HEAVY Music Interviews

Brisbane has a fiercely proud history of producing world-class rock performers, with the production line rolling out yet another slab of excellence to continue the momentum. The newest addition is Runt, a powerhouse four-piece alternative rock and grunge outfit that refuses to play by the rules. Describing their massive sound as having an "underdog chip on its shoulder," this hungry local lineup s...

Australian progressive metal fans, it is finally time to stop pinching yourselves because the wait is officially over. Sweden’s undisputed kings of cognitive, emotionally driven heavy music, SOEN, are finally hitting our shores this October. For a band that has spent the last decade and a half redefining the very boundaries of modern prog with their intoxicating blend of crushing riffs, soaring me...

Brisbane is about to get hit by an absolute wall of sonic destruction. The third annual Necrosonic Festival is locking and loading for its most brutal ritual yet, taking over the legendary Mansfield Tavern on Saturday, August 22, 2026. We are talking 12-plus hours of pure, unadulterated musical chaos spread across three massive stages. While the international heavyweights in Rivers of Nihil and lo...

Five Finger Death Punch are back with absolute chaos on their tenth studio album, Legacy. Formed in Las Vegas, the multi-platinum metal titans are marking their 20th anniversary by delivering an aggressive masterclass in modern hard rock. If you thought 2022's AfterLife pushed their boundaries, this new record proves that 5FDP are actively evolving without losing their signature, in-your-face snar...

If you like your heavy music served with a side of absolute, unadulterated chaos, then grab a cold beer and brace yourself. Gold Coast alternative metal titans Sunk Loto are officially heading back out on the road this August for their highly anticipated Dead Shadows Tour. Trust me when I say this is shaping up to be one of the absolute heaviest and most intense runs of the year. For those who nee...

Interview by Ali Williams PARADISE LOST have spent close to four decades making misery sound magnificent. While countless bands have shuffled through genres, line-ups and ill-advised creative awakenings, the UK veterans have built an entire legacy from heaviness, melancholy and the endless human capacity to stare into the void and find a decent guitar melody lurking inside it.  After almost a deca...

Brisbane’s Mansfield Tavern is locking its doors and bracing for total structural failure. The third annual Necrosonic Festival is descending on Saturday, August 22, 2026, delivering 12-plus hours of unrelenting extremity across three stages. While international powerhouses Rivers of Nihil and homegrown technical death metal legends Psycroptic are set to co-headline, the middle tier of this massiv...

If you call yourself a fan of heavy music and your pulse isn't already racing, you need to check your vitals right now. The absolute masters of Floridian metalcore, Wage War, are officially gearing up to bring their massive, unrelenting It Calls Me By Name world tour down under. This isn't just another casual standard run across the ocean, folks; this is a full-blown, sonic assault that is set to...

Interview by Kris Peters If you like your heavy music served with a side of absolute, unadulterated chaos, then grab a cold beer and brace yourself, because Swiss deathcore juggernauts Paleface Swiss are heading back Down Under. After completely decimating venues across the country on their sold-out 2025 run, the Zurich four-piece have just announced a massive seven-date Australian headline tour f...

Interview by Kris Peters When American metal titans Motionless In White announce a new record, the heavy music community stands up and takes notice.  Celebrating two decades of sonic devastation, Chris Motionless and his gothic-metalcore troupe are poised to unleash their highly anticipated seventh studio album, Decades, on July 17. It is a monstrous, career-defining release that effortlessly hono...

The Meanies are absolute legends of Australian punk rock, and they are tearing through 2026 like a runaway train. Formed in Melbourne back in 1988, these sonic maniacs have spent nearly four decades delivering chaotic, high-energy pop-punk packed with hooks and bruises. Fronted by the indestructible Link Meanie, they are a band that leaves everything on the stage - literally - known for chaotic li...

Sydney six-string maestro Plini has just unleashed his monumental third studio album, An Unnameable Desire, and it is a certified masterpiece. For a musician who already operates in the absolute stratosphere of technical guitar playing, this new record pushes his sonic boundaries into completely uncharted territory. It is heavier, prettier, more complex, and utterly brilliant. If you thought his p...

