado and maracatu in heavy metal alongside the triangle and the repinique. After all, fish don’t know what water is. I was instantly hooked by André Matos’s vocals, the power of the songwriting and skill of the band.

Later, I learned that style was called progressive power metal. By trying to understand what made Angra different from Metallica and Nirvana, the playground signs became more readable. And it all started with syncopated basslines!

–Bruno Moraes

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“Better Unborn” – Amorphis

I chuckled when I read the premise for this article, as my metal origin story leads itself to my pseudonym very nicely. Years ago, the first thing I did after securing the keys to a used 90’s Pontiac Bonneville was volunteer at KAOS, a college radio station in Olympia, WA. I was assigned a primo Sunday morning slot for a show called The Classic Hick, and spent most of my time organizing the record library and making ample use of the CD burner. I used the opportunity to throw on anything while in the library backroom, mostly based on the album art. I came across an eye-catching jacket from Relapse, popped it in while organizing, and thought the player was broken for a few seconds. Then, a faint keyboard entered with some subtle sitar chords, and I heard growls for the first time in the context of music.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Amorphis’ Elegy, and the first 30 seconds of “Better Unborn” defined what would end up being a deep appreciation for metal. I would have never imagined this random song in high school would be from a band still kicking around today, and though it’s ironically an album that ushered their exit from death metal, it was my first exposure to the genre.

–KAOS_agent

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“Instruments of Destruction” – N.R.G.

While I appreciate the entire hyper-produced soundtrack, I have to give it to N.R.G.’s “Instruments of Destruction” for being the theme to the dastardly Megatron’s marketing approved spree killing that both traumatized and enamored me with my mom’s VHS copy of The Transformers: The Movie. You got Orson Wells, Scatman Crothers, and the guy from Hart to Hart all voicing giant robots who quote Shakespeare while engaging in a mishmash of 1980s fisticuffs a la Star Wars and Mad Max. How could the soundtrack not be metal? “Instruments of Destruction” became the Hasbro/Marvel/Toei-approved anthem to robotic massacre. The tune is a little evil, a little faux-Dio, a little cheesy, but perfect for smashing toys together. It is not exactly a song of a better future, but a more unabashedly sincere future of big robots and guitars.  

–William Pauper

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“The Transformers (Theme)” – Lion

Recently, the answer to a question—“Why am I a metalhead?”—finally hit me during a run while I was listening to “The Transformers (Theme)” by Lion. The answer: “Because all my favorite childhood TV shows—X-Men, ThunderCats, Power Rangers, SWAT Kats, etc.—have pretty bitchin’ hard rock and metal theme songs.” But the most influential of ’em all was The Transformers theme. The metalhead seed may have first been planted because of the show’s theme song, but it became fully formed the first time I saw the opening credits of the accompanying movie from 1986, and a whole universe opened up. Naturally, it was my favorite movie as a kid. Indeed, my mom musta rented it 50 times from Blockbuster. Why we never just bought the goddamn thing—well, I’m still waitin’ on that answer.

–Steve Lampiris

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“Living Hell” – Ceremony 

My adolescent music palate was crafted by my father’s and brother’s entrées; a last.fm scrobble list of classic rock and metal bands that either make me cringe or still hold up. I was a mascot of music I hadn’t discovered. Ceremony changed that. Hardcore intrigued me, but Ross Farrar’s Krusty the Clown vocal tone was initially hard to handle on Rohnert Park. I needed a smaller pill. “Living Hell” was too fast for song structure: it was medication for a kid on 365-day sugar highs. Jagged guitar tones and garbage can snares fought for 12 seconds, thrown into seven punishing stomps punctuated by Ross’ tantrum of “FUCK!”s. Seven knives carving a heart from my eardrum. I no longer needed to eat every dish served to me; I grabbed my own plates and smashed them. I found music I was confident I liked. I fell in love with the powerviolence gateway drug of the 21st century.  

