The Right Time To Celebrate With SCOTT ANDERSON From FINGER ELEVEN

Interview by Kris PetersThy Art Is Murder are up there with Australia's greatest ever extreme metal exports.They have taken their music far and wide, appearing at prestigious festivals around the world like Summer Breeze, Download, Graspop and Wacken and playing with bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Slayer, Kreator, Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage and Parkway Drive. Their thinking-person’s blackened death metal has challenged, provoked and inspired audiences around the world with little regard for expectation or conformity.In Australia the band has been nominated for two ARIA Awards and smashed existing chart records and convention. They have won the hearts and ears of a global audience and continue to deliver their strong social messages without fear of reproach or muzzling.And you get the feeling they have only just started.With their latest album Godlike set for release on September 15, HEAVY spent some time with guitarist Andy Marsh to go into more detail.We're feeling really good," he affirmed ahead of the release. "It's exciting, especially when you've worked on something for so long and you have to keep it to yourself. I'm looking forward to getting some feedback from the wider community and the fans."Godlike is Thy Art Is Murder's sixth album, so we ask Marsh if by now the band has a set process of doing things or if each album cycle differs from the last."It's pretty much the same," he said, "get together, write some riffs, put some songs together as best we can and meet up with our producer Will Putney and finish the job. It normally takes four to six weeks. Last year we spent siix months piecing the thing together."We press Marsh on what to expect musically from Godlike."I can't tell you too much, really," he measured. "We're just trying to step things up quite a bit. We had a lot of time off, a lot of time to think of new ideas, a lot of time to think about where we were thinking of taking the band in the future. So just trying to incorporate some groovier elements, bigger choruses and imagine what we could put on the CD that's gonna help elevate the band to the next level of it's career."In the full interview, Andy talks deeper about Godlike, the singles put out so far and how they represent the overall picture, releasing an album independently for the first time, the themes explored on the album, the cover artwork and where it comes from, how Thy Art Is Murder's sound has changed from their debut album in 2010 to now, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

7 Sep 202312min

Interview by Kris PetersAs much as the majority of our life is spent looking into the future, the past should always feature somewhere in your thoughts.It is, after all, the very thing that shaped your being, a point which rings true no matter what walk of life you are from or what passion ignites you.But this is particularly important with music, as past music - or, more specifically, the initial music releases - are the ones that will more often than not resonate most with fans.Brisbane rock outfit Young Lions will be doing just that, paying homage to their debut album Burn by taking to the road and revisiting that early material in an effort to connect with not only the faithful, but, in some ways, themselves as well.With the Burn 10 Year Anniversary Tour set to kick off in just under two weeks Young Lions vocalist Zach Britt joined HEAVY for a trip down memory lane."We're really getting into the production rehearsals now," he smiled. "We're stoked to get out there. It's nice to revisit songs. Obviously I've been doing a tour with my other band Dream On Dreamer for the tenth anniversary of Loveless, which has been good, so it's been getting me excited to get out there and do the same things with Young Lions. Everyone really resonates with the music that they've listened to for ten years, and they've had a long time to learn the lyrics. We're getting stoked on some big singalongs and there's so many epic bands coming on tour with us. We've got Shangrila, Chasing Ghosts and Tapestry so it's a really all star line up."In the full interview, Zach lets us in on some potential birthday surprises for fans, the challenges of playing an album start to finish,, why those particular support bands were chosen, the early vision of the band and how it has changed since, his initial thoughts of Burn when it was first released, memories of early live shows, how they have changed and improved since, things they have learnt about themselves and their music over the last decade, their latest album Make A Rainbow And Put It In The Sky and how it differs to Burn and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

