Connecting NT Musicians
Heavy Metal Territory: an interview with Top End Terror's Nico Liengme.
Metal is alive and well in the Territory if website Top End Terror is anything to go by.
As it currently stands TET is a labour of love for Liengme who runs the site pretty much on a voluntary basis. But it’s a labour of love with legs. Grown out of a desire to unite metal bands and fans in the community, Liengme has also given a lot of thought about where the site could go – and how to get there.
TopEndTerror includes photo galleries veritably bulging with pics from local gigs, up-to-date flyers and posters, a network of contacts, bands and musicians, news on upcoming gigs, videos, a Forum and more. A concerted effort to validate what is perhaps the most misunderstood of all musical genres is evident, as are ambitions to make it a vibrant online resource for bookers and interstate touring bands alike.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on TET – or even the Music NT Forum membership – you might have noticed that metal is a growing aspect of the NT music industry. These blokes (yes it’s mostly blokes in the metal scene) are no slouches, actively organising gigs, artwork, posters and getting the word out to audiences and other bands, specially using online platforms. Metal in the Territory has more of a history and heritage than you might think, a fact that Top End Terror actively works to celebrate.
So will Top End Terror last? What is its true purpose, is it working and do the old prejudices against metal music still apply even in the Top End, a place that prides itself on being the most outlaw and extreme frontier in Australia?
Nico Liengme shouts it out loud…
Pictured right, Nico Liengme, playing with Abysm. Pic by Tom Bastard.
Music NT: Top End Terror – was there a need for this website? How did it come about?
Nico Liengme: Top End Terror is the end result of something I started working on nine years ago back in highschool. At the time the local metal crowd was solid - you could catch bands like Quilters Bane, Demise or Aftershok most weekends down at Brown’s Mart or the NTMC's Uni gigs. Even Heat was still hosting the Noonamah parties. I'd seen websites dedicated to individual city metal scenes - Metal in Adelaide, Perth's Western Front etc. so I figured with Darwin's heavy metal scene so lively, we might as well have an online presence.
I was dabbling with web design, working on a fan page for Quilter's Bane, and figured I could do a Darwin metal scene website. I mocked up a layout and took it to a few bands. They liked the idea but suggested I open it up to the rock, punk and alternative bands that most metal bands were sharing stages with at the time.
Anyway, things turned sour when the NTMC stopped hosting gigs, the Noonamah parties started attracting too much police attention, and there didn't seem to be many alternatives around town. The bands started breaking up, with members moving South to try their hands in a more supportive environment. So the need for a website diminished, and I stopped development and busied myself playing in a band and writing an underground metal fanzine.
Ultimately the site as it has grown now, is a re-imagining of that old idea that I hope will help to build a community around local performing bands, and to help prospective musicians get in touch with one another for jams and projects, just to keep everyone in touch and moving in the same direction.
Left, Matty Nicholls, Vicious Apathy, pic Nico Liengme.
MuNT; Is it a volunteer-basis website? Meaning is it a DIY project or do you get some sponsorship support?
NL: Right now the only people getting paid are the bands that play the shows, which is the way it will stay for the foreseeable future. The only money to be made is at the door at gigs, and a bit of merch. But our long term goal is to harness local businesses to help support our endeavors with sponsorship and the like. There are already some projects in the works for this, the result of which we should see early next year.
MuNT: What kind of ‘functions does TopEndTerror.com fulfill for the users? And how many bands are on your website?
NL: Right now the site is very band-centered with about two-thirds of the users playing in bands. Functionally speaking we hope to help bands get their stuff out there. If a band were to release a demo, we'd run a feature interview with them, including some audio downloads, live videos, photos - the whole shebang. But ultimately it's about the fans being exposed to this stuff - knowing what's on their doorstep and when and where to catch gigs.
There are sixteen active bands listed on the site of which eleven are strictly metal and eleven are 'live-ready'.
MuNT: With grind-core, thrash, speed metal, heavy metal, metal-rock… There are so many sub-genres within this genre of contemporary music. How do you personally define ‘metal’?
NL: Just about anything that makes you want to bang your head! Actually that's a blatant generalisation; there's plenty of experimental stuff out there that you could only bang your head to if your neck existed in eight dimensions. Anything that invokes Babylon...
