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Front End Loader are an Australian rock band which formed in December 1991 with founding mainstays, Bowden Campbell on guitar and vocals; Davis Claymore on lead vocals and guitar; Richard Corey on bass guitar; and
Peter Kostic Peter Kostic is an Australian drummer best known as a member of Regurgitator and prolific black metal band Nazxul. Kostic joined Regurgitator in 1999 after its original drummer left. He has also been a member of Hard-Ons, Front End Loader, ...
on drums. Front End Loader have issued six studio albums, ''Front End Loader'' (June 1993), ''Let's Ride!'' (March 1995), ''Last of the V8 Interceptors'' (August 1997), ''How Can We Fail When We're So Sincere?'' (March 2002), ''Ritardando'' (6 May 2011) and ''Neutral Evil'' (2018). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2011 Front End Loader won an award for ''Ritardando'' as Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album. Kostic has also drummed for fellow Australian groups
Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut stud ...
(1999–present) and The Hard-Ons (2002–2011).


History


1991-1993: ''Front End Loader''

Front End Loader were formed in December 1991 in the Sydney suburb of
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
. Founding mainstays are Bowden Campbell on guitar and vocals; and Davis Claymore on lead vocals and guitar – who had broken away from Edelweiss, their previous band – together with Richard Corey on bass guitar; and
Peter Kostic Peter Kostic is an Australian drummer best known as a member of Regurgitator and prolific black metal band Nazxul. Kostic joined Regurgitator in 1999 after its original drummer left. He has also been a member of Hard-Ons, Front End Loader, ...
on drums – both from Perth-formed group, Kryptonics. The new group were named 'Front End Loader' – which was originally chosen as "a ridiculous, strictly temporary title, until something better came up. Ha" – to enter into a Sydney University band competition. They made the final alongside
Frenzal Rhomb Frenzal Rhomb are an Australian punk rock band that formed in 1992 in Sydney. Though the band's mainstream success has been minimal, four of the group's albums have entered the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart: '' A Man's Not a Camel'' (1 ...
but both lost out to another group. In January 1993 Front End Loader appeared at the Sydney venue of the
Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...
concert series. In the next month they issued their debut singles "Weak as Piss" and "'Fraid Knot". Their debut album was the self-titled, ''Front End Loader'', which was released in the June 1993. It was recorded at Powerhouse Studios and was produced by the group with Paul Tagg. Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...
, felt it "highlighted the band's sense of humour and gritty, unrestrained brand of thrash rock". In September that year they supported an Australian tour by Canadian group, No Means No.


1994-2000: ''Adolescent Fantasy World'', ''Let's Ride!'' & ''Last of the V8 Interceptors''