7 Sep 202314min

Interview by Kris PetersAny band in the modern age that can take rock/punk/metal music to the increasingly numbed youth of our generation is already a winner in my books, but when they release songs that I can possibly convert my two young daughters with then they elevate to the next level pretty damn quickly.So when I was given the opportunity to speak to a band pitched to me as Punk Meets Disney then you can imagine I was doing backflips. Or something that counts as one at my age.Punk Rock Factory are a band of gentlemen from the UK who have made a healthy career out of playing other peoples songs.But only bastardising them.No-one is immune, with the band spicing up in their own punk fashion tracks from Meatloaf to John Farnham to Hansen and in most cases making them all the better for it.The fact Punk Rock Factory have released six albums since their inception in 2019 speaks volumes, but when you also consider the band has slayed it at festivals like Bloodstock and Slam Dunk then you know they have the mental toughness to back it up.But it was their second album A Whole New Wurst from 2020 that drew me instantly to the band. An album of punk reworkings of Disney classics covering movies such as Moana and Frozen, its discovery has given me renewed hope that my girls will return from the dark side and once more embrace the music they were destined for.And to top it off the versions of Let It Go and We Don't Talk About Bruno (Encanto) are good enough to get Dad bopping!Punk Rock Factory are about to embark on their maiden tour of Australia, so to find out even more possible weapons in my fight against Taylor Swift HEAVY sat down for an entertaining chat with frontman/guitarist Peej to find out more, starting with just why the band has neglected Australia for so long."It's a big commitment for us," he laughed. "It's the other side of the world and we have to make sure we sell some tickets. We don't wanna turn up and play to no one. There's been a big call for us to come to Australia for a while now. It's something we've been building up to and it's finally time."Things take a humourous turn when we ask Peej what non-essential items he will be making sure to pack."You guys will tell me that these aren't essential, but I need some kind of spider repellent," he replied, completely honestly. "I don't deal with bugs very well (laughs). You could probably tell me more whether that's essential or not."Which beckons the question do they actually sell spider repellent in the UK?"I'm sure I could find some," Peej measured. "I'm definitely going to try (laughs)."When I tell him there's no such thing the laughter continues."Brilliant," he smiled. "I'm just gonna have to sleep in a giant box so nothing gets in."In the full interview we discuss what to expect from the live show, where and how the band selects which songs to cover, a typical Punk Rock Factory live show, the success of A Whole New Wurst and if it came as a surprise, if there are any songs or genres they won't attempt, the possibility of punking up songs from heavy metal bands, their home studio The Sausage Factory, the massive European tour to follow and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

7 Sep 202317min

Interview by Kris PetersOne of the most beautiful things about music is the individual expression that goes into creating a body of work.Sure, a band is made up of several members on most occasions, but each of those members still contributes part of their personal DNA throughout each written and recorded piece of music.But for those musicians adept at playing anything and everything and who record most of the instruments and vocals themselves, then that strand of DNA is magnified exponentially.As is the case with UK outfit Confyde, who started life as a solo project by Martin Jackson and have slowly evolved to the stage where their music is enough in demand for him to start recruiting other musicians.Jackson also moonlights as frontman for System Of A Down tribute act Chop Suey (which also features Sam Totman from Dragonforce and Andre Joyzi from Breed 77) but it is with his original project Confyde that he gets a chance to faithfully represent himself musically.An eclectic mixture of styles with its roots in rock, Confyde have steadily built their career around a string of single releases, with the latest slab of goodness being Scalper.Jackson sat down with HEAVY to tell us more."It's been brilliant," he enthused about the early reception to Scalper. "Probably the strongest reception so far. I've been putting out singles with Confyde since 2020 when it got rebooted, and by every measure this song has been the most successful so far."We ask Jackson to go deeper into Scalper musically."I knew, given the subject matter of what I wanted to sing about - the housing crisis and eternal misery a lot of our generation have to live with - there's a lot of anger and resentment around this particular subject, so I knew it had to be angry," he explained. "It needed to be a loud, metal song and I've not done a metal song for quite a while and the influences that came in were big chunky guitars with a proggy tip to them, so there's a Mastodon influence there, and Sikth influence... I'm a huge fan of 12 Foot Ninja and how they switch up genres inside their songs and Confyde is very much a project where every single almost completely transforms the sound and I really admire what 12 Foot Ninja do with that. You kind of have this ebb and flow. Often when you're dealing with a really broken housing system it feels like an absolute roller coaster and nothing is ever resolved, so I like to feel like this song represents that. There are some sections that are really heavy and in your face, some that are more majestic and hopeful and there's others that are sinister and in a pit. It feels like you can never really relax while listening to it (laughs), but at the same time I wanted to have something that... even though I love all this musical experimentation I'm always keen for songs that have solid, memorable hooks. Something people can sing along and shout along to in solidarity with subject matter like this. A big influence on that was probably Alter Bridge and Nothing More."In the full interview, Martin talks more about the musical nature of Scalper, keeping things cohesive while skipping all over the place, the strong subject matter, how Scalper differs musically to previous single Man Down, singles versus albums in the modern climate, playing live and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

