Unkempt

Why should major label bands be the only ones who get love? Unsigned & Streamed is a column where we stream a song from an unsigned band we at Metal Insider really dig.

This week on Unsigned & Streamed, we’re proud to expose Unkempt as they cut a swath of death and destruction through the swamps of Florida. Formed in Lakeland, FL in 2002, Unkempt started breaking loose in 2006 with the first of three independent releases, helping them grow into an intimidating local presence in the Tampa-area metal scene. The band has played in a supporting role on the Summer Slaughter Tour and Thrash and Burn Tour, gracing the stage with everyone from old-school death stalwarts Obituary and Six Feet Under to the new guard of American metal in Darkest Hour and Whitechapel. Unkempt’s lethal combination of harmonized dual-guitar leads and extreme aggression holds a lot of similarity to A Celebration of Guilt-era Arsis, with a touch of both their region’s famous deathly brutality and Between the Buried and Me’s progressive song construction. Now that we’ve thoroughly teased you, check out their latest song “Pigs Get Fat, Hogs Get Slaughtered,” the opening cut from their self-titled four-song EP, after the jump.

After completing pre-production of their newest tracks, Unkempt will be entering the studio later this summer to unleash a fresh release by the end of the year. You can stream the Unkempt EP and keep up with the band’s latest activities on their ReverbNation and Facebook pages. - Metal Insider

Unkempt featured as tbt artist of the day...
What's this? Metal? At Tropical Heatwave?

Yes, when the lineup for this year's WMNF Tropical Heatwave concert was announced, a couple of bands stood out. One was Unkempt, a Lakeland heavy metal band who scored an invite thanks to their association with the WMNF metal show Psycho Realms. Their music is heavy, grungy, throat-scorching stuff with elements of old-school punk.

"I think everyone in the band feels it's a privilege to be part of something like the WMNF Heatwave," said bassist Andy Wajek. "Heatwave is a great showcase of all kinds of talent and the five of us are definitely very proud to be a part of it."

Over the years the band -- vocalist Dave Hancock, guitarists Chet Fox and Shaun De Leon, drummer Andrew Martin and Wajek -- has played with metal favorites like Obituary, Otep and The Absence, and have become a staple of the local metal scene.

Unkempt is working on a new EP and has been plotting some tours for summer, including, they hope, a run through Puerto Rico. But first, this weekend, it's Tropical Heatwave. The band will perform at 11:55 p.m. Saturday at Crowbar in Ybor City. Tickets for all of Tropical Heatwave are $32 advance, $40 at the door, or you can buy a ticket just for the shows at Crowbar for $10. Click here for details.

"We try to shape our sets based on each individual show, and this one will be no different," Wajek said. "It's a tailor-made production solely for Heatwave. We're gonna be playing everything from older classic stuff, to new stuff, to stuff that's even newer still. I think we are all confident that the whole night is going to be amazing." - Tampa Bay Times

"The clock is nearing midnight and the smoke inside Ybor's Crowbar is rolling like thick fog..." "...There is no shortage of beards, black shirts and long hair. Bands on the bill include Unkempt..." - Tampa Bay Times

"The clock is nearing midnight and the smoke inside Ybor's Crowbar is rolling like thick fog..." "...There is no shortage of beards, black shirts and long hair. Bands on the bill include Unkempt..." - Tampa Bay Times

"Unkempt are a band to watch out for...a blistering blend of melody and mayhem!" - Jamie Stewart

"Unkempt brings it all to the table; heaviness, catchiness,
and brutality. The perfect formula for a metal band." - Phil Bozeman

Unkempt:
"An obvious manifestation of the neuroses associated with five severely repressed longings of a vibratos nature, coupled with the eroticization of implements of mass-destruction typically found in declining, hysterical minds."

“Simply put…They’re the TITS!!”

Elder Sign
‘Psycho Realms’
WMNF 88.5FM Tampa - Elder Sign of Psycho Realms on 88.5 FM WMNF

Unkempt:
"An obvious manifestation of the neuroses associated with five severely repressed longings of a vibratos nature, coupled with the eroticization of implements of mass-destruction typically found in declining, hysterical minds."

“Simply put…They’re the TITS!!”

Elder Sign
‘Psycho Realms’
WMNF 88.5FM Tampa - Elder Sign of Psycho Realms on 88.5 FM WMNF

Unkempt are an uncompromising 5 piece metal band from Lakeland. Their music is a veritable explosion of un-relinquished fury that requires pure submission from the listener. Their ability to embrace the audience and open the most closed mind speaks volumes. Unkempt’s driving rage leaves us hitting pause in order to give ourselves a chance to breathe. This is a young, fresh, vibrant band making their way into our mindset. It might take a lobotomy to get them out. - Wmnf 88.5Fm Tampa

Unkempt are an uncompromising 5 piece metal band from Lakeland. Their music is a veritable explosion of un-relinquished fury that requires pure submission from the listener. Their ability to embrace the audience and open the most closed mind speaks volumes. Unkempt’s driving rage leaves us hitting pause in order to give ourselves a chance to breathe. This is a young, fresh, vibrant band making their way into our mindset. It might take a lobotomy to get them out. - Wmnf 88.5Fm Tampa