Bands by Country

Gonna post 2 countries tonight for lost time.

The Central American country of COSTA RICA is next. The band highlighted is called Manta, a death/thrash band whose claim to fame is that they were Paul DiAnno's backing band a few years back when he toured Central and South America (he also recorded vocals on one track on their last album). They've also been around 20+ years:

The Central European country of CROATIA is next. Another Slavic people, but I'm gonna highland a band that is more in the Gothic realm than anything else. Not my cup of tea, but Omega Lithium are possibly the best known band out of that country, and having a hot girl doesn't hurt either:

The island nation of CUBA is next. Perhaps best know for their cigars, Cuba has a lot more to offer than the mainly negative view it gets for its politics, etc. They don't have a big metal scene, and the band highlighted Grinder Carnage wasn't even in the MA library (which might say a lot about that site):

The island of CYPRUS is next. Again, no big scene, but I was able to find a decent band called Winter's Verge in the power metal tradition that has opened for bands like Statovarius, and fans of that type of music should dig this:

The CZECH REPUBLIC is next. Known for some of the best beers in the world, this Slavic country has some interesting bands as well. The band featured is called Silent Stream of Godless Elegy, and they are a perfect combination of a Folk/Doom sound. I would describe them as Virgin Black and Therion coming together and mixing in Czech folk elements, I know some people here will dig them, definitely worth looking into. I believe this song is a Czech folk song. It actually has an official video, but it was one minute shorter and the sound quality was way too low compared to this. And with this comes the close of the C countries:

DENMARK is the first of the D countries. I don't know much about Denmark except that I loved eating Danish cookies when I was a kid and that they are a Scandinavian country, so that already makes them cool in my book. And they also have some well known bands like Artillery, Royal Hunt, Volbeat, Pyramaze, Pretty Maids, Mercenary, etc. But none are and more cooler and influential than Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, and they are highlight on this post. This song isn't from the first 2 classic albums, but it might as well have been:

The island nation DOMINICAN REPUBLIC is the next and last of the D countries. I couldn't find a band with more than 2 albums under their belts. Actually, I couldn't find many bands from DR. The only thing I really know about DR is that they continually pump out some great baseball players year in and year out for the benefit of MLB. This band is called Altus Mortem and they play thrash (according to MA and this video):

The South American country of ECUADOR is next (that's equator in English for obvious geographical reasons). I think a more indigenous and native sounding band would be more appropriate for this country, and I found a fairly good band playing folk/heavy metal with nice results. They are called Aztra and get bonus points for singing in Spanish:

The magical land of EGYPT is next. A nation with a glorious past whose ancient themes and mythologies have inspired many metal bands visually and lyrically, they are far from having any type of metal scene.

But the band featured should appeal to anyone who likes death metal. They are called Scarab, and even though it would have been cool if they had more of their native sounds incorporated into their sound, their debut album is just full on blast death metal without the fat:

The small Central American country of EL SALVADOR is next. I have a few Salvy friends, and they are all into metal music. In fact, the Los Angeles based gang from the 80's Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) was started by a bunch of El Salvadorian metalheads to protect themselves from other minority gang groups (I believe this is the largest and deadliest gang in the world now, and I've known a couple, one being a friend who ironically left them and is now a bounty hunter!).

As with many Central and South American countries, death/thrash is the name of the game, as is with this band Dreamlore:

The small Northern European Baltic country of ESTONIA is next. The language is closely related to Finnish, and the population is a quarter Russian, due to its border with Russia.

The band presented is called Metsatoll, and they play Folk Metal, the type of music you'd expect from lands like these. And this ends the E countries:

FAROE ISLANDS is up next. Somewhere between Iceland and England in the North Atlantic, and a population of about 50,000 combined and part of Kingdom of Denmark, the scene is pretty small. But one band that was mentioned here on the boards previously has made a name for itself in the metal world coming out of F.I. and that band is TYR:

I was out all day yesterday, so I'll post 2 countries today. Next up is FINLAND. Any metal fan knows that they have a great metal scene and internationally recognized bands such as Nightwish, Children of Bodom, Sentenced, Finntroll, Amorphis, Swallow the Sun, etc. But the first Finnish band I probably ever heard of and one of its oldest is Stratovarius, and this video is a song from their 1989 debut album Fright Night where their eccentric guitarist Timo Tolkki was still handling vocals:

FRANCE is next and is the final F country. While bands of France have not had the international success of other European countries, they do have quite a lot of bands (MA lists about 1,000 more than Finland, but of course they have a larger population and quantity does not equal quality). Regardless, they do have a healthy scene with just about every genre represented. The band featured started out in the mid 80's and is possible the first French band with death leanings called Loudblast that is still recording and active to this day:

The country of GEORGIA is next. A small country situated in the Caucasus Mountains once a part of the Soviet Union, they don't have much of a metal scene, but have a couple of decent bands. The band featured, Bohema, is a brutal 3-piece death metal machine that should satisfy anyone who likes this style:

The mighty country of GERMANY is next. Perhaps the 3rd most influential metal country ever, what can I say about them and their bands that hasn't been said? This is a land that has given us the Scorpions, Accept, Helloween, Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, Rage, Blind Guardian, Running Wild, etc. just to name a few of the greatest of all-time.

Since this is just a fun project of mine and nothing more, I'm gonna feature a band that is as old and in fact older than some of the above mentioned bands that doesn't get the same amount of attention as the big boys. They formed in 1980 and are called Holy Moses, and feature a girl in Sabina that could kick any guy's ass (this one is for you Monty):

The tiny territory of GIBRALTAR in the Iberian Peninsula is next. They barely have a population of 30,000 people, so it's not a real country per se, just free of Spanish rule, and with barely 4 bands listed, there was only 1 band with an actual album. It's really worth looking into, total 80's melodic metal, the kind of obscure stuff I know a few people here like. They are called Oracle and released this album in 1989:

GREECE is next. Not only have the Greeks given the Western civilization much philosophical thought and helped to shape much of the European the languages, including the English that we speak, these guys are big time metal fans. Had they had a larger population, we might hear a lot more about their bands. This band is one that started out in the mid-80's called Spitfire:

GREENLAND is up next. I don't think this country has any legitimate metal bands. Considering its Norse pedigree and connection to Denmark, it might have a few, but this the best I could find, a band that probably doesn't exist anymore. Kinda reminds me of Deep Purple musically:

Next up is GUAM, an unincorporated of the US located in western Pacific Ocean, with a small population and no metal scene. This was the only thing I could find, and it sucks (for my personal musical taste):

First of all, I wanna wish everybody a Happy 4th of July. Hopefully everyone celebrating it will have lots of good BBQ and Beer like I'm planning on doing.

The next county up is the Central American county of GUATEMALA, and death/thrash is the name of the game in these territories, as is with this band Metal Requiem:

The South American country of GUYANA is next bordered by Venezuela and Brazil. The interesting fact about this state is that their official language is English due to British colonialism. I always thought all SA countries spoke either Spanish or Portuguese, but who knew?

They really have no bands that have released a proper album, just a few bands with a few songs like this band, Pearls to Swine, and this ends the G countries:

HONDURAS is next, and it's a small country in Central America bordered by Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

The only "official" type of video I could was by this band G.O.D. who are also going to be playing at a festival with Cannibal Corpse:

HUNGARY is the next country up. When I think of Hungary, I think of folk metal. Maybe because my Hungarian neighbor used to play all those traditional Hungarian tunes with the accordion when I was young.

This band Dalriada is one of the best, and having a hot girl that can growl as well ain't bad either:

The island country of ICELAND is next. With its name and Norse heritage, black metal seems to be the appropriate music to present.

This band Solstafir actually started out as a BM band, but later evolved into a more rock sound, which is what this video showcases: