The Art Of Loving Spiders With LUKE SEVEREID

Interview by Kris PetersSeattle’s favourite bald, bearded, heavy metal comedian, Luke Severeid, is returning Down Under this September for his highly anticipated headline stand-up tour, aptly titled Here To F#@k Spiders. Presented by premier music and entertainment promoter Destroy All Lines, this national run cements Severeid's status as one of the most explosive, must-see comedy acts in the global circuit today. Severeid first won over massive Australian audiences with a breakout run on the KNOTFEST Australia circuit, followed by an appearance on Aussie television's The Project. Known for his self-described "unmedicated ADHD in action" comedic style, he effortlessly fuses the high-octane energy of a heavy metal show with brutally honest, aggressively absurd, and insightfully idiotic storytelling. Severeid's unique ability to connect with heavy music fans and comedy lovers alike has earned him over half a million followers online, as well as the distinction of filming the first-ever stand-up comedy specials released exclusively through the KNOTFEST platform.The Here To F#@k Spiders tour will bring Severeid's chaotic observations, raw punchlines, and famously energetic facial expressions to premier comedy rooms across the country. Fans can expect a loud, unfiltered, and hilariously unpredictable night of storytelling that hits harder than a double bass drum. Reflecting on his return, Severeid shared his immense excitement for Australian crowds, warmly comparing them to a room full of country cousins who get to laugh with complete, gleeful impunity.Of course, one of the topics of conversation was the name of the tour and why spiders are the flavour of the month."You guys have terrifying, terrifying spiders and other small critters," he answered. "I'm going to keep my genitals away from them. But I thought it was a funny name, and I hope you do too."We ask Luke about his last Australian experience in 2025 as part of the travelling Knotfest Festival."Everyone was super cool," he smiled, "but I felt like I was a transfer student to a high school that everyone... I mean, my shows were at a different time than the actual festival. Because to actually compete with that would be just asking to lose (laughs). But I got to hang out backstage and do that in the back area, and everyone was super cool; this is what they do for a living. This was a new experience for me, where I've been a touring comedian before, but not part of a large festival. So I'm talking to the crew way more easily than I am talking to musicians. People would look at me and go, are you the bass player from Hatebreed? I got that so many times. I'm not that guy, but I've written probably at least 20 minutes of jokes that would make that individual man laugh very hard based on just me talking about how I look and how he looks."In the full interview, Luke characterized his stage style as high-energy and noisy, built from short, social-media-friendly bits and improvised material rather than a fixed hour. He said he uses crowd work selectively and adapts his set dynamically to the room and lineup position. Luke also discussed his association with heavy metal branding, explaining it is partly intentional marketing and partly driven by material about the genre, and that he sometimes withholds mentioning metal to surprise audiences.We spoke about his two Knotfest comedy specials, what Australians fans can expect from the shows, the tour name and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.