HEAVY Music Interviews

Interview by Erin EddyAs the emo kids of the 2000’s have exited their 20’s and are now in their 30’s (and some sailing into their 40’s) there’s a wave of nostalgia surfacing. Just as nu-metal has resurfaced and is being embraced with fondness, so is the emo and pop-punk genres.Story Of The Year kicked onto the scene in 2003. Like many bands from the aforementioned genres, while they may not be at the forefront of the collective minds of the music industry, they never actually faded away and those fans, the now-thirty-somethings I referred to in the first paragraph, are proudly reminding their parents “it wasn’t a phase.” Story Of The Year have continued kicking and in fact, they are about to release their sixth studio album, Tear Me To Pieces.Capitalising on the nostalgia wave, the band’s most recent single is titled 2005, and it is a musical walk down memory lane, as vocalist Dan Marsarla sings about the days when Story Of The Year had really found their stride within the scene.“The energy of this style of music is really back again, and it’s just a great time to be doing what we’re doing.” Dan says. “Not that I ever thought we were an ‘emo’ band, or that that was a thing, twenty years ago; that’s not even what anybody called this kind of stuff, but it’s all settled in to like, okay, all this together is this thing, and now we all appreciate it for the same reasons, ‘cause we grew up on it.”The music video for 2005 is a compilation of footage of the band from throughout the years, further solidifying that reflection on days gone by. But it’s not all about looking backwards and remembering the good old days, Story Of The Year are very much actively pressing forward, with a solid new album proving they’re around for the long haul and can still produce relevant and well written music.“We recorded with a guy named Colin Brittain, who’s a great producer, and it was just magical in the studio working with him. It was a really good vibe, we came up with a lot of cool stuff and it’s got a lot of youthful Story Of The Year energy, but a lot of progression as well.” Dan says of the recording process for Tear Me To Pieces.The band is also on it’s way out to Australia in March as part of the Knotfest circuit, and will be doing three sideshows as an added bonus.Listen to HEAVY’s interview with Dan to hear more about what to expect from the new album and their upcoming live shows.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

27 Feb 202317min

Interview by Kris PetersDon't be confused by the title. Australian extreme metal outfit To The Graves new album Director's Cuts is far from a collection of one mans trash from the cutting room floor. Probably as far removed as you could possibly get.Following the release of their 2019 debut album Global Warning To The Grave have become a band in demand - both here and abroad.Along the way the band has secured themselves room on the same stages as heavyweights Parkway Drive, Polaris, Cattle Decapitation, Thy Art Is Murder, Vulvodynia and Alpha Wolf, but with Director's Cuts look set to rightfully claim their very own patch of turf.Their music is tough, brutal and uncompromising, which is beautifully offset by a universal support of the underdog and contempt of those who disrespect their own environment and all those who share it.In effect, To The Grave are a band with a message and an agenda, but without the preaching and self righteous sensibilities that accompany most people who fight for a cause.Instead To The Grave let their music do their talking - and fighting - and with Director's Cuts the message is clear.Put up, or shut up. On all levels.Vocalist Dane Evans sat down with HEAVY during the week to discuss the album and other things close to the bands heart."I'm stoked about the album," he offered, a smile covering his face. "I used to get really nervous around this time when releasing stuff. But I guess there's so many hands in the pot now making everything as stress free as possible, and I realised a lot of that (nerves) was just the stress of doing it myself. What did I fuck up? That sort of thing. Lately the last couple of records have come together nicely in the last few weeks when everything would usually turn to shit if it was me handling it (laughs). I get really excited now around this time and sit on my hands and go fuck, what do I do now? I'm doing all the media and stuff and there's still a few sleeps to kill. It almost feels like Christmas when you're a kid (laughs)."Director's Cuts has been called the heaviest material yet released by those who have heard advance copies, so we press Evans on just how musically heavy the album is."I guess the boys all love their heavy shit so that had to be the biggest pillar," he measured. "Try to do things that are ... how do I put this... deathcore itself is blending hardcore and death metal and shit like that so we're trying to do that with as many other influences as possible that also keeps people engaged and interested. There's a lot of - and it might sound weird - but hip hop influences and stuff goes into at least what I do and I know it has rubbed off on the boys a bit trying to make room for that. There's not necassarily rap parts on the album or anything like that, but just studying the way they do vocals and whether they map things out, I try to a bit of that. Whereas the music, we just keep it as claustrophobically heavy as possible and then do what we can to make it interesting. Maybe that's just our brains getting fried enough and coming up with dumb shit (laughs)."In the full interview, Dane talks more about the songs on Director's Cuts, the underlying heaviness of the album, music as a weapon and how effective it can be, working hooks and melodies into extreme metal, their recent European tour, upcoming Australian shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

