Everything Went Black Podcast

Fellow Horseman Karl Haikara of the Sol Nox podcast joins us this week. As you know, we have an ongoing collaboration called Darkness Weaves where we are discussing the work of Karl Edward Wagner, one of the worthy successors to Robert E. Howard, the godfather of sword and sorcery. Karl and I discuss Howard, an overview of his philosophy and our entry point into his violent world of dark, heroic fantasy. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “I am Abomination” - 1349

Paul Aloisio of Restless Spirit returns this week. He discussed the heavy atmosphere surrounding the creation of their new album Afterimage. We go deep in this episode and it add an extra layer of meaning to an incredible record. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Marrow” – Restless Spirit

Evan Hopper of Quell and Venereal Latrine joins us this week. This is a rare, in-person episode; Evan and I had plans to see Emperor at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn and combined the visit with this crucial intel drop. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Hymn to the Blackened Maw” - Quell

Ralph and I add another facet to the Unholy Passion. Survival songs is an exploration of the art that helps us get through lif’es challenges. We explore music, writing and other media in this episode. Similar to our other efforts, we get extremely personal and intense. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Guess I’ll forget You” – The Black Heart Procession

We got caught flat-footed this week. It's been a rough week: moving, unpacking etc so I'm releasing an episode of one of the Patreon shows that Ralph and I do. For those of you who checked out my reading of The Festival by HP Lovecraft that I posted around the holidays, this is a good companion to the story. Ralph and I discuss the short story in depth along with spoilers. Intro: "A Dark and Stormy Night" - Mike Hill / Vasilek Outro: "Country Road, Six Miles In" - The Gault

My good friend and fellow podcast co-host Mike Scondotto joins us this week. Among other things, Mike and I do the Necromaniacs podcast every week, so you may wonder what he is doing here on EWB. Mike is here to talk about the Confusion discography. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Storm the Walls” - Confusion

Karl Haikara (Sol Nox) and I continue the mission. I give a brief rundown of the past weekend’s Nightlands Festival, the inaugural Cadabra Records Weird Fiction Event before diving into The Fourth Seal, the next short story in the Karl Edward Wagner collection In a Lonely Place. Intro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill Outro: “Ostia” - Coil

Jean “Spyda” Clervois, proprietor and head coach as Spyda Muay Thai joins us this week. As most of you know, martial arts and specifically Muay Thai is a big part of my life. For the past three years, I have been training with Spyda, first at another local facility and more recently at his own gym located in the heart of Garwood, NJ. We discuss his journey in the martial arts world, the genesis of the gym and where he wants to take things as we all move forward into the future. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Protect Ya Neck” – Wu Tang Clan

Ralph and I continue our ongoing series The Metaphysics of… This week’s episode confronts an inevitability that will seek and find us all: Death. This is a heavy episode; we both get personal and talk about our individual experiences with both. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Death is the Road to Awe” – Clint Mansell

Bobby Torres of Frightbox Studios and Voidscape joins us this week. Bobby recorded and mixed Under Sullen Skies and Monarchy of Shadows as well of a host of other metal bands such as Hammer Fight, Windfaerer, Kalopsia and Abacinate. Most recently, he has completed work on the long-awaited Odyssey of Spite, their EP brought to you by Nefarious Industries. In addition to Bobby, the band features Justin Spaeth (Tombs, Hammer Fight, Abacinate, Putrascension) and Mike Goncalves (Replicant, Windfaerer, Putrascension). Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “The Unsaved” - Voidscape

Matt Bacon, consultant, A&R man, music Journalist and founder of Dropout Media joins us this week. You might know him from his entertaining, informative Bacon Bits Instagram / TikTok account where he doles out valuable information about promoting your music. If you don’t follow him already and you play in a band, do yourself a favor and give him a follow. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Hymns of Death, Rays of Might”

Trevor Shelley De Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec of Pelican join us this week. On paper, I have asked them on to discuss the reissue of The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw on Thrill Jockey but the truth is that I miss talking to these guys and I wanted to catch up; especially with Laurent, who has been out of the mix for a while. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Autumn into Summer” - Pelican

Karl Haikara (Sol Nox Podcast) and I get together to continue Darkness Weaves collaboration, our exploration of the work of Karl Edward Wagner, the horror / dark fantasy writer whose work has impacted popular culture in innumerable ways. Wagner is most notable for his immortal, word-wielding antihero but has also penned horror and weird fiction. For starters, we are going to cover the stories included in the recently re-published “In a Lonely Place.” This episode features Where the Summer Ends, an atmospheric weird tale set in Wagner’s hometown Knoxville, TN. Intro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill Outro: “Dreams of Trees” – Steve Von Till

