Regarding...Series

The Fellowship assembles one last time before the final curtain.Not for a quiet conversation.For war.This week on Regarding Music from The Elder, Chaz, Wolfy, Scott D. Monroe, Corey Morrissette, Laura Morrissette, Sean McGinity, Debbie and Michael Pastore, Dan and Pang Papathopoulos—and even virtual appearances from Heath McCoy and Kevin Brown—return for the largest panel in the series as Scott unveils the penultimate chapter of his screenplay.What follows is the most ambitious chapter yet.Corey awakens blind after destroying the mysterious orbs, only to discover he has begun seeing the world in an entirely new way. Heroes race through collapsing caverns while "Escape from the Island" becomes the soundtrack to their desperate flight. The Cat discovers that loyalty has consequences. Terminus Village reveals its tragic past through Sypha's memories. Allies fall. Hidden powers awaken. Philosophies collide. And Mr. Blackwell returns more terrifying—and more unstable—than ever before.Meanwhile, the panel digs into KISS's exhilarating instrumental "Escape from the Island," compares cover versions, discusses the band's late-career what-ifs, and marvels at how an album once dismissed as an infamous misfire has somehow become the foundation for an unexpectedly compelling fantasy epic.Along the way:The largest cast ever assembled for a Regarding season 5 episodeCorey loses his sight... and gains a different visionThe Cat's shocking fateSypha's heartbreaking return to her childhood villageThe Fox's final stand—and the ideas that die with himMr. Blackwell arrives like a force of natureA screenplay racing toward its final confrontationThis Week's Song:Escape from the Island — KISSFINAL VERDICT:Every great adventure reaches the point where escape is no longer the objective.The only way out......is through.

Chaz and the assembled Order of Mildly Concerned Scholars (Wolfy, Scott, Corey, and returning guests Heath McCoy, Laura Morrissette, Debbie Pastore, Michael Pastore, and Dan & Pang Pappathopoulos) arrive at Terminus Island expecting a rescue mission.Instead......they're invited to dinner.Because this week isn't really about "Escape from the Island."It's about what happens when the hero finally reaches the villain... only to discover the villain has already set the table.What unfolds is less another chapter of Scott's ever-expanding Elder screenplay and more a psychological chess match disguised as a fantasy adventure. Corey and his companions battle a crystal-powered war wagon, survive an underground labyrinth, and descend into a cavern so impossibly vast it feels like the album itself has finally become a location.Meanwhile, Mr. Blackwell isn't waiting on a throne.He's waiting with a goblet.And manners.There are flashbacks revealing the terrible truth behind Mrs. Blackwell's death.There are creatures pouring from fractures in reality.There is a warhorse with a change of heart.There is a fox serving bitter wine mixed with crow's blood because, at this point, subtlety has officially left the island.And hovering over everything is the growing realization that Blackwell no longer sees himself as the villain.He sees himself as the only adult left in the room.There is action.There is tragedy.There is a battle wagon that somehow feels perfectly reasonable by Episode 10.And somewhere beneath Terminus Island, Corey begins asking the most dangerous question of the entire season:What if saving Mr. Blackwell... is no longer possible?Featuring:Heath McCoy embracing his inner Macho Man for a rap performance nobody saw comingLaura Morrissette, Debbie Pastore, Michael Pastore, and Dan Papathopoulos returning as the Fellowship pushes toward the finaleA battle wagon armed with purple lasers, flaming wrecking balls, and one very angry catA dinner invitation that somehow feels more threatening than the battleMr. Blackwell proving that the most dangerous villains are often the most politeTHIS WEEK'S SONG:"Escape from the Island" — KISSFINAL VERDICT:Sometimes the hardest part isn't escaping the island...It's escaping the story waiting for you when you get there.

