Superheist
Superheist were formed in Frankston, Victoria in 1993. The original line-up was Rod "Berger" McLeod on vocals, DW Norton on guitar, Sean "Seanheist" Pentecost on drums, Fetah Sabawi on keyboards and samples, and Adrian Sudborough on bass. The band was originally to be named Orgheist, which was inspired by the European grind core bands that they were influenced by at the time.
Superheist
In September 1997 the band signed to Melbourne's Shock Records on its subsidiary label Cutthroat and released a five-track EP, Chrome Matrix .] This EP showed a shift from traditional grindcore to a more polished industrial style of death metal. More samples and clean vocals crept into the sound along with more emphasis on keyboards and loops. The band even experimented with re-mixes with the track "Platinum Matrix" The epic "Subhuman" showcased the versatility of McLeod's vocals and clever lyrics. The EP also housed two hidden tracks from the Apocalypse demo, Retarded Barbie and Perfect World. During the recording bassist Adam "Donut" Donath severed his thumb in an industrial accident and was not able to finish his parts. The remaining bass parts for the EP were completed by Norton, while Donut recovered still unsure of his ability to ever play the bass again. Local Melbourne artist Barney "Barnaby Butters" Hughes (deceased) joined the group temporarily to assist on bass guitar duties for several live shows.
More line-up problems plagued the band with drummer Aaren Suttil's commitments to Dreadnaught increasing, he chose to leave the band on good terms. In:Extremis drummer Adam Messenger filled in for the next run of live shows and recorded a number of studio tracks with the band including "Times Killing" and "Pocket Full Of Lies." These tracks appear on the band's 2004 release New Rare Live
In late 1998, After a meeting and an exchange of demos between Berger, DW and Seanheist at the Esplanade Hotel in St.Kilda, Seanheist rejoined the group. Excited by the new sound and the shift away from Grindcore/ Industrial death metal into a more nu-metal vein, songwriting continued, and the foundations were laid for what would eventually become the 8 Miles High EP and the birth of the classic Superheist bouncing metal sound. The post Chrome Matrix demos included early versions of Karma, Fluid and Syncin’ In. Chris Ainsworth (A friend of Back Beach Studios owner Mark Rachelle) temporarily took up keyboards and samples duties while Fetah Sabawi travelled overseas. Superheist then went on to play a series of shows up and down the east coast. With no release for well over a year the band struggled to maintain numbers at live shows. In 1998 Superheist announced bass guitarist Simon "Si" Durrant, from Adelaide-based industrial death metalers, In:Extremis would be the band's full-time replacement for the injured Donut who never regained his full playing ability.