Raw, Real & Gritty With LUKE GRUNTS From CLEOPATRICK

Interview by Kris PetersNewcastle progressive rock outfit Age Of Emergence are currently about halfway through a run of shows around Australia in support of their new EP The All Seeing Eye Part 1.In a world where the core genres are starting to become more popular by the week, it is refreshing to see a band staying true to their core, unafraid of defying conventions by peddling their brand of rock.Age Of Emergence have been plying their trade since forming in Newcastle back in 2013, releasing their first EP Plea For A Dying World four years later before following that up with The War Within Ourselves in 2020. Then, as happened the world over, the pandemic struck and halted the momentum AGE had been steadily building, but rather than succumb to the general bleakness engulfing the world, the band decided to turn their feelings into music with the result being The All Seeing Eye.The EP also sees AGE welcome in new drummer Adam Clayton, with Adam joining vocals/bass Dean Holmes and guitarist Matt Neilson for a chat with HEAVY earlier today, starting with the early response to the new EP."No one has said anything so far," Holmes laughed. "So, so far it's been pretty positive. I guess most people seem to think it's better or just as good as the stuff we've done previously.""People like the video clip we've done as well," Clayton added. "It's good to know that the effort is being appreciated.""The sound is an improvement from what we were chasing," Neilson chimed in."We used more of the current modern recording methods with this," Holmes continued. "All the plug-ins and things like that and I can see why bands are using it now.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Touko 202427min

Interview by Kris PetersFirst impressions always count massively, especially in the world of entertainment, where we are currently so spoilt for options that it is almost too easy to pick and choose. Debut singles, EP's and albums place more emphasis on getting it right in the knowledge that your band's future career possibilities could be curtailed with one ill-thought-out release in the early stages of existence.Which is why fresh Brisbane metal outfit Aeon Nexus have hit the ground running on the back of their debut single Twin Hurricanes which came out last Friday. It doesn't hurt that well-known local vocalist Sam Wolstenholme is fronting Aeon Nexus, but that alone does not guarantee instant success.Twin Hurricanes is an absolute banger, highlighting the band's unique blending of djent, raw, aggressive metal, symphonics and pop sensibilities to create a sonic whirlwind of emotion and intent that is as infectious as it is brutal.Sam sat down with HEAVY earlier this week to introduce her new band and single."This is my new project that I formed last year," Wolstenholme smiled. "Now we've hit the ground running this year with some shows and our debut single release that will be leading up to an EP in a few months. We're progressive metalcore, so inspired by bands like Spiritbox, TesseracT, Architects, Northlane, that sort of thing. It's been a real pasion project for me. For quite a while I've wanted to front a heavier band and so learned to scream and found some amazing musicians to work with and here we are!"Wolstenholme started Aeon Nexus off the back of her previous symphonic metal band Seraphic, who were well known and loved and one of the better bands doing the Brisbane circuit, but after a tumultuous period during COVID things changed on her personal musical landscape, thus leading to the formation of this new project that sees Wolstenholme step out from behind the keys and assume the role of front person."About five years ago now, there was a lot going on in my life," she recounted. "There was a lot going on with my personal life, and basically everything changed. I went through a real transformation, and I was a bit lost. I was in Seraphic, and I've been doing symphonic metal for a number of years, but then suddenly my life imploded. I listened to the album Alien by Northlane, and it really resonated with me and completely changed my life if I am being honest. It was something that really stuck with me, and I began this love affair that I now have with metalcore. I had a vague idea in my mind of wanting to do something like that - something heavier - but I thought that could never really be a possibility for me because I'm a classically trained vocalist, even though I've been doing metal for a number of years. Before I did metal, I was actually training and studying to be an opera singer, so I thought those two worlds could never collide (laughs). I could never do harsh vocals, that's not a thing. It was always a dream in the back of my head, but I thought it wasn't possible. Some time went by and Seraphic decided to go on hiatus. The pandemic really killed us all, to be honest. It was a real challenge for a lot of bands, and we were no different, so musically, things were at a bit of a standstill for me and I thought why not revisit this dream and give it a go?"In the full interview, Sam discussed Aeon Nexus' plans for their debut single and upcoming shows. She shared her personal journey and the band's decision to release a series of singles before the EP, with Twin Hurricanes being the debut single. We also discussed the band's musical direction, songwriting process, and upcoming EP, which will offer a diverse experience.The details of the upcoming single launch show at the Brightside on May 19 were also discussed, including the line-up and benefits to the local metal scene. The show is the first in a series aimed at showcasing local core bands, with a focus on hardcore, metalcore, and deathcore acts.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

