Mistress

Hailing from Birmingham, England—the birthplace of heavy metal—Mistress forged a brutally anti-social deathcore sound marked by crushing intensity and seething aggression starting in the late 1990s. After issuing multiple EPs and a split release alongside the stone-rock outfit Sally, the group—featuring vocalist Dave Cunt alongside guitarists Drunken and Misery, bassist Dirty, and drummer Migg—inked a deal with Rage of Achilles Records. Their first full-length arrived in 2002 and earned widespread praise from critics. The follow-up, Mistress II: The Chronovisor, arrived in 2003 and matched that achievement while amplifying the band's rising profile; further bolstering their underground reputation, Mistress members insist on recording exclusively with damaged and worn-out gear.