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The Berzerker teve inicio em meados dos anos 90 com um Dj de speedcore atuando pela Lenny-Dee da Industrial Strength.Com base na reputação das aparências ao vivo pela Europa e diversos metal remixers incluindo Decide,Earache aproximou The Berzerker a remixar o death metal do Morbid Angel.Acombinação de vocal brutal com guitarras de metal e vox foi bem aceita,e a Earache levou The Berzerker de volta para a Austrália para definir a respeito de um novo álbum para o novo “selo”,com estilo muito barulhento.
O álbum auto intitulado The Berzerker foi aceito com aclamações da mídia do metal,até algumas reações marcarem produtivamente da banda atravez da carreira.Algumas pessoas amaram o álbum e a “ridícula brutalidade”.
Outros poderiam não segurar a grande bateria eletronica,samples implacáveis,os ritimos super rápidos,e pensar que isso fosse grindcore era idiotice e que tudo tinha perdido o semblante da musica.Eles odiavam isso.Reações se misturaram quando a banda começou a fazer suas performances ao vivo,usando membros de uma banda local de Melbourne.Os shows ao vivo não mostraram apenas o som e os visuais intensos,fumaça e maquinas que não paravam,e toda a banda começou a usar mascaras horríveis para levar a performance ao vivo para outro nível.As pessoas entenderam que era um método de atingir uma forma mais louca e pesada do que qualquer outra banda.Muitas pessoas,contudo,descreveram a banda como algo novo.A banda assegurando notoriedade,editou um vídeo para “Reality” usando montagens de fotos de autopsias.A MTV tirou o vídeo de circulação.The Berzerker fez sua primeira viagem aos EUA após menos que meia dúzia de shows,e o tour foi com os grandes undergounds Dying Fetus,Gorguts e Skinless.Embora bem recebidos nos shows,a banda não cumpriu sua função no rigoroso dia-a-dia do tour como uma equipe e no fim do tour os músicos se separaram.E isto continuou por vários meses.Havia constantes contrariedades em todas as fases, e qualquer momento ganho foi perdido com a separação da atuação ao vivo.
A chegada de dois novos membros injetou uma nova vida a banda – Bateria – de Gary para Perth e Guitarra - Matt Wilcock para Abramelin/Ackercocke.
Com a chegada dos novos membros a banda gravou seu álbum seguinte o “Dissimulate”. Com a experiência dos novos membros de ferocidade e uma nova brutalidade o album tornou-se uma obra-prima de velocidade e brutalidade.A musica “No one Wins” ganhou um vídeo e a musica foi considerada pelo guiness book como a bateria mais rápida.Tudo foi para um novo nível,o dragão símbolo da banda ganhou uma nova forma,dada pelo designer Ivan Kenny-Sumiga.A banda comemorou tocando ao vivo,o resultado acabou sendo muita violência nos palcos de Melbourne,e foi quando eles se julgaram maduros o suficiente para um novo e duradouro tour mundial de 2002 a 2003.
Depois da Austrália,The Berzerker fez um tour nos EUA junto com Immolation,Varder e Origin,após os EUA partiram para o Reino Unido para um tour junto com Labrat,Insision e Red Harvest,o que culminou em sua infame Earache Christmas Party (Festa de Natal da Earache) onde o selo bateu recorde de audiência.Essa atuação violenta e embriagadora foi passada para o DVD “Principles and Practices of The Berzerker”.A banda continuou nos EUA apos uma parada para o natal e começou um novo tour nos EUA junto com os reis do death metal Nile,Napalm Death,Strapping Young Lad e Dark Tranquility.Isso forçou a banda a atuar em um novo nível,e o resultado foi a melhora das performances ao vivo de The Berzerker.Em Nova Iorque o baterista acabou brigando fervorosamente resultando em um pé e uma vértebra quebrada (algumas fontes dizem que ele pulou ou foi empurrado de uma altura muito grande).A banda não poderia abandonar o tour.Faltava apenas uma semana,e qualquer apresentação TINHA que ser feita para a banda poder voar para os próximos tours.
Então o cantor foi sentar atrás daquele monte de pratos e tons por uma semana,e milagrosamente conseguiu tocar e fazer o vocal também.A banda teve a ajuda de Tony Laureano do Nile que tocou um cover de “Corporeal Jigsore Quandary”.
No fim daquele tour já partiam para um outro tour para o Reino Unido. Sem baterista,a banda organizou audições e Archer foi escolhido para a bateria.Ele aprendeu a tocar as musicas do tour em apenas 6 dias!The Berzerker arrasou no tour no Reino Unido,com audiência arrebatadora.Após 5 meses exaustivos de tour a banda voltou para casa.
