Hungarian metal is the heavy metal music scene of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. One of the most popular and well-known band is Attila Csihar's Tormentor. Other bands include Sear Bliss, Thy Catafalque,

Ektomorf Ektomorf is a heavy metal band from Hungary. Biography Ektomorf was founded in 1993 in Mezőkovácsháza, Hungary, a small city near the Romanian border, by Zoltán "Zoli/Zotya" Farkas. In the actual line-up Zoli/Zotya – songwriter and l ...

, FreshFabrik, Blind Myself, The Idoru and Subscribe.

History

1980s

Tormentor, formed in 1985, recorded their first album entitled "Anno Domini" in 1988, which was not released until the end of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

. The album reached

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

through the tape-trading community. Following the suicide of Per Ohlin, Mayhem invited Attila Csihar from Tormentor to join the band; he was to perform the vocals on "

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'' is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's r ...

". Tormentor split up in 1991 but later reformed, releasing their only studio album so far ''Recipe Ferrum! 777''. The band were on hold for a long time before reuniting in 2018, releasing a number of live albums.

1990s

In 1993 the band FreshFabrik was founded by András Szabó and Levente Kovács. In 1997 the band was signed by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

to release its second full-length studio album, "Nerve". Ektomorf RockTheLake2007 01

In 1993 one of the most successful Hungarian metal bands,

, was formed. The Zoltán Farkas-led band from

Mezőkovácsháza Mezőkovácsháza is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 6945 people (2002). Notable residents * György Simonka (1974-), politician * Józ ...

managed to get signed by

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...

and later by major label

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

. Initially their albums, such as " Kalyi Jag" and " I Scream Up to the Sky", were heavily influenced by

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

; however, they later pioneered a unique sound combining

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

with

Hungarian folk music Hungarian folk music ( hu, magyar népzene) includes a broad array of Central European styles, including the recruitment dance verbunkos, the csárdás and nóta. The name ''Népzene'' is also used for Hungarian folk music as an umbrella design ...

. In 1994 the band Blind Myself was formed, which became one of the first metalcore bands. Later they became one of the leading metal bands in Hungary. In 1998 a band from

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

named Dalriada conquered Hungary with their

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

. Their album entitled "Kikelet" helped the band perform in major European music festivals.

2000s

The 2000s saw the emergence of bands which combined metal music with other genres such as post-hardcore, nu metal. In 2003 a supergroup was formed named The Idoru by ex-members of Newborn, Blind Myself, and Dawncore. They managed to release several records including their second full-length studio album ''Monologue'' which brought them success outside Hungary. They toured with the American

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

in 2007 and with Ignite in Japan in 2008.

2010s

In 2012 the band Shell Beach released their second full-length Dávid Schram-produced studio album entitled '' This Is Desolation'' which helped them sign a contract with Redfield Digital Records.

Notable Hungarian metal bands and artists

References

{{Authority control Music scenes Hungarian music