Courtesy of Rian Flynn

SOUNDS LIKE: Mars Volta, Rage Against the Machine

LOCATION: Los Angeles

WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/oedipus

As violent as a Quentin Tarantino movie, yet as melodically beautiful as any crooning Beatles song, Oedipus is a delightful blend of The Mars Volta, Rage Against the Machine and Muse. Yet the band still manages to sound completely novel and unique.

Oedipus began when guitarist Stephen Cohen and bassist and vocalist Jeremy Haffner started playing together as 13-year-olds. However, the pair did not begin playing seriously until they met drummer Keith Larsen six years ago. Luckily, all three were well versed in music: Larsen has his master’s in Afro-Cuban percussion, Cohen grew up playing classic rock and pop music with his dad and Haffner comes from a musical theater family.

All of their backgrounds and musical tastes can be found within the folds of their music. Haffner’s vocals have a dramatic and operatic quality that provides much of the band’s aggression and emotion. The drum beats are layered and entirely complex; the different stylings of the guitar are often jarring, but always melodic and infectious 8212; a perfect fit to the harmonies floating above it.

What seems to be most surprising about this band is that it is still unsigned. Every song is polished to a sheen, nearly universally relatable and marketable, yet the band has accomplished everything without the help of a big label. This may be the greatest and worst thing about Oedipus: It has not had to sacrifice anything about its sound but is still able to make beautiful music that is downright awe-inspiring. The only flaw is that it isn’t very likely that anyone would flip to MTV and see an Oedipus music video playing. This is a shame because any lover of alternative, rock or progressive music should give Oedipus a solid listen. Those who take the time will find at least a handful of songs to completely adore.

Haffner humbly stated that the band’s biggest accomplishment is that it has “stayed together all this time while still having fun.”

“So many bands get hung up on needing to get a record deal or the money aspect, but so long as you can still enjoy playing an instrument and each other’s company, you’re doing something right. Everything else is butter,” he said.

Oedipus may be difficult to categorize in terms of genre, but it can be summed up in few words: It’s a band that truly loves what it does and what it does melts faces.