Einar Solberg is the singer/guitarist in Norwegian progressive metal band Leprous and a solo artist. On episode 10 of Heavy Stories, he discusses his history with anxiety, including how it was exacerbated by being attacked on the street aged 16 and the death of his father when he was 19. He also reveals some of his coping mechanisms and how he was able to stop his mental health from dominating his life. Image: Leo Liberti.

Nina Saeidi is the singer and co-founder of British progressive metal band Lowen. On episode nine of Heavy Stories, she talks about her ancestral roots in Iran and how her Middle Eastern heritage has inspired the music she makes. We discuss the country’s ongoing war with the US and Israel, which has deeply impacted many of her relatives who still live there, as well as her parents seeking asylum in the UK in 1979, how her aunt fled the country after being a political prisoner for nine years, her experiences with racism, falling in love with metal, the time someone actually died on her on the London Underground, and much more. (Image: Katja Ogrin)

Chris Hannah is the singer, guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of Canadian hardcore veterans Propagandhi. On episode eight of Heavy Stories, he sits down to talk about the impact of his childhood on airbases, including how it shaped his political beliefs and veganism. We discuss how Propagandhi was formed as a “progressive thrash” band and the distaste they quickly developed for the punk scene around them, especially the jocks and skateboarders they encountered in California after signing to Fat Mike’s Fat Wreck Chords. This hatred led to them becoming proud bear-pokers, antagonising crowds at gigs and even the KKK. Other topics covered include new album At Peace, the four-piece’s musical evolution over four decades and Chris’ thoughts on American politics under Donald Trump’s second administration. (Image: Dwayne Larson)

Lzzy Hale is the singer, co-guitarist and co-founder of Grammy-winning and Platinum-selling US rock four-piece Halestorm. On episode seven of Heavy Stories, she talks about the band’s formation and journey up the rock’n’roll ranks, starting with their early days as a family affair featuring her brother Arejay and dad Roger. She discusses playing her first gigs in churches, why organised Christianity wasn’t right for her in the end, the tumultuous making Halestorm’s of 2009 debut album and winning a Grammy with the single Love Bites (So Do I) in 2013. She also goes deep on writing songs about sex, coming out as bi via social media, her wildest fan interactions, meeting the legendary Ronnie James Dio and her experiences as a woman in the massively male-dominated 2000s and 2010s metal scene. (Image: Jimmy Fontaine)

Kim Song Sternkopf is the lead singer of Danish genre-testing black metal band Møl. On episode six of Heavy Stories, he talks about his childhood growing up in oppressive cults, where what he read and listened to was heavily monitored and he was prophesied as a “chosen one”. His family moved house more than 50 times as they transitioned from community to community, sometimes giving up everything they had to worship under new, narcissistic preachers. He remembers the psychological effect that this all had on him and his four siblings, how his parents’ search for “meaning” was manipulated by leaders, and how he finally broke the cycle in his mid-to-late 20s. He also discusses the impact of his recent diagnosis with ADHD as well as his band’s brand new album, Dreamcrush. (Image: Rolf Meldgaard)

Zakk Wylde is the leader of biker metal rifflords Black Label Society and the longtime right-hand man of the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. On episode five of Heavy Stories, he sits down for a quick conversation midway through a Black Label US tour, where his own Black Sabbath tribute act Zakk Sabbath are serving as support. He looks back on how he got his gig in Ozzy’s band, playing a show in an infamous prison, starting Black Label, that time he and his fans drank all the alcohol in a venue, his unlikely friendship with Star Trek actor William Shatner, and lots more. (Image: Justin Reich)

Serena Cherry is a co-founder and one of the singer/guitarists in UK post-hardcore four-piece Svalbard. On episode four of Heavy Stories, she talks about why her band are breaking up after 16 years, including creative differences and the increasing number of challenges that touring musicians face. She sounds off on the hidden costs of life on the road, the pressure of putting on a good show, balancing touring with a full-time job, how the rising price of stadium shows affect underground artists, and much more. We also discuss the band’s history, her plans for her black metal solo project Noctule, why it’s so important to tackle things head-on in lyrics, and her love for the WWE and video-games.

Gary Holt is the guitarist of veteran California thrash metal bands Exodus and Slayer. On episode three of Heavy Stories, he talks about how his upbringing as the youngest of six children influenced him to make loud music, and looks back on learning his first guitar chords from his high school best friend and Exodus’ founder, future Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. He reflects on the backyard party scene that made Exodus (in)famous, the night he spent in jail aged 17, meeting late frontman Paul Baloff, becoming blood brothers with his bandmates, bootlegging his own t-shirts, kicking his meth use and much, much more. We also talk about how he joined Slayer in 2011 and what keeps him going while contemporaries such as Megadeth call it quits. (Image: Jim Louvau)