Superheist
Superheist are an Australian nu metal band formed in 1993 by mainstay guitarist and backing vocalist DW Norton. They have released five studio albums, the first two, The Prize Recruit and Identical Remote Controlled Reactions, reached the top 20 on the ARIA albums chart Four singles, "Crank the System", "Bullet", "7 Years" and "A Dignified Rage" peaked in the ARIA singles chart top 50. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 their producer-engineer Kalju Tonuma was nominated for Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year for The Prize Recruit. At the 2002 ceremony, Norton and Adam Rhodes were nominated for Engineer of the Year for "A Dignified Rage". They disbanded in 2004. After a twelve-year hiatus, Norton reformed Superheist with new members. Their third studio album Ghosts of the Social Dead reached No. 3 on the AIR Charts. They issued two non-charting studio albums, Sidewinder and MMXX. Founding drummer Sean Pentecost died in 2020.
History
Formation and early period (1993–1996)
Superheist were formed in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston, Victoria in 1993. The original line-up was Rod "Berger" McLeod on lead vocals, DW Norton on guitar and backing vocals, Sean "Seanheist" Pentecost on drums, Fetah Sabawi on keyboards and samples, and Adrian Sudborough on bass guitar. The band were originally to be named Orgheist, which was inspired by European grind core bands. Their main influences were Faith No More, Fear Factory and Limp Bizkit. The name was altered to Superheist, McLeod supplied the "Super" while Norton provided the "Heist". McLeod and Norton had met at Overport primary school in Frankston, Victoria in 1980 and later attended Frankston High School together. Sabawi also attended Frankston High. Pentecost was a mutual friend who worked at a local music store, Frankston Guitar Village, and had previously played with Norton, Mcleod and Sudborough in the alt rock band Big Pop Monsters.Superheist's first live performance was at the 21st Century Dance Club, Frankston supporting the Cosmic Psychos. In 1994 they issued a five-track extended play cassette, Apocalypse, which was recorded at Backbeach Studios in Rye, Victoria with Norton producing and released independently; it was later distributed via Warhead records, The band's early style was grindcore, à la Napalm Death, with synthesiser tones, samples and clean vocals amongst brutal blast beats and death growls. The band tempered their extreme metal with pop and nu-wave melodies and hook lines.
The EP received positive reviews and the band toured nationally. Later that year Sudborough was replaced on bass guitar by Adam "Donut" Donath. They continued touring, alongside In:Extremis, Damaged and Beanflipper. Superheist became a regular on Melbourne's grind scene and played at The GB and The Hell Club. In December 1995 they performed at the annual Metal for the Brain festival, Canberra, which raised funds for the National Brain Injury Foundation. They returned for the 1996 festival, but Pentecost had already left the group due to losing interest in extreme metal. Aaren "Suds" Suttil of Dreadnaught joined on drums.
''Chrome Matrix'' (1997–1998)
In September 1997, the band signed to Melbourne's Shock Records' subsidiary label Cutthroat and released a five-track EP, Chrome Matrix. This EP demonstrated their shift from grindcore to industrial style, death metal. More samples and clean vocals were introduced with greater emphasis on keyboards and loops. The band experimented with re-mixes on "Platinum Matrix". The track "Subhuman" showcased the versatility of McLeod's vocals and clever lyrics. The EP had two hidden tracks from Apocalypse, "Retarded Barbie" and "Perfect World". During the recording Donath severed his thumb in an industrial accident and was unable to finish his parts. The remaining bass guitar parts fwere completed by Norton, while Donath recovered. Local Melbourne artist Barney "Barnaby Butters" Hughes joined the group on bass guitar for several live shows.More line-up changes ensued with Suttil focussing on Dreadnaught so he was replaced on drums by Adam Messenger for live shows and recording tracks, "Times Killing" and "Pocket Full of Lies", which later appeared on a live album, New Rare Live. In late 1998, Pentecost rejoined the group on drums. Their new sound continued the shift away from grindcore and industrial death metal to a nu metal. They prepared material for another EP, 8 Miles High and developed Superheist's bouncing metal sound. The post Chrome Matrix work included early versions of "Karma", "Fluid" and "Syncin' In". Chris Ainsworth temporarily provided keyboards and samples while Sabawi travelled overseas. Superheist played shows along the east coast. The band struggled to maintain audience numbers at their live shows. Also in 1998 Superheist announced Simon "Si" Durrant, of In:Extremis, as the band's bass guitarist replacing Donath, who never regained his full playing ability.
