UNSIGNED AND UNHOLY: TEMBLAD, WE ARE KNUCKLE DRAGGER, RE1IKT

There seems to be some confusion about how to get featured in an Unsigned and Unholy column. So how about a few friendly tips?

1. Do not attach mp3s to emails or link to a .rar or .zip that has to be downloaded, unpacked, and loaded; both are very annoying and will decrease the chance we check your band out. Link us to a page where we can easily stream some audio in one click. Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Reverb Nation, Facebook (with some kind of streaming app) or your own website are all acceptable… shit, even MySpace is fine if anyone still uses that.

2. We are not professing our love for your band that we’ve never heard of to the whole world via a Facebook “Like” just to hear your music. Make sure your tunes aren’t behind a “Like” wall (this is also just good general advice… why would anyone “Like” a band they’ve never heard of? You’re actively turning potential new fans away.)

3. Keep it simple. Two or three sentences that briefly describe your band’s sound are plenty; we don’t need your life story.

4. Only contact us once. Believe it or not, we do get to everything, although it would be impossible for us to respond to every email.

OK then! How about some bands who followed the common sense instructions above over the past couple of weeks and particularly tickled my fancy?

• Temblad: These guys are equal parts new-school thrash and old-school death metal; they know when to party and they know when to groove. I won’t say they sound just like Revocation, but there are undoubtedly certain sonic similarities (in a good way) to our favorite Bostonians. Temblad remind me a little of my new unsigned faves Nylithia. Stream Mockery of the Fanatic in full on Bandcamp or below.

• We Are Knuckle Dragger: Skronky, noisy, technical post-punk-influenced metal ala Coalesce, Botch, Dysrhythmia, etc. Skronky skronky skronky. That onomatopoeia describes it perfectly, and I just love saying it. Stream the Steve Albini-produced track “Mr. Son of a Bitch” here. Signed to Sapien Records in the U.K. but unsigned here as far as I know, so it counts, right?
• Re1ikt: This Belarusian band’s music video is weird — really fuckin’ weird — but there’s something about the song that I find impossible to turn away from. It sounds like Type O meets The Ocean meets Mastodon:

-VN