Favorite 10 bands/artists from your home country

karljant

Ancient Mariner
Following my last post, in an even deeper attempt to bring some hidden gems spreaded worldwide, I invite you to focus in your home land.

So I'm from Portugal and this is my list:

#10 - Thormenthor (prog/ death metal) - If you like early Cynic or Atheist do yourself a favor and listen to Abstract Divinity. It's a shame they disbanded after their debut.



#9 - V12 (heavy metal) - This guys were a real case of sucess in the late 80's/ early 90's that turned into a disaster in a no time. It was the classic case of acessory corporate crap (their debut was largely underproduced since polydor rushed it and then didn't promoted the damn thing). The band only lasted a less than a handful of years. What a waste... Jorge's voice was something and these dudes could really deliver.



#8 - Braindead (alternative/ funk metal) - Another great band from the early 90's that rode the wave paved by bands like Faith No More, Living Colour and RHCP. Blend remains as a unique record in the genre more than 25 years gone. Disbanded after a couple of albums and some members founded Da Weasel a successful funk/rap rock band that endured 20 plus years.



#7 - Sacred Sin (death metal) - Sacred Sin was the first portuguese band ever played in MTV's Headbangers Ball back in 1994 and it wasn't by chance. Their debut (Darkside) is amazing and (IMO) these dudes were some of the most inspired, powerful and refreshing death metal acts back in the early 90's. Still alive and thrashing hard to this day.



#6 - Sinistro (sludge/ post metal) - Sinistro's claustrophobic instrumental ambiance is simply heavy as a black hole and stellar as a supernova. But what separates them from the rest of the pack is Patricia's voice (resembling Morcheeba's´Skye Edwards) that gives the whole package an even more uncomfortable feel to it. The result is high quality in all regards, and among the band's acollades there's an entire tour with doom/ gothic legends Paradise Lost and 2 albums under Season Of Mist's seal and the future seems bright to these guys. A must listen (especially live!)

 
Last edited:
#5 - Mundo Cão (alternative rock) - Featuring ex- members of Mão Morta (the band that almost single handedly shapped 80's portugues alternative rock panorama) and fronted by actor Pedro Laginha wich turned out to be a superb singer, Mundo Cão (roughly translated as Dog-Eat-Dog World in its context) is a dark, hypnotic yet graceful and adictive project. Their modus operandi is quite peculiar. For a start the band is based in 2 diferent cities - Braga and Lisboa (two distant places for Portugal's dimension... about 350km). Then each member have their own occupation outside music and every now and then they decide to gather to record a new record and make a small tour. This work by distance method spiced with an apparent no compromise attitude (yet based in true enthusiasm and dedication when Mundo Cão rises from its slumber) proves to work wonders for this band.



#4 - António Variações (alternative/ pop/ experimental) - This is where it all started for me. And let's be fair... that's where Portuguese pop rock started to get reaaaaaaaaaally exciting and different. Put it simple: Variações was a genius. A hairdresser that left his successful craft to embrance the life of a pop star, this guy stormed the early 80's portuguese rock scene with his kitch and provocative look, masterfuly mixing stuff as diverse as rock n' roll, elctronica, pop, fado, folklore and even heavy metal, this man was decades ahead of its time. Plus his voice was as wonderful as unique: something like fado with a rock vibe and tons of soul in it. Even his premature death was ahead of its time. He left us too soon in 1984 victim of AIDS, leaving us only with 2 absolutely classic records . His legend lives on and even Thrash metal act Ramp or Mão Morta made covers of his legacy. Mad respect to one of the best post modern songwritters to walk this earth as far as I'm concerned.


 
Last edited:
#3 - Process Of Guilt (Doom/ Sludge/ Post) - When POG's demos were realeased almost no one in the underground scene (inside and outside borders) could ignore them such was the quality pouring from the mature doom/ death metal this guys presented from out of nowhere. It came with no surprise that soon they were offered a record deal and 2 years after released a hell of a debut album (Renounce) featuring an even more elaborate version of their soundscape. However, despite these accollades, POG wasn't going to be stagnant in one genre.
And so, 2 years after, the band released their 2nd album. Erosion is a complex conceptual album that traces a comparison between the cicle of forming to erosion of minerals and human life and feelings. As for the music it is simply put one of the best Doom /Post Metal records I've ever heard in my entire life. Produced by Collin Jordan (Ministry, Minsk) the riffing in this beast is huge, the ambiance is dense yet with a few flashes of melody here and there only to be engulfed once again in rumbles of granitic weight. If Renounce was really well reviewed , Erosion brought them massive critical aclaim in an european scale.
2012 brought Fæmin and with it another transformation into POG's sound... The band got more and more into Sludge leaving behind almost all melodic features the Doom roots granted them. It's a cold and ultra heavy record.... desnse as a black hole record yet displaying a maturing leap regarding composition. Once again it received top reviews everywhere.
Two years ago they released Black Earth. Style like it's not far from its predecessor... yet Black Earth is even more concise and claustrophobic, featuring some elements of Justin Broderick's Godflesh guitars here and there.
With 4 albums and 1 EP and 1 split in 13 years, playing several times with names such as Godflesh, Cult Of Luna, Minsk and Napalm Death, Process Of Guilt's name and musical career amasses day by day at an increasing ratio. Here is Becoming Light from their debut, Erosion in it's entirity (my favorite album - don't forget to listen to WAVES!), Liar from their Split, as well as Fæmin and Feral Ground from their last two records.





 
Last edited:
When I think of Portuguese metal, the first band that springs to mind is Tarantula. Any opinion on them?
 
I... actually can't think of many artists I'd consider favorites from my home country (the US). Buckethead and Poe for sure, and then Death and... Megadeth and Metallica, I suppose. Gonna need to give this more thought.
 
When I think of Portuguese metal, the first band that springs to mind is Tarantula. Any opinion on them?
Tarantula were simply the band that started it all. I must confess I'm not much into power metal but even during the 80's these guys were more exciting and crafted than the vast majority of nowdays Helloween/ Blind Guardian copycats . Plus Paulo Barros (the guitar player) is the owner of Rec N' Roll studios in Porto (their home city) and produced/ recorded a crap load of metal records of all subgenres. And this alone proved to be pivotal to the portuguese metal boom in the early 90's. So mad respect for this elders of lusitanian metal. Plus they're really simple and cool guys (not to mention the fact they're great performers).

If you like Tarantula please check these bands:

V12 (as I stated above by far my favorite portuguese classic Heavy Metal band)



Attick Demons (Power/Heavy with balls ...old friends of mine)



Iberia (late 80's/ early 90's Hard n' Heavy)




Midnight Priest (Old School Speed/ Heavy metal a la Mercyful Fate)




Hope you like it ;)
 
Last edited:
Easy enough...

1. Tool
2. Dream Theater
3. Alice In Chains
4. Metallica
5. Mastodon
6. Queensryche
7. Megadeth
8. Machine Head
9. Chevelle
10. Primus
 
Last edited:
Without thinking too much about it:

1. Dream Theater
2. Symphony X
3. Alice In Chains
4. Pearl Jam
5. Foo Fighters
6. Tool
7. Megadeth
8. Stone Temple Pilots
9. Soundgarden
10. Dropkick Murphys

Honorable Mentions:
Metallica
Pantera
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Incubus
Smashing Pumpkins
System of a Down
Rage Against the Machine
 
Without thinking too much about it:

1. Dream Theater
2. Symphony X
3. Alice In Chains
4. Pearl Jam
5. Foo Fighters
6. Tool
7. Megadeth
8. Stone Temple Pilots
9. Soundgarden
10. Dropkick Murphys

Honorable Mentions:
Metallica
Pantera
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Incubus
Smashing Pumpkins
System of a Down
Rage Against the Machine

1. Tool
2. Dream Theater
3. Alice In Chains
4. Metallica
5. Mastodon
6. Queensryche
7. Megadeth
8. Machine Head
9. Chevelle
10. Primus

Alice In Chains, Tool, Primus and Dropkick Murphys are superb acts. AIC and Tool are easily two of my top 20 bands.
 
Tarantula were simply the band that started it all. I must confess I'm not much into power metal but even during the 80's these guys were more exciting and crafted than the vast majority of nowdays Helloween/ Blind Guardian copycats . Plus Paulo Barros (the guitar player) is the owner of Rec N' Roll studios in Porto (their home city) and produced/ recorded a crap load of metal records of all subgenres. And this alone proved to be pivotal to the portuguese metal boom in the early 90's. So mad respect for this elders of lusitanian metal. Plus they're really simple and cool guys (not to mention the fact they're great performers).

Interestingly, this is exactly the image I had of them, merely based on their discography and the abundance of their songs covered by other Portuguese artists. I know Attick Demon and Midnight Priest, but I'll check out all the other bands you posted, thanks!
 
If you’re from the US, listing favorites is easy. But what about bands from your state instead?

 
Unless you're @Collin and have the benefit of all the great grunge bands that came out of Seattle.. :p
I was gonna say...

1. Alice in Chains
2. Queensryche
3. Nirvana
4. Pearl Jam
5. Soundgarden
6. Temple of the Dog
7. Foo Fighters
8. Candlebox
9. Jimi Hendrix (He's from Seattle)
10. Mudhoney

Honorable mention:
Myles Kennedy is from Spokane.
 
And if we’re including countries we have citizenships in, then there’s Ahab and Rammstein and uh... Scorpions maybe? My music taste is too broad.
 
Back
Top