The Five Best Metal Bands that You Haven't Heard Of

Heavy Metal is a beast of a genre to try and break into. The fans are picky and sometimes fickle, the variety of songs is so vast as to comprise more than 15 notable sub-genres in most people's minds. While some think that the prospects of playing metal music in the Because metal is considered by so many people to be an offensive style of music, there are no true metal radio stations. So how does a band get noticed?

Sometimes not even the very best bands get the recognition they deserve. This is a list of the five most talented bands in metal that you've probably never heard of. Each of them has released a consistent string of great metal albums that you would be remiss to avoid.

1. The Lord Weird Slough Feg

This is the kind of band that just keeps getting better every time you hear them.

The Lord Weird Slough Feg (sometimes shortened to just "Slough Feg") are a Los Angeles band that plays an Iron Maiden influenced style of metal that is uncompromisingly catchy, riff heavy, and has one of the most unique singers in the game. Their albums vary widely in theme, with a straightforward metal style on their debut, Celtic influences on "Twilight of the Idols" and "Down Among the Dead Men," a science fiction concept album on "Traveler," and the more serious, philosophical "Atavism."

Maybe I'm biased because this is my favorite band of all time, but these guys need the press. They are absolutely amazing.

2. Threshold

When it comes to Progressive Metal, almost every band that isn't a carbon copy of Dream Theater gets totally ignored, and that's a shame. There are a lot of bands that decide to play Progressive Metal with a more concise and an easier song structure, heavier riffs, and the ability to keep you entertained throughout the entire album. None of those bands does it better than Threshold.

Threshold has actually released quite a few albums, but the one's that really set them above the rest are "Hypothetical," "Critical Mass," "Subsurface," and their brand new "Dead Reckoning." They don't always employ the laid back melodic style songs that Progressive Metal is known for, though there are a large number of songs that float by on melody alone. The poetry on some of their tracks is too good for words, and when they turn up their more metal aspect, nobody in the genre can top them.

3. Negura Bunget

Negura Bunget is a Folk influenced Black metal band that thinks they play Progressive Doom Metal. It's dark, folky, melodic, harsh, and weird. But it's also remarkably unique and good.

These guys play a lot of short ambiance pieces in between their feature songs, which are very reminiscent of the songs on Finntroll's "Visor om Slutet" EP. When they turn out the metal songs, however, they're harsh, but full of melody, and really provide the listener with a full and rich listening experience, which makes them immediately different from their contemporaries, who often opt for low-end production, often sounding like their albums were recorded in an echo chamber. They have a variety of musical weapons in their arsenal, beginning with their singer, who employs high-pitched screams, spoken word, low growls, and everything in between to create a rich and captivating experience. Their guitarist is also very talented, and seems willing to take a backseat to the concept of their albums, and thus, there are fairly few solos.

4. Akercocke

For the Blackened death metal fans, Akercocke is a must-hear band. They started off their career with two very generic discs, but really opened up their play book for 2003's "Chornozon" and 2005's "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone." These two albums combine a number of progressive aspects, including the introduction of alternating clean and harsh vocals, melodic passages, black metal blast beats that would impress Emperor, Grindcore style guitar passages, and on occasion, a fairly erratic album set-up that demands your attention. This band is a challenge to understand, at times, but their brilliance goes unmatched by many pretenders in a genre clogged with unoriginality.

5. Bible of the Devil

The final band on this list, Bible of the Devil, is signed to the same label as Slough Feg (Cruz del Sur), and to say they have an impressive retinue of bands is the understatement of a lifetime (another band who just missed making this list, Pharaoh, and the already popular Manilla Road are also signed to the same label).

Bible of the Devil play Stoner Metal, one of the least well-defined styles of metal. Essentially, it encompasses everything that used to be considered "almost metal," including anything slower or more 70's rock oriented styles of songs. Bible of the Devil hone in on their 70's rock roots, modernizing the sound while still keeping the same style of music, and making it a tad bit more offensive.

I've heard people say that "This band is what Blue Oyster Cult would have sounded like if they had decent production" or that this band makes the kind of albums Led Zepplin would have made if they had Saxon writing their lyrics. They're a heavily nostalgic band, but one who is more than capable of calling themselves much more than a generic tribute band.