As part of our Unholy Passion effort, we’re bringing you a “Classics” edition. Ralph and I discuss two artists that have produced music that can be considered crucial. Roy Orbison was the original Man in Black and Townes Van Zandt explored the dark worlds of despair that both of us seem to gravitate to. We discuss a lot of music in this episode. Most of the tracks will be represented on the accompanying Playlist. Intro: “Late Night Drive” – Mike Hill Outro: “In Dreams” – Roy Orbison

This week we welcome Mitch Oliver and Skot Hamilton to the podcast. We had Skot on the show recently to talk about KEN Mode, his work in the film industry and his scoring work on the short horror film The Druid’s Hand. Mitch is an award-winning Writer and Director whose recent short film, The Druid’s Hand, received international acclaim on the 2022 Festival Circuit. The film was screened to numerous sold-out theatres at prestigious Genre Festivals like Portland Horror, Dark Bridges, Fog Fest, Sin City Horror and the world’s largest and longest running Horror Festival, Screamfest, which took place at the iconic Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, California. The film won Best Canadian Short Film at Montreal’s Requiem Fear Fest and the Vancouver Independent Film Festival. He is also a host of the horror podcast, The Terror Table and has interviewed genre legends such as Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project) and Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China). Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Looks That Kill” – Motley Crue

This is an emergency episode that I wanted to get out to you guys. Dry Wedding, a band that EWB is fully supporting, has experienced one of the nightmare that all touring musicians have: the theft of their van and gear. A lot of you guys are in bands, love music, so please listen to the episode and support these guys. I know times are tough right now, but please spare some funds and donate to the band’s GoFundMe and help get these guys back on their feet and back on the road.

Ralph and I kick off yet another sub-series in the EWB Podcasting Universe. “The Metaphysics of…” will explore various philosophies, emotions and subjects in depth with personal reflections and how they tie in with music, literature and films. This week’s flagship episode addresses The Metaphysics of Fear, a subject that we can all identify with. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Don’t Far the Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult

Thanks for tuning in guys. This week, due to some family issues, I was not able to produce a new episode so we’re going Into the Vault into the murky past. We’re going all the way back to episode 5 and 8 where I did my first chat with the Great Malcolm Tent of Trash American Style and a really loose chat with The Secret from our European Tour. I’ll be back next week with a brand new episode.

Evan Hopper is back this week for a fac-to-face, in-person episode. We can a progress report on the new Quell album and talk about our night on the town. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Reaped by the Scythe” – Quell (feat. Jackie Smit)

Welcome to the pilot episode of a new series that will span Everything Went Black and Sol Nox. It’s a collaboration between myself and Karl Haikara and our mission statement is to bring more attention to the great work of Karl Edward Wagner an unsung author of some of the most compelling fiction in the horror and dark fantasy genres. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Seven Coils” – Grave Miasma

Ralph and I are back for another Unholy Passion episode. This time around we talk about Hip Hop music, a genre that is very important to both of us. It’s an epic one; so strap in and enjoy. At one point, we realize how much of a herculean task it is, so apologies if we overlooked or left put some of your favorite artists. Intro: “Hip Hop” – Dead Prez Outro: “Ain’t Nuthin’ ta Fuck Wit” – Wu Tang Clan

Fellow Horseman of the Podcasting Apocalypse, Karl Haikara joins us this week to talk about Sol Nox. We spoke a while back when he was about to launch his podcast, so it’s time to check in again. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Eviction” – Linea Aspera

My old friend Therese Lanz joins us this week. She is the creative force behind Mares of Thrace, whose 2022 LP The Exile was released after an 8 year hiatus. Therese discussed the band, her burgeoning career in the gaming and fantasy illustration world and along the way puts me on the spot regarding the Studio Ghibli universe. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Mortal Quarry” – Mares of Thrace

Happy Friday Everyone! I'm dropping this special report to announce that tickets go on sale today for Cadabra Records inaugural Nightlands Festival on June 2 and 3 at Kathedral Event Center in Hammonton, New Jersey. If you dig cosmic horror, weird fiction or gothic horror this is for you. The Festival will bring live readings, music and tons of art. On June 1 there is also a stand-alone special event celebrating the release of Pictures of Apocalypse by Thomas Ligotti. Be sure to pick up your tickets!

