Originally formed in 1978, the Amebix emerged amid the cauldron of fury that fermented across Crass Records’ first ‘Bullshit Detector’ collection. Sonically however, the West Country outfit sought to transcend anarcho orthodoxy, as was immediately evident from their eschatological debut EP, ‘Who’s The Enemy’ [Spiderleg, 1982]. Although frontman Rob ‘The Baron’ Miller retrospectively described the four-track set as ‘a very basic and unremarkable effort’, tracks such as ‘Carnage’ and ‘Curfew’ clearly indicated that the group’s palate of influences and sonic ambitions tapped into something far more primal and post-dystopian than many of their contemporaries.
Eighteen months on, now hardened by the uncertainties and deprivations of squat living on Thatcher’s peasant reservations, the Amebix extended their developmental curve with a second collection, ‘No Sanctuary’ – a 12” seven track EP that emerged in 1984. Driven by Miller’s elephantine bass, the disc was suffused with an expansive primality, with the likes of ‘Progress?’ and ‘Winter’ shimmering as though broadcast across a desolate wasteland as the last rites of a doomed race.
A chance encounter with Dead Kennedys’ demagogue Jello Biafra at Southern Studios led to the Amebix becoming the first UK band signed to Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles label. The resultant album, 1985’s ‘Arise’ saw the group weld their heavy metal influences ever more firmly to their post-punk basis. ‘There was simply no one else at that time playing heavy metal with a punk attitude’, recalled Miller. ‘We were steeped in Black Sabbath despite our musical illiteracy, waking up to Motörhead and bass power chord riffing. Gigs were amazing – people didn’t know quite what the fuck was going on, we were intense, heavy as hell, and loud.’
A move to Heavy Metal records in 1987 yielded the appropriately named ‘Monolith’ LP. An impassable slab of sound and volume, it would be their final release of new material.
Until now. Having walked away from Babylon to spend two decades as a self-taught swordsmith on the Isle Of Skye, Miller felt that the time was right for the Amebix to arise once more. Upon returning the group to active status, brothers Rob and Stig were delighted to find the bands’ influence had extended across the Atlantic to long-time fan, Roy Mayorga (Soulfly, Stone Sour), who jumped at the chance to occupy the drum bunker. Rob admits that without the addition of Roy there would be no Amebix today, ‘Roy has bought more than just musicianship to the band, he has bought discipline and an understanding of what we truly wanted to convey, and the experience to allow that to manifest.”
In early 2009, the Amebix made their first ever American appearances, selling out eight venues across the country. Buoyed by this initial success, they returned to the US and Canada for a second tour later in 2009, and made numerous European appearances. This inspired the trio to record a single, ‘Knights of the Black Sun’, which was released in 2011 ahead of its mothership album ‘Sonic Mass’. ‘It took three years, looking for opportunities to meet and create music – different places, different times,’ explains Rob. ‘It feels like this album grew organically around us. It’s a mature reflection on the lives we’ve lived and a vindication of the journey.’
This maturity is evident by the control and restrained evident throughout ‘Sonic Mass’. Essentially a suite of songs, opener ‘Days’ begins pastorally, drifting on the winds of future histories. A martial snare kicks in and the burners are lit – the brothers’ Miller’s trademark bass and guitar assault detonates as in times past – but here, today, there is skilled restraint that renders the song cinematic and expansive. After the instrumental ‘Shield Wall’ takes the band back to the bunker, back to their roots, portentous standout track ‘The Messenger’ is ancient and primal – sounding like the Cult Of The Black Sun slaying Killing Joke upon the Festival Of Spoons.
The panoply of paganisms expands throughout ‘God Of The Grain’ as Eastern infusions are juxtaposed against visceral, churning post-post-punk, as Rob intones, ‘I am the light that never ends. Primeval lore and the forgotten knowledge of endless, countless lives is poured forth across a metallic flange assault before the insidious ‘Visitation’ opens the nightmare box.
The titular two-part opus opens with acoustic harmonics. It is the calm before the final storm. Heavy and fast, ‘Sonic Mass Part Two’ detonates amid a miasma of crescent moons, defenestrated cruciforms and ambiguous sirens, as axes are shredded along with the fatted lamb. ‘Here Come The Wolf’ explores the mythic scope of absolutes subverting the loud/quiet template to unsettle, while the tribal, elementally cosmological ‘The One’ expands from speakers as a soaring evocation of dark grandeur.
The last verse of ‘Sonic Mass’, ‘Knight of the Black Sun’ underlines the manner in which the disc represents the continuation of the band’s development that had been rudely interrupted almost a quartet of a century ago. This development is largely predicated upon the trio’s increased mastery of their instruments, which enables them to expand into more complex arrangements far removed from the direct assault of early material such as the mighty-but-basic ‘Arise’ and ‘Curfew’. Whereas Rob’s bass would previously have been employed to titanic sledgehammer effect, here it is employed to add subtle infusions to a track that begins gently, before building toward an ominous anthemic peak. Underpinned by insistent riffage, discreet synths and thundering toms, Rob’s melancholic, reflective vocals convey the mythic lyrical content effectively to evoke a sense of frosted, bleak abandonment that is described by the band as ‘a lighter moment’.
Happily, it seems as if there will be more to come. ‘We are all a band of brothers, and the entire story of Amebix is yet to be completed,’ asserts Rob.
Sonic Mass is available in CD, picture disc, and genuinely sumptuous limited gatefold edition red vinyl. For more information check out the Easy Action website.