The third generation of grunge was best represented by the mediocre Pearl Jam imitation of Florida's Creed on My Own Prison (? ? - apr 1997) and Human Clay (? 1998/? 1999 - sep 1999). Grunge had been born in Australia (before it was reinvented in the USA) but the Pearl Jam-form of grunge came to Australia quite late. It never amounted to more than Silverchair's Frogstomp (early 1994 - mar 1995) or Magic Dirt's Friends In Danger (? 1996 - sep 1996).

An impressive work of gothic rock came from Switzerland: The Pleasures Received In Pain (? ? - oct 1999), by Der Blutharsch. Lacrimosa (the brainchild of German keyboardist Tilo Wolff) produced the concept Stille (1997) and the rock opera Elodia (? ? - jun 1999).

Germany's Blind Guardian were the only significant addition to pomp-metal of the era, with Nightfall In Middle Earth (sep 1997/mar 1998 - may 1998) winking at both Queen and Iron Maiden.

Hatebreed, from Connecticut, established "metalcore" as a major genre with Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire (? ? - nov 1997) and The Rise Of Brutality (? ? -oct 2003). Towards the end of the decade, variants on the same theme were worked out by Missouri's Coalesce (1), who vomited the formidable metal-punk maelstrom of Give Them Rope (? 1996 - jun 1997), by Massachusetts' Cave In with Beyond Hypothermia (? 1995/? 1997 - feb 1998), and by Los Angeles' Death By Stereo with their third album Into The Valley Of Death (? 2002/? 2003 - apr 2003). Metalcore emphasized the breakdown: the section of a hardcore song with a slower drum beat and single-note guitar chugging that usually invites to dance. Defying the dogmas of the genre, Shai Hulud's Hearts Once Nourished With Hope And Compassion (aug/sep 1997 - nov 1997), from Florida, managed to sound both catchy and inventive.

Florida's Poison The Well ventured beyond metalcore on their second album Tear From The Red (oct/nov 2001 - feb 2002), exhibiting songwriting skills worthy of emo-pop and brutality worthy of death-metal.

Washington's Darkest Hour cemented the fusion of death-metal and hardcore with the vitriolic political concept The Mark Of The Judas (mar 2000 - jul 2000) and later accomplished the conversion of the genre to the mainstream with Undoing Ruin (mar 2005 - jun 2005).

New York state's Every Time I Die simultaneously joined the ranks of screamo and metalcore with the mini-album Burial Plot Bidding War (nov 1999 - jan 2000) and Last Night In Town (mar/apr 2001 - aug 2001).

The chaotic hardcore of Japanese quintet Envy (3),that had already yielded the complex narrative structures of All The Footprints You've Ever Left And The Fear Expecting Ahead (jul 2001 - sep 2001), evolved into a hybrid of extreme screamo and post-rock on A Dead Sinking Story (feb 2003 - aug 2003) and Insomniac Doze (feb 2006 - sep 2006), whose songs ebb and flow, whisper and scream, bordering on expressionist theater.

Another precursor of screamo was a band from San Francisco, Portraits of Past (1), with the bleak album 01010101 (nov 1995 - ? 1996), one of the emotional nadirs of emocore.

Stoned, 1995-2000

The revival of psychedelic hard-rock of the 1970s picked up steam after the success of Kyuss, Monster Magnet and the grunge scene.

German's power-trio Colour Haze (2), fronted by guitarist and vocalist Stefan Koglek, cloned the most psychedelic aspects of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Kyuss on Periscope (oct 1999 - dec 1999), save turning to a more abstract and free-form psychedelic music on the double album Los Sounds De Krauts (spr/fall 2002 - feb 2003).

