Jai That Aussie Metal Guy

13/05/2026

G’day legends, Jai That Aussie Metal Guy here with Crannk.

Khemmis have dropped “Beneath The Scythe” and bloody hell, this one has everything I love about this band. Huge riffs, soaring melody, massive drums, a haunting bass moment, and that classic heavy metal spirit running right through it.

The new self titled album lands June 12 through Nuclear Blast Records, and from what we are hearing so far, Khemmis sound fired up, focused, and fully locked into what makes heavy music feel so powerful.

Have a read over on Crannk:
https://crannk.com/khemmis-beneath-the-scythe-self-titled-album/

KHEMMIS return with Beneath The Scythe, the latest single from their self titled album out June 12 via Nuclear Blast Records.

12/05/2026

G’day legends, this one was an absolute blast.

I caught up with Markus “Daddy Ghoul” Laakso from Finland’s The Ghoulstars to chat all about their debut album The Dark Overlords of the Universe, releasing May 15th via Season of Mist.

This album is a full blown horror punk, metal, VHS soaked, B movie monster ride full of riffs, big choruses, cult cinema madness and some seriously fun heavy music.

In the chat, Markus dives into growing up with Kiss, W.A.S.P., Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe and The Misfits, hunting down uncensored horror VHS tapes in Finland, the Venom inspired spark that kicked The Ghoulstars into life, shooting the “Too Ghoul for School” video at his old high school, using Alexi Laiho’s former Cadillac in the clip, working with V. Santura of Triptykon, and building the whole Ghoulstars universe.

Crannk this one loud, legends.

Watch the interview:
https://youtu.be/8uhv9pv5aBI

Read the full Crannk feature:
https://crannk.com/the-ghoulstars-dark-overlords-universe-interview/

Pre order and pre save The Dark Overlords of the Universe:
https://orcd.co/theghoulstarsdarkoverlords

G’day legends, Jai That Aussie Metal Guy here from Crannk, and in this interview I catch up with Markus “Daddy Ghoul” Laakso from Finland’s The Ghoulstars.Th...

09/05/2026

G’day legends, my full interview with the absolute powerhouse Dez Fafara of DevilDriver and Coal Chamber is up now on Crannk.

We chat about DEVILDRIVER heading back to Australia this July alongside the mighty Cradle Of Filth, why this tour pairing works so well, the new single “Dig Your Own Grave”, and the forthcoming album Strike and Kill, landing July 10 through Na**lm Records.

Dez also gets into the energy around the current DEVILDRIVER lineup, bringing original bassist Jon Miller back into the fold, the punk rock feel behind the new album artwork, and why fans should not sleep on this Australian tour.

Watch the full interview:
https://youtu.be/veREt7eIuIA?si=IR-Ztkv3eaHqMBt2

Read the full Crannk feature:
https://crannk.com/devildriver-dez-fafara-cradle-of-filth-australian-tour-strike-and-kill/

DEVILDRIVER and Cradle Of Filth hit Australia this July for full headline sets Presented By ThePhoenix.AU & Metropolis Touring

Thursday July 9
Brisbane, The Tivoli

Friday July 10
Sydney, The Enmore

Saturday July 11
Melbourne, The Forum

Tuesday July 14
Adelaide, Hindley St Music Hall

Thursday July 16
Perth, The Astor

Tickets:
https://thephoenix.au/cradle-of-filth-and-devildriver/

https://metropolistouring.com/cradle-of-filth-and-devildriver/

G’day legends, Jai That Aussie Metal Guy here with Crannk.com, and in this interview I catch up with the powerhouse that is Dez Fafara of DEVILDRIVER and Coa...

27/03/2026

Had an absolute killer catch up with Steffen Kummerer from Obscura ahead of their return down under for Shred Fest 2026 🤘

We chatted about:

⚡ Touring the new album A Sonication
⚡ Bringing Shred Fest across Australia & New Zealand
⚡ The importance of supporting underground bands
⚡ The 24 year journey of Obscura

This run is going to be massive with Fallujah, plus Aussie heavy hitters Ashen and Anoxia joining the bill.

I love what Steffen said about this tour:

"From first to last band it's a full evening of death metal and shred."

So get there early, support every band and make a night of it.

📖 Full feature on Crannk
https://crannk.com/obscura-shred-fest-australia-2026-interview/

🎥 Full video interview
https://youtu.be/meqXvrOLLQU

🎟 Grab tickets
https://www.shredfest.net/

Who’s heading along to this one?

