Number 4! That's 3 more sequels than The Golden Compass! Huzzah!
Before we get to the bands, I, on behalf of the contributors and the general metal forum folk, would like to address an age old problem we see every time: Selection.
Neither the bands featured here, nor they're order of appearance is aimed to please every niche of music fans who just might be reading this. We, the metal forum, shows you bands that we, the metal forum, like. With all due respect, we do not accept requests, and frankly, it will be a waste of time just saying "Do more symphonic! Do More power!. You want to see some band you know about in here? You get off your ass and you write it yourself!
Having said all that, here is a disclaimer that will be appearing in every feature:
This feature was brought to you by the UG metal forum. We hereby declare that the following bands were chosen by the contributors and only the contributors. Any complaints about the style variety, legitimacy of the band to be featured, quality of the presented materials, or any other complaint regarding this article will be dismissed, laughed at, completely ignored or otherwise, all to our discretion.
And now, the bands:
Gallhammer
Bio:Gallhammer are an all-female Japanese metal band, most easily classed as Black Metal but in all honesty, they take aspects from black metal, doom metal, crust punk and hardcore. Combining the violent, minimalism playing of extreme punk with the tone, tempo and mood of black/doom metal; the bass sound is thick and prominent and the guitar sound, whilst being relatively thin-sounding carries enough power to give you a black eye. Vocal duties are shared all around, differing from the haunting screams of a woman who sounds like her child has been murdered and a terrifying feminine bark to 'soothing' humming or even poppy high pitched chant recognisable from Japanese pop music! Combine this with the menacing drumming and you are delivered a simple yet highly effective, dark sounding form a punkish extreme metal.
For Fans Of: Extreme Punk, Amebix, Celtic Frost/Hellhammer, Bethlehem, Burzum.
Why Listen: Highly under-rated/un-recognised in the metal circles, listening to them just to see what it would sound like if the girl from the The Ring had a metal band seems worth it in itself! Finally, who wouldn't want to listen to a band where the guitarist calls herself Mika "Penetrator"?
Myspace.com
-Destoroyah
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Tyrant
Bio: Tyrant is a traditional metal band like no other. They've been playing balls-out mid-paced heavy metal since 1978. Tyrant own a sound entirely their own. They combine mid paced and often times very doom-esque riffs with blistering solos, pounding drums, and the absolute greatest vocals any metal band has ever had. Thus far Tyrant have released three albums. Their first effort, Legions of the Dead, is quite similar to early Jag Panzer. It's an energy filled metal fest. The band's second effort, Too Late to Pray, is an atmospheric beast of a metal album. It stands alone as the greatest and most ambitious metal album ever recorded (in my opinion). There is absolutely no low point, not one second of filler, not one useless note. The band's third effort, King of Kings, is a tumble from their former glory. It still stands head and shoulders above most other metal albums. The band broke up shortly after and as of 2007 are back together again working on a new album.
Sounds Like: A slowed down more aggressive Judas Priest. It's even better than that.
Why Listen?: This band is unrivaled. Their sound is unique, powerful, and emotional.
Myspace.com
-\Powerslave/
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Annwn
Bio: Annwn are a Celtic folk Metal band from Swansea, Wales. Heavily influenced by the Finnish metal scene and traditional Welsh folk music, Annwn was founded by Aled Pashley a.k.a. Owain ap Arawn (who is also know for his work in International Folk Metal Band Folkearth) in 2006. He wrote and recorded the bands first demo 'From The Highest Citadl'. A second demo was released in 2007, simply titled 'Annwn' wich again was Written and recorded by Owain ap Arawn. The Vocals are a mix of Harsh Black metal esqe Rasps and Clean melodic vocals. The drums are programmed on the recordings, but don’t let that put you off, They actually sound ok, plus they do have an actual drummer for live shows. The guitars plays a lot of Celtic melodies, and the riffs though not ground breaking are effective. A few of the riffs are quite thrashy at times. The name (pronounced An-Noon) is the name for the otherworld in Welsh Mythology.
Sounds Like: British Folk Metal, For fans of Folkearth, Waylander, Cruachan, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow.
Why Listen One of the most talented folk metal bands to come from the UK in recent times, Beautiful Melodies, Catchy Choruses, and Nice Guitar work. And relay nice guys, who are heavily involved in the UK folk metal scene, through Folk Metal UK (http://www.myspace.com/folkmetaluk) I can't think of many bands who deserve more recognition.
The Two demo’s are Available for free via Torrent from the bands Myspace page.
And the Tracks Annwn, Broken Sward, and Mountains Sunrise are available for free download.
-AnnihiSlateR
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Hacride
Bio: Hacride are a French Progressive Metal band from Poitiers, France. They play a brand of Progressive Metal, unique to France as fronted by bands like Gojira. Formed in 2001 their band consists of Samuel Bourreau (Vocals) Adrien Grousset (Guitars) Benoist Danneville (Bass) and Olivier Laffond (Drums). Currently on listenable records they have released 3 albums and 1 EP. Their sound can best be described as Progressive Metal utilising complex time signatures into their music.
For Fans Of: Gojira, Opeth, Meshuggah, Textures, Scarve
Why Listen? The bands music can get very complex at times, and heavy, using massive chords, stop start riffs and odd time signatures to great effect, making sophisticated music, which draws you in, making you wish their albums weren’t over so damn quickly. They also incorporate a few ambient sections into their music, which gives you a nice breather, to appreciate what you just listened to. All in all, I think this band deserves more recognition, as all the limelight of French Prog seems to go to Gojira. That said, I think everyone should give them a chance.
Myspace.com
-andyscoot
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Carnival In Coal
Bio: Formed in Amiens, France, 1995, this 2 man band, composed of Arno Strobl (vocals) and Axel Wursthorn (instruments), formed with the intention to mainly have some fun with a very intentional bad taste. The band found a sympathetic ear with now-defunct french label War On Majors, which issued their first album, Vivalavida in 1999 ("Nooo!" ~ Chris Martin). After issuing a cover album made up of decidedly bizarre covers, they released their second album Fear not. Their magnum opus came with their last album, Collection Prestige, which came out in 2004 on Earache, and has generated CIC's first ever live show in 2006, 11 years after formation. The band has called it quits in september 2007.
For Fans Of: Any of Mike Patton's projects or bands, Frank Zappa, The Mars Volta.
Why Listen: Not many bands write a simply good song while having it really crazy and weird. The direct inentions of making their stuff uncomfortable but not repulsive generates a real circus of music, with the added bonus that it all stays incredibly coherent. The music is also very humourous, and although the humour is lower than Verne Troyer, it really works in this context.
Myspace.com
-dead-fish
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That's it for this feature! In the next one, a special Bombay Band Bonanza, which may or may not happen (most likely won't)!
/ my profile 
