Ne Obliviscaris (band)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ne Obliviscaris (Latin for "forget not";
Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The ...
motto) are a five-piece Australian
progressive 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 ...
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 ...
. Formed initially as a four-piece in April 2003, the group was founded by Marc "Xenoyr" Campbell and Adam Cooper. The current line-up comprises vocalist Xenoyr, violinist and clean vocalist Tim Charles, guitarists Matt Klavins and Benjamin Baret and bassist Martino Garattoni. To date, the band has released a demo, two extended plays and three studio albums. Their most recent album, ''
Urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
'', was released on 27 October 2017.


History


Formation and early years

Ne Obliviscaris were formed in April 2003 by vocalist Xenoyr and bassist Adam Cooper, later adding a second guitarist and a female soprano. Current vocalist/violinist Tim Charles followed in September 2003. The band went through a number of line-up changes before releasing an independent demo, ''The Aurora Veil'', in 2007. The demo featured three songs which would later appear on their debut album. Their music, whilst being firmly rooted in extreme metal, shows influences from a range of musical styles, including death, black, thrash and melodic metal, as well as classical, jazz, avant-garde and flamenco. Drummer Dan Presland left the band towards the end of 2011 and was replaced by Nelson Barnes. However, due to the distance between Queensland and Melbourne, Ne Obliviscaris parted ways with Barnes and Presland's return to the band was announced on 24 August 2012.


''Portal of I'' (2012–2014)

Released 7 May 2012 '' Portal of I'' was the first full-length album by the band. The release of the album was delayed due to the departure of their guitarist, Corey King, in 2007 and the search for a replacement. Benjamin Baret later joined as the lead guitarist, but was subject to lengthy delays in his visa application process. The album received generally positive reviews with Metal Injection praising the composition and the musicianship of the album. The band toured in support of the album, which took them overseas for the first time, with the band playing in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand. They were also the headlining act for Progfest 2012 around Australia. ''And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope'' from Portal of I was included in a teaching curriculum at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the song being analysed for its composition.


''Citadel'' and Brown controversy (2014–2017)

Recorded during 2013, ''Citadel'' was released through Seasons of Mist on 7 November 2014. The album reached number 42 on the
ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian 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 became the offici ...
. The album was generally well received, with Metal Hammer giving it a four out of five rating. Metal Injection again praised the complexity of the arrangements. In June 2014, the band announced a crowdfunding campaign to support a world tour with an initial target of $40,000 AUD. This target was reached in just two days, reaching a final figure of $86,132 AUD and breaking the Australian record for crowd-funding in the process. The subsequent world tour saw Ne Obliviscaris return to Asia supporting
Fleshgod Apocalypse Fleshgod Apocalypse is an Italian symphonic death metal band. Formed in 2007, the group resides in Perugia and are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. They have released five full-length albums. History Formation and ''Oracles'' (2007–2009) Fl ...
as well as their first tours of Europe, the UK and North America where they supported British band, Cradle of Filth. They also played in India for the first time, where they headlined the B-School of Rock at the Unmaad Festival in Bangalore. In July 2016, the band began a headlining tour of North America. with headlining shows in the U.K and Ireland following in October 2016 with Atlanta-based band Oceans of Slumber as support. Also announced were further European tour supporting Enslaved between September and November 2016, and headline shows in Australia at the end of November and beginning of December 2016. On 26 January 2017, the band released longtime bassist Brendan "Cygnus" Brown following allegations of domestic violence. Although they initially gave "irreconcilable personal differences" as the reason, they later explained that it was due in part to the allegations, but also because they believed that Brown needed help. Following accusations from a website that the band knew about Brown's violent behaviour and had been hiding it for years, the band explained that they were only aware of a domestic incident between Brown and his mother six years prior, and, after discovering the truth, immediately tried to get Brown to get help, and relieved him of his services to the band. Brown confirmed both the allegations and the band's statement to be true, adding that being released made him "realize the extent of damage I have caused to people over the years and how badly I need to get help to get my life back on track." He also stated that he had been physically and sexually abused by his mother since childhood, and that the trauma, which caused mental health disorders and ended in drug abuse, made him "an unpredictable character at times, and I have lashed out at people close to me both physically and verbally. I am deeply sorry to anybody that has been victim to this inexcusable behaviour". He also explained that the domestic violence incident with his mother six years prior was him fighting her back for the first time, and that he had not spoken to her since despite his mother harassing both him, his girlfriend, and the band on several occasions, which had led them to complain to the police.


''Urn'' and ''Exul'' (2017–present)

On 26 July 2017, the band announced that their new album, ''
Urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
'', would be released on 27 October 2017, and released a music video for the track "Intra Venus". They also announced Robin Zielhorst, former member of Cynic, Exivious, and Our Oceans, as their session bassist for the album. On 29 August 2017, they released another song from the album, "Urn (Part I) – And Within the Void We Are Breathless". On 10 October 2017, they released another song, "Urn (Part II) – As Embers Dance In Our Eyes". ''Urn'' released on 27 October 2017, though it had been released to
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
contributors a few days earlier. On 22 June 2019 it was announced that the band's track, Intra Venus won the 2018 Independent Music Award for Best Metal / Hardcore song. On 31 December 2019, their publisher ''Season of Mist'' announced that they would be releasing a new album in 2020, which was later delayed to 2021, and then 2022 due to the
COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...
. On 7 July 2022, the band announced on Facebook that the recording for their new album had been finished. On 1 December, the band announced their fourth album, ''Exul'', would be released on 24 March 2023.


Use of crowdfunding

In addition to the campaign to fund their world tour, the band announced in March 2016 that they were starting a subscription based service through the
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
micro-payments platform. This was in part inspired by Thy Art is Murder frontman, CJ McMahon, quitting the band for financial reasons. The decision to use Patreon generated some controversy on social media platforms to which vocalist and violinist Tim Charles responded.


Band members


Current line-up

* Marc "Xenoyr" Campbell –
harsh vocals 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 ...
,
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...
(2003–present) * Tim Charles – violin (2003–present), clean vocals (2004–present) * Matt Klavins – guitar (2004–present) * Benjamin Baret – lead guitar (2008–present) * Martino Garattoni – bass (2017–present)


Previous members

* Sheri-Jesse Tantawy – clean vocals (2003–2004) * Adam Boddy – guitar (2003–2004) * Adam Cooper – bass (2003–2004) * Corey Baker – drums (2003–2004) * Corey King – guitar (2004–2007) * Nelson Barnes – drums (2012) * Brendan "Cygnus" Brown – bass (2004–2017) * Daniel Presland – drums (2005–2011, 2012–2022)


Guest/session musicians

* Robin Zielhorst – bass (studio, 2017) * Ludovico Cioffi - rhythm guitar (2019)


Timeline


Discography

Studio albums * '' Portal of I'' (2012) * ''
Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. I ...
'' (2014) * ''
Urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
'' (2017) * ''Exul'' (2023) Extended plays * ''The Aurora Veil'' (2007 - demo) * ''Sarabande to Nihil'' (2015 - re-recordings of earlier material from 2004-2005) * ''Hiraeth'' (2015 - re-recordings of earlier material from 2004-2005)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ne Obliviscaris Australian heavy metal musical groups Australian progressive metal musical groups Musical groups from Melbourne 2003 establishments in Australia Musical groups established in 2003 Season of Mist artists