Ed Mundell's Atomic Bitchwax (1) offered a more experimental version of Monster Magnet's stoner-rock on Atomic Bitchwax (? ? - jun 1999). Boston's Nightstick (1) even added elements of free-jazz and avantgarde noise to the "Black Sabbath meets Blue Cheer" formula of stoner-rock on Ultimatum (? 1994 - ? 1997 - jan 1998). Southern California remained throughout the decade one of stoner-rock's main centers, as proven by works such as Fu Manchu's In Search Of... (sep 1995 - feb 1996), Unida's Coping With The Urban Coyote (jan 1999 - aug 1999), the new project of Kyuss' vocalist John Garcia, and Nebula's Charged (oct 2000 - apr 2001). Kyuss' influence on the new generations of stoner-rockers was not only obvious but even direct. Queens Of The Stone Age (1), the new band formed by Kyuss' guitarist Josh Homme and bassist Nick Oliveri, offered a consumable version of Kyuss (shorter songs, emphasis on the melody, streamlined dynamics) on Queens Of The Stone Age (apr 1998 - nov 1998). After the stylistic experiments of Rated R (dec 1999/feb 2000 - jun 2000), they achieved a sort of hard-rock classicism on Songs For The Deaf (oct 2001/jun 2002 - aug 2002), featuring Foo Fighters's drummer Dave Grohl and Screaming Trees' vocalist Mark Lanegan, the ideal balance of Cream and Nirvana.

Los Natas founded an important school of stoner-rock in Argentina with albums such as their third Corsario Negro (? 2001 - feb 2002), but reached their artistic peak with the three lengthy progressive-rock suites of Toba-Trance (may/jun 2002 - feb 2003).

Italy's Ufomammut (1) introduced new elements (such as samples and electronics) in Snailking (feb/jul 2003 - may 2004), whose plastic 28-minute hallucination Demontain mostly wanders in avantgarde territory, far beyond the stereotypes of the genre.

Other notable stoners were Canada's Sons Of Otis, featuring guitarist Ken Baluke, especially on Spacejumbofudge (jan 1995 - feb 1996), Wisconsin's Bongzilla, with their second album Gateway (mar 2002 - sep 2002), and Japan's Church Of Misery, with Master Of Brutality (apr/may 2001 - ? 2002).

Scandinavian horror, 1995-2000

Sweden's Watain were emblematic of the continuity of black metal in Scandinavia, particularly on their second album Casus Luciferi (? 2002/? 2003 - nov 2003).

Scandinavia remained at the forefront of progressive metal.

Edge of Sanity (1), the brainchild of Swedish vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dan Swano, pioneered the marriage of death-metal and progressive-rock on the melodramatic third album The Spectral Sorrows (jul/aug 1993 - nov 1993) and the diverse Purgatory Afterglow (jul 1994 - oct 1994). The dystopian 40-minute suite of Crimson (dec 1995/jan 1996 - apr 1996) alternated blastbeats and midtempo, death growls and clean vocals, crushing and melodic passages.

Sweden's Meshuggah (2) better categorized their generation's experimental metal as a subgenre of post-rock with the angular and intricate compositions of Destroy Erase Improve (feb 1995 - may 1995) and especially Chaosphere (may/jul 1998 - nov 1998), indulging in off-kilter time signatures and polyrhythmic assaults. Fredrik Thordendal experimented with heavily distorted, low-tuned 8-string guitars and with stutter-gun chugs which, combined with intricate atonal polyrhythms, coined a new subgenre: "djent". The EP I (? 2004 - jul 2004) was a seamless 21-minute orgy of post-metal ideas, with lots of loops, guitar drones, polyrhythmic progressions and abstract interludes, without surrendering the frenzy of death-metal. Obzen (nov 2007 - mar 2008) was virtually an academic essay on djent.

Sweden's Opeth (2) the brainchild of vocalist, guitarist and composer Mikael Akerfeldt, penned majestic gothic fantasias that alternated between acoustic melodic passages and anthemic quasi-grindcore attacks, notably Forest of October from Orchid (mar 1994 - may 1995), the monumental Black Rose Immortal from Morningrise (feb 1996 - jun 1996), Blackwater Park from Blackwater Park (aug/oct 2000 - mar 2001), and Deliverance from Deliverance (jul/sep 2002 - nov 2002).

