10 QUEENSLAND BANDS YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO
- Kirsty Shepherd
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
one of my favourite things about living in Queensland is the alternative music scene I am lucky enough to be a part of. with so many up
and coming bands following the path of industry giants like the amity affliction, the butterfly effect, powderfinger, regurgitator and violent Soho, it was hard to pick who I should be spotlighting on this list so I have tried my best to mix up genres, plus I will give some honourable mentions at the end, as some bands you should know I have reviewed music or live show and interviewed previously. it only feels fair to talk about bands I have not previously. so let's get into it and hopefully you will find your new favourite local band.
sacred hearts
"Sacred Hearts are a Meanjin/Brisbane, Australia - based act making music that carves a new space in the 21st century for post-punk. Fusing their influences from industrial, riot grrrl, new wave and shoegaze together to create songs for a post modern world. Sacred Hearts focus on highlighting and storytelling from the feminine experience." - via spotify
sacred hearts crashed onto the scene in 2021 with single "glamour girls" and have since released their ep "siren songs" (2024) alongside a plethora of singles "joyride" and "possession" this year.
For fans of: Slowdive, The Cure, Aurora and Emilie autumn
east capri
east capri are an alt-pop metal band from meanjin/Brisbane. EP "wake n repeat" had east capri debuting on the scene in 2021, and have since released their latest album "undone" in May this year. east capri have in the past unleashed several renditions of the same song, including remixed and slowed versions of their tracks.
For fans of: Bad Omens, Falling In Reverse, Bring Me The Horizon and Dayseeker
we set signals
we set signals is a rock band from meanjin/brisbane. wss debuted in 2014 with full length album "Polaris". they have since released albums "Abandon Ship" (2018), "abandon hope" (2018) and "Ordo" (2020) along with several singles, including 2025 release "That's so true".
For fans of: A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon, I Prevail and you me at six
krave
meanjin/Brisbane melodic indie metal band krave debuted with their single "Running" (2019). Krave has since released EPs "Self Exposed" (2021), "inner asylum" (2021) and "only human" (2024).
For fans of: Halestorm, Flyleaf, My Chemical Romance and the pretty reckless
atlas and the attic
meanjin/Brisbane emo-pop punk band atlas and the attic have been releasing since their debut single "mountains" in 2017. a.a.t.a have since released EPs "Atlas and the Attic" (2019), "impossible stories" (2021)
You can find atlas and the attic on: spotify, apple music, facebook, instagram, youtube, x and tiktok
For fans of: Turnstile, The Comfort, Hot Mulligan and the story so far
alterjoy
Gold Coast experimental electronic rock act Alterjoy debuted onto the scene in 2023 with the single "This is real". 2024 saw the release of full album "reanimate", followed by most recent singles (The Used cover) "I caught fire", "Worms" and "Gold plated hurt" throughout 2025.
For fans of: enter shikari, bilmuri, the used and ghostmane
call the mourning
Brisbane four piece call the Mourning (formerly known as lunchtime) hit the ground running with their metalcore-punk infusion in 2023 with their single "Attention" followed by debut EP "pain makes it pure" in October 2025.
For fans of: bring me the horizon, make them suffer and Alanis morissette
violent conflict
while Brisbane Metalcore-Hardcore band Violent Conflict only have five singles to their name, ranging from 2021 (state of mind) to (Venom) 2025, each song is a banger and you need to jump onto them.
For fans of: Alpha Wolf, Architects, Northlane and Gravemind
ahles
If progressive metal is your jam, ahles is for you. Ahles has one album to their name "between dreams and the waking world" released in July 2025. with 20+ years of musical experience under their belt, you know you are in for a treat.
You can find ahles on: spotify, apple music, facebook, instagram and youtube
defiant ground
Gold Coast Hardcore band defiant ground debuted onto the scene in 2024 with their EP "Demo '24" and have since added the full length albums 'have hope' (2025) to their discography.
For fans of: Comeback kid, Bane, Have Heart and terror
honourable mentions: total BuzzKill, war bear, roronoah, dEATHPROOF, zukø, we the hollow, insect, diskust, pyrokensis, torizon, same pains, Headwreck
Who is your favourite Queensland band that you think everyone needs to know about?
