TRANSCRIPTION

Raymond Bruels: Hi, you’re listening to the AggroCast. This is Ray.

David Hades Becker: And this is David.

RB: And today we are talking about music. But we also have some notifications, like business stuff. We just had like a miniature business meeting, which I’m sure it cost us money.

DHB: It, oh, it’s gonna cost us a whole lot of money, I guarantee.

RB: (sighs) We’re looking to do AggroCast live on Twitch. That’s something we’re gonna be starting to set up, especially as we start, uh, zooming towards San Diego Comic Con.

DHB: Well, not just Twitch, but we also talked doing, uh, YouTube as well, so that we’re not isolating anybody. We can make sure everybody’s, has their chosen platform to catch the content.

RB: Yeah. Twitch, YouTube, still have the podcast that’s pushed out through Apple, Spotify, and…

DHB: It’s also, it’s also on uni- YouTube. Uh, sometimes we push that out to TikTok and some of the other, like Instagram Reels and all that as well.

RB: Yeah, so we’re trying to, uh, to e- expand our footprint and drive up those, uh, those, that viewership and subscription.

DHB: Yeah. Al- also to make sure that the, the fan base or, uh, whoever’s consuming our content is able to get the unfiltered, non-bullshitty marketing bullshit everybody pushes out there. ’Cause I’ve seen so many things where everything’s hyped up, people show up, and it’s just fucking lame. Or I’ve seen other things where people don’t talk about it, people show up and it’s amazing. So I’d rather get people unfiltered.

RB: What if we’re just kind of in between, we’re like mediocre?

DHB: I mean, we’ve been mediocre with our tens of fans.

RB: (laughs) That’s the big question. How do we get more engagement from you, our loyal listener? We’re, that’s, that’s something that we’re actively taking a look at and address here in 2025 as we are now hitting the halfway mark of the year.

DHB: Yeah. So the, so feel free to comment down below and, uh, wherever you’re at or send, send us an email. You can send us a Telegram if you want to. I know that’s a, arch- archaic and all that stuff, but…

RB: Well, and I thought about doing a print run of AggroGamer stickers for our…

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …Patreon. But, so that’s news in terms of AggroGamer. What else do we have? We have San Diego Comic-Con. We’re three weeks out?

DHB: Uh, yeah, we’re about three weeks out from San Diego Comic-Con and news is starting to flow in very slowly. I have a feeling next week it’s gonna pro- oh, by the time everybody’s listened to it, it’s probably gonna be this week, everything will start to flow in heavily. We’ve had a few things where we signed up, got some stuff kind of preliminary set up.

RB: Well, and they’re doing a lot of, uh, advertisements for the parties.

DHB: Yes.

RB: So a lot of parties, uh, and one of our, one of our intrepid adventurers that’s going with us was trying to get into one of the parties and it sold out in like 30 seconds.

DHB: So, uh, I think it was like three minutes, but 30 seconds is probably closer.

RB: (laughs)

DHB: ’Cause I’ve seen the, the Paramount, they were doing their thing and that sold out in 10 seconds.

RB: Geez.

DHB: And I guarantee it was like weird bots and, ’cause I, I’ve seen it also on social media where everybody’s trying to share those, “Hey, I got this thing at a time that doesn’t make sense for anybody to go to.”

RB: Yeah. I gotta-

DHB: “Who wants to trade for a more reasonable time?”

RB: Yeah, if you got Funko or if you have a room in the Gaslamp, or… Yeah, it’s a- it’s amazing how all of these off sites suddenly become cool.

DHB: Yeah, they’re, they’re a commodity you can share back and forth.

RB: Yeah, it’s insane. But that’s the, part of the experience. And either you embrace it wholeheartedly and come to love the San Diego Comic-Con experience, especially ’cause San Diego is just an amazing town.

DHB: It is, it is.

RB: And that downtown area is so fun, but you have to embrace that.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And recognize that’s part of the experience and that’s what you’re gonna be dealing with if you’re g- looking to go. I, I still see so many people that are excited and, and really wanna go, just like, you know, they’re talking about Dragon Con or any of the other big conventions.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Uh, talking about wanting to go to San Diego Comic-Con and what that experience looks like. And then they get heartbroken because it can be very cutthroat and like you have to really get in there in the lotteries and everything. But this is not a Comic Con ex- uh, ex- exclusive podcast.

DHB: No, that, that’ll come later. We’re just going over the basics ’cause Comic Con’s coming up.

RB: Yep.

DHB: And if you’re listening now, take some of the tips that we just threw out there now to kind of plan ahead ’cause they haven’t announced everything yet, just some of the basic exclusives.

RB: But keep an eye out because, yeah, when those things come out, when they start advertising them, you really gotta be quick on the draw.

DHB: Ei- either quick on the draw or lucky ’cause I think the, the Fandom party, which is a big one we’ve done a couple of times, they’re doing a, uh, a lottery system where you can just follow them on social media and then they’re gonna randomly choose a bunch of people and give out 200 tickets to their party.

