Two Decades Of Dominance With ZOLTAN BATHORY From FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

Interview by Kris PetersIn just over a week's time Australia will fall victim to musical mayhem seldom witnessed in the modern sanitised age.With the wonders of technology taking much of the mystery and mystique out of the rock and roll lifestyle, fans are becoming increasingly receptive to fleeting brushes with fame and adulation and finally the music is taking credence over the image.But that is about to come crashing down when two global heavyweights unite for a tour of this country that will send fans back to the hysterics of the Beatles fan era.All Time Low and Mayday Parade are joining forces to sweep our little corner of paradise, promising a rollicking cavalcade of music and excess to possibly reinvigorate the dying thrill of music's bad boys of metal.Having recently released the single More Like A Crash - the band's first new music since 2021s What It Means To Fall Apart, Mayday Parade are re-entering the peak phase of their musical cycle and according to bass player Jeremy Lenzo the boys are just itching to make their way Down Under."I have not packed yet," he laughed. "I'm having someone watch my kid tomorrow, so I can pack and get all the laundry done I need for the shows."Rounding out the three-prongued extravaganza with All Time Low and Mayday Parade is Lauren Hibberd, with Lenzo admitting he will be approaching the run of shows with a fresh slate when it comes to expectations."I'm not quite familiar with Lauren because we haven't toured with her or met them," he almost apologised, "but with All Time Low we go back a long time. We've toured with them probably starting back in 2007, so on and off since then throughout the years we became friends with them. They brought us out this year in the US and then offered us the Australia shows as well, and we said yes to that. We're excited to be there, it's going to be a good time."We ask what Aussie fans can expect from the Mayday Parade live show."Expect a lot of energy," he promised. "Expect a good time. Expect that we're gonna be considerate and make it a safe space for people to come and enjoy themselves and have fun."In the full interview, Jeremy talks more about the tour, revisits the early days of Mayday Parade and their musical birth, the early vision and how it has changed since, why he thinks their debut album A Lesson In Romantics touched a nerve with music lovers, how the band's approach to music has changed over their time together, More Like A Crash and if it is the start of the next album cycle, going independent and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

21 Loka 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersMelbourne punk upstarts Clowns have epitomised the fun and frivolous side of Australian music since their inception in 2009.Their attitude towards music, coupled with almost legendary live performances, has seen Clowns rise quickly to prominence and notoriety, with their honest and raw appraisal of life through music connecting on a global scale.After receiving an ARIA nomination for their previous album Nature/Nurture in 2019, Clowns have just unleashed their latest slab of goodness in the form of Endless, a middle finger salute to the pandemic during which it was conceived and a snub to the face of those who thought that period of time would spell the death knell for a plethora of bands and musicians.HEAVY sat down with vocalist Stevie Williams and drummer Jake Laderman to talk through what to expect."It feels like I'm about to…," Williams measured, "… I don't have any kids, but this is what I imagine preparing for a child would feel like (laughs). Years and years of creative energy and the world going upside down from when we started writing it to when we finished recording and releasing it, but now it's here. It's satisfying and maybe a little bit emotional. I can't wait for it to be out in the world and not be our record anymore. It's gonna be whoever listens to its record."Endless is the fifth album release from Clowns, so we ask the question of whether the process gets any easier the more albums you put out."It definitely gets harder," Williams answered without thought. "I feel like when we started the band we were so inspired to get our music career off the ground and there was so much… I guess you would call it creative, low-hanging fruit when we were starting a punk band. We wanted to write a song that had screaming in it, we wanted a song that sounded like The Ramones, we wanted a song that sounded like the Offspring and then once we did an EP and four seven inches and now five albums, now we're reaching super high up to the top of the tree to get that sweet fruit, and we're doing Spaghetti Western eight-minute jams at the end of our record. We're fucking around with thrash metal and dual guitar solos, all in an effort to keep it interesting for ourselves and the people who listen as well. In that essence, it gets harder. It gets way harder (laughs)."In the full interview, the boys talk more about what to expect from Endless, how the singles released represent the album as a whole, the opening piano intro and why it was used, the central theme of immortality, the closing track A Widow's Song and the inspiration behind it, how Endless differs musically to Nature/Nature, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Loka 202319min

