I figured I’d start doing some lists of metal bands to follow and listen for 2020. With COVID killing live acts and doing away with our normal lives, I think we should all be giving metal bands or just bands in general more attention. Now, these somewhat progressive metal bands may have been around for a while but I wanted to start sharing obscure metal bands I know and love.
This is in no particular order. Pretty much all of the metal bands on this list are in my daily playlists.
Slice The Cake
Listen on Spotify Buy an Album
Don’t let the name fool you. If you are looking for an experience in your metal, this is the band for you. I may get some of these details wrongs so feel free to correct me here. This is what I’ve heard about these guys. They formed while living in different countries Gareth (in England), Jonas (in Sweden), and Jack (in Australia). They went from a few thousand listens on YouTube to several thousand after they released Man With No Face. A few years back, I got some really sad news. They broke up after some disputes over an album release. However, they are now back together and I think they are planning on releasing something soon. Can’t wait!
Listen To Slice The Cake on YouTube
Silence Lies Fear
Listen on Spotify Buy their Album Future: The Return on Amazon
This is an example of a band that does their style super well. To describe their sound I would say mix a bit of hard core with some melodic death. You know what to expect when you listen to a Silence Lies Fear song. They have very melodic song structures yet their vocals are pretty harsh. Aside from their female vocals which from what I could find are done by the talented, Carolina Alexandra.
Listen To Silence Lies Fear on YouTube
Xaon
Listen on Spotify Buy their Album Solipsis on Amazon
Xaon is a band for people who really appreciate music that doesn’t just stick to one formula for their song structure. Their songs are very well thought out and are more of a journey than a lot of other band’s songs. They have a sound that seems quite familiar if you listened to In Flames or At The Gates back in the day but the more you listen, the more you realize they don’t sound like anyone but themselves.
Watch Xaon Live on YouTube
Amiensus
Listen on Spotify Buy their Albums on BandCamp
Amiensus is a black melodic metal band. At least, that’s how I would describe them. They have their heavy moments but also have kind of a hypnotic ambiance to their music. Amazing clean and harsh vocals with really well thought out song structures. I couldn’t believe these guys were from the fucking United States. I thought they were lying.
Listen to Amiensus YouTube
Borknagar
Listen on Spotify Buy their Album on Amazon
No, it isn’t a racial slur. It’s a band. A great band in fact. Not just because they have the clean singer and old bassist from Dimmu Borgir either. Simen Hestnæs (ICS Vortex) is probably my favorite clean singer….. Fuck he’s good. I mentioned them last because, they are probably more well known than these others. At least in my experience.
Anyway, for a while there they had Vintersorg (Andreas Hedlund) doing their vocals and he is also amazing.
The band themselves are amazing doing everything from black to folk metal styles.
Listen to Borknagar YouTube
I hope this is helpful to anyone looking to expands their horizons or maybe you just missed one of these bands for some reason. If there’s more….. or any interest in this kind of blog I may continue posting these or I’ll have Scarlett and Stan do the same for their specific styles.