Vicious Circle (band)

Last updated

Vicious Circle
OriginMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres Hardcore punk
Years active
  • 1983 (1983)–1990 (1990)
  • 1995 (1995)–present
Labels
  • Reactor
  • Waterfront
  • Spent
  • Resist
SpinoffsRue Morgue

Vicious Circle are an Australian hardcore punk band, which formed in 1983 and included founding members Paul Lindsay on lead vocals and Les Rumincik on lead guitar. They disbanded in 1990 and Lindsay and Rumincik formed Rue Morgue in the following year. Rue Morgue issued two albums, Soul Museum (1993) and Freak Nation (1995), before Lindsay and Rumincik revived Vicious Circle in 1995. That group's albums are Price of Progress (1985), Reflections (1986), Into the Void (1988), Reactivate (compilation album, 1995), Internal Headstrength (1997) and Perfect World Disaster (1999).

Contents

History

Vicious Circle formed in late 1983 as a hardcore punk band in Melbourne by Alby Brovedani on bass guitar and guitar (ex-Politburo), Paul Lindsay on lead vocals, Les Rumincik on lead guitar (ex-Politburo) and Michael on drums. [1] [2] [3] Michael was replaced on drums by Russell Hopkinson in 1984. [1] Two early tracks, "Blood Race" and "Police Brutality" appeared on a Various Artists compilation album, Eat Your Head (1984) via No Master's Voice, [1] which was re-released on CD in 1997 by Au Go Go Records. [4] The group's debut five-track extended play, Search for the Solution, appeared in early 1985 via Reactor Records, which was owned by Phil McDougall. [1] [3] [5]

The hardcore group followed with their first studio album, Price of Progress, in September 1985 also on Reactor. [1] [6] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, it was "a ground-breaking release in the annals of the local hardcore scene." [1] The album was also issued by Children of the Revolution record label in the United States and Europe. [1] From their US contacts they teamed up with American punk rockers, Youth Brigade to issue a split album Epitaph/Care in April 1986. [1] [7] They released their first single, "A Nightmare so Quick", in that month. By that time David Ross had replaced Hopkinson on drums and Keith Chatham joined on bass guitar to allow Brovedani to focus on rhythm guitar. [1]

Reflections, Vicious Circle's second album appeared in October 1986 via Reactor in Australia and on Boner in the US. [1] McFarlane noticed it had "elements of melody seeping into the band's all-out thrash approach." [1] The Australian hardcore band toured the US for three months, supporting gigs by GBH, Agnostic Front, MDC or Attitude Adjustment. [1] Upon return to Melbourne at the end of that year Ross was replaced on drums by James Lynch. [1] The group's last work for Reactor, Hope and Wait, was an EP issued in September 1987. [1] They were signed to Sydney-based label, Waterfront Records in 1988, Lindsay explained, "the decision to go to Waterfront was made whilst [McDougall] was still running Reactor, I know because I told him." [5]

Vicious Circle's studio album, Into the Void, was released on Waterfront in February 1988. [1] [8] RebelSynner of The Corroseum observed, "it's perhaps the most enjoyable [album] for Metal fans". [9] The group continued until 1990 when they disbanded. [1]

Rue Morgue years

Rue Morgue were formed by Lindsay and Rumincik in 1991 as an "eclectic mix of hardcore punk, death metal and skate-core." [1] Other members were Danny O'Callaghan on drums, Gary Proghoulis on bass guitar and Peter on guitar. [1] [10] They provided the track, "Romance of Death", for the Various Artists' compilation Redrum (June 1993) via the Australian branch of Roadrunner Records. [1] Soul Museum, their debut album, was issued late in 1993 via Def Records. [1] A second album, Freak Nation, followed in January 1995 but Lindsay and Rumincik re-established Vicious Circle in mid-year. [1]

Reformation and later years

With Vicious Circle's reformation they released a compilation album, Reactivate, in July 1995 on Def Records. [1] [6] They followed with a four-track EP of new material, Fixated, on Spent Records/Shock Records in March 1993. Internal Headstrength, their first album after the reunion, appeared in June 1996 with Lindsay and Rumincik joined by Gary on guitar, Chris on bass guitar (ex-Buttjuice) and Stu on drums. Their next album, Perfect World Disaster, was issued via Resist Records in 1999. [1] [6] For the album, Born Yesterday (2006), the line-up was Lindsay, Proghoulis, Rumincik and Daniel Ostojic. [11] By Don't Lose It (2012) Lindsay was joined by Adam Shirley on guitar and vocals and Ash Newman on drums. [2]

Members

Rue Morgue

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mark of Cain (band)</span> Australian indie rock band

