THE QUARANTINED: Overriding The Algorithms Of Life And Music

Interview by Erin EddySydney alternative rock quartet 51 st Avenue are turning heads with their latest single Remnant.The song, which features Inertia vocalist Julian Latouche, shines light on the struggles of watching a loved one succumb to addiction.“The song explores how the excessive use of drugs and alcohol can drastically change a person,” explains vocalist Aly Zizza, “The core of the person only remains through your memories; everything about them has changed, and it’s hard to see this happen to them.”Remnant is the band’s first release of 2023, with a string of material set to follow throughout theremainder of the year.HEAVY took the opportunity to speak with Aly and guitarist Ash about the new release, what’supcoming for them, how they gel as a band and how they’ve amassed quite a loyal following onTwitch. Listen to the interview to learn more about this charismatic band.Remnant is out now on all streaming platforms.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

19 Huhti 202329min

Interview by Kris PetersPeople tend to forget sometimes that musicians need us as a means of creativity just as much as we need them for a sonic escape.This notion was put to the test with almost catastrophic consequences during the recent closure of the world when British outfit Enter Shikari - like so many others - found themselves shut off from their fans and live audiences and faced the repercussions of art without inspiration perhaps more so than many others.The band members quickly found themselves feeling isolated, lost, and alone - from each other and their massive fanbase - and, unable to focus on what would normally be the simple task at hand of creating music, the band instead found themselves suddenly rudderless and without a way out of the darkness.Prolific songwriter and frontman Rou Reynolds strangely found himself struggling to put pen to paper and as the days turned into months the very real possibility that Enter Shikari might not resurface from the other side began to seem more like a foregone conclusion.Thankfully, as the world began to open up and opportunities came flooding back in the impending veil of darkness gradually lifted, culminating in the band electing to relocate to quieter surroundings to write, plan and record their new album.That album became A Kiss For The Whole World which will be unleashed on April 21, with Reynolds spending some time with HEAVY to run us through the dark times leading to the light."It's quite surreal that you finish an album, have to wait a few months for the manufacturing and everything to get sorted and then it finally comes out," he enthused. "I'm absolutely buzzing. I didn't listen to the album for about two months and then last week we were in Japan and I was very sleep deprived and jet-lagged and took a late night walk across Tokyo - which is always magical anyway - but I started to listen through the album again and it just got me so pumped. Very excited.""Basically, I stopped writing music over the pandemic time. I think retrospectively I realised that it happened for a few reasons, but one of the big reasons was that we weren't playing shows, and without that sense of human connection, without that sense of purpose, without feeling that energy it was like my brain shut off and just said if you can't share music with people what's the point in writing it? And that was quite a disorientating and strange time, really. When we started playing shows again I consequently felt like I could write music again and the sense of relief, the sense of gratitude, the sense of excitement was absolutely palpable. It kind of felt like a bit of a rebirth of the band, so the music on this album is all very high energy and really quite positive and hopefully empowering."In the full interview, Rou runs through the new album more from a musical point of view, the bands ever evolving sound and the extra pressure that creates with each release, relocating for the album process and what effect it had on the album, surviving without being able to perform, how close he came to walking away from music, what gave him his passion and inspiration back, how A Kiss For The Whole World is the beginning of Enter Shikari's second act, what's next for the band and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

