[Gig Review] TESTAMENT w/ HIDDEN INTENT @ Northcote Theatre, Melb (AU), 21.06.25.
Eleven long, thrash-gig-filled years of our lives. And yet, Testament nonchalantly pop in from across the pond and, alongside local thrash-units Hidden Intent, completely lay waste to everyone since @ Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (AU) on Saturday, 21st June. Care of The Phoenix.au, Metropolis Touring NT staff, touring crew, and Richie Black Photography. Cheers.
[Podcast] Ep. 49: [Interview] w/ JOEY SCOTT & JAMES TAYLOR of Sydney Death-Metal Crew ANOXIA.
Accelerating through the tiers of the Australian/Sydney extreme metal scene faster than a cheetah with a chili pepper wedged up its’ backside, are old-school/technical death metallers Anoxia. I caught Joey Scott (Vocals) and James Taylor (Bass) for a comprehensive chat around their recent tour with Atheist, thoughts on making it in the current music-industry climate, songwriting, future plans and more - including an upcoming tour with Krisiun! Do we have the links and info for that too?! Yeah, baby!
[Heavy News] PARADISE LOST Announce ‘ASCENSION’ LP Out SEP 19th; First Single 'Silence Like The Grave' Streaming Now
It’s shaping up to be a very busy week for today’s #MusicMondays / Heavy News features. Of the lucky few making the cut for today are gothic-doom icons Paradise Lost. These venerable stalwarts are slated to release 17th LP Ascension 19/09/25 via Nuclear Blast. Check link for preorder, full album details, video/stream links for first single ‘Silence Like The Grave’ and much more.
[Podcast] Ep. 48: Interview With ERIC PETERSON, Guitarist of US OG Thrashers TESTAMENT.
Kicking off Music Mondays in style, we were joined this morning by none other than Eric Peterson, longstanding member and guitarist of thrash-metal titans Testament! With the Australian tour kicking off in just a couple of weeks, we discussed Eric’s thoughts on heading to our sunburnt land again, plus a whole lot more. Ticket links and other tour info also contained within. Thrash on!
[Heavy News] Mayday! Mayday! Five Riff-Bombers on #MusicMonday!
No flak or anti-air needed here. This is a most welcome raid upon our cochleas! First of a few May release-roundups we’ll be doing features a Swedish psych-doom delve (Cavern Deep), a Milwaukee (US) man’s Liminal Spirit, a tango with Belgique sludge-monsters (Growing Horns), chopping frenzied Californian tech-death (Ominous Ruin) and ensuring not to pass the black metal post in Romania (Genune)! Open those hatches, bombs away.
[Gig Review] RAGNAROK FESTIVAL (20th Anniversary), Lichtenfels (GER), 24.04 -26.04.2025.
Fellow ISC staffer and metal-maniac, Dean Underhill, was asked to enjoy some respite on his sojourn to Europe from Australia. Turns out, Dean’s interpretation of respite is sending in a gargantuan recollection of his experiences at Ragnarok Festival 2025, i.e. the 20th anniversary of this glorious and esteemed Euro-fest! Review includes, damn, nearly the entire lineup - artist links and live footage also included!
[Heavy News] #MusicMonday 12.05.25 - 8 Gr8’s, M8!
It’s Monday, ugh. But that means it’s also Music Mondays-time here at ISC mate, that’s great! To celebrate, we have Heavy News to a total of eight. Don’t be late, or even hesitate! Featuring: Skaphos (FR), Metal Charm (TUR), Labyrinthus Stellarum (UKR), Master Charger (UK), Executionist (US), EchoSoul (US), Greengoat (SPN) and All Against (POR)!
[GIG REVIEW] From The Archive: DIRECT UNDERGROUND FEST, Max Watt’s Melb (AU) 07.09.2019.
First of several Music Mondays articles for this week is a prior review exhumed from the Overdrive Music Magazine archive (many thanks to Seb Graham for consent to do so)! It also appeared on our own now-defunct website, but it’s back again! Necromancy! Speaking of, check out Brady’s review of Direct Underground Fest 2019 - feat. Dark Funeral, Immolation, Reaper, Abramelin and Christ Dismembered. Blastbeats are eternal.
[Riffs] New Series - ‘Gallery Of Brewicide’ I: CONAN/PALLBEARER 12.03.25.
I’m a man of few talents as podcast host/blog chief here at ISC. But two I can certainly point to - bad music puns and new thematic series! Presenting the first Gallery of Brewicide, featuring some preamble words of support for music photographers out there, plus additional pics from our prior Conan/Pallbearer headline gig review, courtesy of Blackened Lights Photography/ Richie Black Photography !
[Podcast] EP. 42: Interview with NAMELESS, a.k.a. DENNIS MIKULA of GHOST BATH.
