Today Is the Day
Today Is the Day is an American noise-rock and experimental-metal band led by guitarist/vocalist and producer Steve Austin, formed in Nashville in the early 1990s. Blending grindcore, hardcore and avant-garde metal with heavy sampling and unhinged, erratic arrangements, the group became a touchstone for the noisecore and mathcore underground. Their 1999 Relapse album In the Eyes of God featured a young rhythm section of bassist Bill Kelliher and drummer Brann Dailor, both formerly of Lethargy, who soon left to co-found Mastodon.
SCORE PROFILE
Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.
WHY THOSE SCORES
- Hardcore 6 — Noise-rock/noisegrind rooted in hardcore, thrash and grindcore aggression (Wikipedia).
- Death 3 — Grindcore adjacency and blast-driven extremity on In the Eyes of God.
- Technical 6 — Steve Austin set out to make 'the fastest and most technical' record with the 1999 lineup.
- Glitch 4 — Extensive sampling, electronics and unconventional production give an erratic, fractured texture.
- Theatrical 4 — Noted for disturbed, confrontational delivery and Austin's fractured vocal performance.
- Doom 2 — Slower, oppressive passages surface across the catalog (e.g. Temple of the Morning Star).
MEMBERS
CONNECTIONS
- Mastodonpath →
Bassist Bill Kelliher and drummer Brann Dailor played on In the Eyes of God (1999) before leaving to co-found Mastodon. source ↗
- Wetnursesatellitepath →
Drummer Curran Reynolds co-founded Wetnurse and separately drummed for Today Is the Day (recording/touring on Pain Is a Warning, joining in 2010). source ↗
- Author & Punisherpath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Author & Punisher's "Beastland" (2018) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Baronesspath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Baroness's "Blue Record" (2009) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Brain Tentaclespath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Brain Tentacles's "Brain Tentacles" (2016) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Cephalic Carnagesatellitepath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Cephalic Carnage's "Lucid Interval" (2003) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Deathpath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Death's "Vivus!" (2012) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Dillinger Escape Planpath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau (Discogs artist id 594339): The Dillinger Escape Plan's "Cursed, Unshaven, And Misbehavin'" (2003, Design/Sleeve) and Today Is The Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. Dillinger Escape Plan joins Landau's existing pairwise cluster as a 10th client. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Dysrhythmiapath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Dysrhythmia's "Live From The Relapse Contamination Festival" (2004) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Mastodonpath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Mastodon's "Remission" (2003) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
- Russian Circlespath →
Both bands' cover art/design work was done by freelance artist Orion Landau: Russian Circles's "Blood Year" (2019) and Today Is the Day's "Sadness Will Prevail" (2002). Pairwise artwork tie per the 2026-08-07 ruling (PROTOCOL rule 7) — Orion Landau is not an atlas band member so there is no anchor band. One representative Discogs credit cited; the companion credit is logged in research/edge-taxonomy-ledger.json. source ↗
FURTHER LISTENING
Nearest score profiles in the atlas.
- UnaffiliatedEI 13Monastat 7HardcoreTechnicalGlitch
Monastat 7 was a Cheyenne, Wyoming grindcore trio whose 1993/94 debut 'Now Available Without A Prescription' — produced by Dan Lilker of Brutal Truth and reissued on Relapse — paired technical cybergrind riffing with heavy sampling, comedy/rap interludes and skits (a track built around a grocery-store clerk's price-check announcement over the PA). The lineup leaned into avant-garde instrumentation for a 1993 grind band, with Henkaboo E. Boltz credited on guitar, programming AND violin alongside Dr. Stat3's bass/keyboards. A 1995 follow-up EP, 'Operatic Genitalia Of 7 Bowel Movements,' continued the project on the same Japanese DIY label, Lost Frog Productions.
- Patton-verseEI 13Dead CrossHardcoreTechnicalTheatrical
Dead Cross is a Southern California crossover-thrash/hardcore supergroup formed in late 2015, uniting drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Fantômas, Mr. Bungle), bassist Justin Pearson (The Locust, Retox), and guitarist Michael Crain (Retox). The Locust's Gabe Serbian was the original vocalist but left after the debut was recorded; Mike Patton replaced him in December 2016, rewriting the vocals over the existing instrumentals. The band has released two albums via Patton's Ipecac Recordings — the self-titled debut (2017) and II (2022) — delivering short, violent blasts of thrash and hardcore punk.
