Neurosis is an American post-metal band from Oakland, California. It was formed in 1985 by guitarist Scott Kelly, bassist Dave Edwardson, and drummer Jason Roeder, initially as a crust punk band. Chad Salter joined as a second guitarist and appeared on the band's 1987 debut Pain of Mind and then Steve Von Till replaced him in 1989. The following year, the lineup further expanded to include a keyboardist and a visual artist. Beginning with their third album Souls at Zero (1992), Neurosis transformed their hardcore sound by incorporating diverse influences including doom metal and industrial music, becoming a major force in the emergence of the post-metal and sludge metal genres.
Unsane is an American noise rock trio that was formed in New York City in 1988. Its music touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal. The writer Patrick Kennedy wrote, "While developing the blueprint for noise-metal bands to follow, Unsane cut a remarkable swath through underground music, inspiring a devoted, cult-like following around the world."
Isis was an American post-metal band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997 by guitarist and vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Jeff Caxide, vocalist and electronic instrumentalist Chris Mereschuk and drummer Aaron Harris. After a demo and the EP Mosquito Control were recorded by the original lineup, Mereschuk was replaced by Jay Randall in 1999, who joined the group alongside guitarist Michael Gallagher. Jay Randall would later be replaced by guitarist and keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer after the recording of Red Sea. With roots in hardcore punk and doom metal, the band borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and evolution of structure. Isis disbanded in June 2010, just before the release of a split EP with the Melvins, reforming only once in 2018 as Celestial for a one-off show to pay tribute to Caleb Scofield.
Cult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. Their style of music is similar to contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. Cult of Luna was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, including the commercially successful albums Salvation (2004) and Somewhere Along the Highway (2006). After an extended period of inactivity, Cult of Luna returned with its Indie Recordings debut Vertikal (2013) and companion EP Vertikal II (2013), both drawing inspiration from Fritz Lang's 1927 film, Metropolis. In 2016 the band released their space-themed collaborative album, Mariner, featuring American vocalist Julie Christmas.
Red Sparowes is an American, Los Angeles-based post-rock band, comprising current and former members of Isis, Marriages, The Nocturnes, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced experimental rock, with an otherwise uncommon extensive use of a pedal steel guitar.
At the Soundless Dawn is Red Sparowes' 2005 debut release. It had a mixed reception upon release, enthusiastically welcomed by fans of the genre and of related bands such as Isis and Neurosis. Belgian record label Hypertension Records released it on double LP.
Neurot Recordings is an American independent record label founded by members of avant-garde metal band Neurosis in 1999. Gradually expanding, it has showcased a variety of artists including a number of sludge metal, post-rock, and noise bands.
Trophy is the debut album by American noise-rock/post-metal band Made Out of Babies. It was released through Neurot Recordings on June 28, 2005. The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Joel Hamilton at Atomic Recordings in Brooklyn and Leopard Studios in New Paltz with mastering by Doug Henderson.
The Gersch is a band founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1996. They have been on extended hiatus since 1999 with the only activity since that time being the 2006 release of their self-titled album, mixed and produced by Justin Sosnovski, Graham Hick and Bryant Clifford Meyer, as well as a reunion performance on June 22, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.
Battle of Mice was an American post-metal supergroup consisting of Julie Christmas, Josh Graham, Joel Hamilton, Tony Maimone, and Joe Tomino. The band's name was derived from a saying by Alexander the Great pertaining to a military invasion of Crete.
Aaron Turner is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis, while also participating in several other bands and projects such as Old Man Gloom, Lotus Eaters and Split Cranium, a collaboration with Jussi Lehtisalo of Finnish band Circle who toured with Isis in 2009.
A Day of Nights is the only studio album by American post-metal band Battle of Mice. It was released on October 6, 2006 through Neurot Recordings label.
Jeff Caxide is an American bassist, best known for his time with post-metal band Isis, of which he was a founding member and present until its dissolution in 2010. He was also a founding member of Red Sparowes, but left after the release of their first full-length. He also contributed to side-project Spylacopa. Prior to his time in Isis, he was a touring member of the Boston metalcore band 454 Big Block. He also helped found Connecticut-based metalcore band Cable, for whom he played bass. His stay with the band as a musician was brief, but he did return in order to produce 1999's Gutter Queen.
Bryant Clifford Meyer is a keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist, best known for his tenure with Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis. He was with the band since its debut full-length, Celestial, in 2000. Previously, he was a formative member of Boston-based rock band The Gersch. He is also a member of post-rock side projects Red Sparowes, Windmills by the Ocean and a solo project named Taiga.
A Storm of Light is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 2008.
Coward is the second studio album by American post-hardcore band Made Out of Babies, released on September 5, 2006. It was the second and last album by the band to be released through Neurot Recordings. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago with mixing by John Golden.
Julie Christmas is an American musician from Brooklyn, New York. Christmas is her legal middle name; she was named so after the fact that she was born on Christmas day. She is the former lead singer of defunct Brooklyn-based noise rock band Made Out of Babies and the former lead singer of defunct post-metal supergroup Battle of Mice. In 2010, she released a critically acclaimed solo album titled The Bad Wife, and in 2016, she became a featured member on the Swedish post-metal band Cult of Luna's album Mariner.
Temporal is a compilation album by American post-metal band Isis, containing various demo recordings, unreleased tracks and remixes from throughout the band's history. It was released on November 6, 2012, by Ipecac. The compilation includes demos and alternate versions of songs from Oceanic, Panopticon and Wavering Radiant. It also features songs originally from Sawblade EP and Melvins / Isis. The compilation also includes a DVD of all the band's music videos.
Full of Hell is an American grindcore band from Ocean City, Maryland, and Central Pennsylvania, that formed in 2009. They are currently signed to Relapse Records and have released six studio albums – Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home (2011), Rudiments of Mutilation (2013), Trumpeting Ecstasy (2017), Weeping Choir (2019), Garden of Burning Apparitions (2021), and Coagulated Bliss (2024) – as well as several EPs and splits. In addition to studio albums, they've released five collaboration albums – Full of Hell & Merzbow (2014) with Japanese noise artist Merzbow, One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache (2016) and Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (2017) with sludge metal band the Body, Suffocating Hallucination with doom metal band Primitive Man in March 2023 and When No Birds Sang with shoegaze band Nothing in December 2023.
Mariner is a collaborative studio album between the Swedish post-metal band Cult of Luna and the American vocalist Julie Christmas, formerly of the bands Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice. Serving as Cult of Luna's seventh studio album and the first time Christmas has appeared on the entirety of a full-length album since her 2010 solo debut The Bad Wife, Mariner was released on April 8, 2016 through Indie Recordings. Contrasting the industrial city themes of Cult of Luna's last studio efforts, Vertikal and Vertikal II from 2013, Mariner focuses its concept on space exploration.
