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Caligula's Horse

Caligula’s Horse, hailing from Brisbane, Australia, are a leading light in contemporary progressive metal. Their colourful and emotional music, spanning influences as diverse as King Crimson, Steely Dan, Opeth, and Jeff Buckley, has forged a deep and lasting connection with fans across the globe.

Caligula’s Horse have taken ambitious strides with every release, maintaining a course of continual artistic development and reinvention. Formed in 2011, the band garnered critical acclaim for their eclectic and exploratory debut, Moments from Ephemeral City (2011), and its dark, conceptual follow-up, The Tide, the Thief & River’s End (2013). But Caligula’s Horse truly made their mark worldwide with their vibrant and hard-hitting third album, Bloom (2015), the first on prestigious German record label, Inside Out. It was on the back of this record that the group expanded its touring regime beyond Australia, including shows with the likes of Mastodon, Opeth, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Tesseract, and Anathema. Caligula’s Horse’s fourth album, In Contact (2017), with its grand concept and expansive dynamics, was the first to break the Australian ARIA Top 50 Chart. Its critical and commercial success saw the band grow its reach tremendously, packing out venues across Australia, the UK, and Europe, and touring the Americas for the first time.

In 2020, Caligula’s Horse released their most focussed and potent artistic statement yet: Rise Radiant, an uncompromising exploration of the human experience dressed in vivid musical colour and virtuosic performances. It was the culmination of the band’s artistic development, concentrating the expressive stylings which have endeared Caligula’s Horse to legions of fans worldwide. But it is also far more. Rise Radiant is the Caligula’s Horse sound pushed to its extremes: at once its most ferocious and its most touching, its most expansive and its most condensed, its most poetic and its most vicious. Rise Radiant is an anthem for the regeneration of self-belief, an exploration of the themes of legacy, and a rallying cry for survival.

With the release of Rise Radiant, Caligula’s Horse celebrated their highest international chart positions yet, highlighted with #23 on Australia’s ARIA Albums Chart, and #43 on the German Albums Chart, plus #5 UK Rock Albums and #10 USA Current Hard Music Albums. Rise Radiant has registered over 5 million streams on Spotify to date, and has received fantastic reviews worldwide, with Prog Magazine (UK) calling it “the best yet from Caligula’s Horse, a triumph of passion and performance.” Produced by the group’s Sam Vallen and mixed by the esteemed Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend Project, Leprous), Rise Radiant features lead single ‘Slow Violence’, plus 2 bonus track covers of the Split Enz song ‘Message To My Girl’ & Peter Gabriel’s ‘Don’t Give Up’, which also features a guest appearance by Lynsey Ward of Exploring Birdsong.

In 2024, the band will release their 6th studio album Charcoal Grace, and it combines raw rockpower with immense emotional depth.Charcoal Grace is borne of the static hopelessness that the pandemic forced upon the band and, indeed, much of the world, these past few years. It is an album reckoning with the experiences and outcomes of this time geared, ultimately, towards catharsis – moving towards a more hopeful future.

Caligula’s Horse proudly endorses Ernie Ball Music Man strings and guitars, Klotz, Mesa/Boogie, and Fractal Audio, Dingwall basses, Pearl Drums, Remo drum heads and VRATIM Drum Shoes.

Supersuckers

The Supersuckers are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music ranges from alternative rock to country rock to cowpunk.[1] AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after being weaned on punk rock, unafraid of massive guitar riffs, outsized personalities, or pledging allegiance to sex, weed, and Satan with a wink and a nudge."[2]

Bassist/singer Eddie Spaghetti (real name Edward Daly) leads the band and is its only constant member. Their current lineup also includes guitarist Marty Chandler and drummer Christopher von Streicher. Their most recent album, Play That Rock N' Roll, was released in February 2020.

Botch

Legendary Tacoma, Washington mathcore/hardcore/metal band Botch have announced their first ever Australian tour for May 2024.

Bassist Brian Cook, guitarist David Knudson, drummer Tim Latona and vocalist Dave Verellen formed Botch in 1993, becoming one of the most ground-breaking and influential bands during a pivotal shift in heavy music, before splitting in 2002 at the height of their popularity. Their split made way for members to form and play in other highly notable and influential bands including Minus the Bear, These Arms Are Snakes, Narrows, SUMAC, Russian Circles and Torment & Glory.

The legend of Botch has grown over the past twenty years, but despite continued clamour from fans, there were no plans for the band to get back together.

Then, in August 2022, Botch released “One Twenty Two”, their first song in twenty years – the surprise drop lit the online metal world ablaze. The track’s two minutes of biting, twisting riffage brought Botch’s legacy to the forefront of fan’s minds again, with impeccable execution.