Also innovative in Sweden was Pain Of Salvation's One Hour By The Concrete Lake (? 1998 - jul 1998).

The super-technical style of Norway's Solefald (1) turned their third album Pills Against The Ageless Ills (jul/aug 2000 - sep 2001) into a brainy exercise of fusion-metal.

For a country that had a population of less than five million people, Norway produced an amazing number of innovative metal bands. Ved Buens Ende (1) pioneered the fusion between post-rock and heavy-metal on Written In Waters (may 1995 - oct 1995). Beyond Dawn (1) invented trombone-based black metal, an unlikely juxtaposition that tinged their second album Revelry (aug/sep 1997 - mar 1998) with ambient noir atmospheres. Ulver (2), who had already pioneered the fusion of black metal and Scandinavian folk on Bergtatt (nov/dec 1994 - feb 1995), created an "electronic black metal" with the colossal Themes From William Blake's The Marriage Of Heaven & Hell (fall 1997/win 1998 - dec 1998) and Perdition City (? 1999 - mar 2000), that introduced elements of techno, industrial, ambient and trip-hop music, continuously recasting the art of heavy metal into wildly different frameworks. Dodheimsgard fused black metal and Nine Inch Nails' industrial rock on 666 International (? ? - jun 1999). Vidar "Ildjarn" Vaaer pioneered "lo-fi black metal" inspired by garage-rock on collections of very brief and brutal "songs" such as Ildjarn (? ? - ? 1995) and Forest Poetry (aug 1995 - jun 1996). At the same time, he pursued ambient suites for electronic keyboards on Landscapes (? ? - ? 1996) and Hardangervidda (? 1995/? 1997 - ? 2002). Norway's one-man band Furze (1) followed up the frenzied and cartoonish mini-album Trident Autocrat (aug 1999/feb 2000 - nov 2000) with the unorthodox doom-metal of Necromanzee Cogent (sep 1997/oct 2002 - jul 2003), containing the 23-minute post-psychedelic orgy of Sathanas' Megalomania.

New standards for the genre were also set in Norway by Arcturus' La Masquerade Infernale (dec 1996/may 1997 - oct 1997), In The Woods' Omnio (sep 1996/mar 1997 - jun 1997), Borknagar's The Archaic Course (aug/sep 1998 - oct 1998) and Carpathian Forest's Black Shining Leather (feb/may 1998 - aug 1998).

A new trend in black metal was orchestral/electronic arrangements: Norway's Dimmu Borgir, with Stormblast (sum 2005 - nov 1995), Japan's Sigh, with Hail Horror Hail (? ? - nov 1997), Finland's And Oceans, with The Dynamic Gallery Of Thoughts (oct 1997 - feb 1998). Tiamat, Therion, and Amorphis pursued a neoclassical version of death metal, which preferred the sound of keyboards. Norway's Theatre of Tragedy even adopted operatic vocals. Haggard indulged in symphonic arrangements.

Finland's Children of Bodom tempered their full-frontal assault with insanely fast neoclassical keyboards on Something Wild (jul/aug 1997 - nov 1997).

East Germany's Rammstein continued the Teutonic tradition of operatic metal while adding industrial-dance overtones on Sehnsucht (nov 1996/jul 1997 - aug 1997), thus improving on the "neue deutsche haerte" style pioneered by Oomph! on Sperm (sum 1993 - apr 1994).

The most technical band of that death-metal generation was perhaps Demilich, who recorded only one album, Nespithe (dec 1992 - feb 1993).

European black metal, 1995-2000

France suddenly became the stage for some of the most creative bands of black metal.

Blut Aus Nord (1) played keyboards-tinged black metal on Ultima Thulee (? 1995 - ? 1995), and Memoria Vetusta I (? ? - nov 1996), but introduced elements of industrial music especially on The Work Which Transforms God (? ? - mar 2003) and then mostly abandoned black metal for a new gothic genre wrapped in the slick production of Memoria Vetusta II (? ? - feb 2009) and the emphatic sound of 777 Cosmosophy (? 2012 - sep 2012).

