Soilent Green

Louisiana's Soilent Green has been one of the best things about the wild world of modern extreme metal over the past decade. The band has also remained one of the genre's better-kept secrets. While that's partly due to its dense, nonlinear songwriting — which can take some getting used to — it has just as much to do with bad luck. Soilent Green has endured a couple of grisly van crashes, Hurricane Katrina's wiping out its hometown, and the 2004 shooting death of bassist Scott Williams. Plus, some of the members keep busy with side projects: Frontman Ben Falgoust sings in the black-metal group Goatwhore, and guitarist Brian Patton shreds with sludge-mongers Eyehate­god. On its new album, Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction, Soilent Green plays a mix of Southern math-sludge, bayou avant-metal, and other hyphenated genres we made up.