Formed in 2023 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Risus21 occupies the moody intersection of progressive and gothic metal, building layered, atmospheric compositions that move between introspective darkness and technical ambition. Still early in their existence, the band's dual-genre footing suggests a project comfortable exploring emotional depth alongside musical complexity.

York, Nebraska's Ropewalker have been weaving together black metal, doom, and gothic metal since 2020, a combination that puts atmospheric desolation front and center. The gothic sensibility lends the project's doom and black metal a certain mournful elegance that's rare in either genre on its own.

New Jersey's Rorschach have been colliding hardcore, metalcore, grindcore, and powerviolence since 2017 in a way that doesn't so much blend genres as force them into the same room. The result is aggressive and unpredictable, built on the intensity of hardcore and the technical vocabulary of metal without ever settling into either camp.