Everything Went Black Podcast

Karl Haikara (Sol Nox) and I continue the mission. I give a brief rundown of the past weekend’s Nightlands Festival, the inaugural Cadabra Records Weird Fiction Event before diving into The Fourth Seal, the next short story in the Karl Edward Wagner collection In a Lonely Place. Intro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill Outro: “Ostia” - Coil

Jean “Spyda” Clervois, proprietor and head coach as Spyda Muay Thai joins us this week. As most of you know, martial arts and specifically Muay Thai is a big part of my life. For the past three years, I have been training with Spyda, first at another local facility and more recently at his own gym located in the heart of Garwood, NJ. We discuss his journey in the martial arts world, the genesis of the gym and where he wants to take things as we all move forward into the future. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Protect Ya Neck” – Wu Tang Clan

Ralph and I continue our ongoing series The Metaphysics of… This week’s episode confronts an inevitability that will seek and find us all: Death. This is a heavy episode; we both get personal and talk about our individual experiences with both. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Death is the Road to Awe” – Clint Mansell

Bobby Torres of Frightbox Studios and Voidscape joins us this week. Bobby recorded and mixed Under Sullen Skies and Monarchy of Shadows as well of a host of other metal bands such as Hammer Fight, Windfaerer, Kalopsia and Abacinate. Most recently, he has completed work on the long-awaited Odyssey of Spite, their EP brought to you by Nefarious Industries. In addition to Bobby, the band features Justin Spaeth (Tombs, Hammer Fight, Abacinate, Putrascension) and Mike Goncalves (Replicant, Windfaerer, Putrascension). Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “The Unsaved” - Voidscape

Matt Bacon, consultant, A&R man, music Journalist and founder of Dropout Media joins us this week. You might know him from his entertaining, informative Bacon Bits Instagram / TikTok account where he doles out valuable information about promoting your music. If you don’t follow him already and you play in a band, do yourself a favor and give him a follow. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Hymns of Death, Rays of Might”

Trevor Shelley De Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec of Pelican join us this week. On paper, I have asked them on to discuss the reissue of The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw on Thrill Jockey but the truth is that I miss talking to these guys and I wanted to catch up; especially with Laurent, who has been out of the mix for a while. Intro: “All the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Autumn into Summer” - Pelican

Karl Haikara (Sol Nox Podcast) and I get together to continue Darkness Weaves collaboration, our exploration of the work of Karl Edward Wagner, the horror / dark fantasy writer whose work has impacted popular culture in innumerable ways. Wagner is most notable for his immortal, word-wielding antihero but has also penned horror and weird fiction. For starters, we are going to cover the stories included in the recently re-published “In a Lonely Place.” This episode features Where the Summer Ends, an atmospheric weird tale set in Wagner’s hometown Knoxville, TN. Intro: “Darkness Weaves” – Mike Hill Outro: “Dreams of Trees” – Steve Von Till

As part of our Unholy Passion effort, we’re bringing you a “Classics” edition. Ralph and I discuss two artists that have produced music that can be considered crucial. Roy Orbison was the original Man in Black and Townes Van Zandt explored the dark worlds of despair that both of us seem to gravitate to. We discuss a lot of music in this episode. Most of the tracks will be represented on the accompanying Playlist. Intro: “Late Night Drive” – Mike Hill Outro: “In Dreams” – Roy Orbison

This week we welcome Mitch Oliver and Skot Hamilton to the podcast. We had Skot on the show recently to talk about KEN Mode, his work in the film industry and his scoring work on the short horror film The Druid’s Hand. Mitch is an award-winning Writer and Director whose recent short film, The Druid’s Hand, received international acclaim on the 2022 Festival Circuit. The film was screened to numerous sold-out theatres at prestigious Genre Festivals like Portland Horror, Dark Bridges, Fog Fest, Sin City Horror and the world’s largest and longest running Horror Festival, Screamfest, which took place at the iconic Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, California. The film won Best Canadian Short Film at Montreal’s Requiem Fear Fest and the Vancouver Independent Film Festival. He is also a host of the horror podcast, The Terror Table and has interviewed genre legends such as Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project) and Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China). Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Looks That Kill” – Motley Crue

This is an emergency episode that I wanted to get out to you guys. Dry Wedding, a band that EWB is fully supporting, has experienced one of the nightmare that all touring musicians have: the theft of their van and gear. A lot of you guys are in bands, love music, so please listen to the episode and support these guys. I know times are tough right now, but please spare some funds and donate to the band’s GoFundMe and help get these guys back on their feet and back on the road.

