Aussie Metal Part 3
By u/splodingshroom
G'day all,
Welcome back to the series of primers covering the various styles of Australian metal. The focus of today will be on our prog and melodeath bands. As a bonus, I've thrown in some symphonic-style bands in amongst this section, as this is one of the better places for them in the overall scheme of things. If you've missed the previous two posts, check out the structure below (links embedded):
1: An introduction to Australian metal, and the big bands that sound like other bands
2: Developing Australian metal: Origins, traditional bands and Aussie thrash
3: Austral Aliens: Aussie Prog, melodeath and symphonic/power metal [This Post]
4: Aussie death/grind
5: Aussie war, 'blackslash' (black/death/thrash/etc. hybrids) and lo-fi BM
6: QLD Occult bands
As with the previous posts please understand that I am leaving some big/good bands out of earlier posts because I think they will fit better in later spots. Please don't leave countless comments about how I missed X band. With that out of the way, let's get to talking about some music!
Australian Progressive Metal
As with the previous styles that I've discussed, Australian prog is pretty hybridised, more so than prog tends to be. We also don't have THAT many prog bands. I think this is because of the general tendency for most of the other styles to hybridise and the tendency of much Australian metal to lean toward the extreme end of the spectrum. That said, many of our prog bands are still really good, and many of them are at the top of their respective fields. Also, for those really into prog, go back and check out the classic Aussie prog band The Master's Apprentices. While not metal, they're hugely influential on all sorts of prog bands (Opeth in particular rave about them and have a tribute song about them) and are worth looking into. As with some of the previous posts, I've generally left off the 'If I liked this Aussie band…' section, because it would just link to other spots in this post.
-- Alchemist
Genre: Avant-Garde/Progressive Death
FFO: Atheist, Cynic
Start with: Lunasphere (1995)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Alchemist/42
A truly seminal Australian prog band, Alchemist are not only an excellent band that write great music, they've also show a serious commitment to growing the Australian metal scene. As mentioned in the previous post, Alchemist ran the annual Metal for the Brain festival for years, often at personal expense to the band. Beyond this, they've released some of the best progressive metal to come out of the country, mixing death metal, jazz, surf rock and the didjeridu. While Lunasphere is a good starting place, Jar of Kingdom (1993), Spiritech (1997) and Organasm (2000) are equally good starting places, and their overall discography is still very strong. If you enjoyed Alchemist, you might want to check out The Levitation Hex, which is something of a successor band formed by one member of Alchemist after their breakup (it also features some members of Alarum). I haven't listened to them myself, but given the pedigree of the members involved it's probably worth a look if that's your thing.
-- Portal
Genre: Avant-garde/Experimental death
FFO: Antediluvian, Mitochondrion, AEvangelist
Start with: Ion (2018) or Vexovoid (2013)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Portal/5471
So, I know I put the 'Avant-garde' tag on Alchemist, but Portal are really avant-garde. Like really. A band that doesn't so much reward repeated listens as demand them, Portal are pretty big in Aus (and the wider world) at the moment. It's not the most accessible of music, but there is definitely something enthralling about their riffing and song composition, and it definitely goes well with the Lovecraftian theme that the whole band has going on. I still don't really get Portal, but I've been listening to Ion a fair bit lately and I think I'm finally starting to get a sense of form out of it. Vexovoid is a bit more easy to grab hold on to in terms of discrete riffs and structure, so if Ion is totally mystifying to you, but you're still interested, give it a shot.
-- Ne Obliviscaris
Genre: Extreme Progressive Metal
FFO: Persefone, Opeth,
Start with Portal of I (2012)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ne_Obliviscaris/91913
As much as they get a bashing from regulars on shreddit, NeO are worth looking into, though I imagine most people who frequent metal communities have heard of them by now. While their more recent work doesn't quite do it for me, Portal of I is an excellent album with some fantastic songwriting and musicianship on show. Their more recent work is probably still worth looking into if you enjoy what you're hearing, as it's catapulted them to huge popularity, easily being one of our more popular and successful bands at the moment. 'Extreme' is a relative genre term when it comes to these guys: while they feature some of the screeches and tremolo-picking/blast beats that are often broadly associated with black metal, it's hardly a core part of their sound and their music remains pretty accessible for the most part. That said, there's definitely something of a musical alignment with characteristics of extreme metal in their music, especially if you put them next to prog bands like Dream Theater.
