Reflecting On Music And Life With ELLA and JESSE HOOPER From KILLING HEIDI

Interview by Kris PetersIt’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 solo album, which is once again completed with the assistance of Dickinson’s long-time collaborator Roy Z. Dickinson is no stranger to releasing albums between his solo project and Iron Maiden, but we pose the question if he still gets nervous in the weeks before an album drop. "Nervous… I wasn't so much nervous about this one,” he measured. “I was just really excited and frustrated. The whole thing is we spent seven years making this record because of COVID and all that rubbish and various other things. I got sick for a year with throat cancer, but basically after seven years we got together and made the record, and it's been ready for release for about a year now. So people who have heard it are freaking out about it saying isn't it amazing, wow, this is the best thing you've ever done, and I'm like 'I JUST WANT IT TO BE RELEASED’." The Mandrake Project is an album seven years in the making, giving Dickinson time to pour more of his heart and soul into the musical aspect of the recording than usual. As a result, the album is more than just another hard rock release from the solo project of a famous frontman. It is more of a musical journey that transcends time, space and expectation that eventually comes back to the true essence of what got Dickinson interested in music in the first place. “Well, obviously, back in the day looking at stuff I dealt with Roy Z,” he recalled, “who’s my partner in the record and the producer. He co-wrote probably two-thirds of the songs with me, the rest of them are all mine. We did two really good records, Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding, which in the back end of the 90s people thought was a very influential record. And then we did Tyranny Of Souls then back in Maiden, so this was like unfinished business. There's definitely another album here that we could do. Continue the line as it were, because we started to diversify a bit on the journey. Chemical was fantastically heavy, and we wanted to kind of go beyond both of those albums so have more diversity on this record but also make it… when it was heavy, it was really heavy (laughs). Things we couldn't do, for example, in the context of Iron Maiden. Because Maiden’s got its own style, and we've got gazillions of songwriters in Maiden, so this is very much stuff where you say… some of this you would never hear on a Maiden record. So that was the basic idea with the album. I do need to mention that it looks like a concept album, but it's not. There is a 12-episode comic that goes with… as a companion to the album, but it's an independent, free-standing entity also called The Mandrake Project and the first issue was released on January 15. The Mandrake Project is going to go on for the best part of three years, so every three months we'll do a new episode of a 34 page comic. End of this year will be four issues, or the first book if you like, and that will come out at the end of the year as a full, complete issue, and then we'll crack on.” “That and the album combined look like a concept,” he continued. “From a presentation perspective they are, but from an artistic perspective, they're separate. They're like two free-standing trees next door to each other. You can't see the connection, but it's there because the roots talk to each other. But that's in fact what they are. If you listen to the album, but you never bother to have a look at the comic, that's just fine. And vice versa. But if you dip in and out of both, it's a lot more fun." Looking through the album track listing, there’s no song actually called The Mandrake Project to be seen, so we ask Dickinson what greater significance the title has. "That's quite an interesting point,” he smiled. “There's no title track per se. The original title of the album was going to be If Eternity Should Fail, which is actually pulled from a Doctor Strange episode of the comic. That song got pulled off and put on the Maiden Book Of Souls album, so I was cool with that. I thought I will repossess the song when we get around to doing the album - which of course we didn't for years because of all the circumstances. But when I finally came around to record that song I actually changed the title to Eternity Has Failed because I tweaked some of the lyrics and some of the story in the comic - there's our little two trees connected by the roots again - and I thought I need a title that sums up both the record and the comic and ties it all together. And this is where the two things really start getting linked. I've had two pages of scribbling absolute garbage, silly names, I won't tell you some of them because they're embarrassing (laughs) and I just kept churning at it saying "no, no, almost, no, oh my God get down the pub and forget about it" and then finally - I don't know why - the word Mandrake popped in my head and I had a good search of who else used anything Mandrake. I like Mandrake. I like The Mandrake Project because it sounds like some secret government clandestine thing. It sounds mysterious and you think what is that? That's a great intro to a world. And that worked for the comic as well, because The Mandrake Project is the name of this scientific organisation that is clandestine, which has developed technology to effectively bottle the human soul at the point of death and store it and then re-introduce it into something else. I invented these two characters, Dr. Necropolis and Professor Lazarus and a very basic story. By the time seven years had gone by, and I'd been locked up for three years (laughs) in a little apartment with my girlfriend binge watching Netflix, the story had moved on and I'd actually done a bit of work on it and taken a bit of advice from friends of mine who are Hollywood screenwriters. I ran the story past Kurt Sutter, who wrote Sons Of Anarchy. We had a zoom call together, and I ran the development of the story, and he was the one who said that would make a great comic. I said what do I do, do I write a script and send it to Netflix, and he said no, it will go in the bin but do a comic. So it ended up at four episodes in one book, so I wrote a couple of episodes and thought no way is this four episodes. Eight episodes then, and in no time at all it was no, this is twelve episodes and that felt just right. I rang the comic company and they were great. I expected them to show me the door, but they loved the story. They loved the idea. It's not a superhero comic by any stretch. It's much darker." The Mandrake Project has become a deeply personal album for Dickinson, with the vocalist admitting tapping into his fears, problems and truths brought out the absolute best in him. "I mean, all albums should be personal experiences,” he shrugged. “In my opinion, the best albums are, usually. This album wasn’t like therapy for me, but it kind of is in there's a big sweep of emotion on the record. In particular, the last three songs really go to some very moving but in some ways tragic places. And I couldn't have done that 20 years ago. There's a lot of mumblings about life and death, quite a lot of death on the record, and that's because I got a little bit closer to it than I really wanted to when I had throat cancer. I imagined I did anyway. You confront the possibility you might not be here in a couple of years, and you think well… how does that make me feel (laughs). Years ago when people asked me if the experience changed the way I thought about life I went ‘no, no, no, nah. No. It was just a bad cold’. But looking back nine years ago when I got diagnosed… looking back I realised actually yeah, it has changed the way I look at life. My perspective is unbelievably precious. Everybody should hang onto it and squeeze the last bits of life out of life. Right until your croaking breath because this may well be the only one you've got, and The Mandrake Project kind of addresses that. It's like, is there a God? And if there is, what kind of God is he? Is he a poet? Maybe it's just the force, Luke? Or maybe he does nothing at all. There's a few things along with that. There's a lot of underworld references, there's a lot of… not too much sci-fi on the record.” Before finishing up, we feel obliged to ask Dickinson what we can expect from the Iron Maiden tour of Australia later this year. "Death, destruction and skull doggery mate,” he promised. “It's gonna be amazing. I do 40 shows solo starting in April until 21st July, then I go lie down in a darkened room for two or three weeks and I wake up in Australia, and we start rehearsals in Perth. I'm really looking forward to it, we all are. We love Australia as a place, as a country, as the people who live there. We’re gonna have a blast. The only thing that would be almost as good as touring there with Maiden would be bringing this project down to Oz at some point. Obviously we're not gonna be doing 10,000 seaters,Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

