Worldwide Metal: Saudi Arabia

Metal is one of the most unique and creative genres in music. With so many subdivisions and subgenres, there is so many different takes and variations since the genre’s formation in the 1970’s. We are aware of popular regions like the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, but what about the rest of the world? Are there countries producing some of the most unique and diverse takes on heavy metal and extreme metal? In this new series I’m calling Worldwide Metal, I will be globetrotting across the world wide web by picking a country and finding some unknown metal bands from that country. Bands that I think should be getting the attention that they deserve, promoting them to get more fans and more eyes on them, and promote cultural diversity through heavy metal.

In this first edition, I will travel to the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia. A region that is very passionate and devoted to their Islamic religious beliefs. Leading to ongoing and endless violence throughout the region for years. With the region’s strong beliefs, tumultuous and ongoing struggle through violence, does this region of the world produce a diamond in the sand of Saudi Arabia when it comes to heavy and extreme metal?

The first band I will discuss today is the folk black metal band Al-Namrood. The band goes under anonymous names in order to protect themselves from the law since in Saudi Arabian law, there is no freedom of speech against religion. Punishable by potentially death. Their fusion of Arabian instruments and a crust-punk fusion of black-metal, is very reminiscent of later era Darkthrone. The band has eight studio albums, with their most recent album released this month Al Aqrab. Capturing the history of Saudi Arabia in its lyrics, the band protects themselves in anonymity due to the band’s anti-religious views and lyrics. Guitarist and bassist Mephisto explain why the band protects themselves in a 2015 interview with Vice:

“Simply because they haven't experienced it. Christianity nowadays is passive. The church doesn't control the country. I think whatever rage that people have got against the church cannot be compared with Islamic regimes. You can criticize the church under freedom of speech in European countries, but you can't do that in Middle Eastern countries. The system doesn't allow it. Islam has inflicted more authority on the Middle East than any other place in the world. Every policy has to be aligned with sharia law, and this is happening right now in 2015. We know that, 400 years ago, brutality occurred in the name of the church, but the same is happening right now in this age with Islam.”

He would go on to discuss the trials and tribulations of even trying to record their music in their home country:

“The obstacles are greater than colossal—it's like living in a cave and demanding electricity. In radical Islamic countries, this music is considered to be a crime by Islamic law. We are living our lives in isolation. Basically, our identity is hidden and our musical interests are kept top secret. It's risky, and the risk gets bigger if we want to publicize our band. However, the obstacles do not stop at social aspects. Also, the lack of availability of decent musical equipment is an issue, and getting the musical equipment into the country can be a problem.”

If you’d like to check them out and support them, you can stream their music on Spotify HERE

We dive into the high-octane energy of grindcore with the band Creative Waste. The band would be a groundbreaking band in the country. In 2019, themselves, along with doom metallers Shamal would take part in the first ever metal show to ever be held in a public commercial space in Saudi Arabia. Taking their inspiration from classic grindcore acts Pig Destroyer & Carcass, the band honed their craft and created a driving and pummeling grindcore release with their debut album Slaves To Conformity in 2012. The band’s most recent release Condemned was well-received by critics, capturing the intensity and aggression of classic grindcore acts like Napalm Death and Nasum in it’s sound.

You can support the band’s Bandcamp HERE

Heading into a different direction is melodic death metal act Wasted Land. Formed in 2005, this band from Jeddah, combined the heavy metal influences and solos of traditional heavy metal, the punk and gritty aesthetics in the production, with the snarling vocals of melodic death metal acts like The Black Dahlia Murder and Amon Amarth. The band’s 2013 self-titled debut channels the energy of nostalgic classic heavy metal, while also incorporating tributes to the band’s homeland. Beautiful instrumental pieces like “Folk Night” to pummeling and thrash-heavy tracks like “Bells of The Falling Castle” channel the Florida death metal scene with its guitar playing and guttural vocal delivery by vocalist Emad Mujalled. No word yet on if the band is currently working on a new album, but the band’s most recent track “The Dark Passenger” was released in 2022 through their Bandcamp.

You can support the band’s Spotify HERE

Our last band I’ll be covering today is Immortal Seth. A one-man black metal band, with only one release with 2012’s Darkness Fate. From the opening track “Belief That Grows Darker”, you get the gritty, rough-demo production sound of classic second wave of black metal w/ ear piercing shrieking vocals. The sound and the musicianship of the entire album captures the early stages of black metal. With snarling, shrieking vocals that instantly remind me of Mayhem’s debut and Darkthrone’s A Blaze in The Northern Sky. With pipe organs and symphonic instrumentation, it is a truly hidden gem in the one-man black metal scene, especially from such a unique region of the world.

You can check the debut album out at the Bandcamp page HERE

That is all the time I have today as I depart the region of Saudi Arabia with a few new favorite bands that I dig a lot, and I hope you dig as well. Please let us know in the comments what do you think of these bands and if you have heard of them? Let me know what country I should travel to next, so I can stamp my metal passport on my journey to discover Worldwide Metal.