The Amity Affliction
The Amity Affliction | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Gympie, QLD |
| Genres | Metalcore |
| Years active | 2002 - present |
| Labels | Modern Music, Skull and Bones, Boomtown, Roadrunner |
| Associated acts |
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| Website | http://www.facebook.com/theamityafflictionofficial |
| Members | Joel Birch, Dan Brown, Ahren Stringer, Joe Longobardi |
| Past members |
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Band members
- Current line-up
- Joel Birch (vocals)
- Dan Brown (guitar)
- Ahren Stringer (bass, vocals)
- Joe Longobardi (drums)
- Former members
- Ryan Burt (drums) 2008 - 2018
- Troy Brady (guitar) 2002 - 2014
- Imran Siddiqi (guitar) (2011 - 2012)
- Clint Splattering (Clint Ellis) (guitar) (2009 - 2011)
- Trad Nathan (keys) (2007 - 2011)
- Chris Burt (guitar) (2007 - 2009)
- Troels Thomasson (drums) (2007 - 2008)
- Lachlan Faulkner (drums) (2003 - 2007)
- Garth Buchanan (bass) (2003 - 2007)
Band information
The Amity Affliction formed in Gympie, Queensland in 2003. After a brief period in 2002 under the name Left Lane Ends, the original line-up featured Troy Brady and Ahren Stringer on guitar plus Garth Buchanan and Lachlan Faulkner. This line-up, with Stringer on vocals, produced an early demo before Joel Birch was recruited as lead vocalist in late 2004.
A self-titled EP in 2005 was followed by an east coast tour. In 2007, Faulkner and Buchanan both left the band, with Buchanan joining Melbourne band Behind Crimson Eyes. Stringer switched to bass when Chris Burt joined on guitar and Troels Thomasson took over behind the kit. Trad Nathan was also added on keys and The Amity Affliction released the "High Hopes" EP on Skull and Bones Records with a DVD component.
Melbourne indie label Boomtown Records released their debut album, Severed Ties, featuring new addition Ryan Burt on drums. Severed Ties featured guest appearances from Michael Crafter and JJ Peters of I Killed the Prom Queen, The Getaway Plan's Matthew Wright and Lochlan Watt of Nuclear Summer and peaked at #26 on the ARIA albums chart. This was followed by national touring.
In 2009, The Amity Affliction opened on The Getaway Plan's break-up tour before headlining their own shows and touring with We Are the Ocean. A UK visit followed, during which they played with We Are the Ocean and Flood of Red. After a show in London in December 2009, Chris Burt left the band. The Getaway Plan's Clint Splattering replaced him.
Youngbloods was recorded in New York between April and May 2010. Upon release on June 18, it went to #6 on the ARIA chart. An Australian tour with Misery Signals and Confession followed. In October 2010, Boomtown released Glory Days, a compilation of demos, EPs and b-sides. A UK tour with Asking Alexandria in late 2010 was followed by the band returning to Australia to play on the Soundwave Festival in February and March 2011. That was followed by a 30-date run across the US. Mid-2011 the band toured with the reformed I Killed the Prom Queen. Youngbloods was then re-released with extra DVD content to co-incide with a sold-out national tour with Asking Alexandria and Skyway in October 2011. Imran Siddiqi joined when Splattering left with the reformation of The Getaway Plan and Nathan also departed and was not replaced.
In January 2012, The Amity Affliction toured with the Big Day Out. Shortly afterward, the band signed to Roadrunner and flew to the US to work on their third album. During this time, Siddiqi left the band and was not replaced. Chasing Ghosts was released on September 7, 2012 and went immediately to #1 on the ARIA album chart. Two weeks later the band embarked on a national tour with The Ghost Inside, Architects and Buried in Verona and were announced as part of 2013's Soundwave Festival line up. Former Confession guitarist Dan Brown was their touring guitarist and became a permanent member in 2013. After a stint on the Vans Warped Tour in the US, the band toured Australia in October with Chelsea Grin and In Hearts Wake. They also appeared on the Australian leg of Vans Warped in November and December. Chasing Ghosts was nominated for the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the 2013 ARIA Awards but lost out to Karnivool's Asymmetry.
Their 2014 single "Don't Lean on Me" debuted in the Australian charts at #24 and Let the Ocean Take Me went to #1 on the albums chart when it was released on June 6, 2014. During a US tour on Ocotber 11 2014, Troy Brady announced his departure. He was not replaced and The Amity Affliction continued as a single-guitar band. After the Vans Warped Tour, they headlined across the US with Chelsea Grin, Secrets and The Plot in You. Their Big Ass Australian tour in December of that year also featured A Day to Remember, Motionless in White and Hands Like Houses.
The Amity Affliction's fifth album This Could be Heartbreak was released on August 12, 2016, becoming their third consecutive #1 ARIA Album. A national tour with Trophy Eyes followed, with international touring until the end of the year. Ryan Burt announced his departure in February 2018.
Their sixth album, and fourth consecutive #1, was Misery, on 24 August 2018. Joe Longobardi was credited as a session drummer on that album but was officially announced as the band's new drummer soon after and in early 2019 they toured nationally with Underoath, Crossfaith and Pagan. Their first album with Longobardi as an official member, Everyone Loves You... Once You Leave Them took a notably heavier approach than previously and stopped their run of consecutive #1s by only landing at #2. Touring wasn't possible due to COVID and the band drip-fed a new EP in 2021, Somewhere Beyond the Blue, released in December 2021. The Amity Affliction was to headline Unify Gathering in January 2022 but that festival has been postponed.
Discography
Albums:
| 2008 | Severed Ties | Boomtown | |
| 2010 | Youngbloods | Boomtown | |
| 2010 | Glory Days | Boomtown | |
| 2012 | Chasing Ghosts | Roadrunner | |
| 2014 | Let the Ocean Take Me | Roadrunner |
EPs:
| 2004 | Early Demos | Modern Music | |
| 2005 | The Amity Affliction | Modern Music | |
| 2007 | High Hopes | Skull and Bones |