Brady Irwin 4/3/25 Brady Irwin 4/3/25

Explainer For A Whole Bunch-a C O N T E N T. [27.12.24]

Originally posted to our prior and, as of NYE 2024, now suddenly/sadly defunct old site (RIP). This is a primer/introduction to a year-in-review/sporadic round-up series dubbed Behind Screen and Speaker. This series aims to corral a number of our Riffs (articles) into retrospective and prospective thoughts alike into an omnibus style series. Music, hobbies, riffs, art, gaming, TV, shows, it’ll all be here!

Brady Irwin 11/2/25 Brady Irwin 11/2/25

[Podcast] Ep. 35: Interview with BRETT CAMPBELL of PALLBEARER.

Renowned doom metal merchants PALLBEARER make their return to Australia in March 2025 for an electrifying tour promising to deliver their signature blend of haunting melodies and crushing riffs. Joining them on all dates will be special guests UK doom metal titans CONAN. I was fortunate enough to catch up with vocalist/guitarist Brett Campbell earlier today. Check the link for full video interview, Spotify/alternative podcast platform audio-only versions, ticket links, tour dates and more!

Brady Irwin 7/2/25 Brady Irwin 7/2/25

ISC Podcast, Ep. 34: [INTERVIEW] with OBSCURA frontman/Guitarist STEFFEN KUMMERER.

Originally posted on our now-defunct old website, dead as a doornail as of NYE 2024 (RIP) - check the link for both video and audio-only podcast formats re: Brady’s interview with Steffen Kummerer, frontman/guitarist of German progressive/technical death metal juggernaughts Obscura! Recorded on 22nd Dec ‘24, it’s an interesting exploration into the writing and process behind latest LP A Sonication, with additional artist/album bio, order links and much more within!

Brady Irwin 28/1/25 Brady Irwin 28/1/25

ISC Podcast Ep. 33: [INTERVIEW] w/ ROBERT ERIKsSON, Drummer of Sweden’s THE HELLACOPTERS.

Another music-scene veteran with many years of industry experience under his belt in Robert Erikkson! Robert is the long-term mainstay drummer of Swedish hard-rock institution ⁠The Hellacopters⁠. We caught up on Tue 28th Jan just prior to release of their infectious, hooky and fun latest LP Overdriver, available as of the 31st. Check out the full interview plus artist bio, album order links, latest singles and more! Rock on, Svenska style.

Brady Irwin 28/1/25 Brady Irwin 28/1/25

[Archive] Interview with AARON TUCK of Black Metallers LUMEN AD MORTEM.

Pic Credit: Jai from @crannkmedia. Originally posted on our sadly now-defunct old website (RIP) in November 2024, ahead of their imposing presence/our review of same @ Froth And Fury Festival - here’s a Q&A interview with indominable frontman Aaron Tuck of South Australian black metal all-stars Lumen Ad Mortem! It’s a great chat and worth revisiting. Go check out their stuff, fantastic live too - can confirm.

Brady Irwin 26/1/25 Brady Irwin 26/1/25

[Podcast] A CONTENT-CHALLENGER Has Appeared! Please Welcome Newest ISC Team Member - Spiro ‘The Hype Guy’!

Please give a warm and heartfelt welcome to the fourth addition to this humble podcast/blog/streaming platform at Inner-Strength Check, in SPIRO, aka THE HYPE GUY! As you’ll see in the post, that warrants Caps Lock. Check out his various energetic content-happenings and a primer on his recent projects, including a very important drive for the currently-struggling JamPot Studios on the Sunshine Coast. Welcome, mate!

Brady Irwin 22/1/25 Brady Irwin 22/1/25

[Archive] Interview With OPETH’s MARTIN MENDEZ + Australian/NZ 2025 Tour Details.

Originally posted to our prior website, which died an unexpected and sudden death on 31.12.24 (RIP), we have revived a seminal interview from late ‘24 with Martin Mendez, long-term bassist for Sweden’s progressive-metal titans Opeth. Check the post for video interview, as well as full details (ticket links, bio, artist links, The Last Will and Testament order links etc) of their upcoming November 2025 Australian/NZ tour!

Brady Irwin 22/1/25 Brady Irwin 22/1/25

[Archive] Interview with OLOF WIKSTRAND of Sweden’s ENFORCER + Australian Tour Details.

AUSTRALIA! Are you ready to rock out in your finest leathers and gauntlets? You should be, ‘cause Swedish heavy/true-metallers Enforcer are on our shores and are about to show Newcastle the Steel! Check the link for my video interview with Olof Wikstrand, frontman/guitarist, which was originally posted on our website that unfortunately went down on 31.12.24. It’s too late, however - peep the link and get the scoop on tickets, artist links, new singles and more!

