THE HYST LIST // Australia’s Top Ten Extreme Metal Bands

Things have never looked brighter for the Australian metal underground.

For decades, we have consistently gained the attention of our northern counterparts for our unique and occasionally completely bizarre slant on extreme metal. Whether it’s Euronymous wearing a Sadistik Exekution t-shirt (remember him?), or Phil Anselmo singing the praises of Hobbs’ Angel of Death, there’s a healthy respect worldwide for fair dinkum metal.

There are a few obvious candidates when it comes to sorting the brutal from the B-grade. It’s no secret that King Parrot and Psycroptic have been kicking goals abroad in recent times, whilst lifers such as Destroyer 666 and Pegazus enjoy a legacy and notoriety as bonafide legends. The stakes are high in terms of extremity, creativity and tenacity. While you could name dozens of bands, the following is ten of the most unique, innovative and hardworking extreme metal bands in Australia.

PORTAL (QLD)

Once upon a time, Queensland was considered ‘beautiful one day, perfect the next’. Only the advent of former Premier Campbell Newman matched the cloud of darkness conjured by anachronistic death metal act Portal. It has taken nearly twenty years for the miasma to spread beyond Queensland and pervade the global metal underground.

A Portal concert is an odyssey to that infernal dark zone between the conscious and the surreal.  It is as though Lucifer himself tore pages from the works of Poe and Lovecraft and scattered them before the unsuspecting, like coffin dust disturbed within an unholy sepulchre.

INVERLOCH (VIC)

Inverloch formed from the ashes of disEMBOWELMENT, which shone like a flame in the underground only to be snuffed out too soon. When the latter released their debut LP twenty five years ago, few would anticipate the influence worldwide that it would have on both the death metal and doom genres.  It was a relatively simple concept; grinding death metal played at spirit-crushingly low tempos.

Where they had once abandoned the beast they spawned, it ran free and evolved into an entity revered as much for its mystique as its unparalleled bleakness. With the time perfect for Inverloch to return with debut LP Distance Collapsed, the future has never looked so bleak.

CHRISTCRUSHER (VIC)

Undinism. Open Wound. Ether Rag. Captain Cleanoff. The Kill. When you take members who have played in all of these grindcore heavyweights and lock them in a room together, the results will be violent, funny, tragic and brutal. Whilst vocalist Neil has toned down the ECW-grade bloodsport which characterised his days with Undinism and The Kill, there are occasions where the audience more than account for it – refer to this video, for instance:

What could be considered Australia’s answer to Birdflesh is a whole lot more violent, intimidating and flat out psychotic than a meth-head on a three day killing spree.

HORDES OF THE BLACK CROSS (VIC)

Australia has produced a slew of black metal bands over the years, and Hordes of the Black Cross stand out for their blackened hybrid of crust and thrash metal. Their music combines the best elements of the early black metal, propelled by a youthful and unrelenting intensity akin to Amebix. Halla’s agonized screams sound nothing short of evil spirits trapped in a hellfire of tremolo guitars. Their stage presence was enough to catch the attention of SUNN O))) a little while back, with an inebriated Stephen O’Malley more than happy to express his admiration front and centre of the pit.

AGONHYMN (VIC)

Doom jazz? Blues grind? Agonhymn are a duo based in Ballarat who reflect the incongruous genres they seamlessly combine with each release. On stage left is the short-cropped Dav Byrne on ultra-low tuned guitar and vocals. To his right is the reticent Liam Brewer, as lauded for his hirsuteness as he is for his Bill Ward-like drumming. Again, they sound like a whole lot more than two men onstage, but they play as one. Blues Grind is the pick of the bunch and perhaps one of the most innovative and well-crafted doom albums in recent years.

LOOKING GLASS (ACT)

Sludge, stoner, doom, blues-rock, or whatever else you want to call it, has been absolutely done to death. You’d be forgiven for thinking every man and his bong wants to pay a small fortune on vintage equipment, learn a blues scale or two and have a crack.

Looking Glass, on the other hand, are well worth your time. It says a lot about a band if they can write riffs and melodies which are both original and catchy as hell, all the while relying on only five notes. You could probably call it genius.

MOURNFUL CONGREGATION  (SA)

As I Drown in Loveless Rain. The Waterless Streams. Mother-Water, the Great Sea Wept. Darmok and Jalad at Tenagra. (I made that last one up lol – ed.) Few metal bands are as poetic as South Australia’s Mournful Congregation. Lachrymose themes are complimented perfectly by lyrical guitar leads and riffs that move as slowly as wine ferments. However, like the very nectar of Bacchus, the riffs get better with age and form an intoxicating blend of darkness, light and the poetic synergy between the contrasting moods. A Mournful Congregation concert usually sees a large part of the audience lying on the floor wishing beanbags were available at metal gigs.

ODIUSEMBOWEL  (VIC via NZ)

Grindcore in Australia has traditionally veered towards the less than technical, crust-infused style which has more in common with Sore Throat or early Napalm Death. Instead, Odiusembowel stand out for their approach which combines the technical elements of death metal with the rawness and intensity of traditional grind. Neither style is compromised and the end result is something which stands out from not only their Australian counterparts, but those in Europe and the US. With the band newly reformed, preparing for an American tour and about to release a new album (Mephitic Sermon), the future has never looked brighter.

MIAZMA (NT)

It’s hard enough being a death metal band in Australia and trying to catch a break. You’re stuck in a country the size of a continent with only a handful of cities which are going to make the trip worth your while, if you’re lucky. But hey, at least you’ve got a decent following in your hometown and more than a few venues to keep yourself entertained on the home front, right?

If you’re stuck smack bang in the middle of the desert like Alice Springs’ Miazma, you don’t quite have that luxury. To see a band of their ilk touring relentlessly and getting the kind of reception they have is a testament to the hard work they and everyone at The Black Wreath have put in.

INTENSE HAMMER RAGE (TAS)

Imagine reading a couple of books on serial killers. You then turn a few of the more demented tales into some brutal grindcore tunes. Soon, you see your face in the local rag for your efforts. Then the police come knocking on your door, dig your backyard up and slap you on the sex offenders registry for seven years. It sounds like the kind of thing you’d expect to hear about in Utah.

Instead, it happened to Burnie’s very own Intense Hammer Rage, which is a damn pity. Although the furore derailed them for a few years, they’ve returned with a vengeance in the form of ‘Better to Kill Than Listen to This’. Everything about these guys is left of centre, from drummer AB’s refusal to do anything resembling a beat, to the ridiculously synchronised tandem vocals.

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