THE HALO EFFECT: A Conversation with NICLAS ENGELIN On Their New Album And Band Energy

Interview by Kris PetersFrench metalcore outfit Resolve are one of the new breed of metal bands that dares to be different.Since setting the world on fire with their debut single Exposed in 2017, Resolve quickly found themselves supporting bands such as Architects, Every Time I Die and While She Sleeps, enhancing their reputation in the process and forging their way into the ears and hearts of metal lovers globally.Last week Resolve dropped Human, the follow up to their highly successful debut album Between Me And The Machine which came out in 2021.It is a beast of an album that reinforces the band's early promise and gives glimpses into what can only be an even more promising future.Drummer Nathan Mariat joined HEAVY to discuss more."It's been mixed with good feedback," he measured when asked how the album has been received early on. "Some people like the fact that we tried to explore different genres and origins musically. Also, some people will find what makes them happy in the album but maybe only in a few songs. At the end of the day that's the only thing that matters. If we release songs you like whether you like the entire album or not, if you're happy with some of the songs we wrote it means we did our job."We ask him to dive deeper into Human musically."We were trying to... it's really hard to explain," he began. "We're trying to speak to as much people as we can with our music, which is how it has always been since the beginning. We have always listened to many different styles of music and we really wanted to implement that in the music we make. This album is no different. We're just trying to cover as many styles that we like while retaining a heavy sound. I wouldn't say metal sound, because that's not the main idea of the album. It's not a metal album. It's a heavy band album trying to showcase everything we can do while still showing everyone how heavy we can be, but also how soft we can be. It's the most sincere music we wrote since we started this band."In the full interview, Nathan talks more about the musical side of Human, how the singles released represent the entire album, having hip hop/trap artists ten56 and Paleface Swiss guest on the album and why, where their eclectic style comes from, the themes behind Human, how it differs to their debut album Between Me And The Machine, how much experimenting the band has left in them and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

25 Sep 202320min

Interview by Kris PetersAlthough K.K. Downing and Tim 'Ripper' Owens only spent what amounts to a fleeting moment together as part of Judas Priest (they actually played on two albums together, Jugulator and Demolition) they still formed an integral part of one of the most loved and influential metal bands in history.While Downing spent some time in hibernation after leaving Judas Priest, Owens set about forging a music career in his own right, forming a solo project as well as performing with Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge.He still traverses the globe in various incarnations paying respect to Judas Priest and other bands, his distinctive voice ensuring his reputation continues to grow as a musician in his own right.Earlier this decade Downing and Owens reunited under the monicker KK's Priest, harnessing the DNA from that period of time and infusing it with a modern sensibility that spills over just enough to give their sound a fresher sonic platform while still having its roots in old school metal.The success of KK's Priest's debut album Sermons Of The Sinner meant it was always a matter of when, not if the band would release the follow up, with the next step in KK's Priest's evolution starting on September 29 with the release of The Sinner Rides Again.Owens sat down with HEAVY to bring us up to speed.We start by asking what feelings and emotions he goes through in the lead up to a new album release."I've done it so much now," he measured. "It used to be really exciting, and then you start releasing so many records like I do that it loses a little bit. But this one is back to being exciting again. This is two records in a row I've released. You and I talked about my solo EP Return To Death Row, so that was an exciting one, and I've got back to back exciting records. I'm really excited about this KK's Priest release because Sinner Rides Again is just a great record so I cannot wait to get this one out."As Owens said, he has released a large number of albums with various projects over the years, but we ask him if there is more pressure on this one just by virtue of the fact it is with himself and K.K. Downing in the band."I think so," he nodded. "It is for me because I want it to be... usually all of the pressure is totally on me and you want it to be good because it's your own but I want this to be successful and good for Ken. It means a lot to him. He's worked really hard at it and so I want it to be great and I want to be on the top of my game. It just adds a little bit more pressure to it."In the full interview, Ripper talks about the singles released and how they reflect the whole album, the other members of KK's Priest and what they bring to the table, how this album differs musically to the debut, keeping old school metal influences in his music, how the album process has changed from when Downing and himself were in Judas Priest to now, the chemistry between both of them, their upcoming run of shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Sep 202310min

