From Converge to Paramore: The icons who inspired Heriot’s Debbie Gough

There’s simply no denying it: already, Debbie Gough is a musical inspiration to many. We decided to flip it around, though, and find out from the Heriot six-stringer who she’s been most influenced by over the years – from the gnarliest metalcore to pop royalty…

“Not from the metal world, but she’s one of the most inspiring people of all time. She’s so young but she’s achieved so many things that someone could only dream of achieving in their whole lifetime. I think she writes really sincere music as well, and I love the production that her and her brother [FINNEAS] do. Her vocal technique is amazing, especially for a pop artist. It’s not overproduced, and it’s really authentic. She’s super-strong and inspiring to people of all ages.”

“He’s a riff legend! He’s written some of my favourite songs ever. He’s the absolute GOAT of writing hard, heavy, catchy metal riffs, and he’s obviously the king of solos as well. He comes from a blues background, but he applies it to thrash, which is great. It doesn’t really sound like anybody else. We got to play with Lamb Of God and they were super-lovely – I even got to soundcheck Mark’s parts on one of their songs! When we were doing our own soundcheck I saw that he was there filming us, which was really cool. They’re just a great band full of really inspiring people.”

“I love that a lot of his guitar lines are almost like leads, but he’s the only guitarist in the band. And I love how that carries most of the music. His riffs are really weird, in the best way. I don’t know how many other people would think to base their riffs like that. I’ve always admired his playing, especially on [2009 album] Axe To Fall and records like that, where the riffs are super-catchy. He does loads of weird things like inverted chords. From a tone point of view as well, in his playing and in his production work, it’s so raw and so ugly – in a good way. You can tell when he’s worked on a record, mostly because of the tone.”

“She’s such a versatile player, and the way Baroness write riffs is just so cool. If you listen to the riffs on their own, you wouldn’t think that they were a metal band. She’s an amazing guitarist and, not to dwell on this angle, but I think she’s super-inspiring as a woman. Everything that Gina plays, she makes sound hard as fuck. I went to NAMM, and I got to really briefly say hello to her. I was on my way to the bathroom, and she just happened to be stood around. I said, ‘Hello, I think you’re great!’”

“She’s undeniably one of the best voices of our generation. And I say that as somebody who only got into them maybe 10 years ago. I definitely didn’t grow up listening to Paramore – they were a late discovery for me. Their songs are so catchy, they’re so meaningful, the lyrics are just so clever and relatable. I think she comes across as such a personable person, with unreal levels of talent. She’s a complete icon.”

Heriot tour the UK from April 9, and play 2000trees and Bloodstock festivals this summer. This interview originally appeared in the spring 2025 issue of Kerrang!.

Read this next:

• Heriot: “I want us to bring a new style of metal, with the same values we started with, making heavy, abrasive, immersive music”
• Heriot’s Debbie Gough: The 10 songs that changed my life
• Heriot: “The UK scene is so rich with amazing bands – we’re beyond grateful to be part of it”