HEAVY Music Interviews

Few packages hitting Australian shores this year carry the sheer, unapologetic sonic weight of the upcoming Australia 2.0.2.6 tour. Headlined by LA neo-industrial heavyweights HEALTH, alongside French synthwave master Perturbator, the line-up is an absolute dream for anyone who loves their music dark, heavy, and deeply visceral. But if you think this run is just about the headliners, you are dead...

Words and interview by Kyra Jade I don’t know many people who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to interview Mastodon’s drummer Brann Dailor. We all have our bucket list interviews and this had Simon, AKA HEAVY MAG'S 'Professor of Mastodon', written all over it. The universe had other plans this time and Si’ was living it up in Bali. This meant it was my turn to jump in and make the most of this ch...

Interview by Ali Williams There are still very much mixed opinions out there in music land when it comes to tribute bands. Hard core fanboys will state "there is only ever one ..."(insert band name here), others will be highly critical unless its a carbon copy of the original artists , and on the other side of that some will say they have a place only if the artists is now frontman for that big ba...

Interview by Ali Williams Calling a performance One Last Time sounds decisive until the band involved is Lynchmada. Bassist Daryl Russell has already watched one emphatic farewell lead to another show four months later, so he is sensibly refusing to manage anybody’s expectations beyond Saturday. This could be the end. It could also become further evidence that Lynchmada are considerably better at...

Interview by Ali Williams There are busy years, and then there is whatever FALLUJAH have decided to do with 2026.  When Kyle Schaefer joins HEAVY’s Ali Williams from Nashville, the band are in the middle of an international schedule that has already taken them through Europe and Latin America, with Japan, the United States, Canada and Australia still sitting on the itinerary. For Schaefer, who has...

Interview by Angela Croudace After seven years Simple Plan are finally returning to Australia’s Good Things Festival, and guitarist Jeff Stinco couldn’t be more excited to be back. Speaking ahead of the festival lineup announcement, Stinco admitted he couldn’t believe it had been seven years since the band last played Good Things. What he remembers most is the festival’s diverse lineup, which allo...

If you call yourself a fan of traditional, hard-hitting German rock and power metal, then the name Mad Max should already be permanently tattooed onto your musical psyche. For over four decades, these absolute legends have been tearing up stages and delivering riffs that could shatter concrete. They are a band that refuses to slow down, refuses to compromise, and quite frankly, they just keep gett...

Interview by Ali Williams If you call yourself a true-blue supporter of the Australian heavy music landscape, then the name Segression shouldn't just ring a bell—it should trigger absolute, unadulterated audio warfare in your eardrums.  For three decades, these Wollongong legends have stood as one of the country's most relentless and enduring metal forces, a band forged in fire and built on pure,...

Interview by Ali Williams For over a decade, Swedish melodic power metal outfit Metalite has stood at the absolute cutting edge of heavy music, carving out a distinct identity by fusing futuristic science fiction narratives with high-octane energy. Founded in 2015 by guitarist and main songwriter Edwin Premberg, the band quickly garnered a massive international following with their stellar debut,...

If you’ve got your finger anywhere near the pulse of the Australian metal/alternative scene, you know exactly what last night was. It was the official launch of the highly anticipated Oddworld Underground Australian Tour, and it all kicked off last night in Western Australia at the legendary Amplifier Bar in Perth. We are sitting down with the absolute kings of eccentric heavy tunes, the one and o...

Interview by Angela Croudace If you like your heavy music served with a massive side of absolute, unadulterated chaos and a theatrical bite, then grab yourself a slice of the dance floor and brace your necks. The Swedish metal visionaries collectively known as Avatar are finally making their way back Down Under, and trust me when I say this is shaping up to be one of the absolute heaviest and most...

Interview by Ali Williams CORELEONI have a new album on the way, Generection and guitarist Leo Leoni sounds exactly as you would hope somebody still making rock records after more than thirty years would sound: pleased to be there and keen to keep going.  The album came together quickly. The band collected ideas, got together and worked through them while everyone was still fired up, and within a...

Interview by Ali Williams  There are bad weeks, and then there are weeks where the rehearsal studio you spent a year building burns for 4 days, TEMPLES ON MARS guitarist and vocalist James Donaldson joined HEAVY’s Ali Williams somewhat later than originally planned, although his excuse was considerably better than forgetting to check the calendar. Back in the end of June, the London building housi...

Interview by Angela Croudace For Sonny Lanegan, frontman of Noir Addiction, music is about creating something authentic enough to pull listeners into its world. Speaking about the band’s latest EP, Pretty Things Don’t Last, Sonny explained that its songs explore love, obsession, addiction and the desire to escape life. While each track stands on its own, he believes the EP becomes connected when h...

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...