Feature by Jai That Aussie Metal Guy – Crannk
There’s something uniquely powerful about the South Australian heavy scene — a kind of raw, dust-covered resilience that’s been forged in dive bars, rehearsal rooms, backyards, and basements for decades. And now, that energy has been captured, bottled, and hurled straight at the world with The Dirty South, a 24-track charity compilation pulled together by bassist, promoter, and all-round scene workhorse Simon “Simmo” Durrant.
Every single dollar from this release goes directly to Headspace Adelaide, supporting youth mental health, homelessness awareness, and young people doing it tough. No skim. No corporate padding. No bullshit.
Just music, mates, and a mission.
This is the South Australian scene giving back in the fiercest way it knows how — with riffs, venom, groove, blastbeats, catharsis, and community.
👉 Listen / donate on Bandcamp:
https://sidmusic16.bandcamp.com/album/the-dirty-south
👉 Learn more about Headspace Adelaide:
https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/adelaide/
SIMMO: THE INSTIGATOR-IN-CHIEF BEHIND THE CHAOS
Most know Simmo as the longtime bassist for Superheist, a veteran of countless tours, festivals, and stages, or as a familiar face shredding with In:Extremis — one of Adelaide’s true underground institutions.
But behind the scenes? He’s one of those quiet power players who actually does the work.
Cue a wild few weeks of wrangling bands, dragging songs out of mates, chasing files, and building what would become a full-blown cross-section of the Adelaide heavy underground.
Every track was donated.
Every artist said yes.
Because when it comes to supporting our own, SA doesn’t hesitate.
This is a community effort in the truest sense.
A SNAPSHOT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S HEAVY UNDERGROUND — ALL IN ONE PLACE
What makes The Dirty South so special is the sheer breadth of sound it captures. This isn’t a compilation locked to one genre — it’s the messy, loud, beautiful sprawl of Adelaide’s entire heavy ecosystem.
A few anchor points worth spotlighting:
FREEDOM OF FEAR – “Entities”
One of Australia’s most important extreme metal exports right now — razor-sharp, atmospheric, surgically executed tech-death that sits comfortably on any world stage.
HIDDEN INTENT – “Behind the Mask”
SA thrash royalty. Fast, feral, and as Adelaide as a West End tinney.
A MURDER OF CROWS – “Overthrone”
Northern suburbs power-thrash veterans delivering one of the compilation’s most anthemic cuts.
CHRIST DISMEMBERED – “Fool’s Gambit”
Bleak, frostbitten, and unmistakably South Aussie black metal.
IN:EXTREMIS – “Blindfold XXV”
Simmo’s own band, tying his past directly into this compilation’s purpose.
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS – A FEW THAT HIT HARD
Here are some standouts worth cranking the volume for:
🔥 APOCALYPTIC ANNIHILATION – “Spiritual Sepsis”
Blistering black/thrash chaos out of the gate — venomous, relentless, and perfectly placed early in the running order.
🔥 DEFORESTER – “The Great Collapse”
Frozen-over atmosphere meets suffocating heaviness; a haunting ascent and collapse in equal measure.
🔥 DIRTY PAGANS – “Forever High”
A needed dose of stoner-groove swagger. Massive fuzz, rolling riffs, desert-rock attitude.
🔥 LUMEN AD MORTEM – “Thought and Memory”
A longer, expansive journey — melodic blackened weight with emotional punch.
🔥 S.I.D – “Bile”
Simmo’s personal project: industrial-tinged, grotesque, cathartic — a raw window into the man’s headspace and drive.
🔥 STORM THE CROWN – “Maxpower”
A swaggering metal anthem from the crew featuring your Crannk brother Chris “Killer” Causby. Big riffs, big energy.
🔥 WOUNDED PIG – “Dark Crystal”
One minute of blast-n-bash punk/grind — short, sharp, filthy. Perfect.
And that’s just scraping the surface.
This thing dives into death metal, black metal, thrash, punk, stoner, hardcore, grind, metalcore, crossover, and even alt-rock / punk hybrids.
It’s a map of the SA heavy scene in 2024 — one you won’t get anywhere else.
Here’s the full lineup of SA’s finest contributing to The Dirty South:
- A Murder Of Crows – “Overthrone”
- Apocalyptic Annihilation – “Spiritual Sepsis”
- Ben Gel – “No Tomorrow No Goodbye”
- Burnt To Ash – “Utter Fucking Destruction”
- Christ Dismembered – “Fools Gambit”
- Cull The Band – “Girl I Know”
- Deathacation – “A Harsher Dose of Reality”
- Deforester – “The Great Collapse”
- Dirty Pagans – “Forever High”
- Echoes In Eternity – “Into the Arms of Grief”
- Foul Temple – “Luciferian”
- Freedom of Fear – “Entities”
- Headbore – “Don’t Save Me”
- Hidden Intent – “Behind the Mask”
- I Choose Violence – “Claymore”
- In:Extremis – “Blindfold XXV”
- Lumen Ad Mortem – “Thought and Memory”
- Sickness – “Suffocated” (1992)
- S.I.D – “Bile”
- Sons of Erebus – “Horrific Penetration”
- SSMPXSID – “The Dirty South (deedubs mix)” ft. Echoes In Eternity
- Storm The Crown – “Maxpower”
- Sundowner – “Degenerate Subculture”
- Wounded Pig – “Dark Crystal”
This isn’t just a compilation — it’s a snapshot of the South Australian heavy underground in its rawest, realest form, united for Mental Health Month and raising funds for Headspace Adelaide.
MORE THAN MUSIC: A MESSAGE, A COMMUNITY, A CALL TO ACTION
This compilation is more than a playlist — it’s a reminder.
A reminder that:
- mental health matters,
- community matters,
- and every scene, no matter how heavy, is built on people looking out for people.
Headspace Adelaide provides crucial support for young people navigating anxiety, depression, homelessness, trauma, and crises big and small. For a lot of us in the metal community? That help could have made all the difference when we were younger. For some, it still can.
THE CALL TO ACTION
If you love SA heavy music…
If you’ve ever moshed in Fowlers / Lion Arts / Enigma…
If you believe in the power of music to do something good…
👉 BUY the compilation
👉 DONATE what you can
👉 SHARE it far and wide
👉 Check in on your mates
👉 Reach out if you’re struggling — Headspace is there for you
💚 Bandcamp (Pay What You Want):
https://sidmusic16.bandcamp.com/album/the-dirty-south
💚 Headspace Adelaide Support Services:
https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/adelaide/
This is the Dirty South — loud, proud, united, and giving a damn.
