In Darkness There Is Light With JEKYLL JONES & SIMON UNKNOWNE From GANGS OF OLD LADIES
Interview by Kris PetersBrisbane based international masters of metal Gangs Of Old Ladies are about as underground and DIY as you could get in the modern age of mass consumption.Making noise out of a top secret gateway to Hell somewhere in the Sunshine State, Gangs Of Old Ladies are as mysterious as they are brutal. They are a musical force unto themselves that has somehow managed to conjure support from some of the heaviest hitters in the international metal scene, with artists from Chuck Billy (Testament) to Dani Filth to Gary Holt (Exodus) lending their talents and wizardry.Such is the bands allure they had also welcomed former Soilwork guitarist David Andersson into their inner sanctum at a time in his life where friendship and loyalty meant more than anything presented by music.Andersson's fate became entwined with that of the band - which he joined before his passing last year - and now, finally, some of Andersson's last ever and most soul satisfying work is ready to be shared with the world.Death Magic Volume One is a neatly woven package of three tracks that starts with the odd yet haunting intro Avresa Fran Stockholm. One of the last pieces of music penned by Andersson before his death, the track celebrates both memorial and rebirth, featuring the newly founded skills of main guitarist and songwriter Simon Unknowne. The intro also features a hauntingly beautiful Swedish goodbye spoken by David's own sister Emma Andersson, with a video shot by David's dear friend Morgan Schrantz.Released in memory of and to pay honour to their fallen brother, Death Magic Volume One is Gangs Of Old Ladies' way of sharing some of Andersson's future spark as well as acting as a coping mechanism for a life tragically cut short. Frontman Jekyll Jones and guitarist/songwriter Simon Unknowne sat down with HEAVY to convey their message of metal."I think it's the best work we've ever done," Jones fired without hesitation. "That's basically because Simon wrote the whole thing, engineered the entire thing, mixed the entire thing and made it what it is."While Death Magic Volume One is dedicated to the memory of Andersson, it also serves as a blistering sonic representation of a band that could have easily imploded after such internal devestation but instead chose to rebel."The first track Avresa Fran Stockholm - which is Swedish for Departure From Stockholm - is... in David's final months he was in hospital in Stockholm," Jones began. "He hated Stockholm (laughs), and we would video chat every second or third day for hours and hours on end. We were very close. I would actually take the phone down while we were on video messenger and we would watch the sunrise together. I knew everything that was going on with him personally and Soilwork. We were working on music in the background and it was meant to be some other stuff and then David passed and we call it the A.D effect - After David effect. It was almost like he passed his magic onto us, and Simon just gave us these tracks that were not only a lot more sophisticated than anything else we've ever done, but all of a sudden there was violins and cellos and double bass and there was symphonic resonance in there. It was like how did you do this? And that's where the title comes from as well. We got this inspiration, and the girls in the band came on board when David was still with us. He was very much a fan of Luna Black's voice and loves Zoskia's ideas. It turned out that after we lost him it was almost the right recipe - even to the point that one of his other projects was with a French lady - and she makes videos. She was the one who made the video clip for Avresa and we are also very good friends with David's Mum and his Sister and it's actually his sister's voice that you hear at the end of the song. It was... for them, they think it's a beautiful thing to have something that is of David's but at the same time not taking the limelight away from him."In the full interview we run through each of the three tracks individually as Gangs Of Old Ladies explain their meaning in greater detail, get more of an understanding of where David's head was at musically during his time with the band, some last memories which will act as motivation for those left behind, other exciting things happening with the band, their reputation as one of Australia's most unusual extreme acts and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
22 Juli 202321min
Reality Bites With JACSON From REMISSION
Interview by Kris PetersWestern Australian death/thrash outfit Remission have been busy of late, releasing a string of singles in the lead up to their new album Impermanence which is out now.Detailing themes of personal challenge, redemption and hope based on personal, philosophical viewpoints and classical mythology, Impermanence is a coming of age album of sorts for Remission who have been on a steady ascent since their birth in 2015.Guitarist/vocalist Jacson joined HEAVY earlier this week to discuss the album in greater detail."Everything's pretty much full steam ahead for us at the moment, which is the best way to be," he enthused early on in the chat."A lot of the lyrics that I write come from a personal point of view," he continued. "I've had a lot of personal struggles over the years and I find music is a really good outlet for those things. With the themes such as the mythological themes I have kind of used as a metaphor to tell a story. Rather than being blunt about the subject matter of very personal things I like to try and weave what I'm wanting to say into a story that centres around that kind of thing. A lot of this album is about getting through hard points of your life and becoming stronger from it. I found that very cathartic to write about and have an outlet for. Some of the songs on this album call for that more emotional side of things."In the full interview Jacson discusses the singles released from the album, the musical side of Impermanence in greater detail, what lessons the band earned from their debut album that they took into this one, how the two albums differ musically, the cover image and what it represents, upcoming shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
21 Juli 20239min
The Powers That Be With GAVAN McDOUGALL From EBOLAGOLDFISH
