Amebix were an English
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band from
Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...
,
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. A pioneer of the
crust punk
Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
genre, Amebix's merger of
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, ha ...
and
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
with elements of
heavy metal, particularly early
extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
, inspired musicians who would go on to define the genres of
grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...
,
black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
,
death-doom
Death-doom (also known as death-doom metal or doom-death) is a fusion genre of death metal and doom metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep death growl, growling vocals and double bass dr ...
and
metalcore
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
.
Formed in 1978 as the Band with No Name, the band's two consistent members were brothers
Rob "the Baron" Miller (vocals, bass) and Chris "Stig" Miller (guitar). The band's earliest releases were
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
, before beginning to adopt elements of
heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...
on their debut album ''
No Sanctuary'' (1983). This album was one of the earliest examples of the crust punk genre, a style which the band would codify with its follow up ''
Arise!'' (1985). Shortly after the release of their third album ''
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
'' (1987), the group disbanded. The band reunited in 2008, along with drummer
Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga (born April 6, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of heavy metal bands Soulfly, Hellyeah and Stone Sour and is currently the drummer for the industrial metal band Ministry.
Early life
Mayorga was born in F ...
, a lineup which released their fourth album ''
Sonic Mass
''Sonic Mass'' is the fourth and final studio album by British crust punk band Amebix, released on 23 September 2011 through the band's own label, Amebix Records. It was also their first full-length album since 1987's ''Monolith''.
An animated ...
'' (2011), before disbanding again in 2012.
History
1978–1980: Formation
In 1978, Rob Miller was involuntarily discharged from his role as an
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...
sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
in 1978, due to being intoxicated while on duty when stationed in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The same year, his older brother, Chris "Stig" Miller returned to Devon from
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
. This led the pair to plan forming a band together.
They initially came together under the name the Band with No Name, in reference to
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
's character the
Man with No Name
The Man with No Name () is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and '' The Good, t ...
.
This founding lineup included Rob Miller on vocals, Chris Miller on guitar, Clive Barnes on bass and Andy Hoare on drums.
In 1979, the band changed its name to Amebix,
which was the
mantra
A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
given to Stig Miller when he was thirteen years old, by a Guru, in order help him stop misbehaving in school.
That year they recorded their self-titled six-track demo. Soon after, when Miller was sent, by the publication he was a journalist for, to review a live performance of
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, ha ...
band
Crass
Crass was an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle, and a resistance movement. Crass popularized the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, ...
at Abbey Hall in
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, he presented the demo to the band, who included the track ''University Challenged'' on their ''
Bullshit Detector
''Bullshit Detector'' was the name of a series of compilation LPs put together by the anarcho-punk band (and art collective) Crass and released on their Crass Records label. Three editions were released between 1980 and 1984, consisting of dem ...
'' compilation.
1981–1984: ''Who's the Enemy'' and ''No Sanctuary''
In 1981, Miller and Amebix relocated to
Peter Tavy
Peter Tavy () is a village along the A386, northeast of Tavistock, Devon, England. It is named after the River Tavy
The Tavy () is a river on Dartmoor, Devon, England. The name derives from the Brythonic languages, Brythonic root , once ...
and began living with new drummer Martin Baker in Glebe House, the former site of a
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
burial ground. However, soon after Baker's parents forced him to depart from the band, relocated to London where he was diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenia
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...
. The song "Largactyl" was written about his experience.
After Baker's departure from the band, the band moved to
Gunnislake
Gunnislake () is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately north of Plymouth The first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire, Mary Ellen Smith, was born here in 1863.
G ...
in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
to live with newly recruited keyboard player Norman Butler. They then relocated to
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, where they began
squatting
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
with local punk bands like
Disorder
Disorder may refer to randomness, a lack of intelligible pattern, or:
Healthcare
* Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance
* Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern associated with distress or disab ...
and
Chaos UK
Chaos UK is an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Portishead, near Bristol. They emerged as part of the anarcho-punk scene, developing a fast and aggressive hardcore punk style. The band recorded two EPs and a full LP for Riot City Rec ...
. They released their debut EP ''
Who's the Enemy'' on 28 August 1982 through
Spiderleg Records
Spiderleg Records was an independent record label founded by United Kingdom, UK anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians in 1981 in music, 1981.
The band set up the label after releasing their first EP on the Crass Records label, which taught the ...
, whom they had been turned onto in the brief period they were living with Crass. The EP peaked at number 33 on the
UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...
.
In 1983, they released single "Winter", which reached number 18 on the
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...
, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.
[Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 6] On 26 November 1983, they released the Second EP ''
No Sanctuary'', which reached the top 10 of the U.K. Independent Music Chart, and gained them the attention of
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...
vocalist
Jello Biafra
Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Init ...
, who signed them to his record label
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...
. This led to their subsequent European headline tour. While in
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Miller and the other members of Amebix were arrested for
vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...
of a squat.
1985–1987: ''Arise!'', ''Monolith'' and first disbandment
Hiring drummer Robert "Spider" Richards in 1985,
the band's debut album ''
Arise!'' was released on 14 September 1985 through Alternative Tentacles. It peaked at number 3 on the U.K. Independent Music Chart.
