Episode #2 of The Great Southern Brainfart podcast is now up and features bassist Mike LePond (Symphony X, Silent Assassins). Below are some excerpts from the interview:

On his battle with Crohn's Disease: “I’ve had Crohn's for 20 years and had surgery 3x from it. It’s a crushing disease. There’s been so many times where I’ve been on tour and I’ve been laying in bed in really bad pain and five minutes before we go on, force myself to go on stage and perform a show while I was in such pain. The only thing that gets me past it is that old adage of 'The show must go on.'”

On his many side projects: “When I’m a hired gun for all of these other projects, I think it’s better for my playing. It’s great to meet different musicians and hear their style of writing songs. It’s a challenge. I do so many projects. Most of the projects I do you’ve probably never heard of. I do, like, one a month.”

Tune in to The Great Southern Brainfart podcast here.

Mike Lepond's Silent Assassins released their new album, Pawn And Prophecy last month. Order the album here.

Pawn And Prophecy shows an onslaught of true heavy metal in it's purest form. A full hour of headbanding riffs, kick ass vocals, and lyrics telling epic tales drawing influences from the classic metal bands of the '80s to the viking/folk metal of today. As an example of the range of metal styles here, the title track is a 21 minute opus based on William Shakespeare's Macbeth, where Mike and company have essentially written a heavy metal soundtrack to this classic tale and features guest appearances from Symphony X bandmates Michael Romeo and Michael Pinella.

Tracklisting:

"Masters Of The Hall"
"Black Legend"
"Antichrist"
"I Am The Bull"
"Avengers Of Eden"
"Hordes Of Fire"
"The Mulberry Tree"
Pawn And Prophecy

"Hordes Of Fire":

"Avengers Of Eden":

Recording lineup:

Mike LePond - Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Alan Tecchio - Lead Vocals

With Special Guests:

Michael Romeo - Drum Programming, Keyboards, Lead Guitar on Track 8
Michael Pinella - Backing Vocals, Piano & Organ on Track 8
Lance Barnewold - Lead Guitar on Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5
Rod Rivera - Lead Guitar on Tracks 5, 6, 7
Andry Lagiou - Lead Vocals on Track 8
Noa Gruman - Lead Vocals on Track 8
Veronica Freeman - Lead Vocals on Track 8
Phyllis Rutter - Lead Vocals on Track 8