Decimated King was a Death Metal band based in Christchurch, New Zealand. The band was actively playing shows and writing music between early 2007 - 2019.

Biography:

Decimated King’s roots formed in 2007 when Angus Shaw and Marcel Stet (The Steed) started writing music under the name Hangmans Noose. The two joined the City School of Rock where they recruited drummer Jonty Verkerk. The following year guitarist Brad Lucas joined the lineup. Upon the close of the City School of Rock early 2011 following the Christchurch earthquakes the band began practicing at Hagley Community College. Later that year guitarist Benjamin Ellis joined the band freeing up Angus to focus on vocals. The band then started recording their first official release and moved into their own practice shed.

Early 2012 Decimated King released their first EP “Ashes” – 5 independently recorded tracks engineered by the band. 50 physical copies of the EP were made and sold, the tracks were then made available to stream and download for free online. The band promoted the EP playing numerous local shows whilst getting airplay on NZ metal radio stations. In 2013 the band, now playing all over New Zealand, wrote and scrapped a lot of material as they worked on improving and defining the sound of the band. In May 2014 Marcel left the band and bass duties were taken up by Brad, freeing up the second guitarist spot for new member Tom Thrasher.

Shortly after Tom’s arrival the band released a brand new demo track entitled “Excess”, the first official release since “Ashes”. The song was a fresh sound for the band as it featured guitar solos and harmonies yet kept the raw power and aggression of the earlier tracks. In September of 2016 the band released a second demo track entitled “In a Blaze”. The new demo received a similar positive response to “Excess” as it showed an increase in groove, melody and technicality in the band’s sound. It was revealed shortly after its release that “In a Blaze” and “Excess” were both to be properly recorded and released on the band’s debut album “Dead Air”.

The band started tracking drums for the debut album “Dead Air” in November 2016. Tracking for the album continued through early 2017 until progress was halted after numerous setbacks and changes in location/recording personnel. In October 2017 Jonty left the band and was replaced by Bryce Tozer, a good friend of the group and bandmate to Brad in “Extorted”. Decimated King started 2018 with a huge run of successful local shows with the new line up. In April 2018 the band had their first international experience playing 3 shows across Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

In 2019 it was announced that frontman Angus was leaving Decimated King, along with guitarist Tom. Their replacements are yet to be announced. “Dead Air” the debut album was released on May 31st 2019, featuring 8 original tracks available for free on numerous streaming sites.

After a year of inactivity following the line up split the remaining members of Decimated King have decided it would not be right to continue under this name.