Unsigned & Unholy: Skull Vultures, Zan, Coldfells
Skull Vultures are one of the more unique unsigned bands to come across my plate in quite a while. I’m at a loss for how to describe them beyond some kind of hybrid of progressive metal and thrash… and that’s a gross oversimplification. There’s some incredible guitar and drum work here (and audibly good bass work too, a rarity!) and the tunes completely rip. Listen to their two-track self-titled EP below:
Zan play a brand of chaotic, dissonant death metal that’s not too far off from something Dysrhythmia might do, but somehow the outfit from Richland, WA — which is way the hell out in the SW corner of the state — seems to bring it even harder than the latter. Here’s their Sample √-1 EP, released in July:
If you kinda dig Insomnium but they’re a bit too melodeath-y and not doomy enough for you, Coldfells are your band. They’re kinda like the former, just way slowed down and not as… grandiose, for lack of a better word. Not that you need grandiosity when the music’s this dark. “A doomier Agalloch” could also work to describe these guys (listen to the second half of “On Carven Throne”). Here’s their self-titled July EP:
