The Amenta
Encyclopedia
History
The band originally formed in Baulkham Hills, New South WalesBaulkham Hills, New South Wales
Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Baulkham Hills is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire...
in 1997 as Crucible of Agony. They initially played black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
and released two demos in 1999 under the name. They then changed their band name to The Amenta in 2001 and released their first EP in 2002, entitled Mictlan, with Cessium 137 (lead vocals), Diazanon (drums), Ethion (guitar), Endrin (bass guitar) and Chlordane (keyboards). They followed with Occasus, which won them acclaim from rock magazine Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and were awarded Best Metal Newcomers for 2004. The album also drew comparisons to bands such as Zyklon
Zyklon (band)
Zyklon was a Norwegian blackened death metal band formed in 1998 by Samoth and Trym of Emperor, along with former members of Myrkskog. Their style has been defined as modern death metal with black and industrial undertones...
and Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1988. The band has sold over 300,000 records.-Necrosis :...
. In May 2006 the band replaced their singer, and have since played several live shows, most notably on the Festival of the Dead
Festival of the Dead
Festival of the Dead is held by many cultures throughout the world in honor or recognition of deceased members of the community, generally occurring after the harvest in August, September, October, or November. In Japanese Buddhist custom the festival honoring the departed spirits of one's...
national tour with Akercocke
Akercocke
Akercocke is an English progressive blackened death metal band from London, England. They take their name from a talking monkey in Robert Nye's interpretation of the Faust-legend, and are notable for their heavily Satanic and sexual lyrical content....
and The Berzerker
The Berzerker
The Berzerker was an extreme metal band from Melbourne, Australia 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...
. In 2007, they supported the blackened death metal band Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
on their national tour, and released the Virus DVD as an extra with the limited re-release of Occasus/Mictlan.
The new album entitled n0n was released in October 2008. The album features guest appearances from Jason Mendonca of Akercocke
Akercocke
Akercocke is an English progressive blackened death metal band from London, England. They take their name from a talking monkey in Robert Nye's interpretation of the Faust-legend, and are notable for their heavily Satanic and sexual lyrical content....
, Nergal
Adam Darski
Adam Michał Darski also known by his stage name Nergal and previously Holocausto, is a Polish musician and television personality, best known for being the frontman for blackened death metal band Behemoth.- Biography :...
of Behemoth, Alice Daquet of Sir Alice, and Alex Pope of Ruins
Ruins (metal band)
Ruins is a black metal band based in Hobart, Tasmania. The band was formed somewhere between 2000 and 2002 by Alex Pope, and Dave Haley .-Recording:Ruins began as a...
. The album was described in Terrorizer as "industrial metal for people who actually like both industrial and metal". The Amenta are to tour Europe in January 2009 with Deicide
Deicide (band)
Deicide is an American death metal band formed in 1987. Their first two albums, Deicide and Legion, are ranked second and third place in best-selling death metal albums of the SoundScan era.-As Amon/Carnage :...
. They have since returned to Australia and commenced a national tour with The Berzerker
The Berzerker
The Berzerker was an extreme metal band from Melbourne, Australia 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...
, which began in late January 2009 and will be ending in 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
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, Girlschool
Girlschool
Girlschool are a British heavy metal band originating out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in 1978 and frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead. They are the longest running all-female rock band, still active after more than 30 years...
, and Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo is an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, that was 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 Boys", "We Can't Be Beaten" and "Scarred for Life"...
, however it was postponed and ultimately cancelled.
The Amenta embarked on their first North American tour in November/December 2009 with Vader
Vader (band)
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn, formed in 1983. According to Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's founding singer and guitar player, the band's name was inspired by Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series. Lyrical themes include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, WW2, horror and anti-christian...
, Decrepit Birth
Decrepit Birth
Decrepit Birth is a death metal band from Santa Cruz, California, USA, signed to Nuclear Blast. They have released three studio albums through Unique Leader Records and a demo independently...
, Warbringer
Warbringer
Warbringer is an American thrash metal band. The band formed in 2004. Warbringer is signed to Century Media Records. Century Media 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 (band)
Augury is a progressive death metal band from Montreal, Canada who released their debut album, Concealed in September 2004 on Galy Records, and a follow-up, Fragmentary Evidence, in July 2009 on Nuclear Blast Records.-History:...
and Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky
Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky
Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky is an American extreme metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed in 2006. The group was founded by guitarists Aaron Haines and Ian Sturgill, shortly after the disbandment of their previous band, Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus. The band's name is...
.
They also supported Behemoth and Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy
Job for a Cowboy is a American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at #54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in...
for the 2010 Australian tour.
In 2011, The band released an online EP titled "V01D" which was the bands first recordings with new Vocalist Cain Cressall, it featured re-recordings of old songs, a cover and a brand new song.
The band embarked on an Australian Tour with Ruins in March and April, Then in June opened for Morbid Angel and are also about to embark on a tour to Europe with Decide, Belphegor and Hour Of Penance .
Current members
- Cain Cressall – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Timothy Pope – samplesSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
/programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Erik Miehs – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Dan Quinlan – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Robin Stone – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Former members
- Mark Bevan – vocals
- Jarrod Krafczyk - vocals
- Nathan Jenkins – bass guitar
- Dale Harrison - bass guitar
- Dave HaleyDave HaleyDave Haley is the drummer with Australian death metal band Psycroptic. Haley formed the band in 1999 with his brother Joe, bass guitarist Cameron Grant and vocalist Matthew Chalk. Chalk was subsequently replaced by Jason Peppiatt. Previously, the Haleys were members of Disseminate.Haley has...
– drums
Discography
- Mictlan (EP, 2002)
- OccasusOccasusOccasus is the first studio release album by industrial/experimental metalband The Amenta. The album won them the Best Metal Newcomers award for 2004 by the Australian edition of Kerrang! magazine. The album also contains multimedia content including a detailed discography, promotional photos,...
(2004) - n0nN0nn0n is the second studio release album by industrial/experimental metal band The Amenta. It was released in 2008, and coincided with a national tour...
(2008) - V01D (2011)
External links
- The Amenta at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- The Amenta at Listenable Records
- The Amenta at MusicMightMusicMightMusicMight, formerly Rockdetector is a rock music website which provides artist and product information through a global website and an ongoing book series...
- The Amenta Interview, Rockmidgets.com
- The Amenta Interview, Voices From the Darkside