Schkeuditzer Kreuz Announces NZ Tour Dates

Fresh from the second tour across Europe, New Zealand-born / Australian-based ‘Industrial Synth Crust’ artist Schkeuditzer Kreuz, AKA Kieren Hills, is about to embark on the Swan Grinding Oceania Tour of Australia and New Zealand, in support of the third studio LP, Swan Grinder. The Australian leg of the tour kicks in from November to December 2025, before returning to Aotearoa for Auckland and Wellington shows in January 2026. Reflecting on the recent tour of Europe (September-October), Kieren says the best thing was the sense of community everywhere he went:

“I played gigs across the continent from Armenia to Sweden, from Poland to Spain, and everywhere I went there were these amazing communities of people – putting on shows, being involved in their local squat or bar, or just turning up to have a great time and support touring artists. I felt so welcome and wanted everywhere I went, and that is such a huge part of what we do.”

On the upcoming shows across Australia, Kieren continues:

“This record, Swan Grinder, is the best music I’ve made. I feel like I’ve managed to get the sounds in my head onto record the way I want them, and I’m so excited to take those songs on the road and play them to people who may well have seen me before, but I feel like this is the best I have ever been, particularly when I’m fresh from playing 30-odd shows across Europe. I feel like I am on – and I’m stoked to be taking that out there on the road.”

On returning to Aotearoa New Zealand, he adds:

“It’s been two years since I was last there, and they have been two extremely busy years: I’ve toured a fair bit of the world, released this new album, and worked to get myself, my performance where I want it. So to bring that back to NZ, to my home country, and to my friends there, means a lot to me.”

Variously termed “Industrial Synth Crust”, “D-beat Raw Synth Punk”, and “One human and some machines making noise, in the face of it all”, Schkeuditzer Kreuz is a mutant post-apocalyptic hybrid: an intersection between harsh, confronting, mechanical noise and the comparatively raw, organic materials of hardcore, crust, and d-beat punk. It is a noise wrought from the anguish and despair of Antipodean punk veteran Hills from a cabin that he built in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.

Since 2020, Schkeuditzer Kreuz has released three full-length studio albums: Isolated and Alone (2021), No Life Left (2023), and latest offering, Swan Grinder (2025); alongside a raft of singles, videos, EPs, split-releases, compilation tracks, and remix collaborations. Swan Grinder has quickly become the most widely acclaimed Schkeuditzer Kreuz release yet, praised by the likes of Louder Than War (UK),

CVLT Nation (USA), Orkus! Magazin (Germany), Discipline Mag (Australia), Side-Line Magazine (Belgium), Vive Le Rock (UK), Big Takeover Magazine (USA), Industrial Complexx (Spain), Humans vs. Robots (Italy), SLAM Magazine (Austria), and many more. As a live act, Schkeuditzer Kreuz remains in constant live demand worldwide, while Kieren has also become a touring live member of pioneering UK industrial legends, ATTRITION.

Swan Grinder is the third full-length Schkeuditzer Kreuz album, mastered at The Cage by ATTRITION‘s Martin Bowes, released 30 August 2025, and available from Bandcamp now in vinyl LP and digital download formats, with Double CD edition (including bonus remix CD) to follow soon.

Aotearoa 2026

Friday 23 January – Dead Witch, Ding Dong Lounge, Auckland
Tickets from UTR

Saturday 24 January – Underworld Tavern, Wellington
Tickets from UTR