Interview by Kris Peters Topping their last self-titled album was always going to be difficult for Californian metalcore outfit The Ghost Inside after it was named one of Loudwire's Best Rock and Metal Albums of 2020. The accolade was richly deserved for a band who have been through more lows than most, but despite sometimes insurmountable odds hav…

Interview by Kris Peters For the last decade and a half the name Flaming Wrekage has been synonymous with hard, thrashy and brutal Australian music. Since forming in Sydney in 2009 the band have raised the bar for touring and commitment in this country, constantly throwing themselves at the mercy of the metal Gods in countless trips around this cou…

Interview by Kris Peters Tumbleweed have been a mainstay on the Australian music scene for over three decades, having lasted through a plethora of music cycles, phases and periods of revolution. Throughout all they have steadfastly stayed true to their music, refusing to conform nor bow to the powers that be, instead rightfully deciding to forge th…

Interview by Kris Peters On the surface, Swedish outfit Quantum can be best categorised as a progressive metal band, but as you start to peel back the layers a deeper, more eclectic personality emerges. Blending elements from various genres, including prog rock, metal, late romantic era classical music, and jazz, Quantum's music output transcends j…

Interview by Kris Peters At thirty-three years young, doom/death metal outfit My Dying Bride still bite with the ferocity of a stallion, with a kick twice as ferocious. While many would be slowing down entering this stage of their careers, My Dying Bride give the impression they are only just getting started. Which is a frightfully sensational pros…

Interview by Kris Peters Australian self-proclaimed metal diva Billie-Jade is counting down the days until the release of her debut EP XI:XI, an album both raw and unapologetically honest full of attitude and spunk while still maintaining an air of vulnerability. After releasing her first single Horror Haus not long after electing to perform as a s…

Interview by Kris Peters After the disappointment at having to postpone their debut Australian tour in 2023, US death metal outfit Jungle Rot have stuck true to their promise of making it out here as soon as possible with the news they managed to find suitable dates with German black metal pioneers Rotting Christ this May. While Rotting Christ will…

Interview by Kris Peters NSW industrial punk project Schkeuditzer Kreuz are premiering their new single Ratchet via HEAVY this Monday, capitalising on the momentum built from previous releases Joy and Second Life. All three tracks are taken from Schkeuditzer Kreuz's album No Life Left, which came out in the last part of 2023, with Ratchet being the…

Interview by Kris Peters With a cross pollination of varying metal genres including sludge, death, gloom, black metal and hardcore, UK heavy outfit Conjurer are one of the few modern metal bands to walk that balancing tightrope of styles without imposing too much in any direction. Their willingness to experiment and push themselves outside of their…

Interview by Kris Peters U.S progressive metal outfit Exodus Rising have been making a stir on the music scene following the release of last year's debut album The Book Of Life. Armed largely with a DYI approach and a firm desire to take their music to a global audience, Exodus Rising first grabbed the attention of HEAVY just prior to the release o…

Interview by Kris Peters Iconic Canadian rock outfit The Tea Party have been mesmerizing fans around the world with their innovative music and captivating live shows for over three decades now. While their musical output has always been in a league of its own, it is on the live stage that The Tea Party have excelled, delivering knockout performance…

Interview by Kris Peters Five Finger Death Punch have never been a band to shy away from musical experimentation and collaborating with artists outside of their comfort zone and chosen genre. Over the years they have recorded songs with everyone from Rob Halford to Brian May to Kenny Wayne Shepherd, each time taking themselves out of their safety n…

Interview by Kris Peters Corey Glover has long been recognised as one of the finest vocalists of the modern era thanks to his role as frontman for Living Colour. It would be both easy and understandable for the singer to remain in the comforting confines of Living Colour, where his vocal prowess will always be beyond reproach, but Glover has never …

Interview by Kris Peters Melbourne industrial titans Witchgrinder released their highly anticipated third album, Nothing Stays Buried. Once more revolving around horror and the macabre, Nothing Stays Buried is a meaty slab of intent from the Australian outfit, furthering the promise shown on Witchgrinder's two earlier albums but magnifying it even …

Interview by Kris Peters Australian blues/rock outfit Beasts Of Bourbon have been a mainstay of the Aussie music scene for over 40 years, blending a blues-infused swagger with sleazy rock and tonnes of attitude to create a musical aura that is as much about the musicians who make up the band as it is the music itself. Originally formed with James B…

Interview by Kris Peters Since their inception in 1991 US rock outfit Incubus have defied the laws and conventions of music by shading outside the lines and creating their own brand of sonic retribution. Their music was different and experimental, while still maintaining a rock-infused underbelly that provided a meaty backbone that stood tall throu…

Following a recent successful tour of Australia with Northlane, metalcore legends ERRA are now readying for the release of their new album Cure, which is released on April 5. HEAVY spoke with the band just before their Brisbane show at Fortitude Music Hall. VIDEO WAS FILMED LIVE FROM SOUNDCHECK SO SOUND QUALITY MAY FLUCTUATE…

