I think of metal as an island haven in an ocean of musical dreariness. I also like real islands, in addition to metaphorical ones. You probably never would have guessed that.

Malta is an archipelago of real islands, with an incredibly rich history, located in the Mediterranean about 58 miles (93 km) south of Sicily. It’s also an independent nation. According to The Font of All Human Knowledge, it’s total land area is only about 120 square miles (316 square km), making it one of the smallest and most densely populated countries on earth (with a total population of about 410,000).

Simply because of its size, it’s one of those places, among others we’ve covered in the past, that’s probably not an ideal launching pad for a metal band. But that hasn’t stopped the two bands we’re featuring in this post: Abysmal Torment and For the Godless.

Those bands share a drummer — Max Vassallo — with whom we had the pleasure of swapping e-mails recently, and both bands also happen to play badass metal. We’ve got some news about these bands, plus some of their music, after the jump. Continue reading »