HEAVY Music Interviews

If you like your heavy music served with a side of absolute, unadulterated chaos, then grab a cold beer and brace yourself. Gold Coast alternative metal titans Sunk Loto are officially heading back out on the road this August for their highly anticipated Dead Shadows Tour. Trust me when I say this is shaping up to be one of the absolute heaviest and most intense runs of the year.
For those who need a quick history lesson, Sunk Loto dominated the Australian heavy music landscape in the late '90s and early 2000s, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with international giants like...

Interview by Ali Williams
PARADISE LOST have spent close to four decades making misery sound magnificent. While countless bands have shuffled through genres, line-ups and ill-advised creative awakenings, the UK veterans have built an entire legacy from heaviness, melancholy and the endless human capacity to stare into the void and find a decent guitar melody lurking inside it. 
After almost a decade-long absence, Paradise Lost are finally returning to Australia. Guitarist and songwriter Gregor Mackintosh joined HEAVY’s Ali Williams to discuss the band’s long-awaited visit, their latest album Ascension, the record he threw away before writing it pr...

Brisbane’s Mansfield Tavern is locking its doors and bracing for total structural failure. The third annual Necrosonic Festival is descending on Saturday, August 22, 2026, delivering 12-plus hours of unrelenting extremity across three stages. While international powerhouses Rivers of Nihil and homegrown technical death metal legends Psycroptic are set to co-headline, the middle tier of this massive bill holds some of the most devastating weapons in the Australian heavy music arsenal. If you want a band that will completely tear the skin from your face with clinical, heavy precision, look no further than Melbourne deathcore juggernauts Gravemind.
These guys have sp...

If you call yourself a fan of heavy music and your pulse isn't already racing, you need to check your vitals right now. The absolute masters of Floridian metalcore, Wage War, are officially gearing up to bring their massive, unrelenting It Calls Me By Name world tour down under. This isn't just another casual standard run across the ocean, folks; this is a full-blown, sonic assault that is set to completely decimate every single venue it touches.
The demand out there is already completely mental. We have already seen the Melbourne show get a massive venue upgrade to The...

Interview by Kris Peters
If you like your heavy music served with a side of absolute, unadulterated chaos, then grab a cold beer and brace yourself, because Swiss deathcore juggernauts Paleface Swiss are heading back Down Under. After completely decimating venues across the country on their sold-out 2025 run, the Zurich four-piece have just announced a massive seven-date Australian headline tour for January and February 2027. Trust me when I say this is shaping up to be one of the absolute heaviest and most anticipated tours of the year.
Ever since they detonated onto the global metal scene, Paleface Swiss...

Interview by Kris Peters
When American metal titans Motionless In White announce a new record, the heavy music community stands up and takes notice. 
Celebrating two decades of sonic devastation, Chris Motionless and his gothic-metalcore troupe are poised to unleash their highly anticipated seventh studio album, Decades, on July 17. It is a monstrous, career-defining release that effortlessly honours their dark history while forcefully kicking down the doors to the future.  From the industrial venom of the lead singles to the monumental collaborations featuring massive names like Slipknot's Corey Taylor plus Skylar Grey, Decades is a masterclass in survival, ra...

The Meanies are absolute legends of Australian punk rock, and they are tearing through 2026 like a runaway train. Formed in Melbourne back in 1988, these sonic maniacs have spent nearly four decades delivering chaotic, high-energy pop-punk packed with hooks and bruises. Fronted by the indestructible Link Meanie, they are a band that leaves everything on the stage - literally - known for chaotic live sets that frequently end with broken gear or broken bones. After surviving decades of rock 'n' roll storms, they are still one of the most vital, loud, and uncompromising underground bands in the country.
If you...

Sydney six-string maestro Plini has just unleashed his monumental third studio album, An Unnameable Desire, and it is a certified masterpiece. For a musician who already operates in the absolute stratosphere of technical guitar playing, this new record pushes his sonic boundaries into completely uncharted territory. It is heavier, prettier, more complex, and utterly brilliant.
If you thought his previous masterpieces like Handmade Cities or Impulse Voices were the pinnacle of modern guitar music, prepare to have your mind completely blown. An Unnameable Desire is a cinematic rollercoaster that perfectly balances jaw-dropping polyrhythms with celestial jazz-fusion soundscapes. Plini has...

Interview by Ali Williams
There are few bands in Australia who can announce they are taking a string quartet on tour and not have the nation immediately clutching its pearls in fear of acoustic violations. You Am I, thankfully, are not most bands. 
When HEAVY’s Ali Williams caught up with bassist Andy Kent, the news was as unexpected as it was oddly perfect: You Am I are heading into theatre territory with a string quartet in tow, giving selected songs from across their catalogue a more considered, cinematic, and potentially spine-tingling treatment. And no, before anyone starts pic...

Interview by Angela Croudace
German power metal veterans StormHammer are embracing a heavier, more aggressive direction on their upcoming album Wrath of the Hammer, due for release on July 17, while still staying true to their melodic foundations.
Bassist Horst Tessmann revealed the album marks a deliberate shift back towards the sound of Welcome to the End after the more melodic approach of Seven Seals. Following years of lineup changes and delays, he said the band is finally where they want to be creatively.
"The title track represents the new album and the style of the band quite...

Let’s be honest: when you talk about Aussie heavy music, you cannot look past the absolute legends in Psycroptic. For over twenty-five years, these boys from Hobart have been wave-makers. They show the rest of the world that Australia doesn’t just do metal; we master it. Led by the unstoppable Haley brothers - Dave laying down machine-gun drum beats and Joe ripping absolute shred-fests on guitar - Psycroptic have built a reputation on sheer, relentless hard work.
Now, they are gearing up to unleash their ninth studio weapon, The Pulse of Annihilation, landing July 17, 2026. And it gets bett...

Interview by Ali Williams
SCREAMFEEDER, the beloved Brisbane Indie Rock Trio, formed back in 1991, and in 2026 have proven to be one of this country's influential groups in the industry. They’re best known for turning down major-label offers throughout the 90’s as a way of maintaining their independence and ultimately having control over where and how their music was created and displayed. Their decision to do this inspired an entire generation of Australian alternative musicians by showing them that they had options and to seriously consider exercising them.
Tim Steward has been doing this long enough to know when...

Detroit rock quintet Eva Under Fire are about to unleash their most ambitious, vulnerable, and absolutely crushing record to date with Villainous, dropping on July 10, 2026, via Better Noise Music. If you thought their 2022 debut Love, Drugs & Misery pushed boundaries, then strap yourselves in, because this new 13-track monster completely redraws the map. It is a gritty, cinematic concept album built from the ashes of self-destruction and forged into a massive, heavy anthem of reclaiming power.
Led by frontwoman Amanda Lyberg - who masterfully balances her dual life as a licensed therapist and a powerhouse rock vocalist - the band...

Australia, get ready to have your faces completely melted because some spectacular savagery is heading down under this winter. Floridian metalcore titans Wage War are returning to our shores for their first-ever nationwide headline tour, and if you think they’re coming alone to play nice, you are dead wrong. They are bringing one of the most vicious live acts on the planet today to help them tear down venues across the country: Nashville’s very own heavy-hitters, Orthodox.
Led by the chaotic energy of frontman Adam Easterling, Orthodox are a unique but undeniable powerhouse that absolutely refuses to comp...

Interview by Ali Williams
Most legacy bands eventually announce one final album before quietly discovering that "farewell" is a surprisingly flexible word. MAT SINNER never bothered with any of that. He simply got busy.
For decades, the German bassist, songwriter and producer has been balancing more projects than most people have unread emails, with PRIMAL FEAR naturally becoming the priority. SINNER, the band that started it all, quietly slipped into the background. Not because the passion disappeared. Life just had other ideas.
Then a handful of songs started stirring the creative pot..


Become a...

Lock up your eldest, dust off your leather, and brace your ear canals, because a metal storm of apocalyptic proportions is officially tracking straight for Australian shores! 
HEAVY is absolutely stoked to bring you a rare, face-to-face breakdown with two of the most uncompromising, venomous, and legendary frontmen to ever grace a festival stage: Dani Filth of black metal royalty Cradle of Filth and Dez Fafara, the groove-metal mastermind driving DevilDriver. 
After completely decimating the United States on their co-headlining run, these long-time partners-in-crime are packing up their Double Trouble tour and unleashing it on Aussie fans at ma...

