Allow me to introduce: Otherwise

Out of Las Vegas, NV comes Otherwise, "Dubbed the “#1 unsigned act in America” by FOX News, and the “#1 unsigned band in Las Vegas” by Xtreme Rock Radio 107.5" - and they're right. You might not have heard about them yet, but you will - this band has the perfect components that will ensure an eventual fan-following of immense proportion.

The music is pure and honest rock, and lead vocalist Adrian Patrick's voice is multi-tiered; pure and guileless in one moment; raw and assailing the next. Either way, he has an uncanny way to express himself and his emotions perfectly in these songs, and they're extremely relate-able.

His brother, Ryan Patrick on Guitar/Vocals, has an incredible finesse about his music and seems to be able to handle the simplest riffs and technical fingerwork equally. Flavio Ivan on Bass completes the main band members. It appears that they have touring musicians with them to give the concert goers a great show, but according to their official pages, it's only the two brothers and Ivan listed.

The songwriting is amazing and kind of brings me back to the early, honest days of grunge when these troubled icons wore their anguish on their sleeves, and as misguided teens, we all could relate. This foreboding music; more mature and perfected, appeals to those feelings without feeling isolated like we did back then. It's more like questing all those WTF's in your life, questioning situations and relationships and these songs express them faultlessly.

If you have means, pick up their music and support this incredible band. As of now, they're unsigned: so back this band before they take off so you can say you "knew about them back when...."

Here's my fav from them, Bloody Knuckles, Broken Glass:



Here is the video for their song, Lighthouse:



Here is their song I Am Spartacus from Some Kind of Alchemy:





For more information you can check out their Myspace!

Here's a link to their facebook, "like" them to keep an eye on this band, they're sure to go nowhere but up..

If you want to pick up their EP "Some Kind of Alchemy", you can download it from Amazon.com HERE!

If you'd like to download their self titled 2006 album from Amazon.com click here!







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Unsigned and Unknown:10-23-10

Though I've scrapped Myspace as an outlet for TDM I still have my personal Myspace page. And just like before if you start adding bands as friends you get people coming out of the woodwork wanting to get their music out. Which is ok because the well had really dried up before. So let's see who we have here after the jump.

Darkwater: From Sweden we have a progressive metal band called Darkwater. And progressive they are. With Symphony X, Dream Theater, and Evergrey as their influences you get exactly what they say you're supposed to get. The first track is very symphonic with speedy riffs but very melodic.These guys seem to also tread a bit into power metal areas with their vocalist doing a combo of Tom Englund and whoever the vocalist for Firewind is now. these guys aren't really breaking any new ground but they have chops. Of course, because it's Sweden. I'll accept their request.

Anachronaeon: Also from Sweden we have another prog group though they claim death metal. So melodeath? Let's find out. First track has spoken word intro and then some shredding. Now the vocals kick in. I get the feeling from the description that these guys are on the cusp of doing some cool stuff if they could get a rounded out lineup and better production. The vocals are almost a monotone semi growl. It's not horrible and really makes me wonder if I should friend them. I'm all for giving out free press but will these guys actually move beyond this sound? I'm going to deny it for now. Get a bit better guys and then shoot me another one.

I'm going to leave it for now so I have something to post later.Especially since we're at 50 50.

Unsigned and Unknown:10-02-10

This one is going to be pretty short as I'm down to only one band. After the last one I was down to pretty much just random people wanting to friend up or people that were doing solo projects and very badly. So after cleaning out the in box what I had left was these guys so let's get going after the jump.

Never to Arise:Out of Florida we have an army of two. I really do appreciate the honesty in their biography."We are a two man Death Metal band from Pinellas County Florida who have no pretentions about becoming big time rock stars,we just want to share our music with as many people as possible. Home recorded on a budget of zero dollars, it may not sound pretty - but neither are we."

Well that's refreshing, so let's see what two death metal guys with no ambitions have to offer.It's death metal with riffs and shredding lead guitars. I'm still wondering who's doing the drumming though because it's not listed under the two guys description unless they programmed it. But anyways, these guys are just as good with what they have as a band of four would be. That's either a compliment to them or a diss on the death metal genre. Take a listen and decide for yourself.As for friending them. I'll pass because while I do appreciate the honesty if they don't want to do anything with their project but spread it around Myspace then I can't be bothered to further the promotion. Sorry guys.