–Aidan Sibley

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“Into the Void” – Black Sabbath

I was sleepwalking through a flea market in the old Eastland Mall. Freshly single, miserable, moving aimlessly about until I stumbled upon a random stack of CDs. There it was–a sleeveless copy of Master of Reality adorned only with blood-red lettering on the disc, one of Don Arden’s infamous Dorchester Holdings pressings. “Iron Man” floored me when I was a kid, but I only knew Sabbath through the first side of Paranoid dubbed onto an old Certron tape. The Jesus Lizard were my favorite band. Ozzy seemed cartoonish after “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” Thank god I actually had five dollars and just enough faith. The decision changed my life. Master quickly became an addiction, a refuge and a sacred text, finally unlocking side two of Paranoid amongst many other gifts. The portal was “Into the Void”’s churning, indomitable cosmic grind. I was obsessed. They let me on that rocket engine far above my sad teenage life. Part of me is still there.  

–Dennis J. Seese

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“Burned (Kane Theme)” – Jim Johnston

One of my first true loves was–and still is–professional wrestling. I got hooked when I was roughly seven years old after tuning in to an episode of Monday Night Raw. I was captivated by the entire spectacle of the show, but one thing stood out above all else: Kane, and his entrance theme “Burned,” specifically the slightly updated version from 2005’s WWE Anthology Vol. 2. Performed by the legendary Jim Johnston–WWE’s entrance theme composer from 1985 to 2017–the song starts with brooding organs that signal the inevitability of the Big Red Machine, followed by the sound of an explosion that synced with Kane’s stage pyro. The song then goes into the main sinister melody that has been stuck in my head for the past 25 years. If “Burned” had some howls and blast beats thrown in, it would easily pass for a symphonic black metal track. “Burned” opened my eyes and ears to the darker side of music, and led me down a 25-year-long path that got me here today. Eternal hails, Jim.

–Eric Wing

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“Nanook Suite” – Frank Zappa

When I was a kid, my dad was an every-second-weekend dad, and so every second weekend I did only fun things like watch sword movies and not wear a seatbelt. During the drives from the arcade to my dad’s weed-smelling couch, I developed a childhood obsession with Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe. 

Apostrophe is not a metal record, but it’s how I learned to love metal. Side one has the “Nanook Suite,” an abstractly racist four-song, 11-minute Looney Toon on dirty acid which, at seven, felt like the evil twin of the fun I’d normally (i.e. with mom) be allowed to have. I was fascinated by it, made game for it by how funny my dad found it, even as the weird ellipses in the narrative left my mind with all kinds of shadowy shit to parse: enemies, baby seals, a violent, yellow crystal-inflicted blinding, all of it brought to a boiling crescendo at St. Alphonso’s Pancake Breakfast, one of my childhood’s first hyper-objects.

Even as I came to know its gonzo, free-associative contours, there was something in the way it moved that felt just a hair too uncontrolled to be safe. It was, I see now, my first encounter with musical extremity. Extremity is metal, even when it doesn’t come in a metal package. Zappa for me now is a wild, compositional genius too-often undercut by a twelve-year-old’s edgelord humour, but in my dad’s car Zappa was the ferryman, revealing unseen worlds I imagined my father boldly striding between our weekends.

–Josh Rioux

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Whenever she’s anxious or stressed, Katrine Stenbekk has the same dream. The Norwegian vocalist is paralysed as she feels her bedsheets being pulled away from her; she then floats out the window and hears the voices of female relatives both living and dead, urging her to join them somewhere she can’t see. “I’ve started to call out my own name in my sleep, to pull me back,” she says, “because I’m not ready to know where this dream is going [to take me].”

Her recurring vision was the inspiration for Descend The Stars, a standout moment on her folk-prog band Kalandra’s magnificent new third album, The Other Side. ‘As daylight sings its final song… the tide of sleep is calling me,’ Stenbekk unloads over classical swells from the track’s guest performers, chamber-poppers Árstíðir. ‘It’s whispering my name.’

“I feel like it’s a nightmare more than a dream,” she continues, talking to Hammer by video-call on a dreary October afternoon. “I tell myself ‘this doesn’t have to be a bad thing’ and then I’m off flying, but deep down, I am scared. I also have mimics that often show up between 4 and 6am: voices that say my name. You know it’s happening in your head, but sometimes you wonder, ‘Is this in my head? What if someone is calling me?’”

It’s no surprise, then, that Stenbekk walked into a band meeting in 2024 and said that whatever they make next should be centred around sleep and the subconscious. Two years later, The Other Side is their first conceptual work: single Let Me Be Open is about overcoming deeply latent fears, while the shamanic yet catchy Animal asks whether generative AI technologies are able to dream. But the album also expands upon the quartet’s blend of folk tradition and modern rock, which has made them one of the most promising newcomers in alternative music.

