CTTS are among the big boys of post hardcore for good reason. They came out firing early, but by 2004 they released their milestone debut As the Roots Undo and it was pretty much a game changer. Many imitators had come after this but no one could live up to it. Insanely complex compositions of chaotic beauty like nonstop. It's one of those albums that says "oh you wanna hear our chops? Well ****ing here", and amassed a new world of post hardcore.



It was a long gap from here to their next album but well worth it. They took that sound, polished it up and expanded even further to forge an epic colossus of sludge metalified screamo, a truly huge album



Have a Nice Life



With the way the genre is set up, there is a huge amount of nice and different things that can come out of shoegaze, subtle or completely from left field. You got the fuzzy guitar and an infinity of texture to conjure up with it. HANL let it ring out with ambient and drone influences, coming together with black metal inspired riffs and dreary electronics to shape this dark and monstrous wall of sound. It is more gloomy stuff unlike My Bloody Valentine, sounding like Joy Division playing... I dunno buy there's JD in there somewhere. Another defining album of the twenty first century with Deathconsciousness. It is demanding and in that so very rewarding.



High Wolf



This is some ultra nice stuff that oughtta be talked about more. He creates psychedelic and tropical sounding galaxies of euphoria, it's all so pleasing to the ear. This is very laid back and trippy music packed with nonstop bliss

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

Gridlink



Brought to life in 2004 after the dissolve of the already maddeningly technical and abstract grindcore messiahs Discordance Axis, Gridlink came into the new era with a style even more refined and revolutionary. Their debut album Amber Gray showcased the hyper extreme chops of everyone involved, in just 11 minutes we were treated with mind bending tech riff work, drumming fast enough to travel from Earth to Neptune in twenty minutes, and some of the most absurd vocalization brutal music has to offer. Even being so succinct, it feels like you just listened to twelve different albums smashed together with awesomeness and nonstop, like, coolness. how would anyone not consider this a modern extreme monument?



Amber Gray had a distinct flare to the overall sound, it was recorded without any use of bass guitar, just shreddingly high pitched leads and riffs forever. But their next album Orphan changed that, and it's plain to see the difference. It might not be the focal point at all, but you can hear some low end action, as opposed to just none from the debut. Jon Chang also brought back some of his deep growls from the Discordance Axis days. So there was some evolution in their sound, but still had the trademark gnarliness we'd come to love.



It was a longer gap between Orphan and their third full length, but boy oh boy, they really wanted to step it up here. Longhena graced this planet with its presence in 2014, and it is truly a special work in my eyes. They upped the progression tenfold, making an album about as long as the two previous works combined, showcasing yet again a wider array of ability. Longer and more tightly structured arrangements, heavy emphasis on melody (albeit brutal melody) and there's also a god damn violin. This is actually my favorite grind album ever made.



Gridlink would call it a day soon after for a number of reasons (including their guitarist literally going too hard and picking up some injuries in the arm and hand area), but this was as perfect a swansong as we could ever ask for. We had 10 years of Gridlink, and in that time they established themselves as a serious force in modern extreme music, and at least for me, were a hugely inspiring and beloved group, that I really appreciate. They weren't just a continuation of Discordance Axis, not at all. There could never be another DA, and there could never be another Gridlink.

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

Originally Posted by The Batlord I'm not even mad. Seriously I'm not. You're a good dude, and I think and hope you'll become something good

The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower



It had been established that you can play punk music more technical than anything, and TPTBUTET just do it so well. They play loud and frenetic bursts of post hardcore/noise rock with total jazz compositions. The entire band is spot on 100% of the time. Their music is generally pretty succinct to never be boring, as they pack more into their tracks than you could imagine. It's one of the most technically proficient groups to ever play punk music, they are cream of the crop songwriters and players. The feel here is total spastic energy.



The Number Twelve Looks Like You



Spazztastic techcore comes in heavier doses as well obviously. A landmark mathcore group that infused so many eclectic elements into their masterpiece Mongrel. They played breakneck hyper complex stuff like the other mathcore groups but obviously that wasn't enough, so they thought, how bout some ska and salsa inspired composition?



