Inner-Strength Check Podcast

Ep. 77: [Interview[ with JOHANNES ECKERSTROM of AVATAR (SWE).

Being too bloody good at his job and therefore stuck with myself admist all the other journos on the podcast earlier this week, was vocalist Johannes Eckerstrom of the uniquely out-there Scandinavian metal-troupe Avatar. Despite being parked up in a cosy hotel bed, Johannes was fully engaged, banter dialled to 'Full Sweden', and looking hugely forward to a return to our shores in August. From the man himself, as part of our discussion about their recent successful overseas leg of the tour cycle, he/they have been receiving universally positive live responses to recent whacky LP Don’t Go In The Forest. They're known for a bombastic show, which we also discuss, but methinks the bands' unhinged musical/performative arc will translate well to Aus/NZ shores. Check out the show notes for ticket links, tour info, additional artist media, links and more at: www.innerstrengthcheckpodcast.com/blog/ Big Thanks to 'The One Man Army' John Howarth & ThePhoenix.AU [http://ThePhoenix.AU] for facilitating this chat and what is surely set to be an out-there tour. Peace, Love And Clowncore, Brady.

Ep. 76: [Interview] with NED SMELLY of Party-Grinders GOPHER (AU).

GOPHER is part party-metal, part grindcore, part slam, part hardcore two-piece from Australia & unlike anything you’ve heard before! Grab your durries, pack a bowl, nab your passed-out roomies' nangs and get ready to rock on down to an undisclosed beach-location with myself and NED SMELLY. We have a good old yarn about the project, influences, plans for the live front in future and more. From the mouths of these two nutters comes the bands' bio: Originally hailing from Fanny Barks, UK, and forming in 1790, after having arrived on the first fleet to what was known back then as The British Colony of New South Wales, these two rotting, stinking, bubbling corpses that are GOPHER, have wasted no time piecing together their astonishing, must hear debut album ‘Tunnel Buddies’, set for release on May 1st. You can check out the full show notes including recent singles 'Tunnel Buddies' and 'Party In The Sky', LP order links, additional artist media and more at: www.innerstrengthcheckpodcast.com/blog - GOPHER - LINKS: Facebook: www.facebook.com/gopheramassage Instagram: Instagram: @gopheramasage Youtube: YouTube.com/@gopheramassage - As Always, Peace, Love and (Party)-Grindcore - Brady.

Ep. 75: [Interview] with KYLE SCHAEFER of FALLUJAH (US) + ISC Radio 18.05.26.

Part I - [Interview]: There's no brakes on the tour announcement train, and time, tide and progressive tech-death wait for no man. A man who knows all about this is Kyle Schaefer, vocalist of US progressive tech-death legends Fallujah. With the recent successful release of the fantastic LP Xenotaph, they're bringing themselves Down Under/to NZ later this year with German tech-prog-death giants Obscura + Australian death-dealers Ashen and Anoxia. Kyle's a chill dude (with a WAY better streamer setup than Yours Truly, TBH!) and gave his thoughts on Shredfest, Xenotaph, live gear setup, international touring and a heap more. Check out the show notes (available soon at: www.innerstrengthpodcast.com/blog) for latest singles, Shredfest tour info/ticket links and more. Part II: [ISC Radio] Monday 18th May, 2026: NOTE: Be sure to check out the show notes via the above link for additional artist media/bios/pre-release/purchase links/artist links etc, for each featured track. (24:32): Introduction/Post-Interview - More info on the upcoming Shredfest tour as per the official press release (tour dates, etc). Plus some thoughts from on the bands! (31:53) - Featured Track: ORCHA MELCHA (US) - 'Idols & Gods' (Trad/Progressive Metal) + Album Info (36:37) Heavy News: ANTHRAX (US) Announce New Album ‘Cursum Perficio’ Out 18th September + Release First Single 'It’s For The Kids' (41:03) - Featured Track: DITHEIST (US) - 'Evil To Live' (Death Metal) + Album Info (49:28) 'He he ha he he he he-he, heh heh ha heh heh heh-heh, He he ha he he he hehe, and then another heh heh he-he heh' (49:36) Heavy News: Canadian Thrashers W.M.D. To Release Against All Warnings on June 5 (52:45) Androids want more life... (52:57) Featured Track: ANTIMOZDEBEAST (US) - 'Corridor Of Admiration' (HEADPHONE WARNING, fr!) (1:01:28) Outro + Featured Track: AETERE (France) - 'Cilice' Thanks to John Howarth, Kyle Schaefer, Clawhammer PR, C-Squared Music and Dallas Does PR for helping facilitate the interview and our featured tracks!

[Podcast]: Ep. 74 [Interview] with AARON PAULEY/VALENTINO ARTEAGA, of OF MICE AND MEN (US).

US metalcore giants Of Mice & Men have forged a hugely successful reputation both musically and, especially, their raucous live performances. On both sides of the barrier! We almost missed the boat on this one, but were thankfully able to grab a last-minute interview with Aaron Pauley (Vocals) and Valentino 'Tino' Artega (Drums) to get their thoughts around returning alongside Japanese up-and-comers Crystal Lake. Check out the accompanying show notes, including additional singles/artist media, tour information, ticket links and more at: www.innerstrengthcheckpodcast.com/blog [http://www.innerstrengthcheckpodcast.com/blog] Peace, Love, Mice and Moshes - Brady.

[Podcast] Ep 1: Inside The Brain-Computer

(Note: This podcast episode originally featured on our old website, innerstrengthcheck.com, which suffered an unexpected and untimely demise right on New Year's Eve 2024! The episodes and their video counterparts are still available via the usual links/channels - check the show notes below for more details). Welcome to Inner-Strength Check, a podcast at the confluence of mental health, hobbies, leisure, society and community. For today's episode, I decided to give you all a bit of an honest peek behind the GM screen and detail my own mental health recovery/neurodiversity trajectory over time, up to the present day. I felt it important not only to set the tone for the mental health side of things, but for you get a more honest and raw appraisal of your show host. Coming up next will be Behind The Screen, which is parallel to this episode but will be more involved with discussing how my hobbies and leisure have formed, changed and persist from the past to the present day. From there, we'll expand out much more broadly to look at gaming, mental health and the like on a community and systemic level. Please do get in touch if you're interested in coming on board as a guest, co-host or even just to game together! Cheers, Brady. LINKS: Episode 1 - Show Notes: https://www.innerstrengthcheckpodcast.com/blog/episode-1-inside-the-computer [https://www.innerstrengthcheckpodcast.com/blog/episode-1-inside-the-computer] Facebook: facebook.com/innerstrengthcheck [http://facebook.com/innerstrengthcheck] Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/innerstrengthcheck [https://www.twitch.tv/innerstrengthcheck] Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@innerstrengthcheck [https://www.youtube.com/@innerstrengthcheck] - Cover Art Credit: Greg Dunn. Website: https://www.gregadunn.com [https://www.gregadunn.com]