The Re-Evolution Of DEVILSKIN With PAUL MARTIN

Interview by Kris PetersHelmet are a niche kind of band in that once you discover them you can't help but fall in love with their music.The problem is, they are also not a band given much exposure in commercial channels, which makes the task of discovering them ultimately harder. But infinitely more rewarding.Formed by Page Hamilton in 1989 - with Hamilton being the sole original member still in the band - Helmet have had a stop/start career, punctuated by a 6-year siesta from 1998 to 2004, but have consistently churned out high quality, and musically diverse albums.While their popularity peaked with the 1992 album Meantime and 1994's Betty, Helmet have always maintained an ever-increasing fan base, due largely to the talent and vision of their enigmatic frontman.Their latest album Left has been a long seven years in the making, with Hamilton taking time to chat to HEAVY about the final product.We start by asking how the album has been received."Everybody tells me all the positive stuff," he smiled, "so as far as I know, positive (laughs). I don't read reviews and I don't pay attention. They send me emails saying you got this add and that add, and it's number 1 metal album in Australia on Spotify, and it all means next to nothing to me. My job's done as far as the album is concerned once it's released. Essentially, once it's mastered and the artworks done, and I pass it off to the label then I just have to learn the songs live and that's my job. I can't worry about the other stuff."Having an established fan base often means certain expectations when it comes to new music, with Hamilton admitting it has been an issue in the past."I don't know about now, but I think early on with Helmet mark 2 everybody had expectations because the band had been gone for a while, and it wasn't the same rhythm section," he offered. "So, of course, we had expectations, but the first album was Size Matters in 2003 or 2004 when it came out after the hiatus - the band broke up in '98 - and I remember Decibel Magazine reviewed the album and a few years later they re-reviewed it, and they were like 'we were wrong about this one. It's a really great album, it just doesn't sound like Betty or Meantime'. You are always gonna come up against that. If you do an album that everybody holds in high esteem or a couple of albums, then people want that for the rest of their lives, I guess. But… I couldn't write the same song over and over again. It's just not in my DNA. I had a conversation… I sang and played on a Linkin Park song and Mike Shinoda said 'yeah man we made our first album and sold millions of records so we made our second album exactly the same' and I said yeah, my approach is different. I like to do the opposite. Some people are cool with it and some people are not cool with it."In the full interview, Page talks more about Left, its musical direction, expectations following the success of their previous album Dead To The World in 2016 and runs through HEAVY's review of Left and gives his opinion on what we thought.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

6 Dec 202322min

Interview by Kris PetersThe music business can be an unforgiving mistress. Bands can - and do - give it everything they have, writing, recording and releasing high-quality material and developing an ever-growing fanbase yet still see minimal reward for effort.But when the planets align and the wheel starts turning in your favour it can be a beautiful industry and one which suddenly starts giving.After plying their trade without much overall success for the last couple of years, Newcastle rock outfit Wayward Kings were almost by chance introduced to Tim McLean-Smith from new Australian label XMusic and the rest, as they say, is history in the making.The band released their new three-track EP Another Life Another Time last Friday, which, coupled with the recent signing, suddenly has the planets aligning in favour of Wayward Kings.HEAVY caught up with frontman Ryan Daley to find out the full story."There's always gonna be a time when people are gonna judge you, or they're gonna hate it," he said matter-of-factly when asked how he was feeling about letting the EP free into the world. "I was talking to a mate the other day, and he said he didn't like ALAT, and that's awesome feedback. We're not out there to please everybody. Matt and I are pretty much the brains trust of Wayward Kings. We've played together and wrote together, and we come up with ALAT being a bit of a rock tune that's gotta be consumed on different levels, you know what I mean? I think it's good to have people in your corner that go it's shit mate, or it's fucken awesome, because they're the people that you really listen to. The more and more stuff we put out, the more people have a chance to have a negative feeling about it."In the full interview, Ryan talks more about the EP musically, runs us through each of the three tracks individually, how Another Life Another Time differs to their last EP The B Sides, releasing EPs over albums, signing to XMusic and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4 Dec 202312min

Interview by Kris PetersMuch has changed with Metal Church since their last visit to Australian shores. The most notable, and tragic of which being the loss of legendary frontman Mike Howe in 2021.Having pressed on to honour the memory of their former bandmate, Metal Church earlier this year released their first album with new vocalist Marc Lopes titled Congregation of Annihilation, in the process ushering in a new era and paying the ultimate respect to their future by harking back to the music that first saw Metal Church rise to prominence.With the band kicking off their Australian tour in Melbourne on December 14, HEAVY sat down with Lopes to run through the album and his debut recording with Metal Church."I'm ready," he smiled. "Ready to go. We just came off the road from doing a bunch of dates here in the States, so we're all ready to go again. We're doing - I call it a warm-up show - but we're doing a show a couple of days before we go to Australia here in California to get the pumps rolling again."It will be the first visit to these shores since 2019 so we question Lopes on what - aside from his position in the band - has changed with Metal Church since that tour."The set list is tremendously different," he offered. "It's pretty heavy on the first few albums and our new album. We're having a really good time and there's a lot of energy. Anybody that's seen me play live with Ross The Boss or anything knows that I am pretty much a hypermaniac (laughs). That hasn't changed."In the full interview, Marc talks more about what to expect from the run of shows, the reception to the new album, how it returns to the band's roots, if that was a conscious direction, how it ushers in the new era of Metal Church, his transition into the band, any difficulties he faced making the album, what lessons he will carry into the next one and more.Tickets And Info: www.hardlinemedia.netBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4 Dec 202314min

Enter Shikari have been a household name for almost two decades now, their unique blending of genres endearing them to a disenfranchised world starving for change.After the tables were turned during the COVID pandemic, Enter Shikari found themselves floundering without their reliable support network, at a creative loss with seemingly no resolution. Rather than allowing the state of the world to defeat them, the band took an introspective look at themselves and what was important to them, with the resulting album A Kiss For The Whole World - released earlier this year - reaffirming not only their passion for music but also their unyielding love affair with their fans.As is normally the case following a successful album release, Enter Shikari have been taking to the stage consistently ever since, with the juggernaut finally returning to Australia for the just completed Good Things 2023 Festival.Simon and Kyra from HEAVY were on hand backstage to chat with the band after the final set of their run of three festival shows in Brisbane.NOTE: due to interviews being conducted backstage at a music festival some audio might be affectedBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4 Dec 20239min

Frenzal Rhomb are as reliable as Grandma's recipe for scones, and probably twice as durable.For more than 30 years now, Australia's masters of punk and ska have gone about their business unchecked, churning out consistently high-quality albums with tongue more than firmly planted in cheek.The lyrics - while relatively easy to digest - are also cutting, honest, raw and delivered with the spite of a rattlesnake yet still Frenzal Rhomb can seemingly do no wrong.After appearing at nearly every known Australian music festival in recent times, the Frenzal train was finally docked at an International festival in the form of Good Things 2023, and despite drawing the short straw and having to play at the same time as Limp Bizkit, still managed to draw plenty of punters to their corner of the arena over the three shows.Kris and Simon from HEAVY managed to catch frontman Jason Whalley not long before the third and final show, and he was in typically laconic form.NOTE - due to interviews being conducted backstage at a music festival the audio may not be 100% crisp at timesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4 Dec 202315min

For far too long, heavy metal on the heavier side of the spectrum has been overlooked at music festivals in this country.Even those that claim to be all about the metal generally stop short of having a bona fide, skull-shattering musical representative grace their stages. It happens that often that many have stopped even commenting on the fact, but the diehards have always been watching, waiting and listening.Those faithful few were rewarded this year when Behemoth were announced to play at Good Things 2023.They were by far the heaviest band on the line-up, and also one who generated a lions share of interest. How did they fare? Were fans finally satisfied?Simon from HEAVY caught up with bass player Tomasz "Orion" Wróblewski at the final show in Brisbane to find out.Just remember, this is an interview recorded live backstage so sound quality may vary...Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4 Dec 20236min

Interview by Kris PetersSeldom does a fresh band on the scene command instant respect by virtue of past exploits. Music, as with most things in life of value, is more than having the ability to shred on a guitar or crush with your vocal techniques. It requires a certain level of respect and humility that are almost impossible to possess unless you have given your heart and soul to the cause over a prolonged period of time.Which is just the advantage Buried Shallow had when they burst onto the Perth metal scene in late 2022, armed with not only a devastatingly brutal bag of music, but also the right levels of attitude to command instant respect.Wasting no time with pleasantries, Buried Shallow plowed straight into battle, supporting up-and-coming metal outfits Nicolas Cage Fighter and Xenobiotic and drawing more people into their sonic army with every show.Following the mantra of strike while the iron is hot, Buried Shallow are releasing their debut, self-titled EP on December 1, with all five members taking time to chat about it with HEAVY.Things got off to the rockiest start possible when one of the members greeted the call wearing a Carlton jersey before things took a turn even further South when another of the band left from sight and returned wearing the colours of Port Adelaide.Resisting the overwhelming urge to call time before things had even started, I pressed on reluctantly. All in the name of metal, of course.We covered a wide range of topics, including how it feels to finally set the music free into the world, what they were going for musically, the dark subject matter explored in the lyrics, naming the EP after themselves and the expectations that come with it plus we get each member to run us through one of the five songs on the EP and explain the story behind it.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

1 Dec 202325min

Interview by Kris PetersPunk royalty hits Australia next week when Californian punk legends Pennywise return to our shores as part of Good Things 2023.The lovable larrikins were only out here for a massive headlining run of shows last year, but such is the demand for their musical prowess and undeniable charm the good folk at Good Things have spun their plane straight back around and pointed it back in this direction.Pennywise will be joining Fall Out Boy, Limp Bizkit, Devo, Corey Taylor, Bullet For My Valentine, Behemoth, Sepultura, Enter Shikari, Frenzal Rhomb and more for a run of three shows through Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with lead singer Fletcher telling HEAVY in a recent interview that the band is frothing at the bung to get back out here and play.Given their almost four decades of service to the Gods of Punk it is almost a given that Pennywise have played with pretty much every band on the planet at some stage of their careers, but that doesn't dampen Fletcher's spirit when it comes to festival gigs."I don't know the whole line-up, but I know there's a couple of Aussie bands that I haven't heard of but people said I should check out," he said. "I think we've done Bullet For My Valentine before. Devo… we've played so many big festivals that we've probably played with every single band (laughs) but we just haven't seen them. Darren Hawthorn is our guy over there and our usual tour manager, and he actually works for Good Things on the production side so he'll have our list of dos. He will be like 'you're going to watch this band today, let's go'. And we'll grab a couple of beers, and we'll go check it out. We'll be making the rounds for sure. Obviously, Devo is one of the bands that turned my life around and got me into punk rock, so I'll be checking them out as much as possible. And Limp Bizkit as well. I'm a fan. I know a lot of people wanna hate them, but we toured with them on the Warped Tour when they were tiny and there was 300 people wathing them play, and I liked it. I liked it from the get go. It's hard, it's heavy. Yeah, it can get kind of goofy at times, obviously, but they're all cool guys and have always been good to us, so I will definitely check out some Limp Bizkit. Fall Out Boy is another band. Not my real go-to cup of tea if you must know the truth, but great songwriters with a good live show. We'll be making the rounds. It's gonna be a great tour. I like the diversity."In the full interview, Fletcher tells us what it's like backstage at shows like this, catching up with old friends you might not have seen for a while, their sideshows and how they will differ from the festival appearances, the early days of the band and where they fit in, what makes the Californian punk scene so special and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

27 Nov 202313min