'77 is a Catalan hard rock band formed in Barcelona in 2006 by brothers Armand and LG Valeta, drawing heavily from classic 1970s rock and NWOBHM traditions. The band signed to Listenable Records and later Century Media, releasing five studio albums between 2009 and 2018, including 21st Century Rock, High Decibels, and Nothing's Gonna Stop Us. Their sound pairs driving riffs with melodic hooks in the tradition of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy, earning them a dedicated audience across Europe and Japan.

9MM is a German heavy metal and hard rock band from Hanau, Hesse, formed in 2006 from the remnants of the band Rotten, which had been active from 1991 to 2006. The band has released albums steadily across the 2000s and 2010s, working in a traditional hard rock and heavy metal style. They remain an active presence in the German club metal circuit.

Backyard Babies are a sleaze rock and hard rock band from Nässjö, Sweden, formed in 1987 and widely credited with popularizing sleaze rock across Scandinavia. Their discography spans eight studio albums and two Swedish Grammy Awards, with Total 13 (1998) and Stockholm Syndrome (2003) regarded as landmark records in the genre. The band's roster has included guitarist Dregen, who concurrently played in The Hellacopters, and their 2008 self-titled album reached number one on the Swedish albums chart.

Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult was a Scandinavian heavy metal supergroup formed in Oslo, Norway in 2009. The lineup united former Turbonegro vocalist Hank von Helvete, multi-instrumentalist Tim Sköld (Marilyn Manson, KMFDM), guitarists Anders Odden (Cadaver, Satyricon) and Audun Stengel (Apoptygma Berzerk), and drummer David Husvik (Extol). The band signed to Season of Mist and released one album, I Declare: Treason (2011), before disbanding.

Formed in 2015 by Matt Reynolds and Tom Marsh, former members of UK noise-hardcore band Heck, Haggard Cat initially operated as a side project before becoming their primary creative vehicle following Heck's dissolution. Their sound trades Heck's frantic extremity for a rawer, blues-influenced hard rock attack informed by Jack White and Death from Above 1979, documented on the 2018 Earache Records debut Challenger and its follow-up Common Sense Holiday (2020). The duo self-released further material including the Cheer Up EP in 2021.

Formed in London in November 1969, Hawkwind are among the earliest and most influential space rock bands, fusing psychedelic rock, proto-punk energy, and science fiction mythology into an immersive live experience built on synthesizers, tape loops, and electronic noise. Their 1971 album In Search of Space was a landmark critical success, while the 1972 single 'Silver Machine' — recorded during the tenure of bassist Lemmy Kilmister — reached number one in the UK. With more than two dozen studio albums across six decades and Dave Brock as their sole continuous member, Hawkwind remain an active and foundational force in heavy psychedelic music.

Gothenburg quartet Honeymoon Disease formed in 2014 and built their boogie-infused hard rock sound around twin harmonizing guitars and the throaty, commanding vocals of singer Maria Linden. Their debut album The Transcendence appeared on Napalm Records in 2015, followed by Part Human, Mostly Beast on The Sign Records in 2017, with production on the latter handled by Ola Ersfjord. Their primary touchstones are classic hard rock acts including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Thin Lizzy, filtered through a distinctly Scandinavian sensibility.

Gothenburg's Horisont formed in 2006 as a self-described revivalist act drawing from the sprawling prog and proto-metal of the 1970s, with influences ranging from Blue Öyster Cult and Yes to Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Their debut Två Sidor Av Horisonten arrived on Crusher Records in 2009, followed by Second Assault (2012) and Time Warriors (2013), the latter bringing them to a wider international audience through Metal Blade Records. The band distinguishes itself through fearlessly inventive song structures that sit comfortably alongside both classic hard rock and traditional metal.

Jönköping, Sweden's Hällas formed in 2011 and built a concept-driven 'adventure rock' sound rooted in 1970s progressive rock and hard rock, centered on a fictional medieval universe populated by knights and seers. Their discography progresses from the self-titled 2015 debut EP through Excerpts from a Future Past (2017) and Conundrum (2020), each album adding greater compositional complexity and darker tonal texture. Isle of Wisdom (2022) and Panorama (2026), both released on Napalm Records, have expanded their international profile among listeners drawn to acts like Uriah Heep and early Iron Maiden.

Janus Stark is an English punk rock and hard rock band formed in 1996 by guitarist Gizz Butt, known for his work with English Dogs and the UK Subs, while concurrently serving as touring guitarist for The Prodigy. Their 1998 debut Great Adventure Cigar on Earache Records drew on Helmet, punk, and classic rock influences, and a song from that album appeared on the soundtracks to the films Disturbing Behavior and Varsity Blues; Butt reformed the band in 2018 after a lengthy hiatus.

Kissin' Dynamite is a German heavy metal band formed in 2007 in Baden-Württemberg, originally a school band that named themselves after an AC/DC song. They debuted with Steel of Swabia (2008) and released a steady run of albums — including Addicted to Metal, Money Sex and Power (2012), and Megalomania (2014) — built around anthemic songwriting rooted in classic hard rock and melodic metal. The band has remained consistently active through the mid-2020s, releasing Generation Goodbye (2016) and several subsequent records.

Kris Barras Band is a British hard rock outfit formed in 2015 in Torquay, Devon, led by guitarist and vocalist Kris Barras, a former mixed martial arts competitor. The band blends classic hard rock, blues rock, and Southern rock influences, signing to Mascot Label Group and releasing The Divine and Dirty (2018) and Light It Up (2019) in quick succession. Death Valley Paradise (2022) debuted at number 27 on the UK Albums Chart, and Halo Effect followed on Earache Records.

Lena Scissorhands is best known as the founding vocalist and primary public face of Infected Rain, the Moldovan metal band she formed in 2008 in Chișinău that blends metalcore, nu metal, and electronic elements with her versatile combination of clean singing and aggressive screaming. Under her own name, Scissorhands began releasing solo material in 2025, with the debut single "Believe" presenting a more melodic hard rock direction. She is also a vocalist in the American alternative metal project Death Dealer Union.

Lonely Kamel emerged from a series of basement jam sessions in Oslo, Norway, around 2006, delivering a smoky blend of stoner rock, blues, and psychedelia. The quartet built a steady catalog through the 2010s, including Dust Devil (2011), Shit City (2014), and Death's-Head Hawkmoth (2018) on Stickman Records. Their sound places them squarely within the European heavy-psych tradition, drawing on vintage American blues-rock while maintaining the unhurried groove characteristic of Scandinavian stoner rock.

Pet the Preacher was a Copenhagen, Denmark hard rock trio formed in 2010 by vocalist-guitarist Christian Hede Madsen, bassist Torben Wæver Pedersen, and drummer Christian Von Larsen, mixing 1970s blues-rock, stoner metal riffs, and prog-rock arrangements into a dense, slow-burning sound. The band released two albums — The Banjo (2011) and The Cave and the Sunlight (2014) — before disbanding in August 2015. Their brief run produced a small but regarded catalog within the Danish heavy rock underground.