Who Not to Miss At Welcome to Rockville 2025 (a curated guide)

 

Lots of bands are playing throughout the weekend at Welcome to Rockville this year, with festival set times compressed, you need to make the most of your time, while still giving yourself time to rest, so you make it to Sunday. Here is a guide to getting the most from your money, with the bands that are going to give you your money's worth. Let's face it, tickets for the entire weekend are expensive, even on the payment plan. from. I am not suggesting the most popular bands, so if you want to avoid the crowded stages, this list is for you. Given the fact that I hate most radio rock, we are going to be avoiding that and picking the most interesting artist who delivers consistently live. You can argue these picks all you want, but can the 2 million that read this blog be wrong? So let's jump into it...

Thurs

Inferno Stage 

Frozen Soul

 1 to 1:25 

Saw these guys open for Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse, they are crushing. 

Garage Stage

Candy

2:10 to 2:35 

This band is kicking off our campout at the Garage Stage, which is always a solid plan to find a spot and get comfy. High energy, hard-core that is willing to experiment, they are filling the void left by Code Orange, who just went on indefinite hiatus.  

Harm's Way

3:05 to 3:30

This band's burly metallic stomp blends hardcore fury with industrial weight; they are incredible. 

Full of Hell

4:00 to 4:30

Last conert I went to saw these guys blowing Better Lovers of the stage with their spastic blend of blackened grindcore drenched in bizarre sounds. 

Converge

5 to 5:30

Have seen this band multiple times, they always bring it, the godfathers of metalcore. 

HEALTH

6 to 6;35

The perfect blend of detached androgynous vocals muses over the end of the world, while bringing the beats to bring said apocalypse. 

Quicksand

7:05 to 7:45

Ok, no Deftones. You are getting one of their ex-bass players and a band that influenced them. 

Apex Stage 

The Pretty Reckless 

8:00 to 9:00

Thankfully replacing 3Doors Down, the sultry Taylor Momsen and friends have impressed me with their last couple of albums, and by this point, you will want to switch things up a bit, and they promise to be a fun live band. 

Octane 

Rob Zombie 

9:05 to 10:15

Sure, he now makes big, dumb music for people who drink domestic beer and like goth girls, but he is also a total pro who puts on a great show

Friday

Vortex Stage

Left to Suffer

12:35 to 1 

Their take on metal-core is fresh, but legit, worth waltzing through the gates at noon for. Then you have most of the day to relax and just take in the sights as this is the weakest lineup of the weekend. 

Octane Stage

Bush 

5:15- 6:00

One of the last great bands from the grunge era was not even from Seattle; these guys continue to put out great stuff that is better than what most of their peers who are still alive from this period are doing.

Inferno Stage

Jinjer

6:45- 7:25

At this point, does this band need an introduction? They are great at what they do, and bring live harder than other bands playing at this time slot.  

Aliee in Chains was supposed to play the 7:50 -8:50 slot, but cancelled, so I suppose as a default, if you have to check a band out, go see Killswitch Engage, but I felt like the last Killswitch album was so mediocre it bored me, so I can't stand my recommending a band I personally would not stand through, so take a break and position your self to be near the Vortex Stage for my next recommendation.  

Vortex Stage

Knocked Loose

9:10 - 10:00

If you have a friend who would pick Good Charlotte over these guys, you need to get new friends. Ending their set at 10 gives you time to get out while the idiots at the main stage are watching Billie Joe try to pass off 90s pop music as punk

Saturday 

Vortex Stage

Havok

2:30 - 2:55

Hope you enjoyed sleeping in, eating breakfast, and hitting the gym before your casual stroll in to get really woken up by these thrashers. You also get to camp out at this stage for the bulk of the day. 

Nails

3:35 -4:05

The second heaviest band of the weekend

Obituary 

6:05 - 6:40

Florida legends always deliver

Acid Bath

7:30- 8:10

These guys were the main reason I wanted to go, but they booked a show in St. Pete! Any metal band out after 1991 owes them a debt of gratitude. Dax Riggs is the most underrated metal singer ever. 

