Australian heavy metal
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Australian heavy metal music has its roots in both the
History
Without support from radio airplay even well-established foreign metal bands found little success on the Australian singles charts until the last half of the 1980s. Albums, significantly those of Iron Maiden, occasionally charted highly however, and Iron Maiden and Twisted Sister were two of the few foreign metal bands to conduct Australian tours in the first half of that decade. In spite of this, metal music had a large underground following, with small independent retailers like Sydney's Utopia Import Records catering for the audience. Utopia was established in 1978 by record collector John Cotter who began trading metal and punk albums that were generally not given release in Australia and by the early 1980s was the country's best known retailer of heavy metal music.[citation needed]
Inspired by the new wave of British heavy metal, a small raft of bands had begun to emerge that would form the foundations of the modern Australian heavy metal scene. Some of the better known groups from this time included Taipan, Saracen, Virgin Soldiers, Prowler (who would soon change their name to Taramis), Black Jack, Wolf, Nothing Sacred, Rosanas Raiders, Axatak, Almost Human, Egypt (later to become Venom, in Sydney), Tyrant and Bengal Tigers. In the 90s WOLF emerged with a female lead vocalist this was something new to the Melbourne metal scene. Their style of music was similar to Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. The band gigged regularly across Melbourne and Sydney. The lead singer was killed in a motorcycle accident.[citation needed]
Bengal Tigers formed in
Other bands were somewhat more successful, though success was fleeting. Boss had formed in Adelaide in 1979 and after moving to Sydney built up a following on the pub circuit, eventually signing to RCA Records for worldwide release in 1983. The album was moderately successful in Europe and the group supported Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister and Dio but disbanded after a US tour, reforming a brief time later under the name BB Steal, a band that still exists to the present time. In Melbourne, BlackJack forming in 1979 and hoisting their jolly roger flag, they released material (on a now defunct label associated with a local metal music shop '83+'85) that showcased a distinctive blend of NWOBHM classical and power metal with undertones of doom metal.
The Melbourne heavy metal scene at this time was still very underground, and was supported by a handful of metal music shows on
Heaven formed in Sydney out of an Adelaide band called Fat Lip in 1980 and became a second-tier attraction in the US on the strength of their second album, touring widely and opening for the likes of Judas Priest, Kiss and Mötley Crüe before eventually imploding in 1985. Vice was a glam metal band from Brisbane who had formed in early 1984. They became one of the city's most prominent acts, releasing an EP and two albums, undertaking interstate tours and also supporting international acts such as Sweet and Stryper.
The Tasmanian scene was non-existent except for one genuine metal act, Tyrant that formed in 1983, releasing a 4-track cassette titled "Never Too Loud" which topped the local metal charts and peaking at No. 7 at Melbourne's Central Station records. Tyrant re-located to Sydney in 1985, quickly establishing themselves and headlining the first Metal Crusade at the Coogee Bay Hotel on a lineup that also included Bengal Tigers, Shy Thunder, Statez and Vice before 1,800 people. Despite good reviews in both RAM and Juke magazines,[citation needed] not to mention a strong fan base,[citation needed] a record deal never eventuated and the group disbanded in late 1986. Over the next decade Tyrant played only a handful of shows, reforming in 1999 and have released 3 albums to date, Freaks of Nature, Thunder Down Under and Live Bootleg. Tyrant still exists today with singer Neil 'Steel' Wilson being the only original member with a 25th Anniversary CD currently being recorded.
By the mid-1980s, music by American thrash bands like
1990–1995
The worldwide success of Metallica and the explosion of the hair metal scene in the US in the late 1980s had raised the level of interest in heavy metal music in Australia by the early 1990s but for the most part it was still primarily an underground scene.
