Raw, Real & Gritty With LUKE GRUNTS From CLEOPATRICK

Interview by Kris PetersMadison, WI outfit The Flavor That Kills are one of those rare bands that is impossible to classify into one set genre of music.Harnessing the might of everything from rock to punk to blues to metal, The Flavor That Kills are an eclectic group of individuals, each with ample amounts of craziness and passion that ultimately creates a sound and music that is truly fresh and unique.With their third album Book Of Secrits coming out last September and the sweet sounds of their music finally filtering to these tender ears all the way Down Under, HEAVY thought it high time we sat the four boys down for a get-to-know-you chat and let's just say a good time was had by all.Now it's your turn to get acquainted with drummer Eric, guitarist/vocalist Ryan, bass player Christian and guitarist Nick.Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride…I start by asking which, out of all the flavors in the world, actually has the ability to kill."It was just a play on names, really," Eric spoke up. "We were trying to come up with the stupidest name we could think of, and that ended up being it. At first, it was more of a joke, but we just kept it because we thought it was cool."Seeing as how not many of you would be familiar with The Flavor That Kills - yet - HEAVY feels it appropriate to ask the boys for a brief history of the band."We've been around for a while, but this is a new incarnation of the band," Eric continued. "When we first started ten years ago or so we had a keyboard, a Rhodes piano, and then we replaced that with Nick on guitar. So we kinda went from a guitar-based, drums, vocals and Rhodes to a two-guitar bass and drums. The record that you have, the new one, is the first one where we redefined the sound. Plus, we're all songwriters. Nick's brought a lot into the band. We historically have been a lazy band until recently with this record, which was supposed to be done, but then the pandemic happened, and we got delayed a couple of years."In the full interview the band talks about their many and varied influences and how they bring them all together to create The Flavor That Kills sound, their new album Book Of Secrits, where their inspiration comes from, keeping music fun and enjoyable, what songs to listen to in order to get to know the band's music better, upcoming live shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

9 Tammi 202421min

Interview by Kris PetersIt is quite fitting for a band with the name Decembers Deadline to be releasing new material just days before the year rolls over through January, but then again, this isn't just any normal release from the Brisbane metal outfit.Since the band's last single Unique came out in November 2021 much has changed with Decembers Deadline, most noticeably two new members in the form of guitarist Peter Muldoon and vocalist Saxxon Olejniczak. Bringing with them a fresh outlook and renewed vigor, Decembers Deadline have taken on a much harder edge, redefining their sound without straying too far from what existing fans of the band would expect.With the December 29 HEAVY premiere of the new track Cross-Hairs looming fast, we sat down with both new members to chat about the new material and what to expect from Decembers Deadline two years on."Since then (Unique) we've had a bit of a member change," Muldoon explained. "As Sax mentioned, him and I came on last year. So a bit of a line-up change, a bit of a reshuffle within the band. We had a sit down and said let's do this and let's get our influences in on this as well and shape the sound and take what those guys had and hopefully improve on it and come out bigger than ever."We ask for a bit more information on both of the new kids on the block and what they bring to Decembers Deadline."I feel like we're both bringing a fresh face and new sound to things," Saxxon offered. "In the demoing stage of things, it was definitely Peter going 'is this what you want?' and everyone jumping on board and saying yeah we're gonna run with this. So I guess it was definitely bringing a new aspect to the writing of the band, and I think that was the biggest thing we were bringing. Fresh faces, a fresh sound, and a way to get the band still going without it being too different to what the old stuff was."That said, we ask the boys to tell us more about Cross-Hairs musically."Musically, I listened to what the guys were doing," Muldoon began, "and they were throwing their influences around. As Saxxon said, I came up with a bit of a riff, that main djent style riff, and sent it through to the boys and said 'is this what you wanted' kind of thing. It's funny, because that then plays into the lyrics as well, where the lyrics and chorus say 'is this what you wanted?' (laughs)."In the full interview, the boys talk more about Cross-Hairs, how it differs to previous material, if the song is a good reflection on the future direction of their sound, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 Joulu 20238min