RB: And that’s, that’s how you, you can get into some of those things. We’ve had some great experiences with those.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: But, uh, yeah, so in terms of news, we talked about the business of, of AggroCast and, and then we’ve talked about San Diego Comic-Con.

DHB: Yeah, Comic-Con. We, we keep the, the video game news and all the other basic stuff coming on the website. We have a couple of reviews that came out and we’re kind of dabbling in some stuff that’s not video game specific related on there.

RB: Yeah, at some point we need to get, uh, Ike in the room and do another, uh, escape room podcast because we just went out and had, uh, fun doing two escape rooms here in Vegas.

DHB: Yeah, we, we did back-to-back ones. We got Ray to do back-to-back escape rooms, which was kind of surprising.

RB: And the guy was shocked by how quickly the three of us ran through these rooms. Like one that was normally 90 minutes, we got done in like 45.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Good team, we’re gamers, so we know what to look for and how to play w- And there were times he was having to stop us ’cause we were j- jumping ahead of some of the puzzles. He’s like, “No, no, you gotta finish that other one first.”

DHB: Yeah, I think that was my favorite, favorite qu- quote/unquote clue we got was like, “Hey, you guys might wanna slow down ’cause you’re trying to solve a problem that’s five minutes ahead from, from where you’re at now ’cause we were already planning that far ahead.”

RB: But anytime there’s an escape room with body parts, you know it’s gonna be fun.

DHB: Yes.

RB: Well, yeah. So we’re gonna have to do that later down the road, maybe next week. I don’t know. It’s, we just gotta figure out where in the schedule we can, we can plug that in.

DHB: Well, we also have that. We have, uh, a couple of the new experiences going on in Vegas, like the new Universal Horror Unleashed coming out. There’s other things that are popping up throughout town as well that we’ve heard.

RB: And we still s- keep talking about the VR stuff in the warehouses.

DHB: Yes. The, um, Zero Latency. They, they keep asking us to come out and try some of the warehouse VR, and there’s a couple other places in town that do the exact same, so…

RB: Yeah. So we’re gonna have to, we’re gonna have to dial that in as well. But today’s episode is regarding music. David-

DHB: Yes.

RB: …and I both got to see Weird Al when he came through Vegas.

DHB: Yes. We, we’ve spoken a few times about Weird Al and Puddles’ Pity Party, and I got to see it way before Ray did, so that was an experience that I had to keep quiet, ’cause I didn’t wanna ruin the, the set list or any of the cool, like, things that happen during the show. ’Cause there’s something that happens with Weird Al during the opening of a show that, like, it’s a fun extravaganza.

RB: I’m gonna walk through your experience before I talk about mine.

DHB: Okay.

RB: Because I got to see him, it was the last show for Las Vegas before he moved on to Salt Lake.

DHB: And I got to see him on the very first show of Las Vegas (laughs).

RB: So, so we kind of bookend, uh, his, his time here in Vegas. So for you, what was the, what was the experience like?

DHB: So I got to show up and, like, I, I did the VIP experience, so I got to show up a little bit early. Got to do, um, a meet-and-greet and autograph signing, all that kind of stuff. And then the show itself, it, it felt like even the Puddles and Weird Al both made jokes like, “Oh, something bad is gonna happen during the show.” ’Cause inevitably during the opening show, they got glitches, they got it works out. Weirdly enough, I don’t think there was any issues at all during the opening show. Like Puddles came on, and I had never seen him live before. And you c- you could tell, it was like he was trying to work the crowd but didn’t know if he was ou- li- allowed to leave the stage, ’cause the stage… Because it was at the Venetian, so it was like he was on a riser. It was like eight feet higher up than everybody. So he, whether or not he was gonna go down and work the crowd and all that stuff. And for me, it was like him grabbing certain people out of the crowd, you could tell he was hesitant. But then once it started going, he got to g- keep going with it. And then when Weird Al came on, and watching him work the entire stadium, you could tell he had done a few inter- uh, a few rehearsals, but then kind of, like, leaned into it all and obviously made a few jokes throughout the whole thing, where he hit every beat and, like, every song, and it was like non-stop over and over. So it was… I, I have seen him at a few outdoor events out here. I would say the one at the Venetian probably one of the highlights of it all, ’cause he, like, he had that full stadium thing, even at his advanced age.

RB: Well, in our experience, ’cause Juliet and I went, we sat in the very last row up in the balcony. It was the very last show, and evidently all of the technical problems were saved for that last show.

DHB: Ah.

RB: To the point that he even came out at one point, and he, he was like, “Well, we saved it for you,” because we had not only… There was a slight delay with something going on behind stage.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: That was three minutes. Then the fire alarms in the casino went off, not once, twice.

DHB: Jesus.

