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Hey Brandon, thanks for speaking with Discipline Mag. You have spearheaded the now well-established Australian Antichrist festival. How did you come to find yourself curating what has become a regular event?
G’day mate! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. Australian Antichrist was a totally unintentional event that came about due to (what I felt) was a lack of good shows in Melbourne. Most local shows were made up with bands that either played too often, were boring, or lacked that true evil spirit. I wanted to put together a show with (in my opinion) A-grade bands that my own band (Cemetery Urn) could play alongside. Grave Upheaval, Petrol and Haste being amongst the first shows lineup.
What was it about the Australian music scene that made you feel that this gap was open and the event was needed? What void does Antichrist fill that fests like, say, Melbourne Dethfest or other metal events aren’t touching?
A lack of authentic bands, haha. Originally I was only going to organise the first show and that was it. However after the gig was cancelled (promoter decided 2 hours before doors to shut it down) my ego and pride were shot, and I’m stubborn so I decided to prove that shows can still be done against all odds. All other metal promoters do a great job with trying to keep some sort of metal scene alive in Australia. However due to a lot of external pressures and left-wing agitators it makes it hard for them to take a chance on certain bands without jeopardising their show. This leads to below average, cookie-cutter, uninspired bands having a platform to support and play huge gigs.
So to answer your question, I guess I take a chance on bands that I like that other promoters wouldn’t normally touch.
READ OUR REVIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN ANTICHRIST FESTIVAL FEATURING DIOCLETIAN, HERESIARCH AND MORE
The Deströyer 666 track ‘Australian and Anti-Christ’ features the following lyrics:
“We got denim vests and a sordid past
Too many drinks, tattoos and scars
Black hearted demons fight the metal fight
Raging from Hades in leather and spikes
Australian and Anti-Christ“
Am I right in thinking the name was directly influenced by the Deströyer 666 song? These lyrics scream Australian metal festival ethos, and seem to really encapsulate the festival.
Ironically, the name was a mix between Deiphago‘s ‘Filipino Antichrist’ and the D666 track ‘Australian and Anti-Christ’. There was originally not going to be a name, but the first lineup with Grave Upheaval had 6 bands on the bill, so for a local show any more than 3 bands I’d consider a festival. The bloke I was co-organising with was hard against the name, but I’m glad I stuck to my guns and kept it. I think it’s quite an apt title for the fest, and screams metal hooliganism as well as Australian metal pride.
There are two Australian Antichrist shows coming up – one on January 24, 2026 and another on January 26 – both headlined by True Sons of Satan who are covering the Deströyer 666 album Unchain the Wolves. Can you shed some light on this band and its members?
That’s correct. TSoS is a super group of Australian metal veterans gathering together to perform the Deströyer 666 album Unchain the Wolves in its entirety. They’re all no strangers to the Australian Underground, having played in Bestial Warlust and Deströyer 666.
The support acts include Impiety, Karyorrhexis (your band – discussed below), Mages Terror, Bletsian, Fates Hand and Bastardizer. What can you tell me about these bands and how did you come to curate them into this iteration of the Australian Antichrist festival?
All of the bands are mates of mine. I have no real interest in playing with anyone and everyone anymore. All these bands I’ve worked with or had support from/supported in one way or another so it just made logical sense to me.
Impiety’s Singaporean savagery feels like a brutal counterpoint to local acts like Bastardizer’s relentless blackened thrash – did geography or thematic ties (e.g., occult war metal) drive the picks?
I’ve always wanted to see Impiety ever since discovering them back when I was a teen. Kaos Kommand 696 blew my fucking head off. So to be able to have them come over was sort of a no brainer for me. Having them perform KK696 in its entirety will be a special moment as well.
According to Metal Archives, Bastardizer’s lyrical themes include “Satan, Evil, Death, Hell, Lust, Damnation, Women, Beer.” Tell me honestly, was it the music or the lyrical themes that got them on the bill?
Hahah! It’s actually their singer’s quick witted, horrid dad jokes. As well as their guitarist’s Shakespearean way of speaking. But in all seriousness, the Bastardizer blokes are great blokes and killer to drink with. It was only a matter of time before I invited them down.
The previous Antichrist event featured war metal legends Diocletian from New Zealand, alongside fellow Kiwis Heseriarch, plus a solid range of extreme and diverse Australian acts. How did you pull this lineup together?
Originally I was trying to figure out who I could have perform with Cemetery Urn, Haste and Karyorrhexis. Diocletian and Heresiarch are long time mates of mine, and I hail the bands big time so I decided to approach them anticipating that one would say no. To my surprise they both said yes, so I thought fuck it. Both bands had never shared the same stage together which is bizarre seeing as they’re the leading NZ black metal/death metal exports in my view.
You now have a few events under your belt, so you’ve naturally built up a pretty big bank of experience. From venue sound woes to last-minute no-shows, what are the events that have taught you the most about putting on black/death metal shows?
Haha, every single show has been a learning curve in one way or another. From having the first show cancelled, to having Antifa posting false adverts about other shows, to finding suitable venues that’ll host the shows, to rats trying to get more info, or people ‘big noting’ themselves and their band as being a selling point. Every show has been a logistical nightmare at some point or another. I’ve probably shaved about 20 years off of my life from the stress of trying to organise all of these events, especially since I do most of this alone. I take my hat off to those that do this as a full time job.
You have a relatively new band, Karyorrhexis. What spawned Karyorrhexis and what can you tell me about the band? And how important is it to continue making music, as opposed to focusing all of your energy into putting on shows?