Interview by Kris PetersWhen Murderdolls burst onto the scene in 2002 with the ridiculously brilliant album Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls they were sadly recognized for the wrong reasons.Although the infectiously sinister music and vocals ultimately were the backbone of the band's sustained success, it was the worldwide notoriety of two of the members (one more than the other) that first sent media into a frenzy.Fronted by Wednesday 13, known for his shock/punk duties with Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, Murderdolls were always going to be worse than the ones your parents warned you about, but it was the guitarist of the band who attracted unprecedented attention.Slipknot - who at that time were still largely an anonymous, masked, musical war machine - had just released the devastatingly crushing Iowa album, with diminutive drummer Joey Jordinson creating a musical tornado behind the drum kit.With the announcement of Murderdolls came the news that Joey was in the band - unmasked - but would be playing guitar instead of bashing skins.This alone guaranteed global intrigue for Murderdolls, but did not once seem to be a contrived or deliberate publicity stunt.Murderdolls, via their music, made an emphatic statement of intent on that debut album that they were here to make music fun and sleazy again and despite the pedigree of their members were just a bunch of mates out to make music and have a good time.Inevitable internal problems and scheduling conflicts prevented the follow-up, 2010s Women and Children Last, from being released for almost a decade and by that point Murderdolls were no longer a fully functioning band, leading them to split in 2013.Rumours circulated that Wednesday 13 and Jordinson had severed all ties and despite a constant chorus of cries for a reunion, Murderdolls remained inactive up to and including the time of Jordinson's tragic passing in 2021.It seemed Murderdolls and their music would remain forever in limbo, with Wednesday understandably reluctant to continue the band in light of events.But, earlier this year and with the 20th anniversary of Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls stirring up renewed fan fuelled calls for a reunion of sorts, Wednesday found it in his heart and spirit to go on the road to celebrate that great album and the impact it had on so many lives.With the tour set to hit Australia in February 2024, HEAVY was finally offered the opportunity to interview Wednesday about Murderdolls, an interview we have been waiting for for 20 years. Still occasionally giving in to our inner fanboy, we tell Wednesday straight off the bat how excited we are to see the show."Me too, I'm excited," he smiled. "I didn't realise that the people were this passionate about the music. It's great to see that 21 years later there's still the old fans and then this whole new generation of young fans that have been dying for it as well. It's a great reaction. We're in the middle of a US tour right now and it is nothing but fun going out and playing these songs. It's a full hour, hour 45 minute set playing 20 songs off both records - 13 off the first album and the rest off the second - and it's been a complete blast every single night. I cannot wait to bring it to Australia and see the madness that it will create there."Until this year Wednesday had not played any Murderdolls songs for over a decade, begging the questions of what made him decide now is the right time to dust them off."There are Murderdolls songs scattered in the Wednesday 13 setlist," he corrected. "I Love To Say Fuck has been a staple of mine, as well as 197666. There are several songs that have switched in and out over the years, but the main thing that started this unfortunately was the passing of Joey. Last year when I was touring and sort of doing a celebration of my 20-year history including Murderdolls and Wednesday 13 stuff and there's a part of the set where we play four or five Murderdolls songs and I did a little story about Joey and I and after the show everyone said I have never heard Murderdolls songs like that. You should do a full set like this. Now that Joey has passed it would be a great thing and I said you're right, you're right, you're right. It was just hearing it over and over every night, and I realised why shouldn't we do it? It's the perfect time, and also it was a healing thing for me, and I think it's a healing thing for the fans. A lot of people are yet to go to a concert and celebrate something like that and have someone… The whole time isn't all talking about Joey. But for people to come out and hear those songs… Some people never got to hear them. Ever live. To hear that and also have a memorial tribute thing to Joey… it's the best of all worlds. Yeah, it's been fun and I know the Australian tour is going to be something to remember."In the full interview, Wednesday talks more about what to expect from the shows, how they have been going overseas, his relationship with Joey, starting the band with him and what they wanted out of it, Joey's guitar playing, writing music together and how they pushed each other, how he used part of his image and music from Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 to shape Murderdolls, which of the two albums is his personal favourite and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

22 Joulu 202318min

Interview by Kris PetersSydney alternative metal outfit Fifth Dawn are taking to the road early next year with a string of three shows along the East Coast of Australia to showcase their new music and prepare fans for an album later in the year.Their music transcends genres, enabling Fifth Dawn to appeal to a large scope of music listeners, with a cinematic underlying element adding yet more layers of goodness to discover.With the band already planning new music and getting ready to hit the stage, vocalist Samantha Faul took some time out for a chat with HEAVY."We're all very excited," she smiled. "It will be good. We haven't yet played a show in Brisbane before."We ask Faul to tell us a bit more about Fifth Dawn for those unfamiliar with the band."We formed in 2015," she began. "We were all quite young when we first started, so it's been quite a journey. We're very proud of the music we are playing. It's definitely what we want to be projecting to the world. We get a lot of comparisons to Evanescence style, so it's a powerhouse quality of vocals. We're blending more heavier elements to our music as well, which is good."In the full interview, Sam talks more about the band, their most recent single The Day Brings and how that represents the band's sound, a typical Fifth Dawn live show, what they expect from crowds live, taking Aurateque on tour and why them, the local support bands for each show, mixing cinematic elements into their music, new music and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

