Challenging The Gods With RYAN KIRBY From FIT FOR A KING

Interview by Kris PetersMelbourne metalcore outfit Windwaker are preparing to hit the road for their Love In The Dark Tour this July, celebrating the release of their latest album Love Language while at the same time ushering in the first headlining tour for newer (and returning) members Connor Robbins (synth and samples) and Liam Guinane (vocals).Love Language set the tone for a future onslaught by Windwaker with a crushing sound that resonated with fans both old and new. For this tour the band are planning to perform tracks from that album for the first time.Bass player Indey Salvestro joined HEAVY to discuss the shows."We're super excited," he beamed when asked about the tour. "We just started rehearsals but we're playing a lot of songs that we haven't played live before, especially off the album. I'm still wrapping my head around some of the parts (laughs), because I haven't played them since two years ago - it would have been a while."While the nightly time on stage is always worth its weight in Gold, we ask Indey if the pre-tour practice and scrubbing up is worth the pain."I love it," he smiled. "It's kind of methodical. I just sit down and play on my bass and learn the songs again. You know how you have little memories pop up with certain sounds? I get that with songs too. So I'm relearning this song Trenches -that's probably the hardest song on bass on the album - and it's giving me flashbacks to when we record it. It's so funny. When we actually recorded that song I spent a good month learning it and it's so hard. It's written by our guitarist Jesse who is an absolute shredlord, and I have to basically follow this riff on bass as well and it's a ridiculously fast riff. I learnt it for a month and went into the recording studio with Chris and Jesse and Jesse changed the riff on me on the day! (laughs). I already had it muscle memoried into my fingers and was ready to go and he changed the whole thing. It just ruined me."In the full interview, Indey runs through some of the new songs Windwaker will be playing, preparing for tour, the reception for Love Language, bringing Caskets out from the UK for their first Australian tour, welcoming Liam back to the band and why he was the standout choice, what Connor brings to the sound and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Maj 202310min

Interview by Kris PetersSydney hard rock outfit Battlesnake are riding the wave of a tornado at present.Fresh from recently completing The World Is A Vampire Festival alongside The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction, Battlesnake have successfully taken their unique brand of music to a wider audience and not only made them listen, but also forced them to appreciate the events laid out before them.With a refreshing zest for life glazed over by an extremely talented and committed core group of members seldom has a band unknown by so many been appreciated by so many more.Their music alone is infectiously invigorating, blending the physchedic rock sensibilities of Black Sabbath with a harder edge bordering on metal - all the while awash with a blazoning of pink and sporting instruments such as the keytar that would normally be banished from sight and sound.To say Battlesnake are blissfully unaware of their surroundings would be selling the band short, but their confidence and self belief also act as ally's, buffering them against the inevitable views of scepticism that generally accompany things the average person finds difficult to comprehend.Put simply they are already a musical enigma and a welcome addition to the Australian musical landscape that has been craving a suitable distraction to the growing monotony that is gradually creeping in.Battlesnake last week released their self-titled debut album which has made a significant impact on the scene already, with HEAVY tracking down bass player Elliott Hitchcock to find out more about the band that will soon be on everyone's lips."To be totally transparent I, personally, initially set out for the album to be kind of lighter, in a way," he revealed. "And that kind of didn't happen (laughs). It is a heavy album but musically the inspirations are so broad and varied. Obviously you would have heard the Spanish guitars in there, and there's some big orchestras and then there's your classic heavy metal and your thrash. There's so much going on. We really enjoyed making the album because we feel like this kind of music is the kind of music that we've always wanted to make."The musical disparity inherent in Battlesnake's music is a melting pot of genres that shouldn't work but somehow do, coming together and lacing up the embers into a chaotically beautiful assortment of rock that seems to follow no rhyme nor reason. It's as though the band threw literally everything at their disposal into a melting pot of sin and forced themselves to work with the overlapping entrails."That's where you can sometimes come unstuck," Elliott measured, "when you're trying to do that. I don't even know that we did that consciously, but that's just what happens with our music. That's the tricky part; that fine line where you need to walk. You can't be too... you have to be really meticulous about it sounding cohesive, because if there's so many influences in there more often than not it starts to sound confused and can be difficult to listen to sometimes. It has to be a melting pot for us, like melting iron or gold and creating this perfect set of circumstances that turn all of these inspirations and ideas into a cohesive song."In the full interview, Elliott goes into the album in greater detail, details the recent rise of Battlesnake while deferring to a lengthy apprenticeship, the themes running through the album, their live show, where the costumes came from and what they represent, working as a collective, being bit by the touring bug, blending humour and theatrics through their music, an upcoming tour and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Maj 202322min

Interview by Kris PetersNorweigian black metal outfit Immortal are widely regarded as one of the most important black metal bands in the world.Ever.Not a bad feat for a band who are, in essence, more of a driving project for the talents of guitarist come vocalist Demonaz than a fully fledged, functioning band in the truest sense of the world.Immortal's triumphs and tragedies are well documented, with a number of extenuating circumstances conspiring over the years to potentially rob the musical world of one of its most vital exponents of their craft.Thankfully, despite the adversities, Demonaz has remained true to his belief and vision with Immortal on the cusp of releasing their 10th studio album War Against All, which is also Demonaz's second as lead vocalist.Demonaz is selective when it comes to interviews, so when offered a chance to spend 20 minutes alone with the great man HEAVY had pressed the button before the question had even been fully asked."Like every other time," he smiled when asked how he is feeling about the album being set free into the world. "I think it's always special to release something that you've been working on for a long time. This particular album took a long time to wait. It was actually finished being recorded more than a year ago, so I'm looking forward to finally getting it out."To date Immortal have released two singles from the album, the title track and Wargod, with Demonaz shaking his head when asked if they were a good sonic representation of the album as a whole."Every song is different on this album," he measured. "It's the same as with Northern Chaos Gods. Even though it was a fast and intense album the songs are varied. They are different. War Against All is the fastest track, then you have Thunders Of Darkness which is a mid paced track and then you have Wargod which is the heavy one and there is an instrumental and a long song at the end of the album and two more songs like Return To Cold and Immortal which is also different. None of those songs have the same pace, the same tempo and there's a lot of variation in that universe."In the full interview, Demonaz talks more about what to expect from the album, settling into his role as vocalist, the personal nature of creativity, the early days of the band, how he feels about the accolades, what's next for Immortal and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Maj 202310min

Interview by Kris PetersRising Sydney metalcore outfit Broken Earth continue to push sonic boundaries and upping the anti significantly with each release.Following the success of last years single Black Skies, Broken Earth last week delivered the crushingly brutal track Breathe, raising the bar considerably and laying down a bold statement of intent.A tale of discontent and dealing with traumatic experiences, Breathe aims up against the poisonous elements of society in a scathing indictment of unbridled aggression that point the finger directly where it should be directed.Vocalist Raphael Smith joined HEAVY recently to talk us through the new single and how it reflects Broken Earth in 2023."It actually started out life when I had just seen the Christopher Nolan movie Tenet in the movies in 2019," he began. "I got home and wrote this really sick synth line but it never really connected and I think it had the most amount of rewrites out of everything that we're releasing this year. What happened was I kept wanting to put a sing a long chorus into it and it just wasn't connecting for some reason. One of the boys came to me and said vocally you're really aggressive in the verses but whenever we go to the chorus the vibe dips down straight away. I know you love your sing a long choruses, but I don't know if it's gonna work this time. I said, you know what dude, let's go for it so about a week before we were supposed to record we actually rewrote basically the entire chorus and when we got into the studio with Mark he helped us rewrite a bit of it as well to give it that final touch and edge. But it's actually... it's the first song we're putting out and it sounds very organic and balls to the wall but it was the most obsessed over and refined song of the lot."In the full interview, Raph talks more about the musical side of Breathe, dives deeper into the meaning behind the track, how it represents the growth of the band, upcoming music, their recent Tamworth experience and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Maj 202320min

Interview by Kris PetersOften with music festivals containing some form of nostalgia things can become unnecessarily cluttered and almost sentimental, in effect negating the very concept of a musical celebration featuring an assortment of bands who have all played significant roles in the success that is Australian music.But, when a festival gels as it should then the result is nothing short of triumphant.Think festivals like Homebake and Livid that are to this day spoken about with awe and wonderment and the sheer magic of music is instantly compounded.And it now appears there's one more name to add to the list.Spring Loaded.After the universal acclaim from punters and performers alike following last years travelling spectacle, organisers have this year stuck to the same winning formula of signing up some of the best Australian music talent from the past couple of decades and throwing them together on one stage to unleash the inherent beauty of music in its purest and simplest form.This year headlined by Spiderbait, Spring Loaded kicks off on June 3 at the Sandstone Point Hotel with a stacked line-up that also includes Frenzal Rhomb, Shihad, Eskimo Joe, Screamfeeder, Magic Dirt, Ratcat and Bodyjar.With the countdown on for what is already shaping to be another monster day of entertainment, HEAVY sat down with Spiderbait's Kram to talk about the strength of Spring Loaded and Spiderbait's honour of having been named headliner."I think it will be fantastic," he enthused. "We did do this show a few years ago and I didn't really know what to expect and it was such a fantastic gig and fantastic festival. We can't wait to do it again and we're really pumped.""It's such a beautiful ampitheatre," he continued. "Amazing vibe and it reminds me of some of the old festivals that we used to play years ago in Queensland."In the full interview, Kram talks about being asked to headline, the importance of having festivals made up of only Australian bands, some memories of playing with other bands on the bill, their live show and what to expect, perfecting your craft and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Maj 202313min

Interview by Kris PetersAt some stage of a band's career when they have released enough hit songs to justify such a collection, the traditional Greatest Hits package almost becomes a necessity.What should be seen as a celebration of a successful career is too often viewed more as a commercialised assortment of songs that have already generated a substantial amount of money, but, also as is often the case, the bands themselves have little or no say in the process or release.Not that anyone is accusing Canadian rock outfit Finger Eleven of jumping on the gravy train.Far from it.These guys have earned their stripes and the imminent release of their overdue Greatest Hits album on June 17 also serves as a homage to some of the bands personal covers and Finger Eleven's first new music in seven years, Together Right.Featuring a previously unreleased cover of Pink Floyd's Welcome To The Machine (a live fan favourite) as well as their version of wrestler Kane's entrance song Slow Chemical, Finger Eleven seem to have all bases covered with a collection of 12 tracks including Paralyzer, One Thing, Fallin' On and Living In A Dream.Frontman Scott Anderson sat down with HEAVY to run over the idea."I think we've talked about it for long enough," he smiled. "We hit the right moment to say can we agree on these songs, and do we have enough for a Greatest Hits? Can we do this? Alright, let's do it. James got the artwork together and the ball started rolling, and I'm excited to say we finally pulled the trigger on it."In the full interview Scott talks about the song selection process for the album, the new single Together Right and how it reflects Finger Eleven in 2023, the Pink Floyd cover and why it made the cut, the early days of the band and the musical climate that gave them life, their early name Rainbow Butt Monkeys and WTF, how their music has changed over the years, new music plans and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

18 Maj 202314min

Interview by Kris PetersCanberra based noise merchants St Sinner are farewelling one chapter of their musical identity while simultaneously ushering in a new, more important era with the recent release of their song Alone Together.After going through a stagnating period in and around the COVID period with the release of three tracks Mr Prime Minister, Dead For The Weekend and We're All Going To Hell, St Sinner have been busy refining and honing their existing punk, metal, hard rock and dark pop sound into something more sinister and demanding.Rory and Sam sat down with HEAVY to fill in the blanks."Pretty good," Rory replied when asked about the early reception afforded Alone Together. "We haven't released anything in a year and a bit, so all of the traction that we had from the last release is just fucken gone so the reception it has got... anything would have been good. I'm just happy that there's even two people listening to it (laughs)."With the modern musical landscape being driven by low attention spans bands that don't release regular content are generally left floundering, a point which we raise to the boys."It's a weird thing," Rory agreed. "So this song was the last of a cycle - because our band has been through line-up change after line-up change after line-up change. This is the last song of a cycle that we've been going through since 2020, and in a way it was like starting again but at the end of a phase, which is interesting. Everyone's got ADHD now, including me. If a band that I'm listening to isn't putting out music at least once every two to six months I forget who they are."In the full interview, Rory and Sam talk more about Alone Together including the play on words in the title, closing one chapter of the band's existence and opening another, how they plan to transition musically, what direction they are heading, the cocktail of influences in their music and how it came about and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

5 Maj 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersWhen the enigmatic and universally loved frontman of LA industrial/heavy outfit Static X passed away in 2014 many thought that was the end for the band as well.Wayne Static WAS Static X - just by virtue of the name alone - and to try and find anyone to replicate his on stage intensity was thought to be futile.The band who had given the world the groundbreaking album Wisconsin Death Trip and the industrial alt-rock hybrid Evil Disco, shaking metal from its stagnant state and redefining what can be done with heavy music, was rudderless and without the emotional capability to continue. Wayne's passing - after long periods of unrest within the band - seemed to be the final debilitating factor in the future longevity of Static X but behind the scenes the three founding members of Static X, Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda and Ken Jay were scouring the musical landscape for someone who could not only fill Waynes shoes musically, but would also be accepted by their fanatically loyal fanbase.In 2019 the trio recruited a still unidentified mask wearing enigma as vocalist who went by the name Xer0 and despite initial skepticism and often downright hostility from some members of the public, Static X have been reborn as both a live and recording unit and will arrive in Australia for three shows starting in Melbourne on May 19 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Wisconsin Death Trip.Sensational live footage of their US tour has leaked on social media which justifies the current hype surrounding Static X, with the show as much a visual spectacle as it is aural, complete with a stunning new outfit for Xer0.Bass player Tony Campos joined HEAVY recently to discuss the tour and a host of other things relating to Static X, starting with how much of Wisconsin Death Trip they will be playing as part of the anniversary celebrations."We will be playing... I won't say most of it," he offered, "but we'll be playing a lot of cuts off that album."Campos has been quoted as saying that as well as playing songs from that album and Machine, Static X are also going to throw in "a couple of nice surprises" so, not being ones to like surprises, we asked him if he would share the knowledge."It depends on who the surprise is coming from," he laughed. "If you want a clue check out any of the interviews from the last couple of shows that we've been doing here in the States to get an idea."Static X will also be celebrating the life and legacy - as they do with every show - of Wayne Static, which although gives the fans an inside glimpse into the mechanisms of the band with Wayne out front, would also be emotionally draining on the surviving members night after night."Being together with my friends that were there with me in the beginning and having that comaraderie with those guys keeps the vibe positive," he measured. "It keeps it focussed on all the good things we achieved together."In the full interview Tony talks more about what to expect from the shows, how different it is having Xer0 out the front to when Wayne was there, losing Wayne and the decision to move on without him, initial negative feedback from fans and how it affected the band, the new stage show and what it entails, the early days of Static X and where they fit in, creating their sound and introducing it to a new audience, at what stage of the bands life did he personally feel they were onto something good, how they made their last two albums Project: Regeneration Volumes 1 and 2 after Wayne's passing, future new music with Xer0 at the helm and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4 Maj 202314min