Take the weirdest of Discipline-era King Crimson, multiply it by 100, and then remove any and all sense of apparent melody. You'll have something that might resemble Upsilon Acrux, whose music at one time or another has been referred to as "brutal prog". Hailing from Los Angeles,and originating in Vista, CA, this group has gone through well over 10 members and several line-ups, including everything from a 2-piece to over 5.
ANCIENT HISTORY: Three years have passed since “Black Oni” (Ipecac Records). Four years since “Five Suns”(Cuneiform Records). The new album by Guapo is finally here and thus concludes the recondite triptych they set out to accomplish. Flux is not uncommon here, every record taking on new musical hues and offering disparate ideas and perspectives. However an upheaval in the line-up, which of recent years has been anchored by the trio of Daniel O’Sullivan, Matthew Thompson and David Smith, triggered a change in course when Thompson left the band just prior to the release of Black Oni in 2005.
We Be The Echo is a progressive instrumental rock band from San Francisco. They play a unique blend of math rock, punk, jazz and heavy metal with dub influenced bass lines. The band's trademark sound is based on melodic and rhythmically challenging short songs that often incorporate shred guitar. Formed in 2003 from the remnants of the Bay Area experimental band The Bm Relocation Program, We Be The Echo are currently active and tour regularly. Line-up:
Korekyojinn (???; Korekyojin) is a Japanese progressive Rock trio led by drummer Yoshida Tatsuya (????), of Ruins and Koenji Hyakkei (?????) fame. The trio is completed by guitarist Kido Natsuki from Bondage Fruit and bassist Mitsuru Nasuno from ALTERED STATES, Daimonji and Ground Zero. The group was formed in 2009, when they released their first album Korekyojin. They released two recordings, Korekyojin and Isotope, under John Zorns label Tzadik.
Hella began in 2001 in Sacramento, California as a two member band consisting of Zach Hill and Spencer Seim writing technically intricate music of a highly spastic nature. They play a blend of math rock and noise rock. On early albums, the band forged their classic sound, playing minimally arranged, abrasive instrumentals that still retain an idiosyncratic sense of melody. In 2005, the band expanded their live band by adding Dan Elkan on vocals, rhythm guitar, and synth and Jonathan Hischke on bass guitar.
Yowie, a dual-guitar and drums trio from St. Louis, have been stunning audiences with their incomparable barrage of sonic kung fu. They accelerate the progressive-rock rhythmic sensibilities of Ruins and Magma and mutate them with the shrieker side of Big Black and Slayer. The band incorporates many variations in time signature, tempo, and tuning, to create a virtual audio maze, but no matter how complex things get, their compositions remain cohesive and compelling. After releasing their debut album Cryptooology on Skin Graft, they lost a guitarist.