Antaeus toiled at the border between black metal and grindcore with their fast, intricate Cut Your Flesh And Worship Satan (oct 1999/? 2000 - sep 2000). Antaeus s vocalist also launched Aosoth, devoted to even more incandescent and uncontrollable black metal on Aosoth (? 2007/early 2008 - may 2008) and especially III (feb 2011 - apr 2011), whose six lengthy songs pulverized all the cliches of the genre.

French multi-instrumentalist Stefan Kozak was the man behind two one-man bands. He coined his frenzied hybrid of classically-influenced keyboards and wall of fuzz and distortion a` la Burzum with Mystic Forest starting with Green Hell (? ?/oct 1999 - dec 1999). The sound on Eikenskaden's The Black Laments Symphonie (jul 2000 - feb 2001) and The Last Danse (? ? - ? 2002) was even more grandiose, bordering on self-parody, and actually quite hummable and stately.

S.V.E.S.T. unleashed the black-metal equivalent of a chaotic psychedelic freak-out on their lo-fi cassettes Scarification Of Soul (? 1998 - apr 1999) and Death To Macrocosm (? 1999 - ? 2000), later collected on Coagula (sep 2005), before achieving pure hell with the three lengthy pieces of Urfaust (? ?- ? 2003).

Deathspell Omega adopted a new format on their third album Si Monvmentvm Reqvires Circvmspice (? 2003 - feb 2004) and on the mini-album Kenose (? ? - oct 2005): midtempo songs that were hypnotic and brainy at the same time, and full of idiosyncratic stylistic detours.

German outfit Katharsis (1) were to black metal what Captain Beefheart was to blues music: chaotic, demonic and hysterical. 666 (? 2000 - ? 2000) was their tribute to Darkthrone's anti-classicism, while the third album VVorldVVithout End (? ? - aug 2006) erected impenetrable walls of guitar cacophony at lightning speed so that the singer could vomit insanity at will.

Germany's Nagelfar, featuring drummer Alexander von Meilenwald, experimented with progressive and epic forms of black metal that mixed Scandinavian frenzied gothic with both acoustic and symphonic (electronic) passages on Srontgorrth (jan/apr 1999 - jun 1999).

Germany's Nargaroth competed with the Scandinavian masters of black metal via the satanic mass Herbstleyd (? 1989/? 1994 - jun 1999) and the four colossal suites of Geliebte Des Regens (jun 2001/spr 2003 - oct 2003). Germany's Necrofrost followed suit with their second album Bloodstorms Voktes Over Hytrunghas Dunkle Necrotroner (? 1997/? 2000 - ? 2001), a natural disaster of struggling growls, riffs and beats.

Romania's Negura Bunget mixed black metal, dark ambience and folk melodies in the four suites of 'N Crugu Bradului (jun/jul 2002 - oct 2002).

Russia's Old Wainds epitomized the cold style of their generation of black metal on Zdes Nikogda Ne Skhodyat Snega/ Where The Snows Are Never Gone (? 1997 - ? 1997) and Religion Of Spiritual Violence (? 2001 - ? 2002). Born from their ashes, Nav adopted a more majestic and melodic sound on Halls Of Death (? ? - ? 2004).

On a totally different note, Benighted Leams, the brainchild of English guitarist Alex Kurtagic, played cartoonish black metal on Caliginous Romantic Myth (spr/sum 1996 - oct 1996); and Australian one-man band Lord Vorak delivered the spastic, childish Triumph Of The Will (? 1994 - sep 1996).

Melechesh, the brainchild of the Israeli Arab vocalist-guitarist Melechesh Ashmedi, melded Middle-Eastern music with death-metal on the Assyrian concept As Jerusalem Burns Al'Intisar (nov 1996 - dec 1996).

Colombian guitar-drums duo Inquisition introduced a trancey quasi-chanting vocal style on Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult (aug 1997 - may 1998).