17 Touko 202424min

Interview by Kris PetersSydney's merchants of sludge Black Rheno have hit the road again, this time on an East Coast tour of Australia to celebrate… well, to celebrate that they are a touring band and that's what touring bands do!Since announcing themselves with the heavy as fuck and funnier than childbirth single No Time For Numb Nuts back in 2016 Black Rheno have epitomised the very spirit of Australian music, often driving ten hours to play a show while allowing themselves nothing more than cheese and crackers for dinner so they didn't run out of petrol between gigs.You may smirk, but I have seen it first-hand.With a dedication to touring and music almost as complete as their ability to entertain, Black Rheno are one of those bands that manage to make an impression everywhere they go, even sometimes being invited to come back.That tenacious will to do what they love paid handsome dividends earlier this year when Black Rheno joined good mates and equally hard-working Aussie metal larrikins King Parrot for a show with Pantera in Adelaide. Not only was it reward for effort, but it also got the trio so wrapped up in their own achievements they decided then and there to hit the road once more with one thought, and one objective only. To tell the world exactly who they are and why they are here with one simple question that has become the catch cry for the whole tour.Who The Fuck Are Black Rheno?Of course, HEAVY has our own ideas of how that question should be answered, but we felt obliged to speak with frontman Ryan Miller first before announcing it publicly to see if he could sway our opinion one way or another. With the first three shows completed last weekend, we start by asking how their quest for recognition has gone thus far."Good," he enthused. "It was our first time out at Penrith. There's a new venue out there called Elton Chongs and I want to give them a massive plug because they are fucken awesome."Not being able to avoid the elephant lurking in the corner of the room any longer, we broach the name of the tour and suggest that there surely couldn't be many people left who don't know who the fuck Black Rheno are."I'm sure there are plenty," he brushed off dismissively, "but it's more like do we know who Black Rheno is? Do we really know just who we really are? We need to go out and discover who we really are. We have to get to the core of who Black Rheno really is."In the full interview, Ryan discussed the challenges and aspirations related to touring, highlighting the demanding nature of touring in Australia and the intricate process of organizing tours. He expressed his deep appreciation for the touring experience and the thrill of living for the music. The conversation also included details about Black Rheno's recent tour shows in New South Wales, upcoming tour dates in Victoria and Queensland, and the addition of a special show with Wretch in Canberra.He delved into the essence of the band, contemplating their identity and the challenge of encapsulating their music in just a few words. The discussion also touched on their natural, unpretentious stage presence and the significance of touring with local support bands. He also discussed the show with Pantera and how special it was personally and musically, and finished with a plug for the new Black Label beer that is on sale at all but two of the shows.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

14 Touko 202419min

Interview by Kris PetersJohnny Casino has travelled a long way since the 1990s, when he was part of beloved Sydney rockers Asteroid B-612. Known then as guitarist John Spittles, the man's myth and legend has grown exponentially over the years, with people in the modern age referring to him as Johnny Casino, guitar slinger and tattoo artist.After relocating to Spain earlier this century, Casino dove further into his solo career, plying his talents with a multitude of different artists and honing his skill set to reflect his musical growth.That journey continued on May 3 when Casino unleashed his latest album High Stone, a rock album highlighted by meaty guitar chops and jazz-style harmonics.HEAVY tracked Casino down late last week to find out more."I make a lot of records," he began, "and I just… once I'm happy with them then I put them out into the world and there's really not too much I can do with them. People like them, some people tell me that they don't like them as much as the last one or more than the last one. My hands are clean. Once I'm happy with it, and I've given it to someone to do their job by manufacturing it, then my job's done. I don't give them out until I know that I've done something that I'm happy with or proud of, or at least something that's interesting to me."In the full interview, Johnny discusses High Stone in greater detail, including its early reception and Johnny's approach to creating music. He emphasized his continuous drive to create new records and his preference for working with people he enjoys spending time with. They also talked about the musical journey of the album, the use of keyboards, and the influence of the backing band, St James and the Apostles, on the album's sound.Johnny also explored the impact of his personality on his music, highlighting the importance of authenticity and honesty in his creative expression. He shared insights into his decision to relocate to Spain, describing it as a lifestyle change and an opportunity to reach new audiences beyond Australia.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

