Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ Jack McEwan: “It’s the clean tone that really defines what a great guitar sounds like” By Ellie Robinson published 10 March 21 For their ambitious fourth album, the Perthian psych-lords in PPC get louder and rowdier than ever before
The six-string origins of DZ Deathrays By Ellie Robinson published 8 March 21 As DZ Deathrays gear up to make some budding shredders' dreams come true, we look back on their own L-plater days
Orianthi: "I wanted to really mess with my sounds and try new stuff" By Ellie Robinson published 4 March 21 On her first solo album in over six years, Orianthi taps into a wicked world of new inspiration.
Plini: "I’m really happy with everything on this record, which I don’t think has ever happened before" By Ellie Robinson published 1 March 21 Ironically, very little of the material on Impulse Voices – the long-awaited second album from scene-leading prog-rocker Plini – came from impulse. Instead a result of long, introspective stretches of time off-tour, the album shows a whole new side of the Sydney-based instrumentalist.
Amahiru’s Saki: “It was so fun to work with Frédéric Leclercq and we both had a lot of ideas, so we decided to make Amahiru its own project” By Ellie Robinson published 25 February 21 What happens when you pair an icon of European metal with the undefeated queen of Japanese post-rock? You get Amahiru: one of the most jaw-droppingly badass bands in the world right now.
Architects’ Adam Christianson: “We wanted to start fresh and try some new things” By Ellie Robinson published 23 February 21 The metalcore gods must be feeling mighty generous this year, kicking it off with a fresh and fiery new epic from the luminous legends in Architects.
Julien Baker: “Nothing about it is really haphazard – even the stuff that sounds intentionally lo-fi, or minimalist, is actually very calculated” By Ellie Robinson published 22 February 21 The new year has only just begun, but if 2021 has up its sleeves an indie-rock album more emphatic or ethereal than Julien Baker’s latest, we’ll eat our damn hats.
You Me At Six’s Max Helyer: “The best way to describe how I write a song is that I look at it as though I’m a painter” By Ellie Robinson published 16 February 21 A molotov cocktail of rock and pop set to ignite the scene like never before, the latest effort from You Me At Six is easily their most ambitious, if not their outright best.
Tash Sultana: "I wrote an album that coincided with the realisations I was having within myself" By Ellie Robinson published 11 February 21 After being forced to pause their typically ultra-turbulent schedule, Tash Sultana decided – against all plausible odds – that they actually appreciated living at a cruiser, more easygoing pace. And now they have an album of pure sonic euphoria to show for it.
Steven Wilson: “One of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century is that rock music – particularly the guitar – hasn’t really managed to reinvent itself” By Ellie Robinson published 9 February 21 For most artists with over 50 albums to their name, the idea of breaking new ground might seem outlandish, if not outright impossible. For prog god Steven Wilson, though? Well, it’s a goddamn piece of cake
Luca Brasi’s Tom Busby: “We actually made a conscious effort to put heaps less pressure on ourselves” By Ellie Robinson published 4 February 21 With all the odds stacked against them, Luca Brasi powered through a notably rough album cycle and a global health crisis back-to-back, coming out the other side with their strongest and most upbeat set of tunes yet. We know what you’re thinking: how the f*** did they do it!?
Pale Waves' Heather Baron-Gracie: "This album is a journey through my emotional growth as a person across the past year" By Ellie Robinson published 1 February 21 With album #2, the goth-pop hellions in Pale Waves set their sights on world domination. As for how they’ll achieve it? Well, they’ve got two of the most inescapable drawcards in their clutch: nostalgia, and existential crises.
Yungblud: “Why, by some f***ing miracle, have I gotten this far? Because of my fanbase and my community – they know I’m telling the truth to them, and I ain’t gonna leave them behind” By Ellie Robinson published 1 February 21 Love ‘im or hate ‘im, there’s no stopping Yungblud’s punk revolution, equal parts thrashy and theatrical. He’s already taken over England – next up, the world.
Bring Me The Horizon’s Lee Malia: “I wanted to go as Slayer as I possibly could...” By Ellie Robinson published 26 January 21 Bring Me The Horizon continue to reinvent the core foundations of heavy music with another kaleidoscopic onslaught of beats and breakdowns.
Passenger: “It’s just the sensible thing to do to be a good guy and give back a little bit” By Ellie Robinson published 25 January 21 Modern-day folk lord Passenger doesn’t quite understand the concept of a ‘break’, having just released his eighth album in eight years. On this one, he plunges right into the deepest, most emo depths of his heart.
The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan: "I’m a firm believer that the distortion signatures of a guitar need to be organic" By Ellie Robinson published 21 January 21 To leap forward into a bold and brave new chapter of their musical narrative, The Smashing Pumpkins go all the way back to square one.
Australian Guitar #141 kicks the new year off in style with a double-length AC/DC cover story By Australian Guitar published 5 January 21 New year, new riffs!
Tony Iommi unravels the enduring legacy of Black Sabbath in Australian Guitar #140, out now! By Australian Guitar published 25 October 20 Plus plenty more in our epic final issue for 2020!