Antagonizör are Gainesville’s swamp-dwelling metal punks, known for their genre-defying sound, theatrical stage antics, and unapologetic attitude. Since forming in 2022, the trio have built momentum through DIY releases, chaotic live shows, and a growing reputation that recently landed them a slot at Keep It True Rising in Germany which was their first major international festival appearance. In this interview with TheNwothm, the band talk about their evolution from punk roots to heavy metal fury, the madness behind Edgelords from Hell, and what’s next for their ever-expanding reign of sonic mayhem.
Interview
TheNwothm: Antagonizör how you doing? Can you introduce yourselves and where
you are from?
Antagonizör: Thanks so much, TheNwothm, for having us! Antagonizör is a heavy metal/punk band based out of the swamps of Gainesville, Florida, USA. The current members are Sarah (guitar/vocals), Tzu-Wei (bass), and Mykel (drum slave).
TheNwothm: How did you get together back in 2022?
Antagonizör: Sarah and Tzu-Wei moved to Gainesville from Orlando in 2020. They had been playing in an Orlando-based black metal band called Von Nacht, but after taking a break from this band, Sarah rediscovered her roots in punk and took a deep dive into that genre. She was learning different covers of punk songs just for fun. They met their original drummer, Michelle, at a show where she played with her punk band Piss Test. They were impressed with her energy, and they decided to start a band. Originally, our music was primarily hardcore punk, but with a metal flavor heavily influenced by Motörhead.
TheNwothm: Online you guys are described as metal mixed with punk? Would you agree with that and what is the scene like for your style of music where you are?
Antagonizör: We would agree with this description, although we are starting to move away from playing the punk songs from our early era. Even though we have been leaning more into heavy/ speed metal, you can still find punk elements in our songs. That’s why we described ourselves as genre-defying Edgelords from Hell! In Gainesville, there is a thriving DIY scene and several decent venues for shows. The music scene in Gainesville is strongly towards punk and hardcore with a couple metal bands. We kind of stick out like a sore thumb though since Florida is known for its death metal scene not so much traditional heavy metal. Most of the shows we play locally are mixed genre shows. However, there are two Florida bands that play NWOTHM that you should definitely check out: Midnight Vice from Tampa and Stunner from Gainesville. Both killer bands. Midnight Vice is going to play Hell’s Heroes in 2026, so anyone who is going should definitely see them and our friends in Viperwitch at the pre-party!
The music scene in Gainesville is strongly towards punk and hardcore with a couple metal bands. We kind of stick out like a sore thumb though since Florida is known for its death metal scene not so much of traditional heavy metal. Most of the shows we play locally are mix genre shows. However, there are two Florida bands that play NWOTHM you should definitely check them out: Midnight Vice from Tampa, and Stunner from Gainesville. Both killer bands.
TheNwothm: I just caught your performance at Keep It True Rising and I must say it was absolutely awesome! Reflecting on your show what was it like for you to be playing such an incredible event?
Antagonizör: It was a memory we will treasure for the rest of our lives, except Drum Slave. He might be a bit traumatized after being punished and humiliated in front of such a large audience. This is the biggest crowd we have played for so far and we had a lot of fun up there! We were feeding off the energy of the crowd, and it was incredibly cool to have so many people singing along, cheering for us, and booing our Drum Slave. We played exclusively heavy metal songs since it was a heavy metal festival. We were very, very well-received! People thought we were so fun and unique, and compared us to classic bands like Venom and The Plasmatics. We signed so many autographs, many people bought our records from FHM Records’ table at the metal market, and we almost sold out of our merch! It was incredible, and we are so thankful and honored that we were asked to play and got to share the stage with so many talented bands.
TheNwothm: I love the theatrical element of Antagonizör where you are somewhat in control and your drummer is a slave. How did you come with the idea to incorporate such ideas into the stage performance?
