Wyrd Ways Rock Show

Welcome to another edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show.Pride Month 2026 is upon us and we have a special shout to previous guests, Porcelain Victoria and Edie Montana for International Sex Worker's Day, which happened on the 2nd.As with every episode, The Wyrd Ways Rock Show focuses on bringing you the best new music from established bands like Armored Saint, Accept and Black Veil Brides and up-and-coming bands like Ana, KrashKarma and The Bitter Pills.The big interview this time out is with James Neeson, Registered Nurse and author of the new self-help book, Mental Health For Metalheads - Rock Your Way To Wellbeing, aimed squarely at people like us. The hardback came out on 1st June, and the paperback and ebook is due 1st July. As always, The Wyrd Ways Rock Show is fully committed to amplifying the voices of the people that make the Heavy music scene what it is. Whether you’re a musician, artist, designer, writer, sex worker... whether you're queer, straight, black, brown... or just someone who discovered the Power Of The Riff when nothing else mattered, this show is for you. If you want to share your story or tip me off to a band I need to hear, drop by the Contact Page or Instagram and share.  Crank it up, headphones on, and remember: We're not in here with them... they're in here with us.

Welcome back to another edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show.As you've come to expect we’ve got a sprawling playlist that wanders through the best of what’s new and noteworthy. We kick off with the classic Heavy Metal of Generation Steel and Armored Saint, then drift into the more melodic waters of Black Veil Brides and Holy Wars. The voyage (since we seem to have tapped into a nautical theme) continues with the folk-infused epics of Druidess and Ensiferum, and the sharp, modern punk edges of Mudrat and Hyphen, and the "couture Metal" (yes, that's what they call themselves) of Ana.The heart of this episode is my conversation with Edie Montana. She's a Berlin-based writer, performer, and co-founder of Slut Riot, whose work combines arts and performance with politics and sex work activism. Since The Wyrd Ways Rock Show is as much about the music, in this chat, we’re focussing on the music that moves her and the experience of going to gigs in Berlin compared to her native Italy. We also dig into her personal playlist and the bands that got her hooked. In fact, some of the most distinctive tracks in this show come directly from Edie’s recommendations: the psychedelic grooves of Villagers of Ioannina City, plus her personal favourites from Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, and Architects. Hearing her talk about why these specific songs matter to her drives home the point of this show: the people society often tries to “other” — sex workers, marginalized communities, outsiders — are already right here in the pit with us, bonded by the same riffs and rhythms. When we share the music we love, the barriers crumble.As always, this show is dedicated to amplifying the voices that make up the real fabric of our scene, bands and fans. Whether you’re a musician, an artist, a sex worker, or just someone who found solace in a riff, lyric or solo when nothing else made sense, this platform is for you. If you want to share your story or tip me off to a band I need to hear, hit me up via the Contact Page or Instagram.Turn it up, listen close, and remember: the scene belongs to all of us.

No interview this time on The Wyrd Ways Rock Show, which means the spotlight falls firmly on the music.This edition delivers a packed mix of heavy hitters and underground discoveries, from the intensity of Infected Rain to the classic Thrash of Exodus to the majesty of the undisputed Finnish Queen of Symphonic Metal Herself, Tarja Turunen. Collaborations add extra weight, with Stitched-Up Heart joining forces with Butcher Babies and Okkultist featuring Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell on new tracks making an appearance in this show.There’s also plenty of bombast and fresh blood, from Skindred to rising acts like Mallavora and Turbowitch—making this a no-frills, all-riffs edition packed with plenty of new music to discover.

Welcome to the latest edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show.As always, the focus remains on the music and the push to get diverse voices heard.The centrepiece of this show is an interview I did at SOS 2025 with young Manchester-based band, Dacara. Huge thanks to them for the chat. As is the tradition here, I handed them the keys to the playlist for a bit afterward. You’ll be hearing Nice Try and Rot, plus a guest appearance from Dinosaur Pile-Up on Thrash Metal Cassette.The rest of the set is a mix of new tracks that have caught my attention lately, including new stuff from Rob Zombie and Ruoska, medieval Doom from Castle Rat, and more new releases from Butcher Babies, Venus Grrrls, and the reformed Sister Sin. We’ve also got some Blackened material from Necrofier and Yoth Iria, alongside music from Carla Harvey and Charlie Benante's The Violent Hour and a little something from returning favourites, Toranaga UK.We’re closing the show with a tribute. As you’ve likely heard, Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell passed away a few days ago. Phil was a core part of the band for over three decades and a legend in his own right. It felt only right to end this show with Born To Raise Hell in his honour.As always, I’m looking to amplify the voices of the people who make the Metal scene work, especially the marginalised, such as women, POC, the LGBTQIA+ community, and sex workers. This scene belongs to the outsiders, and we need to stick together and help each other where we can. If you're making music or art (that includes dance, clothing, jewellery, equipment... anything, really), get in touch via the Contact Page or Instagram.

