Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian

deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with me ...

band from

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within G ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...

, that formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Jesse Beahler and bassist Kevin Butler. Thy Art Is Murder has released five studio albums since formation. Their 2008 EP ''Infinite Death'', reached position no. 10 on the AIR Charts upon release, and their second full-length album '' Hate'' debuted at no. 35 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

, making them the first

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band to ever reach the Top 40 of this chart. The album also reached no. 1 on AIR and both no. 2 and no. 4 respectively on the US and Canadian iTunes metal charts on its week of release. The band's following albums ''

Holy War A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to ...

'' (June 2015) and '' Dear Desolation'' (August 2017) charted on US ''Billboard'' 200. '' Human Target'' was released in July 2019.

History

2006–2008: Formation, demo and ''Infinite Death'' EP

Formed in 2006, in the Western Sydney locality of

, the group originally consisted of vocalist Brendan van Ryn, guitarists Gary Markowski and Sean Delander, bassist Josh King, and drummer Lee Stanton. Most members were around 15 years old at the time. In 2007 they released their first demo, the three track ''This Hole Isn't Deep Enough for the Twelve of You'', and began playing local shows. They quickly gained a loyal fanbase among local deathcore fans in Western Sydney due to their highly energetic performances, and went on to independently tour the east coast of Australia. After touring they returned to the studio to record their first EP ''Infinite Death'', of which all lyrics were written by Brendan van Ryn after the instrumentals were recorded. ''Infinite Death'' was released in 2008 via Shock and subsequently Skull And Bones Records. The ''Infinite Death'' EP was also published on the band's official Myspace page, leading an explosion of popularity around the world. The album gained notoriety due to the technical nature of their deathcore sound, and also their sacrilegious and misogynistic content. The EP reached number 10 on the AIR Charts.

2008–2010: Line-up changes and ''The Adversary''

Following the breakout release of ''Infinite Death'' and two years of relentless national touring, it was announced in 2008 that van Ryn was departing from the group. It was initially claimed that he left the group due to creative differences (wanting to continue making deathcore instead of technical death metal) and an inability to keep up with their evolving technical sound. However it was later claimed in 2013 by his replacement Chris "CJ" McMahon that van Ryn was removed because "he couldn't sing iveand he had a massive attitude problem." Thy Art Is Murder searched for a year for a new vocalist, until finding Chris "CJ" McMahon from Sydney

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band Vegas in Ruins. The band were so impressed with his

death growl A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

vocals that he was incepted into the band during 2009. Bassist Mick Lowe replaced King shortly before the band began tracking demos for their first full-length album '' The Adversary''. The demos recorded in 2009 included early versions of the songs "Engineering the Antichrist" and "Cowards Throne". In 2010, the group began recording the album's final recording sessions and released the album on 16 July 2010. Thy Art Is Murder supported the release of ''The Adversary'' with Canadian deathcore band

Despised Icon Despised Icon is a Canadian deathcore band from Montreal, Quebec. Formed in 2002, the band is noted for the talent of its drummer, Alex Pelletier, who makes frequent use of the blasting technique, as well as for its dual lead vocalists; Alex ...

's Australian leg of their Farewell Tour, which also included

The Red Shore The Red Shore are an Australian deathcore band from Geelong, Victoria, formed in 2004. They signed to Big Phat Adelaide Records and Modern Music in 2006 and released their first EP, '' Salvaging What's Left''. In late 2007, the band raised na ...

2011–2014: ''Hate''

2011 saw further line-up changes, notably the departure of founding member and lead guitarist Gary Markowski. Delander decided to switch duties from guitar to bass, making way for Andy Marsh and Tom Brown to join on guitar. Following the band's first European tour in 2012 with War from a Harlots Mouth and

As Blood Runs Black As Blood Runs Black is an American metalcore/ deathcore band from Los Angeles, California. They have released three albums. Their first album, '' Allegiance'', was released on June 6, 2006. Their second album, '' Instinct'', was released on March ...

the band traveled to Belleville, NJ in the United States to record their second album with producer Will Putney at the Machine Shop recording studios. Following their Australian tour with

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...

in September 2012, ''Hate'' was released on 19 October 2012. The first single, "Reign of Darkness", had been premiered earlier on radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broadc ...

's The Racket on 18 September. The album debuted at No. 35 on the

, making Thy Art Is Murder the first extreme metal band to ever to break the top 40. The album also reached No. 1 on AIR. The album was met with a mix of some positive and some negative criticism. Kevin Stewart-Panko of ''

Decibel Magazine ''Decibel'' is a monthly heavy metal magazine published by the Philadelphia-based Red Flag Media since October 2004. Its sections include Upfront, Features, Reviews, Guest Columns and the Decibel Hall of Fame. The magazine's tag-line is currentl ...

