Henry's Anger

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Band members

  • Final line-up
    • Rod Yates (bass)
    • Matt Coffey (drums)
    • Paddy Coffey (guitar)
    • Steve Simmons (vocals)
  • Former members
    • Jamie Thomas (vocals) (1997 - 1999)
    • Malcolm McAllister (guitar and vocals) (1994 - 1996)
    • Zebra Nowhere (Michael Patrick Monaghan) (vocals) (1994 - 1997)

Formed

Canberra, ACT, 1994

Band information

Formed in 1994 by Yates and former Addictive and Psychrist entity Coffey, the early line up of Henry's Anger was completed by guitarist Mal McAllister and vocalist Zeb Nowhere with a musical path mapped out in a similar direction to that of TOOL.

The "Interfere" EP contained the track '(sic)' which became something of a favourite on Triple J's Three Hours of Power program. Audiences became more and more used to the band's presence as they supported the likes of Suicidal Tendencies and Mr Bungle, as well as the band's own heavy touring schedule.

After this McAllister was replaced by Paddy Coffey (drummer Matt Coffey's brother) and Nowhere left shortly after, replaced by Jamie Thomas. Paddy and Jamie previously belonged to the Sydney outfit "Carnivale Knowledge" which had toured with Henry's Anger in Sydney and Canberra.

The musical direction shifted somewhat towards a dark and disturbed nu-metal style but the songwriting also matured, resulting in the Blacklining album winning them the title of Australia's best metal band from the UK metal mag Kerrang!. Perhaps the major breakthrough came when Henry's toured with Strapping Young Lad in early 1999, two months before the release of the stunning Personality Test album, a remarkable issue which won the band an ARIA Award nomination for Best Rock Album.

With international interest looming in the band, and midway through a round of promotional shows for the album, Thomas left/was sacked from Henry's Anger, and the band was forced into inactivity for several months while a replacement was sought. In mid December 1999, former Mischling vocalist Steve Simmons was chosen as Henry's Anger's new singer, and virtually at the same moment they were added to the bill of the 2000 Big Day Out in Sydney. The band then toured with Sprung Monkey and featured as the national support for Skinlab's tour in May 2000. While a new EP was promised for August 2000, Henry's Anger suddenly announced they had split up shortly after a showstopping performance at Metal for the Brain in October 2000.

Simmons joined Cryogenic in late 2001 and Thomas, Yates and Paddy Coffey formed Brace around the same time.

Discography

Albums:

1997 Blacklining DC
1999 Personality Test Chatterbox

EP:

1996 Interfere Different Drum
1995 Honest Brutality Horrific Beauty

Compilation tracks:

Year Track Title Album Title Label
1996 "Without Speech" Grow Your Own 2 Foghorn
1997 "(sic)" Thirteen ABC/EMI
2000 "Personality Test" Full Metal Racket ABC/EMI
2000 "Fragment" Radio Rock Vol 1 Columbia