Experimental Metal

Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast grindcore and noise music mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures.

Behold... The Arctopus is an experimental metal band from Brooklyn, New York, United States.  The group was formed in 2001 by Colin Marston and Mike Lerner, who had been playing guitar together for over a year-and-a-half by the time they found a drummer.  Behold... The Arctopus play instrumental music inspired by both metal and 20th century classical music.

Yakuza is an avant-garde metal band, formed in Chicago in 1999.  They have been acclaimed for their incorporation of jazz and world music elements.

Trap Them is a grindcore/hardcore punk band based in Louisville, Kentucky,  Seattle, Washington, and Boston, Massachusetts.  Trap Them's influences include hardcore punk bands, such as Black Flag, Born Against, and Tragedy; metal bands like Dismember and Entombed (whose "buzzsaw" guitar tone create the main guitar sound for Trap Them), and experimental bands like Swans. 

The Communion is a crossover grind/metal band from Bethpage, New York.  Their sound incorporates elements of many genres, including grind, heavy metal, hardcore, and sludge.

Tombs is an experimental metal band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2007. They are best known for their sound which combines a mix of multiple metal styles which includes elements of black metal, hardcore, doom metal, and sludge metal.

Bongripper are an experimental sludge/doom metal band from Chicago, Illinois.  The band formed in 2005 after a simple jam session turned into something much more serious.  Their first album, The Great Barrier Reefer, consists of only one track that is nearly 80 minutes long; the album was a very limited release, though it was finally rereleased in October 2012 due to popular demand.   Their sound is very experimental, tapping into elements of a vast range of genres, including noise, drone doom, and ambient music.

Melechesh is an Assyrian black metal band that originated in Jerusalem.  The band’s goal was to create a type of black metal incorporating extensive Middle Eastern influences mainly based on Assyrian (Mesopotamian) and occult themes (both musically and lyrically); the band invented the title "Assyrian metal" to best describe their type of metal.  

Pestilence is a death metal band from the Netherlands founded in 1986. They are known for incorporating jazz and fusion elements into their music. After disbanding in order to pursue other musical directions in 1994, Pestilence reunited in 2008.