Tool is an American band, formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California, that consists of drummer Danny Carey, bassist Justin Chancellor, guitarist Adam Jones, and singer Maynard James Keenan.

Emerging with a "slam and bang" heavy metal sound on their first release during a time when heavy metal was dominated by thrash metal, they were later seen at the top of the alternative metal movement, when they released their second studio album Ænima in 1996.Today, after an ongoing evolution of their sound to a more progressive influenced songwriting on Lateralus (2001) and their latest release 10,000 Days (2006) their music would, "in another era, [...] have been considered progressive rock."

The band's sound is subjected to many favorable comparisons; therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint a genre. This results in an ambivalent relationship between the band and the music industry. Other aggravating factors are exceptionally long or complex releases, controversial yet abstract lyrics and unorthodox music videos that have resulted in censorship, and the band's ongoing struggle for privacy.

Nevertheless, Tool receives critical acclaim, performs worldwide tours, and produces albums that top the charts in several countries. This success enables the band members to indulge in extended breaks between releases, allowing for collaboration with other artists, design of award-winning album packaging, and notable side-projects.

Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Trent Reznor is the founder and primary creative force behind the band Nine Inch Nails.

Covenant is a band from Sweden that has created electronic body music (EBM) and futurepop since 1986. They have been releasing their music since the early 1990s.

Colony 5 is a Swedish futurepop/synthpop band founded in March 1999. P-O Svensson started the band as a hobby with Magnus Löfdahl. The music style has changed with group membership and their sound became more consistent. They have toured through Europe - Denmark, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Poland, Norway, Estonia and even Mexico.

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows is a band consisting solely of Anna-Varney Cantodea. Not much is known about Anna-Varney, save for the tortured life she lived which led to the band's existence.[citation needed] She has said in several interviews that she spent nearly three decades in extreme states of depression, despair and loneliness, all of which resulted in her discovery of the "Ensemble Of Shadows", otherworldly presences and/or voices who stirred her musical senses and guided her to share the works in her head with the public. She does not speak much on the subject of the Ensemble, nor does she perform live "in front of humans". Anna-Varney does have a sense of humour however, such as admitting she loves Darth Vader and changing the Fruit of the Loom logo to "Fruit of the Tomb", which incorporates her face into the design.

The music itself is quite emotional and dreary, using a variety of brass, woodwinds (in particular, flutes), string quartets and various guitars. In some instances, synthesizers and drum machines or real percussion is used. Anna-Varney has clearly stated that she creates her music about herself, solely for herself. Various themes include death, suicide, karmatic pain, loneliness and sadness. A very important concept is the idea of becoming or being a woman, or at least removal of the male genitalia in favour of attaining the female variant (in later album artwork, Anna-Varney is usually shown nude with a vagina which has been edited in by computer rather than having her body surgically altered due to spiritual conflicts; in either case, Anna-Varney is now referred to by the pronoun "she" instead of "he".) There are also several musical themes that reappear in her works; the most notable example is the song "Birth - Fiendish Figuration" which has appeared in at least four forms on separate releases. Other songs contain similar melodic lines or lyrics from an earlier release.

On December 18, Sopor Aeternus announced that they had finished recording yet another studio album. Release is set for April 13 2007. The album is titled "Les Fleurs du mal" (The Flowers of Evil), as seen in the album teaser downloadable from the official website.

Juno Reactor is a musical and performing act known for the cinematic-psychedelic fusion of electronic and global music, the Matrix score and other film works. Central to the project are Ben Watkins, Mike McGuire and Stephane Holweck, and their collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world, including percussionist Mabi Thobajane from South Africa along with countrymen Amampondo, Eduardo Niebla, Steve Stevens, Greg Ellis, Taz Alexander and recently Ghetto Priest.

Originally Juno Reactor was formed as an art project in 1990; Ben Watkins wanted to collaborate with other artists to produce and be involved in exciting projects that were not commercially driven. He wanted to create experimental music/non musical soundtracks that would work with installations, art pieces and film projects.

Das Ich is a German electrogoth band formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, reaches out to a growing audience with their form of electronic gothic music. They were one of the founders of a movement in the early 1990s, which was called "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" (New German Death Art). The German term das Ich makes reference to freudian psychology.

Hocico is a Mexican aggrotech group. The duo was officially formed in 1993 by Erik Garcia a.k.a Erk Aicrag (lyrics & vocals) and Oscar Mayorga a.k.a. Racso Agroyam (Programming), but both cousins had been experimenting with electronic music, mixing Industrial and EBM, since they were fifteen years old. Their music can be described as dark and aggressive electronica or more specifically as aggrotech. Their lyrics are mostly Spanish although some songs are in English. The Spanish word hocico means snout and is a derogatory term that indicates ugliness (e.g., ugly as a dog's snout), and is used in phrases like cállate el pinche hocico, meaning shut your damn mouth.

