Matt Young

Matt Young, bandleader, bassplayer, singer and songwriter for prog metallers HeKz.

Everybody who knows me also knows that I have a personal relationship with Matt Young. I married his mum. The first time I saw Matt’s band HeKz was in the Bedford in London in 2014. Young guys that blew the roof off. 
But young guys grow up and ambitions change as do band line ups. Matt’s ambitions grew bigger as did his songwriting. In 2026 his band HeKz produced a, in my not so humble opinion, sensational album Qisma. The best Matt ever composed. But there’s also a live album, Vivus. It shows a band on the top of their game. Time to talk about it!

Arne: Hi Matt, for who doesn’t know you, can you introduce yourself and how would you describe the current HeKz.

Matt: I’m the singer, bassist and songwriter for HeKz, a progressive metal band from the UK that has existed in one form or another for a little over 20 years.

In my opinion, the current iteration of the band is the strongest it has ever been, and that is thanks to the talents of Lucia La Rezza on the violin, Tolis Zavaliaris on guitar and James Wise on the drums. Occasionally, we are joined on stage by Jonny Gibson-Smith on keys and, surprisingly, saxophone, and currently we have a wonderful young drummer named Pavel Ljubicic standing for James whilst he is on tour with one of his other bands

Photo credits: Charlie Smith and Simon Arnold

Arne: Congratulations on Qisma and Vivus. Both are brilliant ! If you had to describe Qisma in three words, what would they be and why? It was mixed and mastered by John Mitchell and he did a great job, but Vivus you did yourself. How was that?
 
Matt: Only 3?! I’d do with “dream come true.” When I started to get the first ideas for the album that would become ‘Qisma,’ I was quite nervous. I’d poured so much into the previous album, ‘Terra Nova’ and that had been so well received. That album had such a grand scope, and I didn’t think I could match it. For the follow-up, I deliberately tried to write something that was a bit more concise, and definitely a single album rather than another double. 
Of course, I failed spectacularly, and the result was an even longer double album with two tracks exceeding the 20-minute mark! On reflection, I do feel that ‘Qisma’ is a worthy successor to ‘Terra Nova ’, and the thing that made all the difference was having a great team around the album. Although both releases feature a tremendous selection of musicians that bring the music to life, there’s a special alchemy present in ‘Qisma’ that comes from the fact that the band you hear on the album is precisely that - a proper band that goes out on stage together. And then you bring John Mitchell into the mix, and he’s simply a genius. The level of care and attention to detail he put into the album is staggering - I can’t imagine he could have done more if it was his own album. 

Another aspect that really helped make ‘Qisma’ a dream come true was the visual side. We had Charlie Smith, Rich Crooks and Amir Khan handling the video production; Fin Carroll taking care of photography; and Cameron Gray creating a breathtaking artwork package to fit the music. It was a lot to coordinate, but everyone brought their best.
 
For “Vivus,” it was quite a different process. There wasn’t the budget to get John involved on a live album, but the performance was great and I felt it was important to share it. I’m getting more confident with the mixing process and think I can do a reasonable job with the skills and tools at my disposal, but mastering is a black art to me. It’s a painstaking process of trial and error, trying to make sure that the songs translate well on different types of speakers and headphones. I’m sure I made some mistakes, but I think the final product gives the impression of a band playing an “in-your-face” club show, which is what I was striving for.

Arne: What was the biggest source of inspiration for this specific album? Was there a particular moment, a book, or an event that sparked it?

Matt: A lot of the story of ‘Qisma’ comes from my own opinions and experiences, and good dose of anxiety about the future. As I was writing the album and trying to think of outlandish things to include, the real world was catching up! At the core of the album is a story about someone trying to find their place in the world because they feel out of place and they reject certain facets and conventions of the world around them. I absolutely feel like this, and for the most part, it’s quite an empowering way to feel, though sometimes it can be a difficult maze to navigate.
 
I would categorise the story of ‘Qisma’ as science fiction, which is a genre close to my heart. I took inspiration from classic movies like Alien and Logan’s Run as well more contemporary TV shows like Fringe. 

Arne: How does the writing process usually go for you? Does a song start at home with a snippet of text on a phone?

Matt: It can be absolutely anything. My phone is full of voice memos, ranging from short riffs and melodies to full songs. Sometimes, I’ll get an idea for a song title or a lyric fragment. I tend to collect little bits and pieces. They may take shape right away or might need a little extra time to ‘bake’ before they’re ready to become a song. I don’t throw away anything, even if I’m not a big fan of the idea straight away. Often, the things that don’t really grab me become the most special HeKz songs.
 Right now, I’m writing 3 HeKz albums concurrently, and each one has a distinct musical identity. It’s an interesting way to work, as I know how to catalogue the ideas right away.

