Five Star Prison Cell was an Australian four-piece band from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, whose music was generally labelled as

tech metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

. They were known for their use of unusual

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

s, dissonant

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 strin ...

riffs, and a vocal approach that explored many different avenues and styles.

History

Five Star Prison Cell was formed in 2004 from members of various other bands.

Vocalist 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 withou ...

Adam Glynn came from Melbourne band Frankenbok, Marc Whitworth had played drums for

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

band Tension and Cameron Macdonald and Mark Holain played bass and

in Extra Virgin. The group was initially conceived as a one-off studio project but after Extra Virgin disbanded it was decided to continue with Five Star Prison Cell. In 2005, the band released its debut album ''The Complete First Season'' through Faultline Records. During the year the band toured throughout Australia and supported

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharis ...

and Spiderbait. Much of the following year was spent writing and recording another album. On 14 November 2006, Five Star Prison Cell won the annual Musicoz award for best metal/hardcore act of 2006.2006 Musicoz award winners
A new album, ''Slaves of Virgo'', was issued in March 2007. Five Star Prison Cell have rigorously toured Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

throughout their career, and have shared the stage with many international acts including:

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...

, Danzig,

Cephalic Carnage Cephalic Carnage is an American death metal band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1992. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Cephalic Carnage has re ...

, The Black Dahlia Murder,

and Clutch. In early 2010, Five Star Prison Cell completed recording their third album, titled ''Matriarch'' with Australian producer Forrester Savell (

Karnivool Karnivool is an Australian progressive rock band formed in Perth in 1997. The group currently consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerged from a band ...

The Butterfly Effect ''The Butterfly Effect'' is a 2004 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, Logan Lerman, Ethan Suplee, and ...

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

). The album was released in May and supported by a nationwide tour. April 2011 Five Star Prison Cell decided to disband and go their separate ways. No particular reason was provided other than wanting to focus on other areas in their lives. They remain best of friends and have left the door open to the possibility of doing another album in the future. In October 2013, Five Star Prison Cell announced their re-activation.

Band members

* Adam Glynn - vocals * Mark Holain - guitar * Cameron Macdonald – bass * Marc Whitworth - drums

Discography

*'' The Complete First Season - 2005'' *''

Slaves of Virgo Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

- 2007'' *''

Matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general En ...

- 2010''

Notes and references

''LOUD!'' Magazine, issue 38, May/June 2005

External links

*
Five Star on MySpace

Interview from Australian Music Online
2/21/2005
Five Star Prison Cell Feature Interview
at ''

Blistering A blister is a small pocket of fluid in the upper layer of the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction Blister(s) or Blistering may also refer to: * Anti-torpedo bulge, also known as an anti-torpedo blister * ...

'' magazine
Metalforge interview (and take on math metal)
{{Authority control Experimental musical groups Math rock groups Victoria (Australia) musical groups Australian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2011