Interview by Kris PetersInstrumental Brisbane progressive metal band Dr. Parallax certainly can't ever be accused of rushing things when it comes to releasing music.I remember seeing the band in Cairns more than 20 years ago, so imagine my surprise when their debut EP Stick and String came across my desk last week.It is a release more than two decades in the making, and one which Dr. Parallax feels best showcases their extremely eclectic and ridiculously world-class tunes. With a blending of genres punctuated by wildly fluctuating timing and tempo changes, Stick and String features four full songs for your sonic palate plus a wickedly devilish intro and outro that may or may not tie things in together.Sound confusing? Well it is, so HEAVY tracked down band members Elliott, Rashid and John to attempt to make sense of things."So far it's been pretty positive," Rashid smiled when asked about the early reception for the EP. "We've had some very nice things said to us about it. Who knows, they all could be lying to us, but I want to believe they are telling the truth (laughs)."We ask the boys to talk through what to expect musically."Yeah, it's weird," Rashid shrugged. "We wanted it to be weird, and it is.""Not so much weird, I just think these songs were the ones we were most familiar with," Elliott picked up. "They were the most solid songs we had at the time, and it was time for us to finally record something. It was good to get them down and properly recorded, instead of doing mud tracks and things that we've done in the past."In the full interview we discuss why Dr. Parallax has stayed as an instrumental band, how the tracks on Stick and String best showcase their sound, the 'bookends' on the EP, how the band brings songs together in the creative process, how they draw the line when it comes to musical experimentation, coming up with song titles with no lyrics to use as a guide, why it has taken so long to release a body of work, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Loka 202312min

Interview by Kris PetersFew punk bands around the world have had the same impact as legendary California outfit Lagwagon.Since 1989 the brash upstarts have released nine studio albums through Fat Wreck Chords and toured relentlessly all over the globe, each time stepping further out from the underground band status they have been tagged with.Such is the success afforded Lagwagon they had one of their songs - May 16 - featured in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 alongside Rancid, Green Day and Offspring. While not enjoying the breakout success afforded those bands, Lagwagon have remained content with their role in a musical revolution, shunning the mainstream in favour of the working class groundswell and cementing their music in the hearts of many purists.Next week Lagwagon return to Australia and New Zealand for their special fan By Request Tour, with vocalist Joey Cape joining HEAVY to discuss the shows."We've been doing this for so long that I often forget," Cape laughed during the intro. "I love coming out there," he continued. "It wasn't that long ago that I was there. I did some solo shows and I did a tour with Me First And The Gimme Gimmes so two times in a year… that's pretty great."We ask him what non-essential items he always travels with on tour."Ooof, fuck, that's tough," he stalled. "I'm a light packer. It's a hassle to carry too much stuff (laughs). I guess I could say Nicorette gum. You can get it anywhere, but I always bring a boatload of that shit with me because I'm such a nicotine addict. That's all I can think of… Maybe reading glasses. I'll often bring ten pairs of glasses in case I lose them, it's totally dumb. But I guess those are kind of essential. You can't see without them (laughs). And me without nicotine… not fun for anybody."As the name of the tour suggests, fans were invited to vote for what songs they wanted to hear Lagwagon play, so we ask Cape if the band had much interest in that idea."We did," he offered. "It's funny, because it's always a risk when you do these kinds of things. I don't know that Lagwagon's ever done this before, but I've done it quite a few times with solo shows, especially the streaming ones. And it's risky. Because you never know, there might be a whole bunch of people that just want that one song that you just can't do, you know what I mean? And the reality is, that never happens. Bands that don't have hits, still have hits. There's just popular songs, and there's about four of them that 90% of the requests are always for. It's like, 'oh, man, alright, we'll do that for you guys' (laughs). We don't do that in every single show we play (laughs). I haven't actually looked at the submissions yet, so in theory, what you do is you do a different set for each town. Now, we've run into a little bit of trouble with that. Our great big giant guitar player is not able to join us because he has had some health issues, and we just found out that he cannot come. I may not be doing the right thing saying this - you're the first to hear of it - but because of that we're going to have to use a fill-in guy, so he's gonna have his work cut out."In the full interview, Joey tells us if there are any songs he is hoping aren't on the request list, playing on a cruise ship in Sydney, what we can expect from Lagwagon live, the early days of the band, resisting the lure of mainstream, his three commandments of punk and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Loka 202324min

