WREKage -- Atlanta's Longest-Running "Tr00" Metal Radio Show

Serving Atlanta's Metal and Thrash Community Since 1982

Last Updated January 3rd, 2004


NOTE: the WREKage site has migrated to a different look and format. Click here to go to the new page. These playlists will be maintained as an archive until they can be incorporated into the new site (if ever).
[WREKage logo]

(This page is certified free of skulls, pentagrams and dripping blood-bars)

(Except for maybe on a t-shirt or something)

You've reached the old site for WREKage, Atlanta's only true metal show, on 91.1 FM, WREK. The show now airs every Friday evening from around midnight until around 6am Saturday. Sometimes it starts a bit earlier or later due to sports events or other causes. The station is streamed over the Net using streaming MP3 and all of WREK's programming is archived for a full week, so if you miss a show, don't panic; you have a week to listen to the archive.

Quick Index

Background:


WREK-FM Background


WREK-FM is the "student voice of Georgia Tech," the Institute's radio station, and at 40,000 watts it's one of the most powerful college radio stations in the US. Not surprisingly considering the school's technical credentials, it was the first radio station anywhere to broadcast live over the Net using streaming audio. For years the audio stream was generated using a DOS invocation of RealAudio encoder; now the station's broadcasts are streamed using MP3.

WREKage Background


WREKage is one of the longest-running specialty shows on WREK-FM, and has been broadcast almost every week continuously for about twenty years, beginning in 1982. During its heyday, the show actually drew more listeners during its weekly time-slot than WKLS-FM 96Rock, Atlanta's commercial rock station! (According to Birch, about 8,000 listeners at peak.) Back then, the show played a diverse variety of metal, thrash, and some punk. In many cases it was the only place in town to hear these bands. At one point, the show was beginning at 10pm Friday evening and ran until dawn the next day! (It currently runs from midnight to 6am.)

Show-hosts (i.e., deejays) came and went. Remember, these are Tech students, and after a while everyone has to go out into The Real World, usually finding jobs in other cities where the money's better. Over the past 7 or 8 years I'd become friends with most of the hosts of the show, mostly through my roommate Tim Hurd, who knows damn near everyone in metal.

Over time, though, the show's focus changed. Between c. 1997 through 2000 or so, the hosts began playing more and more extreme death-metal tracks, with blastbeat drums and "cookie-monster" vocals, which was the style that the then-show hosts, Jonathan Gerhard and Sam Cape, both preferred. Death- and black-metal has lots of adherents (I like the more "interesting" and melodic bands), but there are lots of metalheads who just don't like the vocal style, and the show's audience dwindled.

Things came to a head in the spring of 2000, when some heated opinions were exchanged online, and it became clear that WREKage would probably benefit from a more diverse musical base. This is where I entered the picture as a show-host.

It was around May of 2000 that I was given a varying block of time during WREKage to feature melodic and progressive bands. Since I'm older and fairly mature (especially compared to some of the show's previous non-Tech hosts), I already knew how to operate the control board and I'd built a decent collection of CDs, Jonathan and Sam asked me to step in with a semi-regular segment of progressive/melodic/power metal each week. It looks like the more diverse selection is making a difference, too: we've been building more listeners and getting more phone calls and requests.

Ironically, over the intervening years my own musical tastes have changed. Where once I would've played only progressive-metal tracks, many of my favorite bands are now melodic extreme-metal bands. --Which brings us to these playlists.

Playlists

Running from oldest to newest, these are the playlists I've retained in my files over the years. For the beginning part of these playlists I only logged my own portion of the show. The entire nightly WREKage broadcast would have contained many more tracks from different show-hosts.

Later, beginning in c. Sept 2001, I began posting the entire playlist for each show as emailed out from the studio's console computer, and this practice continued through October 2003, when a new playlist database was invoked on the new official site.

My 1999 and 2000 playlists | Our 2001 playlists | Our 2002 playlists | Our 2003 playlists |

2003 Playlists

January 3rd, 2003
No show this week, as BiD wanted to take a break and Tim was unable to find a replacement.

January 10th, 2003
Back with a regular show and some cool new promos this week. :) BiD played first, then E.J., then me, and then Tim. Mine are the ones in quotes. We also had several bands in-studio to announce their upcoming local shows.

January 17th, 2003
I was up at ChattaCon in Tennessee this weekend, so BiD and presumably E.J. did the show themselves, judging from the playlist.....

