Challenging The Gods With RYAN KIRBY From FIT FOR A KING

Interview by Kris PetersBrisbane indie guitar pop outfit Screamfeeder are another band from the 1990s that is still commanding attention on the national touring circuit.The band has released a total of seven albums - the most recent of which was Five Rooms last May - and are one of the few remaining bands from that era that are still producing regular content as well as playing live.They will form but one cog in next weekends Spring Loaded 2023 Festival at Brisbane's Sandstone Point Hotel, reuniting with fellow 90s classmates Spiderbait, Frenzal Rhomb, Magic Dirt, Ratcat, Bodyjar, Shihad and Eskimo Joe for a trip down memory lane and also one which proves the timeless nature of good Australian music.Bassist Kellie Lloyd joined HEAVY to discuss the show and revisit old memories."We've actually tried to broaden our set list a little bit for this show," she offered, "because Spring Loaded in particular is all about the 90s, so we tend to play songs that the audience will know. Not like stuff from our newer albums - because we've been continuing to put out albums - we brought out one last year, so we're not playing new stuff. We're playing all older stuff. We wanna make sure that we're appealing to the audience and what they are after."We mention the line-up and the old school nature of the bands, pointing out it's almost like a family reunion of sorts."We've played gigs with all of those bands," she nodded. "In the 90s we toured with Spiderbait and Magic Dirt and we've played with Shihad and Bodyjar and Ratcat. All of those bands we're all friends, so yeah, it is like a... it's not like a family reunion, it's more like a reconnection of people who are doing what they love. The audience is there to relive that part of their lives, and a lot of people might bring their kids along who are now teenagers or twenty - something's who grew up listening to this music. I call it a Nostalgia Fest because that's exactly what it is. It's really nostalgic, but it's also completely relevant. It's not like harking back to the past. All this music stands today and is still as vital as it was."In the full interview, Kellie discusses the importance of all Aussie festivals, runs through her best memories of each band on the bill, tells us what we can expect from their set, the early days of Screamfeeder and where they fit in, maintaining a musical presence and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 Mai 202320min

Interview by Erin EddyIf ever there was a time to be in Queensland, it’s right now. In parts of the country where theweather has taken a chilly turn, the Sunshine Coast is a welcome reprieve. But the favourableweather isn’t the only drawcard this week.On Saturday June 3, the Sandstone Point Hotel is hosting Spring Loaded Festival.A delicious throw back for those of us who were big into the Triple J scene of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Spring Loaded is serving up one mighty cocktail of Aussie music.HEAVY spoke with Tom Read of Bodyjar, one sliver of the Spring Loaded pie. He expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming event proclaiming, “Get me up to Queensland fast!”The festival line up is exciting for the Bodyjar congregation due to being among so many friends. A sentiment that is likely shared across all the bands attending, which is only going to make for huge vibes on the day.“I have no excuse but to go hard,” said Tom, who will be taking the opportunity to stick around in Queensland for a holiday with his family after the festival, “I can’t not get in the pit for Shihad.”Bodyjar and Shihad are joined by Magic Dirt, Spiderbait, Frenzal Rhomb, Eskimo Joe, Ratcat and Screamfeeder. An epic assemblage of bands, right?Tickets are still available and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.Tune in to the really fun chat we had with Tom, talking about Spring Loaded, nostalgia, what Bodyjar are up to next and Tom’s date with hypothermia post-interview!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 Mai 202323min

Interview by Kris PetersThe seeds for Oceanlords debut album Kingdom Cold were sewn before the world was forced into isolation in 2019.Starting when bass-player Jason Ker joined guitarist and singer Peter Willmott for a serious drink to ponder work, family, mortality, and the hellscape of corporate existence the conversation soon turned to music and with the later addition of Jon May on drums the sludge heavy riffs began to gestate and swell, with the COVID enforced layoff actually benefitting the fledgling band when Willmott built a home studio to pass the time and found himself tracking songs for what would eventually become Kingdom Cold.With an assortment of thematic influences centering on the writings of New England author Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Oceanlord set about plotting for the albums release with a firm eye on what direction and shape they wanted the future to hold.With Kingdom Cold being unleashed on the world on May 26 all three band members joined HEAVY to tell us more."It's unbelievable," Ker smiled at the thought of having the album out for public consumption. "If you'd told me ten years, five years ago that we would be doing this today I would have laughed. We put in a lot of hard work and Pete has been pulling out riffs and lyrics left right and centre, moulding this stuff together. We've been working really hard and it's amazing to be able to have someone like Esben Willems do our mixing and mastering and then having Magnetic Eye pick us up is brilliant. I had a series of goals that I wanted to achieve with this band and I think we surpassed that a long time ago."We press the band on the musical aspect of Kingdom Cold."We've got a few musical aims that we're looking to achieve," Willmott measured. "One of them was massive, doomy, wall of sound riffs. That's something we all love, so we really wanted to capture that. There's something about three piece doom that's sparse but massive at the same time. It's not massively intricate but it's thick. With that we really wanted to capture more melodic... a contrast of beauty and heaviness so that was the goal throughout writing songs and making the album. We kept coming back to those two points. How can we make this heavier? How can we make this more beautiful? And then how do we keep those two in balance."In the full interview the boys talk us through Kingdom Cold in greater detail, talk about the thought process going into a debut album, their doom based sound and how it came together, their thematic inspirations and how they translate to the music, their early band vision and how it has changed,tracking the album from Pete's home studio, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

