HEAVY Music Interviews

Interview by Kris Peters Experimenting within a musical genre is nothing new. It has been done - to varying degrees of success - for countless years, spawning new genres and sub genres even where they are not wanted. But to fully immerse yourself in that craft within a defined genre is a brave move in the modern era where often bands and their music can get lost in a convoluted mess. Norwegian met...

Interview by Kris Peters French metalcore outfit Resolve are one of the new breed of metal bands that dares to be different. Since setting the world on fire with their debut single Exposed in 2017, Resolve quickly found themselves supporting bands such as Architects, Every Time I Die and While She Sleeps, enhancing their reputation in the process and forging their way into the ears and hearts of m...

Interview by Kris Peters Although K.K. Downing and Tim 'Ripper' Owens only spent what amounts to a fleeting moment together as part of Judas Priest (they actually played on two albums together, Jugulator and Demolition) they still formed an integral part of one of the most loved and influential metal bands in history. While Downing spent some time in hibernation after leaving Judas Priest, Owens s...

Interview by Kyra-Jade Coombs and Kris Peters KickAss Festival successfully completed its second year last weekend with a bumper show at Kenilworth Showgrounds that emphatically proved rock music is alive, well and thriving. Held over two days with local acts appearing alongside established bands such as James Reyne, Kingswood, Dragon and the Choirboys, KickAss Festival did just that and more with...

Interview by Kris Peters Brazilian thrash outfit Nervosa are preparing to enter the next phase of their already successful career when they release new album Jailbreak onto the world on September 29. Jailbreak marks a decisive new beginning for the band, being the first album to welcome guitarist and founding member Prika Amaral to the mantle as lead vocalist, as well as premiering the new line-up...

Interview by Erin Eddy, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons recently dropped their new album Kings Of The Asylum. If you’re not familiar with the name Phil Campbell, then you’re not a big enough Motorhead fan. The former guitarist of one of rock and roll’s most notorious bands has spent the last few years building up The Bastard Sons, a band he has formed with his three sons Todd, Dane and Tyla. Wh...

Interview by Kris Peters British progressive metal outfit Tesseract are the consummate professionals, dedicating equal measures of effort into resources into all aspects of their music without favouring the other. It is an attitude and commitment that has seen the band establish themselves as a pioneering force in world metal over four previous albums, each of which has set new standards of divini...

Interview by Kris Peters Gold Coast metal titans Snake Mountain have never been one of those bands to go with the flow. Instead, they have adopted a kind of Cobra Kai attitude of strike first, strike hard and not only become an integral part of the local live music scene, but also a proactive and fundamental link in what is becoming an increasingly more delicate chain. Tonight (September 15) Snake...

Interview by Kris Peters Emerging Woolongong outfit Brooklyn Comic have an interesting take on music, combining the sounds of emo with hardcore laced with rock sensibilities. It is a unification that, on paper, should not work but somehow Brooklyn Comic have struck that delicate balance between two worlds and harnessed that energy into their music which is a reflection of the world they live and s...

Interview by Kris Peters & Kyra-Jade Coombs KickAss Festival successfully completed its second year last weekend with a bumper show at Kenilworth Showgrounds that emphatically proved rock music is alive, well and thriving. Held over two days with local acts appearing alongside established bands such as James Reyne, Kingswood, Dragon and the Choirboys, KickAss Festival did just that and more wi...

Interview by Kris Peters Depression and mental health are becoming an increasingly prevalent condition, especially in the modern age where sometimes just living can become a struggle. They are real problems with no definitive answer. Problems that could affect any one of us at any time. As much as money always helps in any situation, perhaps more importantly in these cases the vital factor is more...

Interview by Kris Peters US metal outfit Baroness perfectly encapsulate the notion of the more things change, the more they stay the same. Approaching their sixth album Stone - which is due out on September 15 - Baroness have managed to maintain a trademark sound while at the same time delivering something fresh and original with every release. They have a sound identifiably their own but allow th...