Horde - jednoosobowy projekt muzyczny, stworzony przez członka grup Paramaecium i Mortification, Jansona Sherlocka. Nagrał on pod pseudonimem Anonymous jedyny swój solowy album "Helling Usvart", który ukazał się w 1994 roku nakładem wytwórni Rowe Productions. Od strony muzycznej album prezentuje typowy norweski black metal, jednak zarówno treść jak i przekaz piosenek jest jak na ten gatunek bardzo nietypowy: liryki zawierają bowiem przesłania chrześcijańskie i antysatanistyczne.

Paramaecium - australijska grupa muzyczna wykonująca christian/doom metal z elementami gotyku. Zespół powstał w 1991 roku z inicjatywy Andrewa Tompkinsa (wokal, gitara basowa), Jansona Shorlacka (perkusja) i Jasona De Rona (gitara elektryczna). Muzyka wzorowana jest na zespołach Cathedral, Anthema i wczesnym My Dying Bride.

Letzte Instanz - niemiecka grupa, łącząca w swojej twórczości różne odmiany melodyjnego metalu z licznymi brzmieniami symfonicznymi, gotyckimi, elektronicznymi i folkowymi, powstała w 1996 roku, w Dreźnie. Początkowo zespół pod nazwą Resistance założyli Hörbi, Tin Whistle, Muttis Stolz, Kaspar Wichman, Holly D. i Markus G-Punkt. Rok później dołączył, najpierw jako grywający przyjaciel zespołu, niewiele później jako stały członek grupy, Benni Cellini.

Diamanda Galas - swą twórczość dedykuje chorym, niegodnie umierającym, ofiarom przemocy, maltretowania, molestowania, ludobójstwa, nosicielom wirusa HIV, chorym psychicznie, prostytutkom, homoseksualistom, skazańcom, wszystkim jakkolwiek zepchniętym na margines tzw. "normalnego społeczeństwa".

Zespół powstał na przełomie 1996/1997 roku z inicjatywy basisty Ivy'ego, gitarzysty Chrisera oraz perkusisty - Seby. W 2000 roku po wielu zmianach personalnych zespół zarejestrował swoje pierwsze mini CD zatytułowane "...And The Angels Descended To Earth", w składzie: Crow (wokal), Chriser (gitara elektryczna), Sworn (gitara elektryczna), Ivy Trichiasis (instrumenty klawiszowe) oraz Xen (perkusja). Po nagraniu z zespołu odszedł Xen, a jego miejsce zajął  Phoenix. W tym składzie zespól zagrał swoje pierwsze koncerty (m.in. z Vaderem, Parracide, Whorehouse, Thy Disease).

Front Line Assembly (also known by the acronym FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in 1986 by Bill Leeb and Michael Balch after Leeb left Skinny Puppy.

Skinny Puppy is a prominent industrial band, which formed in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 1982.







Sound and style

Inspired by the music of Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, et al., Skinny Puppy experimented with electronic recording techniques and methods, composing multi-layered music generally with synthesizers, found sounds, drum machines, manual percussion, tape-splices, traditional instruments, distortion, and samplers. Whereas many contemporary remixes and re-edits of songs were created in order to make a song more suitable for dancing or different radio formats, Skinny Puppy approached remixing and re-editing as an artistic process of reinterpreting compositions, often using remixes to push their sound into styles of ambient, dub and techno.

Skinny Puppy has been widely noted for their bizarre and confrontational live performances, for which every concert was designed to challenge the notions and beliefs of all who attended. Their music has had some acceptance in dance clubs because of its danceable beats, but has had little play on commercial radio. Skinny Puppy experienced little commercial success outside of Canada and the US, although their influence on industrial and electronic music in general is immense.

Joy Division were an English rock band that formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. With their dark, cavernous sound and use of synthesizers and electronics, they pioneered the post-punk sound of the late 1970s. The band dissolved in May 1980 after the suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis. The remaining members reformed as New Order and have gone on to achieve much critical and commercial success.

Though Joy Division found only modest success during their career, and released only two studio albums, the group have since been acclaimed as one of the most inventive, evocative and influential of their era. Thom Jurek writes "They left just a small bit of music and an echo that still rings".

Caliban - zespół metalcore'owy, założony w Hattingen (Niemcy) w 1997 roku pod nazwą Never Again. Po 6 miesiącach grania, grupa nagrała dwie piosenki na demo, które nigdy nie ujrzało światła dziennego. Piosenki te zostały wysłane do kilku wytwórni płytowych, a Lifeforce Records jako pierwsza zaproponowała im kontrakt.