Interview by Ali Williams There are few bands in Australia who can announce they are taking a string quartet on tour and not have the nation immediately clutching its pearls in fear of acoustic violations. You Am I, thankfully, are not most bands.  When HEAVY’s Ali Williams caught up with bassist Andy Kent, the news was as unexpected as it was oddly perfect: You Am I are heading into theatre terri...

Interview by Angela Croudace German power metal veterans StormHammer are embracing a heavier, more aggressive direction on their upcoming album Wrath of the Hammer, due for release on July 17, while still staying true to their melodic foundations. Bassist Horst Tessmann revealed the album marks a deliberate shift back towards the sound of Welcome to the End after the more melodic approach of Seven...

Let’s be honest: when you talk about Aussie heavy music, you cannot look past the absolute legends in Psycroptic. For over twenty-five years, these boys from Hobart have been wave-makers. They show the rest of the world that Australia doesn’t just do metal; we master it. Led by the unstoppable Haley brothers - Dave laying down machine-gun drum beats and Joe ripping absolute shred-fests on guitar -...

Interview by Ali Williams SCREAMFEEDER, the beloved Brisbane Indie Rock Trio, formed back in 1991, and in 2026 have proven to be one of this country's influential groups in the industry. They’re best known for turning down major-label offers throughout the 90’s as a way of maintaining their independence and ultimately having control over where and how their music was created and displayed. Their d...

Detroit rock quintet Eva Under Fire are about to unleash their most ambitious, vulnerable, and absolutely crushing record to date with Villainous, dropping on July 10, 2026, via Better Noise Music. If you thought their 2022 debut Love, Drugs & Misery pushed boundaries, then strap yourselves in, because this new 13-track monster completely redraws the map. It is a gritty, cinematic concept albu...

Australia, get ready to have your faces completely melted because some spectacular savagery is heading down under this winter. Floridian metalcore titans Wage War are returning to our shores for their first-ever nationwide headline tour, and if you think they’re coming alone to play nice, you are dead wrong. They are bringing one of the most vicious live acts on the planet today to help them tear...

Interview by Ali Williams Most legacy bands eventually announce one final album before quietly discovering that "farewell" is a surprisingly flexible word. MAT SINNER never bothered with any of that. He simply got busy. For decades, the German bassist, songwriter and producer has been balancing more projects than most people have unread emails, with PRIMAL FEAR naturally becoming the priority. SIN...

Lock up your eldest, dust off your leather, and brace your ear canals, because a metal storm of apocalyptic proportions is officially tracking straight for Australian shores!  HEAVY is absolutely stoked to bring you a rare, face-to-face breakdown with two of the most uncompromising, venomous, and legendary frontmen to ever grace a festival stage: Dani Filth of black metal royalty Cradle of Filth a...

Melbourne's powerhouse hard rock trio XCalibre are gear-jamming their way back into the spotlight, less than half a year since they delivered their crushing debut album X. Born from the chaos of lockdowns, frontman Dan Marazita, guitarist Vinny Mancuso, and drummer Shane Evans have evolved from regular music warriors into a stadium-levelling force. They have spent years refining a massive sound th...

If there is one thing you can always count on in this crazy, beautiful thing we call the rock and roll landscape, it’s that Dallas Frasca does not do things by halves. She doesn’t just play music; she lives it, breathes it, and commands it like a genuine force of nature. Coming off the back of heavy touring, massive arena supports with legends like ZZ Top, and a highly successful Green Electric To...

The meteoric rise of New Jersey deathcore titans Lorna Shore stands as one of the most remarkable modern success stories in heavy music. At the centre of this sonic storm is lead guitarist and primary songwriter Adam De Micco. Since co-founding the band in 2009, De Micco has steered the group through seismic lineup changes, genre-defining stylistic evolutions, and the viral explosion that followed...

Interview by Kris Peters Bodyjar is bringing the machine back in for its 25-year scheduled service this July and August 2026, proving that classic Aussie punk rock never goes out of style. Celebrating a quarter-century of their iconic, gold-selling fourth album How It Works, the Melbourne legends are hitting the highway for the massive How It Still Works national tour. Let’s be honest: when an alb...

Get ready to have your absolute minds melted, Australia. The legendary Maynard James Keenan is pulling a massive double shift this December, bringing his electro-rock side-project Puscifer down under to open for none other than his own alternative rock heavyweights, A Perfect Circle. Talk about an absolute masterclass in sonic insanity! If you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know it’s been more...