HEAVY Music Interviews
About
Available on
Community
2023 episodes
Interview by Kris Peters Melbourne industrial titans Witchgrinder released their highly anticipated third album, Nothing Stays Buried. Once more revolving around horror and the macabre, Nothing Stays Buried is a meaty slab of intent from the Australian outfit, furthering the promise shown on Witchgrinder's two earlier albums but magnifying it even further. Since the release of their debut album in 2013, Witchgrinder have systematically built up a loyal and growing fan base, scoring support slots to the likes of Ministry, Rob Zombie, Ghost, Wednesday 13, Powerman 5000, Sevendust and Drowning Pool before landing the covetted opening spot for Static X last year. The band have honed and refined their live show to reflect both their music and influences, creating an overwhelming sense of dread and foreboding that perfectly accentuates the sonic blast of agression elicited by their music. With Nothing Stays Buried unleashed on the public, frontman Travis Everett took the time to talk with HEAVY, discussing the album in greater detail. "This album took a while to write," he measured. "Actually, the writing didn't take so long, what it was, is there was a large gap in between from the lat album due to line-up changes and covid. Witchgrinder had a nice touring line-up, but nothing put together where I felt comfortable writing and getting back in and doing the third album. Of course, I had a lot of stuff put away with riffs over the years, but I never started really structuring anything together. With this album I looked at what the previous two had done… I had time to talk to a lot of people who listened to Witchgrinder over the years - alot of new fans and a lot of old ones - and worked out what they liked best from the first album and the second album. What songs were their favourite and what weren't. We really sat - especially me and the guitarist Scott - we sat down and spoke about what style of song we wanted one to be. We'd pick one of the old ones off the album and say we kind of want it a bit like this, but we want this one rockier. We want this one more thrash metal. But we still wanted to keep the Witchgrinder sound." In the full interview, Travis talks more about the writing process for Nothing Stays Buried, the musical direction of the album, the band's upcoming tour plus he runs us through each track on Nothing Stays Buried in greater depth.
Interview by Kris Peters Australian blues/rock outfit Beasts Of Bourbon have been a mainstay of the Aussie music scene for over 40 years, blending a blues-infused swagger with sleazy rock and tonnes of attitude to create a musical aura that is as much about the musicians who make up the band as it is the music itself. Originally formed with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar (The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar (both ex-The Scientists), the Beasts Of Bourbon went through several line-up changes over the years, with Tex Perkins and Jones being the only regular contributors. After disbanding in 1985 following their debut album The Axeman's Jazz it seemed the music of Beasts Of Bourbon would be lost into the channels of Australian history but they reformed just two years later and released a second album Sour Mash the following year. Several albums followed, culminating in 2007s Little Animals before Beasts Of Bourbon disbanded once more, seemingly for good. 2013 saw a couple of select 30th anniversary shows before another slide into the unknown until 2019 when the band re-emerged under the shortened name of Beasts. After a new album Still Here came out in 2019 Beasts went back into slumber, resurfacing last year for 40th anniversary celebrations, with the response being so overwhelmingly positive that the band are on the cusp of undertaking a six-date nation tour with the intention of taking their music and legacy even further than the two shows last year allowed. HEAVY caught up with guitarist Kim Salmon to find out more. "It has been a while, really, since we've done any touring in earnest with this band," he nodded. "It was just before the pandemic, so probably four years. We did a couple of shows last year with our original drummer James Baker, and we recorded that and we were so excited about that recording that we thought we'd take it out on the road. We're going to actually release some of this stuff. This is a beauty." We mention that HEAVY is a big fan of live albums, to which Salmon replied, "me too. There's been some good ones over the years. There's also been some less than good ones, but this one I think is… we were gonna call it… Tex and I were talking about it (laughs) and throwing titles around, and we thought how about The Best Live Album Ever Recorded or The Best Live Album Ever, but I had this thing… like there's Slade Alive and Kiss Alive, so I thought why not Beasts Alive? So we're putting that out through a French label called Beast Records. But that won't be out until September, I think. We've got a five track 12" that will only be available at the gig and that's some tracks taken from that recording." In the full interview, Kim talks more about the tour and what to expect, if he still enjoys touring after so much time on the road, the enduring success of Beasts and why, the rocky road to success, changing the band name from Beasts Of Bourbon to Beasts and why, their debut album The Axeman's Jazz and his thought of it 40 years later, future plans and more.
Interview by Kris Peters Since their inception in 1991 US rock outfit Incubus have defied the laws and conventions of music by shading outside the lines and creating their own brand of sonic retribution. Their music was different and experimental, while still maintaining a rock-infused underbelly that provided a meaty backbone that stood tall through a myriad of musical disparities that combined to create the perfect sonic storm. With three consecutive albums that pushed the envelope further than ever before S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (1997), Make Yourself (1999) and Morning View (2001), Incubus and their music quickly gained global attention and transformed what was once a personal odyssey into more of a worldwide phenomenon. Such is the band's enduring legacy, they have re-recorded Morning View and will release it on May 10 with the title Morning View XXIII, but first they are making a long overdue return to Australia for a run of shows with fellow rockers Live this April. As well as five national co-headlining shows with Live, Incubus will also appear at the inaugural Lookout Festival, an outdoor event on some of the country's most iconic stages alongside Live, Birds Of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe and The Superjesus. HEAVY was fortunate enough to speak with Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd on the eve of the tour. "I think this is probably the most extensive tour of Australia we will have done," he smiled. "I could be wrong about that, but I don't remember having played… I think it's eight or nine shows by itself, just in Australia. I'm excited." This will be Incubus' first trip to Australia since 2018, so we cheekily ask Boyd why the band has neglected us for so long. "(laughs) Something happened in the world sometime after 2019 that made it so travelling was really tough," he replied. "I don't remember exactly what it was, but something happened that kept us off aeroplanes and stuff (laughs). We're sorry it's taken us so long, but we're really excited to make our way back, and we're thrilled to be able to do these shows with the band Live as well." On the subject of Live, we ask why they were chosen to be touring partners with Incubus on this run. "This is something that honestly would not have occurred to me," he measured, "to put our bands together to do this. It came through other channels to potentially pair us up to tour, but when we heard about it being a possibility, all of us were very enthusiastic about the idea because Live was one of those bands when I was growing up that just had some bangers. They've got some tracks that are just killer, and I've actually never seen them play live, so it's pretty awesome to go on tour with a band that you enjoy, but you've never had the pleasure of seeing live. So this will be my introduction to them formally." In the full interview we discuss the tour in greater detail, Lookout Festival and playing with Australian bands, what has changed in the 6 years since Incubus last toured Australia, the different excitement he gets from playing outdoor festivals compared to indoor arenas, re-recording Morning View, how well the music from that album has stood the test of time, if and how crowds respond differently to the songs from that album two decades later and more.
