For a teenaged trio playing rough-riding rock and metal, you couldn’t find a much cooler backdrop for band practice than a secluded mountain.
So it’s no surprise that Grim Rhythm made the most of their badass perch on Mount Macedon – about a 12-minute drive from storied Hanging Rock – where bassist Matt Verinder and drummer Jake Farrugia were renting an apartment beneath a mountaintop café.
Jamming with guitarist Tim Maxwell, they could enjoy epic views of thunderstorms or snow in the surrounding national park while smoking weed and jamming into the wee hours.
“When the café closed, we could make as much noise as we wanted,” recounts Verinder. “There was no one around for so far, so we had our instruments set up in the lounge room and we would just jam. That’s how the band started.”
Those heady late-night sessions might also explain how Grim Rhythm took shape as a purely instrumental proposition. “It wasn’t even a conscious thing,” Verinder says, pointing out that he and Maxwell have since sung in other bands.
“But this one, I don’t know. It’s become this point of difference: ‘How far can you go with an instrumental band?’ Fuck it, it’s a challenge.”
Gap Years
Grim Rhythm’s first tenure is pretty easy to track: the band started gigging in 2011 and self-released their debut album What Do You Know About Rock ‘n’ Roll in 2017. Then nothing happened for a long time.
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The trio slipped into a half-decade hiatus while the members played in other bands, only returning to this formative configuration for what was meant to be a one-off gig in 2024 – when new owners took over The Tote.
“We played our first-ever show there, when we were like, 18,” says Verinder of the reunion date. “It sold out straight away. So we were like, ‘Fuck, maybe we should do another one.’ Now we’re just back doing it.”
During the intervening years, Verinder and Farrugia played together in the country rock ensemble Steel Wheels, exploring music that felt a world away from Grim Rhythm’s rigorous riffing.
Meanwhile, Maxwell devoted himself to running the West Footscray recording destination Wrangler Studios, which doubled as a DIY music venue for a stint. Maxwell and Farrugia also played in LOSER, a popular rock band featuring members of The Bennies and The Smith Street Band.
Once LOSER had run its course, there was even less reason not to revisit Grim Rhythm – especially since Maxwell had a whole studio at his fingertips.
DIY Or Die
Enter Forever Eating Shit, the first Grim Rhythm album in nine years. It was forged entirely at Wrangler, from recording to mixing to mastering. “It was just the three of us,” Verinder fondly recalls. “There was no one else there for the whole time that we did it.”
In fact, the biggest impediment was the amount of new gear the members kept bringing to sessions, prompting them to re-record songs with each sweet new setup. The recording process dragged on for so long, in fact, that the band had to create a self-imposed deadline and then finish the whole thing in a single week of studio time.
“We just had to be harsh on ourselves,” admits Verinder, “and get the work ethic going. Be a bit more disciplined.”
For three mates who had been playing together in some form since age 16, it only makes sense to do things themselves that way. Like the first album, Forever Eating Shit is coming out through the band’s own label, Suspect Records.
Citing acts like King Gizzard and Private Function as prime examples, Verinder observes that it’s much easier for bands to control the release process these days.
“I’m a big believer of that,” he says. “The days of major labels doing shit for bands is over. And everyone got fucked. I’m staunchly DIY now. I just think it’s a way better and way smarter way to go about releasing your music.”
Sophomore Bump
The new record is classic Grim Rhythm, merging wordless power and precision while incorporating everything from stoner rock (Open Fire) and pub rock (Grease Money) to hints of surf guitar (Guns) and unvarnished thrash metal (RNR Warfare). There’s a vintage feel to it all, and fans of classic rock units like AC/DC, Motörhead, and ZZ Top shouldn’t walk away disappointed.
More surprising, though, are a pair of mellower, minute-long interludes in Chevaline and Man on the Moon. Then there’s the start of album closer Grim Nothing, which sounds like a gentle folk act scoring a 1970s horror film before the drums and distortion kick in. Also listen out for a xylophone on several tracks, adding to the film score vibes.
“I love that shit,” Verinder beams. “This whole record is very different from the shit we’ve done before. A lot of it’s very fast and thrash – way more heavy metal. Before there were always these restrictions, like ‘This riff is too that or too that, but [we’ve decided] nothing’s too anything. If we play it, then it’s us. Our music is only going to get more experimental as we go on.”
It’s also a fairly short record at eight tracks, including those interludes. While the band members definitely noticed the album’s brevity, they again looked to recent examples in Australian music they loved.
In the case of Sydney hardcore band SPEED’s ARIA-winning debut album Only One Mode, that whole things lasts only 23 minutes total.
“We get bored easily, and we feel like other people do too,” says Verinder. “Let’s get it over and done with. We do that with our live show too. I hate watching a band that plays for too long. I’d much rather treat ’em mean and keep ’em keen.”
Right Back To It
After almost a decade between albums, what’s it like to be playing with your teenage band again? “It feels great,” Verinder says without hesitation. “It just feels natural and normal. And also, we just don’t give a fuck. As you can tell by the album title.”
Laughing, he shares an anecdote about playing a Sunday gig in Newcastle, with maybe three people in the audience. “That’s eatin’ shit,” he declares. “But whatever. We love doing this. We agree on everything. Touring is easy; we all fit in an Uber.”
As Grim Rhythm get back into the swing of playing live again – including a support slot with transcendent psych legends Earthless last year – they plan to introduce more acoustic instruments and backing tracks to do justice to those less heavy and more subtle interludes.
And yet Verinder also says that a lot of the live show is sounding like early Slayer, so longtime fans will definitely be well served.
The three friends are even returning to The Tote for their hometown album launch. A full 15 years after their first-ever gig there, they’re mostly keen to not recreate the misadventures of that night.
There may or may not have been an altercation with another band, and they definitely borrowed a friend’s van, which sported racing stripes made of Astroturf and didn’t keep the police from pulling them over on the drive home. On the other hand, their set included an unrehearsed cover of Motörhead’s Damage Case.
Verinder looks back on that gig now like most of us would on any particularly eventful night from our early years play-acting as adults. “We were fucking teenagers,” he says.
Grim Rhythm’s Forever Eating Shit is out March 11th on Suspect Records, with pre-orders available now.
Grim Rhythm – 2026 Tour Dates
Friday, February 20th – The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, Melbourne, VIC
Ten Years Of The Last Chance
Thursday, February 26th – Shotkickers, Melbourne, VIC
With FRENZEE
Sunday, March 1st – Stay Gold, Melbourne, VIC
Sydney Road Street Party
Friday, March 20th – Singing Bird, Frankston, VIC
With FRENZEE
Saturday, March 21st – Lulie Tavern, Melbourne, VIC
Luliepalooza Festival
Saturday, April 4th – The Tote, Melbourne, VIC
Album Launch
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
