Damaged (band)
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Damaged was a heavy metal band from Ballarat in Victoria, Australia that was formed in 1989 by drummer Matt "Skitz" Sanders. The line-up was completed by bass player Jason Parker (aka "Mohawk") and vocalist James Ludbrook. Guitarists Jarrod Bongiorno and Paul Meddick were also members briefly before Chris Hill (aka "Hilly") and Mat Silcock joined the group. Damaged referred to its brand of music as "Hate Core" [1], possibly best described as a violent mixture of grindcore, death metal, black metal and hardcore punk.
In 1992 the band's first demo "The Art of Destroying Life" appeared with the album Do Not Spit appearing the next year. The album's unceasing and relentless mixture of extreme styles and savage riffs combined with an exhausting drumming performance and Ludbrook's rapid fire hard-rhyming vocal style found instant appeal with Australian metal audiences and is still held up as a definitive moment for the country's small underground metal scene to the present. In 1994 Damaged toured with Cannibal Corpse and while their extreme style made them a favourite with crowds, relationships within the band were always volatile. Silcock was fired in 1996 and at almost the same time a dispute with label Black Hole Records led to Damaged disbanding. Hill joined Melbourne band Discordia while Sanders toured Europe as drummer with Sadistik Exekution as well as playing in Abramelin and formed a black metal band called Engraved with members of Melbourne bands Earth and Anatomy, for which he was the vocalist.
The split only lasted a short time however as the band was approached by US label Rotten Records and offered a five album deal. Reforming without Silcock, Damaged released the Token Remedies Research album and finished the year with a performance at the Metal For The Brain festival. Early the following year, the band toured Australia with Entombed but the reunion was almost cut short when Ludbrook was fired in the middle of a tour a few months later. Brendan Birge from the death metal band Earth joined Damaged as Ludbrook's replacement but found the constant tensions within the group difficult and resigned in mid-1999. Parker also left and Damaged continued only as a recording project with Sanders and Hill providing a track for the all-Australian double heavy metal CD Under the Southern Cross.
Late in 1999 former Brutal Truth vocalist Kevin Sharp joined the Damaged line-up, confirming a rumour that had surrounded the band for some months. In mid-2000 the album Purified in Pain emerged, featuring bass contributions by Terry Vainoras of Melbourne death metal band Order of Chaos. With Eddy Lacey of Melbourne thrash band The Wolves filling in as the group's bass player, Damaged embarked on a national tour in December. Sharp's relationship with the band ended after this and Damaged went into hiatus for some time. Hill remained active as a member of a band called Running With Scissors and Sanders recorded an album entitled Lords of Eternity with his black metal band, now named Hellspawn.
With Parker returning to the line-up and ex-Uncle Chunk singer Dave Saddington taking over the vocalist role, Damaged began playing live again in mid-2003. A short national tour in the band's own right was followed by supporting Sepultura's national tour and the year ended for Damaged by headlining Metal for the Brain.
Damaged played its final performances in January 2004. Citing a serious health condition, Sanders dissolved the band. In March 2004 Hill confirmed that Damaged had ended, claiming that he and the remaining members would continue under another name but as of September 2006 this appears to have not occurred.
Shortly after ending Damaged, Sanders joined a new hardcore band called Walk The Earth that featured Ludbrook and Superheist guitarist DW Norton. After an EP and a short spate of tours that included shows with Slipknot and Mudvayne, Ludbrook left and the band folded in mid-2005. The singer quickly announced plans to reform Damaged with Sanders; however, in early 2006 the pair announced their new band would instead be called Terrorust. Terrorust has since released a full-length album, entitled Post Mortal Archives.
Contents |
[edit] Members
Matt "Skitz" Sanders (drums) (1989 - 2004)
James "Mohawk" Parker (bass) (1989 - 1999, 2003 - 2004)
Chris "Hilly" Hill (guitar) (1991 - 2004)
Dave Saddington (vocals) (2003 - 2004)
[edit] Former Members
Kevin Sharp (vocals) (2000 - 2001)
James Ludbrook (vocals) (1989 - 1996, 1997)
Mat Silcock (guitar) (1989 - 1996)
Chris Wallace (vocals)
[edit] Discography
Art of Destroying Life (Demo)
Do Not Spit (Black Hole) 1993
Passive Backseat Demon Engines (EP) (Black Hole) 1995
Satisfaction? (single) (Black Hole) 1995
Token Remedies Research (Rotten) 1997
Purified in Pain (Rotten) 2000
Do Not Spit/Passive Backseat Demon Engines (re-issued on Rotten Records, 2002)