Melbourne's powerhouse hard rock trio XCalibre are gear-jamming their way back into the spotlight, less than half a year since they delivered their crushing debut album X. Born from the chaos of lockdowns, frontman Dan Marazita, guitarist Vinny Mancuso, and drummer Shane Evans have evolved from regular music warriors into a stadium-levelling force. They have spent years refining a massive sound that hits you right in the gut, and now they are unleashing the ultimate weapon through XMusic: the highly anticipated deluxe edition of that powerhouse debut album.
If you thought the standard version of X was a total...

If there is one thing you can always count on in this crazy, beautiful thing we call the rock and roll landscape, it’s that Dallas Frasca does not do things by halves. She doesn’t just play music; she lives it, breathes it, and commands it like a genuine force of nature. Coming off the back of heavy touring, massive arena supports with legends like ZZ Top, and a highly successful Green Electric Tour, Australia’s premier riff-queen is gearing up for her most ambitious sonic adventure yet.
Pack your bags and fire up the engines, because Frasca is hea...

The meteoric rise of New Jersey deathcore titans Lorna Shore stands as one of the most remarkable modern success stories in heavy music. At the centre of this sonic storm is lead guitarist and primary songwriter Adam De Micco. Since co-founding the band in 2009, De Micco has steered the group through seismic lineup changes, genre-defining stylistic evolutions, and the viral explosion that followed their landmark 2021 EP, …And I Return to Nothingness. Today, the band’s signature blend of symphonic black metal grandeur and technical deathcore brutality has propelled them from sweaty basement gigs into massive international arenas.
This October, Lorn...

Interview by Kris Peters
Bodyjar is bringing the machine back in for its 25-year scheduled service this July and August 2026, proving that classic Aussie punk rock never goes out of style. Celebrating a quarter-century of their iconic, gold-selling fourth album How It Works, the Melbourne legends are hitting the highway for the massive How It Still Works national tour.
Let’s be honest: when an album like How It Works drops in 2000 and completely reshapes the landscape of Australian punk, you don't just let it gather dust. You polish up the riffs, lube up the kit, and drag it...

Get ready to have your absolute minds melted, Australia. The legendary Maynard James Keenan is pulling a massive double shift this December, bringing his electro-rock side-project Puscifer down under to open for none other than his own alternative rock heavyweights, A Perfect Circle. Talk about an absolute masterclass in sonic insanity!
If you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know it’s been more than a decade since A Perfect Circle last graced our shores. But the real kicker here is the inclusion of Puscifer, who are locked and loaded to push the boundaries of reality with their...

Interview by Ali Williams
VINDICTA are heading Down Under this month and are starting a new era by becoming louder, angrier and significantly harder to ignore. Freshly formed by vocalist Grace Pasturini, formally of Dutch band Dogma, Pasturini and other former members are diving headfirst into ensuring VINDICTA hits in all the right spots, following the chaotic demise of their previous band. 
Chatting with HEAVY’s Ali Williams, Grace assures that the band’s next chapter is not a polite little adjustment or a cautious shuffle into slightly different shoes. It is a full creative shift, backed by new m...

Melbourne outfit Riff Raiders are a powerhouse hard rock outfit known for their explosive live energy, massive hooks, and crunching guitar riffs. Formed in 2017, the band features core members Jenni Powell on soaring lead vocals and Marty Powell on lead guitar. The band initially built a loyal following across the Australian live rock circuit with their debut album Live Like You Mean It and their critically acclaimed 2020 follow-up Rock and Roll Daydream, with their signature sound blending classic Aussie rock traditions with a sharp, modern alternative edge.
On 7 June 2026, the band ended a six-year album hiatus by releasing their...

Interview by Kris Peters
Dead of Winter Festival is officially back, resurrecting its glorious, dark alternative underworld at Brisbane’s iconic Mansfield Tavern on Saturday, 27 June 2026. After six long years in the shadows, this absolute staple of the heavy music calendar is rising like a Phoenix. Organisers have curated a massive line-up of 31 bands, performance art, and horror cosplay. Yet, out of all the distortion and chaos set to take over the multiple stages, one band is uniquely poised to completely steal the show: The Neptune Power Federation.
Fresh off massive European touring, the Sydney-based rock outfit is ma...

