DZ Deathrays (previously Denzel then DZ) are an Australian

dance-punk Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-19 ...

trio from

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Composed of Shane Parsons (vocals/guitar), Lachlan Ewbank (lead guitar/vocals) and Simon Ridley (drums), they put out two EPs before releasing their debut album, '' Bloodstreams'', in April 2012. The album won the

ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austral ...

at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2012 The 26th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2012 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fin ...

. To date they have released five studio albums: '' Bloodstreams'' , ''

Black Rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

'', '' Bloody Lovely'', ''Positive Rising: Part 1'' and ''Positive Rising: Part 2''

History

2008–2011: Early years

Parsons and Ridley (both from

Bundaberg, Queensland Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

, Australia) were initially the founding members of Brisbane band Velociraptor, and continue to play with the group. Following the formation of DZ Deathrays, the band's first performances occurred at Brisbane house parties. The debut recording for the band was an EP, titled ''Ruined My Life'', that was released in 2009 and its entire content was recorded live at a house party. The band's sophomore EP, ''Brutal Tapes'', was released in January 2011 on their Bandcamp. A Re-issue containing more songs was released by label I Oh You, in 2014.

2012–2013: ''Bloodstreams''

DZ Deathrays released their debut album, '' Bloodstreams'', in April 2012 and received praise from

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, with reviewer Laura Snapes writing that the album is "more than worth going deaf to." The album was co-produced by electro artist Richard Pike and was recorded in Queensland during a two-week period. It was released in the UK in May 2012 on the Hassle label and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' reviewer Kelly Murray explained: "This album has the potential to make your little sister want to shave her head and invest in mock leather hotpants. It’s the penned seduction of a weekend of irresponsibility and a Monday full of inferior excuses."

2014–2016: ''Black Rat''

The band's second album was recorded with producer

Burke Reid Burke Reid is an Australian–Canadian record producer/musician. Career After migrating from Canada to Australia in 1994 at the age of 14 years, Reid became one third of the band Gerling in 1997. Following the announcement of a hiatus by Gerl ...

at the Grove Studios complex, located adjacent to the Strickland Forest, north of Sydney, Australia, in January 2014. The band recorded with Reid for a two-week period—a 9 January

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

post from the band read: "Producer Burke Reid tinkering away at about 3am. Sounding brutal." The band's press release for the album states that the recording is "a rich, deep collection of sounds, textures and arrangements". In the promotional material that accompanied review copies of the album, Parsons described the album as "definitely a night-time record. After 9pm; that's where it finds its place." In early April 2014, the band signed with the Infectious Records music company for the release of ''Black Rat'' in the United Kingdom (UK). The band toured the UK during April 2014, appearing at the Liverpool Sound City event, prior to the UK release of the album in August 2014. The duo released their second studio album ''Black Rat'' in both Australia and the United States (US) in May 2014. In early May 2014, writing for the ''

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

'' newspaper, music journalist

Andrew McMillen Andrew McMillen is an Australian music journalist and national music writer for '' The Australian''. Early life and education McMillen grew up in the southern Queensland, Australia city of Bundaberg, the son of two teachers. He relocated to ...

awarded ''Black Rat'' 3.5 stars out of a possible 5. McMillen describes ''Bloodstreams'' as comparatively juvenile alongside ''Black Rat'', and writes that the more mature sound better suits the duo, as they move beyond their "trash party" origins. McMillen further praises the album's 11 songs as a "significant step forward" and concludes: "... it's 'Black Rat''the sound of a confident band torn between its populist, party-friendly beginnings and a new-found ability to embrace glimpses of beauty amid the sonic destruction." On 18 May, the album peaked at No. 23 on the ARIA Charts for one week.

2017–2018: ''Bloody Lovely''

The duo released the single "Shred for Summer" in August 2017, it placed within Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100, 2017 at no. 67. Their next single "Bad Influence" was released in September, with another, "Total Meltdown" following in November. "Total Meltdown" just missed out placing no. 109 within the Hottest 200 of 2017. The three singles would later be included in their third studio album. Their third studio album, ''Bloody Lovely'', was released on I Oh You Records and Alcopop! Records on 2 February 2018.

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

picked it as their feature album of the week. Three days after the album was released the single "Like People" included in the album was released. The music video for the single featured one of the original members of

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, ...

Murray Cook Murray James Cook, AM (born 30 June 1960) is an Australian musician, actor, and Disc jockey. Cook was one of the founding members of the children's band the Wiggles from 1991 to 2012. Cook provided guitar, vocals, and songwriting in the group ...

. On 18 February, the album peaked at No. 4 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offic ...

and remained there for a total of two weeks. Then-touring guitarist Lachlan Ewbank helped in writing the album and was considered a fully-fledged member of the band. He was later officially inducted as a full-time member of the band. On 14 September the band joined with The Gooch Palms for

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

on Triple J where they played their original, "Like People", and their cover of " Love Shack" by the B52s.