If I liked this Aussie band I might like:
Vipassi - A prog band from Melbourne featuring former members of Ne Obliviscaris. Pretty similar musically, if you replace the vague black metal allusions in NeO with vague allusions to tech-death. If you enjoyed NeO, they're worth looking into.
-- Alarum
Genre: Prog/thrash/fusion
FFO: Cynic, Atheist, late-Death, recent Ephel Duath
Start with: Fluid Motion (1998)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Alarum/2352
Another stand-out Aussie prog band, Alarum lean harder on the jazz-fusion side of things with some pretty solid thrash influences showing off the Australian thrash lineage covered in the previous post. Their early material shows a pretty big influence from Death's progressive metal approach, perhaps falling a bit on the thrashier side, while later albums like Eventuality (2004) are much closer in vein to Cynic and Atheist. Sadly, their discography is somewhat meagre for a band that's been active since 1992, yet what's there is good. Echoing the comments re: Alchemist above, if you enjoyed this, you might want to have a look at The Levitation Hex.
-- Hadal Maw
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death metal
FFO: Meshuggah, Psycroptic Born of Osiris
Start with: Olm (2017)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hadal_Maw/3540385260
A pretty solid up-and-coming band that seem to be getting a fair amount of attention in the Aussie press at the moment (especially given their new single and tour with Psycroptic). The Meshuggah-y elements don't seem as present on their more recent output, but they've got a fairly small discography that is worth checking out if proggy tech-death is your thing.
--
Karnivool
Genre: Progressive Rock/Progressive metal
FFO: Tool, Deftones, Porcupine Tree
Start with: Sound Awake (2009)
MA: N/A
Hold on a minute, don't type that angry comment about how Karnivool aren't a metal band just yet! I get it, they're veeeery borderline at best, but I've included them here for two main reasons: they're extremely popular and well known in regards to heavy (Australian) progressive music and they interact a fair amount with the broader Australian metal scene. Yes, they're not in MA, and yes, popularity isn't the best metric but these primers are aimed at giving you a broad picture of Australian metal, and Karnivool are closely connected to our progressive metal scene. Generally, they manage to mix the musical complexity of prog with the musical accessibility of alt-rock. Their early material and debut was pretty nu/alternative metally with some progressive elements, Themata is probably their best candidate for being progressive metal, with them definitely going in a more prog-rock direction with more recent work, but I personally think Sound Awake is their best work thus far.
If I liked this Aussie band I might like:
Cog: In a very similar vein, a kind of proggy nu-metal mix. Not a band I'd really consider metal either, but they often come up in discussion around Karnivool. If you enjoyed Karnivool, give them a listen.
-- Calligula's Horse
Genre: Progressive metal/Progressive Rock
FFO: Ne Obliviscaris, Dream Theater, Karnivool
Start with: Moments from the Ephemeral City (2011)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Caligula%27s_Horse/3540339155
Another borderline band for some, but at least they have an MA page ;) In all seriousness, they're excellent musicians and songwriters, even if the vocals are getting a bit poppy on more recent material. If cleanly-produced and melodic prog is your thing, they're worth a look and are quickly becoming a big presence in Australia and around the world. Shares some former members with Arcane as well.
-- Dreadnaught
Genre: Prog/thrash (early), Hard Rock/Groove (later)
FFO: Nevermore, Pitchshifter
Start with: Body.Blood.Skin.Mind (1996)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Dreadnaught/35953
Look, I'll admit I don't really get what's great about these guys, but they come up fairly often in 2000s material talking about Australian metal and their earlier proggy/experimental work was very well received at the time. Admittedly, they've pretty much abandoned this style, going for a hard rock/groove style of music in the vein of Frankenbok, but if you're into thrash experimenting with soundscapes and compositional forms, give their debut a spin.