Interview by Kris Peters Melbourne metalcore/deathcore/techdeath outfit Roswell DeathSquad have been making waves since the release of their debut album Welcome Home in January this year. Which isn't surprising given the pedigree of musicians within the band's ranks. Featuring past and present members of Festation, Harlott, Carthus, Mistress of Mis…

Interview by Kris Peters CVLTFEST came to Brisbane’s Eaton’s Hill Hotel recently, bringing with it a tornado of hard rock and metal performed by some of this country’s headline bands as well as some that should one day attain that status themselves. But it wasn’t just a celebration of Australian music, with organisers Alpha Wolf assembling a strong…

Interview by Kris Peters It's hard to believe any international band could have been around long enough to earn legendary status yet not have toured this country before. Not that Australians feel entitled or big-headed and therefore expect such bands to tour here - quite the opposite. It's more because Australians generally need some form of tangib…

Interview by Kris Peters Experimental metal outfit Locrian are counting down the days until the release of their new album End Terrain on April 5. Officially endorsed as the proper follow-up to 2015's Infinite Dissolution, End Terrain sees Locrian return to the sounds that defined the earlier part of their music, more experimental and forthright th…

Interview by Kris Peters One of the lesser known wonders of the travelling Knotfest music extravaganza is the Knotfest Museum. An extension of the music program, the Knotfest Museum is more than a distraction tacked on as an afterthought. Much more. Everything on display is 100% genuine Slipknot, with the band members offering up personal items to …

Interview by Kris Peters On the eve of their Australian tour, Infectious Grooves pulled one final punch when they announced former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg into a band that already includes Mike Muir, Dean Pleasants (Suicidal Tendencies) and Rob Trujillo (Metallica). Not that Infectious Grooves rest their musical output on the pedigree of musi…

Interview by Kris Peters Brisbane metal outfit Ancient Remains understand the ethos of more is better, consistently churning out new material in an attempt to engage with as many people as possible. Their most recent effort is the crushing four-track EP Burn It All, which came out on March 13. Ancient Remains draw influences from bands such as Meta…

Interview by Kris Peters Photo credit Jeffrey Graham Photography Knotfest Australia 2024 is less than a week away, and despite boasting bands of the calibre of Lamb Of God, Disturbed, Halestorm, Skindred and more, the band on everyone’s lips is Pantera. After getting back together last year for some live shows - with Zakk Wylde filling guitarist du…

Interview by Kris Peters Let's face it, coming up with something fresh and unique when it comes to music and the music world is almost impossible these days. With more music at our disposal than ever before meaning a multitude of new bands and artists all clamouring to find their share of the market, it takes something truly special to give you tha…

Interview by Kris Peters Rising from the ashes of the grunge era, Melbourne rock outfit Cicadastone have spent just over ten years refining their sound amid a musical revolution that saw their style of music shunned from mainstream darlings to backseat troublemakers. Following their 2016 debut Chance Collide, Cicadastone found strength in the fact …

Interview by Kris Peters LA based alternative artist Lil Lotus recently unleashed his second album Nosebleeder via Epitaph Records, building on the promise shown on his debut effort ERRØR BØY. Nosebleeder sees Lotus collaborating across the sphere of alternative music, including Mod Sun, Sophie Powers, Alexis Munroe and kennedyxoxo. Determined not …

Interview by Kris Peters Halestorm took the world by storm towards the end of 2022 with the release of their fifth studio album, Back From The Dead. A rock album in every sense of the word, Back From The Dead drew a fresh generation of fans to Halestorm's side with its harder edge and attitude-stained delivery. That album saw Halestorm tour relentl…

Interview by Kris Peters In the modern age of short attention spans, it is refreshing to see some bands still operating by the tried and true laws of yesteryear when it comes to releasing music. With EP's and singles all the rage, Perth metal outfit All This Filth elected to take their time with their recently released album Tomorrow Will Be Better…

Interview by Nev Pearce from the Everblack Podcast For over three decades the name Carcass has been synonymous with death metal. The band - who are credited for inventing gore/grind and creating the template for melodic death metal - have not ventured to this side of the world for a number of years but are about to make up for lost time when they h…

Interview by Erin Eddy Finnish gothic rock legend Ville Valo is gearing up for an electrifying return to the Australian and New Zealand stages after a decade-long hiatus. With his debut solo album Neon Noir still reverberating through the music scene, Valo took some time to chat with HEAVY Mag about his latest ventures and the eagerly awaited tour.…

Interview by Kris Peters Making any kind of a splash in the ferociously brilliant wading pool that is Finnish metal is an arduous task, made even more so by the pedigree of bands gone before and the talent of those emerging. The metal scene has always been strong in that part of the world, and although there are a large number of Finnish bands reco…

