The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. Currently, the band consists of lead vocalist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and guitarists Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight. The Black Dahlia Murder has undergone various lineup changes, with Trevor Strnad and Eschbach remaining the only constant members, until the former's death in 2022, which then saw Eschbach take over lead vocals and Knight replacing him on rhythm guitar.
Arsis is an American death metal band from Virginia Beach, Virginia, formed in 2000. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.
Tourniquet was an American Christian metal band that formed in Los Angeles in 1990. It was founded by Ted Kirkpatrick, Guy Ritter, and Gary Lenaire. Tourniquet primarily played a mixture of thrash and progressive metal and was influenced by additional, non-rock forms of music such as classical and world music. The band earned six GMA Dove Award nominations and won multiple recognitions from the readers of HM Magazine, including "Favorite Band of the 1990s" and "Favorite Album of the 1990s" for Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992). They released ten studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, one EP, and several video releases. The last Tourniquet lineup consisted of Ted Kirkpatrick (drums) and Aaron Guerra. The band disbanded after Kirkpatrick's death in 2022.
Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida in 1987. The band has been primarily based in California since the late 1990s, marking a significant shift in their geographic and creative roots. Paul Masvidal originally served solely as the band's guitarist, but later took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Cynic incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal.
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. Their core lineup, with the exception of the drummer, has remained consistent since Householder replaced original guitarist Brandon Cagle in 2007. 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.
The Game of Life is the second studio album by American deathcore band Arsonists Get All the Girls. The album was released on August 14, 2007. This is the last Arsonists Get All The Girls album to feature bassist Patrick Mason due to his death in November 2007 from alcohol poisoning.
Evan Brewer is an American musician from Nashville, Tennessee. He is the current bassist of Fallujah and formerly played bass for The Faceless and Entheos. He has also been involved in other bands such as Reflux and the last bassist to be a part of Animosity. He also released two solo albums under his own name. In 2011, he released his debut solo album titled Alone, and his second solo album, Your Itinerary, was released on July 16, 2013.
Enforcer is a Swedish heavy metal band formed in 2004 in Arvika.
The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, Akeldama, in November 2006, and a follow-up, Planetary Duality, in November 2008. The band's third album, Autotheism, was released on August 14, 2012. On December 1, 2017, the band released their fourth album, In Becoming a Ghost.
Planetary Duality is the second studio album by American death metal band The Faceless. It was released on November 11, 2008 through Sumerian Records. It is a concept album with the lyrics following a science fiction theme of an extraterrestrial and extra-dimensional race controlling the world and is loosely inspired by the book The Children of the Matrix by David Icke. The album debuted at number 119 on the Billboard 200, selling around 5,600 copies in its first week.
Nekrogoblikon is an American melodic death metal band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 2006, by Tim Lyakhovetskiy and Nicky Calonne. The band has released five full-length albums, Goblin Island, Stench, Heavy Meta, Welcome to Bonkers, and The Fundamental Slimes and Humours, and one EP, Power. The band's music centers on goblins. As of 2023, no original members remain in the band while lead guitarist Alex "Goldberg" Alereza remains as the longest serving member.
Monuments are a British progressive metal band formed by former Fellsilent guitarist, John Browne, and former Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza guitarist, Josh Travis. The band has released four studio albums through Century Media Records: Gnosis (2012), The Amanuensis (2014), Phronesis (2018) and In Stasis (2022).
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.
Fallujah is an American technical death metal band from San Francisco, California, formed in 2007. Fallujah has toured with acts such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Carnifex, Thy Art Is Murder, Dying Fetus, Between the Buried and Me, and The Contortionist.
In Becoming a Ghost is the fourth studio album by The Faceless. It was released on December 1, 2017 through Sumerian Records. It is the only album with Abigail Williams' Ken Sorceron on vocals, The Zenith Passage's Justin McKinney on guitar and Chason Westmoreland, formerly of Hate Eternal, session drumming. The album debuted at #66 on the Billboard Top Current Albums chart.
Entheos is an American progressive metal super-group formed in 2015 by ex-members of Animosity, Animals as Leaders, and The Faceless. They released their debut EP Primal in March 2015 and their debut album The Infinite Nothing in April 2016. The band announced their return to the studio in March 2017 and released Dark Future in November of the same year.
Solipsist is the debut studio album by American technical death metal band The Zenith Passage. It was released via Unique Leader Records on April 15, 2016. It is the band's first release for Unique Leader Records, with whom they signed in 2013. The album focuses on the concept of solipsism. The album features a guest vocal appearance by Fallujah's Alex Hofmann, and guitar solo by Wes Hauch. The cover art was done by Ken Sarafin, who had also worked with Skinless, The Kennedy Veil, and Archspire. Per figures provided by Metal news site MetalInsider, the album sold 720 units in its first week.
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.
Cryptic Shift is an English extreme metal band formed in Leeds, West Yorkshire in 2013. They have two EPs and two demos, with their debut album Visitations from Enceladus being released on 4 May 2020 through Blood Harvest records. In an article for The Quietus, the album was referred to as "damn near essential, and proof that [Britain] has a valid contribution to make to this new wave of progressive death metal".
