I’m a big nerd for Scandinavian melodeath, so I was shocked to find out during a recent car ride with Metal Injection melodeath expert Frank Godla that there’s a top-notch band I’d yet to discover in the form of Finland’s SEO-unfriendly Diablo. Sez Frank of Diablo: “the sweetest band of this genre since Mors Principium Est.”

Their most recent album, 2008′s Icaros, contains all the best parts of melodic death metal without any of the genre trapping that have become so cliche over the past five or so years via a thousand 6-gen knockoffs. Best yet, they step things up a notch in the heaviness department and manage to distance themselves from the masses in part thanks to Rainer Nygård’s distinct, atypical vocals. If ever there were another example of Post-Swede, Diablo are it.

-VN

While Scar Symmetry have been busy making music with two new singers that sound like their old one, that old one — Christian Alvestam — has been busy with a ton of new projects of his own. Among them is the very promising Solution.45, a band that also features Mikko Härkin (Cain’s Offering, ex- Sonata Arctica, Kotipelto), Jani Stefanovic (Miseration, Essence Of Sorrow), Tom Gardiner (Hateform, ex- Mors Principium Est), Anders Edlund (Angel Blake), and Rolf Pilve (Miseration).

Solution.45 are currently in the studio recording their debut album. According to an update sent by the band exclusively to MetalSucks, the music is “just about done” and Christian is currently finishing up his vocals. The record will be completely finished and mastered by the end of December, and should see a release this Spring via AFM Records and Marquee/Avalon. The cover artwork will be done by Pär Olofsson, the artist behind the latest Immortal and The Faceless album covers. The album will also feature a few guest appearances, including a few vocal spots by Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquillity. Neat-o!

Check out a 7 minute teaser of demo material at Solution.45′s MySpace page. It’s good stuff.

-VN

In my ongoing crusade to stop beating the same Metallica/Disturbed/DEP/whatever canon to death, here are some new(ish) bands you might not know about that are currently making the rounds in my playlist:

Johnny Truant – Recently signed to Ferret Music, this UK technical metalcorish (not always a bad word!) outfit has slogged it out in the underground since 2001. The band are excellent musicians but certainly don’t beat you over the head with it — think a slightly techier version of All Shall Perish. Their new album No Tears for the Creatures drops September 30th in the US.

Mors Principium Est – Progressive melodic death metal from Finland that somehow manages to keep this waning genre fresh. Given I’m a big sucker for melodeath, but still… These cats are solid. [Thanks: Chris C.]

Tracedawn (pictured above) – More Finnish melodeath; more progressive and more melodic than Mors Principium Est, and definitely more epic, but still distinctly Scandinavian. They are the Children of Bodom to your In Flames, the Firewind to your Mercenary. Get it? [Thanks: Dean C.]

-VN