The spanish neocrust punk scene has turned out to be my favorite group of bands ever. Most of the bands in the scene are anarchistic, engaged in squatting and communal shows with strong sociopolitical messages throughout the numerous bands' outputs. The sound started out in the later 90s with a band from A Coruna, Spain called Icon; formed '99. Their 2000 Demo was a metallic tinged, yet melodic, blend of screamo and crust punk.
The band later became Ekkaia and released a split LP in 2001 with a grindcore band from Madrid, Spain called Unsane Crisis. Ekkaia's side of the split has become some of my favorite pieces of music ever with its furious brevity and crushing guitar work, playing a heavy-as-fuck blend of melodic death metal and screamo.
They later went on to release an LP titled Manos Que Estrechan Planes de Muerte Y Sometimiento, shifting again to a purely melodic fusion of fast crust punk and screamo with anarchistic lyrics. After a few EPs they released their last album in 2004 named Demasiado Tarde Para Pedir Perdon their shift in sound turned to a more dark hardcore vein in the style of Tragedy, From Ashes Rise etc.
The band then went on hiatus after a final EP and the members went on to form other bands that are still around. I haven't heard of the possibility of Ekkaia reforming but if they do I'm shitting my pants as they're my favorite band of all time.
Another band originating from A Coruna, releasing 3 LPs and a compilation/live album during 2002-2005, Madame Germen is another one of my favorites from the Spain scene playing the distinct style of neocrust but with a darker baroque sound incorporated into their music, as on the first album A Cicatrizes Do Paraiso, using string instruments like violins, cellos and even classical guitars laying down chaotic, balls-heavy and searingly fast tracks with dual-vocal (sometimes triple-vocal) work.Their last album, Invocation A Morte expanded on the sound but with a lower ended fatter sound and an overwhelmingly epic feel to the music. Definitely the shit you'd wanna play during the end times.
Summing up my top 3 is Hongo. Again from A Coruna they started out during the year 2000 playing a caustically emotional and unique form of screamo, with heavy guitar parts in between periods of melodies emphasizing loud/soft dynamics to the extreme. They also utilized two vocalists trading off lines in pure catharsis. The vocal work in this demo is amongst my favorite, just very intense and loud.This was only present on their 2004 demo though as they then shifted members and developed an entirely different sound for their 2007 LP Formas De Vida Que Se Precipitan Hacia La Destrucción. On this release they play a form of dark atmospheric sludge metal with baroque tendencies using classical instruments, along with a vocal style change to something like a suffocated scream.
They're still around with their last material released being a split with a french band called Aguirre released in 2007. They really need to put out something new though because I've been dying to hear more.
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