Everything Went Black Podcast

Ralph Schmidt returns this week! It was a great hang. Ralph, a deep well of good ideas, proposed this concept “The Mount Rushmore of…” which acted as a substrate for our tangents into the unknown. Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Disorder” – Joy Division

This week we're going back a few years, back to the Vault.  Randy Larsen and I were doing a sub-series called Road to Ruin where we discussed records and movies that we iconic to us.  Apparently, doing Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant was my idea.  Abel Ferrara's grimey, depraved exploration of a NYC detective's descent into darkness is one of my all-time favorite movies of the 90”s.   But what about Herzog's version?   Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Tokyo Express” – Die Haute feat. Nick Cave

Fellow Horseman Karl Haikara of Sol Nox joins us this week. We take a break from talking about Karl Edward Wagner and instead discuss the work that he is doing at his podcast Sol Nox, the various musical endeavors that he has on deck as well as reflections of some awesome books and movies we've been getting into.    Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Pits of Abaddon” – Anti Christ Blood Scourge

Trevor Shelley De Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec from Pelican return on the lead up to their new LP Flickering Resonance hitting the streets on May 16 on Run for Cover Records. Aside from being, long-time personal friends of mine, they are profoundly creative musicians. Pelican have been active in one form or another for better than 25 years with their early output being released on the seminal, independent extreme music label Hydrahead Records. Check them out on tour in the US in July. Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Wandering Mind” – Pelican

Drugoth returns and Shograath has his first appearance on the podcast to discuss their new band Deathorde. If you love RAW, black metal with a healthy dose of war metal, I urge you all to check out their debut full-length now available on their bandcamp. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Rape Worship” – Deathorde

Karl Haikara of Sol Nox joins us for another episode of our collaboration DARKNESS WEAVES. We're forging along with our discussion of the novel THE DARK CRUSADE by Karl Edward Wagner featuring his character the anti-hero known as Kane. Intro 1:  “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Intro 2 / Outro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill

Welcome the the flagship episode of The Black Lodge, my collaboration with Brandon Legion of Horror Wolf 666. Inspired by the passing of David Lynch, one of the greatest American filmmakers of our generation, we are going to dive deep into the Twin Peaks series.  In 1990, there was nothing quite like Twin Peaks, it was groundbreaking and a harbinger of an explosion in thought-provoking television that would happen two decades later.  We cover the pilot episode this week, exploring the darkness beneath the plaid small town of Twin Peaks, the fictitious town nestled in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Stay tuned for future monthly episodes on Everything Went Black and Horror Wolf 666. Intro:   “Twin Peaks Theme” – Andrew Badalamenti Outro:  “Falling” –Julee Cruise

Dave Berardi of Razor Eater Metal returns this week.  Dave puts in work on a weekly basis bringing you news and reviews of the sickest metal records.  Additionally, Dave is the man behind the ambient black metal project XEZBETH.  We had a lot of fun talking about how he got into extreme music.  The most interesting thing is that, despite Dave being quite a bit younger than me, our extreme music journey isn't that much different. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Do You Love Me” – Kiss

Heath Rave returns this week. A while back he was on to discuss hid band Lotus Thrones, this time around we talk about his new project Fragile Body, his art and tattoo work as well as some reflections on creativity and the process of recording. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Anhedonia” – Fragile Body

Sam Peckinpah embodies the essence of what the Kill or Be Killed project is all about like no other filmmaker.  Bleak, nihilistic and brutal, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a relentless journey through the dark landscapes of Mexico following the grisly journey of a desperate man expertly portrayed by Warren Oates. From top to bottom excellent performances are logged in by Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Weber and Kris Kristofferson.   Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Adelita” – Jerry Fielding 

Bobby Ferry of 16 returns to us this week after wrapping up their most recent European tour. 16 has been active since 1992, first having surfaced in the West Coast powerviolence / punk scene with releases on Pushead's Bacteria Sour, Pessimiser and Theologian until finding a home at Relapse in 2009 with the LP Bridges to Burn. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Blood Atonement Blues” – 16

Artist Nick Shedlock joins us this week.  If you dig horror and that stark black and white aesthetic, check out his efforts at Dunwich Creations.  Nick and I talk comics, horror movies and music.   Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Dunwich” – Electric Wizard

Ryan Patterson returns this week.  We have been friends for nearly 30 years, so it's always a pleasure to catch up.  Ryan is the man behind Fotocrime, Coliseum and other killer bands and has always had a unique, DIY approach to his creative endeavors.  Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “South of Heaven” – Fotocrime

