Speak N' Destroy

The prolific and versatile Tommy Giles Rogers on using Metallica riffs to teach himself guitar; the first five Metallica albums; Some Kind of Monster; Death Magnetic; the stylistic evolution of bands like Metallica, Opeth, and his own; James Hetfield's voice; why Between The Buried And Me chose to cover "Blackened"; and much more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow https://twitter.com/ryandowney and visit RyanJDowney.com

Cliff Burton's big sister talks about the late Metallica bassist growing weed in the closet; his organ from Sears; his earliest influences; his Misfits tattoo; Trauma; Cliff Burton Day; Jagermeister; Day on the Green; Ozzy; and of course, the early days of Metallica. She is the subject of the documentary The Salvation Kingdom, which examines the spiritual side to Cliff Burton and his musical legacy. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. The Salvation Kingdom can be watched in its entirety here: https://salvationkingdommovie.com/ Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Exodus guitarist Gary Holt on Kirk Hammett teaching him his first chords; Kirk leaving Exodus for Metallica; the early days of the Bay Area thrash scene; "Creeping Death" and the old Exodus song "Die By His Hand"; the magic right hand of James Hetfield; the Big 4; Paul Baloff; honoring the Jeff Hanneman in Slayer; the next Exodus album; and more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Testament Chuck Billy on joining the band that became Testament; the 30th anniversary of The New Order; first hearing, seeing, and meeting Metallica; his love of Metallica's ballads; Metallica at Day on the Green; the Black Album; the Load/Reload era; writing the foreword for the unofficial James Hetfield biography; his late 90s audition for Sepultura; the relationships within Testament; and more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Apocalyptica cofounder Perttu Kivilaakso reflects on more than 20 years of Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos; the support from Metallica over the years; seeing the S&M taping; playing the 30th anniversary shows; collaborating with members of Slayer, Sepultura, and Slipknot; artistic courage; life as a classically trained metalhead; and more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser on his audition to fill in for James Hetfield in 1992 after the Metallica frontman was burned in a pyro accident; Sepultura's first meeting with Metallica in 1989; his Sexoturica side-project with Jason Newsted in the '90s; his thoughts on Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, the Black Album, Load/Reload, and St. Anger; the guys who auditioned for Sepultura after Max Cavalera's departure; working with Newsted on Sepultura's Against album; jamming with the Big 4 all across Europe; and more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Dream Theater fans received a massive surprise one night in Barcelona when the band tore through the Master of Puppets album from start to finish. Lars Ulrich would later tell Mike Portnoy it helped inspire Metallica to do the same thing. The legendary rock drummer (who played in Dream Theater for 25 years and has recorded and/or performed with Avenged Sevenfold, Twisted Sister, and his own prog-rock supergroup, Sons of Apollo) talks about discovering Kill 'Em All, seeing Metallica in 1985, getting to know Lars, and so much more. SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Metallica played four Diamond Head covers at their very first show. Since that gig on March 14, 1982, they've played "Am I Evil?" more than 700 times. As Lars Ulrich attested during his band's 30th anniversary celebration, "[Diamond Head] is the reason Metallica exists, it's that simple." Cofounder and lead guitarist Brian Tatler joins Speak N' Destroy to talk about Metallica and their relationship with his band, the NWOBHM group responsible for such songs as "Sucking My Love," "Helpless," "The Prince," "It's Electric" and of course, "Am I Evil?." Music: Diamond Head "Helpless" (1980) SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

