Kataklysm, Dying Fetus, Eluveitie, Keep Of Kalessin

Kataklysm
These Canadians started to rock in 1992 with the mission statement "deliver the most punishing music ever created by combining melody and power into one devastating force." Whether they are the most punishing band ever could be debated for hours over multiple bottles of Jim Beam.

Keep of Kalessin
During their first incarnation, Norway's Keep of Kalessin were comprised of vocalist Ghâsh, guitarist/keyboardist Obsidian C., bassist Warach, and drummer Vyl, and released a pair of quite competent -- but also rather typical -- Scandinavian black metal albums in 1997's...

Dying Fetus
Though forever doomed commercially speaking by their controversial name, Maryland's Dying Fetus has endured beyond most observers' wildest expectations, and to do so, they've weathered a slew of hardships that would have felled (and did) most other bands.

Eluveitie
Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie incorporates folk instrumentation such as hurdy gurdy, flute, and pipes into an otherwise traditional death metal style, also adding a pagan element channeled through lyrics in the Gaulish language (a dead language in the Celtic family that predated...