Between The Buried And Me have been progressive metal's most fearless adventurers since forming in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2000. Albums like 'Colors' and the two-part 'Parallax' epic redefined what extreme music could encompass, seamlessly weaving death metal, jazz fusion, country, and electronic music into sprawling compositions that can shift genres mid-measure. Their technical mastery is matched only by their compositional ambition, making each album a journey through the entire spectrum of heavy music.

Brain Tentacles is a Chicago-based experimental metal and jazz trio comprising Bruce Lamont (Bloodiest), Dave Witte (Publicist UK, Circle of Animals), and Aaron Dallison (Keelhaul), formed in 2013. Their self-titled debut album (2016) blends structured and improvised passages across noise rock, sludge, doom, jazz, and ambient territory in a manner critics compared to John Zorn's Naked City and Mike Patton's most experimental work. The group operates as a self-described 'sound adventure' project, prioritizing textural exploration over genre categorization.