Chaz and the assembled Order of Mildly Concerned Scholars (Wolfy, Scott, Corey, and returning guests Heath McCoy, Laura Morrissette, Debbie Pastore, and Michael Pastore) set out this week expecting to discuss "Mr. Blackwell."Instead, they find themselves attending his funeral.Not literally.Emotionally.Because this week isn't really about the song.It's about what happens when the villain finally gets a chance to explain himself.What unfolds is less a chapter of Scott's ever-expanding Elder screenplay and more a direct transmission from a past nobody was expecting to feel sorry for. The armies vanish. The battlefield falls silent. The purple lightning takes the night off.And standing where the monster used to be......is a father.A grieving widower trying to protect his daughter.A man desperately looking for purpose after loss.A future tyrant who, disturbingly, sounds an awful lot like a hero.Laura Morrissette returns as a young Sypha and immediately steals the episode, while Heath McCoy takes on a younger Mr. Blackwell—a version of the character who still believes the world makes sense, the Elders can be trusted, and promises actually mean something.Meanwhile, Scott continues constructing a mythology that becomes more complicated every time someone tries to explain it.There are sacred groves.There are magical oaths.There are mysterious ceremonies that become increasingly difficult to distinguish from recruitment into an extremely powerful fantasy cult.And hovering over everything is a growing realization that Cornelius and Blackwell may not be opposites at all.They may simply be standing at different points on the same road.There is sympathy.There is suspicion.There is the uncomfortable sensation that the story has quietly shifted beneath everyone's feet.Because once you've seen the man before the fall......it's a lot harder to cheer for the fall.Featuring:Heath McCoy becoming Young Mr. Blackwell and somehow making him "relatable" (woah yeahhh)Laura Morrissette returning as Sypha, future heartbreaker of podcast listeners everywhereDebbie and Michael Pastore reprising Sarah and Thane as the Fellowship of Mildly Injured Heroes continues its journeyMorpheus presiding over an oath ceremony that raises significantly more questions than answersThe Elder somehow becoming even less trustworthy than they were last weekTHIS WEEK'S SONG:"Mr. Blackwell" — KISSFINAL VERDICT:Not the story of a villain.The story of how a hero becomes one.That feels much closer to the established Regarding Elder house style.

Chaz, Wolfy, Scott, Corey, and special guest Heath McCoy return once more to the crumbling, smoke-covered battlefield of Regarding Music from The Elder—this time under the banner of “The Oath.”And fittingly, absolutely nobody emerges emotionally intact.What begins with discussions of “minimal editing,” accidental hot mics, and Boneless-grade production recklessness quickly spirals into one of the season’s most cinematic chapters yet: a full-scale supernatural reckoning involving telekinetic executions, airborne corpses, emotionally compromised heroes, collapsing belief systems, and enough purple energy blasts to bankrupt a mid-1980s special effects department.Scott unveils the latest section of the ever-mutating Elder screenplay project, pushing the story fully into dark fantasy opera territory as Mr. Blackwell unleashes absolute devastation across the battlefield while Corey—bloodied, broken, and spiritually unraveling—comes face to face with the horrifying realization that maybe the Order of the Rose isn’t quite the noble institution everybody hoped it was.Turns out “The Oath” may not be about loyalty at all.It may be about what happens after loyalty curdles into resentment, manipulation, sacrifice, and generational trauma.Fun stuff.Meanwhile, Heath McCoy settles comfortably into the chaos as the panel collectively realizes they are no longer “doing a funny podcast about a weird KISS album.” They are now actively constructing a sprawling metaphysical war saga where Gene Simmons has somehow become a grief-stricken telekinetic warlord delivering Shakespearean monologues through clouds of black smoke.And then…because this season refuses to obey natural law…Kevin Brown materializes out of nowhere.What follows is one of the most unexpectedly beautiful moments of the entire series as Kevin delivers a theatrical reinterpretation of “A World Without Heroes,” transforming the panel from wisecracking commentators into genuinely stunned spectators. Comparisons fly somewhere between Daryl Hall, Broadway rock opera, and “the version KISS maybe should’ve recorded in the first place.”Naturally, this leads directly into debates about Tommy, Quadrophenia, The Wall, theatrical ambition, and the creeping realization that Music from The Elder might actually have worked if the band had leaned harder into the weirdness instead of recoiling from it in terror.Because if “The Oath” teaches us anything, it’s this:Once you swear yourself to the bit…there is no safe way back out.Featuring:Mr. Blackwell going full cosmic vengeance demonCorey enduring approximately seventeen separate emotional breakdownsA battlefield sequence with enough destruction to qualify as progressive rock BraveheartKevin Brown unexpectedly stealing the entire episode with one songHeath McCoy calmly observing the collapse of reality in real timeTHIS WEEK’S SONG:“The Oath” — KISSFINAL VERDICT:Not a discussion of The Elder.An oath-bound descent into full-blown mythological podcast theater.