Following a recent successful tour of Australia with Northlane, metalcore legends ERRA are now readying for the release of their new album Cure, which is released on April 5. HEAVY spoke with the band just before their Brisbane show at Fortitude Music Hall. VIDEO WAS FILMED LIVE FROM SOUNDCHECK SO SOUND QUALITY MAY FLUCTUATE
Interview by Kris Peters Melbourne metalcore/deathcore/techdeath outfit Roswell DeathSquad have been making waves since the release of their debut album Welcome Home in January this year. Which isn't surprising given the pedigree of musicians within the band's ranks. Featuring past and present members of Festation, Harlott, Carthus, Mistress of Misery and Fear the Fallen, Roswell DeathSquad have not only the hunger to succeed but also the experience, which is an almost forgotten prerequisite for success in the modern age. After playing their first live show back in August last year, Roswell Deathsquad are hoping to convert even more fans on March 30 when they play a belated album launch show at the Workers Club in Melbourne. Vocalist Jarryd Rodger joined HEAVY to talk about the album and more. "Pretty good," he replied when we asked how Welcome Home has been received. "A lot of feedback that we have had has been absolutely phenomenal. Whether it be old mate down the street or a few people overseas, everyone has been loving it. It hits the heavy mark, it hits the metalcore mark as well, so it gives everyone a bit of everything rather than getting stale which is what we aim for. It's been received a lot better than we anticipated, especially releasing it randomly at the start of the year. Our Spotify numbers are sitting at 2 to 3000 every month and for a new band that no-one really knows that's good." In the full interview, Jarryd talks more about Welcome Home, what they were going for musically with it, what things they focussed on going into album number one, the themes and points of interest, the members other bands and how much of each they bring to Roswell DeathSquad's sound, their blending of music and how it works, next week's album launch and more.
Interview by Kris Peters CVLTFEST came to Brisbane’s Eaton’s Hill Hotel recently, bringing with it a tornado of hard rock and metal performed by some of this country’s headline bands as well as some that should one day attain that status themselves. But it wasn’t just a celebration of Australian music, with organisers Alpha Wolf assembling a strong volley of international acts from Japan – Crossfaith, Paledusk – New York – Emmure – and France – ten56. It was a coming together of music, cultures and music lovers under one magnificent roof in one afternoon/ evening. Not that HEAVY got to see much of the action unfolding on stage because we were hidden away on the first floor of the hotel, lying in wait for unsuspecting musicians to enter our line of sight so we could strap them to the casting couch and ask a few questions. Today we bring to you our chat with Kynan Groundwater from local band Diamond Construct.
Interview by Kris Peters It's hard to believe any international band could have been around long enough to earn legendary status yet not have toured this country before. Not that Australians feel entitled or big-headed and therefore expect such bands to tour here - quite the opposite. It's more because Australians generally need some form of tangible connection with a band or musician before being able to usher those words of adulation. So basically we need to have some form of sonic ownership, which, I guess, is a little entitled but let's not split hairs shall we? Because the point of this conversation is that legendary US metal/hardcore pioneers Cave In have finally locked in some dates Down Under, coming out with post metal outfit The Ocean and Danish label mates LLRR for a string of shows starting in June. A band considered by many to have been ahead of their time, Cave In were instrumental in introducing metalcore to the masses before exploring a plethora of musical avenues including psychedelic rock infused metal. With the band enjoying renewed success following the addition of Converge bassist Nate Newton to cover the tragic loss of Caleb Schofield in 2018, Cave In released Heavy Pendulum in 2022 which brought together the many and varied musical influences explored over their six previous albums and introduced the band to a fresh legion of fans that continues to grow to this day. HEAVY recently spoke with singer/guitarist Stephen Brodsky about their first ever trip to Australia, starting with why the band has neglected us for so long. "That is a great question," he laughed. "It will be my second time over there. Another band that I play in called Old Man Gloom toured there with Converge about 10 years ago, but I do remember in my travels there definitely is some Cave In fans saying when are you gonna bring Cave In over, we've been waiting, and that was ten years ago (laughs). Sometimes it's just… especially with international tours for bands at our level to work out something where we're not just breaking even or eating it is hard. Those offers don't come our way very often, so we were able to work something out for this one, and we're all very stoked on all the logistics and the inner workings of the offer itself. It made sense, so we're finally doing it. The idea just had to marinate a little bit." In the full interview, Stephen talks more about their first tour and what they are expecting, what we can expect from them, coming with The Ocean and LLRR and why the three bands will work well together, the early days of Cave In and where they fit in, how they were ahead of their time, their debut album Until Your Heart Stops and if he is still happy with it, their musical tastes and how each influences the band's music, reforming after the death of Caleb and the difficulties associated with coming back, Heavy Pendulum and the way it covers the back catalogue of Cave In and more.
Interview by Kris Peters Experimental metal outfit Locrian are counting down the days until the release of their new album End Terrain on April 5. Officially endorsed as the proper follow-up to 2015's Infinite Dissolution, End Terrain sees Locrian return to the sounds that defined the earlier part of their music, more experimental and forthright than previous album New Catastrophism while still managing to weave a common thread of musicality that is the band's lifeblood. More complex and layered than ever before, Locrian have struck a powerful balance between metal genres, creating a sonic tapestry of epic proportions that encompasses the band's continued growth. HEAVY recently spoke with André Foisy (electric, 12-string, acoustic guitars), Terence Hannum (synthesizers, vocals, tape loops) and Steven Hess (drums, electronics) recently, reflecting on their evolution as songwriters, their experimentation with different sounds and effects, and their approach to creating new music, emphasizing their experimental and collaborative process. The band members also discussed their influences from genres like death metal and thrash, and how they incorporate these elements into their music to create a cohesive body of work that blends different styles.
Interview by Kris Peters One of the lesser known wonders of the travelling Knotfest music extravaganza is the Knotfest Museum. An extension of the music program, the Knotfest Museum is more than a distraction tacked on as an afterthought. Much more. Everything on display is 100% genuine Slipknot, with the band members offering up personal items to be showcased as well as perfectly curated extras from Slipknot Museum Global Manager Caelin Meredith. In collaboration with the band, Meredith oversees the entire production and assembling of the museum, from shipping the contents out to Australia to attending at Knotfest to make each experience as personal as possible. This year sees the Slipknot Museum celebrate next year's 25th anniversary of Slipknot, with added features such as a dedicated album display, playable instruments and much more. Meredith joined HEAVY this morning to explore the many wonders of the Slipknot Museum. "Basically, for Knotfest I bring the museum, and it's the band's representation at the festival," she began. "This year we're bringing a 25-year retrospective, so we're starting from Iowa in 1999, and you will basically walk the album cycles from their beginning to now. And we've pulled key pieces that represent each of the albums, so whether it's wardrobe, or whether it's musical instruments… the fans will also have the opportunity to play some of the instruments. So Mick's guitar, Jim's guitar, V-Man's bass and all the settings are on the quad quartex to their specifications, so as you're playing you're gonna hear it how V-Man plays it. We're bringing some rad art from Clown and some secret surprises, so it's for the Slipknot fan, but it's also for the Knotfest fan. It's to celebrate their 25-year anniversary, so it's a really big deal, and I'm excited to bring it back to Australia." In the full interview, Caelin talks more about the Knotfest Museum, what to expect, more of the wonders contained within, some of the rarities, the interactive aspects, Slipknot's 25th anniversary and more.
