Lost demo, requires information
Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone has any information or links to songs of a band that went by the name "Iziah" from Brisbane Australia in the late 80's early 90's.
I come across a demo cassette case of theirs but sadly with the wrong cassette inside. The demo is called "Visions" and looks unsigned and home made. I can not find anything on these guys anywhere other then a small archive listing of them online. Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks guys cheers.
Hi there and welcome to Metal Academy! I've never heard of this band, but I thought I'd ask AI and see what it had to say. See below...
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Iziah appears to have been an unsigned Brisbane heavy-metal band active from 1985 to 1990. Metal Archives lists them as originating from Brisbane, Queensland, with status split-up, genre Heavy Metal, and no label beyond unsigned/independent. It also says the band later split and re-formed with a different line-up under the name Aces Wild. The last-known line-up listed is Brett McLean on bass, Richard Cornish on drums, Rory Martin on guitars, and Bill Richardson on vocals.
Their only listed release is a 1988 independent cassette demo simply titled Demo. The track list is:
- Sagittarius — 3:12
- Elizabeth of Bathory — 4:25
- T.N.O. — 5:13
- Fade Away — 4:11
- Soul Survivor / Wish on the Wind — 9:16
Total running time is listed as 26:17. The release page itself does not list individual recording credits.
There is very little critical or historical commentary available. A 2024 Metal Academy forum post by a collector/reviewer refers to Iziah as a “Brisbane four-piece” and describes the 1988 tape as fairly basic heavy metal, with ordinary sound quality, disputing the idea that it should be classed as power/thrash. That should be treated as one listener’s opinion rather than an authoritative genre classification.
The Aces Wild connection has one small supporting trace: an archive of Brisbane Orient Hotel gigs lists Aces Wild on bills in October 1991, including with K Agents on Sunday 13 October and with Black Magic on Sunday 27 October, the latter under a “Monster Metal Night” note. That fits the post-Iziah Brisbane metal-scene timeline, though it does not independently confirm which Iziah members were involved.
I did not find a confirmed official website, Bandcamp, Discogs entry, reissue, photos, lyrics, contemporary press coverage, or verified gig dates under the Iziah name. The available footprint is basically: Brisbane heavy metal band, 1985–1990, one 1988 cassette demo, later associated with Aces Wild.
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So it caught my attention that it mentioned a previous comment on Metal Academy. That comment was unsurprisingly made by Daniel (our resident Australian metal expert). His comment can be found here: https://metal.academy/forum/9/thread/1548?page=4
Daniel, I don't suppose you have this demo? Do you even have any of your old cassettes? I'm assuming not.