Obscure Bands You Like.
 

I think the title is reasonably self-explainitory, but just in case:

What are some obscure bands you like?
You know, the kind of stuff you can't find at your local record store, or even on Kazaa, so you end up having to go to some random back site and ordering it off the INTERWEB OH NOES.

Knock yourselves out, kiddos.

edit: how fantastically newb of me, I didn't notice the music forums.
I'm going to blame this on the fact that it's 5am.

If a mod could move this, it would be much appreciated.

Out of the top of my head (I'll write some more later this evening, I'm in a hurry now): Masonna (a lot of noise actually), Anadorei, Envy, Kirche.

I get my noise at a store not faraway, called V2, but still, it's obscure as hell. I still haven't found anything by Anadorei but the fact that they're 1/ all-girl and 2/ are supposed to be similar to Melt-Banana makes me curious enough. Envy: got a bunch of MP3s but I just want the CDs. Can't find them around here though. Kirche: wow, they're obscure, no shizzle.

Dakona

Nightwish, the best band from Finland ;D I nearly passed out when I found their CDs in the mall next to my college! Borders has their stuff too, I think, but they aren't well-known in the US whatsoever.

guano apes, a german band. i remember about...three or four years ago, i could find their first cd "proud like a god" in stores. but since then, all the stuff they've released has been no where here.

Well. Finally got time now, so here goes. First of all though: great thread. Gotta love obscure music.

I already mentioned noise; I always had the greatest trouble finding any noise. Until I discovered a store in some back alley in Rotterdam called V2. It's a store selling obscure music in general. Naturally, that includes noise. I got my Merzbow, **** ESP, Alan Licht CDs and whatever there. Merzbow is definitely my favorite noisician. This man, hailing from Japanese, has presented us with +/- 500 albums/EPs/vinyls by now. It's all quality though. I love it.

They sell a lot more though. I bought some Muslimgauze release there. It's brilliant, the only thing that kept him from getting through to a bigger audience was his sympathy towards the islam, I guess [note: he had nothing to with Al Qaeda or whatever, the man behind Muslimgauze, Bryn Jones, passed away in 1999, aged 38]. Another thrilling record I picked up there is Kiyoshi Mizutani's 'Yokosawa-iri: 12 pieces of mixed soundscape'. It's an album of field recordings, edited later on (only slightly though, it's still field recordings, not music). Beautiful, to say the least.

Anadorei. Well, where to start. Their bandname rocks (@n@l slave), they're chicks, and they're supposed to sound like Melt-Banana. I have never before heard anything by them, but that's because I've never come across ANY CD by them, nor MP3s. Wow. Thus, can't say I really like them, but they're hella obscure.

Envy, wow they're great. What to call it. Screamo, maybe. Think bands like Snapcase, Thursday, maybe Atreyu, but louder and yet more melodic. Great screamer/singer, he gives it his all. I love that band.

Next: Mono. Japanese band, they're somewhat similar to Godspeed You Black Emperor!, but they're less orchestral, more rock. I love they're spun-out instrumentals, they're bliss.

And Kirche of course. Their singer, Noriko Mitose, did the vocals for the vocal track on the Chrono Cross soundtrack. That song enchants me to this very day and is actually the song that got me into Jpop. However, their band is far from famous. I found some MP3s through their site, and they're all amazing. Too bad I can't find their CDs anywhere, it's a pain, really.

More next time. :yes

I didn't know Nightwish was really all that obscure.. Most of the people I know at least know of Nightwish. Maybe just in your part of the US, then.


By the way, I listen to this Boston-based rock band called Big Top Vertigo. I've yet to run into anyone who even knows from them, aside from a friend of mine in Boston.

Nightwish is definitely one of the biggest bands in its genre.

anberlin
zeromancer has been grabbing my attention lately, as well

Brownie points++, I love Anberlin.

That's not that obscur, but it's the most difficult i have to found:
Sonata Arctica (which i loooooooooove to despair) and Nightwish! :D

Why are you guys insisting that Nightwish is so obscure?

Nightwish graces the cover of every single rock/metal-magazine over here when they release a new album, so indeed, they're not obscure.

