Sci-fI / jazz influenced metal

Formed in 2015, SUNLESS draws influence from pioneers of extreme and dissonant metal such as Gorguts, Ulcerate, and Meshuggah, reinterpreting the sounds through an abstract lens that is all their own. Comprised of bassist Mitch Schooler (Nerves, Modulus), drummer Taylor Hamel (Aziza), and guitarist/vocalist Lucas Scott (Obsolete, Australis, Pestifere), the band features a prominent rhythm section, a scattered assortment of time signatures, interwoven and complex arrangements, and bellowing death growls, akin to the output of Artificial Brain, Baring Teeth, and Pyrrhon. SUNLESS has toured and performed across the United States and Canada in support of their debut full-length album Urraca with bands such as Gigan, Suffering Hour, and Plebeian Grandstand. Tracked by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone Recording (The Crinn, Ambassador Gun, Maeth) in their hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota and mixed/mastered by Colin Marston at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves in Queens, New York, Urraca delivers a relentlessly engaging onslaught of complex and dissonant death metal with nine tracks encompassing a dense forty-four minutes. The album is presented appropriately in a psychedelic and abstract visual manner with artwork by former band member Andrew Notsch (Youwretch) aka Hollow Dusk and logo by Stephen Wilson aka Unknown Relic.

NEQUIENT is a metallic hardcore band from Chicago. Building on a foundation of thrashing d-beat, they draw influences from a broad spectrum of aggressive styles including grindcore, crust, sludge, death metal, black metal, and noise rock. The result is a uniquely punishing sound that emphasizes percussive intensity and razor-sharp hooks. Formed in 2014, NEQUIENT’s first official release was 2015’s Infinite Regress EP, the start of a longstanding collaboration with producer Pete Grossmann (Immortal Bird, Warforged) at Bricktop Recording in Chicago. Following a few personnel shifts, the group settled on its four-piece configuration and forged a debut full-length, Wolves at the Door, issued in 2018 by Nefarious Industries. On their second album, Darker Than Death or Night, NEQUIENT set out to embrace even more diverse sounds than before without sacrificing their tightly honed focus or capacity for vicious sensory assault. This is a singular breed of heavy music: tightly controlled yet satisfyingly grimy, attuned to the anxieties of an uneasy era and unconcerned about fitting into the preconceived boundaries of subgenre. Produced by Grossmann, mixed by Sanford Parker (Voivod, Yob, Eyehategod) and mastered by Collin Jordan (Harm’s Way, Windhand), the album features artwork and design by Scott Shellhamer as well as a guest vocal turn from Eddie Gobbo of Something is Waiting.