RB: So the house lights came on, and they were on for a good 30 minutes of the show while we heard the, the automated voice, “We’re currently looking into it.” You know? And, and they were trying to… You know, it’s the automated voice in casinos to tell you to just kind of be chill-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …and that they’re currently investigating.

DHB: “D- Don’t, don’t freak out. You’re not gonna die. Just hold on a second. Let’s figure out if you’re gonna die,” or if you just, “Be chill.”

RB: And one of the, the people that were, uh… as we were leaving the theater said that usually it was the restaurants in the casinos, s- you know, they’re, they’re s- they’re setting off the smoke alarm or something go- happens, and that’s usually why that goes off. I don’t know if that’s true or not.

DHB: I- it’s usually that, or people weirdly vaping in the bathroom will set off the smoke alarms.

RB: Nice. I, I did have to go use the restroom during the, uh, the concert. So, Piddles, I’ve seen Piddles twice in Denver, and he is amazing. And he always had some elements of working with the crowd, but back then the crowds were smaller-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …because it was a smaller venue. And then he, his obsession with Kevin Costner.

DHB: (laughs)

RB: And, and I loved the addition of his camera that was projected behind him.

DHB: Yeah. I, I also enjoyed the… ’Cause I, I was talking to someone when I was in the crowd, they didn’t catch it until the end. Every time he brought out the guitar made out of cardboard, it kept getting more necks as he went along. And it was, it wasn’t until the end, it was like th- there was like four necks on the guitar and th- that’s when they realized like, “Yeah, like, started out with one neck and now it’s just getting weirder and weirder as he goes along.”

RB: And, and that’s the great thing about Piddles. If you’ve never seen him, I, I definitely recommend looking him up on YouTube. He, he stays in character. He doesn’t talk. It’s all face and body, and the guy’s like seven feet tall.

DHB: With a, the voice of an angel.

RB: Yeah. It’s amazing. And, and though he hasn’t changed up his musical set all that much, it’s still really entertaining, and I thought it was a great combination with him and Weird Al. Uh, so yeah, so, so got through Piddles, had to go use the restroom, and th-

DHB: You ran into the issue that everybody r- It was definitely a male-oriented or male, male-presenting-oriented experience ’cause I remember I, I got… I went to my intermission and I barely got back to my seat before Weird Al went on.

RB: See, and I missed the beginning of Weird Al-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …because the men’s room had a wait. The lady’s room did not.

DHB: Y- that, that was almost it. Up until like the very end of the intermission, like that’s when the lady’s room… And even then it was like maybe five people in line in the lady’s room, where the guys still snaked up the stairs and out, up, up. I’m like, “People are missing this concert now.” (laughs)

RB: Yup. Well, and like, even when we first showed up, we couldn’t get in line for merchandise.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: And by the time we got out of the theater to get to the merch, the line was already busy. And so we… I was like, “You know what? Whatever we want, we can just buy off the website and support the, the artists off their, their websites rather than stand in line and try to fight through all of that.” Uh, but, yeah. Weird Al was a, um, an amazing experience, even for his age.

DHB: Yes.

RB: I, I, did, I did me- uh, mention to Juliet as we were sitting there, ’cause, uh, ’cause as he was really getting into things and over the course of his portion of the concert, his part and you c- it was kind of… It kept growing. (laughs)

DHB: (laughs) It was the same thing in my head, you could just tell. It was like, “Yeah, he was…” (laughs) His-

RB: He’s-

DHB: His part up there was just dope.

RB: H- his age, we all age.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Uh, this isn’t age shaming. It’s just recognizing that, uh, somebody that I looked up to and like I saw UHF when I was a kid. I loved that, that movie.

DHB: I still have cassette tapes of his in my garage. My… And they’re still in like pristine. So I, I’ve, I’ve been around that a long time. And not to age him. I’m gonna f- promote it. The fact that he was still able to put on a show to that level is, is a testament to his level of showmanship ’cause yeah, e- even at his age, he still gave a great show.

RB: It was a great show. Tons of costume changes. But even the… There was one song, Fat-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …where he had a, a body suit.

DHB: And he still put on the full prosthetics-

RB: Yeah.

DHB: …and everything. And then even the, uh, from, for me on my show, it was like maybe a minute change between the two, so going through that process. I mean, uh, as a, as somebody who’s done The Haunted, that’s not an easy process.

RB: No, it’s not an easy process.

DHB: It goes through in a minute.

RB: Well, and then when they did the, uh, the Star Wars songs.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And did they bring out Darth Vader and Boba Fett and-

DHB: They… Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and a bunch of the stormtroopers in the background, yeah.

RB: Yeah. It makes me wonder if they got ahold of the local 501^st.

DHB: The 501^st? I’m almost certain they did ’cause I, I, I swear I’ve seen some of the actual people that were out there.

RB: And though he probably will never hear this, Boba Fett really had some great dance moves. He was jamming along.

