SikTh

Cited as one of the more influential bands in the djent branch of the progressive metal movement, versatile English rockers Sikth formed in 1999 in Watford, Hertfordshire, but didn't settle on the core lineup of dual vocalists Mikee Goodman and Justin Paul Hill, Dan Weller (guitar, piano), James Leach (bass), and Dan Foord (drums, percussion) until 2001. Sikth issued a pair of well-received EPs, Let the Transmitting Begin and How May I Help You?, before releasing their debut studio long-player, The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild, in 2003. International support slots for Anthrax and Killswitch Engage followed, as did high-profile appearances at festivals like Download and Fuse Leeds, and in 2006, Sikth released their sophomore full-length outing, Death of a Dead Day. In 2007 Goodman and Hill announced that they would be leaving the group to pursue other projects, and in 2008 the band ceased operations. The ensuing years saw Sikth's reputation in the underground metal community grow exponentially, and in 2013 they announced that they would be re-forming and headlining the Red Bull Stage at the following year's Download Festival. Rumblings of a possible studio reunion began to swirl as well, and in early 2015 the bandmembers announced that they would be releasing a new crowd-funded EP, Opacities. Two years later, the band dropped their hotly anticipated third long-player The Future in Whose Eyes? ~ James Christopher Monger