Antagonizör: Well, after so many negative experiences playing in bands with men, Sarah was hesitant to allow a man into the band after parting ways with our original female drummer. We saw our Drum Slave being a nuisance at the local music shop, banging on the drums and going crazy. We figured this guy had what it takes to play drums for our band, but we were only going to allow a man to join if he would submit to us and be our slave. We enjoy playing shows and having fun on stage, so we decided to incorporate more theatrics to our live performance. Plus, Drum Slave always finds a way to get on our nerves onstage, so you better bet that he deserves every bit of punishment and humiliation he gets up there!
TheNwothm: Looking at your discography you have been super active in the past few years. Let us go back to “Heavy Metal Bootlicker” which is an 18 minute slab of in your face tracks. How did that initially come together and do you have a favourite tune?
Antagonizör: Well, the album title and title track were inspired by this dude that we really hate and people like him. The metal scene in America is a bit divided. You have the metalheads who are actually into rebellion, evil, and anti-authoritarianism, and then you have the nationalist, cop-loving, Bible-thumping Trump cucks. We do not like these right-wing douche bags at all. The title track is heavily influenced by Motörhead. Living in the US is an incredibly frustrating experience, especially for women, LGBTQ+ people, and non-Christians. Sarah has rage issues and was losing her mind while writing that album, so a lot of the songs are politically charged and angry. Influences for writing that album include Discharge, Negative Approach, MDC, Minor Threat, and of course, Motörhead.
TheNwothm: Your next move was a live release. Was that an intentional way to showcase the band’s authentic sound and the raw energy that defines your live performances?
Antagonizör: We were offered the opportunity to do this live record, so we figured why not. Back then, there was a lot of ranting, raving, and rage-filled tirades that Sarah would expel between songs. So, you’ll find a lot of that angry energy in that live album.
TheNwothm: In 2023 you dropped another powerhouse of an EP, “Surprise Mother•uckers.” It was clearly a busy year for you. Where did you draw the inspiration and creative energy to keep the music flowing?
Antagonizör: Sarah decided to title this album as such because this was the debut of a more heavy metal sound for our band, and we thought people would be a bit surprised by this new direction. The tracks Motorcycle Girl and She Demon are pure heavy metal songs, but of course, there are still punk songs on the album. After starting the band, Sarah became a song-writing machine, and she has been churning out new songs steadily ever since the first release from the band. She has a lot of manic energy and gets a lot of joy from creating new music. Plus, the band is an outlet for her excessive amount of energy!
TheNwothm: Now in 2025 you have put out your debut album “Edgelords from Hell” marking a significant milestone for the band? How does that feel to finally have a full length out and what can fans expect from the release?
Antagonizör: Having a full-length album finally out felt amazing, especially after it was so well-received. Sarah had written those songs about a year prior to the album’s release, and we had been playing those songs live for a while, so it was a relief to finally have them recorded for people to enjoy listening to. This was our debut release with our Drum Slave doing percussion, and as much as we hate to give him any credit, he nailed his performance on this album and came up with very good drum parts for the songs. Perhaps this is because he is forced to practice in his dungeon around the clock while chained to his kit. This album is primarily a heavy metal album, with only two straight up punk songs. It was satisfying to embrace our new direction. The production and performance on this album were a step up from previous releases for sure. It’s still very DIY but the work was done more professionally. This release and the Obsessed by Evil music video opened so many doors for us. We were getting asked to play festivals, and got signed for tape, CD, and record releases through Morbid and Miserable Records, Ironbound Records, and FHM Records. We sold so much music in a very short period of time, which was very exciting! We appreciate the support!
TheNwothm: Is there any specific track that is a favourite to play live?
Antagonizör: Recently, we added Motorcycle Girl back into our sets with a killer whammy bar intro that sounds like a motorcycle engine. Midnight Racer is a lot of fun to play as well, and we always enjoy closing the set out with Edgelords from Hell, where we get the audience to chant along with us. We have an entire new full-length album written, and we have been incorporating more of those songs into our sets. Those ones are very, very fun to play!
