Dead Letter Circus

Three members of the defunct Brisbane band Ochre formed Dead Letter Circus in late 2004, releasing one self-titled EP, and the singles "Disconnect and Apply", "Next in Line" and "The Space on the Wall". "Disconnect and Apply" received significant radio play on Triple J, where it became one of their most played tracks.{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/dead-letter-circus/2007/09/14/1189276937427.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Dead Letter Circus | date=14 September 2007}} They performed at the Big Day Out, Come Together Music Festival in Sydney and the Over-Cranked Music Festival in Brisbane - performing with bands such as Judas Priest, Cog, Karnivool, The Butterfly Effect, Chevelle and Helmet. They also toured Australia extensively on their own headline tours.

In 2008, drummer Scott Davey left the group and was replaced by Luke Williams from Melodyssey.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvcoast.com/dead-letter-circus/biography.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007024258/http://www.tvcoast.com/dead-letter-circus/biography.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2011-10-07 |title=Metal Bands Discography, Biography |publisher=Tvcoast.com |access-date=2015-04-16}} On 30 October 2008, Dead Letter Circus began their Next in Line tour to coincide with the release of the single, playing primarily with Australian bands Melodyssey (still featuring Williams) and Rook. On 29 November 2008, they performed at Coffs Harbour's Open Arms Festival in NSW.

On 4 September 2009, Dead Letter Circus released the single "The Space on the Wall", supported by a national tour with guest bands Sydonia and Many Machines on Nine.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s2659157.htm|title=Dead Letter Circus on the road with new single|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=25 November 2009}} Following a showcase at Musexpo, Dead Letter Circus signed with Warner Bros. Records in Australia and New Zealand{{cite web |url=http://www.anrworldwide.com/newsletter/20090720.php |title=A&R WORLDWIDE - Newsletter CCXXIV |publisher=Anrworldwide.com |access-date=2015-04-16 |archive-date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731103846/http://www.anrworldwide.com/newsletter/20090720.php |url-status=dead }} and CAA for live bookings in North America, and toured the eastern states of Australia in late January through to early March 2010.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=23884344&blogId=525764579 |title=Featured Content on Myspace |publisher=Blogs.myspace.com |access-date=2015-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207065936/http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view |archive-date=7 February 2009}}

On 16 February 2010, Dead Letter Circus revealed via MySpace that their debut album was complete. he band announced a This Is the Warning album launch tour, playing shows in most major capital cities in Australia through April - June 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.liveguide.com.au/Tours/659811/Dead_Letter_Circus/Dead_Letter_Circus_This_Is_the_Warning_Album_Launch_Tour |title=Dead Letter Circus 'This Is the Warning' Album Launch Tour - Dead Letter Circus at Factory Theatre, Marrickville, Sydney, NSW on 4 Jun 10 |publisher=Liveguide.com.au |access-date=2015-04-16}} The album was released on 14 May 2010, titled This Is the Warning. It had its debut at Number 2 on the ARIA Album Chart.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/homeandhosed/blog/s2798120.htm |title=Australian Albums: What To Expect in 2010 | Home & Hosed - New Australian Music | triple j |publisher=Abc.net.au |access-date=2015-04-16}}

Dead Letter Circus supported Muse at their Brisbane shows on 5 and 6 December 2010.{{cite web|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/muse-announce-support-bands-for-australian-tour/|title=Muse announce support bands for Australian tour|access-date=4 January 2011|date=26 August 2010}} They also supported Linkin Park on their Sydney and Melbourne shows on their A Thousand Suns World Tour. In early 2011 they played another headline tour of Australian capital cities with Floating Me.

In May 2011, it was announced that the band had signed a deal with Sumerian Records to release This Is The Warning in North America. On 9 May 2011, This is the Warning was released in the US, with a short UK tour in June and July to promote the release. The band later extended summer tour into the US, supporting Animals As Leaders in a 24-city national tour from July to August.{{cite web|url=http://www.rockedition.com/tours/animals-as-leaders-plot-us-tour/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606114404/http://www.rockedition.com/tours/animals-as-leaders-plot-us-tour/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=6 June 2011 |title=Animals as Leaders Plot US Tour |publisher=Rockedition.com |date=2011-05-31 |access-date=2015-04-16}}

Afterwards, the band returned to Australia for a 21 date national tour to raise awareness about the dangers of coal seam gas titled the "No Fracking Way Tour".[http://voxmusic.com.au/vox-social/vox-news/item/66-dead-letter-circus-new-album] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326025300/http://voxmusic.com.au/vox-social/vox-news/item/66-dead-letter-circus-new-album|date=26 March 2012}} Rob Maric explained the theme of the tour, stating, "it's important to everyone. The planet is descending into complete self-destruction. Musicians have a fortunate position of influence so it's a good opportunity to just say to a large amount of people 'hey, check out this topic'. I respect artists more than politicians so when they speak, I tend to listen."{{cite web|url=http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2011/08/12/dead-letter-circus-say-no-fracking/ |title=Dead Letter Circus say no fracking |publisher=Northernstar.com.au |date=2011-08-12 |access-date=2015-04-16}}

