Our Last Enemy
Our Last Enemy is an Australian industrial metal band.[1]
Our Last Enemy | |
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Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | Industrial metal, alternative metal, metalcore |
Years active | 2006 - Present |
Labels | Eclipse Records |
Associated acts | Fear Factory, Genitorturers, Witchgrinder |
Website | www.ourlastenemy.com |
Members | Oliver Fogwell Matt Heywood Wade Norris Frank Macri |
The band was formed in 2006 by Oliver Fogwell, Jeff Ritchie and Matt Heywood. The band would go through several guitarists and keyboardists from 2007 before being joined by Bizz and Zot on guitars and drums respectively.
The band has worked and played with bands that include Fear Factory, Static X, Dope, Hanzel Und Gretyl, SOiL, Genitorturers, Mnemic, God Forbid and Fozzy.
History
Pariah, 2014 – Present.
The band has been extremely busy, recently signing with Eclipse Records. On 11 March 2014 the new album Pariah was released throughout North America.
Fallen Empires, 2009 – 2013
During this period it was announced that Our Last Enemy would be relocating from Sydney to Los Angeles for 3 months to record their debut album with producer Christian Olde Wolbers of Fear Factory fame (God Forbid, Threat Signal, Mnemic).
While recording in Los Angeles the band also lived with producer Christian Olde Wolbers.
Also, during this period, Our Last Enemy became the first Australian band to work with famed publicist Kelli Wright, were signed to Australian Heavy Metal label Riot! Entertainment with distribution through Warner Music Group and Bizz of U.S. industrial band Genitorturers joined as guitarist.
The album took close to 3 months to record, and was recorded at the famed Temple Studios which is Co-owned by B-Real of Cypress Hill and Raymond Herrera of Fear Factory.
The album was distributed by major label Warner Music in Australia.
‘Fallen Empires’ was released in Australia in October 2010 through Riot!/Warner in Australia, and has received a favorable response from critics, noting the sound quality and the musical range of the band. Upon its digital release in April 2011, the album debuted at Number 1 on the Australia iTunes Metal Charts, one of the first local metal bands to do this.
To coincide with the release of Fallen Empires Our Last Enemy embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The band had also planned to tour Japan in 2011 but with the national disaster in Japan, these plans have been put on hold, with the band now looking towards heading back the United States.
The band released a video clip for 10,000 Headless Horses in early May 2011 shot by The Blackley Brothers and they are currently working on a follow up E.P. to Fallen Empires during their extensive touring schedule and then will put their efforts towards a full-length album to follow in 2012.
The band self-released an EP called Wolves Of Périgord on 26 March 2012 and it debuted at Number 2 on the Australia iTunes Metal Charts, just missing out on a second number 1 to the new Meshuggah album released the same week.
The band followed this up by expanding on its interest in electronic music and previous experiments with remix's by releasing the album 'Engineering The Enemy' which featured remixes of their songs by artists such as Mortiis, Angel (Dope/Team Cybergeist), Travis Neal (Divine Heresy), Dismantled, Angelspit, The Berzerker and Shiv-r (Metropolis Records). The album debuted at Number 2 on the Australian iTunes Metal Charts making it a third straight top 3 release for the band.
Early years and "…Is Death" 2006–2009
Our Last Enemy was formed in 2006 through the dissolution of the members previous bands. According to an interview with Vocalist Oliver Fogwell, during this period the band wrote and jammed for close to 6 months before playing their first show.
During 2008 Our Last Enemy entered the studio to record the cult E.P "…Is Death". …Is Death is a play on the meaning of the band's name, ‘our last enemy is death’. ‘…Is Death’ was a 6-song E.P containing 3 original songs (10,000 Headless Horses, Decoy and Cold & Alone) and also featured 3 remixes of 10,000 Headless Horses from leading DJs from the Sydney underground industrial dance scene, which led to many crossover sales of ‘…Is Death’ for the band and contributed to its cult status within the Sydney music scene.
It has also been stated by Bassist Matt Heywood that the last copy of "… Is Death" was given to Vas Kallas of Hanzel Und Gretyl.
Our Last Enemy also toured the east coast of Australia extensively during this time, solidifying their name in cities outside of their native home of Sydney.
Tearing Down The Empire Tour AUS 2011
Our Last Enemy are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with within the Australian heavy music scene thanks to their unique blend of industrial metal and intense live stage show. The band's debut EP sold out of all 3 pressings and a legion of passionate fans soon followed, with a heavy touring schedule and coveted international supports for Static X, Dope, Hanzel und Gretyl and SOiL.
The debut record ‘Fallen Empires’ was released via Riot! Entertainment/Warner Music. It was one of 2010’s most anticipated local metal releases with media reviews being unanimous in their praise of the album's world class production and killer tracks, setting up the band on a level playing field with their overseas contemporaries.
With new members, guitarist Bizz from cult Florida band Genitorturers (featuring David Vincent from Morbid Angel) and The Undead (ex Misfits) and new keyboardist Craig (Grimthor), the band had just completed their most ambitious tour to date to celebrate the launch of their debut full length ‘Fallen Empires’ throughout Australia, New Zealand, and with Asia/Euro/US dates.
2019 Album
The band are working on a new album to be mixed by DW Norton of Superheist which is planned for a late 2019 release.
Band members
Current Lineup [2]
Oliver Fogwell (vocals)
Matt Heywood (bass/backing vocals)
Wade Norris (guitars/samples)
Frank Macri (drums)
Discography
Albums:
- Fallen Empires 2011
- Pariah (Eclipse) 2014
EPs:
- Our Last Enemy (Independent) 2007
- Wolves of Périgord (Riot!) 2012
References
- Brian Giffin - 2015 Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal - Page 2213 0994320612 OUR LAST ENEMY ...
- "Our Last Enemy official Facebook page". Retrieved 14 June 2019.
http://www.voltagemedia.com.au/news/2010/10/20/our-last-enemy-dawn-heist-and-recoil, http://www.voltagemedia.com.au/news/2011/02/24/our-last-enemy-checks,
http://musicfeeds.com.au/features/our-last-enemy-tearing-it-down-one-more-time/,
http://www.timeoff.com.au/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6885:our-last-enemy&catid=10:sixpack&Itemid=9, http://www.timeoff.com.au/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7249:our-last-enemy&catid=10:sixpack&Itemid=9,
http://www.sludgefactory.com.au/our-last-enemy-ripping-it-and-tearing-it-down, http://www.loudmag.com.au/content/our-last-enemy-building-an-empire,
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/our-last-enemy-signs-with-eclipse-records/ http://www.eclipserecords.com/our-last-enemy