Pyrrhon

Pyrrhon

Author: Hank Shteamer October 27, 2019 Duration: 1:45:00
Pyrrhon formed in 2008, and during the past 10 years or so, they've become one of the standout heavy bands in the New York underground. At their core, Pyrrhon are an extremely intense death metal band, but over time, they've incorporated elements of noise-rock and free improvisation into their sound, resulting in fascinating and unclassifiable albums like 2014's The Mother of Virtues and 2017's What Passes for Survival. In 2016, they released an EP, Running Out of Skin, that featured two entirely improvised tracks, and as soon as I heard it, I knew I wanted to speak to them for this series. I met the entire band — guitarist Dylan DiLella, bassist Erik Malave, vocalist Doug Moore, and drummer Steve Schwegler — at Doug's apartment in Queens, and we discussed how Pyrrhon arrived at their genre-blurring sound, the influence of Miles Davis and Gorguts on their work, defying death metal's prevailing aesthetic of "perfection," and much more.

For seven years, the conversations of Heavy Metal Bebop lived as detailed written interviews, exploring a fascinating musical borderland where blistering guitar riffs meet complex improvisation. Hosted by critic and player Hank Shteamer, this podcast now gives voice to those dialogues, featuring long-form talks with notable artists who operate where jazz and heavy metal collide. Each episode is built on a deep, shared understanding of craft, moving beyond superficial comparisons to uncover the shared spirit of intensity, technical ambition, and raw expression that fuels both genres. Listeners hear musicians-whether they identify more with saxophone solos or double-kick drums-discuss their influences, dissect specific recordings, and reveal the often-surprising connections between these two powerful musical worlds. It’s a series for anyone curious about the threads linking John Coltrane to Black Sabbath, or who finds equal thrill in a spiraling free-jazz passage and a crushing doom-metal riff. Hank Shteamer guides these explorations with a journalist’s precision and a fan’s enthusiasm, creating a space where genre boundaries are meant to be dissolved. The result is a consistently revealing podcast that challenges narrow definitions of what music can be, offering a unique and enduring listen for dedicated fans of either scene, or for those discovering the potent alchemy of their fusion.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 12

Heavy Metal Bebop
Podcast Episodes
Dave King [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:08
Best known as one third of jazz luminaries the Bad Plus, Dave King is also an experienced rock drummer, and an avid fan of the genre in all its forms. In this episode, he discusses everything from his love for classic Ir…