Having recently completed a trek with Nile, Suicide Silence were preparing for their European/Russian tour -- which starts April 18 in Bruschal, Germany and runs through May 14 in St. Petersburg, Russia -- when guitarist Chris Garza took a few minutes to answer some of our stupid questions. And we gotta say, we learned more than we ever needed to know about his personal hygiene, grisly former day job and drinking habits. Suicide Silence will embark on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem tour this summer with Slipknot, Disturbed, Machine Head and others.

Headbangers Blog: Your album is called The Cleansing. What do you do for cleansing when you’re on the road, since it’s sometimes hard to shower?
Chris Garza: Actually, we shower almost everyday which is a surprise. After a show just try to stop by at a friends house or get a hotel room and attempt to wash as much stench off as possible.

If you didn't become a musician what line of employment would you have pursued?
Before I started touring full time, I was working at a hospital. I would have stuck with that. I was in sterile processing so I would get all the used trays from the operating rooms and wash all the blood and bones off of the instruments. Then, I’d put it all together, sterilize the tray, pack it, and bring it up to the room where someone was being sliced for open heart surgery. It Doesn't get too much more metal than that. Don't call yourself a metal band if you haven't seen someone cut open and washed the blood remains. Read more...

A couple days after the beginning of this year's Gigantour, Job For a Cowboy probably have a lot to say about being on one of metal's highest-profile tours with Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom and High on Fire. They've surely got some interesting stories about hanging out with Dave Mustaine, drinking with Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho and lighting up with High on Fire's Matt Pike. But instead of asking guitarist Bobby Thompson such timely and relevant questions, we decided to talk to him about lassoing cattle, "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks and headbanging in Australia.

Headbangers Ball Blog: Cowboys do everything from roping steer to irrigating land to baling hay. From your experience, what the best job for a cowboy?
Bobby Thompson: Drinking whiskey, buying and shooting guns, and gambling.

Your latest album is called Genesis. Obviously that’s the name of a book in the Bible. It's also the title of an adult magazine. Which would you rather read in the back of the bus?
Adult magazine 100% -- unless Genesis is a mag full of naked dudes. I don't know anything about that mag I usually stick to Hustler. Read more...

photo by Bruce Bettis

When he's not rocking out with his bros in Unearth, guitarist Ken Susi enjoys listening to hardcore bands like Judge or Sheer Terror, eating hot wings and pizza and downing about a case of beer -- usually with his bros in Unearth. He also enjoys nerding away on guitar, watching sports for hours and taking long walks on the beach. He especially likes the way the wet sand feels between his toes. Just kiddin'! Susi's no pansy, and anyone who says otherwise is liable to wind up with mouthful of shattered teeth. The dude's from the streets of Boston, after all, and has been known to get into a few scraps from time to time. But he's also got a wicked awesome sense of humor, which probably explains how we exited our interview unscathed.

So, since Susi fielded our obnoxious questions with grace and wit, we feel obligated to promote Unearth's latest effort before digging into the Q&A. Unearth have just released their first home video, the double disc DVD "Alive From the Apocalypse," which debuted at number 13 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart with 1,800 copies sold in its first week. The band is currently on the road with Bury Your Dead, As Blood Runs Black, My Children My Bride and The Destro. And now, on with the stupid questions:

Has anyone ever confused you with Underoath?
Surprisingly, no one has ever made that mistake with us. We get a lot of, "Hey what's your band called again, On Earth?" I love that one. We hear that all the time. Oh, I also like it when people say, "Hey Ken, do you still play lead bass? Want to jam? I can play some sick double bass." Life is way too good to me.

Those guys in Underoath have God on their side. Do you think your band could take them in a fight?
I love Underoath as dudes! They have always been good friends to us and, heck, our bands started out around the same time. We spent, like, two years on all the same tours, too. It would never happen. But if It did… Are you kidding me?! Our dudes know how to fight. As far as Underoath goes, I bet the guitar player, Tim, would put up the best fight for them. He's a scrapper. You can see it in his eyes.

Your new DVD is called "Alive From the Apocalypse." When's the last time you thought your world was going to end?
Two days ago when I got diarrhea in Iowa. I was at dinner with some friends, and we went outside to head back to the club and then, boom. I felt a kick! Let me just tell you, I knew I wasn't pregnant. I ran all the way to the club and got my pants off just in time to get most of it in the bowl -- the rest overshot and covered the wall. Oops! At that moment, I thought the world was over, for sure. Read more...