Armoured Angel

Armoured Angel were an Australian thrash and death metal band from Canberra, which formed in 1982 as Metal Asylum. The band's founding mainstay, Glen "Lucy" Luck provided bass guitar. They pushed the musical boundaries of the local thrash metal scene and were pioneers of Australian death metal. The group also helped establish Australia's metal festival, Metal for the Brain in 1991. They issued a studio album, Angel of the Sixth Order, in July 1999 before disbanding soon after.

Armoured Angel
Also known asMetal Asylum
OriginCanberra, Australia
Genres
Years active
  • 1982 (1982)–1996 (1996)
  • 1998 (1998)–1999 (1999)
Labels
Past members
  • Glen "Lucy" Luck
  • Rowan Powell
  • Dave Davis
  • Rick Wayy
  • Russell Ruszinski
  • Tony Sheaffe
  • Joel Green
  • Matt Green
  • Yuri Ward
  • Steve Luff

History

Armoured Angel were formed in 1982 as Metal Asylum by Glen "Lucy" Luck[1][2][3] on bass guitar and Rowan Powell on guitars.[4] The band was renamed Armoured Angel in 1984, with drummer Dave Davis and vocalist Rick Wayy completing the line-up. After recording a demo, Baptism in Blood, in 1985, Powell and Wayy were replaced by Tony Sheaffe on guitar and Russell Ruszinski on vocals.

Armoured Angel underwent another line-up change in 1986, reforming as a trio with Lucy joined by the brothers Joel Green (drums, vocals) and Matt Green (guitar).[1] With this line-up, the band recorded a second demo, Wings of Death, in Easter 1989, which gained a strong fan base. A third demo, Communion, was released in 1990. An Australian east coast tour followed, plus a re-release of Wings of Death on English record label CCG in 1991.[1][5] In 1991, Joel Green organised the Metal for the Brain festival as a benefit concert for his friend, Alec Hurley, who had been assaulted in 1990 and rendered brain-damaged and permanently disabled.[6] The group continued to organise the annual festival until 1996.[1][7]

Armoured Angel released their first EP, Stigmartyr in December 1992 through Id Records, a development arm of Polygram.[1] The band supported Morbid Angel on their Australian tour that same year.[4] Australian heavy metal magazine Hot Metal awarded a five out of five review for the EP.[8] In January 1993, the band appeared at the Big Day Out festival in Sydney and supported Carcass and Bolt Thrower on their respective Australian tours. The band's second EP Mysterium was released in April 1994.[1] A short tour of the United Kingdom and a headlining show in Germany followed in 1995.

After returning to Australia, Jaz Coleman (of Killing Joke) began producing Armoured Angel's album,[1] in Sydney's Powerhouse Studios in 1996. That same year, Armoured Angel featured at the Melbourne leg of the Big Day Out festival tour. The band split shortly after and the album was never released.[9] Lucy reformed Armoured Angel in 1998 with guitarist and vocalist Yuri Ward (of Psychrist) and drummer Steven Luff.[1] In July 1999 their debut album, Angel of the Sixth Order, was released,[1] on Sydney's Warhead Records. This incarnation of Armoured Angel was short-lived, with the band splitting again late in 1999 after the closure of Warhead Records and the departure of Luff.

According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, Armoured Angel's "earliest influences included UK bands such as Motorhead and Venom."[1] They pushed the musical boundaries of the local thrash metal scene[10] and were pioneers of Australian death metal.[1][11][12]

Aftermath

After Armoured Angel's disbandment, Lucy performed a short stint in Canberra death metal band, Reign of Terror. Ward continued work with Psychrist, also performing as a live member of Lord Kaos, and later formed death and thrash metallers, Kill for Satan. Joel Green currently performs for doom metallers Witchskull. Lucy and the Green brothers reunited in late 2006 to remaster their back catalogue, including a 1996 pre-production demo of the band's shelved album, Hymns of Hate. A compilation album featuring all of the 1987-1996 line-up's material was released in 2013.

Members
  • Glen "Lucy" Luck – bass guitar (1982–1996, 1998–1999)
  • Rowan Powell – guitars (1982–1985)
  • Dave Davis – drums (1984–1985)
  • Rick Wayy – vocals (1984–1985)
  • Russell Ruszinski – vocals (1985–1986)
  • Tony Sheaffe – guitar (1985–1986)
  • Joel Green – drums, vocals (1986–1996)
  • Matt Green – guitar (1986–1996)
  • Steve Luff – drums (1998–1999)
  • Yuri Ward – guitar, vocals (1998–1999)

Discography

Wings of Death

  • Released: 1991
  • Format: 7" vinyl
  • Label: CCG (England)

Stigmartyr

  • Released: 1992
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Id/Polygram (Australia)

Mysterium

  • Released: 1994
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Id/Polygram (Australia)

Angel of the Sixth Order

Demo Recordings

Baptism in Blood

Wings of Death

Communion

References
  1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Armoured Angel'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
  2. "Just for the record, CDs still rule over downloads". The Canberra Times. 13 August 2006. p. 20.
  3. Middleton, Karen (8 May 1986). "A musical holocaust about to explode – Nice boys play heavy metal music". The Canberra Times. The Good Times. Retrieved 24 May 2017 – via Trove.
  4. Scott (2008). "Armoured Angel: A Historic Interview". Fallout Magazine. 9: 22–24. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012.
  5. Shakallis, Chris; Gugler, Robina; Anderson, Cody; Nebauer, Steve (2013). Head full of flames: punk in the nations's capital 1977 to 1992 – alternate sub-kulture and tribal interactions. Hughes, A.C.T.: Robina Jane Gugler. pp. 270–271. ISBN 9780646905662.
  6. Bachelard, Michael (16 November 1991). "Street links help youth safety net". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. p. 3. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  7. Tijs, Andrew (16 August 2006). "Farewell to Metal for the Brain". Undercover. Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  8. "Radio sounds its attitude". The Canberra Times. 15 October 1992. Retrieved 24 May 2017 – via Trove.
  9. Griffin, Brian (2015). Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal. Lulu.com. p. 2008. ISBN 9780994320612.
  10. Strong, Catherine. "The case for extreme metal". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  11. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Armoured Angel – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  12. "Metal bands aid charity". The Canberra Times. 30 November 1995. Retrieved 24 May 2017 – via Trove.
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