A changing of the guard was also becoming evident. Mortal Sin had fizzled out after a US tour and while a new line-up had toured with
Death and black metal bands from America, Sweden and Norway were now having a major influence, and slightly later in the decade the more aggressive stylings of Pantera and Sepultura began to win fans away from old guard acts like Metallica and Megadeth who were seen by many to have mellowed since their earlier recordings. The Sydney-based Hot Metal magazine, a glossy monthly that had first appeared in 1988, was the first Australian publication devoted to heavy metal and gave considerable coverage to local acts. By the early 1990s it had attained widespread mainstream circulation throughout the country and helped to introduce new audiences to metal music, and established fans to new bands, especially new Australian acts.
In 1990, youth broadcaster Triple J introduced the heavy music program 3 Hours of Power to its formatting. Originally hosted by Helen Razer, then Francis Leach and, from 1998, by Costa Zouliou, the show began to gradually introduce more and more Australian acts into its playlists, although it wasn't until late in Leach's tenure with the show did it begin to move away from heavier alternative music towards a clearly metal focus. Three compilation albums featuring music featured on the show eventually appeared, titled Eleven (after the Spinal Tap philosophy that all guitar amps should go to 11), This is Twelve and Thirteen.
One of the other great boons to Australian heavy metal music was the
During the early 1990s, the influence of American and Swedish death metal bands was quickly evident. Many of the thrash bands of the 1980s had disbanded and heavier groups were beginning to fill the void, such as Necrotomy, Acheron, Disembowlment, Corpse Molestation, Damnatory, Hecatomb,
The first group from this period to attain some prominence was Mortification, a Melbourne
By 1993, Armoured Angel had achieved some overseas success and with their EP "Stigmartyr" being distributed nationally by Polygram had been added to the bill of the Big Day Out. In Perth, a thrash band called Allegiance had begun to win notice after a string of demos. In 1993 they were signed, also by Polygram, and released the album D.e.s.t.i.t.u.t.i.o.n. the following year which was supported by a national tour with Sydney hard rock band The Poor. By 1995, Allegiance had toured nationally with the Big Day Out and supported bands like Slayer, Machine Head and Fight, whose singer Rob Halford expressed managerial interest. Problems befell the group after this point however and the second album was long delayed.
Mid-1990s–1999
By the middle of the decade, the Australian heavy metal music scene was a well-established
The same year, however, Sydney's live metal scene suffered a series of blows when several venues closed down. The
Regardless of these closures, a steady stream of bands were beginning to develop considerable profiles. Alchemist, who had formed in Canberra in 1987, had finally refined its unique style that comprised elements of death metal, grindcore,
As the Sydney live metal scene began to recover with some new venues replacing those lost the year before, Rebel Razor ceased publication after the 24th issue in June 1996. Shortly afterward, Pacific Publications announced that HM was also being shut down. Several HM staff members including editor Jeremy Sheaffe then set up their own publishing house and produced the first issue of Loudmouth magazine in April 1997. By this time, nu metal had begun to have a strong influence over the domestic metal scene, with several of the more established metal acts taking aspects of that sound into their own, or shifting toward it completely. Superheist, a Melbourne group that had formed in the early part of the decade as a grindcore band, had re-invented themselves as a pop-laced nu metal act and before long was one of Shock's major bands with their songs being played on TV shows and added to mainstream compilation albums. Segression had begun to head in the same direction with their second album Fifth of the Fifth and by the time of their third release were well established as a nu metal band. Canberra band Henry's Anger had started out playing a dark alternative metal style similar to Tool but by 1997 they too were exploring a nu metal sound and by 1999 they were on the verge of a major breakthrough when their second album Personality Test was nominated for an ARIA Award in the Best Album Category. Another group was a Messiah from the Gold Coast. Formed in 1997 and with an 11-year-old drummer, the band created such a positive vibe that before long they had been signed to Sony and become Sunk Loto, a group who would have a serious mid-level career in the first part of the next decade.
