There is something exciting happening with Melbourne’s ANA, and it does not feel like the kind of thing that can be neatly packed into one genre tag.
That became clear pretty quickly while speaking with Anna and Josh about the band’s debut full-length album, Motivated by Death. ANA may sit somewhere in the world of symphonic metal, melodic metal, modern metal, theatrical heavy music and operatic performance, but the more you listen, the more obvious it becomes that none of those labels fully explain what they are building.
This is a band still early in its story, but already moving with the kind of ambition and international momentum that many bands spend years trying to find. Formed in 2023, ANA have gone from their debut EP, The Art of Letting Go, to a full-length album through Eclipse Records, a growing overseas following, recent dates in Japan and upcoming September shows in the United States supporting Danzig.
For a Melbourne band only a few years into its life, that is no small thing.
From Different Worlds Into One Band
Part of what makes ANA interesting is the way Anna and Josh arrived at heavy music from different places.
Anna’s musical path began early. Music was never just something sitting in the background for her. She started young, first through dance and performance, then through music, following that pull with the kind of determination that clearly still drives her now. Before ANA, she had worked in pop and brought with her a voice capable of moving through operatic power, melody and emotional weight.
Josh came through a different door. His early years playing guitar and performing in bands came during the late 90s and early 2000s in Singapore, surrounded by an underground scene where melodic death metal, nu metal and the early shape of what would become metalcore were all colliding. That history matters when you listen to ANA. Beneath the grander vocal moments and cinematic atmosphere, there is a real understanding of heavy riffs, melody and live-band energy.
Before ANA became a band, Anna and Josh had already worked together closely on Anna’s solo material. The shift into heavier music was not a sudden gimmick. Anna had wanted to explore something heavier for a while, and Josh had the background to help bring that side out. After both found themselves frustrated by other band situations that did not quite work, the answer became simple: stop waiting for the right project and build it themselves.
That decision in 2023 became the beginning of ANA.
Not Interested in Being Boxed In
One of the strongest things to come through in the interview was that ANA are not especially interested in being boxed into a narrow subgenre.
Josh spoke openly about how difficult it can be when bands are expected to pick a lane for the sake of press, promotion and easy description. The problem for ANA is that the five members do not all come from the same musical background. That is not a weakness. It is part of the point.
The band pull from different places because the people inside the band pull from different places.
That is why ANA can move between operatic vocals, melodic guitar work, modern heaviness, emotional songwriting, theatrical visuals and raw live energy without sounding like they are simply trying to tick boxes. There is a lot happening in their sound, but it works because the band are not trying to please a genre checklist. They are trying to serve the song.
That approach sits right at the heart of Motivated by Death.
Motivated by Death
The title Motivated by Death grabs you before the first note even hits, but this is not an album about giving in to darkness.
It is about urgency.
It is about remembering that time is limited and using that truth as fuel. Anna explained the idea as a reminder to keep going, to keep trying, to hold onto the things that matter and not waste energy on the things that do not. From that central idea, the album began to take shape.
What is especially interesting is that the title came first. Once ANA had Motivated by Death as the anchor, the songs began forming around it.
That gives the album a clear emotional centre. It does not feel like a collection of unrelated tracks. It feels like a record built around the pressure of mortality, the weight of grief, the damage of toxic relationships and the need to keep creating while you still can.
Written in the Heat of Momentum
The creation of Motivated by Death also says a lot about where ANA were as a band at the time.
After their first Japan tour, the group came home with the kind of chemistry that only comes from being on the road together. Josh explained that the end of a tour is often when a band is at its best, because the members are locked in, listening to each other and operating as one unit.
Rather than letting that energy fade, ANA booked a rehearsal space for two days, five hours each day, and set themselves a challenge: by the end of those sessions, they needed the structure of the new album.
That pressure shaped the record.
A lot of Motivated by Death was written quickly, in the room, with the band working from basic ideas, chord structures or even just song titles. Some tracks were built almost entirely from scratch during those sessions. According to Josh, what they captured in that room was already very close to what ended up on the finished album.
That explains why the record feels alive. Even with the bigger arrangements, layered vocals and heavier production, there is still a raw band energy running through it.