Interview by Kris Peters While many bands proclaim to be the real deal when it comes to punk rock, very few can say so definitively. Punk rock is/has and never will be a style of music that caters to the masses or measures itself on facts and figures. It is more music for the outcasts and disenfranchised who have little in common except for a unite…

Interview by Kris Peters Fifty years of servitude in any industry is a great achievement, but fifty years in the music industry is something special. In an industry that rewards only when you have something of value to offer, bands are churned through the machine at a rapid rate of knots. Yesterday's heroes can quickly become tomorrow's nobodies wi…

Interview by Kris Peters As much as music and finding success in the industry is largely about talent, the occasional bit of good fortune or right place right time ethos certainly helps. Melbourne synthwave outfit Dark Water discovered this last week when they were announced as national support for Ville Valo on his upcoming Australian shows. The c…

Interview by Kris Peters 25 years ago, an album by an Australian punk outfit started making ripples in the music scene that quickly turned into rips in the very fabric of music. It typified the Australian laconic sense of humour and general apathy towards anything even remotely resembling authority, and would go on to become a landmark in Australia…

Interview by Kris Peters After taking a couple of years to fully find their feet again after a prolonged absence, Aussie funk/rock/metal dance machine Mammal are finally ready to unleash their second full-length album on the world with the release of The Penny Drop on March 6. After disbanding in the same year their debut album The Majority shocked…

Interview by Kris Peters After laying a solid platform last year with their debut EP Vol 1: Superdead metal outfit Suffer The Evenue have spent the last 12 months planning and refining the follow-up to best showcase their musical prowess. By harvesting the essence from their first release, Suffer The Evenue felt more comfortable following their cre…

Interview by Kris Peters It’s been almost 20 years since Bruce Dickinson released his last solo album Tyranny Of Souls back in 2005, but the wait is almost over with the release of The Mandrake Project on March 1. Much has happened with Dickinson both professionally and personally between albums, and he pours the bulk of it out on this, his seventh…

Interview by Kris Peters Greek metal masters of mayhem Suicidal Angels tomorrow release their eighth studio album Profane Prayer, reaffirming their growing stature as one of the leaders of the next phase of metal evolution. Since forming Suicidal Angels at just 16 years of age back in 2001, Nick Melissourgos (vocals, guitars) has overseen a changin…

Interview by Kris Peters Manchester death metal outfit Ingested are the gift that keeps on giving. Since their 2020 album Where Only God May Tread, the three-piece masters of metal have released roughly one album per year, culminating in The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams which will be unleashed via Metal Blade Records on April 5. Following the…

Interview by Kris Peters Pioneers of Electronic Industrial Music, The Crystal Method, return to Australia from March 1 via Auckland on February 29 for a string of showstopping performances. Despite only 14 months elapsing since their last trip out here, such has been the demand for The Crystal Method to bring their music back that these new shows a…

Interview by Kris Peters Knotfest Australia 2024 is fast approaching, with less than one month before the traveling music extravaganza hits Melbourne for the first show on March 21. Headlined by Pantera, Disturbed and Lamb Of God, it would be easy to overlook some of the other bands on the bill out of pure excitement for the headliners, but do so a…

Interview by Kris Peters Dragonforce are undoubtedly one of the biggest bands in the world - or at least the most recognisable. Allowing their track Through The Fire And Flames to be used on Guitar Hero 3 proved a masterstroke for the band after the global success of that game - not to mention the fact how addictive it was - propelled Dragonforce i…

Interview by Kris Peters UK reggae/metal/funk/rock outfit Skindred have successfully managed to combine a plethora of sounds, influences and genres together to create a completely fresh and vibrant sonic wave of destruction that on paper should not work but somehow does. Over eight albums the band has defied scrutiny, backlash and, at times, disdai…

Interview by Kris Peters One of the most enduring qualities of music - or punk music more specifically - is that as a listener or musician you don't feel the obligation to grow up. Ever. It's actually expected of you that your morals and beliefs will differ from the rest of society, and your outlook on life and sense of humour practically remain th…

Interview by Kris Peters Sydney's chameleons of rock, RedHook have been pretty quiet since the release of their debut album Postcards From A Living Hell in April last year. And who could blame them? 2023 was the year RedHook broke through from a band on the fringes of success to a bona fide international standard touring band, following high-profil…

Interview by Simon Russell-White To be honest I thought The Vinyl Tour was a play on words, I thought to myself “Surely this isn’t the final tour for the almighty Cog?!’. Such thoughts are not only bad for oneself but more importantly for the reader/listener of this interview! But I can assure you, it’s time to relax and enjoy…… Kicking off my conv…

Interview by Kris Peters Despite their relative youth, New Zealand alternate rock outfit Voodoo Bloo are no amateurs when it comes to music. Don't let their baby faces or innocent looks fool you. When it comes to making the tough decisions that could ultimately make or break your career, these lads will invariably make the right one. Be it youthful…