7 Sep 202324min

Interview by Kris PetersCanadian death metal outfit Crytopsy have been quiet for just over a decade, seemingly lost to the world of metal.After a succession of well received albums Crytopsy remained as a force on the live circuit, but after releasing their self titled album independently in 2012 have failed to record another full length since.Since then the band has released two EPs - The Book of Suffering – Tome I (2015) and The Book of Suffering – Tome II (2018) - but it wasn't until an eventual signing with Nuclear Blast Records that their upcoming new album As Gommorah Burns (September 8) was finally given voice.Vocalist Matt McGachy sat down with HEAVY to discuss Crytopsy's absence and the new album. "It's great to be back creating full length records," he began. "Throughout the past 11 years we did drop two EPs and then we toured a lot before the pandemic, so we were extremely busy. A lot of people think not much has happened since the self titled album, but we have been extremely busy. Up until 2019 we toured a lot, and then we stopped in 2019 to write a new record and then the pandemic just added a little bit more time."We ask McGachy what has changed with Crytopsy in those 11 long years."Actually nothing has changed," he laughed, "because we have the same line-up. 2012 John was in the band and then he left and since that moment we are the same four dudes that have been touring the world together. We released The Book Of Suffering Tome 1 and Tome 2 together - those were independent - and then we signed to Nuclear blast which is where As Gomorrah is coming out. Those would be the biggest changes, that we're the longest running Cryptopsy line up and that we signed to Nuclear Blast and will be releasing a full length record coming up on September 8.In the full interview, Matt talks about the musical side of As Gommerah Burns, the singles released and how they represent the album, settling in as vocalist on this, his third album, the dark side of some of the songs and making them gel with the album as a whole, the "new era" of Cryptopsy, the conceptual thread on the album, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

5 Sep 202314min

Interview by Kris PetersThe pairing of Evergrey's Tom. S. Englund and acclaimed US-based pianist/composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus) might at first seem like a strange combination, but once you have taken the time to digest the sheer beauty that is the music of Silent Skies things fall easily into perspective.Over the course of two previous albums Silent Skies have set about dismantling convention and expectation by painting sonically rich landscapes of musical clarity that resonate long after each listen.The band returned earlier this week with their third album Dormant, an album which shows yet another metamorphosis of their combined vision.Shankar and Englund both spoke with HEAVY on the eve of the release of Dormant."We think that it's our best statement yet," Shanker obliged, "and a level up pretty much in all of the ways that characterize what we do.""We spent, honestly, an unhealthy amount of time on this album," Englund added. "We've been into every detail, because that's something we really enjoy doing. Now it's time to leave it for the world to enjoy instead of us having to be in it and fiddle around with stuff that we no longer can affect. Hopefully people enjoy it. Honestly, we are super, super happy with what we have accomplished on this album."In the full interview, we discuss Dormant musically, the singles released and how they represent the album as a whole, new elements on the album and ways they approached recording, the cinematic aspect to their music, how Dormant differs to the first two albums, how much musical growth Silent Skies have left in them, more about Vikram and his musical pedigree, why they started the band, future plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

5 Sep 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersThrashville has quickly become one of the must-attend music festivals on the Australian calendar.Not only is it situated miles away from any form of civilised life – meaning noise restrictions and the like are non-existent – but it is also a damn good festival featuring a splattering of the best in Australian music from major headliners through to up-and-comers.With this year’s line-up – set down over September 8 and 9 at Dashville in the Hunter Valley – comprising a host of talent including CIVIC, Shady Nasty, Crocodylus, Bloody Hell, Downgirl, Wildheart, Operation Ibis, Deadshowws and more, it is the reuniting of two of this countries heavyweight acts that is generating most interest.Progressive rock outfit COG and funk/rock/metal masters Mammal headline over both nights, continuing their successful partnership at the top of concert-goers wish lists.HEAVY caught up with COG drummer Lucius Borich to find out what they have planned for the show, starting with the fact Thrashville is pretty much in the middle of nowhere."It's perfect for us," Borich smiled. "The Great Outdoors. Maybe it comes from watching that show The Leyland Brothers when we were younger or something... there's also a bit of that touring a lot back in the day we would go to a lot of places that were not just in the cities as well. We all love getting off grid so to speak and connecting with nature and getting out there, and I think to play music in that kind of environment is pretty good. It's the right fit. We've always been inspired by the natural realm and that is infused in a lot of our music as well. It looks like it's gonna be a good spot."COG have a well earned reputation as one of the best live acts getting around, so the spaces of the outdoor environment with no noise restrictions should elevate the band to yet another level."We'll just do what we love to do best I guess, and hopefully the power will stay on and the generators won't break," Borich laughed, "and we'll be able to get through the set unscathed and have a top night. To do more of those community based gigs in those environments and help the music industry in those regions and bring some quality music to those parts of Australia is a much needed thing and we love doing it. If it's right, if the dates are right and the timing is right we're all about it. We love doing that."In the full interview, Lucius talks more about what COG will deliver at Thrashville, the importance of Australian only festival lineups, renewing their long term association with Mammal, negotiating each respective bands views on life, politics and society, new music in the works, the new vinyl album editions and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

1 Sep 202332min

Interview by Kris PetersOsaka Punch are one of those once in a generation bands that would be perfect for ANY line up or concert.Their music is a force unto itself, mixing jazz, rock, metal, piano lounge vibes and an eclectic nature often tried but seldom mastered.Until now.If you live in Queensland then you definitely have at least heard of Osaka Punch, but if you live anywhere else in the world and have managed to escape the hype these guys have generated over the last decade then you are about to be baptised with the impending release of Mixed Ape, Osaka Punch's "official" debut album.Featuring all of the above musical nuances with even more spectacular surprises, Mixed Ape is an absolute gem in every way, harnessing Osaka Punches elusive on stage chemistry and humour with an array of styles and influences that have to be heard to be fully appreciated.HEAVY sat down for a chat with frontman Jack Muzak earlier this week to take us deeper into the crazy world that is Osaka Punch."We did an album with Voodoo Love machine but we recorded it as another band when we were Kidney Thieves," Muzak cleared up. "So ages and ages ago we were a band called Kidney Thieves and another band called Kidney Thieves tried to sue us and threatened to kick us off the face of the planet, so we had to change our name and we changed it just as we were releasing that album. Also, just as we were moving overseas to the U.K, so it was kind of all bad timing. We went overseas, released the album as Osaka Punch and then while we were in the U.K recorded an EP and then that was done in Liverpool. We released that when we got back from the U.K, so we're not very smart at how to release things. It's like, 'here, have this. See ya later, we're going somewhere else'. (laughs). So this is the first one that we're actually doing right. We recorded it in Brisbane, we're releasing it, we're touring it, we're doing it right. We're finally going to have something to tour properly which is cool."Sound confusing? Welcome to Osaka Punch..."There's a whole bunch of songs that didn't make it onto this album," he continued, "which will make it onto the next one. The ones that made it onto this one... first of all, we wanted it to show the eclectic nature of the band. We wanted to show all of the different facets that we do. Every song has either been written by one different member and then added to by others, or written entirely by all four members which kind of is what gives it that... makes them all sound so different. For example, Too Old For This Shit, I basically wrote that on the computer with the vocals and everything and then for the big band swing jazz section I got a mate of mine from the Jazz Music Institute to arrange the big band section so that song was almost entirely written by myself and Travis Jenkins, who is an absolute jazz genius, and then the boys put their own flair onto it. But other songs like Hekyll & Jive - which is the last track instrumental - we all put our brains in and wrote it completely together. The good thing about different brains behind it is we all listen to different music. I listen to funk and more on the jazz spectrum, the bass player listens to a lot of heavier and instrumental stuff, Chrispy the guitarist listens to literally everything but a lot more metal guitars so it kind of brings it all together into this weird, eclectic mix which is cool. To be honest, I would say the songs that were ready first, were the ones that made it on the album (laughs). I'd like to say there was a lot of thought went into it..."In the full interview, Jack talks more about what to expect from Mixed Ape, the styles that went into it, finding the balance between so many influences, the urban myth surrounding the Mixed Ape, the infamous black dildo that seems to make its way into most film clips and where it currently resides, their upcoming tour and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

1 Sep 202326min