West-Coast black metal, 1996-2000

San Francisco's Weakling, featuring keyboards and two guitarists (Fucking Champ's guitarist Josh Smith and John Gossard) concocted a twisted tribute to Scandinavian black metal: the five trancey monoliths of Dead As Dreams (dec 1998 - ? 1999).

John Cobbett was the anchor for a few "retro" groups based in San Francisco. The Lord Weird Slough Feg, fronted by metal baritone Mike Scalzi, harked back to the "heroic" style of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden on the mini-album The Lord Weird Slough Feg (? ? - may 1996) and the Celtic concept Twilight Of The Idols (? 1998 - mar 1999), perfecting it into their own moderate, melodic format on Down Among The Deadmen (? ? - jul 2000). The Hammers of Misfortune harked back to keyboards-based prog-metal with the rock opera The Bastard (jul 1999/feb 2000 - jul 2001), featuring dueling male-female vocals. Ludicra, a quintet fronted by two women (Christy Cather and Laurie Sue), displayed the influence of post-rock and space-rock on their Hollow Psalms (? ? - apr 2002).

Leviathan (1) was the original "one-man band" (Jeff Whitehead) of San Francisco's black metal that later inspired many more individuals. Inspired in turn by the sound of Burzum, Leviathan released 13 cassettes since 1998, partially compiled on the double-disc Verrater (? 1998/? 2002 - oct 200). The official debut, The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide (? ? - sep 2003), bridged the gap between the classic, "heroic" style of black metal and the progressive, dischordant, unstable style of the 2000s, and Massive Conspiracy Against All Life (? 2007 - mar 2008) emphasized the brooding philosopher over the psycho via longer and weirder compositions.

Oregon's Agalloch (2) built upon the legacy of Ulver and Opeth with Pale Folklore (jan/feb 1999 - jun 1999), and went on to the martial ominous lyrical folk-metal of The Mantle (nov 2001/apr 2002 - aug 2002), the elegant and melodic Ashes Against The Grain (dec 2005 - aug 2006), and the ghostly and cinematic Marrow Of The Spirit (mar/aug 2010 - nov 2010).

The revival of black metal in the USA was also signaled by Chicago's Judas Iscariot, in particular with their second album Thy Dying Light (mar 1996 - ? 1996).

International doom, 1995-99

The greatest heirs to the throne of British doom-metal were Electric Wizard (2). Led by singer/guitarist Justin Oborn, they inflated the heaviness of doom-metal to the point that music did not flow anymore: it just boomed; a long, dull, oppressive sound. Electric Wizard (? 1993 - ? 1994) blended the holy triad of stoner-rock (Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Hawkwind) in a new form that was an implosion of each of them, but its twin album Come My Fanatics... (jul 1996 - jan 1997) was even more powerful (even heavier, duller, darker and more sluggish), a tidal wave of gloomy sounds. The colossal-oriented approach led to Dopethrone (may/jun 2000 - sep 2000), whose extended tracks towered over an even more apocalyptic wasteland.

England's Orange Goblin straddled the border between stoner-rock and doom-metal on Frequencies From Planet Ten (mar 1996/mar 1997 - oct 1997).

Following in the footsteps of Thergothon, Finland's bass-less trio Skepticism (1) were the European masters of ultra doom, thanks to the massive medieval-sounding church-organ that depressed Stormcrowfleet (may 1995 - ? 1995) and the EP Ethere (spr/fall 1997 - end 1997).

Georgia's Harvey Milk (1) drained the loud, slow, brutal and mean-spirited creatures of My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment Of What My Love Could Be (? 1994 - ? 1996) of any emotions, carving a niche between Type O Negative, Swans and Melvins.

Seattle's Burning Witch, featuring guitarist Stephen O'Malley, conceived doom metal as background music for the vocalist's histrionic psychodrama on Crippled Lucifer (? 1995/mar 1997 - ? 1998).

Florida's Cavity, who were at their best on third album Supercollider ((sum 1998 - jan 1999), were more hummable than the average doom band despite the massive riffs and drumming explosions.