Interview by Kyra-Jade Coombs and Kris PetersKickAss Festival successfully completed its second year last weekend with a bumper show at Kenilworth Showgrounds that emphatically proved rock music is alive, well and thriving.Held over two days with local acts appearing alongside established bands such as James Reyne, Kingswood, Dragon and the Choirboys, KickAss Festival did just that and more with thousands of music lovers taking advantage of the camping facilities on offer to spend the weekend in rock paradise.HEAVY was granted exclusive media access to backstage interviews on the Saturday, and we managed to corner Kingswood, Choirboys and Lecia Louise for some up close and personal time.Today Kyra-Jade Coombs and Kris Peters catch up with Choirboys vocalist Mark Gable for an entertaining chat not long before the boys hit the stage.*Please note, this was recorded live so the audio might be a little unclear at times*Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Sep 202336min

Interview by Kris PetersBrazilian thrash outfit Nervosa are preparing to enter the next phase of their already successful career when they release new album Jailbreak onto the world on September 29.Jailbreak marks a decisive new beginning for the band, being the first album to welcome guitarist and founding member Prika Amaral to the mantle as lead vocalist, as well as premiering the new line-up completed by the immensely talented and well experienced Michaela Naydenova on drums, Hel Pyre on bass and Helena Kotina on guitars.Unrelenting and sonically vicious, Nervosa have decimated crowds the world over on four previous albums, but are set to spread their brutality even further with Jailbreak.Amaral joined HEAVY to discuss the album."I'm feeling super excited," she smiled. "We have been working for this new album since 2021 - so four months after we released Perpetual Chaos we started working for this new album - and for me it's the biggest step in my career because it's the first time that I have been singer (laughs). I can't describe how excited I am to show everyone what I was working very hard on."We ask Amaral to dive deeper into the musical side of Jailbreak."I think this album is super revolutionary," she measured, "because we have the second guitar right now. It was something that we had in the beginning, but we never recorded any albums with two guitars. So it's a big change in Nervosa life, and also me talking personally being a singer was a huge challenge in a very short time and period. I gave my best. I had a lot of fun. It was a very experimental album in some ways, but at the same time was the most fun composing this new album. We have a lot of diversity, and a different style of metal. Everything combined with thrash. We have thrash and death metal together. We have traditional heavy metal with thrash metal. We have punk with thrash metal and we have some melodic death metal, melodic thrash metal, and a bit, in one song, maybe death metal. We put everything together in a mixer (laughs)."In the full interview, Prika talks about following on from the success of previous album Perpetual Chaos, her role as singer and how easy the transition was, why she elected to assume the role, the new band members and what they bring to Nervosa's sound, the wicked cover image, special guests Gary Holt and Lena Scissorhands and what they brought to the album, the "new era" of Nervosa, touring plans, playing on 70000TONS Of Metal and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Sep 202313min

Interview by Erin Eddy,Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons recently dropped their new album Kings Of The Asylum.If you’re not familiar with the name Phil Campbell, then you’re not a big enough Motorhead fan. The former guitarist of one of rock and roll’s most notorious bands has spent the last few years building up The Bastard Sons, a band he has formed with his three sons Todd, Dane and Tyla.When charismatic and legendary Motorhead front man Lemmy passed away in late 2015, it was the end of an era. But with music coursing through his veins, Phil Campbell was not ready to set down the guitar and retire just yet.With his ‘bastard sons’ on board, the band that was originally assembled mainly for fun has well and truly taken off.HEAVY spent some time this week chatting with Todd Campbell, one of the band’s guitarists.“A few years before Lemmy passed, we started playing doing covers mostly, as like a party band sort of thing, doing little mini tours. We were called the All Star Band at that point,” Todd explained to HEAVY. “We just slowly morphed into The Bastard Sons doing original material and it’s just a good outlet for Phil now, now that he doesn’t have Motorhead.”Once the ball was rolling with The Bastard Sons, things gathered momentum relatively quickly and the band has been busy releasing music, as well as playing hectic festival circuits around Europe for the past two summers now.Kings Of The Asylum is the band’s third studio album and it’s first with new vocalist Joel Peters.“It just felt really natural with Joel, the fans have really taken to him. Full steam ahead, basically!” Todd smiles.Kings Of The Asylum is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.Listen to the full interview now to hear about what it was like for Todd growing up aroundMotorhead, what it’s like to be in a “family band”, what to expect of the new album and more!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Sep 202329min

