Between the Buried and Me

Between the Buried and Me is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dustie Waring (rhythm guitar, lead guitar), Dan Briggs (bass, keyboards), and Blake Richardson (drums).

Their debut eponymous album was released through Lifeforce Records in 2002, shifting to Victory Records for subsequent releases until their signing to Metal Blade in 2011, where Between the Buried and Me released their first extended play, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues that year, and its full-length follow-up The Parallax II: Future Sequence the following year. Their seventh studio album, Coma Ecliptic, was released in 2015. Their eighth album Automata I was released March 9, 2018, and their ninth album, Automata II, was released July 13, 2018.

Protest the Hero is a Canadian progressive metal band from Whitby, Ontario. Originally named Happy Go Lucky, the band changed their name to Protest the Hero shortly before releasing their debut EP, Search for the Truth, in 2002. In 2005, the band released their first full-length album Kezia on Canadian indie label Underground Operations. On January 23, 2006, the band signed with Vagrant Records for Kezia's American release on April 4, 2006. Their second full-length album, Fortress was released by Underground Operations in Canada and by Vagrant Records worldwide on January 29, 2008.