HEAVY Music Interviews

Interview by Ali Williams HZED band’s leading lady Tenaye swung to chat with HEAVY’s Ali Williams amidst their hectic rehearsal schedule for their new single release Save Yourself. Released on October 17, Save Yourself is the latest single from Melbourne’s HZED. The band has had some recent line-up changes, and with that comes fresh, new vibrant energy. The female lead group have been on the circu...

The 1990s were a turbulent time for music. The advent of gentrification began in earnest as strains and side strains of sidestrains of different sounds came together to supposedly enhance our listening pleasure. Newer styles- or genres if you will - of music materialised almost before our ears, and all of a sudden phrases like grunge and alternative rock/metal were being bandied about as though th...

After establishing themselves as serious contenders in the ever-growing Australian music landscape with their 2024 EP Requiem, Melbourne hard rock outfit The Last Martyr seemingly went into their shells, still playing the odd show but failing to release more new music to deliver the knockout blow. It was ultimately a combination of many different factors of life and music that stood as a buffer be...

Electro metal group Solence frontman Markus Videsäter caught up with HEAVY's Ali Williams to chat about their upcoming release, Angels Calling, and the inevitable album tour. Originally from LA, these guys are now settled in Sweden in the hope of optimising their expansion. Solence formed back in 2012 and had initially released tracks in increments in a build-up to their first album, Brothers, bac...

Certain things in this world should always be spoken in the same breath. Be it respect, acceptance or merely just because that's the way it has always been, some things you just don't mess with. Like a pie and tomato sauce, a Tim Tam straw, bacon and eggs, and The Meanies and Australian music. It seems The Meanies can't ever put a foot wrong, even when it comes to apathetically releasing a song re...

At a time when much of the music industry was still finding its feet after the rapid emergence of alternative rock, Sydney up-and-comers The Clouds took a different approach. Rather than grow with the music trend that was sweeping the country, they decided to get ahead of the curve by expanding on what was, in the 1990s, a sound still very much in development. Coming together towards the end of 19...

Melbourne rock/metal outfit To Octavia have shown their hand early in their career, resisting the temptation to follow in the path of easier acceptance in preference for staying true to their art. With the breakout success of their EP Somewhere In A World, Not Of The Dream, it would have been tempting and sensible to rehash the same winning formula for their debut album Melodrama. Their sound had...

Norse folk music has always been a more than handy bedfellow with metal music. Despite the obvious sonic contrasts between the two, they seem to combine well with each other, providing an unsettling ambience that could potentially veer into darker territory at any given moment. While Kalandra - spearheaded by four Norwegian and Swedish musicians - make use of these Nordic elements, they also creat...

What better way to kick off a new year than a trifecta of brutality? Which is exactly what Australia is getting next February when death metal miscreants Aborted join forces with Archspire and Organectomy for a tour so crushing they have had to name it the Return To Prison Island Australia Tour 2026. For the last three decades, Aborted have pioneered death metal, taking no prisoners in their blend...

While the idea of conceptual records and music is nothing new, more often than not, these concepts are drawn from ideas, visions, or the minds of people who are passionate about the very thing they are writing about. While these musical storylines are more often than not an entertaining escape from the mundane existence of everyday life, they are merely a figment of another person's imagination an...

CKY are the flag bearers for big, raw, authentic, earth-shaking rock liberated from useless pretence. They burned it all down, with a raucous, anarchic rock sound soaked in the skate-punk culture that birthed them; and a hard-partying lifestyle onstage and off that left decimated relationships and reputations in its wake. Boasting a collection of killer rock anthems like 99 Quite Bitter Beings, Fl...

In a relatively short amount of time as far as the music industry goes, Swedish rock outfit Smash Into Pieces have quickly risen to become one of the leading exponents of rock on the planet. After twice reaching the Swedish Eurovision final and delivering a string of consistently quality albums, the band found themselves on the international stage and touring with bands of the calibre of Evanescen...

Celebrating twenty years in the music industry is a great achievement in itself, but celebrating 20 years of sustained success is even better.  Bursting out of the blocks with their 2007 debut album The Way Of The Fist, Five Finger Death Punch were on a collision course with the rest of the world, laying the foundations for a turbulent yet continual upwards trajectory. By the time War Is The Answe...