In October, just one day after announcing they would be playing two back to back shows at Seattle’s 1200-capacity Showbox, the band was shocked to see tickets for both nights sold out in just 13 seconds.

Now, their reunion has gifted fans a long-awaited Australian tour for May 2024.

What can fans expect from the reunification of this seminal act?

As The Stranger notes – at a typical Botch show during their prime, the band thrashed about on stage, yet somehow they always managed to nail all the minute intricacies. Since coming back together, they have been dedicated to making sure they could replicate what they became known for in the first place.

As David Knudson says:

“We don’t want to half-ass it…we want to be fucking tight as we ever were, if not tighter. We don’t want to disappoint a fan that’s never seen us live. So you know, it’s all in or nothing.”

There’s not much more that needs to be said. Botch. Is. Back.

Untide

Up and coming Mornington Peninsula grunge band, Untide formed in 2022 comes from the minds of a group of 20 somethings with a mutual love for music, creating and Silverchair.

Reaching for inspiration from Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Untide has created a slick grimey sound that brings their original songwriting and music to life.

Louder Than Love

Louder Than Love is the second studio album and major-label debut by American rock band Soundgarden. It was released on September 5, 1989, by A&M Records. After touring in support of their debut album, Ultramega OK (1988), Soundgarden left SST, signed with A&M and began work on its first album for a major label. The songs on the album featured a metal-leaning grunge sound with some songs featuring unusual or unorthodox time signatures.

Due to the nature of some of the lyrics (particularly "Big Dumb Sex"), a Parental Advisory sticker was placed on the album packaging. Louder Than Love would become the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 108. The band supported the album with tours of North America and Europe. It was the last Soundgarden album to feature the band's original bassist, Hiro Yamamoto. It was later reissued on January 25, 2002.

Deadskin

DEADSKIN are a dynamic Metalcore outfit from Melbourne, Australia. Bringing their eerie brand of Metalcore expelling haunting lyrical themes with the soundtrack to match, pushed forwards by heavy grooves and breakdowns to create a horror movie full of suspense and brutality for the ears that will take you into the darkest corners of the human psyche. This is DEADSKIN

TRIGGER WARNING: This song is about suicidal thoughts, feeling helpless and alone. You isolate yourself from the people you love and know deep down that you can not find your way out alone.

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Damage Inc

Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight because
Damage Inc – The Australian Metallica Tribute Band are here to KICK YOUR ARSE!

Nothing else matters once Sydney boys Clint, George, Brad and Drew light up the stage; they will Seek & Destroy! For 14 years Damage Inc has brought their Metallica Tribute to the crazy ‘Tallica fans of Australia, every show promises to be an experience you’ll never forget.

Damage Inc first hit the road in March 2004 and after playing a handful of gigs, the word quickly spread that this rocking tribute ban
d really know their stuff and were serious about moving ahead. Being able to brandish the kind of musical fire-power that Metallica has unleashed for more than three decades, Damage Inc has plugged right into the strength of Metallica’s music and helped heavy music shine.

Damage Inc recreates the live Metallica experience so well, you’ll swear you have just seen the heavy metal legends themselves. Covering songs from Metallica’s 30 plus year career, Damage Inc is a band not to be missed if you love Metallica or Heavy Metal

Damaged

he band was formed by drummer Matt "Skitz" Sanders. Mat Silcock and Chris Hill were the two original guitarists, with bass player Jason Parker and singer James Ludbrook.

The band's first demo, The Art of Destroying Life, appeared in 1992; the next year they released their first album, Do Not Spit, on Black Hole Records.[1] In 1994 Damaged toured with Cannibal Corpse. Silcock left Damaged in 1996, and around the same time, due to a dispute with label Black Hole Records, Damaged disbanded. Hill joined Melbourne band Discordia; Sanders toured Europe as drummer with Sadistik Exekution and played in Abramelin.

The split only lasted a short time, since the band was approached by US label Rotten Records and offered a five-album deal. Reforming without Silcock, Damaged released Token Remedies Research in 1997[2] and finished the year with a performance at the Metal for the Brain festival.[when?] Early the following year, the band toured Australia with Entombed but the reunion was almost cut short when Ludbrook was fired in the middle of a tour a few months later. Brendan Birge from the Melbourne death metal band Earth joined Damaged as Ludbrook's replacement after a brief stint by Chris Wallace, but found the constant tensions within the group difficult and resigned in mid-1999. Parker also left and Damaged continued only as a recording project, with Sanders and Hill providing a track for the all-Australian double heavy metal CD Under the Southern Cross.

