Erupting from the Pittsburgh hardcore scene in 2015, 156/Silence fuse the poetic intensity of post-hardcore with the aggression of mathcore and metallic hardcore. Named after a measure count on a piece of sheet music, the band channels chaotic energy through dissonant riffs and visceral screams. Their atmospheric yet punishing sound has made them torchbearers for Pittsburgh's resurgent heavy music community.

Better Lovers emerged as a supergroup from the wreckage of Every Time I Die, uniting vocalist Greg Puciato (ex-Dillinger Escape Plan) with ETID guitarist Jordan Buckley, drummer Clayton Holyoak, and bassist Stephen Micciche. Their 2023 debut 'God Made Me an Animal' channels chaotic mathcore fury and experimental edge into one of the heaviest new projects of the decade.

Emerging from the ashes of The Chariot's sister bands in the early 2000s Solid State Records scene, Douglasville, Georgia's Norma Jean have been one of metalcore's most consistently experimental and uncompromising acts for two decades. Albums like 'Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child' and 'O' God, the Aftermath' helped define the chaotic, mathcore-influenced end of the metalcore spectrum, while later works like 'Polar Similar' showed their evolution into atmospheric, textured heaviness. Cory Brandan Putman's unhinged vocal approach and the band's refusal to repeat themselves have made them a touchstone of creative heavy music.