January 24th, 2003
There was a local-metal show at the Masquerade on this particular Friday night, and Tim and E.J. both had to be there (E.J. because his band Dwarfophile was playing, Tim because two bands he manages, 13 Down and Driwhater, were scheduled). So, I took over from BiD at around midnight and played for around two hours. We also had people in-studio repping for Germany's Disillusion and from local band Cernunnos. Tim showed up right near the end, so we played a track from local metal band Prime Mover since he said they'd stolen the show at the Masquerade. Great WREKage show and a lot of great requests!

January 31st, 2003
An especially fun night with a lot of requests. BiD played stuff first, followed by E.J., then Tim, and then I wrapped up the show. We had several local bands in-studio this week as well, including Alex from Demoncy, Level, Prime Mover, Package

February 7th, 2003
This was the weekend of the NBA All-Star Game and related activities downtown, and all of us except BiD got there later than usual due to traffic, etc. The band Level, who Tim has semi-adopted, were in-studio.
BiD was on from around 10pm-midnight, then Tim took over for a bit. E.J. was going to go on after him, but he left the studio for a short while and so I went on instead. Then E.J. took over for the last part. So we each basically got around 40 minutes to divide up the last two hours.... After WREKage at 2am, someone came in and took over live deejaying, for a change. (!)

February 14th, 2003
No WREKage show this week -- everyone, including a sizeable part of our normal audience, was at the Nile/Napalm Death/Dark Tranquillity/Strapping Young Lad/Berzerker show at the Masquerade. A great time was had by all who could make it!

February 21st, 2003
Back to a normal show again! We had quite a few good calls and requests -- this is starting to be a pattern..... :)
We were off reasonably promptly at 2am, as there is now a live deejay following us with a weekend-format show. :(

February 28th, 2003
A fun night with a phone-in interview from Neil Fallon of the band Clutch, who were playing the Masquerade a bit later in the evening... E.J. also played a song from the forthcoming Cradle of Filth CD and I played some newly-arrived stuff. :)

March 7th, 2003
This was Spring Break week at Georgia Tech, and BiD wanted to take a week off. Tim convinced him to come in long enough to give away tickets to some upcoming shows, though, and so the show was on from around 10pm-11:30pm.

March 14th, 2003
Back to normality for this week, except that we had a firm date now for the upcoming Opeth show (May 12th at the Masquerade), and the bands for Progpower USA IV had been announced on Wednesday....so I wrapped up my segment, and the show, with Evergrey, Symphony X and Nightwish -- unusually progressive bands... for WREKage, anyway. :)
We also had an early copy of the forthcoming Cradle of Filth CD, Damnation And A Day, and I played a track from it as, for a wonder, E.J. didn't. :)

March 21st, 2003
BiD started the show a bit early, at 9:34pm, and the usual mayhem (but not Mayhem :)) ensued. I was reallly sick and you could definitely tell from my voice. :(
I'd had a request for Chimaera via email, but the only track we could find in the studio was a Cure cover on a compilation CD. :)

BiD started out with:

Then Tim played: Then E.J. played: Then I played:

March 28th, 2003
Great show with several newly-arrived CDs being featured, including Cradle of Filth's Damnation and a Day, Devin Townsend Band's Accelerated Evolution, the new Marduk and Darkthrone CDs, and new-to-me CDs from Darkane and Old Man's Child plus the Death Is Just the Beginning Vol. 7 comp. We got several excellent requests also. Although we got a request for the Dream Theater/Barney Greenway "Damage Inc." cover again this week, I elected not to play it so soon after playing it last week. :)
Tim was out of town working a gig in Alabama, so it was BiD, then Craig, then E.J., and then me this week. The guy who had been coming in at 2am did NOT show up this week, so I continued until about 2:15, wrapping up with a punk-style Bella Morte song to merge into the automation system. :)

BiD started with:

Then Craig and E.J. played: Then I wrapped up with:

April 4th, 2003
A bit of a different show this weekend since E.J. was up in Marietta performing with his band Dwarfophile, and Tim arrived late from a local show he helped promote at the Masquerade. LOTS of requests this week, too! I'd just gotten a bunch of new CDs in from The End Records and Exploding Ned's, and I featured some of them this week.
BiD started with: Then I played: And finally late-arriving Tim finished off with:

April 11th, 2003
Even BiD slept late this week, so he didn't go on-air with WREKage until 11pm. Ooops! Tim followed BiD at around midnight, then E.J., then me, and we split up those remaining two hours fairly evenly at about 40 min. apiece.
First, BiD played: Then Tim played: Then E.J. played: Then I wrapped up with:

