HAMMERS On Who Inspired Debut Album 'DEATH WOBBLES'

Gold Coast riff bruisers HAMMERS are on the brink of a huge moment. After years of tearing up stages, building a rabid following and refining their signature blend of post-hardcore grit, alt-metal swagger and straight-up Aussie attitude, the band are finally unleashing their long-awaited debut album DEATH WOBBLES this Friday, 23rd January via Summerland Records – and it feels like a genuine coming-of-age record for one of the country’s most exciting heavy acts. With the album in the world and a huge national run locked in for this March and April ahead of dates supporting prog icons COG, HAMMERS are very much in their “we’re ready for everything” era.

Ahead of the record landing, we asked vocalist/guitarist Lucas Stone and bassist Ricky Trewavas to map out the artists that soundtracked – and spiritually guided – DEATH WOBBLES. From cult metalcore royalty to grunge legends and riff-driven trailblazers, these are the bands that helped shape HAMMERS’ debut LP: the groups whose DNA you can feel in their hooks, their heaviness, their attitude and their attitude-to-spare. Consider this your official HAMMERS DEATH WOBBLES listening guide – straight from the source.

HAMMERS – ‘Death Wobbles’

EVERY TIME I DIE

FROM HAMMERS: What can we say about these boys. Kings. From Hot Damn! through to their last masterpiece, Radical. Not a weak album in the bunch. If there is one that you don’t like, it’s probably you that’s weak, not the album.

The way they attack the creation of heavy music is pretty much the definition of ‘cool’. It’s like, oohhhh, that’s how ya do it.

Bangers:

Cities and Years
Dark Distance

STRAY FROM THE PATH

FROM HAMMERS: Oooofff. Again, badass from the get go. I came in on 2013’s Anonymous. They were more of an experimental metalcore outfit-meets-a-kind-of RATM revival vibe, and thank f**k for that — it was fresh af at the time.

Everything since has gone from strength to strength as they’ve morphed into a unique powerhouse of a riff unit that — similarly to us I guess — fit in everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

RIP SFTP.

Bangers:

First World Problem Child
Shocker

STRAY FROM THE PATH - First World Problem Child (Feat. Sam Carter)

HE IS LEGEND

FROM HAMMERS: We all love this band so much. We brought them out to Australia in 2023 and had the time of our lives on the road with them — now we’re all bros. Crazy shit.

I personally rate this band as the greatest modern ‘rock’ band on the planet, filling some kind of modern-day hole the mighty Soundgarden left behind. Adam Tanbouz, the riff merchant/songwriter, made the biggest impression on me since the greats of the ’70s through to the early 2000s.

Amazing, amazing, amazing band — and most likely the collective favourite for each member of HAMMERS.

Bangers:

Future’s Bright Man
Boogiewoman

ALICE IN CHAINS

FROM HAMMERS: One of my top five biggest and most pivotal songwriting influences, musically and vocally. I don’t need to convince anyone of the sheer might of this band and the tidal wave-esque shift they’ve had on the whole heavy music world — where the hook collides with the heavy.

Staley & Cantrell as a duo: pure voodoo. You’ll find their shadows occasionally looming over a HAMMERS chorus here and there, for sure.

Bangers:

We Die Young
Would?

Alice In Chains - We Die Young (Official HD Video)

ALEXISONFIRE

FROM HAMMERS: Ricky put me onto Alexis and it took me about two minutes to realise I was in love. Like He Is Legend, in a different way, they’re one of those bands that carried over that ’90s alt nostalgia perfectly while fusing it with the best elements of punk and hardcore — with a Canadian twist.

Amazing, super talented f**kn band with — like us — 17 vocalists. They also don’t have a bad release, in my opinion.

Bangers:

This Could Be Anywhere In The World
Young Cardinals

Alexisonfire - This Could Be Anywhere In The World (Official Video)

THRICE

FROM HAMMERS: As above with Alexis and He Is Legend — maybe even more so — Thrice these days could genuinely pass as an outstanding alt-rock band straight out of 1991, even though they began as melodic hardcore/emo on their first three releases up to The Artist in the Ambulance.

Something shifted between TAITA and Vheissu that marked a turning point, and since then they’ve released album after album of rock-classic songwriting that keeps the heartbreak hook alive even in the heavies.

All members of HAMMERS love this band deeply — their influence is permanently stamped on us.

Bangers:

Of Dust and Nations
In Exile

DEFTONES

FROM HAMMERS: We once had Frank Delgado at our house until 8am telling us every Deftones story you’d want to hear to a house full of Deftones tragics. Rick and I will never recover.

We’ve all been on this band since Adrenaline / Around the Fur. Is there a more influential band that absolutely no one can imitate in history? I don’t think so.

A massive presence in the HAMMERS camp and the brightest candle in the darkest room when we think we’re running out of something to listen to. Bless this band and their beautiful longevity revival.

Bangers:

Around the Fur
You’ve Seen the Butcher

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

FROM HAMMERS: Our real dads.

If you’re alive and you don’t worship this band, you’re probably not actually alive. RATM’s catalogue is as crucial as a solid morning piss for the whole of HAMMERS.

The riff. The groove. The message. The venom. The one and only.

Bangers:

Born of a Broken Man
Snakecharmer
…and literally everything they’ve ever released.

Rage Against The Machine - Born of a Broken Man (Audio)

SOUNDGARDEN

FROM HAMMERS: This is the band that made me start writing songs in the first place. I have an undying love for everything that makes them the literal garden of sound they are, and their mark on me still seeps into everything I touch musically.

All HAMMERS members have huge respect and love for Soundgarden — but for me personally, it’s part of my DNA. I’m forever grateful to have experienced Cornell, Shepard, Thayil and Cameron the way I did.

Bangers: