This show is a must see for all fans of hard rock and heavy metal. It has been on VH1 Classic on Saturday nights for seven seasons. TV seasons on cable are short, only 8-10 episodes per season with 2 seasons per year. That Metal Show first aired in November of 2008 and started as a 30 minute show. In season six, it expanded to an hour. The first four seasons were shot in New York, then starting with season five, they switched to Los Angeles for the tapings. Guests on the show have included many of the greats from the world of popular music such as Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Ace Frehley, Duff McKagan, Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, and many more.
That Metal Show's main host is Eddie Trunk, who is a veteran of the music industry, and New York radio and TV. Trunk was born in New Jersey in 1964 and he once was vice president of Megaforce Records, the label that signed bands like Metallica and Anthrax. He also worked as an executive producer for various hard rock and metal bands. Currently he hosts a radio show for Q104.3 in New York and he has a show on XM radio's Boneyard channel. Also, he is the music host and interviewer for MSG TV network in New York. He is an unabashed fan of Kiss and Bon Jovi, often ranting about how it is a crime that Kiss is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He recently wrote a book called "Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal".
The show is co-hosted by two stand up comedians who are also metal mavens like Trunk. Jim Florentine (from Comedy Central's Crank Yankers) and Don Jamieson inject some humor into the show.
That Metal Show has some staples of the show that are included in the program each week. Stump the Trunk is a segment where Eddie Trunk shows off his knowledge of music trivia. Audience members ask him questions and if he cannot answer the question, then the audience member gets a prize. Each week they do a top 5 list where each of the 3 hosts put in their 2 cents on a certain topic and they come up with the quintessential list. For instance a topic might be top 5 drummers in the world of heavy metal/hard rock. The Throwdown is a segment where each week they take 2 minutes to discuss a certain topic. It might be something like-who is the best grunge era band, Nirvana, Alice in Chains or Soundgarden? The show has a guitar player who will play a few licks as they go to commercial, so that is cool to see who they will get to do the show.
I like this show a lot since there is nothing on TV like it. I am a fan of many of the bands they discuss such as Megadeth, Van Halen, Rush, Metallica, Motley Crue, Ratt, and more. Eddie Trunk is so passionate about music, and it is interesting to hear the guests talk about behind the scenes aspects of the music industry.
*Some material from en.wikipedia.org.