Interview by Kris Peters For nearly two decades metal outfit Carnifex have managed to push themselves musically further which each release. Although fitting snuggly into their chosen extreme metal genre, the band have also experimented both within and outside of the conventional parameters of their music, peeling back layers while simultaneously structuring new passages along the way. With their n...

Interview by Kris Peters Australia, prepare for the onslaught! Two of the world's most cutting edge extreme metal bands in Cattle Decapitation and Fallujah have arrived in Australia and already started a run of shows that promises to leave a trail of destruction in their wakes. Bay Area outfit Fallujah are riding high on the recent release of their brooding and atmospheric masterpiece Empyrean, a...

Interview by Kris Peters Most bands that dwell on the hard rock/punk side of town generally walk the walk while attempting to talk the talk but to the discerning eye it is pretty obvious that it is an enforced facade. When shit hits the fan you know many of these bad boys would run cowering to the nearest obstacle and lie in wait until the storm has passed. But there are a small number that are ge...

Interview by Kris Peters Thy Art Is Murder are up there with Australia's greatest ever extreme metal exports. They have taken their music far and wide, appearing at prestigious festivals around the world like Summer Breeze, Download, Graspop and Wacken and playing with bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Slayer, Kreator, Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage and Parkway Drive. Their thinking-person’s blackene...

Interview by Kris Peters As much as the majority of our life is spent looking into the future, the past should always feature somewhere in your thoughts. It is, after all, the very thing that shaped your being, a point which rings true no matter what walk of life you are from or what passion ignites you. But this is particularly important with music, as past music - or, more specifically, the init...

Interview by Kris Peters Any band in the modern age that can take rock/punk/metal music to the increasingly numbed youth of our generation is already a winner in my books, but when they release songs that I can possibly convert my two young daughters with then they elevate to the next level pretty damn quickly. So when I was given the opportunity to speak to a band pitched to me as Punk Meets Disn...

Interview by Kris Peters One of the most beautiful things about music is the individual expression that goes into creating a body of work. Sure, a band is made up of several members on most occasions, but each of those members still contributes part of their personal DNA throughout each written and recorded piece of music. But for those musicians adept at playing anything and everything and who re...

Interview by Kris Peters Canadian death metal outfit Crytopsy have been quiet for just over a decade, seemingly lost to the world of metal. After a succession of well received albums Crytopsy remained as a force on the live circuit, but after releasing their self titled album independently in 2012 have failed to record another full length since. Since then the band has released two EPs - The Book...

Interview by Kris Peters The pairing of Evergrey's Tom. S. Englund and acclaimed US-based pianist/composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus) might at first seem like a strange combination, but once you have taken the time to digest the sheer beauty that is the music of Silent Skies things fall easily into perspective. Over the course of two previous albums Silent Skies have set about disma...

Interview by Kris Peters Thrashville has quickly become one of the must-attend music festivals on the Australian calendar. Not only is it situated miles away from any form of civilised life – meaning noise restrictions and the like are non-existent – but it is also a damn good festival featuring a splattering of the best in Australian music from major headliners through to up-and-comers. With this...

Interview by Kris Peters Osaka Punch are one of those once in a generation bands that would be perfect for ANY line up or concert. Their music is a force unto itself, mixing jazz, rock, metal, piano lounge vibes and an eclectic nature often tried but seldom mastered. Until now. If you live in Queensland then you definitely have at least heard of Osaka Punch, but if you live anywhere else in the wo...

Interview by Kris Peters Australian Industrial metal outfit Our Last Enemy are on the cusp of releasing their latest EP As Within So Without, which will be set free on September 22 after being pushed back from August 18. The EP follows and is the companion piece to 2021s As Above So Below, which was a commercial and critical success. Once more produced by two-time ARIA nominee DW Norton and featur...

Interview by Kris Peters For a band who only released their debut EP Global Suicide a couple of years ago, Norwegian metalcore outfit Fixation are making big waves in the current music scene. After recent performances at festivals like Tons of Rock (NO) The Great Escape (UK), Summer Breeze (DE), as well as tour dates with well-established acts like Leprous, Smash Into Pieces and Djerv, Fixation ar...