Arne: Every song has its own 'sound'. Is there a specific instrument or a certain piece of gear that shaped this album?
 
Matt: We definitely try to give every song it’s own sound. Everybody put a lot of thought and care into their parts and the instruments they would use. Tolis had a lot of fun with his guitar collection, and I know that he wanted to have a different element in each of his solos - whether that be a special technique or a certain type of effect. I particularly enjoyed his fretless acoustic guitar on ‘The Road Home’ - I hope we can do more of that in the future.
 For me to sound like ‘me,’ I have to have my white Rickenfaker with some fresh strings going into a run-of-the-mill Tech 21 Sansamp. For the vocals, I picked up a TLM-103 microphone and that really helped to capture the ‘three-dimensional’ vocal sound that I hear on all of my favorite records.
I do have a very secret weapon when I’m recording the keyboard parts, but I’m not going to tell anyone! A man has to have some secrets.

Arne: What is your absolute favorite instrument to play (in your possession), and is there a special story behind it?

Matt: How to choose! If there was a fire, I’d grab my Spear electric guitar. It was the first 6 string I ever bought and I’ve written so many HeKz songs on it. It even makes an appearance on “The Silent Man” and “Overlord” where, if you listen really carefully, you can hear me playing a couple of solos.

Arne: Going back to the very beginning: what or who made you pick up an instrument? 

Matt: Hearing Ozzy Osbourne’s live rendition of ‘Paranoid’ with Randy Rhoads on guitar made me want to learn the electric guitar. But I started on the bass so that I could start a band with my friends at school. When my guitar teacher leant me Iron Maiden’s ‘Live After Death’ and Van Halen’s ‘Live Without A Net’ on VHS, I knew that I wanted to be a musician.

Arne: Many musicians combine their passion with other jobs or studies. What does your daily life look like when you are NOT working on music?

Matt: It is my great privilege to be a music teacher. I go to schools during the day and teach children piano, guitar, drums and singing, then in the evenings I teach adults. It is wonderful to work for yourself, but it does come with a lot of pressure. For me, it’s worth it as it’s an incredibly rewarding thing to do and I am so grateful for every day that I get to continue doing it.

Arne: How do you find the balance between those side activities and the energy needed to make music and tour?

Matt: Nothing would keep me from doing the things that I love. I try to create the conditions so that there is always a little bit of time every day to work on music and the other non-musical things you have to do to keep a band running - social media, correspondence, admin etc. It’s a lifestyle that I take very seriously, so I do my best to eat right, stay in shape and get my 8 hours a night so that I can do all of the things that I both need and would like to do.

Arne: Now that the album is out, what are the immediate plans? Can we expect more touring.
 
Matt: Everyone in the band is hungry to play more. It is difficult at the moment, simply because it’s so expensive to go on the road. If you factor in just the rehearsal time and travel, it costs us a few hundred pounds to go and do a show, and we rarely get a guaranteed fee to perform. So, we have to think strategically and do things that make sense. It’s not about making money or even necessarily breaking even, but rather about the investment - if we’re going to spend the money on doing anything for the band, are we going to get a good return on that investment?
 
We have a few things lined up for 2027 that will be announced soon, and I’m already putting feelers out for 2028. 

Arne: Where do you hope you and your music will be in five years? Are there specific venues, festivals, or countries where you dream of playing?
 
Matt: It would be amazing to still have the opportunity to record albums on our own terms and to be able to headline our own tour in the UK and Europe. A few dates opening for Maiden wouldn’t go amiss either!

Arne: Which artist (living or resurrected) would you love to have a cup of tea with or dive into the studio with?
 
Matt: Freddie Mercury! Can you imagine the stories that he’d have to tell over a cuppa? Eeeeeeeeh-oh!!

Arne: What is the strangest or funniest thing you have ever experienced during a performance or in the studio? 

Matt: We played Winter’s End festival in 2018 and almost broke the PA! The cable that connects the stage to the sound desk was loose, and the sheer volume from our performance was causing it to rattle around in it’s socket. The resulting noise from the constant dis- and re-connecting was like cannon fire!
 
We had to abandon ship mid-song, but fortunately, the tech crew managed to get everything back up and running so that Canadian proggers Mystery could perform their headlining set. I didn’t mind finishing our set early, we’d only come along the M4. A bit further for the other lads though, so I’m glad it worked out.

Arne: Which hidden gem (a relatively unknown band, film, or book) do you think our readers really need to discover?
 
Matt: The debut album by a British rock band called Stray. Great songs and an enchanting atmosphere. One of Steve Harris’ favorites too, and they still rock hard today.