Inner-Strength Check Podcast

Late last week, I was joined on the Inner-Strength Check Podcast by Noah See, drummer of progressive post-metal/doom heavyweights Conjurer (UK). With the imminent release of third full-length Unself later this month, as well as an upcoming slew of UK/European tour dates, Noah and Co are understandably keen as hell. Given the album remains true to the core musical dynamic yet also branches out from both Mire (2018) and Pathos (2022), I can personally confirm via advance listens that this is a

Yesterday I was joined by Chuck Billy, the powerful and talented vocalist/frontman for Bay Area thrash metal legends Testament. During our conversation we discussed the interesting dynamics involved in the bands' writing and recording for the hard-hitting 14th LP Para Bellum, which releases on October 10th via Nuclear Blast Records. Naturally there's a whole slew of other topics covered during our chat, so be sure to dive in! If you'd like to view the video version of this interview, head on over to

Far from the stereotypes you might associate with a nickname like, well, Old Nick, our latest vocalist-interviewee was candid, mirthful and excited in our midnight chat (very goth-coded, I know) ahead of Paradise Lost's 17th (!) studio opus Ascension. Due for release on September 19th via Nuclear Blast Records, we caught up with Nick to discuss said album, but also branch out into directions ranging from the practical (touring, songwriting, etc) all the way through to the existential. For the video

Heading towards burning the midnight oil alongside myself on Friday night, I was joined on the podcast by Paula Damzal (vocals/guitar) and Nik (aka Nikronomikon Satanik - lead guitar) of incessantly guttural, HM2-soaked purveyors KÜNTSQUAD. With a renowned live show and the release of perennially family-friendly-titled LP Satan's Cock dropping on a scene increasingly interested in the old-school, we discussed both the above plus navigating challenging life circumstances to celebrate successes,

A massive privilege and honour to have frontman Simon Calabrese of influential Australian melodic death metal legends Daysend, ahead of their upcoming national tour revisiting the massively-acclaimed album Severance. We discuss Simon's thoughts on said tour, stepping back into the band for the first time in 19 years and more! Check out the link below for tour info and links/RSVP for each of the tour dates across Australia. Massive thanks to Anthony from YourMateBookings for facilitating such a

Link to Video Version (via our Youtube Channel). Yesterday, for Music Monday at ISC I caught up with Ian Ahles (Vocals, Guitar/Lute) & Will Towne (Guitars) from up-and-coming Brisbane-based progressive metal outfit Ahles. We had a fantastic, fun and insightful chat about the project, merging the worlds of classical music/academia, the songwriting process behind recently released LP Between Dreams And The Waking World and more! Great chat with two skilled yet humble musicians. You can check out

In our third podcast interview for this week, your host was recently joined by two great dudes in Tomi Kouvisaari (Guitars) & Jan Rechberger of influential metallers Amorphis! We discuss latest album Borderland, touring and much more. See link for video/audio-only versions plus album preorder/info, artist bio/links, latest music videos ‘Bones’/’Light & Shadow’ and more, over at: www.innerstrengthcheck.com/blogMany thanks to Tomi, Jan, Amorphis and Reigning Phoenix Media for facilitating

Another splendid interview with a chill heavy musician! I was joined this morning by Isaiah Mitchell, guitarist of influential psych/space-rock heavyweight whilst he was on a summer's eve walk to discuss the upcoming tour of Australia/Europe/USA, thoughts on playing an iconic show at Uluru, the Australian music scene, live improvisation, his respect for First Nations peoples and more. You can find the full press release with details of the upcoming Aussie tour plus additional media, artist links and