Interview by Kris Peters On the eve of their Australian tour, Infectious Grooves pulled one final punch when they announced former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg into a band that already includes Mike Muir, Dean Pleasants (Suicidal Tendencies) and Rob Trujillo (Metallica). Not that Infectious Grooves rest their musical output on the pedigree of musicians from popular bands. They never have. But adding one more name to the list definitely doesn't hurt. HEAVY sat down for a chat with Weinberg who expressed his excitement about the upcoming tour with Infectious Grooves in Australia and the unique opportunity to work with his musical heroes. He discussed the challenges of balancing the mission of making rock music with the opportunity to take in the culture and life of Australia. Weinberg also discussed his experience and mindset in joining Infectious Grooves, highlighting the excitement and challenges of transitioning from his previous heavy and fast style with Slipknot to the funk and groove-oriented music of Infectious Grooves. Weinberg also provided a detailed account of his recovery from hip surgery, emphasizing his determination to return to normalcy. He discussed the injury sustained from years of running, the impact on his hip, and the decision to undergo surgery. Weinberg expressed gratitude for the support he received, including the encouragement from the Muir family.
Interview by Kris Peters Brisbane metal outfit Ancient Remains understand the ethos of more is better, consistently churning out new material in an attempt to engage with as many people as possible. Their most recent effort is the crushing four-track EP Burn It All, which came out on March 13. Ancient Remains draw influences from bands such as Metallica, Lamb of God, Pantera, Slipknot, Parkway drive, Megadeth, Turnstile, Linkin Park, Guns n Roses and Black Stone Cherry but do so in a way that ensures enough of their own DNA is sprinkled through the finished product so as to create a sound unmistakably their own. Vocalist Dan sat down with HEAVY late last week to tell us more about Burn It All. "We're very excited for it," he began, "because we did a single release for the title track then followed it up with Chill The Fuck Out, dedicated to our neighbours we pissed off for so long. Then we follow it up with the other two, and are in the works on other demos beyond that as well. We're not gonna stop there, and we intend to keep going in the future." In the full interview, Dan talks more about Burn It All and what they were going for overall with the EP, runs us through each track individually and the meaning behind it, the new material they are working on and what it sounds like, being featured on MMM Brisbane,upcoming shows and more
Interview by Kris Peters Photo credit Jeffrey Graham Photography Knotfest Australia 2024 is less than a week away, and despite boasting bands of the calibre of Lamb Of God, Disturbed, Halestorm, Skindred and more, the band on everyone’s lips is Pantera. After getting back together last year for some live shows - with Zakk Wylde filling guitarist duties and Charlie Benante on the drums – the new-look version of Pantera has come under fire from certain quarters, with others praising the band for bringing their music to a new generation. It is a debate that has merits on both sides, but at the end of the day it should be accepted for what it is. A celebration of a band and their history. HEAVY caught up with Zakk Wylde for one of Pantera’s few interviews before Knotfest. We discussed the line-up, nerves before the first show, and the personal significance of playing music written by Dimebag Darrell, as well as the possibility of new music, his involvement in the Ride for Dime event, and Zakk’s excitement for the upcoming Berzerkus festival plus his work with Black Label Society, the status of their upcoming album, and his creative process for writing new material. We also addressed criticism of the Pantera reunion and more. “We just got done wrapping up the last run of the headlining shows right around near Madison Square Garden, which was pretty amazing,” Wylde beamed. “It’s been a great time. I mean, every night, you know, celebrating Don, Vinny, and Philip, and Rex, and this amazing thing that they created that just brings everyone together. So it's a beautiful thing every night.” Listen to the full interview for more.
Interview by Kris Peters Let's face it, coming up with something fresh and unique when it comes to music and the music world is almost impossible these days. With more music at our disposal than ever before meaning a multitude of new bands and artists all clamouring to find their share of the market, it takes something truly special to give you that edge. And sometimes that edge is the difference between success and failure. Sydney punk rockers The Great Awake struck that elusive gold recently with their promotional idea for new single Shitty Midlife Crisis proving a master stroke. After unleashing their new album QUIT onto the public, vocalist/guitarist Matt O'Keefe and his bandmates had the idea of creating a completely new platform for their next single, one which would engage both their music and people's minds and sense of adventure. Thus, The Great Awake playable video game was born, crafted and put together by O'Keefe with a basic, yet effective premise of skating and avoiding obstacles - but of course, dripping with laconic wit and gnarly graphics to match the band's sense of humour. The two releases could easily survive as stand-alone entities, but when put together offer an outlet for youthful exuberance with a soundtrack that takes you back to the days of Tony Hawk. HEAVY caught up with O'Keefe to find out more. We discussed their new single Shitty Midlife Crisis and the accompanying playable video game, which was a year-long process for Matt to develop. He emphasized the importance of incorporating fun and nostalgia into their approach and injecting humor and lightheartedness into their interactions. We also discussed the positive reception of Quit and the band's efforts to improve their live shows, plus more.
Interview by Kris Peters Rising from the ashes of the grunge era, Melbourne rock outfit Cicadastone have spent just over ten years refining their sound amid a musical revolution that saw their style of music shunned from mainstream darlings to backseat troublemakers. Following their 2016 debut Chance Collide, Cicadastone found strength in the fact that although grunge-infused rock was generally on the outer, people started gravitating towards their version of it. With more than a passing nod to some of the heavyweights of that musical movement, Cicadastone quickly set about sprinkling their own DNA into the mix and by 2020's Cold Chamber their efforts in bringing together music from all corners of the rock spectrum were beginning to be noticed. For their third, and most decisive album to date, Cicadastone have signed with new label XMusic and are obviously enjoying the freedom to allow their natural creativity to dictate the sonic balance of their music. The result is Future Echoes - out May 31 -, an album that draws from both previous albums, but also shows Cicadastone's musical growth and diversity like never before. The band last week dropped lead single In The Crossfire, a meaty slab of rock goodness that offers a glimpse inside Future Echoes while only scratching at the surface. HEAVY sat down with vocalist Mat Robins to find out more, starting with In The Crossfire. "It's just one of these riffs that I had lying around for a long time and I couldn't do anything with it," he began. "And then one day it all happened in half an hour. I bashed the song together and jotted down the lyrics and found my focus. It all came together really fast, and we demoed the song, and it was the last song that we wrote for the record. But it's probably the most radio-friendly rock single we've got, so it worked out pretty good." We ask why the band chose In The Crossfire as the first single. "I just think it's the most obvious, forthright song," he shrugged. "It's got the pace - we're predominantly a band that doesn't push pace. We love our sludgy, slow riffs (laughs). The label were eager to push the faster songs, so it was an obvious choice." In the full interview, Mat talks more about In The Crossfire, Future Echoes as a whole, what they were going for musically with it, the press release claims that it is Cicadastone's biggest statement yet, how it is a new chapter in the band's history, signing to XMusic and what it means for the band moving forward, how Cicadastone have grown musically over the three albums, their upcoming Stay Gold gig with The Midnight Devils and more.