Sorting through the Unsigned and Unknown: 9-6-2010

Since it's Labor Day let's celebrate by laboring through another 5 unsigned and unknown bands looking for acceptance, shall we?


Vektor : First up we have a band out of Tempe Arizona who consider themselves progressive/thrash/metal. I must be becoming a jaded asshole because those things combined should make me instantly want to hear this. But often times my definition of progressive and others is completely different. Plus the band name is stupid. Reminds me of a generic name from the 80's or something. Oh thats why they have the name, they say in their bio that they're a sci fi thrash band. Where the world is doomed and people suck. Alright, let's get this over with. It's retro thrash. The vocals are almost blackened with the occasional 80's thrash squeal. Apparently progressive means tempo changes a la Metallica back in the day.It doesn't suck but it's boring as hell.They put up a 10 minute song on their player. Guys...if you're going to do that make sure you're established and known for songs of this length. Also make the song interesting.Get more crunch to the guitars and learn more riffs. Denied.

The Dark 9 : Ah Sweden. Arguably my favorite place for metal these days. Interesting name for a band. They label themselves as metal/death metal and only have one song on the player. My emotions are being toyed with as the page looks pretty good. Apparently the dark 9 is actually two members. Lifelong friends who decided to throw away their careers and follow in the footsteps of 30 other bands of varying styles. Because this shows you have an identity, you see. Let's check out the song and see what two guys have come up with from Sveden. If this song had a full group recording it it would be epic. I swear the Swedes know their instruments and how to produce records. You know what, I'm going to accept because these guys have a future if they keep going and get all the pieces together.

Winter in Eden : Metal/rock/gothic from jolly ol' England it says. Well if any country should be able to get a gothic sound it should be from here. And it's female fronted of course. Oh boy. I'm pretty much done with female fronted goth bands by now. But lets see what they have to offer. They do have an album out I guess.First song I click on is a track called Cry which is a piano driven ballad. Singer is a throaty vocalist that has decent phrasing. Well this type of song is a dime a dozen, let's see what happens when they ramp it up. I don't know where they're getting that they're symphonic. It's a hard rock band of the vein of Evanescence or We are the Fallen just not quite as good. Actually if the vocalist had musicians worth a crap behind her and a symphonic sound they might not be too bad but as it stands this is pretty generic. I'll pass.

Troll Bends Fir : Now we travel to Russia because these guys asked if I liked beer and rock. Well hell yeah I do!Throw in some tits and I'm sold. Folk/rock/metal it says. Why do I get the feeling this is going to be like Korpiklaani? Not that it would be a bad thing, just sayin. So do I get a beer if I listen to this? So Russia now calls itself Russian Federation like America is the United States? I'll have to ask my kid who is in school.Oh look, they are friends with Korpiklaani and Ensiferum and Alestorm and Flogging Molly and blah blah blah. So I shouldn't be surprised then. Appears all of their songs are in Russian. Very disappointing because if you're going to be a fun beer loving folk metal band then you need to fucking sing in English so I can enjoy the lyrics. Dammit. I actually like some of these tunes but unlike Rammstein who I enjoy without understanding German these kind of songs I want to know if they're funny or not. Release your music in English and I'll be more then happy to be a friend guys. It would take me years to learn Russian.And we just don't have that kind of time.

Dominia : Staying in Russia we now have a gothic black/death/evil incarnate band called Dominia! Muahahahaha...cough...er...choke. Alright yeah their page is set up to be all spooky and scary and stuff. Actually I hope this is good. Russia gets no love in the metal community outside of Russia itself. Hell even Poland has some heavy hitters these days. Get well Nergal. Oh random tangent is random let's check the music. I'm actually making it through their whole player. I'm really digging this extreme metal mixed with classical ambience. The softer passages are really very well composed and beautiful. I can understand the vocalist with the harsh vocals. the clean vocals are average but overall i like what this band is doing. Hell yeah to a friend accept. Way to go Russia, you almost had 2 in one sitting.But yeah...definitely check these guys out. Accepted.

So there we go. Two acceptances this time and almost three. Not bad. One more round of 5 of this then I'll dedicate the article to whoever I get as a friend request and it won't be quite so long. Happy Labor Day.