They soon after relocated to
Bath, Somerset
Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...
and halted their squatting. In 1987 they released their second album ''
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
'' through Heavy Metal Records.
However Amebix soon began facing major writer's block,
which led them to disband in 1987. Following the disbandment, Spider, George, and Stig went on to perform in Zygote.
2008–2012: ''Sonic Mass'' and second disbandment
In 2008, the Miller brothers reformed Amebix, accompanied by drummer
Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga (born April 6, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of heavy metal bands Soulfly, Hellyeah and Stone Sour and is currently the drummer for the industrial metal band Ministry.
Early life
Mayorga was born in F ...
. On 25 July 2010, they released the EP ''
Redux'' through
Profane Existence
Profane Existence is a Minneapolis-based anarcho-punk collective. Established in 1989, the collective publishes a nationally known zine (also called ''Profane Existence''), as well as releasing and distributing anarcho-punk, crust, and grindco ...
.
On 22 July 2011, they released the 12" single "Knights of the Black Sun". On 23 September 2011, they released their third studio album ''
Sonic Mass
''Sonic Mass'' is the fourth and final studio album by British crust punk band Amebix, released on 23 September 2011 through the band's own label, Amebix Records. It was also their first full-length album since 1987's ''Monolith''.
An animated ...
''. In November 2012, the band parted ways once again.
In 2014, Rob "The Baron" Miller joined forces with Jon Misery (Misery), Andy Lefton (War//Plague) and Michel "Away" Langevin of
Voivod to form
Tau Cross.
In 2019, Stig Miller and Mayorga briefly formed a band with
Casey Chaos
Karim George Chmielinski (October 9, 1965 — December 20, 2024), known professionally as Casey Chaos, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of Amen. His music encompassed a number of styles in the punk and metal genres.
Ear ...
, recording eighteen songs but never releasing any or deciding on a name.
In 2023, Stig Miller and Mayorga formed False Fed with
Jeff Janiak of
Discharge on vocals and JP Parsons on bass.
Musical style
Amebix began their career playing heavily music indebted to
Killing Joke
Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...
. They first embraced metal influences on their 1983 album ''
No Sanctuary'', which was one of the earliest releases in the
crust punk
Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
genre.
However, the album retained much of the band's early
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
sound, to the extent that ''Altaride Chronicles'' magazine called the album "post-punk crust". The crust punk sound was codified on their subsequent album ''
Arise'' (1985).
The group however continued to differentiate themselves from the other groups in the genre, by continuing to use elements of post-punk, with ''
Maximum Rocknroll
''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and ...
'' writer Joao Seixas describing them as "expanding on what Killing Joke began with, a
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
-inspired sense of
rock'n'roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...
songwriting, and adding a taste of what can be described as
deathrock
Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of horror film scores. Often overlapping with, and sometimes considered a subgenre of, gothic ...
-oriented post-punk guitar atmosphere."
Amebix have cited influences including
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
, Killing Joke,
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
,
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, Motörhead,
Crass
Crass was an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle, and a resistance movement. Crass popularized the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, ...
,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
,
the Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...
,
Devo
Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...
,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
,
Accept,
Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with LaVeyan Satanism (often with ironic ...
,
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
,
Magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
,
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
,
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
,
T. Rex,
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
,
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
,
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
,
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
,
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...
,
Cockney Rejects
Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre. The band members are supporters of West Ham United, and pay tr ...
,
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
and
Bad Brains
Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...
. Furthermore, the members of Amebix and
first-wave black metal
The first wave of black metal was a musical movement of black metal which lasted from around 1982 until 1991. Stylistically distinct from the genre's quintessential later sound, the earliest bands in this first wave played a primordial form of e ...
band
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost () was a Swiss metal music, heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several metal subgenres, particularly extreme metal,Bukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal' ...
tape traded with one another, leading to some shared musical characteristics.
Legacy
By being one of the first bands to blend
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, ha ...
and
heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...
, Amebix are often cited as one of the key bands that helped to create the
crust punk
Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
genre, and as being influential to many
extreme meta l bands, especially
black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
bands.
[Peter Jandreus, ''The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977-1987'', Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 11.]
They have been cited as an influence by musicians including
Sven Erik Kristiansen
Sven Erik Kristiansen (born 4 February 1969) is a Norwegian musician, best known as the former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Maniac.
''Loudwire'' called Kristiansen "an incarnation of authenticity."
Career
K ...
of
Mayhem
Mayhem most commonly refers to:
* Mayhem (crime), a type of crime
Mayhem may also refer to:
People
* Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress
* Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter
* Mayhem Miller (dr ...
,
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mi ...
,
Doom
Doom is another name for damnation.
Doom may also refer to:
People
* Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed
* Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist
* Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...
,
From Ashes Rise
From Ashes Rise is an American neo-crust band, formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in the mid-1990s. They helped define the gloom-heavy sound attributed to groups like His Hero is Gone and Tragedy (band), Tragedy by combining a dynamic, eerie open ...