If I liked this Aussie band I might like:
Frankenbok: another groove metal band that seems to be very popular that I'm not sure I really get. They've had some pretty big Australian support slots, opening for Slayer, Machine Head and Fear Factory (probably best suiting the latter two) and are along the lines of Dreadnaught's later material.
My picks for Aussie prog
-- Arcane
Genre: Progressive Metal
FFO: Caligula's Horse, Kamelot, Dream Theater, Devin Townsend
Start with: Chronicles of the Waking Dream (2009)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Arcane/87468
A band that shares some members with Caligula's Horse, but is generally a bit heavier and more definitively on the metal side of things. Generally gets somewhat heavier as their discography progresses, and gets a bit more streamlined/focused in regards to songwriting. Good to look at if Caligula weren't heavy enough or you enjoyed their heavier moments.
-- Misery's Omen
Genre: Progressive Black/Doom
FFO: StarGazer, Cauldron Black Ram, Mornful Congregation
Start with: Hope Dies (2008)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Misery%27s_Omen/4965
Really quite pretty and atmospheric with some great songwriting and riffs in the mix, occasionally leading into some classic black metal riffing. Given that it shares members with some of Australia's better-known bands (Mornful Congregation, Martire, Cauldron Black Ram, StarGazer), it's well done and comes out sounding like a mix of those bands mentioned. Very much worth checking out if you're interested in bridging the gap between blackgaze/atmoblack and some heavier styles of melodic black. Make sure you give the whole record a listen, because they move from slower, doomier songs (see the opener) into much heavier riffing (see 'Fiendish Ghoul' and the great clapping) and vice versa.
-- Voyager
Genre: Prog/Power
FFO: Rhapsody, Lord, Virgin Steele, Kamelot
Start with: Meaning of I (2011) or V (2014)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Voyager/8837
Some pretty catchy prog/power. The vocals can be a bit odd at first, but they actually fit the music pretty well once you get used to them. Some serious earworm riffs throughout a lot of their bigger songs that's backed up by generally good songwriting, if a little poppy for my tastes. They've done pretty well to cultivate an international rep, especially given they're relatively isolated over in Perth. If you really enjoy this, also check out the Aussie band Vanishing Point who are fairly similar in terms of style.
-- Plini
Genre: Shred/Prog/Fusion (some djent influence)
FFO: Joe Satriani, Periphery, Intervals, Animals as Leaders
Start with: Handmade Cities
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Plini/562922
Perhaps another one that's a bit tenuous as 'metal', but pretty close in general. A really amazing guitarist from Sydney (who I'm fairly sure went to my high school) who does more than just wank all over the instrument. There's some good songwriting and amazing musicianship on display. His live show has improved dramatically through the years, going from a dude that barely interacted with the crowd to someone that actually has a pretty fun and engaging show. Worth a look if you enjoy instrumental prog.
Kurushimi
Genre: Grind/Free Jazz/Noise
FFO: Bohren & Der Club of Gore + Ornette Coleman + Grind/death riffing
Start with: Kurushimi (2016)
MA: N/A
This is weird, but not quite inaccessible a la Portal. There's some solid riffing going on in there with all the free jazz floating around on top of it and it all kind of comes together and works in the end. They're on the Art of Catharsis label (also featuring bands like Siberian Hell Sounds, Space Bong, Serious Beak) which will give you an idea of their weirdness if you're familiar with the label.
-- Ex Curia/Sky Signals
Genre: Progressive Metal
FFO: Opeth, Karnivool, Dream Theatre, Tool
Start with: Reasoned Insanity (2013)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ex_Curia/3540347834
A prog band hailing from Sydney that are pretty solid, though they seem to have recently changed line-up and name to Sky Signals and are pursuing something of a more djent/jazz influenced take on prog metal. A solid band, that had a pretty solid live rep in Sydney for some time. I also played with the former drummer in one of my high school bands as a fun fact, so you know they're legit ;)
Aussie Melodic Death Metal
In this section, I'm only going to cover two of our bigger bands and then some smaller personal picks in the main body posts. There's a fair amount of cross-over between NeO-style prog and our melodeath sound (generally speaking), and many of our more 'melodic' death metal bands hybridise with other genres and come up under those areas, hence the relative smallness of this section.