Sorting Through the Unsigned and Unknown: 8/29/10

I'm starting to fall behind on this again. I had to deny a couple of people purely because I don't want to possibly promote someone who is flailing around doing this music thing as a hobby unless it's a real friend or flat out amazing like Enditol.Some of these solo acts are so far out in left field in either direction, sound or promotion that there is no way. So with that said let's get to the actual 'bands' after the jump.

Synapse Defect :From Atlanta Georgia we have lads that label themselves as deathcore/grindcore/black metal. This means that they are going for the most of br00tal of br00talness to ever br00tal. And my first impression is this is going to suck ass because I despise deathcore....any core type of music really. Chug chug breakdown squeal squeal is fucking boring bullshit that gives metal a bad name. The only thing keeping me from not listening to this at least and just flail my arms and legs out of here is the fact that their tagline states "All your base are belong to us". Anybody who's been on the net any length of time knows what that means so I will give a listen with my expectations kept about as high as a earlobe plug.First song is called Grokness Monster and it's a weedily weedily intro with guttural vocals cutting in. Kind of a tech death thing. 3 million views and no label? Seems kind of wrong. These guys have chops for what it is but I'm already bored. I'm going to deny them because I don't want to propagate core music of any sort but click the band name if you like this shit.

Tangled in Ruin Cool band name bro. From Arkansas comes apparently just death metal. I like death metal a bit more more then deathcore but it can be boring as shit too especially if it's going for the shock gore type of death metal. Let's see what they bring. Nice layout on the page by the way. Vocalist is guttural as to be expected but I can understand what he's saying. I like that. These guys have riffs for being death metal. Kind of thrash in a way on the first track. These guys are pretty bad ass actually. Says they're in the studio so hopefully an album comes out soon and they get a solid label. Request Accepted.

Dystera : Now we travel overseas to Switzerland. I think the last band I heard and liked from Switzerland was Krokus but I could be wrong.Says they're looking for a bass player so that doesn't start off good. Metal/classical is the genre. Hmmm. I like classical or neo classical mixed in if it's done well. Let's see what these dudes have. Oh a female singer. This better be really good because I've heard enough generic Nightwish or Therion clones.I must have missed where it said epic/symphonic metal. Well alot of power metal riffs and flutes later the singer finally shows up and...she's not very good. If you're going to put as much effort into a project like this then you have to have a singer that adds to the music not distracts from it. The cd cover art looks like something an art student would do in high school. Sorry guys, get rid of the singer, find a bass player and try again. Request Denied.

Madonagun : I guess these guys are French though I'm not sure if it's Quebec or France itself. I hate when bands make you do research because they're trying to be cute with the myspace layout and hide all the pertinent information.Since their player is one big track that plays and autoplays to boot I'm assuming these guys are a hard rock outfit in the vein of U.F.O. Or not. The music sounds like it but the dude has a death metal vocal style.Never mind these guys are a more death metal outfit.Kind of a rap death metal style. Weird clean chorus thing going on. Dudes, I get you're trying to be different but mixing nu-metal with death metal is annoying. I pass.

Conqueror Worm : And now back to the States, East Bay actually which peaks my interest since I technically live in the East Bay. But then I get to their page and it's a generic eye fuck of red colors and blurred black fonts.Rock/Metal/Down tempo is their genre....or just doom. Wall of text hits you with influences which is mostly Edgar Allen Poe(hence the bands name) and horror films. This is going to suck. I'll be surprised if there is anything redeeming here. Yeah it's a doomy, stoner type of metal and produced poorly. Fuck this.

Alright well at least somebody got a friend request. This is starting to be the norm where 1 in 5 of these bands are worth a shit. Also I'm down to 8 requests I need to get to. Hopefully there will be more good stuff out of that batch.

It's not just noise, it's Sleepnoise

So far, I'm not making a lot of fans here with some of the choices of music I've posted so far, but I actually think I have a winner here.. Rob Liz has his critiques of unsigned bands, so I think I'll take my shot at one, though it's just going to be the music. Not really arsed about the image or graphics or anything. You can be the judge of that.

To get everything out on the table, one of the only reasons I even listened to this band is because Chelsea Baker (of AroArah), one of the coolest peoples and bad-assed bassists in the world, is playing with them. Not sure it it's a side project or she's covering, but it's a good thing I looked.





