UNSIGNED AND UNHOLY: BEYOND THE EPILOGUE, ABSENCE OF LIGHT, GRUMUSIC

I’ve some special treats for you today, loyal Suckalos. Our latest batch of unsigned gems includes the Devin Townsend-inspired Beyond the Epilogue, a bludgeoning blackened death outfit from Kenya (!) called Absence of Light, and Polish solo-instrumentalist grumusic. Listen and learn:

• Beyond the Epilogue: Imagine a band whose music all sounds like The Devin Townsend Project’s metalli-pop masterpiece Addicted and you’re close to imagining Beyond the Epilogue, aka Brian Skeel. Of course you won’t get Devin’s trademark humorous snarl, but both vocalists — one male and one female — definitely hold their own. The EP is streaming on their Bandcamp (and below) and only costs $3 to buy, though it’s worth noting it only contains 3 actual songs with various instrumental versions and remixes of them to bring the total track count up to 8. Stream:

• Absence of Light: I admit, the fact that this band is from Kenya is what initially piqued my interest. But while we get tons of submissions from all corners of the globe that aren’t well-known for their metal scenes, Absence of Light have something really good happening. Nile’s death metal aesthetic meets Behemoth’s blackened intensity. The drums sound programmed and these guys aren’t reinventing the wheel, but the riffs are catchy and the songs are memorable.
• grumusic: A one-man instrumental prog project from Poland. It’s got a bit of an Animals as Leaders vibe to it but utilizes a lot more keyboards/atmospherics and more traditional melodic structures. Cosmogenesis is streaming in full at grumusic’s Bandcamp.

-VN