Brighton trio Esben and the Witch — Rachel Davies, Thomas Fisher, and Daniel Copeman — formed in 2008 and built a reputation for atmospheric music that fuses post-punk, darkwave, shoegaze, and gothic rock into cathartic, densely layered compositions. Their debut album Violet Cries (2011) on Matador Records reached number 13 on the UK Indie Chart and brought widespread critical attention, followed by Wash the Sins Not Only the Face (2013) and A New Nature (2014). Subsequent records including Older Terrors (2016) and Nowhere (2018) on Season of Mist refined their sound toward heavier, more abstract territory.

Kreuzweg Ost is a Viennese martial industrial project founded in 1998 by Michael Gregor — known as Silenius of the black metal band Summoning — alongside Martin Schirenc of death metal act Pungent Stench. The project constructs dense, orchestral soundscapes from military samples, percussion, and instrumental pieces inspired by films dealing with war and religious conflict. Their albums include Edelrost, Iron Avantgarde, and Gott mit uns, released via Cold Spring and similar dark ambient imprints.

Penitent is a Norwegian darkwave, gothic, and dark ambient project formed in 1994 in Stavanger by multi-instrumentalist Karsten Hamre as a vehicle for combining personal poetry with music. The project's debut album Melancholia appeared in 1996 on the Swedish Cold Meat Industry label, followed by The Beauty of Pain (1997) and a series of releases across several labels spanning neoclassical darkwave and symphonic black metal influences. Penitent has remained active for three decades, with remastered editions of early albums released via The Circle Music in recent years.