Octane Stage

Pierce the Veil 

9:05 - 10:15

You're are not gonna want to see another heavy band after Acid Bath, and these guys might be a pop band, but they are a lot of fun, and write cute lil tunes to smoke one to. 

Sunday

Vortex Stage 

Sanguissugabogg

1:35 to 2 

The heaviest band of the weekend

Gatecreeper

2:35- 3:05

Keeping the death metal day going, these guys are sure to be headbanging fun. 

Garage Stage 

200 Stab Wounds 

4:00- 4:30

Their last album was killer, and they are the future of death metal. 

Deafheaven 

7:05- 7:45

It was hard to consider Deftones heavy after seeing Deafheaven play before them a few years ago. 

Powertrip 

8:15 - 9;05

Never saw them with their original vocalist, but can't imagine his more hardcore-leaning delivery would be hard to replicate. 

Apex Stage 

Korn 

10:20- 11:50

Haven't seen these guys since "Life is Peachy," and while their output has been a mixed bag in recent years, they should still be fun. 

pst212

The Top 10 Hard-Core Albums of 2024

Much like punk, hard-core finds itself in an interesting place in this angry world,  There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real hard-core that is not afraid to point the finger at all sides while refusing to conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirit of hardcore by doing their own thing and bringing the anger.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Hardcore albums of 2024.

10--Rejoice-"All of Heaven's Luck"

 Rejoice is a band from Ohio who are kicking some venomous brand of metallic hardcore. Their singer's malicious snarl gives it a darker edge along with the Slayer vibes coming from their riffs. They are not afraid of guitar solos but do not overindulge in them. They mosh on the fine line between hard-core and metal. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/rejoice-all-of-heavens-luck.html

         

9-Lifesick - "Loved By None, Hated By All" 

This Danish hardcore band packs a punch that is more metallic than not. They take you back to the 90s when this style really began popping off. If you were a fan of Victory Records styled hardcore then these guys will appeal to you. If you just like in-your-face, hyper-aggressive metal you might also dig this. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/lifesick-loved-by-none-hated-by-all.html

8-New Skeletal Faces- "Until the Night" 

I was not expecting this to be a thrashing hard-core album. Sure some of the death rock guitars tones are in place, but the vocals are screaming at you with more aggression to rally the rest of the band to fall in line behind them. This has more in common with old AFI than it does Night Sins. It is more in-your-face and hard-core than I was expecting, but the songwriting works with the blend of sounds they fused in a more organic manner, that plays to the originality infused into these old sounds. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/new-skeletal-faces-until-night.html

7-Terminal Nation - "Echoes of the Devil's Den" 

This dark hard-core band opens up their new album with a bleak doomy sound of dystopia burning. The vocals snarl and bark with animalistic anger. When they gain momentum it's difficult to hear where the metal ends and the hard-core begins. The chug driving this album is powerful. One of the year's heaviest albums for sure. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/terminal-nation-echoes-of-devils-den.html

6-Knocked Loose -You Won't Go Before You Are Supposed To" 

This album's grooves grew on me.  It was heavier than expected.  It's hard-hitting without falling into too many of the metal tropes. This is the album, that is poised to break these guys big, yet they offer little compromise. The music press miscalculated when trying to hype these guys, as the poster children the next nu-metal revival. These guys declined the position and stuck to their hardcore roots 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/knocked-loose-you-wont-go-before-youre.html

5-SPEED- "Only One Mode" 

These guys have captured the feel of NYCHC pretty well. They pack the metallic punch of hard-core while staying true to the thrashing of the late 80s. The riffs and the overall sound left me pretty impressed by the end of the first song. they found a great balance of hooky metal riffs, breakdowns, and being true to old-school hard-core while trying new things in their homage to it. They took chances with this formula that paid off.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/speed-only-one-mode.html

4- Umbra Vitae - "Light of Death" 

