KOH

1. Welcome to All the Cores and More! Before we jump into it, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself and what you do in the band?

Andy: My name's Andy, and I sing, write and engineer in KOH.

Lucas: I’m Lucas and I play guitar, write and produce in KOH.

2. Would you please provide a little context about the band—where you’re from, how you formed, etc.?

Andy: We began with a core 3 in Darwin [Australia], that being myself, Kieran and our drummer Nikos, who has since moved back to Greece. At the moment we have interstate members, ranging across Darwin, Mildura, and Melbourne.

Lucas: All from Darwin as well, soon after Lachlan (Bass) and myself joined what we approached as a bedroom project. We now have our mate Luke on the drums who was in previous bands with myself over years in the Darwin scene (We Burn Bridges and DRAFTDAY). We’re fortunate to all have been from the same local scene growing up really wanting to fill this certain ‘heavy’ gap in Darwin after each of us experienced multiple band tenures over that last decade and a half.

3. What about your personal heavy music journey? What got you hooked? Take us down the iceberg if you would.

Andy: Started on Guitar Hero 3 and discovered Metallica, immediately hooked on the heavier side of heavier music, which wasn’t present or as readily around my family, so I definitely felt like the black sheep of the family. This stemmed to bands like Trivium and Children of Bodom that pushed the boundaries further into a keen interest in bands like The Acacia Strain and Justice for the Damned, being the core of what inspires me and the style I like to pursue.

Lucas: For heavy music my earliest memory is probably from exposure to the Rage channel, flash animations aided by an MP3 player, and Limewire back in primary school, so bands like System of a Down, Linkin Park, Metallica and Limp Bizkit. Killswitch Engage in middle school was my real turning point, which made me want to perform heavier music and since then, it’s been the blur that’s gotten us here 15+ years later built off of formative music and its influences mixed across all kinds of genres.

4. Who would you say are some of the primary influences KOH is inspired by?

Andy: Bleed from Within was a big one for me along with Loathe, Fit for an Autopsy, Northlane. The list is always changing, though, with the music we’re writing ahead of releases.

Lucas: Pretty similar to Andy, there’s some fundamental inspiration for me in some of those bands, and with the production role I take on it’s always inspired by sounds found outside of heavy music in the synth layers, textures, etc. such as with Bon Iver, Radiohead and Bjork. I’ve been the biggest shoegaze sweater for quite some time, and there has been such a melting pot of it in heavy music in recent years, that I feel it’s also great to draw parts from that sonic landscape while holding space for our other influences.

5. So you’ve just released the single “Blasphemous.” Tell us about the track and what sonic ground and thematic territory it explores.

Andy: ‘Blasphemous’ being written in the earliest phases of KOH came with a lot of changing themes and ideas, especially when writing lyrics. I think it can spur off a different meaning to each listener, as most songs intend to be, but I recognise it as a song about being in a place where you aren’t accepted as being different. Whether it is religious or familiar circles, this song is about relishing in being a black sheep in those circumstances.

Lucas: This song was mostly written by the time I was approached for KOH as my introduction to the project behind the scenes. From that, I had what Andy thematically touched on to use as a springboard in going for what I interpreted for production elements, being a regal/cathedral vibe that felt off, which may come across in the distorted orchestra strings and wide space sections we wanted to establish in this song’s production.

6. “Blasphemous” will be on the EP Golden Death, releasing July 1st. What can you tell us about it?

Andy: ‘Golden Death’ is the culmination of a bunch of fellas getting together in a room and writing some music that didn’t feel like a band’s first effort in writing metal. I, personally, wanted ‘Golden Death’ to feel like a band’s 3rd or 4th release, where there is an established style and groove to their sound.

Lucas: It’s really the first impression we want to give as a band and have it known as that sturdy pillar of music that we can always count on and sit beside what we’re working on into the future, backing what Andy said about it feeling like a band’s 3rd or 4th release, especially coming from where we do.

7. You’ve shared the stage with some great bands like Diamond Construct (you can read my interview with vocalist Kynan Groundwater here) and Body Prison, who I interviewed when I was doing my previous website. What have been some of the other major highlights for you so far?

Andy: Firstly, playing with those bands, among many others at those events was genuinely insane. All those guys were super friendly and supportive on all accounts, so far as having a bit of a shocked impression during our first couple gigs, thinking that we’ve played more than we actually had. But on that point, travelling to Alice Springs across NT Australia for Blacken Open Air in 2025 was such a memorable moment for us in this band; and to this day, I still think about the 15 hour drive there with the guys, the great people we met during the festival, and of course the insane bands we got to share the stage with.

Lucas: Being able to pull together our debut headline show for our debut single right after our very first gig all in the space of a week while trying to find a new venue when the original fell through. That was a tough time logistically but so rewarding when the turnout and local support was amazing, greater than we could’ve expected. Also cannot praise the opportunity to have played Blacken enough, what an experience that was.

8. Is there anything you’d like to accomplish with the band that you haven’t yet?

Andy: It would mean the world to take the homegrown metal we established here in Darwin out to the rest of Aus. Adding onto that, to tour with our influences would be an ultimate honour and privilege if and when the time comes.

Lucas: Being based in Melbourne now myself, I’d love to have the opportunity to bring our hometown ‘0812 Groove’ interstate and to really put on the best shows that we can for people who may not think or know much of Darwin, NT while also working beyond those distance barriers wherever possible. The goal is to be able to at least give this single, upcoming EP and any other releases coming from our camp that genuine platform to connect with people face-to-face, as that’s something we’re all so driven and inspired by.

9. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Any shout-outs or last words for the readers?

Andy: Straight up, the biggest shout out goes to Lucas here, as he has done so much for the back-end stuff that you don’t necessarily see. On top of that, he adds the final piece of the KOH puzzle with his post-production that turns a song that has bones and muscle to a living and breathing track that can stand on its own feet alongside the myriad of Aus Metal music.

Lucas: Tough act to follow ^ but really I appreciate all the guys in the band, some I’ve been best friends with since early high school band days, so it’s always special to get together and put a song out there that feels quality to us. Shoutout to everyone who’s supported us up to this point and continues to do so. It’s always so crucial coming from a place so considerably remote from the rest of the heavier Aus music scene. Shoutout to Pirate and the Black Wreath (organisers of Blacken Open Air festival) for letting artists from the host Territory represent. Also shoutout to Tim Knowles at Obsolete Music for keeping the annual TerrorLoud shows live in Darwin as that’s what has allowed us to meet so many of the bands you’ve also interviewed and let us show what we’re about. We have key friends that help us run merch, mix, master, film and take photos for us that we also can’t thank enough. To anyone new, please check out our songs, socials and keep your eyes on what we’re up to!