There are so many bands and so many albums coming out with so many different things every single day that it’s impossible to keep up with them all. Sure, there’s a big ones that everyone knows about, but no one every really talks about bands like Black Kirin like they do Slayer. Don’t know who Black Kirin is? I rest my case. So far this year I’ve already come across plenty of new bands with awesome new sounds, but there’s plenty of underground bands coming out with stuff either later this year or relatively soon that I feel like more people should know about. So I’ve gone through and picked five unique bands from different corners of the metal universe to hopefully appeal to some side of your metal experience.
Feel free to check out all of these bands at your leisure, and I promise you that none of these are just bands I pulled out of my ass. These are bands who truly care about their music and do their best to make awesomeness get to our ears.
Inter Arma (Extreme Metal)
These guys have been around for quite a while and have gone through some stylistic changes since their beginning. From something akin to that of black metal Inter Arma have since switch over to extreme metal that has plenty of sludge elements to it along with prog, stoner, and just a whole bunch of s**t molded into one set that actually f**king sounds good. Ever since their last and f**king masterpiece of an album, “The Cavern” (listen here), in 2014 people including myself have been anticipating eagerly to seeing what they have in store next. They’ve yet to release any sort of single or teaser or any sort of bulls**t like that but that have said via Facebook “Whats in store for 2016? FULL LENGTH #3” which only sets in the hype before we even have any sort of sampler. And since they’ve never dropped the ball once since their debut full length “Sundown” and I’ve got confidence they won’t start with this upcoming piece. A band that has a little bit of all the things that make metal great, Inter Arma is certainly one of those bands that you mustn’t pass up or underestimate for even a nanosecond.
A Breach of Silence (Metalcore)
This Aussie group have been known amongst the people that have been lucky enough to have listened to them as metalcore with a good touch of melody to their style, prompting fans to loving dub them as “powercore” for fun. Their debut, “Dead or Alive”, was very well done but you could tell that there was work that needed to be done and holy f**k was did they do a top to bottom reconstruction of their style while still remaining true to their sound with their follow up and critically acclaimed “The Darkest Road”. One of my favorite albums of that year, that record absolutely smashed. They’ve recently finished tracking their upcoming third full length album which they’ve stated that they have “approached this album differently than the last two albums”, which is always an interesting thing to hear. Personally I imagine that their success will only continue to go upwards as this record will potentially see them reaching heights they didn’t reach with previous efforts, and if that’s not something to get excited about then I don’t know what is.
Mork (Black Metal)
I’ve always been interested in black metal for its raw nature and everything taken to the extreme down to the themes, and Mork only further increases my love for the genre. Their brand new album “Den Vandrende Skygge” (listen to sample here) is an excellent piece of true Norwegian black metal that truly hits home and shows that although Mork is barely known, they have the quality of music to rival that of black metal legends. Icy riffs, killer style, and vocals to chill your marrow cold. They’ve shown to be a real black metal band that puts out metal that is the s**t people call “kvlt” and elitists listen to, and in the instance of this album I will be the person to say that you should listen to it, not only because it’s awesome but because it’s a huge step up from what Mork have previously done which was all good but not as much as this. An early treat for the metal fans who keep they’re eyes and ears peeled, you will certainly want to keep tabs on this band after listening to “Den Vandrende Skyyg”.
Countless Skies (Melodic Death Metal)
These guys haven’t been around for very long with their debut record coming out in 2014, but they have already left an impression on anyone who has been lucky enough to hear their unique blend of melodic death metal. Not doing the bass heavy and intense guitars, Countless Skies go for the a lighter sound that’s extremely melodic so it has a great hook and then come in a set of growls to grab your attention and present to you a style that chances are you’ve never heard before. They’ve plans to release their first full length album soon, and all we have to geek out over is the single off the record “Solace” (listen here) and it is truly a song that must be heard, which tells of only good things for the full record. I’ve full confidence they will leave no stone unturned with this album and it will be something that absolutely must be heard.
Whispered (Melodic Death/Folk Metal)
Now this band is as unique as it gets. Mixing good melodic death metal with Japanese inspired instruments for a good bit of folk metal influence, Whispered are truly pushing barriers with their music. Their first album was magnificent, their second was an absolute beast of perfection, and they are currently wrapping up their upcoming third full length album for which hype has been huge for any fan of this band. All we’ve had as a look into what Whispered are going for with this record is the single “Sakura Omen” (listen here) which can only be described as orgasmic. An epic piece in scope and something that you can’t imagine without listening to it, the song is hopefully an exact peek into the album that will lead to Whispered easily being the most criminally unknown death metal band in the entire world. A unique sound from a unique band, Whispered aren’t anywhere near done their work and it is a fantastic thing that they aren’t, and I can see this record be their crowning work. Period.
