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Local Domination: Melbourne, Australia
28/06/10 || revenant
I love the city I live in. I’ve lived in Melbourne for all but 4 years of my life. Melbourne fucken rules, and here’s four reasons why:
1. It was founded by Batman.
That’s right, Batman. The caped crusader himself; John Batman. In 1835 John Batman sailed his sloop from Tasmania, defying his evil rivals The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler, straight through Port Phillip Bay and up the Yarra River. “This will be the place for a village” he wrote in his diary of the location later to become the settlement place of Melbourne. Originally the settlement was named “Bearbrass”, before going through a slew of names (including “Batmania”, damn that would have been a great name) , before it was eventually named after the British Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.
2. We renamed an alley after AC/DC.
Formerly known as Corporation Lane, ACDC
Lane came to fruition in 2004 as a tribute to the Australian rock
legends. True, AC/DC aren’t from Melbourne, but they do have history
with Melbourne. Check out their film clip for It’s a long way to the top, that’s Swanston Street Melbourne, circa 1976. ACDC Lane is situated just a short walk from Swanston Street.
3. Melbourne is the sport capital of the world.
Or at least that’s our claim. But then again, what other city has hosted the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Formula 1 Grand Prix racing, Grand Slam Tennis (the Australian Open), World Cup Rugby and World Cup Cricket, not to mention the biggest Australian sport events, the AFL Grand Final and the Melbourne Cup. We also have the most successful soccer and rugby teams in the country (nb: ok, so we cheated at rugby and since been stripped of all the cups, but so what?). The only thing missing from our sporting resume is the FIFA World Cup. All I can say on that is watch this space (fingers crossed for 2022).
4. The Bands
Of course, Melbourne wouldn’t be great without having a great local music scene. True, live music is currently at risk from our idiotic government’s liquor licensing laws, but we’re fighting to keep live music in Melbourne. Fuck the government, we want our live music! Despite this, Melbourne still maintains a vibrant live music scene with some weekends boasting 4-5 metal gigs to choose from.
Most GD readers will most likely already heard of Blood Duster already, who are probably Melbourne’s most recognized band internationally, so I won’t go into detail on them here. Instead, here are some of the other highlights of the local metal scene who are currently active:
A thrash/jazz fusion crossover, Alarum’s music bears a heavy resemblance to the music of Cynic and Atheist, though with more unusual time signatures. It’s a complex and heady mix, and their music never really grabbed me until I saw them live. Their most recent release was 2004’s “Eventuality”, though the boys are currently in the studio cooking up their third album, due sometime in 2010. “Eventuality” is definitely a record worth checking out, though probably now only available through iTunes.
Recommended Track: Velocity
My personal favourite from the local scene, Dreadnaught are a hard rock/groove metal act who have been around for 17 years now. Though at one time signed with Roadrunner Australia, these guys released their most recent (self titled) record independently. With their first two records having a more progressive feel, Dreadnaught really kicked it up the aggression a few notches with the release of “Dirty Music”, the pinnacle release from them to date. Dreadnaught are a quality band who probably haven’t received the attention they deserve internationally, and I urge anyone into hard rock to check them out.
Recommended Track: Cut Throat Blues
Much like Kampfar, Be’lakor is not my particular preference. Too slow and too dull, but that’s how I feel about melodic death metal in general. But don’t let us stifle this band, who are garnering quite an international following, winning awards and receiving a lot of positive reviews. If you are into the whole Gothenburg sound, then you could probably do a lot worse than checking these guys out. Oh, and apparently Be’lakor is the name of a demon from the tabletop game “Warhammer”. NERDS!
Recommended Track: From Scythe to Sceptre
I will admit to writing Frankenbok off as a band I’d never get into after hearing a few tracks of their debut album “Greetings and Salutations”. However, the Bok (as they are often referred to) have progressed since their debut, and after seeing them live I decided to once more give them another shot. And you know what? I was damn well impressed. The Bok of today are a groove metal outfit who encompass some good old southern vibes. They hit the studio in June 2010 to work on their new album which, if “The Last Ditch Redemption” EP was anything to go by, should be something to look forward to.
Recommended Track: The Last Ditch Redemption
I have a mate who’s only claim to fame is that he taught one of the guitarists from Black Majesty how to play. Good for him, I’m sure he’s happy playing in some shitty cover band while his student gets to travel and tour internationally (Justin, had to have a dig at you mate!). But seriously, these guys are a pretty good power metal act who have a decent following locally and internationally, so if you dig this genre be sure to check them out.
Recommended Track: Silent Company
…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of bands in Melbourne, mostly unsigned, and plenty of variety. I haven’t even touched on grind, thrash or math metal acts. I’ll try to cover off some of the best works from some of these bands in review form at a future date.
Until then, rev out.