23 Feb 202318min

Interview by Kris PetersRarely does a band so early in their career deliver music with such confidence and surety as mustered by Melbourne metal newcomers Heavensgate.Since arriving on the scene only last year Heavensgate have rapidly laid the foundations for their debut EP And All I Loved, I Loved Alone, which will be released on February 24, with two blistering singles Chemical Heaven and Shemoveslikethunder that emphatically announced the arrival of a new wave of Australian metal unrestrained by the burdens of expectation and unfazed by the notion of simply towing the musical line.Heavensgate also recently signed with Australian label Greyscale Records, in a move that should see the band further press their international claims.Bass player Aki and guitarist David sat down with HEAVY earlier this week to talk us through their debut EP."We're feeling really good," David smiled. "It's been a long time coming. We've been quietly working away in the background for 18 months so we are very excited to have it coming out."Eighteen months is a considerable amount of time to develop and record an album, especially in the modern age, with the band conceding that they were occassionally hampered by factors outside of their control."There was a whole bunch of stuff happened with setbacks," David continued, "with COVID being one of them. For some videos we couldn't get people interstate. We were working on the music as well for a long time and making sure we had the absolute best quality of music that we could. Every track on the EP is a real labour of love and we're proud of every single one. We wanted to make sure there's no filler material.""I would say the time period that we spent in COVID was a slight blessing in disguise," Aki chimed in. "We had a lot of time to dedicate to reworking and revising everything to make sure we didn't slip up anywhere. So for us we feel like we have put out 100% the best product possible."In the full interview, Aki and David talk more about the musical component of the EP, the singles released and how they reflect the overall feel of the EP, exploring issues related to mental health in their music and the importance of shining importance on the subject, getting a foothold in the music industry in the face of more competition than ever before, signing to Greyscale Records and what it means to the band, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

23 Feb 202312min

Interview by Kris PetersAustralian melodic death metal machine Be'Lakor began to reach an international audience following the release of their third studio album Of Breath & Bone in 2012.It is an album the band themselves admit "helped us to grow and find new audiences as a band" and one which laid the platform for a global assault that continues to gain traction to this day.A worldwide success which garnered rave reviews from both fans and critics alike, Of Breath & Bone remains a turning point of Be'Lakor's career and will now be officially commemorated with a one off special performance at Max Watts in Melbourne on February 24 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.Be'Lakor - for the first and probably last time ever - will pay homage to the album by playing it in its entirety, mixing popular tracks such as Abeyance, In Parting and Remnants with some of the other lesser known tracks that combined to create something special.Keyboard player Steven Merry joined HEAVY to talk more about the show."It was gonna be November last year, which would have been officially ten years since the album came out," he began, "but then we had to move it to February this year which technically means it's a slightly late birthday for it. I can't believe ten years have gone by since the album came out."Be'Lakor will be playing Of Breath & Bone from start to finish, with Merry smiling at the thought."It's the only time we've done it and we won't be doing it again," he laughed, "so I think it does make it a pretty special gig in that way that it's definitely a one off thing."In the full interview, Steven talks about what to expect from the show, what sorts of things the album opened up for the band when it came out, playing songs they may have never played live before, if it has stood the test of time musically, which tracks have grown on him over the years, the other bands playing and why they were chosen and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