Interview by Kyra-Jade CoombsEbolagoldfish are a 3-piece self-confessed ‘Past-Punk’ band out of Sydney. Heavy had a chat with Gavan McDougall their bassist and after establishing that HEAVY Mag wasn’t indeed a fat joke, we got onto talking about how Ebolagoldfish came to be, their newest single, Powers and what’s coming up for the band.I had to know right away how they ended up calling themselves Ebolagoldfish. True to Aussie ‘culture’ I was informed that the name came from the McDougall brother’s father basically calling them idiots when trying to find something, like car keys for example. “What’s that? A bowl of goldfish?” pointing at the ‘lost’ keys, which evolved into ‘Ebolagoldfish’. Turns out the world doesn’t have a sense of humour, which resulted in people reaching out the band on what to do with the goldfish to help someone with Ebola. Look out, we are going places as a society people…Now if you haven’t watched the film clip that accompanies their newest single Powers you need to check it out. It’s my sense of humour to a tee and had me cracking up from the get-go. It perfectly nods to the old school/ horrifically dubbed movies and has the boys running around the rolling hills of New South Wales in their white coveralls chasing rainbows. The song itself is catchy as fuck and has been on high rotation at my place, I really can’t wait to hear more.The conversation somehow turned to the fact that I knocked my front tooth out. For those of you that don’t know, Gavan and his twin Andy are the younger brothers of Linsday from Frenzal Rhomb. As it turns out I interviewed Linsday a few weeks ago, and he had to have his ‘2 cents’ about my goddamn tooth asking if I got it fixed. I said I was during tax time and Gavan quickly clapped back with “I hope the gap ain’t too big”. Gotta this thick skin in this industry, haha! This lot really did fall from the same tree. I would imagine Christmas time at the McDougall’s would be a fucking scream!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
21 Juli 202320min
Setting Sail For Greener Pastures With ASHLEY DOODKORTE From VOYAGER
Interview by Kris PetersIt seems like the name Voyager is on everyone's lips of late, and rightly so.Fresh from coming a hugely respectable ninth at the latest Eurovision finals, plus a recently completed run of sold out Australian shows, Voyager are sonic proof that hard work and dedication invariably pay off.Despite plying their trade now for over a decade, Voyager have only started to reap the benefits of their toils in the last couple of years, starting with a debut appearance at Eurovision Australia which really made the world take notice.Despite their recent run of success the band remains humble and quintessentially Australian and have celebrated their own personal milestones with the release of their latest album Fearless in Love last week.Drummer Ashley Doodkorte sat down with HEAVY earlier this week to discuss the album and other things."It's been fantastic," he enthused of the early response to the album. "It's had positive reviews and seems to be doing alright. A lot of people are getting it in their hot little hands."Being Voyager's eighth album we ask Doodkorte to run us through the album musically and if there is anything slightly different from previous albums."Musically it's interesting," he measured, "because we feel like it's one of our more accessible albums but at the same time it feels like maybe our darkest and heaviest album that we've done. I'm not sure how we managed that (laughs). I don't know what alchemy we incorporated to make those two things work... but it seems to have gelled nicely. It was a very different writing process for us as well. Rather than just the five of us getting together in a rehearsal room and bashing things out until the songs take shape, we kind of sat down at Scott's house and worked on it instrument by instrument, bit by bit. We were all very cognisant of listening to each other's parts carefully and asking ourselves all the hard questions of what does the song really need? Does it need that blistering six minute solo? Does it need that bombastic drum fill in that part? We scrutinised every part and that's a little bit different for us but I feel like it's really paid off."In the full interview Ash talks more about Fearless In Love, the 80s and 90s grit and glam feel behind it, creating a cinematic feel to music and how it's done, how the world around them influenced the album in the writing stage, how Voyager's music has progressed since they started, Eurovision and the realities of being in a global band competition, what's next for Voyager and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
21 Juli 202310min
Amping It Up With GAVIN HANSEN From THE POOR
Interview by Kris PetersAussie rock outfit The Poor are living proof that you can never get too much of a good thing.Since redefining our rock senses with their debut album Who Cares in 1994 The Poor have drifted in and out of our musical lives, with a splattering of albums in the ensuing years that for one reason or another lacked that knockout blow the original had in abundance.Fast forward to February 2023 and the release of High Price Deed and the rock clock wound back nearly 30 years in one instance with a triumphant return to the fold that has seen The Poor reclaim all of their former glory and then some.With a hometown show at Vinnies on August 4 plus an Aussie tour with Rose Tattoo in the months after and a return trip to Europe slated for early 2024, The Poor are a band in demand. So much so that we had to actually schedule a chat with drummer Gavin Hansen to find out the magnitude of what is going on."I wouldn't put it in the comeback category," he began, "it's just something we've always done. It's more a sense of having the new inspiration there with Dan (Cox, guitar) and also when someone gets behind you and believes in what you're doing after years and years it gives you that fresh approach and that's what Reckless Records and Scot Crawford did, so that sort of boosted us along."High Price Deed took The Poor sonically back to the days of Who Cares, with the balls out rock style that earned them their stripes back and pumped to 11."The main focus - as every band tries to do - is just capture the live sound and strip it back," Hansen explained of the thought process going into High Price Deed. "And we wanted to keep it as raw as possible but still have something that stands up with what's in the market today. We tried to capture that big sound that we portray live."In the full interview Gavin talks more about the musicality on High Price Deed, the resurgence of The Poor since it came out, news on the follow-up, the possibility of a new version of More Wine Waiter Please surfacing in the future, next year's 30th anniversary of Who Cares, their show at Vinnies on August 4, touring with Rose Tattoo later in the year, returning to Europe and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
