Winny Puhh

Maïsman is a Grenoble collective built around a fictional vegetable-superhero mythology, pitting its titular hero against the villain 'Méchant Man' (voiced on record by Lofofora's Reuno) across two concept albums, Le Plus Grand des Super-Héros (2006) and Le Retour de Méchant Man (2010), blending funk, new wave, synth-pop, hardcore and alternative metal. Live, the project stages a full theatrical production — characters, costumes and sets, a Star Wars/Disney pastiche — making the show, as much as the genre-shifting studio sound, its defining trait.

Kettle Cadaver were a deathrock/industrial metal band from Temecula, California, active from 1995 until 2017, led by vocalist Edwin Borsheim. The band became notorious for extreme, self-harming stage shows -- Borsheim was known for stapling his lips shut, cutting himself, and nailing wood to his body -- drawing comparisons to GG Allin; this history is documented in the 2016 film Dead Hands Dig Deep. Their catalog, including Halloween (1996) and Horronomicon (1995) on Horror Rock Records, has been tagged across databases as deathrock, horror punk, and avant-garde metal. Borsheim died by suicide in June 2017, coinciding with the band's end.

Ordkløver is a music-and-poetry project begun in 1999 by Düreforsög vocalist Boris Schiøler alongside bandmates Nis Bysted and Andreas Hauer-Jensen. Its sole release, Byen Buldrer ("The City Rumbles", 2005, Escho), pairs Schiøler's phonetic poetry with rock guitar and drums and an eight-voice choir, described by reviewers as sounding like "intoxicated monks and/or sea pirates."

Stolen Babies are an American experimental/avant-garde rock band formed in California in 2001, built around Dominique Lenore Persi's accordion and theatrical vocals in a 'dark cabaret' meets prog-metal frame. Twin brothers Rani and Gil Sharone anchor the rhythm section; influences include Oingo Boingo, Mr. Bungle and Fishbone. They released There Be Squabbles Ahead (2006) via No Comment/The End Records.

Coppelius are a Berlin chamber-metal ensemble formed in 1997 who replace guitars and bass with cello, double bass, two clarinets and harpsichord, performing in top hats and tailcoats as a troupe of named Victorian/steampunk personas. Taking their name from the sinister toymaker of E.T.A. Hoffmann's 'Der Sandmann,' the band builds full theatrical stagings around dark-romantic themes across seven studio albums released since 2007 on F.A.M.E. Recordings.

Made Out of Babies were a Brooklyn noise-rock/sludge quartet active 2004-2012, fronted by the extraordinary Julie Christmas, whose lurching between whisper and shriek gave the band its volatile character. They released Trophy (2005) and The Ruiner (2008), with the Steve Albini-recorded Coward (2006) widely rated their high point; early records came out on Neurosis's Neurot Recordings. The lineup drew from the wider New York heavy underground, with guitarist Brendan Tobin (Red Sparowes), bassist Eric Cooper, and Christmas also fronting Battle of Mice.

Negative Øhio is a noise/experimental duo of Gigakoops (Ohio) and Nightmare Lyre (Norway), begun in 2016. Self-tagged across an eclectic sprawl — jazz fusion, industrial, dark ambient, digital hardcore, queercore, dada, and avant-garde metal — the project favors abrasive, self-consciously limitless production married to absurdist, Dada-inflected humor.

7000 Dying Rats are a long-running Chicago 'comedy grind' collective, active in various lineups since 1992, built around joke song titles and a deliberately rotating cast of 30-plus contributors rather than a fixed band. Their records (Fanning the Flames of Fire, The Sound of No Hands Clapping, Season in Hell) mix grindcore/noise aggression with tasteless, cult-favorite humor. The most notable alumnus is drummer/vocalist Weasel Walter, who passed through the Rats between stints leading The Flying Luttenbachers and later drumming for Behold... The Arctopus.

Train Come To Town . . . Make Town Dirtyplay in the dock

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Lies of the Machine were a Budapest, Hungary avant-garde/symphonic steampunk metal band, active 2013-2020, built around a concept world ruled by a 'Machine Lord' and blending symphonic and folk metal with industrial, thrash and cabaret elements. Their sole full-length, 'Freakshow' (2016), pairs clean vocals from Dauda Judit with the varied melodic/aggressive vocals of Buza 'Don' Balázs, and the band staged elaborate steampunk/circus ('psychocircus') live shows.

Psychocircus!play in the dock

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Dog Fashion Disco is an American avant-garde metal band formed in Rockville, Maryland in 1995, built around vocalist Todd Smith and long-serving drummer John Ensminger. Frequently likened to Mr. Bungle, they splice heavy metal with jazz, circus and film-noir cabaret, 1960s psychedelia, ska and funk into whiplash, concept-driven records. A saxophone/woodwind chair (Matt Rippetoe) anchors the jazz side of the lineup, and their 2001 major-label album Anarchists of Good Taste features a guest turn from System of a Down's Serj Tankian.