future listening

Giant Squid was an American post-metal, progressive rock band, based out of San Francisco, California since 2007, but originated from Sacramento, California, in 2002, as well as a stint in Austin, Texas, throughout 2006. The band is currently signed to Translation Loss Records out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were previously signed to The End Records out of Brooklyn, New York. Current lineup contains founding members Aaron John Gregory (guitar, vocals) and Bryan Beeson (bass), as well as Jackie Perez Gratz (electric cello, vocals), Zack Farwell (drums), and Andrew Southard (keyboards, vocals).

Giant Squid was originally found in 2002 in Sacramento, California, after the members, Aaron John Gregory (guitar, lead vocals), Bryan Beeson (bass guitar), Bill Hughes (guitar), and Aurielle Zeitler (keyboards, vocals), had been playing in Northern California under the monikers Koi and Namor. The band self-released its debut album Metridium Field in 2004 through its own record label, Tyrannosaurus Records. Metridium Field contained re-recorded versions of the songs "Revolution in the Water" and "Ampullae of Lorenzini", two tracks originally released locally in 2002 as a two-song CD under the band's previous name, Namor.

Baroness is an American heavy metal band from Savannah, Georgia, whose original members grew up together in Lexington, Virginia.

Baroness formed in mid-2003, founded by former members of the punk/metal band Johnny Welfare and the Paychecks. Singer John Dyer Baizley creates the artwork for all Baroness albums, and has done artwork for other bands. Much of their early material was written by John Dyer Baizley and Pete Adams at a music store in Savannah and then later in a small apartment. They recorded 14 hours of two guitars, and Baizley later repurposed this material for Baroness's earliest EP.

From 2004 to 2007, Baroness recorded and released three EPs, named First, Second and A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk (aka Third), with the third one being a split album with Unpersons.

Yob is an American doom metal band from Eugene, Oregon, composed of singer/guitarist Mike Scheidt, bassist Aaron Rieseberg, and drummer Travis Foster. Their most recent studio album Our Raw Heart was released in June 2018.

Cult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. They are known for post-metal music similar to the contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. The band was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, including the commercially successful albums Salvation (2004) and Somewhere Along the Highway (2006). After an extended period of inactivity, Cult of Luna returned with its Indie Recordings debut Vertikal (2013) and companion EP Vertikal II (2013), both drawing inspiration from Fritz Lang's 1927 film, Metropolis. In 2016 the band released their space-themed collaborative album, Mariner, featuring American vocalist Julie Christmas.

Orange Goblin is a heavy metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong.

Pelican is an American post-metal quartet from Chicago, Illinois. Established in 2001, the band is known for their atmospheric and almost entirely instrumental style. They have released six studio albums and six EPs.

The band is known for dense combinations of different melodies and extended track lengths. It may be classified as stoner rock, doom metal, or post-rock. Larry Herweg, Trevor de Brauw, and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec are also three members of the band Tusk.

Pelican previously signed to Hydra Head Records but is currently signed with Southern Lord Records roster. Pelican toured with Wolves in the Throne Room to support their first EP for Southern Lord, Ephemeral, released on June 6, 2009. What We All Come to Need was released on October 27, 2009. Greg Anderson and Aaron Turner both appeared on the album. In celebration of the new album, the "Pelican Burger" was served at Kuma's Corner for one night.

The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its tenure. Originally signed to Kemado Records, the group released its debut album Age of Winters in 2006, the material for which had been largely written by Cronise prior to the band's formation. Gods of the Earth was released two years later, giving the group its first entry on the US Billboard 200 chart when it reached number 102.

Electric Wizard are an English doom metal band from Dorset. The band formed in 1993 and have recorded nine studio albums, two of which have been considered genre landmarks: Come My Fanatics… (1997) and Dopethrone (2000). Electric Wizard's brand of doom metal incorporates stoner and sludge traits, with lyrics focusing on the occult, witchcraft, H. P. Lovecraft, horror films and cannabis. In 2014 they formed Witchfinder Records, an imprint of Spinefarm Records, on which they plan to release all future albums.

The origins of Electric Wizard go back to 1988 when Jus Oborn formed the band Lord of Putrefaction. They put out three demo tapes from 1989 to 1991 and also did one split with Mortal Remains. In 1992, the name was changed to Thy Grief Eternal after Adam Richardson left the band. They put out one demo under this name titled On Blackened Wings. In 1993, James Evans left the band and they once again changed their name, shortening it to Eternal. The band released two demos under this name. After Gavin Gillingham left the band, Oborn started Electric Wizard. The recordings from this era were issued on the Pre-Electric Wizard 1989–1994 compilation in 2006.

