Amebix were an English
crust punk
Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...
band. Formed as the Band with No Name, the band's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released two EPs and three albums. The group reunited in 2008, released another full-length album in 2011, and disbanded again in November 2012.
By being one of the first bands to blend
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcore ...
and
heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed ...
, Amebix are often cited as one of the key bands that helped to create the
crust punk
Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...
genre, and as being influential to many
extreme meta l bands, especially
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
bands.
[Peter Jandreus, ''The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977-1987'', Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 11.]
History
Amebix were initially formed by
Rob Miller (a.k.a. "The Baron") along with his brother "Stig" Chris Miller, Andy "Billy Jug", (Andy Hoare) and Clive Barnes whilst at school in
Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,02 ...
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon i ...
in 1978. Initially referring to themselves as "The Band with No Name" the band played extensively around the local area, during which time they recorded a four track demo tape. Using his role as part-time columnist in a local paper Rob Miller gave a tape to Crass when they played in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymou ...
. The track "University Challenged" from this demo was then featured on the first
Crass Records ''
Bullshit Detector'' compilation LP.
Clive B and drummer Andy "Billy Jug" left the band and Martin Baker became Amebix' new drummer. Baker's parents' manor house in
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...
was then used to practice in. It was around this time that the band began to refer to themselves as 'Amebix'. According to an interview with lead singer and bassist Rob Miller, Amebix refers to the
amoeba
An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudo ...
. However, Baker was removed by his parents from the band and relocated to London where he had a breakdown and was diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenica. The song "Largactyl" was written about his experience.
[Ian Glasper, ''The day the country died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 to 1984'', London, Cherry Red Books, 2006 (), p. 200.]
The band then recruited Norm (Screaming Heads, Phantasmagoria, NormYard) as a synth player and relocated to
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, living in a number of
squats. They recruited
Disorder
Disorder may refer to randomness, non-order, or no intelligible pattern.
Disorder may also refer to:
Healthcare
* Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance
* Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern a ...
drummer Neil "Virus" Worthington (from Nailsea in Somerset) to play drums and finally had a semi-stable line-up.
[MusicMight]
/ref> This line-up would record the first two 7"s ('' Who's the Enemy'' and ''Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
'') and their first album '' No Sanctuary''. A fill-in synth player would appear on ''No Sanctuary'', and in 1984 they would acquire a new synth player, George. While recording ''No Sanctuary'' at Southern Studios they met Jello Biafra
Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Initially a ...
of American punk band Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...
and owner of the punk record label Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...
. As a result, they became the label's first UK signing, and subsequently released the '' Arise!'' album in 1985. The final line-up would come together in 1985 with the addition of Spider on drums. They signed to Heavy Metal Records for the release of 1987's ''Monolith'', whose release/distribution difficulties led to the band eventually splitting, although they were to continue touring, their final tour ending in Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...
before the collapse of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
.
Spider, George, and Stig went on to perform in Zygote. Vocalist Rob Miller now lives on the Isle of Skye
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...
where he works as a self-taught swordsmith.
According to The Baron's Myspace page, Amebix have reformed as of February 2008. On 9 March 2008, Amebix reissued their last album ''Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...
'' as a sliding scale download through Moshpit Tragedy Records. Since reforming, the band have released the '' Redux'' EP, which consists of three rerecorded songs from the band's original incarnation, plus a fourth live track on the downloadable version. A new maxi-single
A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song.
The first maxi singles
Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was th ...
entitled ''Knights of the Black Sun'' was released on 3 June 2011 which also featured the band's first ever music video. '' Sonic Mass'', the band's third album and first full-length in 24 years, was released on 23 September 2011 through the band's own label (Amebix Records) and Easy Action Records. They disbanded on 28 November 2012.
In 2014, Rob "The Baron" Miller joined forces with Jon Misery (Misery), Andy Lefton (War//Plague) and Michel "Away" Langevin of Voivod to form Tau Cross
The tau cross is a T-shaped cross, sometimes with all three ends of the cross expanded. It is called a “tau cross” because it is shaped like the Greek letter tau, which in its upper-case form has the same appearance as Latin letter T.
Anoth ...
.
Influences
Amebix took inspiration from Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often conside ...
(and to a lesser extent Lemmy
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...
-era Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including har ...
), Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define ...
, and combined with an ethos and worldview akin to Crass
Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subc ...
. They were also influenced by various post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
bands, including Public Image Ltd
Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and ...
, Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...
, Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...
and especially Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass).
Their first album, '' Killing Joke'', was released ...
. Many have claimed that Amebix were influenced by proto-black metal band Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...
; however, Rob Miller has denied this on numerous occasions. Hellhammer
Hellhammer was a Swiss metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often re ...
, Bathory and Darkthrone have stated that they were hugely influenced by Amebix. Such notable bands as Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
, Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from t ...
and Deviated Instinct have paid homage to the band.[ Amebix biography at AllMusic/ref>
]
Members
Final line-up
*Rob "The Baron" Miller – vocals (1978–1987; 2008–2012), bass (1979–1987; 2008–2012)
*Chris "Stig" Miller – guitar, backing vocals (1978–1987; 2008–2012), keyboards (1978–1979)
* Roy Mayorga – drums, percussion, keyboards (2008–2012)
Past members
*Clive Barnes – bass (1978–1979)
*Andy "Billy Jug" Hoare – drums (1978–1981)
*Ric Gadsby – bass (1979)
*Martin Baker – drums (1981)
*Norman Butler – keyboards (1981–1984)
*Virus – drums (1981–1985; died 2015)
*Jenghiz – keyboards (1984)
*George Fletcher – keyboards (1984–1986)
*Robert "Spider" Richards – drums (1985–1987)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
*'' No Sanctuary'' (1983, 12", Spiderleg Records)
*'' Arise!'' (1985, LP/CD, Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...
)
*''Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...
'' (1987, LP/CD, Heavy Metal Records)
*'' Sonic Mass'' (2011, LP/CD, Easy Action & Amebix Records)
EPs
*'' Who's the Enemy'' (1982, 7", Spiderleg Records
Spiderleg Records was an independent record label founded by UK anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians in 1981.
The band set up the label after releasing their first EP on the Crass Records label, which taught them the skills necessary to run ...
)
*'' Redux'' (2010, 12", CD, DD, Profane Existence)
Live albums
*''V živo'' (1986)
Compilation albums
*''The Power Remains'' (1993, LP, Skuld Releases)
*''No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings'' (2008, LP+7"/CD, Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...
)
*''Bullshit Detector Vol 1: University Challenged'' (1980, LP, Crass Records, Bullshit Detector)
Singles
*"Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
" (1983, 7", Spiderleg Records)
*"Knights of the Black Sun" (2011)
Demos
*''Amebix'' (1979, self-released)
*''Right to Ride'' (1987, self-released)
References
External links
Archived version of their website
Amebix on bandcamp
Nightgaunt Graphics- Amebix official merch
* Amebix page on AllMusicbr>Christian Miller Interview from DIY Conspiracy, 2021 - English
Christian Miller Interview from Ooer Fanzine 1988 - English
* ttp://www.metalfan.ro/en/interviuri/soundcheck-5-with-rob-the-baron-miller-amebix-5788.html Soundcheck 5 2011 interview - Rob "The Baron" Miller favorite albumsbr>Rob "The Baron" Miller 2008 interview @ Metalfan.ro - English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amebix
Alternative Tentacles artists
English heavy metal musical groups
British crust and d-beat groups
Political music groups
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical groups disestablished in 1987
Musical groups reestablished in 2008
Musical groups disestablished in 2012
1978 establishments in England