After all the research I’ve done to discover new metal bands, it’s nice to have them find me once and a while. See, MySpace *is* good for something.

First, this band, Behind the Scenery, contacted me. And it wasn’t just some random MySpace blast–they actually showed that they’d read my profile, enough to see who I cited as musical favorites and suggested I check them out since they’re similar to other bands I like. So I did, and they’re right–they’re similar, and they’re good. I’d’ve bought their indie-label albums already, but they’re German, and the exchange rate is a little high for my wallet ($25 for one album, though that does include shipping, I believe–still, too much for now). However, they do have several free songs available for download, so I’ve got them rocking my iPod. (There’s a few on their MySpace page, and a few more on their website.)

The other day, another band contacted me: Hung, and they hail from NYC, so they’re local. Like Behind the Scenery, they read my profile and made a targeted pitch. So I checked them out, and they’re good. And it turns out they’re having a free live show at the Continental in Manhattan on April 25. One of the guys musicians [not a guy] in the band–the one who emailed me, in fact–plays electric violin, a Juilliard-trained violinist, no less. I thought that was pretty cool; not what you usually see in a death metal band. As that might indicate, they have a pretty diverse sound–defintely worth checking out. There’s just one full-length song on their MySpace page, but you can listen to another of their songs (full-length) on their Battle of the Bands page. (Beware that link though–I tried following it twice in Firefox and it crashed by browser both times. I was able to get there in IE though.)

Besides these two bands, I’ve been on a bit of a musical binge lately. There’s a band I just discovered called Night in Gales. They’ve got a 4-song EP available on their website available for free download (there’s no direct link, so just look for the download page). I really dig all four songs, enough that I went out and bought one of their albums; alas, it wasn’t as good as those new ones. But I’ve only given it a preliminary listen thus far, so perhaps it’ll grow on me.

Another new band (well, an old band, but new to me) is Unleashed. They’ve got a couple free songs on their website too, for free download. Direct links are below. They’re all pretty kick-ass, and so is the album as a whole. I especially like “Winterland”–that was one of those songs that I just clicked with instantly and wanted to hear more. These guys are categorized as death metal, though they sound very thrash to me, albiet with a harder edge. They remind me a lot of Slayer, actually. Here are the free songs: “Winterland”; “Destruction (Of The Race Of Men)”; “Only The Dead”; “The Longships Are Coming”

Yet *another* new band is Scar Symmetry. They only had one free song to download, but it was enough to convince me to check out their album, and I’m glad I did. Though that song kicks-ass, it’s not the best song on the album, not by a long shot, which is a sign of a great album. Scar Symmetry is melodic death metal, but they have a really interesting take on that sound. Their line-up only lists one singer, but the vocals sound as if there’s dueling vocalists. A lot of singers shift between clean singing and death vox, but this guy probably has the most drastic range I’ve heard. He’ll go from really melodic singing, almost like the guy from Linkin Park, to this really deep, gutteral growl. It’s a nice effect that adds some nice dynamics to the music. They’re very melodeath in their complex guitar riffs, but it sounds like they add a bit of keyboards now and then (though they don’t credit a keyboard player in their line-up). And a nice bonus: it seems I’ve discovered them just in time to jump all over their second album, which comes out in May.