DHB: So, so you probably got the same. ’Cause, uh, the Boba Fett I saw, same thing. I… There was h- uh, the Boba Fett and whoever was in, like, one of the stormtroopers, they were going HAM the entire time. And then there was a couple that were like, “Yeah, we’re here. We’re d- we’re doing the basics.” But, yeah, there was like, there was a couple like Boba Fett and one, one of the stormtroopers just going crazy.

RB: So despite the fact that my show had some technical difficulties, I don’t feel like it detracted at all from the overall experience. I’m glad that I got to see him. It was amazing. And it will s- it’ll, it will be an experience that I treasure, uh, forever.

DHB: Well, uh, at the same time, makes you… It should make you feel better knowing that even with the technical dealti- difficulties, he was still able to put this exact same show on ’cause I got one, had no techni- technical difficulties at all. So you still kinda got the same show outside of hearing the, uh, hotel telling you to leave the fucking premises.

RB: (laughs) Well, and we, we got to see Weird Al-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …and Puddles-

DHB: Pity Party.

RB: …pity party. Man, s- say that three times fast.

DHB: (laughs)

RB: We also went out and saw Necrogoblikon-

DHB: Yes.

RB: …when they came through town.

DHB: Amazing g- goblin metal band. If you’ve never heard of them, look up Necrogoblikon. It’s spelt similar to the Necro- Necrocomicon from Evil Dead. It’s, it’s weird to say that 10 times fast. (laughs) But heavy, heavy metal goblins.

RB: Yup. And it’s great because when we first saw them that John Goblin was not a singer.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: He was just kind of a stage presence dancing around, this little goblin figure on stage.

DHB: A g- person in full, full prosthetics where if you didn’t know better, you could swear it was a, a full goblin on stage j- uh, dancing and working the crowd and all that stuff.

RB: But now they have him up on stage dancing and singing.

DHB: Yes.

RB: And it’s amazing. He does such a great job. They got a new co-lead singer.

DHB: Yes.

RB: And that guy did a great job.

DHB: Uh, for, for those who don’t know, so th- they, they kinda do the, um… One, one singer does the screamy, growly, heavy metal music. And then John Goblikon kind of, they have the kind of like Slipknot where there’s some… The normal operatic type singing and they kind of mix that up where the original lead singer, he would do both parts. And then he went through some, some issu- family issues, so he had to back away from the band. And now they had that split and they got the guy who does the full costume setup. Weirdly, you’d think he would sing the growly angry music but he does not. And he, he also has a voice… I will say a voice of an angel, but he definitely has a better voice than you would expect.

RB: Walked away with a new favorite band.

DHB: E- Exmortus.

RB: Exmortus, which they were nerds. We’ve talked about this briefly in, in previous podcasts.

DHB: I- and not Ex- so there’s two bands. There’s one that’s Ex-Mortis where it’s E-X and then there’s S- Space, Mortis. This one is all one word and the Mortis is spelled with a U, just to clarify. Weirdly, both are the same kind of heavy metal (laughs) but they spell their name differently and one’s definitely more of a nerd, the other one’s more of a death metal.

RB: ’Cause I think there were four bands altogether.

DHB: Yes.

RB: And two of them were definitely like hardcore black metal kind of vibe.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: Incl- well, ’cause one of them, even their drummer was in corpse paint.

DHB: A full… That was the weirdest one ’cause the drummer came out full corpse paint, but then the rest of the guys of the band kind of like… They just kind of like, like dudes.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: That was (laughs) what they looked like.

RB: They, they reminded me of punkers.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Like old school punkers. But then, yeah. Their guy was, was totally corpse painted out.

DHB: Well, that was also the same band where it was like the drummer was a scrawny, skinny dude you, that you would expect to be the singer and the lead singer was like, he built like Nathan, uh, Nathan Explosion from Dethklok where it’s just huge, heavy, like big and muscular for no reason. I’m like, “That, that is a drummer’s build. Why are you singing?” (laughs)

RB: Yeah. Nobody’s gonna mess with you.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: You’re fucking huge. Yeah, it… Overall, that was a great concert. And the venue, I had been in that building before but I’ve never been for music.

DHB: So that, that is the venue that I was at where I first got sacrificed on stage by GWAR. So that, that’ll always hold a, hold a heart for me there. (laughs)

RB: Well, and they’re coming back through in October?

DHB: They are coming back o- October 22^nd here in Vegas.

RB: I th- I think I saw that they were doing the sacrifice but it was like $1,000.

DHB: It is and I’ve thought about it.

RB: Ah.

DHB: I, I may do… But at the same time they’re, they’re doing a VIP package where it’s like you get to meet… Do the meet and greet. You don’t get sacrificed but you get one of the guitars from Corey Smoot. And I’m like, “I’ll take a guitar from Corey Smoot instead of getting sacrificed on stage any day of the week.”

RB: Yeah. Well, it’s the Gor-Gor?

DHB: The Gor-Gor is coming, coming back and they’re also promoting a couple of new songs they’re putting out there as well.

