Five Star Prison Cell was an Australian four-piece band[1] from Melbourne, Australia, whose music was generally labelled as tech metal[2] or math rock. They were known for their use of unusual time signatures, dissonant guitar riffs, and a vocal approach that explored many different avenues and styles.[3]
Five Star Prison Cell was formed in 2004 from members of various other bands. Vocalist Adam Glynn came from Melbourne band Frankenbok, Marc Whitworth had played drums for Gold Coast band Tension and Cameron Macdonald and Mark Holain played bass and guitar in Extra Virgin. The group was initially conceived as a one-off studio project but after Extra Virgin disbanded it was decided to continue with Five Star Prison Cell.
In 2005, the band released its debut album The Complete First Season through Faultline Records. During the year the band toured throughout Australia and supported Arch Enemy and Spiderbait. Much of the following year was spent writing and recording another album.
On 14 November 2006, Five Star Prison Cell won the annual Musicoz award for best metal/hardcore act of 2006.[4] A new album, Slaves of Virgo, was issued in March 2007.
In early 2010, Five Star Prison Cell completed recording their third album, titled Matriarch with Australian producer Forrester Savell (Karnivool, The Butterfly Effect, Helmet). The album was released in May and supported by a nationwide tour.
April 2011 Five Star Prison Cell decided to disband and go their separate ways. [citation needed] No particular reason was provided other than wanting to focus on other areas in their lives. They remain best of friends and have left the door open to the possibility of doing another album in the future.
In October 2013, Five Star Prison Cell announced their re-activation.
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls.
Bodyjar are an Australian pop punk band which formed in 1990. They began performing under the name Bodyjar in 1994; their previous names included Damnation (1990–91) and Helium (1992–93). The latter group released an album, You Can't Hold Me Down, in October 1992. As Bodyjar their original line-up were Cameron Baines on vocals and guitar; Ben Petterson on vocals and guitar; Grant Relf on vocals and bass guitar; and Charles Zerafa on drums. In 1995 Ross Hetherington replaced Zerafa on drums. In 1999 Tom Read replaced Petterson on guitar and in 2004 Hetherington made way for Shane Wakker on drums.
Lime Spiders were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with Mick Blood on lead vocals. He was later joined by Richard Lawson on drums, and David Sparks on guitar. Their debut studio album, The Cave Comes Alive! was released in June 1987 and reached the top 60 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Their most successful single, "Weirdo Libido", was released in January that year and reached the top 50 on the related Kent Music Report Singles Chart. In April its music video was the first ever shown on Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV music series rage. The track was used on the 1988 feature film Young Einstein's soundtrack. The group disbanded in 1990 and in 1999 Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noted they had provided "raucous sound mixed screaming vocals and wild, fuzz-tone guitar riffs to arrive at a mutant strain of acid punk that bordered on heavy metal".
Daysend were an Australian melodic death metal band formed in 2002 by mainstays Aaron Bilbija on guitars and Meredith Webster on bass guitar. They were joined later that year by Wayne Morris on drums. From 2003 to 2006 their lead vocalist was Simon Calabrese, who was replaced by Mark McKernan. The group released three albums, Severance, The Warning and Within the Eye of Chaos, before disbanding in May 2011.
Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Australia in 1999. Mainstay members are Dave Haley on drums and his brother Joe Haley on guitar. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they signed to Nuclear Blast. As of August 2022, the band have released eight studio albums. They have undertaken Australian national tours supporting international acts, Incantation, Decapitated, Origin and Misery Index. Psycroptic have also toured Europe with Nile and with Deicide. In February 2019, the band started a co-headlining tour alongside Aversions Crown and support bands Within Destruction, Hadal Maw and Hollow World across Europe. They also headlined a 2019 tour in the United States in support of their album As the Kingdom Drowns.
Amen is an American band formed in Los Angeles in 1994. It was founded by frontman and singer Casey Chaos and combines elements of punk rock, hardcore punk, and heavy metal. Although the band experienced little success in the United States, Amen attracted a significant following in the United Kingdom. The band saw continuous changes in membership, with Casey Chaos remaining the sole original member.
