Templestowe are a band that have superseded expectation and doubt. Formed in 2007, they have gradually taken the huge steps necessary to get the attention that they, as talented musicians, deserve.
October 2009 saw the band release their debut full length album, Cimmerian. “The album has been named in several Top 10 lists for 2009 in the media – most notably by triple j’s ‘The Racket’ program,” says Jon Hocking, the band’s vocalist. “In a worldwide list that included such names as Mastodon, Megadeth and Alice in Chains, Cimmerian took out spot number 10 and was only one of two Australian albums to make the list. For a self-financed, unsigned debut album recorded by the band and mixed in Canberra, we were incredibly humbled by that.”
Indeed, not being signed to a label certainly hasn’t held the lads from Canberra back. In fact, if anything, it’s produced a certain kind of work and musical ethic (if not a productive form of aggression) that is quite evident on the album.
One minor setback in the band’s progression and in the recording process of Cimmerian was the departure of two of their members, including original vocalist Andy. “We had to audition new members and then have them learn and record the new parts which was incredibly time consuming. That being said, the process was incredibly exciting. Being able to hear your songs come to fruition is always a rewarding process.”
Templestowe have been part of the rise in Canberra metal in the last few years, alongside great bands like Aeon of Horus, Alchemist, Infinitum, Kill for Satan and Forgery. “There are a lot of great Canberra metal bands in the scene at the moment,” Jon says. “A lot of the bands are incredibly dedicated to doing things right and as a result we’re seeing a lot of great albums coming out and a lot of bands flourishing outside of Canberra. The reality is Canberra does have quite a large metal following and we’ve seen that at various gigs throughout the last year or two. When you put in the effort to put a strong bill together and give promotion a very hard push, the punters do show up.”
So what does 2010 hold in store for Templestowe? “2010 is basically a year of touring for the band,” Jon says. “In the first half of 2010 we’ll be travelling to Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide as well as to Sydney and Melbourne a number of times. It’s a difficult process, especially since some of these cities we’ve never played before. It’s always hard to reconcile costs versus exposure but it’s something we all believe necessary to further the band.”
With what can only be described as a significant and potent debut release behind them, plus the dedication and blood/sweat/tears philosophy, Canberra can only expect great things from one of their finest metal exports, Templestowe.
Catch Templestowe at the Basement on Friday February 26 with Melbourne’s Humonic and Canberra’s own Tortured and Forgery.