,
Gallhammer,
Rudimentary Peni
Rudimentary Peni are a British anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, emerging from the London anarcho-punk scene. Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty, macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on a ...
,
Integrity
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.
In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and Honesty, truthfulness or of one's actions. Integr ...
,
Nausea
Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat.
Over 30 d ...
,
Disclose,
Bolt Thrower
Bolt Thrower were a British death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling ba ...
,
Septic Tank
A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...
,
Starkweather,
Mortiis
Mortiis is an Electronic music, electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Morti ...
,
Heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
,
Born Dead Icons,
Hellbastard
Hellbastard is an English crust punk/thrash metal band formed in 1984 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle.
Early history
Members "Scruff" Lewty, Phil Laidlaw and Ian "Scotty" Scott formed Hellbastard, which was to be a combination of Crass-like ...
,
Deathspell Omega
Deathspell Omega is a French black metal band formed in 1998 in Poitiers. The group is an anonymous collective that has never confirmed the identity of any of its members.
Their lyrical content often deals with metaphysical Satanism, and the ph ...
,
SECT
A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...
,
Winter
Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...
,
Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...
and
Deviated Instinct
Deviated Instinct are an English extreme metal band formed in Norwich in 1984. They are considered pioneers of both crust punk and death metal. Their first EP, ''Welcome to the Orgy'', was released by Peaceville Records, which released the majo ...
.
[ Amebix biography at AllMusic/ref> In an interview with '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 2016, the band was cited along with a number of other British anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, ha ...
bands of the early 80s as being an influence to the American post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal music, heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis (band), Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture (music), te ...
group Neurosis
Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...
.
Members
Final line-up
* Rob "the Baron" Miller – vocals (1978–1987; 2008–2012), bass (1979–1987; 2008–2012)
*Chris "Stig" Miller – guitar, backing vocals (1978–1987; 2008–2012), keyboards (1978–1979)
*Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga (born April 6, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of heavy metal bands Soulfly, Hellyeah and Stone Sour and is currently the drummer for the industrial metal band Ministry.
Early life
Mayorga was born in F ...
– drums, percussion, keyboards (2008–2012)
Past members
*Clive Barnes – bass (1978–1979)
*Andy "Billy Jug" Hoare – drums (1978–1981)
*Ric Gadsby – bass (1979)
*Martin Baker – drums (1981)
*Norman Butler – keyboards (1981–1984)
*Virus – drums (1981–1985; died 2015)
*Jenghiz – keyboards (1984)
*George Fletcher – keyboards (1984–1986)
*Robert "Spider" Richards – drums (1985–1987)
*Andy Wiggins – keyboards (1986–1987)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
*'' No Sanctuary'' (1983, 12", Spiderleg Records)
*'' Arise!'' (1985, LP/CD, Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...
)
*''Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
'' (1987, LP/CD, Heavy Metal Records)
*''Sonic Mass
''Sonic Mass'' is the fourth and final studio album by British crust punk band Amebix, released on 23 September 2011 through the band's own label, Amebix Records. It was also their first full-length album since 1987's ''Monolith''.
An animated ...
'' (2011, LP/CD, Easy Action & Amebix Records)
EPs
*'' Who's the Enemy'' (1982, 7", Spiderleg Records
Spiderleg Records was an independent record label founded by United Kingdom, UK anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians in 1981 in music, 1981.
The band set up the label after releasing their first EP on the Crass Records label, which taught the ...
)
*'' Redux'' (2010, 12", CD, DD, Profane Existence)
Live albums
*''V živo'' (1986)
Compilation albums
*''The Power Remains'' (1993, LP, Skuld Releases)
*''No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings'' (2008, LP+7"/CD, Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...
)
*''Bullshit Detector Vol 1: University Challenged'' (1980, LP, Crass Records
Crass Records was an independent record label that was set up by the anarchist Punk rock, punk band Crass.
Overview and history
Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own D ...
, Bullshit Detector
''Bullshit Detector'' was the name of a series of compilation LPs put together by the anarcho-punk band (and art collective) Crass and released on their Crass Records label. Three editions were released between 1980 and 1984, consisting of dem ...
)
Singles
*"Winter
Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...
" (1983, 7", Spiderleg Records)
*"Knights of the Black Sun" (2011)
Demos
*''Amebix'' (1979, self-released)
*''Right to Ride'' (1987, self-released)
References
External links
Archived version of their website
Amebix on bandcamp
Nightgaunt Graphics- Amebix official merch
* Amebix page on AllMusicbr>Christian Miller Interview from DIY Conspiracy, 2021 - English
Christian Miller Interview from Ooer Fanzine 1988 - English
* ttp://www.metalfan.ro/en/interviuri/soundcheck-5-with-rob-the-baron-miller-amebix-5788.html Soundcheck 5 2011 interview - Rob "The Baron" Miller favorite albumsbr>Rob "The Baron" Miller 2008 interview @ Metalfan.ro - English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amebix
Alternative Tentacles artists
English heavy metal musical groups
British crust and d-beat groups
British political music groups
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical groups disestablished in 1987
Musical groups reestablished in 2008
Musical groups disestablished in 2012
1978 establishments in England
English post-punk music groups