2019- present: ''Positive Risings''

On 10 January 2019, via DZ Deathrays' Twitter, the trio stated that they were about to commence recording their fourth studio album. On 14 January, it was announced that DZ Deathrays would perform a national tour titled "Tour With the Lot". The tour is set to run from March to April with support from Moaning Lisa and The Buoys. On 4 February, they confirmed that their fourth studio album was completed, further details are yet to be announced. On 1 March, coinciding with the beginning of their Tour With the Lot, DZ Deathrays released a new single entitled "Front Row Hustle". A reworking of their track "Afterglow" from their 2018 album, '' Bloody Lovely'', remixed by Trials of A.B. Original. It features Briggs, also of A.B. Original, and rising star Jesswar. An accompanying music video preceded the single's release. On 14 June, their fourth studio album ''Positive Rising: Part 1'' was confirmed for a release of 30 August. On the same day, the trio released a new single "IN-TO-IT" alongside an accompanying music video. In October 2020, the band released "Fired Up", the lead single from ''Positive Rising: Part 2'', which was released on 9 July 2021.

Touring

DZ Deathrays have toured throughout over 15 countries, including Australia, the UK, the US and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. In the promotional material for the band's second album, Parsons explained that the band had spent the preceding two years drinking and touring, a period in which the songs for ''Black Rat'' were created. To promote ''Bloodstreams'', the DZ Deathrays performed at festivals such as the

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

(UK), the A Perfect Day Festival (Villafranca di Verona, Italy),

Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near B ...

(Australia) and

St Jerome's Laneway Festival The St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, commonly referred to as Laneway, began in Caledonian Lane, Melbourne, Australia, in 2005. Beginning as predominantly an indie music event, the festival grew in popularity and expanded to five Australian cities ...

(Australia), and headlined the ''NME'' stage at

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...

, held in Brighton and Hove, UK. The band's performance at the US South by Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

was shortened, due to the extreme volume of their music. Musical touring partners include Blood Red Shoes, TRUST,

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...

and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Influences

In April 2014, Ridley identified seven albums that "changed his life" for the Australian ''Tone Deaf'' music website. Included in the list are ''Smash'' by

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead gui ...

, which was not only the first album that Ridley owned, but "also the first album with swearing on it";

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

's first self-titled album, "a psych up album for nights when I'm too tired but need to party"; Air's ''Moon Safari'', which is an album that was listened to after Ridley would "come home from work every day" and "melt into the couch"—he stated that he now listens to the album on a weekly basis; and ''Rust in Peace'' by

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...

, praised by Ridley for being "Metal how it should be!"

Members

* Shane Parsons – lead vocals, guitar (2008–present) * Simon Ridley – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2008–present) * Lachlan Ewbank – guitar, backing vocals (2018–present; touring member 2015–2018) Former touring members * Mitchell 'Mood' Gregory – guitar

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="2" , AIR Awards of 2012 , rowspan="2" , ''Bloodstreams'' , Best Independent Album , , - , Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2014 , ''Black Rat'' , Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2019 The AIR Awards of 2019 is the thirteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Freemasons Hall Adelaide, Australia on Thursday 25 July 2019. The a ...

, ''Bloody Lovely'' , Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavy or Punk Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2020 The 2020 AIR Awards was the fourteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards ceremony (generally known as the AIR Awards). It took place on 1 October 2020 in Adelaide. The nominations were revealed on 7 July 2020 ...

, ''Positive Rising: Part 1'' , Best Independent Punk Album or EP , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2022 The 2022 AIR Awards is the sixteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards ceremony (generally known as the AIR Awards). It took place on 4 August 2022 in Adelaide. The nominations were revealed on 18 May 2022 wi ...

, ''Positive Rising: Part 2'' , Best Independent Punk Album or EP , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, ''Bloodstreams'' , Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album , , - , rowspan="2",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, rowspan="2", ''Black Rat'' , Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album , , - , Best Cover Art , , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, ''Bloody Lovely'' , Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album , , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, ''Positive Rising: Part 1'' , Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - , J Awards of 2018 , "Like People" , Australian Video of the Year ,

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - , rowspan="2",

National Live Music Awards of 2016 The National Live Music Awards of 2016 are the inaugural National Live Music Awards. The event took place on 29 November 2016. Award director, Larry Heath said: "Artists like Ngaiire are the beating heart of the contemporary live music scene i ...

, themselves , Live Hard Rock Act of the Year , , - , Simon Ridley (DZ Deathrays) , Live Drummer of the Year , , - , National Live Music Awards of 2019 , themselves , Live Hard Rock Act of the Year , , -

Queensland Music Awards

The

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (commonly known as QMA and known as the Q Song Awards from 2006 to 2010) are annual awards celebrating Queensland's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. Each year, the QMA Song of the Year is immortalised in a ...

(previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. (wins only) , - , 2011 , "Gebbie Street" , Rock Song of the Year , , - ,

, themselves , Export Achievement Award , , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, "Still No Change" , Heavy Song of the Year , , -

References

External links

Official websiteI Oh You
{{Authority control ARIA Award winners Musical groups from Brisbane Rock music duos 2008 establishments in Australia Musical groups established in 2008 Australian alternative rock groups Alcopop! Records artists