And The Award Goes To... With MARCUS BRIDGE From NORTHLANE

Interview by Kris PetersIt's that time of the year again where Australia's finest musical talents assemble to reward their achievements over the last 12 months and beyond.The APRA Music Awards celebrate excellence in contemporary music, honouring songwriters and publishers who have achieved artistic excellence and outstanding success in their fields. To be held in Melbourne on April 30 this year, the APRA Music Awards have, for the second year in a row, acknowledged the growing presence of harder edged and heavy music by presenting the Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal category - won in its inaugural year by Parkway Drive.More than just a token nod in the direction of change, APRA has fully embraced music of these genres, recognizing and paying due respect to a style of music that has grown to such levels it is now impossible to ignore.The nominees for Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal in 2025 are Make Them Suffer, Polaris, Windwaker, Speed and Northlane, with HEAVY jumping at the chance to speak with Northlane frontman Marcus Bridge to find out how confident the band is going into the awards."It's exciting stuff, and it's with a bunch of other great bands," he smiled. "It's cool to be with so many bands that we've all grown up with and built our careers with at the same time and see the new generation taking that spot."We ask Marcus how important recognition such as this is for the future of Australian hard rock/heavy music."I think it just shows over the last five to ten years how heavy music has grown worldwide," he mused, "and especially the Australian bands. Whenever we're touring overseas, I feel like Australian heavy bands are the talk of the town, especially in the US and Europe. Just because there are so many awesome bands working so hard to get over there. And I think in the end, it's kind of putting Australian music on the map in a different way around the world. So it's really, really cool to see that it's being recognized in that way. I'm just hoping that it keeps on growing and keeps on getting bigger."In the full interview, Marcus discussed Northlane's nomination for the 2025 APRA Awards, expressing excitement about the recognition alongside other Australian bands and the support from APRA. Marcus reflected on the growing international attention for Australian heavy music and the importance of regional tours, emphasizing the unique energy of smaller venue audiences compared to city crowds. He also addressed the band's musical evolution, with Marcus outlining their approach for the next album, which will build on the last EP's while allowing for experimentation with various styles.We took a look at the lighter side of the APRA Awards, including the potentially crippling effect Frenzal Rhomb had on such bands being invited to perform live and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.