In this series we highlight amazing bands that flew under the radar of many. We carefully selected these bands for you, the only criteria: monthly listeners on Spotify must be under 1000. Impossible to find something that's worth your time? Read and learn, so many bands aren't getting the recognition they deserve. We believe all of these bands are hidden gems. Enjoy!
#1 Atravan
An Iranian band, currently sitting at 440 monthly listeners on Spotify. They recently released their first album ‘The Grey Line’. It's an excellent atmospheric album. Well worth a listen!
FFO: Riverside, A Perfect Circle, Porcupine Tree, Tool
#2 IER
This one is a mysterious one. An Argentinian band! Their album ‘妖怪’ was originally labeled as DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal), but honestly there's so much more to hear. The album is an absolute banger, not the easiest listen, but at 140 listeners a month on Spotify, this one is a definite must on this list!
FFO: Opeth, Enslaved, ...IER
#3 Fleetburner
They released their first album in september last year and made it high on our list of top albums of 2020. With 120 monthly listeners on Spotify this one takes the cake for "listener to quality"-ratio. Just give it a listen, you won't be disappointed. Check out our review for their self-titled album.
FFO: good music
#4 Chaosbay
We're making an exception for these guys. They're at a little bit more than a 1000 monthly listeners on Spotify. But they are just too good not to include in this list. Their album ‘Asylum’ is so well crafted, and flows so incredibly well. We're patiently waiting for this band to blow up. Check out our review for ‘Asylum’.
FFO: TesseracT, Periphery, Architects
#5 Luna's Call
888 monthly listeners on Spotify, come on guys. It's getting ridiculous. Luna's Call released a more than decent album with ‘Void’. Their influences are very obvious, but they incorporate them in interesting ways. Maybe this band will break through with their next album? Until that time, there's ‘Void’ that gets only better after repeated listens.
FFO: Opeth, Haken, Wilderun, BtBaM
#6 Artificial Silence
At the time of writing, this band sits at 235 monthly listeners on Spotify. That's insane to think about. Their one and only album ‘Negative Space’ from 2018, is straight up a masterpiece. It offers about everything you want from a modern prog band. If you're not listening to this one, you're missing out.
FFO: Haken, Native Construct, Dream Theater and about every other prog band that ever existed.
#7 Entheogen
At the absolute lowest, with a monthly listeners count of 27, is Entheogen. This doesn't mean they're not worth a listen, though! They've only released one EP so far, but it sounds very promising. The death metal vocals lean towards black metal, while the instrumentation often plays around with more spacey soundscapes. Yummy. Looking forward to what these guys will bring to the table next.
FFO: BtBaM, Opeth, Enslaved, Gojira
#8 Gravity Machine
A hard to describe band. But damn, their in 2020 released album ‘Red’, blew our socks off. At 196 monthly listeners on Spotify, they surely deserve to be on this list. And they deserve so much more! They have an entirely unique sound and use it to suck you into their journey. It's an absolute trip.
FFO: Lunatic Soul, Riverside, Peter Gabriel (How does this work, you say? Go have a listen!)
#1 Atravan
An Iranian band, currently sitting at 440 monthly listeners on Spotify. They recently released their first album ‘The Grey Line’. It's an excellent atmospheric album. Well worth a listen!
FFO: Riverside, A Perfect Circle, Porcupine Tree, Tool
#2 IER
This one is a mysterious one. An Argentinian band! Their album ‘妖怪’ was originally labeled as DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal), but honestly there's so much more to hear. The album is an absolute banger, not the easiest listen, but at 140 listeners a month on Spotify, this one is a definite must on this list!
FFO: Opeth, Enslaved, ...IER
#3 Fleetburner
They released their first album in september last year and made it high on our list of top albums of 2020. With 120 monthly listeners on Spotify this one takes the cake for "listener to quality"-ratio. Just give it a listen, you won't be disappointed. Check out our review for their self-titled album.
FFO: good music
#4 Chaosbay
We're making an exception for these guys. They're at a little bit more than a 1000 monthly listeners on Spotify. But they are just too good not to include in this list. Their album ‘Asylum’ is so well crafted, and flows so incredibly well. We're patiently waiting for this band to blow up. Check out our review for ‘Asylum’.
FFO: TesseracT, Periphery, Architects
#5 Luna's Call
888 monthly listeners on Spotify, come on guys. It's getting ridiculous. Luna's Call released a more than decent album with ‘Void’. Their influences are very obvious, but they incorporate them in interesting ways. Maybe this band will break through with their next album? Until that time, there's ‘Void’ that gets only better after repeated listens.
FFO: Opeth, Haken, Wilderun, BtBaM
#6 Artificial Silence
At the time of writing, this band sits at 235 monthly listeners on Spotify. That's insane to think about. Their one and only album ‘Negative Space’ from 2018, is straight up a masterpiece. It offers about everything you want from a modern prog band. If you're not listening to this one, you're missing out.
FFO: Haken, Native Construct, Dream Theater and about every other prog band that ever existed.
#7 Entheogen
At the absolute lowest, with a monthly listeners count of 27, is Entheogen. This doesn't mean they're not worth a listen, though! They've only released one EP so far, but it sounds very promising. The death metal vocals lean towards black metal, while the instrumentation often plays around with more spacey soundscapes. Yummy. Looking forward to what these guys will bring to the table next.
FFO: BtBaM, Opeth, Enslaved, Gojira
#8 Gravity Machine
A hard to describe band. But damn, their in 2020 released album ‘Red’, blew our socks off. At 196 monthly listeners on Spotify, they surely deserve to be on this list. And they deserve so much more! They have an entirely unique sound and use it to suck you into their journey. It's an absolute trip.
FFO: Lunatic Soul, Riverside, Peter Gabriel (How does this work, you say? Go have a listen!)