The 10 Best Belgian Metal Bands of All Time, According to Gnarly Native Sons 30,000 Monkies (Exclusive)
Some 15 years after ganging up in their home city of Beringen in Belgium (population approximately 45,000 residents), 30,000 Monkies continue to claim the throne as the country’s most enduring we’re-kidding-but-not-really-kidding, noisy, sludgy, experimental doom metal band. Or so we presume; try as we may to acquaint ourselves with every arty, far-out band in every nation on the planet, The Bad Penny still has plenty of work to achieve that mission.
We were fortunate enough, however, to recently land upon Belgian rabble-rousers 30,000 Monkies. Not only did we find the spelling of their moniker worth a chuckle, we also came across a written plea to fans that appears on the quartet’s illustrious website:
Driving the point home, here’s a truly outlandish video that the band – who would fit comfortably on a tour with Mclusky, Ken MODE and/or Melvins – released six years ago:
Wacky personas and band presentation aside, 30,000 Monkies will once again prove their mettle – and heavy, fuzzy forays into their self-constructed fun house – with the September 12 release of Super Rebound (Champagne Metal) on September 18 via FVN KULT REKORDS. That said, when the band accepted our proposal to collaborate editorially in an idiosyncratic manner – rather than toss conventional queries about their upcoming record – we thought 30,000 Monkies would be fitting ambassadors to name the best heavy bands from their home country of Belgium. They obliged, and here’s the list they compiled exclusively for The Bad Penny.
• Wiegedood: One of our favourite black metal bands regardless of nationality. Their latest record, [2022’s] There’s Always Blood at the End of the Road, really pushed their sound to unseen heights of blissful fury and chaos. The album is relatively recent but has a 100 percent chance of becoming an evergreen among the Monkies. Two of the three members also recently released a great sludge album with their other band, Crouch.
• Modder: We thought the riff-worshipping style of sludge and doom à la Sleep or Electric Wizard couldn’t (or didn’t have to) be taken any further than what those bands already gave us. We’re very happy that Modder has proven us wrong, and continues to do so, taking things up a notch and reviving our enthusiasm for the style and allegiance to the riff.
• Rise and Fall: One of the many great Belgian hardcore bands that defined our youth (equally important were Redemption Denied, GRIM, True Colors and Justice). Discovering them as teenagers and getting completely wrecked by their insanely intense live shows left a lasting mark on us. The sheer aggression, honesty and energy of these bands still resonate in the way we approach heavy music today.
• Tim De Gieter: Not a band (although he has projects like Doodseskader and ESSLY), but a person that has been involved in producing quite some Belgian heaviness. We worked together at the very beginning of our paths (our first two EPs and full album were some of the first projects Tim recorded/mixed for bands other than his own). It’s been great to see him grow and work with great bands like Brutus and Amenra since, and somehow still find the time to create his own signature heaviness with projects like Every Stranger Looks Like You and Doodseskader.
• The Rott Childs: Sadly, this band only released two albums, but we’ve listened to them religiously (taking many notes in the process). So many great ideas, so much beautiful organized chaos, condensed in such catchy and fun songs. It’s mostly math-y, proggy and chaotic noise rock, but there’s plenty of heaviness too. They also have a noteworthy heavy origin, as they arose from the ashes of the legendary and chaotic El Guapo Stuntteam.
• Drums Are for Parades: Another important band for the young Monkies. True masters of carefree yet tasteful riffing, with exactly the right amount of twists and turns (many), as showcased on their appropriately named album Master and Artificial Sacrificial Darkness in the Temple of the Damned EP.
• Daggers: Hardcore-punk band that manages to change with each new release but always remains recognisable as Daggers: at times crushing and crusty heaviness, at times direct and angular, always with those filthy vocals tying it all together. Our appreciation for them has grown with every release. Potentially fair to say that they are unfortunately a bit under-appreciated.
• Amenra: Almost too obvious to mention, but you simply can’t make a list about Belgian heavy bands without Amenra in it. After all these years, it is still an absolute joy to get steamrolled by the crushing weight of their music, especially (but not only) in a live setting. As if that’s not enough in itself, the Church of Ra spawned lots of other great heavy Belgian bands like Oathbreaker and Hessian. (Read The Bad Penny‘s conversation with Amenra frontman Colin H. Van Eeckhout here.)
• Vandal X: The OG heavy-noise rockers in our home province. The album All Lined Up Against the Wall and its opener were just the right amount of dirty and aggressive sounding for at least one of the young Monkies to wake up to every day before class (a way more fun start of the day then you’d imagine).
• Lintworm: Fairly recent (and young band). Their latest album (recorded and mixed by Tim De Gieter, there he is again) is ticking a lot of the right boxes here at Monkies HQ. Weird dissonance, pig squeals, spaced-out sections, uptempo noise or grindcore or whatever bits whiplashing into sludge … all in the timespan of a little over 20 minutes and seemingly executed with a healthy dose of fun. What’s not to love?
Pre-order a copy of 30,000 Monkies’ Super Rebound here.
For more authoritative lists such as this one from 30,000 Monkies, check out:
• The 20 Best Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal Bands Ever
• Edge of Sanity Frontman Dan Swanö Reveals 10 Swedish Bands That Made Their Way Into His Musical DNA
• The 10 Best Swedish Heavy Bands Ever, According to Native Sons Prime Creation
• The 10 Best Portuguese Heavy Bands Ever, According to Portugal’s Own Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell
• Germany’s Top 10 Best Metal Bands Ever, Per the Country’s Native Death-Metal Sons Fleshcrawl
• The 20 Best ’90s American Grunge Bands of All Time
• The 20 Best Protest/Activist Musicians, From Marvin Gaye to Billie Eilish
• The 10 Best Finnish Melodeth Bands Ever: Amorphis, Children of Bodom, Kalmah, Insomnium, Circle, Mors Principium Est
• The 10 Best Finnish Bands Ever, According to Natives the Feral Kids
• Top 20 Touch and Go Bands of All Time
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