Impending Doom With KURT DEIMER

Interview by Kris PetersTen years ago, a then unknown Australian band called Kingswood laid solid claim to becoming a band you had to hear with the release of their stunning debut album, Microscopic Wars.Drenched in rhythm, carried by the band’s strong chemistry, bolstered by a confidence and swagger felt between songwriters Alex Laska and Fergus Linacre, MICROSCOPIC WARS heralded not just an exciting jump off point for the Melbourne group; for fans, it was the start of a journey with a band whose ambition would see them navigate a diverse range of music influences to follow.After six more studio albums, Kingswood are now a household name both here and abroad, but the band have never forgotten the album that gave them their start. And now, with that album celebrating its ten-year milestone, Kingswood are set to embark on a nationwide tour to celebrate by playing the album in full. Vocalist Fergus Linacre joined HEAVY recently to reveal the band's weird and wonderful plans to say happy birthday to Microscopic Wars."We've got a few special guests that are gonna come up and join us on stage," he teased. "We're taking a great band called The Delta Riggs with us for most of the tour, and over in WA we're gonna have Death By Denim come with us. Alex and I were talking, and he said to me yesterday when we were planning out who is gonna play what and what the parts are gonna be - because we've gotta relearn a lot of it. I've got to relearn how to play piano, which I never did in the first place (laughs). He said we're gonna give them… because we're so much more experienced - we're better singers, better performers, better players - he said we're gonna give the fans that love that album the best version of those songs that they've ever heard. Far better than when we played them back in the day, so it's exciting."In the full interview, Fergus discusses the tour in greater detail, what fans can expect from the show, playing the album in full and any problems that may pose, if the songs still resonate as strongly after ten years, the band's thought process going into Microscopic Wars, his memories of making it, recording in Nashville and how it impacted the album sonically, the temptation of reproducing that winning formula on future albums, diversifying your music while staying true to your fans and roots, how Kingswood's music has changed from their debut album to now, things they have learnt about themselves and their music over ten years and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

11 Kesä 202415min

Interview by Kris PetersThe Sweet have been a musical institution since the early 1970s after bursting onto the scene with their debut album Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be in 1971. Their Who-influenced hard rock style, supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals, struck a chord with youth the world over, propelling them into a career which continues with much love, fervour and respect to this day.With a succession of hit singles, including Ballroom Blitz, Fox of the Run, Love is Like Oxygen, Wig Wam Bam, Blockbuster, Teenage Rampage, Hell Raiser, Action and countless others, The Sweet were always the darlings of the music scene in all incarnations of the word. They toured relentlessly and continually sold out larger venues, in the process building for themselves a musical legacy that will stand the test of time in comparison to most others.To put it simply, The Sweet have been, and remain an iconic force in the world of music with no signs of slowing down just yet.So it is with a touch of sadness that The Sweet soon hit Australia for what has been dubbed The Farewell Tour - Greatest Hits. To run us through what to expect and take us on a trip down memory lane, HEAVY sat down with guitarist/vocalist Andy Scott to get the full rundown."We're coming to Australia to tour in November," he began. "With me will be my singer, Paul Manzi, my bass player Lee Small, my drummer Adam Booth and our younger, genius, second guitar player/ keyboard player Tom Cory. Also, I've just been told yesterday, that it looks like we'll be going to Tassie and then finishing in Perth." We ask what fans can expect from The Sweet in 2024."We've been through many phases, as you would imagine with the difference in music styles," he explained. "Fifty-odd years of a catalogue with almost three hundred songs in it… try picking twenty from that (laughs). I think most of the set writes itself, and we're certainly going to do about a dozen of the hits. Then we're gonna fill it with things like Set Me Free and some of the heavy rock stuff. Because we've been releasing some stuff more recently, we'll probably chuck a couple of the new ones in. It depends how long and whether we've got supports on all of the dates. It depends how long we are going to be playing, so the set might change slightly. There'll be something for everybody, I can tell you that."In the full interview, Andy talks more about what to expect from The Sweet on the tour, the extra shows at Airlie Beach Music Festival and on Rock The Boat cruise, coming up with set lists to appease the fans, adapting to change over the years, memories of the band's first Australian tour in 1975 and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

