Progressive sludge metal band from Vienna, founded in 2017, combining guttural and clean vocals over heavy, slow-moving riffage with blastbeats and atmospheric passages. Their 2023 EP 'Stray Dogs' earned praise from No Clean Singing and The Obelisk for its refusal to be confined to a single aesthetic.

Post-black-sludge act from Poznań, formed in 2020. Choroszcz — named after a Polish town — blends atmospheric black metal with sludge and post-metal textures.

Heavy thrash act from Mysłowice in Upper Silesia, formed in 2020. Chort — a Slavic demon figure — channels aggressive metal from the Polish industrial heartland.

Black 'n' roll band from Bern, Switzerland, formed in 2020. Their debut Tuufuswark blends black metal ferocity with rock swagger, delivered with provocative Swiss German dialect lyrics across ten tracks.

Heavy metal band from Attersee, Austria, formed in 2019. Emerging from the lakeside town in Upper Austria, they forge traditional heavy metal with a DIY underground spirit.

Symphonic metal solo artist from Southend-on-Sea, England, active since 2009. He creates grand, orchestral metal with cinematic arrangements.

Chris Connelly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1964 and began his music career in the early 1980s with Fini Tribe before relocating to Chicago in 1986 to immerse himself in the industrial scene centered around Wax Trax! Records. He performed as lead vocalist on the Revolting Cocks' debut Big Sexy Land (1986) and served as a touring vocalist for Ministry, while also maintaining a prolific solo career spanning post-punk, industrial rock, and alternative rock. In 2008 he published a memoir, Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible, and Fried, documenting his years in that scene.

German heavy metal solo artist from Landshut in Lower Bavaria, active since 2013. He delivers classic heavy metal built on skilled guitar work and traditional metal values.

Chris Harms is a Hamburg-based German musician and the founder of dark rock band Lord of the Lost, which he launched in 2007 as a solo project incorporating gothic metal, industrial rock, glam, and classical influences. Under that banner he has released over a dozen albums and toured Europe supporting Iron Maiden in 2022, before representing Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song Blood and Glitter. He released a debut solo album, 1980, on Napalm Records, exploring 1980s synth-pop separately from his work with Lord of the Lost.