Australian post-hardcore rockers The Amity Affliction have stunned music lovers nation wide by outshining high profile acts and claiming the number #1 album title on the ARIA charts.
The Queensland headbangers’ new album ‘Chasing Ghosts’ eclipsed the recent success of fellow Australian dance act The Presets and their new release ‘Pacifica’, as well as British indie rockers The XX, with their release ‘Coexist‘ by debuting at the top of the table.
The success of the newest AA installment has been a shock to many, but none more so than We Are Unified’s Jaddan Commerford. The label co-owner and management company behind the band said: “The whole thing is quite overwhelming.”
“We’ve just been doing what we’ve been doing with this genre and now we are lucky enough to have a large enough scene to support our bands to this level,” said Commerford. “This is a win for heavy music, not only in Australia, but all around the world.”
The announcement has been humbly welcomed by the group’s loyal fan base and a stern reminder that the hardcore scene in Australia is more than pulling its weight.
Chasing Ghosts is the band’s first release since the success of their second studio album, Youngbloods, which peaked at #6 on the Aria charts in July, 2010.
The release has stunned punters, who were convinced The Presets’ latest installment, alongside The XX’s Coexist would reign supreme for weeks to come.
The band’s third album has gone beyond expectations in its first week of exposure, flying the flag for hardcore rock in a chart typically dominated by popular international artists such as Maroon 5 (whose album, Overexposed is currently #10) and Matchbox 20 (North currently #5).
The boys from Gypmie also beat out a debut week from the country pair of Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson and their latest release, Wreck & Ruin, as well as the continued chart success of the soundtrack to independent Australian film, The Sapphires.
The commercial success of Chasing Ghosts is a much needed boost for the Australia heavy rock scene, which has generally seen very few releases charting in the ARIA charts, let alone storming in at the top spot.
The Amity Affliction will no doubt be pulling the lion’s share of the crowd when they play Soundwave 2013 nationwide early next year. Despite the festival selling out across all five states, organisers have announced there will be an opportunity to obtain extra tickets – so if you’ve missed out on your chance to see the ARIA topping hardcore act – you might yet be in luck.