2000s
2000–2004
Despite the closure of Warhead Records and Loudmouth magazine, by 2000 Australian heavy metal was thriving like never before. By the end of that year the scene was much different from the one that had existed at the beginning of the previous decade. Many of the bands were beginning to be noticed beyond the underground by other sections of the industry and quite a few were establishing names overseas. Pegazus, a Melbourne power metal band that had formed at the beginning of the 1990s, had become only the second Australian group after
More bands were bolstering the scene's increasingly healthier status and diversifying its fanbase. Brisbane band Astriaal had formed in 1998 and since then had bucked the trend for black metal bands to remain mysterious and play live rarely or never. The group had released three EPs through Brisbane label Dissident by 2002, headlined Metal for the Brain and toured regularly. One band developing a profile was Psi.Kore, who had formed in 1996. They had been on the "World War Three" tour and, their self-titled EP was a best-seller. By going on to support Cradle of Filth and Megadeth, Psi.Kore was on the verge of further success but split in 2002, with most of the band forming Daysend who would have a similar ascent. Brisbane band Devolved had attracted attention with a militaristic death metal style and at the end of 2001 were voted Australian Metal Band of the Year by Triple J. The following year they toured Europe and eventually moved to the US in 2005. Chalice was an Adelaide band who had won wide acceptance with a symphonic Gothic metal, a style that was gaining popularity but had few local exponents. The rise of Swedish melodic death metal had also spawned Australian practitioners such as Infernal Method, a Sydney band that had formed out of the remnants of Deadspawn. At one time featuring a former member of Dimmu Borgir, Infernal Method quickly established themselves as perhaps the best-known local band playing the style, but constant personnel reshuffles kept them from releasing anything more than a demo. Nu metal acts like Superheist and Sunk Loto were doing strongly, enjoying radio airplay and playing regularly at festival events. The pressure of further success weighed heavily on both acts however. At the end of 2001, Sunk Loto virtually disappeared for almost two years and Superheist self-destructed at the end of 2003.
Other bands made significant comebacks. Scourge reformed after a 4-year hiatus, and released "Incinerator" a 4 track E.P/C.D on Spooky Records. And an album named "Fall From Disgrace" was recorded by Scourge during 2000–2001, yet it was never released. Scourge played their final show in 2001. The original recordings have been found recently after being missing for 17 years, and will be completed in 2018.
2005–present
By the middle of the decade, nu metal had all but disappeared from the heavy metal landscape and
It was not just Australia's metalcore contingent that was breaking into overseas markets. Alchemist, who had long sustained a dedicated cult-level foreign following, finally broke through in the middle of the decade and toured Europe in late 2004. The Berzerker was by now well established at an international level and had supported their first three albums with lengthy tours across Europe and North America. A technical death metal band from
An increasingly popular export, the latter half of the 2000s has seen a marked increase in the number of Black Metal artists achieving high distinction and domestic and international success. In the footsteps of the highly successful Destroyer 666 and Gospel of the Horns, Melbourne bands Adamus Exul and Order of Orias have achieved critical acclaim in recent years in the Americas and Europe respectively, achieving collaborative signings with Misanthropic Spirit Records (Argentina) and Obscure Abhorrence Productions (Ger.) for upcoming full-length releases.
In spite of such successes, Australian heavy metal continues to remain a fringe underground culture still widely ignored by the mainstream industry and media. When it was announced in mid-2006 that the annual Metal for the Brain festival would be no more after a final event on 4 November, no regular news service outside of Canberra carried word of it, even though it had often attracted up to 3000 people and had been running as long as the Big Day Out. In an interview with Australian metal webzine HailMetal.com, festival director Adam Agius suggested the festival would return in 2008; this now seems unlikely.
On 7 November 2009, the Australian Metal Awards were held in Sydney. The event was billed as part concert and part awards show featuring Sadistik Exekution's first performance in ten years, along with a host of other leading Australian metal bands. Psycroptic (6 awards) and Chaos Divine (5 awards including 'Band of the Year') dominated proceedings.[8] This was the third such attempt at an awards event for the local metal scene. Previously, one such awards night had been tied to Metal for the Brain in 2005 and there was an even earlier attempt hosted in Melbourne during the mid-1990s.
