Hell Bent For Metal

Latest Episodes:

#25 – British Steal Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

The LGBT+ heavy metal podcast is joined this week by Willow Ryan, guitarist and vocalist from sludgy doom band Body Void. We chat about how the LGBT+-friendly nature of metal spaces varies between online and the real world, and how freeing playing live can be if you're queer.

This week's Camp Classic is the Judas Priest anthem 'Living After Midnight', which has some very unsurprising metaphors for queer life – and a surprising link to Grand Theft Auto.

Plus the HCGB jukebox has two new additions, in the shape of In Transmission by Capra, and Multiversal by The Beast Of Nod.

#24 – The Faust And The Furious Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

Tom and Matt reluctantly takes on the thorny subject of Bård Eithun, better known as Faust, the former Emperor drummer who murdered a gay man, Magne Andreassen in 1992 – and who has been welcomed back into the fold for a second time.

As the Norwegian black metal legends announce Faust's guest appearance for a live stream event, the LGBT+ heavy metal podcast explains why this is such a kick in the teeth for us gays – and what we think the way forward should be.

To cheer us up after all that, we swing by the Hate Crew Gaybar for something fruity, and to discuss why Sleeps Society by While She Sleeps and Cursed Be Thy Kingdom by Bewitcher are being added to the jukebox.

CW: discussions of violence inc. murder, and homophobia

#23 – Flashdance Apocalypse Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

This latest queer view on metal sees Ithaca singer Djamila Azzouz join us for a chat on being a queer woman in heavy metal.

We also delve into the unlikely gay meanings we've drawn from Fleshgod Apocalypse's turbobrutally symphonic song, 'The Violation'. And try not to fall out over one of us being less of a fan than the other.

Plus there's the usual bickering as Frozen Bloom by Olhava and Lake Drinker by Horndal are the latest albums for the HCGB jukebox.

Shockingly, we even managed to keep largely on topic this week. We're very sorry about this, and anticipate normal service resuming next week.

Camp Classic Special #1: Sonata Arctica – Larger Than Life Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

The LGBT+ heavy metal podcast presents its first special episode, as we go for a deep dive into the queer meanings we take from Sonata Arctica's brilliant 'Larger Than Life'.

We tried to cover this in HBFM #19 but had so much to cover, it needed its own epic show to cover all the metaphors for queer life hidden within.

(And for the quite epic digressions we manage to veer off into, obviously. The Ian McKellen one is shocking.)

#22 – Children Of Bodom's Unintentional Gay Slang Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

The latest queer perspective on metal enjoys an unexpected relevance to the LGBT+ community within Leprous, 'From The Flame'.

We chortle at the very different meaning of the title of Children Of Bodom's Hatebreeder, should you be familiar with gay slang.

Plus Interstice by Knoll and Menschenmühle by Kanonenfieber are the latest albums for the HCGB jukebox.

(And yes, of course that means some dreadful mangling of German by Tom.)

#21 – "When You Go To Download, Do You Open Grindr?" Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

This week on the queer take on metal, guest Scott talks about being a gay metalhead working in the live music industry, and going on Grindr at metal festivals.

We explain why 'The End Of Heartache' by Killswitch Engage has a strong gay connotation for one of our hosts.

Matt gets technical with Grorr's Ddulden's Last Flight, and Tom goes completely nuts for Maestitium's Tale Of The Endless.

Plus we've got your nominations for heavy metal gay icons.

#20 – Unleashed In The Beast(milk) Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

The increasing openness of Rob Halford is celebrated, and the biggest parallel between the life of the gay man and the metalhead is revealed thanks to Beastmilk's modern classic Climax, on the latest LGBT+ take on heavy metal.

Matt and Tom discuss how heavy metal's most prominent gay musician – the Metal God himself, Rob Halford – has got more open and frank in his discussion of his sexuality, and why that is important. We explain why it matters that the LGBT+ community can discuss sex as freely as straight folks, and how Halford is helping that happen.

