The inception of Clad in Darkness began in the winter of 1999 for guitarists John Benter and Coy Scottberg. Meeting in high school the two shared a common passion for music in general and metal especially. The idea was always to create epic far reaching soundscapes that transgressed the conventions of metal. Soon after the band would be complete with the addition of ex-Sapphist drummer Brian Rendina, with fellow members Casey Hogan handling the vocals and Chris Shive playing bass.

Sioum is an instrumental trio based out of Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 2008, the band consists of brothers Dorian Zdrinc (guitar), Arthur Zdrinc (drums) and Kevin Clark (keys). They often draw inspiration from film, video games, and most frequently, emotion itself. Post-metal, as well as progressive influence are often noted, although occasionally, many broad (and unusual) influences, such as contemporary classical and chiptune, can be heard.

Almost six years after Sioum’s debut LP, in May of 2016 the group released their second full-length album Yet Further. It was recorded and engineered by Greg Norman (Russian Circles, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican.) Whereas I Am Mortal was based mainly on fictional stories and imagery, the music of Yet Further serves more as artifacts that reflect and convey the personal tribulation, hopes, and fears experienced after their first album was released. The music maintained a similar cinematic and emotional core, but with more content, variation, and complexity throughout each song. A noticeably more progressive influence could also be heard, with heavier exploration of distortion passages.

Austaras was born during Autumn 2008 in Chicago; while they have gone through their share of hardships, out of this turbulence has risen a fervent group of kindred spirits. While unmistakably a metal band, a myriad of influences are apparent – ranging from the darkest and most melancholic metal all the way to progressive rock, jazz, folk, and classical.