Hear about recording with Kurt Ballou this latest time around; the influence from touring with bands like High on Fire and The Sword; Jason’s reaction to comparing their song “Abyss” with “Wishlist” by Pearl Jam; and finally—favorite action sequence from a movie!

We did it before and we will do it again! That’s right—one of our most popular podcasts returns for a second year.

Hear why Michel loves “War and Pain” and he even sets Wikipedia straight on some facts. Willie also inquires about the Montréal metal scene, thoughts on Pink Floyd, fond memories of Iron Maiden, the ‘family’ feel of Voivod and their near three-decade evolution, with insight into the future of this incomparable band. And for the first time, Away gets asked to pick a favorite song to close out the talk!

Wolves in the Throne Room are first-rate third-wave black metal. Just as Scandinavia was itself intrinsic to the genre’s original sounds, the Pacific Northwest U.S. gives spirit to these American luminaries.

We open with a greeting and a teaser, as “Dødedansen” erupts into your ears. After a minute or two of fierce folk metal, MetalMattLongo and Cris cross paths (see what I did theeeeeehhh… nevermind). Hear about the incredible departure of all band members, their triumphant reformation, and their heaviest, best-crafted album to date, ‘Maledictus Eris’. Also, Cris might be a supervillain (but denies it… like a supervillain totally would).

I am proud to introduce the first woman interviewed for Mind over Metal: the inimitable Veronica Freeman of Benedictum! The latest monster from the trad metal upstarts is “Dominion”—their third full-length overall and first for Frontiers Records. We talk about the label switch, females in heavy music, and uprooting from San Diego to Phoenix with her husband and bandmate for their other love: motorcycles.

The second interview conducted on 2011May20 (USX’s Nate Hall was first)—T-Roy from SOURVEIN. He is the last original member of the long-running North Carolina sludge merchants, who unleash “Black Fang”—their third full-length—in June 2011.

Some seven months after we spoke about “Run Thick in the Night” (and alluded to this album I’m about to speak of), Nate Hall and I catch up on “The Valley Path”—the 39-minute, single track opus by USX.

Who—or what—is Gigan? Turns out they have less to do with kaiju (though they’re still fans) and more to do with transcendental existence. Go figure.

Still another first on the ‘Mind Over Metal’ broadcast, as I attempt to use Earsplit Compound’s calling card to internationally dial the UK for this interview with the Anaal Nathrakh frontman. After only five or six tries, it actually happened, and we got to discuss their fucking ridiculously awesome new album “Passion”.