HEAVY Music Interviews

Heathenspawn return with their latest slab of blackened melodic death metal, The Ravenous Earth, a crushing track that dives into dark themes and envisions a world where humanity has brought about its own extinction. Obsessed with conflict and distracted by trivialities, mankind clings to the illusion of permanence. But when the end comes, it will come for us all, and the Earth will bury our legac...

It's not often you get a second chance in life, especially in the music industry, where success - sustained or fleeting - is anything but a given. But that is precisely what has happened for US rock outfit Yellowcard, who return on October 10 with their new album Better Days. After forming in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, Yellowcard became one of the most influential bands in the 2000’s alternati...

There have been select few bands that have truly shaped the course of history. For heavy metal, it would have to be bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, but when it comes to rock and roll, only Elvis Presley springs directly to mind. But there was another band of the same era that many believe were a more accurate representation of the term - or what would become the term - rock music. A ban...

Switzerland isn't known for its nu metal/metalcore bands, with thrash bands such as Coroner or extreme acts Celtic Frost more prominent. But all that changed in 2018 when Chaoseum, a newcomer to the scene, announced their arrival with their debut album First Step To Hell. The album took the musical landscape by surprise, in the process helping Chaoseum secure a US tour supporting Soulfly, and thin...

Maryborough rock outfit Ruination warmed music lovers up in 2022, offering a tasty appetiser with the EP Whispers. More of a demo release to showcase their potential, Whispers served up an eclectic take on the standard fare of alternative metal, entwining soft soundscapes with a melodic, yet hard-edged exterior that showcases the best of the early days of the alt-rock genre with enough modern sens...

There aren't many true old school Aussie rockers left these days, but the ones who are remember the 1980s with fond memories. For all of the household names to come out of that time, such as AC/DC, INXS, Cold Chisel, there were just as many, if not more, that were at least equally as talented. Bands like Buster Brown spring immediately to mind, but there's also another who may have faded from the...

Canadian musician Cory Marks has succeeded where many others have failed - or weren't even game enough to try - by managing to bring elements of rock and metal into his country-oriented music and, more importantly, make it accessible to all sides of the musical fence. It is a musical amalgamation that by every letter of the law should not work, but somehow Marks not only makes it work. He makes it...

Music is always a transitional thing. Be it mind, body, or sonically, there is always room for growth and expansion. Gold Coast-based rock artist Ollie Twohill is discovering that now, almost two decades into his professional music journey. For the majority of his time performing, Twohill has been a solo artist, enjoying the freedom of creativity and the pressures of handling everything yourself....

This November, two U.S. heavyweights in BLVD Of Eyes and The Midnight Devils combine to bring their music to Australia for a run up the East Coast that promises to be a blast. Bands from opposing ends of the rock spectrum - with BLVD Of Eyes being on the lighter side of rock and The Midnight Devils leaning more to the extroverted side of glam rock - both have international touring experience, but...

It is refreshing to hear old school metal bands still pushing their limits and exploring fresh sonic realms, even with a sound that is known and loved and has been for more than 40 years. It is understandable when some bands mutter the words 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', but that still shouldn't stop the creative juices from flowing, if only to challenge yourself. Which is exactly what happen...

In the modern age of seriousness, it is refreshing to see a band doing the rounds that still values fun and a good time over politics and bickering. A band who performs with a smile on their face without deferring to any one side of whatever fence is currently being built or in the process of being torn down. And, of course, said band is British, the place where the love of a laugh and the desire...

British metal outfit Conjurer have continued to defy expectations since the release of their debut album, Mire, in 2018. Essentially an experimental metal band, Conjurer has drawn on elements of sludge, death, doom and post metal, never once allowing themselves to be defined by any one sound or genre. While award nominations and accolades accumulated with each piece of new music, Conjurer retained...

When Australian extreme metal outfit Werewolves proclaimed to the world that they intended to release 10 albums in 10 years, the collective sighs of here we go again hung loudly in the air. Bands have promised such things or similar immeasurable times in the past, with few managing to reach the lofty heights for which they had set themselves. Not to mention the discontent from fans who then starte...

