HEAVY Music Interviews

Interview by Angela Croudace With more than two decades of epic storytelling through metal, Sabaton are preparing to unleash their 11th studio album, Legends. Frontman Joakim Brodén spoke with us about the excitement of recording, the historical depths behind the songs, and what fans in Australia and New Zealand can expect when the band finally headlines shows there. Despite years in the studio, B...

Swedish metal outfit Ambush realized the secret to success early in their career and have been deferring to that template on a daily basis ever since. Not that you could call the love of a laugh and a good time an actual secret, but it is surprising how often bands forget that on their pathway through the music industry. Founded in 2013, AMBUSH continue to showcase their unyielding energy and intr...

As with every other year, anticipation surrounding the first lineup announcement for Good Things 2025 was almost at a fever pitch. Social media experts and promoter wannabe’s all shared their projected line-ups – but most were well off the mark. Good Things is possibly one of the hardest festival line-ups armchair critics get to sink their teeth into, with the diversity and seemingly flippant mash...

In just under three years, Melbourne hard rock outfit ANA have laid themselves a strong platform from which to launch their music. Having already toured through Europe and Japan, ANA are now setting their sights on their home country, starting with a headlining slot at Rockdale Metal Festival in September. Merging the intensity of metal with sweeping orchestral arrangements, ANA have quickly found...

Interview by Kris Peters Sydney-based post hardcore four-piece Closure continue their impressive momentum in 2025 after the release of their long-anticipated debut EP, The Sweet Suffering, which is out now on all major streaming platforms. The record includes the previously released singles Hindsight, Glare, and A Cold Space Between, each showcasing the band’s evolution into a darker, heavier soni...

The music industry is a fickle one. Try as an artist may to strike that elusive winning formula, more often than not, it is timing, or luck, or a combination of both which will ultimately decide the course your musical journey takes. Bands can try unsuccessfully for years to crack the market, churning out quality material time and time again with little or no return. But then that one moment of ma...

Interview by Angela Croudace *CONTENT WARNING - Swearing and Mention of Suicide/Self Harm* Australian heavy metal veterans Temtris return with their powerful eighth album, Queen of Crows, a record built around the theme of good and bad consequences. Vocalist Genevieve Rodda and guitarist Foxy explained that the concept was inspired by personal experiences and reflections on how life’s choices affe...

Fresh off a wildly successful European tour, guitar virtuoso Bernth and bass wizard Charles Berthoud, undisputed masters of their instruments, have joined forces to bring their technical mastery, dynamic performances and jaw-dropping musicianship to Australia for 3 very special events. With over 4 million followers across their platforms, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to w...

Interview by Kris Peters German guitarist Uli Jon Roth is renowned for his work with the Scorpions during their early, more experimental phase and for pioneering the neoclassical metal genre. He is also known for his innovative Sky Guitar design and his solo career exploring a unique blend of rock, classical, and philosophical themes. Roth joined the Scorpions during their formative years, contrib...

Interview by Kris Peters The Home Team are travelling to Australia for the second time - this time with Mayday Parade -  for the Three Cheers For 20 Years tour, after crossing the ocean last May with Caskets (UK). The quartet have introduced stylings of R&B, pop and funk into their music in an effort to be true to their tastes while crafting their unique sound and return to play new songs for...

It's scary to think that British metalcore outfit Architects are just hitting their stride eleven albums in. Having completed two Summer runs with Metallica in the lead up to their latest masterpiece The Sky, The Earth & All Between, Architects took stock of their career to date and set out to make the definitive Architects release. “It wasn’t about just putting out another Architects record....

Interview by Kris Peters Arriving just after the turn of the century, Australian metal legends DAYSEND were born into a healthy national metal scene that included bands like Blood Duster, Abramelin, Frankenbok and Dreamkillers, some of which are still going strong today. It was a golden era for Australian metal, made that much better by DAYSEND, who built a formidable reputation in the global meta...

Interview by Angela Croudace After more than 15 years, grindcore titans Pig Destroyer will finally return to Australia, and frontman J.R. Hayes couldn’t be more thrilled. “We’re just really, really excited,” he said. “It’s hard to get all the stars to align, but we’re finally doing it.” Their long-awaited comeback is bolstered by the inclusion of Singaporean grind heavyweights Wormrot as tour supp...