Right, Liam from Shrapnel at 'Northern Thrash Attack', pic by Renee Warland.
MuNT: Can you give us more of an insight into metal culture in the Territory? What kind of music do these bands play, what kind of people are involved in the bands - a snapshot of your membership would be great…
NL: There's a lot of interest from kids - highschoolers and such. Some of them are younger dudes playing with older guys who've been in bands before, some are just playing with schoolmates who are into the same bands. I think a good deal of the old guard moved away from Darwin or just gave up after the scene collapsed at the end of the 90s. But those that are still around have been active. For example, Amagon is comprised of blokes who've been in this town a good deal of their lives and while they have played metal for most of it, they’ve never played in a metal band.
Vicious Apathy are the longest-running currently active band. They're all in their early 20s, so that's fairly indicative. Those blokes have just hit their stride - they're totally on top of their game right now, it's a pleasure seeing them perform.
As for metal culture, Darwin is unique. The old Noonamah parties used to be great for that - they were simply wild, primal nights of fire, dust, loud bands and beer. You'd wake up in the morning with a mouth full of ash, blood and dust and want to do it all over again. Darwin doesn't need big flashy venues for metal to thrive in, it just needs land and a road to get there. Oh, and power.
MuNT: What’s the reception to metal in the Territory? Does it ‘fit the mold’ or are the usual discriminations in place against it as a valid music genre?
NL: We're pretty much relegated to the (ever-wonderful!) Happy Yess. I happen to love the place, it's as cosy and intimate as you can get. But when it's the only venue that will take us without laying down a lot of cash, it can be a bit of a squeeze.
There was some good work done by [former venue, then promoter] Bloodshed to get Time Nightclub to host regular metal shows, but the costs make it extremely difficult to sustain.
The Territory is a place of extremes, so extreme music isn't all that far out. There are plenty of folk who've been listening to Metallica or Slayer for years who just want to see a bit of live metal. There's definitely a demand for it, but for venues to see opportunities beyond cover bands will take a bit of work.
MuNT: How did you come to be in the Territory – given that your band Shrapnel is Queensland based?
NL: How I came to be in QLD is the stranger thing! I lived in Darwin for 10 years, did most of my growing up here, and never thought I'd move - but wound up in Brisbane after some things went rotten for me up here. I moved back here earlier this year after having spoken to my mate Adam who told me about this shed he was living in out in Berrimah. He told me this place was in the middle of an industrial area - no neighbours - and they were hosting metal parties with live bands every month, called ‘Bloodshed’. It all sounded a bit utopian, so I decided to move up here to move in with him and help him build on it, as well as start a band with him. When I got here though, things had changed and it was made fairly clear that neither Adam nor I would have anything to do with Bloodshed.
I've been working with Shrapnel since mid 2007 as well as a handful of other bands on the backburner. We'd already talked about doing shows in Darwin in late ‘08, but instead we broke up. Shrapnel is a pretty volatile project, we've already split and reformed about five times, but when an idea comes along we're usually happy to regroup and work towards a goal. So after I'd set myself up here, I pitched it to them that Darwin shows wouldn't be too hard to organise, and they agreed to come along for the ride.
Left, Justin, Phoebe & Liam at 'Northern Thrash Attack', pic by Renee Warland.
MuNT: What kind of response have you had from both the bands here who use the Top End Terror site, and the ‘punters’ who use it? Has it been successful in getting word out about gigs and therefore assist in getting bigger audiences showing up?
NL: Hard to say right now.. The Thrash Attack shows were the first round, and they were pretty well advertised around town. The bands dig the site, and as our next upgrades go live in a month or so bands will have more control over the content that's up there, including photos, videos, audio and news. Hopefully that will attract a few more fans to get involved in the discussion.
MuNT:What are your ambitions for the site? And how quickly has it grown?
NL: Growth has been steady. we've currently got 22 users on our forum and we've just hit 100 fans on Facebook. That's over about 2 months, so there's plenty of time - and room - to grow.
Ambitions mostly relate to local bands - getting them to start putting content up about themselves, stuff like news and songs and videos. And of course getting more punters on there discussing local bands and shows.
MuNT: There’s a pretty big presence of ‘hard music’-to-metal band members on the MuNT Forum – does that mean the metal scene in the NT is bigger than people realise? Is it growing?