“SO WHAT?” Anti-Nowhere League vocalist Animal tells about the origin of the wonderfully outrageous lyrics to the English punk legends’ best known song; his background as an outlaw biker; the U.K. punk scene of the 1980s; getting thrown off Top of the Pops; how performing with Metallica at Wembley in 1992 resurrected the band; behind-the-scenes of his visit to San Francisco for the Metallica 30th anniversary shows; his forthcoming autobiography; and much more. Music: Anti-Nowhere League, "So What?" SpeakNDestroy.com has details about our guests, plus deep dives into Metallica history, with flyers, photos, YouTube video playlists, and more. Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Rex Brown on the massive influence of Metallica on Pantera; when he and Dimebag Darrell played a half-dozen Metallica songs with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in a tiny Texas bar; the night Metallica stuck Pantera with the strip club tab for both bands; the historic 1991 Monsters of Rock show in Moscow that united AC/DC, Metallica and Pantera at the twilight of the Soviet Union; fellowshipping with Hetfield and Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains as all three of them journeyed into recovery from alcohol abuse; the ways classic Pantera albums intersected with Ride the Lightning and the Black Album; and more. Music: Rex Brown, "Buried Alive," from Smoke on This. Follow @speakndestroy_ on Twitter and @speakndestroy on Instagram for news and details about our guests and deep dives into Metallica history, with photos, flyers, and facts. Also check out SpeakNDestroy.com Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Born on Cliff Burton's birthday, the same year Kill 'Em All was released, Stavros first concert was Metallica, at age five. In addition to his role as guitarist/co-vocalist for The Atlas Moth, Stavros was part of American black metal supergroup Twilight alongside members of Leviathan, Nachtmystium, and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. Stavros has an extensive collection of rare Metallica recordings from over the years and is an unapologetic super fan. In this episode, he even makes a playlist of Load/Reload songs, trimming the fat to make one killer standalone album that may convince the most diehard of skeptics. Music: The Atlas Moth, "Galactic Brain," from Coma Noir. Follow @speakndestroy_ on Twitter and @speakndestroy on Instagram for news and details about our guests and deep dives into Metallica history, with photos, flyers, and facts. Also check out SpeakNDestroy.com Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Megadeth co-founder and bassist on meeting ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine; No Life 'Tl Leather; hearing Kill 'Em All for the first time; meeting James and Lars; "Mechanix" / "The Four Horsemen"; "Go to Hell" / "Enter Sandman,"; behind the scenes of the Big 4 shows; Lars Ulrich's favorite Megadeth song; James Hetfield's evolution as a lyricist; the Black Album; A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica; the late Nick Menza and Gar Samuelson; what makes both Dave Mustaine and Metallica so special; and 35 years of Megadeth. Don't forget to follow @speakndestroy_ on Twitter and @speakndestroy on Instagram for news and details about our guests and deep dives into Metallica history, with photos, flyers, and facts. Also check out SpeakNDestroy.com Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Alex Skolnick of Testament, Metal Allegiance, The Alex Skolnick Trio, and ex-Trans-Siberian Orchestra on the Bay Area thrash scene; taking guitar lessons from Joe Satriani in high school; Metallica at the Keystone Berkeley in 1983; the Black Album; Load/Reload; Lars; Exodus; the Big 4; LuLu; MetalliGaGa; that time Kanye West wore a Testament t-shirt; and so very much more. Don't forget to follow @speakndestroy_ on Twitter and @speakndestroy on Instagram for news and details about our guests and deep dives into Metallica history, with photos, flyers, and facts. Also check out SpeakNDestroy.com Follow @ryandowney on Twitter and visit RyanJDowney.com

Doc Coyle was invited to stand in for Lamb Of God guitarist Mark Morton on three weeks of the World Magnetic Tour with Metallica. As a cofounder of God Forbid, Doc had gone from DIY shows to Ozzfest and Mayhem. Metallica? That's his favorite band of all time and he wasn't going to miss that chance. In this episode, Doc talks about discovering metal; the Metallica catalog; the World Magnetic tour; playing with Robert Trujillo in Mass Mental; how to "fix" St. Anger; his new band, Bad Wolves; and his podcast, The Ex-Man. Be sure to check out SpeakNDestroy.com for more information on all of our past guests and for genuine passion about the greatest band in the world.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, and writer/director Spencer Susser of the movie HESHER, from Ryan J. Downey's interview archives. Cliff Burton was the inspiration for the title character's look, mannerisms, and spirit. The cast and crew made Metallica a central part of the film's story. Thanks to a personalized letter, the band ultimately approved, even lending their iconic logo for the film's poster. Plus: Downey makes a list of the 6 Most Metal Movies Ever.