Interview: Joshua Hobbins
Revered for their crushing live sets and no-frills approach to hardcore, Melbourne’s Iron Mind are back in full force with their first headline tour in over a decade and their most definitive album yet, Test Of The Iron Mind. Ahead of their long-awaited return to stages across Australia and Aotearoa, we caught up with frontman Sam Octigan to talk about the record’s themes of resilience, reflection, and evolution—and what it means to still carry the torch after nearly 20 years in the game.
You’ve described the “test” in the album title as a nod to evolving challenges. What does that ‘test’ look like for you now compared to 2008?
In 2008 it might have felt like the world was in a much simpler place, however, we were all much younger, much more naive, and life had generally thrown far fewer challenges our way. We didn’t know what we didn’t know.
Today in 2025, looking around, there appears to be many more pressing issues right on our doorstep. We’ve all taken serious personal knocks and as a scene and a community, have seen some friends deal with some of the more tragic and severe end of what life can dish out – despite those points, we have accumulated the experience, tools and scar tissue to deal with what feels like an increasing number of difficulties.
You’ve kept the fire burning with annual home shows for years. How has that slower pace influenced your identity as a band, and what made 2025 the right time to return to the road again in a bigger way?
I think slowing things down around 2015-2016 was a natural progression after hammering so hard for close to a decade. But it shows that at the time, we all still loved the band, what it represented, what we had built – and we still felt passionately enough about it to figure out what speed made sense to shift down to, as opposed to breaking up or flaming out. We didn’t feel like what we were doing was stale, out of date or that we were past it.
The decision to hit the road and play more shows really just comes down to having a new record coming out. As hardcore music is best experienced in the live setting, we gotta hit the road, see our friends and get out to all the places we haven’t been able to visit as often in the past few years. The new record is a result of all of us being in the same city long enough to work on a project of this size. It was very much in that order – the goal was to create the record we knew we could make; the shows are a bonus and a privilege as a result.
There’s a real clarity in the lyrics on this record. How do you approach lyric writing now compared to your earlier releases—has your mindset or process changed?
Great question, yes it has. I think, for me personally, on those first couple of records I literally had no idea what I was doing – which is both good and bad. Good in that they are very honest and passionate, a very genuine window into how I was feeling at the time, that is why I think they’ve always resonated with people and still stand up today.
Bad in that at times they are a little repetitive and lack creative flair. Back then I had no idea about song writing considerations, so the early records are all my feelings upfront and very little editing or thought into whether they actually made the track better. I’d write, and as long as it was in time, we went with it!
Over the years I’ve come up with different ideas for ways to approach lyrics, songs, titles, hooks, etc. I’ve learnt from others and have just had time to consume more music and think about what I like and why I like different kinds of hardcore music. On this record I got to try all those ideas out and share them with the rest of the band, getting everyone’s valuable input. Really left no stone unturned.
The production on this record feels huge but still really raw—how did working with Otis Bennie, Sam Johnston, and Taylor Young help shape the final sound?
We’ve been really blessed at every turn with creating this record, getting to work with so many talented friends. They have all brought something unique to the project, which has leveled up the final product.
With Otis for example, it was very organic. We had kicked around the idea of working with a producer for the first time, as again, back in the day, it was just not something we ever would have considered. But this time we were all in agreement that it was something we wanted to explore. We decided to ask Otis because he is our close friend and while he’s less formal than perhaps a more well-known name, we knew he was talented and also loved the idea of bringing a friend into the creative process, as opposed to a stranger.
Otis knows the band and knows us as individuals, so he immediately understood what we were going for, which was to basically make the best Iron Mind record possible, haha. We wanted to honour the sounds and themes that people have always known us for and perfect them. Not push things in an unexpected direction or change the sound but make the slight adjustments necessary to really take things to the next level.
Otis was the perfect person for this role and really knocked it out of the park, never suggesting anything too drastic, but when he had a suggestion, it was always clear and to the point. He has an incredible way of communicating why a certain riff, or section of a song isn’t working and what he thinks the right solution could be, or when necessary, should be.
Zero ego, just objectivity. An extra perspective that came in with fresh ears and eyes. The result not only elevated all the hard work we had put in as a band but also made the process a ton of fun.
We had worked with both Sam and Taylor on previous records before and they both completely understood the task at hand. You nailed what we were going for with huge and raw so that is a testament to the work of Otis, Sam and Taylor.
You’ve shared stages with hardcore heavyweights like Turnstile, No Warning, and Harm’s Way. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from watching those bands evolve?
Well, those are three very different bands with different paths, but what comes to mind is that they all strike me as hardcore bands who have done things on their own terms – standing alone in a sense. I think that applies to Iron Mind as well.
But, I will say that No Warning jumps out to me as an example of a band that came back after a long period of inactivity with a great new record that had an evolved sound.
Torture Culture may not top everyone’s list as the best No Warning record, but, to me, you can hear the progression in songwriting skill on those songs. It’s like Ben, Jordan, Matt, Jesse all brought the things they had learnt over the intervening years and made what they thought was the best and realest No Warning record possible in that moment in time. Paying credence to everything they had done before, but acknowledging what No Warning is at its core.