Australian heavy metal music has established itself as a healthy if overlooked part of the wider Australian music industry, and many of the bands involved in it continue to be signed to foreign labels and build international fanbases.
In August 2014, a long-awaited documentary series examining the history of Australian heavy metal is being released called Metal Down Under. Funded through various crowdfunding campaigns, this 165-minute film covers bands such as Nothing Sacred, Renegade, Hobbs Angel of Death, Mortal Sin, Allegiance, Alchemist, Damaged, Manticore, Mortification, Sadistik Exekution, Segressions, Frankenbok, Dreadnaught, Psycroptic, Ne Obliviscaris, King Parrot and more.
Australian progressive metal band Ne Obliviscaris have become notable for their use of Patreon crowdfunding, which has enabled them to tour extensively.[9]
Online media
Starting in 1995, the first website devoted to Australian heavy metal coverage was launched by Sydney-based site Ausmetal, which featured biographies, reviews, music samples and a gig guide. It was first introduced a larger audience 'offline' at the Metal for the Brain festival that year. Western Front began in 1996, and since 2009 this has been expanded to cover a local awards night for WA heavy metal bands. Other online coverage of Australian heavy metal was founded by Sydney-based sites Hail Metal and Pyro Music who provided regular reviews and interviews from the local and international scene.
In 2008, Metal Obsession entered the market offering extensive news, reviews, interviews and gig guide for all states of Australia and New Zealand. Metal Obsession received an Australian Metal Award in 2009 for best Metal Fan/Web/Magazine.[10] Metal as Fuck also offer updates of Australian metal in a global context: It was the first Australian metal press to be granted access to major European festivals from its earliest years. The Aus Metal Gig Guide also provides a decent contributor based gig listing.
Record labels
Few Australian record labels have specialised in heavy metal, and even fewer have focused solely on Australian heavy metal. Two of the best known are Melbourne's Modern Invasion Music and Sydney's now defunct Warhead Records. Daniel Janecka began Modern Invasion by managing bands like Hobbs Angel of Death and distributing early Norwegian black metal albums before releasing the first Bestial Warlust album in 1994. Since then the label has maintained its distribution service along with its own roster and now carries acts that include Chalice, Deströyer 666, Long Voyage Back and former Sadistik Exekution guitarist Rev. Kriss Hades, along with a selection of overseas bands and a small number of non-metal bands.
Brad Sims established Warhead Records by selling demos from local groups and CDs by underground foreign bands. In 1993 Warhead then issued the EP Atavism by Sydney doom band Cruciform followed by Fear of the Future from teenage thrash group Neophobia. Expanding to a store called the Hammerhouse in Parramatta in Sydney's west, the business traded in metal exclusively while the label released only Australian artists, by far the most successful at the local level being Cryogenic who went on to do a small scale European tour in 1998. Warhead eventually disappeared in early 2000 and none of the bands attached to it still exist although several have formed the core of other groups currently at the forefront of the scene, including Daysend.
Melbourne enterprise Metal Warriors and Samson Productions is another label dedicated to heavy metal music. Run by Steve Ravic, Metal Warriors has produced several compilations on VHS and DVD and managed and released music by Dungeon, Pegazus and Vanishing Point among others, however Ravic has been concentrating his efforts on film making in recent years.
Prime Cuts is a Perth label handling a range of metal bands from that city . Started by metal musicians Glen Dyson and Brad Wesson in 2002, the company has since expanded to incorporate the promotions and touring arm Soundworks Entertainment which in the last few years has conducted numerous Australian tours by foreign bands. In late 2007, this label released A Blaze in the Southern Skies, a double CD of metal music by Australian and New Zealand artists. The label's roster is now quite extensive and includes bands from all over Australia.
