Continuing the History of Metal through short (trivia packed) chapters and accompanying playlists.
Thanks for all the support of Part 1 of these ongoing series! You asked me for more, here it is :)
Work in progress, will be posting irregularly (but...
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"Of them all, the fiercest are the Belgians!" Don't take our word for it, that was the opinion of Julius Caesar! Regardless of a promising 80s underground Heavy Metal wave and some individual bands in the 90s that amassed quite the iconic status like Ancient Rites (Pagan Metal), Channel Zero (Groove Metal), Congress (Hardcore), or Aborted (Death Metal), Belgian Metal scenes never made their mark on the worldwide stage. All of that changed in the 2010's.
Already at the start of the new millennium a number of extreme Belgian bands were slugging their way through the underground with various degrees of success. Leng Thc'e, Length of Time, and Moker all released some stellar material, but it wouldn't be until the new decade for Belgians to break through: At the start of the decade a number of bands made their name being part of 2 popular new waves of Heavy Music: Deathcore (Knives To A Gunfight) and Sludge (Your Highness). Many of the underground 90s and 2000s bands released critically acclaimed new albums and the 2nd wave of the worldwide Thrash and Speed Metal revival saw the long overdue breakthrough of After All and produced new Belgian bands like Bliksem, Devastatiön, and probably the best Speed Metal band currently in the world Evil Invaders.
Beyond all of that, the famed Church of Ra (with bands like Amenra and Oathbreaker) saw unparalleled success in the world of Avant-Garde and Extreme Metal. Given their unique nature, we'll dedicate a chapter just to the Church!
Throughout the decade, an unlikely catalyst for Extreme Metal throughout the country was Red Bull! Their on-going Bedroom Jam competitions rewarded the winning bands with a spot on the bill of Belgium's massive Graspop Metal Meeting. Several new bands on this list got their time in the spotlight this way.
The decade culminated with the international breakthrough of Spoil Engine and 'Chapel Of Abhorrance', the blistering debut full length album of Death Metal rising stars Carnation. The album was hailed worldwide as one of the best Death Metal releases and made 2018 best-of-the-year lists everywhere.
Oh, and before we forget: Fleddy Melculy becamea national success with their fun mix of heavy riffs and in-your-face comedy.So, after all this heavy shit, grab a T-shirt of Metallica and jump into theChicken Moshpit!
