For episode #299 we have a special guest for our chaser, MC Lars! We were just like peas and carrots for this wide-ranging chat about Edgar Allen Poe, KISS, Slayer‘s predilection for evil topics, 9/11, GWAR, separating art from the artist, his shift to touring less, and much more! Continue reading
Edgar Allan Poe’s dark, psychological, and morbidly beautiful writing has had a profound influence on metal, rock, and goth music. His themes of death, madness, loss, and the uncanny helped shape the aesthetic and emotional tone that many artists in these genres embrace. His psychological depth, and exploration of horror have also resonated strongly with the Doom Metal, Black Metal, and Gothic Metal, and industrial music scenes, where the atmosphere of dread, decay, and introspection often parallels Poe’s literary tone. On what would be his 217th Birthday, check out our playlist of killer Poe songs! Continue reading
It was a drizzly, grey Saturday morning sometime in 1982 and I was being dragged around the shops by my parents. At some point, we ended up in a WH Smiths record shop. I wasn’t even into music then, of any description, but I flicked idly through the vinyl anyway just to pass the time. By chance, two tall, long-haired cavemen clad in denim and leather came and stood next to me. When one of them leaned over and picked up something called The Number of the Beast it grabbed my attention instantly, my ten-year-old face transfixed by the artwork on the front. As he lifted it out, I noticed more artwork, this time on the back of his jacket. Iron Maiden – Purgatory. It looked magnificent. I’d never even heard of Iron Maiden before then and I certainly didn’t know who or what a Purgatory was, but I knew I wanted to see more. Grabbing the next record in the section, my eyes didn’t leave the intricately painted sleeve until my parents came and literally pulled it out of my hands. Killers (EMI).