11 Kesä 202413min

Interview by Kris PetersSometimes the best brand of heavy metal is the one that follows a straight line. While bands of the modern era generally tend to mix a plethora of styles and genres into each recording, there are still the die-hard old-school metalheads that subscribe to the old adage of if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.Veteran MidWest thrash metal outfit Conquest are one of those bands.Over successive previous albums, Conquest have flown the flag high for old-school metal, with crushing guitars and blinding speed punctuating their material. So it comes as no surprise then that their latest album Paradox - out now - is cut from the same cloth.More of the same, if you will, only better.Vocalist/guitarist Derrick Brumley joined HEAVY to talk us through more, starting with the reaction to Paradox thus far."So far really good," he enthused. "I mean, we're pretty blessed on how much attention it's getting these days. It's awesome. When you're a musician, and you're an artist at it, you hope for the best. Expect the worst, but keep pushing for the best (laughs)."We ask him to go deeper into the musical side of Paradox."The record Paradox is 16 songs, one is a cover of The Man On The Silver Mountain," he began. "Dio and Richie Blackmore early on was a big inspiration for me, so I was really into that old stuff like that. That's how that song found its way on the record. Just something I always wanted to record and that kind of spawned the whole thing. And then for the other tracks, we had a bunch of tunes written for the record, but then COVID hit, and the original drummer had left the band for a little bit because he had major personal issues. He was out of the band, then Lee came in and filled in the next two years - I should say became a member of the band - and just killed it on the drums. He brought this thunder to the songs, so we put all these songs together and ended up with 16 tracks after writing with Lee. It just piled in, next one, next one, and it was really cool and a really diverse record. It's very old school with a little touch of new stuff here and there. I tried to keep the production raw. I don't like overproduced stuff."In the full interview, Derrick talked more about the songs on Paradox, keeping true to your influences, writing and recording in the studio, the obstacles the band had to overcome in order to finish the album, a bit of history about Conquest, their upcoming show with Burning Witches and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

11 Kesä 202412min

Interview by Kris PetersTheir 2022 album Pirates ushered in a new era for Austrian symphonic metal band Visions Of Atlantis, seeing the powerful metal outfit explore new lyrical territory in embracing the pirate theme. The album was a resounding success, paving the way for an expansion of the sonic universe of the Jolly Roger in even more emphatic terms.The pirates of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS are about to take listeners on their heaviest symphonic adventure yet with their new studio album, PIRATES II – ARMADA, set for release on July 5, 2024 via Napalm Records. A swashbuckling tale of menace on debauchery on the open seas, Pirates II - Armada is set to propel the band to even greater heights, reinforcing their growing status as rulers of the symphonic realm.One half of the male/female vocal dynamic, Meek, joined HEAVY to dive deeper into the tale of the seven seas."Visions Of Atlantis is a symphonic metal band that was born in Austria but has become international now," he began, "because I'm from Italy and Clementine - which is the female singer - she is from France. Basically, it started as an Austrian project, but now we consider ourselves a fully European band. Right now I would say that we are holding the crown of symphonic… of the old school, classic symphonic metal. With so many other bands heading away from the genre, it seems like we are getting lonely (laughs). We need more symphonic metal bands around. It feels like the trend has gone away, but we still stick to what we believe in. If you like symphonic metal, then we are the band for you."We ask how he is feeling about the impending release of Pirates II - Armada."Super, super excited," he smiled. "This has been the work of two years that is finally coming to life. In this moment we are super, super excited and looking forward to the feedback that we will receive. We put our heart and souls, as always, in preparing this new record and this is the hot moment and the hot months before the release. You don't really know. We write the music, we write what we feel. We write the emotions and put them down in songs and you never know what the feedback will be like. Now we are receiving the first ones from reviewers and interviewers, but at the end of the day the fans are the real judges and the ones who will tell the verdict about this entire thing (laughs)".In the full interview, Meek tells how this album relates to and follows on from Pirates, the musical composition of the album, the claims that this is Visions Of Atlantis' heaviest outing to date, how to get a heavy sound from symphonic music, his transition into the role as vocalist over three albums, his dynamic with Clementine and the writing process that unites the two voices, touring plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

