UNSIGNED AND UNHOLY: THE ALUMNI EDITION!

We’re not just one and done here at the MetalSucks Minister of Unsigned and Unholy Bands; when we feature bands as some of the best, up-and-coming unsigned artists we like to hear what they’re up to months or years after they’ve basked in the warm glow of MS’ readers love/hate. In this edition of Unsigned and Unholy we follow up on some of my past favorites, Dead on Both Shoulders, Burden and Picture It In Ruins.

• Dead on Both Shoulders: [Originally featured June 2010] The work that multi-instrumentalist wunkerkind Tristan Zemtseff produced when he was 16 was impressive enough, but what he’s doing now at the ripe old age of 18 — old enough to legally buy tobacco, folks! — shows a remarkable improvement in songwriting ability and restraint. Check his brand new EP, out now, on the Dead on Both Shoulders Facebook page.
• Burden: [Originally featured June 2010] Burden are easily one of my favorite doom discoveries of the past couple of years. Where a lot of doom bands thrive on doing the same thing over and over again and going lo-fi for the sake of lo-fi (which is fine… just not my thing), Burden slap death, black and other -metal influences on top of their doom foundation for a result that actually takes the doom genre to new places. Heavy. Awesome riffs. Dare I say even “proggy.” Peep the two new songs recorded with new drummer Ruston Grosse at their Bandcamp.
• Picture It In Ruins [Originally featured February 2011]: I enjoyed Picture It In Ruins so much back in February that I gave them their very own Unsigned and Unholy post. The song I posted in February, “Mass Affect,” is on their recently released EP Solipsism so I figure it’s high time to bring them up once again. For lack of a better way to phrase this, Picture It In Ruins are among the best of the new crop of progressive metal bands that cite Between the Buried and Me as a big influence. Where some bands stick too close to a tried-and-true format, Picture It In Ruins take some stylistic liberties and really keep things interesting. Yeah, Jamie King produced the EP, but these guys have their own thing happening and you ought to pay attention. And Jamie King is great anyway. Stream the Solipsism EP in full at Bandcamp.