Synthetic Breed

Infobox musical artist
Name = Synthetic Breed


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = flagicon|Australia Melbourne, Australia
Genre = Metal
Industrial
Years_active = 2002 – present
Label = Faultline Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.syntheticbreed.com/ Official Site]
Current_members = Cal Hughes
Vincent Zylstra
Jonas Bahlo Daniel Luttick Darcy Mildren
Past_members = Mark Condello Nick Bose Reza Nasseri

Synthetic Breed are an Australian extreme metal band formed in Melbourne, 2002.
They have toured and supported many top extreme metal acts, including Arch Enemy. [ [http://loudside.com/music/artists/Synthetic%20Breed/ Loudside.com] ] Synthetic Breed performed at With Full Force 2006, alongside the likes of Korn, In Flames, The Haunted, Soilwork, Celtic Frost and Kreator. [ [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=48456 Band list for With Full Force 2006] ]

Lineup

Cal Hughes - Lead Vocals
Vincent Zylstra - Guitar, Backing Vox
Jonas Bahlo - Bass, Backing Vox
Darcy Mildren - Guitar
Daniel Luttick - Drums

History

While some of the songs still played today originated in the days before the name Synthetic Breed was coined (eg. Cybernetics and Neuro Connectivity), the band really became the entity it is today after Reza Nasseri and Jonas Bahlo joined the line up in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Due to the lack of a suitably dedicated drummer or vocalist it was not until the 13th of June 2003 that Synthetic Breed appeared live, and even then it was with a drum machine.

Before Daniel Luttick began playing drums, Synthetic Breed appeared as a four piece consisting of Vincent Zylstra and Reza Nasseri on guitars, Jonas Bahlo on Bass and Mark Condello on vocals. The gifted Nick Bose joined and left the band a number of times, but never actually played drums live. Aside from unreleased video footage, Nick’s contribution to Synthetic Breed extends to his contributions to Censorship of Common Knowledge, released on Synthetic Breed Redux in 2007.

By March 2004, after many months of auditioning suitable drummers, Daniel Luttick had been brought into the line up, which finally enabled Synthetic Breed to appear live as five piece band. The line up lasted two shows… After the show at EV’s Metalfest, Synthetic Breed played one more show at the Green Room in Melbourne before vocalist Mark Condello made a final break with the band. At this point much new material was written. The challenges faced became the engine for innovation. Two original tracks that had not made it onto the self titled EP (Cybernetics and Eclectic)dn were re-recorded for the new CD, but these recordings were shelved as more aggressive material was being conceived, new equipment acquired and the guitar tuning dropped from B to A. Catatonic and Fragile are early products of this new, dark phase that encapsulated the mood of the band at the time.

By the start of October 2004 Synthetic Breed were back on stage. No suitable shouter had been found by this point, so Reza had stepped up to the mike filling in, while Vinn and Jonas took on more of the backing vocals. The need of the band to put on a show as a four piece tightened the live set and gave Synthetic Breed the impetus to focus more on the vocal side of music.

On the 13th of April 2005 Cal Hughes played his first full gig with Synthetic Breed. Cal had in fact already been on stage once before: Reza was suffering from a heavy cold during his scheduled last show on vocals at the Arthouse in Carlton on the 16th of April and halfway through handed the mike to Cal who had already been rehearsing with Synthetic Breed for some time. From this point Synthetic Breed had been able to play shows the way they envisaged: Cal on lead and three backing mikes for a kaleidoscope of vocals, much to the consternation of some front of house mixers; much to the delight of the fans appreciating its intensity.

With the successful appearance at the With Full Force Festival in 2006, Synthetic Breed had built a big enough reputation to draw interest from international record labels. Through their Japan based manager, and a set of six demo tracks, a contract was made with which to create the band’s first full length CD that was to be titled after its opening track: Catatonic. With the band focussed firstly on demos for management, then The Art of Shredding – A Tribute to Dime CD and finally the Catatonic recordings, little time was left over for shows. The only two remaining shows still undertaken in 2006 were once again played as a four piece. Personal differences between Reza and the rest of the band saw his departure and an immediate quest began to find a suitable replacement. The field narrowed quickly and through skill and dedication, Darcy Mildren become the new fifth member of Synthetic Breed.

Jonas Bahlo is also a teacher at Mooroolbark Secondary College in Victoria, Australia.

Biography

Psychotic blasts of biomechanical fury, pulsating poly-rhythms and annihilating metronomic precision are the signature sounds of Australian based Metal band, Synthetic Breed. Demonstrating an extensive knowledge of the Metal genre; with songs composed by the cream of local Australian talent that expose some of the most explosive and talented players on the scene today, Synthetic Breed have performed with the best Metal acts that Australia has to offer.

Synthetic Breed recently supported Swedish metal group Arch Enemy on their Australian tour and were invited to appear at 'With Full Force 2006’ arguably the biggest Metal festival on the planet, held in Leipzig, Germany. Synthetic Breed performed alongside International bands such as Korn, In Flames, Napalm Death, Trivium, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Opeth, Soulfly, The Haunted and The Black Dahlia Murder to name a few.

Synthetic Breed’s second EP Fractured received critical acclaim the world over by displaying some of the heaviest and most technically intense contemporary music, it being awarded Demo of the month by "Metal Hammer" magazine (Germany) in September 2006.

On the 16th of February 2008, after much speculation their debut full length album Catatonic (Synthetic Breed album) was released through Faultline Records. Synthetic Breed’s musical careers are now set to shift into top gear by taking their unique live show to the rest of the world. Utilising high quality lighting techniques, sound engineering, unique computer generated imagery projection and incorporating triggered sound bytes, samples and percussion into their set, the whole experience is nothing short of an assault on the senses and the feedback from their fans who have witnessed them in a live setting re-affirms this fact.

Discography

2003: Synthetic Breed EP
2005: Fractured EP
2007: With Full Force 2006 - Live in Germany
2007: Synthetic Breed Redux EP
2007: Fractured Redux EP
2007: Catatonic

External links

* [http://www.syntheticbreed.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/synbreed Myspace Page]

References