''8 Miles High'' and the beginning of commercial success (1998–2000)
Sabawi returned to Australia in 1998 and rejoined the band. They released two singles, "Two-Faced " and "Karma" and performed on the Vans Warped Tour. Then they supported Fear Factory on their Australian east coast tour. In June 1999 Superheist toured nationally backing Sepultura, Durrant caused hundreds of dollars of damagein a hotel room in Brisbane. The band were investigated by Queensland Police and subsequently, Durrant left the band to return to Adelaide where he joined a short-lived project, Screwface:13. He was replaced in August by Melbourne session bass guitarist, Drew Dedman, who had met DW while recording bass tracks at Back Beach Recording studio. A brief East Coast and South Australian tour followed. With the band's sound changing, some fans struggled to connect with their new direction. Returning to Melbourne, they filmed their first music video for a proposed single, "Have Your Way". Although never officially released, it was distributed by Shock as promotion for the later releases.In October 1999, Superheist recorded a cover version of "Walls" by the Flowers at the ABC studios in South Melbourne. It was featured by national youth radio station Triple J on Australian music month, in November. The group supported the Screaming Jets, returned to Canberra for Metal for the Brainh and a handful of local and east coast shows. They performed at the 1999 Falls Festival, New Year's Eve, which had them showcase their new sound to a larger audience. At Shock Records, Shagpile label was discontinued and Superheist had neither the budget nor time to record new tracks with Dedman for a full studio album, so 8 Miles High had been down to eight tracks on an EP in January 2000. Although Dedman appeared on its artwork and was credited as bass player, all the bass tracks were played by either Durrant or Norton. The track "Pulse" received airplay on Triple J and was included on a various artists' compilation album, Full Metal Racket. Also in January, Dedman joined as a full-time member providing the band's rhythm section with a better sound.
8 Miles High tracks made an impact on the Australian alternative charts, "Pulse", "Two-Faced", "Karma" and "Have Your Way" received significant airplay. This led to a support slot for Grinspoon on their Australian tour in February 2000. This tour established the band on a national level. As a result they were signed by talent manager Gregg Donovan. "Pulse" was shelved as a single in favour of a remixed, re-released version of "Two Faced". The band had a music video filmed in Melbourne, however the single's cover used a new band logo, in the style of US nu-metal band, Limp Bizkit. This occurred without the band's permission and was removed from circulation upon the band's complaints. Superheist's relationship with Shock Records was severely tested by the label making poor decisions without consultation.
''The Prize Recruit'' (2000–2002)
In mid-2000 Superheist members began writing and recording their debut album, The Prize Recruit. Producer Kalju Tonuma,, worked at Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne. Vocals and overdubs for the album were recorded at a beach house in Portsea Victoria. "Crank the System" was released in November 2000 as its lead single and their first on Shock Records' new subsidiary, Pivotal. It peaked at No. 45 on the ARIA singles chart. "Bullet", the second single, appeared in March 2001, which also reached No. 45. It became a popular live track for Superheist. The Prize Recruit debuted at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. A reviewer for Rolling Stone described it as "what the new heavy breed should sound like". Theprp.com website's Wookubus felt the album is "a very lush and colorful ride that the listener can figuratively slip right through, with little to no snags. Sure there are a few moments where things become a little too overtly radio friendly or sound a bit commercially focused, but with the bulk of the material included representing an eclectic blend of energetic modern metal crunch, such things are easy enough to overlook".The album's third single, "Step Back"/"Slide", had less chart success, but it reached the top 100. In August Superheist supported Eminem at his Sydney and Melbourne concerts. They played to over 25,000 people in two nights; their popularity was high and they undertook a 40 show Australian tour. At the 2001 ARIA Music Awards Tonuma was nominated for Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year for his work on the album. In March of the following year, a Shock Records representative claimed they had spent $250–300,000 on it and despite sales approaching 35,000 units they were short of covering expenses. In mid-2001 Superheist announced their first US tour was due from late October. With US management provided by Gary Avila or Bigtime Management Paparoach, they based themselves in West Hollywood. The group performed at SIR Studios in Hollywood for record executives and journalists. The band played a tight and energetic set. Onlookers were impressed and over the next few weeks a bidding war began for a US recording deal. With commitments back in Australia, they returned home on 5 September 2001. However due to the September 11 attacks all negotiations with perspective record labels were delayed until February 2002. By then, interest in Superheist had dissipated: they had missed their opportunity.
Norton moved their sound away from "rap rock" to a more straight rock metal sound, which annoyed McLeod. McLeod distanced himself from fellow members. In a meeting with management, McLeod stated he would "only play the big shows and the band would be dropped by the record company should he decide to leave". In mid-November Superheist were due to tour with the Channel V Music Bus. The night before, the band played at Berwick youth centre. Mcleod claimed to be unwell and refused to perform, the event was sold out and other band members refused to cancel their show. They found a replacement vocalist, Joey Biro. Biro pleased the crowd and band. McLeod refused to attend the Channel V Music Bus tour so Superheist invited Biro to replace him. Biro and the band toured through regional Victoria and New South Wales. Fellow band members believed that McLeod no longer shared their commitment; after consultation with management and record label, McLeod was fired and permanently replaced by Biro. In the following year, Bridget Porich of Ozmusic Central reflected on the transition, "the vocal similarity is quite outstanding and few bands manage to sustain the same amount of talent, success and fans after the change of a lead man."