 Despite being less of a love letter to the classic death metal these guys grew up on, the sophomore release from this supergroup is every bit as angry as their first album. Riffwise there are more hints of Jacob Bannon's main band Converge. His screams are less guttural than what we heard from him with "Shadow of Life".  The hard core intensity that commands the metallic attack is deadly serious, maker for a darker album. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-umbra-vitae-light-of-death.html

3-Take Offense- "T.O.tality" 

This band is kicking up 80s-era skate punk. This means "Join the Army " era Suicidal Tendencies. There are a few more foot-on-the-monitor guitar heroics, so other late 80s cross-over hardcore could be referenced. The most important thing is they are not just trying to dial in the sound, but they are focused on writing hooky songs, even if they took notes from their heroes on how to do so. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/take-offense-totality.html

2-Candy-"It's Inside You" 

This band's 2022 album "Heaven is Here"  took the number two spot on our Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums list of the year, and tenth on the best overall Metal list of the year.  The bar was high and they cleared it with ease, this album sits more firmly on the side of hard-core but finds them experimenting with industrial sounds on this album in bold new ways, making this one of the year's more interesting listens, even when the lay heavy on the Ministry influence. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/candy-its-inside-you.html

1-Nails - "Every Bridge Burning" 

t's been 8 years since the last album from this California-based hard-core band. They are just as angry as they were on "You Will Never Be One of Us".  The grind-core influence on the band has them spitting out minute-and-a-half songs that are propelled by an unrelenting momentum. The faster moments that create a frenzied wall of sound are balanced out by the intentional songwriting masterstrokes delivered here, and find this album as being worth the wait and puts the band on the top of the heap, this time it's the hardcore heap rather than the extreme metal one. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/nails-every-bridge-burning.html

pst560

The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2024...so far

As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, as 2024 is at its midpoint. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. There are varied shades of metal represented. Perhaps death metal is leading the charge, but there is also doom and deathcore in the mix.   For my ears darkness trumps speed when it comes to heavy, so these bands reflect that sentiment. Death metal just seems to be bringing it harder than other genres so far. Given the impending wars that lurk at every corner of the globe, this is a fitting soundtrack to the demise of the US.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2024 so far. 

10- Gatecreeper- 'Dark Superstition" 

 Right out the gate, they are creeping with harder-hitting riffs, that carry a more hardcore influence punch to them. This is the band's third album and it sounds like not only are they coming into their own, but stepping into the spotlight to earn a larger metal audience. There is more of an Entombed grit to this album, but with it also comes more of a "Wolverine Blues" groove. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/gatecreeper-dark-superstition.html

9-Knocked Loose- "You Won't Go Before You Are Supposed" 

"Suffocate"  was enough to make me look forward to checking this album out. This album is heavier than expected. They are hard-hitting without falling into too many of the metal tropes. This is the album, that is poised to break these guys big. They have established what they are doing here and now need to expand upon that concept, and are willing to indulge their more power- violence-leaning influences. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/knocked-loose-you-wont-go-before-youre.html

 

8-Sect -"Plagues Upon Plagues" 

This band is comprised of who's who of post-millennial  Hard-core. At the mic former Cursed vocalist Chris Colohan, who is giving an impassioned performance, with a husky croon that winks in the direction of Neurosis. His approach gives the dark tension of the music, more depth and makes more of an impact when it does get time to scream and kick the riffs in.  Those riffs are driven by former Earth Crisis guitarist Scott Crouse. Andy Hurley from Fall Out Boy / Racetraitor beating the drums. Hurley shows restraint and keeps things at a more sludged-out pace rather than pouring on the punk mania.  The heft of the guitars is bolstered by Jimmy Change from Undying and bassist Steve Hart. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/sect-plagues-upon-plagues.html

7-My Dying Bride  - "A Mortal Binding" 

The band's 14th full length, stays true to who they are, without being predictable. You never know what side of these guys you are going to get, anything from morose doom to the dark vein of death metal they helped create to melodic goth rock with major depression. The wailing tones of the violin weeps over the low-end crunch. Guitar solos are well paced and deliberate with every not counting to draw out the melodies. While Aarons's growl on the first song is not as guttural, his sung vocals are more refined. In both cases, the vocals are really well produced and mixed. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/my-dying-bride-mortal-binding.html