29 Helmi 202411min

Interview by Kris PetersGreek 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 changing of the guard of sorts, kicking things off with the band's debut album Eternal Domination which set the musical landscape ablaze.After being invited by Sakis Tolis of ROTTING CHRIST to do their first European tour soon after, Suicidal Angels quickly found their stride and set about laying a decimating sonic landscape in their wake, forcing people to sit up and take notice.Landing the support slot with KREATOR set about a fresh chain of events that saw Melissourgos strike up an enduring friendship with Mille Petrozza, and since then Suicidal Angels have made every post a winner.Four years in the making, Profane Prayer is already being lauded by fans and critics alike, with HEAVY spending some time with Melissourgos earlier this week to document the rise and rise of his band."We're a thrash metal band from Athens, Greece," he declared proudly before we begin talking about the album. "We are about to release our eighth studio album and in a couple of days we hit the road for the first European tour for this album. Afterwards we go to the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. The whole booking process for the concerts is taking place, so we hope we can get to other markets as well. We had some plans for 2020 to come to Australia, but due to the COVID situation we couldn't make it."We ask Nick how the nerves are kicking in just days out from release."A bit, to be honest," he admitted. "Before this pandemic stopped the whole planet… it actually hit us quite hard because we had just released our previous album Years Of Aggression on August 2019, and we were about to do a huge, extensive tour. As I said before, we were even planning on going to Australia and the USA and Canada markets, places we hadn't been before. Two and a half years we were off the road, and then we tried to do some small tours mostly here and in America to promote the Years Of Aggression album and gradually and slowly came back to the reality of the after COVID situation. It took longer than usual to release a new album, but it was because of the situation, and now we're quite anxious and nervous but also excited with this release. We really hope to get back on the road and the life we used to have."In the full interview, we ask Nick to go deeper into the musical side of Profane Prayer, how much they experimented with their sound on the album, how it differs to previous releases, how much growth Suicidal Angels have left in them, the early days of the band and how serious he was about it, what things he has learned about life and music over the journey, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 Helmi 20249min

