Archive | Radio Spotlight
What were you doing on April 14th, 1948?
If you’re like me, you didn’t even exist yet. And to those of you reading this that did exist on that date, I hope that whatever you were doing was fulfilling and wonderful, even if you were only a newborn at the time. You likely don’t remember it though, because it’s not a date that readily stands out to most. To those that recognize it, though, it’s a date that we’re thankful to have in the history books.
April 14th, 1948 was the first day that 89.5 WSOU-FM went on the air. The brand new radio station, running from the basement of the rec center at South Orange’s Seton Hall University, was the first college FM station in New Jersey and one of the first FM stations in the entire country. Who could have known, on that day, of the monster that would one day be unleashed?
Today, WSOU is known as the only hard rock and metal station in the New York metropolitan market and one of the only full-time metal stations in the country. And as the station’s 65th anniversary approaches, we at Metal Insider want to pay tribute to our friends in the broadcasting realm that fight the good fight for metal (in addition to providing us with a good radio station to listen to while we’re working). And what better way to do that than to get the inside scoop on the station itself from former staff members?
As an alumnus of WSOU myself, I will admit that I spent most of my time at the radio station while I was attending Seton Hall, and I probably devoted more time to WSOU than I did to my studies. However, I know for a fact that many of my fellow staff members were in the same boat as me when it came to splitting time between the station and classes, and as it happens, we were just continuing a proud tradition of WSOU staff from years before.
“Like many alumni, I spent more time at WSOU than I did in a classroom during my years at Seton Hall,” says Bernie Wagenblast, who graduated from Seton Hall in 1978 and was part of the station for his entire time at Seton Hall. He goes on to state the benefits of such devotion: “There’s no substitute for doing radio, and in my four years at WSOU, I had a chance to do almost everything I would do in my professional career.”
Given what he does for work, it would seem that spending most of his time at WSOU paid off for Wagenblast. Today he owns his own voiceover and recording firm, Bernie Wagenblast Communications, LLC, and works as a traffic reporter for the famous 1010 WINS in New York City.
It was just after Wagenblast’s time at WSOU that the station started to become the metal powerhouse that it is today. According to Mark Maben, general manager of WSOU and one of only two WSOU administrators that are not students at Seton Hall, that growth came from a desire to be different and offer something that no other station could – a format that was rightfully dubbed as Modern Active Rock. Read more »
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. This week, we investigate a freshly underground-friendly metal show at “the most powerful student-run station in the United States,” WRAS.
Station type:
College
Owned by:
Georgia State University
Frequency:
88.5 FM
Wattage:
100,000 W
Where’s the metal?:
On We’re Not Gonna Take It, Mondays 10pm-12am EST. Local metal also turns up on the Georgia Music Show, Mondays 8-10pm EST.
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What’s the format and goal of WRAS, and how does We’re Not Gonna Take It operate within that?
At WRAS-Atlanta Album 88, we strive to keep our station fresh and diverse, while not playing music that can be heard on any commercial station in the Atlanta area. Our name reflects our album-based programming, rather than the singles-driven format that most stations use. Additionally, our charts are based on listener feedback rather than just the number of “spins.” Album 88 has a reputation for being the first in Atlanta to play countless artists that have since reached mainstream success. One of our main goals is to bring exposure to those artists that otherwise might not be heard.
Read more »
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a glimpse into one very outsized personality who tackles both metal and alternative music for his station with equal aplomb as he prepares for this year’s edition of the CMJ Music Marathon. And yes, Freeman Thor Slaughter is his birth-name.
Station type:
College alternative
Owned by:
University of Oregon
Frequency:
88.1 FM
Wattage:
1,000 W
Where’s the metal?
On Bad Dude Radio, late night Fridays (fall schedule TBD)
What’s the goal of KWVA?
The goal of KWVA is to represent the under-represented. We want to explode on the airwaves with greatness every second of every day. No one plays the game harder than us!
You just stepped up to Assistant General Manager. How do you handle what is essentially three separate directorships (music, metal, plus this), and what’s it like?
Every pair of shoes I’ve stepped into at the station has been about one thing: I think I can contribute something that will benefit everyone. I became music director because there wasn’t one, and I thought I could do a better job than anyone. There was no metal show anymore, so I created one to blast shred into everyone’s ears. And I started doing work in the AGM role so that I could help the station be bigger, better, ballsier, and more destructive to the world around us! It’s chaos, and madness to do so much, but I love the station and I love chaos, so i get to combine those two things and bury myself in work. Who needs a life when you have metal anyway?
