Official Website: www.thebeautifulmistake.com Label: The Militia Group Location: Riverside, CA Similar To: Thrice, Further Seems Forever, The Juliana Theory Audio: "Silence" "Circular Parade"

The Beautiful Mistake: Arising from the ashes of Ember (bad pun) back in early 2001, The Beautiful Mistake have kept a relatively low profile over the past year or so, making a favorable, albeit little heard impression with their self-released EP "December" back in July of 2001. Having since secured a record deal with The Militia Group which led to last month's release of their full-length debut "Light A Match, For I Deserve To Burn", such a quiet reputation is not likely to last as the impressive material contained is flammable enough to ignite a buzz big enough to pay homage to the albums namesake.

Official Website: www.demonhunter.net Label: Solid State Records Location: ????, ?? Similar To: Slipknot Mp3's: "I Have Seen Where It Grows" "Infected"

Demon Hunter: Reportedly a tongue in cheek take on the nu-metal genre done by members of various bands from the Solid State roster both past and present, Demon Hunter are actually a surprisingly competent outfit who despite their obvious middle finger salute to the genre, revitalize a sound that has been beaten to its last breath in recent times. With rumors constantly swirling regarding just exactly who is in the bands line-up, including the popular opinion that members of Training For Utopia, Project 86 and Living Sacrifice are all culprits, mystery may continue to surround the identity of this outfit but it doesn't cloud the fact that their music definitely has potential.

Official Website: www.kissingchaos.net Label: Independent Location: Austin, TX Similar To: Sunny Day Real Estate, Thursday, Helmet Audio: "Lost Evidence" "Last Days Of The Suicide Kid" "The Power And Intent"

Kissing Chaos: Only playing their first show in June of this year, Kissing Chaos are understandably still wet behind the ears but you wouldn't know that by listening to their music or looking at their touring regiment. Playing out consistently and recently finishing up the recording of their new demo, the band are on the rise in their local scene and with word starting to spread and more higher profile shows being booked to lead them through till the end of the year, it looks like it won't take long for chaos to reign.

Official Website: www.plainofashes.com Label: Independent Location: Niagara Falls, NY Similar To: Quicksand, Deftones, Embodyment Mp3's: "Still Here"

Plain Of Ashes: Comprised of former members of once metalcore hopefuls Short Of Breath and newcomer vocalist Judah Nero, Plain Of Ashes are quite far distanced from the sound that many of its members once toiled in. Instead of gouging out bruising metalcore they have now taken the melodic metal route and are more than able to create some stirring and emotionally charged melodies, a quality that is only amplified on the material captured at their recent recording sessions at Spider Studios (Chimaira, SW1TCHED). With a handful of shows planned for the rest of the year and more time constantly being spent honing their sound, Plain Of Ashes are definitely one to watch.

	Official Website: www.scarve.net Label: Listenable Records Location: Nancy, FRA Similar To: Meshuggah, Strapping Young Lad Audio: "Infertile Ways" "Capsized"
Scarve: An underground force to be reckoned with in their native country of France, Scarve's devastating blend of technical mastery and death metal bursts of speed have landed them many a high profile opening gig and with two albums produced by none other than Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah) already in the can, this trend shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Comment On The Learning Curve (Last Updated 4:54 PM PST 10/11/2002)