Dead To Rights With DECEMBERS DEADLINE

Interview by Kris PetersGenerally when the festive season rolls around and talk turns to Christmas albums the general chill that runs down most metalheads spines would rival that of the North Pole.Far too often a purely commercial venture by smiling sonic assassins out to further enhance their global acceptability, the Christmas album tale has long been fraught with fear and contempt.The year 2017 was a welcome exception when song siren Tarja released the devilishly wicked From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas). That album further showcased the infinite well of talent and creativity that defines Tarja, putting her own spin on music that normally brings joy and cheer and turning them to the dark side which such majestic beauty that even adults started to believe in Santa Claus once more.Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but it did mean we didn't have to listen to Mariah Carey singing carols at every dark turn.This year Tarja returns with Dark Christmas on November 10, broadening her horizons by tackling other artists interpretations of Yuletide cheer such as Wham's Last Christmas, Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas and Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime and mixing them with her own reworkings of classics such as Frosty The Snowman, Jingle Bells and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.Plus, to put the veritable icing on the Christmas Cake, Tarja also celebrates the happiest time of the year by releasing her own Christmas original track, Dark Christmas.In keeping with spreading love and cheer at this time of year, Tarja sat down earlier this week for a chat with HEAVY to unwrap the presents."You can call me a Christmas woman, alright," she smiled, laughing. "This is my third Christmas album. To do an album like this, very different, very much darker than usual… even though the songs that you hear are the songs that everybody knows. But when you get to listen to them, they have absolutely different arrangements. Very cinematographic, dark arrangements. And so I love this Christmas tradition that I have as an artist. It's a very, very important part of my career. I'm doing tours every year, at the end of the year since 2005. A long time."We dive into Dark Christmas musically a bit deeper."This time I chose songs that are very, very known," she began. "There's Jingle Bells and All I Want For Christmas Is You, Last Christmas, White Christmas. I don't necessarily enjoy myself this kind of music. The music that sounds in supermarkets when you get there… it's too commercial and all yuk. So I wanted to escape from all that and make these songs more appealing to me first of all as an artist. I worked the arrangements with a man called Jim Dooley in Los Angeles. He's working only for films with movie soundtracks, so he understood my concept that I wanted to get was to get these songs completely different. Of course, the melody you know, but it's a completely different world when you emerge and listen to these songs. In some songs this time I took some creepy kids. There is a kid's choir brought into play from Argentina. My daughter plays drums and the symphonic orchestra with my voice. That's about it."In the full interview, Tarja explains why there is a six-year gap between Christmas albums, what she feels makes a true dark Christmas, using the children's choir and what that added to the songs, how she has reworked existing tracks to make them her own, the obvious covers and how they differ, if she thinks it is a child-friendly album, the original song Dark Christmas, making a video for all twelve songs and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

9 Nov 202319min

Interview by Kris PetersThe common perception with iconic bands is that their musical output understandably slows the longer their careers go on.This could be for a variety of factors that are too many to mention, but no matter how many excuses there are, try telling legendary Californian death metal outfit Autopsy that they should be slowing down.Coming just 12 months after the release of Morbidity Triumphant, the timeless warriors last week unveiled another slab of metal excellence in the form of Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts.A sonic barrage that sounds as if it were conceived in the bowels of Hell itself, Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts is, if anything, an ever more polished performance from Autopsy given that new bass player Greg Wilkinson not only has one album under his belt before this release, but also the fact he had more involvement in the complete album cycle.Wilkinson joined HEAVY earlier for a chat about the new material and more."It's been good," he smiled at the response to the new album. "It was kind of scary putting two albums a year apart and some people were definitely nervous at how are they gonna put two records out and make them good."I point out the above-mentioned fact that bands generally reduce their output in the latter stages of their career, a point which he shrugs off casually."I can't speak on behalf of before me joining the band, but there was that whole COVID lockdown thing," he measured, "that I think maybe built a little back up. And then me joining the band nad also having input in that stuff. There was four of us who could all write songs, so you have four people, you have a big break from shows; from writing records; from recording. The whole world shut down for a year and a half, so I'm sure those are all elements that came into play. In the end, the fact of the matter is I think once we get the wheels rolling we just keep going. It seems like we just kept going. Kinetic energy, that's my answer."In the full interview, Greg talks about the musical side of the new album, how it differs sonically to Morbidity Triumphant, how the singles released represent the album, the horror-inspired film clip for Rabid Funeral, how he is settling into his role in the band after joining in 2021, how he came to be a member of Autopsy and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

