Purged, an Australian thrash metal band from Melbourne, was formed in January 1995. The group's early steps included recording a demo titled Demo 95 under the direction of Mark McCormack at St. Andrews Studios, with 500 copies sold in Australia. In September of the same year, Purged performed as an opening act for Deicide and later played at Festival Hall alongside White Zombie, attracting the attention of Stubble Records. This led to their debut album Form of Release, recorded between January and March 1996 and released on August 19, 1996. The album peaked at number 11 in September and number 8 in October on the Australian Hard Music Charts. It was also distributed internationally through Metal Blade Records in 1997. Purged's subsequent release, Balance of Power, was issued by Stubble Records in 1999.
