In this edition of The Underground Sound, I have put together a spinning wheel with every country on it. Every month, I will spin the wheel and let it select a country to explore. I will use the Bandcamp website and only filter it by country. Each review will contain 5-10 bands I found during my research. I will provide listening links to every artist I discuss, in hopes you check them out too. While the list is numbered, they are in no order in terms of what I enjoyed the most. This month, we will be sonically travelling to Germany.
#1: GorillaPhoenix
GorillaPhoenix was my first roll into the German side of Bandcamp. While not specifically my cup of tea for daily listening, I was surprised how catchy the music was. This band reminds me of artists such as CKY and Turbonegro. The music has that feel where it is not quite hard rock, metal, or punk, but somehow fuses all of those sounds together. Overall, I am not mad that I found GorillaPhoenix. They are incredibly catchy and deserve more listeners. My choice cut from the Rise of the Monkeys EP (Pt. 2) is the song Dance.
Listen Here: https://gorillaphoenix.bandcamp.com/album/rise-of-the-monkeys-ep-pt-2
#2: Caratucay
While doing these music reviews, I try to go out of my way to represent many genres of music, rather than seek out things I know I will enjoy. I broke the rules with this one. Caratucay is my type of extreme metal band when it comes to death metal fusion. There is a lot of technical and progressive influence mixed with barbaric rhythmic chugging. This entire album is great – especially if you are a fan of the extreme side of underground music. Fans of bands such as Obscura, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless, etc. My choice cut from their album titled Nocturnes of the Incarcerated is Psychotorture.
Listen Here: https://caratucay.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnes-of-the-incarcerated
#3: Camping Sex
I had to click on this band during my Bandcamp exploration because the name was hilarious. I am glad I did it because the music was so enjoyable. Camping Sex has that perfect mid-to-late 1980s sound where traditional punk music was becoming more experimental. This makes sense to me because of the album 1914! The album features live tracks recorded in 1985. Overall, I had a lot of fun listening to this band because it reminded me of bands such as The Cramps and New Order. If you are into that noisy, experimental punk style, Camping Sex will leave you feeling satisfied. My choice cut from this album was Guten Morgen.
Listen Here: https://campingsex.bandcamp.com/album/1914
#4: The Shit Missile
I really want to give credit to Germany in this edition of The Underground Sound. Germany is absolutely killing it in terms of rowdy, raw punk-tinged rock and roll. The Shit Missile is a great example of this sound. After listening to Camping Sex (see above), this band seemed like the most logical next subject matter. While Camping Sex is a little more lowkey and hazy, The Shit Missile is the follow-up that gets you mosh dancing around the room with your friends. Perhaps with a beer. While listening to this band, I immediately thought of some American bands such as Hüsker Dü and The Replacements – both of which perfected that punk/rock and roll sound of the 1980s. If you are a fan of that style, you will love this single. My favorite song was Fuel Injected Dreams.
Listen Here: https://khannibalism.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-cult-of-the-shit-missile
#5: Venas Abiertas
One of the genres of music that I always wanted to play as a musician was crust punk/powerviolence. This band gets my blood pumping because they sound exactly what my mind pictures when I daydream about creating this style of music. It is fast, aggressive, and raw. But the production is good, and you can hear the slight melodic tinge of the guitar riffs, the vocals, and the blasting of the drums. Venas Abiertas falls into that category of crust punk and hardcore with a slight melodic edge. I would say that if you were a fan of bands like Integrity, His Hero Is Gone, and Disfear, that you would probably love this band. My favorite track was Diese Gitter.
Listen Here: https://venasabiertas.bandcamp.com/album/diese-gitter