6-Benighted - 'EKBOM" 

 I like the darker atmosphere that haunts this French band's brand of grindcore. By grind-core, there is a surprising blend of technical death metal in their songwriting DNA. This keeps things spastic and unpredictable.They can make you bob your head to their blend of madness. Some songs were just pure death metal with the grindcore taking a back seat in the meat wagon for the roaring vocals and double bass to be more dominant with a more Morbid Angel-like intention to the beating they are dishing out. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/benighted-ekbom.html

5-Terminal Nation- "Echoes of the Devil's Den" 

This dark hard-core band opens up their new album with a bleak doomy sound of dystopia burning. The vocals snarl and bark with animalistic anger. When they gain momentum it's difficult to hear where the metal ends and the hard-core begins. The chug driving this album is powerful. This is a dark and gritty take on metallic hard-core that crosses it with death metal in a manner that is more deserving of being called metal core or deathcore than the kids who have taken on those labels. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/terminal-nation-echoes-of-devils-den.html

 

4-Chapel of Disease -"Echoes of Light" 

After hearing a ton of interesting things about this album I finally remembered to hunt it down and give it a listen.  The German band is a fairly interesting progressive death metal band, that wacky time changes aside and a penchant for rock n roll riffs are not too far out in left field. They are at times like a less gothy Tribulation. The guitarists are calling the shots here 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/chapel-of-disease-echoes-of-light.html

 

3-Candy- "It's Inside You" 

Their 2022 album "Heaven is Here"  took the number two spot on our Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums list of the year, and tenth on the best overall Metal list of the year. With guests like  Aaron Melnick of Integrity lending guitar solos to a song, team-ups like this only make sense here as their hard-core grind carries the same raw sludge-like tone Integrity uses, making their influence on this band more apparent. That is not to say this is almost trying to capture the hardcore sounds of the 90s, the band continues to be very forward-thinking, but those influences abound from different angles.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/candy-its-inside-you.html

2-Glassing - "From the other side of the Mirror" 

Their last album "Twin Dream" made it known that these guys are one of the best heavy bands going. There is more darkness and melody in the opening track than most bands have in their entire albums. Though none of this is contrived or thought out from a marketing perspective by a record label this is just where they are, perhaps even angrier than the previous album though there is a wide range of emotional colors being used here.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/glassing-from-other-side-of-mirror.html

1-200 Stab Wounds - " "Manual Manic Procedures" 

I liked this band's debut "Slave to the Scalpel" It even made the number 9 slot on last year's Top 10 Death Metal Albums. Less than a year later these guys have worked hard to perfect their craft, as this is more nuanced and dynamic songwriting. The lyrics have more depth this time around rather than just horror tropes. Might turn out to be the death metal album of the year right now it is certainly the album to beat. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

\ pst313

May's Top 10 Albums

Now at the midway point of the year, it's time for May's top 10 albums. Staying abreast on the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed, and give this the option to check these artists out. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This will help me organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til August, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from goth to pop to hard-core, so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for May 2024.

10 Omsorg- "Echoes" 

Hard-core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/omsorg-echoes.html

9-Gatecreeper - "The Dark Superstition" 

Death Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/gatecreeper-dark-superstition.html

8-Knocked Loose  -   "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To" 

Metal-core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/knocked-loose-you-wont-go-before-youre.html

  

7- St Vincent - "All Born Screaming" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/st-vincent-all-born-screaming.html

6-Sect- "Plagues Upon Plagues" 

Sludge

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/sect-plagues-upon-plagues.html

5- Take Offense- "T.O. tality" 

Hard - Core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/take-offense-totality.html

4-DEHD - "Poetry" 

Indie-rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/dehd-poetry.html

3-Astari Nite -"Resolution of Happiness' 

Goth rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/astari-nite-resolution-of-happiness.html

2-REZN -"Burden" 

Psychedelic Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/rezn-burden.html

1-Candy- "It's Inside You" 

hard-core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/candy-its-inside-you.html

pst253

Knocked Loose : "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To"

"Suffocate"  was enough to make me look forward to checking this album out.. This album is heavier than expected. The first song was hard-hitting without falling into too many of the metal tropes. This is the album, that is poised to break these guys big.  By the time we get to "Don't Reach For Me," it's clear they have established what they are doing here and now need to expand upon that concept. With a 46-second song like "Moss Covers All" they are willing to indulge their more power- violence-leaning influences. 