-- Be'lakor
Genre: Melodic Death/some prog elements
FFO: Amon Amarth, Insomnium, Mors Principum Est
Start with: Of Breath and Bone (2012)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Be%27lakor/89033
Probably one of our bigger bands currently, with pretty good reason. They're pretty catchy and everything is done fairly well, if not especially innovatively, and they've worked pretty hard gigging consistently over the past decade or so. They're hitting the Amon Amarth/Insomnium style of melodeath bang on the head, so if you enjoy either of those two bands, you'll likely enjoy these guys. The typical melodeath is broken up at times with some fairly well done proggy sections that feature very pretty jangly guitars.
-- Orpheus Omega (Formerly called 'Orpheus')
Genre: Melodic death
FFO: Black Dahlia Murder, Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity
Start with: Patrum Vita Mortem (2015)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Orpheus_Omega/3540285330
Another big-ish melodeath band from Melbourne, perhaps leaning more on the American Melodeath style derived from BDM and other bands rather than the more Gothenburg-style Melodeath disucssed below. Their earlier releases weren't really my thing, but they've been decently popular locally for a while and have picked up some pretty huge support slots for bands like Wintersun and Insomnium of late. PVM is worth a look if you're into modern melodeath, but I can't really offer more past that.
-- Elysian
Genre: Melodeath/Djenty-prog
FFO: Allegaeon, Soilwork, Orpheus Omega
Start with: Wires of Creation (2013)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Elysian/3540330790
A band that mixes fairly standard melodeath with Meshuggah style rhythm in the vein of bands like Allegaeon. Alternates between chuggy riffs and very keyboardy chord progressions, which isn't quite as bad as it sounds. Not really my thing, but given the huge popularity of Allegaeon and their derivatives, I imagine it will appeal to a fair few.
-- Valtari
Genre: Melodic Death
FFO: Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork, At the Gates, In Flames
Start with: Fragements of a Nightmare (2012)
Very much in the vein of DT's 2000s output, with some of those lovely, cliché harmonised pedal tone riffs. Some pretty tight songwriting going on overall, very much worth a look if you prefer the riffier Gothenburg style melodeath to the more chord progression based style of bands like Insomnium.
-- Kania
Genre: Melodic Death
FFO: Classic In Flames, Soilwork
Start with: Remorse (2004)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Kania/16888
A teensy tiny little band from Lithgow in NSW that actually put out somre pretty decent melodeath in the vein of In Flames' 90s output. Finding most of their material was somewhat tricky, I'd recommend poking around their Myspace page if you're interested. The guy behind Valtari was also in Kania.
-- Infernal Methods
Genre: Melodic Death
FFO: Eucharist, early Dark Tranquillity,
Start with: Architecture of Instinct (2005)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Infernal_Method/2867
Look, I don't normally like terms like 'underrated gem' or 'criminally underrated' etc… but if there was ever a band that these terms applied to it's Infernal Methods. Oh my goodness these guys are great. They had a pretty solid live reputation back in the day, but were ultimately undone by lineup changes (just check out that 'complete members' tab on MA). Very much worth listening to if you (like me) loved what was going on in Gothenburg from 1992-1998, and they particularly remind me of Eucharist's A Velvet Creation.
Zero Degrees Freedom
Genre: Melodic Death
FFO: Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates
Start with: The Purge (2017)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Zero_Degrees_Freedom/13955
A personal favourite local band of mine from Launceston in Tasmania, playing some tight riffy melodeath with a reflective and doomy edge to some songs. They put on a really solid live show with a great drummer as well. Definitely a band worthy of more attention!
Symphonic/power etc.
