HEAVY Music Interviews

If there is one undeniable truth in the brutal, beautiful world of heavy music, it is that complacency is a killer. The moment a band thinks they have the game entirely figured out is precisely when the universe steps in to deliver a ferocious reality check. Nobody understands this balancing act of chaos and raw artistic instinct quite like Melbourne hard-rock outfit Ion Sky. Just when they were p...

Alright, music lovers, strap yourselves in and clear some space on the floor because you’re going to need it! When it comes to the Australian heavy music scene, Brisbane has a legendary reputation for breeding some of the most fiercely uncompromising, sonically massive, and downright dangerous rock bands on the planet. But even in a city bursting at the seams with top-tier talent, few outfits have...

Every now and then, a band bursts out of the local circuit with the kind of sonic swagger that leaves your ears ringing and your jaw firmly pinned to the floor. If you haven’t crossed paths with Sydney ’s own theatrical rock powerhouse NECKO yet, you’re about to get a rude, blues-drenched awakening. Dubbed by some as the next torchbearers of massive arena rock, this formidable three-piece—featurin...

Every now and then, a band comes along that leaves a massive, unforgettable dent in the heavy music landscape right out of the gate. If you have been paying attention to the underground metal circuit lately, you already know that Stockholm’s very own heavy metal prodigies, Bloodstain, are exactly that band. Ever since they burst onto the scene and dropped their absolutely savage 2024 debut EP, I A...

Every now and then, a release comes across my desk that doesn't just demand a loud, unapologetic spin—it violently grabs you by the throat and forces you to confront the world outside your window. If you fancy yourself a follower of the Australian heavy music scene, you already know we are living through a massive golden era of home-grown talent. But right now, it's Vault Hill, a devastating four-...

Let’s be completely honest for a second: nineteen years is a bloody long time to keep a fanbase waiting. But when you are dealing with a band as musically meticulous and unyielding as Gothenburg’s finest, Evergrey, you know the payoff is going to be absolute perfection. After a brutal postponement earlier this year due to unpredictable airspace chaos, Tom S. Englund and his crew are firing on all...

There is nothing quite like the raw, unfiltered power of a band that breathes their entire soul into the music. It’s that exact, devastatingly beautiful energy that rising Texan metalcore heavyweights I Promised The World are bringing Down Under this month. For the very first time, the five-piece is packing their bags and hitting our shores for a massive nationwide tour alongside August Burns Red....

Interview by Angela Croudace Few musical trajectories in recent Australian heavy music history have matched the breakneck, neon-soaked velocity of Germany's electronicore powerhouses, Electric Callboy. What began as a wildly packed, early-afternoon curiosity slot at Good Things Festival 2022 has evolved into a full-blown love affair with the Southern Hemisphere. Aussie audiences quickly proved the...

Australia, stretch your necks and brace your ear drums, because the metal gods have smiled upon us once again. After nearly three long decades of waiting, industrial symphonic black metal royalty The Kovenant are finally crossing the equator to make their monumental Australian debut this September. Let that sink in for a second. Thirty years. For decades, Aussie metalheads have had to settle for s...

Interview by Angela Croudace Australia, strap yourselves in.  If you thought Sydney’s heavy hitters Polaris were done pushing the boundaries of the global metalcore landscape, you are dead wrong. These guys don’t just walk up to the line; they systematically tear it down and rebuild it with more grit, more venom, and more raw emotion than almost any other band on the planet today. They have consis...

Brisbane’s favorite rum-guzzling party pirates, Lagerstein, are back and ready to lay waste to your livers. After what feels like an eternity off the map, the boys have finally dusted off the S.S. Plunderberg to deliver the most aggressively fun spectacle in Australian heavy music. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to witness a Lagerstein show, you know it’s not just a concert. It is a full-blown,...

Synth-driven producer Perturbator is heading back to Australia next month, joining HEALTH's tour as support after the two acts crossed paths through mutual popularity in the region. In a new interview, the artist explained the tour was an easy yes: a chance to return to a country he already loves, paired with an invitation from friends whose Australian fanbase is thriving. It's not his first rodeo...

