Some interviews require meticulous preparation. You do your research, come up with questions and learn everything you can about the person you’re interviewing. But what do you do when your interviewee is a dinosaur? Exactly the same thing, just with a little more respect. After all, you might get eaten.
Fortunately, Mr. Heavysaurus happens to be a particularly friendly dinosaur. And anyway, how often do you get the chance to interview a real dinosaur?
So I went looking for one. Not in some remote jungle or at a palaeontological excavation site, but right in the middle of the music scene. For almost ten years now, five rather unusual characters have been making quite a racket around here: four dinosaurs and a dragon who play heavy metal together as Heavysaurus.
I sent my questions to Mr. Heavysaurus, the leader of the gang. I was delighted when his answers arrived. After all, typing on a keyboard with those enormous dinosaur claws can’t be easy.
Heavysaurus has been around for almost ten years. One of our children first discovered you in 2019 and was just as enthusiastic when we saw you perform in Luhmühlen recently. Do you notice children staying loyal to you over the years, and does that influence how you develop as a band?
That’s actually one of the most wonderful things about our dino mission! More and more often, we see children who first came to see us years ago standing in front of our stage again. Some are teenagers now and bring their younger siblings along. And sometimes the parents know our songs just as well as their kids!
Of course, our audience changes over time. Children grow up, discover new music and develop their own tastes. But that’s exactly what we’re aiming for: we want to open the door to the wonderful world of rock music and spark a passion for live music.
That’s why we’re constantly evolving, too. Our music can certainly become more sophisticated and varied. We’ve already shown that with our album METAL, and with Mission Dino Power, we’re opening a new chapter in 2027.
We want children to be able to grow up with us without forgetting the next generation of little dino metalheads. And if a five-year-old Heavysaurus fan eventually becomes a passionate Iron Maiden fan, then we’ve done everything right!
We’ve been to several Heavysaurus concerts by now, and every time, there’s this wonderful mix of children and parents enjoying music together. The little ones are the focus, but the grown-ups are having just as much fun. Sometimes Mum ends up singing along just as loudly as her children.
The band sees itself as a gateway to rock music. For many children, a Heavysaurus show is their very first proper live concert, Mr. Heavysaurus explains. Families regularly tell the band that their children have started learning an instrument because of the dinosaurs.
Things were a little different in our family. Metal had always been playing at home, so the children were already familiar with it. But they promptly adopted Heavysaurus as something entirely their own. As if to say: This is our music now.
Your songs appeal to children but are also meant to entertain parents. How do you write lyrics on two levels, so that children can connect with them in their own way while adults still find something to enjoy?
Our secret is actually quite simple: we take children seriously. We make music for children, but not traditional children’s music.
Our lyrics are about things children understand immediately: friendship, courage, adventure, sticking together and sometimes simply being allowed to make a lot of noise. But these are also themes that matter just as much to adults.
And of course, there’s a generous helping of humour. Children love the crazy stories, while parents might pick up on a little reference or a musical joke.
Musically, we don’t make compromises anyway. There are proper guitar riffs, big choruses, driving drums and influences from bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Sabaton and Volbeat.
When a child enthusiastically sings along to “Kuhglocke, Go!” while Dad is headbanging next to them with his metal horns in the air, you know the concept works pretty well!
Children often experience concerts very differently from adults. What have you learned about performing live because your audience reacts so directly and doesn’t follow conventional concert etiquette?
Children are probably the most honest audience in the world! If they like something, they show it immediately. They jump, dance, scream, sing and throw their metal horns into the air. And if something doesn’t interest them, you’ll notice that just as quickly.
That’s why something always needs to be happening on our stage. Our concerts aren’t simply a sequence of songs. They’re real adventures, with stories, interactive moments, lights, fog, confetti and plenty of surprises.
At the same time, we’ve learned that children have very different needs. Some head straight to the front and start rocking out, while others need a few minutes to get used to those enormous dinosaurs.
That’s why we perform at family-friendly times, keep the volume appropriate and, wherever possible, provide a dedicated children’s area right in front of the stage.
But what excites us most is that children have no musical prejudices. If they like a guitar riff, they like it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s metal, hard rock or something else entirely.
From the outside, metal is still often associated with being loud, dark or aggressive. Anyone who has ever been to a major metal festival knows better, says Mr. Heavysaurus. I can confirm that.
At a concert that had absolutely nothing to do with dinosaurs, my children disappeared into the middle of a circle pit. My first thought: Oh shit. My second: Actually, no, they’ll be fine. The other concertgoers formed a protective barrier around them, keeping them safe amid all the chaos. Everyone was looking out for them.
For the band, metal is about freedom, community and being allowed to be different. And let’s face it, things don’t get much more unusual than four dinosaurs and a dragon playing heavy metal.
