Podcasting: “How a Metalhead Got His Music Back”

We all know how ravenous metalheads are for new and/or more metal. I was looking for a way to find a good regular source of metal that would allow me to get updates and listen to some of the music so I could decide on what I wanted to put my money towards. Pandora and Slacker are good as long as you have internet access or cell phone reception, but I was a welder in a solid concrete building at the time. That put my phone down for the count and internet access was out as well. That’s when I discovered podcasts on iTunes. I started wearing earbuds at work and listening to podcasts on my iPod.

Unlike popular belief, podcasts are not exclusive to iTunes. In fact you can find them on the Zune Network and a growing number of other places. There are also great apps for smartphones; so if you happen to get cell reception or have wi-fi access (but not a computer), you can remain in the loop.

The best app I’ve found thus far is Sticher unless you have a BlackBerry, in which case the BlackBerry Podcasts Network is the way to go. It’s probably already on your phone and you just don’t know it! As for the Zune Network, well it works a lot like iTunes, but only if you have a Zune mp3 player. Moreover, both iTunes and the Zune Network will run on a computer, so if you’re listening on your computer, they’re the best and easiest ways to find podcasts (links at end of article).

On to the podcasts! There are plenty of metal podcasts out there, but I will run down the ones that I listen to and, as a podcaster myself, produce myself. Some of these are available, or will be shortly, right here on PureGrainAudio. I’m putting these in alphabetical order: ALLOY Podcast, Bullet Tooth Podcast, Century Media Podcast, The Governor’s Ball, Metal Blade Records Podcast, Metal Hammer Podcast, MetalsPeak, Relapse Records Podcast, Victory Records Podcast.

So that’s the shortlist of metal podcasts I enjoy and ones that you may as well. You can click the links above and they will take you over to the respective sites; you should be able to see “Subscribe on…” links that will allow you to subscribe to the podcasts and have them automatically downloaded and added to your podcast section in iTunes or Zune or wherever elsse.

Don’t have iTunes or Zune? Click on the program of your choice (iTunes, Zune Network). That will take you to the appropriate website to download the program and start enjoying podcasts.

Go download a couple of episodes from each suggestion and I hope you enjoy listening to podcasts. I also write a weekly story about other podcasts that I enjoy over at my Tumblr blog and if you really like podcasts, you can head over there and check some of those out!

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