Karyorrhexis is a project started between myself and C.Johnston. C.Johnston (who is the brains and songwriter behind Karyorrhexis) had written all of this music for his old project back home in NZ. However due to the riffs and overall style sounding very different, we both agreed that it should go under a new identity. We have gone through a few members, as the original lineup had everyone living in several different states of Australia. We’ve now got a lineup where the majority of us all live in Melbourne, so getting together is a bit easier. It’s quite hard for me to focus on making music when these shows come up, as a lot of my time is thinking about shit I need to do or organise. However, these shows are purely for selfish reasons, enabling me to organise a killer lineup that my bands can play. If my bands didn’t play these shows, I wouldn’t do them, fuck that.
Listening to the Karyorrhexis demo, Graven Odes, I noticed some interesting sounds I wasn’t expecting. There are blast beats aplenty, but also some post-metal and almost shoegaze-y elements, particularly on the epic outro of the closing track, ‘Terminus Est’. What can you tell me about this release and its influences?
A lot of these tracks have been written for a number of years, I think one of the oldest being ‘Terminus Est’. They were all written and mostly complete before I joined the ranks. Playing in Karyorrhexis is a breath of fresh air for me, as I was used to playing non stop blast beats in my old band, Eskhaton. Having doom elements really breaks things up, as well as moments of stoicism and grandiose. I’d say the influences that go towards Karyorrhexis would be Axis of Advance and Order from Chaos. It’s hard to say though as Karyorrhexis tries to be as original as can possibly be.
Amongst your work, both with bands and as the Australian Antichrist founder, it seems there is a strong thread of influence from Deströyer 666. Their relocation to Europe and cult status must resonate down under. Beyond inspiration, any direct collabs or shared bills that bridged the gap?
No, actually! I managed to see Deströyer 666 on their very last tour in Aus back in 2016. I was planning on catching them back in 2019 but I was on drums with Hobbs Angel of Death the same night for what would be his last ever show before he passed. As we all know, D666 were kicked off their own headline tour and haven’t been able to play Australia since for risk of cancellation.
There’s a strong antipodean theme that runs through these events and your own music. What Australian bands inspire you or would you like to shout out? Whether legacy acts, underground bands, newcomers or indeed anything from the mainstream?
Yep! I’m a proud Australian with Maori blood running through my veins. Aus and NZ have produced some of the finest and most savage bands in metal with our own unique sound. Bestial Warlust, Abominator, D666, Sadistik Exekution, Vomitor, early Spears of Longinus, Veneficium to name a few. As far as newcomers, I hail all the bands that have played all Antichrist shows thus far. The Australian scene has died off with quality acts.
At the last Antichrist festival in February the event faced online attacks from keyboard warrior incels spreading misinformation. In your own words, can you tell me what happened here?
Yeah sure thing. Basically, left-wing agitators and Antifa types took note about some of the bands playing the event, labelling them as Nazis. Admittedly, I didn’t help with advertising the show using rage bait tactics to get a bit of hype and talk going on. Clearly it worked very well as the show sold out, but also within 10 minutes of me sending out the venue location to ticket holders, a rat had contacted the venue straight away telling them they’re hosting ‘Nazis’. It’s ironic seeing as using their logic, they gave me money therefore they’re funding fascists, haha. The venue was then bombarded with phone calls to the point they just took the phone off the hook. A ‘community safety alert’ was put out saying to people of colour, LGBT and trans folk to be careful and safe around Richmond as ‘the Antichrist show is a Nazi event’. It made the Melbourne subreddit (which is a huge thread) so the general public were getting involved. Supposedly nearby bars shut early due to it, which is quite wild and also amusing to me. Someone even called the cops (ACAB.. until I need you). They walked in, saw it wasn’t a neo-Nazi event, apologised and left. I even had people from high school I haven’t seen in 10+ years tell my sibling at a reunion that they knew about the Antichrist show as they were in the area at the time. It was quite a surreal experience but what was more important and the most satisfying was that the event wasn’t cancelled. It was a huge ‘fuck you’ to the mentally insane that wanted it to be. Their own words ‘cope and seethe’ resonate here.
You recently attended Metal Threat Festival in Chicago. How was the show? There were a lot of antics before, during and after the event…
Yes that’s correct. It was a killer time. 4 days of hard drinking was had. In hindsight, it was good that nearly all the Finnish bands dropped off, otherwise every single day would have started at 11am and ended at midnight. Most of the bands whose visas were rejected I couldn’t give a fuck about but there were a handful of bands that i was pretty keen to see like D666, Bulldozer and Satanic Warmaster.
Nothing really happened with ANTIFA types rocking up to the show. I heard that they were gonna come and slash everyones tyres in the parking lot, but that never happened.
Oddly enough Arghoslent‘s drummer stayed with my mates and I in our Airbnb for a few nights. It was great. Seeing them was a cool experience. With them, and Grand Belial’s Key, you get the odd few idiots thinking they’re cool and edgy doing the roman salute, but whatever. The whole experience was great. It was awesome to hang with the bros in Diocletian, as well as seeing them do 2 sets.
I feel bad for the professional bands that copped shit for performing at Metal Threat (like Master, Dead Congregation). People couldn’t cancel the fest so they decided to punch lower and attack politically neutral bands instead.
Dream big – who are the peak Antichrist bands you’d love to book for future events? I’m wondering about the ultimate Antichrist lineup.
Hmm. Good question. Lvcifyre, Black Witchery, Arghoslent, Jon English? Haha. This is a future me problem!
Keep up-to-date with the Australian Antichrist Festival on Instagram.
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