Here is their Bio, taken from the website Reverbnation.

"At the end of 2008 four long time friends decided to come together to vent frustrations, to share ideas, to try and step outside of themselves…to make music. SLEEPNOISE was born partly out of the necessity to create and express themselves, and partly to change the current face of rock. With so many mainstream bands turning out regurgitated, plastic ideas, aesthetically molded to fit into a stale scene, SLEEPNOISE has turned their back and is forging their own path."

According to ReverbNation;
Mike - Bass,
Dave- Drums,
Joe - Guitar,
Danny vocals
Chelsea Baker- Bass
Dave Buckner- drum

So, here are my thoughts on the EP, White Empty Room. I just bought it on iTunes. If you're also willing to support local music, you can search them on iTunes as well. You can also hear their music on ReverbNation as well as their Myspace

1. Penance - Pretty rockin track. Kinda sounds like Tool to me, the vocals are very clean and some interesting falsettos in there. I like it. It's just a good, solid song. A bit of alternative, a bit a grunge and a splash of experimental rock in there.
7 out of 10

2. Faces - Good start to it. The vocalist does have a bit of Maynard in him. Not saying that's a bad thing, it's good. A little bit of Layne Staley too. This track's pretty rocking but there's a bit of ambiance to it where you can just kick back in a dark room and veg out to it. You can definitely tell the band is highly influenced by the music from the previous decade.
8 out of 10

3. Already in Love - Grungy, crunchy guitars. If Stone Temple Pilots and the Beatles had a baby, it would be this song. It's funny, with the name of the song, I expected a sappy, boo-hoo song.. No such luck here. It's pretty rockin' and there's a good energy about it.
8 out of 10

4. Red - Off to a great start. Jumps right into the meat of the song. Still feels like there's a LOT of influences here but again, no complains. I think this one's my fav so far...
9 out of 10

5. When We Two Parted - Bad-assry most awesome. Here's another just kick-ass songs. Completely solid all the way through. Great production. Song-writing's fantastic. Music is just - DAMN...
10 out of 10


The song-writing's good all throughout the album. The way they describe the creation of the band it seems like they mashed it out, though it sounds like careful consideration was taken in the crafting of their music. I likey. All around a solid cd. I'm really glad I picked it up. Since they're based out of Sacramento, I think there's a good chance I'll get a chance to see them live, which I hope is as good as the studio performance.

My one complaint is that I found out about them too little too late. They had a show last night with other Sacramento Favourites, and I just didn't know how good they were til now. Next time.

Check out their Myspace!

Here is a video for a song not on their EP, called "Jezebel" featuring Chelsea Baker of AroArah and Dave Buckner of Papa Roach.

Sorting through the Unsigned and Unknown: 8/21/10

The last time I did this it wasn't a pretty affair with only one band getting friended. Let's hope this next round of five fare better. You can click their names to see if I'm a jaded asshole or if they legitimately suck after the jump.


Dream Aria : From Canada we have as they categorize themselves a progressive/rock/alternative band. It's a female fronted affair. I'm not sure how they tracked me down to send a friend invite as it's not anything I'd normally look for. Their live video is pretty funny as it looks like something that would be put together at a corporate benefit. the musics not bad for what is. Anne Burstyn is the lead vocalist and for the type of music being played she's pretty good. Draeden will like this. I'm going to have to say no because it doesn't fall into the metal moniker.

Black Water Rising : This group is out of Brooklyn New York. Nothing wrong with that but they appear to be more southern rock or metal, not sure yet. Very professional page. Ah, they label themselves metal/rock. They do have a label and a album out. First track is a radio friendly hard rock tune much in the vein of Chevelle or Shinedown. Definitely falls into the unknown category. They even have banners set up and merch. I think I'll friend then up because as their bio states the world needs just straight up rock music. These guys are pretty good and they're right. Here is one of their banners.
Check out Black Water Rising!


Hugin Munin :Now we travel to Brazil for this band. Must be a Portugese name.No...according to their bio they're a Viking metal band from...Brazil. Looking at their pathetic attempts to apply a Turisas makeup to their faces is making me laugh. Seriously guys? You look even more ridiculous then Turisas. Amon Amarth's shit looks tougher then these guys. Alright, to the music.It's chug chug death metal in the vein of early Amarth. It's not bad but pretty generic.The only ones that have any chops is the drummer and the vocalist. I'll pass.

