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Shihad is an alternative rock and post heavy metal band originally from Wellington, New Zealand, where they formed in 1988. In 1999 the band relocated to Melbourne, Australia, where three of the members currently reside.

History

The name "Shihad" was chosen after members of the band misheard "jihad" as "Shihad" in the 1984 David Lynch movie, Dune. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks the band decided to change their name due to the similarity between the band's name Shihad and the Arabic word jihad. At the 2002 Big Day Out music festival in Auckland New Zealand they released t-shirts with 'Shihad' on them, and 'Remote' below, indicating that 'Remote' was to be the new name. However, due to this name being taken already, they settled on "Pacifier", which was a successful single from their album "The General Electric".

Their next album under the name Pacifier was widely considered to be overproduced and not quite Shihad's style.

On September 17 2004, the band announced to the world that they would change their name back to Shihad. To quote the band, "The events surrounding the name change and our choice to be known as Pacifier are well documented. As much as we believed in what we were doing, and the reasons for doing it at the time - the truth is we were wrong."

In an interview*, Jon Toogood spoke about an event that contributed to their decision:

The band name "Pacifier" was immediately raffled on the Australian radio station Triple J by Jay and the Doctor and was claimed by a little known band from Tasmania, Theory of Everything.

Shihad's latest album, "Love Is The New Hate", was released on 2 May 2005 to good reviews and sales. In New Zealand the album went gold in its first week of release and debuted at number two on the charts. The material on the album was more political than that of previous efforts, due to the experiences that they had in the USA.

Shihad supported "Love Is the New Hate" initially with dates in New Zealand, including the massive launch concert in Auckland's Aotea Square and an extensive tour of Australia and New Zealand. In August and September 2005, Shihad performed a seventeen date co-headlining tour of Australia with Australian band Cog, dubbed "The Homeland Security Tour".

In recent interviews, the band have announced that they are working on material for a new album, hopefully out before the end of 2006, with a single out sometime around the middle of the year.

Music Style

Shihad's music has always been rooted in metal. The album Churn has a pronounced industrial influence. Killjoy is considered their heaviest release, with heavy distorted riffs. The General Electric incorporates a lot of electronics and reflects the nu-metal popular at the time. Pacifier can easily be considered post-grunge or nu-metal, but Love is the New Hate is a shift to more alternative and punk rock.

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

Band members

Current

Former

External links

Australian musical groups | New Zealand musical groups

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Shihad".

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