There’s a rich history of music on the island dating back to the early ’80s. It's not easy for a new band to start out, but if they believe in themselves, they will succeed.” Even though it's different times, it's much more easy for them because there's the Internet. And how do you do that? You do that by getting in touch with bands outside (of Malta). So, they need to work it out to go abroad. And eventually for the bands, people will get fed up with them. “If a band is starting out and is just doing local shows, they are playing too much locally. “When we started out, I had contacts through tape trading, and with that, I managed to get Beheaded out of Malta,” Cachia says. For the bands who unfortunately can't afford to tour internationally, this creates a problem of overexposure within the Malta music scene. And that's how I sought to push all of my bands forward.”Īlthough there’s an abundance of metal bands in Malta, the lack of music venues for bands to play is a problem, as there’s only one club that caters to metal (The Garage). Because in the underground, it's not just about the business side of things, but there's lots of bonds of friendship that you can tap into because you have credibility and you’re respected in the scene. But at the same time, all that sacrifice was really worth it, because we built lasting friendships, and they served us well to get the band and touring abroad. It was really difficult, especially before the Internet and social media. ![]() “In those days, the best way of getting the band would be through tape trading with contacts you’d have abroad. ![]() “It was very difficult, not just in terms of touring, but just getting the band beyond the Maltese shores,” Bell explains during a recent Zoom chat. Forsaken bassist Albert Bell (also of Nomad Son, Albert Bell’s Sacro Sanctus) concurs with Cachia on the difficulty for most Maltese bands to tour internationally, especially while first starting out. Also forming in 1991, Forsaken are one of the first Maltese bands to get signed to a non-Maltese label, thus paving the way for newer up and coming bands on the island to achieve bigger things. Another leading pioneer of Maltese metal is epic doom metal band Forsaken.
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