Interview by Kris PetersBritish progressive metal outfit Tesseract are the consummate professionals, dedicating equal measures of effort into resources into all aspects of their music without favouring the other.It is an attitude and commitment that has seen the band establish themselves as a pioneering force in world metal over four previous albums, each of which has set new standards of divinity in terms of quality and presentation.But just when you think they couldn't possibly elevate their music to another realm Tesseract have returned with an outstanding slab of music titled War Of Being that revolutionises not only all that has come before them, but possibly much of what is to come.Bass player Amos Williams and vocalist Daniel Tompkins sat down with HEAVY to discuss the intricacies of their music and more."It's pretty cool isn't it," Williams smiled when I point out the album is only hours away from being released unto the world. "It's been a long time getting to this point as well," Tompkins added. "The first few singles have gone down really well so we're quite excited to let people hear the full thing now.""We've spent a lot of time making a lot of noise, but supposedly in the wilderness for popular," Williams continued, "so it's really interesting to all of a sudden have the spotlight put back onto us. For us - because we haven't taken any time off really, we're still at full pelt - so it's super cool for everybody to catch us as we have momentum rather than having to build it up.""Like Mos said we've been so busy, and then all of a sudden the albums here..." Tompkins finished.In the full interview, Amos and Daniel talk more about letting the music free to the world and feeling a sense of ownership to the material, the conceptual themes, the creative process and how it eventuated, releasing the 11 minute title track as a single and the risks associated, the visually stunning music video and the ideas in it, which stages of the process are more enjoyable, the AI generated cover artwork, next years Australian tour and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

15 Sep 202326min

Interview by Kris PetersGold Coast metal titans Snake Mountain have never been one of those bands to go with the flow.Instead, they have adopted a kind of Cobra Kai attitude of strike first, strike hard and not only become an integral part of the local live music scene, but also a proactive and fundamental link in what is becoming an increasingly more delicate chain.Tonight (September 15) Snake Mountain return to Mo's Desert Clubhouse in Burleigh Heads to spearhead Brutal Coast 4, an annual celebration of live music which they initially started to provide exposure for local bands but what has now become a highlight on the Gold Coast music calendar.Vocalist and all round top bloke Neville Pearce joined HEAVY to tell us more."I think it sounds kind of cool," he laughed when we point out the event name is actually quite intimidating. "You've got to have a cool name. I like having that branding on it. It sounds evil but it's not. We're all happy metalheads (laughs)."When it started four short years ago, Brutal Coast was but a simple idea but over the years has developed into more of a lifeblood of sorts for the local music scene."I just wanted to put together a line-up that was a little bit more diverse than the usual shows we play," he recalled. "Which there's nothing wrong with those because we love doing the heavy, heavy stuff, but I wanted to put on something where it was more diverse with sub genres where you have a bit of melodic metal, or you have a bit of hardcore or you'll have maybe a tribute. I just wanted something that brought all different sides of the scene together and some of their followers might be opened to other bands that they might not usually see. So that was the whole idea to begin with and it took off from there."In the full interview, Neville talks more about his vision for Brutal Coast, what he looks for when selecting bands, the other bands on the bill and why they were chosen, his view of the current local music scene, new music from Snake Mountain and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

15 Sep 202315min

Interview by Kris PetersEmerging Woolongong outfit Brooklyn Comic have an interesting take on music, combining the sounds of emo with hardcore laced with rock sensibilities.It is a unification that, on paper, should not work but somehow Brooklyn Comic have struck that delicate balance between two worlds and harnessed that energy into their music which is a reflection of the world they live and see around them.The band's most recent single Charlie's Song details the repercussions addiction has in relationships and continues their common thread of exploring societal issues and mental health.HEAVY sat down with Jayme, Steve and Emerson to talk more."The band has been around for just over a year," Jayme informed us. "I started writing music pretty heavily during the second lockdown, just as a means of aiding my mental despair. Basically, we have one mission statement and that's to raise awareness for mental health. And I like to scream into a microphone (laughs) and that kind of helps."In the full interview, Brooklyn Comic tell us more about Charlie's Song, what they were going for musically with it, what the song is about and how it addresses modern problems, the film clip and what message they hope we take out of it, future music, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

14 Sep 202312min