IoMP 191: Metal Around the World – Morocco
The metal underground knows no borders, and this time, we're heading to North Africa!
In another installment of Metal Around the World, Collin and Tom turn their attention to Morocco, a country with a rich cultural history and an underground metal scene that's well worth exploring. With 61 bands listed on Metal Archives at the time of recording, there's plenty to discover, even if some of those acts have only released a handful of recordings.
Our musical journey begins with Hopelessness, an instrumental doom metal project whose atmospheric compositions make a surprisingly strong impression. Without a vocalist to rely on, the music has to do all the heavy lifting, and Collin finds plenty to appreciate.
Next, Tom introduces Suicide Machine, a melodic death metal band that leans toward the darker, more aggressive side of the genre. Their 2026 album Night of the Abyss offers some relentless riffage and impressive hooks that make them one of Tom's favourite discoveries of the episode.
Collin then brings us Breed of Burden, whose 2012 release The World Is Sick delivers a compact combination of melodic death metal and metalcore. Sometimes, 22 minutes is all you need to make an impression.
From there, Tom introduces one of the episode's most culturally distinctive discoveries: Tagrest. Combining black metal with Moroccan history, folklore, and folk instrumentation, the band offers a sound they describe as Atlantean black metal. Their music demonstrates how regional influences can give an established genre an entirely different character.
Of course, Collin couldn't let an episode go by without some thrash! Enter Thrillogy, whose album Uncompromised delivers the kind of aggressive, energetic metal that earns some serious praise.
Finally, Tom closes out the selections with Pagan Ulver, a symphonic black metal project whose orchestral elements add another layer to the genre's raw intensity.
With six bands explored and plenty of new music added to our listening lists, there's only one thing left to do: spin the Wheel of Countries!
This time, the wheel sends us somewhere entirely different for our next international metal adventure. Will our traveling duo find another impressive underground scene? And will the Robot ever successfully learn another language?
There's only one way to find out.
Click play and join us as we explore the sounds of Morocco on the Influencers of Metal Podcast!
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