Although Kalandra started in 2011, their career didn’t truly kick off until eight years later, when they inked a deal with By Norse: the label co-founded by Einar Selvik of Nordic resurrectionists Wardruna. On their 2020 debut, The Line, Stenbekk howled like a priestess over tunes which packed the awe of ancient forest rituals into contemporary song structures.

Where 2024 successor A Frame Of Mind realised the band’s anthemic potential, The Other Side is blurrier: less immediate but ultimately more rewarding as it coalesces sounds from across the continents. Midpoint A Ship Has Left The Shore rises from Western singer/songwriter-style intimacy to a cleansing, choral chant.

“The genesis of the band was us being this folky thing, but none of us are folk musicians,” explains guitarist Jogeir Daae Mæland. “It’s us doing a pastiche of all these different genres where we kind of know what we’re doing.”

“There are influences of folk from the Nordic countries, but also from all over the world,” adds Stenbekk. “I have hints of Indian and Middle Eastern things that I do with my voice.”

The lineup seem like opposites: Stenbekk is the chatty, elfin dreamer, whereas Mæland, co-guitarist Florian Winter and drummer Oskar Johnsen Rydh (all also on today’s call) are stoic, sometimes deadpan. Rydh barely says a word. But what brought them together was a shared desire to push limits. The singer and guitarists met while studying at the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts (LIPA), the university co-founded by local hero Paul McCartney.

“I remember the day I did the auditions,” says Winter. “I had never heard of LIPA and wasn’t particularly a fan of the Beatles, but going into that audition, I said, ‘This has been my dream forever! I’m such a Beatles fan!’ It was all BS.”

The trio only met McCartney once, at their graduation ceremony, where he gave out the diplomas. “Time stops in that moment,” Stenbekk recalls. “It literally takes five seconds: you go out, you hold the paper and you smile at the camera. He said, ‘Take the pin badge.’ ‘What?’ ‘Take the pin badge, love – in my hand. Now look at the camera!’ I just glided off the stage and was like, ‘Oh!’ My heart was racing a lot faster than I thought it would.”

“When you go to LIPA, you sign away all the rights you have to them taking pictures of you,” adds Winter. “If they take a photo of you at the university, they can use that in all of their promotional materials, forever. I saw this in Oslo: they were having tryouts, and there was a life-sized cardboard cutout of me outside the building, in the middle of the street.”

From there, Stenbekk jokes, much of Kalandra’s career progression has come down to “stalking” their idols. The singer sent By Norse’s Selvik demos and music videos for four years, then it was another two before his label actually reached out with an offer.

Similarly, she once outright told composer Bear McCreary (The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, God Of War, Percy Jackson And The Olympians) at a festival that she thought she’d be perfect for one of his projects. She’s now lined up to sing on his soundtrack for AAA title God Of War Laufey next year.

“It’s just about telling people in your genre that you exist,” she explains. “None of us have musician parents: we can’t leap off of someone else’s career. We really had to start from scratch, so we can’t have any shame about this. I’m quite introverted, but I know for a fact that if I don’t do anything, nothing is going to happen. So I need to dare to be social.”

That self-determination is paying off. As well as being signed to By Norse and their frontwoman having God Of War Laufey on the horizon, the band composed music for strategy game Kingdom Two Crowns in 2022 and have toured extensively. Songs from The Line alone have been streamed more than 50 million times combined.

But, when Hammer asks about the members’ hopes for the future, more of this kind of thing isn’t what they talk about. They want to carry on doing what brought them together: smashing different cultures together, and smashing genre conventions over their knees. “There are a lot of things that we didn’t get to do on the last two albums: we never got to work with an orchestra,” Winter hints.

On a more personal level, Stenbekk wants to work on keeping the bad dreams at bay, to control how stress infects her subconscious. “It’s like a black tar that seeps into my soul,” she states, “and I don’t know how to relax. I still feel like I can’t get it out unless I allow myself to cry, or I go for a run. Maybe I should start boxing or punching something – I really feel like I should handle stress better.”

The Other Side is out on November 13 via By Norse. Kalandra tour Europe and the UK from February to March. Get tickets.

