Here are bands & artists you may not have heard of yet…but they have major potential and you get to read about them here, right before they make it big! And “Graduates” are musicians we highlighted in past issues whose careers, as we predicted, have really taken off!

Crypter

By Alex Kantarelis

crypter-copyHudson’s Crypter (Nate Chartrand ~ vocals, Jeff Ramos ~ lead guitar, Eddie Zwirbla ~ drums, Russell Weed ~ bass, and Campbell Hewett ~ guitar) are rocking the metal scene with their old school thrash that’s is a hybrid of early Metallica and Norwegian Death Metal, or (if you know your bands) a cross between Kreator and Demolition Hammer. In fact, it was a Kreator show that got everything started: while still in high school, the guys all went to see the German thrash band and decided then and there that they needed to start their own band.

The band members range in age from 16 to 21 and have accomplished quite a bit in their year and a half existence, starting with the recording of their 4 song demo about a year ago, which opened the door for a lot of opportunities. “With that demo we’ve managed to play with amazing bands like DRI and Overkill. It’s been great,” said Nate Chartrand. Their true-to-the-roots style also landed them on shows with Death Angel, Lazarus A.D., and Gamma Bomb, but playing with DRI stood out for Nate. “I’ve been listening to DRI forever and I have a DRI patch on the back of my leather jacket. It was awesome,” he said.

Crypter spent the past few months working on a full length that features 11 new songs of old school thrash metal, not revival thrash. The new songs have been written for quite a while and all of them have been played live. The new full length will be coming out this summer, and the band plans on releasing the songs themselves. Once it’s out, they hope to get on the road and start touring. Definitely keep an eye out for them.

www.facebook.com/CrypterThrashMetal
www.reverbnation.com/crypter

ANTIETAM

By Katey Khaos

antietam2-copyFormed in 2008, Worcester’s hardcore/punk band Antietam gives a refreshing kick in the pants to the seemingly dead punk scene. That kick was intentional, too, as frontman Pat Shanley told me when I asked what inspired him to start the band: “I felt bored listening to the music I had such passion for.”

Songs like “Shipwrecked” and “No Morphine” are sure to get any crowd moshing with their fast paced guitar riffs and in-your-face lyrics. Shanley credits Last Lights as his driving personal influence, along with Mountain Man and 80s punk legends Slapshot and Black Flag. Guitarist Jeff Soderman keeps it local and says that Worcester’s own Concrete Facelift was his sole inspiration for wanting to start Antietam.

Antietam has released two 7″ records ~ one full length self-titled, as well as a split with It’s Alive. If you’re lucky, you can also find Antietam’s tour demo CDs, which were released for their 2009 and 2010 tours. As Soderman mentions, Antietam has a sizeable cache of songs that are recorded but as of yet unreleased. They’re currently deciding which of those songs to feature on their next CD, and are also hoping to release new tracks this summer.

Antietam completed an East Coast /Midwest tour in August 2010 and have been playing smaller gigs since then. As Shanley puts it, “It’s tough to have anything serious going because we’re all juggling either school or full time work.” They are, however, in the midst of planning an August tour. In the meanwhile, check them out at www.facebook.com/pages/Antietam/324657751257 and www.myspace.com/antietamworc.

Photo by Jonnie Coutu – taken at The Firehouse, Nov. 2008.