Steffen Kummerer, guitarist and vocalist of Obscura, guests this week. With their first new album in five years, Akroasis, coming out this week, we talked to Steffen in depth about his approach to writing the new album, his experience and education, how the shifting membership in the band shaped where they are today and whether having a master's degree or being a metal vocalist gets more traction with the ladies.

We also invited Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour back for another edition of our political segment "Sadist Nation" to talk before today's Iowa Primaries. We also couldn't ignore the controversy involving Phil Anselmo and his Nazi salute and "white power" scream at Dimebash; you may have read the statement about the incident from Darkest Hour last week, but Mike elaborates further about what it means for the metal community. (Note: we recorded this episode before Anselmo's apology video, but we got a feeling his sentiment did not change much).

Songs:Obscura - "The Monist"Darkest Hour - "Painkiller"

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