TheNwothm: FHM records who I met at Kit Rising is proudly working with you! What does it mean to have their support?
Antagonizör: We are so thankful for their support. They are extremely cool people who have offered us an incredible deal for the release of Edgelords from Hell. Having someone offer to put out so many copies of an album on vinyl is such a
great opportunity, and we are incredibly grateful. At KIT Rising, we got to meet Frank and Lilla who are in charge of the label and pick up our copies of the vinyl and CDs. We had previously sold out of two runs of CDs and had very few tapes left, so we were very glad to get more music to sell! It’s great to have a European label’s support, as we have so many European fans, especially after KIT Rising! A huge shout out to FHM for their support!
TheNwothm: Looking ahead for the rest of 2025 what other live shows do you have planned? Have you started booking for 2026?
Antagonizör: Now that we are back from Germany, we are going to record our second full length. We are hoping to release it about one year after releasing our first full-length. We have some songs we recorded on New Years Eve of 2024 that we are hoping to release sometime next year. We have a few Florida shows planned for the fall and winter of 2025, but we are very excited for We will have some cool announcements about tours and festivals once we have all the details in place and the permission to announce the shows!
TheNwothm: Considering the bands history have you already started penning ideas for a future release?
Antagonizör: Oh yeah. Like we said, we have an entire new album written and ready to rock! We are so, so excited for this release, as it is going to be a pure heavy metal album (and of course still with the punk ethos) that is stacked with killer songs. We have honed our musicianship and songwriting since the release of Edgelords from Hell, and we can’t wait to show people what we have been cooking with this upcoming album.
TheNwothm: And what other cool projects if any are you working on? Would ever consider doing a concept record or a collaboration?
Antagonizör: Sarah has a raw black metal solo project called Infernal Blasphemer that she has been hard at work on since the winter of 2024. She has a demo out online that she self-released on cassette. She’s been practicing her drumming and working on improving her production skills so that a stronger full-length release can come out in the near future. We allow our Drum Slave to work on other music projects so long as he is compliant with our demands, doesn’t piss us off too much, and has been practicing enough for Antagonizör. He has several death metal projects, such as Wharflurch, Plasmodulated, and a solo death/doom project called Liminal Erosion. We think it would be really fun to collaborate with some other musicians for live sets or recorded releases. Our second album will sort of have a concept, but we aren’t sure about a pure concept album in our future. Our Drum Slave suggested a Christmas album, but as Satanists, we were vehemently opposed to this idea. He was punished for coming up with such a stupid idea.
TheNwothm: How can our readers buy your music and merch?
Antagonizör: You can order cassettes through Morbid and Miserable Records and vinyl and CDs from us on Bandcamp or from FHM Records. Due to the stupid new tariff policy in the US, there are still complications about shipping parcels to the US from Germany. Our label, FHM Records, is still doing worldwide shipping but we suggest our fans in the US order directly from us to avoid the high shipping cost. We have got all the tapes and merch released by Ironbound Records delivered to us as well, so you can also get those directly from us through our Bandcamp or at our
shows!
TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online?
Antagonizör: You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram (antagonizor.fl), or on our Bandcamp to receive updates about shows, new merch, and new releases.
TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?
Antagonizör: We feel so validated after our experience playing Keep It True Rising.
We have never had such a huge opportunity, and we are stunned that so many
people knew who we are and were excited to see us play. The overwhelming
support we have received was mind-boggling. We were able to take our Drum Slave to a castle and show him a real medieval dungeon to instill some extra fear inside of him. We are on the rise as a band, and we are incredibly excited for our future. A huge thank you to our fans, our labels, the festivals that have asked us to play, and Satan for giving us the power to churn out these wicked tunes. To the readers, don’t let the bastards get you down, be unabashedly true to yourself, and SPREAD EVIL!!!!!!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Antagonizor
Bandcamp: https://antagonizor.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antagonizor.fl/
Label: Fhm Records
The Nwothm 
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