Interview by Kris PetersManchester 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 bleak firestorm that was Ashes Lie Still, Ingested have produced a more upbeat body of work that more reflects where the band are at personally in their lives.Never afraid to experiment within and beyond their genre, Ingested thread a myriad of subtleties through each new release, allowing themselves to explore different sonic plains while still remaining true to their core. It is an approach that has seen the band rise rapidly through the ranks and should see them ascend even further with The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams.The band produced the album themselves with the guidance of recording engineer Nico Beninato, further expanding their musical horizons, with guest appearances from Chimaira's Mark Hunter and Sylosis' Josh Middleton enhancing the finished product.Vocalist Jason Evans joined HEAVY to tell us more."We've been sitting on this album for well over a year now," he began. "We released our last album Ashes Lie Still in November 2022 and then four weeks after that album was released, in December 2022, we went into the studio and recorded The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams, so we've had this album done and dusted for well over a year. The way that we like to work is we like to work ahead, because we're always writing. So when an album's done, it's done. Let's just get in there, get in the studio, get it recorded, then what we're doing then is we're giving ourselves time to really prepare for the announcement and release of the album. So we've had a year to make sure the artwork looks amazing, make sure the music videos are all looking great, so that's how we like to work. We'd rather give ourselves the time to make sure everything's exactly how we want it to be for the presentation of the album so when it does get announced and people know that it's coming, everything is ready. We don't like rushing around. We like it done. I'm excited to finally announce to everyone that it exists and that it's coming out. We don't have to wait that long, but in the meantime we've just released the first single, Paragon Of Purity, with a music video. That's doing really well. All our fans seem to love it, and then we've got more. We've got more coming out in the run-up to the album's release and probably beyond the release as well. We've got loads of stuff coming. We've just announced a headline tour through the UK and Europe, which runs through April and May. We're taking out Fallujah and Vulvodynia, so I'm excited. It's gonna be yet another busy year for us."In the full interview, Jason talks more about The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams and what to expect, what Ingested were going for musically, what things the band experimented with, the two guest artists on the album and what they each brought to their song, the process of producing and the benefits to the band of knowing how, their release process and how the band harnesses its creativity, fans reactions to such frequent releases, how much musical growth Ingested have in them and more.HEAVY would like to thank our sponsor RODE. Intro music and end song 'Paragon Of Purity' by Ingested.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

26 Helmi 202430min

Interview by Kris PetersPioneers 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 are all close to selling out.Recognised as a pioneering force in the Big Beat genre and Electronica movement alongside The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and The Prodigy, The Crystal Method have played a large part in bringing their brand of music out of the warehouses and into the mainstream.Main man Scott Kirkland has worked with a lot of big names across genres, whether it be collaborating or producing, most notably releasing a reworked ‘(Can't You) Trip Like I Do’, with Filter on the soundtrack to the film adaptation of Spawn in 1997. Their album Tweekend featured guests including Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland, allowing for a metal crossover both sonically and from experience.Promising a night of “nostalgia, rave, and pure ecstasy”, The Crystal Method performs two hours plus every night and to tell us more HEAVY welcomed Kirkland for a chat late last week. We ask what has changed with the show since their last visit in December 2022."I definitely have added a bunch of new tracks," he replied. "We're visiting some classic stuff that I didn't play the first time around, some new mixes. I don't do the same set twice in a row. I like to change things up a bit, even from night to night. I'm aware of what I was playing back then and definitely wanna mix it up a bit and just bring the energy and bring the fun and take care of the people who show up."We mention the short amount of time between tours and the fact fans in Australia must love The Crystal Method."I was delighted to receive the offer to come back," he smiled. "I definitely had a good time when I was down there. It had been way too long. Obviously the delay from COVID… I was meant to come out in June or July of 2020 and things got shifted around, so I think there was a lot of anticipation for my return. Thankfully the shows came off well and the tour was great, and I'm really excited to be able to come back."In the full interview, Scott talks about Australian audiences and how they are different to other places in the world, what countries have the toughest crowds, how he reacts when crowds don't seem to be getting into it, appealing to heavy metal music fans, blending metal and electronic dance music and how easy/hard that is, what first attracted him to this style of music, how he transformed that love into The Crystal Method, how he would describe what he does to people who don't follow the band, future plans and more.Big thanks to our sponsore RODE. Intro music "Brown Snake" by Dreamkillers, premiered in HEAVY on March 14.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

