Be'lakor is an Australian
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...
band from Melbourne, Victoria. The band's name originates from the character ''Be'lakor the Dark Master'', in the
Warhammer Fantasy Warhammer Fantasy can mean:
* ''Warhammer Fantasy'' (setting), the fictional setting of the various games and media
* ''Warhammer'' (game), a table-top fantasy miniature wargame, and origin of the franchise
*''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'', the success ...
game setting.
History
Be'lakor formed as a band in 2004, but did not start playing live shows until 2005.
In 2007, the band self-released
their debut album, ''
The Frail Tide
''The Frail Tide'' is the first studio album by Australian melodic death metal band, Be'lakor
Be'lakor is an Australian melodic death metal band from Melbourne, Victoria. The band's name originates from the character ''Be'lakor the Dark Master' ...
'', which received generally positive reviews.
In 2008, Be'lakor signed with Descent Productions, and re-released ''The Frail Tide'' in digipack form.
In 2009, Be'lakor embarked on a national tour, and signed with Prime Cuts Music. Their second album, ''
Stone's Reach
''Stone's Reach'' is the second studio album by Australian melodic death metal band, Be'lakor, released in 2009. Stone's Reach won “Best Melodeath/Gothenburg” album in 2009 metalstorm.net awards. The album was remastered and rereleased fo ...
'', was released on 20 June 2009
and received much praise by reviewers. In November 2009, Be'lakor signed with Kolony Records.
In March 2010, Be'lakor's album ''Stone's Reach'' took first place in
Metal Storm
Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technolog ...
's "Best Melodeath/Gothenburg Metal Album" for 2009. Be'lakor also supported Turisas on their national tour of Australia in May. They were the opening act for
Alestorm
Alestorm are a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth, Scotland. Their music is characterised by a pirate theme, and as a result, they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently consists o ...
in Melbourne for their "PLUNDER DOWNUNDER” tour in June 2010. The band also performed at the
Summer Breeze Open Air Festival in Germany in August 2010.
Be'lakor released their third album ''
Of Breath and Bone
''Of Breath and Bone'' is the third studio album by Australian melodic death metal band, Be'lakor. It was released on 1 June 2012. In the 2012 metalstorm.net awards, ''Of Breath and Bone'' won “Best Melodeth/Extreme Power/Gothenburg” alb ...
'' in June 2012. They began touring Europe, playing
Brutal Assault
Brutal Assault is an open-air extreme metal festival that takes place in the 18th-century army fortress Josefov, located in Jaroměř, Czechia. It is held each August early in the month from Wednesday until Saturday. The festival started in 199 ...
in the Czech Republic. They also performed at the
Summer Breeze Open Air Festival in Germany during August 2012. They supported
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical ...
in Melbourne during their 2012 Australia tour in September, and
At the Gates
At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Ga ...
in Melbourne during their tour in November.
In August 2015, the band returned to Europe and played
Brutal Assault
Brutal Assault is an open-air extreme metal festival that takes place in the 18th-century army fortress Josefov, located in Jaroměř, Czechia. It is held each August early in the month from Wednesday until Saturday. The festival started in 199 ...
in
Czechia
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...
, Rockstadt Open Air in Romania and
Summer Breeze. Matt Dodds of Arbrynth took over lead guitar duties for Shaun due to illness.
On 21 September 2015, the band announced that their fourth album would be released in March 2016. Later, on 29 December, drummer Jimmy Vanden Broeck left the band to pursue other musical ventures. He was replaced by Elliott Sansom, who also performs with Melbourne-based bands Dusk Cult & Okera. On 24 June 2016 Be'lakor released ''
Vessels
Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to:
Biology
*Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body
*Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph
*Vessel element, a narrow wat ...
'', the band's fourth album. ''
Coherence
Coherence, coherency, or coherent may refer to the following:
Physics
* Coherence (physics), an ideal property of waves that enables stationary (i.e. temporally and spatially constant) interference
* Coherence (units of measurement), a deriv ...
'' followed five years later, on 29 October 2021.
Members
Current members
* George Kosmas – vocals, guitars
(2004–present)
* Shaun Sykes – guitars
(2004–present)
* Elliott Sansom – drums
(2015–present)
* Steven Merry – keyboards, piano
(2004–present)
* John Richardson – bass
(2004–present)
Former members
* Jimmy Vanden Broeck – drums
(2004–2015)
Touring members
* Matt Dodds – guitars
(2015)
Timeline
Endorsements
* John Richardson,
Spector
Spector is a guitar manufacturing company. It has been based in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders ...
Bass Guitars
Discography
*''
The Frail Tide
''The Frail Tide'' is the first studio album by Australian melodic death metal band, Be'lakor
Be'lakor is an Australian melodic death metal band from Melbourne, Victoria. The band's name originates from the character ''Be'lakor the Dark Master' ...
'' (2007)
*''
Stone's Reach
''Stone's Reach'' is the second studio album by Australian melodic death metal band, Be'lakor, released in 2009. Stone's Reach won “Best Melodeath/Gothenburg” album in 2009 metalstorm.net awards. The album was remastered and rereleased fo ...
'' (2009)
*''
Of Breath and Bone
''Of Breath and Bone'' is the third studio album by Australian melodic death metal band, Be'lakor. It was released on 1 June 2012. In the 2012 metalstorm.net awards, ''Of Breath and Bone'' won “Best Melodeth/Extreme Power/Gothenburg” alb ...
'' (2012)
*''
Vessels
Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to:
Biology
*Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body
*Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph
*Vessel element, a narrow wat ...
'' (2016)
*''
Coherence
Coherence, coherency, or coherent may refer to the following:
Physics
* Coherence (physics), an ideal property of waves that enables stationary (i.e. temporally and spatially constant) interference
* Coherence (units of measurement), a deriv ...
'' (2021)
Awards and nominations
Music Victoria Awards
The
Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...
are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
!
, -
,
Music Victoria Awards of 2016
The Music Victoria Awards of 2016 are the 11th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 16 November 2016, during Melbourne Music Week. For the first time this year, the Best Venue award was separated into of ov ...
, ''Vessels''
, Best Heavy Album
,
, rowspan="1",
, -
References
External links
*
Be'lakorat
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
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Australian melodic death metal musical groups
Australian musical quintets
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical groups from Melbourne