Interview by Kris Peters LA based alternative artist Lil Lotus recently unleashed his second album Nosebleeder via Epitaph Records, building on the promise shown on his debut effort ERRØR BØY. Nosebleeder sees Lotus collaborating across the sphere of alternative music, including Mod Sun, Sophie Powers, Alexis Munroe and kennedyxoxo. Determined not to be restricted by any one genre or subgenre, Lil Lotus has expressed a desire to work with as many different artists as possible, an aim which has led to him being invited by Ocean Sleeper to join them this April and May for their Lonely Love Australian Tour. HEAVY caught up with Lil Lotus earlier this month. "I've never been (to Australia)," he revealed excitedly, "so shout out to Ocean Sleeper and Deficit for having us out there. I think it will hit me when I'm on that 20-hour flight (laughs). I've always wanted to go to Australia. We've always talked about it. It's really weird, because Australia was always up there on my top places of people listening, and this opportunity came up, and it was like fuck yeah, let's do it." In the full interview, Lil Lotus expressed excitement and apprehension about his upcoming first tour of Australia, particularly regarding the wildlife. We discussed the comprehensive nature of the tour, covering various cities in Australia, sharing funny stories about Australian wildlife. Lotus discussed the evolution of his music, highlighting the shift towards a more band-heavy sound and the positive reception of his latest album, Nosebleed. He also reflected on his diverse musical career and emphasized the importance of experimenting with music while staying true to his artistic identity.
Interview by Kris Peters Halestorm took the world by storm towards the end of 2022 with the release of their fifth studio album, Back From The Dead. A rock album in every sense of the word, Back From The Dead drew a fresh generation of fans to Halestorm's side with its harder edge and attitude-stained delivery. That album saw Halestorm tour relentlessly, hitting Australia in early 2023 before dominating their home and surrounding countries. Such is their popularity Down Under that Halestorm have been invited back as part of Knotfest 2024, with guitarist Joe Hottinger joining HEAVY to talk about a massive last 18 months. We ask first if he is packed and ready to go, or if he is more of a last-minute type of traveller. "I'm usually a last-minute guy," he laughed, "but I have gotten 90% of my pack together. I have some things I'm struggling with. I've got the clothes all together, but I'm a photographer too, so it's like 'what camera do I bring'? I don't wanna bring another suitcase, so I'm trying to shove in as much shit as I can without overdoing it, and I'm struggling in that department right now (laughs). I don't know what lenses to bring… I'm struggling." Halestorm were here last just over 12 months ago, so we ask Joe what has changed with the band in that time. "Man, I feel like we're… I feel like we're a new band," he measured. "We did those shows last January and after that we went and did some US military base things and got home from that whole run of touring and kind of like, had a powwow. Like, what are we doing? We re-thought our whole purpose, like went through a playlist of the music we were listening to when the four of us first started playing together back in 2003, 2004. We were listening to that and looking at old set lists from back 20 years ago and asked why was it that people started coming out to our shows? Why did we get signed? Trying to get back into this headspace, and I think we did. We spent two or three months before the June European festival run - that was our next real tour - and we were working on new music, but we also spent the majority of the time restructuring our live set and our goals. I say this word way too much, but it really came down to moments. That's why we love what we do. That's why we love what we do. That's why we love music. You sit there and create these moments together, and it makes the crowd go 'woo'. That's the currency is the woo. We just kinda rewrote how we looked at some songs, kind of wove some together, and were trying to be more dynamic. We don't use computers or click tracks or anything, so it's just the four of us making noise up there, and what you hear is what you get. Mistakes and all." In the full interview Joe talks more about how Halestorm have worked on their live set, returning for Knotfest and what fans can expect, the Australian bands on the line-up, what sorts of things crowds can do to Halestorm put on the best show possible, his personal preference between festivals and headlining shows, their headline shows with Skindred, Back From The Dead and how it was received, how much of that album is still in the set list, changing things up live, new music and more.
Interview by Kris Peters In the modern age of short attention spans, it is refreshing to see some bands still operating by the tried and true laws of yesteryear when it comes to releasing music. With EP's and singles all the rage, Perth metal outfit All This Filth elected to take their time with their recently released album Tomorrow Will Be Better?, dropping the first single Still Bleeds My Heart in late 2022 and drip-feeding more tunes until the album saw the light of day on February 9 this year. To simply class All This Filth as metal would be short-changing them significantly. Drawing on everything from Groove Metal, Thrash, Hardcore, Death Metal, Industrial Metal and even hints of Sludge and Nu-Metal, the Perth outfit deftly wind them all together to produce a sound fresh, vibrant and heavy as Hell. Released on the band's new US label Brutal Records, Tomorrow Will Be Better? is a coming of age of sorts for All This Filth, cementing them amongst the next wave of Australian metal bands and opening up a plethora of new opportunities for the band. HEAVY caught up with vocalist Brendan Preston and bass/keyboardist Benny Bones to find out more, starting with the album's reception. "It's going well so far," Preston smiled. "We've had a lot of good feedback, like the reviews have been generally positive and all the fans I've spoken to and all the messages I've got from the band's social media have been good so far. All the media that we've been speaking to have seemed to enjoy the songs as well. I was on Andrew Haug on Monday night, and he was saying it's a definite step-up for us and that he was proud of us, which was really cool praise. So far, so good. The feedback has been unanimously good." We ask the boys to tell us more about the album musically. "Musically, we just really wanted to step it up from the last album, Misery Season," Preston began. "Sort of just expand the boundaries of what we were doing. We wanted to be more aggressive, more fast, more groovy, add more keys and synths - which is more Benny's department - and really just test ourselves and push ourselves and see what we could do musically." In the full interview, Brendan and Benny talk more about Tomorrow Will Be Better?, how it picks up thematically from last album Misery Season, how they pushed the boundaries, the overall message of the album, the new members and what they bring to the band's sound, signing with Brutal Records and what that opens up for the band, how their sound has grown over the course of their releases, finding the balance between so many genres and more.
Interview by Nev Pearce from the Everblack Podcast For over three decades the name Carcass has been synonymous with death metal. The band - who are credited for inventing gore/grind and creating the template for melodic death metal - have not ventured to this side of the world for a number of years but are about to make up for lost time when they hit Australia and New Zealand with The Black Dahlia Murder for a run of show this March. Nev Pearce from the Everblack Podcast caught up with guitarist Bill Steer to find out more.
Interview by Erin Eddy Finnish gothic rock legend Ville Valo is gearing up for an electrifying return to the Australian and New Zealand stages after a decade-long hiatus. With his debut solo album Neon Noir still reverberating through the music scene, Valo took some time to chat with HEAVY Mag about his latest ventures and the eagerly awaited tour. Valo delved into the creative process behind Neon Noir and how it feels to step into the spotlight as a solo artist. From the haunting melodies to the introspective lyrics, the album is a testament to Valo's musical evolution and his ability to captivate audiences with his distinctive style. Valo's upcoming tour marks his first visit to Australia in a decade, promising fans an unforgettable live experience. From Auckland to Brisbane, Valo will be enchanting audiences with a mix of solo tracks and beloved HIM classics, showcasing his unparalleled vocal range and magnetic stage presence. But before hitting the road, HEAVY Mag put Valo to the test, challenging him to decipher some Aussie slang. From "servo" to "esky", Valo's reactions were as entertaining as they were endearing, proving that even a Finnish rock god can appreciate the charm of Down Under. So, whether you're a die-hard fan or simply curious to witness Valo's magic first hand, be sure to grab your tickets now for what promises to be an unforgettable tour. Don't miss out on the chance to experience the dark allure of Ville Valo live in concert!
