Hellyeah
/By Mark Derricutt
It's been almost 8 years since Hellyeah last hit New Zealand shores in support of their then self-titled debut album and now - three albums later and they're coming back to our shores this week
Read MoreDead Letter Circus
/By Poppy Tohill
Dead Letter Circus are the Avengers of the alternative rock scene. With superpowers of all sorts including impeccable basketball skills, their most lethal secret weapon is Jelly-tip biscuits...
For twenty minutes I was victim to this weapon with permission to join the avengers gang as Black-widow while Kim Benzie (Vocalist), Clint Vincent (Guitarist) and I talked music, touring and the band's latest record‘Aesthesis,' which in case you were wondering is pronounced, ‘As-thes-sis' (meaning, no, there's no silent letters in there).
Read MoreYoko-Zuna
/By Ben Doy
This July saw the release of Yoko-Zuna's long awaited debut album 'This Place Here'. The album feature's a who's who of guests, such asDavid Dallas, Rodney Fisher, Bailey Wiley, Melodownz and Spycc.
Read MoreDean Ray
/By Poppy Tohill
Music has always been a considerably big part of Dean Ray's life, but since coming runner up in Australia's sixth season of X Factor, Ray has become a lot busier touring the world and releasing singles such as'Coming Back,' which reached number #5 on the ARIA Singles Chart, followed by the release of his self-titled debut album in November last year, which also debuted at number five on the ARIA Albums Chart and has been certified gold in his home country.
Read MoreLike A Storm
/By Will Brown
Today, Friday July 31st, sees the New Zealand release of Like A Storm's brand new album 'Awaken The Fire'.
Read MoreNew Gum Sarn
/By Wal Reid
New Gum Sarn are relative newcomers to the local scene as vocalist Oscar Dowling & guitarist Durham Fenwick confide ‘they've been playing together for two years', they've also been busy carving out a name for themselves with their animated live shows garnishing word of mouth around the country building anticipation for their just released debut record New Gold Mountain.
Read MoreSymphony X
/By Mark Derricutt
It was many a year ago when I was first introduced to Symphony X,'The Damnation Game' had been out for just over a year with 'The Divine Wings of Tragedy' soon to be released - from those opening riffs and vocals I was hooked, and became an fan for life: here was a progressive metal band with huge melodies, harmonies, riffs and solos galore, but with little or no fanfare about being "music for musicians" - the only problem was I was the only one who had seemingly heard of them - my own little secret.
Read MoreMark Sultan
/By Will Brown
Mark Sultan is returning to New Zealand this week where he'll perform four shows throughout the country -in Dunedin, Queenstown, Wellington and Auckland.
Read MoreCymbol 303 & This Pale Fire
/By Ben Doy
Today (Friday July 24th) sees the release of Auckland producerCymbol 303 (Shivnesh Sumer) and singer/songwriter This Pale Fire(Corban Koschak) collaborative EP The Cycle. Described as EDM meets sensible indie-rock, I sat down for a chat with the duo in the lead up to the release and found out more about this intriguing project.
Read MoreKitty, Daisy & lewis
/By Poppy Tohill
With a new album 'Kitty Daisy & Lewis The Third,' an upcoming New Zealand tour and a busy touring schedule ahead, I caught up with Kitty(of Kitty Daisy & Lewis) for a quick chat about what our favourite London based 'shock n rollers' have been up to recently.
Read MoreTwenty One Pilots
/By Poppy Tohill
During their fleeting visit to New Zealand, I was lucky enough to catch up with the talented Tyler Joseph (vocals, keys) and Josh Dun (drummer) of popular 'Schizoid Pop' duo Twenty One Pilots, just hours ahead of their sold out show at Auckland's Powerstation.
Read MoreVince Harder
/By Wal Reid
Singer/producer Vince Harder is holding a cuppa as I stroll in for the interview. We try to connect the ‘dots' figuring out who we know from our past backgrounds, cackling like a couple of old ladies in a hair salon... well not exactly but you get the drift - the conversation is flowing with no awkward pauses which is good thing especially when approaching an interview as I find out he has a new E.P. ‘Rare Vision' and he's playing tonight currently nursing a sore throat.
Read MoreCosentino the Grand Illusionist
/Cosentino the Grand Illusionist is as cool in real life as the slightly heavy-metal pierced magic fiend portrayed in his tour poster. He has the kind of presence of a youthful Marilyn Manson however his demeanour and personality couldn't be a as far removed, in fact he's very pleasant, it's hard to believe this modern day ‘Houdini' has taken out Dancing With The Stars and was runner up in Australia's Got Talent, so it's not too crazy that maybe one day we get to see him on TV's The Bachelor?
Read MoreInterview: I Am Giant
/By Poppy Tohill
Juggling life in between New Zealand and the UK, finding a new frontman, working on a new EP, judging theX Factor NZ, releasing a brand-spanking new music video for their latest single ‘Kiss From A Ghost,' and preparing for the Australasian ‘Kiss From A Ghost Tour' you could say it has been a busy few months for London based kiwi rockers I Am Giant.
Read MoreHead Like A Hole
/By Clare McCabe
Ah Head Like a Hole. A band we all know and love. But did you know they have a new album out and are about to embark on an NZ tour? Well they are, and recently I caught up with Nigel Regan, one of the original members of HLAH, for a lovely long chat. We covered, amongst many other things: the new album Narcocorrido, what to expect on the upcoming tour, their new(ish) bass player, supporting Aerosmith and that fabulous video for I'm On Fire. We started off reminiscing about previous HLAH videos...
Read MoreRefused
/By Wal Reid
Swedish hardcore band Refused are the most underground band in the world. It's almost like they forgot to conform to mainstream ideals while forging their path since their humble beginnings in Umeå, Sweden. It was the halcyon days the early 90s and the country that spawned hard-core bands by the truck loads.
Read MoreAvalanche City
/By Wal Reid
Avalanche City's Dave Baxter is a one man band, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter has just entered the interview room with cheeky salad in tow, instantly recognisable by his raging manscaped beard and trademark head-covering. The creator of that annoyingly catchy tune Love, Love, Love casually transplants himself down in his chair indicating the start of our interview.
Read MoreTimberwolf
/By Poppy Tohill
"I've had a pretty cruisy day," a cheerful Chris Panousakis (better known by his stage moniker - Timberwolf) happily chimed on the other end of the phone as we launched into a full blown conversation about our mutual love for Netflix, lazy days in bed, noodles and of course - chocolate.
Read MoreGay Paris
/By Poppy Tohill
Birthed in 2009 from the corpse of something that kicked and screamed until it died, the monster rock and rollers that are Gay Parisentered this world running with wolves and howling in the hills. Spending their time loping around the dimmest haunts of the Australian music scene, Gay Paris have shaken of the dust of sleep, flexed their muscles and are now gearing up to release their third studio album, ‘Dark Arts.'
Read More