This week on Regarding Music from The Elder, Chaz, Wolfy, Scott, Corey, and special guests Dan & Pang Pappathopoulos stumble headfirst into “Dark Light”—where the screenplay somehow becomes more unhinged, Mr. Blackwell starts sounding like a cosmic war prophet, and absolutely nobody can agree whether the Elder are enlightened guardians… or interdimensional HR managers from hell.Meanwhile:Corey discovers the Order of the Rose may have built its entire business model on manipulation and disposable messiahsA creepy fox-man appears out of nowhere singing Ace Frehley lyrics like a haunted alley goblinAn owl creature eats multiple soldiers onscreenSypha drops a revelation massive enough to shatter the whole mythologyHeath McCoy accidentally channels Randy Savage hard enough to threaten reality itselfAnd through it all, the panel continues the impossible task of adapting Music from The Elder into an actual coherent cinematic universe… one cease-and-desist at a time.THIS WEEK’S SONG:“Dark Light” — KISS(with unexpected assistance from Ace Frehley, alleyway goblins, and purple lightning)FINAL VERDICT:Not a rock opera anymore.A full-blown fantasy franchise fueled entirely by commitment to the bit.

Scott and the assembled Order of Mildly Concerned Scholars (Wolfie… and special guest Seb Hunter, emerging from the fog like a man who’s seen what lies beyond the fourth gate of The Elder) convene for what was supposed to be a routine episode and instead becomes something far stranger: an encounter.Because this week isn’t just about Music from The Elder.It’s about a man who looked at that album—its ambition, its confusion, its audacity—and decided the real problem wasn’t that it failed…it’s that no one had finished the job.What follows is less an interview and more a careful excavation of a long-dormant creative experiment. Scott and Wolfie guide the conversation as Seb Hunter recounts, with equal parts clarity and disbelief, how a throwaway idea—“what if someone actually made The Elder into a movie?”—mutated into a full-blown production effort:A screenplay written in earnestA trailer shot with real actors and real intentionA grassroots network of collaborators, fans, and the occasional internet wildcardAnd a persistent awareness that somewhere, possibly, Gene Simmons could shut the whole thing down with a single phone callSeb is reflective, candid, and occasionally amused by his past self—the version of him who thought, quite reasonably at the time, that you could just… make a movie. The hosts, for their part, oscillate between fascination and the dawning realization that they are speaking with someone who got closer to solving The Elder than anyone ever should.There is talk of ambition.Of creative delusion (the productive kind).Of the brutal math of filmmaking—where passion is abundant and money is not.Because if The Elder taught KISS anything, and if this project teaches us anything now, it’s this:You can build the world.You can write the script.You can even gather the fellowship.But eventually…someone has to pay for the horses.Seb's band - The Provincials - check out their video here

Chaz and the assembled Order of Mildly Concerned Scholars (Wolfy, Scott, Corey, and special guest Heath McCoy—clearly summoned from a higher KISS dimension) plunge headlong into “Dark Light”, a song that dares to answer the question: What if Ace Frehley, Lou Reed, and a prog-rock fever dream all walked into the same enchanted tavern?The result is… well… something.What unfolds is less a discussion and more a ceremonial unpacking of a deeply confused artifact—part space opera, part Dungeons & Dragons campaign, part “we probably should’ve stopped this earlier.” Heath arrives as both evangelist and realist, boldly claiming there is greatness buried somewhere in this album, though not necessarily in the immediate vicinity of tonight’s track.Meanwhile, the show’s increasingly ambitious Elder screenplay project barrels forward—this week delivering a full-on siege, complete with undead devils, flaming roses, telepathic shouting, and at least one man being eaten by an owl. (Not a metaphor. Just…effin...eaten.)There is debate over authorship, bewilderment over Lou Reed’s involvement, sympathy for poor Eric Carr, and a growing sense that everyone involved—band and podcasters alike—may be in slightly over their heads.And yet… onward they march.Because if The Elder teaches us anything, it’s that commitment to the bit is absolute, even when the bit begins to stare back at you with softly glowing demon eyes.Featuring:A guest who loves KISS enough to tell the truthA song that may or may not qualify as “pretty good” under USDA & Ohio laboratory conditionsA script that has now fully embraced chaos as a narrative strategyRepeated reminders not to lean into the mic (but absolutely lean into the madness)THIS WEEK’S SONG:“Dark Light” — KISS (with unexpected assistance from Lou Reed… yes, really)FINAL VERDICT:Not the worst thing on the album.Which, in this context, is both praise… and a warning.Macho Man Heath McCoy is the author of Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, available on Amazon.ca and at ECW Press. He appears in the award winning documentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV and co-hosts School of Hip with Chaz Charles here on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