The Coffins Slave in Sydney, is mainly a distribution label that deals in vinyl although they do carry CDs and have a small roster of signed bands from Australia and overseas. The label works with exclusive distribution deals from [Dark Descent Records] [Svart Records] [Cruz del Sur Music] carrying titles ranging from Black metal, Thrash, NWOBHM, Doom, and so on. They also run a yearly festival in Sydney called Evil Invaders and a heavy metal nightclub Killed by Death!
Truth Inc. is an Adelaide-based metal label run by members of long-standing acts Truth Corroded and Double Dragon. The labels current roster includes Double Dragon, Truth Corroded, Black Like Vengeance, Closed Casket, A Red Dawn, Separatist, The Omen and Lynchmada.
Faultline Records is another Melbourne company with a heavy metal focus. Set up in 2004 by DW Norton of Superheist, the label's current roster includes Daysend, the hard rock band Head Inc. and mathcore group Five Star Prison Cell.
White Noise Productions have been a forerunner in the establishment of a regulated and competitive schedule of live events accommodating the more obscure and extreme underground metal artists across Australia, including hosting the annual 'Hellraiser' festival, catering to artists such as Canberra's Alchemist, Mephistopheles and Be'lakor, prior to their appearance at 2010's 'Summer Breeze' festival in Germany.
The
Sydney label Grindhead Records was established in the early 2000s (decade) by the vocalist of grindcore band Ebolie to release not only his own albums but those from other groups, mostly other Sydney grind and brutal death metal acts. The label has since released a wider range of extreme styles including doom and sludge bands as well as a few international releases and has been running two all day festivals: Slaughterfest, which showcases a mixed line up of Death, Grindcore and Doom bands and East West Death Grind Fest which focuses mainly on Brutal Death Metal and Grindcore bands. Another label specialising in grind is Melbourne's No Escape, set up by two members of Fuck... I'm Dead and releasing both local and international grind and death bands.
Obsidian Records is Brisbane label dealing with extreme acts from the state.
Several smaller and even more underground metal labels also emerged during the 1990s, including Dissident, now based in London, which released albums by Astriaal and Psychrist, and the short-lived Venomous, who briefly handled Misery.
Local metal releases are not the sole domain of small, metal-specific underground labels however. Melbourne independent Shock Records established a subsidiary arm called Thrust in the early 1990s to handle releases by Abramelin and Alchemist. Alchemist is now attached to Chatterbox Records, a Sydney label with a wide repertoire of artists that has previously released albums by other metal bands like Daysend and Henry's Anger. Traditionally, major labels have had little interest in Australian metal acts, although there has been notable exceptions. Allegiance and Mortal Sin, for example, were attached to Polygram (who also handled distribution for Armoured Angel's early releases), and Boss and a Perth band called Black Alice were signed to RCA in the early 1980s.
In 2006 Animus Industries released a mixed bag of nu-metal, hardcore and hard rock music videos on a DVD called 'Broken' including: The Butterfly Effect, Karnivool, The Mark of Cain, .hinge, Nokturnl, Side Effect X, Greyn, Sick Puppies, No Grace and A Darker Shade. Also included are: Chton, Keep of Kalessin and Forty-Two direct from the Norwegian underground scene of Hardcore and Metal.
See also
References
- ^ [1] Archived 11 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The BNR Metal Pages, Version 2 –". bnrmetal.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "de beste bron van informatie over metalforthebrain. Deze website is te koop!". metalforthebrain.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Metal for the Brain". AusMetal Guide. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Erowid MDMA Vaults : Water Intoxication Death 1995". Erowid.org. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Slipknot Setlist at Festival Hall, Melbourne". setlist.fm. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Chris Full Metal Racket, The Sun Herald, 26 September 1999
- ^ [2] Archived 29 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ne Obliviscaris's Patreon Campaign Was Partially Inspired by CJ Quitting Thy Art is Murder". 6 April 2016.
- ^ [3] Archived 29 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
- Australian metal music: identities, scenes, and cultures. 2019. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. Edited by Catherine Hoad. 1st Edition. ISBN 9781787691681