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Exotic Animal Petting Zoo was an experimental mathcore quartet based in Crown Point, Indiana. They released their debut album, I Have Made My Bed In Darkness, on Mediaskare records. Their second album, Tree Of Tongues, was released August 5, 2012. They have toured with acts such as Fear Before and Dead Letter Circus.

Exotic Animal Petting Zoo formed in 2004. Shortly after their conception, they released a 5-song demo. In 2005, the band recruited Scott Certa, as their permanent bassist, which led to the recording of their first EP. Soon after the release of their EP, they got signed by Mediaskare Records. Their debut album, I Have Made My Bed In Darkness, was released in August 2008. Their second album, Tree of Tongues, was released in 2012. Later that year, guitarist Jeffrey Zampillo left the band.

The Kindred is a Canadian progressive rock sextet formed in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally formed in the winter of 2006, the band released their debut EP Ms. Mary Mallon on July 4, 2008 and their debut full-length Lore on June 14, 2011, both independently. Following their name change and signing to Sumerian Records the band released Life In Lucidity in 2014.

Following the break-up of David Journeaux and Mike Ieradi's previous band, A Legend Falls, the two formed Today I Caught the Plague. Slowly the group fleshed out their lineup, including members from Bill Furious and There Were Thousands. The group's lineup was complete with the addition of Steve Rennie from Die Nameless.

The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time signatures, polyrhythms and unconventional drum patterns became a staple of their sound, although later albums incorporated more melody, and influences from a range of genres. The band's lineup shifted numerous times throughout its existence; by the time the group dissolved, Weinman was the only remaining founding member. The last surviving lineup also included longtime members Liam Wilson on bass, Greg Puciato as lead vocalist, and Billy Rymer on the drum kit, alongside then-newcomer Kevin Antreassian as rhythm guitarist.

The Kindred is a Canadian progressive rock sextet formed in Ottawa, Ontario. Originally formed in the winter of 2006, the band released their debut EP Ms. Mary Mallon on July 4, 2008 and their debut full-length Lore on June 14, 2011, both independently. Following their name change and signing to Sumerian Records the band released Life in Lucidity in 2014. After three years and various member changes, the band released a new EP Weight, advertised as part one of their upcoming full-length to be released later in the year.

The Contortionist is an American progressive metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2007, the band consists of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard, drummer Joey Baca, vocalist Mike Lessard, bassist Jordan Eberhardt, and keyboardist Eric Guenther. They have released four studio albums and three EPs. The band signed with eOne Music and Good Fight Entertainment in early 2010.

The Contortionist formed in 2007 under the name At the Hands of Machines with vocalist Jake Morris, guitarists Roby Baca and Cameron Maynard, bassist Christopher Tilley, and drummer Joey Baca. The band's first release, the EP Sporadic Movements, was released later that year. At the Hands of Machines changed their name to The Contortionist following the EP's release and the same line-up recorded the EP Shapeshifter, which was released in September 2008. These two EPs featured a deathcore sound in contrast to the band's later works. Following the release of Shapeshifter, vocalist Jake Morris left the band and was replaced by Dave Hoffman, who also provided keyboards. The band entered Voltaic Recording Studio in early 2009 and released their third EP, Apparition, in September of that year. The sound of this EP continued the deathcore sound heard with Morris, but also showed the band incorporating elements of progressive metal into its music.

The Human Abstract was an American progressive metalcore band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2004, the group was originally signed to the independent label Hopeless Records, the band then released the two albums Nocturne (2006) and Midheaven (2008) before signing to eOne Music and releasing Digital Veil (2011). The Human Abstract went through several lineup changes over the years, with the final consisting of founding members Dean Herrera, A.J. Minette and Brett Powell, in addition to Henry Selva and Travis Richter.

Born of Osiris is an American progressive metalcore band formed in 2003 in Palatine, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, lead guitarist Lee McKinney, rhythm guitarist/bassist Nick Rossi, drummer Cameron Losch, and keyboardist/vocalist Joe Buras. Born of Osiris has played at various festivals including the Summer Slaughter Tour (2008, 2009, 2015 and 2018) and the Music as a Weapon Tour 4.

The group underwent several name changes, including Diminished (2003–2004), Your Heart Engraved (2004–2006), and Rosecrance (2006–2007), before finally settling on Born of Osiris in 2007, basing the name on the Egyptian deity Osiris and the tale of his son Horus.