NL: It's certainly bigger than most people realise mostly due to the lack of high profile gigs and bands. And the younger crowd tend to be pretty quick on the button with any way of promoting themselves through technology, so online forums and groups is where they'll head.
It's definitely growing. A hell of a lot faster than I expected as well. When I first arrived here in February there were maybe four bands that I knew about and within a couple of weeks three more had come out of the woodwork. And there's a few bands that are in hiatus as well... waiting to find drummers...
MuNT: Do you think the Territory a place that is ‘conducive’ to metal? If so, why?
NL: Extreme music for extreme climates. And extreme alienation.
MuNT: The stereotype that often dogs metal fans (aka “metalheads”) is they are all dumb, bogan, violent and brain-damaged in some way. It might surprise people to know just how organised metal bands are with their websites, marketing, getting gigs together – and also, more often than not, how articulate the musicians can be, with a real sense of history for their music… Is that your experience too? And how do you combat that kind of blind prejudice?
NL: It's a metalhead's prerogative to be dismissive of other people's assumptions. I think the perception about heavy metal fans and bands will remain as it always has in society, and that's okay. Heavy metal isn't for
everyone. It appeals to different people for different reasons - sometimes primal, sometimes abstract, but metal will never appeal from a core aesthetic point. The one thing that does the most amount of damage to
metal's reputation is the modern mainstream and the industry that "supports" (read 'pimps') it.
That said though, we do seem to be going through a media-driven ‘revival’, in the form of videogames like Brutal Legend and Guitar Hero, and TV shows like Metalocalypse. Not my thing, personally.
MuNT: You’ve set up a website dedicated to keeping metal culture in the NT healthy and thriving. What is the appeal of metal for you, personally?
NL: Hey, it's just another style of music for me, albeit one I've been listening to the longest and one I see with the most amount of neglected potential in Darwin. The website's just a small part of it - along with other new-media tools like Facebook - to try and gather together a community in a central space to work towards a similar goal. Right now I'm just offering opportunities - gigs, photo shoots, artwork, anything to help improve bands' profile. Future ventures might include venues, sponsorship and touring interstate bands. But none of that can happen if the bands are individually focused - they need to be working towards a common goal which is ultimately to put NT's heavy music scene on par with the bigger cities Down South. if not in quantity then at least in quality.
Left, Will Morris from Burrfoot at Time Nightclub. Pic by Nico Liengme.
MuNT: What else is involved in metal culture – it’s not just about the music is it!?
NL: Ah, denim, spikes and Jack Daniels...
MuNT: What kind of person is drawn to metal music? And it seems to be a pretty male-only driven culutre – or is that changing? For example, are there many women involved in metal bands or the culture here in the Territory?
NL: Back in 02/03 we had a female bassist called Jodie in Existence. She went on to play for Olde School/Vicious Apathy for a while, but she seems to be hiding away these days. Besides that, I can't think of any current female metal musos, but the crowds have been fairly well split between men and women at the shows I've been to around here. Maybe not 50/50, but at least 35/65, which is pretty good by all accounts. Pretty sure the old HEAT gigs used to be run by a couple chicks, back in the day. There are more and more female-fronted bands in the world, but [in Nico’s opinion] they're all irrevocably terrible. (Adorior is my exception to the rule).
MuNT: Please finish this sentence: “In a perfect world the metal scene in the Territory would be…”
NL:. ..at a Noonamah party.
Right, Zeb Olsen with Burrfoot at Time Nightclub. Pic by Nico Liengme.
MuNT: What’s the one thing you never want to hear again about metal?
NL: "Who the fuck are Acid Bath?"
MuNT: And what’s the next big metal gig in the Territory?
NL: We're doing an all-ages night at the Yess on Thursday 3rd December at Happy Yess again to finish up the year. Next year there are big things on the cards - mini-festivals, bigger venues, more interstate touring acts. It's gonna be a big one. I'll also be in Brisbane for most of Dec/Jan and will be meeting with a few bands there to discuss putting Darwin in their next tour plans. Next year should be good.
Visit the Top End Terror website and get involved! Above photos courtesy of Top End Terror (photo galleries) .
