HEAVY Music Interviews

HEAVY Magazine

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MUSIC INTERVIEWS
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All the latest music interviews from the team at HEAVY Magazine. HEAVY interviews the worlds leading rock, punk, metal and beyond musicians in the heavy universe of music. We will upload the latest interviews regularly so before to follow our social accounts and our podcast account on www.speaker.com/user/heavy Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

4H AGO

Are Tribute Bands The Way Of The Future? An Insiders View With ANDRE JOYZI From CHOP SUEY

If there's one topic sure to divide opinion in the world of music it's tribute bands and the rapid growth of such bands around the globe. Those who support tribute bands argue points such as providing accessible, affordable entertainment, keeping classical music alive and preserving musical history while those opposed argue tribute bands impact artist authenticity by oversaturating venues and reducing opportunities for original bands who play their own music. That debate has recently spread to social media platforms like Facebook, whose new META algorythm has censored tribute bands and their videos, to the extent of closing down pages dedicated to tribute acts. With two successful international tribute bands in CHOP SUEY and SLIP NOT heading to Australia this May for a run of shows, HEAVY took the opportunity to sit down with the man behind these two bands and one of the world's leading experts on the tribute market, ANDRE JOYZI, to get his perspective on the global tribute band phenomina. ANDRE JOYZI, to get his perspective on the global tribute band phenomina. "Basically, if you don't think with your ego there's nothing wrong with playing in a covers or tribute band," Joyzi began. "When I was 23 I decided I was going to be a professional metal drummer. There was nothing specific like it's going to have to be death metal or It's going to have to be this or that, because there's nothing I love more than playing metal live and the feeling you get from that. I made the early decision that I was going to do both (covers/tribute and originals), because nothing says that you can't". Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

33 min
1D AGO

HOT MULLIGAN Are Back For Seconds And Australia’s Clearly Still Hungry

Interview by Ali Williams Hot Mulligan’s latest chat with HEAVY finds the band exactly where good bands tend to be after years of grinding away: confident, funny, slightly unhinged in the best way, and still refreshingly free of self-important rubbish. Speaking with Ali Williams ahead of their April return to Australia, the group as a band, have earned its growing reputation. These guys roll on in with the kind of dry humour and sideways banter that suggests Hot Mulligan are far more interested in taking the piss out of themselves than posing like tortured visionaries. Just like their music, their attitudes have pulse, and more importantly, it makes them feel like actual people rather than another touring act reciting the usual promo script. The band are heading back to Australia after a warmly received first visit in 2024, this time with bigger rooms, stronger ticket sales, and enough demand to add a second Melbourne show after the first sold out. They speak about that first Australian run with genuine fondness, describing it as a leap into the unknown that paid off far better than expected. There is a clear affection for the smaller, more intimate venues too, with Hot Mulligan admitting they thrive in rooms where the barrier between band and audience is basically nonexistent. That detail says plenty. For all the upward momentum behind them, they still seem most at home when a show feels sweaty, immediate, and a little rough around the edges. Australia, clearly, gave them exactly that, and now they’re coming back for six shows as part of a schedule that barely lets them breathe before moving on to Singapore and then their first-ever tour of Japan. They explain the the band’s history without wasting time trying to inflate it into some grand rock fairytale. Their beginnings were deeply DIY, gloriously unflashy, and stitched together from local bands, trial and error, and the kind of long-term persistence that most “overnight success” stories quietly leave out. They talk openly about how the band’s growth was gradual at first, before a pandemic-era release gave things a serious push and shifted them into a different gear. Even then, there’s no victory lap in the way they tell it. Hot Mulligan sound more amused than amazed by their own rise, which somehow makes it more impressive. They have been at this for over a decade, building audience trust the slow way, and the result is a band with real international pull that still behaves like it can’t quite believe people in London, Australia, and now Japan are yelling for them to show up. Between the deadpan cracks about their past, the tongue-in-cheek nonsense about genre labels, and the general feeling that any one of them would happily derail a serious moment for a laugh, there is still a strong sense of gratitude running underneath it all. Hot Mulligan sound like a band fully aware of how lucky they are to be hauling their songs across the world, but also one that has worked hard enough to deserve every sold-out room and every passport stamp. That is really the takeaway here: not some neat genre tag or tidy career narrative, but a portrait of a band whose personality has grown right alongside its audience. They are funny without being flippant, sincere without getting sappy, and busy carving out a global path that still feels grounded in the scrappy spirit that got them moving in the first place. Go check them out and show them some lovin. Tickets, tour dates and information are available at www.ticketek.com.au as well as the bands page https://hotmulligan.band/pages/tour Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

