Metal Bands from Obscure Countries Worth Checking Out

It’s a Musical Scavenger Hunt!

As a huge music nerd, I keep track of many aspects of the albums and artists I listen to. One of those aspects is their country of origin. In a way, it combines two of my greatest passions — traveling and music. A long time ago, I set a goal for myself to own albums from 50 different countries. One of my “rules” is that I would never buy something just to have a new country — I must actually enjoy it. On December 19, 2020, I finally reached that goal. I’m going to discuss some of the metal bands from more obscure countries. Why just metal bands? Because most of them happen to be metal bands anyway. Metal knows no boundaries of course. I should mention that the vast majority of these bands I am just beginning to check out and I might only have one album so far.

Violet Cold (Azerbaijan)

Most people have probably never heard of the country of Azerbaijan, let alone point it out on a map. So, the idea of a good metal band from there is intriguing, right? This one-man band began in 2013 and already has an impressive catalog. I discovered him through his Anomie album which has an atmospheric black metal or shoegaze type sound. There are also what sounds like middle eastern influences, due to his location. Most of his albums lean toward that style of metal. He also experiments with all sorts of other genres, from jazz, to folk, to electronic. I still have a lot to discover with this band, and I’m looking forward to it.

Krummholz (Uganda/Ghana/USA)

Krummholz are an international band with members that operate out of Uganda, Ghana, and the United States. At the time of this writing, they only have a debut EP, Rooted in Despair. This EP is surprisingly promising, featuring 20 minutes of nature-inspired atmospheric black metal. There’s plenty of soft, melodic sections with keyboards, piano, and acoustic guitar in between more aggressive parts. I would have never guessed that two-thirds of the members were in Africa. I hope they’re able to complete a full-length album soon!

Erancnoir (Iran)

I’ll bet you didn’t even think it was legal to create black metal in Iran, huh? Well, Erancnoir lies somewhere between black metal and ambient music. The album Berglicht contains 4 songs ranging from 12 to 21 minutes. The droning guitars enveloped in layers of keyboards provide a comforting experience. The guy behind this project, Harpag Karnik, has three other albums under the Erancnoir name and three other projects that I have yet to check out.

Nishaiar (Ethiopia)

This atmospheric black metal band is exactly what I might have thought an African metal band might sound like. Their album, Irix Zerius is very well-produced and includes some traditional African chanting and tribal drumming. It really only touches on metal as there are many atmospheric, instrumental sections full of keyboards and such. But I really enjoy it and it’s one of the more unique metal albums in my collection for sure.

Basarabian Hills (Moldova)

Moldova doesn’t have a lot going for it. It is the least visited country in Europe and often ranks near the bottom of social or economic statistics. But that doesn’t stop Basarabian Hills from creating some amazing music. Similar to Erancnoir, this band just barely touches on metal. They create extremely ambient music shrouded with keyboards and some distant screams. This is some of the most relaxing music I own. My favorite album of theirs so far is Groping in a Misty Spread.

Autumn Nostalgie (Slovakia)

Okay, so Slovakia isn’t that obscure of a country. Esse Est Percipi is the only album I have from there though, and I just discovered these guys recently. Their sound lies somewhere around atmospheric, ambient, depressive, or post-black metal. This happens to be one of my favorite albums of 2020. Their sound just combines everything I love about music.

Raven Throne (Belarus)

Raven Throne creates a more familiar, nature-inspired atmospheric black metal sound. I miortvym snicca zołak… utilizes acoustic passages and some keyboards, but also contains plenty of heaviness as well. It’s a great album and they have many more that I still need to check out.

Apotheosis (Malta)

This is another one-man project from a country that many people have probably never even heard of. He only has one album, Farthest from the Sun which was released in 2002. He creates an epic/symphonic black metal with thrash influences. There’s heavy keyboard and synth use, and very long instrumental sections. In fact, there is much more instrumental content here than vocals. Many metal fans would probably write this off as too cheesy, but there are some very heavy and fast parts as well. There’s also a barrage of different ideas mashed together and some very jarring changeups. I actually found this album fairly early on (in 2004), but it remains my only album from Malta to this day. I wish he would release more material because I’ve always thought this was a very promising debut album.

Asthenia (China)

China? That’s not an obscure country! It’s the most populated country on Earth for goodness sake! I know. But as far as metal bands go, China is pretty obscure. I don’t really know much about the metal scene there, maybe it’s starting to pick up steam. Their first two albums, Still Lifes and Nucleation remain the only 2 albums I have from China. This is a very melodic atmospheric/post-black metal/shoegaze sort of band. This sort of genre seems to be getting more popular these days, but a lot of metal fans can’t stand it. I find it quite enjoyable though.

Pure Wrath (Indonesia)

Indonesia is another country that’s only “obscure” in the sense of the metal scene there. The scene is growing, but this is the only artist in my collection from there. Ryo, the man behind this project creates an atmospheric black metal that’s more aggressive than most things on this list. Ascetic Eventide is the only album I have so far and he also has many more projects which I have yet to check out.

So, what’s my next goal, you ask? It’s to collect albums from every country in Europe with a population of over 100,000. I think the smaller micro-countries might be next to impossible to find a good band from. That leaves me only 8 more European countries to collect music from. It’s not too many, but I think this goal will take several more years to complete.