THRASHED

Outsiders who may not be acquainted with the world of ‘riff’ probably still believe the abundance of misconceptions that plague a metal band. They’ve obviously never met Sutherland Shire lads, THRASHED.

“Todd [Ridgway] plays the bagpipes. That’s not very heavy metal,” laughs guitarist Scott Dent. “Maybe the drummer [Sean ‘Blinky’ Sullivan, leads the most metal life], because he doesn’t really listen to much other music. I mean he listens to gangsta rap but that’s pretty heavy metal anyway. But no one prays to Satan or anything like that.”

It’s apparent from talking to Dent that THRASHED are the ultimate modern metal band. With Ridgway, Sullivan, Dent and rhythm guitarist Ben Field starting the band during high school, it was only when they recruited the gnarly vocals of Tim Davis that they began to take things seriously. Though Dent describes the progress they’ve made so far as “dizzying”, he explains how their sound has evolved:

“We have so many different influences of heavy music that it was only last year, after releasing a full-length CD, we realised that every song sounded like a different type of rock,” he says. “So instead of trying to write by whatever is influencing us at the time, we put boundaries around it a little bit more.”

These guys have played a handful of mental shows around Sydney that saw them hit number one on the Triple J Unearthed Metal chart.

“We haven’t really jumped in a van and done a full-on tour,” Dent points out. “I think in this day and age, with social media particularly, you don’t really need to do that so much. You can kind of get away with holding off.”

But that doesn’t mean that the shows have been anything less than memorable.

“When it’s packed and the mosh is going it’s high energy for sure, that’s the main thing that we try to bring,” he says. “But I think most of the people in the crowd know each other, they’re just there to get drunk. They push each other into tables; it’s crazy!”

With a rising profile and a legion of horn-yielding fans there’s just one more thing that Scott Dent says will shoot this ball of shredding fury into the stratosphere.

“When some kind of management deal comes along, then we can focus 100 per cent and fuck everything else, like work,” he enthuses. “But at the moment, we’re just waiting for that opportunity. Now it’s just balancing work life and band life.” (CD)

Aug 17, Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, 50 Hunter St, Sydney, free (18+ only), frankiespizzabytheslice.com