![[Interview] with MARK PALFREYMAN of Melbourne’s ALARUM.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1736152351338-UIL5DK5Q6Y8D3EZI84AM/alarum2-1.jpg)
[Interview] with MARK PALFREYMAN of Melbourne’s ALARUM.
Featured Image: IG: @samuel_phillips_photography. Ah, Alarum. A band decades into a career of constant innovation, but always anchored to a frantic and colourful blend of jazz-fusion, prog and death metal. I caught up once more with bassist/vocalist Mark Palfreyman to talk everything ranging from recording process/response/background of latest LP Recontinue to longevity, touring, the local scene, inspiration and more!
![[Podcast] Ep. 38: Interview with DAN MACHUCA, a.k.a. Dan The Game Master.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742369671267-GLG5MEFTROAJRDBM1FI8/danpic.jpg)
[Podcast] Ep. 38: Interview with DAN MACHUCA, a.k.a. Dan The Game Master.
Local educator, TTRPG game master, game therapist and all-around good freaking bloke Dan Machuca (aka Dan The Game Master) has the distinct honour of being our first industry professional interviewed in video/audio format! In this episode, Dan and I discuss his efforts merging hobby passion with education via his rules-lite/accessible TTRPG, regular game sessions for at-risk youth in Melbourne, his teaching work, men’s mental health, favourite RPG systems, work-life balance, and more!
![[Heavy News] MALEVOLENCE Announce New Album WHERE ONLY THE TRUTH IS SPOKEN + Release Music Video For 'If It's All The Same To You'.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742356431661-LU4WQFZZ479WHCGAVV8R/malevolencecover.jpg)
[Heavy News] MALEVOLENCE Announce New Album WHERE ONLY THE TRUTH IS SPOKEN + Release Music Video For 'If It's All The Same To You'.
[Heavy News, 19.03.25]: Steel City beatdown-lords Malevolence have only gone from strength to strength recently. To prove their mettle, you can check out both details, pre-order/pre-save links etc for Where Only The Truth is Spoken LP, music video/stream links for singles ‘If It’s All The Same To You’ & ‘Trenches’ - and even go catch them live [recommended!] during their massive Australian national tour. Ticket links inside!
![[Heavy News] Jazzgrind band BYONOISEGENERATOR come up with hugely-awaited new album ‘SUBNORMAL DIVES’!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742276980823-ZAF7WKNV8TZICYGMYTOM/Screenshot+2025-03-18+131532.png)
[Heavy News] Jazzgrind band BYONOISEGENERATOR come up with hugely-awaited new album ‘SUBNORMAL DIVES’!
[Heavy News] Transcending Obscurity Records reinforce the diversity of their extreme metal roster with this fantastically-bizarre (conceptually, visually and musically!) release in Subnormal Dives by jazz/math-death-grinders BYONOISEGENERATOR. With some stellar artwork by Dmitry Rogatnev, you can also find links to new singles, album preorder, artist links, album into and more right here!
![[Music Mondays] St Patrick’s Day, 2025 Edition.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742212318809-D2GTJJWQCKJOAL3JG6BP/the-leprechaun--an-irish-legend.jpg)
[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.
![[Heavy News] NY Act TOWER Announce Heaviest Album Yet In ‘LET THERE BE DARK’, Out April 11th.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742195873874-JBOCH18PGEV52BT3GS2N/331847.jpg)
[Heavy News] NY Act TOWER Announce Heaviest Album Yet In ‘LET THERE BE DARK’, Out April 11th.
Ah. Nothing warms my frozen metal heart on a cold Music Monday like some Heavy News that an act is planning to make things even more metal! And, judging from latest single ‘Under The Chapel’ released alongside news of NY (US) act Tower’s descent into metal darkness with latest LP ‘Let There Be Dark’. Check out the link for album preorder/artist links, latest music video, album details and more!
![[Heavy News] SLEEP TOKEN Ascends : Announces New LP ‘EVEN IN ARCADIA’ + New Offering ‘EMERGENCE’.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742192364967-U1IKKKIZGDAP19ZNY6T3/sleeptokenimage1.jpg)
[Heavy News] SLEEP TOKEN Ascends : Announces New LP ‘EVEN IN ARCADIA’ + New Offering ‘EMERGENCE’.
[ Heavy News / Music Monday ]: Sleep Token returns with Even In Arcadia, their fourth offering and first under RCA Records / Sony Music Australia, set to release on May 9th, shortly followed by their Saturday headline slot at Download Festival, on June 13th. Check out the link for album preorder, ‘Emergence’ single streaming/,music video link, track list, artist/album details and more!