German progressive technical death metal masters Obscura are heading back down under for Shred Fest 2026, bringing an incredible lineup featuring Fallujah, A...

27/03/2026

Just dropped my chat with Dani Filth from Cradle of Filth 🔥

Australia — this July is going to be HUGE. Full headline sets + biggest production they’ve ever brought here.

🎥 https://youtu.be/01udjUJsHbw?si=MzszxkfGcIaUUZT-

📰 https://crannk.com/cradle-of-filth-devildriver-australia-tour-2026/

Presented by The Phoenix AU

🎟️ Tickets:
https://thephoenix.au/cradle-of-filth-and-devildriver/

Cradle of Filth and DevilDriver bring their massive co-headline tour to Australia in July 2026, featuring the biggest Cradle production ever seen down under.

27/03/2026

G’day legends 🤘

I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Jack Owen from Six Feet Under to dive deep into their brand new album Next To Die, dropping April 24 through Metal Blade Records.

We get right into it — the Death vs Groove concept, the writing process, riff building, production, and the stories behind some of the tracks on the record. This one was a killer chat and the album is an absolute ripper.

🎥 Watch the full interview here:
https://youtu.be/9r_lhYeChBw

📰 Read the full feature on Crannk:
https://crannk.com/six-feet-under-next-to-die-interview-jack-owen/

Make sure you check out Next To Die when it drops April 24

Six Feet Under guitarist Jack Owen breaks down the new album Next To Die, exploring the Death vs Groove concept, writing process, and what fans can expect from the band’s 15th release.

15/11/2025

Phantom : : Phoenix is now aVailable on all streaming platforms.

So much has gone into the release of this album and we’re incredibly relieved to finally be sharing it with you. There are so many people that we would like to thank for helping us get to this point…Our label Nuclear Blast Records for sticking with us for another endeavor and helping us to share the vision for this record the way it was intended. To our A&R rep Monte Conner for continuing to believe in what we do and always being an advocate for our music. To our longtime friend and collaborator Jamie King for helping us to take our rats nest demos and bringing them to life in the best way possible. To our newfound brother and parter Chris Collier for showing us a new side of our sound and taking us to a whole new level sonically. Thank you to Eloy Moralas for completely blowing us away with his talent and vision for what the cover of this album could be. To our friend Pedro Muniz for always helping us bring the layout and aesthetic of every single record to life. Also, special thank you to our forever brother Erez Bader for always helping us to take our songs to the screen and visualize a new possibility for how they can be presented. Lastly, we want to thank all our families and friends for always giving us the courage and opportunity to continue to make music and follow our dreams.

To our listeners…the reason this day is special is because now we can share this music with all of you. Thank you for your continued support and the love you have shown us wherever we are. It truly means the world and we love you for it.

Thank you for listening.

V

15/11/2025

Hallucinating Anxiety is finally coming back out on all formats! Preorders here:

https://listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/hallucinating-anxiety

15/11/2025

Tour Announcement📢 Renowned for their mind-bending live performances, Prog/Metalcore pioneers 🔥BORN OF OSIRIS🔥 return after a 6 year absence, bringing Deathcore legends and breakdown merchants, 🐝SIGNS OF THE SWARM🐝 with them! Details at https://thephoenix.au

29/10/2025

G'day legends! 🤘
Had an incredible chat with Ben Beddick and Jesse Olsen from Stellar Circuits about their absolutely massive new album Phantom :: Phoenix, dropping November 14th via Nuclear Blast Records.

We got deep into the creative process, the balance between chaos and calm, and the powerful themes of death, loss, and rebirth that run through this cinematic record. These guys have really delivered something special here.

🎥 Watch the full interview now on YouTube:
👉 https://youtu.be/7IH5TH-1854?si=FVbf3NVZ7TEYKsiu

📰 Read the full feature at Crannk.com:
👉 https://crannk.com/stellar-circuits-on-phantom-phoenix-rebirth-fire-and-finding-strength-through-sound/

🔥 Pre-order Phantom :: Phoenix here:
👉 https://sc.bfan.link/phantom-phoenix

G’day legends! Jai That Aussie Metal Guy here for Crannk.com — in this episode I catch up with Ben Beddick & Jesse Olsen from Stellar Circuits to dive deep i...