Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five years, the band's lineup changed several times, but stabilized in 1993 when Cunningham rejoined after his departure in 1990; by this time, Chi Cheng was bassist. The lineup remained stable for fifteen years, with the exception of keyboardist and turntablist Frank Delgado being added in 1999. The band's experimental nature has led some critics to describe them as "the Radiohead of metal".
Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by thrash metal, melodic death metal, grindcore, industrial metal, power metal and black metal bands, as well as tribute albums. It also distributes and promotes post-hardcore/metalcore labels SharpTone Records; another post-hardcore/metalcore label, Arising Empire, was in Nuclear Blast portfolio until its acquirement by Kontor New Media in 2020.
Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and later crossed over into alternative rock. Mould and Hart were the band's principal songwriters, with Hart's higher-pitched vocals and Mould's baritone taking the lead in alternating songs.
Metalcore is a fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Among other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing. Other defining instrumentation includes heavy guitar riffs often utilizing percussive pedal tones and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming, more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark in 2000. Ryan is the band's only remaining original member, as Don left in 2009. As of the 2010s, the band has sold over 600,000 albums.
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like the term "post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black, Jawbox, Quicksand, and Shellac that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. Dischord Records became a major nexus of post-hardcore during this period. The genre also began to incorporate more dense, complex, and atmospheric instrumentals with bands like Slint and Unwound, and also experienced some crossover from indie rock with bands like The Dismemberment Plan. In the early- and mid-2000s, post-hardcore achieved mainstream success with the popularity of bands like At the Drive-In, My Chemical Romance, Dance Gavin Dance, AFI, Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, The Used, Saosin, Alexisonfire, and Senses Fail. In the 2010s, bands like Sleeping with Sirens and Pierce the Veil achieved mainstream success under the post-hardcore label. Meanwhile, bands like Title Fight and La Dispute experienced underground popularity playing music that bore a closer resemblance to the post-hardcore bands of the 1980s and 1990s.
Quicksand is an American post-hardcore band from New York City, founded in 1990. Their debut self-titled EP was released on followed by two major-label albums, Slip (1993) and Manic Compression (1995). Quicksand's sound has been compared to that of post-hardcore bands Fugazi and Helmet. The band supported their releases with extensive touring but fell short of the mainstream success anticipated by their labels. These factors and internal stress led them to separate first in 1995 and again in 1999 following a failed year-and-a-half reunion. In June 2012, Quicksand reunited for a special one-night performance and since has been playing additional live shows. The band's third album, Interiors, was released on November 10, 2017, and it was followed four years later by their latest album Distant Populations (2021).
Manic Compression is the second studio album by American post-hardcore band Quicksand. It was first released on February 24, 1995 on vinyl through Revelation Records, before being given a widespread CD release through Island Records on February 28, 1995. The album influenced many post-hardcore and alternative metal bands. It peaked at number 135 on the Billboard 200.
Sergio Vega is an American musician. He is the bassist of post-hardcore band Quicksand, former bassist of alternative metal band Deftones, and a solo artist.
Code Orange is an American hardcore punk band that formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008, while the members of the band were still in high school.
Stephen Brodsky is an American rock musician, best known as a member of Cave In, Mutoid Man, New Idea Society and Old Man Gloom. He also has a solo career and is a former member of Converge, Kid Kilowatt, Parasite and Pet Genius.
Forever is the third studio album by the American hardcore punk band Code Orange and its first on a major label, Roadrunner Records, following a stint on the indie label Deathwish Inc. It was released on January 13, 2017.
Interiors is the third album by American post-hardcore band Quicksand, released on November 10, 2017. It is the band's first studio album since Manic Compression (1995), and their first release on Epitaph Records.
You Won't Get What You Want is the fourth studio album by American rock band Daughters. It was released on October 26, 2018, through Ipecac Recordings, and is the band's only album since their 2013 reformation.
72 Seasons is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on April 14, 2023, by their own record label Blackened Recordings. 72 Seasons was produced by Greg Fidelman, who produced the band's previous studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), and is the band's second studio album to be released through Blackened.
Underneath is the fourth studio album by American hardcore punk band Code Orange, released on March 13, 2020 through Roadrunner Records. It is their first album to be produced by Nick Raskulinecz. The album was also produced by Jami Morgan and Will Yip. It was preceded by three singles: "Underneath", "Swallowing the Rabbit Whole", and "Sulfur Surrounding". The album continues the band's metalcore and hardcore punk sound with a heavier emphasis on industrial and electronic elements. The album received critical acclaim with critics praising the use of glitches and electronics and the overall production in general.
Torn Arteries is the seventh studio album by English extreme metal band Carcass. It was released on 17 September 2021. Named after a demo tape recorded by former Carcass drummer Ken Owen during his teenage years, this is the band's first album in eight years after its predecessor Surgical Steel (2013). It also marked the first time since 1993's Heartwork that Carcass had recorded more than one album with the same lineup – with bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker, guitarist Bill Steer and drummer Daniel Wilding. Torn Arteries was initially scheduled to be released on August 7, 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the album to be delayed for over a year.
The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! is the sixteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 2, 2022, on frontman Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft label via Universal. It is the first Megadeth album to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren and their first studio album in six years since Dystopia (2016), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in the band's career. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw.
Aggression Continuum is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Fear Factory, released on June 18, 2021. It is the band's first studio album since Genexus (2015), marking the longest gap between two albums in their entire career.
A View from the Top of the World is the fifteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on October 22, 2021. This is their first album to be recorded at their own studio, DTHQ, as well as their first since Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009) to include fewer than nine tracks, and the first since Dream Theater (2013) both to contain a track of at least ten minutes in length and to end with the longest track.