The band started work on a new album in early 2012. According to Benzie, the album may take a more electronic approach than This Is the Warning;, stating "I think we're kind of in a cyborg half-human, half-robot stage at the moment. Yeah, I definitely think we could (be going in an electronic direction). We're leaning toward a bigger, fatter sound, rather than just the guitars."{{cite web|url=http://www.rockedition.com/interviews/interview-with-kim-benzie-of-dead-letter-circus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816105817/http://www.rockedition.com/interviews/interview-with-kim-benzie-of-dead-letter-circus/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=16 August 2011 |title=Interview with Kim Benzie of Dead Letter Circus |publisher=Rockedition.com |date=2011-08-10 |access-date=2015-04-16}} Benzie also stated that thematically, the album would explore the issues of the first album, but build on those as if it were a second chapter in a first person narrative; "Most of the next one’s going to be a bit of the after-effect: how can you combat things like that (not feeling in control of your own life)? How can small people deceive world bankers? The answer will actually be everyone – what everyone does within their individual bubble, how we choose to act, and if that will butterfly effect out." Benzie also said the band aims to have a worldwide release by the end of 2012.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

In an interview with Chemical Magazine in early 2012, they stated that they hope to go into the studio near the beginning of March and have stated that the new album will have a similar feel to songs like "Cage" "This Long Hour" and "The Space on the Wall". Via their Facebook page, "Our new single 'Wake Up' was officially added to rotation on triple j radio today! If you are keen to hear it then simply drop a request between 6–9pm weeknights." On 1 May 2012, the band released "Wake Up" as a free download on their website.

The band performed at a concert in India during November, at Waves '12, a cultural festival of the BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus.[http://www.bits-waves.org/2012/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121012509/http://www.bits-waves.org/2012/|date=21 November 2012}}

In early January 2013, guitarist and founding member Rob Maric announced he would leave the band. Maric had been largely absent from the band's activities in 2012 and decided he would not return.{{cite web|url=http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3212012/guitarist-rob-maric-quits-dead-letter-circus/ |title=Guitarist Rob Maric Quits Dead Letter Circus |publisher=Bloody-disgusting.com |date=2013-01-06 |access-date=2015-04-16}} On 8 January 2013, the band announced Clint Vincent from Melodyssey as the "new guy". The 8th happened to be Vincent's birthday, with the post stating it was the "perfect time for an introduction." The group immediately went on to perform at the Big Day Out festival (Gold Coast only) on 19 January and the Breath of Life festival in Tasmania in March, before heading off on a limited national tour.{{cite web |url=http://deadlettercircus.com/shows |title=Shows |publisher=Deadlettercircus.com |date=2013-11-21 |access-date=2015-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426180017/http://deadlettercircus.com/shows |archive-date=26 April 2015}}

The band signed with record label UNFD in April 2013, to release the second album. On 28 June, Dead Letter Circus announced their second studio album titled The Catalyst Fire was due for release on 9 August 2013. On 5 July, Dead Letter Circus released the new video for their single "Lodestar", directed by Lori Balotti.

On 29 August 2014, preceding 4 sold out acoustic shows, Dead Letter Circus released a surprise acoustic EP titled Stand Apart which contained 6 re-imagined songs from The Catalyst Fire.{{cite web|url=http://www.bombshellzine.com/blog/2014/08/dead-letter-circus-release-stand-apart-ep/ |access-date=4 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904175533/http://www.bombshellzine.com/blog/2014/08/dead-letter-circus-release-stand-apart-ep/ |archive-date=4 September 2014 }}

On 20 February, Dead Letter Circus teased their third album on their official Twitter page. Following that post, several different posts were released featuring the band working on their third album. On 8 May, Dead Letter Circus released a new single entitled "While You Wait".

On 10 July, Dead Letter Circus announced on their Facebook page that their third album, Aesthesis, will be released in Australia and New Zealand on 14 August 2015. It debuted at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart on 22 August.{{cite web|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/aria-albums-soundwave-acts-debut-at-1-and-2-20150822|title=ARIA Albums: Soundwave Acts Debut at 1 and 2|publisher=Noise11|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|date=22 August 2015|access-date=22 August 2015}}

In February 2017, the band announced The Endless Mile, an album including reimaginations of songs from their back catalogue, including from their self-titled first EP.{{Cite web | url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/dead-letter-circus-announce-new-album-endless-mile/ | title=Dead Letter Circus Announce New Album 'The Endless Mile'| date=24 February 2017}} In March, the band announced that a new studio album of original material would follow.{{Cite web | url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/dead-letter-circus-planning-drop-heavy-new-album-later-year/ | title=Dead Letter Circus Are Planning to Drop A "Heavy" New Album Later This Year| date=13 March 2017}} The band began recording in August 2017 with Forrester Savell.

