Thursday, April 28, 2011

Metal Country #4

This country should come as no surprise, but the bands I chose might.

#4 Germany
Favorite bands:
1. Falkenbach (Viking metal)
2. Apophis (death metal)
3. Suidakra (Celtic folk)
4. SpiRitual (gothic/folk/electronic/progressive)
5. Equilibrium (Viking/folk)

The first thing you'll probably notice is the complete lack of thrash. From a country famous for its thrash scene, this probably seems a little strange. You may also notice a lack of power metal, another sub-genre where Germany features prominently. Rather, it's Germany's Viking/folk/pagan metal scene that interests me the most. Long before I started listening to metal I was a fantasy nerd, so that musical style really strikes a chord with me. And Germany has some of the greatest depth there of any nation on Earth, churning out bands like Gernotshagen, Nastrandir, and Dyrathor at an incredible rate. It's that depth that pushed Germany so high on this list, and deciding on bands after the top 2 proved to be difficult. Incidentally, I realize how strange it must seem to include a band with only a lone EP in my top 5, but SpiRitual's sole release ranks amongst my favorite records of all time, so I'm comfortable putting them up there despite the lack of material.

3 comments:

  1. I've said it many times that thrash doesn't really do a lot for me. I do make an exception for actual old thrash (not "old school"). I'm not sure what it is, but I can feel the difference between a band forging new territory and a band rehashing the past. So even if I'm hearing them for the first time myself, I'll still prefer the older one.

    Anyway, that's a long-winded way of leading up to my point. That is, Germany does have some great thrash, as far as it goes. It also has some great folk/viking metal. But in all, it's their more industrial-tinged stuff I tend to like, such as Rammstein (mainstream, I know) and Disillusion. They also have some of the best time-stretching doom that leans toward drone or funeral doom, like Ahab, Omega Massif, and Kodiak. That's the German metal I like.

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  2. Yeah, I'm generally not big on thrash either. There are a handful of exceptions, but it falls well below death, doom, black, and Viking/folk/pagan for me.

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  3. Huge thrash fan here. Sodom was my favorite for the country with Kreator a very close second. I also like Destruction and Holy Moses quite a bit.

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