Artist |
Genre |
Description |
Babylon Sad | Experimental Death-Doom |
Back to R'lyeh | Progressive Metal |
Bad Brains | Hardcore Punk | Classic USHC outfit with a tendency to include all-out dub/reggae-songs in their albums |
bakmahn | Vaporwave |
Bandit | Technical Grindcore |
Bangladeafy | Math Rock | Intense and busy, leaning into Brutal Prog-territory |
Baphomet | Blackened Thrash/Death Metal |
Barbed Wire Maggots | Experimental Brutal Death Metal | Dense and chaotic improvised BDM in a similar vein to Effluence, Encenathrakh et al |
Baring Teeth | Dissonant Death Metal | Pretty close to an outright Gorguts-clone, with a bit of Mathcore-sih angularity in the mix |
Barker | Ambient Techno | Minimalist techno with no percussion |
Baroness | Progressive Stoner Metal |
Barra Xul | Technical Deathgrind | Manic, semi-melodic Deathgrind similar to Cephalectomy (with which the band shares members) |
Barús | Technical Progressive Death Metal |
Basic Channel | Ambient Techno | Classic minimalist Berlin-techno with some Dub influence |
Basic Input Output System | Avant-Garde Metal | Proggy chiptune quasi-metal |
Basilica | Technical Metal / Brutal Prog | Dense hyper-technical wankery with some strings in the mix |
Bastard Noise | Noise |
Bathe | Progressive Sludge Metal / Mathcore | For fans of Keelhaul, Knut, Yautja etc. |
Bathory | First-Wave Black Metal / Thrash Metal | Pioneered the raw, raucous style of Thrash/Speed Metal that would later lead to Black Metal alongside Venom |
Battles ★ | Math Rock / Experimental Rock | Generally bright and cheery, with an electronic focus and pronounced late 2000s / early 2010s feel |
The Beach Boys | Vocal Surf / Psychedelic Pop | You already know who these guys are |
Beat Detectives | Experimental Electronic / Hypnagogic Pop |
Beaten to Death | Experimental Grindcore / Post-Hardcore | Known for playing a weirdly positive and melodic strain of PHC-influenced Grindcore |
BEBETUNE$ | Experimental Hip-Hop | One of the many side-projects of James Ferraro. Weird and futuristic, as much of his early 2010s work. |
Becoming the Juggernaut | Progressive Death Metal | Djenty, with a slight industrial flavour as well |
Bedlam of Cacophony | Technical Death Metal / Mathcore | Jumpy and chaotic, even by the standards of the genre |
Bedsore | Progressive Death Metal | Adds a bit of retro-psych to the mox for flavour |
Beecher | Progressive Metalcore | Varied and eclectic, not too dissimilar to BTBAM or even a less insane version of Lye by Mistake |
Beheaded Zombie ★ | Experimental Death Metal | Strong focus on extremely strange, dissonant melodies |
Behead the Prophet N.L.S.L. | Hardcore Punk | Fast and violent bursts of rage with pained, enraged, yelping vocals |
Behemoth | Blackened Death Metal |
Beherit | Black Metal (early) / Dark Ambient (later) | Their debut is a bit of a cult-classic in the field of no-fi amateurish weirdo-BM |
Behold... The Arctopus | Brutal Prog / Technical Metal | About as wanky as you can get, but with a legitimately alien quality that sets them apart somewhat |
Bekor Qilish | Technical/Experimental Black/Death Metal |
Belial | Death Metal |
Believer | Technical/Progressive Thrash Metal | Notable for their christian lyrics and often lengthy, elaborately structured songs |
Bellicist | Technical Death Metal |
Bestial invasion | Technical/Progressive Thrash Metal | Technically impressive, with strong neoclassical flourishes and very high-pitched vocals |
Beta Popes | Sludge/Drone Metal |
Bethlehem | Depressive Black Metal |
Between the Buried and Me | Progressive Metalcore |
Beyond Creation | Technical Progressive Death Metal |
Biesy | Experimental Black Metal | Their first album leaned more towards DsO-worship, while the second one introduced heavy electronic elements and general weirdness |
Big Black | Noise Rock / Post-Hardcore |
Quite well-known in alternative circles, fusing noisy razor-wire guitars with metallic industrial rhythms and generally dark, misanthropic lyrics |
Big Business | Stoner Metal / Sludge Metal |
Big Neck Police | Experimental Noise Rock |
