Doomed Confessionary: Angus & Sweeney (Crown Street Militia)
Crown Street Militia is a four-piece death/doom metal band from Wollongong, Australia. They just released their debut EP »Propaganda« on June 28th, 2024, available now on limited edition cassette and digital.
Crown Street Militia are Angus Black (vocals, guitar, synth, sampling, FX), Anthony Sweeney (guitar), Darcy Wall (bass) and Taylor George (drums, sampling, FX, vocals).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Angus: Crown Street Militia are a metal band from Wollongong, Australia. We’ve all been in seperate bands in the local scene for years and decided to band together in an attempt to create the most devastatingly heavy music possible.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Sweeney: It would have to be recording Propaganda. We had only played like 4 shows so had no money but I had Logic Pro and we all had a few microphones so we locked in to a concrete box rehearsal space for 3 days and tracked as much as we could & spent the next 8 months or so trying to figure out how to mix it.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Angus: Releasing »Propaganda« and finally having something out there that people can listen to.
What was your biggest regret?
Sweeney: We played with Whores once and I let them borrow my Wasp (Aussie 200w tube amp head) and somehow it blew up before their set even started. No one borrows that head anymore.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Angus: Opening for Gatecreeper & Kruelty in our home town on their recent Australian tour. Both bands are a massive influence on our music and it was awesome to be able to support them.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Sweeney: How much people react to heavy music live. No matter how much we don’t feel like we fit on a show people still seem to stick through it and end up loving the loud heavy stuff.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Angus: There have already been so many good releases this year. Some favourites are: Gatecreeper – »Dark Superstition«, Candy – »It’s Inside You«, 200 Stab Wounds – »Manual Manic Procedures«.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Angus: Practice as much as possible & don’t listen to the bullshit “advice” that drunk self-righteous punter offers you after a set.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Angus: Glam metal.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Wollongong / Australia?
Angus: The heavy scene in Wollongong is growing pretty quickly and there seems to be a lot more people getting around that scene as opposed to the vanilla indie stuff which has been prevalent for so long. Some awesome new bands from Gong are L.O.W & Gosika.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Sweeney: We have shows in Wollongong and will be hitting Gold Coast, Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne towards the end of the year.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Angus: We are halfway through writing our first album. The songs are lowered to drop A tuning and are heavier than ever. We also plan to incorporate more of our visual content into shows.
How can people best support your band?
Angus: Buying a shirt or cassette via our Bandcamp. Or just by listening to our music.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you and keep listening. It’ll make ya stronger 😉
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well