This week, Chris Bozzone, a composer and ambassador of Cadabra Records joins us this week. Cadabra Records is one of the coolest, most unique labels that I have run across. If you love horror, weird fiction, film scores and books this is a destination that you must explore. You will find some of the most creative manifestations of horror fiction in the form of scored readings of the finest entries into the horror genre. We also discuss the upcoming Nightlands Festival happening later this year. If you are a fan of this sort of thing, mark the dates on your calendar and consider coming out. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Seeds of Trepidation” – Anima Morte

Due to popular demand, Ralph’s Best of 2022 List has been released on the main stream. Initially, this episode was a Patreon-only piece but since a lot of you guys wanted to know why Ralph was left out, I decided to post his recollection of 2022 for everyone. BEHOLD! Intro: "All the Dark Things" - Mike Hill Outro: "Bathed in Lightning, Bathed in Heat" - Ultha

Ralph and I go back in time to the legendary handout at his place in Heidelberg. Anodyne was on tour in Europe, we were exhausted and had a night off and Ralph was cool enough to let us stay at his place. That night we cemented our friendship, laughed and check out this video “Death is Only the Beginning Vol. 1”. Intro: “Servants of the Warsmen” – Winter Outro: “Soon to Be Dead” - Dismember

This week I catch up with my friend Graham Brooks of Barishi. A few years ago, we toured together, had a blast on the road and made our one creative contributions to Cable’s 2019 album “Take the Stairs to Hell.” We talk about the last couple of years, working on new songs and possibilities on the road. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Cursus Ablaze” - Barishi

Skot Hamilton of KEN Mode joins us this week. I’ve had Jesse on over the past few years, but this is Skot’s first time on the podcast. We talk abut his involvement with the band as well as his involvement with film, another passion of mine. This is a real epic, so stap in! Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: Lost Grip” – KEN Mode

Ryan Lipynsky joins us this week. Likely, you now Ryan from killer bands like Unearthly Trance, The Howling Wind, Thralldom, Villains, Serpentine Path and a ton or others. Ryan is more recently a founding member of Reeking Aura, a band that I’ve been real stoked on since I first heard them last year. Their 2022 LP Blood and Bone Meal rates high on my best of 2022 and is somewhat of a supergroup featuring members who have done time in bands like Artificial Brain, Buckshot Facelift and Biolich. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Harvesting the Hatchet” – Reeking Aura

Katy Irazzary of Season of Mist joins us this week to talk about the adventures of working PR in the metal world, living in New York City, pizza and being Italian - American. Intro: "All of the Dark Things" - Mike Hill Outro: "Summer Breeze" - Type O Negative

For anyone who admires hard work and discipline, you have to give Arnold Schwarzenegger respect. In many ways his success is a manifestation of the “American Dream” that is often referred to. Ralph and I discuss his careers, his achievements and also acknowledge some of his missteps. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Lost Crew” - Breach

The year is winding down and the holiday season is upon us. This is the final episode of 2022 and to celebrate the conclusion of another year, I have invited Brandon Legion of the HorrorWolf666 podcast on to talk about ABRAXAS HORN, his brand new musical venture. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “It Watches” – Abraxas Horn

Josh Barnett returns to the podcast this week. I’ve been following his career in MMA and Pro Wrestling for well over a decade; he has worked in pretty much every promotion under the sun including the UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM, PRIDE, Bellator, New Japan to name a few. In addition to being a combat sports pioneer, Josh is an extremely cool guy and huge fan of metal, philosophy, horror movies and all of the thing we hold in high esteem here at the EWB Legion. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “IVth Crusade” – Bolt Thrower

I had an incredible last few days; transcontinental flights, great music and most notable an epic hangout with one of my best friends: Mr. Ralph Schmidt. He capture all of that in this week’s episode. Just an advance apology for the sound quality. We were recording in an fairly uncontrolled environment. Intro: “All the Dark Things” Outro: “Unholy Passion”

I’ve known Terry Taylor for, by my estimation, 20 years plus. We met back in my Anodyne days when we toured with his band Caligari. Over the years our paths have crossed on the long winding road. Most recently, Terry co-own 1313 Mockingbird Lane with his wife Liz, in Lawrence, KS. Though we spend a lot of time talking about the shop, we also get into deeper topics that will resonate with a lot of you. We all have our own stories over the past two plus years of pandemic life and Terry shares his. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Halloween” - Misfits

My friend Paul Aloisio of Restless Spirit joins us this week to talk about our picks for most disturbing movies; not necessarily the scariest, but the most DISTURBING. Tombs and Restless Spirit toured the east coast earlier this year. They rule, so check them out! Intro” “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Cascade Immolator” – Restless Spirit

Welcome to the pilot episode of Hollywood Babylon, our “movie classics” sub-series that I am cohosting with my friend Evan Hopper of Quell. HB will live on our Patreon channel but this pilot is available to everyone to check out. This week, we dig deep into Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now from 1979. We go deep into the themes and give out interpretations of some of the possible subtexts that are lurking between the lines of the narrative. Enjoy! Intro / Outro: “Hollywood Babylon Theme” – Evan Hopper