Interview by Kris Peters As with every other year, anticipation surrounding the first line up announcement for Good Things 2025 was almost at a fever pitch. Social media experts and promoter wannabe's all shared their projected line-ups - but most were well off the mark. Good Things is possibly one of the hardest festival line ups armchair critics get to sink their teeth into, with the diversity a...

BIGSOUND can be anything you want it to be. You can choose to revel in the activities and workshops, or check out the band showcase gigs or watch/see/listen to any number of things, but the one thing that catches HEAVY every year is the range of live bands out there plying their trade. This year's BIGSOUND, to be held in the usual areas of Brisbane's Fortitude Valley over September 2 to 5, feature...

Interview by Angela Croudace Three decades into their career, Paradise Lost remain masters of gothic metal’s melancholic grandeur. With their new album Ascension, guitarist Gregor Mackintosh took on the dual role of musician and producer—a responsibility he says wasn’t a giant leap, given his growing involvement in shaping the band’s sound over recent albums. “In the past, producers used to be hea...

Interview by Kris Peters After championing the cause for Australian music for almost a decade via their weekly radio show, Rock Hard With Phil & Tish, the two co-hosts have decided to take the next step in their evolution, putting on the first-ever Rock Hard Festival in Adelaide. For two nights over October 10 and 11, Woodshed at Royal Park will host Aussie rock legends The Poor, headlining bo...

Interview by Angela Croudace Post-rock outfit In Transmission are back with their new EP, Betterment, a record that blends atmospheric beauty with an urgent social conscience. Frontman Martin says the inspiration behind lead single Catching Up (and the EP as a whole) comes from observing a world plagued by environmental and civil issues, often met with apathy. “When it’s out of sight and out of mi...

Interview by Angela Croudace When Cursed hit number seven on the Spotify global charts, Paleface Swiss didn't just make a statement — they detonated it into the metal world. For guitarist Yannick Lehmann, the milestone still feels surreal. "It's unbelievable. We're completely DIY, no label, nothing — so to see that kind of success is mind-blowing," he says. Formed in 2018 as a local Swiss act, Pal...

Interview by Angela Croudace With their upcoming album, Where Did All the Butterflies Go? dropping on September 5, LA-based rock outfit Beauty School Dropout are stepping into their boldest sonic chapter yet. The band (Colie, Bardo, Beepus, and Colton) describe the record as "the best music we've ever made," a profoundly personal and genre-blurring journey through love, loss, and self-discovery. T...

Sydney rock outfit Stormflower are effectively about to take their first steps into the world, placing themselves at the mercy of the public in pursuit of musical fulfilment. They say in music, as in life, it is the little things that ease the pain. Things like planning, preparation, practice... anything that can be considered a building block or a platform to sustain you along the arduous journey...

Interview by Kris Peters Polaris have been conquering the world one country at a time since the release of their third album, Fatalist, in 2023.  Having already firmly established their place as a fixture in the Australian heavy landscape via their first two albums - 2020’s ARIA Award-nominated The Death Of Me and 2017’s The Mortal Coil, which debuted in the Australian Top 10 - Polaris have earnt...

Interview by Kris Peters For 20 years, Jerome Reuter a.k.a. ROME has been a force to reckon with in the musical underground. Through relentless touring and a steady stream of high-quality concept albums, ROME has built a remarkably loyal following from Berlin to LA, from Sydney to Saigon, from Lisbon to Kyiv. The Luxembourg-born singer-songwriter has created an authoritative body of work, encompas...

Interview by Kris Peters English alternative rock band Bush initially gained popularity in the mid-1990s, particularly in the United States, with their debut album Sixteen Stone. While initially labelled as grunge or post-grunge, Bush carved out their own space with a blend of heavy riffs, catchy melodies, and frontman Gavin Rossdale's distinctive vocals. After a hiatus, the band reunited in 2010...

Music up until the 1970s had been a predominantly male-dominated industry, especially the rock scene, which was considered to be full of exactly the type of people your mother warned you about. Sure, there were some brilliant artists, including Janis Joplin, Marianne Faithfull and Suzi Quatro, but it was in the mid 70s when three young, brash and rebellious aspiring musicians called Joan Jett, San...