Pagan were an Australian band from

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

formed in 2013. Their music merges the sounds of

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 ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

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 ...

. Their track "Heavy Repeater" peaked at number one on

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's punk/metal chart. The band announced their decision to break up in January 2020, following a final show.

History

Pagan were formed in 2013 as a reaction against the Melbourne

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 ...

scene, which the members believe to be too limiting, both stylistically and culturally. Santilli, Bonnici and Morasco had been playing music in bands for around twenty years prior to the forming the band, and Brumen has been playing for half a decade. In March 2015, they released their debut self-titled EP. The EP included the single "Heavy Repeater", which reached number one on

's punk/metal chart soon after. On 6 July 2018, they released their debut album ''Black Wash'' through

Hassle Records Hassle Records is an independent record label that was created by Chris Baker in the year 2005. Artists ;Current * Petrol Girls * Under the Influence * August Burns Red * Cancer Bats * The James Cleaver Quintet * The Get Up Kids *Juliette a ...

. In August 2018, they headlined a tour of Australia. In November and December 2018, the band headlined a tour of the U.K. and Europe with support from Phoxjaw, Old Blue Last and Mother's Ruin. During this time, the track 'Imitate Me' reached the top spot of the Kerrang! Rock Chart. In May 2019, they toured the U.K., playing festivals such as

Slam Dunk Festival Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", ...

and

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a four-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 hosts roughly ...

, and opened for Microwave on their European headline tour. After returning from tour, bassist Dan Bonnici had his bass and a remote power supply stylized after the band's logo stolen from his car outside his home in Melbourne. In September 2019, they toured Australia in support of

the Amity Affliction The Amity Affliction is an Australian post-hardcore band from Gympie, Queensland, formed in 2003. The band's current line-up consists of Joel Birch (lead vocals), Dan Brown (guitar), Jonathan Reeves (bass, vocals) and Joe Longobardi (drums). Th ...

. On 12 January 2020, the band announced their decision to break up after one farewell show. The show, at the John Curtin Bandroom in Melbourne, sold out on the day tickets went on sale - leading the band to add a second show the night before at The Workers Club. Vocalist Nikki has since gone on to join Norwegian punk band

Blood Command Blood Command is a Norwegian punk rock band from Bergen. The band was formed in 2008 by Yngve Andersen, Silje Tombre and Sigurd Haakaas. The current lineup consists of Andersen, Haakaas, Benjamin Berge, Snorre Kilvær, and Nikki Brumen. The band ...

Musical style

The band's music took from genres such as

and

. In an article for

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

, they were described as a merger between the sounds of

Marmozets Marmozets are an English rock band from Bingley, West Yorkshire. Formed in 2007, the band consists of Rebecca "Becca" Macintyre (vocals), Jack Bottomley (guitar), Sam Macintyre (guitar/vocals), Will Bottomley (bass/vocals), and Josh Macintyre ...

, Møl and

Employed to Serve Employed to Serve is a British metalcore band from Woking, England. History Employed to Serve was formed in 2011 by current members Justine Jones and Sammy Urwin. In July 2020, several members of Employed to Serve and Renounced released an E ...

. David James Young, writing for Tone Deaf, said they were "either the most accessible or melodic band on a heavy bill or the heaviest band on a mixed rock bill – there is never any in-between". They have been categorised as death–disco, blackened punk ’n’ roll, punk rock,

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and heavy metal. They self-describe their music as "blackened

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

Members

*Nikki Brumen – lead vocals *Xavier Santilli – guitar, backing vocals *Dan Bonnici – bass, backing vocals *Matt Morasco – drums

Discography

;Albums *''Black Wash'' (2018) ;EPs *''Pagan'' (2015)

References

{{reflist Australian punk rock groups Australian heavy metal musical groups Australian disco musicians Musical groups established in 2013 Australian black metal musical groups 2013 establishments in Australia