22 Feb 20239min

Interview by Kris PetersThere might be a number of bands from the glory period of the 1980s still doing the rounds, but not many as prolific or consistent as Stryper.From humble beginnings and despite always being a band that lives between two worlds, Stryper have endured through every musical and societal challenge thrown at them.And, more importantly, emerged triumphant.Following the success of their most recent album The Final Battle, Stryper are poised to return to Australia for the first time since 2018 with three of the original members still forming the nucleus of one of the greatest rock bands the world has seen.The band are also celebrating their 40th anniversary, with frontman and founding member Michael Sweet happily joining HEAVY to chat about the tour and the illustrious career of the rebellious Christian rockers."We're always blessed that we can still perform and do what we love to do, year after year" he began. "We're pushing our 40th anniversary... it's crazy."We press Sweet on what special delights Stryper has for Australian fans this time around."We're doing a long set," he enthused. "I think it's 21 songs. We're trying to squeeze as many songs into that set that everybody wants to hear from the beginning to now - that's the tricky part. We came as a trio in 2018 and I came as a solo guy in 2019 and then the pandemic obviously, it hasn't been that long but it feels like a really long time since we've been. So we're just excited to come and we can't wait to see everybody."With so many songs to choose from Sweet admits it's getting more difficult with each new album to compile a set list to appeal across the board."It really is," he nodded. "It's like one of those things where it's getting to the point where we need to pull a Bruce Springsteen (laughs) and play for three hours. God bless him for doing that, but man. Bruce, his style of writing, his style of singing is a little easier to pull off for three hours than our style of writing and singing. It's a lot of high register belting stuff and it's not easy on the voice."In the full interview, Michael talks more about what to expect from Stryper's live show, lasting 40 years in the music industry, the musical climate that gave birth to Stryper, where they fit in, working through musical trends, Stryper's impact on the music scene, what he hopes to leave as their musical legacy and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

22 Feb 202315min

Interview by Kris PetersFor over two decades US hard rock outfit Godsmack have been producing the goods.Over seven previous albums the band has taken the world on a rock journey, in the process taking hard rock music out of the naughty basket and into the ears of a more mainstream market with their radio friendly - but still tough as nails - music.With Godsmack's eight - and final - album Lighting Up The Sky set to be unveiled this Friday, February 24, frontman Sully Erna has understandably been a man in demand, but the enigmatic performer still managed to set aside time for a chat with HEAVY to deliver the news in person."We feel good, you know," he smiled. "We can truely say that we believe with all our heart that this is the best body of work that we've ever done in the studio and it feels very complete; it feels very rounded for all fans of Godsmack, and we're just excited for the world to hear it. I like to think of it as every great Hollywood movie is built off of the same format of a script. It's just a recipe that's worked over and over again. Every movie you've ever seen is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. Sometimes girl could be your job or your hobby or your addiction or whatever it is, but that's kind of the premise. Then there's a resolution at the end. So there's always a situation, the obstacles to get through it, and then a resolve and sometimes the resolution is unresolved. But in this case as we were sequencing the record not even knowing, or having in mind that it was going to be somewhat conceptual it really just started to tell a story. I was just writing about my life, and the things going on in my life and have gone on in my life; the things I appreciated, love found, love lost. The situations that we live in today and the times we live in today and it really told the story of one mans journey through life. Even all the way in the end when we talk about lighting up the sky it's just a song reflecting on the whole journey. If I could talk to myself as a young version of me what would I give that young guy for advice now? What would I say? Would I have regrets? Would I have done it differently? Would I have gone 1000 miles an hour lighting up the sky? And would I have gotten to where I am today if I didn't do it that way and had regret and wanted to do it differently? The record just feels very whole and complete. I really feel like this record wrote itself."One thing Erna did confirm is that Lighting Up The Sky will be Godsmack's last studio album, with the realisation that it was time to focus on the band's existing body of work presenting itself during the recording process."We didn't go into this album thinking that it was going to be our last one," he affirmed. "But as we started thinking about the whole journey, the whole record was a journey, and we thought about it and decided we have to start realising when we arrive and being content with that. So many people have goals in life and then they get there and they want the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing and at what point do you say listen, I just wanted one thing in my life and maybe a certain way of living and a certain status of a career. Some people just want a house and a white picket fence and a dog and a car, and then they want a truck, and then they want two dogs and then they want a bigger house. You need to know when to say when and part of that conversation was also where are we at in our career right now? We have 26 Top 10 singles, right? So we pull three or four off this new record - which is very possible - we could be at 30 and what does that mean? We play 15 songs a night and never play the same single twice? I don't know about you, but when I go to see my favourite band, because I'm still a fan... I don't necessarily go see Aerosmith because I want to hear their new record. I'm going to see 'Dream On' and 'Walk This Way' and 'Train Kept Rolling'. And i feel like we should be honouring that for our fans because when we play live they wanna hear those songs. They wanna hear 'Keep Away' and 'Voodoo' and 'Stand Alone' and we can't get to them all. Then the last part of it is recognising where we're at and the other things we wanted to do with our lives and stuff that we wanna enjoy that we've missed our whole life because we have been constantly touring."In the full interview, Sully talks more about Lighting Up The Sky, leaving it as Godsmack's final album, the pressures of continuing to release quality material, the notions explored on the album and how they follow Godsmack's career trajectory, what he hopes to leave as his musical legacy and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