21 Joulu 202313min

Interview by Kris PetersWhen Dez Fafara announced that Coal Chamber was on indefinite hiatus in 2016, stating that the success of DevilDriver was taking precedence, the heavy metal community to a man fell under a thick wave of despair.Bridging the gap between metal and industrial groove with an impossibly infectious tempo, Coal Chamber helped revolutionise the sound of metal, spawning a movement that has rapidly grown into a way of life.Songs like Loco, Sway, Big Truck, and Oddity are etched into the annals of metal forever, and Coal Chamber became more than a band.They become an institution.Fafara has previously steadfastly refused to discuss let alone entertain the thought of a reunion despite repeated pleas from metalheads the world over, appearing to shun any notion of a reunion to the point many stopped even asking.But public hope and expectation simmered once more in late 2022 when Fafara announced Coal Chamber would reform and play the 2023 Sick New World Festival, and the rest, as they say, is history.That festival turned into another and then more shows before the dream pairing of Coal Chamber and Mudvayne joined formidable forces to announce a US run that had fans clamoring for tickets for what promised to be the concert event of the year.With both bands set to include Australia on their tour of domination in February, Fafara sat down with HEAVY for an open and honest discussion about the past, present and future of Coal Chamber."Cannot wait," he enthused. "We're excited. We went out with Mudvayne all Summer and did big amphitheaters. It was an amazing package. All the crews and everybody got along really well, so no drama over a seven-week tour was a great thing. Obviously, the pairing works extremely well, so when it was put to us to come over we decided yeah, we cannot say no to this."Often with tours that generate this much excitement so far out from the shows, it can feel like an anti-climax of sorts by the time the stage lights actually go down, so we ask Fafara what Coal Chamber will be doing to make sure the reality by far exceeds the hype."We're gonna bring good production, and we're gonna be on it, man," he promised. "Some of the shows that I saw from the Summer on YouTube were the tightest we have done in our entire lives. So you're getting a very special Coal Chamber right now. We're firing on all cylinders, and we cannot wait to come down. Last night we were texting for two hours straight, and I was laughing hysterically. We were just having such a great time, and that's what you want out of a band. You want a band that enjoys what they're doing, and we're gonna enjoy coming down and giving it 110%."We push Fafara to tell us more about the recent run of US shows so we can gain even a small insight into what to expect."The shows were great," he affirmed. "The Summer was fantastic, and it was great to see the audience out there, which was predominantly the younger generation… I mean people that were 22, 20 years old and born when we broke up (laughs). It's pretty crazy. Some of the biggest bands anyway in the genre have always been Korn etc, but I think us as a pairing coming to Australia will be fantastic shows and everyone should get their tickets right away because it's definitely gonna go clean. They're definitely gonna sell out."In the full interview, Dez talks more about the recent shows, if he felt nervous the first show back with Coal Chamber, tapping into different sides of his musical personality going from DevilDriver to Coal Chamber, the early days of the band and the scene that inspired them, promoting before internet and tricks of the trade, what drew people to Coal Chamber in the beginning, their album Rivals and how he feels it was 10 years too early, new music and more.To get this interview plus more great yarns, music and news delivered FREE to your inbox every week simply follow this link and subscribe now https://heavymag.com.au/subscribe/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Joulu 202319min

