Top 5 Arab Metal Bands 2025

Metal sounds different depending on where it’s born, and in the Arab world it offers an immense palette of sounds, still largely unexplored. If you’re curious about how a hijaz and Kurd maqam (that typical melodic turn in Arabic music) fits with a drum kit pushing nonstop, or you want to discover choruses in Arabic combined with aggressive riffs in the same song, you’re in the right place. Five bands, five ways of feeling metal, each bringing their own background and origin: identity first, technique at the service of the song, and zero posing. Let’s start with how we made our choices.

What we valued: songs, live performance, and legacy

Lists don’t mean much if they don’t make clear why some bands are included and others not. We based our selection on three criteria: analyzing their songs, their live sound, and their impact on the Arab metal scene.

A song isn’t “Arab metal” just by adding oriental ornamentations glued on with tape. If it has a modal color (using hijaz, nahawand, Phrygian maqam…), it must be part of the DNA of the piece, not stuck on as an afterthought. The voice matters as much as the guitar, and we value phrasing, tuning, character, and above all, that Arabic sounds natural within metal, adapting to the intonation the language itself provides.

As for live shows, it’s important to us that a band also sounds like a “band” in the room, where the connection between members and their ability to deliver a collective musical message comes into play. Moreover, the selected groups know perfectly well that distortion isn’t synonymous with noise; this metal, even with highly saturated guitars and vocals, maintains separation between instruments and dynamics that make headbanging come naturally.

Finally, we must consider the bands’ legacy, the mark they’ve left on their scene and their ability to bring something different. Related to that, consistency between ethics, message, and music is also key; what the band says and how they act is reflected in how they sound. This list isn’t about follower counts; it’s about albums, evolution, productions that don’t sand down the character, and consistent aesthetic choices. All this, and more, builds identity, which to us is gold.

Khalas (Palestine) – Arabic metal/grunge

If you don’t know Khalas, you should, because they were the first metal/grunge band in Palestine with all lyrics sung in Arabic, without posturing. Abed himself tells how the name came about: one day Amir Robi, one of the band’s founders, pointed at a track called “Khalas” on a Ziad Rahbani cassette and said: “This will be the band’s name.” That same naturalness runs through their music: ‘90s-style metal and grunge, without losing the melodic turns that make Arabic sound organic within the riff.

There are anecdotes that explain why they sound so tight. Abed recalls walking half an hour through the old city of Akka with his Flying V in one hand and a 1x12" amplifier in the other just to get to rehearsal. That ethic—“we treat every rehearsal as if it were a concert”—was imposed with humor (and a bit of “threats”) by Jozef Atrash, the manager/creative director. Before recording, founding drummer Amir Robi left for the US and was replaced by Fadel Qandil; from then on, according to the band, everything “clicked” and the project became more serious.

Key album

A work that combines rough guitars with grunge influence, straightforward structures, and Arabic vocals with very catchy melodic accents. We’re talking about Ma Adesh Feha, Khalas’s historical pillar, the album that opened a new door for metal/grunge in Palestine’s music scene and the entire region.

Track to start with

Ma Adesh Feha, the title track, immediately dives into their aesthetic, with unexpected stops that cut through the constant groove and an exceptional guitar solo with a raw, distorted tone.

Crescent (Egypt) – Blackened death metal

Crescent is one of the Arab bands that ventures deepest into the extreme subgenres of metal. Their sound is a blend of black metal and death metal, with imagery rooted in Egypt but never sounding like a stage set. That’s why you’ll find both technical precision and more atmospheric passages, with heavy use of tremolo picking (playing the same note very quickly).

It’s also fascinating how Crescent alternates intensities and vocal registers: they start with piercing shrieks and suddenly drop into dark melodic lines to build tension. On a compositional level, they show craftsmanship: they handle bridges and transitions well and use varied rhythmic patterns. If you like extreme metal with a touch of epic atmosphere, without going symphonic, they’ll surprise you.

Key album

The Order of Amenti is their most solid calling card, with carefully measured tempo shifts, guttural vocals, production that lets the drums breathe, and arrangements that evoke the desert.

Track to start with

The Order of Amenti, the title track too, embodies this mix of aggressive technique and ritual atmosphere.

Nervecell (Dubai) – Death/thrash metal

Nervecell is synonymous with power in the Gulf. Their style is modern death/thrash: technical precision, saw-like guitars, and a rhythm section that pushes relentlessly. They’ve been the entry point for many listeners seeking Middle Eastern metal with international production standards.

What hooks you most is the balance between aggression and clarity. It isn’t a wall of noise, but rather you can follow the riffs, feel the breakdowns, and enjoy the solos without everything collapsing into a mass of sound. Live, that discipline is obvious; in the studio, their mid-to-high BPM pulse is calibrated so that melody doesn’t get lost in the mix.

Key album

Past, Present… Torture shows them at their best: sharp palm-muted riffs (a technique where you rest the palm on the strings to produce a more muted sound), grooves that move you, and a modern guitar tone.

Track to start with

Psychogenocide, which immediately grabs you with its rhythmic hook and the fast-paced death/thrash character that defines them.

Arsames (Iran, MENA scene) – Death metal

As a clarification, Iran is not an Arab country, but Arsames belongs here because of their regional impact, bringing elements of their own music into death metal. If you’re looking for Arab metal bands and want to expand to MENA, this is the exception that makes the most sense: raspy vocals, lyrics with depth, and riffs and solos full of identity.

As mentioned earlier, you won’t find copy-paste “oriental sounds” here. Arsames integrates Persian scales into extreme metal without losing power. The doubled guitars build memorable motifs, while the rhythm alternates between fast assaults and slower passages that give space for melody.

Key album

Immortal Identity stands out for its use of twin guitars (two guitars playing in parallel), occasional time signature changes, and lines that explore both hijaz and Persian scales.

Track to start with

Immortal Identity, again the title track, encapsulates everything described in this section.

Myrath (Tunisia) – Prog power

If you’re drawn to more melodic metal, Myrath is a safe bet. They mix power metal with progressive rock (prog power), along with Maghrebi instrumentation and melodic turns. The result combines speed with breathing rhythms and radiant choruses.

Myrath’s strength lies in the song: big choruses, bridge sections, complex structures, and polished production. They aren’t about virtuosity for its own sake, but rather lyrics take the lead, and theatricality serves the emotion they want to convey.

Key album

Legacy and Shehili solidify their identity, using clean vocals, traditional Arabic instruments like the oud and darbuka, guitars with elegant crunch (a midpoint between clean and distorted sound), well-integrated keyboards, and rhythms that leave room for Maghrebi percussion and colors.

Track to start with

Believer combines a massive chorus, an unforgettable melody, and the “exotic” character that brought them international recognition.