Hobbs' Angel of Death was an Australian thrash metal band that began in 1987 in Melbourne, and are one of the first Australian groups to perform in that genre. They released two studio albums, Hobbs' Angel of Death (1988) and Inheritance (1995) before disbanding in 1996. They reformed in 2002 and released a compilation album, Hobbs' Satan's Crusade (2003), and a third album Heaven Bled (2016).
Damaged was an Australian deathgrind band from Ballarat, Victoria, active from 1989 to 2004.
Faultline Entertainment Group also known as Faultline Records is an Australian independent record label based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1998 by metal music producer, dw Norton, and began as a development label. As of 2007 it has taken on partners Richard De Silva and Gary Buckley to become a full-time independent record label within Australian and Overseas. Faultline Entertainment Group has opened an office in Florida and in the near future will be opening offices in the UK and Japan. Distribution for Faultline releases within Australia are handled by both Shock Records and MGM Distribution.
Stephen Andrew Rowe is an Australian musician who is the founder, vocalist and bass guitarist of the Christian death metal band Mortification, which is considered to be a pioneer in the genre. Prior to forming Mortification, he was in a traditional heavy metal-styled Christian band known as LightForce. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1997, but made a full recovery. He is currently the owner and head of the Rowe Productions record label. In 2015, Rowe announced his retirement from Christian music. However, his career has continued, while Mortification has been inactive the members' side project, Wonrowe Vision, have remained active.
Borne is an Australian alt-rock band formed in Melbourne in 2003.
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.
The Underneath, formerly known as Transtic Nerve, was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 1995. The band released four full-length records as Transtic Nerve and two full-length records as The Underneath. As Transtic Nerve, the band played more straightforward rock styled music, but in 2007 shifted to a heavier and darker style upon transforming to The Underneath. In 2010, the group disbanded and reformed under the name Defspiral.
Frankenbok is an Australian heavy metal band from Melbourne. The band was founded in 1997 by guitarist Aaron Butler and vocalist Adam 'Hutch' Glynn and have since released three full-length albums and one EP. Frankenbok have toured Australia on numerous occasions, building a strong cult following in their homeland.
Roman Glick is an American bassist and guitarist. He is known for playing with Brother Cane, Slave to the System, Player/Kommander, The Ladies Of, Jesse James Dupree, and Jackyl. Roman plays Dean Guitars exclusively.
Nightwing is a British rock band, originally formed in 1978 as "Gordon and Friends" by bassist Gordon Rowley, keyboardist Kenny Newton. and guitarist Eric Bert Percival. The original line-up was Gordon Rowley, Eric Percival, Kenny Newton and Paul Ellson.
Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 2004. The group consists of guitarist Marc Okubo, drummer Sam Applebaum, bassist Danny Hauser and vocalist Lukas Magyar. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released seven studio albums. Their seventh studio album, Mother, was released on May 12, 2023.
Headkase was an Australian avant-garde metal band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in 2001. Headkase consisted of six members, and are known for theatrical and energetic stage shows, circus-themed masks and facepaint. Often compared to acts like Mr. Bungle, the band combined many musical styles such as metal, jazz, techno, salsa, swing, and circus music.
Katie Cole is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She was born in Melbourne and her career began with songwriting, touring and recording in Australia. After being contacted by record producer Howard Willing, Cole relocated to Los Angeles, where she currently resides and works. In 2010–2011, Cole released Lost Inside a Moment, an EP produced by Willing. The recording spawned two singles, the title track and "Sunrise", both of which were playlisted on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. In 2011, Cole released a five-track album called Melodiem via Bandcamp. Her first full-length album, Lay It All Down, was released on 3 March 2014. She has been a touring multi-instrumentalist for The Smashing Pumpkins since 2015.
Suiciety are an Australian heavy metal band, which were formed in 1990. They issued two studio albums, Deeper Vision (1993) and Primrose Path (1994) before disbanding in 1996. Suiciety had supported tours by visiting artists, Kreator, Fear Factory, Bolt Thrower, Sepultura and Body Count. The group reformed in 2015 to release new material.
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