“It felt like we truly created something special out of nothing,” recalls SCALDING guitarist/vocalist SM, looking back on songs written during lockdown in 2020 and the band’s first shows in 2022. Those beginnings are revisited on Hypaethral Records’ expanded reissue of Exordium, out now on limited CD and vinyl. Originally released digitally in 2022, the […]

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Look What Happened have shared a new track, ahead of the release of their new EP, that further cements their heightened place in the current UK pop-punk scene.

Titled ‘Make It Real’, it combines the buoyancy and boldness of the genre’s early days with the earnest sentiment and chest-beating intensity that has defined it in the modern day. The result is as infectious as it comes.

Sensationally catchy, wonderfully thoughtful and sure to get a pit or two spinning in the process, it is the sort of track that serves as a real fork in the road.

One that showcases just how ready to roll the band are, no matter what may come their way.

The track is pulled from the band’s upcoming EP ‘Across Weak Minds For The Weekend’, which will be released on October 30.

Drummer Jack Lowe had this to say about the making of the release:

“We recorded ‘Weak Minds For The Weekend’ with Ian Sadler over five days in July. Our aim was to create an homage to the pop punk bands we grew up on. I’d like to think we succeeded!”

The EP’s artwork looks like this:

Whilst the tracklisting is more like this:

1. Masochist
2. Goldstone
3. Make It Real
4. Liquid Equilibrium
5. Service Charge.

The post Look What Happened Share Rousing Pop-Punk Anthem ‘Make It Real’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

Posted on October 23rd 2026, 3:54pm

The post “World’s Top Autograph Seeker” Apologizes To Harry Styles After Heated Street Encounter appeared first on Stereogum.

Nine tracks, a running time of just over half an hour and a three-part ‘Fragmental Chaotic System’ sequence: CHAOS MOTION are keeping their second album compact while pursuing the intricate songwriting introduced on their debut. The Mexican/French technical death metal band’s self-titled record is officially announced for 29 January 2027 via Transcending Obscurity Records. Its […]

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Mayhem Music Magazine Sits Down With Five Finger Death Punch Bassist Chris Kael

Chris Kael Discusses the Band as Five Finger Death Punch Brings Its Tour to the Nashville Area

 

 

You’ve got a lot happening right now, from music to comedy to podcasting. And now a major honor from your home state. Let’s start with the music. You’ve been a member of Five Finger Death Punch for more than 15 years. Looking back over the time, how do you feel the band has evolved, not only musically but also in terms of your own growth as a musician and performer?

Well, musically, man, it’s been a long progress from, you know, we’ve had several different members over the years. And right now with this group, we’ve got me, Charlie, Andy, Zoltan, and Ivan. I feel that we are playing tighter than we ever have. Better, stronger performances than we’ve ever had. The production is incredible and we’re all getting along right now which historically when you’ve got members going in and out of the band clearly there’s some fire there but man we’re having such a good time up there and I think that having the technical players that we have both in Charlie and Andy tightening everything up really performing well and just the personalities in the band are all wonderful interactively right now. So, yeah, you’ll see it when we get on stage up there tonight.

 

Well, congratulations on the release of Legacy. With this marking the band’s 10th studio album, has the songwriting and recording process become easier over the years or does reaching this point in the band’s career bring new challenges when it comes to creating music together.

I love the new record. It’s, again, technically going back to Andy James playing and Zoltan’s right hand. Just the very first track right out of the gate. It’s like, what the fuck is even happening here? I’m like, it sounds like video game music to me.

I think that riff started off, and this may be coming out of my ass. I can’t say that it’s factually based. But I feel like one time Dragon Force did a cover of a Five Finger Death Punch song, like writing like Five Finger Death Punch. Herman Lee did it on his website. And I feel almost like this is kind of us, particularly with that riff, going back and doing, oh, you’re going to do Death Punch. We’re doing a Dragon Force riff. Boom, here you go. And again, that may just be the bass player speaking out of his ass, but that’s how I envision that track right there.

 

Well, looking back at your early days playing in bands like Cut, Love, Kill, Did you ever imagine that your career would eventually lead you to where you are today with Five Finger Death Punch? At the time, did you have any sense that the music could take you this far?

I always knew that I was going to be playing music. I thought I was going to be like a Hatebreed level going out and playing in large theaters, clubs, stuff like that. I never could have imagined that it would have gotten as big as it did. But I definitely knew I was going to be a working musician. It’s always been in my blood ever since I first saw Gene Simmons from Kiss when I was at the age of four.

