Lesser known early forms of metal

[Sepulchral Voice]

I'm looking for obscurish late 60's, early 70's bands that sound strangely metal. This stems from my discovery of a song from the band Cromagnon. Caledonia has this weird pagan aura, with lo-fi guitars and harsh vocals. Basically psychedelic rock that accidently turned into Burzum or Twilight of the Gods era-Bathory, though obviously inferior to the two. Unfortunately, this is the only song on their only album that sounds remotely metal.

Cromagnon - Caledonia (1969)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPiO_G-DEHs

Flower Travellin' Band was a unique psyche doom group that made one metal album, Satori. The rest of their stuff is either poppy, or covers of bands like King Crimson and Black Sabbath. Decent compositions that show their east asian heritage.

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori Parts 1, 2, and 3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5SG8LlIqoY&feature=related
The studio version of part II has been taken off of youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFfqJM68rFU&feature=related

[Cargést]

I hear no "harsh vocals" in the Cromagnon.  I just hear two voices, one "shouting" rather halfheartedly, the other whispering.

The Flower Travellin' Band stuff was more interesting, and quite a lot better.

[Sepulchral Voice]

I hear no "harsh vocals" in the Cromagnon.  I just hear two voices, one "shouting" rather halfheartedly, the other whispering.

The Flower Travellin' Band stuff was more interesting, and quite a lot better.

The first voice reminded me of Quorthon's viking era vocals. The whisper was indeed a whisper, though not that unlike some of NHV's whisper vocals.

[MasterEnslaver]

Try Captain Beyond. When the plug for my hard drive is returned I can give you a small list of bands

Bedemon/Pentagram, Death Row and all pre Pentagram bands are also probably worth a look but you probably already know them

[Fwank]

A couple of Pink Floyd's earlier songs have some screams and gutteral talking. I can only imagine this would have sounded quite intense for the time of their release. Not quite proto metal, but noteworthy.

[Circular]

Univers Zero 'Heresie' (1979)

A dark and brooding album of classical inspired progressive rock. There are parts with rather brutal growling etc. and the overall atmosphere is rather "ritualistic" so to say. The compositions sometimes make me think of early Unholy material.

[ChapelOfTorment]

I've heard Univers Zero described as Immolation if they had formed one hundred years earlier, and that description fits the bill pretty well. Their Ceux du Dehors album is pretty much brutal death metal of the dissonant/atmospheric Immolation/Incantation-ish vein, but completely instrumental and with oboes and violins instead of guitars and blastbeats.

[asphyx666]

Death SS:

http://www.anus.com/metal/hall/index.php/topic,1681.0.html

Jerusalem (UK):

http://www.myspace.com/jerusalemheavy72

It's heavy rock, but you might like it.

I've been meaning to check out Goblin, Coven, Antonius Rex, Jacula, and related projects, but have yet to get around to it.  Apparently a lot of this stuff comes from Italy.

[Devamitra]

Lesser known early forms of metal are for example:

- Early music and medieval music
- German and Soviet military marches
- Krautrock

For me, metal has always been about conquest of fear through a reverent approach to life, thus balancing the wonder and the terror of being a man. In Sentenced's words: "...if life was...EPIC!"

[Wolfgang]

Sir Lord Baltimore is probably the first true heavy metal band outside of Black Sabbath.

Bedemon is probably the first true underground metal to exist.

This genre has always excited me because for these concepts to have existed at this stage, they would truly been honest, extreme representations of what become cliche and common-place later. This makes it less rock in its derogatory form than most extreme metal.

[blauth]

There was of course the powerful Night Sun.  Their one release, "Mournin'," was pretty original for its time, and amongst the more powerful of the Krautrock acts (referenced by Devamitra above). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ9Tv0bS5lE

Strangely enough, the main riff in "Transilvanian Hunger" carries an eerie semblance to the main melody in their ballad "Come Down." This spurs me to wonder whether Darkthrone derived their "musical inspiration" not just from Autopsy, Celtic Frost and Bathory, even back in the good ol' days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7okC-AWiMAs

[Wolfgang]

Mournin' > Pleasure to Kill

[Wolfgang]

Lucifer's Friend is another fantastic one.

[Nightspirit]

Death SS:

http://www.anus.com/metal/hall/index.php/topic,1681.0.html

Jerusalem (UK):

http://www.myspace.com/jerusalemheavy72

It's heavy rock, but you might like it.

I've been meaning to check out Goblin, Coven, Antonius Rex, Jacula, and related projects, but have yet to get around to it.  Apparently a lot of this stuff comes from Italy.

I'm so glad someone mentioned Goblin. This is one of my favorite bands. Obviously outside of the metal genre, but possessing some qualities of metal/punk in the electronic/synth (and sometimes guitar) performance and composition. This soundtrack material reminds me of music that's written akin to Emperor and their sense of fantasy and music's evocative and imaginative capabilities.