Clutch March 8, 2008

Mixing funk influences with equal parts of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Maryland's Clutch has created a unique, contemporary metal sound. Indiana's Murder by Death layers the vocal sounds of an old saloon with the haunting strings of an Hungarian folk dance and the hard driving rhythms of pure rock n' roll, producing what Stuff magazine has called "lush, orchestrated songs," somehow simultaneously reminiscent of Johnny Cash and Radiohead. Christian southern metal rockers Maylene and the Sons of Disaster emerged from Birmingham in 2004. They have been lauded for their blazing riffs and memorable songwriting, opening for Underoath and earning a slot on the 2007 VANS Warped Tour.