4 Rock & Metal Acts That Made A LOT Of Noise In 2018

As the year is drawing to a close, WE'RE BACK FOR ROUND 2! Last year, we looked at 5 Rock and Metal acts that took that year by storm, and this year - it's no different! 2018 was a phenomenal year for Independent Music in India all across the board, but we saw an interesting trend in the Rock and Metal spheres through the rise of Prog and Instrumental music. So without further ado, here are the 4 Rock/Metal acts that absolutely smashed it this year (and that you should definitely check out ASAP):

1. Godless

If you thought that Thrash Metal was dead, think again. Godless made sure this year that they absolutely crushed it. They won the Wacken Open Air Battle, ended up going all the way to Germany to play the mighty Wacken Open Air (to an insane crowd in the morning I might add) along with a few more shows, came back to India, released a brand new EP titled 'Swarm' and ended the year with touring around the country supporting the EP. Talk about an impressive impact! The EP in itself is another evolution in the massiveness of their sound, both sonically and songwriting wise. I really hope 2019 brings more music form them because holy shit is it good. And well, have you seen the live video of their performance at Wacken Open Air? If you haven't yet, you're missing out! WATCH IT BELOW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzj6cdlhpzk  

2. Noiseware

This year saw Noiseware come out from a 5 year silence and release their full length 'Clouds At Last', and what a record it is! It's the perfect blend of heavy meets melody - everything from syncopated chuggy breakdowns to super melodic choruses, soft sections and vibey clean guitar passages. Their fans had waited for too long and ohh did they deliver. This was also my favourite sounding Indie album of the entire year! They went on to do a successful tour across India, promoting the record and cementing their place this year in the Independent scene. But the highlight was definitely the music video they put out for their first single from the album titled 'Iridescent'. It's so beautiful! Watch for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqQ8lmJmZVk  

3. Sutej Singh

Sutej Singh is easily at the forefront of the Indie scene's explosion of Instrumental music. He came out of nowhere and shocked everyone with an absolutely high quality release. The album 'The Emerging' took everyone by storm, making it to the top of the charts on Apple Music and getting shout out's from Bollywood celebrities off the likes of Katrina Kaif. When did that start happening? Since the release of the album, Sutej has been busy playing all over the country with his band mates and showcasing his virtuoso like guitar playing and phenomenal song writing! If that's any sign, I expect him to only get better as the years come. Here's a video of the band performing the song 'Walk My Path' at High Spirits in Pune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guE-HkrHehI  

4. Submarine In Space

[caption id="attachment_8240" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Picture by Raphael Martin[/caption] They're two for two! We featured Submarine In Space on this list last year because of the enormous buzz they were creating around the release of their debut full length. This year, we finally saw that come to life in the form of a musical journey by the name of 'Wavelengths'. This is one of the releases where you have to sit down and listen to it because Abhishek Mittal is a musical genius and revealing all the layers takes a while. The absolute trickery of this record is that it is very deeply thought out, yet it feels completely effortless. That's the mark of good, honest music. The band have not stopped expanding their horizon and have continued to surprise fans around the country, ending the year with a special set at the Magnetic Fields Festival. Never thought you'd hear an Instrumental Rock band at an Electronic festival right? Check out the live in the studio performance of their song 'Incense' from the album below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ta_H-UtCM What do you think? Who were your favourite Rock/Metal bands this year that released new music and spread it out across the country? Let us know! Until then, have fun closing out 2018 with all these wonderful artists and their wonderful music!