'' awarded ''Hate'' a score of 1 out of 10 and criticizing the band for not going "out of their way to push the envelope or add a modicum of originality or value to metal as a whole." In January 2013, the band performed at the Sydney

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

festival; the only other extreme metal band ever to be featured on the line-up was Blood Duster in 2004. Following their second European tour in February and March Thy Art Is Murder signed to

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mo ...

on 24 January 2013 for distribution of ''Hate'' outside Australia. On 13 March 2013,

announced that Thy Art Is Murder would be headlining the Hate Across Australia tour with Cattle Decapitation, King Parrot and Aversions Crown. On 11 April 2013,

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Summer Slaughter Tour. The announcement was met by some controversy due to the fact that the group was to be chosen by a voters' poll and American deathcore band

Rings of Saturn The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entir ...

had in fact won the vote by 1%. Eventually, promoters chose to include both bands. On 17 June 2013 the band revealed they would be touring across Australia with

Parkway Drive Parkway Drive is an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. As of 2018, Parkway Drive have released six studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled ''Ten Years of Parkway Drive''. The b ...

as part of their 10 Years of Parkway Drive tour. The same day, the band lost out to Bleed from Within at the

Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards The following is a list of the '' Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards winners. Introduction The awards were conceived by Chris Ingham, John O'Sullivan & Dave Bianchi, and first held at the Kentish Town Forum in London 2003. The show was owned by Fu ...

where they had been nominated as Best New Band. On 15 October 2013 the band were nominated in the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal category for the 2013 ARIA Awards, eventually losing out to Karnivool. The band headlined their second ever tour through North America in November and December 2013, dubbing it the Hate Across America. The bill featured support from I Declare War, Fit for an Autopsy, The Last Ten Seconds of Life and Kublai Khan with many dates selling out. The band headlined in Europe in January and February 2014, selling out most venues. Support came from Heart of a Coward, Aversions Crown and Aegaeon. The band was announced on the lineup for Download Festival 2014. Thy Art Is Murder With Full Force 2018 08

Thy Art Is Murder With Full Force 2018 08

The band made Australian news headlines in late February 2014, when McMahon encouraged fans to get onstage during their set on Brisbane leg of the Soundwave Festival tour. Promoter AJ Maddah later tweeted his decision to take the band off the rest of the tour calling them "disrespectful arseholes" and claiming that McMahon had told the crowd that "there are thousand of you and dozens of security. Smash them. All of you get on the stage". Fan footage uploaded on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

revealed that Maddah's version of McMahon's pre-song speech were embellished. The following day both the promoter and the band tweeted that Thy Art Is Murder would be allowed to play the remainder of the tour. McMahon later commented on the incident, saying "it’s just all bullshit... I just wanted the crowd participation, wanted people to try and make their way up on-stage and have a crazy show"; however, he also expressed positive feelings to the aftermath as he felt the coverage of the incident gave the band free publicity. The band announced their participation in the Mosh Lives tour, headlined by

Emmure Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled ''The Comp ...

, travelling the US in March and April 2014. The band headlined a short Canadian tour with Sworn In in April 2014. The band played New England Metal And Hardcore Festival in April 2014. The band also took part at the Summer Slaughter the same year. Vocalist CJ McMahon commented on the band's activity, claiming they are "one of, if not the most hardest-working touring bands" and saying that " here'sno other fucking band on the face of this earth that will tour as much as we do". They also supported

Born of Osiris Born of Osiris is an American progressive metalcore band formed in 2003 in Palatine, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, lead guitarist Lee McKinney, rhythm guitarist/bassist Nick Rossi, ...

on their Tomorrow We Die Alive tour in November 2014 in North America with ERRA, Within the Ruins and Betraying the Martyrs.

2015–2018: ''Holy War'' and ''Dear Desolation''

Thy Art Is Murder With Full Force 2018 06

Thy Art Is Murder With Full Force 2018 03

On 31 March 2015 it was announced that Thy Art Is Murder's then-upcoming album would be titled ''

'' and would be released on 30 June in North America via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. It was recorded in secret over the winter with producer Will Putney. Thy Art Is Murder, alongside other bands, supported

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

on 2015's

Mayhem Festival The Mayhem Festival was a touring heavy metal festival that took place during the summer. The inaugural season took place in 2008; the festival later became an annual event across the United States. Most years also included a single date in eit ...

