Unsigned and Unholy: The Nautilus, Status Abnormis, Ghost Man On First

I’m struggling to come up with words to describe The Nautilus‘s sound, so let’s just go with their own description of themselves: “A powerful progressive metal trio from Vancouver, BC. Churning out passages ranging from technical death metal and extreme hardcore, to sludge, post metal and jazz, the Nautilus strives to create a unique and savage tonal landscape in the realm of extreme music.” That pretty much nails it! Short and to the point. SEE, other bands? That’s how you write a band bio. If you need some further touchstones to convince you to press play: Norma Jean, East of the Wall, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Cynic. See? It’s tough. Now go:

Oh how I just love that album cover for Status Abnormis‘s album Call of the Void! It’s so simple, yet so captivating. Their music is captivating too: kinda reminds me of a more brutal Textures (via syncopated, downtuned rhythms) with a touch of Fleshgod Apocalypse (by way of symphonic keyboards and occasional pseudo-operatic vocals). Whatever it is, it’s good:

The name of the person playing first base has been, is, and always will be WHO, but I guess this Fort Worth, TX band thinks some guy named Ghost Man should be playing there. And why not? Ghost Man on First are easily one of the oddest bands we’ve ever featured in this column, and while they may fall a bit outside of the typical “metal” spectrum (whatever that is), there’s all sorts of influence here from not-quite-metal-but-metal-approved acts like Melvins, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk and any other band with Mike Patton in it. And they can probably turn a 3-6-3 double play better than that washed up Who guy anyway.