Interview by Kris Peters Making any kind of a splash in the ferociously brilliant wading pool that is Finnish metal is an arduous task, made even more so by the pedigree of bands gone before and the talent of those emerging. The metal scene has always been strong in that part of the world, and although there are a large number of Finnish bands recognised on the international scene (Amorphis, Lordi, Children Of Bodom, Sonata Arctica to name a few) there are also many more going about their daily lives living, breathing, and weaponising heavy metal. These musicians on the fringe of the market are all clambering for their time to shine, experimenting and practicing their music, often with little or no recognition. And here is where you will find the next breed of musicians, toiling away for the love of art and harnessing the determination and passion of those who came before them. One such talent is Tomi Perrakoski who has several different projects in development, mostly of his own volition, where he is master of his own domain. Preferring to create and record music within the confines of his own workspace, Perrakoski has recently released his new album Lord Of Chaos from solo project Magnadur. It is an album that caresses the lines between metal genres and musical mysticism, exploring sound textures and brutality in a sonic realm bound by no rules. HEAVY recently sat down with Perrakoski to find out more.
Interview by Kris Peters While many bands proclaim to be the real deal when it comes to punk rock, very few can say so definitively. Punk rock is/has and never will be a style of music that caters to the masses or measures itself on facts and figures. It is more music for the outcasts and disenfranchised who have little in common except for a united love of a brand of music that knows no boundaries. But mention The Damned to anyone with even a sniff of knowledge about punk, and you will invariably be met with the same respect and admiration for a band who truly started it all. They were officially the first ever punk band to release a single when they put out New Rose five weeks before the Sex Pistols released Anarchy In The U.K which led to them being the first British punk band to tour the United States. While undergoing several line-up changes in their 35-plus years as a band, there is one that stands out to many as The Damned's classic collection of musicians. Vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible, drummer Rat Scabies and bass player Paul Gray are the quartet widely regarded as the best unit, releasing the albums Machine Gun Etiquette, The Black Album and Strawberries while the group was together and now, for the first time since 1989, those four will share the stage together when The Damned hit Australia for the final time later this month. HEAVY managed to secure some rare time with Captain Sensible to run through the tour and career of The Damned, with him starting by revealing how he got his stage name. "I acquired that name because I was a rabid drunk, actually," he offered, "and not at all sensible. So I got the name thrust upon me and have not been able to shake it off since. I'm getting old these days, so the drinking's taken a back seat, but I've still got the stupid name (laughs). The good news is over 40 years I've learned to play the guitar and the band is sounding quite good at the moment. If you like what The Damned do, we're doing a fair representation of those records that we made back in the 70s and 80s." "It's a great name, The Damned," he continued. "I think the Sex Pistols originally wanted it, but we got it first." We ask if it was hard getting the gang back together so to speak for this tour. "No, coz Rat and Paul have been working together on a project with some Americans and me and Dave have been doing The Damned all this time," he replied. "There was a bit of bad blood, that was the only thing that could have got in the way, really. I mean, it was so long ago, I can't remember what we used to argue about (laughs). But it was all sorts of shenanigans, including fisticuffs, attacking each other with empty whisky bottles and stuff like that. As you do in punk rock bands, but we buried the hatchet, and we're getting on okay now. It's interesting to see what they've been doing all these years." In the full interview, Captain Sensible talks more about the tour and what to expect, why he thinks this line-up can be considered as classic, what he expects from his crowds live, demanding the Hard-Ons support the tour, his memories of recording them, the early days of The Damned and the musical climate that gave birth to them, beating the Sex Pistols to releasing the first ever punk single, Sid Vicious wanting to join The Damned as vocalist, the relationship between punk bands in the early days, how competitive the scene was, the age-old belief that punk is all about the attitude rather than the music, how punk music has changed over the years, The Damned's contribution to punk, his top three commandments of punk and more.
Interview by Kris Peters Fifty years of servitude in any industry is a great achievement, but fifty years in the music industry is something special. In an industry that rewards only when you have something of value to offer, bands are churned through the machine at a rapid rate of knots. Yesterday's heroes can quickly become tomorrow's nobodies with everything from changing fashions to styles to bad press being an avenue for failure. Australian rockers Radio Birdman are one of the few bands to not only survive half a century in the music industry but somewhat thrive as well. Radio Birdman were one of the first Australian bands to harness the punk rock attitude that swept through Britain, doing things their way no matter the consequences. They are one of those bands that as soon as you listen to their music you get the "ah, that's who sung it" feels, with an infectious and flippant brand of music showcasing all the hallmarks and foundations of great Aussie rock. To celebrate the occasion, Radio Birdman will hit the road for the Birdman 5-0 Tour, starting June 21, with fellow Australian icons Hard-Ons along for the ride. HEAVY caught up with founding member and guitarist Deniz Tek to take a trip down memory lane. We start by asking if Australia is ready for the finale. "The venues that we're playing are essentially the same venues we played on the last tour," he began, "and the last couple of tours. The last time we went around Australia was just before the pandemic in 2019, and it's basically the same venues. We prefer to play two to three shows in a smaller club rather than one big show at the Enmore or the Palace or something like that. It's better for us to play in smaller places." It's a bittersweet tour, celebrating 50 years of the band, but also serving as a swansong, so we ask Deniz how long the band has known they would be ticking both things off at the same time. "Just since November," he replied. "We hadn't really talked about it until then, but I was back in Australia for my daughters wedding and the band got together socially, and we talked it over and thought it might be a good idea." In the full interview we take a moment to reflect on what a great achievement 50 years is, the success of presale tickets, limiting the shows and why, what fans can expect, what the band expects from their crowds, the emotion that will surround the last ever show at the Manning Bar in Sydney on July 7, having Hard-Ons as support, Radio Birdman's legendary outsider status and how well it fits, being the underdog, what he has achieved personally and musically over his career, what's left for him to achieve, the band logo and some insights into its origin, his top three commandments of rock and more.
Interview by Kris Peters As much as music and finding success in the industry is largely about talent, the occasional bit of good fortune or right place right time ethos certainly helps. Melbourne synthwave outfit Dark Water discovered this last week when they were announced as national support for Ville Valo on his upcoming Australian shows. The call-up came as a shock to the band, who just two years ago were questioning whether or not they still had the fortitude to pursue a career in music. Blending mournful synth-pop with sweeping atmospherics and gothic undertones, Dark Water are the perfect choice to supplement the great Ville Valo, with Seb joining HEAVY recently to share his excitement. We start by asking if it has sunk in yet? "It definitely does not feel real," he smiled. "I feel like it won't feel real until we've left Melbourne. Because we've never actually played outside of Melbourne. It's a massive deal, we're stoked. It feels like it just came out of the blue, and we're very happy about it." We ask if he is a bona fide fan of Ville Valo or if he will be discovering more about him on the tour. "I was a fan of HIM, and I did not know that he started a solo project," Seb began, "so that was the first news to me which was sick. That was an exciting bit of information." In the full interview, Seb talks more about getting the call-up to play the shows, how it feels to be personally selected by Valo himself, what to expect from Dark Water, what this opportunity means to them as a band, a history on the band, their upcoming debut album and more.