April 18th, 2003

This was the first official night of Fantasm, so Tim was not present for the evening's festivities. I got off work a little early and got to WREK at around ten, so I had two sets during the evening. Fun night with some good requests and some guys from the band Ender's Game in-studio (hey, they're named after a good book!).
First BiD started off with: Then I played: Then E.J. took over for a while, with: And then I wrapped up with:

April 25th, 2003

For this week, we weren't even sure we'd be doing a show, but BiD decided he was caught up enough with his school projects that he could come in and do WREKage. He started the show a bit earlier than 10pm due to an early-finishing Tech baseball game. E.J. wasn't present, possibly because he didn't think we were going to be on the air (and everyone thought someone else had contacted him...)

First BiD played:

Then he started the regular show with: And Tim continued with: Then I played a long set:

May 2nd, 2003

 No show: BiD had finals, and Tim couldn't find an emergency backup deejay, so we had to take a bye this week.

May 9th, 2003

E.J. was away at the Cephalic Carnage show this Friday night, so it was just BiD, Tim and me. E.J. is moving to Savannah shortly, so next weekend on the 16th will be his last official show for WREKage. These have been good times and he'll be missed.
This was also the last week before the Opeth show and also the Soulfly show on Wednesday, so we gave tickets away for the latter and I played two Opeth tracks. That show was awesome, too, and clearly benefited from our strong push on WREkage. :) :)
BiD was on first with: Then Tim with: And then I wrapped up with an unusually-long set in E.J.'s absence:

May 16th, 2003

A somewhat unusual show here, since this was E.J.'s last night as a WREKage host, and Tim was out-of-town working at City Stages in Birmingham. We were able to run long, too, since the 2am guy is no longer doing that shift. :) Several bands were in-studio and there were several shows to announce, plus recent shows to talk about.
BiD started with: Then E.J. followed with a special, longer set: And then I wrapped up with: The guys in Opeth are fans of Ozric Tentacles, so I figured I'd play one Ozrics track at the end of WREKage as a segue into the automation stuff, just for grins. As so often happens when we play something odd at the end of the show, I got calls from two WREKage listeners asking who it was, where the CDs could be purchased, etc., so I played another Ozrics track also. :)

May 23rd, 2003

Tim was in Alabama doing a music festival, so for this show it would be just me and BiD behind the board, with many suggestions from in-studio folks including old deejay Sam and others. :)
First, BiD played: Then I played:

May 30th, 2003

This week, BiD couldn't be at the studio, but from the mists of ancient (WREKage) time there arose a savior: Bob Vincent, who was one of the fabled WREKage hosts during the early 90s. (!) So, this week's playlist will certainly have a retro-WREKage feel to it! :)
Bob played stuff first, then Tim arrived at around 11:30 and took over; I went on at around 1am. Bob wanted to leave by around 2am, so no "extra, bonus WREKage" this week. :)
First, Bob played: Then Tim H. played: Then I played:

June 6th, 2003

For this week, Bob Vincent started off the show, then BiD arrived a bit later. Tim played some stuff and then the "Deathgasm Kids" played a few tracks. I took over and wrapped up the show.
Bob Vincent played: Then Tim played: Then Alex and Evan played: ...And I wrapped up with....

June 13th, 2003

Tim was away at several shows in Atlanta this evening, so it was Bob Vincent starting off, then BiD, then Alex and Evan from Deathgasm Records, and then me to wrap up. We'd gotten some pretty cool promos in, including the new Type O Negative -- one of only two national acts to play a WREKage benefit concert. (Vio-lence was the other.)
Here's Bob V.'s playlist..... And here's BiD's... And the "Deathgasm Kids" (who capitalized the band names this week).... And finally, mine....

June 20th, 2003

Bob Vincent didn't come this week, so it was BiD, then Tim, then the Deathgasm guys (Alex and Evan), and then me to wrap it up. I'd gotten some good CDs in and played new material from Mors Principium Est and Nail Within. Got a good call about the MPE song, too.
BiD was first: Tim's set: The DeathGasm Dudes: And last, my set:

June 27th, 2003

Tim was out of town but Bob Vincent started out the show, so the old-school crowd was satisfied. :) This was the last broadcast before the Dream Theater/Queensryche/Fates Warning show, so we gave away tickets and I played a 'regular' DT song, for once. :)
Bob Vincent's playlist: BiD's short set.... Then Alex and Evan tool over for a while.... And then I wrapped up with:

July 4th, 2003

No show -- BiD wanted to take the night off for the holiday, Bob Vincent was out of town, etc.

