Episode 015 – Eric Peterson | MAKE // BREAK

Eric Peterson is the founding guitarist and primary songwriter of Bay Area thrash legends Testament, a band that’s spent more than four decades pushing heavy music forward while peers have fallen away. With Testament’s fourteenth album Para Bellum, he’s still co-producing, evolving the band’s sound, and keeping the riffs sharper than players half his age. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK, Eric sits down with host Lance Marwood to unpack the real cost of that longevity: the grind of touring and airports, staying physically ready for extreme music, protecting creativity in an AI era, and why horror films, cult novels, and personal taste still shape everything he writes.

👀 What you’ll hear

• Unpack how Eric turned flyering, bar gigs and bad jobs into a four decade thrash career
• Explore why Para Bellum still feels like a first album and how Testament keep evolving
• Dig into riff writing, flow states and what separates a cool idea from a career song
• Break down the ugliest parts of touring, airport purgatory and staying physically ready for stage intensity
• Debate AI, taste and keeping music human, plus horror movies, cult fiction and weird reading recs

🕰️ Chapters

00:00 Intro, Testament overview and setting up Para Bellum

01:15 Make or break moments, legacy decisions and early DIY grind

03:30 Old school flyering and networking vs today’s digital promotion

06:45 Ageing, health and playing extreme thrash into your 50s

09:30 Touring realities, airport lines, boredom and burnout on the road

14:30 Writing Para Bellum while chasing the feeling of the first records

20:20 Taste, identity and how horror and cult films feed Eric’s imagination

28:45 Books on the road, Master and Margarita and other strange reading recs

32:30 Riff writing, flow state jams, Logic demos and editing with the band

37:30 Surviving industry shifts from tape trading to streaming, algorithms and AI

44:20 Legacy, repeating yourself without cloning old riffs, and ACDC as a model

48:40 Honest advice for bedroom players learning Testament riffs on YouTube

🔗 Guest Links

https://www.testamentlegions.com/site/

https://linktr.ee/TestamentLegions

https://www.instagram.com/ericpetersonofficial/

http://www.enterthedragonlord.com/

🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links

https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20

https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish

https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish

🔗 V13 Media Links

https://v13.net

Subscribe for more MAKE // BREAK conversations and drop a comment on how AI should shape metal’s future

(explicit language)

#MakeBreak #EricPeterson #Testament

Episode 014 – Kelsey Dower | MAKE // BREAK

Kelsey Maree Dower is a symphonic metal vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose cinematic writing style turns orchestration into front-line storytelling. Best known for her single “Rage” and the concept-driven album project Rebirth, she builds massive arrangements with a DIY, self-composed precision that still hits emotionally. She’s also a featured vocalist and co-writer on Björn Hofer’s In the Shadow symphonic metal trilogy through B-Track Records. In Episode 014 of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, Kelsey digs into the real work behind ambitious music: MIDI composition, mixing battles between strings and guitars, creative control, and navigating the music business as an autistic artist.

👀 What you’ll hear

• Trace her path from piano prodigy to symphonic metal songwriter with a clear creative compass

• Learn why orchestral parts feel easy, and why guitars and drums still challenge the mix

• Hear how collaboration stays open while protecting vision and keeping creative control intact

• Reframe ambition when your genre is niche, expensive, and hard for algorithms to surface

• Unpack the myth of getting signed young and the practical planning that replaced it

• Break down Rage, cathartic anger, and how growls became a new tool in her voice

🕰️ Chapters
00:00 Symphonic metal origin story and why it finally clicked

02:49 First metal exposure, emotional catharsis, Within Temptation moment

05:44 Moving childhood, Carnegie Hall, opening for Clay Aiken

08:09 Piano and vocals foundation, ear training, early performance discipline

09:40 MIDI composition workflow, Ableton-style arranging, finding the spark

11:58 Production challenge: orchestra width vs guitars, drums, and mixing presence

14:51 Collaboration mindset, creative control, and working through disagreements

17:35 Ambition in niche genres, costs of scale, algorithm invisibility

22:52 Inspiration vs showing up, building ideas over time without forcing it

26:50 Music industry myth: getting signed young, budgeting, planning, side jobs

30:54 Autism, gatekeepers, reading intent, navigating predatory dynamics

38:46 Rage single inspiration, bullying, catharsis, learning growls

42:58 Rebirth album arc: build-up, catharsis, post-release aftermath

🔗 Guest Links
https://promo.v13.net/2025/11/kelsey-dower/
https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_music2024/
https://www.youtube.com/@kelsey_music2024
https://open.spotify.com/artist/23z1Xwhfvf5B0zVQyzlCdu

🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links

https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20

https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish

https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish

🔗 V13 Media Links

https://v13.net

Subscribe for more MAKE // BREAK, and comment: when has anger fuelled your best creative work?

[Minor audio dropouts in the early minutes]

#MakeBreak #KelseyDower #MusicBusiness

Episode 013 – Scot Little Bihlman | MAKE // BREAK

Scot “Little” Bihlman is an Emmy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and SAG-AFTRA actor, best known as the drummer/vocalist in Grinder Blues alongside dUg Pinnick (King’s X). In Episode 013 of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, he unpacks what it takes to last: choosing quality of life over noise, staying present through drumming and motorcycle riding, and protecting your creative identity in a culture obsessed with imitation. Little also gets real about touring pressure, the seductive comfort of sideman work, and why technique only matters if it serves the song, as he builds toward his next chapter under Little Bihlman.

👀 What you’ll hear

• Hear how four Emmys happened through timing, fit, and staying ready for the call
• Unpack why motorcycle riding and drumming force presence, and how that unlocks writing
• Learn the boundary he draws around tribute bands, authenticity, and scene culture
• Get a candid look at tour pressure, sideman perks, and the hidden costs of what’s next
• Compare technique to songwriting, and why songs are the only currency that lasts

🕰️ Chapters

00:00 Intro, Emmys, and the Little Bihlman pivot

01:29 Emmy awards and luck in film/TV placements

03:22 Finding your voice and honouring influences

06:52 Tribute bands, covers, and authenticity

09:16 Hollywood sets, Spider-Man, and staying grounded

13:42 LA vs Nashville quality of life for artists

17:43 Motorcycle meditation and staying in the now

24:08 Tour pressure and make-or-break moments

38:56 Sideman life vs solo career focus

45:24 Drumming book, teaching, and technique in service of songs

51:58 Link Wray, Audioslave, and music that moves the room

57:24 Heavy Head singles and the upcoming book

🔗 Guest Links

https://scotbihlman.com

https://instagram.com/littlebihlman

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2NNnYU4KcqqNMf1Qki92AP

https://youtube.com/channel/UCwJRSkgFax5H8XNsGRhQ0mA

🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links

https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20

https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish

https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish

🔗 V13 Media Links

https://v13.net

Subscribe for more, and comment: are you chasing chops or songs right now?

[Contains explicit language]

#MakeBreak #Bihlman #Touring