Skinless

New York's Skinless emerged in the early 1990s as a veteran American unit devoted to death metal and grindcore, unleashing vocal-heavy blasts of rapid, riff-driven aggression. The quartet drew directly from the sonic template established by Suffocation and Obituary, blending caustic humor with visceral force while occasionally riffing on the over-the-top track names favored by Carcass and Cannibal Corpse, all filtered through the group's distinctive social commentary. Multiple lineup shifts preceded their first album, the independently issued Progression Toward Evil, which surfaced in 1998. Over the following ten years they solidified a standing as one of the era's most punishing and unyielding acts, known for theatrical stage presentations that incorporated props and mascots alongside a run of well-regarded records such as Foreshadowing Our Demise and From Sacrifice to Survival, only to disband in 2011 before reassembling two years later with the core members restored.

Guitarist Noah Carpenter launched the project in 1992. After circulating two demo recordings, the band stabilized around Carpenter, singer Sherwood Webber, bassist Joe Keyser, and drummer Bob Beaulac. Their 1998 debut, Progressions Toward Evil, circulated widely in underground circles and eventually drew the attention of Relapse Records, which signed the group. The label issued their second album, Foreshadowing Our Demise, in 2001, followed soon after by the Miscreant EP. At that point Skinless began incorporating subtle melodic touches and shifting rhythmic patterns into their high-velocity attack, giving a modest degree of refinement to 2003's From Sacrifice to Survival.

Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead appeared in 2006 and introduced vocalist Jason Keyser, brother of bassist Joe Keyser, who had replaced Sherwood Webber the previous year. It proved his sole studio outing with Skinless; he later joined tech-metal act Origin. The band then remained largely inactive in the studio for seven years, limiting performances to occasional shows until their formal split in 2011. In 2013 the original members regrouped and recruited additional guitarist Dave Matthews. This five-piece configuration—Carpenter, Keyser, Beaulac, Webber, and Matthews—delivered Only the Ruthless Remain on Relapse in 2015, restoring the raw death-metal approach of the group's formative period. The same lineup recorded the sixth studio album, Savagery, issued by Relapse Records in 2018.