11 Kesä 202419min

Interview by Kris PetersThere isn't much Swedish metal royalty Hammerfall have failed to accomplish in their almost 30-year existence. With multiple international tours, gold certification, a succession of powerful and well-received albums, 100+ million streams and YouTube views and a passionate global fanbase, you would almost wonder if there's anything left to tick off the band's proverbial bucket list. But there is one glaring omission.Hammerfall have never done a full tour of Australia…That terrible blot on an otherwise stellar career will be rectified in January of next year when Hammerfall venture to this side of the world for five shows that see them play in every capital city this great country has to offer.Not only that, but Hammerfall are also on the cusp of releasing their 13th and arguably best album yet, Avenge The Fallen, on August 9. With so much going on for the band, HEAVY cornered guitarist Oscar Dronjak to find out why Hammerfall have neglected Australia until this point and plenty more."We're very excited about this," he smiled. "We only did one show there in 27 years of existence, so it's gonna be fucken cool. Every time we do a new album we do press in Australia and everybody is asking when are you coming back? We never had anything to say about it, but finally now we do and it seems like it's… I have heard from friends of mine in bands who have been there and say it's great. Everybody wonders why don't you go there? I have no good answer for that, only the fact that we are going now, so that's enough. We've been all over the world for the most part, except Australia. It should have happened before (laughs)."We ask Oscar if he will be doing any research before he comes out here on what to expect, or if he is more the type of person who prefers to go in cold and see what happens."We've been there once - it was nine years ago now I think - and that was a good experience," he replied. "If that is anything to go by, I think we're going to have a really good time at the shows. Ultimately - and this is my experience from touring all over the world - but ultimately heavy metal fans are more or less the same all over the world. They just wanna go to the show, be entertained, have a good time, listen to some great music, and watch a good show. That's all they wanna do. Hopefully, drink some beers too (laughs). If that is the attitude - which I believe it is - we're gonna have a really good time."In the full interview, Oscar talks more about the tour and what we can expect from Hammerfall, what planets must align for the band to walk off-stage and be blown away, their upcoming album Avenge The Fallen and what to expect, how the band keeps improving with each album cycle, their recent tour with Helloween and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Kesä 202424min

Interview by Kris PetersGold Coast punk, thrash, hard rock outfit Goatzilla are one of those bands that don't really care if they are liked or not, they will still turn up to annoy the living shit out of you in the name of fun.It's perhaps a bonus then that these guys are not only a whole bunch of fun, but they also sound pretty fucken good too!After terrorizing the general public with their cracking debut album Muthafukasaurus in 2019 - which featured the irresistible track Drop Bear - Goatzilla have been a touch more measured in their approach, popping up sporadically to play a show so that people don't forget who they are while working diligently behind the scenes to create new music and secure that elusive success in the music industry of getting signed to a good label.All of that would suggest that 2024 is the year of the Goat(zilla), which just so happens to be true. Today, the upstarts release the audio for their awesome new single Alien Nation, with next Friday seeing the music video follow suit.The boys are out on the road as we speak showing off the new song, which happens to be the title track for their next album which will be out in August. And to top it all off, the gang recently signed with rapidly rising new Aussie label XMusic.Things couldn't be going any better with Goatzilla at the moment, so HEAVY thought we would try and challenge that thought when we tracked down frontman Ben Zilla to find out all the juicy details."Really, really pumped," he enthused when asked how he was feeling about the single coming out now and the album in the near future. "This has been a long time coming. We started this whole process during COVID, and things just stretched and changed. It's taken a long time to get to this stage, but it's been worth it. We had Pete Jansen, our other guitarist, take on the job of mixing and mastering the whole thing and has done an absolutely phenomenal job. The songwriting we're really happy with, it's sounding great. It's a level up from Muthafukasaurus and the single is a lot of fun. Very, very excited."In the full interview, Ben talks more about the single Alien Nation and it's frenetic pace, the upcoming music video and what to expect, how the new album is a step up from their debut, the musicality of the whole album and the alien theme and how it relates, their blending of genres to create a punk/metal hybrid that is bold, loud and infectious, their current tour and what to expect, signing to XMusic, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Kesä 202418min