After shutting down Obsessed, Scott "Wino" Weinrich formed Spirit Caravan, whose Jug Fulla Sun (? ? - may 1999) sounded like a compendium of his obsession with doom.

The lengthy pieces of Michigan's Paik (1) mixed My Bloody Valentine' shoegazing vertigoes, Sonic Youth's minimalist repetitions, and Earth's super-heavy distortions, peaking with their fourth album Satin Black (sep 2003 - jul 2004) after Corridors (nov 2000/jan 2001 - jul 2004) and The Orson Fader (? 2002 - feb 2003) had transitioned from the soft to the hard edges of stoner-rock.

Earth's main followers were Seattle's Sunn O))) (3), the new project of Engine Kid's guitarist Greg Anderson and Khanate's bassist Stephen O'Malley, particularly on the four monumental concertos for bass and guitar only of Zero Zero Void (jan 2000 - jun 2000), even heavier and slower than Earth. By the time they perfected their formula with Black One (apr/jun 2005 - oct 2005), via the super-heavy drones and sinister monoliths of cacophony of 3: Flight Of The Behemoth (apr 1998/nov 2000 - jan 2002) and White2 (mar 2004 - jun 2004), the whole project sounded like the doom-metal equivalent of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. Their compositions were studies on how to combine the sound of a guitar and a bass to produce infinite loops of proto-riffs, moebius strips of distorted drones. Rarely had music sounded so ugly and hostile.

Outside the USA, the main stoners and super-doomers were Japan's Boris (2), whose terrifying monoliths Absolutego (jul 1996 - sep 1996) and Amplifier Worship (aug/sep 1998 - nov 1998) indulged in the art of transforming colossal riffs into lengthy, dark and extremely dense drones. The five-movement symphony At Last - Feedbacker (jul/oct 2003 - dec 2003) oscillated from dark to gentle to manic to ethereal and back, emphasizing texture over atmosphere.

The Japanese quintet Corrupted (2) propelled the art of huge slow-motion droning metal to another (very cold and very empty) dimension. From the 42-minute piece of Paso Inferior (oct/nov 1996 - ? 1997) to the 71-minute piece of El Mundo Frio (aug/dec 2003 - sep 2005) they patiently escalated a hypnotic post-rock suspense a` la Godspeed You Black Emperor or Mogwai only to crush every bit of emotion under catastrophic eruptions of guitars and drums a` la Boris.

Towards the end of the decade the Finnish school of ultra-doom (Thergothon, Skepticism) started proselytizing around the world. The most faithful to the gospel were perhaps New York's Rigor Sardonicus, whose glacial Apocalypsis Damnare (aug 1999 - ? 1999) relied on apocalyptic cymbals and vocals that were so guttural to the point of becoming an incomprehensible rumble.

Graven (oct/nov 1999 - ? 2002), by the Danish one-man band Nortt, was perhaps the work that best evoked the sense of utter depression.

Angst, 1995-98

The intense, macabre, excruciating, self-flagellating music of Korn became the dominant factor for heavy-metal bands such as: Sacramento's Deftones (1), first with the harrowing psychodramas of Adrenaline (? ? - oct 1995) and then with the sinister and titanic White Pony (? ? - jun 2000); Michigan's Kid Rock (born Bob Ritchie), with Devil Without A Cause (sep 1997/jul 1998 - aug 1998); Florida's Limp Bizkit (1), with Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ (nov 1996/feb 1997 - jul 1997), driven by Fred Durst's furnace of angst and anger and derailed by DJ Lethal's beats, scratches and samples, and with the ambitious and experimental Significant Other (nov 1998/feb 1999 - jun 1999); Los Angeles' Incubus, with S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (may/jun 1997 - oct 1997).

The Armenian-American outfit System Of A Down (2) was perhaps the most revolutionary of the Los Angeles acts, concocting with System Of A Down (? ? - jun 1998), Toxicity (mar/jul 2001 - aug 2001) and Mezmerize (? ? - may 2005) a sonic experience that was both extremely complex and extremely violent, evoking the punk barricades of the late 1970s with visceral, vibrant political anthems while upping the ante of prog-metal with disorienting rhythmic and melodic turns.

