 | | As I Lay Dying are a metal-hardcore crossover band from San Diego, California. The group formed as a trio in 2001 with vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, and guitarist Evan White, and shortly thereafter released Beneath the Encasing of Ashes. |
 | | Originally known by the less-than-subtle moniker Burn the Priest, Richmond, Virginia-based Lamb of God decided to change their name shortly after the release of a self-titled debut in 1998. |
 | | The four bandmembers who came together and created Killswitch Engage already had strong fan followings. |
 | | Formed by guitarist Oli Herbert and ex-Shadows Fall vocalist Phil Labonte in 1998, Massachusetts' All That Remains debuted in 2002 with Behind Silence and Solitude on Metal Blade. |
 | | After leaving Ceremonial Oath to form In Flames, founding member and guitarist Jesper Strömblad saw this project as a way of expressing his songwriting creativity rather than being stuck in the background. |
 | | Although their music sometimes bears strong similarities to the technical, progressive brand of death metal centered around Gothenburg, Sweden and epitomized by bands like In Flames, Shadows Fall actually hail from Massachusetts. |
 | | Orange County, CA, sextet Bleeding Through formed in the year 2000, featuring vocalist Brandan Schieppati, guitarists Brian Leppke and Scott Danough, bassist Ryan Wombacher, drummer Derek Youngsma, and keyboardist Marta Peterson. |
 | | Hailing from central Florida, Trivium formed in 2000 and quickly built a buzz around Orlando's metal community with a blend of metalcore, thrash, and progressive metal flourish. |
 | | Formed in 1998, the Cleveland, OH-based hardcore sextet Chimaira consists of singer/screamer Mark Hunter, guitarists Matt DeVries (who replaced Jason Hager in mid-2001) and Rob Arnold, bassist Jim LaMarca, drummer Andols Herrick, and electronic specialist Chris Spicuzza. |
 | | Washington, D.C.'s Darkest Hour is a supporter of the death metal/hardcore merger, founded in the early '90s by such outfits as Carcass and Entombed. |
 | | The New Haven, Connecticut-based Hatebreed got together in 1993 for the purpose of creating a "back to basics" hardcore band with heavy metallic guitars, screaming vocals, and 30-second songs. |
 | | Following the dissolution of Marilyn Manson/Korn-aping, nu-metal also-rans Coal Chamber, vocalist Dez Fafara hooked up with guitarists Evans Pitts and Jeffrey Kendrick, bassist Jon Miller, and drummer John Boecklin to form DevilDriver -- a rather more extreme band dedicated to the subsequent hardcore-meets-death metal trends. |
 | | Between the Buried and Me is a thinking man's hardcore unit hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band began in 2000 after the dissolution of vocalist Tommy Rogers and guitarist Paul Waggoner's previous group, Prayer for Cleansing. |
 | | God Forbid forges the gritting, teeth-baring bile of American death metal together with the melodic overtones of the so-called "New Wave of Swedish Death Metal" promulgated by bands like In Flames, Arch Enemy, and the late, lamented, and legendary At the Gates. |
 | | They look like clean-cut suburban kids, but when August Burns Red plug in to play, they unleash a precise, powerfully emotional metalcore onslaught that has won them a loyal following among fans of adventurous hard rock. |
 | | Growing tired of their metalcore band, Hamartia, guitarist Slim (aka Brendan MacDonald) and drummer Mark Castillo began Bury Your Dead as a side project in late 2001. |
 | | Detroit's the Black Dahlia Murder, named for the infamous 1947 slaying of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, actually sounds like they should live in Scandinavia, whence originates much of the frenetic brand of death and black metal that inspires them. |
 | | Coming out of Southern California during the rap-metal explosion around the turn of the century, Atreyu crafted a sound much closer to Agnostic Front or Hatebreed. |
 | | Combining elements of melodic death metal, power metal, neo-classical, and thrash, Children of Bodom have been one of the world's most expansive and hard to define bands since their formation in 2003. |
 | | Formed by ex-Carnage, Carcass, and Candlemass guitarist Michael Amott (concurrently of Spiritual Beggars) with his brother Christopher (Armageddon), Arch Enemy took a straight-ahead approach to death metal reminiscent of Entombed or late-period Carcass, blending catchy, classic-style metal riffs with crushing grooves for an intense yet accessible sound. |
 | | Hailing from the hippie-loving beachfront town of Byron Bay, Australia, metalcore outfit Parkway Drive blasted out of their serene surroundings touting a volatile blend of intricate metal riffing, punishing breakdowns, and hardcore's emotional tension. |
 | | Atlanta-based sludge/stoner/alternative metal outfit Mastodon formed in 1999 around the talents of guitarist Bill Kelliher, drummer Bränn Dailor, bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, and guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds. |
 | | Not to be confused with the late-'70s disco diva (who sang with Chic in 1977 before going solo and scoring a hit with 1978's "Saturday") or the country singer (who enjoyed a successful run in the '60s), this Norma Jean is a Christian alternative metal/metalcore band previously known as Luti-Kriss. |
 | | Buffalo-based metalcore quintet Every Time I Die formed in the winter of 1998. Spearheaded by brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), the founding lineup also included guitarist Andrew Williams, bassist John McCarthy, and drummer Michael "Ratboy" Novak. |
 | | Offering a complex form of metal that combined the sweeping adventurism of math rock, the oddball tempos of experimental jazz, and the stunning brutality of thrash metal, Meshuggah raised the bar for metal bands everywhere upon their debut. |
 | | Since their inception in 2003, the Welsh quartet Bullet for My Valentine have been taking cues from '80s metal bands and the punk-infused metal of the new millennium to make melodic, metallic, dark rock songs. |
 | | Formed in 2006 by Phil Bozeman, Brandon Cagle, and Ben Savage, tech-heavy Knoxville, TN-based death metal outfit Whitechapel (named for the London neighborhood where the notorious Jack the Ripper disposed of most of his victims) blend grindcore, hardcore, and black metal into an unholy trinity of audio violence. |
 | | The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-'90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the '80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al. |
 | | Slipknot's mix of grinding, post-Korn alternative metal, Marilyn Manson-esque neo-shock rock, and rap-metal helped make them one of the most popular bands in the so-called nu-metal explosion of the late '90s. |
 | | Unleashing a relentless fusion of hardcore and death metal with the precision guitar attack of progressive metal, Job for a Cowboy was formed in Glendale, AZ, in 2002. |
 | | Influential West Coast heavy metal quartet Machine Head formed in 1992 around the talents of ex-Vio-Lence guitar players Robert Flynn and Phil Demmel, bass player Adam Duce, and drummer Chris Kontos. |
 | | The Swedish metal sextet Soilwork formed in early 1997, fusing the country's signature ultra-heavy death metal sound with the power-groove riffs of late-'70s, early-'80s British and European metal. |
 | | Fear Factory were one of the first bands to fuse the loud, crushing intensity of death metal with the cold harshness of industrial electronics and samples, producing a more varied sonic palette with which to express their bleak, pessimistic view of modern, technology-driven society. |
 | | Formed in 2001 when most of their members were still in their teens, Buffalo, NY's It Dies Today have one foot in the realm of bruising death metal and another in post-hardcore, combining the two styles into an explosive hybrid generally referred to as -- you guessed it -- metalcore. |
 | | Since their inception, Florida's Underøath have evolved from a run-of-the-mill Christian metalcore band into a fluid, dynamic, and energized rock group that adeptly blends emotive melody, charged punk rock rhythms, and a chunky, engaging bottom end. |
 | | Based out of Los Angeles, CA, As Blood Runs Black melds several extreme metal subgenres (death, black, thrash, metalcore) into their own violent style. |
 | | Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. |
 | | Described as "the world's greatest cultural force," the virtual death metal band Dethklok star in the Adult Swim television show Metalocalypse. |
 | | The Indianapolis-based Christian metalcore band Haste the Day formed in 2001. Guitarist/vocalist Brennan Chaulk, his drummer brother Devin, and bassist/vocalist Mike Murphy originally gigged as a three-piece, but six months after the group's inception they added longtime friend Jason Barnes as a second guitarist, and after a series of auditions named Jimmy Ryan their lead vocalist. |
 | | "If vomit were a movie, this would be the soundtrack," wrote one critic of Cannibal Corpse's music, some of the most extreme, violent death metal sounds and subject matter ever committed to tape. |
 | | Mystifyingly taking their name from a popular chick lit bestseller, the Devil Wears Prada is easily one of the most bizarrely named bands of their time. |
 | | From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. |
 | | Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth originally formed in 1988 under the name Scum; by the time the new moniker was adopted four years later, the line-up consisted of vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olli Mikkonen and Anders Hansson, bassist Ted Lundstrom and drummer Niko Kaukinen. |
 | | The members of metalcore outfit Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X) were still attending high school in Huntington Beach, CA, when they formed their band in 1999. |
 | | Long Island, NY's From Autumn to Ashes gained a reputation for being one of the more melodic bands in East Coast hardcore. |
 | | Technical death metal band All Shall Perish hails from Oakland, California, but their eponymous three-track demo had to make its way across the Pacific Ocean and be embraced by Japan's Amputated Vein Records to make possible their first album, Hate, Malice, Revenge, released in 2003. |
 | | Upon his exit from Sepultura in late 1996, singer/guitarist/songwriter Max Cavalera almost automatically set out to form his next musical endeavor, the ultra-heavy Soulfly. |
 | | The brutally heavy death metal of Through the Eyes of the Dead first appeared in June 2003, with the original band lineup of Anthony Gunnels (vocals), Justin Longshore (guitar), Richard Turbeville (guitar), Jeff Springs (bass), and Dayton Cantley (drums). |
 | | Hailing from Florida's southern tip, Poison the Well arose quickly within the underground hardcore punk scene, becoming a major touring act in several U. |
 | | Orange County, CA, has long been regarded for its contributions to the ever-expanding international hardcore scene, from the positive youth anthems of Insted to the fiery declarations of Inside Out. |