Melbourne old school death metal machine Monoliyth have been steadily going about their craft for just over 25 years, grinding away on the circuit with a mission to do no more than offer a sonic distraction to the world around them. It is an often thankless task - faced by all bands - but Monoliyth have found their niche, originally starting life as more of a thrash metal band before finding their...

Since their formation in 2019, Melbourne rock/punk outfit Anabella And The Heist have steadily gone about building their profile, mostly via word of mouth on the back of their entertaining live shows that are said to often "teeter on the edge of madness". As the band ramps things up for a brighter future, they have delivered two previous singles - both launched to sold-out venues - in Electric and...

Canada's greatest export ever, Danko Jones, have been flying the flag for rock and roll music ever since they combined to wreak havoc on the world in 1996. The band have almost single-handedly revived rock and roll from the untimely death many have predicted or wished upon the genre, churning out hit after hit with consummate ease. Armed with a swag of rock gospel albums, including We Sweat Blood...

The turn of the century was an interesting time to be alive. You had the doomsdayers who were convinced some bug called Y2K was going to wipe out the planet via technological genocide, and others who were convinced the world was going to come to a screeching halt at the stroke of midnight. For every theory was a counter theory, to the point where people were being driven to drink just to maintain...

I Prevail swept into town like a rampaging force of nature with their debut album Lifelines in 2016. It was an album that screamed defiance from every note, emphatically heralding the arrival of I Prevail onto a musical landscape that was destined to be changed forever. While bands had previously flirted with fusions of post hardcore, metalcore, pop punk, hard rock, nu metal, electronics and hip h...

Suicidal Tendencies have a love affair with Australia, touring regularly and bringing their infectious brand of skate punk metal to our tender ears with the same intensity and conviction time and time again. It has been two years now since their last visit, but this time they come bearing gifts. Musical gifts, that is, in the form of Metallica and Evanescence as part of Metallica's massive global...

When The Living End burst onto the Australian musical landscape with their self-titled debut album in 1994, the blurred lines between rock, punk and metal were suddenly more accessible, introducing a wide network of music lovers to genres they might otherwise have avoided. Their rebellious spirit, emphasised through songs like Prisoner Of Society and Second Solution, suddenly made punk cool, with...

Starting life in 2005 more influenced by deathcore sensibilities than their current, more accessible mixture of styles, Glasgow metal outfit Bleed From Within have gradually morphed into a style of their own over seven studio albums, the most recent of which being last month's irresistible offering, Zenith. Representing the past, present and future of Bleed From Within, Zenith captured the band at...

Australia’s own BE’LAKOR finally return for a powerhouse run of home shows this October, bringing their signature blend of melodic death metal and progressive depth to stages across the East Coast to celebrate 20 YEARS OF LIVE BE’LAKOR. Renowned for their immersive soundscapes and acclaimed releases such as their most recent and much lauded effort, Coherence, the Melbourne five-piece continues to...

If you look at their musical journey, it might appear that SoCal pop/punk/rapcore outfit Zebrahead have led somewhat of a charmed life. From their very inception through meeting at a practice room to playing to a handful of people, where 12 of them were scouting from record labels, a sceptical person could claim things have fallen into place for the band. But if you know the band and know their mu...

The story of Spiderbait is an unlikely but heart-warming one – three friends from a small Australian country town taking on the music scene, and emerging triumphantly thirty years later, friendship intact, and now one of the biggest and best rock bands on the national landscape. The trio’s popularity spans three decades and shows no signs of abating. They’ve released seven acclaimed albums, all of...

Interview by Ali Williams Teenage Joans members Tahlia Borg and Cahli Blakers took time out to chat with HEAVY about their new track, My Hearts Dead, and their current tour with Slowly Slowly. Hailing from Radelaide, Teenage Joans were winners of JJJs Unearthed High back in 2020, and since then they have flooded the air waves with a string of melanchol,y pretty punk rock hits. In their short time...