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all pics by me (@__madstakesphotos__ on ig Aussie pop punk legends stand atlantic have embarked on their godbreath tour (the biggest headliner for them yet) Alongside USA pop punk heavyweights Knuckle puck and Melbourne’s Nightlight. was able to go to their Sydney show at the iconic Enmore theatre on Saturday Night. When I arrived, the line was around the corner, with die hard fans of the band having waited since the morning of the show, all mostly wearing their merch. When

THERE'S A NEW BAND ON THE BLOCK. WELCOME TO SAFEHAVEN. A 5-PIECE COLLECTIVE BUILT ON COHESION, BOTH SONICALLY AND VISUALLY. BUILT ON Y2K FUTURISM AND SOFT CLUB AESTHETICS, IT'S LIKE COMBINING ALL MY FAVORITE GENRES I LISTENED TO IN THE 2000'S TIED INTO ONE. AND YES.... THIS INCLUDES BOY BANDS. “Have you ever seen somebody across the other side of a packed room, and not been able to take your eyes off of them? To the point where you intrusively start thinking about the imagina

By Michala and Steph Our favourite genre-benders, Windwaker, are back with their third studio album, smile, you’re on camera. Their most honest release yet, the album reflects their journey as a band and as individuals since HYPERVIOLENCE. exploring growth, struggles, sacrifice, and navigating a world full of sinister and superficial characters. This review is a 2-for-1 deal! Michala and Steph have teamed up to share their thoughts, giving you two different perspectives on th

2026 has been a big year for post-hardcore and shoegaze adjacent music. Basement's first new album in eight years, Deftones playing arena shows, and From First to Last releasing their first non-single new music in over ten years. All this going on must be inspiring and driving the next generation of bands in the genre. Bands like Adelaide’s Paraphernalia. Paraphernalia by @jaycjgibbs Paraphernalia have been releasing music and playing shows since 2023. We aren’t here to tal

inspired by your favs south arcade, stand atlantic and Neck deep. i bring to you, facelift. the 'new' kids on the block THAT MADE ME CRY, LET ME EXPLAIN... with their new single, 'vertigo' in their own words (and i love this) they're 'still hell-bent on injecting some life back into their local scene' and OH MY FUCKING GOD THEIR RIGHT!!! “What I love about this song is that I started writing the lyrics about some bad habits I was trying to shake, but halfway through I realise

Deathcore fans! Are you a fan of bands such as: Chelsea Grin Carnifex Shadow of Intent Fit for an autopsy to the grave If your answer was yes to any of them, have i got the next song for your deathcore playlist. Featuring alex koehler, formerly from chelsea grin, cultists have just dropped their heavy monstrosity which is 'drop dead'. The song starts out and instantly, we are hit with an eerie intro and straight into a chuggy and heavy riff. The first scream then comes, and t

Sydney pop-rock collective besties have dropped their final EP ever. Yes, after 4 years of releasing anthems and touring alongside legends such as Maggie Lindemann and Teenage Joans, the band have decided to call it a day, this EP acting as a last hurrah. Each track here feels intentional, a serenade and celebration of all they have created in their career. The EP commences with a celebratory goodbye, a “Congrats” to all that the band has achieved over their career, as well

Looking for a brand-new song that sounds right from the ‘Queen of The Damned’ soundtrack? Y’know, the sexy bloody vampire movie from 2002 where Lestat becomes a rockstar? Well look no further because Major Arcana definitely have this one covered with their latest single "Bloom". "Bloom" cover art Major Arcana are a four-piece alt noise metal band originating from the Southern Highlands in NSW. These guys are entirely committed to their DIY roots, with "Bloom" being entirely r

all the way in southern california hosts a mathcore quintet called the arson choir. bringing together nostalgic sounds and modern metal spice, they create this unique sound that is sure to get that arse shaking. you get instantly thrown in. it's chaos from start to finish which ties well with the actual meaning behind the song. There's a thousand terrible things but you will always have time to change it around. i feel like hot and heavy as a platform is kind of built on that

Reinventing heavy music, Adelaide’s MACËY return with a new single ‘FR FR’, pairing gentle lyrics with hardcore breakdowns. The trio are known for experimenting with various sounds and genres, from electronic to shoegaze to metalcore, compiling them to one cohesive yet ever-changing track. Reminiscent of bands such as Ocean Sleeper, the group successfully flow between sounds whilst maintaining a strong image and unique identity in the Aussie scene. FR FR is the leading singl

