Ray chats with Dan Nahum, the organiser of Essence Festival in Canberra, set to be held October 3-5 at The Baso. We discuss what went well last year, what will be different this year, and what some of the highlights might be for the 2025 iteration. There is also a brief guest appearance from Dan from Irreparable who wandered by while we recorded in The Tote beer garden.

Essence:

In the traditions of Canberra's Metal for the Brain and SoundOut, as well as Dark Mofo, Essence is a diverse underground music festival, taking in various metal subgenres (death, black, doom, sludge, and more) as well as other genres: noise, post-punk and post-rock, experimental, industrial, ambient, improvised, and even dark and contemporary takes on traditional music. The bill is from across the Australia and features a mix of impressive live stalwarts, cult artists that perform only rarely, and new and exciting acts. Many have never performed in Canberra before. This year Essence is co-presented by NSW/Qld label Gutter Prince Cabal, and has also added an explicitly visual element in the form of NSW visual artist Greallach.

Links:

Tickets

https://tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/8e1e8ce6-2061-4037-8f12-285520dc45f4

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/essence_festival

Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6AiuxATeB2UGdNkk16cL6g?si=2ed3ac3ba03847b1

Full band list

Life Cult

Pod People

Diploid

Contaminated

Convulsing

Tir

Growth

Teeth Dreams

Golgothan Remains

Mammon’s Throne

raven

ZCluster

Nontinuum

Bacchus Harsh

Burden Man

Živa

Shay Doe and Jack Napier

Josh Shipton

Oar

Lithik

Bruxist

Knife

Marlēné Claudine Radice

Fukno

Canary Bones

Atavus Infectum

External Organ

Futility

Essentia Vermis Friday night pre-fest:

Destruktor

Aglo

Hebephrenique

Grotesque Bliss

Leaker

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Phil and Ray sit down with Ed from Aardvark to talk about what Aardvark have been up to and also discuss three classic albums important to Ed

Aardvark's coming Sydney show with Bengal Tigers

https://www.factorytheatre.com.au/event/bengal-tigers/

and Flitcraft with Bengal Tigers in Melbourne

https://theleadbeaterhotel.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/c2ae7bdb-3062-410f-bd46-99bef5801c70?Event=219393

No playlist for this episode but be sure to listen to

Accept - Metal Heart

Thin Lizzy - Chinatown

Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance

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Phil and Ray tackle one of their favourite song types - the heavy metal Epic. Whether it be 7 minutes, or 8 minutes as the cut off, there is nothing small and or lacking in these songs

Episode Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1DBN0O41gq1MbpAnjZvhvM?si=d72c992502f94ed3

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Phil and Ray are back after a bit of a break with even more Secrets of Steel. Finally actually creating a part 2 episode to go along with all those part 1s from last year. Strap yourself in for some classic heavy metal ingredients and be sure to let us know about any excellent examples we missed, because we always want more!

The gigs Ray mentioned are:

Spectral Wounds, with Pestilential Shadows and Golgothan Remains June 13 at Metro Social in Sydney tickets here

The Veil, Lithik, Irreparable, Futility at The Tote July 26 in Melbourne tickets here

Episode playlist here

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Phil and Ray discuss a wide range of bands that either maybe should have stopped, or they are grateful only had a brief period of being productive and grapple with the question, does not wanting more of a band you like make any sense? No, of course not. But we aren't always rational beings.

Upcoming gigs that were mentioned

Hobart March 8 Pestilential Shadows, Permafog, Midnight Odyssey, Portcullis https://tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/a3feb1c4-9aec-4f6c-a347-6c63fa52042c

Melbourne Dethfest March 9 https://tickets.cornerhotel.com/outlet/event/3db93de4-eab1-4c18-84fc-6f7821922a84

Sydney April 12 Destruktor, Pestilential Shadows, AftermatH, Petrol https://allevents.in/marrickville/destruktor-%7C-factory-floor-sydney/200027790152024#

Black Sabbath tickets on sale Feb 14 https://www.livenation.co.uk/show/1561056/back-to-the-beginning/birmingham/2025-07-05

Lots of other things mentioned, I'll try and get a playlist done when I can, but there is a lot covered in this one!