Atmospheric black metal (aka blackgaze, post-black metal) has experienced rapid growth - to the point of oversaturation. One artist who retains a strongly unique musical aesthetic is, of course Nameless (aka Dennis Mikula) of US black metal unit Ghost Bath. See link for Youtube video interview, audio-only version, recent singles, artist/album preorder links, an extensive artist release statement and more!
Featured Image: via Ghost Bath’s official Facebook profile.
[Review] TRIA PRIMA - ‘Three Primes of Alchemy’ EP
The lost arts of alchemy foretold the ability to meld metal, matter, elements and more in a carefully-prepared concoction. We can say much the same of Ukraine’s Tria Prima, whose Three Primes of Alchemy EP is combed over by fellow ISC staffer and honestly-probably-a-wizard-IRL, Dean. Check out the review, with further artist/album links available as well! Slava Ukraini.
[Archive Review] Brian Campeau - ‘Old Dog, New Tricks’ LP (19.07.18)
Reposted from the sadly now-defunct Overdrive Music Magazine, with permission from owner Sebastian Graham. Check out ISC staffer Hamza’s prior review from 2018 of an interesting fork from our usual - Australian folk/indie acoustic singer-songwriter Brian Campeau’s 2018 LP Old Dogs, New Tricks! Link also contains artist/label socials, as well as a little intro preamble from your host, Brady. More treasures from the vault to be posted across 2025! Thanks again to label Art as Catharsis.
[Heavy News] #MusicMonday New Release Roundup, 07.04.25.
Another week, another bunch of great releases you’ll no longer have to wait for! In this Music Mondays article, you’ll find a wide selection of musical treats, links, singles, album/merch order links and more for: Thornhill - Bodies, Messiah Paratroops - Legions of Tomorrow, Luna Kills - Deathmatch, Godless - Genesis of Decay EP and Chiaroscuro - Self-Titled. Everything from alt-rock, post-hardcore and old-school death metal, and then some. Eat up!
[Review] INDUSTRIAL PUKE - ‘Alive To No Avail’ LP.
What a timely little slice of Swedish death metal/crust/hardcore from Industrial Puke, eh? Having recently covered Svenska crust/d-beat on the Musolegion blog, these mind-readers provide an up-to-date addition to the crust-canon with the relentless, fun LP in Alive To No Avail. Check the link for full album review, single/album stream links, artist/label details and more! Get your grime on.
[#MusicMondays] 24.03.25: Release Round-Up
Why stop at one band when you can have a whole bunch? Why also wait for albums impatiently when we can serve you up a nice platter of progressive/experimental metal (Dissocia), Italian stoner/sludge/hard rock (Drunken Crocodiles), hook-laden rock from Michigan, US (Pop Evil) and Australian-baked blackened sludge-doom (Ghostsmoker)? Do away with such questions by clicking the link!
[Heavy News] Avant-garde Death/Black Band FELGRAVE Premiere New Song at No Clean Singing.
M.J Lupe, otherwise known in this auspice as Felgrave, has unleashed an absolute monster of dizzying, crushing avant-garde death/black metal with release of the 18-minute beast that is title track from upcoming LP Otherlike Darkness, out April 25th. A crushing sample of extreme metal’s exploratory periphery, you can check full details of the album, preorder link, artist links and more alongside the music video in this post!
[Heavy News] SABATON Animated Film “THE WAR TO END ALL WARS - THE MOVIE” Now Available On Major Video Streaming Platforms!
For Heavy News on Music Monday at ISC, something completely different! Swedish metallers Sabaton have launched an epic initiative in the upcoming release of animated historical film The War To End All Wars. This 67-minute-long animated musical motion picture takes viewers on a captivating journey through the harrowing and heroic stories of World War 1, aka The Great War.
[Heavy News] Australian Modern-Jazz Outfit COAST Return With New Album; New Single ‘Ember’ Out Now
[Heavy News] - Art as Catharsis just recently announced COAST’s upcoming third album, Ember - a highly anticipated return to form from one of Australia’s most daring jazz acts. To celebrate, peep the link for streaming link and direct .mp3 download link for title track, pre-order links, additional album/artist info and links, as well as where to find AaC online. Smooth and breezy.
[Heavy News] 2nd LP ‘Erasure Of Color’ From Boston Prog/Death Metallers AVERSED Out Now!
Heavy News: Having sourced a full line-up, Boston-based progressive death-metal unit Aversed have launched back onto the metal scene with 2nd LP Erasure of Color. Check the link for album order link, artist bio/links, latest single 'Lucid Decapition’ and more!
[Music Mondays] St Patrick’s Day, 2025 Edition.
Whilst a lot of Australians utilise St Patrick’s Day as a cheap excuse to spend too much on Guinness we pretend to like on a weeknight, I thought I’d stay in and celebrate in a different way. Tonight, join me on a brief historical/cultural sojourn through the Emerald Isle, traipsing back from the Gaelic/Celtic folk-musical roots of the nation, through to some seriously heavy Irish contenders. Good craic for your ears.