I saw him on TV. I was like, oh, I don’t know what he’s doing, but that’s what I want to do right there. And I’ve been chasing that dream ever since. So I knew the hard work was there. It was a matter of continuing to take calculated chances, seeing doors opening before me, and then walking through those doors when they’re presented. And here I am today on the bus talking to you, even bringing up Old Cut Love Kill. That’s incredible. I love it.

 

And how has your sobriety changed your life, both personally and musically?

Personally and musically, both. It’s made me more present and more grateful for both of them. I think that when I was drinking and doing drugs, I was consumed with filling that God-sized hole in me with external stuff. Now that I’ve gotten, really since the pandemic really, more creative. I’ve been taking more chances. I do a stand-up comedy now, doing the Beardo And Weirdo podcast. So this nut that is Five Finger Death Punch has created so many other opportunities outside. I always like to say that I work for an hour and a half a day sometimes with Five Finger Death Punch.

Because I’m up there for an hour and a half and then I got all those hours to fill throughout the day. Back when I was drinking and drugging, I was filling it up with a bunch of bullshit. And now I’m doing it with much more actual fulfilling stuff. I know that I’m an entertainer, so anytime that I’m entertaining, I’m being the best version of myself. And there’s no Mic that I don’t love and no Mic that doesn’t love me. Same with photos. Same with cameras. I always like being out there. I feel like I’ve got a very bright light that shines from within, and I love sharing that. Always have, even as a little kid.

And I feel like I’m fully immersed in just, again, being the best version of myself, which is an entertainer. regardless of where I’m entertaining, that’s where I need to be.

 

Well, has getting sober changed the way you approach your creativity, songwriting, or performing?

Oh, yeah, completely. I remember before I got sober, one of the things in my mind was, oh, man, if I get sober, I’m not going to be able to be creative. I’m not going to be able to write songs. And the universe very loudly was like, motherfucker, you haven’t written a song in like five years.

Shut the fuck up. So I’d written riffs and whatnot, but I hadn’t really, I was afraid of something that wasn’t even happening at that point. Losing creativity. I had already lost it at that point. In 2021, started kind of like, I was going through a bit of a mental breakdown with the pandemic and not knowing where the band was going to be playing. If music was going to be an option for anybody ever again. And I was really going through it personally. So I sat down with a guitar probably six, seven hours a day just playing guitar over and over again. And suddenly riffs were starting to come out of me again. And I basically, through a therapeutic purge, wrote an entire solo record. We’ll see if that ever comes out.

It was enough for me just to use it therapeutically to get through that pandemic. But I definitely leaned on being creative during that rise back to becoming me again. And between that, between engaging in the stand-up comedy with my buddy Craig Gass, who I do the Beard And Weirdo podcast with, just really getting in and accepting this creative energy that’s in me, allowing it to kind of fall from the ether and me be a conduit of that. And again, when I’m doing that, the free flow of energy from wherever the hell that comes through me to wherever it goes after that, that’s the line of flow that I like being in right now. And it’s staying that way.

 

 

Of all the songs in the Five Finger Death Punch catalog, which is your favorite to perform live, and which song are you most proud to have been part of creating?

The one I’m most proud of being part of creating is on Afterlife. It’s called Gold Gutter. It was originally called ‘In Hell Was You’ that I’d written for my solo record. So the music is essentially the skeleton. I wrote the skeleton for that. and then Zoltan came in and added a couple of different parts and he added his magic on top of that and then Ivan wanted to be able to sing something that he connected with so that song has got a whole different set of lyrics and melodies and then Ivan came in with his and that’s the one that you hear on that record.

I am proud of the live element that I bring out here on stage. I’m very much a physical presence. I’m big. I’ve got the beard. I’m a performer. I’ve always been a performer. I say that I’m not a bassist. I don’t play bass. I beat the shit out of it.

that’s pretty much how I go through life. I’m not a finesse guy and let’s take it to another place in your life right now.

 

You’ve also ventured into stand-up comedy. How did that come about and was it more intimidating in the beginning to step on a stage by yourself without the rest of your band beside you?

