Superheist
The name was soon altered to Superheist, Berger supplied the "Super" while Norton provided the "Heist". McLeod and Norton had met at Overport primary school in Frankston Victoria in 1980 and later attended Frankston High School together. Sean Pentecost was a mutual friend who worked at a local music store, Frankston Guitar Village, and had previously played with Norton, Mcleod and Sudborough in the alt rock band Big Pop Monsters. Superheist's first live performance was at the 21st Century Dance Club, Frankston supporting the Cosmic Psychos. In 1994 they issued a five-track extended play cassette, Apocalypse, which was recorded at Backbeach Studios in Rye, Victoria and later distributed by Warhead records, The band's style at this early stage was grindcore, in the Napalm Death mould and incorporated synth tones, samples and clean vocals mixed amongst the brutal blast beats and death growls. 
The band's focus was to push the boundaries of extreme metal whilst introducing pop and nu-wave inspired melodies and hook lines. The demo was met with rave reviews across the country and as the band began touring nationally they quickly gained a loyal and fanatic following. Later that year bassist Sudborough was replaced with Adam "Donut" Donath and the next year was spent touring the country with bands such as In:Extremis, Damaged and Beanflipper. Superheist were now a regular feature of the Melbourne grind scene and played at such venues as The GB and The Hell Club, the band were learning their craft and honing what would eventually become the foundation for a world class live show. In early December 1995 they appeared at the annual Metal for the Brain festival in Canberra, which raised funds for the National Brain Injury Foundation. This pivotal performance helped the band set themselves up for the next few years to come. They returned for the 1996 festival but by that time Seanheist had left the group due to his waining interest in playing extreme metal. Aaren "Suds" Suttil (1974–2006) of Dreadnaught replaced him on drums.
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.