Interview by Ali Williams CRASH TEST DUMMIES have reached a particularly agreeable stage of their career. They can tour when they want, play songs that have already survived several decades of public consumption, slip some new material into the set without causing mass panic, and frontman Brad Roberts no longer feels obliged to work quite as hard as he once did. Catching up with HEAVY’s Ali Willia...

If there is one band that embodies the absolute, steel-plated spine of traditional heavy metal, it is Germany’s legendary sonic architects, Accept. For half a century, these heavy metal pioneers have been forging the blueprint for speed, power, and razor-sharp riffage, leaving a trail of broken necks and shattered eardrums in their wake. 2026 marks an unbelievable milestone for the band, celebrati...

Interview by Ali Williams Calling a band TEENS does leave you open to a few fairly obvious questions, particularly when nobody involved can reasonably blame puberty for their decision-making anymore. Thankfully, Tasmania’s TEENS are well aware of this.  The name has survived longer than originally anticipated, having been hacked down from the considerably more cumbersome Teens of Thailand lifted f...

Interview by Ali Williams Being a Perth band with East Coast ambitions requires several things: good songs, patience, a tolerant bank account and an acceptance that Australia is ludicrously large when you are paying to move musicians and their gear around it. GLOAM know this very well. Founding member Rowan Hardy sat down with HEAVY’S Ali Williams to chat about the bands beginnings and their progr...

Interview by Ali Williams There are band names that require an explanation. Then there is CATPISS, a name that mostly requires people to stop laughing long enough to ask the question. For Newcastle guitarist Jacob Dewberry and his bandmates, there was no tortured artistic manifesto behind it. Their drummer found inspiration in the deeply intellectual halls of Facebook meme culture, where a collect...

Interview by Ali Williams There are plenty of ways to introduce yourself at BIGSOUND. L.O.W have chosen the wonderfully uncomplicated option of turning up with five members, a stack of hardcore songs and absolutely no intention of pretending they belong on the polite end of the program. For a band that has spent just over two and a half years building itself out of Wollongong, landing a place on A...

Interview by Ali Williams LATEX GRENADE have heard the question before: are they punk or are they metal? Apparently, asking them to choose has achieved very little.  The San Diego outfit has spent years allowing both sides of its musical personality to coexist, despite record labels once suggesting the concept of a band playing whatever the hell it wanted was unnecessarily complicated. Now, after...

Interview and words by Kyra Jade It's that exciting time of year where Australia goes absolutely mad for Good Things Festival. All the speculation surrounding who will be on the line-up and most importantly who can guess the most correctly to earn all bragging rights! LØLØ has secured her spot on this year's amazing line-up along which means she is finally coming to our Aussie shores to serenade u...

Aussie metalheads, strap yourselves in because the tour of the century is officially locked, loaded, and headed down under this November! If you haven’t already heard the earth-shattering news, the absolute icons of heavy metal, Iron Maiden, are bringing their monumental Run For Your Lives 50th Anniversary World Tour to Australian shores. And because the metal gods clearly smile upon us, they aren...

When you think of theatrical, boundary-pushing heavy music, one name immediately commands the global spotlight: In This Moment. Led by the mesmerizing, chameleonic frontwoman Maria Brink and riff-master Chris Howorth, this band has spent nearly two decades turning live alternative metal into a dark, cinematic art form. Now, the Grammy-nominated force is back to claim their throne, unleashing their...

Western Sydney deathcore titans To The Grave have never been a band to play nice or bite their tongues. Over the last few years, they’ve systematically carved out a reputation as one of the most brutally uncompromising, intense acts on the global heavy music circuit. But if you thought their previous material was the peak of their hostility, you aren't prepared for what's next. To The Grave's soni...

Words and interview by Kyra Jade Yes I know, I come off clunky here. In my defence I had a few interviews back to back this particular day...I'm not one to shy away from leaving in my little discombobulated moments that make me human. HEAVY caught up with Chelsea Wolfe on the cusp of releasing her new album, The Dark. With a career spanning over many years; garnishing many amazing accomplishments...

Every now and then, a track lands on the HEAVY desk that doesn’t just ask for your attention—it kicks the front door off its hinges, grabs you by the collar, and demands you sit down and listen. That is exactly what happened this week when the absolute powerhouses in KALATONE dropped their blistering new sonic assault, Nostalgia. If you’ve been tracking these guys like we have, you already know th...