What do you try to do with both your metal show and alternative shows?
With a metal show I want to ease people in, show them a wide variety of metal and prove that it doesn’t all sound the same. The great thing about a metal show is that you can take on more of a personality when you talk on air. Metal is all about being yourself and being balls-to-the-wall while doing so, so it’s a ton of fun to scream into the mic and rant about how every child needs hours of shreddery a day to be healthy, it fits the music. During an alternative show, people don’t really want to hear an arrogant, over-the-top, handsome as sin, charismatic wildebeest of a man rant in between their favorite Modest Mouse song.
You won a couple of awards at CMJ 2011 (Best Newcomer and Will Never Sell Out) last year, before you were even doing metal. What’s the goal for CMJ 2012?
Well, the goal for CMJ 2012 is to take New York by storm. I’m talking Occupy New York, Thor Slaughter style! The nominations last year were amazing, and I was truly honored, but for me, CMJ is really about being with some beautiful non-commercial fearless freaks. The nice thing about CMJ is that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a music director, record promoter, band mate, or label rep when you’re banging your head at a concert and then stumbling in for pizza at 2am. I love people, and I love cool people even more than normal people, so my ultimate goal is to learn as much as possible and soak in as many people and bands as I can!
Where do you want the station and the metal show to go long-term?
I pull no punches when I say I want KWVA to take over the world. I want KWVA to eventually transform into a killer robot and wreak havoc on the American way of life! But in all seriousness, I want to do as much as possible, I want to be producing content that people want to hear, and I want to take everything to the next level. I’m stubborn enough to try and compete with commercial stations, and I’ve got enough sunshine and willpower to win that competition! I want the metal show to have a definitive sound. I want people to start recording shows and saying, “Man, did you hear that last episode of Bad Dude Radio? I recorded it onto cassette because it was so tasty.” I want every episode to sound like a journey and a compilation, I want it to encapsulate what 2012 was like for a certain sound of metal. I want Bad Dude Radio to be on the pulse of something that no one else is on.
Sample hour from Bad Dude Radio:
Autograph – Turn Up the Radio
Down – Stone the Crow
Black Spiders – KISS Tried to Kill Me
Corrosion of Conformity – Clean My Wounds
Sleep – Dragonaut
Torche – Kicking
Fu Manchu – Godzilla
Red Fang – Wires
The Sword – Night City
Mastodon – Curl of the Burl
Doomriders – Come Alive
Green Jellÿ - Three Little Pigs
The Sword – How Heavy This Axe
High On Fire – Serums of Liao
Periphery – Icarus Lives!
New At Metal Radio This Week:
The Last Vegas - Bad Decisions (Frostbyte)
The Chicago-based hard rockers’ new album is set to go down well with fans of Skid Row and classic Guns ‘n’ Roses.
Encrust - From Birth to Soil (Density)
Also from Chicago but decidedly much deathlier than The Last Vegas, the band formerly known as Hunters is putting out their stoned-out death n’ roll debut as the first release of Vagrant’s new all-metal imprint.
Obey the Brave - Young Blood (Epitaph)
The breakout Canadian deathcore band features former members of Despised Icon and Blind Witness. They’ll be familiar to anyone who caught the first day of New England Metal & Hardcore Fest earlier this year.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. For radio promotion, street marketing, publicity, event marketing and brand consultation in the world of metal, contact us here.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. This week, we’ve heard from a college-level music director who just graduated and ported his metal show to the commercial big time.
Station type:
Commercial
Owned by:
News Talk 50 (locally-owned)
Frequency:
1350 AM
Wattage:
10,000 W
Where’s the metal?
On The Iron Forge, Fridays 10pm-12am
What’s the format and goal of WZGM?
With a line up as diverse, fun, outspoken and unpredictable as Asheville itself, WZGM offers listeners across western North Carolina a home on their dials (or on their smartphones) where they can hear news, independent talk, comedy, music of all genres and community conversations… all in one place. Best part? It’s locally owned and operated!
How are you set to operate within their framework?
We’ve got two hours a week to play the music you don’t normally get to hear on terrestrial radio. Metal. Not hard rock, not alternative, not active rock. Metal. We’re playing it louder than everything else. There’s a local spotlight showcase to support musicians in the area, such as playing their music and talk about their upcoming shows. We’ll get them on-air if there’s an opportunity. The idea is to give people a metal community on-air that we don’t have in this area.