25 Mai 202320min

Interview by Kris PetersAdelaide rock outfit Bad Dreems have taken themselves on somewhat of a musical journey over the course of their four albums.While all firmly entrenched in rock, Bad Dreems have experimented within the confines of the genre, testing their own musical tastes along the way in the elusive search for musical gratification.While each album has maintained the rock DNA that is the backbone of Bad Dreems' music, fans, critics, and the band themselves are unanimous in their appraisal of the recently released Hoo Ha!, universally in agreeance that Bad Dreems have finally found their niche.Vocalist Ben Marwe and guitarist Alex Cameron sat down with HEAVY to go over the album."It's been really good," Cameron smiled at the early reception for Hoo Ha!. "The last album was 2019, so it's been quit a while but people like this album and the reception has been good. I think people get where we're coming from with the music and the songs. It's been pretty satisfying."We ask the pair to explain Hoo Ha! from a musical point of view."We were going for what we feel comes naturally to us," Cameron measured, "which is Australian rock and roll. We had gone a little bit away from that perhaps over time and we just wanted to... because we hadn't been able to play together that much during Covid we just wanted to get together and play the kind of music that we first started playing, which is rock and roll, not complex, driving, energetic and raw. It came together really quickly because of that and I think now we've been together ten years and we know what the band does well. We just wanted to stick to that."In the full interview Ben and Alex talk about the more direct nature of this album, the singles release and how they sonically cover the whole album, how Bad Dreems have changed musically from their debut album to now, being invited by Midnight Oil to play two shows in England in 2019, their own upcoming national tour and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

25 Mai 202313min

Interview by Kris PetersMagic Dirt have been a mainstay on the Australian music scene since their formation in 1991.They quickly became regulars on the touring circuit, appearing at festivals such as Big Day Out, Livid and Homebake, in the process earning a solid reputation as an energetic and formidable live unit, led by the charismatic and highly talented Adalita Srsen on vocals.Age has not wearied Magic Dirt, who are one of the main drawcards at Spring Loaded at the Sandstone Point Hotel on June 3 which features a host of iconic Australian bands including Spiderbait, Ratcat, Shihad, Frenzal Rhomb, Screamfeeder, Bodyjar and Eskimo Joe.HEAVY caught up with Adalita recently to celebrate the enduring goodness of Aussie rock bands."I can't wait!", she enthused. "Playing with all our mates and playing up in Brissie is always good for us Melbournites. We love going up there. We've done the festival a few times now and it's such a great feel. All our mates are all together - we used to play a lot back in the day. We used to do the Big Day Out's and Livid's and Homebake all together, all the time. This lineup is literally the Big Day Out lineup, the Aussie version. So it's like the Little Day out, but Ratcat are playing as well, who we are all so excited to see. They were the kind of Godfathers of pre-grunge and all that sort of stuff and they influenced a lot of the bands so we are all super fanning out to see Ratcat (laughs). It's gonna be huge. We haven't done Queensland in a while, so there's so many reasons to be looking forward to this show."In the full interview Adalita runs through the other bands on the bill and her best memories of playing with them, the importance of all Australian festivals like Spring Loaded, what we can expect from Magic Dirt on the day, the longevity of Aussie bands and why they are still relevant, upcoming plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