Interview by Kris Peters
Portuguese masked metal maestros Gaerea will embark on their highly anticipated debut tour of Australia next month. Presented by Soundworks Direct, the five-date national run is officially titled the Loss Australian Tour. This run marks the very first time the cathartic extreme metal band will bring their intense live performance down under.
Known for their signature black hoods and a sound that blends crushing breakdowns with soaring, emotional melodies, Gaerea has built a formidable reputation in the global heavy music scene. The upcoming shows promise to deliver immense emotional impact and raw live energy.<...

There are few stories in Australian rock history as heavy or as real as Nathan Cavaleri’s. We all remember the kid—the pint-sized blues prodigy who jammed with B.B. King, signed global deals, and made the guitar sing like a seasoned delta master before he was even a teenager. But as any rock fan knows, the higher the climb, the more brutal the crash. With his upcoming massive national theatre production, the Growing Pains tour, Cavaleri isn't just playing a set of tunes; he’s laying his soul bare on stage in a raw, real-time reckoning with stardom, mental...

Interview by Angela Croudace
Fifty years after helping ignite the UK punk movement, Captain Sensible still sounds pleasantly surprised that The Damned are standing strong.
Speaking ahead of the band's Australian 50th Anniversary Tour this September, the guitarist reflected on a career that has taken the group from playing tiny pubs to prestigious venues that once wanted nothing to do with them.
"When we started, I never thought it would last more than three or four weeks," he laughed. "We were playing this uncompromising noise music and upsetting audiences. I never thought anyone would let us make...

American rock titans Shinedown and British alternative legends Bush are uniting for a massive co-headline tour across Australia and New Zealand in September 2026. Promoted by Destroy All Lines, this blockbuster arena run bridges two distinct eras of heavy guitar music. The highly anticipated roadshow represents Shinedown’s monumental return down under for the first time in over 15 years. Simultaneously, it marks Bush’s first full-scale headline run of the region in nearly three decades.
Shinedown brings a precise, high-octane live production to the stage, fueled by a record-breaking 24 number-one rock hits and more than 8.3 billion global streams. Local audiences can...

Interview by Ali Williams
German death metal veterans FLESHCRAWL are entering a major new chapter with Epitome Of Carnage, their 10th studio album and the first to feature Borisz (The Savage) Sarafutgyinov handling all vocals and lyrics. In conversation with HEAVY’s Ali Williams, founding drummer Bastian Herzog and Borisz spoke about the refreshed lineup, the record’s old-school approach, the pressure of carrying a long-running name forward, and the small matter of trying to get the band to Australia without financially maiming everyone involved.
It is a big moment for FLESHCRAWL, although neither Borisz nor Bastian seem inte...

Get ready to snap your necks, Australia, because New Zealand black-thrash titans Bulletbelt are crossing the ditch this June to tear you all a new one.
The Wellington metal veterans are locked and loaded for the highly anticipated resurrection of Dead of Winter Festival. Taking place on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at its brand-new stomping ground the Mansfield Tavern, this iconic alternative counter-culture gathering is officially back after a multi-year hiatus. While Aussie heavyweights like DZ Deathrays and Mammal are ready to hold down the home front, Bulletbelt represents the absolute pinnacle of relentless, sonic savagery coming from across the Tasman.<...

Denver, Colorado punk collective Dead Pioneers return with their fierce third studio album, Wagon Burner. Set for release on 26 June 2026 via Hassle Records, the project builds upon the momentum of their 2023 self-titled debut and 2025’s acclaimed PO$T AMERICAN. 
Fronted by Indigenous visual performance artist and activist Gregg Deal, Dead Pioneers' continue to blend the raw fury of hardcore punk with biting spoken-word commentary, channelling the contemporary Indigenous experience, historical trauma, and political resistance.
While their previous work relied heavily on targeted individual statements, Wagon Burner represents a more unified, collaborative writing effort by the full band. Musically, it...

Interview by Ali Williams
Spanish melodic death metal force BLOODHUNTER returns on June 12 with their new album, Sons Of The Abandoned. It has been both a long wait and a very deliberate one for the band. Four years have passed since the band’s previous album, and while fans have been understandably circling the release date like metalheads around a merch table with limited sizes, BLOODHUNTER have not spent that time idling around waiting for inspiration to knock. “It’s been a long wait until we finally release the album,” vocalist Diva Satanica explained to HEAVY's Ali Williams, adding that the...