RB: Yeah, we… (laughs)

DHB: You’ve started me on the GWAR path. Uh. (laughs)

RB: Well-GWAR is amazing.

DHB: Yes.

RB: It’s, uh, one of David’s favorite all-time bands. Uh, we’re gonna have to do an episode on GWAR. We’re gonna have to do an episode on Psychostick.

DHB: Yes. Psychostick’s another band I’ve gotten to, I’ve had to see recently since we started back-up for podcasts as well.

RB: And, and, and he talks to them o-

DHB: I do.

RB: …again and -

DHB: And i- well, I talk to them occasionally in gen- Ps- Psychostick specifically. Uh, I’ve talked to them. I’ve had a couple back-and-forths with their, their drummer, singer, and lead guitarist. And they, they’re currently working on, as we mentioned before, the soundtrack for the new Toxic Crusader video game, and I recently got to see them when I was up in Canada. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them live. It was like, 2017 was the last time I saw them live, in person. I have also seen them live multiple times on their Twitch streams and YouTube and all that stuff. I can’t really count those because I wasn’t there in person. I was up on the rails for them in Toronto?

RB: Well, I feel like you are solidly a fan.

DHB: The hells you say? (laughs)

RB: (laughs)

DHB: I have, I, I… Not that I’ve gone through three bottles of their hot sauce. (laughs)

RB: So talking about fandoms, what else have you done so far this year, because I know there’s a bunch of stuff on the back end?

DHB: Yes.

RB: So what else have you done?

DHB: As far as music goes, um, I did… There was a small, m- I wanna say it was like a mini-festival for Cradle of Filth, ’cause they were supposed to do Sick New World out here, which is a massive festival where they’re gonna have, like, 60 heavy metal bands, and that got canceled for reasons they haven’t explained. I have theories I’m not gonna go into. But the weekend that was supposed to happen, Cradle of Filth put on a big show out in LA, and there was, like, nine other heavy metal bands with them. So me, uh, and a couple people went out there. We checked them… They were out there. Fleshgod Apocalypse was out there. Dying Fetus was out there, so it was kind of, like, a… It was a smaller venue, but with a bunch of death metal bands that were trying to continue the concert that should have been.

RB: I have to admit that I have only recently become an enthusiast of death metal.

DHB: Okay.

RB: When I first heard death metal, I thought it was like Cookie and Grover on crack, like, killing, killing people, like just… It, it just… It was like nails on chalkboard for me.

DHB: Fair.

RB: But it has grown on me s- uh, as, as I have dabbled more and more. I feel like there’s, there’s maybe certain types of death metal?

DHB: Th- there definitely is defina- c- certain types. Even the, the Cradle of Filth one, they stood out from all the other death metal, ’cause a lot of those were kind of, like, more like Napalm Death metal where it was just, like, like you were saying, like, yelling and screaming and th- that was about it. Uh, Fleshgod Apocalypse, I think they’re a, um, a Mexican band.

RB: Ooh.

DHB: And they, they did a kind o- more of an operatic as well as the death metal mixed in. And then Cradle of Filth kind of does a similar thing where they have one person who’s singing very eloquently while you have Danny Filth just screaming into the microphone, so you kinda get flavors of death metal at the same time.

RB: I love the fact that some of them, it’s not just the growly.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: They do have… Especially when it’s one singer and they can switch back and forth between the growl and then this really amazing, gorgeous-

DHB: Correct.

RB: …sound. Uh, yeah. It, it blows my mind. So yeah. I’ve, I’ve been en- enjoying the experience of getting into some death metal. Every once in a while, I see advertisements for more localized bands.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And I-

DHB: We gotta see Metalachi at some point. (laughs)

RB: W- that would be great. I also just wanna stay the fuck away from the mosh pits.

DHB: Yes.

RB: I’m a big guy, but I don’t want to fight (laughs) and I know that a lot of them aren’t intentionally trying to fight.

DHB: Y- a lot of them aren’t, but at the same time, there’s a lot of them that are.

RB: Well, and like that guy at Necrogoblikon, there was this guy. He must have weighed, like, 140 pounds soaking wet, that kept flying through us. At one point-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …he bumped into you, like, four or five times. He hit me in the side, and then at one point he went flying past me. I’m like, “Are you just a fucking lawn dart?”

DHB: Yeah.

RB: “What’s going on here?”

DHB: Well, I, I, I don’t want to s- I think he was one of the ones who was drunk and stoned at the same time, ’cause there was the, uh… Also at Necrogoblikon, there was the guy who picked a fight after the other guy kinda got ejected from the mosh pit.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: And it was like… I think they were part of a duo, so I don’t… I’m not sure if somebody just went too hard and didn’t realize it. But at the same time, I, like, when, uh, when I did Cradle of Filth, there was a couple people, like, I don’t know if it… Maybe it’s a generational thing? They don’t understand mosh pit, ’cause there was one person who was literally just swinging their arms as a windmill, like, trying to sla- like, slug everybody.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: And I’m like, “Dude, if you hit me, I’m going to hit you back. That’s not what a mosh pit is about.”

