Why You Should Furiously Be Frothin' Brisbane's Rising Core Heavyweights Zuko

Kayla Hamilton

Asia-Core Correspondent

Dec 16, 2025

3 min read

Australia is a breeding ground for heaviness and the bands within our scene are praised, applauded and celebrated on a global scale.

You can't chat to someone from outside out country without being met with "what's in the water down under?" or "All the good bands are from Australia!"

‍It fills you with an overwhelming sense of pride and constantly leaves you wondering who the next big bands are to fly up the ranks and join the likes of Parkway, Amity, Thy Art Is Murder, Polaris, Northlane, SPEED, Make Them Suffer and the countless others putting us on the map.

One band we've been following since 2023 is Brisbane-based metalcore outfit ZUKØ, who burst onto the scene in 2021 with 'Roe Ct' which harked back to the raw, hardcore screams of Knocked Loose and Counterparts before them.

Now one to be pigeonholed early on, the outfit released a slew of tunes that found them self-describing themselves as "Too metalcore for hardcore, Too hardcore for metalcore" and instead allowed fans to make their own minds up when listening to their music.

During our interview with the band for the release of 'Absence' in 2023, the group stated:

"We decided to consciously not let specific parameters limit our creativity when flushing out riffs & drum beats and how we structure our songs. We consider ourselves very diverse in our music taste and wanted to have our work reflect that."

From day one we've always wanted to do whatever we wanted so we're trying to stick to that with hopes that we could release something on either end of the spectrum and still be Zuko.

That motivation and tenacity has allowed ZUKØ to weave between the lines of definition and follow up with sheer brutality that's earned them country-wide praise from the scene. Becoming the quintessential Brisbane addition to some of the heaviest East Coast tours, you will be hard pressed to find somebody who hasn’t seen their name on a show flyer. If you are one of the onlookers now who are yet to take a deep dive into just what ZUKØ has to offer and why they should be at the top of your must see list.

Forming in 2021, ZUKØ emerged from a remains of a previous band that Logan Gill (guitar), Ben Matthews (bass) and Jordan Bellchambers (drums) were a part of. The three decided to stick with it and kept writing together, hoping to find a vocalist and a second guitarist. A good ole Facebook musicians group led them to connecting with vocalist Jesse Hudson and guitarist Nato Laenen, and as the band said:

“The rest is history.”

Since the start, the five-piece have been on a solid trajectory. For those who have been there from the start though, it is hardly surprise. Following up their aforementioned first drop with their extended release Hereditary in 2022, it was obvious the band was onto something special. Mixing meticulous groove, heavy breakdowns and vocals that are primal and gritty, ZUKØ’s talent continued to blow listeners away.

In 2023, the band released their two-track ‘Venom//Absence’ , showing that they were not just a flash in the pan. Whether it was their mission or not to stand out in what has become quite a competitive Australian scene, they were doing it by making music that aligned with them. After the release of ‘Venom’ they were forward to a bright future, stating that:

“the reaction to our music has been amazing. We cannot wait to hit the ground running in 2024 with more brand new music and hitting as many spots in the country as possible!”

And hit the ground they did.

2024 saw them sharing the stages with a range of heavy music heavyweights, including the Californian deathcore act SPITE as well as getting out of Brissy and heading down the coast with fellow Aussies like Heists. They also unveiled their acclaimed EP Hatred, a release that quickly become disrupted everybody’s “top releases of the year” lists. The blistering work further proved that ZUKØ is a force to be reckoned with in the scene and no longer one of Brisbane’s best kept secrets.

Keeping up with the momentum, this year has also been a dynamite year for them. From supporting the likes of Stray From The Path, Spite, Alpha Wolf, Malevolence and Graves (just to name a few), playing in more places than ever before to bringing their unique brand of core to Rhythm And The Reef Festival, the ZUKØ resume keeps growing. Never the ones to keep us waiting too long for new music as well, they hit us with two massive singles ’Stand For Nothing’ and the fresh new one ‘Teeth To The Curb’.

Heading into 2026 the now scene mainstays are continuing to blaze a path. They are now starting to carve a space of their own. Not only are they being included on the Brisbane leg of the Justice For The Damned’s monster tour with Guilt Trip in February, they have just announced their first ever headline tour in February, taking on the East Coast to celebrate their latest release.

If you are in Perth and Adelaide though, you will get a taste of what’s to come a little earlier as ZUKØ are one of the Australian acts selected to help tear up Froth & Fury Festival at the end of January. Playing alongside of other metalcore/hardcore names like fellow Aussies In Hearts Wake, Ocean Sleeper, Terminal Sleep, Diesect (Adelaide only), Pincer+ (Perth only) and of course headliners Polaris, plus international “core” acts like Bleeding Through, Gridiron and Bodysnatcher (Perth only), you will see just why ZUKØ deserves to be amongst the action.

Ben Matthews from the band shared his excitement about playing the festivals and told us to expect "Energy, and LOTS of it" plus shared who he's keen to check out after they walk off stage.

"Polaris are always so good live and I haven’t seen them since the new album, but I’m a sucker for nostalgia. Comeback Kid will be my highlight of the day for sure!"