Karl and I march on! This week, we give you another episode of Darkness Weaves, our study of Karl Edward Wagner's incredible sword and sorcery, dark fantasy and horror stories.  We star the nect Kane novel, The Dark Crusade. Theme:  “All the Dark Things” – Mike HIll Intro / Outro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill

Ralph Schimdt returns for his first episode of the new year.  We continue our The Metaphysics of… series with the discussion of Reason.  It's sort of an open subject, especially in these days of historical chaos. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Nature Unveiled” – Year Future

David Lynch was a once in a generation artist with a unique vision.  His work touches something deep if you are receptive to it and you can experience a full range of humanity within his films and music. He created epics of pure emotion be it horror, love, fear and desire.  Paul Aloisio and I ruminate on his work as a tribute to the maestro. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “True Love's Flame” – David Lynch featuring Jack Cruz This episode is dedicated to the memory or Rich Hall 

This is the kickoff episode of our newest series, Kill or Be Killed, an exploration of neo-noir and crime cinema.  Rennie Resmini joins us as cohost and we'll be talking about some of the iconic films in this subgenre.  This week, we cover Thief, Michael Mann's debut feature film from 1981.  Based on “The Home Invaders” the novel by Ronnie Caan, Mann creates a cold landscape of outsiders, criminals and crooked cops brought to life by an incredible cast lead by James Caan and Tuesday Weld including James Belushi, Robertr Prosky, Dennis Farina and Willie Nelson Intro: “Thief Cue 1” – Tangerine Dream Outro: “Thief Cue 2” – Tangerine Dream

This week, Cliff Sargent of the Better Than Food YouTube channel joins us.  Better Than Food is a book review platform that I have been following for the last several years. Through his channel, Cliff has turned me on a multitude of authors as well as motivated me to revisit some old favorites. We had a great conversation ranging from literature and philosophy to music. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Narco Terroristo” – Outlaw Order

2025 has been kicked off and we're all engaged in whatever endeavors we have in our lives.  I wanted to do an episode reviewing what I accomplished form 2024, what will carry over and any new additions.  It would be interesting to get this out there and hopefully you guys can share your own goals and reflections for the new year. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Tainted Skies” - Tribulation

2024 is coming to a close, so it's time for Ralph Schmidt, one of my dearest friends to return.  Ralph and I discuss the final Unholy Passion Festival that just happened in Koln. It's truly and end of an era.  The conversation also gets very introspective as we discuss some of the recent obstacles that we are currently dealing with. This will be the last episode of the year but I'll be back with new episodes in January.   Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Pray to Me - Bambara

Tune in for another riveting discussion of Karl Edward Wagner's sword and sorcery icon Kane.  This month, Karl Haikara and I continue our discussion of BLOODSTONE, Karl Edward Wagner's first KANE novel. This is part 3 covering the following chapters: 14 Flight into Nightmare 15 Lord of Bloodstone 16 When Death is Unmasked 17 What Manner of Man 18 The Wolf Lays Plans 19 Dreams in Arellarti 20 Night of Bloodstone Intro / Outro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill

This week, we're tapping into the vault for an old episode from the late, great Metal Matters podcast. Some of you were around for that era of Gimme Metal and the very cool things we did.  This was episode 4, featuring the legendary Dan Lilker, a man who needs no introduction. Danny has been a key member in some of the most iconic bands in metal: Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth, Hemlock…the list goes on.  I caught up with Danny in Rochester, NY when Tombs came through town on tour.  My voice was a little shot, so apologies for that. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Vision” – Brutal Truth

Daniel House of Skinyard and CZ records joins us this week. The occasion is to discuss the forthcoming Skinyard Selecs, a limited edition collection of 7-ins featuring custom deluxe packaging and unique colors.  The collections spans the band's entire career and features all four drummers, some unreleased material and remixes. Skinyard was one of the proto-typical “grunge bands” from the Pacific Northwest, based in Seattle, WA. The band was active between 1985 and 1992 and released 5 albums along with a slew of singles and compilation appearances including the seminal DEEP SIX compilation that featured Soundgarden, Green River, Melvins, Malfunshun, and U Men. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Wither” – Skinyard

Fellow Horseman, Brandon Legion joins us this week. You all know Brandon from HorrorWolf666 but the key topic is the release of the debut album “LIMINAL DARKNESS” By ABRAXAS HORN. Along with Matt Priso, I had the honor of collaborating on this dark, intense project. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Lycanthropic Transfiguration” – Abraxas Horn

