Nachtmystium is a psychedelic metal band from Illinois that has featured members from other american black metal acts such as Weltmacht, Krieg, and Judas Iscariot.
Formed in 1999 by guitarist Blake Judd (aka Azentrius), Nachtmystium debuted with their first demo, Holocaust of Eternity, and a split with USBM band Zalnik. Their first full-length, Reign of the Malicious, was released in 2002, and since then, they have released 4 EPs, Nachtmystium (2003), Eulogy IV (2004) , Worldfall (2008) and Doomsday Derelicts (2009), and 4 full-length albums, Demise (2004), Instinct: Decay (2006), Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 (2008) and Addicts: Black Meddle Part 2 (2010). Nachtmystium has had various splits with the major USBM bands, including Xasthur and Krieg, and an upcoming split with Leviathan.
http://www.myspace.com/nachtmystium

ZOROASTER’s heady mix of mammoth metal and psychotropic shoegaze has seen the trio hailed as “one of the U.S.’s most promising metal bands” and it has receiving shining praise for its explosive power, intriguing mysticism and unique take on heavy music. Summoned by the mighty sludge of The Melvins, the mysticism of Celtic Frost and the nihilistic blues of Black Sabbath, ZOROASTER formed in 2003 out of “the need for sedation by high volumes and low frequencies”. The band immediately began creating devastating, dirge-ridden doom that erupted into heavyweight grooves and transcendental musical atmospheres. ZOROASTER’s early sound was compared to “having 10,000 ton granite slabs dropped on your head from a height of several miles”.
http://www.myspace.com/thezoroaster



In April 2007, a mutual desire to play, a deep love for the almighty riff, and more than just a little blind luck drew together five young men from Chicago, and nine months later, they had a five-song EP, Pray For Tides, completed and a label, Witch Trial Records, to release it. Fast-forward less than three years and The Atlas Moth have made massive strides, touring relentlessly across the nation and playing countless shows with their friends and brothers in Nachtmystium, Zoroaster, Pentagram, Yakuza, Saviours, Intronaut, Wolves in the Throne Room, Coalesce, Battlefieds, Minsk, Plague Bringer, Samothrace, andWhy Intercept? With influences ranging from the Deftones to Neurosis, Cave In to Quicksand, and pulling in pieces from all that’s heavy in between, The Atlas Moth have carefully perfected their signature blend of bone-shaking heaviness and overwhelming urgency, adding in startling moments of clarity that allow the melodies to shine through the mire. Their swamp-worthy sludge epics are heavier than sin, a call for cleansing and nothing short of brutally honest.
http://www.myspace.com/theatlasmothband


Florida’s sludge two-piece Dark Castle first appeared in 2008 with an elaborately packaged self-released demo (Flight of the Pegasus) that garned a good deal of favorable attention from the metal press and other bands (including Relapse Records’ Minsk). It is easy to see why this unsigned band turned so many heads, as there are several obvious elements that separate them from their peers. In an extreme rarity in metal genres, most of the guitar and vocal work is handled by a woman, Stevie Floyd. Also, the band has the distinction of having no bass player (nor bass in any of their recordings), which is strikingly ballsy in a genre that is so intimately associated with low-frequency amplifier worship.
http://www.myspace.com/darkcastlemetal