Dreadnaught
Band members
- Current line-up
- Greg Trull (vocals)
- Richie Poate (guitar, keys)
- Damon Alcock (guitar)
- Ando McDougall (bass)
- Sandy Bettenay (drums)
- Former members
- Suds (Aaren Suttill) (drums) (1992 - 2004)
- Squiz (Andrew Livingstone-Squires) (bass) (1992 - 2000)
Website
Formed
Launceston, TAS, 1992
Band members
Originally formed from the dissolution of various Tasmanian acts, Dreadnaught’s basic style has changed from a technical thrash metal reminiscent of Death’s Individual Thought Patterns album to a dirty, Motörhead-like rock and roll.
The band moved to Melbourne shortly after formation and released 'Flowers' as a single on cassette through Subversive Records in 1995. At the time, Trull was also singing for Discordia, a band he continued to front concurrently until 1997.
In 1996 Body.Blood.Skin.Mind appeared, a combination of thought-provoking lyrics with exquistely crafted songs which struck a perfect balance between spurts of furious anger and moments of delicate introspection. After the album's release however, Dreadnaught struck difficulty, firstly with the label, with whom the band wasn't happy, and secondly with the spelling of its name. In attempting to register the name "Dreadnought", the band learned that a Queensland-based finance company had the name already trademarked. To avoid a wholesale name change, "Dreadnought" became "Dreadnaught"; the band successfully sued their label Deported and the album was re-released by BlahBlahBlah in late 1997 in time for Dreadnaught to replace Superheist at that year's Metal for the Brain festival.
In mid-1998 'Idiosyncrasy' was released by the band independently. The new EP showed a slight change in style from the album but was still dark and moody. Around the same time, Suds formed Atomizer.
Although the band was now unsigned, things would change for Dreadnaught in 1999. Supports to Cathedral and Pitchshifter and then a national tour with Nevermore were followed up by a third Metal for the Brain appearance and a signing to Dark Carnival Records, the Australian development imprint of Roadrunner. The band's mid-2000 release, Down to Zero displayed a significantly more rock feel than previously but still retained Dreadnaught's hallmarks of moody heaviness.
Late in 2000, Dreadnaught suffered its first line-up change when bass player Squiz was replaced by McDougall, although most of the bass parts on the 'One Piece Missing' EP were played by Michael Meagher. That EP was a further departure for the band, featuring acoustic songs and covers of tracks by Thin Lizzy and Pink Floyd. A joint tour with Frankenbok in June 2001 took them through most of the country and was followed late in the year by shows with Devin Townsend and Nickelback and a fifth Metal for the Brain showing.
After a relatively quiet period of almost two years, Dreadnaught began work on a new album in mid-2004 but almost immediately Suds announced his departure to concentrate on Atomizer. Bettenay joined the band shortly afterward and Dirty Music was released in late 2005. Suds died on December 27, 2006.
Dreadnaught toured with Testament in February 2007. Late in 2006, Dirty Music was re-released as a double album featuring tracks from all previous releases.
Discography
Albums:
| 1996 | Body.Blood.Skin.Mind | Deported | |
| 2000 | Down to Zero | Dark Carnival | |
| 2005 | Dirty Music | Roadrunner |
EP:
| 1998 | Idiosyncrasy | self release | |
| 2001 | One Piece Missing | Dark Carnival |
Compilation tracks:
| Year | Track Title | Album Title | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "The Game" | Full Metal Racket | ABC/EMI |
| 2001 | "The Game" | Heavy Shift | Columbia |
| 2001 | "Pushed to the Limit?" | Loud Vol. 1 | Columbia |
| 2002 | "Cold Sweat" | Hip New Sounds | High Voltage |