11 min
2D AGO

From Stockholm With Volume: H.E.A.T Lock In, Load Up, And Head Down Under

Interview by Ali Williams H.E.A.T are not exactly sitting around polishing old trophies and talking about the glory days. When HEAVY's Ali Williams caught up with Jimmy Jay, the Swedish melodic rock machine was holed up in rehearsal mode, fresh off the Spanish leg of their Welcome To The Future 2026 run and already gearing up for the next round of work. In classic H.E.A.T fashion, there is no neat little pause between touring and recording. The band is heading into Hamburg to start work on the next album, with more than twenty songs already written and waiting to be narrowed down to the strongest ten or so. Jimmy made it clear this one is being approached with a more live, in-the-room mindset too, leaning back toward the kind of energy that made earlier releases hit so hard. Less stitched together in separate corners, more five blokes in a room pushing air and rattling the walls. That alone should be enough to get fans interested before a single note has even escaped into the wild. There is also something deeply satisfying about hearing a band twenty years in still sound hungry rather than merely organised. H.E.A.T hit their 20-year anniversary next year, which is long enough for most bands to either implode, become a tribute act to themselves, or start releasing albums that sound like they were assembled by committee and a legal team. Jimmy, though, spoke with the kind of grounded pride that only comes from a band that has genuinely worked for its place. He describes H.E.A.T as classic Scandinavian melodic heavy metal and hard rock, and there is no need to dress that up in fancier language than it deserves. They know what they are, they know what they do well, and they have built a loyal following by sticking a boot through the door not by politely knocking. Coming out of the Stockholm suburbs, with the broader Scandinavian legacy of hard rock and metal humming in the background, has clearly helped shape that instinct. Not in a smug, self-congratulatory way, either. More in the sense that if you grow up in a place where this music is woven into the cultural fabric, it is easier to treat it as something lived rather than borrowed. That authenticity carries through to the band’s line-up story, which Jimmy recounted without turning it into some dramatic soap opera. H.E.A.T began as a six-piece, later dropped to five, and have only really had one major shake-up at the microphone. After original vocalist Kenny Leckremo left, Erik Grönwall stepped in for a decade-long run before moving on, with Kenny eventually returning and bringing things full circle. The result now is a band that feels about as close to its original DNA as it possibly can. For longtime fans, that matters. For newer ones, it explains why H.E.A.T still feel connected to their roots instead of merely trading on them. Jimmy also touched on the audience the band attracts, and it was one of the more telling parts of the chat. He reckons the crowd seems to stay roughly the same age, which is a very funny way of saying younger fans keep finding them while the old guard refuses to bugger off. That is not a bad place to be. It means the band has managed the rare trick of staying relevant without trying to act twenty years younger than they are. No desperate trend-chasing, no identity crisis, just a solid crowd of people who actually give a damn about music. Of course, for Australian fans, the immediate excitement is the upcoming run of shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney this April. It will be the band’s third trip Down Under, which means they are well past the polite “great to be here” stage and into the territory of knowing what they are in for. Jimmy spoke warmly about returning, even if the small matter of a 25-hour flight sits between Stockholm and Brisbane like a punishment designed by an especially vindictive travel agent. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 min
2D AGO

The Integration Of Synth Into Heavy Metal, As Told By DR. MIKE TRUBETSKOV

Interview by Angela Croudace Dr. Mike Trubetskov isn’t just a metal producer—he’s a guide into one of the genre’s most misunderstood elements: synths. Based in Melbourne, he works with heavy bands to shape what he calls their “cinematic sound,” and a huge part of that comes from what sits beneath the obvious. For Mike, synths aren’t always meant to be heard, they’re meant to be felt. Whether it’s a subtle, slow-moving pad or an industrial, distorted layer cutting through dense guitars, these sounds define the emotional weight of a track. Remove them, and something vital disappears. What stands out is his balance between creativity and restraint. He approaches each song like a puzzle, filling gaps instinctively while respecting the band’s vision. Too much layering? It kills the song. The right touch? It elevates everything. He’s also quick to point out that great synth work starts with songwriting, not sound design. A strong melody that fits naturally within the track will always win over something overly complex. From following vocal lines to adding hidden counter-melodies deep in the mix, these small, often unnoticed details are what transform a good track into something immersive and alive. There’s also a technical intensity behind it all. In a genre built on distortion, synths need to fight for space—often pushed through layers of saturation to cut through, or buried with reverb to create an eerie, almost subconscious presence. It’s this constant push and pull between clarity and atmosphere that defines modern metal production. For anyone looking to learn, Mike’s approach is both reassuring and challenging: trust your instincts, focus on the music first, and don’t rely on trends to carry your sound. He shares more of this insight on his YouTube channel, Doctor Mike Metal, where he breaks down techniques and encourages artists to experiment, refine, and ultimately find their own voice. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