The band's self-titled fourth studio album was released on 21 September 2018. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, Dead Letter Circus was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album.{{cite web | url = https://ariaawards.com.au/news/2019/2019-aria-awards-nominated-artists-revealed | title = ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | date = 10 October 2019 | access-date = 10 October 2019 }}

The band have cited rock acts such as Tool, Deftones, Soundgarden, Radiohead and Pearl Jam as influences on the band, while also crediting electronic artists such as Massive Attack, Nine Inch Nails and UNKLE. The band, however, acknowledges that "while we don't sound like a mash up of these bands, they have all definitely infused our minds with a love for writing epic, layered and high energy songs."

The creative process has been described as spontaneous and improvisational, with the band often finishing the structure of content of songs in the recording studio. According to Benzie, "the guys are very much improvisational players. If we have a basic structure, what we do generally is Rob and I create the seeds [of the songs], and we'll take them with the band into the studio and just jam around it – record everything and then have a listen and then put the bits together. We developed this knack of finding out which songs are flowing. We don’t ever write whole songs before we go into the studio. We generally take the seeds of songs."

Allmusic has described the band's sound as "delay-based guitar textures...interlaced with subtle synth undercurrents, creating complex patterns out of a set of simple rhythms without cutting down on melody...executed with a surgical precision that recalls the incarnation of Krautrock promoted by Maserati -- while the sheer intensity brings to mind God Is an Astronaut more than My Chemical Romance."{{cite web|author=Alexey Eremenko |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-the-warning-r1812439/review |title=This Is the Warning - Dead Letter Circus | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2015-04-16}} The Sydney Morning Herald describes the band as "frenetic rock" but within it "lies a clarity and self-assuredness punctuated by Maric's undulating guitar work and Benzie's vocals. The songs also have a positive message, led by Benzie's state of mind." They have been compared to The Mars Volta and Karnivool as well.{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/36724/Dead-Letter-Circus-This-Is-The-Warning/ |title=Dead Letter Circus - This Is The Warning (album review 4) |publisher=Sputnikmusic.com |date=2010-05-10 |access-date=2015-04-16}}

Final line-up

• Kim Benzie – lead vocals, keyboards, auxiliary percussion (2005–2020)
• Stewart Hill – bass (2005–2020)
• Luke Williams – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2009–2020)
• Clint Vincent – lead guitar (2013–2020)
• Luke Palmer - rhythm guitar (2015–2020)

Former members

• Scott Davey – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2005–2009)
• Rob Maric – lead guitar (2005–2012), rhythm guitar (2005–2011)
• Tom Skerlj – rhythm guitar, keyboards, auxiliary percussion (2011–2015)

;Timeline

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The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2017{{cite web|url=https://theindustryobserver.thebrag.com/a-b-original-dominates-2017-air-awards-nominations/|title=A.B Original dominates 2017 AIR Awards nominations|website=theindustryobserver|date=31 May 2017|access-date=20 August 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.air.org.au/awards/history|title=History Wins|website=Australian Independent Record Labels Association|access-date=18 August 2020|archive-date=10 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310102536/https://www.air.org.au/awards/history|url-status=dead}}

| Aesthesis

| Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavey or Punk Album

| {{nom}}

|-

{{end}}

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 2010 || This Is the Warning || Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album || {{nom}} ||ARIA Award previous winners. {{cite web|url=http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/award/best-hard-rock-heavy-metal-album|title=Winners By Award – 27th ARIA Awards 2013|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)|access-date=2 March 2014}}

|-

| 2015 || Aesthesis || Best Rock Album || {{nom}} || ARIA Award previous winners. {{cite web|url=http://ariaawards.com.au/history/award/best-rock-album|title=Winners By Award – 27th ARIA Awards 2013|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)|access-date=11 April 2022}}

|-

| 2019 || Dead Letter Circus || Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album || {{nom}} ||

{{end}}

The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.queenslandmusicawards.com.au/about|title= About the Queensland Music Awards|website=Queensland Music Awards|access-date=21 March 2021}}

{{awards table}} {{small|(wins only)}}

|-

|2019{{cite web|url= https://www.queenslandmusicawards.com.au/past-winners/2019|title=Past Winners 2019|website=Queensland Music Awards|access-date=25 March 2021}}

| "The Armour You Own"

| Heavy Song of the Year

| {{won}}

|-

{{end}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{commons category|Dead Letter Circus}}

• [http://www.deadlettercircus.com Official site]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110520151330/http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=119346 Sonic Bids Artist Profile - Dead Letter Circus]

{{Dead Letter Circus}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Musical groups established in 2004

Category:Musical groups from Brisbane

Category:Australian progressive metal musical groups