Delta Hate is a metalcore band from Montgomery, AL consisting of Shay (vocals), Brent (guitar), Mike (drums), Ryan (bass) and Neil (guitar). Since the 2020s the band has been putting out releases including "Touch," "The Mess We Made" and an EP called "Split" with another band called Gimmick. We were able to catch up with Delta Hate before their Nashville date of a 4 day run with Fliora and Drossera, two other incredible heavy bands. We talked about performing with DANZA at Furnace Fest, being in a band from the south, and how the band writes and records their music. The future is looking bright for Delta Hate.
Defeated Sanity is a German technical death metal band from Daschbach, Bavaria that began in 1993 with guitarist Wolfgang Teske and his son, drummer Lille Gruber. Over the past two decades the band has had a few different line-ups and has released 7 crushing full length records and a slew of EPs and splits. Defeated Sanity went on tour with Sanguisuggabogg, Despised Icon and Corpse Pile in November 2025 supporting their previous release "Chronicles of Lunacy." I was able to catch Vaughn Stoffey (guitar) and Jacob Schmidt (bass) for a few minutes after sound check to discuss playing to younger audiences, trends in the music industry and what it's like playing the most technically demanding riffs in death metal.
Matty Arsenault is the lead singer for Boston based pop-punk band A Loss for Words. The band formed in the years leading up to 2004 and have released several studio albums and EPs including 2009s "The Kids Can't Lose," "Motown Classics" "These Past 5 Years EP" and the "Webster Lake EP." The band has a new EP out called "These Past 25 Years" with 2 new songs and lead sing Matty has a new book out called "Just South of Boston." The book is about Matty's experiences growing up near Boston in the 90s and 00s, touring with A Loss for Words and getting imprisoned in Japan for several months. I was able to sit down with Matty for a half hour at the Nashville Hardcore and Tattoo Fest, which took place at The Vinyl Lounge on October 25th, 2025. I want to thank Cody aka "NewJack" for linking me up with Matty and for putting on one of the best Hardcore fests in the Southeast. Thank you for watching and supporting the show!
James Cole is a Nashville based musician and vocalist. In November 2024 he re-launched the band Apparitions under the name Aphonia. After filming and releasing three successful music videos with Aphonia and playing a few shows, the band had an unfortunate falling out with their guitarist and the band broke up.
Since that time, James has been working on new music for his solo project under the name "James Cole IV" and on October 27th 2025 he released "Pretty Farm Girl," the first of several more songs to come out for this new endeavor.
Joining us on the podcast is Clarksville drummer Josh Ray who is a longtime bandmate and collaborator of James from the band Aphonia. Josh also plays drums in technical death metal band Deathless and has also played in Clarksville metalcore act Meditator.
In this episode we talk about the difficulties of playing in a band, the commitment that's required to keep it going, the struggles of life, addiction, faith, extreme metal drumming and so much more. Thank you for listening to the Shred Sessions Podcast.
In this episode of Shred Sessions I sit down with:
-Cody, the vocalist of Nashville Hardcore band RULES OF ENGAGEMENT and owner/operator of Jukebox Booking.
-Josh Landrith, vocalist of Nashville Hardcore band LETHAL METHOD and operator of Badworld Booking
-Jack Babel, the owner and operator of Badworld Anarchy and Badworld Booking.
-Evan Qualls, owner/operator of Courage Tattoos.
These 4 excellent gents are putting on NASHVILLE HARDCORE TATTOO FEST, which takes place on Saturday, October 25th starting at 1:00pm at The Vinyl Lounge in Nashville Tennessee.
I expect this to be one of the most attended shows of the year for Nashville Hardcore and part of why we did this episode is to ensure that it is!
Grab a ticket online for $10 at the link below or just pull up to the Vinyl Lounge on Saturday and pay $15 ticket and see some of the best bands in the Nashville hardcore scene.
Support Shred Sessions by listening, liking, sharing and commenting. T Shirts coming soon via Badworld!
