Paramaecium (sometimes typeset as Paramæcium) was an Australian

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

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 ...

metal band formed in 1991. There is use of instrumentation like

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

s and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s on some albums. Paramaecium is one of the few doom metal bands that focus on Christian lyrical themes and Christian

concepts A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, psy ...

. According to Doom-metal.com, "what sets Paramaecium apart from other bands in the doom metal scene, is the fact that they are the only Christian death/doom band that made it to the top of the genre."

History

In 1993, Paramaecium released their debut album, '' Exhumed of the Earth''. The band consisted of Andrew Tompkins on vocals and bass, Jason De Ron on guitar, and

Jayson Sherlock Mortification was an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mo ...

on drums. The music was inspired by

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, early

My Dying Bride My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 15 studio albums, five EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. Along ...

and

Anathema The word anathema has two main meanings. One is to describe that something or someone is being hated or avoided. The other refers to a formal excommunication by a Christian denomination, church. These meanings come from the New Testament, where a ...

. The band incorporated flute and violin sounds as well as a soprano alongside the usual musical offerings of death and

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

. Paramaecium added rhythm guitarist Chris Burton in 1995 and released their second album, ''Within the Ancient Forest'', which was accompanied by a fantasy novel of the same name written by Tompkins. The album was more diverse and technical, and involved female vocalists, harpsichord, piano, flute and cello. Sherlock left the band in 1996. The third album, '' A Time to Mourn'', was released in 1999 and marked the departure of all previous band members except Tompkins. The band no longer had a touring lineup, so guest musicians were used, including guitarist Ian Arkley (formerly of Seventh Angel, Ashen Mortality and My Silent Wake). After a five-year break, Paramaecium returned in 2004 with ''Echoes from the Ground''. The album again featured Tompkins as the only original member, but held firmly to the band's doom and

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

roots while again incorporating soprano and violins. In 2005, Tompkins started working again with guitarist De Ron on songs for a new album. Early in 2006, drummer Sherlock rejoined the band and they played a series of concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, and NordicFest in Oslo, Norway. The NordicFest appearance in November 2006 marked the official end of Paramaecium, but it was also the official launch of the band under its new name, InExordium. InExordium's name is derived from a Paramaecium song off of ''Within the Ancient Forest''. After InExordium broke up, Sherlock and guitarist Sheldon D'Costa formed Revulsed.

Album concepts

All of Paramaecium's albums have a concept that generally revolves around Christianity and Christian life. '' Exhumed of the Earth'' was based around the narrative of the New Testament, particularly the canonical gospels and the Book of Acts. ''Within the Ancient Forest'' is based on how Andrew Tompkins became a Christian, and '' A Time to Mourn'' is about a life in Christ, addressing the sorts of issues one might face as a modern Christian. ''Echoes from the Ground'' is about a young man's journey through the Holy Lands to find a justification for his faith.

Members

Last known lineup * Andrew Tompkins - bass, vocals, programming (1991–2006) * Jason De Ron - guitar (1992–1996, 2006) *

- drums (1993–1996, 2006) Former * Collin "Mosh" Mynard - guitar (1991–1992). Retrieved on 8 October 2016. * Ian Arkley - guitar (1999) * Mark Orr - drums (1999) * Mark Kelson - guitar (1997–1999) * Chris Burton - rhythm guitar (1995–1996) * Steve Palmer - drums (1991–1993) Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:95 bottom:90 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/2006 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1991 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1991 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals,_bass,_keyboards id:LGuitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:RGuitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:EP value:gray(0.55) legend:Other_release id:bars value:gray(0.95) Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 BackgroundColors=bars:bars LineData = layer:back at:07/01/1991 color:EP at:06/10/1993 color:studio at:06/19/1996 color:studio at:01/01/1997 color:EP at:04/17/1999 color:studio at:08/13/2004 color:studio BarData = bar:Andrew text:"Andrew Tompkins" bar:Mosh text:"Collin Maynard" bar:Jason text:"Jason De Ron" bar:Mark text:"Mark Kelson" bar:Ian text:"Ian Arkley" bar:Chris text:"Chris Burton" bar:Steve text:"Steve Palmer" bar:Jayson text:"Jayson Sherlock" bar:Mark2 text:"Mark Orr" PlotData= width:11 bar:Andrew from:start till:end color:Vocals bar:Mosh from:start till:01/01/1992 color:LGuitar bar:Jason from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1996 color:LGuitar bar:Mark from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1999 color:LGuitar bar:Ian from:01/01/1999 till:12/31/1999 color:LGuitar bar:Chris from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:RGuitar bar:Steve from:start till:01/01/1993 color:Drums bar:Jayson from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1996 color:Drums bar:Mark2 from:01/01/1999 till:12/31/1999 color:Drums bar:Jason from:01/01/2006 till:12/31/2006 color:LGuitar bar:Jayson from:01/01/2006 till:12/31/2006 color:Drums width:3 bar:Mosh from:start till:01/01/1992 color:RGuitar bar:Jason from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1995 color:RGuitar bar:Mark from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1999 color:RGuitar bar:Ian from:01/01/1999 till:12/31/1999 color:RGuitar bar:Jason from:01/01/2006 till:12/31/2006 color:RGuitar

Discography

As Paramaecium

Studio albums * '' Exhumed of the Earth'' (1993) * ''Within the Ancient Forest'' (1996) * '' A Time to Mourn'' (1999) * ''Echoes from the Ground'' (2004) Demos * ''Silent Carnage'' (1991) EPs * ''Repentance'' (1996)

As InExordium

Studio albums * ''InExordium'' (2008)

References

External links

Paramaecium's official website (Archived)
{{Authority control Victoria (state) musical groups Australian doom metal musical groups Australian Christian metal musical groups Australian musical quartets Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 1991 establishments in Australia