Sorting Through the Unsigned and Unknown 8/13/10

It's that time again where I go through some of the bands awaiting my cherished friendship on Myspace. I have another 5 to get through and trim this down a bit so let's get started after the jump. And again whether I friend them or not their name will be a link for you to check them out for yourselves.

Lovecraaft :Well for the non reader types this name could be a little off putting as it sounds like nothing very metal and more of a romantic pop group. Well it's not. Actually these guys are definitely fans of H.P. Lovecraft and his most famous creation, the god Cthulu based on the logo. Ah ha you say....I know the song Call of Kthulu by Metallica. Yes...that guy but with proper spelling. Anyways back to the band. They're French and label themselves as progressive death metal. Let's see if that's true or is it just another deathcore band making stories up. The songs are very Opethesque in nature especially on their EP with tempo changes soft passages and then face melting. The growls aren't too bad in the essence that they're decipherable. Big points on that. If you're going to be progressive and write interesting songs I better understand what you're saying. And the fact that they're French and I understand their English is cool. Yeah these guys have chops even if it's too close to Opeth. I'll friend them.

Ripchain : I'm not digging the name.It sounds like a comic book character from the glory days of Image comics. They're out of Boise Idaho and label themselves as metal/thrash/rock. Not too good of a combo with rock added at the end. Well since I've not heard of any bands from Idaho before let's see what the music has to say. Their influences are Metallica,Alice in Chains,Godsmack,Lamb of God...etc. Heavy riffs but the lyrics are stupid as hell. Probably doesn't help that the vocalist is trying to be all of those influences in each of the songs. I'm talking cringe worthy lyrics and execution. I'll have to pass on these guys.

Metal Cross : The name is too close to Metal Church. And they're labeling themselves as power thrash. Again...too close to Metal Church. Well they're out of England and not Seattle so lets see if what we have is indeed a Metal Church clone. So far they sound alot like Iced Earth. Which means nothing to me as Iced Earth is hit or miss. I'm pretty torn on this band because I think with better production this could be a decent band in a traditional metal vein. However the band name is going to prevent them from being taken seriously.I know it sounds shallow but it's true. Bands have to have a complete package of name, visuals,and sound to get signed. And these guys aren't quite hitting on all cylinders. I'd say a face lift and more interesting music and then lets talk again.

Predator : Ugh, another generic name. And I wonder if Anne Mcaffrey gave them permission to use one of her Dragonriders of Pern covers to promote themselves. Not a good start.They're out of Florida and use the Arial font for the text on their page. So it looks like someone typed everything in with a typewriter. Come on guys,no one is going to take you seriously with this half assed approach and I haven't even heard the music yet. It just says Metal for the genre. Well what type determines if people are going to like you. I know it sucks but it's true. Oh, power metal recorded with alot of reverb like they're playing in an empty warehouse.Jesus...contrary to the lame reviews from random people on their page this is far from the most amazing band ever. Huge no to friendship here.

Crawler : For fucks sake, I know its hard to come up with a name these days but seriously some of these band names are coming from the mind of 12 year olds. Here we have metal/metal/metal from Italy. Italy has been making some noise on the metal front of late so let's see what "Crawler" has got in store. More power metal. I like the vocalist's tone so far.Pretty heavy on the Iron Maiden and Judas Priest influences.So not necessarily power metal but more of a traditional metal band. As I go deeper into their playlist though it becomes apparent these guys can't sustain a full album. The best tracks were the first two and those were just above average. At this point I'm cranky for having to endure so much crap to mediocrity that I'm going to have to pass. Sorry guys.

Well that round was not nearly as good as the first time. Out of the 5 I only friended one band. I guess it's true that some bands or musicians don't really realize how bad they are. Well good luck to those that I didn't friend, maybe a bit more work will get you where you want to be.