The Metal Olympics

It's kind of unfair, just like in the actual Olympics!

Maybe nominate a single band from each nation to serve as a team?

I disqualified Ukraine, Poland, and France due to Nazi involvement, then voted for Norway

Olympics are held every few years and measure the current worth of a nation's athletes. On that basis, easy vote for Finland

Maybe nominate a single band from each nation to serve as a team?

Then we'd just be polling my personal faves and it wouldn't be as fun.

Anyway, it's currently a toss-up between Canada and Sweden on my end.

Sweden has a ridiculous ratio of great bands.

Hearing that the dope inspectors called round to the OP compound three days and haven't been seen since.

* ago ;-)

they found too much dopeness and retired in a psychedelically-trepanned haze

*trepanated ffs

Why is ancient Scandinavia seen as "metal" and ancient Greece is not?

Idk, the new Mystras album is pretty great

Russian metal would do well to take its cues from the nation's athletes.

(and features a metal SOTY contender called The Zealots Of Thessaloniki xp)

ancient greece is classical and ancient scandinavia is romantic

bs stereotypes and false dichotomy ofc

It's just Scandinavian bands who romanticize ancient Scandinavia, right?

I guess Zep did "Immigrant Song" but they also did "Achilles' Last Stand".

I love how no one has dared rep for the most obvious picks so far.

xp Slavs and Germans are also into it, albeit to a lesser extent.

Mot of my favourite contemporary metal bands are American and the classics are British, though there are a few Canadian bands who are good enough to make the country a contender. I like black metal but I listen less to the Nordic originals than to anglo/franco bands who have taken the sound in other (and usually less politically repugnant) directions.

Last year two US bands made my metal top 10. This year, just one. A rerun of the all-time metal albums poll would likely yield a much higher percentage, however.

Canada might have the best ratio and the fewest nazis

hella patriotism itt

Tbf I successfully abstained from including Romania.

that one negura bunget song from 2004 bangs

Just that one? Ok I regret not including it now.

2006 even!

tbf Ţesarul de lumini is a genuine contender for metal track of the century so far

Whole album is a masterpiece and I might like 'Hora soarelui' even more, depending on my mood. But yeah, the best Romanian metal bands are either Negură Bunget itself or Negură Bunget-related barring the odd exception or two. As a general rule, Eastern Orthodox cultures seem to be less metal-inclined, come to think of it.

I wonder how accurate this data is. Metal-Archives might be skewed towards European black/death.

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/FU1_w9XWLPiG_OlrxSrgIovXdX4=/0x494:1800x1507/1224x689/https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/old_wire/img/upload/2012/03/29/metalband_1/original.png

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2012/03/world-map-metal-band-population-density/329913/

Brazil!

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could throw a second place vote to UK for the NWOBHM.

Canada has Cryptopsy and Razor. they pretty good.

Went with Sweden in the end and now feel like a BETRAYER which is metal af.

i can't vote Sweden cos of the sheer glut of unmemorable Swedish stuff in my collection.

I feel like if I vote Norway, I'm voting for Euronymous and Varg!

Voted for Canada on the strength of Voivod and Gorguts.

ooh tr00f

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Erh0_4_II

Hard to look past the US tbh

Was gonna vote for Sweden, but ultimately voted US because we gave the world Slayer.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

AMERICAAAAAAAa

Greece 2

hmm, Rotting Christ fans?

voted UK just because if it's close with any other country there's the fact that Black Sabbath was from there

UK still got shafted.

And not a single vote for France? Tsk, tsk.

I voted Brazil mostly cos, like my thing for Belgian ales, Brazilian death/thrash is like, my thing.

UK though probably actually has more 'classic' bands. on the strength of these alone, they're a worthy vote:

Sabbath
Grim Reaper
Maiden
Priest
Satan
Blitzkrieg
Angel Witch
Carcass
Cathedral
Napalm Death
Holocaust
Extreme Noise Terror
Benediction
Bolt Thrower

lol Brian Ross and Lee Dorrian are in two of those bands

they are not mentally necessarily metal but Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin seem like they should factor

they're close enough for me

In my mind heavy metal lead guitar as a whole is in the shadow of Ritchie Blackmore