12 Touko 202421min

Interview by Kris PetersReliqa are one of the current emerging crop of must-see bands on the Australian music scene.Since lighting up the scene with the delightful 2022 EP I Don't Know What I Am, Reliqa have poured blood, sweat and tears into cementing their status and earning their stripes. They have toured relentlessly and kept up a high level of engagement and generally gone noisily (but quietly in their own sense) about their business - which is delivering kick-ass, confronting music backed up with a breathtaking live performance that delivers the complete package.Following the earlier release of new singles Terminal and Killstar (The Cold War), Reliqa last week dropped another pearler with Dying Light, all three of which feature on the band's debut album Secrets Of The Future which is due out on May 31.HEAVY sat down with vocalist Monique Pym to find out more, starting with how she is feeling the closer the official release date of May 31 gets."I'm terrified," she laughed. "This is the longest record that we've ever released because given the landscape a lot of people listen to shorter form material these days. We've tried to honour that through our singles, but it will be interesting to see who latches on to this full 52-minute experience - and experience is one of the words for it because it is quite a diverse album. I'm so excited. I think that this album… it feels like we're sitting on a precipice right now, and once we release this album I think it's gonna open up a whole lot of doors, so let's just see what happens. We're taking it one day at a time."We ask Pym to go into more detail about what to expect from Secrets Of The Future."It's something that honours how diverse and open-minded we are as people," she measured. "The four of us have such different life experiences and different influences and musical tastes, and that's something that we've always tried to hammer on through our music. Try to keep making records that we want to hear and ones that we want to listen to. Things that feel representative of us as people, not just as artists, but people as well. That's something that we've really remained true to on this album. I'm only speaking for myself here, but I think we have captured the right formula for it now. On our I Don't Know What I Am EP we sort of threw everything at the wall, and we went pretty crazy with it, but this album exorcizes a lot of restraint and I think that that's really cool because it shows that we've matured as people and as artists. It's also shown that we know how to write now in a way that services the song and services the wider product, rather than zooming in on parts and making each part perfect. Ultimately, I think the one word that captures this album is diversity or open-mindedness. There are so many different sounds on there. We call it progressive metalcore, but that progressive is the kicker. The progressive means that we've taken metalcore, and we've drawn in a whole lot of different influences, sounds and styles from other places. Hopefully there should be something for everyone on there. Something for the pop fan, something for the rap/hip hop fan, and then also staying true to our progressive metalcore roots. Hopefully people still love us for that (laughs)."In the full interview, Monique talks more about Secrets Of the Future, how you gauge success in the modern age of music, the three singles released and how they represent the album as a whole, advancing their sound, maturing with their music and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

12 Touko 202418min

Interview by Kris PetersAdelaide rock outfit Audio Reign have, by virtue of geographical location, possibly had to work that bit harder than most to have their music heard and accepted on the national music scene.Without the opportunities and weight of numbers afforded bands in the larger cities and areas of Australia, Audio Reign learnt early on in the piece that the best way to compensate for the lack of opportunities was to produce continually high-quality music that would hopefully resonate through the divide and into the hearts and ears of a national, then international audience.Their debut self-titled album offered strong indications of the talent within the band, particularly frontman Jake Fleming, who has been blessed with the stereotypical rock chops that demand an audience. And while more often than not Audio Reign have had to fight tooth and nail to draw that audience in their hometown of Adelaide, opportunities have gradually presented themselves with the band's recent support slot to touring US outfit Skillet overdue reward for effort.Today Audio Reign fire their strongest shot yet in their quest for rock immortality, with the release of their sophomore album The Perfect Sea, an album that has healthy doses of rock through to hard rock and metal tinges but also splatterings of emotion and sonic diversity that only a growing confidence and self-belief can muster.HEAVY has keenly observed Audio Reign since first coming across them a number of years ago, and it gave us great pleasure to be able to sit down with Fleming for a deeper insight into the musical mechanisms of the new album."It's been a labour of love," he sighed when asked how it felt to finally have the new album in the public domain. "We're stoked to get it out. It's been a long time coming, and the fans have been waiting, so we're on cloud nine."Bands throughout history have always been plagued by the second album syndrome, an affliction generally thought of as more of a cop-out to those outside of the industry, so we press Fleming to see if the band had any unexpected difficulties with the follow-up effort."It's always that way where they say your first album took you twenty years to write, but the next album is expected every couple of years," he measured. "It can be. This album was written during COVID times too, so there was a lot of emotion going through there and just life in general as well. That helped out, I suppose. I'm not the sort of person who just sits there and bangs out a song. I have to wait until it comes to me. But it came through pretty good. The next one… you will have to ask me then (laughs). But this one's been okay."We ask Fleming to describe The Perfect Sea from a musical point of view."A lot of people have albums that have themes," he replied, "but this one doesn't really have one. There's definitely some songs on there that are part of the same thing, but the whole album itself, because it took so long through the pandemic and the fans have been waiting, I wanted to do something for them. The album itself, and the song The Perfect Sea, is basically dedicated to our fans for sticking around and waiting for us and for backing us."In the full interview, Jake talks more about the diversity of music on The Perfect Sea, the steady procession of singles and how they reflect the album as a whole, which two singles best represent the direction of the album, his vocal range and how far he pushed himself this time, how this release differs from Audio Reign's self-titled debut, the musical growth within the band, singing with XMusic and what that means for the band, touring plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