Weedeater are an American stoner metal band formed in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1998. The group's most recent album, Goliathan, was released on May 19, 2015.

Black Tusk is an American sludge metal band from Savannah, Georgia, formed in 2005.

Torche was an American heavy metal band from Miami, Florida. The group formed in 2004 and has released five full-length studio albums, four EPs, two split albums, and three singles. They released their fifth full-length studio album, Admission, on July 12, 2019.

High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song "Electric Messiah".

High on Fire was founded in 1999 by Sleep guitarist Matt Pike, drummer Des Kensel, and bassist George Rice (from Dear Deceased, who originally auditioned to be the band's vocalist). The band's first full-length album The Art of Self Defense was released on 12th Records, and released later on Man's Ruin Records. (The album would later be re-released by Tee Pee Records, with two bonus tracks, as Man's Ruin Records had become defunct.)

Kylesa is an American heavy metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with heavy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former members of Damad, with the addition of guitar player Laura Pleasants who is from North Carolina. The band has since undergone line up changes; the remaining original members are Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. In 2006, the band added two drummers. Eric Hernandez joined in 2008 to replace Porter. The dual drum tracks are often panned strongly to the right and left.

Neurosis is an American avant-garde metal band from Oakland, California. It was formed in 1985 by guitarist Scott Kelly, bassist Dave Edwardson, and drummer Jason Roeder, initially as a hardcore punk band. Chad Salter joined as a second guitarist and appeared on the band's 1987 debut Pain of Mind and then Steve Von Till replaced him in 1989. The following year, the lineup further expanded to include a keyboardist and a visual artist. Beginning with their third album Souls at Zero (1992), Neurosis transformed their hardcore sound by incorporating diverse influences including doom metal and industrial music, becoming a major force in the emergence of the post-metal and sludge metal genres.

Isis (sometimes stylized ISIS) was an American post-metal band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997. The band borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and evolution of structure. Isis's last studio album, Wavering Radiant, was released on May 5, 2009. Isis disbanded in June 2010, just before the release of a split EP with the Melvins. In 2018, the group reformed as Celestial for a one-off show to pay tribute to Caleb Scofield.

In Boston, several sessions of experimentation led friends Aaron Turner (guitar/vocals; also the owner of Hydra Head Records and its subsidiary, HH Noise Industries), Jeff Caxide (bass guitar), Chris Mereschuk (electronics/vocals) and Aaron Harris (drums) to form Isis in autumn of 1997. As Turner stated, "Isis formed as a result of the dissatisfaction with past bands of the founding members. None of us were happy with what we were doing musically at the time, two of us lived together, we had similar tastes and similar record collections." The band began playing out in the spring of 1998, and recorded a demo at Salad Days Studios shortly thereafter. After an East Coast tour in the summer of 1998 where they were joined by Randy Larsen of Cable on guitar, Mereschuk left the band. In 1999, Michael Gallagher (formerly of Cast Iron Hike) and Jay Randall (now of Agoraphobic Nosebleed) joined the band, working on Red Sea (1999). Jay Randall's time with the band was brief, and Isis recruited guitarist/keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer (formerly of The Gersch) to replace him. After releasing their full-length debut entitled Celestial (2000) and its sister EP, SGNL›05 (2001, on Neurot Recordings), Isis gained national underground attention in the metal/hardcore scene through tours with Cave In and Neurosis. Isis remained with this lineup until their dissolution in 2010.

Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2000, the band's lineup of Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals) has remained the same since 2001. Mastodon has released eight studio albums, as well as a number of other releases. The band's 2002 debut album, Remission, garnered significant critical acclaim for its unique sound. Mastodon's second full-length release, Leviathan, is a concept album based on the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Three magazines awarded the record "Album of the Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.

Sleep is an American heavy metal band from San Jose, California. Guitarist Matt Pike and bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros have been the only constant members throughout its history, with several changes of drummers throughout their history. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on metal in the 1990s. The band first gained attention with their second album, Sleep's Holy Mountain (1992). However, conflict with the band's record company contributed to Sleep's breakup by the end of the decade. Sleep's third album, Dopesmoker, was released after the band's dissolution. The band reformed in 2009 and has played sporadic live dates internationally since. In 2018, Sleep surprise-released their comeback album, The Sciences, on Third Man Records, to critical acclaim.

Ufomammut is an Italian doom metal band formed in 1999 by guitarist Poia, bassist and vocalist Urlo, and drummer Vita.