Cleric



Mathcore still continues to grow. You'd think it wouldn't even be possible to combine it with drone music right? Well **** you. Cleric have released just one album called Regressions, and his a huge stew of intricate avant-garde metal and noise/long form drone. It's like exactly how the Seer by Swans would be if it were a mathcore album. But it came first. I'm not gonna defend the length though, I think it's too long too.

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

Castevet



Die hard black metal traditionalists are pretty much punk asses and variation in music hella rules. Castevet's debut full length Mounds of Ash, in my opinion, is one of the best examples of black metal in a modern way. See, it doesn't stray too far from tradition, but at the same time it's nowhere near the norm. It's a showcase of amazing songwriting ripe with technicality and melody, and mixes in some esoteric post-hardcore elements (it's esoteric cuz what even is post hardcore know what I'm saying). It's really a big step in a new direction for the modern era of extreme music.


Full album:*https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.../mounds-of-ash

Iceage



Probably the leader of the pack in terms of them edgy punk kids from Denmark. After three albums they've displayed a lot of musical growth, but they always had their own thing going on I think. Their first album was a raw and hard hitting, noise rocky slab of post punk with dissonance and unhinged composition to say **** you to gay melodies.

My fav cut, super catchy chorus and an awesome Gang of Fourish freakout riff


On their sophomore they started to incorporate some gay melodies. But overall it's not unlike the first, perhaps moodier in spots.



Their third album though, showed an incredible spike in creativity and maturity. All of a sudden we're treated to a Nick Cave style romp of post punk teeming with many different elements like folk and blues, and a plethora of unique instruments. It was easily my favorite if the year, and the century, and god damn it of all time. I love it so much. It's packed full of memorable moments and is just all around romantic fantastic. I saw them on tour for it then fell in love with their singer.

Frustrating that YouTube doesn't have any full album

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

Cobalt



Cobalt play quite a progressive and clean brand of black metal, but is it prog metal? I dunno. They pack into their music very forward thinking ideas and structure. It's generally pretty technical with unheard of riffs shredding through a very clean production, with a little bit of sludge metal. Long and blisteringly brilliant tracks that forge a completely unique style for this group.*

Here we are with another modern metal milestone


Guerilla Toss



Modern and quirky experimental noise rock, and it's just a blast. Even through no wave and noise elements, they create super catchy and downright danceable clanking tunes. Great and original act of today.



White Suns



Let's take a noise rock 180 now with White Suns. They'll make you forget that fun and catchiness even exist. Ultra punishing stuff, relentless noise, blasting rock suites, and relentless noise. They're centered *around improvisation and never let up the relentless noise. It never takes a break either really, just totally visceral brutality and relentless noise. I'd compare it to Sonic Youth at their least wave. Less than no wave. Negative wave. Their album Totem was one of the standouts from the year. It's soaked in relentless noise.



Battle of Mice



They live up to their status of a supergroup thanks to their super music. It's post metal and anything but typical. What it is though, is amazing. Everything here is unique, the atmosphere, the structure, the vocals. The whole gamut. Singer Julie Christmas is one of my favorites and she vocalizes in such a way that sounds like a frightened little girl then a manic yowling lunatic, always going along with the music. They've only one album but that makes it even more of a masterpiece. A must hear if you like post metal at all



Made Out of Babies



Julie Christmas went on to a burgeoning prolific career, after forming this awesome band. It retains the passion and punishing nature of Battle of Mice, but here it comes through in a riff heavy sludge metal/noise rock hybrid. Each of their albums are amazing, absurdly heavy and visceral. Quite brutal.

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

Föllakzoid



This is some of that sweet sweet space rock. The music here is (get this) spacey, verby, echoey, with heavy krautrock leanings and a general tribal delivery and feel of it all. It recalls the classics but still remains fresh with it's own nuance. Mellow music for holy moments of eternity.