Interview by Kris PetersWhen a band sends you their press release which contains the line "Dimensionist explores the space that exists at the edge of heavy music" you know you are about to embark on a sonic journey that takes you away from the expected.As it is with new Brisbane progressive metal outfit Dimensionist, who released their debut single Artefacts Remain late last week.Promising a sonic landscape of eclectic proportions, Artefacts Remain serves as a tasty entrée to the exciting new world of Dimensionist, with bass player/producer Cam joining HEAVY to tell us more."We're all so excited," he exclaimed. "We've been working towards this point for a long time, and we're really pumped to finally be here and be able to put our music out to the world. We're here, this is who we are, this is what we sound like."We ask Cam to dive further into the musical side of Artefacts Remain."Dimensionist… our overall sound is sometimes quite progressive and ambient and nice, and on the other side of the spectrum it is brutal and heavy hitting, and we have a bit of everything in between," he explained. "We've got quite a few songs written but this one we felt was a good full breadth of the spectrum. It has a little bit of everything that we're all about. It was a good first song for everyone to hear because it gives them an idea of what the rest of the catalogue is going to be like as well. The song, musically, starts off nice and ambient and very ethereal with big cinematic synth work and then there's a moment where it all changes and builds with the main riffs that the song centres around and that's when you know things are about to change and go full metal. Then it remains pretty heavy for the rest of the track."In the full interview, Cam talks more about Artefacts Remain, why they chose that song to introduce Dimensionist to the world, what the song is about lyrically, if it is a stand-alone song or part of a bigger picture, where the band started and their goals, future live shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Loka 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersThe general rule of thumb when you hear about a movie having a heavy metal soundtrack is that the music can be expected to take a massive back seat to everything else happening around it.There have been only a few exceptions to the rule - Judgement Night and The Crow spring instantly to mind - but that mold was smashed completely last year with the release of The Retaliators, a Better Noise Film which is an offshoot of the famed Better Noise Music label.When the announcement was made that the horror/action/thriller was to boast a soundtrack including The Hu, Asking Alexandria, Five Finger Death Punch, Eva Under Fire, Nikki Sixx and more, music lovers around the world took notice, buoyed by the promise that songs from these artists would not only punctuate important moments in the movie's storyline, but also be inserted so as to actually enhance the scenes rather than act as a token gesture.That promise/hope was intensified when the movie started doing the promotional rounds, including actual movie acting appearances by several of the bands and artists featured on the soundtrack.Tommy Lee (Mötley Crue), Ivan Moody (Five Finger Death Punch), and Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) were among the names listed, with Shaddix slated to play the role of one of the movie's central characters.Suddenly metal lovers had a movie that encapsulated everything they love about music and movies, a film where our ilk were treated with respect and necessity rather than a lazy grab at a niche corner of the market.The Retaliators delivered everything it promised and more, with an engrossing storyline, great music and enough gore, horror and action to satiate even the most discerning of viewers.With The Retaliators finally being made available to On Demand services Apple TV and Google TV in Australia and New Zealand late last week, HEAVY felt it appropriate to track down star/co-producer and co-director Michael Lombardi to pick his brain about the movie and the role our beloved heavy metal plays in it. We start by asking what warning label should be placed on The Retaliators for first time viewers."Oh man, there's a few warning labels," he measured. "It's not about bad words. It's not about nudity. It's just about… I think this movie is really twisted, and it gets dark, but then it also doesn't take itself too seriously at times, right? I guess I would hope that there's truth in the film, and it poses a question - as wild as the film gets - and the topic matter will make you think a little, and maybe you can go out for a drink afterward and talk about it a little. On top of that hopefully just being entertained."We press Lombardi on what that question is."The movie poses a question of what would you do if you had a minute alone with the person who hurt your loved one," he explained. "Bottom line is, it happens in this case to a small-town guy who is loved by his community. A man of the cloth and someone you never would expect to have that retaliation in him, but I think we all do as human beings and that's the interesting thing. You put a guy like that in those circumstances and what can happen? He goes on a hell of a journey and from the beginning to the end he completely transforms. There's a bunch of mayhem and craziness on the way to that, but I think what's interesting about it is you can say if someone hurt your child or your niece or your nephew, and you had that minute alone with them, can you take revenge on that person. You know, I think it's easy to wanna say yes if they did something really brutal to you, but then there's the side if you're sitting in a room across from another human being could you really draw blood on that person, or hurt that person. I think it goes there. It's a sensitive subject matter. Even though this movie is hopefully entertaining and kind of twisted there is that underlying message that hopefully allows you to put yourself in that situation."Which demands the question of what would he do after being able to digest the movie for a couple of years."You know, so I have two boys and it certainly helps if you have a child," he deliberated. "But again, even if you don't, people can relate to that with their pets or a niece or nephew. I've been asked this before, and it was the first run of the film which was a while ago, and I haven't talked about the movie a tonne recently which is why this is so beautiful to have a different perspective on it… You know, man, it's interesting because life is tricky, and life is tough. We're all dealing with a lot at all times. I think at certain times of my life I can answer that question and say yes (laughs). This is crazy, I'm being pretty honest here because it's a crazy answer. The answer could be brutal, but I think depending on where you're at in your life - again not with your frustrations or your struggles, but your happiness, your ups and downs - when you're down and certain things happen to you, you might really be in a situation where I don't like people, maybe, so if someone hurt my kid yeah I wanna answer yes. I would be able to do that, but there are other times where I was like, I don't know, man, but for me… (pauses)… yeah, I think I could."In the full interview, Michael talks more about the storyline of The Retaliators, how the effects of playing such a role have stayed with him, putting himself in the character of John Bishop, their goal of turning it into more than just another horror movie with a metal soundtrack, working with Better Noise Films, how he landed the role, using musicians in acting roles and how important that was to the finished result, how they worked each song into the movie to make it relevant to the scene and part of the movie, the possibility of a sequel and more.Access The Retaliators here:https://theretaliators.ffm.to/australiastreaming https://theretaliators.ffm.to/streamingnzBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Loka 202341min

