UNSIGNED AND UNHOLY: THREE MORE RECORD LABEL-WORTHY BANDS

What separates an unsigned band from a signed one? In many cases, a record contract… that’s it.

The quality of the unsigned talent we receive in the MS inbox on a daily basis continues to amaze me. Yeah, a lot of it stinks; most of it in fact. But that we get at least two or three bands a day I could truthfully say are pretty darn good speaks to how modern technology and the Internet have really opened things up. Sure, there’s tons of crap: just ignore it! Record labels absolutely still have value, in the form of marketing expertise, distribution (but not for long), and financing / monetary support, so while I’d love to sit here and tell you that your unsigned band should just go it alone, that isn’t always practical (although sometimes it certainly is). It really does come to “right time, right place” for a lot of bands with regards to record labels / success. AKA, luck. So at MetalSucks we do what we can to help. With that in mind, here are some of the best unsigned bands to come our way lately:

• Butterfly Trajectory: Woeful and aching post-metal that’s delicate yet crushing, understated yet proggy. Kind of like Insomniun or Daylight Dies for the Coalesce-influenced post-metal set, if that makes any sense at all. This is one of the best unsigned bands I’ve heard in some time; the diamond in the rough, so to speak. Make sure you check these guys out!

• Law of the Vital Few: Now that djent is the popular metal micro-genre that all the kids are copying without regard to originality, it’s easy to forget that just two years ago (less?) the idea of instrumental metal was still pretty novel. It’s also easy to forget that good instrumental metal can exist outside the realm of the 8-string Meshuggah-chugfest. So when an instrumental metal band comes along that isn’t djenty, is original and has both chops and songs, I feel obliged to share. Law of the Vital Few succeed at all the aforementioned but probably won’t impress you if you need vocals in your metal. Tyrants is available to stream in its entirety at Bandcamp and is available for download for a price of your choosing.
• Chaos Frame: If you’re the kind of Dream Theater fan that likes the band but can’t stand James LaBrie’s vocals, you might have the same bone to pick with Minnesota’s Chaos Frame. Chaos Frame aren’t as heavy as DT but they’re equally nerdy and a touch more power-y, and they’re certainly good at what they do.

-VN