The Amenta are an Australian
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band formed in 1997 as Crucible of Agony. By 2002 the line-up was Cesium 137 (aka Mark Bevan) on lead vocals, Diazanon (
Dave Haley
Dave Haley (born 5 March 1980) is an Australian musician. He is the drummer of death metal bands Psycroptic, Abramelin and Werewolves, and black metal bands Ruins and KING.
Haley previously performed for Melbourne-based grindcore band Blood ...
) on drums, Ethion (Erik Miehs) on guitar, Endrin (Nathan Jenkins) on bass guitar and Chlordane (Timothy Pope) on keyboards. In 2009 the line-up had Miehs and Pope joined by
Cain Cressall on vocals, Dan Quinlan on bass guitar and Robin Stone on drums. The group has issued three studio albums, ''
Occasus
''Occasus'' (Latin "setting (of the sun)") is the first studio release album by industrial/experimental metal
band The Amenta. The album won them the Best Metal Newcomers award for 2004 by the Australian edition of ''Kerrang!'' magazine. The albu ...
'' (2004), ''
n0n'' (2008), and ''
Flesh Is Heir'' (2013). The group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2013, but reunited in 2020.
History
The Amenta originally formed in
Baulkam Hills, a Sydney suburb, in 1997 as Crucible of Agony.
They initially played
black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
and released two demos in 1999 under that name.
They were renamed as The Amenta in 2001 and, the following year, self-released their first extended play, ''Mictlan''. The line-up was Cessium 137 (aka Mark Bevan, lead vocals), Scott Howard (drums), Ethion (Erik Miehs, guitar), Ben Symons (guitar) Endrin (Nathan Jenkins, bass guitar) and Chlordane (Timothy Pope, keyboards).
Howard was soon replaced by Diazanon (
Dave Haley
Dave Haley (born 5 March 1980) is an Australian musician. He is the drummer of death metal bands Psycroptic, Abramelin and Werewolves, and black metal bands Ruins and KING.
Haley previously performed for Melbourne-based grindcore band Blood ...
) on drums.
In 2003 they signed with
Listenable Records
Listenable Records is an independent metal label originally founded in 1990 in France. The label specializes in metal, with a focus on extreme metal music.
The company has published albums from many acclaimed extreme metal bands, such as Immo ...
and followed with their debut studio album, ''
Occasus
''Occasus'' (Latin "setting (of the sun)") is the first studio release album by industrial/experimental metal
band The Amenta. The album won them the Best Metal Newcomers award for 2004 by the Australian edition of ''Kerrang!'' magazine. The albu ...
''. It was acclaimed by rock magazine, ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'', where they were awarded Best Metal Newcomers for 2004.
''Occasus'' had
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Eduardo Rivadavia describe their sound as "a barrage of speed-riffs, crushed throat shouting, and what may or may not be programmed drums ... that recall the similarly claustrophobic crush" of bands such as
Zyklon
Zyklon was a Norwegian blackened death metal band formed in 1998 by Samoth and Trym of Emperor, along with members of Myrkskog. Their style has been described as modern death metal with black and industrial undertones. After more than a two-y ...
and
Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988.
History Necrosis (1988–1992)
Necrosis was formed in April 1988 by drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan "Lord Worm" Greening, initially ...
.
In May 2006 the band replaced Bevan with Jarrod Krafczyk on vocals. They played several tours, including an appearance at the 2007 Festival of the Dead followed by a national tour of the United Kingdom with
Akercocke
Akercocke are an English extreme metal band from London, formed in 1997 by Jason Mendonça and David Gray. The band also features Paul Scanlan and Nathanael Underwood.
History
Akercocke's first album, '' Rape of the Bastard Nazarene'', was sel ...
and
The Berzerker
The Berzerker are an extreme metal band from Melbourne and was formed in 1995. The band's music, heavily influenced by older death metal and grindcore, can be characterized as a fusion of these with speedcore, and gabber. The band's founding me ...
.
Also that year, they supported Polish
blackened death metal
Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal.
The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...
band
Behemoth
Behemoth (; he, בְּהֵמוֹת, ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation; he is paired with the other chaos-monster, Leviathan, and ...
on their tour of Australia, and released the Virus DVD as a bonus disc with the limited re-release of ''Occasus/Mictlan''.
In October 2008 The Amenta issued their second album, ''
n0n''. It features guest appearances from Jason Mendonca of Akercocke,
Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...
of Behemoth, Alice Daquet of Sir Alice, and Alex Pope of
Ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
.
The album was described by Alex Boniwell in the magazine, ''
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm D ...
