omb Mold are a Canadian extreme metal quartet with a neck-snapping style that pairs the uncompromising attack of American death metal with the doomy vistas made popular by iconic Finnish death metallers like Demilich and Convulse. The band adhered to this blueprint on acclaimed efforts like Primordial Malignity (2017) and Planetary Clairvoyance (2019). They expanded their sonic purview on 2023's Enduring Spirit, adding jazz fusion elements, '70s prog, and 4AD-style dream pop to the mix. Founded in Toronto in 2015 as a duo by drummer/vocalist Max Klebanoff and guitarist Derrick Vella, the group, who took their name from the popular horror RPG Bloodborne, released a pair of demos, The Bottomless Perdition and The Moulting, independently in 2016, with the full-length Primordial Malignity arriving the following year. Second guitarist Payson Power and bassist Steve Musgrave joined the group for the 2017 demo Cryptic Transmissions, and in 2018 the band inked a deal with 20 Buck Spin and released the unrelenting Manor of Infinite Forms. 2019's punishing Planetary Clairvoyance saw the band fully embrace their American death metal roots on a kinetic and technically sound set of songs that elicited praise from underground and mainstream metal audiences alike. An unofficial hiatus resulted in bandmembers working on various other projects, including Dream Unending and Daydream Plus, before reuniting in 2022 for the three-song EP Aperture Body. In 2023, Tomb Mold unveiled their most ambitious project to date, Enduring Spirit, which borrowed facets from multiple metal, pop, jazz, and rock subgenres. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Horrendous was conceived in the womb of early 2009 by three young men obsessed with metal. Aiming to harness the mystique and aura of their favorite music while simultaneously rekindling the flame of a genre they felt was losing traction, the band emerged from a desolate scene to chart an unfamiliar path into the depths. Under cover of darkness, they could be found weaving webs of raunchy riffs through the rehearsal space air.

Formed in early 2013 by drummer/vocalist Rae Amitay (Thrawsunblat, Errant) and studio guitarist/arranger Evan Berry (Wilderun), Immortal Bird released their debut EP, Akrasia, in December 2013. The band quickly garnered a hometown following as well, with the Chicago Reader calling it "sick and greasy black metal that does an admirable job inventing the sound of a mind tearing itself apart.” The band recorded their debut full-length, Empress/Abscess in February 2015 with Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Recording Studio where it was then mixed and mastered by Colin Marston (Gorguts, Krallice, Artificial Brain). The album was released on July 14, 2015 and featured a guest vocal performance from John Hoffman of the renowned powerviolence/grind band Weekend Nachos. Immortal Bird is currently signed to 20 Buck Spin and released their second full-length LP, Thrive on Neglect on July 5, 2019. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage) and features artwork by Kikyz1313. In June 2019, Kerrang! Magazine named Immortal Bird #23 on their list of the 50 Best American Metal Bands of the Last Decade, and NPR said with the new material, “Immortal Bird nails that skin-crawling claustrophobia with metallic madness, but spaces out its relentlessly sliding grind with prowling hardcore riffs.” Dave Adelson of 20 Buck Spin had this to say about the new record: “Thrive on Neglect is a blistering statement of intent from a band ascending into full bloom.”