Hell Yes! A resounding hell yes still today. I’ve been doing it for three years, it started off me and comedian Craig Gass. He was on King of Queens, Howard Stern Show, does voices for Family Guy. Him and i really bonded through sobriety, he’s got i think 20 years now maybe 21 years. I’m less than that but you know building up days i think i’m i just celebrated five years October 1st of this year. We were able to bond over that and anytime that we hang out we’re always telling stories going back and forth and he’s like “man, you are so funny. I know you love stand-up. We should get you up and do stand-up”. So he put together this show called ‘Punch Lines and Back Lines’ where they have three professional comedians and that one musician who’s wanted to do it but hasn’t done it before. They offered to do some writing for me for that but as the jokes were coming in I’m like ah again going with that flow I know my voice I know my experiences I’ve got stories from the road. I’m very expressive. I’m an entertainer performer.

So I used a couple of Craig’s jokes in the beginning when I first got started just to kind of break that ice and get a couple of pops. But then I went into stories about being in Death Punch, about growing up in Kentucky, about having to wear a motorcycle helmet to school because of a head injury in kindergarten. That’s where it started. Born fucking comedian, right?

So the very first show that I ever did was at a rock club with Punchline and Backlines. The second one that I did was at a comedy club called The Dirty at 12:30 in Las Vegas. It’s like a weekly Friday night show and I crushed it in a very forgiving audience in the rock club and then took it on the comedy stage and was like whoa! That first show was very forgiving.

So ever since then just been getting up there. I mean I go to open mics in front of 10 people. I’ll play here in front of 10-15,000 people with Death Punch and then be at a comedy club on a Tuesday night doing open mics in front of 30 people. And I love it. It’s a completely different animal. Here on stage with Death Punch, it’s like the back of my hand. At a comedy club, it’s like I’m getting smacked with the front of my hand.

 

 

Who are some of the comedians who have influenced your style and approach to stand-up, and what is it about their comedy that resonates with you?

Well, what I like versus what I perform are two completely different things. I realize that I love kind of dark humor, like Anthony Jeselnik. Yeah, I love that dude. There’s a dude named Derrick Stroop out of Alabama. He lives in Nashville now. That dude is so damn funny. He’s a southern comic. Just the words he uses and his expressions, he’s a genius. I’m somewhere in between those two styles. I definitely know that I’m a very likable person, very positive.

So if I’m trying to do dark humor, it doesn’t work for me on stage. And I’m big and scary. I can’t be doing dark humor because I’m going to scare the shit out of the crowd. I can’t be bringing me on stage with Death Punch into a comedy club. Right. That approach does not work. So a good friend of mine, another comedian back in Vegas, Josh Wolf, who used to be on Chelsea Lately, he did that. He’s a stand-up comedian, goes all around with his son now, Jacob Wolf. And he invited me to do stand-up at Jimmy Kimmel’s in Las Vegas.

And I was like, “hey, man, watch my set. I’m open to notes. I want to know what I need to work on. I love this art. I love this craft. I want to get better at it. Let me know what you think.” After I did my set, he came back. He was like, dude, the only notes there are, there are no notes. He’s like, you’ve got it, you’re comfortable on stage because of all the stuff that you’ve done with Death Punch.

Now it’s just a matter of finding your unique voice, your perspective in one night. And that triggered a change in me. There’s definitely some third rail topics that I touch in my stand-up growing up in Kentucky. There’s some stuff growing up that I touch on as well. But I also know that, again, I’m this light. I’ve got this light within me. I don’t want to introduce dark stuff just because I think it’s fun and interesting. I want to share the light. I want to get people out of their homes, into a comedy club, into the stage up here when we’re playing with Death Punch, and be a distraction from all the craziness that’s out there.

When you come see me, I want to be an entertaining. I want to be an entertainer and take you away from whatever you’ve got going on in life. give you an hour and a half, or if I’m doing comedy, 20, 25 minutes just to come in, relax, have a good time, take you away from all the other stuff. Or if you’re celebrating shit, bring you in. Let’s celebrate it as well. That’s why I’m an entertainer.

 

 

That’s a great perspective. You also co-host the Beardo And Weirdo Podcast with Gass, which you’ve mentioned. And were the two of you friends before you got into stand-up? And how did the idea of the podcast come together?

The podcast came together because we were friends. We’ve been friends for probably about 10 years. He was originally friends with Jason Hook. And one day Jason was busy with some other stuff. So Craig and I ended up hanging out watching Monday Night Football, I think.

I’ve been talking about how sober I am and all this other stuff. So that kind of helped me balance the public talking about it versus really sharing intimately with those in my sober circle. And that’s where we really bonded, sharing those stories, and it eventually just turned into the podcast. We got a lot of unique stories with me and Five Finger Death Punch, all the rock and roll stuff going on, him being a comedian. So he’s got stories from his life. I’ve got stories from my life.