9 Touko 202421min

Interview by Kris PetersSydney metalcore outfit Harroway might only be just starting out on their path in the wide world of music, but already they have figured out that pleasing themselves is the first and foremost goal in this industry that can break down even the strongest willed with ease.Following their well-received debut EP earlier last year, I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore, a collection of five songs running the gauntlet from the harsher spectrum of metalcore to the more inviting, Harroway could easily have played it safe and delivered up more of the same with future releases. That EP solidified the band's growing reputation and led to a sold-out run of EP launch shows, but instead of resting on their early laurels, Harroway have elected to come out all guns blazing with the first single release since that cycle, a demonically ferocious number called Heresy.The track is a spitting, snarling descent into chaos, seemingly leaving behind the more universal appeal of their previous songs with a step to the dark side that could potentially open Harroway up to … well, just about anything.HEAVY sat down with vocalist Matt Banks to find out more, starting with how fans have reacted to the new single."It's been great," he smiled. "Weirdly now that it's a month or so out we are really starting to see the traction from Spotify numbers. Our monthlies are back up to like over 20,000 monthly listeners now. We're about to crack like, I think somewhere around, it'll be at like over 40 thousand plays on Spotify alone. I think it's like the total of all platforms, which is sick because it started a bit slow. I was a little nervous and thought maybe people didn't like it. There's a couple of viral videos that are floating around, which always helps out. But yeah, and even at the shows, it's been really good, especially obviously that last breakdown. You know, we've been getting a lot of crowds sing along, you know, basically every show, which is fucking awesome because we've never really We've never really had that before."In the full interview, Matt spoke more about Heresy, highlighting its heavy sound and positive reception. He also discussed the musical inspiration behind the single and the decision to release it as a standalone. Matt shared insights into his performance mindset and the band's plans for a new EP, emphasizing changes in their musical style and production process.He also talked about the band's evolution and the challenges of being in the music industry. The conversation also touched on Harroway's almost finished tour with Sienna Skies and No Home, the success of the sold-out shows and future plans.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

9 Touko 202422min

Interview by Kris PetersFollowing a triumphant rebirthlast year with their comeback single of sorts The PMA Effect, Gold Coast noise machine The Final Fall quickly busied themselves on the live circuit, pumping out a second single Live Everyday earler this year.Their eclectc and confronting mashing of genres has ensured The Final Fall have made an impact anywhere and everywhere they play, with a menacing and strangely cohesive blending of genres from punk to metal to rock to hardcore creating a sonic maelstorm of venemous intent that is difficult to put into words.So the band have decided to let their music do the talking, with the premiere at 4pm on May 10 of their latest single Sold - Selling Out Part 2 exclusively via HEAVY mag.Another slab of musical mayhem, Sold is the successor to The Final Fall's original song Selling Out which was released back in 2011. It may seem like a long journey between drinks, but The Final Fall is determined to make up for lost time, with guitarist Benny Whiskey sitting down with HEAVY to tell us more."It's a bit of a journey," he laughed. "Our music has a lot of punk and metal and hardcore in there, and with this one we just wanted to push the boundaries. It's actually the sequel of one of our songs we wrote about a decade ago called Selling Out and is the same as that one, just pushing the boundaries musically. Lyrically, it's almost off the name - Selling Out, Sold - we just wanted to keep the same sequel going. In a short note don't sell out on your friends or family because that's what gets you through life."In the full interview, Benny covered various aspects of The Final Fall's music such as timing, promotional strategies, and the musical and lyrical content of the song. They also talked about the band's history, including a previous release and their return to the music scene after a hiatus. Additionally, they explored the challenges of re-entering the music world after a long absence, their recent experiences with live shows, and the band's exploration of different musical genres.Benny provided a comprehensive overview of the band's upcoming events in the punk and hardcore scene, discussing support for renowned bands like Belvedre and The Decline, an upcoming tattoo convention show, the charitable nature of the Rock Beats Depression event and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

9 Touko 202414min