It’s no secret that New Zealand has been punching well above its weight in the recent years. This country has produced some of the best rock bands.

New Zealand has lots of talented musicians, especially in the pop/rock music industry.

Quick Start Guide Zed:

As one of the most famous New Zealand bands at the turn of the century, Zed gained tremendous chart success in their native country, with their debut “Silencer” hitting number one on the album charts, and several singles still being played in various advertisements years later.

Zed is the defunct four-piece Christian pop/rock outfit originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, they were temporarily based in the United States in early 2000. The band’s singles made it into some film soundtracks including one of the American Pie movies.

Zed a talented pop-rock four-piece band founded in 1998 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Zed (formerly called Supra) was established by the students at the Cashmere High School in Christchurch: Adrian Palmer, Ben Campbell, and Nathan King, alongside the veteran manager Ray Columbus. Nathan figured out that the group required another guitarist; Andrew Lynch was recruited in that role in 2000.

Inspired by old Beatles records of their parents and adding the Crowded House of their generation, Radiohead, Blur, and Supergrass, they began coming together in their own bedrooms to practice the type of hook-laden pop music they were often listening to.

Ben’s father enjoyed what he heard and chose to share the demos with a family friend, Ray Columbus (kiwi rock music icon). Also captivated by those bedroom practice sessions, Columbus signed on as the manager of the band, motivated them to begin created original material, and linked them to a lucrative publishing deal. The group also started playing in public and, still with the average age of 16, drove to Auckland for their debut recording.

The band’s first two tracks (that they produced on their own) went Top 20. Zed was nominated for the most promising group award at the New Zealand Music Awards in 1998. In July 1999, the band formalized the relationship of their record company and signed to the Universal Music in New Zealand. In May 2000, the group moved north again to the Revolver Studios in Auckland to compose the songs for their first album.

This was the time they had included guitarist Lynch in their lineup for the live project. Lynch had aided the group record and mix both of their first tracks. Once the recording sessions for what turned out to be the Silencer album started, the group enjoyed the direction the London-born Andy was taking their pop-rock music with his distinct influences and eventually made him a full-time member.

The group worked with the producer David Nicholas on their debut album Silencer. Vocal and Rhythm songs were recorded at the Auckland’s Revolver Studios, with final mixing and overdubbing at the Mangrove Studios, north of Sydney, Australia. They were done with the recording sessions in 7 weeks.

The band went on a hiatus in 2005, and since then they’ve only reunited for a few live gigs (two corporate events in 2011, and a 2008 performance at the Auckland’s Vector Arena.)

King embarked on a solo career, then later sang along with the band Paper Planes. Palmer and Campbell decided to form a new band, Atlas that broke up in late 2008. Lynch has been working as a session musician in Auckland.

Career Highlights:

Released in New Zealand on August 27th, 2000, “Silencer” debuted at No.1 on the New Zealand Album Charts, swiftly attaining triple platinum status. It was the only album by a Kiwi act to top the sales chart that year and the first album from the Christchurch quartet.

Ultimately, “Silencer” resulted in six hit tracks. Also, “Renegade Fighter” was the number one single in New Zealand for the year 2000. At the NZ music awards, the following year, the group received three top honors; Top male vocalist for lead singer Nathan King, Group of the year and Album of the year.

“This Little Empire” was the second album by this New Zealand rock band Zed. It was produced by Sylvia Massy Shivy alongside Zed at the Radiostar Studios in Weed, California, and developed by Rich Veltrop in collaboration with Josh Kiser.

The final album of Zed, “This Little Empire” was also issued with two different track lists; one aimed at New Zealand market in 2003, and another for the US the following year.

Unlike the group’s first album in 2000, “This Little Empire” was mainly produced for the American market, with a New Zealand edition and a US edition released.

The track listing for the United States edition features singles picked from their first album. The album was issued to New Zealand market on Nov. 11th, 2003; and released worldwide on August 23rd, 2004, through Interscope Records.

Present Status:

Zed finished playing back in 2005 but the memories still linger of a great Kiwi band with many lovers of great rock music.