DiS' Class Of 2009 is comprised of bands our core contributors really think you should be listening to. Simple as. We're not necessarily saying they'll 'blow up' or 'cross over' or any of that industry nonsense, but we are saying we think they're great and have a hunch at least some of you will agree...

Salem

The idea that rock'n'roll is the Devil's music is, frankly, kind of silly; listening to hirsute men screeching about sex over guitar riffs seems a rather underwhelming way for good's numero uno enemy to get his jollies. Nah, should you ever get the opportunity to make a mixtape for Beelzebub, consider putting a bit of Salem on there, a band whose '09 crossover potential is rather predicated on whether or not the general public has the cojones to embrace their pathologically dark ways. Only two members of the none-more-shadowy US triumvirate have ever even been photographed, it's a matter of rumour as to whether or not they've ever played live, and it wouldn't be a surprise if it turns out they're all big fans of ritual sacrifice. Their small body of work thus far, however, has been stunning; snail's-paced confections of electro, dubstep and punk that drill into your brain and gut with fever-dream potency. Admittedly a good deal of last year's two EPs - the super-rare Yes I Smoke Crack and more recent Water - could genuinely make the weak-stomached feel quite ill, but the lead track of both was 'Redlights', a bleakly gorgeous chant against the night, drenched with as much yearning as malice, accessible enough to deserve a third release, should they see fit. Combined with 'Brustreet', their weirdly lovely freezing of Springsteen's 'Streets Of Philadelphia', and there's the tantalising prospect of a debut album as beautiful as it is scary. That is to say really, really, cack-your-pants beautiful.

• No UK live dates currently planned, but information about this lot is, as stated, scarce.

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