Wisconsin Metal That's Winnning Me Back
I’ll let you in on one of my deep, dark, little secrets. I don’t listen to metal much anymore. At some point metal stopped being about loud fuck-the-man black magic rebellion (Black Sabbath, Kyuss) and it just started to be lame. I think for me it all began when Limp Bizkit and Korn burst through the stratusphere. Shitlocks and little red baseball caps sent me running to the Ramones and until recently I hadn't looked back.
I know what you’re thinking… “1998 was a long time ago. Get over it old man!” I assure you I’ve tried. These days hardcore metal has since replaced rapcore idioacy, but I just don’t dig the growl. Now, before all of you begin to prod my now exposed shame, let me finish... . Since I signed on with Wisconsin Sickness last year I’ve been thrust into Wisconsin’s indie-metal scene and discovered a handful of bands that are turning me back towards the dark side. Here’s four Wisconsin metal bands that stand out from the pack.
38DD (Pleasant Prairie)
In my opinion the best metal songs are the ones girls can quickly and confidenly wriggle from their clothes to. 38DD plays exactly that sort of music. Fast and dirty like Motothead, groovy and real like Kyuss. These guys formed back in 1990, and reunited in 2008, and they’re still an incredibly well kept secret. That needs to change.
On Facebook
The Mood Manual (Madison)
Tool-inspired bass, a jazzy sensibility, a front man who sounds a bit like a serious-version of Rodney Anonymous (Dead Milkmen) and enough ball-tripping qualities to keep even the most jaded Pink Floyd fanatic happy, The Mood Manual definitely stands out in Wisconsin’s metal scene. The band describes their unique sound as Progressive Alternative Rock and Metal (P.A.R.M. for short).
On Facebook
Penguins With Shotguns (Kenosha)
Louder than murder and faster than a drunk emo girl, what makes PWS stand out is the vocals of Sean Kory: imagine a pissed off Max Bemis (Say Anything) fronting a band superior to Killswitch Engage and you get the idea.
On Facebook
Dubchug (Cedar Grove)
Not many genres of music are as exactly opposed as metal is to dubstep. When I first checked these guys out I thought it’d be absolutely terrible; some amalgamation cooked up for the sake of absurdity. What I heard was loud and brutal covered in a not-so-subtle electronic glaze. Smooth enough to take the girlfriend, tough enough to jump in the pit.
On Facebook