![[Heavy News] FLESHSPOIL's 'The Beginning of the End' LP Releases March 28th.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742190645373-P34XWCA0LQDIXRRI2YV0/912390.jpg)
[Heavy News] FLESHSPOIL's 'The Beginning of the End' LP Releases March 28th.
Troy (NY) - A new force in Blackened Death Metal has emerged to lay waste to 2025! FLESHSPOIL, featuring veteran players from Arsis, The Final Sleep, and Illucinus, will release full-length debut album, The Beginning of the End, March 28 on digital format! For more info, as well as Bandcamp artist link/album preorder, check out our Heavy News coverage right here on the ISC blog for Music Mondays.
![[Riff] My Time with The Lord of the Rings, or Why I Struggle with Tolkien](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742134756030-NEVMKR9XA00TRL041LAG/image_2025-03-17_011916552.png)
[Riff] My Time with The Lord of the Rings, or Why I Struggle with Tolkien
In exploring his own thoughts and feelings with the universe of all thinks Tolkein/Lord of the Rings, Hamza takes us on his own developmental journey through the world of literary and media analysis of the LOTR-verse. From audiobooks, the original Hobbit and three-part series trilogy, through to gaming titles, Peter Jackson’s films and more, this is a comprehensive and fun run through the lore, series and canon.
![[Heavy News] Wake Up, Honey - It’s Raining Good Music! A Sunday Round-Up, 16.03.2025.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742106600114-3X0PWZF3A9CUEXRGS4YK/480272220_1045572240948497_6254525819647807866_n.jpg)
[Heavy News] Wake Up, Honey - It’s Raining Good Music! A Sunday Round-Up, 16.03.2025.
Keeping up with the latest in music releases can be hard, get it. That’s why we’ve decided to wrassle on out and head into the international wilds to bring you back a whole herd of fantastic heavy/alternative music releases in one round-up! Album/artist info, links, album streams and more for many tastes - from Romanian black metal to French guitar virtuosity, through to German stoner metal, there’s something for all!
![[Album Review] SPOILED - ‘Collapse’ LP.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742101987442-QK4J8RTZ8WKGCKHJMZ8O/spoiledband.jpg)
[Album Review] SPOILED - ‘Collapse’ LP.
Tearing out of the blocks like a drunken cop-chase on a scooter through the intersections and alleyways of Rome, Italian crossover-thrash unit Spoiled deliver a decidedly Americanised and fun blend of punk, hardcore and retro-revival thrash. And it’s as fun as it is snark-riddled and bruising. Check out the link for our review of latest LP Collapse, full album stream, artist media/links and more!
![[Album Review] SANDS - Sands](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742042662148-XJKV7GVOTIPRQCOGJLA5/a0763238959_10.jpg)
[Album Review] SANDS - Sands
Our esteemed writer Hamza has once more delved into the post-rock/metal depths of the Melbourne underground, and reached for aural pearls. This time, he’s fished up the self-titled act by Australian progressive math-rock/sludge act SANDS, examining the treasures contained within their self-titled LP. You can find artist Bandcamp/LP order and socials links within as well - dive in!
![[Review] NOTHING - ‘The Self-Repair Manifesto’ LP.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1742019191534-01KRQKK7T0WOK8GKV92D/nothing+band+photo.png)
[Review] NOTHING - ‘The Self-Repair Manifesto’ LP.
Never deny the crushing, expansive sonic potential of a three-piece. Perfectly exemplary of this, Melbourne’s progressive/ brutal death-metal purveyors NOTHING are set to release their debut LP The Self-Repair Manifesto on March 26th. Ahead of time, ISC writer Dean has provided an in-depth, track-by-track analysis of this local extreme outfits’ savage experimentation. Check the link for the review, album preorder links, artist website/socials, LP singles and more!
![[ALBUM REVIEW] COHEED AND CAMBRIA - ‘The Father of Make Believe’ LP.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741948982319-I28ID8YDDXHSWRO3D263/COHEED+AND+CAMBRIA+THE+FATHER+OF+MAKE+BELIEVE.jpg)
[ALBUM REVIEW] COHEED AND CAMBRIA - ‘The Father of Make Believe’ LP.
Come for the music and the melody, stay for the beauty and the poetry. Coheed and Cambria release their eleventh studio album–The Father Of Make Believe upon our ears, and my word, it's worth the lengthy listen.
![[#TabletopThursdays] Doom-Metal Edition Feat: Isla Bell Charity Fund Drive, RPG News and Doom-Metal.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741865082296-7LPRMQSWZNXLO2MYG437/islabelle.jpg)
[#TabletopThursdays] Doom-Metal Edition Feat: Isla Bell Charity Fund Drive, RPG News and Doom-Metal.
A very special, sonically heavy-as-hell edition of Tabletop Thursday this week! Sure, we take a stroll through numerous latest news items, latest ISC happenings in the TTRPG domain, I natter at you about listening to more doom-metal. But we have a special focus today, centred around a fantastic charitable campaign for the Isla Bell Charitable Fund, via The RPG Cooperative of Victoria. Want rare, cool books for cheap and social praxis at the same time? Get in here! Just bring earplugs. It’ll be loud.
![[Gig Review] PALLBEARER Feat: CONAN/MAMMON’s THRONE/ GHOSTSMOKER @ Max Watt’s Melbourne, 12.03.25.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741928810504-R6I6LTRFNLI21IB7LAQN/Conan+-+Max+Watts+120325-19.jpg)
[Gig Review] PALLBEARER Feat: CONAN/MAMMON’s THRONE/ GHOSTSMOKER @ Max Watt’s Melbourne, 12.03.25.
What an Earth-shattering night. A true spectacle of the full aural gamut available via the trade of doom mercantile trade, Brady and photographer Richie Black were lucky enough to witness a cosmic, tectonic performance at Max Watt’s, Melbourne (AU) on Wed, 12th March. Check the link for stellar photography, reviews of the full performance by Ghostsmoker, Mammon’s Throne, Conan and Pallbearer, as well as all related artist links, tour info and more!
![[Podcast] Ep. 37: Interview with Jeff Sahyoun of LETLIVE. Ahead of 2025 Australian Tour!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741828791993-QJSHOV98OVLMO0YAVL1Z/letlive.jpg)
[Podcast] Ep. 37: Interview with Jeff Sahyoun of LETLIVE. Ahead of 2025 Australian Tour!
What an incredible opportunity this morning, to have a chance to speak with Jeff Sahyoung, guitarist of the seemingly-undefeatable post-harcore/soul-punk heroes letlive.! Check out the link for video interview/audio-only streams plus tour dates, ticket links and more. You do not want to miss this gig, Australia - these guys know how to put on an energetic and impassioned live show, and we have our chance to respond in kind!
![[Dicey News] ISC TTRPG Content Update + Catalyst Kickstarters, Adepticon & More!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741673488606-LJ8OB67NR1AAF69MXMUN/kodiakmech.jpg)
[Dicey News] ISC TTRPG Content Update + Catalyst Kickstarters, Adepticon & More!
Featured Image: Catalyst Gaming Labs’ official blog. We’ve got a preamble before our Dicey News segment today, explaining some of the past and future directions where podcast-related TTRPG/gaming content is concerned. Then, we dive into a whole heap of CGL news - their upcoming launch of Battletech: Mercenaries & relevant Adepticon events, newly released Battletech and Shadowrun fiction, partnerships with 11bit Games and Quincy’s Tavern, plus heaps more! Engage those PPC eyes this way, mech-commander.
![[Podcast] Ep. 36: Interview with Nathan Brunning & Ben Astbury of Melbourne's GHOSTSMOKER.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741597379678-SJVH8DY4Q307PYS2W5FB/ghostsmokerband2.jpg)
[Podcast] Ep. 36: Interview with Nathan Brunning & Ben Astbury of Melbourne's GHOSTSMOKER.
Another fantastic interview in the chamber! Nathan (Vocals/Lyrics) and Ben (Guitars) of fast-rising acclaimed Melburnian doom/sludge unit Ghostsmoker are set to unleash devastation on the metal masses with the upcoming release of the brutal Inertia Cult LP, via Art as Catharsis. Check the link for: video interview, podcast audio-only version, tour dates, singles links, album preorder links, artist/label links and more!
![[Heavy News] INDUSTRIAL PUKE Set To Unleash Swedish Crust/Death Metal Carnage With ‘Alive To No Avail’ LP!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67738900deaf1a5f243892aa/1741660107819-C9REN9UKKCKE3SWI0KEG/industrialpukeband.jpg)
[Heavy News] INDUSTRIAL PUKE Set To Unleash Swedish Crust/Death Metal Carnage With ‘Alive To No Avail’ LP!
Heavy News: Vomiting forth from the northern climes of Sweden, death metal juggernaught Industrial Puke are set to erupt on the scene via Suicide Records with the gnashing LP Alive To No Avail. Hearkening everything from Napalm Death and Skitsystem to Slayer and Entombed, you can check new single ‘Hoax Mongers’, album details, order link and more right here!