Scott Hamilton of KEN Mode joins us this week. Scott is fresh off a North American Tour, so we touch on that a bit.  The main objective of our discussion is John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy which includes his films The Thing, Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Prince of Darkness” – John Carpenter

This week, we are pulling an episode from the Patreon vault. Evan Hopper of the Quell and I do these types of episodes from time to time called Hollywood Babylon where to get into “interesting films”. Taxi Driver is an iconic film, a masterpiece by legendary filmmakers Martin Scorcese and Paul Schrader . Its influence can be seen all over the last several decades of film.  Lurking in the shadows you will find God's Lonely Man, pretty much a sleazy rip off, a movie that most may dismiss as pure exploitation, but for some reason, we can't seem to stop thinking about this mid-90's study in loneliness and depravity. Intro:  “Hollywood Babylon” – Evan Hopper Outro: “Faust” – Verberis

Paul Aloisio of Restless Spirit joins us this week hot off their tour with The Obsessed. Paul and I discuss the tour and touring with one of his musical influences.  This episode drops right before Halloween, so we talk about the spooky season, movies and books we dig and other related tangents.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Cascade Immolator” – Restless Spirit

Tune in for another riveting discussion of Karl Edward Wagner's sword and sorcery icon Kane.  This month, we start our dive into the novels with BLOODSTONE first published on January 1, 1975 by Warner Books. We're going to break the 200 page book up into section. This month we will hit the Prolog through Chapter 6.   Intro / Outro:     “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill

We have a One from the Vault this week.  We're going back to 2019; back then, I was hosting Metal Matters, the official Gimme Metal podcast.  Cradle of Filth was gearing up to hit the road and Dani Filth was making his rounds doing press so I was able to have this sick chat with him.  Dani was one of my favorite guests from that era.   Intro:    “All the dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Funeral in Carpathia” – Cradle of Filth

The somber days of Autumn are upon us so I invited fellow horseman Karl Haikara of SOL NOX on to discuss out 31 Days of Halloween watchlists and reflect on our favorite time of the year. Karl and I collaborate on DARKNESS WEAVES, a sub-series where we explore the work or Karl Edward Wagner, a relatively obscure author of weird fiction, dark fantasy and horror.   Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Ghost Walking” – Mighty Sphincter

Dana Schechter or Insect Ark and Swans joins us this week.  We spend a lot of time talking about “Raw Blood Singing” the new Insect Ark album, a record that I can say right now, will figure prominently on my year end list. Since Dana plays in one of my favorite bands, Swans, the conversation naturally meanders into working with Michael Gira, Brooklyn in the early part of the century and the subtle passage of time.   Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Youth Body Swayed” – Insect Ark

Toby Poser and John Adams of the Adams Family / Wonderwheel Productions return to us this week.  It's always a pleasure when these guys are in the house.  This time around, we talk about their adventures in Eastern Europe while making Hell Hole, their most recent film currently streaming on Shudder.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Three Nights” – Black Flag

My brother Ralph Schmidt returns this week. Ralph has played a big part in the development of this podcast and more importantly, our friendship has spanned over two decades.  This week we discuss the Metaphysics of Smiling and the perceptions of emotion, manipulation and menace that can all be projected by a smile.  Naturally, there are a multitude of tangents that we explore.   Into:      “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “ When You're Smiling, the World Smile with You” – Frank Sinatra

My friend and artist Seldon Hunt joins us this week.  If you are a listener of Necromaniacs, you will know him as one of the co-hosts of Mayhem Down Under, our exploration of grim Australian films.  This week, we talk about the legendary AC/DC, another iconic Australian export to the world. Our analysis is mostly dedicated to the late great Bon Scott, and that transitional period around 1980.   Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Problem Child” – AC/DC

This week, Randy Larsen returns to the podcast! Randy is the founding member of Cable, put in time as a touring bassist for Tombs and have been  a co-host of mine on Metal Matters as well as here at EWB. He has taken some time off from podcasting to put some time and effort into his new venture as co-owner of Little Lost Records, a new eclectic record store based in Stofford Springs, CT.   Our friendship has spanned decades, so conversion flows freely!   Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “The Friends of Rock ‘n' Roll” – Easy Action

This week we're going back to the Metal Matters Vault with this interview I did with Harley Flanagan around the time he secured the name Cromags. Intro:     "All of the Dark Things" - Mike Hill Outro:    "The Only One" - Cromags  

