Biography
Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Antagonist A.D. channel justice-focused themes through a metallic hardcore style that addresses subjects including veganism and women's rights. Since their formation in 2005 the group has cultivated an international following via relentless touring across Asia, the Pacific Islands, Europe, and North America, where they have shared bills with Parkway Drive, the Ghost Inside, and Emmure. Four full-length albums stand among their output, among them the 2015 release Haunt Me as I Roam, alongside multiple EPs tracked with Converge’s Kurt Ballou, the most recent being 2021’s All Things.
The band originated in 2005 under the name Antagonist, its founding members vocalist Sam Crocker, bassist Joshua Moffitt, drummer Brendon Wishnowsky, and guitarist Sean Connelly. Before the year closed, Wishnowsky and Connelly departed, replaced by guitarists Kris Bosman and Ross McDougall together with drummer Israel McDean; the debut album These Cities, Our Graves then appeared on Elevenfiftyseven Records in 2006, followed the next year by the Distance EP on the same imprint. Early Australian tours led to a deal with Melbourne-based Trial & Error Records, which reissued the debut with two bonus tracks. In 2008 the group appended A.D. to its name to distinguish itself from an American act of the same name, issuing the second album We Are the Dead that same year.
A 2009 Southeast Asian tour preceded McDougall’s exit. European dates followed in 2010, during which guitarist Matthew Livingstone joined in time for the recording of the 7" EP Old Bones Make New Blooms, issued in early 2011. The third album Nothing from No One emerged on Mediaskare Records in 2012, by which point Luke Manson had entered on guitar and Milon Williams had stepped in temporarily on bass while Moffitt relocated to Japan. Continued global road work culminated in the 2015 release of Haunt Me as I Roam on UNFD/Lifeforce, described as the band’s most cathartic and introspective album to date.
By 2018 the lineup featured drummer Jai Morrow and guitarist Kevin Cameron, with Manson having shifted from guitar to bass. Sessions with Kurt Ballou produced the EP Through Fire, issued on Greyscale Records in early 2020, and the trilogy’s second installment, All Things, followed in 2021.
The band originated in 2005 under the name Antagonist, its founding members vocalist Sam Crocker, bassist Joshua Moffitt, drummer Brendon Wishnowsky, and guitarist Sean Connelly. Before the year closed, Wishnowsky and Connelly departed, replaced by guitarists Kris Bosman and Ross McDougall together with drummer Israel McDean; the debut album These Cities, Our Graves then appeared on Elevenfiftyseven Records in 2006, followed the next year by the Distance EP on the same imprint. Early Australian tours led to a deal with Melbourne-based Trial & Error Records, which reissued the debut with two bonus tracks. In 2008 the group appended A.D. to its name to distinguish itself from an American act of the same name, issuing the second album We Are the Dead that same year.
A 2009 Southeast Asian tour preceded McDougall’s exit. European dates followed in 2010, during which guitarist Matthew Livingstone joined in time for the recording of the 7" EP Old Bones Make New Blooms, issued in early 2011. The third album Nothing from No One emerged on Mediaskare Records in 2012, by which point Luke Manson had entered on guitar and Milon Williams had stepped in temporarily on bass while Moffitt relocated to Japan. Continued global road work culminated in the 2015 release of Haunt Me as I Roam on UNFD/Lifeforce, described as the band’s most cathartic and introspective album to date.
By 2018 the lineup featured drummer Jai Morrow and guitarist Kevin Cameron, with Manson having shifted from guitar to bass. Sessions with Kurt Ballou produced the EP Through Fire, issued on Greyscale Records in early 2020, and the trilogy’s second installment, All Things, followed in 2021.
Albums
Singles
