Dethklok began as the fictional band at the center of Brendon Small's Adult Swim animated series 'Metalocalypse,' but the music proved too good to remain fictional. Small, who writes and performs nearly all the music, channels melodic death metal through absurdist comedy, creating albums like 'The Dethalbum' that are genuinely impressive thrash and death metal records in their own right. The project's transition from cartoon novelty to legitimate touring act with Gene Hoglan on drums is one of metal's most unlikely success stories.

After the dissolution of Coal Chamber, vocalist Dez Fafara formed DevilDriver in Santa Barbara, California in 2002, pursuing a more aggressive direction rooted in groove metal and melodic death metal. Albums like 'The Fury of Our Maker's Hand' and 'The Last Kind Words' showcased a band far heavier than Fafara's nu-metal origins suggested, driven by relentless double-bass drumming and interlocking guitar harmonies. Their ambitious country-metal covers album 'Outlaws 'Til the End' revealed an unexpected creative range.