Black birthday bash puts pedal to metal
ALICE Springs label The Black Wreath started with humble beginnings half a decade ago.
Since the label’s inception on November 11, 2011 it has given opportunities to Centralian heavy metal bands, releasing six full length albums, numerous compilations and EPs and is the group behind the successful BLACKEN festival.
One of the label’s founders, Pirate, said as a young metal fan in Alice there weren’t a lot of path ways for musicians when he was growing up. “There were a lot of people who thought the only possibly path way was to leave Alice to a big city and get absorbed into a different scene,” he said. “A lot of the people would lose what makes their sound and performance unique by moving interstate.”
With the belief their town had more potential, they set out to change the dynamic and create a scene that would make the town viable for national bands touring the country. “There were a lot of different goals — I could see young people following in our footsteps and we wanted to give them opportunities because I knew from experience being here could be a dead-end street,” he said.
Another goal was to build a studio and learn to promote and distribute music themselves to challenge the industry. “We wanted to take the power back from some of the big dirty companies out there that exploit artists and take all the profits,” Pirate said. “We wanted to have this studio where we don’t have to grovel or be in debt to other people to achieve our own goals.”
To celebrate five years of growing success for The Black Wreath, a birthday celebration will be held at the Gap View Hotel tomorrow night showcasing the diversity of sounds coming from the Central Australia music scene.
A compilation album. Visions. featuring 10 tracks from five artists will be launched at the event.
The Black Wreath Fifth Birthday, featuring Miazma, The Horror, Southeast Desert Metal, SNAKES and Didgeridoomerang at the Gap View Hotel tomorrow from 8.30pm. Audience encouraged to wear black.