Heavy metal isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind when you’re in a country town, surrounded by picturesque views of bushland, beaches, pastures, and wildlife. But Tarwin Lower is no stranger to the alternative side of music, having been the home of Unify Festival for almost a decade before its demise. South Coast FM, the local radio station for South Gippsland, Bass Coast and beyond, are pleased to be working with the Riverview Hotel, with their state-of-the-art band room and production, to bring heavy music back to the area and connect the heavy metal community, with the support of their radio presenter, Sarah-Tonin of Sin and Steel.

Hardline Media are proud present a dual headline tour, from the Cold Dark Depths of Norway and Siberia featuring MORTIIS and NYTT LAND, with special guest TiR from Türkiye, performing their SOUTHERN RITUAL in late November across Australia.

RELEASE DATE: APRIL 24th 2026 via APOCALYPTIC WITCHCRAFT - When receiving review assignments—or simply choosing them independently-you don’t always know the bands beforehand. Yet, this often leads to discovering remarkable music that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Scotland’s black/folk outfit CNOC AN TURSA (meaning "Hill of the Standing Stone") proved to be exactly such a case.

GOPHER is party metal / electro fun from Australia & unlike anything you’ve heard before! Originally hailing from Fanny Barks, UK, and forming in 1790, after having arrived on the first fleet to what was known back then as The British Colony of New South Wales, these two rotting, stinking, bubbling corpses that are GOPHER, have wasted no time piecing together their astonishing, must hear debut album ‘Tunnel Buddies’, set for release on May 1st.

Over 20 years ago, THE AMENTA released their debut album, “Occasus”. An unrelenting hybrid of the darkest death metal, black metal grandeur, and sickly electronic interjections, “Occasus” was marshalled by the unhinged bestial roar of Mark “Cesium 137” Bevan. The synthesis of futureshock dissonance and industrial sheen with such a scorched-earth voice was a truly unique sound in 2004, never repeated, never equalled. Bevan and THE AMENTA went their separate ways after this album, and explored other, different sounds.