Everyone knows Hell is South, not North

Arguably the worlds heaviest extreme band (boasting the lowest drop tuning known to man), Darklord conjure up extreme, dark, down-tuned (verging on subsonic), unholy occult hell metal to summon demons and raze churches to smouldering ruins. Evil metal the way it should be - heavy, dark, fast and blasphemous...

From day one Darklord have vehemently eschewed the popular, post early 90's, up-tuned, thin sounding, bass-less, trends of countless, amateur, 'northern' style black metal bands. Instead, Darklord gravitate toward a heavier, darker, overwhelmingly guttural aesthetic, while incorporating the bleak ambience of orchestral strings, choir, synth, and a level of technicality and composition rarely found in black metal circles. Guitarists Nekromancer and Stormbringer wield custom made twin neck guitars and their lead playing is frequently compared to such legendary neo-classical shredders as Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Michael Angelo Batio, etc.

Hailing from the city of burning churches, Adelaide, South Australia, Darklord was conceived around late 1991, early 1992, sans drummer, when Stormbringer (vocals/guitar), Nekromancer (guitar) and Destroyer (bass) envisioned a band which would not only expand the boundaries of heaviness but would also attempt to marry an extreme, underground sound with an overall professional, progressive attitude.

Unable for a long time to find a drummer who could fit the extreme style of the band, Darklord were forced to use a drum machine to record an early demo at the end of 1993 called "... By the Force of Sacred Magic Rites ...". Although it was only recorded on a four-track cassette recorder and is embryonic compared to the Darklord of today, it was still hailed at the time by underground aficionados, as the bleakest, heaviest music ever recorded and has now gone onto become somewhat of a cult classic. Originally intended for release as a demo cassette tape, it was pressed to CD, and distribution throughout the world by Modern Invasion earned Darklord a strong and highly respecting following amongst the underground. Over 1000 copies were sold at first with most interest coming from Germany to begin with.

Finally, after a seemingly endless search and a string of auditions, Manic was found to fulfil the demanding drumming duties. Then came 18 hard months of writing and intense rehearsal before Darklord finally unleashed their dark brand of subsonic hell-noize to a vocal and expectant packed house at Adelaide’s 'Crown and Anchor', midnight, under the full moon of October 19, 1996. Darklord continued performing live shows with this line-up until early 1998 when Destroyer left the band. This meant a break from live shows until a replacement bassist could be found.

On August 21, 1999, Darklord began recording their long overdue debut album "Symphony Satanikka" at 'Satellite Studios' in Adelaide. A replacement for Destroyer had still not been found so bass duties were handled by Stormbringer and Nekromancer. The whole recording process was plagued with problems from the outset. Drummer at that time, Manic, was fired during the mix of the album mid 2000 due mostly to personal conflicts with the other band members. This reduced Darklord to just 2 members - the two guitarists, Nekromancer and Stormbringer. The album took just over two years to make it onto store shelves. Again, Modern Invasion handled the bulk of worldwide distribution. But it would be a long time before new members were found to complete a lineup which would be able to play live again - so long in fact that Stormbringer and Nekromancer had all but given up on the idea. Until...

Darklord pt II.

Early in 2003, Hellaeon contacted Stormbringer and Nekromancer, expressing interest in drumming for Darklord. He invited them to see his band Oni play in March 2003 at 'The Brickworks'. Stormbringer and Nekromancer went along and were immediately impressed by the pure intensity and stamina of Hellaeon's playing. They were also very impressed by the solid bass playing. This bass player turned out to be Doomsayer who, after the gig, approached Nekromancer to let him know he was also interested in joining Darklord on bass. So after such a long hiatus without a full line-up, Darklord had acquired two new members in one night. Satan’s hand must have surely moved over Adelaide that night. A week or two later, the four met for a rehearsal. The atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed and everything seemed to click. Suddenly Darklord sounded faster, more precise and more powerful than ever. Stormbringer says of the rehearsal "I felt good about it before we'd even played the first note because I'd seen these blokes play live and I knew they were more than capable. I just knew it was going to work."

Rehearsals continued over the next few months with the two new members, in preparation for a return to live rituals. In this time Stormbringer was helping another local band - Hatred Slave - (who Doomsayer also plays guitar for) to record a demo. During the recording process Hatred Slave's bass player had told Stormbringer that he'd like to try out on keyboards for Darklord. Up until then Darklord had used a programmed midi sequencer to 'play' the keyboard parts for live shows. Nekromancer would trigger the sequencer via a footswitch but there were always timing issues as the sequencer would rarely be in time with the band, and the raw ferocity of Darklord makes the use of a click track almost impossible. So Chaoslord joined Darklord on keyboards. He was primarily a bass player but had dabbled in keyboards since a young age. For the first time Darklord were five members strong and sounded better than they ever had. Having 'real' keyboards bought an unholy new dimension to the band and eliminated timing troubles for live shows.

The following 18 months saw Darklord playing live with the 'Mach II' lineup including the first interstate shows for the band. This brings us up to 2006 which finds Darklord working on material for its second album and preparing for interstate gigs in Melbourne, Sydney and the bands first shows in Canberra and Brisbane during August.

Check out the download section to witness the unholy occult for yourself.