Blending elements of grindcore, death metal, black metal, hardcore, and bluesy, groove-oriented Southern rock, Lousiana quintet Soilent Green has grown into one of the most distinctive bands in the U.S. metal underground. Along with contemporaries such as Eyehategod, Crowbar, and Acid Bath, they have helped put their home state on the metal map, meanwhile giving it a reputation for spawning exceptionally sludgy and pain-ridden bands. Soilent Green certainly lives up to these adjectives, but they share qualities with a variety of other bands - from complex, anger-fueled hardcore groups such as Coalesce and Dillinger Escape Plan to sheer grindcore powerhouses Brutal Truth and Napalm Death and, less obviously, musical channel surfers Mr. Bungle and Naked City.

• Metal