The Mark of Cain are an alternative metal band from Adelaide, South Australia. Their style has been likened to that of Helmet and Rollins Band, yet this band pre-dates both groups and was influenced by the early work of Joy Division, Big Black and United States hardcore groups. The Mark of Cain were formed in mid-1984 by brothers, John (guitar) and Kim Scott, with Rod Archer on vocals and Gavin Atkinson playing drums. Before long, Archer had left the group and John Scott took on the lead vocal role and the group has remained a trio ever since. The Scotts have been the core of the band which has featured 15 different drummers. Since January 2001, former Helmet member John Stanier has been their drummer; he is also concurrently with Tomahawk and Battles. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described the group's sound as "Gloomy, monotonous vocals and bleak slabs of metallic guitar did battle over a lurching rhythm section to arrive at a harsh sound." Rod Archer died on 26 February 2016. 2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of the release of the Battlesick album. A major national tour is planned to celebrate the occasion. Eli Green again tours with the band fulfilling the drumming duties.

Powder Monkeys were an Australian punk, indie rock band, formed in 1991. The founding mainstays, Tim Hemensley, on bass guitar and lead vocals and John Nolan on lead guitar were both ex-members of Bored!. Powder Monkeys released three studio albums, Smashed on a Knee, Time Wounds all Heels and Lost City Blues (2000), before they broke up in 2002. Tim Hemensley died on 21 July 2003, aged 31, of a heroin overdose.

Essendon Airport is an Australian electronic music, post-punk group formed in 1978 which explored experimental minimalist and funk music. Founding mainstays were the duo of David Chesworth on electric piano and drum machine and Robert Goodge on guitar. They were joined in late 1980 by Ian Cox on saxophone and Paul Fletcher on drums.

Exserts were an Australian three-piece punk rock band, which formed in 1980 with Steven Demsey on bass guitar, Charlie Sammut on drums and Greg Suptut on guitar and vocals. Suptut was replaced by Simon Holmes in 1981, who was replaced in turn by Andrew Thomas on vocals and guitar in May 1983. They released a self-titled album via Aberrant Records in February 1987 before disbanding shortly after.

Embodiment 12:14 were an Australia Christian metal band formed in Adelaide, as Embodiment in 1992, initially they performed death metal. They released two albums, Elements of This Man-Made Man (1998) and Inroads Out (2005), before disbanding in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.K. Subs</span> English punk rock band

U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first hardcore punk bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Grisham</span> Musical artist

Jack Grisham is an American rock vocalist, musician, raconteur and political activist from Southern California. He is the vocalist for the punk rock band T.S.O.L., which emerged from the late 1970s Los Angeles hardcore punk rock scene, along with Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Bad Religion. Grisham has also fronted the bands Vicious Circle, the Joykiller, Tender Fury and Cathedral of Tears. He records with T.S.O.L., the Joykiller and the Manic Low.

Godnose are an Australian metalcore band from Brisbane, which formed as a three-piece in 1995 by founding mainstay Ben Jones on guitar, lead vocals, trumpet and percussion. By 2004 they were a four-piece and his fellow members were Lindsay Beasley on drums, Greg on bass guitar and backing vocals and Claire Obst on lead vocals. The group toured Europe twice by 2007.

<i>GI</i> (album) 1979 studio album by the Germs

GI, stylized as (GI), is the only studio album by American punk rock band the Germs. Often considered the first full-length hardcore punk album, it was released in the United States in October 1979 on Slash Records with catalog number SR 103. The album was later released in Italy in 1982 by Expanded Music with the catalog EX 11. The album's title is an acronym for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs. After (GI)'s release, the band would only undertake one more recording session, for the soundtrack album to Al Pacino's 1980 film Cruising. On December 7, 1980, a year after the release of (GI), vocalist Darby Crash died by suicide.

John Francis Kennedy is an English-born Australian musician and singer-songwriter–guitarist. He has been the leader of a number of groups including JFK & the Cuban Crisis (1980–84), and John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong (1984–88). In 1984 he described his music as "urban and western".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic Psychos</span> Australian punk rock band

Cosmic Psychos are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1982 as Spring Plains. Founding members included Ross Knight on bass guitar and vocals; Robbie Addington on guitar and vocals; and Steve Morrow on vocals. Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described their music as "arty kind of punk noise, somewhere between The Birthday Party and a more narcotic sounding Ramones". Late in 1984 the group was renamed as Cosmic Psychos. They issued their debut album, Down on the Farm, in December 1985. Several albums have followed and were backed by national tours and international tours to Europe and North America including festivals with Mudhoney, Nirvana, L7, Helmet and Motörhead. In 1990 Jones was replaced by Robbie Watts on guitar and vocals. By 2005 Walsh was replaced by Dean Muller on drums. On 1 July 2006 Watts died of a heart attack, aged 47, and the band continued with John McKeering joining.

