Bands by Country

The small island of PUERTO RICO in the Caribbean Sea is next. Not a big place for metal bands, but I do remember this band called Puya from the late 90's that has a mix of just about all style of music within its rock/metal pedigree:

The only Q country on the list in QATAR is next. Qatar is an Arab Emirate bordering Saudi Arabia with a tiny population and only 1 band listed, although this is not the one. They are called Detention Theory and this was the only video available:

The country of REUNION is next. I've never heard of this place, but it happens to be a tiny French island in the Indian Ocean with a small population and just a handful of bands. This was the only band and song I could find, from a progressive/melodic metal band called Nazca:

ROMANIA is next, a country at the crossroads between Central and Southeastern Europe whose language is related to other Romance languages like French, Italian, and Spanish. It's also the land of Transylvania and Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula (think of the many metal album themes and songs these two subject have inspired).

This band Negura Bunget is one of their oldest and most active acts, and their sound is an interesting mix of progressive/folk/atmospheric/black metal:

Next up is RUSSIA, the largest country in the world and one of the most diverse with the different native cultures within its borders. As with the other Slavic speaking countries, the folk element is the most fascinating. Arkona is one of the best in the field:

SAN MARINO is next, a tiny little Italian peninsula with a population of about 30,000. There are only a couple bands listed, and this band Alchimia 2012 was the only one with a video:

SAUDI ARABIA is next. Not much in the way of bands, but this oriental/black band called Al-Namrood is the most active and interesting of them all:

SERBIA is next located Central/Southeast Europe. A lot the bands listed are in the thrash/death style, and they have a pretty decent amount of bands compared to their population size. This band is called Pollution and they are in the legion of the new way of thrash, international style:

First off, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Labor Day here in the US. I'm hitting up the BBQ grill and I'm sure the beer will be flowing a plenty.

The next country up is SINGAPORE. This is an island country made in Southeast Asia and has a diverse population with an equally diverse religious background. The band featured here Rudra and their video was actually the catalyst for this thread in many ways. They play their own take on death/black style with what they call Vedic metal, a mix of their Hindu beliefs and its musical scales with extreme forms of metal.

This video is not only well made, but the story of Arjuna and Krisha is actually very fascinating/philosophical as it deals with Arjuna's struggle to battle his own family but is revealed by Krishna that it is his duty to struggle for righteousness without worrying about his personal loss, its consequences or rewards, and that ones moral duty in spiritual and material things is more important than anything else. Enjoy the video:

SLOVAKIA is next, a landlocked Central European country. This band Vindex plays straight forward heavy metal (and you gotta love the cheesy video):

SLOVENIA is next, a tiny country in Central/Southeastern Europe. This band Brutart has a doomy vibe to it, and there hasn't been much of those types of bands featured here, so enjoy:

SOUTH AFRICA is next. Hard to pin this country down as far as the metal scene goes. Here's an up and coming death metal band that should make some noise in the coming years called Bile of Man.

I won't be in tomorrow, so I'm gonna hit up the next 2 countries today. Also, I'm going to skip the next 2 countries on the list after those (Suriname, Svalbard) because each only have 1 band listed, and there were no video to be found. I'll return on Sunday with Sweden.

SPAIN is next, and it has a good history of bands within its ranks. This band Baron Rojo has been around since 1980 and plays straight up metal:

The island country of SRI LANKA is next, right off the southern coastal tip of India. Not too many bands, but this one called Whirlwind seems to be the most active:

I decided not to post a video yesterday in honor and remembrance of 9/11.

The next country on the list SWEDEN. It's really hard to represent such an important country in terms of the metal music it has given us in bands that people either love or love to hate such as Opeth, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Evergrey, Soilwork, At the Gates, Meshuggah, Bathory, Dark Funeral, Marduk, HammerFall, Arch Enemy, Therion, Katatonia....I mean the list goes on and on.

But personally for me, I'm going to post my favorite band from that country because they also happen to play my favorite genre as well in Candlemass:

SWITZERLAND is next. Don't know much about their metal scene, but Celtic Frost and Coroner are from there, so it can't be that bad. How cool is this?:

SYRIA is next, an Arab state bordering Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, and Israel, and hence a very strategic country in that volatile region of the world. I really wasn't able to find anything, except for this:

TAIWAN is next, a small island out on the coast of China, with a population of mainly Han Chinese. Not a big scene, but this band Chthonic is well known in the international metal community and hard to describe except that they are very interesting and they have also played Ozzfest. And their bass player is hot:

TAJIKISTAN is next, a Persian speaking Central Asian country bordering Afghanistan. I was only able to find this band called Last Rame, and they are not listed on the MA site.

Also, just updated the band for South Africa just to reflect its current scene (thanks Monty):

I'm gonna post two countries today since I'll be all day tomorrow.

The southeast Asian country of THAILAND is next. They have a fairly healthy metal scene, and this band Dezember has been around nearly 20 years. I don't usually put up live video's, but the band sounds tight and the crowd is decent, kind of gives an idea as to the scene there. Also, kudos for singing in Thai:

I'm skipping Trinidad/Tobago because I couldn't find any music.

The North African country of TUNISIA is next, a land originally inhabited by the Berbers and later under Roman rule for many centuries before Islamic conquest and language change. The band I'm going to present is one that Bassman brought to my attention called Myrath, and they are exactly what a progressive metal band should strive to be:

TURKEY is next, a country so mixed up with the peoples of Anatolia, it's hard to really describe one. Turkey has a really healthy scene, and this band Pentagram/Mezarkabul is a great synthesis of metal and that eastern flavor:

UKRAINE is next as Turkmenistan and Uganda did not have any music available to post.

There are quite a lot of bands in the Ukraine, and the first one I heard about is this band called Holy Blood, a mix of folk/black:




Also, as a bonus band, MC brought to my attention this band called Necropolis from Trinidad and Tobago to fill in the hole:

Next up is the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. The interesting fact about the UAE is that only 10% of the population are Arabs. So it makes perfect sense that the featured band Nervecell, who are a great death metal band with a couple of awesome albums, would have in its ranks men from Lebanon, Jordan, Australia, and India by way of Portugal. If there is any one band that represents the spirit of this thread, this band is it.


Also, as a bonus song and in keeping with the international flavor of Nervecell, I also want to feature this band called Kartikeya. This is a band from Russia and their lyrics are all based on Hindu mythology, and they just covered this song by Melechesh, who is a band that started out in Israel, moved to the Netherlands, and has within its ranks members who are Armenian, Assyrian, American, and Dutch and they sing about Sumerian/Mesopotamian mythology. It's safe to say Metal is everywhere and become everything:

The UNITED KINGDOM is next, England to be specific. I think we all know that despite all the influential metal giants that have come out from this territory, there is only one band that needs mentioning: Black Sabbath. No explanation needed whatsoever.

These two songs (Black Sabbath and War Pigs) are probably the two most influential tunes in the metal history. Despite the videos saying these are demos, they were actually recorded live for BBC 1 Radio on the John Peels Sessions program in April of 1970, two months after the release of their debut album (and of course before Paranoid came out in September) and can be found on Ozzy's Ozzman Cometh compilation album. What's cool is that both songs either have an extra verse or alternate lyrics in comparison to the official album versions. And I think both sound excellent and are really the main reason why a forum like this even exists: