The International Language of Screaming Quiz

Answer: Mongolia

Mongolian folk rockers Altan Urag ('golden lineage') are a band with a difference; while other metal vocalists scream or growl, frontman and founder Erdenebat 'Erka' Baatar uses the technique of throat singing, known as 'khöömii'. Formed in 2002, the band use a mixture of Western and traditional Mongolian instruments, such as the morin khuur or horsehead fiddle (a bowed instrument, considered to be the national instrument of Mongolia) and the yoochin (a dulcimer played with bamboo hammers).

Their music has featured on the soundtracks to the films 'Khadak' and 'Mongol', and the Netflix series 'Marco Polo'.

Other Mongolian rock bands in a similar vein include The HU, who incorporate Mongolian war cries into their music, and Hurd, one of Mongolia's first metal bands.

Answer: Gibraltar

Breed 77 - one of the only bands on this list I've seen live, in Nottingham while I was a student - are from Gibraltar, although the three founding members (singer/guitarist Paul Isola, guitarist Danny Felice and bassist Stuart Cavilla) met in London.

The band were originally called Breed, but as 'Breed' was already registered as a band name, they added the number 77 after Cavilla's call sign of K77 when he was working as a motorcycle courier. They sing in both English and Spanish, and their music has a North African/Middle Eastern feel to it at times (2003 single 'La Ultima Hora' is an example of this). Breed 77 were voted 'Best Unsigned Band' by 'Kerrang!' readers in 1998 and were signed three years later, with their self-titled debut coming out in 2000.

The band went on hiatus in the mid-'10s, but reformed in 2021, after Isola had performed a solo set the previous year during the 'Gibraltar Live at Home' sessions, due to the coronavirus pandemic preventing gigs from being staged.

Answer: Israel

Folk metallers Orphaned Land are heavily influenced by traditional Arabic, Mizrahi and Jewish music, leading to their style being dubbed 'Oriental metal'. Originally known as Resurrection, the band formed in 1991 and have had a constantly changing line-up, with singer Kobi Farhi and bassist Uri Zelcha being the longest running members.

The band sing in both English and Hebrew, and some of their work is influenced by Judaism, such as the concept album 'Mabool' - a story of three angels, representing each of the Abrahamic faiths, and which features readings from the book of Noah - and 'El Norra Alila', named after a song sung late in the Yom Kippur service, although the band themselves are not religious. Farhi and Arab-Israeli singer Mira Awad both guested on Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett's 2017 solo album 'The Night Siren', on the song 'West to East'.

Answer: Norway

Satyricon are one of Norway's most notable black metal bands. Like many other black metal bands, their members perform under pseudonyms; they were founded by bassist Wargod and drummer Exhurtum, both of whom later left. Exhurtum was supposedly kicked out because he preferred hanging out with his girlfriend to kicking over gravestones, while Wargod (fittingly) became a UN soldier. Singer Satyr and drummer Frost have been the core members of the band since 1991 and 1993 respectively, although various other musicians have played with them at different points.

The band released their debut album, 'Dark Medieval Times' in 1994; although the album was extremely hard to come by due to being out of print for several years, the band announced that they would reissue it in 2021. Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo is a big fan and has collaborated with them; Satyricon also supported Pantera in the spring of 2000.

Answer: Ukraine

Ukraine's Jinjer went viral in 2016 with a studio performance of their song 'Pisces', in which frontwoman Tatiana Shmailyuk amazed viewers by alternating between clean and death metal vocals (people not familiar with the band were shocked to find out that the growling came from a woman!) The video has racked up over fifty million views, although the band have mixed feelings about their sudden popularity, and have said that they would like to have recorded it differently in hindsight.

Although the band formed in 2009 with a male singer, Maksym, Shmailyuk replaced him the following year and the band subsequently consider 2010 to be the year they officially formed. Jinjer are originally from Donetsk, but the 2014 conflict with Russia forced them to move and to tour constantly due to a lack of finances.

The fall of the Soviet Union brought Western rock and MTV into Ukraine, and Shmailyuk grew up listening to tapes; she is also a big fan of Otep, a fellow female-fronted metal band from the USA, who she considers to be a major influence.

Answer: Japan

Not a band for people with short attention spans, Boris are an eclectic Japanese trio whose style encompasses post-rock, drone, psychedelia and even J-pop! Formed in Tokyo in 1992, they are guitarist/keyboardist Wata (who also sometimes plays the accordion), guitarist/bassist Takeshi, and drummer Atsuo. All three members also contribute vocals. Live, Takeshi plays a double-necked guitar with one bass neck and one typical guitar neck, which saves him having to swap instruments during gigs.

In the studio, they favour analogue equipment. Boris have collaborated with various experimental bands over the years, especially compatriot Merzbow; their 2005 album 'Sun Baked Snow Cave' (featuring art by Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley) consists of a single hour-long track.

They also collaborated with Sunn O))) on 'Altar' in 2006, and Ian Astbury of The Cult on 'BXI' in 2010.

Answer: Wales

Although Wales is more famous for emo (such as Funeral for a Friend), indie (such as Super Furry Animals) and Tom Jones, it also has its share of metal bands, including Skindred, who fuse metal with ragga and dancehall. They were formed in Newport from the ashes of Dub War, who split up in 1999; singer/rapper Benji Webbe formed Skindred with Dub War guitarist Jeff Rose and drummer Martyn 'Ginge' Ford, although both members later left.

Their debut album 'Babylon' was released in 2002, with 2005 single 'Nobody' becoming a noughties rock club staple in the UK. Webbe was one of several guest singers to perform with Korn at Download 2006, singing on 'A.D.I.D.A.S.' after Korn singer Jonathan Davis was too ill to attend (I was there, incidentally, and the 'Kornaoke' was a lot of fun!) He has also collaborated with fellow countrymen Bullet For My Valentine on 'Take It Out on Me' in 2008.

Answer: Botswana

Bit of an obscure one, this, although you can find their music on Spotify. Overthrust are a death metal band from Ganzi, Botswana. They are the first African metal band to play 12 consecutive dates in Europe, when they toured Germany and the Netherlands in 2017. Similar to the Donnas, Ramones and Spice Girls, the band members all have themed names with 'Thrust' in them; vocalist/bassist Vulture Thrust, drummer Beast Thrust and so on.

Their aesthetic is heavily influenced by Motörhead's Lemmy, with band members wearing leather jackets and cowboy hats onstage.

The band host an annual metal festival, Overthrust Winter Metal Mania, the proceeds of which go to helping disadvantaged children in Ganzi. Other metal bands from Botswana include Wrust, Amok and Skinflint (who are influenced by classic metal such as Iron Maiden).

Answer: Iraq

Acrassicauda, often thought to be Iraq's first metal band, were the subject of the 2007 documentary 'Heavy Metal in Baghdad', following a 'Vice' feature on them four years previously. They are named after a type of black scorpion, and picked up their musical influences from bootleg tapes; before the US invasion of Iraq, the four band members worked as journalists and translators.

The documentary was filmed over a period of three years, in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon; as it was considered too dangerous for Acrassicauda to return to Iraq when the Syrian government refused to renew their visas, they settled in the USA as refugees in 2009, thanks to fundraising efforts by the makers of the documentary. During their time in Iraq, Acrassicauda had to contend with the threat of both war and the regime; their fame attracted unwelcome attention from fundamentalists, as their music was considered to be 'Satanic' and they were heavily influenced by American rock and metal. During filming, the band's rehearsal space was destroyed by a missile.

Answer: Italy

Lacuna Coil are a gothic metal band from Milan, with two frontpeople: founding member Andrea Ferro, and Cristina Scabbia, who joined in 1996 after initially singing backing vocals. Ferro and bassist Marco Coti Zelati, Scabbia's former partner, are the founding members of the band.

They were previously known as Ethereal, but changed their name upon discovering that there was a Greek band of the same name. The band have covered Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the Silence' and British indie/electro band Dubstar's 'Stars'.

Their 2006 album 'Karmacode' achieved silver status in Italy. The band generally sing in English; Ferro said in 2008 that producer Don Gilmore had helped them with their pronunciation and understanding of English words. Like System of a Down in the early days, the male members of the band perform in face paint.