Inertia Have Carved Out a Serious Place in Australia’s Alternative Scene

This interview is part of our Future of Music 2026 series. Follow all the coverage here.

Inertia are not interested in staying neatly inside the lines of heavy music.

The Sydney band have built their name on a sound that pulls dark pop, soul, emo, and metalcore into the same storm. Think the weight of Loathe, Spiritbox, and Thornhill colliding with flashes of The Weeknd and SZA, then dragged into something heavier, moodier, and more volatile.

That contrast has become Inertia’s greatest strength. Their music can move from sleek and melodic to explosive in seconds, balancing Latouche’s soaring vocal presence with driving riffs, sharp production, and an emotional intensity that never feels forced.

The fact they have self-produced every release only adds to the sense of control behind the chaos, with the band’s DIY ethic sitting at the centre of everything they do.

Their rise has been hard-earned. Across more than five million streams, a growing national following and releases through Resist Records, Inertia have carved out a serious place in Australia’s alternative scene.

Their debut album Second Shadow pushed that momentum even further, leading into a sold-out national tour with Headwreck and Synge in 2025.

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They have also become a formidable live act, sharing stages with some of the biggest names in heavy and alternative music, including Polaris, Dayseeker, Northlane, Ocean Grove, Thornhill, Void of Vision, Holding Absence, Caskets, Thy Art Is Murder, and Story of the Year.

Heavy enough to level a room, melodic enough to stay lodged in your head, and ambitious enough to keep warping the shape of modern metal, Inertia are one of Australia’s most compelling heavy acts right now.

Read an exclusive interview with Inertia below.

Rolling Stone AU/NZ: What does it mean to be included in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music series?

Inertia: It’s a huge honour for us as a band to be chosen for this by Rolling Stone. It means that the heavy music scene is continuing to grow and we’re so excited to play our small part in that.

How did you first get your start in music?

All of us have been making music since we were teenagers, separately in different bands. Then we all met and it was a matter of right place at the right time as we formed Inertia’s lineup.

Describe your sound to a new listener in three words.

Weeknd but metalcore.

Tell us about your latest release?

Our latest release is our debut album Second Shadow. With it being our first album we didn’t know what to expect, but the hard work is paying off and we see the appreciation from our fans around Australia.  It’s dark, moody and heavy, so give it a listen if you’re into emotional modern metalcore.

What’s your favourite career memory so far?

We’ve been lucky enough to support some of our favourite artists (both international and Australian) on tours around the country, but a favourite memory has to be our headline tour for our recent album. Having a crowd share their excitement to hear our album live is something special and we can’t wait to do it again with new material very soon.

What are the positives and negatives of being a musician in 2026?

The best part of being a musician is getting to tour with so many hectic bands and see Australia at the same time. The negative is the ever-looming threat of AI stealing from artists (and making us more poor than we already are).

What’s one thing you’d change about the ANZ music industry?

Venue merch cuts are something that’s started to creep into some venue deals in Australia, and that’s something we’d like to see eliminated from the live music industry.

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Are you hopeful for the future of ANZ music?

Yes, we’re so hopeful for the future of the scene. Heavy music is on a high right now. We also love to see shows getting more diverse.

Name one other ANZ act you’d like to see make our Future of Music series in the future. 

Irken Armada. Everyone should go listen to them right now.

What’s coming up for you this year?

Fans who have seen us live in recent months have already had a sneak peak of new music. The offical release of new music is on the horizon and more shows will be coming with it.