Interview by Kris PetersItalian symphonic metal outfit Temperance have foregone convention with their new album Hermitage - Daruma's Eyes Pt. 2.While many bands are basing their albums around conceptual themes and/or ideas, Temperance have decided to flesh that out even more with the addition of several characters and a narrator, each given life by guest artists.Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) acts as the storyteller for the album, setting the scene and guiding us through a myriad of wonderment, sci-fi and excitement, while Fabienne Erni (Eluveitie, Illumishade), Laura Fella (Faun) and Alessandro Conti (Twilight Force) all contribute to the sonic journey by playing different characters across the story arc.It is a unique and ambitious release, with guitar player and creative mastermind Marco Pastorino joining HEAVY to tell us more."This is the first concept album of the band," he explained. "The opening process was very cool and funny also. Difficult, I would have to say, because when you have to follow a script or story it's totally different. I finished the work and the story of the album almost two years ago, and then I started to collect ideas here and there. It was a very cool journey. On this album we have six characters who decide to have six singers. In Temperance we have two singers but since there are six characters in this album we use (other people)."In the full interview, Marco talks us through the concept of the album in greater detail, the three singles released and how they tie in with the story line, the guest artists and why they were chosen for their specific roles, the accompanying book and how much extra insight it gives, whether the concept will continue, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Loka 202310min

Interview by Kris PetersAfter putting in the hard yards for the last six years, Columbia heavy rock outfit Dark Below are now finally starting to see the fruit of those efforts.Opening for the likes of Buckcherry, Saliva, Pop Evil, Smile Empty Soul, The Veer Union and more, Dark Below steadily released a procession of singles such as Halo, Tense and Hate Being Human, in the process capitalising on their rise to prominence as a touring band by backing it up with quality releases.Their latest single Make Believe has given that push added impetus, with bass player Josh Grove joining HEAVY to tell us more."It's been fantastic," he enthused at how the new single is going. "So, our latest single recordings that we've done, working on the new album essentially, we just started pushing our album towards things like the SMR charts here in the US. Make Believe has been our third single, our most recent release, and it's hit number 10. Our goal has always been to break the Top 10 from the get-go, so to be up top there with bands we've grown up listening to and idolised like Metallica and Foo Fighters… to get up there with names like that has been pretty phenomenal."In the full interview, Josh talks us through Make Believe musically, what the song is about, the previous two singles released and if the three tracks form part of a bigger picture, the early days of the band and where they fit in, their early vision and how it has changed since, how the new batch of music differs to music on their debut self-titled EP, how the single Tense broke Dark Below into more mainstream channels, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

19 Loka 202314min