Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released twelve studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos. Their debut album, Soulfly, was released on April 21, 1998, while their most recent album, Totem, was released on August 5, 2022.
Cattle Decapitation is an American deathgrind band formed in San Diego, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup includes vocalist Travis Ryan, guitarists Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio, bassist Olivier Pinard, and drummer David McGraw. Since 2001, none of the founding members remain with the band. Despite not being in the original lineup, Ryan and Elmore are the only constant members on all of Cattle Decapitation's eight studio albums.
Wes Benscoter is an American artist who is best known for his work album covers, especially heavy metal albums. He also has made covers for magazines and books, and shirt designs, and his art is featured in many galleries around the world. Most of his work prior to 2006 is done using airbrush. Benscoter lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Tommy Giles Rogers is an American musician, most notable for being the lead vocalist, keyboardist and lyricist of the progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, which he co-founded in 2000. His vocal style combines death growls and screams with peaceful clean singing melodies, sometimes including falsetto. In 2005, Stylus Magazine named Rogers one of the three most versatile rock singers at the time.
Believer is an American technical thrash metal band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, that plays a hybrid of thrash and progressive metal. Believer is known for its innovative use of symphonic elements in thrash metal, featuring some of the earliest examples of symphonic metal. Their lyrics deal with topics of philosophy, theology and social issues.
Humanure is the second studio album by American deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation. It was released on July 13, 2004 through Metal Blade Records and has been noted for its iconic cover art, depicting a cow defecating what appears to be human body parts in a wasteland environment — the image has been compared to the artwork for Pink Floyd’s album Atom Heart Mother. Humanure generated some minor controversy around the time of release for its obscene imagery.
Caninus was an American deathgrind band formed as a side project by Most Precious Blood guitarist Justin Brannan, Rachel Rosen, drummer Colin Thundercurry and two female pitbull terriers, Budgie and Basil. They were signed to War Torn Records and had three releases, including a split with Hatebeak and a 7" split with death metal band Cattle Decapitation. In 2008, Richard Christy played the drums on an unknown number of songs for Caninus.
Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after the Whitechapel district in East London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Brandon Zackey. Founded in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage, the band has released eight studio albums and fourteen music videos, and it's currently signed to Metal Blade Records. Whitechapel's 2010 album A New Era of Corruption, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's self-titled fourth album was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week. In 2014 the band released their fifth full-length album, Our Endless War to generally positive reviews. The album sold roughly 16,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. They released their sixth full-length album Mark of the Blade in 2016 to greater critical acclaim, selling roughly 8,000 copies in the first week of its release. In 2019, Whitechapel released their seventh album, The Valley, which debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 also to critical acclaim. Their newest album, Kin, was released on October 29, 2021.
Emil Werstler is an American guitarist and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee who is perhaps best known for his work in metal and gypsy jazz. In 2004, Werstler became lead guitarist for the metal band Dååth, whose second album The Hinderers peaked at No. 49 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 2007. In 2009 Dååth released The Concealers on Roadrunner which reached No. 35 on Top Heatseekers and was placed as No. 3 on a list of the "top twenty metal albums of 2009" by Metal Sucks. In 2010 Werstler released the instrumental metal album Avalanche of Worms as a collaboration with Eyal Levi with the album receiving a largely positive response for its musicianship and experimental nature.
The Harvest Floor is the fourth studio album by American deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation. It was released through Metal Blade Records on January 20, 2009. The album was recorded and mixed at Sharkbite studios in Oakland, California, with engineering and production handled by Billy Anderson. The artwork was designed by Wes Benscoter, and shows the outside of a large slaughterhouse with the "general public being herded inside to meet their demise." It is the band's last album to feature bassist Troy Oftedal, and their first to feature drummer Dave McGraw. The album was inducted into Decibel's hall of fame.
Rivers of Nihil is an American technical death metal band from Reading, Pennsylvania. They are currently signed to Metal Blade Records. To date the band has released two EPs and four studio albums. Their most recent release is 2021's The Work. Their 2018 album Where Owls Know My Name debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200, selling 2,750 copies in its first week.
Allegaeon is an American death metal band from Fort Collins, Colorado, formed in 2008. They have released one EP and six studio albums and are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.
The Austerity Program is a noise rock and alternative metal band that formed in New York City in 1997, founded by guitarist Justin Foley and bassist Thad Calabrese. The band has a distinct sound; due to their use of a drum machine, the band's categorized as an industrial rock outfit, and comparisons to other bands such as Big Black are made by critics and fans alike. The duo has a warm reputation within the American underground music scene since their formation, and their 2014 album Beyond Calculation was ranked as #12 on Rolling Stone's 20 Best Metal Albums of 2014.
The Anthropocene Extinction is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Cattle Decapitation. It was released on August 7, 2015, on Metal Blade Records. It became Cattle Decapitation's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 100.
Terminal Redux is the third album by the American thrash metal band Vektor, released on May 6, 2016. It is the band's first album released on Earache Records. The album is a concept album, which tells a sci-fi story about an astronaut finding the key to immortality and using it to gain vast political and financial power, but eventually experiencing an existential crisis as a result. Vocalist, guitarist and songwriter David DiSanto has also stated that the album was intended to serve as a concept album about the band itself. Terminal Redux is the final Vektor album to feature Frank Chin and Blake Anderson, as both left the band in December 2016. It was also Vektor's final album before they entered a four-year-hiatus that same year.
Where Owls Know My Name is the third studio album by American technical death metal band Rivers of Nihil. It was released on March 16, 2018 through Metal Blade Records, debuting at number 61 and selling 2,750 copies in its first week. It is the third album in the band's tetralogy based around the four seasons, representing autumn.
Death Atlas is the seventh studio album by American death metal band Cattle Decapitation. It was released on November 29, 2019, via Metal Blade Records. Its release coincided with Black Friday and came more than four years after their previous studio album, 2015's The Anthropocene Extinction.
The Conscious Seed of Light is the debut studio album by American technical death metal band Rivers of Nihil. The album was released on October 15, 2013 via Metal Blade Records. It is the first album in the band's tetralogy based around the four seasons; it represents spring.
Great Is Our Sin is the sixth studio album by the American death metal band Revocation, released on July 22, 2016. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Ash Pearson, who replaced original drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne in 2015.
