Bands by Country

I wanted to start this thread based on my previous exotic bands thread. I want to post a video from every country listed on the Metal Archives site in alphabetical order. It will be a way for me to explore music I've never heard, and hopefully give us all a chance to hear bands unknown from all corners of the earth.

Some countries that are steeped in Metal like the US and UK and Scandinavian countries will be harder to choose, but when was the last time anyone heard a band from Myanmar or Turkmenistan? Hopefully there will be at least one video available on YouTube from even the most remotest of countries. This is also partly inspired by people like Manny who love to do thematic threads on FB.

It looks like there are about 140 countries represented, so this could be a nice 5 month project of mine posting one band a day. Please refrain from suggestions and comments, I just wanna see how much I could learn myself and see where this goes.
So the first country on the list is ALBANIA with the death metal band Gverr:

Second country on the list is ALGERIA. Algeria is a Northern African country originally populated by the Berber/Amazigh aka "free and noble men" aka the white people of Africa. Blessed Augustin of Hippo was a Berber and he is without a doubt the most influential western theologian in history. Leave it to an African to influence all of European theological thought, I love it.

The band presented is a straightforward black metal group called Barbaros, and they mainly sing about their Berber culture. They also do a pretty cool and original cover of Mayhem's Freezing Moon. Enjoy:

I'm adding the next country a bit early because I'll be out of town all day tomorrow, so might as well get it in before I hit the sack.

Next country up is ANDORRA. And who? Well, it turns out to be a tiny European country near Spain with a population of less than 90,000 people, so it might not even appear on some maps. There are only 3 bands listed, but if the only band they had was the one I'm going to present, the country should be proud.

The band is called Persefone and they play a progressive form of death metal. Too bad they don't have any official videos. I'm also digging the cover art for their newest album Shin-Ken, which has a cool samurai theme to it.

Next up is the south-central African country of ANGOLA. I have no clue about this country, but Wikipedia says they have a population of nearly 20 million people and Portuguese is their official language due to their colonization back in the sixteen hundreds.

You might think they would a few bands based on the language factor alone, but MA only lists 2. Slim pickings. Of the 2 bands listed, Neblina sounded the best, Enjoy:

Next up we have the South American country of ARGENTINA. With a country that has close to 1,300 bands listed, it was a bit hard research wise, but when I think of SA countries, I usually have a Thrash band in mind. And I think I found one of the best Thrash bands this country has to offer.

They are called Hermetica, and if you love late 80's and early 90's thrash done the right way, look no further. They have released 3 full-lengths with positive reviews. This band has also shared the stage with bands like KISS, Black Sabbath, and Slayer, which says a lot about them as a band. I think if they had sang in English instead of Spanish and had good promotion out in the US, they could have been better know worldwide. Of the forty of so YouTube videos available, it was hard to pick just one because they all could have been picked at random and still kicked ass. I figured a good live track would give a good feel for the band.

Next country up is ARMENIA, a tiny land in the Caucasus mountains landlocked between Europe and the Middle East, between civility and insanity. The land where Noah's Ark is said to have landed (if you're inclined to believe in such stories) and the first Christian nation in the world, a decade before Constantine and his Roman Empire knew what hit and transformed them.

Definitely not a big metal scene at all, but I was able to manage to find a band that plays a symphonic form of black metal pretty well, although it's not my cup of tea at all. The band is called Blood Covenant and I think Dio would have been proud of this video. Even a much older (Burger) King shows up a few times (in a creepy way too in a couple of shots). And kudos to the band for singing in their native tongue (I think the band sings in Armenian, English, and Russian on their album).

AUSTRALIA is next up on the list. This country has given many cool bands in all types of rock genres ever since AC/DC hit the scene (or was it the Bee Gees?). However, since this thread is about the more exotic bands of different countries if they can be found, when I think of this country, there is one band that came to my mind that I discovered over a decade ago that has elements of Aborigines, death, progressive, and an overall unique sound all their own. The band is called Alchemist and they have been around 25 years.

I wish the song presented had had its own video, but alas, there is none. This is the kind of music you want to listen to with your earphones at night with the lights out experiencing far away places within the cave-walls of your mind.

Next up is the European country of AUSTRIA. I don't really know much about the scene, but they all seemed like a bunch of girly symphonic power metal bands, second rate Nightwish, Epica, and Kamelot knockoffs, and I'm no fan of those bands.

There is only one band I was familiar with, and in the tradition of our former Governator, the original Austrian Death Metal, I give you Belphegor, Total Brutal and a sick little band that I know only 2 or 3 people on here would really enjoy.

AZERBAIJAN is the last of the A countries. Their metal scene is a lot like the country itself, uninteresting and not noteworthy. You would think that a country with a population worldwide of over 30 million people and at the edge of Europe would have some decent band, but there is only 3 listed, and they all blow.

This was the best thing I could find, a band called 3,14 for Pi (why not 3.14?) It's labeled as a melodic doom metal band, and rather than singing in their native tongue, they sing in Russian.

Also a bit disappointed Afghanistan did not have at least 1 band on the list, but perhaps it's understandable.

The B countries start out with the tiny island country of BAHRAIN in the Persian Gulf, so tiny I doubt you can even see it on some maps. But, this country actually has some cool bands, and even though I would have liked to feature a few of these bands that also use Arab musical scales (the recording quality was overall poor), I'm going to present a band any black/death fan would really love.

