Tantric Bile

LA duo of guitarist Lee Wanner and vocalist Paula Stefanini, active since 2012, fusing djent, jazz-fusion, blues and country into a genre-scrambling avant-garde metal project. Their two albums, Butterfly (2012) and Exocoetidae: Flying Fish (2013), pair death-metal vocal bursts with virtuosic, humor-laced composition. Guest musicians on Exocoetidae include prog drummers Morgan Ågren and Marco Minnemann.

Akphaezya are a self-described 'eklektik metal' band from Orléans, France, active since 2002 and built around guitarist/concept-writer Stephan H. Zag-Zero's multi-album story arcs. Reviewers (French-Metal.com, Metal Archives) describe them freely mixing death metal, jazz, gothic, stoner, and cabaret/bal-musette elements, with critics drawing style comparisons to Unexpect, Diablo Swing Orchestra, and Pin-Up Went Down (no documented member/label overlap with those acts was found). Vocal duties have passed from the operatic, ethnically-inflected Nehl Aëlin to current singer Hakata Ooh.

Dissociative Identity Disorderplay in the dock

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The Dr. Orphyus Project is the solo vehicle of Ryan Morris, a death-metal/jazz-fusion outfit based in Clay City, Illinois and active since 2001 (per Metal Archives) with a discography running from the 2001 self-titled EP through 2011's Death Jazz and 2016's The Roustabout. Morris plays guitar, trombone, and vocals, weaving swing, Latin, grind, and even polka passages into extreme-metal songwriting, citing Mr. Bungle and Agoraphobic Nosebleed as touchstones. Comic-book concept releases (the Death Nouveau series) and an animated Death Jazz feature underline the project's theatrical, genre-scrambling bent.

Repugnantplay in the dock

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Tokyo progressive/avant-garde metal quintet active since 1997, built around keyboardist Masashi Momota's sweeping piano work and vocalist Anoji Matsuoka's genre-hopping delivery, from spitting growls to a more crooned register. The band favors through-composed 'movements' over verse-chorus form, blending death metal weight with jazz and fusion harmony; their 2005 sophomore album Naishikyo-Sekai reached the West via a 2008 Season of Mist reissue. Early drummer Junichi Harashima left the band (replaced by Gaku Yamaguchi around 2006) to become the longtime drummer of fellow Japanese avant-garde metal act Sigh.

無下の人 (Muge No Hito / The Free Man)play in the dock

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Cyrax are a Milan progressive metal band formed in 2012 around Marco Cantoni, whose sound has grown steadily more eclectic across three albums (Reflections 2013, Pictures 2015, Experiences 2020, plus 2021 EP Metamorphosis and 2023's Novo Deus). Bandcamp tags the catalog Electronic/Jazz/Metal/Progressive Metal/Progressive Rock/Folk, and RateYourMusic double-tags 2020's Experiences as Progressive Metal and Avant-Garde Metal; reviewers describe it mixing 'celtic, death metal, thrash, jazz fusion, rock prog, bluegrass and Stravinski influences,' with choir passages, ukulele, ambient electronics/soundscape (courtesy of drummer Lorenzo Beltrami), and carnival-style interludes with flutes sitting alongside death-metal growls.

Dorian Grayplay in the dock

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Psykup is a French experimental/groove metal band from Toulouse, active since 1995, known for self-describing their genre-blending sound as 'autruche core' (ostrich core) and citing Strapping Young Lad, Mr. Bungle, and Primus as touchstones. Their Season of Mist album We Love You All (2008) drew reviews noting abrupt swings between thrash riffing, funk slap-bass breakdowns, and jazz-mood interludes within single songs. The band, now led by founding members Julien Cassarino (vocals/guitar) and Brice Sansonetto (drums), released its most recent album The Joke of Tomorrow on Verycords in 2025, marking 30 years of activity.

Azure Emote is an avant-garde death metal project founded in New York in 2003 by illustrator/vocalist Mike Hrubovcak (Monstrosity, Vile) as an outlet 'to express personal negativity without the genre limitations often present within Extreme Metal.' Built around a core band with guitarist Ryan Moll, bassist Kelly Conlon, drummer Mike Heller and violinist Pete Johansen, the project layers in shifting rosters of guest musicians — female vocalists, saxophone, harmonica, keyboards — to give nearly every song its own distinct color. Releases including The Gravity of Impermanence (2013) and The Third Perspective (2020) have come out on Selfmadegod Records.

Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant is the avant-garde jazz vehicle of Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, active since 1997 and built on the idea of a compositional jazz trio that also wields rock's power chords — AllMusic called the result "moody jazz with convulsive rock." The group debuted with Debutantes & Centipedes (1998, Buzz Records) featuring guitarist Adam Levy and drummer Kenny Wollesen, then re-emerged on Ipecac with Sister Phantom Owl Fish (2004) in a new lineup with guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Ches Smith. That trio returned on Séances (2022, Pyroclastic Records), expanded by the chamber quartet Folie à Quatre — including Sleepytime Gorilla Museum violinist Carla Kihlstedt — for music inspired by the 18th-century French Convulsionnaires of Saint-Médard.

The Salamanderplay in the dock

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A San Diego collective mixing free-jazz horns (sax, tuba, French horn) and folk instrumentation (banjo, accordion) with noise-rock abrasion and beatnik-poetry vocals, resisting the 'metal band' label despite billing themselves as extreme. Press describes them as an unpredictable blend of free improvisation, algorithmic composition, and 'ancient campfire songs' colliding with shattered noise.

Panzerballett is a Munich jazz-metal quintet founded in 2004 and led by guitarist-composer Jan Zehrfeld, fusing delicate interlocking funk grooves with brutally hard, polyrhythmic Meshuggah-informed riffs and genuine jazz improvisation. Alongside Zehrfeld's originals they stage virtuosic reinterpretations spanning Deep Purple, Meshuggah and Weather Report, and are known for comedic, theatrical live shows. Signed to ACT Records, their guest-heavy albums (e.g. Planet Z, Übercode Œuvre) recruit elite fusion drummers.