Formed in Melbourne in 2006, Scar the Surface quickly established themselves as a powerhouse in the Australian heavy music landscape. The band carved out a unique sonic identity by seamlessly blending the aggressive, blistering speed of thrash metal with the soaring melodies and devastating breakdowns of modern metalcore.
We caught up with the band ahead of their long awaited return to the stage.
You formed way back in 2006 and played over 200 shows before disbanding in 2014. Looking back, what d o you consider the defining milestone of that original eight-year run?
There’s definitely more than one, we got to do allot of cool stuff over the years. The obvious standouts would be the international supports, the touring, releasing the album – but behind those are all the smaller milestones that led to those larger ones. Writing and recording the first batch of demos, our earlier shows, the first time we played at Switch our first interstate tour, selling our first bit of merch, people leaving the band, people coming into the band – the whole lifespan is full of sliding door moments.
Not all bands get to play 10 shows let alone travel Australia countless times and play a couple hundred. We never reached those dizzying heights we all had ambitions for, and our level of success compared to others would be worlds apart in terms of achievements, but we have allot to be content with.
Your 2013 debut album, From The Shadows To The Fire, was a two-year labor of love recorded with Julian Renzo at Legion Studios, co-produced by Marc Goertz (Caliban), and mastered by Howie Weinberg. What are your fondest memories of bringing that record to life?
Everyone went above and beyond for the album. It started off as this really exciting journey, but by the end everyone was worn out.
After a year of writing we arrived with 14 or 15 tracks which we recorded with Julian and shared with Marc Goertz who would send back some pointers or suggestions, some of which we would incorporate and by the end we had 11 strong songs that we were all really proud of.
With things like this, I don’t think you can ever be ‘over prepared’. We definitely dug deep in the pre-production phase to our standards (which were very well below what other bands would be doing), and throughout the writing and recording process there were things that were happening that we probably weren’t the best equipped to deal with which resulted in things not going 100% according to plan.
A fucking good example of this was when we were recording our EP in 2009. We didn’t do any pre-production, the night before we started tracking drums the drummer and I were standing in Daryl’s kitchen working out the tempo by listening to the song on someone’s phone and tapping and counting how many beats in a 10 second span then multiplying by 6. We told Julian the tempo with all the confidence in the world and he punched it in and “Gentlemen….I don’t fucking think so guys!”. We were experts on how to waste a few hours in the studio when you’re on the clock. Follow us for more tips.
Anyways the issues with the writing and recording the album weren’t anything out of the ordinary, just unnecessary stresses and non-issues looking back now. I wouldn’t begrudge the guys for thinking I was abit of an asshole around that time, but there was allot going on to stay on top of. I was playing the role of manager/booker, sometimes peacekeeper, there were emails flying around everywhere, managing opinions and expectations and the whole time I desperately wanted to immerse myself and enjoy the creative process – but I couldn’t switch off. It was all consuming for me and I strongly suspect overbearing for everyone else. No one wants to be micromanaged. It’s a trait that I wish I didn’t have, and if I had the ability to go back and do it again, there are allot of things that I would do differently but I wouldn’t change the outcome.
It’s been only recently re-connecting with the songs and each other that we have a shitload of memories and experiences from that time to be grateful for that were maybe overshadowed by the trials and tribulations that comes with being in a band.
Sharing the stage with massive international acts like The Haunted and touring Australia with Mnemic on the 2012 Whiplash festival must have been intense. What is your wildest road story from that era?
The Haunted show in 2011 was our first international support slot – and they are one of Dan’s favourite bands so that was huge for us at the time. That offer sort of came from nowhere too. I think I got an email from the touring company and I couldn’t believe it. I knew (I thought) Dan would be excited so I rang him straight away and I am pretty sure he told me to fuck off because he was working and hung up. I’m 99% sure that happened.
Then touring with Mnemic in 2012 as part of the Whiplash tour was probably the best time we all had in the band. That tour was a fucking funny nightmare from the get-go but with the best people and bands you could ask for: Lynchmada, Dawn Heist, Prescient, Devour The Martyr, Katabatsis and a bunch of others.
We still laugh at shit that happened on that tour today. And it was one of those tours where we were really hitting our strides every night. We were all in this disorganized mess of a situation and really made the best of it and playing wise we were at the top of our game.
After calling it a day in 2014, what was the catalyst that finally brought everyone back into the same room to spark this reunion?
100% it was Shane. He came on board and his whole approach and attitude in general was awesome and direct. He set up a meeting and basically said “Why do we want to do this? What’s the goal? How do we get this done? What do we want out of this?” and we each said our piece and when it was his turn to answer those questions, I was caught off guard abit. He was invested before it was even decided. After those conversations I was pretty sold that this is something we are going to commit to and any anxieties or apprehension that I had disappeared.