RB: No, and we saw mosh pits at GWAR.

DHB: Yes.

RB: And I a- some of the opening bands for GWAR, I always felt like the mosh pit, the sweaty, kind of bigger guys w- who… It’s like death metal exercise-

DHB: (laughs)

RB: …’cause they’re just stomping around in a circle and it just… They’re-

DHB: Flexing both arms like-

RB: Yeah.

DHB: …“Yeah, let’s do this.”

RB: I’m like, “Okay, we could do a whole, like, video of death metal mosh pit exercise.” (laughs)

DHB: So, so not to bring it back, but Psychostick has a few of their songs where they make fun of that, and one of them is literally jog in place and squat so you hit, your nuts hit the stage.

RB: Oh my God.

DHB: It’s s- some of the lyrics they have of this-

RB: (laughs)

DHB: …and then you watch it. You’re like, “You’re just doing a workout video and you’re just mosh pit-ing.” (laughs)

RB: That’s, that’s awesome. All right. So you did Cradle of Filth-

DHB: Yes.

RB: …and that mini-

DHB: So I did Psychostick and then-

RB: (laughs)

DHB: …to move away from some of the heavy metal stuff, I did… Uh, Lord Huron had their tenth, tenth anniversary concert out in Mo- Montana. I went out to do that, and that was a drastic shift.

RB: So what is that?

DHB: Uh, it’s, it’s hard to explain. It’s, it’s definitely a, a softer, more melodic type music.

RB: But it, it’s still rock?

DHB: It, it’s still kind of rock, but it’s kind of, like, rock-adjacent, and they also had a weird opener that… They had a full band playing music, but the singer wasn’t singing. They were whistling the entire time.

RB: Now, if they were Mongolian, I’d be into that.

DHB: It was, though… It was not Mongolian ’cause it was, it was some white chick who was out there. It, it was still a great sound to hear. I don’t remember the name of the band ’cause it was, like, some smaller band.

RB: As long as they didn’t come out in an egg.

DHB: No, no, no. They did not-

RB: (laughs)

DHB: (laughs) Oh, man. You’re bringing that back up?

RB: (laughs)

DHB: …okay. W- what was that band? I can’t remember the name of-

RB: I don’t even remember. W- one of the openers for GWAR.

DHB: N- it was Necrogoblikon and GWAR.

RB: Oh, yeah. But they came out in an egg, and he busts out. I’m like, “What in the fuck is this?”

DHB: (laughs)

RB: ’Cause he looked like a member of, like, The Darkness.

DHB: Yeah, it was like the… The… He wa- I- it was… He was the only one that stood out. He looked like a member of The Darkness, where everybody else was like, “Oh, no. That’s a fucking death metal band,” and then some w- weirdo wearing weird latex, and it was like, “What’s going on here?”

RB: I’m like, “Okay. That’s great.” What did I get brought to, David? (laughs)

DHB: (laughs) Well, I- uh, if I remember correctly, we left. It was like, “Let’s go meet up with Jon, ’cause he… John, uh, Goblikon, ’cause he’s out there doing autographs.” Like-

RB: Yep.

DHB: “Let’s go hang out with that band instead of this one.” (laughs)

RB: So, as we’ve come back to Necrogoblikon and talking about-

DHB: (laughs)

RB: …John Gobli- Shrinkflation has even affected Necrogoblikon.

DHB: It has, yes.

RB: So when, when I saw them at… W- was that the Bowling?

DHB: Brooklyn Bowl.

RB: Brooklyn Bowl. We, we saw them at the Brooklyn Bowl. I bought a John Goblin doll.

DHB: They had a little plushy doll, yeah.

RB: A little plushy doll, and got him to sign it. And then they had him at this newest, uh, concert we went to, and they were smaller.

DHB: Th- they were smaller and more expensive.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: So I think you got yours for, like, $25, and it was, like, a n- like, a decent size. Like, it was a 12-inch doll. And they had, like, the six-inch dolls that were, like, $45.

RB: Yeah. So shrinkflation has even affected Necrogoblikon.

DHB: Exactly. And then… And I don’t think it… It’s nothing on the band. I think they had to just swap, uh, retailers to make the doll, so they’re getting charged more as well, so…

RB: All right, so we’ve-

DHB: So…

RB: As we deta- (laughs)

DHB: So we, so we de- derailed a little bit. We can get back to-

RB: So Montana, you went.

DHB: So I di- did… Saw that one, which was not, not a heavy metal, and now I’m moving into another one that’s another… I would say heavy metal, but I… Most people won’t… is I have BABYMETAL coming up.

RB: BABYMETAL.