Black Moth Super Rainbow



Keeping it blissed out with some hipster stuff that is so so so nice. BMSR have a very vibrant and colorful quality to their psychedelic ass music. They evolved more and more into less surreal sounding indie/electronic stuff which is all fine and good, but their early stuff is way better I think. Start a People is my favorite album and they're at their most trippy and whacked out. People always say it sounds like Boards of Canada, and I guess it kinda does, but still more indie psych pop with a lot of little sonic displays of weird coolness. Best to listen to it all the way through, it's made up of a lot of little things but together is pretty magical.



Negative Plane



I think this band is worthy of high praise among the world of modern metal. They have a distinct sound both old school and new school-esque. The production is perfect for the music, slightly raw and totally natural. They make a kind of black metal that would appear to be influenced by the music of Mercyful Fate, but still modern and much more extreme. Very occult, almost psychedelic atmosphere with like the best riffs. Truly inventive and amazingly proficient, a must have for a metal fan's catalogue.

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

Krallice



Well the Krallice post was inevitable. Not at all an obscure choice but an obvious one. I'd argue Krallice are at least among other artists at the forefront of modern metal music. They play an atypical style that is more progressive than things that are super progressive and hypertechnical. Characterized by their guitar chops that are so out of hand that these riffs will pretty much give you brain damage. And there's like 4 going on simultaneously at any given moment. To say Krallice have riffs for days would be an insult when they in fact have riffs forever.



Wreck and Reference



Some deep and dark lifesuckscore with elements of hatred and depression. But really, a cool experimental rock group that specializes in very unfriendly stuff, combining together a lot of diverse electronic sounds and some kinda gloomy noise. It's downer music for downer people and generally pretty visceral and punishing.



Pocahaunted



Lovely drone pop with no shortage of exceptional ear candy. They played droney and dubby improv in their early years and went on to full band status with some tribal psych funk.



Those Poor Bastards



Gothic country is one if my favorite things and I'd argue that TPB are the kings. Very much anti-pop country, they play dark, twisted, sometimes droney, raw, primitive in some evil kind of way, killing ass music about demons and all kinds of unlame things. One half of the group, Lonesome Wyatt, is a pretty prolific figure in the whole scene with numerous side projects. But TPB are an animal all if their own, and it's just some haunting music of despair.



Pyrrhon



Tech death innovators rather than imitators. On their second album the Mother of Virtues, this band cemented their unique style and ability and bestowed upon us a hugely badass album. They take more avant garde cues from Gorguts and stuff like that as opposed to your general tech death. In this they also incorporate a lot of ideas from mathcore, and blend in psychedelic and/or noisy walls of ****ing guitar. If you like dissonance well then why are you not listening to this

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO

P.H.O.B.O.S.



This band should be more recognized, because they'd easily earn a spot as one of the heaviest bands just ever. They do industrial doom that makes Godflesh sound like Enya. The most pummeling and destructive listening experience you might ever come across lies here within their master work*



Nadja



One of drone metal's most prolific acts, they oughtta be seen as important figures if not just for their immense discography. But within that discography you can find a plethora of fantastic releases and collabs, and they generally remain consistent and solid. They play that huge sort of shoegaze/drone metal, with walls of sound to rival China. Lengthy tracks comprised of serious textural overkill, dense, warm, pleasant, loud.*



Julia Holter



Dream pop should have more dream. Julia Holter makes lush and ethereal music that can be hypnotic, psychedelic, avant-garde, and beautiful at any given moment. There's subtle forays into drone and other experimental music but remains accessible for anyone. I think of her as a true visionary, with music to wrap you up and blow you away.



Jute Gyte

Another modern visionary but perhaps a bit polarizing in his way. He crafts avant garde black metal that is loud and brutally noisy. He composes microtonal music that is completely unlike anything else and absurdly complicated, but the huge emphasis on dissonance might turn people off. Guitars churn indeterminately with long-ish patterns and challenging riffs. You might think he either can't play guitar fir **** or is a complete guitar genius, I don't think there's an in between. In addition to metal, he also puts out noise and electronic music that is similarly structured and composed. Whether you like the music or not there's no denying his innovation and importance to the metal of today.

Here is his massive discography, all name your price*https://jutegyte.bandcamp.com/

Originally Posted by Oriphiel Hmm, what's this in my pocket? *epic guitar solo blasts into my face* DAMN IT MONDO