As it currently stands TET is a labour of love for Liengme who runs the site pretty much on a voluntary basis. But it’s a labour of love with legs. Grown out of a desire to unite metal bands and fans in the community, Liengme has also given a lot of thought about where the site could go – and how to get there.
TopEndTerror includes photo galleries veritably bulging with pics from local gigs, up-to-date flyers and posters, a network of contacts, bands and musicians, news on upcoming gigs, videos, a Forum and more. A concerted effort to validate what is perhaps the most misunderstood of all musical genres is evident, as are ambitions to make it a vibrant online resource for bookers and interstate touring bands alike.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on TET – or even the Music NT Forum membership – you might have noticed that metal is a growing aspect of the NT music industry. These blokes (yes it’s mostly blokes in the metal scene) are no slouches, actively organising gigs, artwork, posters and getting the word out to audiences and other bands, specially using online platforms. Metal in the Territory has more of a history and heritage than you might think, a fact that Top End Terror actively works to celebrate.
So will Top End Terror last? What is its true purpose, is it working and do the old prejudices against metal music still apply even in the Top End, a place that prides itself on being the most outlaw and extreme frontier in Australia?
Nico Liengme shouts it out loud…
Pictured right, Nico Liengme, playing with Abysm. Pic by Tom Bastard.
Music NT: Top End Terror – was there a need for this website? How did it come about?
Nico Liengme: Top End Terror is the end result of something I started working on nine years ago back in highschool. At the time the local metal crowd was solid - you could catch bands like Quilters Bane, Demise or Aftershok most weekends down at Brown’s Mart or the NTMC's Uni gigs. Even Heat was still hosting the Noonamah parties. I'd seen websites dedicated to individual city metal scenes - Metal in Adelaide, Perth's Western Front etc. so I figured with Darwin's heavy metal scene so lively, we might as well have an online presence.
I was dabbling with web design, working on a fan page for Quilter's Bane, and figured I could do a Darwin metal scene website. I mocked up a layout and took it to a few bands. They liked the idea but suggested I open it up to the rock, punk and alternative bands that most metal bands were sharing stages with at the time.
Anyway, things turned sour when the NTMC stopped hosting gigs, the Noonamah parties started attracting too much police attention, and there didn't seem to be many alternatives around town. The bands started breaking up, with members moving South to try their hands in a more supportive environment. So the need for a website diminished, and I stopped development and busied myself playing in a band and writing an underground metal fanzine.
Ultimately the site as it has grown now, is a re-imagining of that old idea that I hope will help to build a community around local performing bands, and to help prospective musicians get in touch with one another for jams and projects, just to keep everyone in touch and moving in the same direction.
Left, Matty Nicholls, Vicious Apathy, pic Nico Liengme.MuNT; Is it a volunteer-basis website? Meaning is it a DIY project or do you get some sponsorship support?
NL: Right now the only people getting paid are the bands that play the shows, which is the way it will stay for the foreseeable future. The only money to be made is at the door at gigs, and a bit of merch. But our long term goal is to harness local businesses to help support our endeavors with sponsorship and the like. There are already some projects in the works for this, the result of which we should see early next year.
MuNT: What kind of ‘functions does TopEndTerror.com fulfill for the users? And how many bands are on your website?
NL: Right now the site is very band-centered with about two-thirds of the users playing in bands. Functionally speaking we hope to help bands get their stuff out there. If a band were to release a demo, we'd run a feature interview with them, including some audio downloads, live videos, photos - the whole shebang. But ultimately it's about the fans being exposed to this stuff - knowing what's on their doorstep and when and where to catch gigs.
There are sixteen active bands listed on the site of which eleven are strictly metal and eleven are 'live-ready'.
MuNT: With grind-core, thrash, speed metal, heavy metal, metal-rock… There are so many sub-genres within this genre of contemporary music. How do you personally define ‘metal’?
NL: Just about anything that makes you want to bang your head! Actually that's a blatant generalisation; there's plenty of experimental stuff out there that you could only bang your head to if your neck existed in eight dimensions. Anything that invokes Babylon...
Right, Liam from Shrapnel at 'Northern Thrash Attack', pic by Renee Warland.
