Cloudkicker
Cloudkicker (aka Ben Sharp) is a one-man instrumental metal project based in Columbus, Ohio. And let me tell you, this Ben Sharp fellow is a talented guy. And he's very, very nice. So nice, in fact, that all of his albums can be downloaded for free from his BandCamp website. Cloudkicker's latest album, Beacons, is even provided with a "pay what you want" pricing scheme.
If you are a fan of Meshuggah and/or Animals as Leaders, you need this. Hell, if you like post rock or newer prog rock, you'll still find something to love in Cloudkicker. And if you like what you hear, buy the album!
Bandcamp where you can listen to/download all his tunes for free
Mediafire for his latest album, Beacons. I uploaded this myself after buying the CD and reading the following on Sharp's blog: "I FULLY support the rehosting of this and all releases on torrent and file sharing sites like megaupload. This will actually help me out now that Bandcamp is tying free download availability to sales generated."
It's an awesome album, from a seemingly awesome dude :D
I paid four whole dollars and feel very proud of myself!
I really wish more people would do this, I feel like I'm way more likely to pay for it if artists used this approach.
plus, the music is awesome