Ready for a few more unsigned gems? Here are the best of the bunch in this week’s mailbag:

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Although the editors of MetalSucks get a vote in the Scion No Label Needed Contest, the staff of MetalSucks, alas, does not. Thus, over the course of the next few days, each MetalSucks writer will post an endorsement for his favorite finalist for the contest. You can check out all the finalists, and vote for your personal favorite, here.

I like Iris Divine less because of the music they’re writing right now — which on its own is really fucking good, yes — but more because of the music they can and will write given the opportunity. Iris Divine are a band with an immense amount of raw musical and songwriting talent, and given the proper resources, attention and room to develop, this band can grow into something truly special and unique that transcends anything we know today. Think a career arc like genre-busting bands such as Between the Buried and Me, Tool or Radiohead. Too often in the A&R process these days the concept of artist development is pushed aside in favor of what’s trendy and ready to go right now – but Iris Divine are the kind of band that two or three albums down the road are going to be leaps and bounds better than any of today’s scene bands can ever be.

Vote for Iris Divine because you believe in pushing our genre forward instead of rewarding the status quo.

Listen to more ID tunes on MySpace.

-DG

I found out about Alexandra, VA’s Iris Divine because they sent us a message on MySpace. As the source of many a shitstain band, normally I don’t bother checking out bands who send us messages on MySpace because, frankly, who has the time… but I guess that day “divine” inspiration struck and I was turned on to a very good band. Iris Divine aren’t nearly as heavy as most of the bands we write about here, but what they lack in brutality they make up for in creativity. In just MySpace lead-track “Unspoken Tragedy” there’s elements of Dream Theater, Pantera, Avenged Sevenfold, Porcupine Tree, and Queensryche, seemingly disparate influences, but somehow it all works. It’s un-pretentious prog-metal with a very creative edge, really unique chord progressions and arrangements, first-class musicianship and a knack for songwriting to bring it all together.

So that’s my sales pitch for Iris Divine. They’re just really good. Check ‘em out.

-VN