UNSIGNED AND UNHOLY: SOME REALLY GOOD METAL, SOME GENERIC METAL

The cover of 19 A.D.D.’s Dead River.

Another day, more unsigned bands. We found a real gem this time around! Let’s see what the monkeys have picked out of the MS inbox for us to review today:

• 19 A.D.D.: More instrumental metal that isn’t djent! Guitars that are distinctly metal but with a band that’s way, way experimental with hints of jazz and all sorts of other craziness. And as is so often the case in these types of bands, they feature a bass player that’s actually audible in the mix. Closest comparison I can think of is East of the Wall but with Vernon Reid on guitar. These guys definitely get my vote! Listen to their entire album here, and make sure you stick with it past the first track (which is the least spectacular IMO).
• Sentencia: Metalcore from Uruguay. I’ll bet these dudes wear a lot of black and do synchronized, choreographed stage moves when they play. Nothing you haven’t heard a million times already.
• Deathember: At first glance I thought these guys were called Deathmember, which invokes images of… well, use your imagination. Their vocalist’s monotone but extremely powerful death gurgle reminds me of Chimaira’s Mark Hunter or Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe (before he started working with Machine). Both of the aforementioned bands aren’t a bad place to start with sonic references for the rest of the band, too. Definitely another of the “serviceable but unspectacular” variety of unsigned bands… perhaps on the slightly more proficient side of serviceable.
• Sons of Tonatiuh: Put these guys in the same category as Kylesa, which is to say serviceable but unspectacular beardy/stoner metal. Nothing against these guys, as they’re clearly quite competent at creating and playing thunderously fuzzed-out riffs, but there are just so many bands that sound like this that it’s hard for me to hear any new or unique ideas here. Perhaps they’re one of those bands that needs to be experienced live; their music sounds like they’ve got their Orange amps cranked to 11, so it’s definitely possible that their recordings fail to capture the power of their show. Atlanta-based Suckalos, fill me in!

-VN