With Mission Dino Power, you’re not only introducing new music but also new adventures and stories about yourselves. When did you realise that children develop their own personal connection with each of you, and how does that influence the stories you tell?
We notice it particularly during our meet and greets. Some children absolutely want to meet Milli Pilli, others are huge fans of Riffi Raffi or Komppi Momppi. And of course, there are plenty of little Mr. Heavysaurus fans, too!
Each of us has a distinct personality, and children recognise different things in each character. That’s exactly the idea we’re exploring with Mission Dino Power.
In our new story, every band member discovers their own superpower. Milli Pilli has the power of her keyboards, Riffi Raffi commands the mightiest guitar riffs, Komppi Momppi provides the driving beat that keeps everything moving, and Muffi Puffi gets everyone headbanging with his bass groove. And I hold the whole gang together with my metal horns!
But the most important message is this: None of us is as strong alone as we are together.
We want to show children that everyone has special talents. You don’t have to be the loudest, biggest or fastest to be a hero. Sometimes the greatest superpower is simply being there for someone else.
An entire world of music, shows, stories and merchandise has grown around Heavysaurus. Most of your audience is very young. What responsibility do you feel when it comes to marketing and consumerism, and where do you draw the line?
We’re very aware of that responsibility. Our fans are often still very young, so we have to handle their trust with particular care.
Of course, we have T-shirts, cuddly toys, comics, audio stories and many other things. Children love our characters and want to take a little piece of their dinosaur world home with them. And that’s perfectly fine.
But our most important product should always be the music and the shared experience. A child doesn’t need to own the latest T-shirt to be a real Heavysaurus fan. After all, throwing up the metal horns doesn’t cost a thing!
What’s important to us is that Heavysaurus represents positive values and that families can enjoy a wonderful time together.
That’s also why social commitment is part of what we do. A donation from every concert ticket sold goes to Die Arche, helping disadvantaged children and giving them access to special experiences.
Music should bring people together and be accessible to as many children as possible. It’s not about selling as much as possible, but about inspiring as much enthusiasm for music as we can.
Heavysaurus are official ambassadors for Die Arche, a German charity supporting disadvantaged children and their families. One euro from every concert ticket sold goes towards supporting the charity. Fifty cents is donated directly, while the other half funds special activities, such as concert visits for children who might otherwise miss out on experiences like these. In November 2024, the dinosaurs presented the charity with their first donation cheque for €25,000.
In this way, the dinosaurs can share their enthusiasm for music with children for whom attending a concert isn’t necessarily a given.
You’ve performed both traditional family concerts and on major festival stages. Does your show change when you find yourselves in a classic rock or metal environment?
Not at its core! We always play real rock and metal, whether we’re performing for 200 children in a small club or for thousands of metalheads at Wacken Open Air.
Of course, we adapt our show to the stage and the audience. At our family concerts, the children are very much the centre of attention, with lots of interactive moments and stories.
At a major festival, the guitars might take a slightly more prominent role. But our music, our characters and our message stay the same.
The crazy thing is that adult metal fans are often just as enthusiastic as the children. When thousands of seasoned metalheads at Wacken suddenly raise their metal horns alongside little dinosaur fans, it’s a pretty incredible feeling.
We see ourselves as a bridge between generations. Perhaps a child experiences their first festival performance with us and, twenty years later, is standing in front of Wacken’s main stage with their friends.
That would be the greatest success we could imagine!
Seeing Heavysaurus perform at major metal festivals is hardly surprising. What is more unusual is that the age restrictions are sometimes adjusted especially for them. At Wacken Open Air 2026, children under six were exceptionally allowed to attend the dinosaur band’s performance, provided they were accompanied by an adult and wore hearing protection. And right at the front of the stage, the space belongs to the children. The band affectionately calls this area the “Kid’s Pit”.
I once heard a story about you getting stuck in a dressing room because you couldn’t fit through the door anymore. Are there other moments when the human world simply isn’t designed for dinosaurs?
Hahaha! RAAAARRR! Yes, the human world really isn’t particularly dinosaur-friendly!
Just imagine being a huge T. rex and having to squeeze through an ordinary doorway. Or being Riffi Raffi and having to make sure you don’t knock over half the dressing room with your dragon wings!
Things get especially funny backstage. While other bands simply grab their instruments and head off, we first have to check whether our dinosaur heads fit through the doors and whether there’s enough room for our tails.
And just try operating a tiny door handle with enormous dinosaur paws!
But somehow, we always manage to make it onto the stage. And once the guitars kick in and the children start roaring RAAAARRR, all those difficulties are forgotten.
Maybe we should just build our own dinosaur concert hall. With five-metre-high doors, extra-large dressing rooms and an enormous fridge full of dinosaur snacks!
ROOOAAARRR and metal horns up!
Mr. Heavysaurus
Heavysaurus are currently on tour! Find all the information and tickets here.
This interview was originally conducted in German. The English version has been translated for publication.
