HEAVY Music Interviews

Interview by Kris Peters The inaugural Necrosonic Festival to be held at Brisbane's Mansfield Tavern on August 31 is not your typical metal festival. This is a festival put together by people who have a genuine love of and interest in heavy metal music, not just a promotor out to exploit the scene in favour of a quick buck. As such, Necrosonic features a number of bands thought to be dead and buri...

Interview by Kris Peters US metal outfit Fire From The Gods consolidated their growing stature in October 2022 with the release of their third album, Soul Revolution. Featuring the singles SOS, Thousand Lifetimes, World So Cold and Soul Revolution, the album quickly became a fan favourite and propelled the band into a fresh legion of fans and supporters. Fans quickly demanded more, so Fire From Th...

Interview by Kris Peters Reward for effort is not a phrase generally used in the music industry, with countless bands and musicians paying their dues thousands of times over and still not finding that elusive pathway to the next level. But occasionally you see the music Gods smiling down on one of their own by rewarding them with a more universal platform, in the process opening that band/artist u...

Interview by Kris Peters Ten years ago, a then unknown Australian band called Kingswood laid solid claim to becoming a band you had to hear with the release of their stunning debut album, Microscopic Wars. Drenched in rhythm, carried by the band’s strong chemistry, bolstered by a confidence and swagger felt between songwriters Alex Laska and Fergus Linacre, MICROSCOPIC WARS heralded not just an ex...

Interview by Kris Peters The Sweet have been a musical institution since the early 1970s after bursting onto the scene with their debut album Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be in 1971. Their Who-influenced hard rock style, supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals, struck a chord with youth the world over, propelling them into a career which continues with much love, fervour and res...

Interview by Kris Peters Sometimes the best brand of heavy metal is the one that follows a straight line. While bands of the modern era generally tend to mix a plethora of styles and genres into each recording, there are still the die-hard old-school metalheads that subscribe to the old adage of if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Veteran MidWest thrash metal outfit Conquest are one of those b...

Interview by Kris Peters Their 2022 album Pirates ushered in a new era for Austrian symphonic metal band Visions Of Atlantis, seeing the powerful metal outfit explore new lyrical territory in embracing the pirate theme. The album was a resounding success, paving the way for an expansion of the sonic universe of the Jolly Roger in even more emphatic terms. The pirates of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS are abo...

Interview by Kris Peters There isn't much Swedish metal royalty Hammerfall have failed to accomplish in their almost 30-year existence. With multiple international tours, gold certification, a succession of powerful and well-received albums, 100+ million streams and YouTube views and a passionate global fanbase, you would almost wonder if there's anything left to tick off the band's proverbial buc...

Interview by Kris Peters Gold Coast punk, thrash, hard rock outfit Goatzilla are one of those bands that don't really care if they are liked or not, they will still turn up to annoy the living shit out of you in the name of fun. It's perhaps a bonus then that these guys are not only a whole bunch of fun, but they also sound pretty fucken good too! After terrorizing the general public with their cr...

Interview by Kris Peters Last year's album Blackout by metal outfit From Ashes To New was a groundbreaker for the band, in terms that it encompassed sonic variations from each of their albums and spewed them forth with a fresh, new dynamic that more or less signalled the full coming of age of the popular band. While success of that magnitude generally guarantees the release of a Deluxe version of...

Interview by Kris Peters Brisbane metal outfit RVN//NT (pronounced Revenant) have accomplished a great deal since forming just last year. They dropped their debut single Void Of Mind in March, closely followed by Bleed Within, establishing themselves as a band on a mission with plenty to say. June 7 sees RVN//NT unleash their third and darkest song yet, Distain, a hard-hitting track about the addi...

Interview by Kris Peters New Zealand/Aotearoa metalcore quartet No Life announced themselves with their crushing 2022 debut EP Delinquent. Their fresh spin on established genres such as nu-metal, metalcore and hardcore almost dared you not to listen, with an aggressive and uncompromising sonic delivery of epic proportions. The band have followed that debut with their latest single, Obnoxious, whic...

Interview by Kris Peters Sydney heavy rock outfit Wicked Envy shook the music scene to the core with the release of their debut EP What The Hell Am I Doing in June 2022. Bringing to you all forces of modern rock and metal, infused with heavy, powered riffs, gritty vocals and bewitching melodic vocal interplay, Wicked Envy were a breath of fresh air amid a cluttered market with a commanding live pe...