The Bezerker decidiu usar o tempo em que estavam parados para gravar o DVD “The Principles and Practices of The Berzerker”,um dos melhores já feitos de uma banda extreme.O DVD foi uma reação contra o dinheiro,em DVDs de algumas bandas foram usadas alguns vídeos de clipes e ao vivo,enquanto o DVD de The Berzerker mostrava 4 longas horas de shows ao vivo,bastidores,ensaios e com um valor baixo.Também foi colocado a gravação dos CDs (incluindo os incidentes),entrevistas completas com os membros a banda,como foram feitas as mascaras,o making of das ilustrações,e contribuições da fãs loucos incluindo um que fez uma tatuagem de um album em suas costas.O DVD foi considerado pelos fãs como algo incrível e foi recomendado pela Kerrang como requisitado!
O DVD trouxe uma novidade: os integrantes sem mascara (decisão dos próprios integrantes).Mesmo por que após mais de cem apresentações as mascaras já estavam estragando.Com Gary no lugar de Perth e Matt indo ao Reino Unido se juntar a Akercocke, The Berzerker decidiu gravar o álbum Nº3: “World of Lies”,com a formação original.The Berzerker gravou o álbum espontaneamente em uma semana, sem ter planejado nada antes,foram direto a criação do álbum como sempre fizeram ate agora.Outra escolha da banda foi o não aparecimento do baterista,todas as guitarras foram gravadas diretamente sem nenhum amplificador.Esse foi sem duvida o álbum mais brutal jamais feito sem bateria e sem guitarras amplificadas.A espontaneidade foi o ponto central,gerando monstruosidades de riffs e grandes musicas.The Berzerker reivindicou que “World of Lies” possuia as melhores musicas de death metal ouvidas das ultima década.The Berzerker encapsulou o melhor dos anos 90 de death metal,heavy,evil,sick guitars formando um som brutal junto com a marca registrada da bateria,batendo direto nas musicas e nos timpanos. Esse foi o álbum que a banda sonhava em fazer desde o começo de sua carreira.
(tradução feita por membro do Orkut)
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The Berzerker began as a mid 1990's one-man speedcore DJ act signed to the Lenny-Dee label Industrial Strength. Based on the reputation of the live appearances throughout Europe and a number of metal remixes including Decide, Earache approached the Berzerker to remix death metal giants Morbid Angel. The combination of brutal gabba with death metal guitars and vox was well received, and Earache signed The Berzerker who returned to Australia to set about recording an album for the label of this new, noisy style.
Originally, the project was to be a death metal supergroup with contributions by David Vincent, Kevin Sharpe, Dan Lilker, Jed Simons, and production by Devin Townsend at his studio in Vancouver. The Berzerker realised that his vision of brain-melting brutality was starkly at odds with that of the firmament and through a number of setbacks realised that production and performance of the band would have to be done by himself and unknown performers. He returned to Australia again and recruited guitarist/vocalist SB as longtime member and collaborator, and also gained the services of Ed and Jay from legendary Melbourne metal band The Wolves on guitar. Album recording was commenced after almost two years of preproduction, and the recording of the self-titled album - after nearly a full year of further setbacks and disasters - was completed.
The Berzerker self-titled album was received to critical acclaim in the metal media, but also some polarised reactions which have marked the band's output throughout their career. Some people loved the album and relished the ridiculous brutality. Others could not handle the huge electronic kick drums, the relentless samples, the superfast beats, and thought it was grindcore idiocy that had lost all semblance of music. They hated it. Reactions became even more mixed when the band started performing live, using members from the rhythm section of a local melbourne band. The live shows were not only loud and noisy but also intensely visual; smoke and strobe machines pumped nonstop, and all the band members were horrifically masked in order to take the live experience to another level. Many people 'got it', understood that it was a method of reaching for something crazier and heavier than any band previously. Many people, however, wrote the band off as a novelty act. The band ensured notoriety by releasing a video for 'Reality' which set new standards for depravity in music videos by including gratuitous amounts of autopsy footage. MTV summarily banned the video from rotation.
The Berzerker had their first full US tour after performing less than half a dozen shows, and the tour was with underground greats Dying Fetus, Gorguts and Skinless. Although the shows were well received the band didn't function through the rigors of touring as a unit and at the end of the tour the session musicians departed. It seemed doubtful that the Berzerker would continue for some months. There had been constant setbacks at every stage, and any momentum gained was lost with the departure of the live act. The arrival of two replacement members injected new life into the band - drummer Gary from Perth band Plague and guitarist Matt Wilcock from Abramelin/Ackercocke.