Interview by Kris Peters 25 years ago, an album by an Australian punk outfit started making ripples in the music scene that quickly turned into rips in the very fabric of music. It typified the Australian laconic sense of humour and general apathy towards anything even remotely resembling authority, and would go on to become a landmark in Australian music history. It didn't help that the title was so ambiguously brilliant that potential images of the outcome are still being broadcast today. That album was Hot Dog Daiquiri and the band The Porkers, who were about to embark on a rollercoaster of musical extremes and extravagances that is currently being celebrated as The Porkers take to the road to celebrate a quarter of a century of what could possibly be one of the worst tasting cocktails ever. HEAVY sat down with vocalist Pete Cooper to find out how the shows have been going. "We've been around for a while," he said, letting the cat out of the bag. "We're currently on tour with the Hot Dog Daiquiri 25th Anniversary Tour - which is our album we released in 1998 - which is actually 26 years ago. We've already done Queensland and this weekend we're heading to Victoria, then we have Sydney and all sorts of places after that." With the tour already part way through we ask Cooper how they have been going so far. "Pretty crazy," he smiled. "You can probably tell from my voice, but last weekend's shows were pretty hectic. I've come home with a good dose of the flu and a sore throat, then tomorrow we're off to Melbourne." In the full interview, Pete talks more about the shows, the difficulties posed by touring as you get older, how the 25-year-old songs have been going down and if they have stood the test of time, his best memories of making the album, which Porkers album is his personal favourite, their blending of punk, reggae and funk and how it was received in the early days, future plans and more.
Interview by Kris Peters After taking a couple of years to fully find their feet again after a prolonged absence, Aussie funk/rock/metal dance machine Mammal are finally ready to unleash their second full-length album on the world with the release of The Penny Drop on March 6. After disbanding in the same year their debut album The Majority shocked our airwaves in 2008, the members of Mammal all ventured in differing musical directions in an attempt to fill the void but despite the quality of their work individually the chemistry and creativity that the members enjoyed as Mammal remained elusive. After announcing a much-anticipated reunion in 2017, Mammal haphazardly released the singles Community, Crime Scene, Dead and The War, almost teasing their fans with the hint of a greater body of work but making them wait until the smoldering beast had fully regained its hunger. That hunger was displayed for the world to see with last year's single Keanu Reeves, very much a song cast from the Mammal mold but with a heavier underbelly than what some may have expected. The album title became the second track released, offering a small glimpse into the overall sonic picture that while still quintessentially Mammal also offers up a myriad of welcome surprises. HEAVY sat down with frontman Ezekiel Ox earlier this week to find out more. "It was a huge process for us, getting it together," Ox explained, talking about the new album, "because we had a transition of bass players which led to this record. Since Mammal's been back since 2017 we've put out Community, Virtue Signalling and Dead which were all with Nick Adams, our former bass player, and then we put out Crime Scene and The War and this album is our first long-player. We're a rock band and a metal band, so it's not like we needed to put out an album. Apparently, now you're supposed to just do singles, but we feel like we wanted to make a statement, and I don't think there's any doubt we have. Full credit - speaking in footy parlay - full credit to the boys and full credit to the producer Jimi Maroudas, full credit to Tyson Fish and also to Forrester Saville who mixed and mastered this record. You're only as good as your team, and we have the absolute bomb on this record so it sounds the way it should, everyone's performance is great, and we felt like we had a chance to stretch our legs on this. We're pumped for the release on March 6." We ask if musically, The Penny Drop is what fans would expect. "I think so," Ox offered. "I don't think it's a massive departure. The main thing - whether people notice it or not - is Nick used to always write the first riff. So when we started writing for this album, we didn't really know where to start. For those that don't know, Pete, our guitar player, is a farmer and operates this huge acreage up in North West Victoria, and he went from a point of view where he started writing a riff a day for 30 days and just rinsed everything he could. And that was new for us. As opposed to starting with the groove, we started with the riff - which obviously leads to the groove - and then Zane went through the process of putting those together into songs, and then I went through a process of freestyling over two days. I just went down to Melbourne and got drunk and had a bit of fun with the boys, and they'd throw ideas at me, and we came up with… I think we ended up freestyling for about 20 of them and 17 of them ended up getting written and then five of them got dropped, and you end up with the 12 songs that you have on The Penny Drop. Different process for us, but it's a weird thing, Kris. I think it's a negative thing to do to monitor yourself when you're working. You just want to be working with each member as a whole and as an individual. You wanna be really conscious of doing your job, not self-monitoring too much and letting the producer and letting the engineers focus on what the whole thing is. That's a really important thing to do, and I think we all did that really well. I know that Kade came in last, which we thought was fair. We didn't want Kade having to do too much development because we thought that would be unfair for a new member, but I think on the next album we're gonna want Kade to be a lot more involved because he's not a new guy anymore. He's been here for over two years now, and he's played shows with us, and he's such an instrumental part of this record. I can't wait for everyone to hear what he's doing." In the full interview Ezekiel talks more about the freestyling lyrical process, why The Penny Drops is not for kids, how it differs to debut album The Majority, the collaboration with Fresh Violet, Mammal's live show and maintaining the intensity, writing for the album, future plans and more.
Interview by Kris Peters After laying a solid platform last year with their debut EP Vol 1: Superdead metal outfit Suffer The Evenue have spent the last 12 months planning and refining the follow-up to best showcase their musical prowess. By harvesting the essence from their first release, Suffer The Evenue felt more comfortable following their creative instincts on this one, which in turn allowed the band greater flexibility to integrate more sounds and influences into their work. The South Australian groove metal/hardcore hybrid are premiering their latest track A New Empire through HEAVY this Friday, March 1 at 5pm AEST, with everything mentioned above and more packed into the track which envelops more grove and touches of funk over a foreboding and heavy as fuck metal underbelly. A New Empire is the lead single taken from Suffer The Evenue's new EP Vol 2: Superdeader which will be unleashed on April 12. HEAVY caught up once more with vocalist Nick and guitarist Dom to talk about the single and EP. We start by asking how they are feeling after approaching the new EP release with the wisdom gained from the first offering. "I feel like our approach has been different," Dom began. "We learned a lot from the first run and now the second one I think the songs have definitely taken a step-up. Our writing has definitely taken a step-up, and we're definitely coming together more as a group. It's not just… like all of us were showing our skills in the first one, but this one's more of a controlled group effort, which has been a good way to write." We press the boys on the musical direction of A New Empire and what they were going for with it. "Probably a bit of a journey," Dom measured. "There's influences not just in music, but outside of the music as well. It's got a bit of a horror theme vibe to it and I think when the film clip drops it will all make a bit of sense. It's definitely very influenced by a lot of different genres outside of our music, but I enjoyed the journey of the whole song. It starts somewhere and has the start, middle, and end." "When we were thrashing this one out for the first time and piecing it together, I was a spectator to start off with," Nick added. "As a spectator I noticed the other guys were all on the same page when working on a song from point A we got to a certain point in the song and everyone said nah, we have to change this song now, and we're gonna do something particular. They were all on the same page straight away and it was awesome. What they came up with was just… it hit right, felt right, and it was smooth." In the full interview, Dom and Nick talk about some of the more experimental aspects of A New Empire, why it was chosen as the lead single, the similarity between the two EPs, how they differ from each other musically, run through each of the four tracks on Vol 2: Superdeader, explain the thought process of each song, plans for the rest of 2024 and more.