Virgin Black
Genre: Symphonic death/doom
FFO: My Dying Bride, Saviour Machine, Moonspell
Start with: Requiem - Mezzo Forte (2007)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Virgin_Black/93
A very underrated Aussie band that have been a huge influence on gothic doom bands like My Dying Bride, though they've been on an extended hiatus for the past 8 or so years. Of particular note is the Requiem trilogy, supposedly being Pianissimo (featuring just orchestra), Mezzo Forte (2007, orchestra + band) and Fortissimo (just band), although Pianissimo has never been released. Vocalist Rowan London was also involved in Christian DM band Discarnated (though apparently Virgin Black are reluctant to be labelled 'Christian metal' due to discontent with the church, a fair thing in SA). Very much worth checking out, as all elements of their sound are done VERY well without one element coming across as gimmicky or overpowering the others and generally being more reserved and understated than symphonic metal tends to be.
-- Envenomed
Genre: Power/Thrash
FFO: Symphony X, Iced Earth, Megadeth
Start with: Evil Unseen (2014)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Envenomed/3540281885
A very fun band to listen to. There's an infectious energy and fun that I think underlies the music they play, as though you can tell they're having fun playing just by listening. Kind of what you'd get if the entire power metal genre and Megadeth collectively had a baby. Some really great songwriting, riffing and melody to be found here.
If I liked this Aussie band I might also like:
Darker Half: A bit thrashier than Envenomed, but still very much in the power/thrash style. Powerful Dio-style vocals with some solid thrash riffs and big choruses.
-- Oberon
Genre: Symphonic Metal
FFO: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Leaves Eyes, Xandria, Epica
Start with: All There is (EP 2015)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Oberon/3540397210
A side project of current/former members of Ex Curia that seems to be gradually picking up steam with EPs and live shows in Sydney. Pretty solid symphonic metal very much in the vein of DPP-era Nightwish. More recent EP has a pretty heavy Epica vibe too, so if you enjoy the Nuclear Blast-symphonic metal style, you'll likely find something here that you enjoy.
-- Battle Bard
Genre: Symphonic Power
FFO: Nightwish, Powerwolf, Kamelot
Start with: N/A
MA: N/A
Another smaller symph/power band from Sydney in the vein of Kamelot and Nightwish. A very talented singer (as many bands in this style have). Given their new-ness to the larger scene, they don't appear to have any material out yet (there are a handful of videos on their facebook), but they put on a good show and I'd expect them to do pretty well in their style. They seem to gig pretty often in Sydney with bands like Oberon, so might be worth a look if you're in the area and interested in the music.
-- Carmeria
Genre: Symphonic/Gothic
FFO: Nightwish, Kamelot
Start with: Awakening (2013)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Carmeria/3540422225
Man, Sydney has a lot of symphonic/power metal. A bit of a change between Awakening (2013) and the more recent singles, showing a shift from a very poppy female fronted sound to a slightly more proggy Kamelot-esque sound. The newest single was mixed and orchestrated by Lord Tim of Dungeon/Lord fame, and sounds like early Nightwish if Roy Khan was singing. It's probably the best-done of their material, suggesting that the upcoming album might fit into this style, which would be nice to see.
-- Espionage
Genre: Trad/Power
FFO: Helloween, Judas Priest, Accept
Start with: Digital Dystopia (2018)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Espionage/3540372816
A more recent offering from another great up-and-coming band. Cheesy, fast and some great riffing/guitar work on show, playing very much in the vein of Aussie greats like Dungeon/LORD. Their upcoming album looks absolutely fantastic, and I'm hoping to catch them live on the weekend (yay for bands that come to Hobart!). If you're around Collingwood this weekend, I'd strongly encourage you to see both these guys, Envenomed (mentioned above), and Black Majesty (mentioned below) as they've all got a great live rep.
Black Majesty
Genre: Power
FFO: Helloween, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray
Start with: In your honour (2010)
MA: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Black_Majesty/919
Cheesy and fun Aussie EUPM. Somewhat rare in having male vocals that don't spend all their time in the upper register, occasionally singing with quite a nice low-tenor sound. Nothing ground-breaking in their genre, but what they do, they do well.
That's all for this post! Please check out the previous posts if you haven't seen them, and stay tuned for the next post covering death/grind when I get around to writing it!