24 Mai 202315min

Interview by Kris PetersMetal Blade Records has been at the forefront of heavy metal bands and music since its inception by Brian Slagel in 1982.Slagel, at the time a record store employee, had a vision to help nurture and promote the local metal scene and before long had released the compilation album Metal Massacre through the label, which included Metallica, Ratt, and Black 'n Blue. Metal Blade Records quickly grew in both stature and popularity, recognised as an honest and loyal label with a genuine desire to see bands succeed.Over the years Metal Blade has been home to bands like Goo Goo Dolls, Amon Amarth, Trouble, As I Lay Dying, Behemoth, the Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning, Lizzy Borden, Anvil, Gwar, King Diamond, Job for a Cowboy, Whitechapel, Armored Saint, The Red Chord, Unearth, Between the Buried and Me, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Corrosion of Conformity and Cattle Decapitation to name but a few, with Slagel remaining a hands on and active leader of the scene.After the success of his 2017 book For the Sake of Heaviness, which delivered a compelling inside look at how a metal-obsessed California teen built Metal Blade Records into the pre-eminent international home of heavy music, Slagel has succumbed to public demand with the recently released Swing Of The Blade, More Stories From Metal Blade Records.Swing of the Blade offers clear-eyed and entertaining insights about the very beginning of the Los Angeles metal world of the 1980s, a local scene that Slagel helped shape ... and break internationally. Metal would go on to explode on MTV and in arenas, the movement featuring many Metal Blade acts, along with the likes of Guns 'N' Roses and Tool, bands Slagel also scouted in their earliest days.Both books are compelling reading for anyone with even the slightest interest in heavy metal bands and music, with each offering their own special tales and stories.Slagel joined HEAVY earlier today to talk more about Swing Of The Blade."I did a first book about six years ago now called For The Sake Of Heaviness, The History Of Metal Blade Records," he began. "It was kind of a history of Metal Blade. I never intended to write any books but we kind of felt - it was our 35th anniversary at the time - and people were asking about a book so I thought I am still coherent and remembering things so I should probably write it (a book). So, I did, and surprisingly enough to me it got a really great reaction and people wanted to hear more stories about some of the bands; deeper dives and they wanted to hear more about some of the obscure bands and why some bands didn't make it when they should so here we are with book number two now."We ask Slagel if Swing Of The Blade is more of a continuation of the first book or a separate look at things."It's a continuation but it's a little bit different in that the first book was basically just a chronological story about Metal Blade from the beginning up to 2016, and this is more in depth stuff from the history of the label," he explained. "There's a chapter about my dealings with Metallica. There's a chapter on my dealings with Slayer and Amon Amarth and Armoured Saint and King Diamond and Merciful Fate and all that sort of stuff. There's some music business nonsense and a lot of stuff about some of the more obscure bands, because that was honestly the one thing that people asked me about the most from the first book saying hey we wanna hear more about these smaller bands that we like that never made it, and why weren't they bigger."In the full interview Brian talks more about the contents of the book, why he felt it was important to write it, how honest he was with full stories, reflecting on the time period the book spans, what 40 years in the industry has taught him, his favourite chapter in the book, how heavy metal has changed over forty years, the current state of metal and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

24 Mai 202317min

Interview by Kris PetersWhen news trickled down that Unify 2023 was not going ahead in its usual format music lovers around the country were left shocked and empty.But that was tempered soon after when organisers revealed a bigger picture with plans to take Unify on the road under the monicker Unify Off The Record.The new format takes in more regional and out of the way areas and has a travelling ensemble of rotating bands to ensure the current cream of Australian talent has more of a chance to feature in the event.Hitting Mackay, Adelaide, Wollongong, Hobart and Frankston, Unify Off The Record 2023 features a diverse line up of Australia's premiere heavy acts including ARIA chart topping Northlane, Thy Art Is Murder, Thornhill, Make Them Suffer, Teenage Joans, In Hearts Wake, Alpha Wolf, Ocean Grove, Yours Truly, Void Of Vision, Redhook and more.With the tour kicking off in Mackay last weekend, HEAVY caught up with one of the major players in this weekends round of shows in Adelaide and Wolongong, Ocean Grove."This iteration of Unify I'm really excited about," enthused vocalist Dale Tanner, "because we've been lucky enough to play four Unify festivals as we know it so for this one to be a bit of a curveball to the normal style of Unify I think is going to be really special. Especially that every show is not only at a different city, but each city has a different lineup and different venue so I think that's where it's very unique compared to years gone by where it's everyone coming to the one spot to experience the one festival. I think each show and festival is going to have its own flavour and own thing that makes it unique to each city. As you said there's a great list of Australian bands and an international in Fit For An Autopsy as well but it's a heavily Australian billed lineup across the board and I think to represent heavy music in this format is a great privilage."In the full interview Dale talks more about the new format for Unify, the importance of having predominantly Australian music festivals, where Ocean Grove is playing, who he is most looking forward to playing with, what fans can expect from their set, the chance of them playing any new songs, how advanced the next album is, their limited edition Oddworld 3000 shoe range and how they sold, upcoming plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

24 Mai 202314min

Interview by Kris PetersSince lighting up the Australian metalcore scene with their debut EP in 2019, Druid have taken a steady path to consolidation, releasing a string of singles rather than putting all of their eggs into one metaphorical basket by putting out a full length album.The decision has proved fruitful, with Druid sharing the stage with the likes of Void Of Vision, Alpha Wolf, The Beautiful Monument, Suspryia, Earthcaller, Lune, Diamond Construct and more on their as yet brief musical journey but you get the impression things are about to move even quicker following the release of their latest single Hang In There (It Gets Worse).A brutal, uncompromising track exploring mental issues and the troubles that stem from it, Hang In There (It Only Gets Worse) is the next logical step towards metal domination by a band who is ready to take that next step.Vocalists Chris Mecuri and Jordan Williams sat down with HEAVY to talk about the song and its early reception."Pretty good," enthused Mecuri. "I can't complain. A lot of people have come out to us and said thank you and how awesome it is. That's always awesome to feel, hear and see."We press the boys about the musical nature of the song."Lyrically we were trying to open ourselves up and venture into slightly darker topics," Williams replied. "I guess expressing ourselves and being a little more vulnerable. In the past we've... not steered away from it, but maybe not been as up front about it so this time we decided to try and make it a little more personal and go from there."In the full interview the boys talk more about the subject matter of Hang In There (It Gets Worse), how personal it is to the band, putting things like this out there for the world to hear, whether it is a stand alone track or part of a bigger picture, what direction future music might take, the reasons behind releasing a host of singles rather than an album, how the bands music has progressed since they started, touring plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

24 Mai 20239min