Interview by Kris PetersLast year's album Blackout by metal outfit From Ashes To New was a groundbreaker for the band, in terms that it encompassed sonic variations from each of their albums and spewed them forth with a fresh, new dynamic that more or less signalled the full coming of age of the popular band.While success of that magnitude generally guarantees the release of a Deluxe version of the album with bonus cuts and/or remixes, more often than not such a move reeks of merely another means to get hard-earned cash from the band's fan base but every so often the obligatory follow-up hits the mark - and then some.Such is the case with Blackout Deluxe, which is set to land on June 7. More than just an afterthought triggered by success, this Deluxe album was actually discussed in the lead-up to the original album, with some songs earmarked for such a release even before Blackout was completed.Blackout Deluxe will consist of the original album's twelve tracks, plus six bonus tracks featuring artists such as Aaron Pauley from Of Mice & Men, Chrissy Costanza from Against The Current, Yelawolf and more. It is more an expansion of the original release rather than an afterthought, with one surprise bonus track featuring guitarist Matt Brandyberry making his debut vocal performance.Brandyberry joined HEAVY to go into Blackout Deluxe in more detail.We start by asking if he gets as excited about releasing a Deluxe album as he did the original album."We've done some deluxe's in the past," he measured, "and I'm not sure that I've had the same excitement levels. But I can say for this one, yes, because there is a track that's not released yet, and it's something that our fans are probably not expecting."We ask about the response to Blackout from fans."I think it was above what I was expecting," he replied. "It's been phenomenal. Our ticket sales are at an all-time high, our merch, VIP, album, everything. We're cruising, man, things are going good."Along those lines, we question Brandyberry on how a band measures the success of an album in the modern age of music."I think it's overall streaming," he nodded. "Some of that doesn't matter, I don't think, because you'll see an artist or a band that streams really high, but then they don't have anyone at their shows, and sometimes you can see the exact opposite. I think to know if what you're doing is working is if people are all-encompassing. Are people wearing your new merch? Are they listening to your new music? Are they going to your shows? It's kind of all of it together."In the full interview, Matt runs us through each of the six bonus tracks individually, talks about the guest artist on each and why, the genesis of these songs in relation to the original Blackout, the song which features his vocals, their current tour and upcoming shows, new album conversations, giving the fans what they want musically and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Kesä 202415min

Interview by Kris PetersBrisbane metal outfit RVN//NT (pronounced Revenant) have accomplished a great deal since forming just last year. They dropped their debut single Void Of Mind in March, closely followed by Bleed Within, establishing themselves as a band on a mission with plenty to say.June 7 sees RVN//NT unleash their third and darkest song yet, Distain, a hard-hitting track about the addictions and struggles with mental health and addiction.With a string of further releases planned and a debut EP on the horizon, vocalist Connor Gutteridge took some time out to chat with HEAVY about RVN//NT’s plans to spread their brand of metal."The thing that we've been explaining to people when talking about Distain is its kind of the big, bad brother of Void Of Mind," he began. "It's a little bit more in the metalcore style with some tasty little licks, but then we're also experimenting with some synth stuff as well. It's honestly just a killer track. It's a big track. We've got all of the elements that we've hit forth so far - growl vocals mixed in with clean vocals quite nicely. We've got - in my opinion - one of the better drummers out there at the moment with Jake Brown, he's phenomenal. Then Damien, my brother, plays guitar for us. He's literally come from a bedroom guitarist - this is his first band. I think it was the third or fourth track that he sent through to us initially, and I couldn't believe it (laughs). As soon as we heard it, I was like 'you're joking'. He's levelling up a lot."In the full interview Connor talks more about Distain from a lyrical standpoint and its subject matter, the darkness of the song and why it was necessary, how it differs to the band's two previous singles Void Of Mind and Bleed Within, if they are stand-alone singles or part of a bigger picture, if those three songs are a good sonic representation of RVN//NT or if there are more layers to their sound, upcoming live shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

5 Kesä 202418min