They are called Smouldering in Forgotten, taken from a lyric by Goatwhore, so you can see where their musical taste is at. It would have been cool if they had some sort of official video. They are also probably the only band with full time members that tour and have shared the stage with Arch Enemy, etc.

BANGLADESH is the next featured country. It's a country east of India that was once part of India, and the the native tongue spoken is Bengali. This was a tricky country to pin down, but after researching all that I could, I think I found a band worthy of mention.

They are called Severe Dementia, and play a competent form of death metal. They have yet to release a full-length or any music videos, but I think this song should prove the talent within the band. Within the 4 minute mark, they even bring in a bit of their native instruments.

BELARUS is next and it is the first of the Slavic countries to be presented. When I think of these lands, folk music is really what I usually have in mind. I have found an excellent band in Drygva, who play Pagan Folk metal. If you like Eluveitie and Falkenbach, etc., you'll probably dig this band. Another group that needs a video for exposure.

The Western European country of BELGIUM is next. I don't know much about them except for a few relatives that live there and have made it known to me that Dutch, French, and German are all official languages, so you know these people are a mixed bag. And I don't think they've had any sort of official government for a year or so.

I decided to go old-school with the music because I don't know what genre they're really known for or not. This band is called Bad Lizard, and if you like Saxon, Maiden, Priest, etc., done the 80's way, they shouldn't disappoint.

BELIZE is up next. A tiny country right below Mexico. Well, they only have 1 band listed in MA without and music to be found, but thankfully an unlisted band did have music on YouTube:

The South American country of BOLIVIA is next. I had never heard of any Bolivian bands before, and most if not all of the bands were of death/black/thrash stock. I thing the South Americans love the brutal stuff more than anything else.

The only band I thought of mention is one that has been around for over 15 years. Nothing groundbreaking that's for sure, but better than the crap I had to weed through. They are called Hate and play a decent form of thrash:

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA is next. It's a South European country of Slavic origin, and has had a fairly contentious history up into the current times. Usually, these types of countries tend to produce more brutal forms of metal like the South Americans, which is always cool by me.

The band presented has been around for 25 years and still kicking. They are called Bombarder and play in the speed/thrash vein. Old-school type of music, I know a lot of you here will dig their sound. And they sing in their native tongue.

The south African country of BOTSWANA is up next. No big scene here at all, but there were a few bands with potential. The one I'm gonna feature is called Wrust and they play a decent form of death metal. And of course an African band has to be on a label called Witchdoctor Records:

BRAZIL is the next country on the list. With close to four thousand bands and a healthy love for all things brutal, it's hard to choose just one band. I could have featured Sepultura and taken the easy route, but that would be too obvious.

So I'm gonna feature an old-school death metal machine that has been around since 1990 and still shredding people apart with no sign of slowing down. And like Sepultura used to be, this band is made up of brothers, 3 in fact. It must be cool to be in a band made up of all brothers just tearing it up around the world.

The band is called Krisiun, and I think they pretty much sum up was Brazil is all about, just brutal, sick, no-nonsense barrage of noise with dark themes all around. And if the drummer makes love to his girl the way he bangs his kit, her inferno might just as well com-bust:

BRUNEI is the next country on the list. Where is Brunei? My little research says it's a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Well, I still probably can't locate the place if you gave me a map because I've never heard of this country, and being a tiny region in the world, their metal scene is nearly non-existent. But a couple of bands did have a video, and this groove/thrash band called Hebiimetaru had the best one:

The Slavic country of BULGARIA is next. They are the first of the Slavic people to have a literary society based on their own script and I also think they are the most diverse in culture among them having Greek and Turkic influences over the centuries.

The band I'm gonna feature is called Hades, and they play a competent form of power/thrash metal. And also this band has a release on StormSpell Records, so I thought I'd highlight them here. And with Bulgaria, the B countries are done:

The first C country is CANADA. Always hard to pick a band or song with a country that has a fairly deep amount of metal bands, 2,500 or so to be precise. This country has given us bands like Rush, Annihilator, Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad, 3 Inches of Blood, Into Eternity, etc., just to name a few of the more better know artists that have contributed to the metal landscape.

But, I figured there was one band from the 80's that was weirder and cooler than most bands before or after them. That band is Voivod, progressive thrash metal from another dimension:

The South American country of CHILE is next. As expected, this area of the world likes their death/thrash bands, and the featured band Criminal has been around for 20 years and still going strong playing music in that vein:

CHINA is up next. As the country with the largest population in the world, and possibly the most diverse (there are 56 ethnic groups within the borders of China recognized by the Chines government, most of whom have no relations to the Chinese).

Not a big metal scene at all, but their first and possibly best band ever, Tang Dynasty, is not bad at all. If you can overlook the language barrier, the singer has a bit of King Diamond in him. And their first album from 1992 has sold over 2 million copies in the Asian market alone:

The South American country of COLOMBIA is next on the list. No big surprise that death/thrash is big down there. The band featured has been around for over 20 years and still performing, and play old school death metal the way it should be. They are called Masacre, and even though their discography is a bit out of sync, anyone who enjoys this type of metal should definitely look into them.

I'm posting the next country a bit early as I'll be out of town for about three days and will probably post the others together in one day, and this country was easy to post as it has just one band listed on the MA site. It's the African country of CONGO, and I think this band formed for the sake of MC666 just in case he ever takes a trip down there: