Some (relatively) unkown bands you should check out...

[AeonicSlumber]

http://www.myspace.com/machineryswe

^ really cool Swedish band that for lack of a better description sounds like Devin Townsend meets Nevermore/Communic meets Scar Symmetry. For a while I had some trouble to stop spinning their new CD. Amazing riffs, and great band in general!

myspace.com/miseration

^ features my good buddy Christian Älvestam on vocals, who some of you might know from Scar Symmetry, Solar Dawn, and Unmoored. They just got signed to Lifeforce and they're working on their 2nd album, which, from what little I've heard, is a bit more brutal/technical than the debut.

myspace.com/zonaria

^ Good buddies of mine (if you were on the original Zonaria forum that I modded, hai thar; wuzz up? ) that were on our label for their first album and just got picked up by Century Media. If you haven't heard 'em, they sound kind of like a more brutal Hypocrisy. They're not directly influenced by the sunlight buzz saw sound, but you can hear it on the first album for sure.

If you guys wanna contribute/promote your own bands or bands you know to this thread go right ahead!

 

[GameFreac]

Zonaria rules.....I got their first album. Hope the new one sounds good too

I can't wait till they tour the US

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Zonaria rules.....I got their first album. Hope the new one sounds good too

I can't wait till they tour the US

Hell yeah me too!

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Some relatively unkown bands that I don't know personally but are amazing:



Ansur
Alarum

Ok, well Alarum isn't exactly "unknown" since they toured with Necrophagist and stuff, but they are soooo underrated. Amazing! Ansur on the other hand, is probably a band you might not have heard of. Their new CD "Warring Factions" is incredible!

 

[froosch]

Gonna second that Alarum mention. Sweet band.

Been listening to a lot of that new-but-sounds-old thrash metal lately. Bonded by Blood and Gama Bomb are probably my favorites. Not really unknown though, so I'm gonna submit Exmortus to the thread. They're pretty aggressive thrash metal but still manage to balance that melodic/heavy ratio. Link: http://www.myspace.com/exmortus

 

[AeonicSlumber]

As far as the retro thrash stuff goes, Ghoul and Toxic Holocaust are my favorites. Evile is great too.

 

[Gadlor]

Is anyone else here down with Michael Schenker? I have found myself listening to his first four 'solo' albums a lot recently, and he definitely is sitting somewhere around my top five favorite guitarists of all time.

If you haven't heard him, I'd start out with "Into the Arena" simply because he creams all over that shit.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Hhaha dude this thread is for relatively unknown bands.

 

[The Don]

Jesus keep the unknowns coming this is like a gold mine of new music! +1000 to Zonaria for "The Cancer Empire". Definitely gonna buy it when it comes out. Originally I was a bit hesitant on my feelings for it but now I'm "sold" on it.

 

[Gadlor]

Haha, okay, maybe most people here have heard of Michael Schenker. I don't really know what his position is in the metal canon, since I haven't ever heard anyone else ever mention him to me.

Small bands...hmm. There's one called Aurora from Sweden, maybe, that has some interesting stuff. I think they might have broken up but their EP "Sadiam" has one of the most crushing songs I've ever listened to - Home. The guy's voice is ferocious, too. I imagine his larynx is bleeding after performing.

An older band, Praying Mantis, I've also never heard mentioned by anyone else. They play some sort of power / heavy metal, with some pretty cool vocal lines and guitar work. My favorite album of theirs is "Forever In Time", and unsurprisingly the title track is probably the grooviest.

I seem to have a thing for finding bands with one really cool song that I don't necessarily love to death the rest of their catalog. Such is the case with Onward - they have a song on "Reawaken" called Night which just blows my mind, but the rest of the cd not so much. Also the case with Karkadan - a member on this board, Gums, made me listen to a song called Never Ending Love which really rules, but eh to the rest of the stuff.

As for entire albums...I really like Highlord's When The Aurora Falls. Power metal, but some really cool melodic turns and twists, and the singer just has a POWERFUL voice. Sadly I didn't think any of the rest of their releases were worth much of a damn.

Be'lakor's demo, or debut, I don't know which - The Frail Tide - kind of reminds me of Opeth or early Amorphis. Cool stuff from Australia.

Dreamscapes of the Perverse's Gignesthai I just relistened to and I discover I like it a lot. It's melodic black/death metal with clean passages reminiscent of Dimmu Borgir, a little bit - Vortex style singing, which I really like.

Golem from Germany released Dreamweaver in 2004 which has one of the most rockin' old school death metal tracks ever - "The Tower." I can't help but headbang ferociously to it. Some tasty solos too.

Also, Nettlethrone just released their debut Dissonant Progression - I have their demo "Blueprint" and it's pretty good. Turkish death metal with some ascendant guitar moments reminiscent of Chainheart Machine era Soilwork.

Stormlord - this Italian black metal band - just released a 2008 cd that I haven't listened to a ton, but they do have this demo version of this song called "Where My Spirit Shall Forever Be" which I highly recommend. Keyboard heavy, full of ridiculousness.

Did I do better this time around?

 

[AeonicSlumber]

http://www.myspace.com/sideblast

^ one of the best bands to come out of France, and their vocalist Fredd is an awesome dude.

http://www.myspace.com/slumberband

^ as much as I like Swallow the Sun, it's a crime that they are blowing up and not this band. Slumber's genius knows no bounds and I can't wait to hear the new material.

 

[fifthwinter]

Hey everyone. First post on the Skyfire forums. \m/

Cheers for the mention of Be'lakor Gadlor - how did you come across us?

I reckon our music would probably be well suited to Skyfire listeners: http://www.myspace.com/be'lakor

Now, for my contribution - some other little-known bands from Australia:

Vespers Descent: http://www.myspace.com/vespersdescent

Universum: http://www.myspace.com/universumband

 

[Bleak Eyes]

Slumber is fantastic. Wonder if they will ever put out another album.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

They're working on it now. Can't wait!

 

[Bleak Eyes]

A four year gap. That sounds awfully familiar.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

While we're on the subject of Aussie bands, has anyone heard the 2002 Infernal Method demo? Also the 2004 demo? Some of the best melodic death metal ever written, ever. Period. Yup.

 

[Bleak Eyes]

Sleepmakeswaves.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

My buddy Christian Älvestam just unleashed his new band on myspace. Check it; it also features Mikko Härkin (ex- Sonata Arctica).

myspace.com/solution45

 

[AeonicSlumber]

iight fools, I got some new bands for you guys to check out:

http://www.myspace.com/periphery - currently unsigned band that sounds like a cross between Coheed And Cambria, Faith No More, and Meshuggah(WTF?!?!?!). Amazing. This band is going to be fucking huge... they work with TKO booking and Outerloop Management and they don't even have a label yet rofl. ( I think Gadlor would really dig this band)

http://www.myspace.com/revocation - Big props go out to Tobias "polar bear destroyer" Björk (who played drums on Timeless Departure and co-designed Skyfire's new super sexy logo) for this find. Cynic meets Suffocation (and some pig squeals... but they are easy to look past).

 

[GameFreac]

Sleepmakeswaves.

one of the greatest bands EVAR