Let's face it, metal is back. Maybe not on a grand scale, but it seems like the genre is getting a lot more attention these days. Perhaps its a response to the weak, post-punk/emo explosion of recent years that has spawned so many cookie-cutter acts and bad haircuts, but any way you cut it (oh thats bad, I know), you should come see what I mean tomorrow night at the Empty Bottle. Its rare to have a bill comprised entirely of bands I'm genuinely stoked to see, so come on out and see what I'm talking about.

Indian is a punishingly heavy band hailing from Chicago. They don't rely on blazing fast riffs or fancy fretboard work to get your attention, but rather they choose to bludgeon listeners into submission with slow, menacing songs. If that doesn't suit your fancy, then get your ass out of the kitchen (isn't that how the quote goes?) When they decide to turn the intensity up a bit, there is nothing like a tasteful blast beat anchoring pummeling riffs. For three dudes, these guys sure make a lot of noise. Bring your earplugs and a clean pair of Depends for this set.

Dead Child come from Louisville, KY, and bring quite an impressive resume with them (see: Brothers of Conquest, Shipping News, The For Carnation, Aerial M, Papa M, Tortoise, Early Man, Zwan, and Slint). Do I have your attention now? Good... well... just don't expect to hear anything close to resembling any of these acts. Dead Child remind me of a less technical Anthrax (not a knock to anyone's skill... they just arent quite as thrashy), with nods to other early metal acts like Motorhead and Sir Lord Baltimore. This is really an area that not many bands seem to pay homage to these days, and its great to hear a band like Dead Child offer their take on metal music.

Qualms are without question the least metal of the acts, but that absolutely does not take away from the intensity of their live show. I saw them a while back at the Beat Kitchen, opening for the Poison Arrows (petecroke.com feature coming soon!), and I was thoroughly impressed by what I heard. Qualms are definitely a new-er Chicago band that you need to watch out for. Their sound reminds me of early Don Caballero thrown in with the rhythmic sensibility of The Jesus Lizard (although there is no bass in this band, you'll hear what I mean).

Since their first EP released in 2004, The Poison Arrows have evolved from the solo project of ex-Atombombpocketknife vocalist/guitarist Justin Sinkovich into a 3 piece band, and have been building momentum with another EP released in 2007. A a full length record has been written and recorded, but no solid release date has been set as of yet.

Early recordings of the band were done by Sinkovich and made available to listeners via the Trailer Park EP, and featured a remix by none other than OG electro-punk hero Martin Rev. He played in this little band called Suicide... you may have heard of them. The EP was a glitchy, electronic based record that undoubtedly saw Sinkovich spending countless hours hunched over a computer, crafting soundscapes quite different than the post-punk/rock undertaking that was Atombombpocketknife. In any case, in 2007 another record was released, the Premix-Remix CD, featuring remixes of Sinkovich's work by other musicians/engineers/bands such as Jonah Sharp, TRS-80, Brother El, Brian Deck, Jonathan Kreinik, Slo-Ro, Mike Lust, DJ? Acucrack, Sterling, and N.LN.

2007 also saw the release of the first EP recorded as a band, Straight Into the Drift. The band included drummer Adam Reach, collaborator with Sinkovich's old bandmate Che Arthur, and bassist Patrick Morris, noted for his stint with Pittsburgh, Pennslyvannia's best instrumental rock band ever: the mighty Don Caballero. The formation of the full band obviously marked a change in direction and sound, and undoubtedly for the better if you ask me. I like a good electronic record just like the next dude, but there is something to be said about the dynamic of a live band and the collaborative recording process that really resonates with me, which is exactly what The Poison Arrows have managed to do over the past year.

Through a string of steady live Chicago shows and my long overdue need to own the new EP, I've come to regard The Poison Arrows as one of my favorite Chicago acts. You can check them out on May 22nd at The Hideout with none other than Louisville's Shipping News. Hell yes, I said the Shipping News are going to be in Chicago next month, alongside the Poison Arrows. Be there. In the meantime, check out this video I got at the Empty Bottle of "Lockaway", from The Poison Arrows latest EP: