Timeline
Live sessions done with Mind Assault
- Karen Pretorius – keyboards (2008–2009)
- Tim Brown – vocals (2010)
- Neil Bezuidenhout – guitar (2012)
- Theunis Cilliers – bass (2013)
- Ryan Eberlin – guitar (2013)
- Stefan Steyn – guitar (2020)
Mind Assault | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa |
| Genres | Melodic death metal, heavy metal |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Independent |
| Members | Jacques Fourie Patrick Davidson Donovan Tose Andries Smit Ryan Eberlin |
| Past members | Stephan Lenhoff Francois Pretorius |
Mind Assault is a heavy metal band formed in 2003, that first emerged in October 2004 under the name Mind Assault. Their members are based in Somerset West near Cape Town, South Africa. They were the first extreme metal band to use their native language Afrikaans in their music, maintaining a balanced use of Afrikaans and English in their music. [1] [2] This language usage results from a re-emerging consciousness (see Voëlvry) among young Afrikaans people through alternative sub-cultures, reflected by bands such as Fokofpolisiekar and Kobus!, which results from a closer observation of their own cultural heritage.
Mind Assault has become known in South Africa as a form of activism for political freedom on stage and in writing. [3] [4] The band's lyrical content narrates issues of state and political interest [5] and matters of personal frustration and social problems. [6]
The band consists of a stable line-up of three founding members. Whilst Mind Assault originally had trouble finding a suitable drummer in their home town, Stephen Lenhoff (a high school friend and multi-instrumentalist) joined the band on drums for a period of almost three years before Andries Smit started as drummer in January 2007. Smit quickly become a vital contributor to the band not only by drumming, but also as composer, establishing his role as the fifth member. [7]
In October 2004, Mind Assault performed their debut appearance. The founding members of the band were Jacques Fourie, Franscois Pretorius, Patrick Davidson, and Donovan Tose. Because they could not find a drummer, a friend of the band, Stephan Lenhoff, played drums, until Andries Smit replaced him as a permanent member in 2007.
Mind Assault released their first demo EP, entitled Social Engineering, in 2005. During this time they playing a number of underground concerts and festivals, and initiated a fresh concept of organizing "party-buses" to select performances, which in itself became an event that attracted a lot of additional fans.
In the beginning of 2006, Mind Assault played their first cross-genre music festival to a very receptive audience. They embarked on their first national tour, entitled Destructour'06, in partnership with one of South Africa's metal acts, SacriFist. The success of the tour ensured the band's progress on a national level. Throughout 2006, the band continued to perform shows in their home province, gathering material for a home DVD release.
In 2007, Mind Assault released a home DVD, titled F*k Voort En Suip Baie, a first in South Africa. They concluded the year with headlining slots at festivals such as Metal4Africa, [8] Empyraen fest, and Whiplash.
In February 2008, Mind Assault released their debut LP Stigma at METAL4AFRICA Summerfest, breaking attendance records in the region for an all-African, all-metal event. In 2008 they also headlined at RAMFest, a large annual cross-genre music festival. They toured South Africa's neighboring country Namibia. In 2008, Mind Assault headlined Metal4Africa and Whiplash again. Mind Assault are the only band ever to have been invited to play Whiplash five years in a row. The band initiated another national tour with old friends SacriFist for Destructour'08.
In 2009, and after the loss of the drum kit, Mind Assault maintained a slowed pace, but continued work on new material and worked on delivering some of the most entertaining performances seen in African metal until that point, repeating appearances at festivals such as RAMFest and Metal4Africa.
In addition to the usual gig circuit, 2010 saw Mind Assault's first appearance at one South Africa's oldest and most well-known festivals, Oppikoppi, and took the remainder of the year to track their next self-released EP, Metal Rites.
Metal Rites was released at the end of January in 2011, with the band embarking on another national tour, including a first-time appearance in the city of Bloemfontein that year.
By the end of 2012, the band shifted focus from the live scene towards a more studio-oriented approach. This shift was primarily prompted by the return of lead guitarist and founding member Francois Pretorius to his country of birth Namibia. Despite the move, members of Mind Assault elected not to change the members of the band but continue writing and recording with the original line-up.
Mind Assault reached another milestone in 2013 when they traveled to their first Gauteng RAMfest to join South Africa's Pestroy in opening for the UK's Bring Me the Horizon and Rise Against from the US.
In 2014, Mind Assault released four self-produced tracks and a music video in anticipation of their support of the Lamb of God South African tour. In 2015, Francois Pretorius departed from the band after settling in Namibia and was replaced by Ryan Eberlin. The band is currently working on their second full-length album entitled The Cult of Conflict tentatively due in 2020.
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