Whether it’s a handful of Goths in Goulbourn or a hundred Rastafarians in Melbourne, every town and city has its own subcultures. Katoomba and the Blue Mountains is no exception. Whether its shards of digital noise from Passenger Of Sh*t from Hazelbrook to the psychedelic prog-jazz of Juniper, The Blue Mountains has its cultural tendrils extended comfortably in just about any genre you could care to mention. But if you seek shock value, loud party jams or evil vibes, there are many esteemed locals, from bands both past and present, flying the flag for Blue Mountains metal. The HAZE spoke with local bands Red Bee, Grill, Chaotic Impurity, Be Faced and Summit to get an exclusive insiders look at what’s it like to play extreme music in the laidback creative hub that is The Blue Mountains.
Local metal expert, author and metal radio broadcaster Brian Giffin, (The Annex; 10PM-12AM Wednesdays, 89.1FM), told HAZE that local metal has only grown stronger since the mid-2000s, where audiences of only 15 people would frequent heavy shows, such as Hell City Glamours at Treis Elies. Gig attendance numbers have now grown significantly, with national acts such as King Parrot, Gay Paris, and even Frenzal Rhomb packing the Baroque Bar. As Red Bee state, “we [Katoomba] get the best of both worlds”. While famous urban bands can come to Katoomba, local acts can get a great hometown following as well as representing the Mountains in Sydney, Red Bee say. Our broader local advantages of a vibrant artistic atmosphere with a fairly cool climate and beautiful environment often leads to creativity, as Grill and Chaotic Impurity both believe. Chaotic Impurity believe their spiritual connection with the mountains is reflected in their music, with Grill, like many other local acts, attributing some lyrical themes of their band to the local landscape. Disadvantages of playing metal in the mountains are the 2-hour drive to Sydney and some scarce gig opportunities arising from playing a ‘restricting’ genre, due to stereotypes of audience accessibility VS ‘the devil’s music’.
Faced with the question of whether Sydney is ultimately the better place to play metal, our bands gave us a variety of contrasting answers. Chaotic Impurity simply state that the audiences aren’t better, just bigger. Case in point, their ‘insane’ Halloween gig in Lithgow, 2010. Grill believes the city is the better place, due to a shortage of money to be made from playing metal in Katoomba, and a smaller audience. Be Faced believe that audiences are hard to please in Sydney, due to the city being spoilt for choice with bands. As urban audiences are used to more production-polished gigs from famous bands such as Lamb Of God and Gojira, Be Faced believe that audience reaction isn’t better; if anything, it’s a more difficult situation. Sydney’s main benefit is larger audience sizes generating more gig opportunities, in metal/hard-rock venues such as the Valve Bar, the Bald-Faced Stag, and the Manning Bar. Red Bee simply believe that location doesn’t matter, and that bands should make the most of every gig and be thankful to be onstage in front of any audience; wherever and whoever the crowd may be.
Currently one of the most well known metal bands in the mountains amongst acts like Grenade and Festering Drippage, Red Bee say they strive to give memorable shows evoking emotional responses from any type of audience. The band say that the album launch of Ictus, (the band’s debut LP), at the Gearin was crazy. “So much energy was in the room that night, it felt like the room was the center of the universe”. Grill’s most memorable gig so far, according to the band, was a packed set at the Baroque Bar right before the Winter Magic fireworks one year. Be Faced told HAZE of the time they converted an unsuspecting passer by to metal at a Gearin charity gig; their new fan stayed for the whole set, and even bought a CD and t-shirt! The Gearin’s Carnivale concert is remembered with fondness by the band – “Fairy floss, face painting, juggling acts, metal and a circus combined!”
Unique mountains memories aside, our scene’s largest advantage is the camaraderie between fellow local bands. For example, Be Faced thank Red Bee for helping the former secure a slot sharing their stage, as well as with the mighty King Parrot, at the Baroque Bar. Even interstate bands have helped support local acts, such as when Brisbane’s Kold Kreature and Killers Creed took Be Faced on their East Coast tour. As Be Faced told HAZE, “We tend to know most of our fellow metalheads purely by association.” “It’s always great to have a catch up with old friends after a show rather than just blending into the crowd afterwards”.
Overall, Australia and The Blue Mountains has a very healthy heavy music scene that only keeps growing, with up ‘n’ coming bands like Isopod and Summit gaining exposure recently. As Summit told HAZE, all the support the band received has been surprising and flattering for the metalcore four-piece, with their bassist Kaine even being offered some bass lessons by Northlane bassist Alex Milovic. Although Summit ultimately believe they’ll move to Sydney for larger metal gigs, they believe the mountains will influence future songwriting. “Knowing so many successful bands in Sydney only pushes us further towards our goal. We don’t feel threatened and never will.” We’ll conclude with Aftermath author Brian Giffin, who told HAZE “Australia has a very healthy, very extensive metal scene that needs/needed to be chronicled.” This led to the publication of the Encyclopedia Of Australian Heavy Metal, that features a handful of local bands, and is available from Megalong Books, The Turning Page, and online. Brian’s dystopian sci-fi epic Aftermath is available from Lulu.com, but is due for a local re-launch soon. On behalf of the main bands in this article, HAZE would like to give a shoutout to Infinite Black, Magma One, Innsmouth, Nova Incepta, Cruciform, Resonator, and all those making original creative content in the Blue Mountains. Be on the lookout for gigs from our local heavy groups. None of this is going away anytime soon…
•ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN ISSUE #9 OF THE HAZE MAG, MARCH 2016 http://www.thehazemag.com.au/