Ralph and I kick off yet another sub-series in the EWB Podcasting Universe. “The Metaphysics of…” will explore various philosophies, emotions and subjects in depth with personal reflections and how they tie in with music, literature and films. This week’s flagship episode addresses The Metaphysics of Fear, a subject that we can all identify with. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Don’t Far the Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult

Thanks for tuning in guys. This week, due to some family issues, I was not able to produce a new episode so we’re going Into the Vault into the murky past. We’re going all the way back to episode 5 and 8 where I did my first chat with the Great Malcolm Tent of Trash American Style and a really loose chat with The Secret from our European Tour. I’ll be back next week with a brand new episode.

Evan Hopper is back this week for a fac-to-face, in-person episode. We can a progress report on the new Quell album and talk about our night on the town. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Reaped by the Scythe” – Quell (feat. Jackie Smit)

Welcome to the pilot episode of a new series that will span Everything Went Black and Sol Nox. It’s a collaboration between myself and Karl Haikara and our mission statement is to bring more attention to the great work of Karl Edward Wagner an unsung author of some of the most compelling fiction in the horror and dark fantasy genres. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Seven Coils” – Grave Miasma

Ralph and I are back for another Unholy Passion episode. This time around we talk about Hip Hop music, a genre that is very important to both of us. It’s an epic one; so strap in and enjoy. At one point, we realize how much of a herculean task it is, so apologies if we overlooked or left put some of your favorite artists. Intro: “Hip Hop” – Dead Prez Outro: “Ain’t Nuthin’ ta Fuck Wit” – Wu Tang Clan

Fellow Horseman of the Podcasting Apocalypse, Karl Haikara joins us this week to talk about Sol Nox. We spoke a while back when he was about to launch his podcast, so it’s time to check in again. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Eviction” – Linea Aspera

My old friend Therese Lanz joins us this week. She is the creative force behind Mares of Thrace, whose 2022 LP The Exile was released after an 8 year hiatus. Therese discussed the band, her burgeoning career in the gaming and fantasy illustration world and along the way puts me on the spot regarding the Studio Ghibli universe. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Mortal Quarry” – Mares of Thrace

Happy Friday Everyone! I'm dropping this special report to announce that tickets go on sale today for Cadabra Records inaugural Nightlands Festival on June 2 and 3 at Kathedral Event Center in Hammonton, New Jersey. If you dig cosmic horror, weird fiction or gothic horror this is for you. The Festival will bring live readings, music and tons of art. On June 1 there is also a stand-alone special event celebrating the release of Pictures of Apocalypse by Thomas Ligotti. Be sure to pick up your tickets!

This week, Chris Bozzone, a composer and ambassador of Cadabra Records joins us this week. Cadabra Records is one of the coolest, most unique labels that I have run across. If you love horror, weird fiction, film scores and books this is a destination that you must explore. You will find some of the most creative manifestations of horror fiction in the form of scored readings of the finest entries into the horror genre. We also discuss the upcoming Nightlands Festival happening later this year. If you are a fan of this sort of thing, mark the dates on your calendar and consider coming out. Intro: “All of the Dark Things” – Mike Hill Outro: “Seeds of Trepidation” – Anima Morte

Due to popular demand, Ralph’s Best of 2022 List has been released on the main stream. Initially, this episode was a Patreon-only piece but since a lot of you guys wanted to know why Ralph was left out, I decided to post his recollection of 2022 for everyone. BEHOLD! Intro: "All the Dark Things" - Mike Hill Outro: "Bathed in Lightning, Bathed in Heat" - Ultha