If you call yourself a fan of heavy music in this country and you haven’t heard of The Black Wreath and the current campaign to ensure its survival it’s time to pull your head out of the sand. Tucked away in Ciccone, Alice Springs – right in the dusty, unforgiving Dead Centre of Australia – this absolute powerhouse has spent the last 15 years acting as the beating, bleeding heart of the outback metal scene. It’s a record label, a rehearsal space, a recording studio, and a brutal sanctuary for a plethora of music that has hosted over 400 artists from every corner of the globe. They are the brilliant, mad minds behind one of HEAVY‘s favourite festivals in Blacken Open Air as well as a host of other music driven events, but right now, the walls are closing in.
The spiritual home that is The Black Wreath is officially up for sale by owners, and if the local music community doesn’t step up this crucial piece of Australian heavy music history could be wiped off the map forever. Enter the Save The Black Wreath fundraising campaign. The mission? A massive, ambitious push to raise $1 million to buy the building outright and place it into a permanent community trust so nobody can ever take it away. With a massive Blacken Forever nationwide festival set to detonate simultaneously across six states on Saturday, 12 September – the final stay of execution – the clock is ticking down to the final wire.
HEAVY caught up with the man behind the legend, Pirate, to talk about the brutal reality of the grassroots music crisis, the overwhelming support from not just heavyweight bands and local businesses but also by the music community as a whole, exactly what it’s going to take to save this desert fortress of noise and more.
United we can do this kids. Head to THE BLACK WREATH for details on how you can contribute. For tickets and more information about the Blacken Forever event in your state visit HERE