Tommy Giles Rogers is an American musician, most notable for being the lead vocalist, keyboardist and lyricist of the American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, which he co-founded in 2000. His vocal style combines death growls and screams with peaceful clean singing melodies, sometimes including falsetto. In 2005, Stylus Magazine named Rogers one of the three most versatile rock singers at the time.

Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, by members Marc Okubo and Sam Applebaum in 2004. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released six studio albums. Their first four albums are considered to be deathcore, but their fifth album, Matriarch, is considered to be metalcore. They have also been associated with djent.

Last Chance to Reason is an American progressive metal band from Augusta, Maine. Their debut album, Lvl. 1, was released through Tribunal Records in 2007. Their first major label debut, Level 2, came in 2011 through Prosthetic Records. The band's third studio album, Level 3, was released on August 6, 2013.

Periphery is an American progressive metal band formed in Washington, D.C., in 2005. Their musical style has been described as progressive metal, djent, and progressive metalcore. They are considered one of the pioneers of the djent movement within progressive metal. They have also received a Grammy nomination. The band consists of vocalist Spencer Sotelo, guitarists Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb, Jake Bowen, and drummer Matt Halpern.

Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr., Paul Waggoner, Dustie Waring, Dan Briggs, and Blake Richardson (drums).

Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Washington, D.C. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent band within the djent scene. Prosthetic Records released the band's eponymous debut album in 2009. They went on to release the albums Weightless (2011), The Joy of Motion (2014), The Madness of Many (2016), and Parrhesia (2022).

Animals as Leaders formed after guitarist Tosin Abasi's previous metalcore band, Reflux, disbanded. The heavy metal record label Prosthetic Records saw Abasi's guitar work and asked him to create a solo album for them. Abasi initially declined, feeling such an endeavor would be "...egotistical and unnecessary." Abasi decided to take a year off to study music, as he felt he was unable to reach his peak at guitar playing. After Abasi had completed his course, he took up the label on the offer of a solo project. The name Animals as Leaders was inspired by Daniel Quinn's 1992 novel Ishmael, which addresses anthropocentrism. Abasi coined the name as a reminder "that we're all essentially animals".

Scale the Summit is an American instrumental progressive metal band based out of Houston, Texas. It formed in 2004 and signed to Prosthetic Records. The band is influenced by other progressive acts such as Cynic and Dream Theater. The band gained notice as part of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour with Dream Theater, Zappa Plays Zappa and Bigelf.

Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier grew up in the same neighborhood, but never played music together until 2004, after they reconnected a few years earlier in a record store discussing a common interest, Between the Buried and Me. The duo formed a metal band in Houston that had trouble finding a bass guitarist and drummer. Letchford was set to attend the Los Angeles Musicians Institute a year after the band's formation, and Levrier decided to attend as well. The duo mainly hoped to meet new people to join their band, reasoning that their chances of doing so would be highest there, and after only a few months they met Jordan Eberhardt and Pat Skeffington, who joined on bass guitar and drums respectively. They first noticed Skeffington when they saw him wearing a Between the Buried and Me T-shirt with drumsticks protruding from his backpack, and Eberhardt joined in response to an ad the trio placed on Myspace. Reflecting on the experience, Letchford explained, "I still think to this day that it was just meant to be, as moving out to Los Angeles didn't guarantee anything. I think we all just crossed paths at the perfect time."

Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide Abasi, is an American musician, best known as the founder and lead guitarist of the instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. He has recorded and released five albums with Animals as Leaders: a self-titled debut, Weightless, The Joy of Motion, The Madness of Many, and their most recent album, Parrhesia. Abasi was ranked #97 on the Guitar World list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time.

Sikth (also typeset as SikTh) are a British progressive metal band from Watford, Hertfordshire, England, formed in 1999.

SikTh formed in late 1999, but consolidated their line-up in March 2001. That line-up consisted of dual vocalists Mikee Goodman and Justin Hill, guitarists Dan Weller and Graham Pinney, bassist James Leach and drummer/percussionist Dan Foord.

Their first official release was an EP titled Let the Transmitting Begin. Released in 2002, it featured three tracks, as well as a limited edition live CD from the BBC Radio 1 recordings of the same songs.

The band's first release for Gut Records was an EP titled How May I Help You? Released in 2002, it featured three tracks, two of which were on the band's debut album. A video for the song "(If You Weren't So) Perfect" was also contained. The song "How May I Help You?" contained a story about a person called Rodney. The song was made into an animated video, which was written, directed and produced by Mikee Goodman. It went on to win the best video award in The Big Cheese Magazine, as well as reaching number 1 on MTV UK, and being an A-list video on MTV Asia.