Soulfly (1), the brainchild of former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, heralded an even bolder degree of stylistic fusion (dub, drum'n'bass, hip-hop) with Soulfly (? 1997/? 1998 - apr 1998) and especially Primitive (? 1998/? 2000 - sep 2000).

Los Angeles' Linkin Park were the most successful band of rap-metal, thanks to Hybrid Theory (mar/jul 2000 - oct 2000), a textbook on how to turn teenage angst into the musical equivalent of fast food.

Frenzy, 1996-2001

Grindcore and death-metal, the most frantic of metal's subgenres, lent themselves to sonic explorations that their founders would not have imagined.

Sweden's Nasum had not the fastest but perhaps the busiest grindcore style of the late 1990s: the blistering Inhale/Exhale (dec 1997/jan 1998 - may 1998) consisted of 38 micro-songs.

Maryland's Dying Fetus incorporated the breakdown into death-metal on albums such as Killing On Adrenaline (may 1998/ jul 1998), thus pioneering "death-core".

Montreal's Cryptopsy de facto invented a new kind of death-metal with their chaotic second album None So Vile (dec 1995/jan 1996 - jul 1996), highlighted by Daniel Greening's tortured bark, Jon Levasseur's jagged guitar solos, Eric Langlois' abrasive jazzy bass lines and Flo Mounier's volcanic baffling blastbeats.

Iowa's Slipknot (1) played what was fundamentally death-metal, but they did so with a novel idea: Slipknot (sep 1998/feb 1999 - jun 1999) leveraged turntables, samples and percussions, not just guitars, to achieve maximum ferocity.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter in Germany first coined an original form of epic and melodic (folk-ish?) death-metal, notably on Allegro Barbaro (nov/dec 1998 - mar 1999), and then introduced non-metal instruments (harpsichord, harp, piano) to enhance the keyboards-heavy (and even catchier) All You Need Is Love (apr/may 2000 - oct 2000).

Germany's one-man death-metal band Necrophagist (Mohammed Suicmez) adorned the death metal of Onset Of Putrefaction (aug 1998/apr 1999 - sep 1999) with highly-technical guitar acrobatics.

Colorado's Cephalic Carnage perfected a labyrinthine sound on their third album Lucid Interval (early 2002 - jul 2002) that blended metalcore, stoner-rock, jazzcore and death-metal.

At the turn of the century, the scene of death-metal was further destabilized by the arrival of South Carolina's Nile (1), the new champions of highly technical and innovative death-metal. Their experiments with keyboards, percussion and ethnic instruments peaked with lengthy pieces such as The Dream Of Ur, off Black Seeds Of Vengeance (? 2000 - sep 2000), and Unas Slayer of Gods, off their supreme In Their Darkened Shrines (? 2002 - aug 2002) that also included the 18-minute four-movement juggernaut In Their Darkened Shrines.

Pig Destroyer, a bass-less trio from Virginia that featured guitarist Scott Hull, popularized grindcore as a less extreme genre with their third album Prowler In The Yard (aug 2000/mar 2001 - jul 2001), despite retaining the key attributes of the genre (vomiting vocals, lightning-speed blastbeats, insane/brutal guitar noise).

Agoraphobic Nosebleed, featuring Pig Destroyer's guitarist Scott Hull and a drum-machine instead of a live drummer, embellished the grotesquely-short miniatures of Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope (? 2000/? 2002 - jun 2002) with lots of samples, electronic noises and digital processing of guitars and vocals. Altered States Of America (? 2002 -feb 2003) packed 100 songs on a short EP, most of them lasting between four and ten seconds.

Poland's Behemoth (2), fronted by Adam "Nergal" Darski, mixed black-metal and death-metal on Satanica (feb 1999 - aug 1999) and Demigod (may/jul 2004 - nov 2004), artfully balancing technique, melody and violence. Poland's Decapitated performed surgical death-metal on Winds Of Creation (? 1999 - apr 2000).