In this installment of Regarding… Music From The Elder, the panel gathers once more in the echoing halls of prophecy to determine what, exactly, just happened. And table read.Chaz Charles, Greg “Wolfie” Wolf, Scott D. Monroe, Corey Morrissette, and guests Laura Morrissette and Michael and Debbie Pastore conclude their latest descent into KISS mythology by addressing the expanding cinematic ambitions of The Elder — including Scott’s taking up a quest to locate filmmaker Seb Hunter, who once attempted to turn the album into an actual motion picture.Was it crushed by fate?Was it too ambitious?Did Bob Ezrin sneeze and blow several grand worth of Bolivian marching powder on the master and call it good?No one knows. But we intend to find out.The conversation drifts — as all noble quests do — into references to other towering rock epics, complete with knowing nods and the faint suspicion that everyone involved may have been borrowing from everyone else since 1969. There are priests, temples, and “great computers” briefly invoked, because of course there are.From there, the tone shifts into something both reflective and mildly self-aware. The panel considers the peculiar joy of lovingly dissecting ambitious artistic misfires, acknowledging that ridicule and admiration can, in fact, coexist peacefully in the same medieval council chamber.Scott’s screenplay project continues to loom large — a fully formed narrative attempting to give The Elder the structure it always seemed to promise. Whether this represents restoration or revisionism remains an open question. But it does involve sea monsters, councils, and an alarming amount of sincerity.Guest Michael Pastore shares reflections on fandom, his book The Mighty Van Halen: One Fan’s Journey, and the enduring power of rock mythology — culminating in a wedding anecdote featuring Rock and Roll All Nite, because destiny occasionally wears platform boots.By episode’s end, one truth remains:The Elder may not have become a film.But it has become a quest.And we are apparently committed to seeing it through.And Wolfie is committed to the musical...fully...completely. And you can hear it here.The Regarding…Series — we listen so you don’t have to.

This episode of Regarding… Music From The Elder takes on “Only You,” Gene Simmons’ brooding, myth-heavy centerpiece that quietly shifts the album’s focus from spectacle to internal reckoning.Chaz Charles, Greg “Wolfie” Wolf, Scott D. Monroe, Corey Morissette, and guests Sean McGinity and Michael Pastore approach the track after an ambitious table read of Scott’s unfolding Elder screenplay—where singing sea monsters, telepathic entities, blood moons, and a girl in a sundress named Mara blur the line between fantasy epic and fever dream. Where is Sigmond?The panel quickly zeroes in on the song’s structure and perspective. Is this Morpheus addressing the boy? Is it the Council of Elders demanding answers? Or is it a call-and-response between mentor and initiate?The episode unpacks:How the lyrics function as a psychological checkpoint in the hero’s journeyWhy the bridge provides the emotional vulnerability the rest of the album often avoidsHow the song’s theatrical tone suggests stage musical DNAWhether the chorus represents mentorship, manipulation, or bothThe tension between destiny being declared and destiny being doubtedThere’s also deep musical discussion. The group notes Gene’s rhythmic bass presence, the riff’s metallic edge, and the possibility of Anton Fig vs. Eric Carr on drums. The performance itself gets more respect than some of the surrounding album mythology — this is one of the first moments where the panel agrees the music stands confidently on its own.Context matters too. The song’s origins stretch back to 1970 under the working title “Eskimo Son,” later reshaped for The Elder. That long gestation fuels discussion about retrofitting older material into a high-concept fantasy framework — does it enrich the project, or expose its seams?Meanwhile, Scott’s screenplay interpretation pushes the mythology further: the boy (Cornelius), the Council, Morpheus, the singing Aboleth, and the haunting image of Mara in her sundress — a vision blending memory, trauma, and prophecy. That imagery colors how the group hears “Only You”: less as exposition, more as psychic fallout.The core tension of the episode becomes clear:Is “Only You” reassurance?Or is it pressure?Is Morpheus empowering the boy?Or cornering him into accepting a role he may not fully understand?The panel doesn’t force a verdict. Instead, they embrace the ambiguity — because for once, the uncertainty feels intentional rather than accidental.The episode closes looking ahead: the next table read promises to bring the boy before the Council of Elders, where the song’s call-and-response dynamic may become literal confrontation.This isn’t about bombast.It’s about responsibility.And fear.The Regarding…Series — we listen so you don’t have to.