20 Juli 202312min
An Honest Observation Of Life With ABE MILLER From BAD JUJU
Interview by Kris PetersSince entering the music world back in 2017. Melbourne rock outfit Bad Juju have been steadily honing their craft through a couple of EP's and countless tours.The fruit of those spoils began to ferment last year with the release of their first single from debut album Blue Heaven titled Misery Sticks To Me. This was followed up by The Other Side before Nothing To Give and Raincoat rounded out a diverse selection of brutally raw and honest singles that perfectly encapsulate the feelings conveyed on the full length.The underlying theme woven throughout Blue Heaven - which will be released on July 21 - explores the observation of Earth from afar; portraying how the planet appears peaceful and calm, yet at closer inspection, the complexities and struggles of life become more evident. It is a deeply personal yet cathartic view of the world we live in and one delivered with far more maturity expected from a band releasing their first ever album.HEAVY caught up with guitarist Abe Miller to go even deeper."We've been working on it for so long that it's great to finally get it out," Miller smiled. "We have heard the songs alot (laughs), so we're pretty keen to get it out of our heads and get it into other people's and have them start listening to it."We press Miller to describe the album musically."I would think it's maybe a bit more of a cohesive body of work for us," he measured. "It's a bit more thought out than our two previous EP's. We really tried to focus in on what our sound was and develop our sound from our last EP and make a body of work that we're proud of. Musically, being a guitarist, the tones are much more... I guess... similar to each other. There's a bit more fuzz and that sort of thing. It's something that we're proud of and something we hope people can listen to start to finish and get what we were going for and then when they get to the end hopefully repeat and feels like it was meant to go again."In the full interview we discuss what lessons learnt from their EP's that Bad Juju took into the debut album, the singles released and how they represent the album, featuring on Channel 7's Friday Night Footy and what that meant for the band, conveying emotion through their music, the underlying theme of Blue Heaven and how difficult it was to portray those feelings, live shows and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
20 Juli 202315min
Facing Down The Enemy With JF DAGENAIS From KATAKLYSM
Interview by Kris PetersFifteen albums in to their career and US/French-Canadian based melodic death metal syndicate Kataklysm are still as relevant as ever.With a back catalogue filled with success and a recent history of capitalising on every opportunity, Kataklysm are deep into the promotional campaign for their new album Goliath which will be released on August 11 through Nuclear Blast Records.HEAVY recently sat down to chat with guitarist JF Dagenais to find out more."It's a weird thing," Dagenais replied when asked if the whole album process becomes easier the more you put out. "On the one hand we've done it so many times before that we're not really stressed about it and it's kind of natural to us. But on the other hand we're the type of people that we wanna release quality, and we wanna push ourselves as hard as we possibly can. We're always anxious to see what the reaction's gonna be on the new music and the stuff we do. We really do care to an extent. At a certain point you have to let it go, because everyone's gonna have an opinion on whatever it is you do, but we actually really do care. When we hear a lot of negative stuff it actually hurts. I'm not gonna lie, but I just try to push it away (laughs). But sometimes when it's constructive I like to listen and get a few pointers but if it's just mean to be mean I think it sucks, but it is what is."In the full interview JF talks about the musical side of Goliath and what they were going for, the two singles released and the two part story they tell, how Goliath reflects the current state of the world, taking their time with Goliath and how that influenced the final product, the early days of Kataklysm and how their focus has changed over the years, musical experimentation and where to draw the line and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
19 Juli 202314min
Dub Step Metal With XEN From KAOSIS
Pioneering New Zealand outfit Kaosis first introduced Australia to their high-energy brand of impossible-to-classify music pre-covid with a whirlwind assault that was as visually terrifying as it was sonically stunning.Blending metal, hip hop elements, dance undertones and whatever else fit into their musical magic ball, Kaosis made an immediate impact and were quickly claimed by many music lovers as their own.Through repeated visits the band have enhanced that reputation, headlining Moondoll Festival as well as Dead Of Winter and converting many traditional metal listeners into fans with their infectious performance and presentation.For their next visit, Kaosis will be part of the Numetal Mayhem Festival which hits our shores in October featuring former vocalists of Slipknot and Mushroomhead in a world-first line-up that already has punters scrambling for tickets.Of course, being the highly active band they are, when HEAVY caught up with frontman XEN to discuss the tour he also had plenty more to tell us including signing to Nuclear Blast imprint Blood Blast Records, synergies between Dubstep and Metal, A metalheads guide to dubstep, signing a deal with Merchmasters and plenty more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
14 Juli 20239min
