The Ex Man Podcast 12 – Reflecting on the NWOAHM with J. Andrew Zalucky (Decibel, Metal Injection)

Doc speaks with heavy metal and politics writer, J. Andrew Zalucky, about his article Reflecting on the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, which was released a year ago on MetalInjection.net. They discuss NWOAHM’s overall relevance and historical significance, how it relates to the current state of heavy music, metal elitism, and coming of age in the hardcore scene.

The episode features the God Forbid song “Gone Forever” from the 2004 album Gone Forever.

Article Links

Reflecting on the New Wave of American Heavy Metal by J. Andrew Zalucky – http://www.metalinjection.net/editorials/reflecting-on-the-new-wave-of-american-heavy-metal

This Is The End by Doc Coyle – https://doccoyle.net/this-is-the-end/

J. Andrew Zalucky’s website – https://jazalucky.com/

The Ex Man Podcast 11 – Benny Horowitz (The Gaslight Anthem, ex-The Low End Theory)

Doc has an in-depth talk with Benny Horowitz, drummer of über successful rock band, The Gaslight Anthem, about coming up in the New Jersey hardcore scene, gush over local metalcore band For The Love Of…, discuss Benny’s struggle in the underground playing with bands like The Low End Theory and The Killing Gift, battling with the pressures of “real life”, and finally coping with having his dreams come true as a successful musician. Benny and Doc also engage in some NBA talk, and pore over the doldrums of being a Brooklyn Nets fan, and try to figure if anyone has a chance against the Golden State Warriors.

This episode features the songs “Crawl To Hide” by For The Love Of… from the 1998 album Feasting On The Will Of Humanity and “Stay Vicious” by The Gaslight Anthem from the 2014 album Get Hurt.

The Ex Man Podcast 10 – Mark Heylmun (Suicide Silence)

Mark Heylmun, lead guitarist of Suicide Silence joins Doc to discuss the harsh criticism of their creative changes on their forthcoming album, the band’s “old school” approach to jamming and chemistry, their personal artistic process and how it relates to fans, and Mark ends up interviewing Doc a little bit to get some insight on what hindered God Forbid’s career.

This episode features the song “Doris” by Suicide Silence from their self-titled album set to be released February 24th 2017 on Nuclear Blast Records.

Milo on Bill Maher and The Cult of Trolling

(Credit: Getty/Drew Angerer/HBO/Salon)

Sometimes you have a confluence of thoughts coalesce in way that begs immediate attention, and now is one of those times. After watching Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher and the interaction with controversial guest, Milo Yiannopoulos, I couldn’t sleep. The provocateur provoked.

Everything post the election of Donald J. Trump feels like uncharted territory, and what I thought I knew contained vast holes of ignorance. In my world, the Milos, Ann Coulters, and Alex Jones’ were sordid, fringe figures, and yet what I failed to see was that they were signaling of a change in the culture. That’s the thing about getting older; the culture changes while you’re distracted in self-satisfied comfort of predictable outcomes. It never feels good to be out of touch.

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The Ex Man Podcast Ep. 09 – Bill Hudson (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Circle II Circle, ex-Westfield Massacre, ex-Cellador)

Doc returns from a break from the show with special guest, Bill Hudson, a prolific and virtuosic guitarist for bands like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Circle II Circle, Vital Remains, and Ex Man of Westfield Massacre, Cellador, Power Quest, and many more. They discuss how Bill emigrated from Brazil to join the band Cellador, his early missteps and attitude problems, his transition into becoming a hired gun, and his philosophy on how to make it as a pro musician.

This episode features the song “Of Dirt” by the band Firefly Atlas, and a demo version of the song “E.G.O.” by Bill Hudson.

The Ex Man Podcast Ep. 08 – Andrew “AJ” Jacobs (Mutiny Within, ex-Vext)

Doc rings in the New Year by thanking his gear sponsors ESP Guitars, EVH Amps and Cabs, Dunlop Picks, MXR Effects, Planet Waves Cables, D’Addario Strings, Toontrack Software, Kemper Profiling Amps, Zoom, Samson, and Sennheiser.

He also speaks with Mutiny Within bassist, Andrew Jacobs, about how AJ hustled and masterminded their way to a record deal with Roadrunner even as an inexperience band, navigating the local New Jersey metal scene, the art of networking, the trouble the band ran into with touring and member changes, burning out, working at Warner Music Group, and the current state of Mutiny Within.

This is episode features the Mutiny Within song “Justify” from their album Origins due Feb 10th 2017.

The Ex Man Podcast Ep. 07 – Mike Gitter (A&R for Century Media Records, ex-Roadrunner, Atlantic)

Doc vents about the holiday blues, and speaks with Century Media A&R guy, Mike Gitter, about his start as a journalist in the early punk and hardcore scene, his time in the major label world at Atlantic records, the process of making records with bands, his legacy at Roadrunner Records and working with bands like Killswitch Engage, Glassjaw, and Ill Nino, and reveals what he looks for in upcoming bands.

This episode features the song “Calculating Fate” from Death I Am and a live version of “Numbered Days” from KiIlswitch Engage.

The Ex Man Podcast Ep. 06 – Tommy Vext (Westfield Massacre, ex-Snot, ex-Divine Heresy)

Doc talks with his old friend Tommy Vext, vocalist of Westfield Massacre about growing up in a rough environment in Brooklyn, NY, his first band Vext, how he got involved with Dino Cazares to join Divine Heresy, singing at Roadrunner United, his messy exit from Divine Heresy, joining Snot, his long journey to get sober, surviving attempted murder, entering the witness protection program, and his flirtation with suicide.

Songs featured on this episode are “Horizon” by Animus Complex from the Immersion album and “Build Your Thrones” by Westfield Massacre from their self-titled debut.

The End of Reality – My Quest for Truth in the Post-Truth Era

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Part I – The Diagnosis

For a man of my age (36), perhaps no piece of pop culture spoke to my still-forming personal identity than the 1999 film The Matrix. There are several cultural memes that my generation draws from this film’s enlightening philosophy to this day. First, the metaphor of “waking up” from a sedated conformity could be applied to almost any rudimentary societal norm from a working a boring job to the banality of tradition like church or marriage. Second, the image of Morpheus holding the blue and red pills I think speaks to us all when contemplating ideas of free will, fate, or encountering our most consequential crossroad moments. Third, and most relevant to this essay, is the concept that nothing about your reality is real. This line from Morpheus explaining The Matrix to Neo is something I think about constantly.

“What is real? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste, and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”

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The Ex Man Podcast Ep. 05 – Christian Olde Wolbers (ex-Fear Factory)

Doc talks with ex Fear Factory bassist and guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers about how Christian originally joined the band, Fear Factory’s influence on metal, how and why the band split up, potential of a Fear Factory reunion, and dig into Christian’s passion for firearms.

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