Interview by Kris Peters It’s been almost 20 years since Bruce Dickinson released his last solo album Tyranny Of Souls back in 2005, but the wait is almost over with the release of The Mandrake Project on March 1. Much has happened with Dickinson both professionally and personally between albums, and he pours the bulk of it out on this, his seventh solo album, which is once again completed with the assistance of Dickinson’s long-time collaborator Roy Z. Dickinson is no stranger to releasing albums between his solo project and Iron Maiden, but we pose the question if he still gets nervous in the weeks before an album drop. "Nervous… I wasn't so much nervous about this one,” he measured. “I was just really excited and frustrated. The whole thing is we spent seven years making this record because of COVID and all that rubbish and various other things. I got sick for a year with throat cancer, but basically after seven years we got together and made the record, and it's been ready for release for about a year now. So people who have heard it are freaking out about it saying isn't it amazing, wow, this is the best thing you've ever done, and I'm like 'I JUST WANT IT TO BE RELEASED’." The Mandrake Project is an album seven years in the making, giving Dickinson time to pour more of his heart and soul into the musical aspect of the recording than usual. As a result, the album is more than just another hard rock release from the solo project of a famous frontman. It is more of a musical journey that transcends time, space and expectation that eventually comes back to the true essence of what got Dickinson interested in music in the first place. “Well, obviously, back in the day looking at stuff I dealt with Roy Z,” he recalled, “who’s my partner in the record and the producer. He co-wrote probably two-thirds of the songs with me, the rest of them are all mine. We did two really good records, Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding, which in the back end of the 90s people thought was a very influential record. And then we did Tyranny Of Souls then back in Maiden, so this was like unfinished business. There's definitely another album here that we could do. Continue the line as it were, because we started to diversify a bit on the journey. Chemical was fantastically heavy, and we wanted to kind of go beyond both of those albums so have more diversity on this record but also make it… when it was heavy, it was really heavy (laughs). Things we couldn't do, for example, in the context of Iron Maiden. Because Maiden’s got its own style, and we've got gazillions of songwriters in Maiden, so this is very much stuff where you say… some of this you would never hear on a Maiden record. So that was the basic idea with the album. I do need to mention that it looks like a concept album, but it's not. There is a 12-episode comic that goes with… as a companion to the album, but it's an independent, free-standing entity also called The Mandrake Project and the first issue was released on January 15. The Mandrake Project is going to go on for the best part of three years, so every three months we'll do a new episode of a 34 page comic. End of this year will be four issues, or the first book if you like, and that will come out at the end of the year as a full, complete issue, and then we'll crack on.” “That and the album combined look like a concept,” he continued. “From a presentation perspective they are, but from an artistic perspective, they're separate. They're like two free-standing trees next door to each other. You can't see the connection, but it's there because the roots talk to each other. But that's in fact what they are. If you listen to the album, but you never bother to have a look at the comic, that's just fine. And vice versa. But if you dip in and out of both, it's a lot more fun." Looking through the album track listing, there’s no song actually called The Mandrake Project to be seen, so we ask Dickinson what greater significance the title has. "That's quite an interesting point,” he smiled. “There's no title track per se. The original title of the album was going to be If Eternity Should Fail, which is actually pulled from a Doctor Strange episode of the comic. That song got pulled off and put on the Maiden Book Of Souls album, so I was cool with that. I thought I will repossess the song when we get around to doing the album - which of course we didn't for years because of all the circumstances. But when I finally came around to record that song I actually changed the title to Eternity Has Failed because I tweaked some of the lyrics and some of the story in the comic - there's our little two trees connected by the roots again - and I thought I need a title that sums up both the record and the comic and ties it all together. And this is where the two things really start getting linked. I've had two pages of scribbling absolute garbage, silly names, I won't tell you some of them because they're embarrassing (laughs) and I just kept churning at it saying "no, no, almost, no, oh my God get down the pub and forget about it" and then finally - I don't know why - the word Mandrake popped in my head and I had a good search of who else used anything Mandrake. I like Mandrake. I like The Mandrake Project because it sounds like some secret government clandestine thing. It sounds mysterious and you think what is that? That's a great intro to a world. And that worked for the comic as well, because The Mandrake Project is the name of this scientific organisation that is clandestine, which has developed technology to effectively bottle the human soul at the point of death and store it and then re-introduce it into something else. I invented these two characters, Dr. Necropolis and Professor Lazarus and a very basic story. By the time seven years had gone by, and I'd been locked up for three years (laughs) in a little apartment with my girlfriend binge watching Netflix, the story had moved on and I'd actually done a bit of work on it and taken a bit of advice from friends of mine who are Hollywood screenwriters. I ran the story past Kurt Sutter, who wrote Sons Of Anarchy. We had a zoom call together, and I ran the development of the story, and he was the one who said that would make a great comic. I said what do I do, do I write a script and send it to Netflix, and he said no, it will go in the bin but do a comic. So it ended up at four episodes in one book, so I wrote a couple of episodes and thought no way is this four episodes. Eight episodes then, and in no time at all it was no, this is twelve episodes and that felt just right. I rang the comic company and they were great. I expected them to show me the door, but they loved the story. They loved the idea. It's not a superhero comic by any stretch. It's much darker." The Mandrake Project has become a deeply personal album for Dickinson, with the vocalist admitting tapping into his fears, problems and truths brought out the absolute best in him. "I mean, all albums should be personal experiences,” he shrugged. “In my opinion, the best albums are, usually. This album wasn’t like therapy for me, but it kind of is in there's a big sweep of emotion on the record. In particular, the last three songs really go to some very moving but in some ways tragic places. And I couldn't have done that 20 years ago. There's a lot of mumblings about life and death, quite a lot of death on the record, and that's because I got a little bit closer to it than I really wanted to when I had throat cancer. I imagined I did anyway. You confront the possibility you might not be here in a couple of years, and you think well… how does that make me feel (laughs). Years ago when people asked me if the experience changed the way I thought about life I went ‘no, no, no, nah. No. It was just a bad cold’. But looking back nine years ago when I got diagnosed… looking back I realised actually yeah, it has changed the way I look at life. My perspective is unbelievably precious. Everybody should hang onto it and squeeze the last bits of life out of life. Right until your croaking breath because this may well be the only one you've got, and The Mandrake Project kind of addresses that. It's like, is there a God? And if there is, what kind of God is he? Is he a poet? Maybe it's just the force, Luke? Or maybe he does nothing at all. There's a few things along with that. There's a lot of underworld references, there's a lot of… not too much sci-fi on the record.” Before finishing up, we feel obliged to ask Dickinson what we can expect from the Iron Maiden tour of Australia later this year. "Death, destruction and skull doggery mate,” he promised. “It's gonna be amazing. I do 40 shows solo starting in April until 21st July, then I go lie down in a darkened room for two or three weeks and I wake up in Australia, and we start rehearsals in Perth. I'm really looking forward to it, we all are. We love Australia as a place, as a country, as the people who live there. We’re gonna have a blast. The only thing that would be almost as good as touring there with Maiden would be bringing this project down to Oz at some point. Obviously we're not gonna be doing 10,000 seaters,