9 Nov 202319min

Interview by Kris PetersMusic has a way of providing comfort in a wide variety of ways.To the general music consumer, that comfort is a more personal enjoyment of the music, the lyrics, and the message, but the cathartic nature of music also extends to those making it.When Fuming Mouth vocalist Mark Whelan was diagnosed with life-threatening Acute Myeloid Leukemia he could have accepted and reacted to the news in a number of ways.But he chose his band and music.And that option helped him harness his thoughts and problems into a body of work that, although already close to completion, would provide support, encouragement and hope in his time of need.Some of the tracks were reworked and rewritten to reflect his new battle, but mostly Whelan turned his potential life negatives into a constructive force of nature that helped drive his creative output while also strengthening his resolve.That product was unleashed on the world last week when Fuming Mouth released their second album Last Day Of Sun, a triumphant sonic release of hope and courage against seemingly insurmountable odds.HEAVY caught up with Whelan, drummer James Davis and bass player Pat Merson to find out more."It's been good, for the most part," Merson nodded when asked how fans have responded to the album."It seems like the live reception has been good," Davis added. "I've seen people singing along to the songs and reacting to the music so that's been cool."We press the boys to tell us more about Last Day Of Sun musically and what they were going for with it."Just something really heavy, really brutal," Whelan replied, "truly metal and beyond just death metal into worlds of heavy metal. Beyond that into some more melodic territory that you might hear, but ultimately bringing it back to big bands like Judas Priest with big guitar solos and making it more of a dynamic album than just one low tunes brutal death song after another."In the full interview, the boys talk about the two singles released and if they are a good representation of the album as a whole, Mark's battle with leukemia and how it impacted the album, what message they hope people will take from the album, recording with Kurt Ballou in Salem and what effect that had on the finished product, the early days of Fuming Mouth, their initial vision for the band and how it has changed since, live shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

8 Nov 202310min

Interview by Kris PetersDevin Townsend is one of the few musicians who globally needs no introduction.Whether it be for his work with Strapping Young Lad or the Devin Townsend Project or anywhere in between, the man is an enigma. A legend.And a true gentleman of the metal scene.Known for his boundless energy and creativity, Townsend touches down in Australia this month for a run of four shows only, playing a splattering of everything from his back catalogue and material from his new album Lightwork.It promises to be one of the tours of the year, with the man himself sitting down with HEAVY recently to tell us all about what to expect."The thing is, I've had the good fortune of playing with some fantastic musicians throughout my career," he measured. "But the group of people I've got working with me right now are the most capable of playing everything, so it's allowed for me to put together a set that I think is… a good cross-section of material. Also, because I've been touring with them for this whole year - and the sound person - I'm confident that it's the best I've been able to present the material by a longshot. Having that is really great for me, because, although it's been good in the past also there's been certain things where I think 'man, I wish that was different' or I wish that was articulated differently or maybe this player's really good at this but no so good at that or vice versa - not to be disparaging against anybody I've worked with, I've just got, like you say, a huge amount of material that typically I use different players for all of them. So what I've done with this recent one is I've just found people that I am confident can do all of it. And they had to learn how to do all of it too. The first thing that I did with some of these players… they didn't know how to play some of the stuff, and it took them touring to figure it out. Now, I feel that the presentation of the material is… I'm excited to be able to show it to people because I'm like, 'this sounds fucken great'. That's how I feel."In the full interview Devin talks about writing set lists, his essential non-essential things to pack for tour, pleasing as many fans as possible, what we can expect from the shows, the early days of his career and what he was expecting out of music, what some of his motivating factors were, how early experiences helped shape his career, what drives him to keep experimenting, retaining his passion for music, the creative process and if it becomes easier or harder over time and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202321min

