Shihad were a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1988. The band consisted of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), who were joined by Karl Kippenberger (bass guitar, backing vocals) in 1991. The band were known as Pacifier between 2002 and 2004.
Six of Shihad's studio albums have peaked at number one–The General Electric (October 1999), Pacifier (September 2002), Beautiful Machine (April 2008), Ignite (September 2010), FVEY (August 2014) and Old Gods (October 2021). They share the honour for most number-one records for any New Zealand artist with Hayley Westenra. As of 2014, Shihad had the most Top 40 New Zealand chart singles for any local artist, with 25; three of these reached the top ten. The singles "Home Again", "Pacifier", and "Bitter" are listed at No. 30, 60 and 83, respectively, in the APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time.
History
Formation and early years (1988–1996)
Tom Larkin and Jon Toogood formed Exit in 1985 in Wellington with various short-term fellow school members. Larkin and Toogood had met at Wellington High School, and shared an interest in heavy metal. They were generally found in the school's music room, as Toogood later recalled, "That's where we learnt to be a band – it had amps and a guitar and a drum-kit – that's what kept us at school."
Exit were renamed Shihad in mid-1988 when Geoff Duncan on bass guitar and Phil Knight on guitar joined. The new name was a misspelling of jihad (Arabic for "striving" or "struggling") as used in Frank Herbert's science-fiction novel, Dune (1965).
The group's influences were Metallica and Slayer, and later included Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. Shihad supported tours by international visitors, Faith No More and Motörhead. Another EP track, "The Wizard", was a cover version of Black Sabbath's 1970 work. Bridget Herlihy of Ambient Light described the EP as a "thrash-metal affair" with "four hard and fast tracks."
In August 1991 Laing left and was replaced on bass guitar by Karl Kippenberger. In February 1994 they performed at the Big Day Out concert in Auckland – the first time the roving festival occurred in New Zealand. The group signed with Noise Records in August for European releases and toured there for two months. It reached No. 4 and they followed with a tour of Western Europe supporting Faith No More for seven weeks.
Their manager at the time Gerald Dwyer died of a morphine overdose just after Shihad's performance at the 1996 Big Day Out, in Auckland. They had found Dwyer's body in his motel room after returning from the gig. They also toured both New Zealand and Australia. The album's lead single, "La La Land" (October 1996), received "strong airplay support" on Australia's national youth radio station, Triple J. Nimmervoll observed, "[it] marked a shift towards a more melodic sound." They appeared on the front cover of Rip It Up Magazine, with the accompanying article by John Russell describing their support slot for AC/DC's Ballbreaker World Tour in Auckland in November 1996. Russell noticed, "[they] battled for almost half an hour against audience indifference and the most horrid guitar sound I think they've ever had." Another popular track from the album, "Pacifier", was issued in 2000 as the album's third single. She felt, "their sound was hard and bangin', pulled in with anthemic overflow, a touch of funk and electronica, and eloquent, gutsy lyrics. Bold and raw, yet pure poetry." Pacifier co-headlined the Kings of Rock Tour with Australian metallers Superheist. Sean Kemp of Oz Music Project caught their performance at Adelaide's Le Rox, and noticed they, "are still bundles of energy and always make sure that each and every person in the venue are getting into the sounds they create."
The band's former name, Pacifier, was raffled off by the Australian radio station Triple J's Jay and the Doctor and was claimed by a little known band from Tasmania, Theory of Everything.
Love Is the New Hate, Beautiful Machine and Ignite (2005–2011)
upright=1.1|thumb|Shihad performing in 2008
Shihad released Love Is the New Hate in May 2005, with the related tour beginning with a free concert in Auckland's Aotea Square and comprised an extensive tour of Australia and New Zealand. In July they took to the main stage at Byron Bay's Splendour in the Grass, in front of an audience of 20,000. Love Is the New Hate reached No. 2 in New Zealand and No. 11 in Australia. "One Will Hear the Other" (January 2008) was released ahead of their seventh studio album, Beautiful Machine (April 2008), co-produced by the group with Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, The Killers, Billy Corgan) and Scott Horscroft (the Sleepy Jackson, the Presets, the Panics) at Melbourne's Sing Sing Studios. In the second half of the year they toured New Zealand on the Beautiful Machine Tour promoting the album, which reached No. 1 in New Zealand and No 11 in Australia.
Shihad supported AC/DC for the New Zealand leg of that group's Black Ice World Tour in January and February 2010. Also in January Shihad's new single "Cold Heart" was released, and was followed by "Sleepeater" (April) and "Lead or Follow" (July). In Australia it peaked in the top 50. The group released a compilation album, The Meanest Hits, in October 2011, in two formats: a 20-track standard edition and a deluxe 38-track, two-disc edition. The standard version peaked in the top 10 in New Zealand. On the second disc of the Australian version of The Meanest Hits, "Down Dance" was replaced with "Right Outta Nowhere", which does not appear on the New Zealand version.
FVEY and 30th anniversary (2012–2020)
For the production of their ninth studio album, Shihad worked with Jaz Coleman, of English post-punk band Killing Joke. Coleman produced Shihad's debut album, Churn, but a disagreement with the band occurred after the release of the album. Following a 15-year period in which Coleman and Shihad did not communicate, Coleman made amends with the band members at a London, UK awards ceremony. Toogood explained in June 2014:
<blockquote>
Three years ago we were at the Metal Hammer awards. I hadn't talked to Jaz for ages. We'd had a falling out, I just didn't have time for him. Tom [Larkin] went and chatted to him and was like, "come over and talk to him". I was like, "Fuck that guy". But he was softer—he doesn't drink alcohol anymore. He's still gnarly and idealistic and brutal but minus the alcohol that makes him this focused machine. It was just the perfect meeting of what we wanted to do and having the right guy to do it with.</blockquote>
Prior to the recording process, Coleman informed the band, "I'm going to work you until you've made a great record". Toogood explained that the entirety of the ninth album was recorded live-in-the-studio, while Coleman conducted, and the band members were forced to focus entirely on each song as they were recorded, without outside distractions, such as mobile phones. and Toogood referred to FVEY as Shihad's best album in 15 years. It is their fifth number-one album, As from August 2014 the group had the most Top 40 New Zealand chart singles for any local artist, with 25. Its music video was published on YouTube on 5 July 2014. Prior to the release of the album, Toogood explained that anger towards social injustice was a primary motivation during the songwriting process, "I don't have any answers but just as a concerned citizen, I'm going, 'This is bullshit'. The music's how we feel about that. It's fucking frustrating." Musically, the band chose a heavier sound, signifying a return to the first album, which the band found most enjoyable to play during their greatest hits tour.
Shihad performed their second album, Killjoy, to support its re-release as a remastered version at The Powerhouse, Auckland in May 2015. Together with Carl Cox they co-headlined the 2015 Rhythm & Alps festival at Cardrona Valley, Wānaka on New Years Eve. The band celebrated their 30th anniversary with tours in New Zealand and Australia during 2018. Ambient Lights Tim Gruar attended their show in October at The Waterfront's Shed 6, Wellington, and felt, "[they] have come from a thrash metal beginning but as they've grown they've become more and more tuneful, bringing us really great anthems along the way. And we heard those tonight." Chris Familton of Doubtful Sounds caught their set at Sydney's The Metro Theatre in late November, which "began with 'Think You're So Free' from their most recent album FVEY and worked its way back, in chronological order to 'Factory' from their debut Churn.
Old Gods (2021–2025)
Throughout the first months of 2021, the band regularly updated Facebook with the progress of their 10th studio album, which was produced by Birds of Tokyo's Adam Spark. "Tear Down Those Names" was released to streaming services as the lead single to the band's tenth studio album, entitled Old Gods, which was released in October 2021.
On 13 November 2024, the band announced their final tour, which started in December and ended on 16 March 2025 in Wellington.
Side projects
thumb|Jon Toogood, solo acoustic tour, at Tuning Fork, [[Auckland, October 2015]]
Shihad's members have pursued side projects or solo work. Larkin had established his own recording studio in Melbourne in 2008 as The Studio's in the City, which became Homesurgery Recordings in 2018. With fellow producers he worked on material by the Getaway Plan, Northeast Party House, and High Tension. He worked with Shayne Carter (Dimmer), Julia Deans (Fur Patrol), Ladi6, Anika Moa, Ruban and Kody Neilson (the Mint Chicks), and Tiki Taane. He has undertaken solo performances from 2015. Knight created a podcast series, What's Phil Worried About Today? He started the podcast series to help other people after he had experienced acute anxiety disorder and associated alcohol addiction. His alcohol addiction had affected his early years with Shihad, "I had a problem with drinking and playing back then also. Stopping that was a big positive shift in my performing."
|-
| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Most Promising Male ||
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|rowspan="3"| 1994 || Malcolm Welsford for Churn by Shihad || Engineer of the Year ||
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| Jaz Coleman for Churn by Shihad ||Producer of the Year ||
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| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Male Vocalist of the Year||
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| 1995 || Shihad || International Achievement||
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|rowspan="4"| 1996 || Killjoy || Album of the Year ||
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Male Vocalist of the Year||
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| Shihad || International Achievement||
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|rowspan="4"| 1997 || Karl Kippenberger & Jon Toogood for Shihad || Album Cover of the Year ||
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Male Vocalist of the Year||
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| Kevin Sprig for "La La Land" by Shihad || Music Video of the Year ||
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|rowspan="4"| 1998 || "Home Again" || Single of the Year ||
|-
| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Male Vocalist of the Year||
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| Mark Hurley for "Home Again" by Shihad || Music Video of the Year ||
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|rowspan="2"| 1999 || Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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| Reuben Sutherland for "Wait & See" by Shihad || Music Video of the Year ||
|-
|rowspan="7"| 2000 || The General Electric || Album of the Year ||
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| Shihad & Karl Kippenberger for The General Electric || Album Cover of the Year ||
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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| Shihad || International Achievement ||
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| "My Minds Sedate" || Single of the Year ||
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| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Male Vocalist of the Year||
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| Reuben Sutherland for "My Minds Sedate" (Shihad) || Music Video of the Year ||
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|rowspan="4"| 2001 || "Pacifier" || Single of the Year ||
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| Shihad || International Achievement ||
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| Jon Toogood - Shihad || Male Vocalist of the Year||
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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|rowspan="4"| 2005 || Love Is the New Hate || Album of the Year ||
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| Love Is the New Hate || Rock Group of the Year ||
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| Shihad || Peoples Choice ||
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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|rowspan="3"| 2008 || "One Will Hear the Other" || Single of the Year ||
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| Beautiful Machine || Rock Group of the Year ||
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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|rowspan="2"| 2010 || Shihad || New Zealand Music Hall of Fame || ||
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| Sam Peacocke for "Sleepeater" by Shihad || Music Video of the Year || ||rowspan="3"|
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| Shihad || Group of the Year ||
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| Shihad || Rock Group of the Year ||
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| Evan Short for FVEY by Shihad || Engineer of the Year || ||rowspan="2"|
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| Alt Group for FVEY by Shihad || Album Cover of the Year ||
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|rowspan="1"| 2022 || Old Gods || Rock Group of the Year ||
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
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| 2000 || The General Electric || Best Rock Album || || rowspan="2"|
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| 2005 || Love Is the New Hate || Best Rock Album ||
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| 2014 || FVEY || Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album || ||
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| 2022
| Old Gods
| Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album
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References
External links
- Video interview with Shihad