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Phil and Ray are back in 2025 chatting with Stu from Silent Knight, while they are in town as the national support on Hammerfall's Australian tour. Stu was crashing on Ray's floor while he was in town, so we thought we might as well record an episode. This episode did require significant editing as Ray and Stu are brothers, and apparently like to bicker at each other, which is no fun to listen to - just ask Phil.

We cover Iron Saviour, Atlantean Kodex, Dragonland and more. Playlist for the episode is here https://open.spotify.com/playlist/02yzXsb4c2M6DMSnG04WbD?si=b8e2b0d14fe24c81

Check out Silent Knight https://silentknightband.bandcamp.com/

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We cover a lot of things in this one. And it is quite a long episode. It has been a while between episodes and a fair bit has happened in between with Nicko's retirement, Paul Dianno's passing, Solstafir, Opeth and Tribulation all with new albums that have elicited a range of opinions.

Ray mentions that Tarot are playing more shows as part of the album launch tour, but it appears that he may well have made that up. Follow Tarot on socials to stay in the loop though https://www.instagram.com/tarottasmania/

Episode playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WgRLFi1JQDGefBRW5fKWA?si=cbe4d31705434916

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Its Halloween next week so we thought we'd celebrate with some Helloween and Keep of the Seven Keys Part 1 and Part 2, as the first installment in what is becoming a series of first installments. This one we are calling Jewels of the Crown. Excellent heavy metal albums, that are probably appropriately rated, but we'll talk about them anyway because we love them.

Also discussed:

Austere - Beneath the Threshold and their upcoming Aus tour with Harakiri For the Sky courtesy of Your Mate Bookings https://www.yourmatebookings.com/uncategorized/3318/

Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N4rLtjPzH0

Grand Magus - Sunraven

Halford - Resurrection

Ray's experience at Essence Festival

Phil talks Glenn Hughes and Black Jesus (separate gigs)

The playlist of things we've been listening to continues to grow and become more and more eclectic, so enjoy that here

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Steel Assassins is almost upon us again. The yearly heavy metal festival held in Sydney by Dave Balfour at Metal Evilution. Get your tickets and be there in Nov 8 and 9 at The Bridge in Sydney

tickets

Episode playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2HK4ImHg24QMEXbE1bbnTI?si=N3dYpGBcR7uROs-9ZBCs7g&pi=a-KvScuGkCT6On

Also discussed

• The quite heartwarming story of Phil's introduction to Deep Purple's Burn and the upcoming Glenn Hughes tour
• Anthrax's Fistful of Metal being a pretty good amount of metal
• The 'big 4' having not great album covers for their first albums
• Blacksound Records has a physical location coming site
• Silent Knight and Valhalore (apologies for Ray mispronouncing that one, if you had to read his handwriting you'd know why) have been added as the supports for Hammerfall's upcoming Australian tour
• Grand Magus - pure heavy metal with a new album Sun Raven coming out Oct 18

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Phil and Ray are back and talking about albums they like that they think other people maybe don't like quite enough... or at least don't seem to talk about. Are we wrong? Are people always talking about them and we just live in a bubble that. Or are they terrible albums that people don't talk about for a damn good reason?

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer

Mercyful Fate - Dead Again

Dissection - Reinkaos

Type O Negative - Dead Again

Also discussed

• Phil's Megadeth revisit begins with Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
• Mood Lifters - the Rush tribute show was in Melbourne
• 40 Watt Sun - Little Weight is going to be occupying Ray's stereo for a while, giving Warning's Watching From a Distance some respite
• Wintersun - Time II
• Iron Maiden
• Bulletbelt
• Melbourne DethFest https://www.facebook.com/melbournedethfest/ line up has been announced. March 9th at the Corner Hotel with Left To Die, Pestilential Shadows, Gutless, Werewolves, Pizza Death, Midnight Odyssey and more
• Emu playing in Melbourne Sep 26 at Shotkickers but also playing all across the east coast at the moment
• Tarot album launch tour kicking off in December. Playing the Gaso Dec 6 in Melbourne

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