This is the End of the Harvest Playlist Episode, November Coming Fire. Jacob Curwen of All Hell joins us this week. We collaborated on a playlist, run down the songs and shoot the shit. This episode has two outros! Two of the mightiest Halloween songs ever, “To Walk the Night” by Samhain and “Ghost Walking” by the Might Sphincter are absent from Spotify and since we use that platform to do these collabs, for fun, I threw them on the end of the episode. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “To Walk the Night” – Samhain “Ghost Walking” – The Mighty Sphincter

Holy Circle returns this week to talk about their forthcoming record “Don’t’ Disturb My Waking Dream” available on Deathbomb Arc on November 11. Terence Hannum, Erica Burner-Hannum, Rob Savillo and Nathan Jurgenson, the complete band are part of the session for a very cool insight into the band and their unique creative process. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “No Twilight, No Dusk” – The Holy Circle

Due to some unexpected circumstances, we will not have a new episode this week. Instead, I’m digging up an episode from the murky past. Episode 10 posted on October 27, 2011; it was a “Halloween Episode” featuring Mike Scondotto who, if you have been listening to Necromaniacs, should be a household name. Mike is also the frontman of Inhuman and The Last Stand, two excellent NYHC bands. We’ll be back next week with a new episode, so enjoy and hopefully you guys get a kick out of this oldie.

J Bennet, rock music journalist, musician and old friend joins us once again. It’s October and Halloween is around the corner. J and I compiled a playlist of some of our favorite tracks that help us get in the All Hallows’ Eve spirit. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “To Walk the Night” - Samhain

Ralph Schmidt returns to the regular stream this week! A while back we did an episode on Fields of the Nephilim, one of our mutually favorite bands. This episode is a follow up to that discussion. During the band’s hiatus in the mid-90’s, Carl McCoy formed The Nefilim and release Zoon, their only album. It’s a unique coda in his career, that often times goes overlooked despite its far reaching influence. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Venus Decomposing” – The Nefilim

Paul Aloisio of Restless Spirit returns! In addition to our love of music, Paul and I are major horror fans. With the release of the latest Hellraiser looming, it was timely that we give out reflections on the Hellraiser franchise, the excellent Clive Barker novella The Hellbound Heart, and expectations of the new movie. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Hellraiser” - Motorhead

This week we have an epic. Jackie Smit of Into the Necrosphere joins us for a deep discussion that needed to happen in response to some of the Black Metal Old Guard, specifically Ihsahn, stating that the genre is dead. For the record, I am a massive Ihsahn fan, Emperor are one of the bands that have influenced my creative output on a profound level. Black Metal is probably the most progressive form of extreme music. Jackie and I give examples of how the genre has continued to raise the bar with each year, and give examples of some of the luminary bands that continue to elevate Black Metal and extreme music in general. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “The Far Bank at the River Styx” – Panzerfaust

This week, Mike Goncalves and Andrew Hernandez join me for an epic talk. Mike and Andrew are my teammates in Scorpion Throne, a new ongoing project. Earlier this year, I dropped a 4-song EP on bandcamp and we’re currently working on new material for something to hit next year. Both of these gentlemen are dear friends of mine: Andrew and I travelled the world together in Tombs, put in countless hour in the practice space and studio and now I finally have the opportunity to work with him again. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “The Obsidian Fog” – Putrascension

My good friend Jesse Matthewson joins us this week. Jesse and his brother Shane are the founding members of KEN Mode, a veteran band that has been crushing skulls for 23 years. As usual, it was a pleasure to catch up and talk about their forthcoming record NULL. Intro: “All of the Dar Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Learning to be Too Cold” - KEN Mode

You know, sometimes social media is good for something. Mother of Graves showed up in my Instagram feed one day; intriguing imagery, so I checked out the music and was blown away. The music is heavy, dark and has atmosphere to spare. I dug further and discovered that Chris Morrison of Harakiri was in the band. Chris and I go way back, our bands have played numerous shows together, we’re stayed at each other’s houses, all of that stuff. It was a pleasure to catch up with Chris. By all mean, do yourself a favor and check out Mother of Graves. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Where the Shadows Adorn” – Mother of Graves

Aaron Keay-Homma of Killitorous joins us this week. Aaron and I were on tour together earlier this year. Of course, I’m referring to the Origin, Abysmal Dawn, Tombs, Killitorous Tour. Aaron and his crew had a hard run, plagued by mechanical problems, van failures and just overall hard times, but they kept rolling. Aside from the general respect I for them because they’re such a sick band, they earned a more profound respect for their sheer will. Little did I know that the story behind the scenes was way more wild and intense than I could have imagine. Check it out. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “30 Minutes” - Killitorous

This week, David Grossman joins us for an epic discussion. David is a member of the long-standing Philly-based band Rosetta and, additionally, he is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. We go deep into a myriad of subjects including the concept of novelty, competition, training and various life philosophies. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Itinerant” - Rosetta