Interview by Erin EddyVerona Lights are out of Melbourne, Victoria, and have recently released their newest album, titled Minos.This is the second album vocalist Brendan Davine has appeared on, after joining the band to replace the original vocalist, but the first album Brendan feels like he has been able to flex full musical creativity.“On Adrestia, the last album, I didn’t write any of the music,” Brendan explains, “That music was already sitting there when I joined. It had just been sitting there for years and I got to do the lyrics and the vocals how I felt was right, but I didn’t get to actually write any music. So with the new album, providing riffs and ideas, I think this album got even heavier, because I was able to write stuff.”Brendan says Minos is a loosely based concept album, “If Adrestia was an album of self-discovery, Minos is an album of self-destruction.”The themes of the 10 songs on Minos chronicle someone stuck in the cyclical patterns of mental health struggles; the back-and-forth of the protagonist working their way through those feelings and their self-deprecation.Brendan does urge the listener to apply their own meaning to the songs, though. “I’m definitely one for ‘everyone should take what they get’ from hearing it.”Listen to the full interview with Brendan to hear the complete story about Minos and where the band has their sights set in the future.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202357min

Interview by Kris PetersHarnessing the intensity and intent of a debut album can be difficult.Public expectations are noticeably higher for your second release and your existing fan base has likely also grown significantly.Many bands attempt to replicate the things that went right the first time around and end up forcing themselves into a sonic box of expectation, but not so Australian metal outfit Escarion who have introduced elements of progressive and symphonic metal to their existing blackened death leanings for album number two, Towards A Futile Existence.To find out more HEAVY sat for a chat with guitarist/vocalist Johnny and bass player Rhys."It's been really awesome," Johnny smiled of the early reception to the album. "We've got two really good reviews so far, and everyone that has listened to it has loved it. We had an album launch party last night, and we hosted it where we usually rehearse. We got a few friends to come down and have a listen, and it was great."We ask the boys to talk more about the musical nature of Towards A Futile Existence."With this album, obviously coming off Pillars Of The Faith, our first album having a concept of Seven Deadly Sins and a much more subjective approach," Rhys began, "we have gone for a concept again, but this time in a broader sense where we are talking about society as a whole and the objective of looking outwards and towards the future and the bleakness of that. It's a very dark album."In the full interview, Johnny and Rhys talk about adding progressive and symphonic elements to their music, the addition of new member Gaia and what she brings to the band, how Towards A Futile Existence differs musically to their debut, what lyrical themes they explore, the album artwork and what it means, new single Zeitgeist and how it relates to the overall sound and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202318min

Interview by Kris PetersBad Wolves hit the jackpot with their 2021 album Dear Monsters, satisfying existing fans of the band with their output, while also drawing a new breed of followers to their music.It was a success in every way, which made their follow-up album Die About It - out now - all the more significant.Die About It came with all of the usual fanfare, declaring it "pushes the boundaries of their soundscape in pursuit of new sonic dimensions" and more, but, as they say, the proof is always in the pudding. So is Die About It as good as everyone says?HEAVY thinks so, but to gauge the album from the band's viewpoint we sat down with drummer John Boecklin to discuss more."Feeling good. Very fresh," he enthused. "It feels like a great start to a cycle. We hit the road with Bush in America. I feel the record has a lot of… not avant guard things… but things we certainly haven't tried before which makes us feel not stuck in a rut doing the same old. Rock radio, in general, is the kind of band we are, but we get very, very, very heavy in songs on this one. You can feel it, every album has a creative rut of getting kind of stuck in certain formulas, so we tried to do the best we can to stay out of that and do songs that feel more expressive and make you feel more emotions than some of the past songs."We ask John to dive deeper into the musical side of the album."I think where we started it was we weren't going for anything," he measured. "We dropped any ideas of 'well, this worked in the past, let's do that'. Sometimes we did that stuff, like 'this did really good, let's do some of that'. I think some of the first songs that we wrote for this song musically were Die About It, the song, N.D.A which in the end has a two-minute saxophone solo, which is just stuff we had never tried before."In the full interview, John explores the different sounds and approaches to making the album, the singles released and if they are a good sonic representation of the album, how much they experimented and where the band's limits were, if there was any extra pressure after the success of Dear Monsters, the overall theme on Die About It, having the band co-produce the album and some of the pros and cons with that, how Bad Wolves' sound has changed over their journey and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202314min