DHB: I- the Japanese, uh, pop/metal band. I fell in love with them becau- when they became a meme, like, a decade ago. And I told everybody, “They’re gonna be huge.” Nobody believed me, and now everybody’s like, “I should have got on board before,” ’cause they’ve, they’ve opened for Dethklok. They’ve opened for Rob Zombie. My dream is for them to open for Rammstein at some point, but that’s a whole different ball park. So we ha- I have that one coming up.

RB: Is it a Japanese band?

DHB: Yeah. It’s a Japa- It’s a Japanese band, and by… When I say J-pop, it’s like, you have the singers are three Japanese women. They’re singing, and it’s all… Obviously, it’s all in Japanese. And if you’ve heard any anime, it sounds like they’re singing anime music. And they have the whole band behind them just playing heavy metal. But they also lean into it where all of them are dressed up in, like, heavy metal garb and all that stuff. And-

RB: Oh, nice.

DHB: And it’s, it’s a high, high energy, high everything. It’s a weird combination of two genres.

RB: Okay.

DHB: So I, I have that one, and then another one that’s coming up is Alestorm, which I’ve been trying to see forever, which is a pirate metal band. I haven’t… I’ve been waiting for them to come over to the States. They’re finally coming close. Gonna go see them, so I can-

RB: Is that here in town, or-

DHB: It’ll be, it’ll be up in Seattle.

RB: Okay. Wow.

DHB: Yeah. Just so I… I just want to hear them play their… They have a song called Wooden Leg.

RB: (laughs)

DHB: I fucking love that song. And another one, I, I think I played it for you once at one of the events we went to, Fucked With An Anchor. And I’ve waited… I’ve wanted to see them forever. Uh, so I got that one. And then, also, the, uh, When We Were Young is coming back.

RB: Mm.

DHB: And even though I’m only going for one specific band, I’ve been dr- drug out to see a bunch of others. I’m going out to see Ice Nine Kills, ’cause I fell in love with them because they’re a horror metal band.

RB: Yeah. I remember you talking about them an- a couple of times.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And some of their merch re- definitely references the horror aspects.

DHB: Yeah, ’cause I’ve been out with the Thank God It’s Friday shirt so many times, and it’s just a bunch of Friday the 13th stuff.

RB: So the… Is this a festival?

DHB: So When We Were Young is a, a giant festival. It’s a two-day festival that’s happening out in Vegas. And I wanna say it’s 60 different bands that are playing over the two days. Well, so it’s… Each day, they’re… Each band is playing, so they’re playing both… their shows twice.

RB: Oh.

DHB: But it’s two days, so like, if you miss something, you can go check them out.

RB: So is it multiple stages?

DHB: Yes. There’s three stages, I believe-

RB: Oh, wow.

DHB: …and possibly a fourth stage.

RB: Oh, wow.

DHB: And it’s on the festival grounds out here, so it’s a, it’s a massive area. Like, I want to… I wanna say… When I say massive, it’s like you can go from one stage, and it’s like a 10-minute walk to the next stage.

RB: Wow.

DHB: So…

RB: Okay.

DHB: And, and it’s where they d- normally do, um, Sick New World as well.

RB: Fe- I’ve f- I’ve never been to a music festival.

DHB: Oh.

RB: Part of it is because I always feel like it’s so cost prohibitive.

DHB: I- it can be, especially when… So I, I went one year as just general, and then ever since I tried doing VIP. I was like, “There’s no other way to do this.” It’s all an experience unless you’re going for a specific band without going VIP, and then at that point, you’re like, “I’m dropping $700, $800 per… a ticket for a single-day show or sometimes maybe a two-day show.” ’Cause the first time I ever did a festival was A- Aftershock, and the only band I wanted to go see was GWAR. So I was like, “General pass, I’m good.” I paid… It was like $200 for four days. I was good to go. And then I saw GWAR, but then the people I was with showed me to all these other shows. But we didn’t get great views, ’cause all the, uh, stages were just compact. And I was looking over. I was like, “Oh, VIP. Like, I can just m- sneak down there,” where they had all these other things set up. Second year I went, GWAR was playing, and I wanna say it was the year System of a Down came back together to play. We went VIP, and I’ve never been able to go back ever since. ’Cause at one point, it was like it was System of a Down, Deftones, Rob Zombie, and I could, I could literally just turn my head from left to right and look between two stages without having to move or the worry of a mosh pit breaking out where I’m standing at, so I could enjoy the show.

RB: So they really… They spoiled you with the VIP.

DHB: They did.

RB: ’Cause I’ve heard with some of the VIP, there’s like specialized merch tables just for VIP. There’s drink, like a bar.

DHB: Th- there i- So when I did Sick New W- I, I’ve done Sick New World every year they’ve had it here in town. I’ve done VIP every year. And I walked… I’ve walked by the merch booth and the drink booths for general, and it’s like for a merch booth, it was two to three hours to get through, 20 minutes for VIP. Drinks on the… D- Drinks, it was like 45 minutes to get a drink. I could walk up and get one live and, and turn around and walk back to the stage.