, which toured the U.S. from June to August. ''Holy War'' had a successful first week of sales, charting at No. 7 in Australia and No. 82 in the U.S., being the fourth Australian band to chart in the U.S. as well as the first Australian extreme metal band to chart. They supported Parkway Drive on all of their worldwide tour in support of ''Ire'' through 2015 and 2016. The band announced on 21 December 2015, that vocalist CJ McMahon had decided to leave the band to focus on his family due to his inability to afford touring. After some teaser posters, in 1 July, the band confirmed work on a

split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "va ...

titled ''The Depression Sessions'' shared with the deathcore bands Fit for an Autopsy and The Acacia Strain. It was released exclusively on vinyl. The same day, the band premiered a music video for the song "They Will Know Another" from the album. In 2016, guitarist Sean Delander filled in for the late Tom Searle on the

Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Australian tour. On 14 January 2017, former vocalist McMahon rejoined the band onstage at Unify Festival in Tarwin Meadows, Victoria, where he confirmed his return to the group, and that the show was for the fans a "celebration that is me coming back to join my brothers in world domination." The band released their fourth studio album, titled '' Dear Desolation'', on 18 August 2017. In an interview in October 2017, guitarist Andy Marsh confirmed that had McMahon not returned that they would've recorded ''Dear Desolation'' with their at the time fill-in vocalist, Nick Arthur (of Molotov Solution). In the same interview, he also shared that the band had started planning a new split EP to follow-up 2016's ''The Depression Sessions''.

2019–present: ''Human Target''

On 1 April 2019 it was revealed longtime drummer Lee Stanton had departed the band and their fill-in Jesse Beahler of the American death metal band Jungle Rot had taken his place full-time. On 26 April 2019, the band revealed their new album would be titled '' Human Target'' and released the title track single. The album was released on 26 July 2019 through

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label m ...

. On 30 October 2020, the band released a single titled "Killing Season" which guitarist Andy Marsh explained was about

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

revealing "Killing Season touches on the darkness surrounding the origins of Thanksgiving, and while that subject is relevant at this time of year, we want you to think of the atrocities both past and present that deserve acknowledgement."

Musical style and influences

Thy Art is Murder's music has been described by music critics as

, which draws from both

and

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fea ...

. Vocalist CJ McMahon mentioned in interviews with Bluestribute TV and Aggressive Tendencies that the band, individually, has different inspirations and musicians that influence their particular writing and performance style. He added that the band all together are influenced by bands like Decapitated, Gojira,

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...

, and

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 ...

. The band have frequently cited Behemoth as a major influence on their style whom McMahon has referred to as "the best band on this planet." Guitarist Andy Marsh has said that "We are big fans of music that can evoke a feeling and mood, but often that music isn’t very in your face and heavy. Behemoth are amazing at capturing that synergy in just the right way and it is that ethos that inspires us." Their band's album, ''Hate'', expresses the band's dislike of organized religion. The band's third full-length album, ''Holy War'', discusses a range of themes, from their anti-religion and anti-extremism to animal rights, war, and greed.

Members

Current * Sean Delander – rhythm guitar (2006–2011, 2015–present); bass (2011–2015) * Andy Marsh – lead guitar (2010–present); rhythm guitar (2013–2015) * Kevin Butler – bass (2015–present) * Chris "CJ" McMahon – vocals (2009–2015, 2017–present) * Jesse Beahler – drums (2019–present; touring member 2015–2016) Former * Brendan van Ryn – vocals (2006–2008) * Josh King – bass (2006–2009) * Mick Low – bass (2009–2010) * Gary Markowski – lead guitar (2006–2010) * Tom Brown – rhythm guitar (2011–2013) * Lee Stanton – drums (2006–2015, 2016–2019) Former touring musicians *Wes Hauch – guitars (2014) *Roman Koester – guitars (2013–2014) *Monte Barnard – vocals (2016) *Lochlan Watt – vocals (2016) *Mike Mulholland – guitars (2018) *Nick Arthur – vocals (2015–2016, 2016–2017, 2019) *Bobak Rafiee – vocals (2022)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums EPs Demos Music videos

Awards and nominations

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 ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

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, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replaci ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

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ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austra ...

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Notes

References

External links

* * *
Thy Art Is Murder
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{{Authority control 2006 establishments in Australia Australian death metal musical groups Australian metalcore musical groups Deathcore musical groups Musical groups from Sydney Musical groups established in 2006 Metal Blade Records artists Musical quintets Nuclear Blast artists