6Gig

The early part of this decade saw too many lunkhead nu metal bands making it somewhat big, most of whom followed in the footsteps of Korn and Limp Bizkit but, if possible, brought it down to an even lower, knuckle-dragging level. Maine's 6Gig emerged around this time and while the riffs were heavy, just like the riffs of their rap-rock peers, there wasn't a hint of rap influence in the vocals which was a blessing. In fact, in many ways this band reminded me of my post-hardcore heroes, Quicksand as well as For Love Not Lisa (and Mike Lewis's subsequent project, Puller). Of course, since these guys seemed somewhat intelligent, they never got the attention they deserved and after 2 records they were finished.

Here's a video of "Hit the Ground" from Tincan Experiment (2000)

While this is old news to fans of the band, I just discovered today that a few of the members have moved onto some pretty cool projects.

• Singer Walter Craven now fronts Lost on Liftoff. The music is similar to 6Gig though maybe not quite as heavy and has more rock-radio potential than 6Gig had. eMusic subscribers can pick up the band's excellent 4-song EP while the rest of you will have to surf over to CDBaby to get a copy. I whole-heartedly agree with the description of the band's music given on CDBaby: "The band's sound combines the power of any Ken Andrews band of your choice with the fire and fury of a Jimmy Eat World, Yellowcard or Lost Prophets."
• Bassist Craig "Weave" Weaver is now singing and playing guitar in a stoner-rock band called Ruler of the Raging Main. Highly recommended for fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, and Danko Jones. The band's debut should be available soon on iTunes and in select CD stores on the East Coast.
• Drummer Jason Stewart plays with Matahari, a female-fronted band in the vein of Garbage.