Interview by Kris PetersIt's hard to believe that after 13 years Brisbane two-piece Environmental Nu Thrash outfit F.U.C (or, as they are known in the Andes, Forests Under Construction) are finally set to bust their cherry at Wallapalooza 2023.After hosting some of the finest bands this country has to offer from humble beginnings at the Wallaby Hotel in Mudgeeraba, festival organisers have somehow - some would argue inexplicably - failed to invite the Sunshine State's finest mankini clad musicians to their annual party.It is a glaring omission that is finally set to be rectified on November 4 when F.U.C rightfully take their place on the main stage of Wallapalooza with the promise of nothing more than actually showing up.F.U.C themselves have been around for longer than the festival has - another nail in the coffin for deprived locals - and have vowed that 2023 will be the year Walla fans are called forth to pay for the sins of their forefathers by way of musical disciplinary action that may or may not involve two hot and sweaty musicians watching as their stage sweat spills from their brows into the depths of your… schooners of beer.To add spice to the mix F.U.C have recently unleashed their new EP Everythink, just in time to be road tested at Wallapalooza. A swirling mass of punk, metal, rock, thrash and love potions sure to tame even the meekest of beasts, Everythink sees F.U.C at their unrestrained best with tracks like Dick Massage, Snap Off A Log and VIPness only hinting at the inner passion just waiting to be released from their sweaty outside undergarments.If you have not yet become acquainted with F.U.C we strongly recommend that you mark their set time down into your Walla diary first and foremost, because these guys are sure to produce one of the standout performances of the day.And don't just take our word for it, because drummer Toddy and guitarist Dan graciously gave up their time to talk with HEAVY, if only so they could tell us so themselves."We've got a massive gig coming up for Wallapalooza on November 4," Todd began, stating the obvious. "It's gonna be awesome, and we're very excited."Despite only being added to a line-up that includes COG, Butterfingers, 28 Days and more at the eleventh hour, both boys feel strongly that their name should have been read out atop of the list back when the first artist drop was revealed."Everyone loves a bit of F.U.C," Todd shrugged. "Penises… animals… This will be our first time doing Wallapalooza. I think it's in its 13th year, and we're very excited for it because it's always been a pretty cool event from the outside looking in."Sitting amongst a wealth of big names at the head of the poster, F.U.C surely have something special to offer punters?"We'll slip in somewhere, I'm sure," Todd laughed. "I'm sure it will be a hot, sweaty day so there will be plenty of lube and we'll just slide on in somewhere in between all of them and prime the audience I suppose."Todd turns the question to Dan, asking "what do you reckon?" to which Dan replies "I don't know." Todd's ensuing quip of "you don't know?" followed by a healthy dose of laughter pretty much epitomises one of the main strengths of F.U.C.The chemistry between the two scantily clad bandmates, which only intensifies as the interview continues.In the full chat, Todd and Dan give us a bit of history on F.U.C, their penchant for mankini's and why, the EP Everthink and why it took so long to see light, the musical nature of their music and where it comes from, a track by track analysis on the six songs that make up Everythink, what punters can expect from their set and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 Okt 202323min