Karl and I continue our darkness Weaves project with Cold Light, one of Karl Edward Wagner's most genre-fluid stories.    Intro / Outro:     “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill

Rick Habeeb of Grey Skies Fallen / Reeking Aura joins us this week.  Both bands have record out this year on Profound Lore. Grey Skies' record Molded by Broken hands came out earlier this year and the new reeking Aura will hit later this year.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “I Can Hear Your Voice” – Grey Skies Fallen

Champ Morgan returns to us this week.  Black Sabbath is an iconic bansd; Tony Iommi created heavy metal guitar and the rhythm section of Bill Ward and Geezer Bulter has influenced generations of musicians over 50 years.  None of this si news to anyone, but what about Sabbath in the 90's?  Morgan and I talk about Sabbath's “dark years.”   Intro:     “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:   “Headless Cross” – Black Sabbath

Death Metal frontman and Heavy Hole Podcast host Will Smith joins us this week.  I've been a fan of his since my old band Anodyne shared played a show with his old band Biolich back in the dim past in some forgotten basement in Upstate New York. Most recently, he is fronting Reeking Aura, whose album Blood and Bone Meal was on heavy rotation around here back in 2022.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Harvesting the Hatchet” – Reeking Aura

Paul Aloisio of Restless Spirit returns to us this week.  The band has been tearing up the road these past few months so I wanted to get caught up.  We also talk about our mutual love of horror movies and discuss the recent sensation Longlegs, which will be a subject of a future all-hands episode of Necromaniacs.   Intro:    “All the dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Crooked Timber of Humanity” – Restless Spirit

Chris Ashley of Slasher Film Festival Strategy joins this week to discuss his recent work with Cadabra Records.  We discuss his background in hardcore punk and the early influences that motivated him to embark on this dark journey into intense electronic music.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Deimos” – Slasher Film Festival Strategy

Ralph Schmidt returns to us for another deep, heavy episode.  As part of our Metaphysics of… we dive into one of the scariest human emotions in the human psyche.  I'm talking about Love, a feeling that defies logic and reason but underlies almost every aspect of our lives; either the presence or lack of love.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “ Eternally is Here” – Gun Club

A few weeks ago, Drugoth joined us for his first of hopefully many visits to the podcast. We spoke primarily about music and the creative process and touched on martial arts, a passion that we both share.  I think we could have gone for another hour so I invited him back.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “We Bite” - Christbane

Karl and I are at it again with another action-packed episode of Darkness Weaves, our exploration of Karl Edwar Wagner's Dark Fiction and Fantasy writing.  This week we discuss the short story Misericorde, originally published back in 1983 in Sorcerer's Apprentice.   Intro:    “All the Dark Things / Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Craven” - Atrament

Composer Chris Bozzone returns this week. Chris is part of the inner circle at Cadabra Records / Chiroptera Press, the place to go where weird fiction, art and music meet. We discuss all of the upcoming books and recordings that are about to drop over the next few weeks.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Along a Marble Column” – The Seer

Mitch Oliver returns to podcast this week.  Last year we chatted about his horror short, THE DRUID'S HAND, a compelling, bleak story about a priest and his dark past.  This time around we discuss LOW LIFES, his debut feature film co-directed with  Tesh Guttikonda (Influencer). Intro:    “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Evergreen” – Brian Jonestown Massacre

Davey Ferchow of Portland's Dry Wedding joins us this week to talk about the band's forthcoming tour and the hints of new music on the horizon.    Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Depraved Estate” – Dry Wedding

You all know how I feel about horror and horror podcasts.  This week, I'd like to welcome Kainan Becker, the host of Ghost Pirate Entertainment, a great YouTube channel that covers horror on the streaming platforms.  I check in with Kainan on a weekly basis to get the lowdown on what to check out on the seemingly endless content available out there.   Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Sleeve” – Slaughter Shack

This week Stephen Flam of Goden / Winter join returns.  VALE OF THE FALLEN, the new Goden record is about to drop like a hammer! Steph and I get into the details of the record. Check it out! Intro:    “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:  “Urania” - Goden

Continuing my dive into sick Australian musicians with intense work ethics, I chat with Drugoth.  It was another early morning for me, but we had a great conversation.  For those of you who tuned into the Into the Necrosphere Best of 2023 episodes, you will remember that Drugoth's LP “Battles May Cease But War is Forever” rated quite high on my list.   Intro:     “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro:   “Primordial Savagery” - Drugoth