Contrive are a heavy metal band [1] from Melbourne, Australia formed in 1999. Their musical style has been compared to that of Sepultura. [2]
The band consists of bassist Tim Stahlmann and twin brothers Paul Haug (vocals, guitars) and Andrew Haug (drums). [3] Andrew Haug is perhaps better known from his history as the host of the weekly Triple J metal radio program The Racket between 2002 and late 2011. [4]
The band's first studio album, The Meaning Unseen, was released in September 2005. It was mixed by Frederick Nordström. It received favourable reviews highlighting the combined elements of stomping modern hardcore, '80s thrash and old-time heavy metal. [5]
Their second album, The Internal Dialogue, was recorded in Melbourne, Australia with producer Adam Calaitzis and mixed by Devin Townsend.
The band have performed extensively since their inception and include three performances at the (now defunct) Metal For The Brain festival as well as opening slots for overseas bands which include Sepultura, Riverside, Mayhem, Machine Head, Destruction, Devin Townsend, Opeth and Testament. [6] In 2009 the band toured South East Asia, including a show in Singapore with Parkway Drive. During 2011, they toured Vietnam and were the first Australian metal band to do so. [7]
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
Soulfly is a Brazilian-American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released twelve studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos. Their debut album, Soulfly, was released on April 21, 1998, while their most recent album, Totem, was released on August 5, 2022
Derrick Leon Green is an American musician best known as the vocalist of Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. He joined the band in 1997 after the departure of band founder Max Cavalera.
Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.
Andrew Haug'is a radio announcer and heavy metal musician from Melbourne, Australia. He is one of the most prominent figures in Australia's largely underground heavy metal scene.
Alchemist was an Australian progressive metal band from Canberra whose style combined death metal, progressive rock, psychedelic, Eastern, Aboriginal and electronic influences. The band formed in 1987 and released six studio albums, an EP and a compilation album. Work began on a new EP in 2010 but the band went on an indefinite hiatus and then split up. They are the only group to appear at every Metal for the Brain festival, an event they ran and organised from 1996. Alchemist also played at the Big Day Out and toured Europe several times.
Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.
Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr., Paul Waggoner, Dan Briggs, and Blake Richardson (drums).
Charles Billy is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament.
Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 2003.
Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Jedson Louis Simon is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is currently a member of VIMIC.
Dreadnaught is a metal band from Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed out of the remnants of some Tasmanian bands including Fridge from Launceston who recorded an album in 1994.
Australian heavy metal music has its roots in both the Australian hard rock and pub rock tradition of the 1970s and the American and British heavy metal scenes. Since the mid-1980s, Australian heavy metal has been particularly influenced by foreign bands, particularly Swedish death metal, American thrash metal and black metal from Norway. Within Australia heavy metal has always remained part of the underground but since the mid-1990s many Australian metal acts have found widespread acceptance in overseas markets, particularly in Europe.
Devin Townsend is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and record producer.
Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.
Ryan Joost Van Poederooyen, often referred to by his initials RVP, is a Canadian drummer. He gained international recognition as a member of progressive metal groups The Devin Townsend Band (2002–2007) and The Devin Townsend Project (2009-2018). He is currently a member of progressive rock band Ten Ways from Sunday. as well as the founder of metal bands God Awakens Petrified, Terror Syndrome, and Imonolith.
Taramis was an Australian heavy metal group, which began as Prowler in 1983. Initially they played covers of other artists' work; in 1985 they developed more original material and changed their name. By that time their line-up was Dave Browne on drums, Shane "Joel" Southby on lead vocals, Danny Komorr on bass guitar, and Craig Robertson on lead guitar. Their debut album, Queen of Thieves, was released in August 1987. A second album followed in April 1992, Stretch of the Imagination, and the group supported Brazilian band Sepultura at their Melbourne concert in July. Taramis disbanded early in 1993. Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane noted they were "one of the first local groups to play a brand of 'progressive' heavy metal in the style of overseas acts ... Taramis infused its esoteric music with an epic, mystical feel. Man-mountain frontman Joel Southby also possessed a booming rock voice which added an edge to the band's billowing, blustering song arrangements".
For The Imperium is an experimental metal band from Helsinki, Finland. Their music is a mixture of modern metal, pop, classic rock and electro. For The Imperium has released two full-length albums and has supported Devin Townsend Project on their 2013 UK-tour.