Big Up Menace X ★ | Sound Collage / Hypnagogic Ambient / Experimental Hip-Hop (later) |
Dense and surreal soundscapes sampling everything from popular music to videogames and advertisements. His more recent work is also extremely odd, with similarly chaotic sampling and unusual vocal styles. |
bilo'u | Technical Deathcore / Mathcore | Very quirky |
Biolich | Experimental/Technical Death Metal | Started out as Demilich-worship, later ended up including IDM and Screamo elements |
Biovore | Progressive/Experimental Thrash Metal |
Birds in Row | Post-Hardcore / Screamo |
Birushanah | Experimental Sludge Metal | Features somewhat proggy songwriting and percussion heavily influenced by japanese folk music |
Bitch Magnet | Post-Hardcore / Noise Rock |
Black Arrows of Filth & Impurity | Grindcore / Noisecore |
Black Cobra ★ | Sludge Metal | Fast-paced and thrashy, very similar to High on Fire |
Black Country, New Road | Experimental Post-Rock |
Blackcrowned | Black Metal | Shitty amateur-BM with some cheap synths |
Black Crown Initiate | Progressive Death Metal |
Black Engine | Noise Rock / Avant-Prog | Grimy and intricate, somewhat similar to Zu |
Black Fast | Blackened/Technical Thrash Metal | Lika a cross between Vektor and Skeletonwitch |
Black Flag | Hardcore Punk / Post-Hardcore (later) |
Classic Harcore group who kept innovating while most of the genre remained stagnant, for better (My War) and worse (Family Man) |
Blackhandpath | Industrial Hip-Hop | Very noisy and aggressive |
Black Hole | Doom Metal | Weird synth-laden retro-Doom with hilarious, heavily accented vocals |
Black Magick SS | Blackened Psychedelic Rock / Synthpop (later) |
Retro-psych with Black Metal vocals made by australian neo-nazis. Their first album is actually pretty good |
Black Matter Device | Mathcore |
black midi | Math Rock / Avant-Prog | Quirky, musically talented englishmen who made one pretty great album, followed by two significantly weaker ones |
Black Pus | Noise Rock | Side project of Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale. Generally sounds pretty similar to his main band. |
Black Rose Burial | Experimental Deathcore / Mathcore |
Black Sabbath ★ | Proto-Metal / Hard Rock | Arguably invented Metal as a whole. Definitely invented Doom and Stoner Metal. |
Black Vomit | Experimental Black Metal / Dark Ambient |
Black Widow | Progressive Rock | Light and folksy, despite the occultist lyrics |
Blame | Technical Death Metal |
Blame God | Grindcore |
Blank Banshee | Vaportrap |
Blasphemer | Technical Brutal Death Metal |
Blind Girls | Emoviolence |
Blind Idiot God | Noise Rock / Math Rock | Weird instrumental virtuoso-rock interspersed with all-out Dub songs |
Blind Illusion | Progressive Thrash Metal (early) / Stoner Rock (later) |
Their first album is a bonafide masterpiece of the genre, everything after that... not so much. Originally featured Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde of Primus-fame. |
Blood Ceremony | Heavy Psych / Doom Metal | Gloomy early 70s-styled retro-Psych |
Blood Incantation | Progressive Death Metal | Found underground success off the back of solid, scifi-themed Prog-Death |
Blotted Science | Technical Metal | Death Metal-influenced instrumental wank by Ron Jarzombek of Spastic Ink-fame |
Les blousons noirs | Garage Rock |
Hilariously incompetent Proto-Punk played by french teenagers. Recommended to hipsters who think The Shaggs are too mainstream. |
Blow Up | Screamo / Synth Punk |
Blue Cheer | Hard Rock / Heavy Psych | About as heavy and fuzzed-out as you could get during the late 60s |
Blue Holocaust | Goregrind |
Blue Öyster Cult | Hard Rock / Pop Rock | Classic poppy 70s rock with occasional ventures into heavier, even metallic territory |
Blurring ★ | Technical Grindcore | A flurry of Pyrrhon-esque dissonanace with Black Metal-inspired vocals |
Blurt | Post-Punk / No Wave | Raw and repetitive, with heavy Jazz influences |
Blut Aus Nord | Experimental Atmospheric Black Metal | Initially more grimy and industrial-influenced, before taking a turn for the psychedelic on later albums |
Boards of Canada | IDM / Downtempo | Very atmospheric and mysterious sounding |