Tickets:https://www.tixr.com/groups/vinyllounge/events/nashville-hardcore-tattoo-fest-158808
One of my longtime friends and guitar homies is Gideon guitarist Tyler Riley. It was a real joy to catch up with him at Furnace Fest and hear what it's been like playing in one of the best metalcore bands of the past 15 years. Tyler is the real deal, he's always had the same even-keeled demeanor and he's always a fun person to be around. His guitar playing is serious, he's always locked in! You really need to check out Gideon's new song "Wrong One."
Ryan Rado has been a staple of the hardcore/punk scene in Nashville since the 2000s. In more recent years, he's made a name for himself with his visual art and his unique interview format on the @MakeItPerfect show, where he interviews and paints with artists, musicians, chefs and interesting people. I was able to kick it with Ryan for a little while at Furnace Fest 2025 where I was able to ask him some deep questions I had on my mind.
Mike Gurnari, the guitarist of the crushing legacy hardcore band MADBALL, took some time with us to talk about how he joined the band and what it's like playing in MADBALL! Mike even told us where we can find the best best pizza in the world...at a place called Brooklyn Square in New Jersey...with the sesame seed crust!
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is officially BACK in action! I was able to interview founding members Layne Meylaine (guitar) and Mike Butler (bass) as well as their new guitarist Eric on day 3 of Furnace Fest. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask them that I feel like I forgot some of the most important ones! All I can say is that this was one of my favorite heavy bands from back in the day, and I'm so stoked that they have reunited! They sounded absolutely incredible at the main stage at Furnace Fest!
Hailing from Saratoga Springs, Scott began making a name for himself at the age of sixteen through the New York City club circuit before toughing it out touring along the east and west coasts racking up more than 2600 shows. It wasn't long before Scott was recognized nationally as an on the rise talent by coming in 4th out of 750 players in the Guitar Wars Semi-Finals, and regional runner-up in Guitar Center’s Guitarmageddon competition.Scott is currently a Level 5 guitar instructor at School of Rock in Florida, where he currently resides. Scott also demos pedals for various guitar brands in the industry, namely Boss Effects and has had a decades long relationship with the brand as well as many others. Scott knows great tone like the back of his hand and has helped countless other players find their tone and become great on the instrument. This is our conversation with guitar legend Scott Gailor.
Still Here is a Nashville based hardcore band consisting of vocalist Nic Fox, bassist Joseph Barnum, drummer Greg Dowling and guitarists Jake Hawkins and Lane Senter. Together the group brings a new metallic flavor of hardcore. Their new EP entitled "Scars Like Chains" is available for streaming everywhere. Catch the band live on October 4th, 2025 opening up for Terror at The End in Nashville, TN.
Felix Martin is a Venezuelan born progressive rock and metal guitarist who plays double neck 16 string guitars using a unique pianistic 8 finger tapping technique. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in the early 2010s, Felix has been releasing full length records and touring the world playing his unique style of hyper rhythmic and beautifully melodic, Latin infused guitar music. During the pandemic, Felix started his own guitar company called FM Guitars, bringing the world of double neck guitars and basses to more guitarists, at an affordable price. FM Guitars also produces more conventional headless guitars and basses, but with a fresh forward thinking design. Felix currently resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to build a community of like-minded double-neck enthusiasts and prog rockers, runs the FM Guitars company, and continues to write some of the most beautifully jaw-dropping compositions. Christian Colabelli and I were able to interview Felix in early September 2025 as he's in the process of making a new album. This is the interview.
Sean Doherty and Will Sheppard are the purveyors of all things punk and hardcore in Nashville, TN. The two started their own fanzine called "Iconoclast" to help spread the word about bands, shows and the overall ethos of the southeast hardcore scene in middle Tennessee and beyond. Join us for our conversation about how the ZINE started, what's in it and who the key bands and players are in Nashville hardcore.
