The Australian Metal Guide

ISBN:
978-3-931624-23-1

Australia's heavy metal heritage can be traced back to the primitive rumblings of AC/DC and BUFFALO as they pillaged the bar at the 'Bondi Lifesaver' in the early 70's, to ROSE TATTOO destroying crowds at Sydney's 'Manzil Room' or to THE ANGELS making the rest of the bill look silly at the legendary 'Narara festival' in the early 80's. These early triumphs helped to establish this country as a breeding ground of rebellious rock animals, loud, proud and hard-rocking. It wasn't until the mid-80's, however, that a different class of riot crew evolved. An underground elite of extreme aggressive metal warriors began to emerge and for the first time: Australia had a true heavy metal scene it could call its own, led by the likes of MORTAL SIN and SLAUGHTER LORD. These two bands would spearhead a revolution! While SLAUGHTER LORD never achieved true glory, they remain legends of the Australian extreme metal scene, pioneers of a very dynamic musical sub-culture soon to be enhanced by the appearance OF ADDICTIVE, FROZEN DOBERMAN, NOTHING SACRED, HOBBS' ANGEL OF DEATH and the embryonic rumblings of ARMOURED ANGEL and SADISTIK EXEKUTION. The early to mid-90's further established Australia's reputation for producing world-class metal in the shape of acts such as CRUCIFORM, ALLEGIANCE, INFECTED and BESTIAL WARLUST. In 1991, the »Metal for the Brain« festival was established as an annual event and is now the largest metal-only festival in the Southern Hemisphere. Australian heavy metal music is a melting-pot of foreign influences with an injection of its own unique personality, ranging from the mesmerising inventiveness of ALCHEMIST, the berserk rage of DAMAGED, the insane rantings of SADISTIK EXEKUTION, the fuck-heavy groove of BLOOD DUSTER, the howling shrieks of NAZXUL, the density of MISERY to the sheer brutality of MANTICORE and a thousand other variations on the genre. Like in all musical styles, Australian heavy metal is typically at the cutting edge.

»The Australian Metal Guide« contains 488 extremely detailed and exceptionally well-crafted band biographies, including full vinyl and CD discographies, making it an absolute must for every serious collector of heavy metal music from the 70's till today!

Brian J. Giffin, author of this first-ever guide to Australian heavy metal, has also been a band manager and occasional small-time promoter. Outside of heavy metal his interests include astronomy, archaeology, mythology, cult and horror cinema, and science fiction. He lives in the mountains west of Sydney, with his wife Xena, two dogs and a black cat.


Release Date: June 2004

Pages:
176

Language: english

Price: 18,90 Euro