Anyone who has a Twitter account and uses it to follow favourite bands will by now surely be used to being followed and being mentioned in tweets by masses of unknown and unsigned acts, who normally claim they should be checked out if you like a lot of other bands. In my time of blogging I've normally been quite dismissive towards these groups, as I've had bigger fish to fry. But now, I'm starting to feel that what I'm doing their is unfair, as much of what I have chosen to check out is pretty good and should be checked out by many more. So it's time I check out a few of the bands who have mentioned me in their requests to be checked out over the past three months.
The Product - The Detroit quartet wrote the first tweet that mentioned my name, asking me to check them out. Not really what I was expecting, I was hoping more I'd get someone I followed giving me a welcome to Twitter message, like my sister, or my mum, or my mum's colleague Ken, or... Kerrang! Magazine, or... Corey Taylor. But no. I instead found myself with a message saying that I would like these guys if I liked You Me At Six. So, giving them a tryout seemed like a good idea. Saying that they're like You Me At Six is a bit of an understatement though because The Product are far heavier and genuinely more awesome. The grungey riffs and heart pounding drums that makes up lead single
Make Your Move are fueled by pure adrenaline and listeners will feel the desire to do some headbanging while still remaining gripped by the message itself. Their cover of
One is the Loneliest Number is pretty mind-blowing as well. Check the out on
theproductrock.com.
Follow You Home - The Derby based quartet manage to play some fun and fiery punk music on lead track Once Upon a Lie and give it a much darker and more bitter edge, frontwoman Kayley Busby's repetition of "I hope you fucking choke" in each chorus demonstrates this quite well. Follow You Home have a great talent for making traditional punk music with their own twisted uniqueness thrown into the mix. Which is sweet! Check them out at followyouhome.com.One Day Late - The Edmonton group play hard and fast in your face, with their classic, exciting and just fun hard rock and roll. it's thrashy, it's sleazy and it's just fun. The kind you want to get up and party and get drunk to, but still have a warm feeling afterwards. One Day Late pretty much play music that defines the sound of "Southern American rock and roll". And they're Canadian. Check them out on
www.onedaylate.com.
Against Tolerance - I had an annoying experience in which all the song files were corrupted when trying download Undefined the debut album from Brazilian metalcore quintet Against Tolerance. And that is deeply annoying because these guys are simply epic. Their pulverizing thrashy metalcore is unique on it's own but the band also dare to add in some more experimental effects, complex structures and additional instrumentation that most metalcore bands wouldn't touch. Are we likely to hear any use of trumpets in the next All That Remains album? Unlikely. Check them out at www.againsttolerance.com.
Birch Hill Dam - Allowing things to take a more doomy and freaky turn, Massachusetts rockers Birch Hill Dam will hit you unapologetically hard with their magnificent combination of traditional heavy metal, stoner rock and southern rock, even carrying an ability to get a little funky with their basslines. Their track
Colossus, taken from their second album of the same name proves that absolutely. Their music is pretty breathtaking. Check them out at
www.birchhilldam.com.
Crash Coordinates - The Arizona quartet play with the kind of catchy pop rock reminiscent to the likes of All Time Low or Forever the Sickest Kids, who they are apparently going to be opening up for for at a show sometime soon, but here, there's a much more serious and tense atmosphere with a less optimistic view from their lyrics. Clearly, this is a band that desire to be taken more seriously and will be more devoted than their predecessors. Check them out on
their Facebook profile.
Spawn of Psychosis - I couldn't be able to tell you the exact amount of sanity that Kent metallers Spawn of Psychosis possess, but I could hardly picture it being a high number. Combining intense black metal riffs, with the classic punk rock vocals of Spawn, carrying a sense of reminiscence to The Sex Pistols creates something I don't think has ever been heard before. And with various industrial elements thrown in for good measure, this is totally off-the-wall. Check out their videos at spawnofpsychosis.com.
Son of Glory - It is the devastatingly pummeling riffs that you know are going to pop up straight away, but still manage to shock and smash skulls with their heaviness when they do that makes Brazil's Son of Glory an awesome band. Their sound is just extreme. Extreme in it's thrashing abilities, extreme in it's sense of darkness conveyed in the gritty growls of Ryan Lopez and gentle siren calls of Priscila Pereira and extreme in their ability to make guitars scream and chug. Check them out on their Facebook profile.
Themselves - A group of indie rock guys from Leicester who aren't afraid to get a little heavier and a little more substantial than their fellow peers. Allowing a greater influence from grunge to guide them along, Themselves have a fresh and solid sound played out on a series of hooky riffs and powerful drum beats, and is clear evidence of much excitement to be found in the underground British rock scene. Check them out on their ReverbNation profile.
So, for now this is a good selection of bands who have chosen to follow me on Twitter, some doing pretty well for themselves and looking for new fans, others using the website more productively and showing themselves off to the masses, to gain initial international support, in the hope of getting a few fans and with enough luck a record deal. And it really shows that there is a lot of great stuff on offer and that I probably ought to check out underground acts more often. I won't say what my favourite group was nor will I do that kind of quirky thing were I refer to the name somehow in the sentences I write. To do that is simply childish and I'm against tolerating childish activities on this blog. All the bands have their own unique qualities and there's something great to be found on all of them. I'll probably have to do this again sometime soon. Perhaps I'll come back with another round of largely unknown acts in January. I'm sure I'd have enough. The music scene looks pretty thriving to me.
Spawn of Psychosis - I couldn't be able to tell you the exact amount of sanity that Kent metallers Spawn of Psychosis possess, but I could hardly picture it being a high number. Combining intense black metal riffs, with the classic punk rock vocals of Spawn, carrying a sense of reminiscence to The Sex Pistols creates something I don't think has ever been heard before. And with various industrial elements thrown in for good measure, this is totally off-the-wall. Check out their videos at spawnofpsychosis.com.
