Froth & Fury Festival 2026 is sneaking up on us rapidly, and with so many bands playing there is no way HEAVY will have time to speak to them all. Which is why we have sent out a carefully curated set of questions to each band and let them take their time in answering. Today we chat with I Choose Violence.
Welcome to the FROTH & FURY FROTHY DOZEN, where you get a chance to let everyone know what it is about you and your band that makes them special. There are no wrong answers, but choose wisely, hehe…
HEAVY: Firstly, tell us the name of your band, tell us a bit about yourself and why you were put in charge of answering these questions?
ICV: Our Band name is I CHOOSE VIOLENCE. Initially inspired by Game of Thrones, the name itself now taking on an entirely new meaning, which we can let our fans figure out. I (Michael) have been put in charge of answering these questions, as I feel as if it’s my role as the frontman to do so. Less talking on stage allows us to play more music, so talking here is ideal!
H: Froth & Fury 2026 is just around the corner, what have you been doing to make sure you are ready to kick ass come show time?
ICV: We are practising hard weekly as a full band and individually at home. We just recently welcomed a new drummer, so training him up for 2026 (no need to train him, this guy is an absolute beast). We’re playing with the Legends in Bleeding Through two days before Froth, so this will be our last “Jam” as a band prior to Froth and Fury.
H: Each year sees a great mix of international bands and local artists descend on Froth & Fury, but this year there’s also an Australian band, Polaris, with their name at the top of the posters as headliner. What does that say to you as a band in the Australian music scene?
ICV: To me personally. It’s absolutely amazing. I had the privilege of playing with Polaris in my previous band waaaaaay back in the day (2013 to be exact), they were tight back then. And It’s amazing to see how far they’ve come.
H: It’s a long day of music, with lots of froth and lots of fury. What will you be doing to make sure you will still be standing come your set time?
ICV: Do you want a family friendly answer or…. (Joking). Drinking water, planning my own day out to watch the bands I want to see (which would ideally be all but impossible to do so), getting rest wherever time allows? It’s going to be an exceptionally busy day but will be a fun one to be remembered. Especially to us at ICV, as we’ve not yet had the honour of playing an event of this scale.
H: Give me your Top 3 Festival survival tips.
ICV: Vodka sun rise, Pizza, SHADE!
H: Which band – other than maybe yourselves – do you think will get up to the most mischief on the day?
ICV: Ooft, hard to say! If anyone, would have to go with Frenzal Rhomb. Seen them play many times before in my lifetime. They’re always a fun band to watch and a personal favourite of my own.
H: What song do you think the crowd would want you to play to finish your set?
ICV: Ideally, it’d be Claymore. The song packs a punch, is inspired by OG deathcore bands such as SUICIDE SILENCE and CARNIFEX, with a strong but necessary message.
H: We’re assuming you won’t give away to us what the last song of your set will be, but can you let us in on what the first song of your set will, or potentially, be?
ICV: Death march is the opening track off our most recent release War of the Damned, which serves as a perfect opening to our live sets also. It’s got all of what it needs to rev up the crowd, as well as ourselves. Last song of the set though? Watch us and find out!
H: One of the best things about festivals is the chance to see bands you might have not even heard of before, so say someone is coming and has no idea who you are, what three songs of yours should they listen to, so they know what to expect?
ICV: Claymore, Sanguine Dirge, Human Effigy. All heavy as F**K and unrelenting.
H: You get to jump up with one band on the day to do guest vocals to one of their songs. Which band do you get up with and what song do you sing?
ICV: Obviously answering for myself once again. And it’s a super easy one. Bleeding Through: Kill to Believe. Hard to choose an all-time favourite song, but this would have to be it for me. For the band themselves, it’s a massive fan favourite and a great song to close their set to.
H: Time to rip out the crystal ball and predict two Australian and two international bands you think will be on next year’s line-up. The closest to guessing all four gets a big frothy tinny and a furiously big high five…
ICV: Band’s I’d love to personally see on the next froth, I’m going to have to give y’all more than just four. From Australia: Adelaide’s own Chapel Hill and Theurgy are popping off and doing big things. Melbourne bands Blood on my Hands and Ends in Tragedy are sick. Algor Mortis too! Would absolutely love to see our Brisbane mates Virtues come down here and kick some ass. International acts, YOU NEED TO BRING BOTH DESPISED ICON and CARNIFEX here. Incendiary, knocked loose, I could list so many but then the festival would need to be Aus wide and three days per fest…
H: Finally, what plans does your band have for the rest of 2026 after F&F goes back into hibernation until 2027?
ICV: We’ve got a ridiculous amount of work cooking right now, which is sick. Bleeding Through and Froth in Jan, a few local shows in the works for February and March. East coast (?) tour in April with KRAANIUM and SLAUGHTERCULT which will be fun as it’s our first “tour”. New EP is in its final stages, which are more or less the tracks we didn’t place on the last EP as they didn’t exactly fit the narrative, but are great as their own thing. Talking playing Perth and Tasmania too. Probably time to start writing our debut Album too. We’re always busy doing something, but next year is set to be our busiest year to date.
PERTH LINE UP – JANUARY 24, 2026
POLARIS • SOULFLY • IN HEARTS WAKE • NAILBOMB
LAGWAGON • ABBATH ‘DOOM OCCULTA’ • OCEAN SLEEPER
FRENZAL RHOMB • ARCHSPIRE • VOYAGER • SHAI HULUD
ABORTED • PRIVATE FUNCTION • TERMINAL SLEEP • ABRAMELIN
FREEDOM OF FEAR • VALHALORE • SILENT KNIGHT • ZUKO
NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER • INIQUITOUS MONOLITH • ALL THIS FILTH
YOMI SHIP • PATIENT 67 • PINCER+ • RAT KING
ADELAIDE LINE UP – JANUARY 31, 2026
POLARIS • SOULFLY • IN HEARTS WAKE • NAILBOMB
LAGWAGON • ABBATH ‘DOOM OCCULTA’ • OCEAN SLEEPER
FRENZAL RHOMB • THE MARK OF CAIN • COMEBACK KID • ARCHSPIRE
SNOT • BLEEDING THROUGH • ABORTED • BIG NOTER • GRIDIRON
MORTAL SIN • PRIVATE FUNCTION • TERMINAL SLEEP • BATTLESNAKE
DOUBLE DRAGON • DIESECT • ZUKO • THE BEARDED CLAMS
FLANGIPANIS • I CHOOSE VIOLENCE • BONE REAPER
ROCKYS PRIDE & JOY • BROKEN LOOSE • CONTROL THE SUN
Tickets & info: https://www.frothandfuryfest.com/