MuNT: Can you give us more of an insight into metal culture in the Territory? What kind of music do these bands play, what kind of people are involved in the bands - a snapshot of your membership would be great…
NL: There's a lot of interest from kids - highschoolers and such. Some of them are younger dudes playing with older guys who've been in bands before, some are just playing with schoolmates who are into the same bands. I think a good deal of the old guard moved away from Darwin or just gave up after the scene collapsed at the end of the 90s. But those that are still around have been active. For example, Amagon is comprised of blokes who've been in this town a good deal of their lives and while they have played metal for most of it, they’ve never played in a metal band.
Vicious Apathy are the longest-running currently active band. They're all in their early 20s, so that's fairly indicative. Those blokes have just hit their stride - they're totally on top of their game right now, it's a pleasure seeing them perform.
As for metal culture, Darwin is unique. The old Noonamah parties used to be great for that - they were simply wild, primal nights of fire, dust, loud bands and beer. You'd wake up in the morning with a mouth full of ash, blood and dust and want to do it all over again. Darwin doesn't need big flashy venues for metal to thrive in, it just needs land and a road to get there. Oh, and power.
MuNT: What’s the reception to metal in the Territory? Does it ‘fit the mold’ or are the usual discriminations in place against it as a valid music genre?
NL: We're pretty much relegated to the (ever-wonderful!) Happy Yess. I happen to love the place, it's as cosy and intimate as you can get. But when it's the only venue that will take us without laying down a lot of cash, it can be a bit of a squeeze.
There was some good work done by [former venue, then promoter] Bloodshed to get Time Nightclub to host regular metal shows, but the costs make it extremely difficult to sustain.
The Territory is a place of extremes, so extreme music isn't all that far out. There are plenty of folk who've been listening to Metallica or Slayer for years who just want to see a bit of live metal. There's definitely a demand for it, but for venues to see opportunities beyond cover bands will take a bit of work.
MuNT: How did you come to be in the Territory – given that your band Shrapnel is Queensland based?
NL: How I came to be in QLD is the stranger thing! I lived in Darwin for 10 years, did most of my growing up here, and never thought I'd move - but wound up in Brisbane after some things went rotten for me up here. I moved back here earlier this year after having spoken to my mate Adam who told me about this shed he was living in out in Berrimah. He told me this place was in the middle of an industrial area - no neighbours - and they were hosting metal parties with live bands every month, called ‘Bloodshed’. It all sounded a bit utopian, so I decided to move up here to move in with him and help him build on it, as well as start a band with him. When I got here though, things had changed and it was made fairly clear that neither Adam nor I would have anything to do with Bloodshed.
I've been working with Shrapnel since mid 2007 as well as a handful of other bands on the backburner. We'd already talked about doing shows in Darwin in late ‘08, but instead we broke up. Shrapnel is a pretty volatile project, we've already split and reformed about five times, but when an idea comes along we're usually happy to regroup and work towards a goal. So after I'd set myself up here, I pitched it to them that Darwin shows wouldn't be too hard to organise, and they agreed to come along for the ride.
Left, Justin, Phoebe & Liam at 'Northern Thrash Attack', pic by Renee Warland.
MuNT: What kind of response have you had from both the bands here who use the Top End Terror site, and the ‘punters’ who use it? Has it been successful in getting word out about gigs and therefore assist in getting bigger audiences showing up?
NL: Hard to say right now.. The Thrash Attack shows were the first round, and they were pretty well advertised around town. The bands dig the site, and as our next upgrades go live in a month or so bands will have more control over the content that's up there, including photos, videos, audio and news. Hopefully that will attract a few more fans to get involved in the discussion.
MuNT:What are your ambitions for the site? And how quickly has it grown?
NL: Growth has been steady. we've currently got 22 users on our forum and we've just hit 100 fans on Facebook. That's over about 2 months, so there's plenty of time - and room - to grow.
Ambitions mostly relate to local bands - getting them to start putting content up about themselves, stuff like news and songs and videos. And of course getting more punters on there discussing local bands and shows.
MuNT: There’s a pretty big presence of ‘hard music’-to-metal band members on the MuNT Forum – does that mean the metal scene in the NT is bigger than people realise? Is it growing?
NL: It's certainly bigger than most people realise mostly due to the lack of high profile gigs and bands. And the younger crowd tend to be pretty quick on the button with any way of promoting themselves through technology, so online forums and groups is where they'll head.
