In case you missed it, there were a lot of awesome releases in September, and I’m still crawling my way through the pile. Next on my list, the (awesomely-named) Nicolas Cage Fighter. The four-piece metal/hardcore outfit out of Ballarat, Victoria released their debut, The Bones That Grew From Pain, back in 2022, and now they’re back a few years later with I Watched You Burn. Out through Bleeding Art Collective and Blood Blast Distribution (Nuclear Blast Records/Believe), their aggressive style has taken a notable step forward. The riffs are heavy, and they’re delivered with a pace that makes you move. There’s a lot to love. Check out our latest Profile, and the embeds within it, to get a sense of what Nicolas Cage Fighter has been up to. You’re in for a good one.

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

Funnily enough Nicolas Cage Fighter is actually my first band, but I joined when the rest of the guys got back together after a 4-5 year hiatus for a farewell show at a local venue which was closing down / rebranding. I first got into doing vocals when I was about 16, I was one of those kids who would record covers in his bedroom and upload them to Facebook and YouTube, and that’s how our guitarist Justin and I first initially made contact years and years ago. My friends had been itching to see me join a band forever before this, as every other attempt I’d made to join or start a band had been unsuccessful. My family have always backed me up which is super cool, even though heavy music is not their thing at all, they’ve come along to a few shows and Mum is constantly sending me articles and reviews that she finds online, which I think is adorable.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

I’d say we’re a mixture of death metal and modern hardcore, but we kind of mash the two genres together instead than blending them into something more akin to deathcore. Basically if you like tough angry riffs, stupid heavy breakdowns and are a fan of two-stepping, you’ll love our music.

Is there anything about your latest album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

I don’t think there’s anything in this release where nobody would be able to find or uncover it if they really tried to, but I know that while recording there was a couple of takes for some vocal layers where I was just making some downright stupid noises for the hell of it, and they’re definitely not audible as far as I know, but maybe someone will be able to pick them out if they’ve got very keen ears.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

On one of our first ever tours interstate we played at a venue called Frankies Pizza By The Slice in Sydney, and I’d picked up a cold or flu the day before. Before we’d even gotten to the venue my voice had basically completely blown out, so I decided to get absolutely wasted drunk for the hell of it. I figured if I was going to sound like shit then I might as well lose all inhibition and go absolutely mental for our set. Needless to say, this wasn’t one of my proudest moments in NCF. This has now been immortalised within the band as “going full Frankfurter” and let me tell you brother, never go full Frankfurter.

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now?

There’s so many incredibly skilled and hardworking musicians creating outstanding heavy music all across Australia at the moment, and being able to witness it firsthand and see these bands and musicians get the recognition and support they deserve is incredibly gratifying. There’s also a lot of dedicated people working behind the scenes to put together a lot of incredible shows, tours and new festivals that deserve recognition too, shoutout to Greg Shaw, Tim Knowles and Jason North.

I think the only disappointing thing that I’ve seen in the scene recently is that unfortunately there’s not really any new younger up-and-coming metal and hardcore bands coming out of Ballarat at the moment. When all of us were teenagers the Ballarat scene was thriving, everyone was either in a band or mates with someone who was, and there was always a new band doing new music and shows were constantly happening. It’s definitely declined a lot in that sense, we really try our best to keep the energy high in Ballarat and bring as many shows as we can back home, and although there are a lot of larger touring bands coming through much more often nowadays it does suck to see that the younger generation doesn’t seem to have the same community and energy which we got to be a part of growing up.

Most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

There isn’t any one thing that we try to champion or weave into our music above all else, at the end of the day we just love making heavy music that makes you want to move. I’ve always enjoyed writing songs that relate to the sense of self, internal struggles and overcoming adversity, but with the angriest and most chaotic energy I can create. It’s always incredibly rewarding when someone tells me that our music resonates with them and gets them through dark times. Even though this record deviates from that standard, there’s still very similar messages to be uncovered inside it and our future records will absolutely return to these themes again.

Do you have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

Honestly we’re all pretty boring and regular dudes outside of the band, when we’re not touring or recording we’re just working and spending time with our families like anyone else. Our Bass player Connor is the most active in the music scene out of all of us though, playing for and filling in with a few different bands across the Melbourne area, but aside from that we’re probably at home hanging out 90% of the time.

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

Don’t glaze over the little guys, promote local shows, bring back live gig reviews, and take every opportunity you can to shout out any accomplishment that newer acts have achieved.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

International touring is the biggest move we’re looking to make in the foreseeable future, we’re aiming to get over to Europe in the next year or so and eventually we’d love to organise a tour of the USA and Canada. We’ve also begun writing songs for our third album, though that will likely be at least a couple of years away depending on how much time, money and attention we dedicate to touring and playing shows.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently?

In no particular order of preference, all of these albums have had a lot of playtime recently:
Desolated – “Finding Peace”
Pendulum – “In Silico”
Justice For The Damned – “Stay Relentless”
Night Lovell – “Red Teenage Melody”
PLAUDO – “Boom Bap Technologies Vol. 3”
Chase & Status – “2 Ruff Vol 1”
Extermination Dismemberment – “Butcher Basement (Revamped)”
XweaponX – “Demo 2”
Terror Reid – “Manifesto”

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

Getting “I Watched You Burn” released is our biggest priority for sure, we’ll be promoting it absolutely everywhere we possibly can, locking in our album release tour across Australia ASAP and getting back into playing as many shows as possible to finally show everyone what we’ve been working on for the past 2 years. It’s been a long time coming, and we can’t wait.

Summarize your band in one word.

Riffs.

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Many thanks to Nicolas Cage Fighter for the time!

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I Watched You Burn is out now through Bleeding Art Collective. For more information on Nicolas Cage Fighter, hit these links.