Nitocris
Band Members
- Line-Up
- Morgana Ancone (vocals)
- Sarah Anderson (bass)
- Jess Finlayson (guitar, vocals)
- Andrea Stanway (drums)
- Kira Taylor (guitar)
Website
Formed
Sydney, NSW, 1992
Band Information
The Sydney all-female band started life as a punchy and exuberant act whose style encompassed a catchy mixture of raw punk energy and flat out heavy metal with songs that relied on hook laden choruses and killer riffs. While their success may have been surpassed by the likes of Skulker and Lash, Nitocris’ achievement as the first widely successful all-female rock band in Australia marks them as a significant entry in the country’s music history. In their final years the band mellowed in their musical approach but the music was still considerably heavy.
Formed when the girls were just 13 in the early 90s, it wasn't until Ancone joined in 1993 did they begin playing live and clever marketing of their age and gender coupled with their obvious musical abilities meant the band was playing major festivals such as the Big Day Out and international supports even before their debut EP was released. Heavy touring and a string of major supports with the likes of Suicidal Tendencies, The Cult and Armoured Angel (with whom they shared management) raised the band's profile beyond that of novelty status and their strong and highly infectious recordings maintained their popularity. The group also played on the disastrous Alternative Nation festival in 1995.
Management hassles and a lack of support for the "Butter" EP caused some downgrading of the band's profile in late 1997 – early 1998, but the gradual re-definition of their musical direction towards a more poppier style and a strong never-say-die attitude began to bring Nitocris back into favour.
The "Darkside" release was originally issued as a single but later considered an EP, receiving considerable airplay and the band did their first full national tour in 1999 with the Turn Up Your Radio tour.
Their long-awaited self-titled second album was released in July 2000 and was a further definition of the band's mellower and more melodic style, gaining them a 2001 ARIA nomination. Nitocris toured nationally with the Big Day Out in 2001 and were hardly off the road thereafter, headlining their own shows as well as playing with artists as diverse as Deep Purple, The Whitlams and The Screaming Jets. The band planned to start work on a third album release in 2001 but late in the year announced they had split up.
Ancone when on to form Morgana and the Monstars and Finlayson formed the Fyreflyes. She has since embarked on a solo career as of mid-2007.
In March 2009, Nitocris announced a one-off reunion show for September.
Discography
Albums:
| 1994 | Screaming Dolorous | Phantom | |
| 2000 | Nitocris | Phantom |
Singles:
| 1995 | Haemorrhanging Souls | Phantom | |
| 1998 | Darkside | Phantom | |
| 2000 | In the Middle | Phantom | |
| 2001 | Spouse Killer | Phantom |
EPs:
| 1994 | Ten Stories Down | Phantom | |
| 1995 | Epic Voyage | Phantom | |
| 1996 | Hyperland | Phantom | |
| 1997 | Butter | Phantom |
Split:
| 1994 | Suxiety (split with Purr) | independent |
Compilation tracks:
| Year | Track Title | Album Title | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Suxiety" | A Fistful of Zen Koans | Zen |
| 1994 | "Anger" | Youngblood 4 | rooArt |
| 1995 | "Haemorrhaging Souls" | Alternative Nation | BMG |
| 1995 | "Ten Stories Down" | Eleven | ABC/EMI |
| 1995 | "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" | Fusebox | BMG |
| 1995 | "W.A.P. Dogs" | Metallurgy | Metallurgy |
| 1996 | "Sycophant" | She's a Rebel | |
| 1997 | "Anxieties Smith" | Thirteen | ABC/EMI |
| 1998 | "I Love Rock N Roll" | Rock | Phantom/Chatterbox |
| 2001 | "In the Middle" | Indie 2001 | Columbia |