Damaged

Band members

• Final line-up
  • Chris Hill (guitar)
  • Mohawk (Jason Parker) (bass)
  • Skitz (Matt Sanders) (drums)
  • Dave Saddington (vocals)

• Former members
  • Ed Lacey (bass) (2000)
  • Kevin Sharp (vocals) (1999 - 2000)
  • Brendan Birge (vocals) (1998 - 1999)
  • Chris Wallace (vocals) (1998)
  • Jamie Ludbrook (vocals) (1989 - 1996, 1997 - 1998)
  • Mat Silcock (guitar) (1989 - 1996)
  • Jarrod Bongiorno (guitar) (1989)
  • Paul Meddick (guitar) (1989)

Formed

Ballarat, VIC, 1989

Band information

Over the course of their long and often turbulent history, Damaged consistently created some of the most extreme, pulverising and ferocious death grind known to Man. Their self-styled "hatecore" was a combinatoin of brutal death metal, grindcore, hardcore punk and black metal, played with a feverish intensity that made them unique.

Damaged formed in Ballarat in 1989 around Matt "Skitz" Sanders, Jamie Ludbrooke and Jason "Mohawk" Parker, with Jarrod Bongiorno and Paul Meddick filling out the guitar spots briefly before Silcock and Hill replaced them. The demo "The Art of Destroying Life" appeared in 1992, a track from which appeared on a hardcore punk compilation.

Damaged had already developed a fearsome reputation and supported Cannibal Corpse before Do Not Spit was released by Black Hole in 1993. Still regarded as one of the greatest Australian metal albums ever, Do Not Spit was an insane combination of hardcore and violently extreme metal featuring Ludbrook's incomprehensible hard rhyming delivery and Skitz' insurmountable drumming attack. A live show at Melbourne's Corner Hotel was made into a video for the track "Nails".

on bass, and it didn't take long for the band to make an indelible mark when the "Art of Destroying Life" demo set about savaging the headspace of anyone who got too close. Devastating live performances and tours with the likes of Cannibal Corpse further established Damaged as one of Australia's most remarkable and unforgiving extreme acts, and the Do Not Spit album cemented the reputation. More than a decade after it was released Do Not Spit is still held up by many as one of the greatest Australian metal albums ever recorded, a brutal and unrelenting blend of hardcore, grind and extreme death metal that remains virtually unique to this day.

Relations between band members was always volatile and in 1996 Silcock was fired; at the same time Damaged entered into a legal dispute with its label Black Hole and tensions eventually caused the band to split by the middle of the year. Hilly joined Discordia and Skitz toured Europe with Sadistik Exekution and took over behind the kit with Abramelin. He also formed Engraved (later to become Hellspawn) around the same time.

Less than a year later however, Damaged announced it had reformed, minus Silcock, and signed a five-album deal with US label Rotten Records. The band began touring once more and mid-year issued Token Remedies Research and finished the year with a return appearance at Metal for the Brain. 1998 began with Damaged supporting Entombed on a national tour but old tensions were beginning to appear once more when Ludbrooke was late to the Sydney show and missed the band's first two songs. He was sacked a few months later when he once again failed to show up on time for a gig in Canberra, with Damaged playing the set without him and banning him from getting on stage on join them. Earth vocalist Brendan Birge replaced Ludbrooke but he only stayed until the beginning of May 1999. Mohawk also left Damaged around this time and the band was reduced to the duo of Hilly and Skitz, who recorded a track for the Under the Southern Cross compilation album. Meanwhile, rumours abounded that former Brutal Truth vocalist Kevin Sharp would join Damaged and in late 1999 this indeed occurred. With Terry Vainoras from Order of Chaos supplying bass, together they went on to complete a new album called Purified in Pain which had something more of a death metal feel than previous releases.

Damaged utilised Eddy from The Wolves as their bass player for their 2000 national tour which, with Sharp out front had them performing only new material, to some disappointment from fans. After that tour, Damaged seemed to go to ground for a long period with Hilly playing in Running With Scissors.

Mohawk rejoined the band during this period and in early 2003 it was announced that former Uncle Chunk vocalist Dave Saddington had stepped into the line-up. The band re-entered the live arena with a national tour in mid-2003 that culminated in support slots with Sepultura and a headlining appearance at Metal for the Brain.

Damaged played what was to be their final performances in January 2004. Skitz left the band due to a serious health condition that restricted his playing. In March 2004 the decision was made for Damaged to come to an end. The remaining members avowed to continue under a new name, but this didn't occur.

In May 2004 it emerged that Skitz and Ludbrooke had formed Walk the Earth with DW Norton of Superheist. This band released an EP and toured Australia several times but ended in mid-2005 when Ludbrooke left, announcing some months later that he was in the process of reforming Damaged once again with Skitz and Silcock, however in early 2006, this new formation had become known as Terrorust.