Kiwi Metal

The only exhaustive book about New Zealand music, John Dix's 1987 tome Stranded In Paradise, had this to say about the local metal scene:

"Someone out there may like to write a book on New Zealand heavy metal, but not me, sports, that's for sure. Music for mutants, headbangers to the fore and braincells aft. Recycling the same tired clichés, no New Zealand HM band has surfaced to add anything to a genre that had all but thankfully dies by the mid-'70s."

Really? No one told me... but yeah, while those comments may be a little too broad, and more than a little ignorant, indigenous metal hadn't come of age in the 1980s. Bands of that era - Strikemaster, Stormbringer, Hammerack, Tokyo, Knightshade - didn't do a lot to inspire much faith in the local scene.

It wasn't until the early 1990s that things began to get interesting. When bands started being influenced by a broader palette of sounds - industrial, underground indie stuff, hardcore, and Seattle bands, rather than Iron Maiden, AC/DC, or Def Leppard. Murray Cammick's Wildside label was home to many of these, including of course Shihad and Head Like a Hole. Both of these were signed in Europe to Noise Records, an arrangement that neither party benefited from, due to the German label's narrow-minded metal focus. Nevertheless, it created a precedent that other New Zealand acts have followed.

In the mid-90's I wrote a monthly column about the New Zealand metal scene for Australian magazine HM. At that time a slew of young bands were appearing, scattered around the country in small towns such as Kaikoura and Cambridge, as well as the main centres. It was apparent then that mimicking overseas flavours was no longer seen to be a primary consideration.

Now, in the wake of Blindspott and 8 Foot Sativa there’s a flood of metal talent emerging. Some of these bands have been around for years, which is why I use the word 'emerging' rather than 'new'. Subtract, Dawn of Azazel, Malevolence and Six Day War have all made inroads, in some cases internationally.

Paul Martin is a veteran of the New Zealand metal scene, and has tirelessly worked to promote it for 15 or more years. His Axe Attack radio show has grown from a Hamilton only show to being a national entity. Add to that his involvement as guitarist in Knightshade and Blackjack, and he’s a local metal icon.

The Axe Attack New Zealand Metal Vol.1 (Intergalactic) is a compilation of the local music Martin plays on his show, and it's a fine if varied collection. It spans both islands and many genres over 16 tracks, and the quality is of a generally high standard.

Personal highlights include Saidaya's blistering, agressive ‘God's Crime’, Dawn of Azazel's insane slab of black mayhem ‘Triumph Under Equinox', and Christchurch's polyrhythmic weirdos Cripple Mr Onion. Then there's Subtract, Malevolence, Shaikhan and Six Day War, all with strong cuts. Not everything is to my taste, resorting to those clichés that turned Dix off. But if this is an indication as to where NZ metal is now, he'll have to come up with something more substantial to say if the rumours of a revised edition of Stranded hold any truth.

Certainly he'd have to dedicate some space to 8 Foot Sativa. The West Auckland four-piece, who replace vocalist Justin Niessen with Matt Sheppard on their new album Breed the Pain (Intergalactic), offer fairly good odds of becoming one of this countries biggest metal exports. Admittedly, this wouldn't be too hard. These boys have the goods and are ridiculously dedicated so could go a lot further than just selling a few discs across the Tasman.

Having not been blown away by their previous two albums, I didn't expect miracles from Breed The Pain. Yet it is a minor one, comparing favourably with the band’s overseas contemporaries. Particularly deserving of commendation are the sound and the songs. It's a major step up recording wise, as the band went to Pelle Saether's Studio Underground in Vasteras, Sweden. And the songs are simply better, with awesome hooks, great riffing and no dull digressions. It's straight for the jugular, focused aggression, with a surprising amount of melodic interest.

Matt Sheppard, who joins his drummer brother Sam in the band, is a worthy addition. His death growl is something to behold, he obviously has a phenomenal amount of energy, and his range is such that he adds a lot of colour to these songs. Add to this the faultless playing of guitarist Gary Smith, bassist Brent Fox and the other Sheppard, and Breed The Pain is a great start to the New Zealand album release schedule for 2005.