I personally look to those guys and that record as a great example of a hardcore band enduring, evolving and staying fresh without becoming something else. I can remember citing Torture Culture as an example of acknowledging their roots, but pushing harder – which is what we wanted to do with this record.
“How You Get Down” feels like Iron Mind handing the torch to a new generation, urging them to build, create, and keep the scene alive. What do you want newer fans and bands to take away from this record?
There’s a lot, but I think if I had to boil it down it’s that I want young people to understand they don’t need to wait and be told they can participate. I want them to understand that they hold the power, that their ideas are what’s valuable, that they should build and create without asking for permission.
It’s understandable when someone is young, shy, insecure, wanting to fit in and looking for their place in the world, it’s normal to look up to those who have the spotlight and emulate how things have been done and not want to rock the boat in a subculture like hardcore and punk.
But the beauty of hardcore is that it’s a constant wheel of reinvention, an unbroken chain of generations who have taken what’s come before and thrown their own style on it. How You Get Down is a message telling any young kid thinking they have to dress a certain way, dance a certain way, that their band has to sound a certain way, to forget that. We want to see new styles, because that’s what keeps it fresh – that’s what keeps the chain linking.
How You Get Down is also meant to let young people know that they don’t need to wait for permission or be invited into the perceived cool club to create what they want to create. It can be scary as a young person eager to fit in and find community to put themselves out there with a new band, a zine, a photo blog, but the earlier the youth realise those fears are in their mind and that there are no locked gates, that the power is in their hands, the better off we all are for it and the stronger that chain becomes.
What excites you most about the current state of Australian hardcore—and how do you see Iron Mind fitting into that landscape in 2025?
Well, following on from what I was just saying, I think How You Get Down is actually an affirmation more than it is a challenge. Meaning, I was inspired to write it, in part because I do see so many young kids doing amazing new things! Certainly more so than when Iron Mind got started. I think that’s what excites me the most about the current state of Australian hardcore – there seem to be fewer rules and more possibilities.
It feels like anything is possible! Young kids are starting bands, designing merch, moshing and organising shows in all new ways. When that’s missing, well, like I said, things slow down and become stale. But, right now it’s anything but that and so How You Get Down was written to put a finer point on it and encourage the generation below to keep doing their damn thing!
This tour includes a mix of 18+ and all ages shows, and you’re headlining some major showcases. What role does accessibility and community play in your live show philosophy?
Iron Mind have never been a band that sets rules or policies at our shows, or have ever tried to dictate or design any conditions to specifically include or exclude anyone from our shows. What we have done is gone on stage and expressed who we are as a band and as people – and that is five very different individuals who all love hardcore and give 100% every single time.
As a result, our shows have always, from day one been filled with an incredibly diverse and positive crowd who give that same energy back. I believe our live shows are organically a reflection of what Iron Mind stands for, which is a space for anyone who wants to mosh, dive, slam, feel powerful, go crazy in their own way, no matter who they are. It’s the real deal, for those that are attracted to it.
The record title and its themes suggest resilience, reflection, and maturity. What advice would you give to your younger selves back when you wrote the original “The Iron Mind”?
Things will get much harder than this, but with time and experience so will you.
Finally—after 20 years of carrying the Iron Mind name, what still fuels you creatively and personally to keep pushing forward?
I think a big part of it is that all five members of Iron Mind have matured and grown in that time. We’ve all gone through different experiences in life, but we’re at a stage where we can all really appreciate each other as mates and what each member brings to the band.
When you’re younger and in those early years of a band, it’s very easy to take all of it for granted, take each other for granted, let all those experiences pass you by as if you are entitled to them. But after close to 20 years, I think today we’re able to stop and really appreciate each other and that we still get to do it.
We’ve also just gotten better at it, haha – so this new record is easily the best music we’ve made. We achieved what we set out to do, which was make THE definitive Iron Mind record. It wasn’t the result of one person hanging onto a past idea of Iron Mind, it’s the result of all five of us pushing it forward and upward. The cumulative 20 years that’s been put in together, arm in arm, and the fruit that we get to share as brothers as a result.
IRON MIND – TEST OF THE IRON MIND
Out June 13 Via Last Ride / Flatspot Records
IRON MIND
TEST OF THE IRON MIND LIVE ’25
With Special Guests The Chain and Horsepower
Tickets On Sale Now via lastriderecords.com
Friday June 13
Crowbar, Brisbane 18+ *
Saturday June 14
Sandgate Town Hall, Brisbane AA *
Friday June 20
Howler, Melbourne 18+ ^
Saturday June 21
Phoenix Youth Centre, Melbourne AA
Thursday June 26
Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney 18+ *^
Friday June 27
Hamilton Station, Newcastle 18+ *
Friday July 4
Jive, Adelaide 18+ ^
Saturday July 5
Lynott’s Lounge, Perth 18+ *^
Friday July 11
Newtown Community Centre, Wellington AA
Saturday July 12
Neck Of The Woods, Auckland 18+
* With The Chain | ^ With Horsepower