Read more »
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a glimpse behind the scenes of a metal radio oasis in Alabama and a show on the eve of its debut, followed by a brief look at some new records making their way to the airwaves, courtesy of the Syndicate.
Featured station: WLJS (Jacksonville, AL)
Station type:
College alternative
Owned by:
Jacksonville State University
Frequency:
91.9 FM
Wattage:
6000 W
Where’s the metal?
WLJS knows its local audience, and it’s not uncommon to hear metal blended into regular daytime rotation. There are four specialty shows as well: Revolution Radio Tuesdays 7-9pm CST (Christian metal), The Industrial Scream Wednesdays 5-7pm (the newest show, focused on industrial metal), Iron Age Wednesdays 7-10pm (classic metal), and Trainwreck Wednesdays 10-1pm (the catch-all new metal show).
What’s going on here?
Billy ‘Pharaoh’ Ramsey claims to be descended from Egyptian royalty, and judging from the dominance he’s carved out for WLJS in Alabama’s metal radio scene, it doesn’t feel like he’s exaggerating. ”I take great pride in saying that we together have become the dominant source for metal in our area,” Ramsey says. ”We play the newest music, have the best interviews, and stay focused on the main priority: the music.”
That would seem like a simple generality, but the staggering amount of work Ramsey puts in continues to pay off. Though he’s technically the metal director, Ramsey has also been the station’s production director and program director in the past and has handled all of the station’s music when needed. WLJS was shortlisted by CMJ last year for Most Improved Station due largely to his hustle, and for a station that incorporates some National Public Radio programming in daylight hours, the absolute pile of metal music and artist interviews Ramsey and his co-hosts bring onto the air feels all the more vital.
“I think one of my favorite interviews would have to be Mike Portnoy,” Ramsey says. ”To be able to speak to someone that has his talent when it comes to drumming was amazing for me, being a drummer myself. Another would be Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory; Burton was a very fun interview as well and very easy to talk to. I have not only been able to interview these artists, but I have also become friends with them and stay in touch with them between interviews. Jake [Luhrs] and Matt [Greiner] of August Burns Red and Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria are just a few of the people that I have gotten pretty tight with.”
Industrial metal has quite a following at WLJS, and The Industrial Scream is Ramsey’s latest attempt to tap into metal fandom in the South. Set to debut next week, it’s also part of Ramsey’s goal to further professionalize the underdog station. ”We are looking to make a name for ourselves in the world of radio. We want commercial radio to stand up and take notice that the ‘new guys’ are doing it and doing it better, faster and cleaner than the rest,” Ramsey says, as super-tight transitions between songs and listener-friendly news and interviews stand among his designs for the show. ”Once I graduate from JSU, I do plan to continue my education in audio engineering at Middle Tennessee State University. Who knows, maybe I will just move the Scream to Tennessee when I go!”
Preview hour from The Industrial Scream (set to air next week):
Fear Factory – The Industrialist (Weekly theme)
Rammstein – Mein Land
Star Killer – As the Sky is Falling
Oomph! – Supernova
Wayne Static – Thunder Invader
Marilyn Manson – If I Was Your Vampire
Imperative Reaction – Siphon
Megaherz – Himmelfahrt
Panzer AG – God Eats God
Fear Factory – God Eater
System Syn – God Damn
CombiChrist – God Bless
KMFDM – Rebels in Kontrol
Eisbrecher – Goth Killer
New at Metal Radio This Week:
Encrust – “Predatory Skin” (Density)
Formerly known as Hunters, this Chicago-based stoner-death band fuses multiple extreme metal styles together into a ridiculously intense machine.
Candlelight Red - Demons (Imagen)
Candlelight Red’s new EP was produced by Morgan Rose of Sevendust and goes a long way toward justifying their high-profile slot on this year’s Uproar Festival.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. For radio promotion, street marketing, publicity, event marketing and brand consultation in the world of metal, contact us here.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a look at a commercial station in Austin that recently gained it’s own metal HD2 channel.
Featured Station: KROX (Austin TX)
Station type:
Commercial alternative
Owned by:
Emmis
Frequency:
101.5 KROX and 107.1 HD2 KLZT
Wattage:
12,500 Watts and 50,000 Watts
Where’s the metal?
No Control is Friday nights 10p to 1a and the HD2 Channel is 24/7
What’s the format and goal of No Control?
I pick out the new music and listeners fill the gaps, not really formatted other than I play all the metal fit for the airwaves. You can hear your favorite classic next to brand new music, mixed with local and unsigned bands all jammed into three hours. I have a few benchmarks, 101 Seconds of Metal News, Essential Slayer, Jail Mail, Chuck Nugget and the ever popular Loooong Song.
How do you work to promote the station?
Outside of what may be deemed usual and customary promotional activities, we have been working on building our online presence via FB and through the www.nocontrolradio.com page for some time. I have done video online for special interviews and shows, commentary blips about metal videos and ton of other stuff. I also write a monthly column for The Edge Magazine and SideOneTrackOne.com as their metal correspondent. I am out on the town watching and promoting as much metal music as possible and trying to get our ‘community’ organized, motivating metalheads to check out what our fine city can offer, in the clubs, backyards and on the radio.
What are some obstacles you’ve faced, and what are you facing now?
Honestly there have not been that many obstacles. My operations manager believes that I have the best interests of the station and my show in whatever I do, and that is the truth. As a big commercial station in a top 40 market, ratings obviously matter, but in reality a show like No Control Radio can’t pay too much attention to ratings, it gets kind of bleak, then it comes back…overall this is the best radio gig a guy could ask for and I know it. I get autonomy over my playlist, and that is a rarity on the air these days.
How have people both inside the station and your listening audience responded to the show since it started?
Most people that work here know I do a show, but have never really listened, but then again that is why I’m the host and they are not! Actually most have been very encouraging, whether they like metal or not, many have kids who love metal, so they get exposed to it. Then they go to a show and see that there are thousands of people who love this stuff. The audience has been my favorite part of doing a show, if I didn’t have people at shows, on Facebook or on the phone giving me ideas and tips, this would have gone much differently the past 7 years on the air. The metal fan is a rabid beast that can be fickle, but I try my best to please them all.
Talk to me about the HD2 channel.
Ok, so there is this thing called HD radio, you might have heard a commercial for it once or twice. Basically it is a commercial free 24/7 metal station unto itself. I had a little 2 watt pirate test set in our shop and started running it a few years ago, and when we did a format flip on one of our stations it left open a side channel on the 107.1 frequency (KROX is not in HD yet). I made my pitch and the head programming gurus saw fit to let me have a go at it. It is a labor of love, growing bit by bit online, while giving an opportunity to bring back college radio shows like ‘Metal Enema,’ add a Christian metal show ‘Faster For the Master’ and do a fun talk show with my buddy ‘Godless’ ‘Visions From the Darkside.’ Those have all been desires of mine for a long time and now I can make it happen. We will be adding an album show, and hopefully a prog metal show among other things in the future too. It is really a playground and a kind of wild mixture of what I listen to and think people want to hear.
Sample Hour
Slayer “Raining Blood”
Mastodon “March of the Fire Ants”
Vision of Disorder “Loveless”
Testament “True American Hate”
All That Remains “And Death In My Arms”
As I Lay Dying “Cauterize”
Miss May I “Hey Mister”
Fates Warning “Anarchy Divine”
Kreator “Under The Guillotine”
Cannibal Corpse “Stripped, Raped and Strangled”
Bolt Thrower “No Guts No Glory”
Critical Assembly ” Feeding the Flesh”
Deadhorse “Rock Lobster”
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a look at how a mid-sized college station in Idaho put metal back into free-form, followed by a brief look at some new records making their way to the airwaves, courtesy of the Syndicate.
Featured Station: KUOI-FM (Moscow, ID)
Station type:
College alternative (free-format)
Owned by:
University of Idaho
Frequency:
89.3 FM
Wattage:
400 W
Where’s the metal?
Currently there are four major metal shows on KUOI: The Beef Vortex Wednesdays from 12pm-2:30pm, Noises From The Attic Fridays from 8:30pm-11pm (Anthony’s show), Confinement Loaf Saturdays 11pm-2am & The Rise of Priapism on Sunday nights from 11pm-2am.
What’s going on here?
Idaho isn’t a state you’d think of as having an underground music scene, and Anthony Saia is completely aware of that. But he’s done everything in his power to build it by piloting KUOI and broadcasting out fiercely independent programming, wearing program director, station manager and (currently) music director hats throughout his time there.
“When I took over as program director in 2009,” Saia says, “a lot of our paperwork was completely unorganized, our station a mess, equipment was failing, and our automated computer system was in need of a dire upgrade. I deleted all the music from the digital library and rebuilt the automated computer system to be more diverse – to represent more of the free-format spirit. It took me 14 hours to rebuild it the first time. The subsequent four rebuilds didn’t take nearly as long.”