28 min
2D AGO

Beauty In The Brutal: sace6’s Rise And First Trip Down Under

Interview by Angela Croudace Los Angeles duo sace6 are carving out a striking space in modern heavy music, blending R&B melodies with emotionally charged metal textures. In conversation with HEAVY, Sace and Noah reveal the deeply personal roots behind their name, with 6 honouring Sace’s father as a baseball player and serving as a symbol of inspiration. Their latest project, Brutalist, reflects both sonic intensity and immersive world-building, pairing pop-forward vocals with what the band describes as “brutal” emotional weight. The duo emphasised a unique creative process built on trust, often working separately to fully realise ideas before combining them into something cohesive. That authenticity has helped shape a sound that feels both unpredictable and intentional, with tracks like Ego marking defining moments in their evolution. Celebrating a decade of darkness, nothing, nowhere. returns to Australia this month, bringing The Return Of The Reaper tour with special guests sace6 and Closure. The run begins April 16 in Brisbane before hitting Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and concluding in Perth on April 23. For sace6, the tour marks a major milestone and their first chance to connect with Australian audiences face-to-face for the first time ever. Check out the full interview above. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

15 min
2D AGO

In The Throes Of Death With TOBIAS GUSTAFSSON From VOMITORY

Interview by Kris Peters In any serious conversation about death metal, Vomitory’s name is a must-mention. Formed in 1989, the Swedish band unleashed eight blistering albums between 1996 and 2011, cementing their status as genre titans before parting ways in 2013. However, their retirement was short-lived, as they returned to the stage in 2019 to mark their 30th anniversary. Now, three years after the release of their critically acclaimed comeback album All Heads Are Gonna Roll in 2023, Vomitory are back with their latest beast, In Death Throes, due out on April 10. According to drummer Tobias Gustafsson, while the unmistakable Vomitory sound remains, the new album cranks up the intensity. “In Death Throes picks up where All Heads Are Gonna Roll left off, but we’ve turned the intensity up a notch. Christian (Fredriksson, new guitarist) quickly found his place and even contributed music to four killer tracks. These additions bring a bit of diversity to our sound without straying too far from the formula.” HEAVY sat down with drummer Gustafsson to get the full rundown, asking him to dive deeper into the musical side of the album and what Vomitory were going for this time around. "We continued on the same path as we did on our comeback album All Heads Are Going to Roll," he offered. "So we continued writing in the in the same way. But in hindsight, this new album turned out a bit more intense than the previous one, which is not a bad thing for a death metal band (laughs)." In the full interview, Tobias goes into more detail about how In Death Throes picks up where All Heads Are Gonna Roll left off, the added intensity in the music, and how new guitarist Christian Fredriksson contributed to the overall product. We spoke about the early days of the band and where they fit in, the parting of ways in 2013 and his feelings at the time, the circumstances that brought them back together and how much planning was behind that decision, the importance of their comeback album All Heads Are Going to Roll and more. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

11 min
APR 3

Putting On A Show With TOM KIELY From PATIENT SIXTY-SEVEN

Interview by Kris Peters Patient Sixty-Seven have become one of the most compelling and community‑driven voices in modern metalcore - a band built not on hype or industry shortcuts, but on heart, resilience, and the belief that heavy music can be a lifeline. Emerging from the isolated but fiercely creative city of Perth, Australia, P67 have spent the past decade turning personal struggle into connection, and connection into a movement that now has reached metalcore fans across the globe. From their earliest releases, Patient Sixty-Seven stood out for their emotional honesty - songs that didn’t shy away from fear, grief, or self‑doubt, but instead embraced them as part of the human experience. That vulnerability resonated deeply, helping the band build a loyal, engaged, and heartfelt community long before the industry took notice. Fans didn’t just listen; they shared stories, found comfort in the lyrics, and formed bonds with each other that extended far beyond the music. Now, Patient Sixty-Seven are stepping into their most significant chapter yet. In May this year, the band will join Of Mice & Men and Crystal Lake on a major Australian tour - a career‑defining moment that places them alongside some of the most influential names in modern heavy music. It’s a testament to how far they’ve come, and a signal of where they’re headed next. HEAVY caught up with vocalist Tom Kiely to find out more. One of the topics of discussion is how the band approaches major International supports. Do they go out there to warm the crowd up and play a role, or do they attack it with more vigour and go out there with a view to blowing everyone else off stage? "I think for us, we just want to be ourselves," Tom measured. "I think obviously we want to make sure that we bring a high level of energy and intensity, because we know that ultimately our role on the tour is to get the crowd warmed up; to get the crowd moving; to get the crowd excited for the bands that are coming after us. By doing that it leans nicely into what we like to do anyway, which is play with a lot of energy and get the crowd involved. We try to be interactive and try and bring that spark to the stage and after our set's finished, hopefully people are even more excited for the next few bands. Opening is always tricky because you know the crowd's definitely still getting warmed up and maybe not moving as much, so it's our job to shake off any cobwebs people have if they haven't been to a show in a while. We do what we can to get people banging their heads and maybe getting a mosh pit going. We find that a lot of the times once you start talking to the crowd and interacting with them there's a lot of people who are ready to get moving. If we can get a few mosh pits going, that'll be a highlight for sure (laughs)." In the full interview, Tom talked more about the run of shows with Of Mice & Men and Crystal Lake, where they fit in with the line-up, what to expect from their live show and what three songs concert goers can listen to in order to get to know the band before the shows. He also spoke about curating a set list to appeal to fans of the headliners while also playing their strongest material, how far advanced work is on their new album, what direction it is going to take musically and more. Of Mice & Men 2026 Australian Tour Dates With Crystal Lake Tuesday 5th May – PERTH, Magnet House Thursday 7th May – ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory Friday 8th May – MELBOURNE, 170 Russell Saturday 9th May – SYDNEY, Manning Bar Sunday 10th May – BRISBANE, The Triffid Tickets https://thephoenix.au/of-mice-and-men/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 min
APR 2