Interview by Kris PetersIt is too easy to get stuck into playing a certain brand of music as an artist.This can be for a variety of reasons such as the popularity of your band, public expectations, being pigeonholed - any number of reasons. This problem is accentuated when your band is well known for releasing a certain brand of music, where often any deviation or experimentation is met with hostility by existing fans.It is a situation DevilDriver guitarist Michael (Mike) Spreitzer has found himself in for a prolonged period of time, despite having an unwavering desire to explore other elements of his music personality.His love for DevilDriver and the music they perform is still as strong as ever, but there has always been a gnawing yearning to explore another side of metal which has always held his interest.Industrial metal.After resisting the urge for too long, Spreitzer finally turned his talents to another passion within the realm of metal, forming Verona On Venus (VOV) as a side project to DevilDriver with the sole intent of showcasing yet another of his loves musically.VOV has released two singles now - Rodent and Monarch Acid Test - from their 2024 debut album Popular Dimensions, expelling some musical demons while simultaneously feeding others.With a strong emphasis on industrial and goth metal laced with the heavier sounds of the 1990s, Popular Delusions is a collection of songs that are personal in musical nature to Spreitzer, with him also taking the surprise step of assuming vocal duties.HEAVY recently caught up with Spreitzer to talk about his new project."This is something I've been wanting to do for a while," he began. "When I was in high school, I grew up on more… I transitioned from heavy metal into more industrial metal and goth, and Verona On Venus is the result. This is something that has taken me back to my roots and gives me an outlet for that genre of music that I can't really do with DevilDriver."In the full interview, Mike talks more about Verona On Venus and how long he has been wanting to do something like this, the mysterious campaign that introduced the band and their music, the single Rodent and what he was going for with it, stepping up to sing and how difficult that was, what he gets differently out of playing guitar and singing, the musical nature of the album, covering an Acid Bath song and why, future plans for VOV and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Joulu 202312min

Interview by Kris PetersWhat do you do as you near the twilight of an illustrious music career?Set course for Australia, apparently!After pushing 40 years in the music industry, English alternative rock outfit Pop Will Eat Itself have finally decided to bring their pasty white legs Down Under for the first show of their careers on our shores in February and March of next year. The loveable poms have promised to treat their neglected fans to a set of Greatest Hits, and, just to soften the blow, have invited UK indie/dance/rock outfit Jesus Jones to share in the fun with them.It is an upbeat and lively union of bands, with Jesus Jones frontman Mike Edwards stopping in for a chat with HEAVY to get us acquainted.We start by asking what delights Jesus Jones have in store for their Australian fans."You've put me on the spot there," he laughed. "Delights? Don't know if it's delights. It makes it sound like we should be bringing Frankincense and Myrrh (laughs). I was gonna say the same thing that we normally do, but it's not quite right… My strapline for this tour is 'all of the energy you're used to seeing, all the songs you wanna hear, but this time played better than they were in the past. How's that?"In reality, either band could have come over here by themselves and pulled decent crowds around the country, so we quiz Mike as to why they chose to come together."They're a band that we have a lot of affinity with," he replied. "We've played with them in various guises before and done tours with them. Great bunch of guys, easy to get on with, plus, more than anything else, do you want to go to Australia? Hell yes!"In the full interview, Mike tells us what we can expect from Jesus Jones' shows, being aware of your limitations as you grow older, the early days of the band and where they fit in, coming up with their eclectic sound, being part of a musical movement that changed the musical landscape, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

17 Joulu 202315min

Interview by Kris PetersMelbourne metal legends Frankenbok celebrated their 25th anniversary at The Tote on December 12, 2022 in the most positive and emphatic way possible by assembling every one of Frankenbok's many line-ups from over the years to perform songs from their era.It was a unique and highly ambitious project that could have gone off the rails at any juncture, but, to their credit, the Bok boys smashed it out of the park and the couple of hundred lucky fans who converged on The Tote that evening were left with a lifetime of memories.BUT, if you missed out on that one-off performance, fear not!After 12 months of painstaking editing and quality control, the good folk at Fair Dinkum Records have finally put the finishing touches to not only an audio CD, but also the full video concert, with both out now for your viewing and listening pleasure.Current Frankenbok vocalist Dan McDougall sat down with HEAVY to tell us more."It was a killer night," he recalled, "and we got it recorded and filmed, and we have just finally put it out. We've got it as a live album and also the full show can be watched on YouTube as well."The album is called 25 Years Of Noise In One Form Or Another, which perfectly sums up what to expect, and we question Dan on who actually came up with the title."I did," he smiled. "I was just trying to think of a name and that just popped into my head. It's the truth. The band has been through many different changes over the 25 years, so with each different line-up it's brought something… it's changed every time, but there's been a running thread through the whole thing. I was in the band twice with two of those line-ups, but there's been four different singers. With every different singer you're going to have a different sound, but, like I said, there's a thread running through the whole thing and that's Azza who has been there from the start. His riffs and his music runs through the whole thing, so it's quite an eclectic bunch of songs when you put it all together."In the full interview we discuss that night, go through what each line-up contributed, his highlight of the concert, the singles released in the lead-up and why they were chosen, getting the sound right on the live release, the new line of merchandise, new music and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

15 Joulu 202314min