Thy Art Is Murder

Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian deathcore band from Blacktown, Sydney, 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, making them the first extreme metal 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'' (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 Blacktown, 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 band Vegas in Ruins. The band were so impressed with his death growl 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's Australian leg of their Farewell Tour, which also included The Red Shore.

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 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 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's The Racket on 18 September.

The album debuted at No. 35 on the ARIA Charts, 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'' 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 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 on 24 January 2013 for distribution of ''Hate'' outside Australia. On 13 March 2013, Triple J 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

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