In the Green Room: Hidden Intent
Ahead of their album launch at The Gov this weekend, we chatted with Paul Lewis, drummer for local thrash metal trio Hidden Intent, about their new album Terrorform, performing at Froth & Fury Fest and what to expect from their album launch.
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Self-proclaimed ‘Aussie pub thrash’ trio Hidden Intent have been a staple of the local SA heavy scene for close to 15 years.
Comprising guitarist Phil Bennett, bassist and vocalist Chris McThrashy and drummer Paul Lewis, the beer-loving larrikins have earned a reputation for their mix of traditional thrash metal, comical songs about beers and drop bears, and love of having a bloody good time.
The band have spent much of the last 12 months writing and recording their hotly anticipated fourth long player, Terrorform. Following on from 2021’s Dead End Destiny, which features a chaotic cover of The Chats’ ‘Pub Feed’, Terrorform builds on Hidden Intent’s thrash metal template while offering something fresh and tasty for fans to bite into.
Celebrating the release of Terrorform with an album launch at The Gov this weekend, Hidden Intent stickman Paul Lewis had a chat with The Note about their new album and what to expect from their upcoming show.
Hidden Intent has been out there getting it done for close to 15 years. What have been the biggest changes you’ve noticed in the music industry over the years?
The biggest changes have been the rise of social media and the pandemic. Although I personally don’t like social media, it is an extremely important tool for every band these days. You need to keep active or you will get lost in the cesspool. We are basically doing what record companies used to do for bands.
As for the pandemic… I guess that has been discussed at length and we all know what happened there.
What’s your take on the local heavy scene? Is there still a healthy sense of community among both artists and fans?
I think the sense of community has never been stronger. During the pandemic something we all loved was taken away from us, so now we have it back, we are embracing it. I think we’ve all realised we can’t do it by ourselves – bands need fans, fans need bands, and bands need bands!
We love our fans and none of this is possible without them. More and more I think bands are realising we need to rely on each other to create a strong music scene, no matter where we are, so rather than competing, bands are supporting each other and it’s benefiting everyone.
Hidden Intent are gearing up for the release of Terrorform, the band’s fourth album. How did you approach the recording of the album compared to previous releases?
The main difference between this album to the previous ones is we spent time demoing all the tracks. In the past, we demoed a couple of songs off each album but on this one, we did all of them. It gave us a really good chance to put down the instruments and take it in as a listener. We also wanted to broaden our range a bit on this release and push the boundaries a little more of what you expect from a thrash album.
What’s the writing and recording process like when you enter the studio?
We are very much a collaborative band. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and lean on each other to get the best out of ourselves. We usually start in the jam room and the songs progress from there, but as mentioned, on this one we had a chance to sit back and produce them a little bit more.
We would get some rough recordings from jams and I would sit and rearrange the songs and add new riffs and beats. Then I’d send them back to the boys and we would all record parts at home and send new ideas through. We are a band that needs deadlines so we booked the studio before everything was done and then did the mad dash to record everything in time.
Looking back, although we’re really happy with the result, it would’ve been nice to have more time, but the album would’ve stretched out forever.
The press release states the album “delves into the human psyche, exposing how warped thinking has led us astray as a species.” Can you expand on this and explain more about the themes running through the record?
The main theme running through Terrorfrom is about taking a hard look at the mental landscape we’ve inherited and then transforming it. I believe we hold ourselves back by holding onto misguided, outdated ideas and prejudices handed down through the generations. We often play the victim card and think that we can’t change our circumstances which just isn’t true. Terrorfrom is about stripping it all back and starting again.
There are other themes throughout the album as well, like pain, loss and a lot of anger. Overall, it’s a pretty dark album.
Ahead of the release of Terrorform, the band shared the riff-tastic single, ‘The Ruins’. Does it hint at what fans can expect from the LP?
We felt it was a great first song. It’s hard-hitting and sets a good precedent for the rest of the album. In saying that, the whole album is quite diverse but ‘The Ruins’ definitely jumped out as the first single.
‘The Ruins’ was mixed and mastered by Dennis Koehe (Lacuna Coil, Sodom, Caliban). That must have been great to have someone of his talent involved with the track.
Dennis is killer! He’s so good and we are lucky to have him on board again for this album. He did our last one but really stepped up this time – it sounds huuuuge!
The music video for ‘The Ruins’ was filmed live at Froth & Fury Fest 2023. What was the experience like playing at the festival and recording the music video?
Froth and Fury is such an awesome Adelaide festival run by our good mate Northy. It’s kinda like a European festival but in Oz. Every year Froth gets bigger and better. He does a great job, not only for that festival but also for the whole scene in Adelaide and he has done so for many years.
Playing Froth & Fury was a trip and we just did our thing and got our good mate Max Mawby to film it. I believe he had the harder job!
Hidden Intent and Headbore have teamed up to launch both of your new albums at a massive gig at The Gov on March 21. How excited are you for the show and to play your new material for fans?
Like a pig in shit mate! So keen for this one and there’s definitely a buzz going around about the show, so it’ll be siiiick! Headbore are such a good band and killer dudes and it’s a pleasure to share this night with them.
The bill also includes Pizza Death and Denazen. Tell us about those bands and why you wanted them to perform on the lineup.
Pizza Death are so freaking good and hilarious, so if you haven’t seen them it’s a must! We’ve had the pleasure of playing with them a few times and have more tours planned, so looking forward to catching up. Denazen are an awesome up-and-coming band and are going to melt your faces off. All in all, it’s a stacked lineup with a bit of everything.
What can fans expect from the show?
The show will be what people have come to expect from Hidden Intent but on steroids. New songs, classic older ones, beers, metal, drop bears and of course, pizza. What more could you want?!
What does the rest of 2025 have in store for Hidden Intent?
This year we will be touring heavily throughout Australia and are also heading back to Europe in August and September to fly the flag at some European festivals and club shows. We have a great fan base over there and can’t wait to head back. There also may be other overseas tours on the cards but we’ll need to wait and see.
Hidden Intent and Headbore’s double album launch takes place at The Gov this Friday, March 22. Tickets are on sale now via Oztix.