In Flames' school of melodic death-metal in Sweden fathered Arch Enemy, the leaders of the new generation with Stigmata (oct 1997 - mar 1998), and especially Soilwork, with their torrential Steel Bath Suicide (? 1997 - may 1998) and the more complex The Chainheart Machine (feb 1999 - sep 1999). Anata unleashed a catchy dual-guitar attack on The Infernal Depths Of Hatred (feb 1998 - oct 1998) and Dreams Of Death And Dismay (feb/mar 2000 - apr 2001).

Japanese quartet Bathtub Shitter, fronted by psychotic shouter Masato Morimoto, delivered a screwball amalgam of noisecore and death-metal on Wall Of World Is Words (? ? - ? 2000).

Other impressive grindcore/death recordings at the turn of the century included: Gore Metal (jul 1998 - oct 1998) by the Bay Area's Exhumed, that invented its own subgenre; Mondo Medicale (apr/may 2002 - jul 2002), the second album by the Bay Area's Impaled with their triple vocal attack; and Circle Of Dead Children's EP Exotic Sense Decay (aug 1999 - jul 2000).

Progress, 1999-2001

A virtually infinite number of variations on the innovations of the early 1990s came to light in the second half of the decade.

By reinterpreting Dazzling Killmen for the crowd of metal-heads, New Jersey's Dillinger Escape Plan (1), with the unstable metal-jazz compounds of Calculating Infinity (apr/jun 1999 - sep 1999), virtually invented a subgenre, a new form of prog-rock with the "heaviness" of metalcore: "mathcore" (already pioneered by Converge and Rorschach). Seattle's Botch, especially with their second album We Are The Romans (jun/jul 1999 - nov 1999), offered an alternative take on the same idea.

Vermont's Drowningman offered a convulsive blend of metalcore, emo and noise-rock on their second album Rock And Roll Killing Machine (may/jun 2000 - sep 2000).

The prog-metal concept album Leitmotif (sum 1998 - may 1999) by San Francisco's Dredg (1) boasted intricate multi-layered sonic patterns.

The super-fusion of New York's Candiria became denser and denser, eventually reaching full maturity on their fourth album 300 Percent Density (? ? - apr 2001), that incorporated death-metal, hip-hop, jazz and industrial music.

Canada's Strapping Young Lad (1), the brainchild of veteran vocalist Devin Townsend, reached a new level of sonic savagery on City (july 1996 - late 1996) while coining an influential huge, gloomy sound with industrial overtones.

Discordance Axis (1) played grindcore influenced by Japanese noisecore on brief albums such as Jouhou (jul/sep 1996 - feb 1997) and especially The Inalienable Dreamless (dec 1999 - may 2000).

Boston's Isis (2) debuted with Celestial (jan/feb 2000 - apr 2000), an album of brutal post-industrial electronic-metal sludge in the vein of Neurosis and Godflesh, but later shifted the emphasis towards atmospheric and textural elements, notably on third album Panopticon (jun/jul 2004 - oct 2004), taking the post-rock dynamics of Godspeed You Black Emperor and Mogwai as new reference points.

The Neurosis-sanctioned confluence of grindcore and industrial music was explored by Australia's Berzerker on their second album Dissimulate (feb/apr 2002 - aug 2002), an unstable and explosive mix of android clangor and distorted fury.

Boston's Maudlin Of The Well, fronted by vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Toby Driver, were an eight-piece ensemble on two complementary albums that mixed highbrow chamber music with bursts of death-metal: the dense, dark and expressionistic Leaving Your Body Map (? 1997/? 2001 - aug 2001) and the humble, ethereal and spiritual Bath (? 1997/? 2001 - aug 2001).

Other post-metal albums at the turn of the century included: Spiral Architect's A Sceptic's Universe (jun 1998 - dec 1999), sleek jazz-metal from Norway; and Mudvayne's second album The End Of All Things To Come (? 2002 - nov 2002), prog-metal from Illinois.