The original plans were for two other guitarists to play (Chaise Egan and Brodie Carver), but those plans fizzled out after a while. Then when Dan brought it up again, Shane reached out to Daryl and he was all for it, and then I reached out to Simon and he thought about it for a couple of days and it was all sorted.
Shane Turville (ex-Bronson, Witchgrinder, etc.) has stepped in on drums and acted as a driving force to get this lineup moving. How has his energy and leadership shaped this new chapter?
I did a stint playing bass with Bronson in or around 2010-2011 the same time Shane was drumming for them, and we had played and toured alongside his other bands for ages so we all knew each other really well. And he was the first musician I knew who would write down the musical composition when we were writing, so he knows his shit.
He hadn’t played live for a few years and didn’t have an acoustic kit anymore, but he went out and got one. He’s been the driving force behind getting the live rig all set for the in-ears, making sure everyone is organized he’s put in an unbelievable amount of effort to ensure this show is going to be successful. And his side eyes when I fuck up in rehearsal are epic. I can also guarantee that if I called Shane and told him we got the support slot for The Haunted he wouldn’t have told me to fuck off. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
With Dan fronting Frankenbok and touring Japan, Daryl pushing forward with Temporalis and video play-throughs, and Simon and yourself stepping away from the scene for a bit —how has everyone’s external experience over the last decade influenced your dynamic now?
It feels allot calmer and light-hearted. A good number of years had passed without any of us talking other than the odd Happy Birthday etc. – life took everyone in different directions, but it was awesome seeing everyone that first rehearsal. Any nerves I had disappeared quick. I’m not sure if it’s best way to describe it, but it just feels like there is more common ground and we are all focussed on the same thing – and maybe that earlier stuff about being ill-prepared or ill-equipped has sorted itself out over time.
The metal and heavy music scene has changed drastically since 2014, particularly with the shift to streaming, algorithmic discovery, and TikTok-driven hype. How do you plan to navigate a music industry that looks completely different from the one you left?
In that respect, everything does feel abit foreign – and I say that from the perspective of being so far removed for so long. Promoting ourselves and being somewhat tech savvy was never a strong suit of ours.
Our ethos was always “let’s just practice and play live until the wheels fall off” type of thing. When we released the album we worked with a PR company and it was like “ooooh, yeah maybe we should have done this abit earlier” because just in that limited campaign we probably had more exposure than in the previous years of just slogging it out.
Production styles and sub genres have evolved immensely over the past decade (with the massive rise of modern metalcore, progressive elements, and hybrid genres). Do you feel any pressure to update your sound, or are you leaning into the classic style that defined you?
I think our album still stands up well. If we were recording it today would it sound the same? From an influence standpoint, probably not, but from a production point of view I think it would. Julian did a fucking good job. The only pressure we might feel would be from comparing it to what we’ve done before and wanting to create something better.
Bands usually have one or two members that are pretty good with using the tools that seem more accessible now to be able to pull off things live, and if it transcends well to the live experience then I am all for it.
The quality of bands, from what I’ve seen, has come leaps and bounds and it’s fucking awesome.
You mentioned a rehearsal coming up on September 13 to iron out the logistics Can fans expect live shows or even new music on the horizon once the rust is officially shaken off?
We haven’t definitively spoken about it, and in situations like this its easy to get caught up and lost in the nostalgia so we’ll wait and see how we pull up after the show. I’m not sure how high it is on everyone’s priority list to play in a touring metal band again. It would be cool to pen a follow up album or EP though if the moon and the stars align.
If you could send one message to the old-school fans who supported you up until your final show in 2014—and to anyone discovering From The Shadows To The Fire for the first time today—what would it be?
To the OG’s far and wide, thankyou for all your support over the years – we hope this show is one for the books and we hope to see as many of you there as possible. For anyone discovering us now – welcome, enjoy the music and the show and never call Daniel to tell him we’ve been asked to support The Haunted. Just text him.
Melbourne’s live music community will come together this Halloween as FORGE FESTIVAL launches its inaugural event on Saturday, October 31 at The Leadbeater Hotelin Richmond.
FORGE FESTIVAL brings together a diverse lineup of artists from across the scene for a unique Halloween celebration built around community, atmosphere and live music.
Headlining the event will be Scar the Surface in their long-awaited return to the stage, marking their first live performance since 2014. Since forming in 2007, Scar the Surface built a strong reputation within Australia’s heavy music community through a string of EP releases and their acclaimed debut album From The Shadows To The Fire. Their return to the stage is expected to be one of the most anticipated local reunions of the year.
FORGE FESTIVAL
Saturday October 31, 2026
The Leadbeater Hotel, Richmond
Featuring:
Scar the Surface (Long-Awaited Return to the Stage)
Transience
Bear the Mammoth
EKOSA
Binary Pulse
Rat Tomb
Matahari