BOaT | Post-Rock / Alternative Rock | Mellow and twinkly, with influences from Math Rock and Progressive Rock |
Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus | Technical Grindcore | Messy and chaotic, with hints of Mathcore |
Bodyguard ★ | Experimental Electronic |
Collaboration between James Ferraro and Yves Tumor. About as weird and futuristic as you'd expect. Rain 1 in particular is a masterpiece. |
bod [包家巷] | Experimental Ambient |
Bog Wraith | Deathcore |
Bohren & der Club of Gore | Dark Jazz | So slow-paced and suffocatingly atmospheric that it threatens to turn into all-out electronic music |
Boiled in Bleach | Deathgrind / Death Metal | Particularly grimy stuff, bordering on Brutal Death Metal |
Bologna violenta | Experimental Cybergrind | Cybergrind fused with Modern Classical. Not as interesting as it sounds. |
Bolt Thrower | Death Metal | Seen by many as the kings of UK Death Metal. Generally mid-paced and very heavy, with occasional melodic fluorishes. |
Bölzer | Blackened Death Metal |
Bondage Fruit | Avant-Prog / Zeuhl | Quirky nippon-prog for fans of Koenji Hyakkei |
Bongripper | Stoner Metal / Sludge Metal | Entirely instrumental, oppressively heavy and a bit monotonous |
Bonkoloid | Experimental Electronic / Sound Collage |
Bonus Fruit | Vaporwave / Sound Collage |
Boredoms | Experimental Rock / Noise Rock / Psychedelic Rock (later) |
Infamous japanese weirdo-rock. Initially focused on messy, chaotic bursts of energy with insane vocals, before pivoting to psychedelic jams with influences from Krautrock. |
Boris | Sludge Metal / Drone Metal / various | Eternally mediocre stylistic chameleons |
Bosse-de-nage | Atmospheric Black Metal / Post-Metal |
Botch | Metalcore / Mathcore |
One of the first Mathcore bands, approaching the budding genre from the angle of a choppy, angular style of Metalcore |
Bowery Electric | Trip Hop / Shoegaze | Hazy, minimalist and very atmospheric |
Braindamage | Experimental Thrash Metal | Extremely strange dissonant riffing and heavily accented vocals |
Brainstorm | Experimental Death Metal | Highly bizarre lofi Folk-Death. Later turned into the similarly strange Graal. |
Brainstormy | Experimental Heavy Metal |
Brain Tentacles | Progressive Jazz-Metal | Proggy, vaguely sludgy Sax-Metal featuring Dave Witte of Discordance Axis-fame on drums |
Breach | Post-Hardcore / Sludge Metal |
Breadwinner | Math Rock / Brutal Prog | Obscure early 90s Math Rock pioneers with a very choppy, angular style |
Brenoritvrezorkre | Experimental Black Metal |
Among the weirder artists to emerge from the whole Les Legions Noires-scene, frequently delving into noisy, oddbal ambient territories |
Bridge Burner | Mathcore | Occasionally like to take influence from genres like Crust Punk, Sludge Metal and Death Metal |
Bríi | Experimental Black Metal | Proggy and atmospheric, with heavy influence from electronic Techno and Ambient-related genres |
Brobdingnagian | Experimental Noise/Black Metal | Noisy, weird and psychedelic. Occasionally sounds like a Black Metal take on Gasp. |
Brodequin | Brutal Death Metal | Among the stalwarts of the genre. A blunt, yet intricate maelstrom of ridiculously heavy riffing. |
Broken Hope | Death Metal |
Broken Torso | Brutal Death Metal | A rare example of BDM with a heavy melodic focus |
Bronze Gates of Hell | Brutal Death Metal |
Brosef Kony | Vaporwave |
Brothers Grimm | Progressive Metal | Generally thrashy, with neoclassical flourishes and high-pitched, melodic vocals |
Brutal Blues | Technical/Experimental Grindcore | Proggy Mathgrind featuring the guy behind Parlamentarisk Sodomi and Psudoku |
Brutality | Death Metal |
Brutal Truth | Grindcore |
Brute Chant | Experimental Death Metal | Very strange stuff, vaguely similar to the likes of Contrastic and other weird Czech-Death acts |
Bucket Full of Teeth | Grindcore / Powerviolence | Really like Ambient intermissions |
Buckethead | Various | Ultra-prolific guitar shredder mainly working in Experimental and Progressive Rock |
Budgie | Hard Rock / Proto-Metal |
Buffalo | Heavy Psych / Proto-Metal |