It’s easy to think of the local music scene as a barren wasteland. Who’d think there’s a great band in Ames or Des Moines?

It turns out there are actually quite a few. They’ve just been hidden a little too well.

Shows like Saturday’s Gross Domestic Product pull these bands from their hiding places and put them in the spotlight. Here are some of the area’s finest bands, along with their latest releases:

Radio Moscow

Latest release: “Radio Moscow”

Label: Alive

Availability: CD and LP available from the band at shows, or via www.bompstore.com

Web site: www.myspace.com/radiomoscow

This band is chiefly the effort of Parker Griggs, a supremely talented guitarist. Aiming for an older blues sound, Radio Moscow sounds as if they’ve just stepped out of a time machine from 1970, bringing their vintage equipment and a bundle of Hendrix and Clapton records. Their appeal is just about universal.

“I love anything old-school,” said Matt Nyberg, vocalist for FACECAGE and an avowed fan.

In their live show, Griggs makes everything look easy, rotating through an arsenal of guitars and pedals. Bassist Zach Anderson and drummer Keith Rich are basically along for the ride – their playing is competent, but overshadowed by Griggs’ massive talent.

The band’s newly released debut is a showcase of their sound, moving from loud, shellshocking roars to slower, moodier blues. On the record, Griggs plays everything himself but bass, and the production by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys creates an excellent-sounding record. A perfectly psychedelic cover completes the look – this album would be right at home with your dad’s LPs, and should be in anyone’s rotation.

Oh Possum

Latest Release: “Ghost in the Grass”

Label: None

Availability: From the band at live shows

Web site: www.ohpossum.com

One of Des Moines-based Adam Haug’s many projects, Oh Possum creates captivating ambient instrumental music. Blending conventional instruments with analog synthesizers, drum machines and turntables, they achieve a haunting, ethereal sound. The 4-track EP plays like the soundtrack to a dying world – one going out with a whimper, not a bang.

Onstage, the band’s stage presence is absolutely enthralling. The five musicians meld with their instruments, completely isolating themselves from the crowd and focusing on their sound. The performance is ably supplemented by a video reel cobbled together from a variety of old horror films and random bits of stop-motion. A horror aesthetic pervades all the band’s work.

Fans of Godspeed You! Black Emperor or local act The Autumn Project take note – this is in the same vein. With no lyrics and a suggestive, rather than oppressive, approach, this record can be as immersive as you want it to be.

The Horseshoe Spatulas

Latest Release: “Who’s Next on the Doomsday Parade?”

Label: None

Availability: From the band at live shows, www.cdbaby.com

Web site: www.myspace.com/thehorseshoespatulas

The Horseshoe Spatulas’ sound is a mash-up of ’80s British metal – Iron Maiden, Judas Priest — and later punk acts such as The Vandals and Bad Religion.

Their three-guitar lineup allows for surprising rhythmic complexity and a very interesting aural texture.

Staffed by five guys with pseudonyms, the band has a deliciously wry sense of humor. In the best traditions of black humor, there’s not much here that isn’t funny, but it’s all scary, too.

The band’s overt sociopolitical commentary is quite relevant, and is helped along by a fantastic liner featuring art by Drew Curry and Andrew Pratt.

The band puts out a AAA sound – they could share the stage with one of their idols.

Live, the guys are almost annihilatingly loud, tending more toward their metal inspirations. In every song they drop the hammer and don’t stop pounding until the song’s had all it can take.

If there’s still hope for punk rock’s future, this is it.

FACECAGE

Latest Release: “III”

Label: Great Big Mouth

Availability: From the band at live shows, and the band’s Web site

Web site: www.facecage.net

FACECAGE is a bone-crunching metal act with an aura of professionalism. The band performs in full costume on a banner-decked stage and has a full management and technical staff. Its newest album comes in a full-color digipak along with a high-quality booklet. The band is superb, and it has been offered several deals from major labels.

However, FACECAGE is determined to do things their way.

“We made a vow early on that we would not change anything in our art,” said vocalist Matt Nyberg.

He believes local music is where the art remains pure without the money that record labels bring in.

The band’s brand of metal is a heavy form of nu-metal, inspired by performers such as Slipknot and Faith No More. Nyberg’s vocal range is a midrange rasp, occasionally edging into a lower death scream.

Live, the band comes completely unhinged. Nyberg insists on a violent pit, and does so much jumping around himself that an onstage collision seems like a certainty. His ventures into the crowd prove his devotion.

“We are who we are – we’re uncompromising metal, we’re in your face,” he said. “We’re FACECAGE.”