Brady Irwin 21/1/25 Brady Irwin 21/1/25

[Archive] ISC Podcast, Ep. 30: AUDIO LOG - Clinical Examination Of Specimen XX-121, AKA ‘Xenomorph’(Part 2).

Exhumed from the chest-bursted corpse of our old website (RIP old site 31.12.24, sniff), here’s Part 2 of our Dissecting The Perfect Organism series. Check link for both audiodrama podcast links and written narrative, diagrams, lore and information relating to sci-fi’s perfect villain, told from a scientist-doctor perspective. The current episode details, among other things, the ‘Black Goo’, engineers, The Deacon, proto-xenomorphs and potential origins of our favourite eyeless-space killer!

Brady Irwin 21/1/25 Brady Irwin 21/1/25

[Archive] ISC Podcast Ep. 28: FROTH AND FURY FESTIVAL REVIEW PT 2 (Frothie-A-Deux).

[Originally posted via our old website which suffered an unexpected and untimely death on NYE 2024, RIP]. Check in for Part 2 of Brady and Mal’s extensive coverage of the HUGE event that was Froth and Fury in Adelaide, SA, November 2024. Within this post is the full two-part narrated podcast version, as well as an analysis of vendors, events and setlists from: Thornhill, Brand of Sacrifice, Organectomy, These New South Whales, Psycroptic, Day of Contempt, Fear Factory, Northlane, Bodyjar, Thy Art Is Murder and Pestilence!

Brady Irwin 21/1/25 Brady Irwin 21/1/25

[Archive] ISC Pod EP. 28 (Part 1): Review of FROTH AND FURY FEST, Sat 9th Nov 2024 - A Day of Metal & Mayhem.

See here for Part 1 of Brady and Mal’s MASSIVE coverage of 2024’s Froth and Fury Festival in Adelaide, South Australia last November. We cover a swathe of detail raging from site and venue to the first half of our gig reviews from the day - Bifurcation, Sundowner, Signals, Lumen ad Mortem, Pizza Death, FANGZ, Future Static, Great American Ghost, Hands Like Houses and Dharma. Plus some of the wrestling and medieval fighting events (you heard right), cool vendors and more!

Brady Irwin 20/1/25 Brady Irwin 20/1/25

[Archive] ISC Podcast Ep. 31: Luna's Cult of Dark Souls - A DM Interview With... A DM.

My first interview focussed on exploring someone else's expertise and thoughts around a franchise/hobby/series and the community surrounding it, and first interview with a community member around the design of their own RPG! Read on for a fantastic discussion with Luna, a friend of mine from Discord, who goes all-out on Dark Souls lore and discusses her TTRPG adaptation. Which she also provides for free, by the way, in the link!

Brady Irwin 20/1/25 Brady Irwin 20/1/25

[Archive] ISC Podcast Ep. 29: Dissecting The Perfect Organism - An Examination of Xenomorph XX-121, Part 1.

Check the link for Episode 29 of the Inner-Strength Check Podcast, and the full transcript of Dissecting The Perfect Organism: An Examination of Specimen XX-121. Over multiple podcast episodes, we’re bringing you a comprehensive, lore-based examination of the infamous Xenomorph from the Alien franchise. The current article explores the Chemical Agent or ‘Black Goo’ , as well as initial encounters with the pathogen as seen in the film Prometheus. Plenty of additional media here, so be sure to check it all out!

Brady Irwin 20/1/25 Brady Irwin 20/1/25

[Archive/Riffs] Beer Factory, A.K.A. InnerStrengthCheck is Off to Froth!

Originally posted to our sadly dead-and-gone-unexpectedly old site (RIP 31.12.24), this is nonetheless still worth a read. It’s a pre-festival primer which includes a whole wealth of background on Adelaide itself, promoter/organiser Jason North, the venue/grounds, Indigenous Title of the First Nation of Kaurna Meyetta on which the grounds were situated, as well as a whole raft of additional context and info related to the festival itself. Our huge, extensive two-person review of Froth and Fury 2024 is available on the site and our podcast!

Brady Irwin 18/1/25 Brady Irwin 18/1/25

[ARCHIVE - REVIEW]: Phobia - ‘Generation Coward’ LP.

Another archival review from the carcass of our old and now-dead website (RIP). This is a review of Orange County, US grindcore nutters Phobia’s blistering Generation Coward LP. A caustic take on the cowardice of flamewars and online avarice, it’s an album still well worth checking out!