26 Helmi 202416min

Interview by Kris PetersKnotfest 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 at your own peril.One of the best things about festivals is the opportunity to hear fresh bands for the first time. Bands that might not have crossed your radar yet. Personally, I have discovered some of my all-time favourite bands this way, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.One such band to keep an ear out for at Knotfest this year is Canadian deathcore wrecking crew Brand Of Sacrifice, a band rapidly on the rise overseas but making their first visit to this side of the world.With their recent signing to Nuclear Blast Records and release of heavy as fuck single Purge, Brand Of Sacrifice are up for the challenge of winning over a new legion of fans, with vocalist Kyle Anderson joining HEAVY to talk more."I'm very excited and definitely looking forward to seeing Disturbed," he smiled. "I haven't seen them yet."Despite the fact it was just over one month away at the time of this chat, we ask Kyle if he has allowed himself to get excited so far out."Oh, I've been excited ever since we got the offer," he replied. "It's been a dream. I've never been (to Australia before) and the band has never been either."We run through the line-up and ask who he is most looking forward to playing with other than Disturbed."I'm looking forward to them," he affirmed. "Pantera and Lamb Of God are legends too. As far as some of the newer bands, Thy Art Is Murder are great, and they're from Australia, so we've gotta plug them. I haven't seen Wage War yet, from America, so I'm looking forward to seeing them, too."In the full interview we ask Kyle if, as a young band on the scene, it gets daunting being backstage with so many legendary bands, what we can expect from Brand Of Sacrifice live, their sideshows with Lamb Of God, how different those shows will be to the festival appearances, if the band chooses festival set lists to appeal to a broader musical taste, how any songs from their latest EP Between Life And Death will be in the set list, signing to Nuclear Blast Records and what that means to the band, latest single Purge and if that is part of a bigger picture and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

23 Helmi 20247min

Interview by Kris PetersDragonforce 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 into the lounge rooms and stereos of gamers and budding musicians in every corner of the globe.While many bands would be content with such an achievement in itself, Dragonforce merely used it as a launching platform on which to deliver their brand of power metal, and the result has been devastatingly effective.Their music has been used on other games, been nominated for a Grammy and generally taken on a life of its own, with Dragonforce being considered universally as the fastest band in metal. Which is not surprising given the twin guitar assault delivered by founding members Sam Totman and Herman Li, two guitarists worlds apart to look at, but brothers in arms musically.After not delivering an album of any sort since 2019s Extreme Power Metal, Dragonforce are making an almighty return with their tenth studio album Warp Speed Warriors set for release on March 15.It has already been labelled as their most ambitious and innovative album to date, with Dragonforce exploring a variety of musical styles and textures, expanding their existing sound while still maintaining their roots.Guitarist Sam Totman joined HEAVY recently to chat about Warp Speed Warriors."Great," he enthused when we asked how he was feeling about the upcoming release of Warp Speed Warriors. "It's funny because, like every band always says, 'we're just so happy to finish it because we've been working on it for ages', but it's definitely the case. I started working on that right when lockdown started and because we had so much time I just worked on it very slowly. In the end unfortunately I started getting a bit sick of it because I'd heard it to death and I never got an end to it because it was like 'oh, I could improve this one' or 'I can improve that one' and I carried on, never stopping. Normally it's good to have a deadline where you finish the album and say right, that's that, that's what it is. But I had so much time to keep improving things and whatever - which is nice - but it was also kind of a pain in the ass. Now that it's finished I haven't listened to it for the last few months, but I put it on the other day when the first Astro Warriors song came on, and I saw the video and thought I can finally enjoy this song for what it is instead of thinking there's this little bit here that I want to change and a little bit there I want to change. Actually, the chorus of that song was different - it's a bit of a nerdy musician fact for you (laughs) - but I changed the chorus of that only two months before we finished the album. Before that it was a different chorus which I didn't think was as good. It was annoying me for three years, and I was thinking it's almost amazing but not quite. And I was like, I'm just going to have to bin it and start again because I kept trying to adjust it. But in the end it turned out good. That's a long way to say yes I do like our album, and it's more heavy and more melodic than all the other ones (laughs). I'd like to say one day it's actually lighter and less melodic, but that's not really true (laughs)."In the full interview, Sam talks more about Warp Speed Warriors musically, how it is Dragonforce's most ambitious and innovative release, what kinds of things they did on the album that they haven't tried before, covering Taylor Swift, the bonus tracks featuring guest artists, living up to their reputation as the fastest band in the world, the early days of Dragonforce and where they fit in, when he looked around and realised that he could make a career out of music, how the bands sound has changed over the course of ten albums, touring plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