- Mathcore / DEP-verseEI 12ZelophiliaHardcoreTechnicalTheatrical
Zelophilia is the solo studio project of Lou Kelly, based in Ukiah, California, releasing one full-length, Lust, Loathing & Love, in December 2011. Blends death metal, hardcore, and mathcore with baroque classical touches and absurdist, humor-laced songwriting.
- UnaffiliatedEI 18Inferno Sci-Fi Grind'n'RollHardcoreTechnicalGlitch
Inferno Sci-Fi Grind'n'Roll was an Italian grindcore/mathcore band from Rome, active 2002-2012, founded by five friends with disparate musical influences. Signed to Subsound Records, their sound mixed distorted, metallic grind/mathcore riffing with 'electro-noise sonorities' and unexpected quieter 'roots'-inflected passages, wrapped in sci-fi/pop-culture conceptual song titles.
- Mathcore / DEP-verseEI 9SikthTechnicalHardcoreTheatrical
SikTh are a British progressive/technical metal band formed in Watford, Hertfordshire in 1999, known for their dual-vocalist attack, dissonant mathcore-adjacent riffing, and unorthodox compositions. They are widely cited as pioneers of the djent and tech-metal movement, breaking through with their debut album The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild (2003), followed by Death of a Dead Day (2006) and, after a reunion, The Future in Whose Eyes? (2017).
- Mathcore / DEP-verseEI 8Mutoid ManHardcoreTechnicalTheatrical
Mutoid Man is an American heavy metal band formed in 2012 in Brooklyn, New York City by Cave In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky and Converge drummer Ben Koller. The project began as a two-piece before adding bassist Nick Cageao, who was replaced in August 2021 by Jeff Matz of High on Fire. Their sound has been described as metalcore that engages hardcore punk, rock and roll, math rock, progressive rock, and psychedelic music.
- ZornEI 11Bologna ViolentaHardcoreTechnicalGlitch
Bologna Violenta is the noise/electrogrind project of Treviso violinist and multi-instrumentalist Nicola Manzan, founded in 2005. Early releases built distorted guitar, strings and electronic drums around samples from 1970s Italian poliziottesco cinema; the project expanded into a duo in 2015 with drummer Alessandro Vagnoni and later shifted toward violin-led arrangements on Cortina (2017) and Bancarotta Morale (2020), with 2026's OBLOMOVISMO returning to its cybergrind roots. Manzan has also worked as a sideman for Baustelle and Il Teatro degli Orrori and collaborated with J. Randall of Agoraphobic Nosebleed.
- Mathcore / DEP-verseEI 13These Arms Are SnakesHardcoreTechnicalTheatrical
These Arms Are Snakes were a Seattle post-hardcore band active from 2002 to 2009, formed by former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Blending punk urgency with math-rock complexity and synth textures, they released three studio albums on Jade Tree: Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home (2004), Easter (2006), and Tail Swallower and Dove (2008). After disbanding, bassist Brian Cook went on to Russian Circles and Sumac.
- UnaffiliatedEI 11MutationHardcoreTechnicalGlitch
A UK extreme-metal collaboration led by Wildhearts frontman Ginger Wildheart with Scott Lee Andrews (Exit International) and drummer Denzel, functioning as a revolving-door supergroup anchored by Napalm Death's Shane Embury. The double debut The Frankenstein Effect / Error 500 (2013) folds in Merzbow noise and Mark E. Smith spoken-word, veering from melodic pop-metal hooks into industrial noise-grind chaos. Error 500 was released on Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings.
- Mathcore / DEP-verseEI 4Better LoverssatelliteHardcoreTechnical
Better Lovers is an American metalcore and chaotic hardcore band formed in 2023 in Buffalo, New York, uniting three former members of Every Time I Die (Jordan Buckley, Steve Micciche, Clayton Holyoak) with guitarist/producer Will Putney and vocalist Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan. The group released the EP God Made Me an Animal (2023) and its debut full-length Highly Irresponsible in October 2024 through SharpTone Records. Puciato fronted the band from its formation until the two parties amicably parted ways in February 2026.