x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Hell Bent For Metal

Hell Bent For Metal

The LGBTQ+ heavy metal podcast. Looking at metal from a queer perspective, and a platform for the LGBTQ+ community within metal. Tom & Matt lead the discussion, opinions, insights, and interviews, and chat about good music. Every Tuesday.

music music commentary

All Episodes

01:03:40

#103 – Deafheaven As Transmasculine Role Models

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/06/20

The LGBTQ+ heavy metal podcast welcomes Tom's friend (and former guest) Benjamin into the co-host chair for one week only, to discuss how George from Deafheaven and Johannes from Cult Of Luna helped provide the male role models they didn't see elsewhere, and how that helped them come to terms with their gender identity.Also, there's a brief discussion about how a Fever Ray show made Benjamin see some trans parallels (and also what Fever Ray has to do with the metal crowd), and digressions for potato

en

01:02:49

#102 – In Hot Pursuit Of Vikings

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/06/06

Hell Bent For Metal favourites Amon Amarth are back under discussion again, this time explaining why breakthrough song 'The Pursuit Of Vikings' makes them think about coming-out experiences, something gay men are surprisingly comfortable discussing that most folks aren't, and, er, Destiny's Child.It's a surprisingly well behaved Camp Classic (by HBFM standards, anyway), but maybe it's because it's the summer and the cricket season in Britain, but Matt and Tom are in surprisingly thirsty form. And

en

00:48:14

#101 – Hellish Form: "They want trans and gay people...

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/05/30

Hell Bent For Metal speculated in episode #99 that Hellish Form's new album Deathless may be heavily talking about LGBTQ+ – and, especially, trans – themes. And when HBFM asked Willow Ryan from the band about this, the confirmation naturally demanded that they invite Willow back to talk about this.This week, Tom sits down with Willow to talk the surprisingly hopeful (well, by funeral doom standards, anyway!) message behind Deathless. Perhaps inevitably, the conversation takes in trans persecution,

en

00:53:40

#100 – St. Peter Won't You Let Me In (Your Bum)

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/05/23

Hell Bent For Metal seldom needs much reason to see something metal as hella gay, actually, but even by those standards, singalong stoner anthem 'St Peter' by British band Black Spiders is an easy target.Tom and Matt manage to find multiple ways it sits firmly in their areas of experience, and none of them are subtle or difficult to deduce. Who takes which interpretation, however, is not what you might expect.This week's visit to the Hate Crew Gaybar sees two albums for the jukebox. First up, Matt

en

01:07:12

#99 – On The Road(burn) Again

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/05/09

Hell Bent For Metal host Tom has been back to Roadburn to host another panel about queerness in heavy music, and reports back on how the festival's efforts to make themselves a welcoming, inclusive place have clearly, visibly paid off.The show's been on hiatus due to a bereavement, with Roadburn being the one bright light in the dark. And while the panel (which featured Body Void, Pupil Slicer, Backxwash, and OvO) was a great moment for queerness in heavy music – and Tom personally – it wasn't the

en

00:54:49

#98 – Inter Arma's Randy Bumgardner

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/03/07

The vast expanse and crushing weight of 'Stillness' by post-metal/everything band Inter Arma seems an unlikely Camp Classic, but Hell Bent For Metal have somehow found a way to see not one but two entirely separate ways in which that song speaks to their gay sides. Brace yourself.This show's visit to the Hate Crew Gaybar sees Suffocating Hallucination by Primitive Man/Full Of Hell, IX by Host, and Voices In The Sky by Brymir added to the jukebox.Plus rambling digressions on conservative Republican

en

00:52:27

#97 – Carbon Based

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/02/21

Hell Bent For Metal give 'Carbon Based Anatomy' by queer metal royalty Cynic the Camp Classic treatment, and explains why that song speaks to their queer sides. And no, it has nothing to do with the sexualities of the band members.This week's visit to the Hate Crew Gaybar sees Matt put Den Tapte Krigen by Bizarrekult in the jukebox, before Tom goes full meme, and puts in At The Gates Of Dusk by Ultar, Anthronomicon by Ulthar, and All That Has Never Been True by Ultha. And if you can follow which one

en

00:52:25

#96 – Split Bi Tongue

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2023/02/07

Hell Bent For Metal returns from a health-imposed break, and begins by explaining what they've been up to in the interim, starting with a trip to see an unusual Clutch show in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.The Camp Classic this week is 'Split My Tongue' by evil-sounding Swiss black metallers Schammasch, from their 2014 album Contradiction. And while Matt's initially not got a clue what Tom's on about (standard), he quickly gets on board with how lyrics seemingly about Satan might relate to the queer

en

01:05:32

#95 – Known To Sample The Occasional Rosé

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/10/20

When two-thirds of Mountain Caller were on the Hell Bent For Metal, Tom described them as a majority queer band. Max Maxwell, the band's drummer, is on the show this week to explain why the "majority" bit of that statement wasn't precisely true. It's an extended chat that also takes in the imposter syndrome that comes with being newly out and trying to talk about your queerness.Plus Emma Wilkes (of Kerrang! and other places) joins Tom to put four very different albums in the the Hate Crew Gaybar's

en

01:20:41

#94 – All In The Family Shall Perish

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/09/29

The gayest straight man in metal, Abhi Ahluwahlia, returns to Hell Bent For Metal. Matt's unwell (get well soon), so the music journalist turned broadsheet journalist is back for a show heavily focused on two of his favourite things: nu metal and deathcore.First up, Abhi and Tom remember 'All In The Family' by Korn, the alcohol-induced rap battle between Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) that includes more homophobia than your average English football match. It's a moment that was not