With the arrival of enthusiastic new members the band set about recording their follow up album 'Dissimulate'. The new members' own experience and ferocious skills lent new brutality to The Berzerker and the album was a masterpiece of speed and brutality. The song 'No-one Wins' was also released as a video, and the drumming for the song was considered for submission to the guinness book of records for fastest drumming performance. Everything went to a new level - even the band's dragon logo was given a spitshine by designer Ivan Kenny-Sumiga. The band celebrated by playing live ugly shows which resulted in onstage violence in Melbourne for months, and when they deemed themselves heavy enough they headed off for a world tour lasting from 2002 to 2003.
After covering Australia, The Berzerker toured the US with Immolation, Vader and Origin then travelled to the UK for a headlining tour with Labrat, Insision and Red Harvest. This culminated in their infamous Earache Christmas Party appearance, where the band terrorised both record label and the audience. This exceptionally violent and drunken performance has been captured on the DVD 'Principles and Practices of the Berzerker'. The band continued on to the US after a brief Christmas break to do another full US tour with death metal kings Nile, Napalm Death, Strapping Young Lad and Dark Tranquility. This forced the band's performance to a new level altogether, and resulted in some of the best live appearances by the Berzerker so far. Disaster struck in New York where the drummer had an altercation with a bouncer resulting in a broken foot and cracked vertebrae. The band could not pull out of the tour. There was a week left, and each show HAD to be played for the band to be able to afford to make their plane flights to the next tour. The Berzerker himself traded in his sole duties as singer to sit behind the kit for a week of gigs, and somehow managed the miraculous by not only pulling off the super-brutal drum parts but his vocal parts as well. The band was assisted by Nile drummer Tony Laureano who played the carcass cover 'Corporeal Jigsore Quandary' each night.
At the end of that tour, the band had ten days in florida before their headline tour of the UK and Europe began. With no drummer, some hasty auditions were organised and the band settled on the drummer from local band Archer to take on tour. He learned a full headlining tour slot in an amazing 6 days. The Berzerker hit the UK for its next round of headlining shows packed full of snuff footage, locals being abducted and audiences getting punched in the face, then headed out to Europe for their first-ever appearance. Finally after 5 months of exhausting touring the band headed home.
The Berzerker decided to focus the off-time into compiling all the band footage he had ever recorded and received into the most comprehensive DVD ever made by an extreme band - 'The Principles and Practices of the Berzerker'. The DVD was a reaction against the cash-in DVDs most bands were making which consisted of a live performance, limited backstage footage and one or two music videos - the Berzerker DVD ended up being over 4 hours long, consisting of one professionally shot show, another concert-worth of assorted bootleg footage, backstage, band rehearsals and touring. They even included the recording of both albums (including each and every unflattering incident), full interviews with bandmembers, the making of the masks, the making of the artwork, and contributions from crazed fans including one who'd tattooed the album cover onto her back. The DVD went down as a must for lovers of the extreme and was recommended by Kerrang as required! educational viewing for aspiring metal bands.
The DVD brought with it a change in the Berzerker - for the first time, the bands faces were unmasked. This brought about a decision by the band to lose the masks altogether. It wasn't just the fact that after a couple of hundred shows the masks were beginning to rot and liquify; there was also a large section of the underground that couldn't see past the masks to hear the music. The band didn't care generally what people thought of them, but they were curious to see if baring their faces would magically make the music sound better to a lot of the population. It didn't matter in any case; the DVD had removed the mystique the masks created and the band decided to run with it.
With Gary healing in Perth and Matt moving to the UK to join Akercocke, the Berzerker decided to record album no.3 'World of Lies' over Christmas 2004 with the original lineup from the debut Berzerker album. The band recorded the album spontaneously over a week, with no prior planning - this was in direct opposition to how they've created their albums so far. Another change was that apart from no drummer appearing on the album, all guitars were recorded directly into the mixing desk without a guitar amp. This is without a doubt the most brutal album ever made without a drumkit and guitar amp. The spontaneity brought the focus away from feats of musicianship, and sent it towards monstrous sounding riffs and great songs. The Berzerker would like to make the claim that 'World of Lies' has on it some of the best death metal songs heard in the last decade. This album encapsulates the best of 90s death metal - heavy, evil, sick guitars sitting sq! uarely in catchy, brutal songs with the trademark Berzerker kickdrum stomping all over the stereo, the songs, and your ears. This is the album the Berzerker has been waiting to make ever since they began.
2005/6 Berzerker 'World of Lies'. Heavier than before. No more masks. Face the music.
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