Shihad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Wellington, New Zealand |
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| Genre(s) | Rock Industrial Rock |
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| Years active | 1988-present | |
| Website | www.shihad.com | |
| Members | ||
| Jon Toogood Phil Knight Karl Kippenberger Tom Larkin |
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| Former members | ||
| Hamish Laing Geoff Duncan |
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Shihad is an alternative rock and post heavy metal band (with elements of Industrial Rock) originally from Wellington, New Zealand, formed in 1988 by vocalist Jon Toogood and drummer Tom Larkin, who were still in school at the time. In 1999 the band relocated to Melbourne, Australia, where three of the members currently reside.
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[edit] History
The name "Shihad" was chosen after members of the band misheard "jihad" as "Shihad" in the 1984 David Lynch movie, Dune. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks the band decided to change their name due to the similarity between the band's name Shihad and the Arabic word jihad. At the 2002 Big Day Out music festival in Auckland, New Zealand they released t-shirts with 'Shihad' on them, and 'Remote' below, indicating that 'Remote' was to be the new name. However, due to this name being taken already, they settled on "Pacifier", which was a successful single from their album "The General Electric".
Their next album under the name Pacifier was widely considered to be overproduced and not quite Shihad's style.
On 17 September 2004, the band announced to the world that they would change their name back to Shihad. To quote the band, "The events surrounding the name change and our choice to be known as Pacifier are well documented. As much as we believed in what we were doing, and the reasons for doing it at the time – the truth is we were wrong." On an appearance on the Australian Broadcasting Commissions TV show 'Spicks and Specks', John Toogood talked about how band members don't usually have to consider holy war when thinking of a band name.
In an interview[1], Jon Toogood spoke about an event that contributed to their decision:
| “ | We were in America while it invaded Iraq and had to play at festivals that were supposedly `support the troops festivals' when we didn't believe in the war at all. That's what the song "All the Young Fascists" is about – the day we played Miami in front of 30,000 kids at this festival that was originally just a rock festival. A week out, just because of the timing, it was turned into the support the troops show and it was being simulcast live to Iraq. We were on this bill with these really ugly – what we call WWF – metal bands, and we were shitting ourselves.
I just wanted to get out of there. Beside the stage was a paintball gun alley where kids were lining up to shoot effigies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and (French president) Jacques Chirac. That was the weirdest one. The amount of times I actually pointed out to Americans the fact that their Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French and they were supposed to be mates. |
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The band name "Pacifier" was immediately raffled on the Australian radio station Triple J by Jay and the Doctor and was claimed by a little known band from Tasmania, Theory of Everything.
Shihad's latest album, "Love Is The New Hate", was released on 2 May 2005 to good reviews and sales. In New Zealand the album went gold in its first week of release and debuted at number two on the charts. The material on the album was more political than that of previous efforts, due to the experiences that they had in the USA.
Shihad supported "Love Is the New Hate" initially with dates in New Zealand, including the massive launch concert in Auckland's Aotea Square and an extensive tour of Australia and New Zealand, including a spot on the main stage at Splendour In The Grass in front of an estimated 20,000 people. In August and September 2005, Shihad performed a seventeen date co-headlining tour of Australia with Australian band Cog, dubbed "The Homeland Security Tour".
Shihad were on a New Zealand tour with the The Datsuns during the Christmas/New Years period 2006/07. They are now undertaking the process of making a new record. During the Shihad/Datsuns concert of Summer 06/07 Jon Toogood told the audience to expect a 2007 release of the album, which they have titled Beautiful Machine.
[edit] Music style
Shihad's music has always been rooted in metal. The album Churn has a pronounced industrial influence. Killjoy is considered their heaviest release, with heavy distorted riffs. The General Electric incorporates a lot of electronics and reflects the nu-metal popular at the time. Pacifier can easily be considered post-grunge or nu-metal, but Love is the New Hate is a shift to more alternative and punk rock.
[edit] Band members
[edit] Current
- Jon Toogood: vocals, guitars
- Phil Knight: guitars, backing vocals
- Karl Kippenberger: bass guitars, backing vocals
- Tom Larkin: drums, backing vocals, samplers
[edit] Former
- Hamish Laing: bass (left 1991)
- Geoff Duncan : bass (left 1989)
[edit] Discography
| Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | Chart | Certification | Catalog Number |
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| Albums | ||||||
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July 12, 1993 | Churn | Wildside Records | - | - | 3984297912 |
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May, 1995 | Killjoy | Wildside Records | - | - | 5331062 |
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October, 1996 | Shihad | Wildside Records | - | - | 3984297892 |
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September, 1999 | The General Electric | Wildside Records | - | - | 8573855052 |
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August 16, 2002 | Pacifier (as Pacifier) |
Wea Records, Warner Music Group | #1 NZ | Gold | 0927485792 |
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November 23, 2003 | Pacifier: Live (as Pacifier) |
Wea Records, Warner Music Group | - | - | 2564611272 |
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May 2, 2005 | Love Is the New Hate | Wea Records, Warner Music Group | #2 NZ | Platinum | 5046781282 |
| EPs | ||||||
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1990 | Devolve EP | - | - | ||
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1995 | Happy Families Tour | - | - | ||
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1996 | B-Sides | - | - | ||
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1998 | Blue Light Disco | - | - | ||
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2005 | Alive | - | - | ||
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Chart | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "I Only Said" | - | - | |
| 1994 | "Stations" | - | - | |
| 1994 | "Derail" | - | - | |
| 1995 | "You Again" | - | - | |
| 1995 | "Bitter" | - | - | |
| 1995 | "Gimme Gimme" | - | - | |
| 1996 | "Deb's Night Out" | - | - | |
| 1996 | "La La Land" | - | - | |
| 1996 | "It's A Go" | - | - | |
| 1997 | "A Day Away" | - | - | |
| 1997 | "Home Again" | - | - | |
| 1998 | "Yr Head Is A Rock" | - | - | |
| 1998 | "Ghost From The Past" | - | - | |
| 1999 | "My Mind's Sedate" | 81 | - | |
| 2000 | "The General Electric" | - | - | |
| 2000 | "Pacifier" | - | - | |
| 2000 | "Sport and Religion" (radio & television only) |
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| 2000 | "Bootleg: The Channel Z Tapes" | - | - | |
| 2002 | "Comfort Me" | 40 | - | |
| 2002 | "Run" | - | - | |
| 2003 | "Bullitproof" | 62 | - | |
| 2003 | "Everything" | - | - | |
| 2005 | "Alive" | 38 | - | |
| 2005 | "All The Young Fascists" | - | - | |
| 2005 | "Shot In The Head" | - | - | |
| 2005 | "Dark Times" (Radio & television only) |
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| 2006 | "None Of The Above" (television only) |
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