HEAVY Music Interviews

For Prayers, inspiration has never been something that can be forced. His latest Spanish-language EP, Oraciones, arrived almost by accident, after a session in his friend Alfonso’s Chicago kitchen turned into four songs written in a single day.“I captured lightning in a bottle with these four songs,” Prayers explains, describing the pressure-free process as his favourite way to create. What began...

Every now and then a band bursts out of the underground circuit with the kind of pure, unadulterated sonic swagger that leaves your jaw firmly pinned to the floor. If you haven't yet been introduced to the auditory demolition that is Los Angeles power trio Primitive Ring, then pack your bags, turn your speakers up to eleven, and prepare to have your ears left properly ringing. Born from a collecti...

Interview by Ali Williams Forty-five years into SHONEN KNIFE, Naoko Yamano can still describe the band in three words: “pop, fun and punk.” It is remarkably efficient for a group whose history stretches from Osaka’s early-’80s underground to major-label releases, international festivals and enough world touring to make airport carpet a recurring feature of adult life.  Australia has occupied a siz...

If there is one band that knows how to completely tear the roof off a venue and leave the crowd begging for mercy, it’s Virginia groove metal powerhouse Lamb of God. For over two decades, these absolute legends have been consistency personified, delivering some of the most punishing, riff-driven, and neck-snapping metal on the planet. Aussie heavy music fans are currently losing their collective m...

Interview by Ali Williams Interview by Ali Williams THE CRIBS are bringing ninth album Selling A Vibe to Australia this October, and Ryan Jarman is considerably happier about the shows than the long-haul flight. It will be their first national tour since 2018; the pandemic prevented an Australian visit for 2020’s Night Network. Ahead of the return, the guitarist and vocalist caught up with HEAVY t...

If you haven’t crossed paths with Melbourne’s premier unholy crusty death metal outfit Küntsquäd yet, then honestly, what the hell have you been doing with your life? Led by the ferocious, guitar-wielding frontwoman Paula VC Damnzal, this four-piece wrecking crew has been absolutely tearing the Australian heavy scene a new one with their toxic blend of blackened grime, extreme death metal, and cru...

Interview by Ali Williams KATATONIA return to Australia this October with Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State and crowds that can span several generations. The Australian run starts at Crowbar in Brisbane on October 7, with Atticus Chimps and PARHELION supporting. Released on June 6, 2025, the record is the thirteenth studio album from the Stockholm band whose music has expanded from deat...

If there is one undeniable certainty in the heavy metal universe, it is that when Sweden's premier Viking metal juggernauts Amon Amarth decide to unleash a new record, you drop everything, grab your drinking horn, and prepare your neck for an absolute beating. For over three decades, Amon Amarth has been the gold standard for sonic warfare, delivering monumental, slab-heavy melodic death metal tha...

Words and interview by Aysha Swanson On Sunday, October 11, Sunshine Coast hardcore outfit Human Condition will return to Nambour Bowls Club for the launch of their debut EP S.C.H.C., bringing TwoSeventy, No Harm, Blatant Saint, Asbestos and Doping Control to the stage. Best of all, the whole thing is free and all ages. For Human Condition, S.C.H.C. represents the end of a long wait. The band have...

Every now and then a band bursts out of the local circuit with the kind of sonic swagger that leaves your jaw firmly pinned to the venue floor. Three decades ago a bunch of Frankston graffiti artists did just that when they decided to mash punk rock, metal, and hip-hop together, creating a beautiful monster that would completely reshape the Australian alternative music scene. They didn't just play...

Interview by Ali Williams TAPE/OFF will be hitting the stages again bringing with them their beloved alt rock/groove punk sounds with them. Their first show for the year will be at Zed51 that effectively will kick off their tour. Drummer Branko Cosic caught up with HEAVY Magazine’s Ali Williams to chat about their return and their genuine excitement to be doing so. There’s a certain amusement in w...

The Dandy Warhols’ Zia McCabe has spent decades making music, but her latest creative chapter is taking her somewhere unexpected: immersive art. Returning to Australia in November, McCabe says the band’s relationship with Australian audiences remains special, saying “once Aussies decide they love you, they love you forever.” But alongside the Dandy Warhols’ upcoming shows, McCabe will unveil SEE H...