This one took a bit longer to put together than expected. Honestly, I wanted to get it together a couple of weeks ago, but just didn't have the spoons.Anyway... As usual, The Wyrd Ways Rock Show is about new music and forcing a woke agenda down your throats. So a lot of the bands have women in them. With today, as I type this, being International Women's Day, I think that's kind of appropriate. So is the final track - the debut of Arch Enemy's new singer, Lauren Hart. By the way, before any knuckle-draggers demand to know, it's 23rd November, OK? If you know how to write or count, you can put it in your diaries.We've also got an interview I did a few weeks ago with Dr Kate Quinn, dyed-in-the-wool Metalhead and one of the founders of Heavy Metal Therapy, an online resource and community of people who find Metal music helpful for mental well being (myself included). It is a place to find and share experiences of how Metal has helped us, the meaning we take from songs or lyrics, and play lists that we have found useful. It is for everyone, so we don’t judge each others metal preferences.Here's the link: Heavy Metal Therapy.As always, except for the three post-interview tracks, every song in this edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show is personally chosen by my good self and played because of all the music I get sent by various record companies and pluggers, these are the ones that caught my attention the most. Your choice or your band could be on a future show. If you want anything played, message me via the Contact Page or on Instagram. That includes if you want to tip me off about a band you've discovered.I'm also trying to raise up marginalized voices in the Metal community, so if any women, POCs, sex workers or members of the LGBTQIA+ community fancy a chat about what they do (which also includes musicians, performers, artists and literally anything else), what got them into Rock and Metal and the music they love, get in touch and we'll figure something out either in person or via Zoom.

Wyrd Ways Rock Show CDXXXVI features special guests Anika McRae (one of the head honchoes of City Of Counterculture) and John Marshall joining me in the studio... erm the room at work we recorded in for this edition. Both of them are more than likely to make repeat appearances.As always, there’s a strong focus on new material and up-and-coming bands, but there's also some more experienced hands on deck. Across the playlist you’ll hear music from Helloween, Harpy, Truckfighters, Clawfinger, 5Rand, and Exodus, with 3111 marking the welcome return of Rob Dukes on vocals, following the recent brief blink-and-you'll-miss-it return of Steve “Zetro” Souza.Elsewhere in the show: Vicious Rumors, The Gems, Rob Zombie, Infinitas, Solitary, Bloodride and plenty more from across the underground and established scenes.A broad mix this time around: Power Metal, Alt, Thrash, Hard Rock and Metalcore, just the way you like it.

This edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show marks a new chapter for the show, with a fresh theme tune replacing Rat Salad. With Black Sabbath’s retirement and the passing of Ozzy Osbourne earlier this year, it felt like the right time to make the change and usher in something new for the show.In this edition, we’re diving into a solid mix of Trad, Symphonic, and Death Metal with a bit of Folk and Doom sprinkled on the side to taste. You’ll hear tracks from Venger, the new project from Saxon's Doug Scarratt, Tailgunner, with their new single, Tears in Rain, inspired by the iconic monologue from Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner, as well as Death Dealer, and promising Italian band HyperioN.Alissa White-Gluz also gets a well-deserved spotlight in this episode. You’ll hear The Room Where She Died, a track that shows off her full vocal range, a side of her work that didn’t get much exposure during her time with Arch Enemy. If you’ve followed her work, you’ll know she’s capable of more than just growls, and this track proves that.As usual, there’s a bit of variety. Along with the Metal tracks, I’ll be sharing some personal updates—specifically, how recovery’s been going after my cataract surgery, as well as my recent ADHD diagnosis.In addition to the music, I’ll also touch on a few current events, including my thoughts on Anthony Joshua’s demolition of social media dick and Trump supporter Jake Paul (Joshua smiling when he dropped Paul in the final round was an almost artistic moment. Joshua’s statement afterward, claiming he deliberately dragged out the fight to “torture” Paul, only added to the amusement. I'll also touch on Andrew Tate getting a lesson in humility (ie being roundly spanked) from a younger fighter in Dubai.Orchid Throne, Nicholas Monsanto's solo Doom project and Hungarian Symphonic Metal band Meteora make an excellent showing before the show’s second half dives deeper into aggressive Metal, including tracks from Gravewitch, Lik, and some post-punk from Northampton’s Utopia Development Corporation.Finally, we wrap up the show with an invitation for artists from marginalized communities — specifically BIPOC, women, and the sex work community. If you’re a non-traditional Metal artist, or a non-traditional artist who's into Metal and want to share your work, I’d love to have you on the show. It’s all about fostering a community of support, especially for those who don’t always get the recognition they deserve in the scene. If you stand against the tide of division, we want to hear from you.That’s The Wyrd Ways Rock Show. Keeping the volume honest.