'', as "industrial metal for people who 'actually' like both industrial and metal".
Cosmo Lee of Allmusic, found the album was "futuristic yet anachronistic. Its fizzy synths, brooding soundscapes, and micro-level editing employ state-of-the-art computing. But the approach is nothing new. Whenever machines and metal intertwine this tightly, the ghost of '90s industrial metal looms large".
The Amenta toured Europe in January 2009 with
Deicide
Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected.
Etymology
The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...
.
They returned to Australia and commenced a national tour with The Berzerker, which ran from late January 2009 to late March with a tour of New Zealand. The Amenta were scheduled to perform at the Rockout Festival 2009 featuring acts such as
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...
,
Girlschool
Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 yea ...
, and
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice ...
, however it was postponed and ultimately cancelled. The group embarked on their first North American tour in November–December 2009 with
Vader,
Decrepit Birth
Decrepit Birth is an American death metal band from Santa Cruz, California. They have released two studio albums through Unique Leader Records and two through Nuclear Blast, and a demo independently. All of their studio albums feature artwork ...
,
Warbringer
Warbringer is an American thrash metal band formed in 2004. Century Media Records signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign ...
,
Augury
Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin ''aus ...
and
Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky. They supported Behemoth and
Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album ''Genesis'' was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first we ...
for the 2010 Australian tour.
In 2011, The band released an online EP, ''V01D'' which was the band's first recordings with new vocalist Cain Cressall. It featured re-recordings of old tracks, remixes, a cover version, and a brand new song. The group embarked on an Australian tour with Ruins in March and April. Then in June they opened for Morbid Angel and later embarked on a tour to Europe with Deicide, Belphegor and Hour of Penance.
In July they toured Western Australia playing material from their three albums.
On 15 May 2012 The Amenta released a five-track EP, ''Chokehold''.
In August 2012, the band's website announced that a new full-length album, ''
Flesh Is Heir'', was forthcoming.
The group was due to tour Europe in November and December of that year with Obituary, Macabre and Psycroptic.
On 20 October 2013, The Amenta announced that they would cease from performing live, and were going on an indefinite hiatus. A seven-year period of inactivity had ended by November 2020, and the band plans to release a new album in early 2021.
On 19 June 2021, the band broke their hiatus and returned to the stage performing at Hobart's winter festival Dark Mofo.
Band members
Current members
* Erik Miehs (Ethion) –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
(2002–2013, 2020–present), bass (2008)
* Timothy Pope (Chlordane) – keyboards,
samples,
programming (2002–2013, 2020–present)
* Cain Cressall –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
(2009–2013, 2020–present)
* Dan Quinlan –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
(2009–2013, 2020–present)
*
Dave Haley
Dave Haley (born 5 March 1980) is an Australian musician. He is the drummer of death metal bands Psycroptic, Abramelin and Werewolves, and black metal bands Ruins and KING.
Haley previously performed for Melbourne-based grindcore band Blood ...
(Diazonon) –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
(2002–2007, 2013, 2020–present)
Former members
* Mark Bevan (Cesium 137) – vocals (2002–2006)
* Nathan Jenkins (Endrin) – bass guitar (2002–2007)
* Jarrod Krafczyk – vocals (2006–2009)
* Chad Halford – bass guitar (2008)
* Dale Harrison – bass guitar (2008–2009)
* Robin Stone – drums (2007–2013)
Touring members
* Joe Haley – guitar (2005)
* Scott Bernasconi – guitar (2007)
* Tim Aldridge – guitar (2011)
* Ryan Huthnance – guitar (2012)
* Robin Stone – drums (2021)
* Sam Bean – bass guitar (2021-present)
Timeline
Discography
Albums
*''
Occasus
''Occasus'' (Latin "setting (of the sun)") is the first studio release album by industrial/experimental metal
band The Amenta. The album won them the Best Metal Newcomers award for 2004 by the Australian edition of ''Kerrang!'' magazine. The albu ...
'' (2004)
*''
n0n'' (2008)
*''
Flesh Is Heir'' (2013)
*''Revelator'' (2021)
Extended plays
*''
Mictlan'' (2002)
*''
V01D'' (2011)
*''Chokehold'' (2012)
*''Teeth'' (2013)
References
External links
*
The Amenta Interview Rockmidgets.com
Voices from the Darkside
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amenta, The
Musical groups established in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2013
Musical groups reestablished in 2020
Australian black metal musical groups
Blackened death metal musical groups
Australian death metal musical groups
Industrial metal musical groups
Musical quintets
Musical groups from Sydney
Listenable Records artists