In June 1994 Front End Loader released the EP, ''Adolescent Fantasy World'', and followed with a split single, "Heightened State of Awareness" backed by a track from Melbourne-based
psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
band, Fireballs. In October that year Front End Loader toured Europe supporting No Means No. Their second album, ''Let's Ride!'', as well as its lead single, "Be Jesus", were released in March 1995 by Shagpile Records and distributed by Shock Records. They had been recorded in September 1994 at Q Studios and mixed at Eclipse Studios with David Price and the group producing. Together the material "mixed brawn with irony, complex riffs with eccentric humour" according to McFarlane. Rachel Hill of ''
The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
'' felt the album "deserves a second hearing ... s ittakes the fearless on a ... full-strength adventure of emotion and power". In November 1995 they supported No Means No on an Australian tour. Campbell formed a side project, the Impossibles, in 1996, as an alternative rock group. Fellow members were Dave Aston on drums (of Trout Fishing in Quebec), Geoff Martin on bass guitar (Imp) and Brendan Smyly on saxophone and vocals (Andy 500). Cameron and Smyly had met working behind the bar at the Sandringham Hotel, Newtown and Smyly had guested on an album by Front End Loader. The Impossibles released an eight-track EP, ''Blanket Show'', in 1998 before disbanding in 2001. In January 1997 they supported Radio Birdman at gigs in Gosford and Coogee Bay, I-94 Bar's reviewer, The Barman, noted "while they're tight and intense, it's hard to see why they bother having two guitarists when, for most of the night, they play the same thing. I want to like them but I can't help thinking Helmet do the same thing, only better". Their third album, ''Last of the V8 Interceptors'', was released in August 1997, which was named for the protagonist's vehicle in the feature film, ''
Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Utopian and dystopian fiction, dystopian action film directed by George Miller (filmmaker), G ...
'' (1981). It had been recorded in April 1997 with Magoo (
Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut stud ...
, Tu-plang) producing at Paradise Studios. An ode to assisted suicide, "Pulse", from the album was issued as a single and became their signature tune. It received high rotation on national radio, including on
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
. "Pulse" was listed at No. 72 on that network's
Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll presented by the publicly-funded Australian youth radio station Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Music of Australia, Australian and alternative music of th ...
poll for the year. Two further singles from the album appeared in 1998, "Summer Hits" (February) and "4 Star Heritage Arsehole" (April). During the latter half of that year Campbell worked with a pop, rock group, Stella One Eleven; he was also a guest musician on Jimmy Little's adult contemporary album, ''Messenger'' (June 1999). In 1999 Front End Loader recorded a cover version of Queen's "
Crazy Little Thing Called Love "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album '' The Game'', and also appears on the band's compilation album '' Greatest Hits'' in 198 ...
" as a duet with Barry Crocker, which was issued as a single in July. It appeared on ''Timelines: The Intergenerational Music Project'', a compilation album by various artists which paired young bands with artists over 60 to celebrate 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons. At the end of that year Kostic, while still a member of Front End Loader, joined
Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut stud ...
to replace Martin Lee on drums.


2001-2010: ''How Can We Fail When We're So Sincere?'' & ''Laughing with Knives''

The band signed with Redline Records and in March 2002 released their fourth album, ''How Can We Fail When We're So Sincere?''. Kostic joined another group, The Hard-Ons, on drums while continuing with Regurgitator and Front End Loader. In April the following year Front End Loader entered Troy Horse Studios, with Jonboyrock producing, to record, ''Ape Got Fire'' (August 2003), a seven-track EP. In May 2004 the group's performance at Sydney's Annandale Hotel was recorded by Magoo, which was eventually released on 1 April 2008 as part of a live album, ''Laughing with Knives''. It appeared on the Illustrious Artists label in a 2×CD format with 22 live tracks, a bonus 19-track disc of rarities, and an 8-page booklet with track-by-track liner notes.


2011-2017: ''Ritardando'' & ''Fresh Six''

On 6 May 2011 the band's fifth studio album, '' Ritardando'', was issued on their own label, Weeping Anus Records. They followed with a national tour to promote the release. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2011 it won the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album category. The group had sent Triple J host and Frenzal Rhomb member, Lindsay McDougall, along to deliver an acceptance speech even though they felt a win was "highly improbable". In the prepared speech, the band indicated they could not afford to attend, they thanked their fans and families; then they addressed the local music industry "as you were … please carry on … we mean you no harm. We will continue to write Rock Music that we enjoy, play shows when and where we can, and record and release this music as our time, money, and circumstances permit. None of these activities concern you so please, move along, and let us never speak of this again". The speech was not broadcast during the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
's channel, Go!'s coverage of the ceremony. On 14 July 2012 the group delivered another EP, the five-track ''Fresh Six'', while promoting a collaborative beer of the same name made with Young Henrys Brewery. The beer was described by the company's owner as "tight and pretty punchy, and it should be strong obviously ... fairly bitter, and I know you guys are fond of tequila on stage so we should include some dark agave syrup in the beer". Campbell told theMusic.com.au website's Steve Bell "Making a beer for us was far more impressive than the ARIA".


2018-present: ''Neutral Evil''

In April 2018, the group released their sixth studio album, ''Neutral Evil''.


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums


Extended plays


Awards and nominations


AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as
AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...
) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, ''Ritardando'' , Best Independent Hard Rock/Punk Album , , -


ARIA Music Awards

The
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony held by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, , ''Ritardando'' , , Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album , , , , ARIA Award previous winners.


References

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External links

* ( lapsed link ?) {{Authority control ARIA Award winners Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1991 New South Wales musical groups 1991 establishments in Australia