EXPLORING THE WORLD - BEST OF

Hello everybody! During the last few months we crossed the borders of metal music and traveled around every corner of the planet to explore some of the coolest and most underrated metal scenes on Earth. It was really fun and we got in touch with a lot of amazing people in the process. Now it's time for us to take a small break and stop traveling for a while. But don't worry. We'll come back to you very soon with plenty more explorations. We just need some time to go deep into each international scene in order to bring you quality articles.

But for now we have one last present for you. This is a  recap of the best bands found in our explorations so far. So without further adieu, here is Exploring The World's cream of the crop \m/
 
Our first ever exploration took place in Switzerland, observing the Geneva tech-metal sound with acts like Sybreed, Breach The Void, and Mycelia. But one band in particular caught my attention - NEOSIS (New Evolution Of Society Influenced by Scientism). This band is a perfect example of what this Geneva sound actually sounds like! They deliver innovative and futuristic music featuring some really technical and funk-influenced rhythm sections and a sick guitar tone. Their 2012 self-titled debut was truly impressive and took them far beyond Swiss borders. They got to play last year's Euroblast 8, while this year we will meet them at UK Tech-Metal Fest! Here's "Cerebral Helix", enjoy!

Links: Facebook // Youtube // iTunes

The following stop was Sweden, home to some of the greatest metal bands of all time! We especially focused on the new Swedish ambidjent movement, following the thall revolution started by Vildhjarta. We met Humanity's Last Breath, Means End, Jonnah, Libo, Behindert and Maybe That's Why Humans Drink The Darkness That Is Coffee (aka MTWHDTDTIC). I'd like to focus on the first one Humanity's Last Breath. They just finished recording their new album which promises to bring the mayhem down on you very soon. This band looks like a more aggressive, straight-forward, deathcore version of Vildhjarta. But they've also shown they're able to produce original material with their own talent and will. To give you an idea of what's coming, give a listen to their latest single "Animal" below! THALL!

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Soundcloud // Bandcamp

After that we headed to Greece to find a varied and original progressive metal scene, especially around the city of Athens. Amazing bands like Tardive Dyskinesia were featured along with more incredible acts like Mencea, Dakrya and the solo project It Dwells Within. But probably the most stunning, original and experimental one was Dol Ammad, from Thessaloniki. They provide a fast and powerful metal sound with power, progressive, and electronic elements. The music also features the vocal support of a fourteen member four-part choir! Give a listen to "Supernova" below, from their 2012 album "Cosmic Gods: Episode I - Hyperspeed".

Links: Facebook // MySpace // Bandcamp

Then we crossed the ocean and reached down to Australia! We dove deep into Australia's eclectic metal scene which presented itself as one of the greatest growing metal communities in the world. There's so much amazing stuff coming out of this country that it's really hard to choose just one band. We've worked with the biggest Australian metalcore label WeAreUnified and their various amazing talents. We also went beyond, sifting through the fringes of the Austalian underground. Almost too much impressive material here. But to choose just one act destroying everything world-wide at the moment, the answer ends being easy. Thy Art Is Murder - this band is changing the face of deathcore, bringing some of the heaviest and most extreme stuff ever heard. Check em out \m/ This is "Reign Of Darkness", off their latest album "Hate".

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

Another country where we spent a lot of time was France. It took three explorations to go deep into this country's scene, and there's still more material waiting to be found there. We analyzed it's dark progressive sounds, some amazing solo projects and the impressive Paris metalcore scene. We focused on acts like Betraying The Martyrs, Gojira, As They Burn, Eryn Non Dae, Khaorah, The Algorithm, Atlantis Chronicles, Hypno5e, Uneven Structure, This Deafening Whisper, Cartoon Theory, A.I.(d), Dorthal, and Blut Aus Nord. Just amazing! But there's one band that deserves a highlight here. I'm talking about Uneven Structure. They just released an amazing new EP called "8" and you should all listen to it! A lot of people are claiming this to be their best work so far. Stream it entirely below!

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes // Basick Records

The exploration of Ukraine's promising djent and math scene was a trip to remember. We met Joconfy, TSAARS, Noja and Return To Base. I'd like to give shout especially to the young guys in Joconfy. This talented djent band won the Euroblast jingle contest and will also be performing at this Summer's UK Tech-Metal Fest too! Check out that explosive tune down below.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Youtube

After that, we discovered an incredible industrial metal scene in Denmark with Mnemic, Raunchy and The Interbeing. The Interbeing is especially looking to have a bright future. Their 2011 debut "Edge Of The Obscure" was a brilliant album with some heavy groove, supported by a modern metal sound and industrial elements. Their music is surrounded by a dark sci-fi, futuristic atmosphere as a catalyst for the heaviness. Here's the latest music video from that album, the song is called "Shadow Shift". Give it a listen!

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Bandcamp 

Our last European stop was Spain! Here we found that an incredible melodic death metal scene emerged in the Basque country, with incredible bands like NoDrama, The Descent, Darkness by Oath and Jotnar, giving to this are of Spain a swedish flavour. But there's one band that emerged from all the others, and it's Rise To Fall. This melodeath band was able to release two amazing albums with Coroner Records: "Restore The Balance" and "Defying The Gods". Both amazing and intense as you can hear from the song below, "Redrum", taken from their 2010 debut album.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Myspace

After that, we spent two weeks in Africa supporting a Botswana metal band called Wrust and exploring South Africa's metal scene. In South Africa, we covered four very interesting bands: Crown Black Sky, Truth And Its Burden, Balyios and Megalodon. Let's give one more shout to the only black metal act of all our explorations! Crown Black Sky is a melodic / progressive black metal band influenced by acts like Behemoth, Emperor, Enslaved, and Opeth. Get heavy jamming their song “Stars Of God” below!

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

The last country we visited was Mexico. With our first time in the new continent we covered some Taco Djent... wait a minute, I hate stereotypes...Well, if you check out artists like Arcadia Libre, N3WMEN and One Of Us you'll throw those stereotypes away! Blast some drum n bass/math/djent music by One Of Us featuring some French madness delivered by The Algorithm.

Links: Facebook // Soundcloud

That's all explorers. It's time to go back home and relax for a while. We hope you enjoy this best of segment along with all of our explorations. We'll come back to you very soon, stronger than ever. Stay tuned \m/

- MATTIA

EXPLORING THE WORLD – SPAIN AND BASQUE MELODEATH

In the past few years, I've came across a bunch of bands from Spain delivering a modern melodic death metal sound with a Swedish flavour. This Swedish approach on Spanish heavy metal mostly developed in the Basque Country area. I've been following some of these bands for years and just discovered a couple of them in the last few months. Even though we can't claim this is the dominant metal movement in Spain, there are definitely a good number of bands here which are worth a listen. So let's check 'em out!

The first act I want to highlight is Rise To Fall. I already spoke about this band on The Circle Pit a couple weeks ago, about the same time I decided to write this post. I've been following them for years now, from their debut “Restore The Balance” (re-released in 2010) to their latest album “Defying The Gods” (2012). Their style, very close to recent In Flames, will catch you with the exquisite creations of guitarists Hugo and Javi and the unique vocals of singer Dalay Tarda. They will be on tour in Ukraine and Russia very soon and are also largely appreciated in Japan. And, obviously, they're greatly appreciated in their home country. But sadly they've hardly spread to the rest of Europe and North America. Check them out below or go get some more infos about them in our recent dedicated post here.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Myspace

NoDrama is another band that deserves to be discussed. They're definetly the “softer” band on this post since they're more focused on a traditional rock sound, but the nordic melodeath influence is still strong on this band. So they end up delivering fast and energetic melodic metal, with a hard rock attitude and some small melodeath hints. The great voice of their vocalist pushes forward among with the amazing instrumentation delivered by the whole band behind him. Thier latest album, “The Patient”, came out in 2012 and had a good run in Spain and the surrounding European nations. In fact, NoDrama will be on tour around Germany in May! Check out the video for their song “The Bite” below!

Links: Facebook // Myspace // Youtube

The next band on our list is focused on more traditional melodic death metal, bringing it back to its real Swedish roots. Their name is The Descent and they're from Bilbao, same town as Rise To Fall. Their latest album “Dimensional Matters” is an amazing melodeath statement and you can definetly hear it from songs like “Winter Hell” and the first single “The Day After”. They're really amazing!

Links: Facebook // Myspace

Hailing from Arrasate we have another Basque band, Darkness by Oath. Just like The Descent, they have an authentic take on melodic death metal. In fact, they're probably the fastest and most extreme act on this post. They formed back in 2002 and have released three albums since: “Confidential World Of Lies” (2006), “Fear Yourself” (2009) and “Near Death Experience” (2012). The last two got them some exposure in the US, Canada and the rest of Europe. This gave them the opportunity to play festivals like Zabbaduschder Open Air (Germany), Barbarian Fest (Belgium), Revoltallo Festival, Girona Metalfest (Spain) and to share the stage with acts like Dark Tranquillity, God Dethroned, Warbringer, Neaera, One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, Haemorrhage, Angelus Apatrida, Kataplexia and many others. Give them a listen below!

Links: Facebook // Official Website

We're closing with Jotnar, a younger band recently signed by Coroner Records (same label of NoDrama and Rise To Fall). Their latest release, “Giant”, featured five tracks with an aggressive, modern take on melodic death metal. It was mixed and mastered at Perfect Fifth Studio in Canada. The band performed a lot of promotional shows in Spain, had some appearences in Swedish festivals, and even played at Slovenia's MetalCamp 2012! You can discover them below with their lyric video for the song “Perfect Lie”.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Youtube // Myspace

It has to be underlined that most of the bands above are from Basque Country, a unique section of Spain. So, from a geographical point of view, it's a well-defined and located movement. It gives these bands a strong identity, cohesion, mutual friendship and support making it a great example of what a local metal scene should be \m/

-MATTIA

BANDS TO WATCH OUT FOR – RISE TO FALL

I've been wanting to give this band a shout for a long time. I've been following and loving their music from the very beginning in 2006. Unfortunately they're hardly known out of their country, Spain. But today, the world will see them.

Rise To Fall is a modern melodic death metal band hailing from Bilbao. They released two albums, their 2008 debut “Restore The Balance” (re-released in 2010) and their sophomore 2012 release “Defying The Gods” both with Coroner Records.

Their style, especially on the first album, will remind you of recent In Flames material and Swedish melodic death metal in general. This shows with the exquisite creations of guitarists Hugo and Javi and the unique vocals of singer Dalay Tarda. With their second release the band showed a way more mature and autonomous production, delivering another brilliant album.

They're always on tour around Spain but they'll be expanding their horizons soon with a headlining Ukranian and Russian tour in June. We strongly recommend you give a listen to the songs below, including a new live video for the track “Decoding Reality” and singles taken from both their albums. More epic songs include “The Compass” and “Ascend To The Throne” off “Defying The Gods” or “Inner Scream”, “Unknown Presence” and “Rise From Drama” off “Restore The Balance”.

-MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Myspace