Ceremony formed in Rohnert Park, California in 2005, releasing their debut EP Ruined on Malfunction Records that same year and quickly establishing themselves in the California hardcore underground with a raw powerviolence-adjacent approach. Over subsequent albums, the band underwent a deliberate stylistic migration through 1980s-influenced hardcore, garage rock, and post-punk, exploring a range of sounds while retaining an underlying confrontational energy. They have released six studio albums and remain active.

Wakrat is a Los Angeles trio formed in 2015 by Tim Commerford, bassist of Rage Against the Machine, alongside French guitarist Laurent Grangeon and Swiss drummer Mathias Wakrat, whose surname provided the band's name. The band plays aggressive, politically charged punk and alternative metal with clear DNA from Commerford's previous work, and released their self-titled debut album in 2016 after debuting live at the Viper Room in September 2015.

ÆGES is a Los Angeles, California post-hardcore and alternative metal band formed in 2011, featuring members drawn from Pelican, -16-, and The Rise. The band combines heavy, riff-forward guitar work rooted in 90s post-hardcore with melodic desert rock hooks and doom-inflected arrangements. Their 2014 album Above and Down Below is the centerpiece of their catalog, demonstrating an approach that draws from Quicksand, Soundgarden, and Queens of the Stone Age without directly imitating any of them. Their output is relatively limited in volume but appreciated within the underground heavy rock community for its density and craft.