But to be going on tour with Slipknot, I expected this album to be more ripe with the darker more experimental notions that can be heard on "Take Me Home". They are going to need more of these moments to separate themselves from the pack that is already trying to make metal-core rock stadiums. Chris Motionless is certainly one of those figures that it makes sense they might align themselves with even though his band is on the more mainstream side of this scene. The song is well-written enough and has enough sonic nuance to work. 

"The Calm That Keeps You Awake" carries a little of the eerie dissonance that counterbalances the normal pounding and screaming these guys deliver. Their lead screamer puts his voice in the right places, he could just do more to create more colors with his voice, rather than just screaming from such a singular place of anger. This begins to make all the songs sound the same by the time we get to "Blinding Faith".  The last song is the only song that really brings nu-metal to mind, which is a miscalculation on the part of the music press, who have been hailing these guys as the band on the forefront of what could be the next nu-metal revival, since if there are no new bands fostering the genre then it just happens all the old band are just doing cash grab reunions. These guys have stuck to their hardcore roots well, I will give this a 9, and bet on this album is more inspired than the new Kittie whenever that drops. 

pst225

Inclination: "Unaltered Perspective"

Sure, one of the dudes from Knocked Loose is in this band and there is a who's who or hard core that has a guest spot on this album, but at the end of the day what it comes down to is the songs. My first listen found me impressed until I looked up and found I was on the fourth song not the second. This means they have a uniform sound that makes their songs sound the same. Giving a closer listen the first track is just an intro leaving "Epidemic" as the first actual song. They are hard core, which means they are angry. We have the screamed vocals which are convincing. Ven though they have captured a sound it does not mean they have abandoned all song writing, as there are still moments that give the in-your-face hyper aggression structure. With song titles like "Thoughts and Prayers" it is clear they are targeting many of today's issues. They are not preaching or taking sides it sounds like they are more doomsayers of modern man's downfall, which is a solid place for a hard-core band to come from. 

They are not overly reliant on break downs. Their strength is the willingness to use atmosphere and give the riffs room to breathe. "Predetermined" seems to really benefit from this as it allows their syncopation to form grooves.  "Bystander" finds them locking into all of the sounds that have worked thus far and perfecting them even further into another song. the vocals are the only one trick pony. There are some points that are spoken more than screamed, but four songs in it feels like they have used all the vocals colors we are going to find here.   They keep pushing things into heavier directions, which is another strong point of this album. They never find themselves content with just raging full speed ahead. Sure, it could be darker, but what they are doing is effective, so it is hard to complain.   

Yes, there are moments like "Marooned: when the entire songs feels like a break down thanks to heavy riffs and half-time driven grooves. "Connections" seems to be about modern dating, and they are more pissed about it than anything thus far. There isa sick as hell riff at the two-minute mark. "A Decision" works of a deliberate stomp and a very sonic guitar sound.  The last song is pretty sonic and what it lacks in hooks it makes up for in dynamics. This album is better than what I have heard from Knocked Loose, it makes hard core fun again, I will give it a 9 . This comes out October 21st on Purse Noise. 

Knocked Loose : "a Different Shade of Blue"

I may or may not have included these guys on that next big thing list I reviewed based off of Revolver magazine's thread asking readers who they thought the next big things was going to be. I have yet to se any of those blowing up this year. Never listened to an entire album by these guys, it's metal core with the emphasis on core. Their vocalist has more of a punk yell. They do have another member of the band add death metal growls that are lowering. In some ways it makes me think of Drop Dead Gorgeous if they were more punk. They experimental a little more on the second song. "A Serpents Touch" puts the emphasis more on the break downs or the frenetic pace. You can hear how Slayer has influenced them on "By the Grave" .

