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Almost Human
 "It's been fourteen years since we last played," muses Damien Kelly, vocalist for recently re-formed local metal band Almost Human, "and we just thought we'd give it another go. We got back together when our bass player's father passed away. The band were the pallbearers because we'd all known the deceased really well, and at the wake afterwards, we all got talking and decided we should give it a bit of a blast."
First forming in 1979, Almost Human got their start playing unlicensed gigs ("just school socials and civic centres, that sort of thing," explains Kelly), and were essentially a covers band. "We played a lot of songs by groups like KISS, Cheap Trick and Status Quo," Kelly recalls. "There were a few original songs chucked in here and there, but not a lot. Once we all turned eighteen and began venturing into the pubs, we were exposed to bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon and Black Sabbath, who all ended up influencing our writing as well. KISS was another big influence on us in the early days, hence our name! Anyway, we started writing more of our own material, before folding in '84, and then getting back together in '86. The scene was quite healthy back then, and we were really popular. We actually hold the record for attracting the biggest crowd to the Bridgeway Hotel; the owner told us he managed to squeeze 1800 people in for one of our shows there! Unfortunately, the scene started to die out towards the end of the decade, though we still did the odd show into the '90s; we supported bands like Whitesnake, Cheap Trick and The Angels."
Given I was still at school during the '80s myself (and really only "discovered" metal itself during the final two years of that decade), all this talk of the local scene during that decade intrigues me; for me, it's a completely unknown world. So was the scene back then significantly different from the scene I know (and love) today?
"Oh yeah, absolutely. For a start, the bands then were playing in mainstream venues, because their respective followings were so large; the scene wasn't as underground, I think, as it is now. When a band can pull two, three hundred heads, the venues are going to start taking notice because they can utilise a crowd like that - it becomes a bit of a business thing, unfortunately. Back then, it was easier for heavy metal bands to be given guaranteed sums before they actually played. The venue might ring you with an offer along the lines of $1500 up front and five out of every six dollars taken at the door; bands back then would make really good money - we certainly did ourselves! Unfortunately, we only put out one release - an EP called 'Hold On' - back then, in 1987. That actually went Top 40 here; it went to number 28! It was quite amazing, really, though as I said, we had a huge following then. The EP stayed in the charts for about ten weeks."
The band have managed to get most of their original line-up back together, the only absence being original guitarist Chris Tennent, who went on to be in The Superjesus. "We did call him to see if he'd be interested in playing with us again," remarks Kelly, "but we didn't get a response, so didn't push it any further. A guy called Adam Keane, who sings for Master Of Puppets, the Metallica cover show, has stepped in instead. He's a rhythm/lead guitar player as well as a singer and sounds great - he's a nice guy, there's no ego about him. It's a bit different for us all now; we don't have to be rock stars any more. Everybody's doing this for a different reason: to enjoy it, or take it in, a bit more; I think that's why we're doing it now. Anyway, we've put our comeback show together; we've got three other bands to play with us, and given the whole thing a name (Metal Holocaust '07). So far, the response has been great - we've already had about a hundred pre-sales - and I'm looking forward to seeing a good crowd on the night!"
James Brazel
Almost Human play at Viva (the old Night Train complex) on Sat 15 Dec with Blistered Palms, The Harrowed and Diamond Sins.
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