It's definitely growing. A hell of a lot faster than I expected as well. When I first arrived here in February there were maybe four bands that I knew about and within a couple of weeks three more had come out of the woodwork. And there's a few bands that are in hiatus as well... waiting to find drummers...
MuNT: Do you think the Territory a place that is ‘conducive’ to metal? If so, why?
NL: Extreme music for extreme climates. And extreme alienation.
MuNT: The stereotype that often dogs metal fans (aka “metalheads”) is they are all dumb, bogan, violent and brain-damaged in some way. It might surprise people to know just how organised metal bands are with their websites, marketing, getting gigs together – and also, more often than not, how articulate the musicians can be, with a real sense of history for their music… Is that your experience too? And how do you combat that kind of blind prejudice?
NL: It's a metalhead's prerogative to be dismissive of other people's assumptions. I think the perception about heavy metal fans and bands will remain as it always has in society, and that's okay. Heavy metal isn't for
everyone. It appeals to different people for different reasons - sometimes primal, sometimes abstract, but metal will never appeal from a core aesthetic point. The one thing that does the most amount of damage to
metal's reputation is the modern mainstream and the industry that "supports" (read 'pimps') it.
That said though, we do seem to be going through a media-driven ‘revival’, in the form of videogames like Brutal Legend and Guitar Hero, and TV shows like Metalocalypse. Not my thing, personally.
MuNT: You’ve set up a website dedicated to keeping metal culture in the NT healthy and thriving. What is the appeal of metal for you, personally?
NL: Hey, it's just another style of music for me, albeit one I've been listening to the longest and one I see with the most amount of neglected potential in Darwin. The website's just a small part of it - along with other new-media tools like Facebook - to try and gather together a community in a central space to work towards a similar goal. Right now I'm just offering opportunities - gigs, photo shoots, artwork, anything to help improve bands' profile. Future ventures might include venues, sponsorship and touring interstate bands. But none of that can happen if the bands are individually focused - they need to be working towards a common goal which is ultimately to put NT's heavy music scene on par with the bigger cities Down South. if not in quantity then at least in quality.
Left, Will Morris from Burrfoot at Time Nightclub. Pic by Nico Liengme.
MuNT: What else is involved in metal culture – it’s not just about the music is it!?
NL: Ah, denim, spikes and Jack Daniels...
MuNT: What kind of person is drawn to metal music? And it seems to be a pretty male-only driven culutre – or is that changing? For example, are there many women involved in metal bands or the culture here in the Territory?
NL: Back in 02/03 we had a female bassist called Jodie in Existence. She went on to play for Olde School/Vicious Apathy for a while, but she seems to be hiding away these days. Besides that, I can't think of any current female metal musos, but the crowds have been fairly well split between men and women at the shows I've been to around here. Maybe not 50/50, but at least 35/65, which is pretty good by all accounts. Pretty sure the old HEAT gigs used to be run by a couple chicks, back in the day. There are more and more female-fronted bands in the world, but [in Nico’s opinion] they're all irrevocably terrible. (Adorior is my exception to the rule).
MuNT: Please finish this sentence: “In a perfect world the metal scene in the Territory would be…”
NL:. ..at a Noonamah party.
Right, Zeb Olsen with Burrfoot at Time Nightclub. Pic by Nico Liengme.
MuNT: What’s the one thing you never want to hear again about metal?
NL: "Who the fuck are Acid Bath?"
MuNT: And what’s the next big metal gig in the Territory?
NL: We're doing an all-ages night at the Yess on Thursday 3rd December at Happy Yess again to finish up the year. Next year there are big things on the cards - mini-festivals, bigger venues, more interstate touring acts. It's gonna be a big one. I'll also be in Brisbane for most of Dec/Jan and will be meeting with a few bands there to discuss putting Darwin in their next tour plans. Next year should be good.
Visit the Top End Terror website and get involved! Above photos courtesy of Top End Terror (photo galleries) .
-
Comment by ZEDMAJOR on November 26, 2009 at 20:07 -
Nico is the man. We've never experienced the amount of support this dude has given us. Cheers brosef!
Add a Comment
© 2012 Created by Administrator.
Powered by 
.
You need to be a member of Music NT Forum to add comments!
Join Music NT Forum