It must have been a pretty slow news day in Grand Rapids, but hard news’ loss was metal’s gain at ABC affiliate WZZM, as Swedish black metal band Watain stopped by morning news show “Take Five and Company” to talk about Swedish metal last week. That’s not really to take away from the show, as the co-host actually asked some relatively solid questions without pandering to the band or getting caught in stereotypes and cliches. That being said, it really wasn’t that deep of an interview. One of the first questions I would ask would concern the rotting flesh the band is known to have onstage as part of their shows. And while that might have been a bit dark to touch on so early in the morning, perhaps that’s why the show never brought up the band’s pro-Satan beliefs.

What makes this so bizarre is how normal the band appear at 9am, not to mention that “Take Five and Company” would have them on in the first place. They have had Testament and In Flames on the show in the past, however, so maybe the booker is a huge metal fan. In fact, the band wasn’t even playing Grand Rapids – they just stopped by on their way to Chicago from Detroit.

What is it about Sweden and metal?

In Flames, Testament