22 Feb 202320min

Interview by Kris PetersSydney hard rocking metal machine Temtris have today released the second single, Eternal Death Machine, from their new album Khaos Eternal which will be unleashed on March 17.Eternal Death Machine follows lead single Khaos Divine and takes you further into the dystopian landscape captured across the as yet released conceptual album.The two songs together form the nucleus of what promises to be a wild trip into the unknown, but still only scratch at the surface of what to expect.Frontwoman Genevieve Rodda sat down with HEAVY to discuss the new song in greater detail."This is an interesting one," she smiled. "Someone actually asked me what the song was going to be like genre wise and I struggled to answer. They said is it going to be thrash? Is it going to be death or power metal? But it's got a bit of everything this one. It's got a bit of black metal picking in the intro and a ballady piece in it and then it picks up again, so it's a bit of a mixed song but it's quite punchy. When we first wrote the album and had to pick a single quite a few of the boys chose this one as a single straight off because it's just catchy and stuck in their head. I think it's going to be well accepted."In the full interview, Genevieve talks more about Eternal Death Machine, how it ties in with the conceptual theme, the reception to Khaos Divine, how long term fans have reacted to the conceptual nature of the new music, the heavier direction of their second single and how it represents the album, the film clip and what it entails, length song running times and making them work as singles, what to expect from the album, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Feb 202317min

Interview by Kris PetersUK based groove/grunge/melodeath outfit Past The Fall have spent the last couple of years consolidating themselves and their music since the release of their debut album From Insanity's Ruin in June 2021.It is an album that has laid the foundations for a global assault on the back of crushing riffs, beautifully chaotic music and an eclectic blending of sounds and genres not usually commandeered with such telling authority by bands in their relative infancy.Formed in 2011 by childhood friends Will Wright (bass, vocals) and Tom Cope (guitar,vocals) Past The Fall soon released their debut EP Beggars At The Liars Banquet and found immediate interest with their aggressive approach and confident delivery.Some 8 years elapsed between the EP and the debut album, allowing Past The Fall time to reflect on their early achievements and redirect their focus to the parts of music that provided them with a challenging environment and musical satisfaction.The result is From Insanity's Ruin, an album referred to by the band as "both a fresh start and a fantastic example of all our years life experience".Now, with time rapidly fading since that breakthrough album, Wright joined HEAVY for a chat about the past, present and future of Past The Fall. One of the topics was the success of From Insanity's Ruin and if the band was confident that they had made something special at the completion of recording."Definitely," he said confidently. "It was a real labour of love because before we had struggled with studios and trying to get what we wanted and in the end we built our own studio. The guitarist produced the album and it just took a really long time to do (laughs). It turns out it's fucken really complicated, who knew (laughs). But it paid dividends, because the cool thing was we were not on the clock with having to pay for it, which was cool. It gave us a chance to really find our sound. We had pieces and idea and stuff so it actually took a lot of work but it was like that watershed where you're like, okay, now we've got our sound. For example, we're recording material now and it's coming out way quicker because we know how to use the studio. We cut our teeth doing that record, so it was a real labour of love. it's kind of like a love letter, or a hate letter to the world (laughs)."In the full interview, Will talks about the sonic differences between the EP and album, whether that shift was intentional and planned, using albums as a snapshot of a period of your life, the next 10 years sonically of Past The Fall, producing the album in house and the pros and cons of that, new music and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

20 Feb 202317min