20 Unsigned Metal Bands Everyone Needs To Hear

If the Lord of the Rings movies were a metal band, they'd be Æther Realm.

Clocking in at the exact halfway point of this list, the American four-piece represents a fusion of thrash and folk metal, with lyrics telling of dark fantasy lands and nature-inspired concepts while the instrumentation mixes the acoustic and the electric at an incendiary pace.

Æther Realm's blazing blend of high-octane musicianship, infectious energy and adreanline-pumping records saw them independently release one album in 2013, but it is on their later singles, like "The Chariot" and "The Magician", that they truly shine brightest.

And with album number two apparently on the way, things are only looking up!