Okay, as you've probably noticed this edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show is running a little late.For those of you wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been dealing with some vision issues over the past few months. Things were getting pretty bad, to the point where I couldn’t read the screen on my computer properly and had to give up driving at night because I literally couldn’t see the end of the road. Fortunately, after an operation at Calderdale Hospital, I now have artificial lenses in my eyes, and I can actually see again! The surgery was done under local anaesthetic, and though it was a weird experience – I could see what was going on while they worked – I was well looked after by the wonderful staff there. It’s definitely not something I want to go through again, but I’m incredibly grateful for how smooth the whole process was, and I’m on the mend now, ready to get back to doing what I love.But back to the show – in this edition, you’ll hear fresh(-ish!) tracks from the likes of Paradise Lost, Kubika, and Royal Lynne, along with some of the other new music that’s dropped while I’ve been away.But it’s not just about the music – we also need to talk about some of the tougher, more frustrating issues within society and the Metal scene right now. Specifically, the ongoing challenges that sex workers (some of whom I know personally) and others in marginalised communities, which includes women as a whole, are facing on social media. Platforms like Instagram have been cracking down on content linked to pole dancers, yoga instructors, sex educators, strippers and even information services, shadow-banning accounts and removing posts, which is not only damaging to the people directly affected, but the wider community as well. It's one of those things that really needs more attention, and it’s something we should all be concerned about.As always, The Wyrd Ways Rock Show is about more than just the music, it's about the people who love it and make it, no matter who they are, where they come from, who they love and what they do for a living – it’s about supporting the bands and artists that don’t always get the attention they deserve. I’m all for giving a platform to up-and-coming talent, and you can expect to hear music from some of the underdogs in the scene. But it’s also about celebrating the diverse voices in Metal. Whether you’re a dancer, a painter, a sex worker, a designer, or just someone with a unique perspective on the scene – everyone deserves to have their voice heard. And that's what I'm trying to do with the interviews I'm arranging.So, if you’re in a band, have a new track, or just want to get in touch, drop me a message. I’m always looking for fresh music and new voices to feature. The only proviso is that you should love the music.

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show.This week's show, as well as all the usual brand spanking new music and interesting bands I've found while trawling social media, there's an interview with "the sex face of Burlesque" herself, originator of Stripknot (yes, you did read that correctly!), Trixie Blue. I spoke to her about... hang on... why am I telling you? Go listen to the interview if you want to hear what we talk about!Anyway... like I mention in the show, I'm looking for more people to chat with for the show. With this being Pride Month, I'd like to shine more of a spotlight on queer creators within the Rock and Metal scene. So if you're LGBTQIA+, do something creative, obviously that includes being in a band and are into Rock and Metal, get in touch and we'll have a chat, record it and get your voice heard. This especially applies to our trans siblings and any sex workers. With the sort of shite you're having heaped on you at the moment, your voices need to be heard even more.As members of the Metal community, we know what it's like to be "othered" and treated as if we're mentally deficient or need rescuing. We know we aren't and we don't, so let's band together with others who feel and are being treated the same way or even worse. At least it isn't illegal in most countries to listen to Metal. There's far too many where it's illegal to be queer or a sex worker. That's not right. Let's try and do something about it, eh?Remember, you can also listen and subscribe to the show on YouTube Podcasts, Google Podcasts (where still available), Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts and wherever else you get your podcasts. If you subscribe, please leave a review and rate us 5*. That way we push up the algorhythm and get the music out to more ears.