Misery : Another New York band. They have a pretty cool banner pic. And apparently are traveling around as a support act for Devildriver so that's pretty cool.I can't make out what style they are so lets hear a few tunes. Well the first tune pins them as a metalcore band. The vocalist in the mix on the first track is pretty weak. Apparently these guys have been slogging around since the early 90's. Something tells me that if you haven't made it by now you just might not guys. Yeah "bark,bark,bark, boring,boring,boring" with a few breakdowns mixed in. Since I dislike "core bands" I'll have to pass.

Shadyon : Metal/Progressive from France it says. They have two albums and are a signed band. Interesting mix of influences from Evergrey to Devin Townsend to Tori Amos. Well let's see if they are indeed a progressive metal band or not.Most of their songs are samples except for the first one.The vocalist almost sounds feminine. Well they're not bullshitting, there is some AOR mixed in with this tune. First track is not bad though. Most of these songs are power ballads in the vein of late 80's bands. Not sure where the progressive comes in. I'll friend them though because the music scene is lacking in this genre.

So 2 out of the 5 got friended. Not a particularly weak set or strong for that matter. And my remaining list is almost manageable by now. Until next time.

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.

Sorting through the Unsigned and Unknown

The other day I revealed that I had set up a Myspace page for That Devil Music. The big reason for this was to get a bit more exposure for myself and the bands we talk about on here. Little did I know about how many unsigned and occasionally indie label bands were quick to spew out friend invites the minute you showed a slightest bit of interest in music. Now DemiGodRaven over at The Number of the Blog does an occasional piece called Judging a book by it's cover. You can read those pieces here.Now I'm not going to do anything that involved or critical but I will do a short bit on each band that pops up and give some input on why I do or do not like them. Who knows, if you like them you can friend them on your Myspace and get the word out. Since I've got 25 stacked up waiting on a yes or no let's get started with the first five for now after the jump.Click on their name to jump to their Myspace page.

Sinstorm :This band is from L.A. and they have a band logo and label themselves as metal/metal/metal. It's a professional looking page but for some reason now the music has been taken off the player. If I remember right the package looked good but the vocalist was not that great and their music was a form of thrash. I'm going to have to deny for now because I'm not going to put much effort in looking up their music if they can't have it in their player.

Militia : A band from Austin Texas.Austin used to have a decent metal scene if my memory serves and the band name smacks of traditional metal. They label themselves as metal/progressive/thrash. Nice combo but lets see how it sounds. Reading a bit of their bio and apparently these guys were around in the 80's, went defunct, and just recently reformed. Yeah their player has some old 80's style of thrash on it. the vocalist is the type of caricature from back then with the high pitched screams.It seems like a fun band. I'll add them just for the nostalgic feel I get off of their old recordings. Sometimes people deserve a second chance.

Almost is Nothing : Their logo is plastered across the whole page and they're apparently opening for Katatonia in September. Not much in the way of letting the viwer know where they're from or their bio. The music is a form of melodeath with progressive overtones. Encyclopedia Metallum lists them as being from Portland,Oregon.Oregon is starting to make a scene with Toxic Holocaust being from there as well. these guys have some chops though I don't know how original it is. But they're good enough to warrant some more face time. I'll add them.

Sinbreed : From Germany we have what appears to be a form of progressive power metal based on the names that are thrown around on their page. Very professional page though so let's see what the music is about. Oh and they have a video. And its very Symphony X like. I'm listening to the other songs and it's very power metalish. Helloween influence as well on vocals. Meh it's pretty good for what it is. I'll add them.

Your Tomorrow Alone: And Lastly for this edition we have this band from Italy. Prog/Gothic/Doom is their genres according to their page. Alot of name dropping influences in their bio. That usually tends to mean that they have no identity of their own but feed off of their favorite bands.Well lets see what we have anyways. The growling is not very good, kind of weak. I think they'd be better served just doing the clean vocals as the growls ruin the vibe. They only have 3 tracks on their player and its all very uneven. I think with more practice and a couple more years of gelling as a band since they've only been together less then a year they can be something good.But for now I'll have to pass.

So there we go, that wasn't too bad. Added 3 bands and denied 2. I'll do this again later until I have a manageable list of bands to get through.