Double Dragon

Double Dragon were one of the busiest heavy bands Adelaide produced in the 2000s. They put out two EPs, a split and two albums, helped build a local metal festival from scratch, and opened for some of the biggest names in metal. Then they changed their name and went quiet. In 2026, after more than a decade away, they came back.

Starting out in 2002

The band formed in Adelaide in 2002. The AusMetal Guide, a wiki that tracks the Australian scene, lists the earliest lineup as a guitarist called Rowan and a singer called Shane, alongside drummer Dan Busch and bassist Jason Moon. Rowan and Shane were gone by 2003, the guide says, and guitarist Ben Murphy joined in 2005. The lineup that made the early records had Lee Gardiner on vocals, Matthew "Roady" Johnston and Ben Murphy on guitars, Jason Moon on bass and Dan Busch on drums. Their first EP, Have Them Destroyed, came out independently in 2005.

The sound was set early. The Gov in Hindmarsh, which booked them in 2026, described "back-to-back riffs, twin guitar harmonies, blistering solos, and a mix of clean and screamed vocals." It called the style "old school metal intertwined with elements of melodic death and metalcore." Other writers have called them groove metal giants and a melodeath metalcore outfit.

Scars of Fire

The record that made their name was Scars of Fire, a five-track EP released on 12 June 2006 through Adelaide label Truth Inc. Records, catalogue number TINC002. It opens with "Dead But Still Killing" and closes with "The Skulls of Fallen Conquerors."

Not every review was glowing. Writing on The Sound Cellar in April 2008, Brian Fischer-Giffin called "Dead But Still Killing" "an absolute corker," with "one of those insanely catchy In Flames-like melodic thrash riffs." But he felt the EP was "probably just a little too generic in many places." He still called Double Dragon "a band to watch," and noted that since the EP came out they'd played with Slayer and Mastodon and appeared at the Big Day Out.

Scars of Fire has had a long life. On 12 January 2026 the band put a remastered version on their own Bandcamp, close to 20 years after the original.

Against the Grain

Lee Gardiner didn't just front a band. With Jason North of fellow Adelaide band Truth Corroded, he organised a festival. According to the AusMetal Guide, Against the Grain began as a small gathering of ten local bands at the Bridgeway Hotel in Pooraka. The first one ran on 3 September 2005, with Double Dragon and Truth Corroded on the bill.

It came back on 22 July 2006 at the Bridgeway, then moved into the city in 2007, to Fowlers Live on North Terrace, where it grew to 14 bands. It ran there again on 15 September 2007 and 13 September 2008. The fifth, on 19 September 2009, had 21 acts from around the country, including Alchemist, The Amenta and Ne Obliviscaris. Metal Underground called it "Australia's premiere metal festival." The AusMetal Guide says Singapore's Bhelliom became the first overseas band to play it, and its lineup lists show Double Dragon on the bill every year. The guide says North and Gardiner announced in April 2010 that the festival wouldn't go on.

There's a second Against the Grain in the story too. When the band made their second album, they recorded it at Against the Grain Studios in Adelaide.

Devastator and the big tours

The debut album, Devastator, came out on 28 May 2008 on Truth Inc. Records. It has ten tracks, including "Black Sails of Armageddon," "Beneath the City of Churches" and "Breathing Fire," which features guest vocals from Emma Dean. It also includes "The Skulls of Fallen Conquerors," the song that closed Scars of Fire.

Guitarist Ben Murphy left in 2008. According to the AusMetal Guide, James Chamberlain had a short stint in his place before Davin Buttery took over that September. In 2009 the band shared a split release with Truth Corroded on Truth Inc.

Then came the big one. In September 2009 Metal Underground reported that Double Dragon would open every Australian date of Slayer and Megadeth's October tour, from Brisbane's Riverstage to Perth's Challenge Stadium, with a hometown night at Thebarton Theatre on 11 October.

"This is pretty much a dream come true for any metal head in a metal band," Gardiner said at the time. He said they'd felt they "won the metal lottery" when they opened for Slayer in Adelaide the last time Slayer came through, "but to be offered the whole tour is just mind blowing."

A national run with Chimaira was set for January 2010. By early 2011 The Music was listing Slayer, Megadeth, Chimaira, The Haunted and Soilwork among the bands Double Dragon had toured nationally with since Devastator.

Sons of Asena

In 2010 Dan Busch and Jason Moon, who'd been there since 2002 according to the AusMetal Guide, left. In October that year Blabbermouth reported that drummer Liam Weedall, formerly of Asphyxia and Sonic Euphoria, and bassist Josh Lamont, from Buttery's side project A Red Dawn, had joined Roady, Davin and Gardiner. "As for Liam, he's only 19 years old, but don't let that fool you," Roady said. The new lineup was set to make its official debut supporting Soilwork in Adelaide.

They went into Against the Grain Studios to make the second album, Sons of Asena. "We have let our collective imaginations run wild for this album," Gardiner said. The Music reported that Brisbane singer Kate Miller-Heidke would sing on the closing track, "Asena," with her husband, Keir Nuttall, adding guitar. "I am a massive fan of their music," Gardiner said. The AusMetal Guide says the band released the album late in 2011 as a free download from their website.

Then Roady left. In March 2012 the band put out a statement, reported by Metal Obsession. "With Roady gone from Double Dragon, there are no original members left in the band," it said. After the shows they'd already booked, they'd become Sons of Asena. "We want to start new," the statement said, and "instead of it being 'the end' of Double Dragon, we now see it as a new beginning." It added: "In a way, Sons Of Asena is both the first Sons Of Asena album, and the last Double Dragon album, at the same time."

The AusMetal Guide says most of the members went on to form Voros, while Gardiner moved into other kinds of music before joining Echoes in Eternity in 2020.

Froth and Fury and the comeback

The 2026 Adelaide Froth and Fury festival ran on Saturday 31 January at the Adelaide Showgrounds in Wayville. The final lineup announcement promised Double Dragon "celebrating 20 years of their groundbreaking Scars of Fire EP."

They'd already put out a new single at the start of the year, "The Inconceivable Cost," produced by Aidan Cibich and the band. The Gov called it their first new single. Will Oakeshott of The Note called it "an illustrious reawakening."

The reviews of the set were warm. "It's been over 15 years since Adelaide groove metal giants Double Dragon played their last gig," Brian Giffin wrote for Hot Metal. "They have not been forgotten." He described Gardiner stalking the stage while the band "rained down thick grooving riffs and harmonised guitars." Then "festival organiser Jason North stepped out to go toe-to-toe with Gardiner," he wrote. Crannk noted that former member Chris "Killer" Causby of Storm the Crown joined them too.

Wall of Sound pointed out that the band were "playing the same grounds, but at the Big Day Out, back in the day."

It didn't stop there. The Gov booked Double Dragon to headline An Evening with Double Dragon and Friends in Hindmarsh on Friday 17 July 2026, with Headbore, Storm the Crown and Nakatomi Plaza.

Twenty years after Scars of Fire, one of Adelaide's busiest metal bands of the 2000s is back where it started, on a local stage with its mates.

Watch

Five clips from the band's own YouTube channel and the official Topic channel, covering the first EP to the comeback single.

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