Progressive death metal project from Agno in Switzerland's Ticino region, formed in 2022 and exploring the technical and compositional possibilities of death metal. Their sound fuses intricate progressive structures with brutal death metal foundations.

Formed in 2018, this Oslo Doom Metal and Sludge Metal outfit delivers tar-thick riffs and feedback-drenched nihilism. Their place within the frozen north that birthed an entire genre speaks to the depth of the region's heavy music culture.

Warsaw's metal underground has produced no shortage of heavy acts, and this death metal and progressive metal unit is among them — wielding labyrinthine compositions spanning multiple movements and moods. Their sound resists easy categorization, blending influences into something distinctly their own.

Avant-garde black metal project from Finland, formed in 2024 with a Finnish name meaning "cosmic goat." Their experimental approach pushes black metal into surreal, unconventional territory with a distinctly absurdist edge.

Greek-born, Wales-based multi-instrumentalist active since 2005, best known as the creative force behind the funeral doom and atmospheric metal project Pantheist. His solo work under his own name creates atmospheric music "for black hearts," spanning ambient, neoclassical, and funeral doom across releases like Dark Flights and Chamber of Isolation.

When Kosteus emerged in 2025 from Luhansk, they brought with them a sound rooted in black metal and raw black metal — all frigid atmospherics and razor-wire guitar tone. Blast beats and shrieked vocals create an impenetrable wall of darkness.

Moscow-based black/doom metal band with releases including Dissolved In The Abyss, Spirit Of Plague, and Temple Pestis, the latter released through Daemon Worship Productions. Their sound merges black metal's blasting ferocity with doom metal's crushing weight and pestilent atmospherics.

When Kotiomkin emerged in 2014 from Martinsicuro (Teramo), they brought with them a sound rooted in doom metal, progressive metal, and stoner metal — all genre-bending ambition that refuses easy categorization. The combination of influences yields something more interesting than any single genre label implies.

Kotipelto is the solo project of Timo Kotipelto, the longtime lead vocalist of Finnish power metal band Stratovarius, established in 2001. The debut album Waiting for the Dawn (2002) drew on melodic power metal frameworks similar to his main band while shifting lyrical themes toward Egyptian mythology and personal introspection, yielding the top-10 Finnish single "Beginning." The project released two further albums — Coldness and Serenity — before Kotipelto refocused on Stratovarius.