CHVE is the solo project of Colin H. Van Eeckhout, vocalist of Belgian post-metal collective Amenra, launched around 2015 as an experimental outlet rooted in drone, folk, and minimalism rather than metal. Van Eeckhout built the project around the hurdy-gurdy, various percussion, and vocal layering, creating music that carries the emotional weight of Amenra without its extreme metal framework. He signed with Relapse Records in 2024, releasing Kalvarie to critical attention within the experimental heavy music community.

Kontrust is an Upper Austrian crossover band formed in 2001, known for fusing nu metal, electronic production, and folk elements — often performed in lederhosen as a deliberate, self-aware nod to traditional Austrian culture. Their early material leaned on dance-metal hybrids, while albums like Second Hand Wonderland (2012) and Explositive (2014, Napalm Records) refined their kinetic live show approach into polished studio recordings. Their 2023 comeback album Madworld debuted at number four on the Austrian album charts.

Me and That Man is a dark folk and country-blues project founded in 2013 by Polish black metal musician Adam 'Nergal' Darski, the frontman of Behemoth, in collaboration with guitarist John Porter. The project debuted with Songs of Love and Death in 2017 and continued with New Man, New Songs, Same Shit Vol. 1 (2020) and Vol. 2 (2021), drawing stylistic inspiration from Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Nick Cave. The project represents a stark artistic departure from Nergal's black and death metal origins, channeling a melancholic Americana aesthetic through a distinctly European sensibility.

Sowulo is a Dutch neo-folk and dark folk project founded in 2010 by multi-instrumentalist and composer Faber Horbach, who performs and records the project entirely on his own. Drawing on Germanic and Norse pagan traditions, Horbach uses historical instruments — including Irish bouzouki, hammered dulcimer, and nyckelharpa — alongside Anglo-Saxon lyrics to construct immersive ritual soundscapes. The project's discography includes Alvenrad (2013), Sol (2016), Mann (2019), Wurdiz (2022), and Niht (2025), all released through Season of Mist. Sowulo occupies a serious and scholarly corner of the pagan folk spectrum, distinct from the more theatrical approaches common to the genre.