France: Gojira (Metal)

Location: Bayonne, France (1996 – present);

Genres: Death/Thrash/Groove Metal

Current line-up: Jean-Michel Labadie (bass); Mario Duplantier (drums); Christian Andreu (guitars); Joe Duplantier (vocals, guitars);

“It has always been hard to put a tag on GOJIRA, one of France’s most extreme bands the country’s musical pallet has ever known. But, then again, the band has never really sought out such a tag, instead letting the music do the talking, preferring introspection and intelligence over preconceived notions and preexisting tags.

Ever since the 1996 formation in town of Bayonne in the southwest of France, GOJIRA has been an ever-evolving experiment in extreme metal ultimately built upon a worldly, ever-conscious outlook with roots firmly-planted both in the hippie movement and an environmentally-conscious, new age mentality.

Clone from Terra Incognita (2001)

Originally dubbed Godzilla, after the scaly, green film star with an equally huge reputation as the newfound band’s sound, the brothers Duplantier – guitarist/vocalist Joe and drummer Mario – and fellow Frenchmen Jean Michel Labadie on bass and Christian Andreu on guitar, quickly released several demos, ultimately changing the band’s name and independently releasing the first GOJIRA album Terra Incognita - in 2001, offering up a brief glimpse into the giant GOJIRA would eventually become through persistent hard work and years of toiling in the metal underground.

After the 2003 release of the band’s follow-up - The Link - throughout Europe and the subsequent live DVD release the next year, of the aptly-titled The Link Alive.

The Link from The Link (2003)

2005 brought the release of From Mars To Sirius, the band’s breakthrough release, garnering high praise and a North American release through Prosthetic Records in 2006.

Fans of not only heavy, extreme music took notice, but so did the intellectual world, thanks to Sirius’ thoughtful and expansive inner examination of the world at hand and the consequences of humanity’s struggle to coexist without harm. The metal world was amused and amazed: much of it hadn’t yet seen an equally intelligent and pummelingly heavy release that was as expansive and open as it was dense and concise.

The Heaviest Matter of the Universe from From Mars To Sirius (2005)

Following the immense praise of From Mars To Sirius and recurring trips across the Atlantic for North American touring alongside the likes of Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, and Behemoth among others, GOJIRA established its stranglehold on the extreme metal spectrum with a linguist’s touch, a lyricist’s finesse, and a crushingly heavy live show that left audiences astounded, establishing the band’s live performance as a spot-on recreation of the band’s increasingly adept and intelligent studio output.

To Sirius from From Mars To Sirius (2005)

While 2007 wrapped with GOJIRA again touring North America on the Radio Rebellion Tour alongside Behemoth to the best reaction yet, the dawn of 2008 saw a nearly 10 month wait for while the band assembled The Way of All Flesh, one of the year’s most anticipated records.

Oroborus from The Way of All Flesh (2008)

This time revolving around the undeniable dilemma of a mortal demise, GOJIRA’s soundtrack to the situation seems fitting. Shifting ever-so-slightly from the eco-friendly orchestra of impending doom on From Mars To Sirius to the band’s new message of the equally uncontrollable inevitability of death, The Way of All Flesh melds the open and airy progressive passages GOJIRA has become famous for with the sonically dense sounds and bludgeoningly heavy rhythms that makes the band an equally intelligent force as it is unmatchably heavy.

Toxic Garbage Island from The Way of All Flesh (2008)

Featuring a guest vocal spot on “Adoration For None” from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe – one of GOJIRA’s most vocal supporters from their first moment making an impression in the Americas – and the now familiar Morbid Angel-isms of The Way Of All Flesh’s title track join the angular riffing more akin to Meshuggah on “Esoteric Surgery” and the epic, artful plodding of the nearly 10-minute “The Art of Dying,” showing that GOJIRA have indeed opened a new bag of tricks for The Way Of All Flesh, while not abandoning the sound that first showed a massive promise of potential on Sirius.”

Discography:
2001 – Terra Incognita (Full-length)
2003 – Maciste All Inferno (EP)
2003 – The Link (Full-length)
2004 – The Link Alive (DVD)
2004 – The Link Alive (Live Album)
2005 – From Mars to Sirius (Full-length)
2008 – The Way of All Flesh (Full-length)

You can find more information on their official website, and follow them on Facebook and Myspace.

Spain: Angelus Apatrida (Metal)

Location: Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain (2000 - present);

Genres: Thrash Metal;

Current line-up: Guillermo Izquierdo “Polako” (vocals, guitars), David G. Álvarez (guitars), Víctor Valera (drums, vocals) and  José J. Izquierdo (bass);

“This young Metal commando was born in the year 2000 in Albacete, an isolated small town in the middle of nowhere in Spain which stands for having a great wine tradition and being the most important manufacturer of knives in the whole world; “Albacete has no musical infrastructures at all, so we had to fight really hard and do everything by ourselves”, states lead guitarist, singer and mastermind Guillermo Izquierdo.

Blast Off from from Clockwork (2010)

The band’s name mixes Spanish and Latin language and can be translated into English as ‘stateless’ or ‘renegade’ angels.

Influenced by the early Bay Area Thrash Metal and N.W.O.B.H.M. scenes and more specifically bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax, Overkill, Pantera, Testament or Annihilator, ANGELUS APATRIDA have crafted their career in their Spanish homeland so far with two independent, self-released albums, Evil Unleashed (2006) and Give ‘Em War (2007), as well as countless of live-appearances on larger national festivals (Lorca Rock, Alternavigo, Metalway Festival, etc.) and in the clubs of most of the country’s larger cities together with acts like Barón Rojo, Destruction, Sepultura or most recently labelmates Arch Enemy, who they supported on a tour of Iberia in December 2009.”

Of Men And Tyrants from Clockwork (2010)

ANGELUS APATRIDA finished recording their highly anticipated new album, Clockwork, at Ultrasound Studios in Braga, Portugal. Produced by Daniel Cardoso together with the band, Clockwork is a masterpiece of modern Thrash Metal and was released internationally via Century Media Records in 2010 allowing the band to show what they got, also beyond the borders of their home-country.

“We feel this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance and we won’t let it pass. We are ready to show all metalheads around the globe what we got and that we are here!”, adds Izquierdo.

Be Quick Or Be Dead from Clockwork (2010)

Clockwork includes 12 relentless, yet dynamic and brilliantly performed own cuts as well as a special cover version of Iron Maiden’s Be Quick Or Be Dead on the limited edition first pressing version of the release.

The Manhattan Project from Clockwork (2010)

Throughout the whole album, ANGELUS APATRIDA not only perfectly manage to combine both the aggression and the melodic edge of classic 80’s Thrash Metal roots with a breathtaking modern southern fury to result in an impressive blend of rage and attitude, but the band also showcases a level of technical skills rarely seen in such perfected shape with other young bands of the style.”

Discography:

2001 - Lost in the Realms of Orchinodaemon (demo)

2003 - Unknown Human Being (EP)

2006 - Evil Unleashed (Full-length)

2007 - Give 'Em War (Full-length)

2010 - Clockwork (Full-length)

You can find more information on their official website, and follow them on Myspace, Facebook and Twitter.