I am no longer a pessimist. Now, I want to believe that the glass if half full. Yeah, fucking MySpace has brought about one too many sound-alike bands, but the talent (and there are loads of it) is out there like never before and some deserve the dimmed spotlight Deaf Sparrow can offer. Read on and spread the word…

The vocals are obviously an afterthought in Monolith, the second full-length by Atlanta’s From Exile.  The music is hyper technical, polished, impeccable and progressive. There is a shine to it, no roughness in sight.  There are songs in Monolith, it is not just wankery, fret masturbation or a random collection of notes simply aspiring to impress the easily impressed.  But when the vocals come in, they are barely noticeable, as important and elemental as fragments of a former self. Metal Archives has From Exile’s style tagged as melodic death metal. That might have been what this band was about back in the day when they unleashed the bluntly titled Crushing Reality back in 2006.  But in Monolith this is as death metal as Pee Wee Herman is a decent human being. Intricate melodies flash by and tempos fluently flow, as technical as From Exile aspire to be they actually are. It is clear that there is a trad metal theme running through this quintet’s heads. And I mean, just ask Yngwie for a cameo. Also, kudos to the band for the striking artwork. In an age where physical presence is no longer a must, From Exile are upping the ante. Really good work. MySpace 

Blood of the Tyrant come from Chicago and after listening to this recording's first song only once (“Flaw of the Sentient Being”) I feel like the guitar notes have been repeated so much my head is spinning. Literally. They know the right people as Sanford Parker not only twisted the knobs but also played effects and the moog synthesizer in the recording, which needless to say contains all the natural tones of a Sanford Parker job, minus the good drum sound.  Blood of the Tyrant know their metal. That much is clear. And the levels of aggressiveness attained almost gets them to the thrash echelon, but there is something utterly classic, purely heavy metal and totally epic about Blood of the Tyrant. Like say, their songs are pretty long (“Helena” clocking at almost eleven minutes), but that should not be the reason why you think a band’s music is epic.  Music that is truly epic is majestic and timeless and inspiring and Blood of the Tyrant aren’t there yet. MySpace

Al Thawra is a strange trio from Chicago whose primitive music sounds like it was recorded in an Afghan cave. I am not familiar with the cacophony produced by such environment, but I know this much; these dudes are all about war in those regions. Their MySpace says that they are one of the original 'Taqwacore' bands which as far as I know consisted of like-minded bands with a progressive philosophy of Islam. Who Benefits From War! Is bathed in Middle Eastern-tinged melodies that clash head on with crust punk slowed down to a painful speed. The music is very sludge-like and very dense. But also adorned with violins, percussion, acoustic guitars, samples and vocals that seem to have been borrowed from the school of Godflesh. Al-Thawra get A for effort and for trying to have an original proposition, but C+ for coming up with songs that are for the most part, rather boring.  MySpace

Oh la la, what a difference good artwork makes. Shroud Eater’s (pictured above) first recording looks absolutely gorgeous and it serves to awaken massive curiosity. This Miami band confesses deep love for grunge, stoner rock and 70’s heavy metal. Better yet for me is the realization that they don’t sound like a cheap rip off Alice in Chains or Soundgarden. Instead, this trio may have listened to too much Skin Yard and Mudhoney. Works fine for me. Fuzzy guitars, punked up screams and drums that could back any band from Motorhead to Weedeater make up a stellar recording. Guitarist / vocalist Jeannie Saiz is a bit of a powerhouse. She has this concise and economical guitar style and vocally you couldn’t make up her gender after twenty listens. Ambiguity is the word. In case you care about name dropping, this three-song recording was mixed by Torche’s Jonathan Nuñez. MySpace

Austin’s Prey for Sleep know exactly what they are doing and they are doing it right. It barely helps that they adhere a bit too much to metalcore’s parameters but those that dig the style and are not bothered by the one thousand bands that share these traits might do good picking this 2007 recording. As far as I know Prey for Sleep are still together. They haven’t put out anything since …A Bitter Beginning but even if they have improved one bit since they might be on the verge of being great. Nothing groundbreaking here, just some pretty badass riffs and nice locksteps with the double-bass heavy drumwork of Dave Swanson. The one trick pony here is gruff vocalist Hunter Townsend but hey, this is metalcore and no one comes to the genre expecting experimentation, genre stretching or originality. MySpace

I don’t think that the combination of funk and metal has ever worked. As a matter of fact, most bands that have attempted to mix the two have come up way short and have ended up sounding like a bunch of fools. But The Last Barbarians may just be the exception. I approached this recording with great skepticism and I am stripped off it by the electrifying guitar work of DR and the mesmerizing slap-heavy hands of Walters (yes, plural). I tell you what, it kind of sucks that Take It Back is only a two-song recording and it kind of sucks that it comes packaged in some pretty hideous artwork, but beyond the must-have chops in order to pull this combination off, the songs here are all well-balanced, upbeat, technical and far from silly. Yeah, Fishbone kinda ruled and The Last Barbarians could follow suit if only they take care of business.  MySpace

It has been nine years since Infestation put out their debut Mass Immolation through Pavement Music in 2000 and if the passage of time has helped them shake off the deal with that shitty label then fuck yeah! Bow to None is a 2009 five song EP issued independently and if the burning church on the cover doesn’t tell you something about their topic of choice then maybe nothing will. Infestation’s sound is pretty robust, brutal and super heavy but is also upbeat, melodic and very dynamic at the same time. The vocals of David Samuel are ultra guttural but the music flows so fluidly it makes the whole recording quite easy to take in repeated listens. I don’t think Infestation is striving for originality and that may be their weakness but for what it is, Bow to None is a powerful recording. MySpace    

If the only thing that differentiates you from one of the best current death metal bands is one letter then it might be wise to change your moniker. But let’s give them some credit, this Dutch band believe in what they are doing so they soldier on and offer their first full-length titled Code Black which truth be told sounds pretty outdated. Musically, Portall are an OK thrash metal band. The title track is 40% killer, but it also showcases all their shortcomings (totally unoriginal sound, mechanized chugga riffage, boring arrangements and mmmhh, totally unoriginal sound) and an out of date idea of modern metal. Vocally, Portall sounds almost like a death metal band. In instances, some of these songs sound like throwaways from The Crown. So you know, this is quite generic. MySpace