Attitude Adjustment is an American crossover thrash band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Their debut album, American Paranoia, is considered to be an early "crossover" between hardcore punk and thrash metal.

Timothy Michael Hemensley was an Australian bass guitarist and singer. He was the front man of Powder Monkeys (1991–2002), a punk, garage and hard rock band. He had been a member of GOD (1986–89), Bored! (1989–91) and the Yes-Men. Hemensley was in his first band at age ten. In 1996 he played bass guitar for Peter Wells. Hemensley died of a heroin overdose on 21 July 2003, aged 31. Hemensley was the son of the poet, Kris Hemensley.

Russell Keith "Rusty" Hopkinson is an Australian rock musician and record label owner. He joined alternative rockers, You Am I, in 1993 on drums, percussion and backing vocals. He had previously been a member of the Bamboos (1986–87) and Kryptonics (1987–88). He established a record label, Reverberation, in 2003 with his former Kryptonics bandmate, Ian Underwood.

Pel Mel were an Australian rock band, which formed in Newcastle in June 1979. They issued two studio albums, Out of Reason (1982) and Persuasion (1983). They toured until the end of 1984 and disbanded in the following year. They reformed in 2012 as Pel Mel Organisation to play occasional shows; they have released a compilation and a live album in 2016.

Primary were an Australian electronic rock band which formed in 1995 the Fonti brothers: Jamie on keyboards and Sean on bass guitar, and Connie Mitchell on lead vocals. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, the group were "Dominated by South African-born [Mitchell]'s hyperactive and full-frontal vocals, with thunderous electronic rock underpinning the music, Primary sounded like a techno Skunk Anansie. Jamie Fonti coined the phrase 'Hybrid Electronica Rock' in order to describe the band's sound." The group released two albums, This Is the Sound and Watching the World. They disbanded late in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Baker (musician)</span> Australian musician

James Lawrence Baker is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of various rock and punk rock groups, including the Victims, the Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, and the Dubrovniks. In 2006 Baker was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame. The following year, Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Moler are a power pop band which formed in 1993 as a three-piece with founding mainstays Helen Cattanach on bass guitar and lead vocals and Julien Poulsen on lead guitar. They featured a changing line-up of drummers and sometimes worked as a four-piece with a keyboardist. Their sole studio album, Golden Duck, was released in October 1997 via Infectious with Lindsay Gravina producing. They disbanded in 2001.

Bored were an Australian punk band formed in Geelong in 1987. The original line-up was Grant Gardner on bass guitar, Adrian Hann on keyboards, Justin Munday on drums, John Nolan on guitar and Dave Thomas on guitar and vocals. In 1989 Gardner was replaced by Tim Hemensley. Both Hemensley and Nolan left in 1991 to form Powder Monkeys. Bored! released five studio albums by 1993 and disbanded later that year. Thomas briefly joined Magic Dirt and subsequently enlisted various line-ups for reformed versions of Bored! in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Massappeal were an Australian hardcore punk band founded in early 1985 by mainstays, Brett Curotta (guitar), and Randy Reimann (vocals). Massapeal released four studio albums, Nobody Likes a Thinker (1986), Jazz (1989), The Mechanic (1992) and Nommo Anagonno (1994), before disbanding late in 1994.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    • 1st edition: McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Vicious Circle'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 6 April 2004.
    • 2nd edition: McFarlane, Ian (2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Vicious Circle'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2nd ed.). Gisborne, VIC: Third Stone Press. pp. 500–501. ISBN   978-0-9953856-0-3.
  2. 1 2 "Vicious Circle". ArtistInfo. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 Hungry Dave (May 2004). "1982 to 1984: 'Third Wave' (Hardcore)". Regression: Melbourne Punk Directory. Archived from the original on 11 January 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2022 via National Library of Australia.
  4. Various Artists (1997), Eat Your Head : Melbourne Compilation, Au Go Go Records , retrieved 12 December 2022
  5. 1 2 "Vicious Circle Interview with Paul Lindsay". Rest Assured. 22 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2022 via National Library of Australia.
  6. 1 2 3 "Vicious Circle". Rest Assured. 12 March 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2022 via National Library of Australia.
  7. 1 2 "Vicious Circle / Youth Brigade – Epitaph / Care". ArtistInfo. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  8. "Releases :: Into the Void". Australian Music Online . Archived from the original on 19 April 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2022 via National Library of Australia.
  9. RebelSynner. "Vicious Circle – Into the Void LP Review". The Corroseum. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  10. "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Romance of Death'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  11. "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Born Yesterday'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  12. "The Price of Progress by Vicious Circle on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  13. "Reflections by Vicious Circle on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  14. "Into the Void by Vicious Circle on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  15. "Internal Headstrength by Vicious Circle on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 December 2022.