INTERVIEW: RORONOAH
- Jan 13
- 3 min read
We sat down with Brisbane Deathcore heavyweights Roronoah to chat band history, Judgement and Crimson Smile, Good Things and 2025 highlights and here is how it went.
How did you choose the name “Roronoah”?
It comes from the Japanese anime One Piece, the show centres around pirates and I also have an odd obsession with pirates - Roronoa is the name of one of the characters, It’s the Japanese translation of an old French pirate's name.
How and when did you form as a band?
We formed as a band in late 2023 I believe and began writing from there. Our first single began production in January 2024 and was later released in June of that year.
What does your writing and recording process look like?
Writing usually starts with the instrumental, I’ll start with a guitar riff or rough idea on structure and go from there. I usually score out the music first then go back and try to play it on the instrument. It's a process that I recently discovered and have found great success with it. To record, we
go and see Jake Solway at Sol Audio, He does all of our recording, mixing and mastering. He's the man.
How did you come up with the Davey Jones concept for Crimson Smile?
I guess it goes back to the odd obsession with pirates. I've always liked the mythology behind Davey Jones and the character you see in the movie. This was the first song written since our debut EP so we knew we wanted something more aggressive, I've found that imagery helps a lot with putting together music, and Davey Jones’s flying Dutchman was the image I chose to work with.
Daniel Macdonald of Body Prison features on Crimson Smile, did he get involved after performing together at The Outpost during Gravemind’s tour?
Yeah we had the chance to chat to all of the Body Prison guys backstage at that show. We asked Dan if it's something he would consider in the future and he was extremely kind and generous enough to do it. Super great bunch of guys, very humble and great people.
Your single Judgement has been out for two months now, how was it received by fans?
The reception has been overwhelmingly positive, it’s so exciting to see everyone get around the track. I can’t wait for everyone to hear what else we have.
You made it to the finals for the Brisbane Good Things 25 Battle of the Bands, how did the competition work and would you do anything different next time?
Not 100% sure how the system worked, it was partly judged and partly crowd voted I believe. We had a blast and loved every minute of it, the support we received was truly amazing and honestly quite shocking. I personally couldn't believe so many people turned up for us and how energetic the crowd was during our set. Wouldn't change a thing, grateful to be a part of it.
At SlugFest Kalani took to the stage with Arkángel, how did that come about?
When we played with Arkangel on our Accustomed to Hurt tour in August, Jake and Kalani would always jump on stage for a song (whether it was Arkangel or Roronoah). Those two love sharing the stage and it never gets old, I can’t wait to see more of it.
What was your highlight of 2025?
We had a huge year - Debut EP, East coast tour, huge support opportunities. I think we all have our own personal favourite, mine would be opening for Unprocessed. That was an unreal opportunity and experience. A very close 2nd is when we played “Judgement” for the first time live in the Good things Battle of the Bands final, that was very very fun.
Who is your dream band to tour with?
A Shadow of Intent tour would be nuts!
Is there any upcoming tour information/music release or general information you would like to share with the readers?
A series of announcements will be coming in February, new music, new shows and more!
You can read our review of Judgement here and keep an eye out for the Crimson Smile review, coming out this Thursday at 4pm!
For Fans Of: Lorna Shore, Shadow of Intent, Whitechapel and Fit For An Autopsy
My Favourite Song: Hush
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