The Best Band in Missouri is Existem

Back in August we asked you to help us find the best unsigned bands in America. After listening to hundreds of submissions, we finally narrowed down our pick for the geriatric entertainment destination-est state in the union*. The best band in Missouri is Existem.

*Lower Midwest division

Existem. There’s a band name I haven’t heard in a while. Quite frankly, I’m shocked that these guys aren’t signed yet. I thoroughly enjoyed their 2012 album Years of Winter and just assumed they were picked up by Century Media or Relapse or something. But here they are, still unsigned (why?) with a 4 song record that for me came out of nowhere titled Phoenix. And guess what, I enjoyed it just as much as their previous effort (and not just because they had the insight to name an album after yours truly).

I don’t care much for tech death and I absolutely despise prog metal. I would rather listen to another one of Raymond Cocteau’s speeches about the purity of goddamn pearls than listen to bands like Dream Theater. In my opinion the best so-called prog bands are ones that don’t go fully prog. Think Opeth in their heyday, Burst, Cult of Luna, Extol, and so forth. Existem are very much in the vein of these bands. They create prog metal that isn’t afraid to veer off the beaten path but exists within the confine of a song. The material here is not an overblown jam session like so many bands are guilty of recording.

Their riffs are meaty, the drumming is tight and well executed, and the clean singing while understated, is still quite good and works with the song instead of trying to overpower everything like certain other prog singers *coughspencersoletocough*.

Phoenix’s third track “Memento Mori” perfectly summarizes everything about this band that works: good songwriting, tasty solos, a nice little jazzy passage with a frigging violin playing alongside the equally nice bass work. It does what it needs to do at 6+ minutes and doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’m hoping that a quality label picks Existem up soon, but in the meantime take some interest in unsigned prog metal that even I can get behind. Go to their Bandcamp page and pick up Phoenix; and while you’re at it pick up their other albums too.

Guacamole Jim: Tight and intricate, Existem combines the best of downtuned lockstep riffs with soaring cleans and atmosphere, all while retaining an undeniable progressive vibe. The singer’s work on “Closed Eyes” is the high point of the song, reminiscent of Scar Symmetry and other quality melodic death metal. A very enjoyable listen, if not overwhelmingly original.

MoshOff: Existem have generated quite a buzz in the underground, and after listening to them it’s no real surprise why. They manage to seamlessly mix clean vocals, borderline death metal segments, djentish syncopated rhythms and atmospheric instrumental passages to create something that doesn’t come across as either trendy or forced. Progressive metal that doesn’t suck, period.

Joe Thrashnkill: If you’ve got 10 minutes of spare time, I highly recommend you vibe out and stuff your time hole with “Above or Below”.

Go like Existem on Facebook and tell ’em the Toilet says “hey”.

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