A hard-hitting Aussie deathcore unit in the vein of Carnifex, Whitechapel, and Suicide Silence, New South Wales-based Thy Art Is Murder specialize in savage breakdowns and punishing, tech-heavy blasts of djent-fueled riffage. Formed in 2006 around the original lineup of vocalist Brendan Van Ryn, guitarists Gary Markowski and Sean Delander, bassist Josh King, and drummer Lee Stanton, the band issued a debut EP, Infinite Death, in 2008, which clawed its way into the Top Ten on the Australian independent charts. Van Ryn left the group shortly after the record's release, citing creative differences, and was replaced by Chris "CJ" McMahon from Sydney metalcore band Vegas in Ruins. After a flurry of lineup changes, the group headed into the studio to lay down tracks for its debut long-player, the Skull & Bones-issued The Adversary (2010). In 2012 the band released its sophomore studio LP, Hate, through Aussie independent label Halfcut, leading to a record deal with Nuclear Blast, which reissued the album the following year. The record charted in both the U.S. and Australia, and garnered mostly positive reviews, as did their third studio album, 2015's Will Putney-produced Holy War. The Depression Sessions, a vinyl-only split album with Fit for an Autopsy and the Acacia Strain, preceded the release of the group's highly anticipated fourth full-length effort, 2017's Dear Desolation. ~ James Christopher Monger