[2025] Recommended Instrumental Bands in Western Music: Popular Overseas Bands

Cissy StrutThe Meters

The Meters – Cissy Strut

The Meters are an instrumental R&B band that produced a sound similar to Booker T.

Their music was called ‘New Orleans funk.

‘ ‘Cissy Strut’ is a special number for New Orleans funk, serving as the first track on their debut album.

Organic NucleationDark Matter Secret

DARK MATTER SECRET – Organic Nucleation

Dark Matter Secret is an instrumental progressive death metal band based in Russia.

Their music is characterized by a unique sound that fuses elements of technical death metal and progressive metal, with the fretless bass tone being particularly striking.

They debuted in 2015 with the single “Xenoform,” and their first album, “Perfect World Creation,” released in June 2017 on the Nashville, Tennessee label The Artisan Era, became the band’s signature work.

Their songs prioritize technicality and quality over sheer speed, offering a beautiful fusion of progressive and technical death metal.

Forever LostGod Is An Astronaut

God Is an Astronaut – Forever Lost

God Is an Astronaut is a post-rock band formed in Ireland in 2002.

Their debut album, The End of the Beginning, achieved success that led to video airplay on MTV.

The band’s music is primarily instrumental, characterized by cosmic and psychedelic atmospheres.

Albums such as All Is Violent, All Is Bright and Far From Refuge led to international touring.

To mark their 20th anniversary, they have undertaken ambitious projects to reinterpret past works in a contemporary way, including recording their debut album live.

With their distinctive sound and deeply expressive emotion, they captivate fans around the world.

Highly recommended for those interested in instrumental bands!

The Mighty Rio GrandeThis Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You – The Mighty Rio Grande

This Will Destroy You is a post-rock band formed in 2004 in San Marcos, Texas, USA.

Their music spans a wide range of genres including post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, drone, and doom metal.

It is characterized by heavily effected guitars and long, dynamics-driven instrumental compositions.

Starting with their debut release Young Mountain, they have put out numerous albums such as This Will Destroy You and Another Language.

Their track The Mighty Rio Grande has been featured in films like Moneyball and Earth to Echo.

They’re highly recommended not only for fans of post-rock and instrumental bands, but also for anyone looking to explore something new in music.

Meta MettaEl Ten Eleven

El Ten Eleven – “Meta Metta” (Official Video)

Based in Los Angeles, El Ten Eleven has spent over two decades since their formation in 2002 exploring the possibilities of just bass and drums.

The duo—bassist Kristian Dunn, who wields double‑neck and fretless basses, and drummer Tim Fogarty—had released 11 albums by 2022.

Though not widely known in Japan, they boast a fervent fanbase.

Their music gained further attention when it was featured on the soundtrack to a documentary by American indie filmmaker Gary Hustwit about designers, making them familiar to those versed in subculture even beyond post-rock listeners.

While rooted in post-rock, their rhythm-section-only sound also draws on jazz, hip-hop, and, in recent years, disco—so rich and full that it’s hard to believe it’s primarily just bass and drums.

The melodies carried by the bass are surprisingly pop-leaning, and their live performances—featuring extensive use of loop pedals—are well worth checking out in videos.