Interview by Kris Peters
Sydney’s genre-defying rock titans, HELLIONS, are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their ARIA-nominated, career-defining album, Opera Oblivia, with a massive Australian tour in May 2026.
Opera Oblivia is the album that smashed expectations, redefined the boundaries of Australian heavy music, and delivered a phenomenal #4 debut on the ARIA Charts. Declared a “genre great” by the wider music community for its sheer theatricality and ambition, Opera Oblivia cemented HELLIONS‘s reputation for innovation and audacious songwriting. From the explosive, anthemic hooks of Quality of Life and Thresher to the intricate, dramatic beauty of its theatrical movements, this record is a modern classic.
HEAVY sat down with frontman Matthew Gravolin to talk more about the album and tour. One of the things we ask is if the band had any difficulties learning the whole album to play live, given that when they wrote it initially chances are there was no plan to ever have to reproduce the entire release.
“We have done it once before,” he measured. “I think it was in 2016 at the Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney, from memory. We did that record front to back. Obviously, it was a very long time ago now, so I can’t remember how it went. From vague memory it felt good, and obviously it has been a very long time now, and there were some things that we hadn’t anticipated playing live so there are a couple of little challenges in there. But for the most part what we have rehearsed at the start of the year and at the end of last year felt really good.”
In the full interview, discussion covered rehearsal timing and technical challenges reproducing older material live: identifying a few passages that present “little challenges” when translated to the live performances.
The conversation also addressed Opera Oblivia’s career impact on Hellions, with Matt describing how the record’s unexpected success expanded opportunities, increased pressure, and contributed to burnout that factored into his 2019 departure. We spoke about the reformation of the band, which was characterized as a revitalized era built on long-standing bonds and renewed creative energy. Matt revealed Hellions would write new material after the tour and more.