Liveconformdie are back in a big way with their highly anticipated new EP, “Die in my prime”. Its been a whopping 4 years since the release of its predecessor “Vol ii: music for living failures” and while their absence has most definitely been felt across the local australian heavy music scene, the Perth 5 piece have made great use of the time away refining their signature genre defying sound for this release, masterfully blending metalcore, hardcore, nu metal, deathcore a

What are they putting in the water up in Brisbane? In the last few years some incredible alternative emo bands have been popping off out of Brisbane. Bad Neighbour, Talk Heavy, and Semantics to name a few. Garden Eyes have been working the Brisbane scene for a couple of years now and they seem primed to fucking explode. Garden Eyes shot by Will Johnstone Garden Eyes have (at long last) released their first EP. Selfish Art is an accumulation of releases that Garden Eyes have b

Adelaide's own Donni Heat has released a new single called 'Pull Me Down' paired with one of the coolest music videos i've ever seen. it's giving tron... it's giving ready player one... it's giving the vibe that i am sure as shit everybody would love. the story of the song and the story i get from the video basically is like you're going around is circles, waiting for that final lap and victory on somebody coming back to you cause you know they're the only one who can pull ou

Wake up elder emos, Brisbane based pop-punkers ‘All Hours’ are back with a hot new single ‘Let Me Go’. We love to see a female fronted band coming out of Australia, especially one that pairs heavy breakdowns with poppy y2k choruses, there's something among their discography for everyone. This track preempts their debut album ‘Everything in Between’, after almost 10 years as a band. The track includes distorted vocals, reminiscent of a 2000’s movie score, paired with intense

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and those of you who identify as neither, please take your seats, the show is about to begin. Slothrust have returned. Highly anticipated new album, What They Grow In The Garden, is finally hear via Equal Vision Records and Civilians. Slothrust by levi price Slothrust return for their sixth full length album in fourteen years. Off the back of 2021’s Parallel Timeline, the band spent time working hard on some smaller projects. 2023’s EP

“The more we can look at each other as human beings and treat this world a little bit more fucking kindly, the better this planet will be.” Daniel Winter-Bates On Wednesday 9th September, Melbourne’s Northcote Theatre housed one of the most diverse heavy lineups I’ve attended in a while. From Aussie hip-hop-influenced metal, to the UK’s legendary Bury Tomorrow, the stage truly transformed, fitting the atmosphere of each band. I’d like to give each incredible artist on the bil

photo credit: Ethan white If you're into local live music in Sydney, Or you just love a good emo night- you've probably heard of Last Words. But If you haven't, let me introduce you. Last words is a weekly alternative party run at Bootleggers in Newtown every Saturday with DJs, drink specials and live bands once a month. Last week, last words hosted Diamond Construct, Harroway and Aurateque. From the start of the night the room was full, which is always good to see, lots of t

Over the last month here at Hot & Heavy, there has been one name that has been on the tips of everyone’s tongues and across our keyboards; and that name is Sage. Sage is Melbourne’s reigning queen of bitch-punk, and along with drummer Jareth, the duo have just dropped their debut album ‘Free Brainwashing’. Sage has proven time and time again that she is an absolute force to be reckoned with, and this debut album is a total testament to that fact. Her bandcamp bio describes h

You know those stupid AI SLOP photos of Barbie looking like she just woke up after a 4 day bender. This basically summarizes you after you listen to The Nameless. No matter what situation you're in or what aspect we're talking about. Your AI posters and art look like shit, by the way. Sort yourself out, losers. We wanted to write something that was a bit different to our usual sound, maybe a bit more modern sounding? A bit more groovey and in your face. It's the first track w

thats right, folks! our queen of bitch punk, sage, is back with the final single before the release of the ep 'free brainwashing', which comes out on september 9th. official single artwork the single is titled 'ascendent no more' which is (in her words) 'the surf punk song about feeling like a piece of shit' sign me the fuck up. 'ascendent no more' is a duet (of sorts) with drummer, Jareth jumping on the clean vocals. it starts off with that 80's surf guitar riff that we all