In this episode of pplpod, we take a deep dive into Battlecross — the Michigan metal band that turned a high school garage-band dream into a 20-year run built on grit, relentless touring, and pure blue-collar work ethic.

Formed in 2003 in Canton, Michigan by high school neighbors Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala, Battlecross became one of the hardest-working bands in modern American metal, bridging old-school thrash intensity with the groove-heavy power of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

This episode is more than a band biography. It is a case study in the economics and logistics of surviving as a working band in the modern music industry: lineup instability, endless touring, label momentum, radio exposure, and the hard reality that sometimes ba ...