Broughton's Rules is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania instrumental post-rock and math rock band founded in 2009 by members including guitarist Jeff Ellsworth, formerly of Don Caballero and Blunderbuss. Their debut album Bounty Hunter 1853, released on Relapse Records in 2010, was praised for blending heavy post-rock, Krautrock, and Morricone-influenced guitar work, with the band explicitly distancing themselves from technical math rock conventions in favor of song-first composition. Their instrumental approach positions them at the intersection of Don Caballero's angular math formalism and the more atmospheric textures of post-metal.

Don Caballero were a math rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed in 1991. Driven throughout their career by drummer Damon Che, the band helped define the genre with intricate time signature work, dissonant guitar interplay, and meticulous compositions drawn partly from jazz. Their 1995 album Don Caballero 2 and 2000's American Don are considered genre touchstones; guitarist Ian Williams went on to co-found Battles. The band dissolved in 2009 after several acrimonious lineup shifts.

Dysrhythmia is an instrumental progressive metal trio formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1998 by guitarist Kevin Hufnagel and drummer Jeff Eber, later joined by bassist Colin Marston of Behold...The Arctopus. The band relocated to Brooklyn and released their Relapse debut Pretest (2003), named one of Metal Hammer's top ten essential mathcore albums. Their prolific discography extends through Coffin of Conviction (2024) on Profound Lore Records, consistently exploring dense, jazz-informed technical metal without vocals.