Maybe because they don't live in Northern Europe, therefore, they have little knowledge of them.....just a thought...

Got a point there, but I never saw Kirche grace any cover, nor in Japan, nor in the rest of the world.

Well, there's TONS of Japanese magazines, and I don't think you've seen all the covers. But there's always that chance that they've never appeared in a cover. So, methinks it's like 50-50.

True :yes

Caravan, Matching Mole.

KC is wellknown, but you almost always have to order their work.

KC?

Caravan, Matching Mole. Wow, my dad loves those bands.

Gentle Giant
Spock's Beard
Boud Deun
Finneus Gage
Planet X
King Crimson
King's X
Platypus
The Jelly Jam
Rudess Morgenstein Project
Power of Omens
Shadow Gallery
Ozric Tentacles
Spastic Ink
Gordian Knot
The Flower Kings
Pain of Salvation
Ayreon
Symphony X

Basically, everything I listen to is obscure in one way or another.

Other than Boud Deun and Finneus Gage, I know all those bands. My dad's kind of music :yes

Would Kemuri count as obscure?

Actually all my friends think all the J-pop I listen to is very obscure, but that's only because they've never heard of it... x_x

Anathema... the only one I can think about for now...

Becauseee pretty much no one knows them in the US (even if they are touring here ahahahaha...). I had no idea they were THAT popular in Europe though o.o

They are as popular in Finland and surrounding countries as bands like Linkin Park are here in the States. They are gaining ground here though. I can't pick up an issue of Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles without there being a Nightwish article in it.


Practically no one other than other prog fans know those bands here in the U.S. And the prog scene here is very very small.

Hrm. Apparently Angra is also reasonably obscure, or so now I'm being told.

I didn't even know that.

As far as I know they aren't known very well outside of Brazil. They do tour the U.S. from time to time. But if you walked up to someone in the U.S. at random and asked if they'd heard of Angra, chances are very good they'd sy no. Good band, btw.

I know them, but I guess I don't count. They were on Dynamo Open Air here a few years ago (1998, I think, maybe 1999).

KC as in King Crimson.

Matching mole and Caravan are right up there with Triumvirat, you're dad know them too? Great stuff.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooh King Crimson. *punches self* Of course. I love whatever Robert Fripp's doing with Eno. Which is fairly different than King Crimson, but it's great nevertheless. King Crimson has some great things too, though. *steals albums from dad's collection*

I don't know if he knows Triumvirat. Seeing the similar artists list at allmusic.com, I think he should check it out, if he hasn't heard of them.

I like Skindive...but I don't know if they're obscure. O.o

I like Noise Ratchett! I don't know if they are that obscure though..I just know you can't find them off winmx! Hehe...since they are a local san diego band, I got to see them perform!

I love Ballistics, and Fall out boy =\ I dont think Ballistics has a cd. Me versus the Monster is good too. I think I got the name of the band right. I've only heard a sample of a song, but It was really good.

Used to listen to a few songs from Millencolin, I think they're a Swedish rock band or something. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Millencolin. I used to listen to them back when I still liked punkrock. I have two CDs by them actually (Pennybridge Pioneers and For Monkeys, although that last one is just a CDR), but they drag and drag to be honest. Not really quite diverse.

True.

"No Cigar" was my favorite song.

I liked that one, too. And some other songs off of Pennybridge Pioneers (No Cigar's on that album, too), like Fox and Penguins And Polarbears. However, I have never been able to sit through an entire album of theirs.

Local bands tend to be obscure.

So true. Soporific, anyone?

Anberlin! I love their song "Glass to the Arson."

Head Phones President.
Mono.
Hoover's Ooover.

That's a few that come to mind right away.

You like Mono, too? Man, I love them. One of the most brilliant Japanese bands ever. Wow.

Yeah, I only really just got into them, but they're awesome!

Mogwai
O-Zone
Last Emperor
Abdominal
DJ Patife

I cant think of any others, but I know theres a bunch more :doh

If you like Mogwai, be sure to check out Mono. And Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Explosions In The Sky, too.