Interview by Kris Peters
Thirty years after the tragic loss of frontman Bradley Nowell, California’s premier ska-punk icons Sublime have defied the impossible. The band has returned with their new album Until the Sun Explodes (June 15), their first full-length studio album of entirely original material since 1996. Arriving via Atlantic Records, this highly anticipated 21-track LP is a monumental generational handoff. Stepping into the frontman role is Bradley’s son, Jakob Nowell, who unites with original founding members Eric Wilson (bass) and Bud Gaugh (drums) to create a record that feels less like a modern reboot and more like a be...

Interview by Kris Peters
Let’s be honest for a second. When you hear that Karnivool is touring, your ears instantly prick up. They are the undisputed kings of Australian progressive rock, a band that makes complexity sound like second nature. But when the tour announcement dropped, the words Car Bomb and TesseracT were slapped on the bill alongside them, things suddenly took an even bigger turn for the better. This isn’t just a concert line-up; it’s an absolute musical assault on the senses.
HEAVY has always loved music that challenges you—the kind of tracks that don...

Interview by Kris Peters
Australia's hardest working rock outfit Airbourne are the official supporting act for Guns N' Roses across the Australia and New Zealand leg of their World Tour. This high-voltage stadium tour pairs two generations of fierce rock icons.
Hailing from Warrnambool, Victoria, Airbourne was formed by brothers Joel and Ryan O'Keeffe and are a seamless fit for the legendary Los Angeles band. Airbourne has spent decades carrying the torch for raw, traditional Australian hard rock. Their straight-ahead rock 'n' roll style is heavily reminiscent of pub-rock pioneers like AC/DC, slotting comfortably alongside Guns N’ Ro...

Interview by Kris Peters
Seattle’s favourite bald, bearded, heavy metal comedian, Luke Severeid, is returning Down Under this September for his highly anticipated headline stand-up tour, aptly titled Here To F#@k Spiders. Presented by premier music and entertainment promoter Destroy All Lines, this national run cements Severeid's status as one of the most explosive, must-see comedy acts in the global circuit today. 
Severeid first won over massive Australian audiences with a breakout run on the KNOTFEST Australia circuit, followed by an appearance on Aussie television's The Project. Known for his self-described "unmedicated ADHD in action" comedic sty...

Poison The Well is touring Australia in June 2026, marking their highly anticipated return to the region for the first time since 2009. This massive headlining run celebrates a monumental new era for the Florida metalcore heavyweights following the release of Peace In Place, their first studio album in 16 years. For local fans who have spent nearly two decades missing the band's visceral energy, the tour bridges historical legacy with sharp modern urgency.
Promoted by Destroy All Lines, the national tour features a heavily stacked bill of elite hardcore talent. Poison The Well is joined by Boston hardcore disruptors Haywire, making...

Australian rock legends The Superjesus are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their landmark sophomore album, Jet Age, with a national tour that kicks off in Brisbane tonight, June 5.
Released in October 2000 through EastWest Records, Jet Age marked a massive creative and commercial evolution for the Adelaide-formed band. Following the gritty, raw, grunge-fuelled success of their 1998 debut album Sumo, The Superjesus faced heavy industry pressure and unexpected internal turmoil. This included the departure of founding guitarist and co-writer Chris Tennent.
Rather than collapsing, frontwoman Sarah McLeod and bassist Stuart Rudd recruited new guitarist Tim Henwood. This lineup change completely...

Interview by Kris Peters
Drowning Pool's multi-platinum debut album, Sinner, celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special reissue via Craft Recordings, marking its release date on June 5. 
First unleashed in 2001, Sinner remains a towering monument of the nu metal era. It quickly rocketed the Dallas-based heavy metal band into global stardom, debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and achieving RIAA Platinum status within its first six weeks. 
At the absolute centre of the album's cultural impact is the explosive hit single, Bodies. Instantly recognizable by its blunt, repetitive, and devastating opening riff, the track became an omnipresent cu...

Words by Ali Williams
Ben Kweller is excited to be heading back to Australia in July with his Cover The Mirrors tour. It has been a while between visits. Kweller says he has not toured Australia since before the pandemic, making this run something of a proper return after the world decided to collectively lose the plot for a few years. 
“I’m so excited,” he says. “I love Australia. I haven’t been there since the pandemic, so this is my big return since the world shut down.” 
That excitement is not the polished, copy-and-paste version artists someti...