Schkeuditzer Kreuz Announces Swan Grinder Tour: Aotearoa 2026

Two years following his debut tour of his homeland Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia-based industrial synth crust specialist Schkeuditzer Kreuz aka Kieren Hills (S*M*U*T, Murder Disco X, Death Church, Septic Noise Grinder) is returning this summer to pulverise local punters in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Back down under following a massive run of shows in Europe and the UK, the hard-gigging artist will be here touring his scorching third album Swan Grinder, joined by post-punks Trauma Party at Dead Witch and dark electronic experimentalists Creassault at Underworld Tavern, with more guests to be revealed. A figure with enduring ties to our punk community, be sure to give Schkeuditzer Kreuz a warm welcome back, dress to sweat and don't forget to bring earplugs...

"I took the name Swan Grinder from a swan-shaped pepper grinder I saw. It is about destruction, and death of all things: taking all that is beautiful and worthwhile in this world, and grinding it into dust. That is the album, but it is also about the mess in my head — the noise, the violence, the chaos that rattles around in my brain, looking for a way out. Swan Grinder is me finding that way out."

Schkeuditzer Kreuz - Swan Grinder Tour: Aotearoa 2026

Friday 23rd January - Dead Witch, Auckland w/ Trauma Party
Saturday 24th January - Underworld Tavern, Wellington w/ Creassault

Early birds on sale HERE via UTR

Take in the onslaught of 'Sirens of Death' from Swan Grinder...

Press release:

New Zealand-born / Australian-based Industrial Synth Crust artist SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ, alias Kieren Hills (ATTRITION, S*M*U*T, Dark Horse, Vae Victus, Death Church, Murder Disco X, etc.) returns to Aotearoa, on tour in support of the third SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ LP, Swan Grinder.

Swan Grinder has quickly become the most widely acclaimed SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ release to date, praised by the likes of Louder Than War (UK), CVLT Nation (USA), Orkus! (Germany), Discipline Mag (Australia), Side-Line (Belgium), Vive Le Rock (UK), The Big Takeover (USA), Industrial Complexx (Spain), Humans vs. Robots (Italy), SLAM Magazine (Austria), and many more.

Variously termed “Industrial Synth Crust”, “D-beat Raw Synth Punk”, “Trans-Positive Anti-Fascist Synth Crust”, 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 Antipodean punk veteran’s anguish and despair, 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.

Fresh from extensive touring across the UK and mainland Europe (Sept-Oct 2025), followed by Australian tour dates (Nov-Dec 2025) in support of the new Swan Grinder album, SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ plays at Dead Witch (Ding Dong Lounge) on Friday, 23 January 2026, joined by Waiheke Island post-punk collective Trauma Party, and Tāmaki dark experimental electronic outfit Creassault; with more guests to be confirmed.