Utrecht, Netherlands — black metal and raw black metal of the most uncompromising kind. Active since 2016, they deal in frigid atmospherics and razor-wire guitar tone. Blast beats and shrieked vocals create an impenetrable wall of darkness.

Sludge/post-metal band from Zaragoza in Aragon, formed in 2017 and building massive, dynamic compositions. Their Kafka-referencing name hints at the existential unease underlying their heavy, atmospheric sound.

Part of the Gothenburg school's homeland, this act channels black metal with a focus on icy tremolo lines cascading over relentless percussion. Formed in 2013, based in Uppsala, their sound honors the second wave while forging its own path.

Kagoule formed in Nottingham, England in 2012 while members Cai Burns, Lucy Hatter, and Lawrence English were still in secondary school, signing to Earache Records before leaving school in 2014. Their debut album Urth (2015) established a grunge-influenced, 1990s alternative rock sound built around angular rhythms and interweaving vocals, and Strange Entertainment (2018) on Alcopop! followed as the band pursued creative independence.

Moscow-based funeral doom and dark ambient project active since 2013, exploring Christian thematic elements through crushing, glacially paced compositions. Releases like weeping and gnashing of teeth draw on biblical imagery, pairing sludge-heavy riffs with oppressive atmospherics across extended tracks.

Proof that the underground never sleeps, this death metal and grindcore act from Kristinehamn traffics in microsecond-length blasts of noise and fury. Since 2011, they've built a catalog that reflects the Gothenburg school's homeland.

Groove metal and metalcore band from Cornwall, England, active since 2011 with releases including False Idols and Pyrite Thrones and Back to the Blind. Their sound merges the rhythmic crunch of groove metal with metalcore's dynamic shifts and breakdowns.

Progressive metalcore band from Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm in Bavaria, named after the infamous unsolved 1922 murders at a Bavarian farmstead. Formed in 2019, their technically ambitious compositions layer progressive complexity over metalcore's dynamic intensity.

Doom/stoner metal band from Jyvaskyla in central Finland, formed in 2022 and delivering crushing, fuzz-drenched heaviness from the Finnish lake district. Their Finnish name meaning "longing" or "nostalgia" captures the melancholic weight of their doom.