Interview by Ali Williams THE MARK OF CAIN aren't a band prone to excessive activity for the sake of it. They play when there is a reason to play, record when there is something worth recording and, still prefer enough amplifiers and cables on stage to keep several roadies gainfully employed. In 2026, there happens to be a very good reason to get busy.  The Adelaide trio Josie Scott, Kim Scott and...

There are few bands in the modern alternative rock landscape that can genuinely claim to have completely rewritten the rulebook, but Essex powerhouses Nothing But Thieves are definately one of them. From their explosive self-titled debut right through to the sprawling, neon-soaked conceptual masterpiece that was Dead Club City, these boys have consistently refused to play it safe. They have spent...

Interview by Ali Williams Sixteen years into a band, creative expansion can become a logistical problem. For PROTOMARTYR, the latest version apparently comes with horns, extra personnel and the growing realisation that every good studio idea eventually turns up on the tour budget demanding its own seat. The Detroit post-punk veterans are preparing to release their seventh studio album Hotel Usona...

The global punk rock landscape would look vastly different without the bruising anthems, razor-sharp sociopolitical fury, and unwavering grit of Chicago’s finest, Rise Against. For over two and a half decades, Tim McIlrath, Zach Blair, Joe Principe, and Brandon Barnes have acted as the sonic conscience of alternative music, throwing their weight behind causes that matter while sound-tracking the l...

After decades spent establishing himself as a formidable guitarist across bands including Vicious, Lizzy Borden and Metal Church, Ira Black is entering a new chapter — one where he is stepping behind the microphone and putting his own story at the centre of the music. Apocalypse marks a deeply personal evolution for Black, who began exploring his voice during the pandemic after turning his attenti...

Interview by Ali Williams Interview by Ali Williams Faroese artist Eivør is celebrating the impending release of her latest studio album, Tungl. For over two decades she has been considered one of Nordic music’s alluring treasures with her voice and also the range of her music, managing to captivate audiences worldwide. She is also midway through a European summer festival run, having recently pla...

Swedish metalcore visionaries Imminence are a band that refuse to be put in a box. Just when you think you have their signature blend of crushing riffs and symphonic grandeur figured out, they tear up the rulebook and build an entire universe in its place. Following the massive global breakthrough of their 2024 masterpiece The Black, the band has entered a bold new era by signing with heavy music...

If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the breeding ground of chaotic, beer-soaked, sweat-drenched rock and roll coming out of the Sydney and Central Coast underground over the last few years, then the name NFÏ should already be permanently tattooed onto your brain. These local punk rock lords have built a reputation as an absolute must-see live experience, tearing up local institutions lik...

La Dispute have always been a band that operates entirely on their own axis. For over two decades, the Grand Rapids, Michigan post-hardcore titans have bypassed traditional genre boundaries, instead crafting a visceral, emotionally exhausting world built on spoken-word poetry, jarring rhythms, and some of the most fiercely passionate storytelling ever committed to tape. They don't just play songs;...

When the news broke that progressive metal titans The Ocean had lost two-thirds of their lineup, the heavy music community as a whole held its collective breath. Longtime vocal powerhouse Loïc Rossetti, alongside Paul Seidel and David Ramis Åhfeldt, all stepped away. For lesser bands, a mass exodus like that is a definitive death knell. It’s the moment you pack up the gear, raise a glass to the me...

Interview by Ali Williams If organising an interstate show for your band meant first having to consult an aviation specialist, gather a road-condition report and possibly notify the Department of Defence, most would assume that you're either stuck in a fever dream and or that definitely be some A grade ganga you've gotten your grubby little mittens on. However this is standard band life for Northe...

Interview by Ali Williams NIGHTDIVE may be a relatively new band, but its members are hardly wandering into BIGSOUND armed with blind optimism and three rehearsals. Jack Robert and Mitch Clews have spent years working as session musicians, learning other people’s material, backing lead artists and making the whole operation sound considerably more competent. Now, alongside vocalist and guitarist S...

When you talk about the foundation of Australian heavy music, one name immediately commands respect.  Mortal Sin.  Emerging from Sydney in the mid-1980s, Mortal Sin became the undisputed pioneers of local thrash metal. Their 1987 debut album, Mayhemic Destruction, didn't just break the mould—it drew a definitive line in the sand, proving that Australian bands could match the speed, aggression, and...