Lamb of God

The groove-metallers formed in 1994, under the name Burn the Priest. The band decided to change their name in late 1999 to avoid being mistaken for a satanic metal band - wise move! After several line-up changes, the band currently comprises of Randy Blythe (vocals), Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar), John Campbell (bass) and Chris Adler (drums). The band have been compared to Pantera, Testament and described as “the leaders of the pack” of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal Movement which includes bands such as Biohazard, Slipknot and Machine Head. Bassist John Campbell has described the band as “a punk band that plays heavy metal”.

In 2000, Lamb of God released their first album under their new name, entitled “New American Gospel”, which was met with positive reviews. Following in 2003 was “As the Palaces Burn”, which was swiftly followed in 2004 by “Ashes of the Wake”, now under new record label Epic Records. It was their highest grossing album up to that point, selling over 35,000 copies in its first week and debuting at number 27 on the Billboard 200 in the US. “Laid to Rest” is the most well-known song from the album, due in part to its appearance in the videogame “Guitar Hero 2” as a playable track.

Lamb of God released their fifth album “Sacrament” in August 2006, which was met with rave reviews from critics and debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200. The band appeared on several major tours in support of the album, including “The Unholy Alliance” tour with Slayer, Mastodon and Children of Bodom, a co-headline tour with Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and DevilDriver and Gigantour, supporting Megadeth. They also played the main stage at Ozzfest and at Download Festival. In 2009, the band released their sixth album “Wrath” under yet another new record label, Roadrunner Records. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200. During this time, the band were touring the world as first support to Metallica.

Songs by Lamb of God have frequently appeared in films and videogames, including “Hit the Wall” which was featured in the Iron Man 2 and Splatterhouse games. “Walk with Me in Hell” is featured on the soundtrack for the film Saw III. The band has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, the first in 2010 when they lost out to Judas Priest and again in 2011, losing this time to Iron Maiden.

The band released their seventh album “Resolution” in 2012 and also released a documentary entitled “As The Palaces Burn” which were both met with positive reviews.

Thy Art is Murder started in 2006 in Blacktown by vocalist vocalist Brendan van Ryn, guitarists Gary Markowski and Sean Delander, bassist Josh King and drummer Lee Stanton. They released their demo entitled “This Hole Isn’t Deep Enough for the Twelve of You” and released an EP in 2008 called “Infinite Death.” The band set out on extensive touring and after two years van Ryn departed the band; unfortunately it took a year for the band to find another lead singer, Chris “CJ” McMahon. Also, bassist Mick Lowe replaced King early in 2010.

On 16 July 2010 Thy Art is Murder released their first full-length album entitled “The Adversary.” In 2011 founding member and lead guitarist Gary Markowski departed from the band and Delander decided to switch from guitar to bass, making way for Andy Marsh and Tom Brown on guitar. After touring in Europe, the band went back into the studio to record “Hate” which they released on 18 October 2012. “Hate” debuted at number 35 on the Aria Charts and reached number 1 on AIR. After the release of the album, the band set out on tour and made a number of appearances at music festivals. In early 2014 the band made headlines when McMahon encouraged fans to get onstage during their set on Brisbane leg of theSoundwave Festival tour resulting in the band getting dropped from the tour. This however, did not stop their forward movement and they continued to travel and play their live gigs.