Interview by Kris Peters Greek metal masters of mayhem Suicidal Angels tomorrow release their eighth studio album Profane Prayer, reaffirming their growing stature as one of the leaders of the next phase of metal evolution. Since forming Suicidal Angels at just 16 years of age back in 2001, Nick Melissourgos (vocals, guitars) has overseen a changing of the guard of sorts, kicking things off with the band's debut album Eternal Domination which set the musical landscape ablaze. After being invited by Sakis Tolis of ROTTING CHRIST to do their first European tour soon after, Suicidal Angels quickly found their stride and set about laying a decimating sonic landscape in their wake, forcing people to sit up and take notice. Landing the support slot with KREATOR set about a fresh chain of events that saw Melissourgos strike up an enduring friendship with Mille Petrozza, and since then Suicidal Angels have made every post a winner. Four years in the making, Profane Prayer is already being lauded by fans and critics alike, with HEAVY spending some time with Melissourgos earlier this week to document the rise and rise of his band. "We're a thrash metal band from Athens, Greece," he declared proudly before we begin talking about the album. "We are about to release our eighth studio album and in a couple of days we hit the road for the first European tour for this album. Afterwards we go to the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. The whole booking process for the concerts is taking place, so we hope we can get to other markets as well. We had some plans for 2020 to come to Australia, but due to the COVID situation we couldn't make it." We ask Nick how the nerves are kicking in just days out from release. "A bit, to be honest," he admitted. "Before this pandemic stopped the whole planet… it actually hit us quite hard because we had just released our previous album Years Of Aggression on August 2019, and we were about to do a huge, extensive tour. As I said before, we were even planning on going to Australia and the USA and Canada markets, places we hadn't been before. Two and a half years we were off the road, and then we tried to do some small tours mostly here and in America to promote the Years Of Aggression album and gradually and slowly came back to the reality of the after COVID situation. It took longer than usual to release a new album, but it was because of the situation, and now we're quite anxious and nervous but also excited with this release. We really hope to get back on the road and the life we used to have." In the full interview, we ask Nick to go deeper into the musical side of Profane Prayer, how much they experimented with their sound on the album, how it differs to previous releases, how much growth Suicidal Angels have left in them, the early days of the band and how serious he was about it, what things he has learned about life and music over the journey, upcoming shows and more.
Interview by Kris Peters Manchester death metal outfit Ingested are the gift that keeps on giving. Since their 2020 album Where Only God May Tread, the three-piece masters of metal have released roughly one album per year, culminating in The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams which will be unleashed via Metal Blade Records on April 5. Following the bleak firestorm that was Ashes Lie Still, Ingested have produced a more upbeat body of work that more reflects where the band are at personally in their lives. Never afraid to experiment within and beyond their genre, Ingested thread a myriad of subtleties through each new release, allowing themselves to explore different sonic plains while still remaining true to their core. It is an approach that has seen the band rise rapidly through the ranks and should see them ascend even further with The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams. The band produced the album themselves with the guidance of recording engineer Nico Beninato, further expanding their musical horizons, with guest appearances from Chimaira's Mark Hunter and Sylosis' Josh Middleton enhancing the finished product. Vocalist Jason Evans joined HEAVY to tell us more. "We've been sitting on this album for well over a year now," he began. "We released our last album Ashes Lie Still in November 2022 and then four weeks after that album was released, in December 2022, we went into the studio and recorded The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams, so we've had this album done and dusted for well over a year. The way that we like to work is we like to work ahead, because we're always writing. So when an album's done, it's done. Let's just get in there, get in the studio, get it recorded, then what we're doing then is we're giving ourselves time to really prepare for the announcement and release of the album. So we've had a year to make sure the artwork looks amazing, make sure the music videos are all looking great, so that's how we like to work. We'd rather give ourselves the time to make sure everything's exactly how we want it to be for the presentation of the album so when it does get announced and people know that it's coming, everything is ready. We don't like rushing around. We like it done. I'm excited to finally announce to everyone that it exists and that it's coming out. We don't have to wait that long, but in the meantime we've just released the first single, Paragon Of Purity, with a music video. That's doing really well. All our fans seem to love it, and then we've got more. We've got more coming out in the run-up to the album's release and probably beyond the release as well. We've got loads of stuff coming. We've just announced a headline tour through the UK and Europe, which runs through April and May. We're taking out Fallujah and Vulvodynia, so I'm excited. It's gonna be yet another busy year for us." In the full interview, Jason talks more about The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams and what to expect, what Ingested were going for musically, what things the band experimented with, the two guest artists on the album and what they each brought to their song, the process of producing and the benefits to the band of knowing how, their release process and how the band harnesses its creativity, fans reactions to such frequent releases, how much musical growth Ingested have in them and more. HEAVY would like to thank our sponsor RODE. Intro music and end song 'Paragon Of Purity' by Ingested.
Interview by Kris Peters Pioneers of Electronic Industrial Music, The Crystal Method, return to Australia from March 1 via Auckland on February 29 for a string of showstopping performances. Despite only 14 months elapsing since their last trip out here, such has been the demand for The Crystal Method to bring their music back that these new shows are all close to selling out. Recognised as a pioneering force in the Big Beat genre and Electronica movement alongside The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and The Prodigy, The Crystal Method have played a large part in bringing their brand of music out of the warehouses and into the mainstream. Main man Scott Kirkland has worked with a lot of big names across genres, whether it be collaborating or producing, most notably releasing a reworked ‘(Can't You) Trip Like I Do’, with Filter on the soundtrack to the film adaptation of Spawn in 1997. Their album Tweekend featured guests including Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland, allowing for a metal crossover both sonically and from experience. Promising a night of “nostalgia, rave, and pure ecstasy”, The Crystal Method performs two hours plus every night and to tell us more HEAVY welcomed Kirkland for a chat late last week. We ask what has changed with the show since their last visit in December 2022. "I definitely have added a bunch of new tracks," he replied. "We're visiting some classic stuff that I didn't play the first time around, some new mixes. I don't do the same set twice in a row. I like to change things up a bit, even from night to night. I'm aware of what I was playing back then and definitely wanna mix it up a bit and just bring the energy and bring the fun and take care of the people who show up." We mention the short amount of time between tours and the fact fans in Australia must love The Crystal Method. "I was delighted to receive the offer to come back," he smiled. "I definitely had a good time when I was down there. It had been way too long. Obviously the delay from COVID… I was meant to come out in June or July of 2020 and things got shifted around, so I think there was a lot of anticipation for my return. Thankfully the shows came off well and the tour was great, and I'm really excited to be able to come back." In the full interview, Scott talks about Australian audiences and how they are different to other places in the world, what countries have the toughest crowds, how he reacts when crowds don't seem to be getting into it, appealing to heavy metal music fans, blending metal and electronic dance music and how easy/hard that is, what first attracted him to this style of music, how he transformed that love into The Crystal Method, how he would describe what he does to people who don't follow the band, future plans and more. Big thanks to our sponsore RODE. Intro music "Brown Snake" by Dreamkillers, premiered in HEAVY on March 14.