Ready To Rock With JACOBY SHADDIX From PAPA ROACH

Interview by Kris Peters Australia and New Zealand, big things are coming! In just a matter of days, two musical heavyweights will begin a colossal arena run, with Florida hybrid heavies A DAY TO REMEMBER and California mainstays PAPA ROACH joining forces for the BIG ROCK TOUR, joined by special guests LANDMVRKS. Set to commence on Saturday, April 4 in Perth, A DAY TO REMEMBER and PAPA ROACH will journey the BIG ROCK TOUR through Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane arenas, before closing out in Auckland on Wednesday 15 April. Two-time GRAMMY-nominated and Platinum-selling rockers PAPA ROACH have perfected evolution and raw power over the course of 30 years. Hailing from Vacaville, California and forming back in the early 90s, PAPA ROACH embody resilience in every sense of the word. Teaming up with The Used in 2023 for a double-header Australian run, PAPA ROACH balanced fan-favourites with plenty of surprises for their Aussie fans. And if the walls could talk at any of the countless venues PAPA ROACH have played throughout their careers across the globe, both as the main event and alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers, Limp Bizkit, Eminem and more, the resounding sentiment would be that PAPA ROACH aren't just revered for their longevity; this is a band who can adapt, survive and thrive, brandishing an underdog spirit with prime-time appeal. And they'll be bringing it with spades alongside A DAY TO REMEMBER. HEAVY sat down with frontman Jacoby Shaddix to chat more. "It's gonna be a banger of a tour, man. We're super excited about it," he beamed. "I've been anticipating this one for a minute, so it's great to be here in Australia, and great to be on the Big Rock Tour - I love that name too (laughs)." We ask what has changed with Papa Roach since they were here last with The Used in 2023. "Oh man…" he measured. "A bunch of new music. We've been writing new music and we've got something that we're really excited about. We've been releasing new music and we've had some great successes recently worldwide that are just blowing my mind. We've got this song right now, Wake Up Calling, that's in it's third week at number one in the rock charts in America which is awesome. To be stepping into 2026 and kicking it off here in Australia is going to be amazing. We've got a big year planned ahead of us so there's a lot of good things going on in the P Roach world." Down the track we dive deeper into the history of Papa Roach, touching on the success of their second album Infest and what his initial thoughts of the album were. "It was special to us," he recalled, smiling "I really feel that we thought we had something special, we just didn't know the world was gonna connect with it in such a way that they did. We thought we were gonna put out an album, tour in a van and maybe sell 150, 200 000 records, and that's not what happened (smiles). We put out an album and it was like a rocket ship ride to the top. I didn't know how to handle fame. I didn't know how to handle success, and it was just a very wild time for us. I'll tell you this, we had a lot of great times in that era and a lot of big wins and a lot of big moments. I look back upon that time of my life with a lot of… there were great moments that I was proud of, and then there were moments that I was like 'man, I regret that'. There's no handbook to becoming famous. There were moments that I handled it gracefully, and moments that I just went at it like an idiot." In the full interview, Jacoby talks more about the tour and what to expect, the three bands on the Big Rock Tour and how they compliment each other, the early days of Papa Roach, the success of Infest, sticking to their own path musically, mental health and more. Tickets from www.destroyalllines.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

13 min

All the latest music interviews from the team at HEAVY Magazine. HEAVY interviews the worlds leading rock, punk, metal and beyond musicians in the heavy universe of music. We will upload the latest interviews regularly so before to follow our social accounts and our podcast account on www.speaker.com/user/heavy Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.

Creator

HEAVY Magazine
Years Active

2018 - 2026
Episodes

1K
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© HEAVY 2025
Show Website

HEAVY Music Interviews