Amebix, formed in England in 1978 as "The Band with
No Name", were a band that many consider to have started the sub genre crust
punk. Their music, heavily influenced by Motörhead
(and to a lesser extent Lemmy-era Hawkwind), Black
Sabbath, and early Killing Joke, combined with
an ethos and worldview akin to Crass, represented their
non-traditional lifestyles.
Their music blended hardcore punk and heavy
metal into a form of early thrash metal. They were the forerunners
of crust punk and a thrash metal pioneer. Such notable bands as Sepultura, Neurosis,
Napalm
Death, and Deviated Instinct have paid homage
to the band.
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Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 Singles/EPs
- 2.3 Live
- 2.4 Demo
- 2.5 Compilation/Reissue
- 3 References
- 4 External
links
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History
Amebix was initially formed by Rob Miller (a.k.a. 'The Baron')
along with his brother Stig, Andy Billy Jug and Clive while in school
in Devon
in 1978. Initially referring to themselves as "The Band with No Name"
the band played extensively around the local area, during which time
they recorded a six-track demo tape. Using his role as part-time
columnist in a local paper Rob Miller gave a tape to Crass when they
played in Plymouth.
The track 'University Challenged' from this demo was then featured on
the first Crass Records Bullshit
Detector compilation LP.
After this the band replaced drummer Andy Billy Jug with
Martin, whose parents manor house in Dartmoor was then used to practice. It was
around this time that the band began to refer to themselves as
'Amebix', however Martin was removed by his parents from the band and
relocated to London where he suffered a breakdown and was diagnosed as
a Paranoid
Schizophrenic. The song "Largactyl" was written about Martin's
experience.
The band then recruited Norman as a synth player and decided
to relocate to Bristol,
living in a number of squats.
They recruited Disorder guitarist Virus to play
drums and finally had a semi-stable line-up.
This line-up would record the first 2 7"s (Who's the Enemy
EP and "Winter"). A fill-in synth player would appear on the 12" EP No
Sanctuary, and in 1984 they would acquire a new synth player,
George.
While recording the 'No Sanctuary' EP at Southern
Studios they met Jello Biafra of American punk band Dead
Kennedys and punk label Alternative Tentacles. They
became Tentacles' first UK signing with the Arise!
album in 1985. The final line-up would come together in 1985 with the
addition of Spider on drums.
They signed to Heavy Metal Records for the release of 1987's Monolith,
whose release/distribution difficulties led to the band eventually
splitting, although they were to continue touring, their final tour
ending in Sarejevo
before the collapse of Yugoslavia.
Spider, George, and Stig went on to perform in Zygote.
Vocalist Rob Miller now lives on the Isle
of Skye where he works as a self-taught swordsmith.
Discography
Albums
- Arise! LP (Alternative
Tentacles), 1985
- Monolith LP (Heavy Metal Records), 1987
Singles/EPs
- Who's the Enemy 7" EP (Spiderleg
Records), 1982
- "Winter" Single (Spiderleg Records), 1983
- No Sanctuary 12" EP (Spiderleg
Records), 1983
- The Power Remains 12" EP (Skuld
Releases) 1994
Live
- No Gods Live LP, 1985
- V Zivo - Live in Ljubljana Slovenia Live
Cassette, 1986
- No Masters Live LP, 1986
- Make Some Fucking Noise! (reissue of V
Zivo) LP (The Only Good Dealer is a Dead One Records), 1997
- Make Some Fucking Noise! CD (Arson
Records), 2003
Demo
- Demo, 1979
- Right to Ride Demo, 1987
Compilation/Reissue
- Monolith CD (Heavy Metal Records) 1996
- Beginning of the End bootleg
LP (contains all 3 Spiderleg releases) 1998
- Arise! +2 (Original Arise! album,
re-mastered, with the Right to Ride demo tracks)
CD/LP+7" (Alternative Tentacles), 2000
References
-
Metal Archives
-
Metal Archives
-
External links