22 Helmi 202430min

Interview by Kris PetersUK 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, disdain for daring to be different, but you get the impression part of the reason they survive and continue to thrive is because of, and in spite of, that adversity.Since Skindred were last in Australia four years ago the band have released a new album, Smile, that saw them surge to number two in the UK album chart, in the process reaching the hearts and ears of a new generation of fans to celebrate in all of Skindred's deserved glory.They return to our corner of the globe in March as part of Knotfest 2024 with exactly the same level of enthusiasm and commitment - just with four more years of experience. And what's more, this time the band will venture over to New Zealand for their first ever show in Auckland on March 28, with Kiwi metal titans Kaosis in support.Last time HEAVY spoke with frontman Benji Webb it was a case of almost anything goes, so when the chance to speak with the great man was presented to us earlier this week, we cleared our schedule immediately.We put him on the spot straight up by asking why the band have neglected our neighbors in New Zealand for so long."I dunno mate, you've gotta book us," he cheekily replied, "that's the way it goes. You call us. We don't put a pin in the map and say we're going there, people book us. If New Zealand aren't booking us, we're not gonna be there, are we? We're very excited about going there, man. We know we've got a few fans over there, and it's a country that we haven't been to yet, so we're itching to get there."We point out the New Zealand show is at a brewery and pose the question of what could go wrong?"A lot of things," he laughed. "But you know what? It doesn't matter about the size. It's about the size of the vibe in the place. We're looking forward to it, we are."In the full interview Benji talks about visiting countries for the first time, support band Kaosis, playing at Knotfest 2024, the backstage vibe, what we can expect from their shows, what Skindred expect in return, the side shows with Halestorm, the reception to latest album Smile, refusing to conform musically and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

22 Helmi 202415min

Interview by Kris PetersOne 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 the same thing. So why fight it? That would be more difficult than conforming, and we all know that's not going to happen.Just ask the three Jeans that make up Mean Jeans - Billy, Houndy and Junior - a trio of friends/band mates who have stumbled through life since even before starting the band 15 years ago, and they couldn't be happier.With a new album, Blasted, having recently hit the shelves and an almost completed Australian tour with good mates The Chats life couldn't be much better for Mean Jeans.Just don't ask them if they are ever going to grow up.Making a mental note to avoid that question, HEAVY sat down earlier today with Billy Jeans to catch up on things, starting with the reception for Blasted, which came out on February 9."Awesome," he smiled. "I feel good about it. I'm judging primarily from social media and whatnot, but everybody's sending text messages… I saw a bunch of reviews that the label sent that were all in German, so I don't even know what they said (laughs). It's been a good reception and I think while we were making this record I could tell that it had a little more cohesion and was more true to what Mean Jeans is supposed to be about at the core."We ask Billy to go deeper into the album musically."We never have and never will stray from about a four-power chord progression structure," he offered. "We pretty much keep it Ramones simple and then see what we can sprinkle on top of there, but with this one we had… the band wasn't on hiatus per se, but we actually were living in three different cities when COVID struck. We had been touring in the US up until the end of 2020, so it was a week before the pandemic occured, and we had a support tour with The Chats on the books, and we had never met these guys. That got postponed and postponed and postponed and rescheduled, so we spent most of the pandemic anticipating the tour. We kept booking stuff, even though no one knew when it would make sense to be doing so. Ultimately, it took over two years for the tour to happen, during which time Mean Jeans were not really functional. So the stuff I was writing, I had to put out a solo record called Funky Punks In Space, but mostly because I knew there was no chance of the songs seeing the light of day with Mean Jeans. Then we hadn't played a gig in two years, and we did a six-week US tour with The Chats, and they took us to Australia a couple of months later and after that, after about 10 weeks of touring, we hopped off the stage, and we were like, okay, that was really fun. We gotta bang out another album."In the full interview, Billy talks more about the songs on the album, addresses the press releases claim that Blasted is a "weird, wonderful and wacky album", which of the tracks is his personal favourite, the current tour with The Chats and how it has been going, the benefits of having time off between shows to be able to drive to shows, maintaining a sense of humour and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

21 Helmi 202413min