19 Huhti 202318min

Interview by Kris PetersUK rock outfit Empyre know full well the ethos of you get back what you put in.Since unleashing their debut album Self Aware in 2019 Empyre have toured relentlessly, putting their music in front of as many people as possible. Often finding themselves on the festival circuit and playing with bands of vastly different sonic calibre, Empyre soon learnt that a touch of humility can get you through potentially hazardous situations and as such began a sustained effort of self-deprecating humour that turned the tables back on themselves so to speak.By looking inwards to project outwards, Empyre reversed the confusion and growing apathy from sections of the crowds and encouraged them to boo and throw things between songs - so much so that in some areas the crowd lovingly boos the band between songs.And the band couldn't be happier.Empyre continued their upward trajectory late last month with the release of their new album Relentless, another bold step forward in the rock landscape that gathers increasing momentum with each passing track.HEAVY caught up with frontman Henrik Steenholdt to find out more, starting with how fans have reacted to the new album."Quite strong really," he smiled. "We've been really pleased with what we've seen in terms of a lot of the reviews that have come out so far. I haven't seen anything that's negative so far, but I'm sure I will at some point (laughs). So far most of it has been in the higher range of the market out of ten."Although essentially a rock band, Empyre allow enough strands of DNA from outside sources to creep into their music as it sees fit."There's no overall concept to the album," he said. "It's a collection of songs that we wrote over the course primarily of the last three years. Although some of the songs started earlier - songs like Relentless itself. We started writing that around the time our first album Self Aware came out in 2019 and, at least, I had the idea for the riff and the chorus. They were the main parts of the song that I'd written back then and it was only during the course of the pandemic in the first year of that that we started to put together the songs where they turned into what they are now. The same as Road To Nowhere. We covered a reasonable amount of ground in terms of style on this album. Relentless itself starts out with an acoustic intro into a hard rock song. It's pretty straight forward in what it does, then the next song Waking Light we take things a little more commercial and a little bit more in the direction of Killers or Muse with atmospherics and bits that are slightly indie. Then Parasite, the third track, starts out dark and angelic and then goes about as metal as we've ever been and then we've got other songs like Hit & Run which has an 80s vibe to it, Forget Me which is a big ballad, Quiet Commotion which is a big ballad, and then Your Whole Life Slows which is a little more experimental."In the full interview, Henrik discusses what they set out to achieve musically on Relentless, how their sound has grown since their debut album, the varying genres and if it is an actual focus of the band, finding the balance between genres and making it work into their style of playing, taking the piss out of themselves and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

14 Huhti 202319min

Interview by Kris PetersThe name Dave Lombardo is synonymous with thrash metal.Since co-founding legendary thrash outfit Slayer in 1981, Lombardo has been the barometer for metal drumming.He has been named by Rolling Stone in their list of 100 Greatest Drummers Of All Time, been dubbed The Godfather of double bass by Drummerworld, proclaimed The King by Modern Drummer... the list goes on.He has appeared on more than 100 studio albums/recordings, including live stints with Grip Inc., Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle, The Misfits, DJ Spooky, John Zorn, Testament, and most recently creating the soulful duo Venamoris, with his wife Paula. His resume is unrivalled in the world of music as a whole, let alone his chosen profession as drummer.But despite the metal undertones and notoriety within his chosen genre, Lombardo is a true student of the arts, finding comfort in a plethora of genres and styles that transcend the perceived heart of metal.This passion is now laid bare for the world to see with the impending release of his solo album Rites Of Percussion, a self produced release featuring a large concert bass drum, a timpani, a grand piano, and a flock of shakers, maracas, Chinese and symphonic gongs, Native American drums, congas, timbales, bongos, batás, wood blocks, djembes, ibos, darbukas, octobans, cajóns, and cymbals. It is an album created to satiate his own musical desires and one which sees Lombardo exposed like never before.HEAVY had the pleasure of spending some time with the legendary drummer to dive deeper into his musical psyche."It feels a little surreal," he measured, "because I've wanted to release something like this for years and it finally came to fruition. I'm very proud and beyond happy at how well it's been received. I expected the typical metalheads complaining about one thing or another and I was already ready to answer those comments by saying 'well just wait five minutes, I'll be coming up with a new metal album real soon.' Or if you want to revert to Mr. Bungle or Dead Cross, those are a couple of bands that we've just released albums with. It's awesome, man. I love it. Maybe we'll do another one it's been such a great experience."Making an album where he himself is the only constant and where the quality and success of the material falls squarely on his shoulders is something Lombardo has experienced little of in his time as a musician. With Rites Of Percussion every note, every nuance is birthed by his own volition, meaning more thought and emphasis was required for every painstaking stage of the process."The music took the direction on its own," he offered. "I started creating the rhythms, then starting to layer sounds - because I worked by myself - and it started taking a life of its own. As the songs were developing I started seeing the vision a little clearer and it started becoming an actual entity. A body of work. It didn't sound to me... it wasn't developing like alien bits and pieces from different sessions. It became a cohesive body of work. It was really interesting and I had many moments during the recording process - many moments - that were like 'aha' moments, or epiphanies where it was like oh God, where did this come from? It was really cool and it set me up, I feel at this moment as I look back, it set me up to hopefully pursue number two and create a second Rites Of Percussion but it wouldn't sound the same. It would sound totally different because now from different elements - drums, sound designing - it was a really good learning experience to say the least."In the full interview, Dave talks more about the musical composition of Rites Of Passage, making it an album of just his work without guest appearances, how Mike Patton set the wheels in motion for this album 25 years ago, his album mantra of drums had to be drums and what it means, the different instruments and soundscapes on the album, his love of different genres of music, appeasing fans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

14 Huhti 202316min

Interview by Kris PetersFive years ago Australian metal outfit Nothing began an ambitious conceptually based series of chronological singles forming a story inspired by narcissistic relationships, old poetry and a love of storytelling.It was an ambitious and time consuming project that hit deep at the core of many personal issues and experiences and soon became a labour of passion dubbed Self Repair Manifesto.To date Nothing have released two previous instalments of the five part manifesto, with the third titled The Shroud out now on Spotify with the video to follow on April 20.Drummer/vocalist Craig Johnson sat down with HEAVY to go into greater detail about the series of songs which has now reached the half way point."This is the third single in the five part concept series Self Repair Manifesto," he affirmed, "and this song is about revealing deception and revealing evil intent. We wanted this song to be really aggressive, definitely our heaviest song of this series with a real black metal vibe to it. We wanted it to be a punch in the face and unbridled aggression that encapsulates the evil that we're describing."With each song adding more pieces to the puzzle, we press Johnson on where The Shroud leads us lyrically."The EP is essentially about surviving a toxic and narcissistic relationship and I think this song really delves into the antagonist and delves into the evil intentions behind the antagonist. Lifting the veil of perceived deception to reveal the true nature of the antagonist character. This being the middle of the EP we wanted it to have some aggression and drive it home. The other tracks have a bit more groove and progression but we wanted this to be an aggressive, fast paced song and I think we definitely achieved that."In the full interview, Craig runs us through the music video and how it relates, the process of bringing the Self Repair Manifesto to life, how personal it is to him, the final two chapters and when to expect them, new material, the single launch party at the Bendigo Hotel on April 28 and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 Huhti 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersMelbourne based outfit Liar are an amalgamation of many styles of music, drawing from hardcore, emo rap, hip hop and metal but to categorise their music in any form at all would be an injustice to the band.After showcasing the many sides of their musical personality starting with their debut single Decline and working through Hysteria, Poison and Double Cup, Liar have intensified things even more with their latest single Mania.Created with the intention of expressing the pain of living with a depressed, suicidal internal monologue and how it affects one's relationships with those around them, Mania expands their musical surroundings to a staggering level, punctuated by the arrival of new vocalist Dylan.HEAVY sat down with bass player Con Davis, guitarist Mitch Rice and drummer Adam Spackman to find out more."The song Mania instrumentally is kind of a song where we tried to push the limits on a guitar and all sorts of crazy sounds and stuff that you'll hear," Davis explained. "Vocally, it's a song that I helped write based on past experiences and hoping to touch a few people that have had similar experiences."As mentioned, Mania musically draws from many different realms of the musical spectrum, which the band admits is a feature of their sound."The sound is predominantly a fusion of trap metal stuff," Rice offered, "but we have a lot of weird synth and electronic elements in there.""A lot of stuff has already been done," Spackman added, "so it's a matter of trying to do something new to stand out. I guess the other way to do that is to try combining different ideas."In the full interview, Liar go further into the lyrical component of Mania, the music video and what story it tells, showcasing their sound over multiple singles, new vocalist Dylan and what he brings to the bands sound, refining their sound as they grow as a band, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 Huhti 202313min

