This episode is a special joint release between Mars Attacks and Talking Metal. I touch upon this during the episode mentioning that it was put together as a tribute to Pete Steele. We deliberated at great length regarding this as it wasn’t the original intention. If you listen to Episode 306 of Talking Metal you will find part of the Mars Attacks live show I did with John and Mark last month while in the states. That episode contains an interview we conducted with Anthony Esposito from Ace Frehley, Lynch Mob fame. The next episode of Talking Metal, and Mars Attacks for that matter, was supposed to contain the first half of the live show. During this segment Mark and I interview Joey Z from Life of Agony, Stereomud, and Carnivore.

Joey was nice enough to come down to the studio, and sit in with us. He came in early, and sat on the couch while Mark, John and I did our opening monologue if you will. During the podcast you’ll hear me reference a few songs, one by Warrior Soul, and another by Slash. We spoke to Joey off mic while these songs where playing, immediately he started talking about Pete Steele. He mentioned what an honor it was to be asked to play with Carnivore, and he also spoke about how funny, and quick witted Pete was. He said Pete could come up with things right on the spot, and could roll with the punches during any given situation. I mentioned this during the Dan Lorenzo segment. He also started talking about what good man Pete was, which seems to be a common theme with all of the comments that are being posted on the web. Unfortunately this was off mic, and we had so many things to talk about (we spoke almost twice as long as we originally intended), we never really got into Pete or Carnivore on mic, except for a quick mention by Joey. Due to this, I have included part of his previous interview where he talks exclusively about Carnivore.

Joey is a great guy, who will always have an open door on any of my shows. I a big fan of his music, and have come to learn what a genuine, and nice person he truly is. He was the first person I turned to when I heard the rumor of Pete’s passing. He spoke so genuinely about Pete; it was hard not to think of him when I started reading the posts on the web. During the episode I read an excerpt of the response he sent me.

The reason I included Dan was because I read his comments on Blabbermouth.net. I reached out to a bunch of different people from the NY/NJ music scene to see if anyone might be interested in providing me with a statement regarding Pete. People treat death in different manners, I know for a lot of people this has to be a difficult situation. As a result, it would be foolish for me to be upset over people not wanting to partake. Maybe the situation is difficult for them, other are on tour, and couldn’t come on with such short notice, etc. In any event, Dan immediately came forward to share stories, and help celebrate the memory of Pete.

There are no ulterior motives here, like so many others out there we just want to celebrate the life of Pete Steele. By putting this episode together, I feel that we are doing our part to pay homage to the man, and his music. I’m sure some will say that we’re doing this to ride the publicity surrounding his untimely death, but it can’t be farther from the truth. Mark and I spoke at great lengths yesterday deliberating over whether we should release this episode now, or wait a few months. I personally think that we’re doing the right thing by releasing the interview in the format we have chosen. As a fan, I don’t want someone’s memory or music to ever die. I truly believe that both Joey and Dan have helped us to do this by sharing their thoughts, and experience with Pete.

Over the course of the next few weeks/months we’ll start to hear about Pete, hopefully all good things, but I’m sure some bad will come out as well. All I can say is remember him for what he meant to you, and don’t let others sway your judgment.

I’ll close this in the same fashion that I closed the podcast, long live the memory and music of Pete Steele.

Podcast: Download

Another One of my reviews has found its way to Metal Army America. This time its for Sick Of It All’s Based On A True Story, he’s an excerpt:

Heralded New York hardcore veterans SICK OF IT ALL return with Based On A True Story. This is a band that helped bridge the gap between hardcore legends like BLACK FLAG, MINOR THREAT, and dare I say the DANZIG led MISFITS (check out Earth A.D.), and modern day stalwarts like HATEBREED. Perhaps SICK OF IT ALL were the catalyst that took that classic hardcore sound, and injected it with additional amounts of RAMONES/BAD RELIGION/MISFITS (there’s that band again) like choruses that is standard in today’s hardcore scene.

To read more go here

The second Mars Attacks Podcast contains an interview I conducted with Joey Z from Life of Agony Back in November 09.

Items discussed during this interview are the shows being done in commemoration of the band’s 20th anniversary, the live album that will follow in 2010, Keith Caputo’s original departure from L.O.A., River Runs Red, Ugly, Soul Searching Sun, Broken Valley, Whitefeld Crane, Steromud, Eric Rodgers use of the Steromud name, Peter Steel, Carnivore, Type of Negative, Josh Silver, Metallica, Andreas Kisser, Sepultura, Road Runner Records, Ill Niño, Dave Chavarri (confused him for Joe Nuñez during the interview, sorry), Megadeth, Dave Mustaine, Seak N Destroy, Isolated Fear, Misfits, Devil’s Whorehouse, Schecter Solo 6, Gibson Les Paul, Jimm Archie, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, Peavey, Seymour Duncan, Boss Kelli, Pink Floyd, Road Runner United, Misery, Coery Lowery, Stuck Mojo, Perfect Self, Sony, Epic Records, Sick of it All, Anthrax, The Greatest Fear, Sworn Enemy, Incubus, System Of A Down, Korn, Snot, Ozzfest, Seven Dust, Soulfly, Tool, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Super Metal Records, System 2 Studios, Randy Rhoads, Kirk Hammett, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Method of Groove Studios, his production work, and the possibility of recording new material with Life of Agony.