July 11th, 2003

Back on the airwaves after a week's absence. On Wednesday before the show In Flames, Soilwork, Chimaera and Unearth had played the Masquerade and, to my surprise, almost sold the venue out. GREAT turnout and it was clear that many in the audience were (or have been) WREKage listeners. Very cool to see a great turnout!
For this week, Alex, a tech student, joined us to broadcast for a bit -- he'll be a backup deejay for us.
Bob Vincent started the show off with a long set: Then Alex took over for a bit: Then BiD played for a bit, including newly-arrived promos for the week: And then I took over to finish out the show, since the DeathGasm kids were absent and Tim was at the Mallternica show until late....

July 18th, 2003

 This was a looong show, with a lot of calls and requests and ticket giveaways for the first Atlanta local metalfest at the Masquerade.... We took turns on this show, it was so long. :)

July 25th, 2003

 Quite a mixed bag of deejays tonight, and to give everyone a chance, BiD limited everyone to around 30 minutes of airtime. Ender's Game, Soul's Unrest and a younger chap from another local band were all in-studio at various times. We received confirmation on a few big upcoming shows (Type O Negative/Lacuna Coil and Dimmu Borgir/Children of Bodom), and we announced them during the show -- the CoB show drew several calls.

August 1st, 2003

I was over at the Masquerade for a show featuring my friends in the bands Bella Morte and The Last Dance, so this is...everyone else's set. Not sure who played what, but you (and I) can probably guess. :)

August 8th, 2003

A really kewl show this week with a lot of bands in-studio to promote upcoming local shows. You can guess by now which deejay played what. :)

August 15th, 2003

 Bob Vincent was out of town, BiD was late and Tim H. was over at the Masquerade for Spineshank, et al., so I walked in at midnight after getting off work and was told "you're on in two songs." Okay, cool.... Thanks to Tim King of WREK's Stonehenge show for staying late and keeping us legal. :) Alex (deejay-in-training) went first, then the Deathgasm guys, and then me, with a long set.

August 22nd, 2003

 Bob was still out of town, so Alex (the FNG) went on first, then the Deathgasm guys, then Tim, and then me. Pretty cool week with a lot of calls, requests and shows to announce, too.

August 29th, 2003

I was away at Dragon*Con for the weekend, so this looks like Bob broadcasting first, then the Deathgasm Records crue, then Tim and Alex-the-new-guy. :)

September 5th, 2003

I was at the ProgPower USA IV festival at Earthlink live, as were BiD and Tim (until later in the show). This is the playlist that was saved on the air-studio's computer's desktop.

September 12th, 2003

My first week back after a two-week hiatus. Bob played first, then the Deathgasm guys, then me. BiD was at the Evanescence show and Tim H. went to see Type O Negative in Spartanburg, so we had long sets tonight.

September 19th, 2003

 Bob played first, then the Deathgasm guys, then Tim, then BiD (with input from me).

September 26th, 2003

Bob hosted first, then Tim, then Deathgasm-Alex, then Paul.

October 3rd, 2003

Bob V. covering 9:30-10pm for Stonehenge with....Metalhenge: WREKage:

October 10th, 2003

This show's playlist is posted on the new official wREKage site. This week I was away in England for a convention and the show was handled by everyone else.

October 17th, 2003

I was still in the UK, so this week's show was handled by the other deejays. The playlist is posted on the new official wREKage site.

October 24th, 2003 - Present

Playlists are now available on the official site (click on "Recent") at www.wrekage.org.

Contact Info

Making Requests

To make requests, call us at the studio at 404-894-2468 during the show's hours: basically, from around midnight on Friday until around 6 am Saturday mornings, US Eastern time. You can also send us requests at AOL IM screen-name 'wrekage911' during the show.

You can also email your requests to requests@wrekage.org during the week.

Naturally, requests made during the beginning of the show are more likely to be honored than a request we receive 15 minutes before we go off the air. :)

And keep in mind that we won't always have the CDs to play your particular request, and sometimes even if we do, we might not be able to find them. :)

Promos, Demos and Postal Mail

To reach us, you can send promo or demo CDs to:
WREK 91.1 FM
WREKage
Georgia Tech Student Radio
350 Ferst Dr NW Ste 2224
Atlanta, GA 30332-0630

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