By the time we get to " In the Walls" it sounds like you are being haunted by the ghosts of Myspace metal past. There are touches of dissonance I like , I am beginning to get a little bored.  There is a little more darker atmosphere on "Guided By the Moon" . Rather than sung vocals there are spoken sections buried in effects and set further into the mix. I think this is the first song that I really like. "Mistakes Like Fractures" is metal-core  color by numbers.  "Forget Your Name" works better as it is catchier. "Road 23" felt like an extension of that song. "And Still I Wander South"  finds the band locked into what works better for them which also hinged how much space every one is given in the mix.

Like people who live for the weekends, bands that live for the break downs are missing out on the rest of the song , and fail to think of  how this will effect the entirety of the album. I will give this album a 7.5. I can not be the target audience. I guess the target audience is all in high school.   Which is fine they can round it up to an 8 if need be. I can not see them being the next big thing or me wanting to listen to this again.

8.8

Breaking Out Vs Breaking Bad : the Class of 2019

On Revolver Magazine's Facebook page they asked "Who Will Be 2019's Break Out Band" . So I picked ten bands whose names keep popping up. Granted this is Revolver so I went into it knowing it was going to be more mainstream than what I normally listen to. In fact there are a few bands that are rock n roll and not metal. Also what the fuck, how is nu-metal making a comeback, half these bands have a foot in nu-metal if not packing up and going to a Juggalo gathering. Here we go...


12 ft ninja 

Song I checked out - "One Hand Killing"

These guys are nu-metal,at first  the vocals remind me of Methods of Mayhem before they totally try to rip off Mike Patton.  They bring it a little more into 2019 with djent like syncopation. They are good at what they do, if you miss Incubus these guys are for you.

Alien Weaponry 

Song I checked out - "Kai Tangata"

The guitars kick in like Slipknot, but then things sound like Sepultura going more nu-metal than they did on "Roots". The clean vocals are kinda typical. Nothing special here.

Jinjer 

Song I checked out - "Pieces"

They are like a marginally more proggy version of  In This Moment . Their singer could use bigger tits. The guitar is better than the two previous bands.

Knocked Loose 

Song I checked out -"Mistakes Like Fractures"

Fuck the vocals are terrible. Other wise they are pretty generic metal core

Badflower 

Song I checked out - "Ghost"

Well this is the poppiest so far. But it is also most well written song so far. This is not metal even when it builds on the chorus. It is like Myspace never went away.

Moontooth

Song I checked out - "Crux"

This is not metal, but the guitar playing sounds good. This is like a pop country power ballad. The singer is pretty decent. These guys are neck and neck with the previous band. The singer sounds like he is from the Voice, as every thing is phrased with pop radio precision.

Psykotribe 

Song I checked out - "Take Control"

The riff is the most metal so far. I think it's a chick singers, she has a thrash metal. Not a great voice , but it works with what they are doing. Nothing that original.

Fever 333

Song I checked out - "Burn It "

Another nu-metal band, shit what is up with all these Hot Topic babies. These guys want to be Rage Against the Machine, but need a better bass player and drummer. The chorus sucks as it sounds like Linkin Park, who was the worst of the nu-metal bands.

Tetrarch 

Song I checked out - "Freak"

These guys are not bad, but there is a faint hint of Linkin Park that I am not sure about, as I hated that band so anything that reminds me of them is suspect, but these guys at least captured some of the darker parts of nu-metal that worked.

Liliac 

Song I checked out- "Enter Sandman"

Not sure why they were mentioned by multiple people as they are a cover band. To break out I think you have to write your own songs. Best case scenario they are a rock Hanson. Perhaps when she finishes growing up the drummer might be hot, not sure if that is enough to push them over the edge, since they are in Los Angles where that is a dime a dozen.

My verdict is it's a toss up between Moontooth and Badflower, though I would give Moontooth the edge as they are a little further removed  from the Myspace years.