We’ve got Geoff Tate on there from Queensryche fame today. We’ve had Gene Simmons reach out to us to promote his KISS land cruise that they do in Vegas. It’s crazy the amount of people that are coming out. and the love and support that we’ve got from all of our friends and able to talk about rock, comedy, sobriety.

I mean, I went through a major breakup on the podcast as well. So I’m crying like a bitch on there, along with all the laughter as well.

 

Well, now that you’re more than 40 episodes into Beardo And Weirdo, looking back at the guests you’ve had so far, who has been some of your favorites? And was there a moment or something a guest said that genuinely caught you off guard or left you speechless?

I think just the moment when we had Gene Simmons from Kiss on there. Because that’s where my musical journey started. I saw him on 321 Contact, knew what I wanted to do in seeing him on that stage. And there I was talking to Gene Simmons as a guest on our podcast. And I felt like, oh, hold on. I’m here now. going into this life there’s a little bit of an imposter syndrome when you’re hanging out with legends like Gene Simmons. Sometimes you find yourself going like “why am I in this room” but something about that interview it came full circle for me. It’s a huge moment in life. I saw him at four, now I’m doing essentially what he does at the age of 52 and have a conversation on the same level with the man.

That was one of those kind of affirming, like the path that I set out at the age of four and followed and stayed disciplined and kept taking those chances and refused to accept no and kept going. That was my moment. I was like, ah, I’m here. That is so awesome.

 

Has Craig ever talked about hitting the road with you and the band to record Beardo And Weirdo while you’re on tour?

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. that and stand-up comedy performances too. So going into this, I originally wanted to write a book about being in Five Finger Death Punch, all the experiences in life. Given the opportunity to do the comedy, I’m basically like doing market research on stage, seeing what stories hit, writing them, punching them up and making them more interesting. And then if something doesn’t register with fans over a couple of shows, I’m like, okay, maybe this is just for me but it’s given me a chance to kind of share these stories and get an immediate reaction from people. I love being on stage, I love being on a mic, I love interacting with people so rather than being in the back of a bus writing down my book i’m going up on a comedy stage and doing what i do. Entertaining, telling stories, connecting, and doing all that.

I’ve been trying to schedule comedy shows on those same cities on the days off to get people to come in. Five Finger Death Punch fans get to come in and see me up close at ridiculously cheap prices compared to my meet and greets and all the other stuff. But you’re going to get up close and personal. You’re going to hear stories about Death Punch. Get to meet me personally. I say hi to every single person in there. And then come see the big rock show on Saturday. So it just turns into a full Death Punch weekend.

 

 

Well, as far as that, you also have the upcoming induction in the 2026 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame later this month. How did you first find out that you were being inducted, and what was your reaction to that news?

I got an email from the Hall of Fame, and I saw it, and I was like, this is bullshit. They’re trying to get money out of me. Oh, I’m going to pay $250 for a plaque at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. I was like, fuck that. Got a second email. I was like, no, this is stupid. And then a friend of mine that I’ve known since elementary school sent me a text. He said, hey, my friend’s wife works the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. They’re trying to reach out and get in touch with you to induct you into the Hall of Fame. Get back to her. I was like, holy shit. This is real. So again, imposter syndrome.

Thinking that that’s being offered, I’m like, ah, that’s bullshit. But I’m here. I’m going into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. I’ve been waving the Kentucky flag for years. I’m doing it essentially for kids growing up in Kentucky and my friends and family who have supported me all these years. I appreciate going into it. It’s really to inspire kids from Kentucky because I was inspired by a guy named Blaine (Cartwright) from a band called Nine Pound Hammer. They played at the Wrocklage in Kentucky right when I first started playing music.

And he said something on stage that stuck with me in between songs. He said, something up here is telling me to say this to you guys. If I can do this, you can do this too. And that’s the example that I want to set for kids growing up in Kentucky. I mean, I grew up in Lexington. was the big fish and escalated to a big fish in a little pond.

That band broke up (Cut, Love, Kill) and then I moved out to Vegas to be the little fish in a big pond. And now I’m swimming nice and comfortably out here on tour with Five Finger Death Punch going to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. So if I can do it, you guys can do it. You just got to believe in yourself. Probably a little excessively sometimes.

