A Brief History of Australian Heavy Metal in the ’80s Australia’s metal roots trace back to the hard-rock thunder of AC/DC and the street-level grit of Rose Tattoo, whose high-voltage riffs and tough attitude laid the groundwork for a heavier underground. By the early–mid ’80s, a new wave of bands pushed things faster and darker. Mortal Sin emerged as one of the nation’s first true thrash acts, gaining international attention with Mayhemic Destruction (1986). Around the same time, Hobbs’ Angel o