G.I. Joe and Cold Slither with Gus Rios

On this episode Matt sits down with musician and lifelong G.I. Joe fan Gus Rios. After proving himself as a talented and hard working drummer in the death metal scene with bands like Malevolent Creation and Gruesome, Gus got the phone call that would bring his passion for both music and G.I. Joe together to create Cold Slither. Well, to create the REAL Cold Slither.  The band, lead by the villainous Zartan, already existed in animated form - and now Gus was going to make them flesh and blood.  If you don't know anything about Cold Slither or even G.I. Joe, fear not because Gus explains it all in a way that showcases just how passionate and thoughtful he is about the music he creates and the reverence he has for the source material. Along the way, Gus speaks very openly and admirably about his struggles with depression and a suicide attempt in 2019 that lead to him seeking professional help, putting the kind of hardwork he always brought to music into healing, and emerging from the darkest point in his life with a deeper love for G.I. Joe and its cast of, as Gus says, "fictional characters, real heroes". Normally, I'd make some sort of self-deprecating joke about the episode here, but not this time.  This time I'm going to very sincerely say: you don't just want to listen, you NEED to listen to this episode. Support Gus and Cold Slither by buying the album: https://shopus.reigningphoenixmusic.com/collections/cold-slither Follow Gus on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gusriosofficial/?hl=en Contact the show: [email protected] Follow Matt on BlueSky: @mattbegins.bsky.social  Intro music from the song "Doin' What We Do" by the always amazing Mustard Plug (https://mustardplug.com/)