Terror Australis: Volume I

Welcome to the first in our new regular series of roundups from the Australian rock and metal scene… We’ll be covering news stories, tour updates and new release information alongside the odd special feature and mini-interviews with some of our fave Aussie artists – enjoy!

MYRIAD DRONE

Melbourne-based cinematic post rock act Myriad Drone will release their new album, Arka Morgana, on October 18.

The album came together over a nearly eight month long writing process. In order to fight all things going on in the outside world and focus on the music, the band came up with an enormous sound, something that makes everything else look insignificant in comparison. Something fantastic that could wash all of their day to day issues away. This is the collection of sounds they chose. Eight compositions, fifty-five minutes of music; this is Arka Morgana.

Featuring a line up consisting of international players hailing from Australia, New Zealand and Italy, Myriad Drone released their first EP in 2016 which received outstanding feedback on Bandcamp and saw them become a shining light in the post rock community. Their cover of Laura Palmer’s Theme from Twin Peaks drew particularly high praise.

As of 2019, several of the members of Myriad Drone are now part of the live band for Suldusk, the one woman blackened neo-folk Act who’s debut album Lunar Falls drew incredible international praise on release in April, not least from Sentinel Daily editor Scott Adams, who in uncharacteristically economic style declared the album to be ‘well worth a listen’ in his review of the album…

Arka Morgana’s striking cover art is of a painting by Mariusz Lewandowski and was originally titled Ark Of Mirage; the band explain – ‘The Ark Of Mirage means a beautiful hoax, something that is meant to vanish. We combined the optical illusion concept of a Fata Morgana with the Polish word for Ark, which resulted in this album title.’

<a href="http://myriaddrone.bandcamp.com/album/arka-morgana">Arka Morgana by Myriad Drone</a>

EBONIVORY

Fresh from playing with Circles on their recent The Winter tour, Ballarat alt-progressive metal prodigies, Ebonivory hit the road this week for their first ever headline tour in support of their next single, Tales of Termina.

You can catch the band at the following fine dens of iniquity:

Saturday, October 5: Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
with Sum Of Us, Motions & Patient Lounge

Friday, October 11: Crown & Anchor, Adelaide
with Heartline & Jack Bolingbroke

Saturday, October 12: The Workers Club, Melbourne
with The Last Martyr, Vatic & In Vanity

Friday, October 18: The Factory Floor, Sydney
with setmeonfire, Reliqa & Infinite Illusion

Ebonivory create an engaging mosaic of raw emotion, complex rhythmic devices, and prismatic melody. Formed in 2014 by prodigious composer, multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist
Charlie Powlett, the quintet employs a unique distillation of alternative rock, progressive metal, post-hardcore and modern punk, delivering a breathtaking performance that unifies musicians, melomaniacs, and casual listeners alike. Have a listen to their latest clip, for the single here!

EVISCERATE THE CROWN

Sydney’s Eviscerate The Crown (pictured above) recently unveiled on their brand new single Unearthed, accompanied by a beautifully shot video clip – watch it below – and the promise of new material in the near future!

Unearthed is about being reborn and pushing through the darkness that life can throw at you. Vocalist Liam Carroll explains that “you can either lay down and accept your fate, allowing it to swallow you whole or you can stand up and fight, keeping the darkness at bay.” The track takes listeners on a journey of light and dark shades, times of struggle and success, fully encapsulating the hardship of getting out alive! Will you make it out alive?

The epic and picturesque clip was filmed at The Furs, which is about six hours North West of Sydney, Australia. Taipan Films and the band’s awesome makeup crew spent three days prepping, filming and fighting the weather to produce the clip.

Eviscerate The Crown bring together a blend of brutal breakdowns, catchy riffs and melodic tension. Coming together from the northern coastal outskirts of Sydney in November 2017, through vocalist Liam Carroll, guitarists Ben Simpson and Alexander Myers, bassist Neil McNaughton and drummer Samuel Shergold. In mid-February 2018, Eviscerate The Crown released their debut EP The End of Suffering.

Since then, Eviscerate The Crown have fortified a respected name for themselves in the Australian metal scene as a consistent and quality live band, whilst playing with other Australian and New Zealand bands such as Lycanthrope, Isotopes, Acolyte, Set On End and Aversions Crown. The band also took their brand of metal overseas to Japan earlier in the year where they toured alongside American heavyweights Suffocation and The Faceless, Australia’s own Aversions Crown and local Japanese bands World End Man and Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu.

Upon returning to Australia, Eviscerate The Crown are ready to unleash the next chapter with this new single and plan to head back to the studio, record the next EP and back it up with an Australian tour – but for now just enjoy this cracking new clip!

BLACK RHENO

Black Rheno have built a reputation from their intense live shows and all or nothing attitude, which is something they carried over into the studio and poured into their debut album, Noise Smasher. The new disc was captured at the band’s own Housefox Studios in Sydney with their vocalist Ryan Miller pulling a double shift as producer. The band also worked closely via intergalactic trans-communications (email) with Kurt Ballou (Converge) from GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. Black Rheno demoed and tweaked their way until the band and Kurt felt everything was just right, then hit the studio hard to lay down this self-produced debut record with Kurt stepping in on the mix.

Noise Smasher is an absolute face tearer of a record that traverses all the best bits of heavy music with big fat thunderous riffs, grinding blasts and thrashed out periods of intensity that slide into hugely groovy hooks. Think an an unholy merger between Clutch, Pantera and Napalm Death.

Since their inception in 2015, this three-piece power house have left an undeniable mark on the scene. They’ve built a solid fan-base through their high energy live shows and ability to translate their blend of stoner, sludge, punk, grind, groove metal into a wild and rollicking good time. They’ve crisscrossed the country several times in their short tenure, playing alongside esteemed belters Napalm Death, Brujeria, Red Fang, Psycroptic, King Parrot, Revocation and Lock Up, to name a few. Black Rheno also took their wares to South by Southwest in 2017 and most recently did a lap of Australia with Philip Anselmo & The Illegals.

The band have a series of live actions coming up in support of iconic US noiseniks Eyehategod – Catch them at the following shows!