Late in 1999, former Brutal Truth singer Kevin Sharp joined Damaged. In 2000 the album Purified in Pain was released,[3] featuring bass contributions by Terry Vainoras of Melbourne death metal band Order of Chaos. With Eddy Lacey of Melbourne thrash band The Wolves filling in as the group's bass player, Damaged embarked on a national tour in December. Sharp's relationship with the band ended after this and Damaged went into hiatus for some time. Hill remained active as a member of a band called Running With Scissors and Sanders recorded an album entitled Lords of Eternity with his black metal band, now named Hellspawn.

With Parker returning to the line-up and ex-Uncle Chunk singer Dave Saddington on vocals, Damaged began playing live again in mid-2003. A short national tour was followed by supporting Sepultura's national tour; Damaged ended the year by headlining Metal for the Brain.

Damaged played its final performances in January 2004. Citing a serious health condition, Sanders was unable to continue. In March 2004 Hill confirmed that Damaged had ended playing live with Sanders, but may continue recording in the future.

Shortly after ending Damaged, Sanders joined a new hardcore band called Walk the Earth that featured Ludbrook and Superheist guitarist DW Norton. After an EP and a short spate of tours that included shows with Slipknot and Mudvayne, Ludbrook left and the band folded in mid-2005. The singer quickly announced plans to reform Damaged with Sanders; however, in early 2006 the pair announced their new band would instead be called Terrorust. Terrorust has since released a full-length album, Post Mortal Archives.

Tesseract

UK-based metallers Tesseract will celebrate the dawn of a new decade with something truly special when they unleash their debut album ‘One’. The record will mark the realisation of a bold, experimental creative vision that began in 2003 as a solo writing project in the mind of guitarist Acle Kahney and has subsequently spawned one of the most hotly tipped metal bands in the UK. Since the formation of the band’s five-piece line-up in spring 2007, Tesseract have picked up richly deserved props from peers (Textures, Meshuggah) and press (Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, Scuzz) alike.

Tesseract (often stylised as TesseracT) are a British progressive metal band from Milton Keynes. The band, formed in 2003, consists of Daniel Tompkins (lead vocals), Alec "Acle" Kahney (lead guitar and producer), James Monteith (rhythm guitar), Amos Williams (bass, backing vocals) and Jay Postones (drums, percussion). The band is currently signed to Kscope.They are credited as one of the bands to pioneer the djent movement in progressive metal.[3] As of 2023, Tesseract have released five studio albums: One, Altered State, Polaris, Sonder and War of Being, as well as two live albums, Odyssey/Scala and Portals, and the extended plays Concealing Fate, Perspective, Errai and Regrowth.

Seventh Wonder

SEVENTH WONDER rose from the ashes of the band MANKIND when guitarist Johan Liefvendahl, drummer Johnny Sandin and bassist Andreas Blomqvist decided to leave the band.With no name and no original material of their own,they decided to form a band of their own.After jamming together,writing and rehearsing they realized their music had shifted towards a heavier and more progressive style.

A search for a keyboard player began and in 2000 they found keyboardist Andreas Söderin,who added a new dimension to their sound.Calling themselves SEVENTH WONDER,they made a serious effort to record and bring their music to a larger audience.

SEVENTH WONDER entered the studio in 2001 to record their first demo.Without a singer,the band opted to hire one in the form of Roman Karpovich.This demo was well received and they started to play some important live shows,but the lack of a permanent vocalist was hurting the band.

After an exhaustive search for a vocalist,SEVENTH WONDER finally found and recruited Andi Kravljaca (HEAVE).They then wrote some new material and recorded their last demo,"Temple in the Storm",which was again very well received and garnered glowing reviews.On the strength of this demo SEVENTH WONDER landed a record deal with Lion Music and set about recording their full-length debut.

SEVENTH WONDER'S debut album "Become" was released in 2005.The elation the band felt was short lived,because of personality conflicts,vocalist Andi Kravljaca was ejected from the band and SEVENTH WONDER again found themselves without a vocalist.

Andreas Söderin recommended Tommy Karevik (VINDICTIV),whom he had worked with on a previous project in the past.Karevik auditioned and stunned the band with his performance and SEVENTH WONDER had found their new vocalist.

SEVENTH WONDER released their sophomore album "Waiting in the Wings",which is heavier and more complex than their debut,and their first with Karevik,in 2006.

SEVENTH WONDER play intricate,heavy yet melodic progressive metal in the same vein as TWINSPIRITS and XYSTUS and are highly recommended to all progressive metal fans.