RB: Wow.

DHB: So-

RB: Okay. So it does sound like VIP is truly worth it.

DHB: It… Depending on what you’re going for. If you’re just going for music and you don’t care about anything else, general can work, ’cause you can hear the music anywhere, ’cause the, the way they have… At least out here in Vegas, the way they have those festivals set up, you can hear the music and vibe nowhere… no matter where you’re at. If you’re worried about bathrooms, merch, drinks, or even, like, shady places to sit, definitely VIP is the way to go here in Vegas. Or A- Aftershock is another one. That one’s up in Sacramento…

RB: Okay. So you’re going to see When We Were Young.

DHB: Yes. Going only to see Ice Nine Kills. But that one’s… ’cause that’s a emo, kind of like ’90s emo type festival.

RB: Mm.

DHB: Wasn’t huge emo back in the ’90s. And the only reason I’m going to see Ice Nine Kills, is I became a recent fan of theirs. (laughs)

RB: Well, and we had talked about, both of us independently were like, “Oh, Ghost is coming to town.”

DHB: Y- yes, Ghost is coming to town. I thought about that. Those tickets are insane.

RB: But they don’t go to many places.

DHB: No. Well, I think this… They’re doing a stadium tour where they have five stadiums in the entire U.S. they’re going to. So-

RB: But I love that band. The music is just so good.

DHB: Yes.

RB: And they’re ha- they’ve got a new Pope Emeritus.

DHB: Yeah. They, they have, they have a new, quote/unquote, “new,” ’cause I just learned this recently, they don’t change out the actual singer. They just change up the persona.

RB: Yeah. Do you have anything else lined up after the, the festival that you’re going to see Ice Nine Kills?

DHB: Well, after, after, after I see Ice Nine Kills, that’s when GWAR comes.

RB: Yep.

DHB: And then that’s where I’m locked in currently. But bands are, bands are always coming to Vegas. So I, I could be surprised tomorrow and like if Rammstein wants to show up, I’ll be, I, I’m, I’m there.

RB: Your experiences with music this year seem… You’re like, you’re all over the place.

DHB: That, that, that’s what I’ve been trying to do, is just try to take it all in and enjoy it all. ’Cause for the longest time I grew up and it was like Rammstein, Metallica, Slipknot, that was kind of my jam. And I was… Felt like I was missing out. I’ve tried to dabble out there and now I’ve realized, it’s all about the spectacle, which is why GWAR caught me, why I wanna see, um, the D- the Dwarf band or even Alestorm, it’s like… Or even Nekrogoblikon, like adding that extra spectacle on top of having great music to listen to.

RB: Yeah, I love the theatrics.

DHB: Yes.

RB: You know, I, I heard back in the day, San Diego Comic-Con used to do some bands.

DHB: So funny, fun story. The first time I saw GWAR live in person was at San Diego Comic-Con when they were promoting Brutal Legend. That is where I fell in love with them and went down my deep dive. And that was like 2009. Uh, this year they’re doing… Like All American Rejects are playing a party out there. There was a year Rob Zombie play- The year Rob Zombie played was amazing ’cause Walking Dead was doing their survival run around the Rob Zombie concert. So you’re running around the Rob Zombie concert, so running from zombies, trying not to get eaten, all that stuff for the Walking Dead while listening to Rob Zombie sing in the amphitheater. That was amazing. We’re, we’re still talking music. There was the video games live they would do out there all the time. So they would bring music venues all the time out there.

RB: I wish I had seen some of that. You know what? We have covered a lot of music, your adventures, our time with Weird Al, and yeah. So music, we are definitely fans of music here at AggroGamer and the AggroCast.

DHB: A- and more than just metal. I know we talked a lot about metal, but I, like I, I know I’ve been dabbling into more than just that. So I was-

RB: We were both theater kids.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: I’ve seen a lot of theater. You saw Hadestown, which I’m ultimately jealous of.

DHB: Love that. Love that one.

RB: I heard Spamalot’s coming to Vegas.

DHB: Spamalot’s amazing. Uh, I’ve seen Avenue Q. I’ve seen, um, Book of Mormon. I’ve-

RB: I saw, uh, Wicked and I saw American Idiot, the Green Day.

DHB: Okay.

RB: Uh, that was awesome. A lot of people say they were sellouts, but I’m like, “You know what? You go from being a punk band to being on Broadway. Fuck you.” (laughs)

DHB: Yeah. You’re, you’re allowed to be sellout at that point.

RB: Uh, but yeah, so we love a lot of music here. This has been the AggroCast. This is Ray.

DHB: This is David.

RB: And we will catch you next week. Stay tuned for information about AggroCast Live.

Thank you for listening to the AggroCast Resurrected, the official podcast of AggroGamer. For more gaming news and reviews, please check us out at aggrogamer.com. If you enjoyed today’s content, follow and subscribe to get notifications of our next episodes.