In theory, free-format radio means that a DJ can play anything they want within station and legal regulations. With that in mind, Saia’s reconfiguration involved building other genres of music, including metal, electronic music and more hip-hop, into the predominantly indie-rock programming the station had. ”At first, there was a bit of backlash from the previous establishment,” he remembers. “I ended up changing the way the station had sounded and operated after previous tenures of management had slowly started to neglect the station. But I think that once everyone knew that I wasn’t going to come in and drastically change everything they knew, I was accepted a little bit more as leader.”
Since that revamp, KUOI – at one time the only radio station Moscow residents could pick up, Saia points out – has gained regular metal programming and showcases everything from Mastodon and Pantera to more underground riff pushers like Yob, The Accüsed and Witch Mountain. He’s hardly the only DJ playing metal, and that’s indicative of the excitement he’s generated in the community and at the station. “I’m just glad that there is a metal scene in Moscow, and the fact that KUOI seems to be leading that charge now has got me completely stoked,” he says.
Sample hour from Noises from the Attic:
Candlemass – Marche Funebre (Vinyl)
Candlemass – The Light Of Thebes (Digital File)
Yob – Silence Of Heaven (Vinyl)
Death – God Of Thunder [Kiss Cover] (CD Re-issue)
Death – Spiritual Healing (Vinyl)
Pantera – Mouth For War (CD)
Pantera – Cemetery Gates [Live] (Vinyl)
Mastodon – Black Tongue (Vinyl)
Mastodon – I Am Ahab (Vinyl)
Mastodon – Battle At Sea (CD)
Mastodon – Trampled Under Hoof (Vinyl)
Deftones – You’ve Seen The Butcher (Vinyl)
Isis – Celestial [Signal Fills The Void] (CD)
Converge – Jane Doe (CD)
New at Metal Radio This Week:
Periphery – Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal (Sumerian)
Periphery’s extreme progressive metal approach (call it djent if you’d prefer) is connecting with a lot of people right now, as this just sold upward of 11,000 copies.
For the Fallen Dreams - Wasted Youth (Artery)
This is hitting radio right before a high-profile tour with Suicide Silence and Unearth that should give the Michigan-based metalcore act a nice boost in respect.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. For radio promotion, street marketing, publicity, event marketing and brand consultation in the world of metal, contact us here.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a breakdown of James Whelan’s efforts to pipe cutting-edge metal into places you might not expect, followed by a brief look at some new records making their way to the airwaves, courtesy of the Syndicate.
Featured Station: DMX (National Service, based in Austin, TX)
Station type:
Satellite Broadcast
Owned by:
Mood Media
Where’s the metal?
DMX is divided into multiple channels and genres. Spike runs new extreme metal programming, whereas Ink’d runs new hard rock and more alternative metal. In addition to the new music channels, DMX has Full Metal Jacket for classic metal.
What’s going on here?
While DMX may not be as high-profile as a huge subscription service like SiriusXM, it might reach just as many people with music. That’s because DMX’s channels are carried by DirecTV under the SonicTap brand, along with being heard in subscribing bars, clubs and stores that cater to metal fans. DirecTV’s subscriber base of 19.89 million as of last year is still growing, and while that still has to catch up to SiriusXM’s rising 22.3 million base, that’s not accounting for the targeted fans DMX can reach through businesses. Music design assistant and head rock/metal programmer James Whelan takes this as an opportunity to get new music out there and push the envelope.
“Metalheads are a lot smarter than most mainstream media and music outlets give us credit for,” Whelan says. ”I remember being in high school, and after playing a metal song for a friend, hearing them say ‘Well, that’s just not music.‘ And then they’d play me their favorite Top 40 flavor of the week, and I’d think ‘Well, that’s just not art.‘ So a big part of what I want to do when I’m going through all the new music that comes in every week is to find bands that create something that metalheads will at the very least respect and appreciate even if it’s not the kind of metal they’re into.”
Read more »
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. In our weekly Radio Spotlight, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a breakdown of Andrew “Cutter” Puyleart’s efforts to tie the new back to the old on metal’s national stage, followed by a brief look at some new records making their way to the airwaves, courtesy of the Syndicate.
