Zeni Geva

Old Man Gloom is an experimental sludge/post-metal supergroup formed in 1999 in Santa Fe, New Mexico by Aaron Turner (Isis) and drummer Santos Montano, later expanding with musicians from the Boston hardcore and metalcore scene. Their music juxtaposes crushing sludge and hardcore with noise, drone, and ambient soundscapes. Bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield died in a car accident in March 2018; Stephen Brodsky, his Cave In bandmate, subsequently joined the band. Their albums have appeared on labels including Hydra Head Records (and its Tortuga imprint), founded by Aaron Turner, as well as Profound Lore.

Zozobra is an American sludge/post-metal band conceived in 2006 by bassist-vocalist Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Old Man Gloom), taking its name from the giant effigy burned annually at the Fiestas de Santa Fe in New Mexico. It gave Scofield his first outlet to write his own songs, and its debut album Harmonic Tremors (2007) featured Old Man Gloom drummer Santos Montano; the band toured the U.S. with Isis and Jesu in early 2007. Later releases Bird of Prey (2008, with Aaron Harris of Isis on drums) and Savage Masters (2013) followed, with the project ending after Scofield's death in 2018.

Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1988 by Justin Broadrick and G.C. Green, evolving out of the earlier group Fall of Because. Through their fusion of hip hop-derived drum-machine programming, downtuned metal riffs, and industrial dissonance - heard on their acclaimed debut album Streetcleaner (1989) - they developed a sound widely regarded as foundational to industrial metal and post-metal. Broadrick had earlier drummed in Napalm Death, and the band signed to Earache Records before disbanding in 2002 and reuniting in 2010.

Head of David were a Birmingham-area experimental/industrial-metal band formed in 1986 and signed to Blast First, whose abrasive noise-rock was once described as being about as harsh as music can get 'without descending into pure noise.' Their releases include Dustbowl (1988) and Seed State (1991). Justin Broadrick drummed for the group from 1987 to 1989, a stint between his early stretch in Napalm Death and the founding of Godflesh.

Human Impact are a New York noise-rock supergroup formed in 2019, welding Chris Spencer's Unsane fury to Jim Coleman's Cop Shoot Cop-derived industrial electronics. The debut lineup added the Swans rhythm section of Chris Pravdica and Phil Puleo; their self-titled debut appeared on Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings in 2020, followed by Gone Dark (2024). By 2024 the rhythm section had turned over to ex-Daughters drummer Jon Syverson and ex-Made Out of Babies bassist Eric Cooper.

Sumac is an American/Canadian post-metal trio formed in 2014, built around guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner (ex-Isis) with bassist Brian Cook and drummer Nick Yacyshyn, playing some of the heaviest, most improvisational music of Turner's career. Their studio albums include The Deal (2015), What One Becomes (2016) and May You Be Held (2020). The band has also released collaborative records with Japanese multi-instrumentalist Keiji Haino, including American Dollar Bill – Keep Facing Sideways, You're Too Hideous to Look at Face On and Even for Just the Briefest Moment Keep Charging this 'Expiation' Plug in to Making It Slightly Better.

Greymachine is an experimental industrial noise project formed in 2006, built around Godflesh and Jesu frontman Justin Broadrick and Isis frontman Aaron Turner, with bassists Dave Cochrane (Head of David) and Diarmuid Dalton (Jesu). Broadrick described it as needing "something black to Jesu's white," pairing crushing beats, dissonant guitar, and harsh electronics. Their debut album Disconnected was produced by Broadrick and released on 4 August 2009 via Turner's label Hydra Head Records.

Cult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band formed in 1998 in Umeå, emerging from members of the local hardcore group Eclipse. Widely regarded as a leading force in post-metal alongside Neurosis and Isis, their songs are long, slow and crushing, layering heavy distorted passages with orchestral interludes and post-rock-esque forays. Their discography includes Salvation (2004), Somewhere Along the Highway (2006), and the Metropolis-inspired Vertikal (2013). In 2016 they released the space-themed collaborative album Mariner, recorded with American vocalist Julie Christmas.

Chat Pile are an American noise-rock/sludge-metal band from Oklahoma City, formed in 2019, whose members perform under pseudonyms Raygun Busch, Luther Manhole, Stin and Cap'n Ron. Their self-produced 2022 debut God's Country, released on The Flenser, became a surprise breakout, pairing bleak, regionally specific lyrics with abrasive riffing indebted to Big Black. The band followed it with Cool World in 2024.

The Ocean (also known as The Ocean Collective) is a German post-metal band formed in 2000 in Berlin by guitarist and principal composer Robin Staps, built around a fluid, revolving cast of musicians. Their sound blends post-metal, progressive metal, sludge and avant-garde elements across ambitious concept albums exploring geology, evolution and oceanic depths, including Precambrian (2007), the paired Heliocentric and Anthropocentric (2010), Pelagial (2013), and the Phanerozoic double-album series (2018-2020). The band released early records via Make My Day Records before signing to Metal Blade Records, and Staps also runs the post-metal imprint Pelagic Records.