Interview by Kyra-Jade Coombs Only recently I celebrated my five-year anniversary with HEAVY Mag and over the years I’ve had the privilege of meeting and interviewing some of the world’s biggest music stars, living out my wildest music nerd dreams. Nerves come and go depending on who it is that I’m interviewing, and ‘normally’ I hold my shit together. Today? Oh boy… Don’t get me wrong, I jumped at...

Sean Martin from The Quarantined took some time out recently to catch up with HEAVY Mag's Ali Williams to chat about their new release Nemesis (Friend of Mine), overcoming toxic relationships and algorithms and what the next chapter for the band entails.  Discussing the creative process of songwriting and their musical influences and intentions, Sean explains the origin of their song Nemesis (Frie...

Few bands in history have left such a lasting impression in music as Santa Barbara funk metal outfit Snot. Forming in 1995, Snot released just one album before having their career cut short by the tragic death of frontman Lynn Strait. Despite their short time as a band, such was the impression left by Lynn and Snot that after his death, a tribute album called Strait Up was recorded in his honour,...

Interview by Ali K Brisbane’s Community radio station 4ZZZ is celebrating 50 years of being on the airwaves. Known for being the springboard for most of Brisbane’s best-known musicians and bands, the station has been an integral part of their journeys. The day will be market day style, reminiscent of the original market days 4ZZZ held at Roma Street Parklands.  Regurgitator have well and truly for...

In the more than two decades since the band's launch, Sabaton has headlined major festivals, sold-out arena concerts worldwide, and gained a legion of loyal fans by carving out a reputation as one of the hardest-working bands in the business. Since their 2005 debut album, they’ve earned Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum certifications in territories around the world with their 10 studio albums. E...

Interview by Kyra-Jade Coombs October with all its spooky Halloween charm is the perfect setting to catch up with Wednesday 13. Our very own Kim Dracula has summoned Wednesday 13 to join him in his Australian tour starting in Sydney on the 21st of November. These shows are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth for all things macabre with each band having their unique style and stage presence that will...

The Delta Riggs will be hitting home soil again this weekend, ready to headline the main day celebrations for Mo's Desert Clubhouse’s 6th birthday celebrations on the Gold Coast. In the lead up to the show, founding member and bass player Michael ‘Monte’ Tremonte took some time out to chat with HEAVY. Arguably Australia’s most underrated band, The Delta Riggs, have been together since 2010, and ar...

It's nothing new to see a fighter make the transition from the ring to the cinema, with people as far back as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris pioneering the way before a procession of fighters followed. From Van Damme to Ronda Rousey to Michael Jai White to Gina Carano, the list goes on, but while some of the attempts at acting have not been quite as impressive as the actual fighting caree...

They say music runs in the blood, and if ever there was a family to prove this theory, it's the Trujillo's. Dad, Rob, plays in Metallica, Mum, Chloe, is in BLVD Of Eyes, daughter Lullah is an accomplished drummer, while son Tye plays in Suicidal Tendencies and also OTTTO. Not a bad lot to hear jamming in the garage! While most people know, or at least have heard of, the above bands, there's one th...

Coming together via other notable bands such as Fire At Will, Swerve City, Coridian, and the Sun Gods, New Zealand's freshest face on the hard rock scene is Cry Wolf. Fresh from the success of their debut single Rainfall, Cry Wolf return with the follow-up Burn, upping the intensity and sonic outburst to showcase another side of their musical psyche. Essentially a track about embracing the unknown...

After initially starting life as a one-man vehicle for Howard Von Noise (Howsie) in 2012, Coffin Carousel slowly morphed into something much more sinister. Taking band formation in 2015, Coffin Carousel are your haunted chainsaw ride formed within the roots of horror punk and sludge metal, bastardised by DNA strands from throughout the metal gene pool to create a sound that continues to defy conve...

Words and interview by Ali Williams Sydney-based metalcore band Bloom have just finished up the first headliner tour here at home and are about to set off to Europe for their next leg of their tour. Frontman Jono Hawkey and drummer Jack Van Vilet caught up with HEAVY recently for a chat about new releases, tours, and future plans for the band. The band’s journey so far has seen these young lads hi...