Greece has a good metal tradition after all… You might know some pretty big names like Rotting Christ, Suicidal Angels, Nightrage, Septic Flesh, or Firewind. But in recent years, a really cool underground, avant-grade metal scene developed especially around the city of Athens.
One of the most interesting proposals coming out of Greece at the moment is Tardive Dyskinesia. They’re a great band coming out of Athens, delivering a Meshuggah-influenced math metal melt with some insane post-rock atmospheres. If you’re a fan of dark polyrhythmic sounds, this is a band you definitely need to check out. And their popularity just keeps on growing as they’ll be playing at Euroblast 9 this October! They’ve released four albums so far and you can read our review for their latest record “Static Apathy In Fast Forward” right here. Also take a look at the presentation we recently wrote about them right here and give a listen to their new music video below!
Another Grecian band cranking out good material is Mencea. They’re an amazing progressive death metal band from Athens. They’ve released 2 albums so far, “Dark Matter Energy Noir” (2008) and “Pyrophoric” (2012). Their music features some high quality content through powerful passages and dark atmospheres, especially on the second album. They’ve shared the stage with acts like Gojira, Heaven and Hell, Sepultura, Enslaved, and were invited to play festivals all across Europe, including Inferno Metal Festival, UK Metal Hammer’s very own Hammerfest, etc. They’ve also filled a number of supporting slots in Norway, Germany, Greece and the UK. You can give ’em a listen below or stream their full album on Bandcamp!
Dakrya is another band I wanted to give a shout out to. They’re an amazingly weird musical group defined as theatrical metal. Dakrya was founded in 2004 when keyboard player Sophia Charalampous decided to form a band melding a lot of different influences including heavy metal, goth, progressive, symphonic, art rock, and classical music. She aimed to give the whole thing a unique theatrical presentation, making their sound very original and interesting. And she succeeded. If you enjoyed the experimentation of Diablo Swing Orchestra, this is something you need to check out! Go ahead and watch the video for their song “The Charlatan”, off their 2010 album “Crime Scene”. It will give you a perfect idea of what we’re talking about:
It Dwells Within is a solo project from a Greek guy named George Sachinoglou (aka Don). Coming from Athens, he provides some really good instrumental djent. The debut LP ”Relics From A Broken Fair” was released in February 2012 and featured some solid material. You can actually stream and download it for FREE on Bandcamp! The whole album is self-funded, self-recorded, and self-released as well. So go give it a listen and support DIY metal music! The album teaser is below.
If we step out of Athens, we’ll find a very intresting project called Dol Ammad. Coming from Thessaloniki, this band really deserves some recognition with their delivery of awesome metal music through a large ammount of originality and creativity. Formed in 2000 by Greek keyboard player Thanasis Lightbridge, they provide a fast and powerful metal sound with power and progressive elements, but it also features the vocal support of a fourteen member four-part choir!! It’s recommended you listen to this project below, where you can find a song off their latest release – the 2012 album “Cosmic Gods: Episode I – Hyperspeed”:
Beyond these avant-grade and progressive metal projects, Greece also boasts a strong metalcore/hardcore underground scene with bands like Bewized and The Fallen Within. You can also find a fairly popular and more geographically diffused melodic metal/rock or traditional metal scene with a lot of good bands.
As always, stay tuned for more exploration! Next week we’ll step out of Europe for the first time!
– MATTIA
