It's all well and good acknowledging the mighty efforts of the big names of metal, but what about the bands stepping up to fly the flag? That's why Hobgoblin are presenting the Breakthrough award at this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods, presented by Orange Amplification and in association with World of Tanks. Of course, because they're on the fringe of breaking into the mainstream metal consciousness, you might not know who these bands are. Well here's a guide for you...
It feels like TesseracT have been on the scene for an age, when in fact we’ve only been graced with their existence for seven years. A band that truly crosses genres, and indeed pioneers them, TesseracT’s pivotal involvement in precipitating the djent movement means they share hallowed ground with the likes of Meshuggah. Last year’s astounding Altered State, their second studio album to date, gave the band an opportunity to test the capable pipes of new vocalist Ashe O’Hara as they moved towards a cleaner, near-transcendental sound.
Japanese monolith Crossfaith have continued to astound metal audiences and defy nay-sayers with their intoxicated mash-up of metalcore and electronic dance music. Once lauded solely as an excellent live band, 2013 saw the band release their third studio album, Apocalyze, to a huge reception, accelerating their rapid ascent in the record field as well. Not heard their cover of The Prodigy’s Omen? Get ready to propagate until your perspire.
Of Mice & Men were formed in 2009 from the ashes of Attack Attack!, and have already released three studio albums, cementing their name as one of the most exhilarating metalcore bands to come out of the States in recent years. In these five short years, they’ve lost members, re-discovered some and all the while have continued to improve their nu-metal/metalcore strain. They released Restoring Force earlier this year, stepping away from their previous meander into melodicism and, as the title suggests, returning to a much more brutal sound.
It was the great philosopher Nigella Lawson who said “I think you should only feel guilty if you don’t take pleasure,” – or something like that. Powerwolf, a German power-metal band formed by the brothers Charles and Matthew Greywolf in 2003, are the perfect reason that all pleasure should be taken openly and without guilt. Their subject-matter (werewolves) and their musical style (Sabaton-esque bombast, slash and parry) may not be for the most po-faced of metal disciples, but you’re allowing yourself a tedious existence if song titles like Amen & Attack and Lust for Blood don’t do anything for you.
Channelling the core riff heart of Sabbath as well as the unutterable evil that the first bell-toll in their debut conveyed, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats are the dark side of Manichaeism put to music. Their existence may only span the past five years, but their influences delve far into the past, calling upon Alice Cooper’s penchant for the macabre coupled with the Iommi’s pathological obsession with insatiable guitar lines. Last year’s Mind Control was a triumph of beards, 70s pop side-glances and a devastating obsession with unspeakable evil.
Make your voice heard in the Metal Hammer Golden Gods by voting over here. You can even win tickets to see what will be the best gig of the year.
The Metal Hammer Golden Gods, presented by Orange Amplification and in association with World of Tanks, takes place on Monday 16 June at the Indigo2 in London and is hosted by none other than Steel Panther!
