It's a big world for any musician nowadays, with streaming platforms taking over our daily fix of music. It's also a hard world for many musicians and bands to stand out from the crowd and gain a massive following, be it from slow steps in their local scene, all the way to global stardom.
And then there are these guys, who all are extremely serious about their music, they also inspire themselves on pop-culture icons, becoming a little more accessible, or at least gain some kind of attention.
You might end up not being a fan of any of these 4 bands, but I can guarantee, you will have at least enjoyed their enthusiasm!
Austrian Death Machine
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What really started as a parody by As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis, ended up being a project that took a whole other level of seriousness. The sheer idea of a band inspired by everything Arnold Schwarzenegger is enough to turn your head. With three albums and not one, but two Christmas EPs under their belt, Austrian Death Machine really bring to life a soundtrack never unheard from your favorite action movies, like Predator, Commando and Terminator, among others.
Recent events regarding Lambesis mean that this Austrian Death Machine, sadly, won't be back so soon. Which is a damn shame, if you ask me.
The Cybertronic Spree
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Long before Michael Bay made one decent movie and another three really bad ones, with a forth coming along, Transformers is honestly more underrated than I want to admit. Back in the '80s and '90s, it started with toys and ventured into cartoons, including an animated movie, as well as a million other kinds of things going on.
Enter The Cybertronic Spree, a seven-piece who homage the classic Transformers with their classical music covers, dressed in full attire. They might not play anything within the metal genre, but they are in fact the most metal band in the world, fighting off Decepticons.
Galactic Empire
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Oh Star Wars, do I need to explain any of that? Of course not! We all know it's seven-movie saga has four of our favorite and three of our most hated movies on our lists! It was really a matter of when a band inspired by this amazing universe.
Here are Galactic Empire, a band from a galaxy far, far away. Wherever that might be. Consisting in a drum playing Boba Fett, a Stormtrooper on bass, a Shadow Trooper and a Imperial Guard on tow and, finally, Darth Vader shredding on lead guitar. Bet Luke wished this was his father!
Okilly Dokilly
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Probably the least expected inspiration is the most amazing one, as our favorite Jesus lover from The Simpsons, seemed to have multiplied and played some of the best metal in a scene full of heathen children! Or so to speak.
As Okilly Dokilly make waves throughout world music press as a gimmick, fact is all songs are original, with only the lyrics being taken from Ned Flanders himself.
Considered the only "Nedal" band, straight out of Phoenix, USA; it's hard not to like this band, with "They Warned Me" being a personal favorite.
Bonus Round: Batmetal
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Admittedly, this animated version of Batman, alongside some of his comic-book buddies, playing some heavy metal, isn't a real band, since ArhyBES are the masterminds of this mix between The Dark Knight and Adult Swim's very own animated band, Dethklok.
With nearly a total of 36 million views on YouTube, from both BatMetal videos alone, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spin-off has been announced for September, with the third BatMetal video being released some time next year. Which is all really good news.
What characters would you love to see in a metal band?