en

01:00:23

#93 –The Jock And The Whale

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/09/22

In a perhaps unlikely #yeshomo, HBFM this week explain how Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death Punch (and possibly Germany's football team, apparently) erroneously appeared on their gaydars. And no, this isn't some meta irony. They're quite serious.Gojira's last album may have been divisive among Tom and Matt, but the song 'Into The Storm' from it was instantly nominated by both as a Camp Classic – one that's up for discussion this week. And there isn't a speck of disagreement over why in sight.Plus

en

01:02:03

#92 – Breaking The Jaw

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/09/13

Hell Bent For Metal never needs much persuasion to talk about things phallic, but even their interest may be stretched to breaking point this week, as 'Jawbreaker' by Judas Priest is analysed for all the euphemisms for something to do with members. Because, oh my, are there a lot. And somehow there's a connection to daft attempts at censorship from the 1980s.Technical brutal death metal band Nile write incredibly crushing, virtuoso songs about ancient Egypt, and its mythology. So they're perhaps an

en

01:11:37

#91 – Let's Taake 'Bout Sex (Education)

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/09/08

Hell Bent For Metal has been hinting at what they think about Sex Education, the LGBTQ+-friendly comedy drama smash hit, for months now. Now they dive deep into the show, and explain how their view on it has been affected by being metalheads.The Camp Classic this week comes from Czech metalcore band Skywalker, and their song 'Justify Me', and it's an unusual one, as the queer relevance is so explicit there is no room for misunderstanding, so the discussion focuses more on the insight shown than

en

01:01:52

#90 – Cack Panther

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/09/01

Hell Bent For Metal digs into why 'Death To All But Metal' by hair metal parody troupe Steel Panther really isn't a helpful set of lyrics to the LGBTQ+ community within metal, whatever the intention behind it is.This week's Camp Classic comes from Asira, a criminally under appreciated British black metal band with no respect for genre boundaries. 'This Hollow Affliction' somehow contrives to lead both hosts to the same conclusion through totally different routes.Plus there are three albums for the

en

03:27:00

#89 – Hell Bent For Riot Act 2: The LGBTQ+ Metalhead...

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/08/26

Hell Bent For Metal joins forces for the second time with Riot Act, the alternative music podcast, as their host Steve Hill joins Tom and the returning Matt Rushton to present you with the LGBTQ+ metalhead guide to the Eurovision Song Contest. The annual celebration of kitsch, camp, and occasionally, a good song or two, has long had a huge queer following, and it's even flirted with metal from time to time.The hosts (the ones who like Eurovision, anyway) present their favourite ever performances,

en

00:55:49

#88 – Gods Of Grind(r)core

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/08/22

Hell Bent For Metal finally gets around to talking about Napalm Death, as the grindcore gods' song 'Suffer The Children' turns out to be super relatable to the LGBTQ+ metal fan, as Tom, Matt D and Charlie all confirm. Plus there's a full rundown of the myriad weird ways Tom's seen Napalm Death, and an explanation as to exactly why he describes the band a very specific way.Plus there's an amusing if rambling explanation as to why the wardrobe choices of stoner metal legend and all-round rifflord

en

01:18:29

#87 – The Queer Metalhead Guide To Brookyn Nine-Nine

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/08/17

Hell Bent For Metal takes a look at Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the US sitcom based in the 99th precinct of the New York Police Department, to analyse how the show handles queer representation and LGBTQ+ issues, and also discusses how being a metal fan can affect the way someone could view it – including how metal is represented in the show itself. Plus there's an origin story for one of HBFM's [stolen] running gags.This week's Camp Classic is 'And Then There Was Silence', the epic song about the fall of

en

01:22:24

#86 – The Return Of The SeeYouSpaceCowboy

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/07/31

Hell Bent For Metal is back after a break due to illness, and kicks it off by inviting Connie Sgarbossa from SeeYouSpaceCowboy to talk about being out in the scene, as well as breaking down stigmas about mental illness and addiction.This episode's Camp Classic is the shred-tastic 'Blood On Your Hands' by Arch Enemy. And perhaps understandably, given what's happening in LGBTQ+ news right now, this one's far from cheerful, and leads to a long discussion about the worrying state of affairs happening

en

00:58:14

#85 – Hell Bent For The Horizon

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/06/28

Hell Bent For Metal chats about how Bring Me The Horizon's Oli Sykes and Mat Nicholls are doing a charity triathlon for Ukrainian LGBTQ+ charity Ukraine Pride. Which you can donate to here: https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ukraineprideKatatonia provide the Camp Classic this week, with 'Liberation' being shown to have three separate queer interpretations. But it's the massively trans interpretation that gets the main focus.Plus this week's visit to the Hate Crew Gaybar has three releases for the

en

00:11:39

The Oslo Terrorist Attack

Hell Bent For Metal ·

2022/06/25

Tom explains why the Oslo terrorist attack is so terrifying to the LGBTQ+ community, both in terms metal fans will understand, and in the wider context for anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime.

en

106 results

Similar Podcasts

Pasquale Maassen Soundcloud

Pasquale Maassen

Marian Klose

Marian Klose

sevenism

sevenism

Dean Delray"s LET THERE BE TALK

Cactus Radio Network

Word In Your Ear

Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold