Raw, Real & Gritty With LUKE GRUNTS From CLEOPATRICK

Interview by Kris PetersDevin Townsend is one of the few musicians who globally needs no introduction.Whether it be for his work with Strapping Young Lad or the Devin Townsend Project or anywhere in between, the man is an enigma. A legend.And a true gentleman of the metal scene.Known for his boundless energy and creativity, Townsend touches down in Australia this month for a run of four shows only, playing a splattering of everything from his back catalogue and material from his new album Lightwork.It promises to be one of the tours of the year, with the man himself sitting down with HEAVY recently to tell us all about what to expect."The thing is, I've had the good fortune of playing with some fantastic musicians throughout my career," he measured. "But the group of people I've got working with me right now are the most capable of playing everything, so it's allowed for me to put together a set that I think is… a good cross-section of material. Also, because I've been touring with them for this whole year - and the sound person - I'm confident that it's the best I've been able to present the material by a longshot. Having that is really great for me, because, although it's been good in the past also there's been certain things where I think 'man, I wish that was different' or I wish that was articulated differently or maybe this player's really good at this but no so good at that or vice versa - not to be disparaging against anybody I've worked with, I've just got, like you say, a huge amount of material that typically I use different players for all of them. So what I've done with this recent one is I've just found people that I am confident can do all of it. And they had to learn how to do all of it too. The first thing that I did with some of these players… they didn't know how to play some of the stuff, and it took them touring to figure it out. Now, I feel that the presentation of the material is… I'm excited to be able to show it to people because I'm like, 'this sounds fucken great'. That's how I feel."In the full interview Devin talks about writing set lists, his essential non-essential things to pack for tour, pleasing as many fans as possible, what we can expect from the shows, the early days of his career and what he was expecting out of music, what some of his motivating factors were, how early experiences helped shape his career, what drives him to keep experimenting, retaining his passion for music, the creative process and if it becomes easier or harder over time and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202321min

Interview by Erin EddyVerona Lights are out of Melbourne, Victoria, and have recently released their newest album, titled Minos.This is the second album vocalist Brendan Davine has appeared on, after joining the band to replace the original vocalist, but the first album Brendan feels like he has been able to flex full musical creativity.“On Adrestia, the last album, I didn’t write any of the music,” Brendan explains, “That music was already sitting there when I joined. It had just been sitting there for years and I got to do the lyrics and the vocals how I felt was right, but I didn’t get to actually write any music. So with the new album, providing riffs and ideas, I think this album got even heavier, because I was able to write stuff.”Brendan says Minos is a loosely based concept album, “If Adrestia was an album of self-discovery, Minos is an album of self-destruction.”The themes of the 10 songs on Minos chronicle someone stuck in the cyclical patterns of mental health struggles; the back-and-forth of the protagonist working their way through those feelings and their self-deprecation.Brendan does urge the listener to apply their own meaning to the songs, though. “I’m definitely one for ‘everyone should take what they get’ from hearing it.”Listen to the full interview with Brendan to hear the complete story about Minos and where the band has their sights set in the future.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202357min

Interview by Kris PetersHarnessing the intensity and intent of a debut album can be difficult.Public expectations are noticeably higher for your second release and your existing fan base has likely also grown significantly.Many bands attempt to replicate the things that went right the first time around and end up forcing themselves into a sonic box of expectation, but not so Australian metal outfit Escarion who have introduced elements of progressive and symphonic metal to their existing blackened death leanings for album number two, Towards A Futile Existence.To find out more HEAVY sat for a chat with guitarist/vocalist Johnny and bass player Rhys."It's been really awesome," Johnny smiled of the early reception to the album. "We've got two really good reviews so far, and everyone that has listened to it has loved it. We had an album launch party last night, and we hosted it where we usually rehearse. We got a few friends to come down and have a listen, and it was great."We ask the boys to talk more about the musical nature of Towards A Futile Existence."With this album, obviously coming off Pillars Of The Faith, our first album having a concept of Seven Deadly Sins and a much more subjective approach," Rhys began, "we have gone for a concept again, but this time in a broader sense where we are talking about society as a whole and the objective of looking outwards and towards the future and the bleakness of that. It's a very dark album."In the full interview, Johnny and Rhys talk about adding progressive and symphonic elements to their music, the addition of new member Gaia and what she brings to the band, how Towards A Futile Existence differs musically to their debut, what lyrical themes they explore, the album artwork and what it means, new single Zeitgeist and how it relates to the overall sound and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202318min

Interview by Kris PetersBad Wolves hit the jackpot with their 2021 album Dear Monsters, satisfying existing fans of the band with their output, while also drawing a new breed of followers to their music.It was a success in every way, which made their follow-up album Die About It - out now - all the more significant.Die About It came with all of the usual fanfare, declaring it "pushes the boundaries of their soundscape in pursuit of new sonic dimensions" and more, but, as they say, the proof is always in the pudding. So is Die About It as good as everyone says?HEAVY thinks so, but to gauge the album from the band's viewpoint we sat down with drummer John Boecklin to discuss more."Feeling good. Very fresh," he enthused. "It feels like a great start to a cycle. We hit the road with Bush in America. I feel the record has a lot of… not avant guard things… but things we certainly haven't tried before which makes us feel not stuck in a rut doing the same old. Rock radio, in general, is the kind of band we are, but we get very, very, very heavy in songs on this one. You can feel it, every album has a creative rut of getting kind of stuck in certain formulas, so we tried to do the best we can to stay out of that and do songs that feel more expressive and make you feel more emotions than some of the past songs."We ask John to dive deeper into the musical side of the album."I think where we started it was we weren't going for anything," he measured. "We dropped any ideas of 'well, this worked in the past, let's do that'. Sometimes we did that stuff, like 'this did really good, let's do some of that'. I think some of the first songs that we wrote for this song musically were Die About It, the song, N.D.A which in the end has a two-minute saxophone solo, which is just stuff we had never tried before."In the full interview, John explores the different sounds and approaches to making the album, the singles released and if they are a good sonic representation of the album, how much they experimented and where the band's limits were, if there was any extra pressure after the success of Dear Monsters, the overall theme on Die About It, having the band co-produce the album and some of the pros and cons with that, how Bad Wolves' sound has changed over their journey and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

3 Nov 202314min

Interview by Kris PetersIt's hard to believe that after 13 years Brisbane two-piece Environmental Nu Thrash outfit F.U.C (or, as they are known in the Andes, Forests Under Construction) are finally set to bust their cherry at Wallapalooza 2023.After hosting some of the finest bands this country has to offer from humble beginnings at the Wallaby Hotel in Mudgeeraba, festival organisers have somehow - some would argue inexplicably - failed to invite the Sunshine State's finest mankini clad musicians to their annual party.It is a glaring omission that is finally set to be rectified on November 4 when F.U.C rightfully take their place on the main stage of Wallapalooza with the promise of nothing more than actually showing up.F.U.C themselves have been around for longer than the festival has - another nail in the coffin for deprived locals - and have vowed that 2023 will be the year Walla fans are called forth to pay for the sins of their forefathers by way of musical disciplinary action that may or may not involve two hot and sweaty musicians watching as their stage sweat spills from their brows into the depths of your… schooners of beer.To add spice to the mix F.U.C have recently unleashed their new EP Everythink, just in time to be road tested at Wallapalooza. A swirling mass of punk, metal, rock, thrash and love potions sure to tame even the meekest of beasts, Everythink sees F.U.C at their unrestrained best with tracks like Dick Massage, Snap Off A Log and VIPness only hinting at the inner passion just waiting to be released from their sweaty outside undergarments.If you have not yet become acquainted with F.U.C we strongly recommend that you mark their set time down into your Walla diary first and foremost, because these guys are sure to produce one of the standout performances of the day.And don't just take our word for it, because drummer Toddy and guitarist Dan graciously gave up their time to talk with HEAVY, if only so they could tell us so themselves."We've got a massive gig coming up for Wallapalooza on November 4," Todd began, stating the obvious. "It's gonna be awesome, and we're very excited."Despite only being added to a line-up that includes COG, Butterfingers, 28 Days and more at the eleventh hour, both boys feel strongly that their name should have been read out atop of the list back when the first artist drop was revealed."Everyone loves a bit of F.U.C," Todd shrugged. "Penises… animals… This will be our first time doing Wallapalooza. I think it's in its 13th year, and we're very excited for it because it's always been a pretty cool event from the outside looking in."Sitting amongst a wealth of big names at the head of the poster, F.U.C surely have something special to offer punters?"We'll slip in somewhere, I'm sure," Todd laughed. "I'm sure it will be a hot, sweaty day so there will be plenty of lube and we'll just slide on in somewhere in between all of them and prime the audience I suppose."Todd turns the question to Dan, asking "what do you reckon?" to which Dan replies "I don't know." Todd's ensuing quip of "you don't know?" followed by a healthy dose of laughter pretty much epitomises one of the main strengths of F.U.C.The chemistry between the two scantily clad bandmates, which only intensifies as the interview continues.In the full chat, Todd and Dan give us a bit of history on F.U.C, their penchant for mankini's and why, the EP Everthink and why it took so long to see light, the musical nature of their music and where it comes from, a track by track analysis on the six songs that make up Everythink, what punters can expect from their set and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 Okt 202323min

Interview by Kris PetersAfter starting her career back in 1996, multilingual singer-songwriter Nur NH quickly set her sights on a global audience, signing with US label World Media Alliance in 2011 and enjoying success with her EP Real Story.She found herself on the cusp of something special, but then suddenly vanished from music in 2013, not re-emerging for a decade.In a tale too unnerving to be told by anyone but herself, Nur NH found herself in an abusive relationship which shattered her dreams and nearly cost her her life.From that period of desolation, Nur NH has somehow managed to regain her drive and focus, with the first step on her path of healing coming in the form of her comeback EP Unbroken, which will be released on November 11.To help celebrate her first steps back into music and life in general, the singer has released the lead single from Unbroken, a mesmerising tale of survival called I'm Done With You.HEAVY sat down with Nur NH earlier this week to discuss her new music."I started my career in 1996 as a singer," she explained, "and then I played with a rock band in 2007 and then released my first EP Real Story in 2011 through US label World Media Alliance. Then I stopped my career in 2013 with my personal reasons, and then I just came back to playing music again in 2022 and now here I am."We ask how it feels to be back making music again and how the first single has been received."It's really good," she smiled. "It's a really special song for me and means a lot for me because I'm Done With You is the first song that I wrote after 10 years of stop playing music. I'm really happy. I'm happy because I came back again to play music after 10 years."In the full interview, Nur NH discusses I'm Done With You musically, runs us through the music video which was filmed in Borneo and why, the cleansing nature of music, regaining her feet in the scene, talks us through each of the four tracks on Unbroken and the meaning behind them, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

27 Okt 20239min

Interview by Kris PetersWhat better way to celebrate your 13th birthday than to return to your spiritual home; the place where it all began?Which is exactly what Wallapalooza are doing this year when the festival returns to its birthplace at The Wallaby Hotel on November 4 for a music extravaganza unlike any seen on the local circuit for some time.Spearheaded by COG, Wallapalooza 2023 also features 28 Days, Butterfingers, Anty!, F.U.C, Dreamkillers, Azreal, PistonFist, Kaosphere, Snake Mountain and plenty more in what promises to be an Australian festival for music lovers of all tastes.After slaying last year's event, 28 Days return to up their game even more this year, with bass player Damo joining HEAVY to discuss more."We haven't played with COG for probably fifteen years I reckon," he began, "so it will be good to catch up with those guys again. We always used to play freezer gigs with them - like all ages things back in the day - so, yeah, it will be awesome."Last year's event was held at the nearby Mudgeeraba Showgrounds, which gave the show an outdoors feel and was a huge success, so we hit Damo up to see how he feels about returning to more of a pub feel for 2023."Last year was cool, it was huge," he smiled, "and it probably would have been too much of a task to pull it off every year. We actually stayed at The Wallaby Hotel last year (laughs) and they kind of walked us through the layout of when it was always there, so it will be cool. It will be ace to get there and play. We like those kind of 'little' festivals. The 2000 type people ones. They just seem more intimate, but still with enough of a crowd to make it really hyper."In the full interview, Damo talks more about the benefits of having 100% Australian band festivals, what we can expect from 28 Days, the early days of the band and the musical climate that created them, hitting commercial success with Upstyledown and why he thinks people connected with that album, the possibility of new music from 28 Days and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

27 Okt 202311min

Interview by Kris PetersAustralian thrash outfit Deprivation have had a year to remember.Earlier this year the band edged out a strong heat of finalists to win the Australian Wacken Battle Of The Bands competition which had as its first place the opportunity to grace the stage at the prestigious Wacken 2023 in Germany.It was the crowning achievement for a band with over 15 years of servitude to the Australian heavy metal industry and just rewards for an unwavering passion and commitment to the scene.HEAVY recently sat down with lead guitarist Lachlan and bass player Jesse to find out more, starting with if their feet had managed to touch the ground a couple of months after the event."Yeah, it's been a while now," Lachlan answered. "But it took a bit to get off that high for sure.""We were all a bit grumpy when we got back," Jesse added, laughing.We ask the boys to think back to the final in May and tell us if they thought they had done enough on the night to win."I, personally reckon we absolutely killed it on the final," Jesse nodded, "but there was some fantastic competition. There was that whole what's gonna happen thing, and we all put on our A game, and obviously it worked out well for us. It was a very tight competition.""We definitely played as good as we've ever played that night," Lachlan added. "So there was no reason not to think we didn't put our best effort in."In the full interview, Lachlan and Jesse run us through getting the call to tell them they had won, how they raised the money to get to Germany, how they were treated by other bands, the wet weather that plagued Wacken this year and what it meant for them, the 'bonus' international Battle Of The Bands where they came tenth, playing on the main stage, the actual set and how they felt, what they took from the experience, the live video for Burn recorded at Wacken, new music and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

27 Okt 202312min