Podcast: Download

This is the premier episode of Mars Attacks Podcast. This episode features an in-depth interview with Erik Kluiber regarding his playing concepts, his gear, and the jump from Overloaded to White Wizzard.

Other items covered include the writing and recording process of Over The Top, Talking Metal, Dave Meniketti, Robert Fleischman, Ace Frehley, Chad Bryan, Dimebag Darrell, Dusk, Earache Records, ECW, Iron Maiden, Jake E. Lee, Jason Becker, Jimmy Page, Jon Leon, Kerry King, Kill Em All, Killswitch Engage, Kirk Hammett, Korpiklani, Lamb Of God, Led Zepplin, Les Paul Studio, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marty Freidman, Metallica, Misfits, Motor City Pick Ups, Overloaded, Randy Rhodes, Regeneration, Slipknot, Steel Panther, Tyr, Viper Room, White Wizzard, Wyatt “Screamin Demon” Anderson, Yngwie Malsteen

Podcast: Download

During this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Life of Agony’s Joey Z. The follow tracks where featured during this episode:

This Time, Tangerine, The Calm That Disturbs You, Fears, Heroin Dreams, The Day He Died, My Eyes, and Sunlight by Stereomud.

The following songs where played behind my banter:

Define This, Steppin Away, Oldman by Stereomud, Last Cigarette, Hope, and Love to Let You Down by Life of Agony.

Items discussed during this interview are the shows being done in commemoration of the band’s 20th anniversary, the live album that will follow in 2010, Keith Caputo’s original departure from L.O.A., River Runs Red, Ugly, Soul Searching Sun, Broken Valley, Whitefeld Crane, Steromud, Eric Rodgers use of the Steromud name, Peter Steel, Carnivore, Type of Negative, Josh Silver, Metallica, Andreas Kisser, Sepultura, Road Runner Records, Ill Niño, Dave Chavarri (confused him for Joe Nuñez during the interview, sorry), Megadeth, Dave Mustaine, Seak N Destroy, Isolated Fear, Misfits, Devil’s Whorehouse, Schecter Solo 6, Gibson Les Paul, Jimm Archie, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, Peavey, Seymour Duncan, Boss Kelli, Pink Floyd, Road Runner United, Misery, Coery Lowery, Stuck Mojo, Perfect Self, Sony, Epic Records, Sick of it All, Anthrax, The Greatest Fear, Sworn Enemy, Incubus, System Of A Down, Korn, Snot, Ozzfest, Seven Dust, Soulfly, Tool, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Super Metal Records, System 2 Studios, Randy Rhoads, Kirk Hammett, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Method of Groove Studios, his production work, and the possibility of recording new material with Life of Agony.

This episode features an in-depth interview with Erik Kluibert regarding his playing concepts, his gear, and the jump from Overloaded to White Wizzard.  Other items covered include the writing and recording process of the new album, and their upcoming tour with Korpiklani, Tyr and Swashbuckle.

The episode also features the following songs:

Quite Riot with Randy Rhodes – Look In Any Window

Pantera with Kerry King – God Damn Electric

Overloaded – President’s Day

White Wizzard – Megalondon

Badlands – The River

Behind my banter you will hear tracks from White Wizzard, Overloaded, Misfits, Slash’s Snake Pit

Other topics covered include:

Quiet Riot The Randy Rhodes Years, Dimebag Darrell, Kerry King, Rex, Vinnie Paul, Anthrax, Stomp 442, We’ve Come For You All, ECW, Slash’s Snake Pit, Jake E. Lee, Ray Gillen, Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, Randy Rhodes, Metallica, Kirk Hammett, Jimmy Page, Led Zepplin, Kill Em All, Regeneration, Iron Maiden, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malsteen, Jason Becker, Marty Freidman, Steel Panther, Motor City Pick Ups, Les Paul Studio, Tyr, Korpiklani, Wyatt “Screamin Demon” Anderson, Earache Records, Slipknot, Ace Frehley, Viper Room, Steel Panther, Dusk, Jon Leon, Chad Bryan, Slash

Welcome to Mars Attacks, hosted by Victor M. Ruiz, and found exclusively on Bionic Strigl Radio.  In this first episode you will hear the following songs:

Misfits - Mars Attacks

Helloween – Time Of The Oath

Fozzy – Happenstance

Megadeth – Right To Go Insane

Death Angel – Buried Alive

Volbeat – Find The Soul

Def Leppard – High N’ Dry (Saturday Night)

Davy Vain – Push Me Over

Halford – Get Into The Spirit

Throughout the show we discuss the following:

Danzig, Michael Kiske, Roy Z, Chris Jericho, Richard Ward, Andy Sneap, A Lion’s Tale, End Game, Death Magnetic, Priest Feast, German Sonic Beatdown, Johnny Cash, Vain, Halford III