Ruthless Grindcore / Technical Death Metal from Dallas.

Glendale, California's Cogort deploy a grinding death metal assault characterized by blunt-force rhythms, guttural vocal punishment, and a compulsion to keep songs fast and mean.

Coheed and Cambria have been rock's most ambitious storytellers since forming in Nyack, New York in 1995, with vocalist Claudio Sanchez weaving a sprawling science fiction narrative called 'The Amory Wars' across their entire discography. Their sound fuses progressive rock complexity with post-hardcore urgency and power-pop hooks, producing anthems like 'Welcome Home' and 'A Favor House Atlantic' that transcend their conceptual framework. Sanchez's unmistakable high vocals and the band's refusal to simplify their vision have made them a singular force in modern rock.

Punishing Industrial / Groove Metal out of Texas.

Boone, North Carolina's Coils of the Serpent weave melodic black metal grandeur into a death metal foundation, producing atmospheric and serpentine compositions that balance aggression with dark, sweeping melody.

Chicago's Cokegoat stretch sludge metal across progressive song architectures, blending crushing heaviness with dynamic shifts and a willingness to let songs breathe and evolve over extended running times.

Georgia grindcore act Colacon specialize in short, chaotic detonations of noise and speed, delivering relentless blasting punishment with zero intent of letting up.

Cold are a Jacksonville, Florida outfit fronted by the singular Scooter Ward, who crafted an atmospheric, melancholy strain of post-grunge and alternative metal that set them apart from the harder-edged nu metal pack during their late-1990s rise. Their 2000 breakthrough 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage and its follow-up Year of the Spider (2003) both went Gold, with the latter reaching number three on the Billboard 200 and producing the moody radio hit "Stupid Girl," establishing Cold as one of the more emotionally resonant acts of the era.

Houston's Cold and Lust traffic in raw black metal with a Texas underground sensibility, blending nihilistic atmosphere with primitive, flesh-stripping aggression that owes nothing to polish.