ANA also chose to track much of the material themselves before working with Chris Themelco at Monolith Studios on the mix. Having already worked with Chris on The Art of Letting Go, the band knew he understood the sound they were chasing. Just as importantly, he understood what not to over-polish.
ANA do not want the recordings to feel too removed from the live experience. They want the sound to stay close to what happens when the band is actually in the room.
The Emotional Centre of Papa
Among the album’s most powerful moments is “Papa.”
The song is deeply personal for Anna, written from the idea of a letter to her father. Josh encouraged her to approach it from that place, and when she wrote the words, the emotional weight of it was obvious immediately.
“Papa” works because it does not feel forced. It does not sound like a band trying to manufacture a vulnerable moment for the sake of dynamics. It feels like something that needed to be written.
The track carries grief, absence, anger and love without trying to make those emotions tidy. That is part of why it hits so hard. Anyone who has lived with complicated family pain, addiction, loss or unanswered questions will recognise something real in it.
Josh’s approach to writing helps explain why the song lands the way it does. He thinks in terms of story first. For ANA, the arrangement is not just there to sound impressive. The guitars, keys, drums and vocal melodies all need to understand what the song is trying to say.
On “Papa,” that means giving the emotion space to breathe.
Hate Me, Sick Love and the Weight of the Record
Motivated by Death is not carried by one mood.
“Hate Me” opens the album with force, setting a powerful tone from the beginning. “Sick Love” digs into the uglier places where affection, obsession and emotional damage start feeding into each other. “Following the Wind” came together with little more than a title when the band entered the writing session, showing how much of this album was born from instinct and trust.
Then there is ANA’s cover of System of a Down’s “Aerials.”
It makes sense for the band. System of a Down are one of those rare acts that can be heavy, melodic, strange and emotionally direct all at once. ANA had already been performing “Aerials” live for a couple of years, and after seeing how strongly audiences connected with their version, the band decided it was time to record it properly.
On an album this personal, the cover does not feel like filler. It feels like a natural part of the world ANA are building.
Japan Embraced ANA Early
One of the most telling parts of the conversation was hearing Anna and Josh talk about Japan.
While ANA have a loyal and growing fan base at home, Japan has clearly embraced the band in a powerful way. Anna spoke about fans waiting after soundcheck, bringing gifts, asking for photos and making the band feel genuinely special. Their music has appeared in record stores there, with CDs selling out in some shops.
That kind of response means a lot for any band, but especially for one still so early in its journey.
Josh joked that ANA feel almost like a Japanese band based in Melbourne, and there is a truth under the humour. Sometimes Australian bands have to leave the country to realise how much their music is connecting. Sometimes overseas audiences see the value before the hometown fully catches up.
That does not mean Australia is not there for ANA. It means the rest of the world is already paying attention too.
From Japan to Danzig
The next major step is the United States.
In September, ANA will head over for several dates supporting Danzig, a huge opportunity for a band that only came together in 2023. When I asked Anna and Josh about it, there was a real mix of excitement and disbelief. They are clearly thrilled, but they also understand the scale of what is ahead.
That is the right mindset.
These are not small rooms. These are not low-pressure shows. This is ANA stepping onto a much bigger platform and introducing themselves to audiences who may have no idea what to expect.
That can be intimidating, but it is also exactly where a band like ANA should be. Their music is built to make an impact. Their live presence has already connected in Japan. Their album has the kind of emotional and musical range that can cut through to people quickly.
The Danzig dates are not just another tour announcement. They feel like a marker of where ANA are heading.
Australia Should Be Paying Attention
There is a strange thing that happens with Australian heavy bands.
We often wait until the rest of the world validates them before we fully recognise what is happening in our own backyard. ANA are a good example of why that needs to change.
Here is a Melbourne band with a powerful vocalist, a strong creative partnership at its core, a debut album that feels urgent and fully realised, a growing Japanese fan base and upcoming US dates with Danzig. That is not potential anymore. That is momentum.
Motivated by Death is the sound of a band turning pressure into purpose. It is heavy, melodic, emotional, theatrical and deeply personal without needing to be reduced to any one tag.
ANA are not asking to be placed neatly into a box.
They are building something of their own, and with Japan already behind them and the United States waiting in September, it feels like this is only the beginning.
Motivated by Death is out now through Eclipse Records.
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