SO MANY GREAT BANDS, SO LITTLE TIME

The number of great unsigned metal bands out there that send us their music is mind-boggling. Really, despite all the crap we get, there are just so many quality bands out there totally deserving of a record contract who don’t get one for reasons that basically amount to wrong time, wrong place. That’s why I’ve become increasingly interested in these Readers’ Choice picks; there’s so much good metal out there and I want people to hear it. Despite their shrinking relevance, the record labels still have a pretty big influence and can give bands a real big push to get their music out to the masses and let people decide whether they like it or not… and as for the rest of the world’s great bands, they unfortunately go mostly unnoticed.

Anyway…

• Awjita: Guitarist Alan Rigoletto tells us “The best way to describe our breed of vulgar noise is if Frank Zappa were to get involved with PCP and joined a sludge band to make ends meet.” Not sure I’d totally back this description (I’d say it’s more grindy, too), but it’s close enough, and it got me to check these guys out. You should do the same.
• Burden: Doom fucking metal, slow n’ heavy! Progressive too, not just by-the-numbers doom. The tags on their Bandcamp page (where one song is available for free download and all are available for streaming!) are as follows: “doom drone epic evil metal oppressive progressive sludge Philadelphia.” Agree.
• The Antioch Synopsis: Proggy tech-death ala The Faceless. Really good stuff that feels a bit derivative at times (and the obvious and over-bearing drum replacement is a bit too much for me), but a solid band with a whole lot of upside that could lead them big places in the future if they keep at it.

-VN