Unsigned and Unholy: Colosso, Emil Lamppu, Polygon Horizon

Portuguese outfit Colosso combine the groove of Morbid Angel, the dissonance of Gorguts, the atmosphere of Fallujah and the aggression of Fit For an Autopsy into one super-tight death metal package. That’s quite a combination, eh? Indeed. Hear it for yourself on their latest album Obnoxious.

Finnish progressive metal musician Emil Lamppu reminds me a bit of Periphery without any of the djent-isms or Devin Townsend without his patented zaniness. His instrumental one-man band album Under the Open Sky is a straight-forward and pleasant listen with strong melodies, sure to please general fans of modern progressive metal.

Another one-man outfit, Polygon Horizon (helmed by a man who simply goes by Chris K.), combines a metal backbone — drums, guitars — with retro chiptune sounds for surprisingly strong effect. It’d be easy for this kind of music to feel incredibly trite or forced, but Polygon’s Horizon approach works quite well; think Killswitch Engage or Unearth with NES-inspired keyboards.