The superb debut album by Beastmilk (now Grave Pleasures) is this week's Camp Classic, as we share the surprising common ground between the metal fan going to a show, and a queer person going to a gay bar – and what that has to do with a post-punk band that extreme audiences like Roadburn Festival immediately embraced.

Plus there's the usual gushing and bickering in the Hate Crew Gaybar, where the latest additions to the jukebox are Lost In The Waves by Landmvrks, and The Crown's latest album Royal Destroyer.

There's also some follow-up on the relative gayness of cocktails, another shocking confession about gaps in Matt's blockbuster movie viewing, and some gossip about who Tom wants to take his shirt off more in the new series of Line Of Duty. Completely predictable random digressions, then.

#19 – Pupil Slicer, And Sonata Arctica's Accidental Coming Out Epic Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

The frontwoman of one of the hottest new bands in metal talks transphobic media bias, and a power metal epic turns out to be queer metaphor overload, in the latest queer take on metal.

Katie Davies from UK mathy grinders Pupil Slicer is the latest voice from those members of the LGBT+ community who make metal happen. She chats to Tom about the band's lyrics, and some of the LGBT+ issues they cover, including the transphobia inherent in much of the current media climate.

Matt and Tom also discuss 'Larger Than Life', the 2014 epic by Sonata Arctica, and find the whole thing awash with relevance to the queer experience, and coming out especially.

Plus the entries for the Hate Crew Gaybar jukebox are the new Orden Ogan album, Final Days, and Exanimis' debut record Marionnettiste. One of which needed a peace treaty to be signed before discussions could begin.

There's also shocking revelations about a gap in Matt's blockbuster movie knowledge, and Tom steps in two massive gay clichés.

(Also Matt's mic gets possessed by a gremlin for one second around the 45 minute mark. We're sorry about that. We will stop feeding it after midnight.)

#18 – Anaal Nathrakh's Adaam Ant Armograaphy Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

The latest queer take on heavy metal sees Tom and Matt have a look at the time Trivium took a stand on the side of the LGBT+ community, and when grinding black metallers Anaal Nathrakh made us think, "camp".

We discuss 'And Sadness Will Sear', the song Trivium wrote about the homophobic murder of Matthew Shepard. We cover what it meant to us, why this was so significant in the timeline of metal bands coming out as allies, and how we feel about the song hearing it now.

This week's Camp Classic is the unlikely Birmingham brutality of Anaal Nathrakh, and their 2016 searing blast of annihilation 'Depravity Favours The Bold'. Tom and Matt have radically different interpretations, one rather painful, and the other an entirely positive recognition that has something to do with 1980s pop music. Sort of.

Plus the Hate Crew Gaybar sees three additions, with Obarșie by Sur Austru, The Golden Pentacle by Marco Garau's Magic Opera, and Wreath Of Frost by Starforger all added. And no, we're not making that middle one up.

Plus the usual overenthusiastic digressions, obviously.

#17 – The Queens We Want To Be Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

The LGBT+ heavy metal podcast this week is joined by Orion, the vocalist in Ilsa, a Washington, DC-based metal band who've had multiple queer members over the years, and at one stage, were a majority-queer band.

Tom talks to Orion about his experience of that, and about hiding queer references in plain sight just like Rob Halford did so well. They also talk about dodging neo-Nazi gangs in the American capital city, the US' problem with violence against transwomen (especially transwomen of colour), and about being the type of queens we want to be.

This week's Camp Classic is Dream Theater's signature tune 'Pull Me Under', and how both Tom and Matt drew very similar queer meanings from the same song.

Plus the albums for Hate Crew Gaybar this week are Sunnata's Burning In Heaven, Melting On Earth, and Krononota by In Tormentata Quiete. Because apparently Matt really does want to make Tom sound as ignorant as possible.

There's also a little follow-up from last week's show on metal's internet homophobia problem, and Matt follows through on his promise to inject as many mid-00s pop references as possible into the podcast. Also euphemisms, obviously.

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