Thrash or F**k Off - Australian Thrash Metal

13/10/2023

Happy Friday the 13th! It's been a minute or two.

Looks like a sequel to the New Zealand metal horror/comedy classic Deathgasm is finally on the cards!

Help make Deathgasm 2 happen by supporting their crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter! Help the producers reach their fund goal and get yourself a sick merch bundle, your name in the credits, or even a prop from the film!

Campaign closes October 24. Get amongst it!

Sequel to the cult 2015 film Deathgasm.

18/01/2020

Early live photos of Bezerker, 1988-1989

(Source: Bezerker page)

17/01/2020

Early posters for METAL OVER BRISBANE shows, 1984 to 1986.

15/01/2020

The Great Unsigned - Teaser

It's been amazing to see more independent filmmakers are coming forward and documenting Australia's rich (yet overlooked) history of heavy music.

Here's a shout-out to ESCAPE: THE GREAT UNSIGNED, an upcoming documentary film about legendary 1980s Adelaide metallers ESCAPE.

No release date has been announced yet, but follow Escape: The Great Unsigned page for details.

Promotional teaser for the documentary 'The Great Unsigned'. Just to give potential funding bodies an idea of how the proposed film will look and work. No at...

14/01/2020

Mortal Sin

Our first International tour back in January 1990 - 30 freaking years ago!!! Hammersmith Odeon, legendary metal venue!

14/01/2020

Thrash or F**k Off - Chapter 3: Across the Board...

Chapter 3 of "Thrash or F**k Off" is now online.

Titled "Across the Board...", this third episode focuses on the bands that emerged from some of the smaller cities around Australia, from the "Big 3 of Adelaide" to Metal Over Brisbane. This episode also looks into how those smaller scenes managed to thrive during the 1980s despite isolation from the major centres of Sydney and Melbourne.

While the Melbourne and Sydney thrash scenes were in full swing, another wave of bands started to emerge from the cities of Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and ...

12/01/2020

Due to a technical issue the third episode of "Thrash or F**k Off" will not be shown tonight as announced.

The new episode will go live at 7pm AEST tomorrow night instead.

We apologise for the delay.

08/01/2020

The festive season has passed, and this week we're adding the finishing touches to "Thrash or F**k Off" Episode 3 which will be online this Sunday evening.

Now that we've covered the prominent Melbourne and Sydney scenes, this third episode will look at all the other other scenes that emerged in Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth from 1987 to 1991. This episode will also focus on how some of these smaller scenes struggled to develop due to isolation from Australia's larger cities.

EDIT: This episode has been delayed until Monday night (January 12) at 7pm AEST due to technical issues on our end. We apologise for the delay.

07/01/2020

Mason Official

It is with regret that we announce that Grant Burns has decided to leave Mason and will no longer be our Guitarist moving forward. Grant has been with Mason since the release of the Unmerciful EP and the Impervious record.. he was a crucial part of the bands journey and helped achieve some of our greatest milestones to date. We’re very proud of the music we created and all of the hard work and dedication that he put into the band, but unfortunately he has chosen not to continue on with Mason.

With that being said we will continue to move forward and would like to announce the re-birth of our ORIGINAL band mate Ryan Butler. Ryan will bring a new hunger and focus to the band and we’re super stoked to have him back in the family. Not only is he an extremely talented guitarist but an amazing person and we’re truely excited to hit the stage with him again.

All of our booked dates for Australia/Japan will happen as planned and we will be in the studio recording new music in 2020, you can count on that!

Much love,
James, Nonda, Steve, Ryan, Grant

03/01/2020

Can we take a moment to appreciate how rad Massappeal's poster art is?

02/01/2020

2020 is already looking promising with so many killer shows and tours on the horizon...

- DRI & Hirax
- Sacred Reich & Vio-Lence
- Artillery (also headlining Churches of Steel IV)
- Venom Inc & Exciter

Which shows are you going to this year?

31/12/2019

As 2019 draws to a close, we want to say thanks to everyone for supporting this webseries so far! You know who you all are.

We were very humbled by all the feedback to the first two chapters, and we're very keen to release the next round of episodes in early 2020. We hope you enjoy them.

Have a killer new year, everyone. Keep on thrashing.

Liam, Chalky & Scott

28/12/2019

BEZERKER: LOST (1989)

Give this killer album a spin in memory of Michael. 🤘

28/12/2019

Utopia Records

KEEPING MUSIC EVIL SINCE 1978

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US ALERT!!!

December 28th 1978 a little hole in the wall store opened in Challis Arcade Martin Place with the idea of specialising in the HARD ROCK and HEAVY METAL of the day, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Van der Graaf Generator, Blue Oyster Cult etc.

At the time we were laughed at as this type of music really wasn't that big here and with Disco and New Wave rapidly taking over the knives were out and people were predicting a very early death for the boys in black.

41 years later we are still here defying the odds and thanks to our WONDERFULLY, AMAZING, PASSIONATE, LOYAL CUSTOMERS we will be here for many years to come...

In a cruel twist of fate we now share this day each year with the anniversary of the death of one of our all time heroes Lemmy Kilmister Motörhead Official Motörhead who passed away four years ago today. Expect to hear BOMBER, OVERKILL and ACE OF SPADES playing louder than hell if you visit this weekend...

INFINITE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER SPENT A CENT WITH US.

Utopia Records, Far beyond driven kings of metal, masters of reality and powerslaves of the lucid collective in denim and leather screaming for vengeance, riding the lightning and rusting in peace on the left hand path with the
creatures of the night whilst shouting at the devil and
reigning in blood in the nightside eclipse on the highway to hell until morningrise since 1978

27/12/2019

We have just received word that Michael Heslop, guitarist and founding member of Adelaide thrashers Bezerker has sadly passed away.

We had the pleasure of chatting and getting to know Michael during the production of this series. Michael was a funny, cheery and talented guitarist who loved sharing stories about the early Adelaide metal scene of the 1980s.

The following episode of Thrash or F**k Off focuses prominently on the early Adelaide scene and will be dedicated in Michael's honour.

R.I.P. Michael. We will miss you, mate.

(Photo credits: Mal Caporn & Bezerker page)

26/12/2019

Thrash or F**k Off - Chapter 2: Sydney Sinners

Episode 2: Sydney Sinners

Following on from the first episode. In 1985 a new group of heavy bands are emerging from another major Australian city, Sydney. A local band establishes a strong following overseas from the strength of a demo, while Metallica becomes one of the first major metal acts from overseas to tour Australia.

In 1985, a new group of heavy bands are emerging from another major Australian city. A local band establishes a strong following overseas from the strength o...

26/12/2019

Thrash Or F**k Off - Chapter 1: The Old School

Episode 1: The Old School

Opening the series in early 1980s Melbourne, where a young group of bands inspired by punk rock and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal are finding themselves at odds with Australian pub rock audiences. Meanwhile, a small record store is opening downtown laying the foundations for Australia's metal community.

Early 1980s Melbourne, where a young group of bands inspired by punk rock and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal are finding themselves at odds with Austral...