I hope I needed it yesterday,
Then I'll breathe in your life,
Wrap it up and break away.
- Walk the Earth
- Frankenbok
- Full Scale
- Mammal
- RIFLEMAN
- The Lounge Machine
- The Arcane Saints
Superheist are an Australian Heavy Metal band, originally formed in 1993 by school friends Richie "dw" Norton (guitar) and Rod "Berger" McLeod (vocals). Along with keyboardist Fetah Sabawi, bassist Adrian Donathnote and drummer Sean "Seanheist" Pentecost, they were originally a Grindcore band in the same mould as Napalm Death, before becoming more of a Nu Metal / Groove Metal / Alternative Metal act.
They gained initial attention with their 2000 EP, 8 Miles High, followed by their debut album, The Prize Recruit, in 2001, which was led by the singles "Bullet" and "Step Back". The album was well-received and commercially successful in their native Australia, leading to the band gaining label interest in the US. However, their big USA break was scuttled by the September 11 terror attacks, leading to a period of dissatisfaction in the band which saw Berger quit later that same year.
The band later recruited vocalist Joey Biro as McLeod's replacement, and the new line-up released Identical Remote Control Reactions in 2002, spearheaded by the singles "7 Years" and "A Dignified Rage".
Biro was fired in 2004 following issues with drug abuse, and the band broke up shortly afterwards. The subsequent hiatus would last nearly twelve years, with its members working on various other projects in-between.
Norton announced Superheist's reformation in 2016 with a whole new line-up, featuring vocalist Ezekiel Ox, Keir Gotcher on guitars, John Sankey on drums and former bassist Si Durrant returning to bass duties. The new Superheist released Ghosts of the Social Dead in 2016, and Sidewinder in 2019, before Ox announced his departure from the band via social media in 2020. Norton and Durrant would assume vocal duties on the group's 2022 release, MMXX. To date, Norton is the only original member still remaining in the band, to the point where Superheist is generally regarded as his band.
Despite their hiatus and many line-up changes, they've retained a loyal fanbase, and have proven themselves to be one of the biggest innovators in the Australian metal scene.
Members:
- Richie "dw" Norton - guitars (1993-present), lead vocals (2020-present)
- Simon Durrant - bass (1997-1999, 2017-present), non-clean vocals (2020-present)
- Keir Gotcher - guitars (2016-present)
- John Sankey - drums (2016-present)
Former members:
- Rod "Berger" McLeod - vocals (1993-2001)
- Joey Biro - vocals (2002-2004)
- Ezekiel Ox - vocals (2016-2020)
- Sean "Seanheist" Pentecost - drums (1993-1995; 1998-2004)
- Fetah Sebawi - keyboards (1993-1996;1999-2004)
- Drew Dedman - bass (1999-2004; 2016-2017)
- Adam Donath - bass (1993-1997)
- Aaren "Suds" Suttil – drums (1996–1997)
- Adam Messenger – drums (1996)
- Adrian Sudborough – bass (1993)
Discography:
Studio Albums And EPs
- Apocalypse demo EP (1994; was lost for many years before being officially re-released in 2018)
- Chrome Matrix EP (1997)
- 8 Miles High EP (2000)
- The Prize Recruit (2001)
- Identical Remote Control Reactions (2002)
- Ghosts of the Social Dead (2016)
- Lights EP (2018)
- Sidewinder (2019)
- MMXX (2022)
Compilations
- New, Rare, Live (2004)
- The History Between Us (2018)
Tropes have gone from bad to worse!
- Album Title Drop: "Deliverance" for The Prize Recruit, "Beaming Down From Satellites" for Identical Remote Control Reactions.
- Careful with That Axe: Berger, especially at the end of "Bullet".
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The Apocalypse demo EP, recorded when they were a Grindcore band, and therefore bears zero resemblance to their later work.
- Foreshadowing: A subtle sign that things weren't all that rosy during the Berger era came in the liner notes for The Prize Recruit, where, in the midst of his thank yous to everyone involved, dw's only mention of Berger was that "we butt heads, but you're still my brother". Sure enough, less than a year after the album's release, Berger would go on to acrimoniously quit the band following a string of no-show appearances during their 2001 tour.
- Genre Mashup: Despite largely being known for their Rap Metal and Groove Metal sound, their use of electronic elements and experimentation, particularly from Identical Remote Control Reactions onward, has seen them embrace quite a few other styles as well, such as Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal, Djent, Punk, Thrash Metal and even softer acoustic elements.
- Genre Shift: Started out as a Grindcore band, before shifting to a more groove/electronic-infused Nu Metal style. Following their hiatus, they dropped most of the electronic elements and moved to more of a conventional Alternative Metal / Rap Metal sound.
- Greatest Hits Album: The History Between Us.
- Grief Song: "Seize the Day", dedicated to their late drummer, Sean "Seanheist" Pentecost, who passed away in 2020.
- I Am the Band: dw became this by default due to being the one consistent member who continues driving Superheist forward. It essentially became set in stone when he took lead vocal duties for the first time on MMXX.
- Letters 2 Numbers: "1.4.U", "2 Die 4".
- Madness Mantra: "Things have gone from bad to worse!" from "Bullet".
- Metal Scream: Berger is predominantly Types 1 and 3, Joey Biro and Ezekiel Ox are both Type 1, and Si Durrant crosses Types 1, 2 and 3, depending on the song (although he tends to utilise Type 1 the most).
- Non-Appearing Title: "Karma", "Beach View", "Deliverance", "Uncanny Decadence", "Unlearn".
- Soprano and Gravel: A staple of the band's sound, regardless of vocalist. The current line-up has dw and Si split vocal duties, with dw on cleans and Si doing the growls.
- Revolving Door Band: Every stage of the band's career has been beset by line-up changes, with dw now the only remaining original member.