Interview by Kris PetersAside from bringing two megastars in The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction to Australia, one of the best things about The World Is A Vampire Festival - which kicks off at the Eaton's Hill Hotel in Brisbane on April 15 before hitting the Sandstone Point Hotel the day after - is that a number of Australian bands have been invited along for the journey. While Amyl & The Sniffers, RedHook and Battlesnake will be joining the two headliners at most of the shows, each venue and city sees a local band given the opportunity to open the day.Over the coming weeks HEAVY will speak with each of those bands, starting today with Brisbane rock outfit PistonFist who have been given the honour of opening both Brisbane shows.Frontman Geoff O'Leary joined us for a chat about the chance to open for a musical extravaganza like this."We're stupid amounts of happy," he beamed. "A little bit humbled and extremely thankful that we've been put in this position. We're very lucky. There's shitloads of talent in Australia and Brisbane and for us to get picked is very humbling."We pose the question of whether, in even his wildest dreams, he would have thought PistonFist's name would be alongside bands of the ilk of The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction."No," he laughed. "Easiest question I have answered in a long, long time. Absolutely not. It's a little bit mind boggling."In the full interview we talk about keeping nerves in check, coming up with a setlist, the other Aussie bands on the line-up and getting the chance to play with them, the wrestling side of the festival and how excited he is for that, who he would have represent PistonFist if the bands wrestled it out, who he would hate to have to wrestle from the headliners and the Aussie acts, last weekend's shows as part of Rockynats, putting down the guitar to focus on vocals and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 Huhti 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersBrisbane rock machine Gutterfire! have wasted enough time lost to the forces of nature and other things conspiring against them and have declared 2023 to be the year of Chill, their debut album which might be a couple of years old now but has still not received the mileage it deserves.After having to delay the release due to the big C and its ensuing global lockdown, Gutterfire! painstakingly sat back, eager to unleash their monster on the world but growing increasingly concerned that the Gods of music may have overlooked them on their maiden voyage.The band need not have feared, for when Chill was finally unleashed the world was still not ready for its rumblings of hard rock infused stoner metal that was only matched by the sheer ferocity of their live performance.With Gutterfire recently embarking on a 21 date tour of the East Coast to give Chill one final push, HEAVY managed to nail down vocalist Photon Jon not long before the band boarded yet another plane to fly South for a few shows."It's been great," he enthused of the first few shows of the tour. "We sold out the first two and had a great time on the Gold Coast for the third one. We played with Dreamkillers at the first one, which was great because they are childhood heroes of ours, and great crowds. It was really nice the second night to see a sold out crowd of people we don't know, so it was all strangers who were there to see us which was nice. We must have gained some traction in our downtime (laughs)."This weekend Gutterfire! hit Sydney, Woollongong and Woy Woy before returning to South East Queensland and Northern NSW, then Victoria before heading to FNQ to finish up with Jon smiling when we point out the enormity of the run. We press him on how he prepares mentally and physically for such a long stretch."With great difficulty," he laughed. "We're all full time employed too, so we basically fly out every Thursday or Friday and fly back in Sunday or Monday every weekend until the end of May and work during the week as well. The journey to getting here has been a bit full on. We've been trying to plan a tour of this size for a few years, but obvious events stopped that from happening. We're just happy to finally get interstate and play to a whole bunch of places."In the full interview Jon runs us through the support bands and their selection criteria, a typical Gutterfire! live show, the reaction to Chill, what they were going for with the album, which songs best typify the band, album number two and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 Huhti 202313min