Be ready when Issue #5 drops:
iconoclastfanzine.bigcartel.com
Instagram:
@iconoclastzine
@nashvillehardcore
Kilian Duarte is nothing short of a modern day bass guitar god. His humble spirit and massive chops have brought him into the fold of technical death metallers Abiotic and Fallujah as well as proggier projects like Scale the Summit and Felix Martin. Kilian continues to push the boundaries of what's possible on the bass guitar in various musical contexts and he's helping others achieve similar heights with his teaching. This is our conversation with Kilian Duarte, I hope you find this enlightening and encouraging in your musical journey, I certainly know I did!
Claire Gardner is the vocalist of Huntsville Alabama hardcore band Briteside. She grew up in the Nashville hardcore scene and moved around the south east, always finding her way into the heavy music scenes. In this episode Claire tells us her story, what she has learned being a licensed therapist and the role she plays in the Alabama hardcore scene in Huntsville.
Dani Rabin is the guitarist and band leader of jazz fusion band Marbin. Marbin was formed in 2007 after Dani graduated from Berklee college of music. The band later settled in Chicago, where the band currently resides. Marbin has been touring and releasing full-length albums regularly since 2009 and has opened for jazz-fusion greats, Scott Henderson, Allan Holdsworth and Wayne Krantz. Join us for this hilarious interview with Dani, one of the most funny and provocative guitarists in the improvised music game!
Tom "Fountainhead" Geldschlager is the chief composer and mastermind behind CHANGELING, a technical and progressive death metal band consisting of Morean on Vocals (Alkaloid, Dark Fortress), Arran McSporran on Bass (Vipassi, Virvum) and Mike Heller on Drums (Fear Factory, Raven and Malignancy.) The new self-titled record is one of the most ambitious, dense, beautiful and powerful metal records that I've ever heard featuring fretless guitar and bass, orchestral elements, choir, world instruments and it all comes together effortlessly, producing in a cohesive and enjoyable listening experience. I listened to the album twice while mowing my lawn and I didn't get tired of listening to it. That's really saying something! Here's my conversation with Tom Geldschlager!
Wes Breedwell is the vocalist of legendary Nashville metalcore band, Alcina. Wes was also a key member of the Nashville hardcore scene for many years starting in 2006 when he started booking hardcore and metal shows at his friends houses in Mt. Juliet, TN. Wes was also instrumental in putting on local shows at Cafe Express, 615 Records, Cafe Coco and Rocketown for many years. Wes was a partner with booking agencies Music City Booking and AM/PM Booking where they put on some of the best shows in the scene. In this episode Wes talks about how he initially got involved in the Nashville Hardcore scene, how he booked shows and how he was eventually let go from his employer in 2013 for wearing a Hostage Calm T Shirt that said: "I Support Same Sex Marriage" to work. If you're a card carrying member of the Nashville Hardcore scene, you're going to love this episode.
K Enagonio aka "K the Screamer" is the vocalist for melodic metalcore band Chasing Satellites. K has also recently joined The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus as their harsh vocalist! In addition to making music and playing shows with these bands, K is a talented videographer and handles rocket launch photography and video for Interstellar Gateway. K also loves exploring and photographing abandoned buildings and spaces with No Tracers Urban Exploring. K sat down with me for a couple hours and we discussed their background growing up in the middle east, living in Australia, photographing the most insane live shows in metal ever, and joining The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus as a vocalist.
Ray Suhy is the lead guitarist and touring guitarist for Six Feet Under. Ray also currently tours with New Jersey Death Metal band Waking the Cadaver. Ray is an extremely accomplished guitarist who not only plays extreme death metal, but also jazz and fusion styles in the groups The Lewis Porter Quartet and Gematria, which is an experimental prog rock band with Steve Honoshowsky. In this interview, we talk about touring, growing up in Biddeford, Maine, studying jazz with Charlie Banacos and many more aspects of being a modern guitarist.