Interview by Kris Peters Hailing from Northern Ireland, heavy as sin metalcore outfit Archives have emerged into the music scene with a point to prove and an attitude to match. Their 2021 debut album Decay introduced the world to the ferocious sonic onslaught borne out of a lifetime of frustration that simmered within the musical DNA of Archives, promising a bleak yet bright future for the band. A...

Interview by Kris Peters From humble beginnings in Adelaide, party rock outfit West Thebarton have spread their metaphorical wings far and wide, drawing all who listen deeper into their intricate musical web of enjoyment. Since announcing themselves on the scene with their 2015 debut EP West Thebarton Brothel Party, which catapulted them into the earholes of fans and industry professionals alike,...

Interview by Kris Peters Melbourne blackened post-metalcore outfit RUN today dropped a surprise EP, True Heaviness Is Time. The band's second offering, True Heaviness Is Time is a dynamic and powerful tour de force that grips as it slams from peak to peak, tackling the pain of existence with an aural violence powered by positivity. Featuring guest vocals from Joel Birch of The Amity Affliction, Jo...

Interview by Kris Peters More often than not, the music industry is dictated to more by who and/or what you know, rather than the quality of your musical output. It is something that has been a staple part of the industry for as long as most of us can remember, and is accepted more as a given across the board. So, then, it is refreshing when a band comes along whose members have the pedigree and p...

Interview by Kris Peters While the fact that most things can, and invariably do, change with the times, there are certain - but not many - elements that resist. In music, you would be hard-pressed to find a band who has not experimented with or tried to cater to the ever-evolving tastes of music consumers, but there's one above all others who you could unreservedly say has not even tried. Not one...

Interview by Kris Peters Taylor Roberts started Riding With Killers long before joining Taproot as guitarist, but his newer band - for some reason - seems to get all of the attention. For now. While featuring solely as guitarist with Taproot, Roberts (formerly of Cathercist/Wild Fire) also lends his vocal chops to Riding With Killers (RWK), drenching the rock-infused music with a venomous swagger...

Interview by Kris Peters After showing their potential over two previous albums Chance Collide and Cold Chamber, Melbourne rock outfit Cicadastone are ready to seal the deal with their third long player Future Echoes, which is out now. Taking the best bits and ideas from those first releases and putting them into the cauldron that is Cicadastone 2024, the band has created an album with a modern fr...

Interview by Kris Peters Queensland melodic punk upstarts Fake News have successfully managed to bring together the attitude of punk, the essence of rock and the harmonious balance of nature into one uniting sonic force of cohesion that is almost impossible to resist. Since forming in the beautiful surroundings of the Gold Coast in 2017, Fake News have steadfastly refused to adhere to societal rul...

Interview by Kris Peters US thrash, crossover metal outfit Municipal Waste have been entertaining audiences since the turn of the century, combining everything you love about metal with a flippant and humorous disposition that permeates through their music. Since their 2003 debut album Waste 'Em All first introduced the world to Municipal Waste, the band have released a further six studio albums a...

Interview by Kris Peters Brisbane/Meanjin metalcore outfit Wildheart have let their music do the talking from the outset, unafraid to tackle sensitive issues and even less distracted by the myriad of smokescreens that are rapidly punctuating the music scene as a whole. Their debut album Global Crisis – a body of work that drew attention and respect to a number of issues affecting Indigenous Austra...

Interview by Rashid Alkamraihki Melbourne based music machine Banks Arcade are in the prime of their musical career. Having recently completed the Death 2 A Muse Tour, Banks Arcade now set their sights on the release of new album A Muse, which will be unleashed on June 28. Formed over a shared love of music with a razor-sharp avant-garde aesthetic, Banks Arcade have always teetered on modernity; a...

Interview by Kris Peters *interview contains some language that may be offensive to some readers/listeners* Since bursting onto the scene in 2015, Melbourne noise machine Dregg have been a musical force unto themselves, throwing an eclectic mix of genres against the wall and making cherry pie with the resulting residue. Their music has always been ferocious, confronting, and, most importantly, dif...