Featured Station: WRQE-FM (Green Bay, WI)
Station type:
Commercial/Syndicated show
Owned by:
Midwest Communications [WRQE]
Envision Radio Networks/Jason Hillery/Andrew “Cutter” Puyleart [The Pit/Hangar 19]
Frequency:
93.5 FM
Wattage:
50,000 W
Where’s the metal?
On The Pit (aka Hangar 19), Saturdays 9pm-12am CST
What’s going on here?
Cutter has crafted a syndicated metal show built around classic bands that still looks to tie in current metal. ”85 percent of the music is metal from the 80′s and 90′s, with some older stuff from the 70′s and some new metal thrown in,” Cutter says. ”The goal is to get the metal that we grew up listening to on the radio. You have to know where you’ve been in order to know where you’re going, so for people into newer metal, they can hear the bands that influenced their favorite bands.”
The show currently has five commercial FM affiliates from Oregon to West Virginia, along with its home base of WRQE. That may seem modest for a syndicated show, but The Pit is relatively new compared to long-running shows under Envision’s umbrella like Full Metal Jackie; in fact, it has only been syndicated since January. ”It seems like the old school and/or hardcore metal fans are eating this up,” Cutter says. ”Every week it seems to get bigger and better.”
Sample featured artists:
Classic metal shows aren’t unusual in radio, but Cutter sets himself apart by finding ways to blend slightly more underground names in with marquee artists. In the six months that The Pit has been active, Cutter has interviewed a number of artists, including:
-Rob Halford
-Max Cavalera
-Tommy Victor (Prong)
-Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory)
-David Ellefson (Megadeth)
-Woody Weatherman (Corrosion of Conformity)
-Sid Wilson (Slipknot)
When interviewing these artists, Cutter will typically run a new song they play on alongside a well-known standard to help trace the roots of a band back to its foundations. This weekend’s guest will be Rex Brown, who exemplifies this, given his new band Kill Devil Hill and his old work in Pantera and Down.
New at Metal Radio This Week:
Vision of Disorder -“Loveless” (Candlelight)
The Long Island-based experts of fusing New York hardcore with metal are back with the first single from their new album, The Cursed Remain Cursed. It’s the band’s first new full-length since 2001′s From Bliss to Devastation and first release for Candlelight.
Aviyn - Aviyn (From The Depths)
An upstart metalcore band from tiny Hominy, OK, Aviyn’s debut album balances crushing syncopation with pop tendencies.
The Company Band – “House of Capricorn” (Weathermaker)
Fronted by Neil Fallon (Clutch) and featuring members of CKY, Fireball Ministry and Fu Manchu, this new single sounds kind of like Clutch gone a little more overtly mid-70s rock in its grooves.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. For radio promotion, street marketing, publicity, event marketing and brand consultation in the world of metal, contact us here.
Believe it or not, metal still gets played on the radio! In addition to channels like SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal and nationally syndicated shows like Full Metal Jackie, there are still hundreds of outlets for heavy music in the United States. Most college radio stations have a metal show or two, and there are also commercial rock stations with metal shows around the country as well.
The Syndicate, Metal Insider’s parent company, is a promotion and marketing company that has championed the metal scene for almost 15 years. Starting this week, we’ll offer a look behind the scenes of metal radio from some of the stations and outlets playing metal that the Syndicate works with to spotlight the newest underground music on the airwaves and the people that bring it to you. Read on for a look into Gary “Turbo” Webb’s one-man metal crusade in Oklahoma, followed by a brief look at some new records making their way to the airwaves, courtesy of the Syndicate.
Featured Station: KRSC-FM (Claremore, OK)
Station type:
College alternative
Owned by:
Rogers State University
Frequency:G
91.3 FM
Wattage:
3,000 W
Where’s the metal?
On Turbo’s Metal Meltdown, Tuesdays 8pm-12am and Wednesdays 11pm-2am CST
What’s going on here?
Turbo has carved out a sizeable niche for himself in the Oklahoma music scene. His show’s Facebook page cracked more “likes” than KRSC’s official page due to his promotional hustle, and he’s now been shortlisted as a finalist for Urban Tulsa Weekly’s annual Absolute Best in Tulsa awards under the Radio Personalities category. His three competitors in the category are all commercial radio DJs with a far greater reach than KRSC has. Voting ends June 18, and while Turbo knows he’s facing an uphill battle, he’s still proud of what it took to get this far. Read more »
What were you doing on April 14th, 1948?
Posted by Chris Colgan on Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 11:02 am
Metal Milestones, Radio, Radio Spotlight