Age of Emergence was formed in the Newcastle region NSW in 2013 by vocalist/ bassist Dean Holmes and guitarist Matt Neilson who recruited Seattle-born drummer Allan Hofer who had played in previous progressive metal hard rock project Shambhala with Dean in the early 2000’s. After jamming and writing for several years the band played its first shows in 2015 after releasing demos on Soundcloud.
They describe their sound as progressive metal/hard rock influenced by bands such as Black Sabbath, Tool, Gojira, Mastodon etc.
They released their first EP with Allan in 2017 titled “Plea for a Dying World” and played shows to promote the release in Sydney and Newcastle to a good response from local metal heads, gigging regularly on the local scene they have shared the stage with many of the current well known bands on the circuit. They parted ways with drummer Allan Hofer in 2018 and drummer Benn Baxter joined the band for the recording of their second EP “The War Within Ourselves” and the first single “Your Kingdom Dies” was released in 2019 with the full release occurring in March 2020 just before the COVID pandemic took hold. The EP received good reviews in Australia and overseas. Plans to tour the east coast were put on hold for two years due to the pandemic only limited shows were available, and finally a smaller-scale tour of NSW and the ACT was undertaken in 2022 visiting Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra and Bathurst.
Benn moved on from the band in October 2023 and local prog drummer Adam Clayton has stepped into the role bringing his 16 years experience behind the kit to the band. He has played in numerous cover bands gigging regularly across the Hunter Valley and mid-north coast and also plays in local hard rock original band Punctured. He is a massive fan of prog and power metal so fills the position well.
The band is currently working on new material to release in April 2024 and has been playing local shows with more extensive touring planned to promote the new music. Their next show is headlining the monthly Wombo Combo original nights at the Wamberal Ocean View Café on the Central Coast on March 8. Tour plans are well underway for autumn and winter with an east coast tour with dates to be announced soon along with recording time and video filming announcements.
LINEUP
Dean Holmes – Bass & Vocals
Matt Neilson – Guitar & Vocals
Adam Clayton – Drums
FOLLOW AGE OF EMERGENCE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ageofemergenceband
Bandcamp: https://ageofemergence.bandcamp.com/music
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv_cTvOn2lM8G25YzEiLl2w
CONTACT
Management: deanrholmes76@gmail.com
Bookings/Publicity: michael@black-roos.com
RELEASES
EP Title: The War Within Ourselves
Release Date: March 27th 2020
Label: N/A
MUSIC