And yeah, nobody that plays guitar in their room wants to play guitar in their room. We all want to get out there. We all want to get out there and give back to the people, be acknowledged for the things that we’ve done. And I feel like I’m at a point now in life where I’m comfortable accepting the accolades that are coming now. I don’t revel in them, but I’m comfortable enough to be like, okay, yeah, I can look at the body of work that I’ve done over the years and realize that it’s connecting with a lot of people And if those connections can allow me to inspire other people to get outside of their comfort zone and go with it, that’s the end goal for me.

 

 

Anything you’d like to share about your shows or your meet and Greets?

If you want to meet me up close and personal I offer several different options. I’ve got a stage played bass package, a stage worn vest package, and then recently just started offering a stage used strap. That way it’s a little bit of a lower price in case you don’t have it to get the bass or the vest. That way it opens up for me to be able to continue to meet people and again just share the light that’s out here.

 

Look for the full in-depth interview coming in our next issue of Mayhem Music Magazine

 

 

To read our Five Finger Death Punch live review click HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Chris Kael Interview – Bassist of Five Finger Death Punch and Co-Host of Beardo and Weirdo Podcast appeared first on Mayhem Music Magazine.

Album Review: Enslaved – MIÐ

Reviewed by Emma Corbett

Few bands have travelled as far from their beginnings as Norway’s Enslaved, whose early black-metal ferocity has gradually given way to increasingly intricate and progressive compositions. On Mið, the band continue to explore the space between abrasive extremity and expansive musical experimentation, drawing on atmospheric passages, progressive rock and darker metal foundations.

Exploring themes of identity, spirituality and humanity’s place in the wider world, the album is ambitious and occasionally unpredictable, although not every musical detour proves equally rewarding.

Following the brief instrumental Non-Being, I Am Ice establishes the record’s heavier foundations. Grutle Kjellson’s rasping vocals provide a familiar dose of aggression, while the guitars shift between punishing riffs and more expansive melodic passages. Featuring Johan Sara Jr., the track introduces additional character without disrupting the band’s distinctive identity.

Solar Will is among the album’s strongest offerings, balancing forceful riffing with soaring melodies and intricate arrangements. The interplay between harsh and clean vocals gives the song writing room to breathe, demonstrating how Enslaved can embrace progressive ideas without sacrificing their metal foundations.

Elsewhere, Mountain takes a less direct approach, moving between measured passages and heavier, groove-driven sections. The musicianship remains impressive, although some transitions feel more concerned with exploration than cohesion. Enslaved’s willingness to experiment is admirable, but occasionally the arrangements threaten to overshadow the songs themselves.

Spirit Helper, featuring Kevin Kicking Woman, introduces a more ceremonial dimension, broadening the album’s musical palette beyond conventional black-me tal structures. Its distinctive character provides an interesting contrast to the surrounding material, even if its restrained approach may not immediately appeal to listeners seeking outright aggression.

The reflective Parting proves particularly effective, building from piano and clean vocals into a more substantial arrangement. Here, melody and heaviness complement one another naturally, allowing the composition to develop without unnecessary distractions. It is a fine example of Enslaved’s progressive instincts working at their best.

Closing with I Miðju, the album brings its contrasting elements together in an expansive finale. Although some passages could benefit from tighter arrangements, the record remains a compelling demonstration of a band unwilling to become creatively complacent.

Mið may not represent Enslaved’s most consistent achievement, but its strongest moments deliver the intricate song writing, adventurous spirit and formidable musicianship that have made the Norwegians such an enduring force. A rewarding listen for established followers, even if a few ideas would benefit from greater restraint.

Ultimately, Mið stands as a compelling example of Enslaved’s continued creative evolution, delivering enough intricate songwriting, adventurous arrangements and formidable musicianship to make it an easy recommendation. With its strongest moments leaving a lasting impression, the album has more than earned its place among the year’s standout releases and could well prove to be a serious contender for album of the year.”

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The post Album Review: Enslaved – MIÐ appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

A farmer’s wife, a young upstart or an emperor: death makes no distinction between them. That idea underpins Totätänzer, the forthcoming second album from Swiss medieval black metal project SZIVILIZS, which takes its thematic inspiration from the Renaissance. Dominance of Darkness Records will release the eight-track album internationally on 17 December 2026, on CD and […]

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